Pittsburgh astronaut speaks out after medical event prompted space station evacuation
MIKE STARTS RIGHT NOW. NOW ON PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR. SIDNEY CROSBY TOOK A HIT THAT KEPT HIM OUT OF THE OLYMPIC GOLD GAME. NOW HE’S PLACED ON THE IR. HOW LONG HE’LL BE OFF THE ICE, AND HOW DAN HUGHES PLANS TO KEEP THE PENGUINS IN CONTENTION FOR THE PLAYOFFS TONIGHT. POLICE ALERTING THE PUBLIC TO A SCAM THAT HAPPENED HERE IN A GIANT EAGLE PARKING LOT COMING UP. POLICE SAY THE SCAMMERS WERE ABLE TO GET CREDIT CARD INFORMATION. A DOZEN REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS MOVED INTO ONE HOME HERE IN THE SOUTH SIDE SLOPES. WE TALKED TO NEIGHBORS AND LOCAL OFFICIALS. PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR AT SIX STARTS NOW. THE BIG NEWS TODAY, PENGUINS CAPTAIN SIDNEY CROSBY RETURNED FROM THE OLYMPICS WITH A SILVER MEDAL, BUT ALSO A LOWER BODY INJURY THAT WE LEARNED TODAY WILL HAVE HIM OUT FOR AT LEAST A MONTH. THANKS FOR JOINING US HERE AT SIX. I’M KELLY SASSO AND I’M MIKE CLARK, PITTSBURGH’S ACTION SPORTS REPORTER. ASHLEY OATES TALKED WITH SID THIS AFTERNOON. SHE JOINS US NOW FROM CRANBERRY WITH MORE ON WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE PENGUINS AS THEY MAKE THAT PUSH TO THE POSTSEASON. IT WAS A TOUGH INJURY TO WATCH. NOW SIDNEY CROSBY EXPECTED TO MISS A MINIMUM OF FOUR WEEKS WITH THAT LOWER BODY INJURY AFTER BEING PLACED ON INJURED RESERVE IN THE QUARTERFINAL GAME AGAINST CZECHIA, CROSBY WENT DOWN AWKWARDLY ON A HIT FROM RADKO GUDAS. CROSBY SPOKE TO THE MEDIA ON WEDNESDAY AND WOULDN’T GET INTO THE NATURE OF THE INJURY, BUT HE DID SAY HE WAS CLOSE TO PLAYING IN THE GOLD MEDAL GAME AGAINST THE UNITED STATES, CLOSER THAN HE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT. A DAY OR TWO AFTER THE INJURY. BUT NOW HE’LL MISS NEARLY A MONTH. THIS AS THE TEAM IS IN SECOND PLACE IN THE METRO DIVISION AND IN PLAYOFF POSITION. SO WHAT ARE HIS THOUGHTS ON WHAT HIS TEAM COULD DO WITHOUT HIM? I’M CONFIDENT. I THINK WE’VE SHOWN ALL YEAR WE’VE HAD INJURIES AND GUYS HAVE STEPPED UP AND YOU KNOW, TO GET TO WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE’RE AT AT THIS POINT, I THINK IT’S BECAUSE OF OUR TEAM PLAY. YOU KNOW, I DON’T THINK IT’S BEEN ANY ONE PERSON. I THINK IT’S YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, COLLECTIVELY AS A GROUP, WE FOUND DIFFERENT WAYS TO WIN AND DIFFERENT GUYS HAVE STEPPED UP. SO AS LONG AS WE, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE THAT, YOU KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THAT, THEN I THINK WE GIVE OURSELVES A GOOD CHANCE. BUT IT’S GOING TO BE AN IMPORTANT STRETCH HERE. NEXT LITTLE BIT. THE PENGUINS HAVE 26 GAMES LEFT IN THEIR REGULAR SEASON, THE FIRST WITHOUT THEIR CAPTAIN, WILL BE ON THURSDAY NIGHT AS THEY GET SET TO HOST GOLD MEDAL WINNER JACK HUGHES IN THE NEW JERSEY DEVILS IN CRANBERRY. ASHLEY DOUGHERTY PITTSBURGH’S ACTION SPORTS. THANK YOU, ASHLEY, FOR THE UPDATE THERE. WE WANT TO TURN NOW TO PITTSBURGH’S ACTION WEATHER. