The American Red Cross continues to urge donors of all blood types to act now and make an appointment to give blood or platelets amid the ongoing national blood crisis. Just three additional donors at every blood drive could help further stabilize the blood supply and ensure patients continue receiving lifesaving care.

Since issuing only the second blood crisis in Red Cross history in late July, thousands of generous donors have stepped up to help save lives. At the same time, the blood supply remains under severe pressure, just as many communities transition to back-to-school schedules and people enjoy final summer plans. When fewer donors are available to give, the impact on available lifesaving blood products can be significant — especially when the blood supply is already facing a four-year summer low.

Keep up the momentum and help reverse the blood crisis. Book an appointment to give blood now by using the Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Those who are unable to donate can still make an impact by encouraging eligible friends, family members and colleagues to give blood. As a thank-you, all who come to give Aug. 1-31, 2026, will receive a $20 Amazon Gift Card by email. For details, visit RedCrossBlood.org/August.

• 83% of visitors reported being very satisfied with their trip
• 78% rated Pittsburgh as an excellent host city for large-scale events
• 51% said their perception of Pittsburgh improved because of their visit
• 75% of visitors said they were very likely to return to Pittsburgh within the next five years

• 8.6 billion broadcast impressions
• 55+ million viewers worldwide
• 385 hours of national broadcast coverage
• 209 million in-venue impressions
• 55+ million combined social media engagements (earned and owned)

• $1.41 billion in PR publicity value Draft week alone
• $27 million in owned and earned social media value
• $4.74 million in direct in-venue value

• Pittsburgh generated more than twice the impressions and followers of any previous Draft host
• 69% higher social post value than the three-year host average
• The Pittsburgh Steelers recorded the highest Draft-week social engagement of any NFL club

BEAVER, Pa. (August 10, 2026) — Allegheny Health Network (AHN) today announced the appointment of Duke Rupert, MBA, as president of AHN Beaver and AHN Sewickley hospitals, effective August 17, 2026. AHN has also named Keith Lorenz as the chief operating officer and Joshua Miller as chief financial officer for the hospitals.

Rupert succeeds longtime Heritage Valley president and CEO Norm Mitry, who will retire at the end of the year as part of a planned transition. Mitry has served Heritage Valley Health System for more than three decades, including the last 25 years as president and chief executive officer. During the transitional period, Mitry will continue as CEO serving in an advisory capacity to Rupert and his team.

Throughout Mitry’s tenure, Heritage Valley experienced significant growth as Beaver County’s exclusive provider of comprehensive inpatient and outpatient health services, bringing new clinical programs to the region and further advancing the health system’s mission as a community-focused and patient-centered organization.

He, along with the HVHS leadership team, played a pivotal role in making the affiliation between Heritage Valley and AHN possible, helping to stabilize and secure the system’s long-term viability as a leading source of high-quality, innovative healthcare for the populations it serves.

“Norm’s dedication to the health and wellness of the Beaver County and western Allegheny County communities has had an immeasurable impact on generations of patients, families and caregivers,” said Mark Sevco, President of AHN. “Like the entire community, we are immensely grateful for his extraordinary leadership over more than three decades and for his vision and partnership throughout the affiliation process. We look forward to carrying on the legacy of exceptional, compassionate caregiving that he has helped to embed across this system and its people.”

A seasoned healthcare executive with more than 25 years of industry experience, Rupert most recently served as chief operating officer of WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center. Prior to that role, he spent more than two decades with AHN, serving in several top leadership positions, including senior vice president of operations for AHN, chief operating officer of AHN Allegheny General Hospital, and president and chief executive officer of both AHN Forbes Hospital and AHN West Penn Hospital.

In his new role, Rupert will oversee operations, strategic growth, clinical performance, and community partnerships across the entire Heritage Valley footprint, including the AHN Beaver and AHN Sewickley hospitals, and the system’s affiliated outpatient clinics and physician practices.

“Duke has an outstanding track record of developing and supporting strong clinical and operational teams, advancing population health strategies and creating cultures that prioritize the delivery of high-quality, remarkable patient experiences across the care continuum,” Sevco said. “We are excited to have him at the helm as we look to establish AHN Beaver and AHN Sewickley as the western region cornerstones of our Living Health model and focus on making care more accessible, more personable, more effective and more affordable for those we serve.”

Rupert began his healthcare career as a physical therapist and joined AHN Allegheny General Hospital in 1997 as director of the hospital’s Human Motion Center rehabilitation program.  He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Therapy from Daemen College and a Master of Business Administration degree from Point Park University.

