Pitt study underscores chance for independence after severe brain injury
When Gabe Brown woke up from a coma last January at UPMC Mercy hospital, he could do little more than tilt his head and shift his eyes. The 28-year-old suffered a severe traumatic brain injury nearly four months earlier while on a honeymoon in Jamaica with his wife, Lauren Esper....
‘Stunning victory’: Report trumpets record survival rates for cancer patients
A record 70% of cancer patients are living five years past their diagnosis, according to a report released Tuesday by the American Cancer Society. The annual analysis of cancer statistics says early detection and improved treatment have helped pull five-year survival rates up from just 49% in the mid-1970s. “This...
Allegheny Health Network promotes West Penn Hospital head to run regional doctors group
Allegheny Health Network tapped West Penn Hospital’s top official Monday to lead a regional affiliation of doctors and their practices. Dr. Brian Johnson, who’s been president of West Penn Hospital since 2020, was named medical director and chief population health officer at Physician Partners of Western PA. He succeeds Dr....
Dina Powell McCormick, wife of U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, named Meta president
Dina Powell McCormick, a close ally of the Trump administration and the wife of U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, is Meta’s new president and vice chairman. The Facebook parent company announced her appointment Monday, making a figure with Southwestern Pennsylvania ties a central decision-maker for one of the world’s largest tech...
Hemingway’s Cafe closure prompted by family matters, changing drinking habits, owner says
When John Elavsky took over Hemingway’s Cafe in the early 1990s, one of the building’s owners — a mentor of his — imparted wisdom that stuck with him. “John, you better be here,” Elavsky, 68, remembers Leo Xyftis telling him. In other words, absentee ownership wasn’t going to cut it....
Pittsburgh zoning board denies Strip District condos, but developer undeterred
Pittsburgh’s Zoning Board of Adjustment denied a proposed 14-story condo complex in the Strip District last week, in part over concerns its height would be inconsistent with that of surrounding buildings. Jonathan Moritz, head of Moritz Development, brought the project before the board in October, seeking permission to bend the...
Meta funds expansion of Beaver Valley nuclear plant to help power AI
Meta announced Friday it’s funding an expansion of the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station as the tech giant hoovers up energy for its “superintelligence” initiative. The deal caps a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the Vistra-owned plant in Shippingport, Beaver County, which was at one point scheduled to shutter in...
Yinz Coffee opening in Downtown Pittsburgh’s Frick Building
A thinned office crowd isn’t stopping Ken Zeff, owner of Yinz Coffee, from quadrupling down on the Golden Triangle. The serial entrepreneur is preparing to open a nearly 4,000-square-foot cafe Monday in the Frick Building — his fourth in Downtown Pittsburgh, 11th total and largest ever. “I still see a...
Hemingway’s Cafe in Oakland to close
Hemingway’s Cafe, the popular bar along Forbes Avenue known for its cheap pitchers and lively trivia nights, is closing after more than four decades in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. The business will wind down in May, owner John Elavsky said in a social media post Thursday afternoon. He did not give...
Ukrainian Catholic church sues Collier for blocking chapel project
A Ukrainian Catholic church claims Collier’s rejection of a proposed chapel amounts to religious discrimination under the First Amendment. Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church is seeking a preliminary injunction in a 60-page lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Pittsburgh. The lawsuit argues the planned 13,000-square-foot chapel was subject to...
Highmark, spurred on by state law, offers no-cost breast imaging
Highmark has introduced no-cost breast imaging as part of an above-and-beyond push to comply with a new Pennsylvania law. The Pittsburgh-based insurer, which boasts more than 7 million members, began fully covering advanced mammograms, ultrasounds and MRIs in the new year. Doctors use these tests to investigate possible signs of...
Allegheny County health officials blast new federal childhood vaccine guidelines
Allegheny County health authorities on Wednesday rejected the federal government’s new childhood vaccine guidelines, promising to stick with the science on immunization practices. “Departing from long-standing, evidence-based recommendations deters public trust and weakens the very foundation of public health that communities rely on in moments of uncertainty,” Allegheny County Public...
What you should know about the new federal childhood vaccine guidelines
A dramatic overhaul Monday of childhood vaccine recommendations could confuse parents about which shots their kids should receive and when, Southwestern Pennsylvania medical experts say. The new vaccine schedule, established in a memo from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Acting Director Jim O’Neill, clouds recommendations for several immunizations doctors...