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SHOT. WE’VE HAD DAYS OF ON AND OFF, SNOW AND COLD. FINALLY, THOUGH, WE ARE IN STORE FOR SOME BETTER WEATHER TO FINISH OUT THE WEEK. CHIEF METEOROLOGIST MIKE HARVEY IS HERE WITH YOUR CERTIFIED MOST ACCURATE FORECAST. BOY, IT’S NICE TO GET THIS BREAK. IT IS. IT’S GOING TO BE A NICE BREAK FOR A FEW DAYS RIGHT ON INTO THE WEEKEND. SO THAT WILL BE NICE AND A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET OUT THERE TONIGHT. THE SUN JUST GETTING DOWN BELOW THE HORIZON. WE’LL SPEND THE CAMERA AROUND, SHOW YOU DOWNTOWN 48 DEGREES. OUR CURRENT TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE. WE MADE IT INTO THE 50S TODAY. THE WINDS STILL PRETTY STRONG OUT THERE. WINDS WEST 16MPH, GUSTING TO 23MPH. AND AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE WIND GUSTS JUST BEGINNING TO DIE DOWN, AS THEY OFTEN DO WHEN THE SUN SETS 23 MILE PER HOUR WIND GUSTS IN MONROEVILLE, 28 IN WASHINGTON, 22 IN BUTLER. THEY’LL CONTINUE TO RELAX AS WE GO THROUGH TONIGHT. AS WE GO THROUGH TOMORROW, THE WINDS WILL BE LIGHT. WE’LL HAVE A GOOD DEAL OF SUNSHINE, BUT IT IS GOING TO BE COOLER. WE’LL HAVE HIGH TEMPERATURES THAT WILL TOP OUT RIGHT AROUND 40 DEGREES FOR TOMORROW. AND PITTSBURGH LOOKING AT 41 DEGREES. ALSO 41 IN BEAVER, 40 KITTANNING AND GREENSBURG, WASHINGTON, A HIGH OF 42 DEGREES. BUT FROM THERE, TEMPERATURES REALLY RAMP UP. 52 DEGREES AND SUNSHINE ON FRIDAY, 55 DEGREES. PARTLY CLOUDY ON SATURDAY, AND THE WEEKEND IS LOOKING PRETTY NICE, ESPECIALLY ON SATURDAY. SURE IS. ALL RIGHT, MIKE, THANK YOU. RIGHT NOW, SHALER POLICE ARE WARNING PEOPLE TO BEWARE OF SCAMMERS IN THE AREA. THEY SAY TWO MEN MANAGED TO DRAIN SEVERAL PEOPLE’S BANK ACCOUNTS. PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST TRYING TO BE KIND AND HELP THEIR NEIGHBORS IN NEED. PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR REPORTER YASMINE RODRIGUEZ IS IN SHALER TONIGHT TO EXPLAIN HOW THEY WERE ABLE TO GET THE MONEY. THE SUSPECTS REFUSED CASH, INSTEAD ONLY ACCEPTING DEBIT AND CREDIT CARDS. FROM THERE, THEY HAD AN APP ON THEIR PHONE THAT STOLE THOSE NUMBERS AND EVENTUALLY STOLE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FROM THOSE VICTIMS BANK ACCOUNTS. THE VICTIMS WE HAD, YOU KNOW, USED THEIR CREDIT CARD TO MAKE A NOMINAL DONATION OF 20 OR $30. AND THEN THEY FOUND OUT THAT THEY HAD CHARGES UPWARDS OF $3,000 CHARGED TO THEIR CREDIT CARD. RIGHT NOW, ONLY TWO VICTIMS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED. BUT SHALER POLICE TELL ME THEY DO EXPECT MORE TO COME FORWARD. THEY ARE URGING ANYONE WHO BELIEVES THEY MAY HAVE BEEN TARGETED TO CHECK THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS AND CONTACT POLICE. IT HAPPENED MONDAY. THE GIANT EAGLE PARKING LOT OFF BUTLER PLANK ROAD. SHORTLY AFTER NOON. BUT FROM PLATE READERS ON THE CAR THE SUSPECTS WERE TRAVELING IN, THEY WERE ALSO IN THE AREA FROM THE 20TH THROUGH THE 23RD. POLICE SAY IT WAS FOR BLACK MALES THAT WERE TARGETING THE SHOPPERS. LIEUTENANT WATKINS WITH SHALER POLICE, SAYS THIS TIME OF YEAR AROUND TAX SEASON, THE NUMBER OF SCAMS DO SEEM TO INCREASE. SO HE OFFERS THIS ADVICE TO FOLKS BEFORE DONATING. BE VERY WARY AND COGNIZANT OF WHO YOU’RE DONATING MONEY TO. AND IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WOULD COME UP TO YOU IN SUCH A FASHION, YOU KNOW, LOOK FOR THOSE RED FLAGS. SHALER POLICE DO TELL ME TONIGHT THAT THEY ARE WORKING WITH OTHER LOCAL JURISDICTIONS, AND EVEN STATE AND FEDERAL AUTHORITIES, BECAUSE THEY DO BELIEVE THAT THIS SCAM IS PART OF A MULTI-STATE INVESTIGATION. COVERING ALLEGHENY COUNTY IN SHALER. JASMINE