Public Source is Pittsburgh’s home for impactful journalism and community-driven storytelling. Its fact-checked local news spans critical topics, including the environment, health, education, community development and local government.

Public Source

An angry crowd of protesters with signs surround a car

How ICE and a data center turned a small Pittsburgh suburb into a civic battleground

Public Source·August 4, 2026

In Springdale, a borough of 3,000 east of Pittsburgh, a year of immigration arrests, data center opposition and confrontations with local officials has fueled a new wave of organizing.

Economy Energy Latest Stories Politics Technology

A man in a gray shirt stands in front of a large, round weather satellite.

AI is improving Pittsburgh’s tornado forecasting, but its full potential isn’t clear

Public Source·July 23, 2026

AI may one day be able to predict tornadoes like the ones that hit on the day of Morgan Wallen’s cancelled Pittsburgh concert. But not yet.

After deadly explosion, safety and environmental lapses at U.S. Steel’s coke works now rest with Nippon

Public Source·February 20, 2026

Six months after two deaths at the massive Clairton Coke Works, U.S. Steel’s new owner inherits the plant’s safety challenges and pollution violations. Nippon’s plans haven’t yet been released.

Economy Energy Pollution U.S. Steel Explosion

A dozen youth in football gear play on a field with an industrial facility looming in the background.

Clairton sees hope but a history of disappointment six months after explosion

Public Source·February 20, 2026

Residents living near U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works are hoping for a departure from decades of disinvestment and persistent pollution.

Environmental Justice Health Pollution U.S. Steel Explosion

Two men with their backs to the camera,wearing cowboy hats ,look out over a mine in the distance.

Will Australia revisit the deal that led a Pittsburgh firm to depend on the ore beneath its trees?

Public Source·May 23, 2025

Alcoa’s Western Australia division is one of the world's largest alumina producing operations. Some say its decades-old agreement puts drinking water at risk.

Conservation Economy Pollution Water

A vast industrial complex sits in the middle of a reddish piles of waste.

Alcoa’s Australian refineries drove flight from two towns, and its waste threatens a third

Public Source·May 22, 2025

Some residents say toxic dust from Alcoa's three sprawling industrial facilities along the southwestern coast of Australia is making them sick.

Economy Health Pollution

How Pittsburgh’s Alcoa is undermining a rare forest to fuel its global aluminum empire

Public Source·May 19, 2025

A one-of-a-kind ecosystem lies above the bauxite Alcoa says it needs for its future. The company’s request to expand mining in Australia is drawing objections from scientists and the land’s original inhabitants.

Conservation Economy Your Environment Update

EQT’s ‘bulldog’ has D.C. in his grip, with profits — and maybe higher gas bills — on the horizon

Public Source·November 26, 2024

CEO Toby Rice backed Republican Dave McCormick for Senate and hobnobbed with Donald Trump. Now he’s poised for pipelines, exports and profits.

Climate Change Energy

A woman in a white blouse with dark hair looks towards a man with gray hair and a plaid shirt speaking.

Contenders in Pennsylvania Senate race shy from risky climate, energy stances while courting voters

Public Source·October 30, 2024

One of four notable swing districts, Pennsylvania’s 37th Senate seat could shift the balance of power in state government, with big implications for climate and energy.

2024 Election Climate Change Energy Your Environment Update

A man, standing in a doorway wearing a yellow safety vest, throws water from a white bucket.

New Freeport residents in court demanding clean water from EQT

Public Source·September 10, 2024

A lawsuit seeks to compel the Pittsburgh-based gas firm to provide clean water to the Greene County hamlet after a 2022 fracking mishap.

Energy Health Pollution Water

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