Often strung from utility poles or buried beneath our feet, copper wire has played a critical role in powering America’s electrical grid for more than a century. But brazen thefts are threatening the ...

WELL, A SURGE IN COPPER WIRE THEFTS IS TURNING NEIGHBORHOODS INTO CRIME SCENES. GOOD EVENING. I’M BRYA BERRY AND I’M LARA MORITZ. AT&T IS OFFERING A $20,000 REWARD FOR HELP IN FINDING THESE SUSPECTS.

There’s a stretch of Interstate 84 in Portland, near where it connects to Interstate 205, that for weeks last year was unnervingly dark at night. The reason: many of the streetlights weren’t working.