RODRIGUEZ, PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR. JASMINE THANK YOU. AND NEW TONIGHT. THE MAN CHARGED IN A DUI CRASH THAT KILLED A YOUNG GIRL IN HARRISON TOWNSHIP NEARLY TWO YEARS AGO, WAS SENTENCED TO SOME JAIL TIME. ACCORDING TO COURT DOCUMENTS, JEFFREY GLOWACKI WILL SPEND 3 TO 6 MONTHS BEHIND BARS AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO SEVERAL DUI AND CARELESS DRIVING CHARGES. ACCORDING TO A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT, GLOWACKI HAD SPENT SEVERAL HOURS ON THAT AUGUST DAY IN 2024 AT TWO LOCAL BARS, DRINKING 12 BEERS. GLOWACKI THEN GOT BEHIND THE WHEEL AND DROVE HIS CAR, STRIKING 11 YEAR OLD ROXANNE BONANNI, WHO WAS HEARING IMPAIRED WHILE SHE WAS CROSSING THE STREET. FLAMES AND SMOKE BILLOWING OUT OF A HOME EARLIER TODAY IN ONE FAYETTE COUNTY COMMUNITY, AND FIRE CREWS WERE CALLED TO BUTTE ROAD IN DUNBAR TOWNSHIP JUST AFTER NOON TODAY. COUNTY DISPATCHERS TELL US ONE PERSON DID HAVE TO BE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL FROM THE SCENE. THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE IS NOW UNDER INVESTIGATION. AN HOURS LONG FIREFIGHT LAST NIGHT DISPLACED SEVERAL PEOPLE. A MILLVALE APARTMENT BUILDING ON GRAND AVENUE CAUGHT FIRE AT ABOUT 1030. YOU CAN SEE IN THE VIDEO HERE THE FIRE SHOOTING THROUGH THE ROOF. ONE RESPONDING DEPARTMENT TOLD US THEY HAD TO RESCUE A WOMAN FROM A WINDOW WITH A LADDER TO GET HER TO SAFETY. ONE PERSON WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL. THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY FIRE MARSHAL IS NOW INVESTIGATING WHAT CAUSED THIS. AND RIGHT NOW, POLICE ARE SEARCHING FOR SUSPECTS WHO CRASHED THEIR CAR, RAN OFF, THEN STOLE ANOTHER CAR. NEW CASTLE POLICE SAY THEY WERE CALLED TO THE CRASH LAST WEDNESDAY ON NESHANNOCK AVENUE. THEY SAY TWO MEN FROM THE AT FAULT CAR WALKED AWAY FROM THE SCENE AND THEN STOLE SOMEONE ELSE’S CAR FROM A NEARBY HOME. THAT STOLEN CAR WAS LATER RECOVERED ON THE CITY’S NORTH HILL, AND POLICE SHARED THIS RING. VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE TWO SUSPECTS RIGHT AFTER THEY PARKED THE STOLEN CAR WHERE IT WAS RECOVERED. IF ANYONE KNOWS WHO THEY ARE, NEW CASTLE POLICE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU. RIGHT NOW, POLICE IN WEST MIFFLIN ARE SEARCHING FOR A MAN ACCUSED OF EXPOSING HIMSELF TO MULTIPLE CUSTOMERS WHILE WORKING AT THE DENNY’S RESTAURANT THERE. ACCORDING TO THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT, ZACHARY GILES COMMENTED ON A GROUP OF PEOPLE AS THEY WERE SEATED AND THEN SAT IN A CHAIR NEAR THE GROUP AND EXPOSED HIMSELF. GILES WAS ASKED TO LEAVE AND WAS IMMEDIATELY FIRED FOR THE INCIDENT. NOW TO THE CONTROVERSY. IN A PITTSBURGH NEIGHBORHOOD, NEIGHBORS ARE OUTRAGED AFTER A DOZEN REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS MOVED INTO A RECOVERY HOME IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA NOT FAR FROM RECREATION FACILITIES. RIGHT. ONE ELECTED OFFICIAL WE TALKED TO SAYS THEY ARE NOW MOVING OUT. REPORTER MARCIE CIPRIANI HAS MORE NOW FROM PITTSBURGH. SOUTH SIDE SLOPES. ACCORDING TO THE MEGAN’S LAW WEBSITE, THE 12 REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS WHO MOVED INTO THIS BUILDING LAST WEEK LIVED TOGETHER INTO APARTMENTS HERE. OFFICIALS SAY IT IS PART OF A RECOVERY PROGRAM, BUT CITY OFFICIALS AND THOSE WHO LIVE HERE IN THIS SOUTH SIDE