FILE – This 2019 aerial photo provided by ConocoPhillips shows an exploratory drilling camp at the proposed site of the Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope. President Joe Biden will prevent or limit oil drilling in 16 million acres of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean, an administration official said on Sunday, March 12, 2023. The expected announcement comes as regulators prepare to announce a final decision on the controversial Willow project. (ConocoPhillips via AP, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is approving the major Willow oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope. The decision is one of President Joe Biden’s most consequential climate decisions and is likely to draw condemnation from environmentalists who say it flies in the face of the Democratic president’s climate pledges. Climate activists have been outraged Biden appeared open to greenlighting the project, which they say put his climate legacy at risk. They say allowing oil company ConocoPhillips to move forward with the drilling plan also would break Biden’s campaign promise to stop new oil drilling on public lands. ConocoPhillips says Alaska’s Willow project could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day.

FILE- The seal of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System is displayed in the ground at the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, Feb. 5, 2018. Facing the prospect of a third financial crisis in less than two decades, the Federal Reserve initiated a broad emergency lending program late Sunday, March 12, 2023, intended to shore up confidence in the nation’s financial system following the collapse of two large banks with deep ties to the tech industry. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two large banks that cater to the tech industry have collapsed after a bank run, government agencies are taking emergency measures to backstop the financial system, and President Joe Biden is reassuring Americans that the money they have in banks is safe. It’s all eerily reminiscent of the financial meltdown that began with the bursting of the housing bubble 15 years ago. Yet the pace this time around seems even faster. Over the last three days, the US has seized two banks after a run on Silicon Valley Bank. The Associated Press addresses what the US is doing and whether it will be enough.

A member of the Mexican security forces stands next to a white minivan with North Carolina plates and several bullet holes, at the crime scene where gunmen kidnapped four U.S. citizens who crossed into Mexico from Texas, Friday, March 3, 2023. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the four Americans were going to buy medicine and were caught in the crossfire between two armed groups after they had entered Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas, on Friday. (AP Photo)

LAKE CITY, S.C. (AP) — It was supposed to be a fun road trip to Mexico for a group of childhood friends. But once they got there, the trip took a terrible turn, and two members of the group would never make it home. Shortly after Latavia McGee and her friends crossed the border and drove into Matamoros, their van was crashed into and they came under gunfire by Gulf cartel members. McGee and Eric Williams, who were loaded into a pickup truck by their captors, would be held for three days next to the bodies of their two slain friends. Mexican authorities say an anonymous tip led to their rescue.

FILE – Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a Coolidge and the American Project luncheon in the Madison Building of the Library of Congress, Feb. 16, 2023, in Washington. On Saturday, March 11, Pence harshly criticized former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, furthering the rift between the two men as they prepare to battle over the Republican nomination in next year’s election. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence has unleashed his harshest criticism yet of former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Pence made the remarks Saturday at the annual white-tie Gridiron Dinner, where politicians and journalists gather in Washington. Pence said, “I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day.” The former vice president added, “And I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.” Pence is expected to challenge Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in next year’s election.

FILE – In this Feb. 21, 2015 file photo, an Oscar statue appears outside the Dolby Theatre for the 87th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)
Story by Sandy Giordano and Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published March 13, 2023 11:30 A.M.

(Los Angeles, CA) Center Township graduate Joe Letteri won his fifth Oscar for visual effects Sunday night. Letteri was born in Aliquippa and graduated from Center High School in 1975. Lettari has had a lengthy career in movie visual effects working on over 30 big screen movies since 1989.  He has been nominated for an Oscar 11 times, and won his fifth Sunday for “Avatar: The Way of Water”.  Letteri previously won Oscars for the first “Avatar” movie, King Kong (2005), and two “The Lord of the Rings” movies.

(Pittsburgh, PA) Reports say a Pittsburgh Post Gazette worker on strike ended up in the hospital with a broken jaw following an altercation with a PG delivery driver. The incident was said to have happened Saturday night outside of the PG distribution center on the south side. There have been conflicting reports of what caused the incident. The driver claims that he was verbally and physically attacked. The Union says the driver assaulted two strikers, with one needing medical treatment. The Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council is expected to hold a press conference today, saying that they are seeking answers and accountability.

FILE – The Caterpillar Inc. “CAT” logo adorns an excavator at the Milton CAT dealership in Londonderry, N.H., Feb. 20, 2020. Unionized workers at Caterpillar Inc. have approved a new six-year contract with the company that includes a $6,000 ratification bonus, 19% in pay raises and 8% worth of lump-sum payments. Members of the United Auto Workers union approved the deal over the weekend that covers 7,000 employees in Central Illinois and York, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, file)

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Unionized workers at Caterpillar Inc. have approved a new six-year contract with the company that includes a $6,000 ratification bonus, 19% in pay raises and 8% worth of lump-sum payments. Members of the United Auto Workers union approved the deal over the weekend that covers 7,000 employees in Central Illinois and York, Pennsylvania. The new contract is effective immediately. Workers will get 7% pay raises immediately, plus 4% general wage increases in March of 2025, 2027 and 2028. They’ll also get 4% lump-sum payments in March of next year and in 2026. The Irving, Texas, company also agreed not to close any factories for the life of the agreement.