Experts slam CDC guidance to slash childhood vaccination schedule
Pennsylvania medical experts fear vaccination rates will wane after federal health officials issued a nonbinding, but possibly influential, recommendation Monday that kids get fewer shots. Jim O’Neill, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, slashed the number of shots all children should receive to 11 from 17....
WVU Health System’s takeover of Independence Health reflects aggressive expansion spree
Every hospital bought by West Virginia University Health System is photographed, framed and hung on a Mountaineer Blue wall at the nonprofit’s headquarters. The effect is a visual timeline of the system’s rapid growth since its founding in 1996 as a partnership between two of the state’s premier hospitals. WVU...
Flu, respiratory illnesses rising in Pennsylvania
Flu infections are surging across Pennsylvania. The state’s Department of Health has logged more than 35,000 cases since the start of October, with nearly 14,000 coming between Dec. 21 and Saturday. Department spokesman Neil Ruhland described the rise as a “normal annual occurrence” caused by people spending more time indoors,...
U.S. Steel’s contract dispute with Canadian company heads to arbitration
U.S. Steel’s lawsuit accusing a Canadian company of refusing to pay for millions of tons of iron ore pellets is heading to arbitration. The October lawsuit, filed in federal court in Pittsburgh, claimed Ontario-based Algoma Steel violated its agreement to buy the pellets from U.S. Steel. The deal was signed...
Environmental groups call $135,000 fine for U.S. Steel oil spills ‘laughable’
A six-figure expense is a big deal for a lot of businesses. Less so for U.S. Steel, a massive manufacturer with more than $15 billion in annual revenue. That’s why clean water advocates argue the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection missed the mark last month by fining U.S. Steel $135,000...
PJM’s power auction shortfall could lead to increased blackout risks in Pa., other states
Regional grid operator PJM Interconnection says people in Pennsylvania and 12 other states may face increased blackout risks as data centers soak up electricity. In its annual generation capacity auction, PJM asked power producers to guarantee more than 152,000 megawatts of electricity could be available at one time from June...
Mobile home catches fire in North Huntingdon
Firefighters responded to a trailer fire Sunday afternoon at Dusty Rhodes Mobile Home Village in North Huntingdon. Authorities were alerted of the blaze around 2:45 p.m., according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher. It was controlled as of about 3:15 p.m, the dispatcher said. There were no injuries, according to...
Search to continue Monday in Manor Township for missing man believed to be in danger
Search and rescue crews in Armstrong County continued their efforts Sunday to find Cory Dominic Cook, a 31-year-old Avonmore man last seen Thursday and said to be suffering from paranoid delusions and hallucinations. The search, suspended on Sunday at sunset, will continue Monday morning. Authorities began the search on Saturday,...
Annual Christmas Bird Count channels ‘addictive’ activity for scientific good
As Annie Lindsay drove her black Honda CR-V Saturday morning on a road splitting a Cook Township meadow, she had a premonition, earned by roughly two decades of studying birds. “There should be hawks in here,” she said. A few seconds later, the car was in park. Lindsay, 44, of...
UPMC Presbyterian’s billion-dollar tower gets opening date
UPMC’s $1.3 billion hospital tower in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood finally has an opening date. On Jan. 24, 2027, scores of patients at UPMC Presbyterian will be transferred from the existing building to a new, 17-story facility right next door. Once all patients are moved, the old structure will become administrative...
Kraft Heinz names new CEO to oversee its breakup
Steve Cahillane, the food and beverage industry veteran behind Kellogg’s recent split, has been tapped by Kraft Heinz to manage its pending breakup. The packaged food giant with dual headquarters in Pittsburgh and Chicago announced Cahillane’s hire as CEO on Tuesday. He’ll start Jan. 1, replacing Carlos Abrams-Rivera after about...
Highmark loses $69M through 3rd quarter, dragged down by insurance costs
Highmark Health took a $69 million net loss in the first nine months of the year as the Pittsburgh-based company struggled with more frequent and costly health insurance claims. The organization’s insurance arm, Highmark Health Plans, had a $211 million operating loss through September, according to financial results released Monday....