SLOPES NEIGHBORHOOD SAY THEY SHOULD NOT BE TOGETHER HERE IN THIS COMMUNITY IF THEY’RE CONVICTED AND THEY HAVE BEEN PROVEN, I WOULD NOT FEEL SAFE HAVING THEM HERE. THE MEN YOU ARE LOOKING AT ARE ALL CONVICTED OF VARIOUS SEX CRIMES, FROM RAPE OF AN UNCONSCIOUS PERSON TO INDECENT ASSAULT BY FORCIBLE COMPULSION AND AGGRAVATED INDECENT ASSAULT, WHERE THE VICTIM IS UNDER 13 YEARS OLD AND THEY ARE ALL LIVING ONE BUILDING AWAY FROM TYLER BLACKBURN. I’M FOR RECOVERY. I’M FOR PEOPLE COMING BACK FROM THAT. BUT I DON’T KNOW. I DO FEEL A LITTLE BIT OF UNEASE IF THERE ARE 12 OF THEM HERE. CITY COUNCILPERSON BOB SHARLAND, WHO REPRESENTS THE SOUTHSIDE, TELLS ME THE CITY HAS NO LOCAL CONTROL OF FACILITIES LIKE THIS ONE, SO THEY CAN’T REGULATE THEM. BUT HE TELLS ME WHAT HE ALSO POSTED ONLINE THAT THE OPERATORS OF THE HOME ON SALISBURY STREET AGREED TO MOVE THE MEN OUT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, AND THAT THEY WILL NOT OPERATE HERE FURTHER. THIS IS A NICE NEIGHBORHOOD. YOU KNOW, THERE’S PEOPLE WITH KIDS AND THERE’S PARKS AND SCHOOLS AND, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THAT RIGHT NEXT DOOR, IT’S NOT SO GREAT. DAVE SILBERSTEIN, WHO OWNS PROPERTY HERE, SAYS HE TOO IS FOR RECOVERY, BUT NOT 12 SEX OFFENDERS TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE. WHILE COUNCILMAN CHARLAND SAYS THE FACILITY IS WORKING WITH STATE PAROLE TO MOVE THE MEN OUT, THERE IS NO SPECIFIC TIMELINE. I REACHED OUT TO THE COMPANY AS WELL, BUT THEY DID NOT CALL BACK. I DID ALSO KNOCK ON THE DOOR HERE TO TALK TO THE MEN WHO MOVED IN. THE MAN WHO ANSWERED THE DOOR, THOUGH, CLOSED THE DOOR. ONCE I IDENTIFIED MYSELF. COVERING ALLEGHENY COUNTY FROM THE SOUTH SIDE SLOPES MARCIE CIPRIANI PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR. NEW TONIGHT AT SIX. THE PITTSBURGH CITY CONTROLLER SOUNDING THE ALARM TONIGHT ON HOW THE CITY IS SPENDING MONEY AFTER FINDING THAT A PROPOSED SURPLUS HAS TURNED INTO A DEFICIT. RACHEL HEISLER SAYS THE END OF THE YEAR FINANCIAL REPORT SHOWS THE CITY FINISHED LAST YEAR WITH A DEFICIT OF MORE THAN $8 MILLION. FORMER MAYOR GAINEY’S BUDGET HAD A PROJECTED $3 MILLION SURPLUS. HEISLER SAYS THE CITY HAS ALSO SPENT $44 MILLION FROM THE RAINY DAY FUND. IN A STATEMENT, HEISLER SAYS, QUOTE, A PROBLEM WE CAN SEE IS THE PROBLEM WE CAN FIX. SOLVING THAT PROBLEM STARTS WITH HONEST BUDGETS. WE NEED TO SET REALISTIC REVENUE PROJECTIONS AND MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT SPENDING AND COST CONTAINMENT ACCORDINGLY. DEMOCRATS WILL KEEP A SLIM MAJORITY IN THE STATE HOUSE. TWO SPECIAL ELECTIONS, INCLUDING ONE HERE IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY, WERE DECIDED YESTERDAY. DORMONT COUNCIL MEMBER JEN MAZZOCCO WON THE RACE FOR THE 42ND LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT IN A LANDSLIDE THAT COVERS SEVERAL COMMUNITIES IN THE SOUTH HILLS. SHE WILL REPLACE DAN MILLER, WHO WAS ELECTED TO A JUDGE SEAT IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY. AND ANOTHER DEMOCRAT WON A SPECIAL ELECTION IN LEHIGH COUNTY THAT KEEPS THE BALANCE OF POWER AT 102 DEMOCRATS TO 98 REPUBLICANS. THERE ARE THREE MORE SPECIAL ELECTIONS FOR THE HOUSE COMING UP LAT
Pittsburgh astronaut speaks out after medical event prompted space station evacuation
Updated: 7:04 PM EST Feb 25, 2026