President Joe Biden speaks about the banking system in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, March 13, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden is telling Americans that the nation’s financial systems are sound. This comes after the swift and stunning collapse of two banks that prompted fears of a broader upheaval. Biden said Monday: “Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe.” He says people’s “deposits will be there when you need them.” U.S. regulators closed Silicon Valley Bank on Friday after it experienced a traditional bank run, where depositors rushed to withdraw their funds all at once. Then New York-based Signature Bank also failed.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (March 13, 2023) – Allegheny Health Network (AHN) will begin celebrations this week to commemorate the 175^th anniversary of West Penn Hospital, a landmark institution that has served patients throughout the western Pennsylvania region for nearly two centuries.

West Penn is the network’s oldest hospital and was one of the first hospitals established in the region. Founded on March 18, 1848, West Penn was Pittsburgh’s first publicly chartered nonsectarian hospital, and in its early years, it treated many patients who were injured by industrial accidents in Pittsburgh’s mills and rail yards.

The hospital also played a pivotal role in the American Civil War, serving as a triage center for Union forces after being commandeered by the United States government. By the end of the Civil War, approximately 3,000 soldiers had been treated at West Penn.

“West Penn Hospital has deep roots in the greater Pittsburgh community, and a rich history of providing exceptional care to the millions who have called this region home over the past 175 years,” said David Holmberg, President of Highmark Health. “One of the first steps we took on our journey to create a world-class healthcare provider system in western PA was to make significant investments in West Penn. Everyday our grateful patients and the amazing professionals at the hospital who care for them remind us of how important that decision was.”

Located on Friendship Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood, the 356-bed hospital includes an emergency department; obstetric care and advanced gynecological surgery; a Level III neonatal intensive care unit; a burn trauma center; an extended-hours oncology clinic featuring innovative cancer treatments; and dozens of other services.

Additionally, West Penn’s one-of-a-kind Autoimmunity Institute, its Alexis Joy D’Achille Center for Perinatal Mental Health, its stem-cell transplant program, its AHN Comprehensive Hypertension Center, and its leading-edge Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) program draw patients from across the state and country. Meanwhile, West Penn’s labor and delivery unit is one of the busiest in Pennsylvania, delivering around 4,000 babies a year.

The original West Penn Hospital was built in Polish Hill, overlooking the Strip District. The current facility opened in 1912 after moving from its original location. Since then, West Penn has added several new structures on its campus, including a nursing school, Mellon Pavilion, the East Tower, and finally, a patient care tower that opened in the 1990s.

“Western Pennsylvania is fortunate to have access to the exceptional health services offered by AHN’s West Penn Hospital,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “As this region has transitioned to an ‘eds-and-meds’ economy over the last few decades, Allegheny County has become a premier destination for both patients and medical professionals. Institutions like West Penn Hospital have helped to lead that transformation by establishing renowned clinical programs, leading innovative research, and educating the next generation of doctors and clinicians.”

West Penn has received numerous accolades over the years. In 2022, it was named the region’s top hospital and one of the Nation’s Top 50 best hospitals for OB-GYN care by U.S. News & World Report. West Penn was also recently named one of the top 100 hospitals in the U.S. – and one of the nation’s top 25 teaching hospitals – by IBM Watson Health.

West Penn was the first hospital in southwestern Pennsylvania to receive the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s prestigious Magnet Recognition Program award for nursing excellence in 2006. It is also the first in the region to be re-designated a Magnet hospital for a fourth consecutive time earlier this year.

“West Penn Hospital has been a wonderful neighbor to the residents of Bloomfield and surrounding communities for generations,” said Christina Howell, executive director of the Bloomfield Development Corporation. “We are incredibly proud to have such a vital institution, right here in the heart of our neighborhood, that provides convenient access to high-quality health care. The Bloomfield Development Corporation wishes West Penn Hospital a happy anniversary and well-wishes for the next 175 years.”

West Penn’s future is bright today, but that wasn’t the case when the hospital’s emergency department closed in January 2011. Just 13 months later, West Penn’s emergency department reopened, and other essential services were also restored, thanks to Highmark Health’s historic affiliation with AHN. Next month, AHN and Highmark Health will celebrate their 10^th anniversary and the many additional significant investments that have been made in West Penn, and across the network’s footprint, over the past decade to advance their high-value, high-quality “Living Health” care model.

“It’s hard to imagine where West Penn would be today without Highmark Health’s vision and commitment to such an indispensable community asset,” said Brian Johnson, MD, West Penn Hospital President. “Our clinical programs and caregivers have received international recognition over the last decade for the outstanding care we provide to our thousands of patients.  We are proud of the incredible progress West Penn has made in recent years, and we look forward to building upon that success, and our 175-year legacy of clinical excellence, in the future.”

To commemorate the anniversary, West Penn will hold various internal events for staff throughout the year, and a social media campaign to celebrate the history of the facility will be featured on AHN’s various platforms.

West Penn’s 175^th anniversary shares the date with the City of Pittsburgh’s incorporation on March 18, 1816.

To learn more about West Penn Hospital, visit https://www.ahn.org/locations/hospitals/west-penn.