“The opportunity to help build upon Heritage Valley’s incredible history of service to its communities is a great privilege and honor, and as someone who also knows very well the equally caring and compassionate culture that exists within AHN, I can say unequivocally that these organizations are indeed stronger together and that the future has never been brighter for Heritage Valley and its caregivers,” Rupert said. “Heritage Valley has earned the trust of this community through decades of caregiving excellence, and I cannot wait to work alongside our physicians, nurses, employees, volunteers and community partners to further strengthen our reputation as both the provider and employer of choice in this region.”

Keith Lorenz most recently served as vice president of operations at UPMC Passavant, where he led key operational and facility initiatives. Josh Miller previously served as director of finance at AHN Grove City Hospital in Mercer County and brings more than 13 years of healthcare finance leadership experience, with expertise in financial stewardship, strategic planning, and organizational growth.

“With Duke, Keith, Josh and Heritage Valley’s many other outstanding clinical and business leaders, we have an extremely talented, seasoned team in place to help us achieve our goals,” Sevco said.

FILE – A penumbral lunar eclipse is seen from Lahore, Pakistan, on Feb. 11, 2017. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudhry, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — The Perseid summer light show is back — and viewing conditions are especially promising for the Northern Hemisphere.

The meteor shower’s peak Wednesday night into Thursday morning coincides with a total solar eclipse across Spain, Iceland and Greenland and a six-planet parade — though the best time to view the fireballs will come after totality.

As many as 50 to 100 meteors per hour may be visible under ideal conditions, according to NASA. The American Meteor Society estimates 30 to 50 meteors per hour could be seen from rural regions.

Random meteors are visible in dark skies on any given night. Meteor showers tend to put on dazzling celestial shows and happen at predictable times every year when the Earth plows through trails of debris left behind by comets and, sometimes, asteroids. Those remnants collide with Earth’s atmosphere at extremely high speeds, producing streaks of light known as shooting stars.

“Comets typically have orbits that cross the orbit of the Earth. So as they get near the sun and the sun evaporates the ice, a lot of the dirt and crap that’s frozen into the comet gets released, and continues in orbit around the sun,” astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The Perseids are debris from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, an icy ball that orbits the sun every 133 years and isn’t scheduled for a return visit until 2125. Observations of this meteor shower date back over 2,000 years.

The Perseids are a perennial favorite because they tend to produce brilliant fireballs. Summer temperatures also make this shower popular.

“We don’t have to suffer through a cold winter night to get a good view of meteors,” said astronomer Zach Vanderbosch with McDonald Observatory in Texas.

The moon will be in its new moon phase during the Perseids’ peak, making viewing conditions even better.

“The moon is beautiful, but it’s such a diva,” said astronomer Aparna Venkatesan with the University of San Francisco. “New moon means we don’t have moonlight flooding the sky, and you tend to see way more meteors as a result.”

To spot the meteors, go outside after dark, away from clouds and city lights. Venkatesan plans to drive to the Sierra Nevada.

The best views will be between midnight and dawn when the constellation Perseus is high in the northern sky. The meteors will appear to radiate from that constellation.

Look up and give your eyes a half hour to adjust to the darkness. Vanderbosch recommends picking a patch of sky to focus on until a quick, bright streak passes by — even in your peripheral vision — and to avoid looking at your phone.

“There’s just something magical about it,” Vanderbosch said.

___

Associated Press journalist Julie Walker contributed to this story from New York. 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.

FILE – The Chipotle logo is displayed at a store, Aug. 13, 2025, in Newton, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalapeño peppers linked to a multistate salmonella outbreak have been traced back to a grower in Sinaloa, Mexico, federal officials say.

At least 345 people in 27 states have been reported getting sick from the salmonella strain linked to the jalapeños. Most have been in Minnesota and Colorado. No deaths have been reported, but officials say 36 people have been hospitalized.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the chili peppers were moved into the U.S. by Coast Citrus Distributors. The company has recalled the peppers and is notifying its customers, which include some prominent Mexican food restaurant chains, officials said.

Coast Citrus Distributors didn’t immediately respond to a Thursday voicemail seeking comment.

The Food and Drug Administration said that of the 191 people interviewed in the outbreak investigation, 177 — or 93% — reported eating at a Mexican-style restaurant, including Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba, from June 14 to July 14.

Chipotle Mexican Grill said Tuesday that it had removed jalapeños from some of its restaurants. Qdoba on Wednesday said the company had proactively removed jalapenos from all of its restaurants.

“Given their actions to remove product from their stores, neither of these establishments are considered a current ongoing risk to consumers in this outbreak,” CDC officials said in a statement.