NASA’s Mike Fincke identified himself Wednesday as the astronaut whose medical condition prompted the space agency’s first medical evacuation.VIDEO: Top news stories on Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 In a written statement, the 58-year-old spaceflight veteran revealed he was the ailing crew member last month aboard the International Space Station. He did not say what was wrong with him, but explained that his condition quickly stabilized thanks to his crewmates and flight surgeons on the ground.Fincke said he’s doing well now.“Spaceflight is an incredible privilege, and sometimes it reminds us just how human we are,” he said in the statement.Fincke launched with three others on a SpaceX flight last summer. Their mission came to an early end on Jan. 15, a week after he experienced what he called a “medical event that required immediate attention” by his fellow astronauts. The health concern also forced the cancellation of a planned spacewalk by Fincke and another NASA astronaut.Following their splashdown in the Pacific, all four astronauts were taken to a San Diego hospital. They flew home to Houston the next day.With the sick astronaut’s identity still a secret, Fincke said at a news conference a week after returning that the space station’s ultrasound machine came in handy during the medical crisis.He elaborated Wednesday, stressing that his situation was not an emergency but that everyone wanted “to take advantage of advanced medical imaging not available on the space station.”Fincke, a retired Air Force colonel who became an astronaut in 1996, has logged 549 days in space over four missions.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
NASA’s Mike Fincke identified himself Wednesday as the astronaut whose medical condition prompted the space agency’s first medical evacuation.
VIDEO: Top news stories on Pittsburgh’s Action News 4
In a written statement, the 58-year-old spaceflight veteran revealed he was the ailing crew member last month aboard the International Space Station. He did not say what was wrong with him, but explained that his condition quickly stabilized thanks to his crewmates and flight surgeons on the ground.
Fincke said he’s doing well now.
“Spaceflight is an incredible privilege, and sometimes it reminds us just how human we are,” he said in the statement.
Fincke launched with three others on a SpaceX flight last summer. Their mission came to an early end on Jan. 15, a week after he experienced what he called a “medical event that required immediate attention” by his fellow astronauts. The health concern also forced the cancellation of a planned spacewalk by Fincke and another NASA astronaut.
Following their splashdown in the Pacific, all four astronauts were taken to a San Diego hospital. They flew home to Houston the next day.
With the sick astronaut’s identity still a secret, Fincke said at a news conference a week after returning that the space station’s ultrasound machine came in handy during the medical crisis.
He elaborated Wednesday, stressing that his situation was not an emergency but that everyone wanted “to take advantage of advanced medical imaging not available on the space station.”
Fincke, a retired Air Force colonel who became an astronaut in 1996, has logged 549 days in space over four missions.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.