In Brief
[naviga:h3]Infected transplant patient dies[/naviga:h3]
PITTSBURGH — Officials say a fourth transplant patient who contracted a fungal infection during a mold outbreak at a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospital has died.
UPMC on Sunday confirmed the death of 70-year-old Che DuVall, who was diagnosed with the infection a month after undergoing a double lung transplant in August.
UPMC spokesman Alllison Hydzik said officials wanted to reassure patients that they have taken “every possible precaution to make our hospitals as safe as is humanly possible.”
DuVall and his wife had sued UPMC Presbyterian alleging that it recklessly housed him in a room that made him more susceptible to a mold infection.
[naviga:h3]Professor faces jail time[/naviga:h3]
PITTSBURGH — An award-winning contemporary literature professor faces at least five years in federal prison when he’s sentenced for his massive child pornography collection — and likely more.
That’s because a federal judge in Erie agrees with federal prosecutors that guidelines for today’s sentencing of Kirk Nesset call for between 12 years, seven months and 15 years, eight months in prison.
Nesset resigned from Allegheny College in Meadville after he was arrested in October 2014 and pleaded guilty last year to possessing, receiving and sharing child pornography.
[naviga:h3]Cause of park fire still unknown[/naviga:h3]
SHANKSVILLE — The National Parks Service says an investigation has failed to determine the cause of a 2014 fire that struck the Flight 93 National Memorial but identified factors believed to have contributed to the blaze.
The service said in a report released Saturday that those factors included the presence of improperly discarded smoking material, landscaping mulch that was too close to the building and flammable decking material.
The blaze destroyed photographs and items found at the crash site.