Salad chain Sweetgreen said Thursday it also removed jalapeños from its menu, where they are an ingredient in two of its 15 dressings. It was more bad news for Sweetgreen, which also saw sales plummet in July because of customer concerns over the cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce. Sweetgreen doesn’t serve iceberg lettuce but said Thursday that customers are generally concerned about fresh produce.

The FDA is investigating whether any of the jalapeños went to grocery stores. The agency may announce additional actions on its recalls webpage, health officials said.

Health officials in Mexico said they opened an investigation and made a field visit Thursday to a packing plant in the northern state of Nuevo Leon.

Salmonella bacteria cause about 1.35 million infections in the United States every year, and outbreaks have been tied to sources such as cucumbers, eggs, unpasteurized milk, fresh basil, geckos and pet bearded dragons.

Within hours or days of being exposed to the bacteria, infected people can suffer from diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. The illness usually lasts four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment.

Young children, retirement-age adults and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for more severe illness, according to the CDC.

Shares of Chipotle, based in Newport Beach, California, tumbled nearly 10% on Tuesday and have not recovered. Sweetgreen shares dropped 14% in after-hours trading Thursday.

___

Associated Press reporter Fabiola Sanchez in Mexico City contributed to this story.

___

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.

Lellogg’s Omaha manufacturing plant is shown Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Omaha, Neb.  (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

WK Kellogg said Thursday that it will remove artificial colors from all its cereals by the end of this year.

The change comes a year ahead of schedule. Kellogg said last August that it would remove synthetic dyes from its cereals by the end of 2027.

But the company said Thursday it has identified fruit- and vegetable-based juices that will give cereals like Froot Loops and Apple Jacks their distinctive colors. The Battle Creek, Michigan-based company said it has also invested in equipment that will allow it to transition to natural colors.

The company said it is also removing BHT, an artificial preservative, from the small number of cereals that still contain it.

“More and more consumers are looking for foods made with simple, recognizable ingredients and we are proud to meet those expectations even sooner than planned,” Kellogg’s Chief Growth Officer Doug VanDeVelde said in a statement.

Kellogg has faced pressure for years to remove artificial ingredients from its cereals, which it has already done in other countries like Canada. In 2024, dozens of people rallied outside Kellogg’s headquarters and delivered petitions with 400,000 signatures asking the company to remove artificial dyes and BHT.

That pressure has grown under President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has urged food companies to phase out petroleum-based artificial dyes. Last August, Kellogg also signed an agreement with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton saying it would “permanently remove toxic dyes” from its cereals by the end of 2027.

Retailers are also forcing companies to act. Earlier this year, Target said it would stop selling cereals that contain artificial colors by the end of May. Walmart has also said it will remove artificial colors from its store brands by January 2027.

FILE – A Mercedes Benz logo is displayed on a vehicle at the Pittsburgh International Auto Show in Pittsburgh, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Two drivers of Mercedes AMG cars have filed a class action lawsuit against the luxury car company, claiming that the AMG logo on their driver’s seat gets so hot that it literally brands them and causes burns.

Gabriel Lahijani and Karendeep “Karina” Bath allege the front seats of certain Mercedes AMG vehicles have a design defect where the raised metallic AMG logo is “reasonably expected to contact an occupant’s upper back, neck, or shoulder,” according to the court document filed earlier this week in the U.S. District Court of California’s Western division.

The plaintiffs want Mercedes to compensate them for any medical expenses, as well as any pain, suffering and emotional distress they can prove at trial. They also want Mercedes to pay for other owners to have the logo removed from their cars.

Mercedes-Benz couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.

Lahigani, a Los Angeles resident, had leased a new 2026 Mercedes-AMG E-Class vehicle from an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealership in Los Angeles, according to the suit. He reported receiving second-degree burns on his back on May 31, after entering his vehicle wearing a tank top. A board-certified dermatologist subsequently documented first- and second-degree burns, describing the injury as “AMG inscribed.”

Roughly six weeks later, Bath, a Chatsworth, California resident, received similar burns allegedly from the logo design while wearing a sleeveless top. After parking her Mercedes-AMG vehicle in Los Angeles, Bath returned to the vehicle and entered the driver’s seat, the suit said. Her shoulder immediately touched the logo, causing a burning sensation. In the following days, a mark in the shape of the AMG logo “darkened and became visible on her skin, consistent with a thermal contact burn,” the lawsuit said.

In December, Mercedes-Benz USA and parent company Daimer AG agreed to pay $149.6 million to settle allegations that the automaker secretly installed devices in hundreds of thousands of vehicles to pass emission tests, according to an announcement by a coalition of attorneys general.

According to the coalition, between 2008 and 2016 the German automaker equipped more than 211,000 diesel passenger cars and vans with software devices that optimized emission controls during tests but reduced the controls during normal operations.