You don't have to venture up to Mount Washington or rooftop bars to take in a view. Just grab a cup of coffee.

The intrigue: Pittsburgh is sometimes called the Paris of Appalachia, and like the French capital, it has some excellent cafes to get comfortable and watch the world go by.

Here are our favorite coffee shop views in the Steel City.

• If you have a suggestion for others, share by replying to this email.

Margaux

• Massive windows look out onto East Liberty Presbyterian Church, a 91-year-old Gothic masterpiece. In warmer weather, you can drink a coffee al fresco on their sidewalk patio.
• 5947 Penn Ave. in East Liberty.

Starbucks in the U.S. Steel Tower

• Up the escalators in the tower's main hall is a cozy Starbucks with incredible views of Steel Plaza, the Omni William Penn Hotel and the Union Trust Building.
• 600 Grant St. in Downtown.

Yinz Coffee at 11 Stanwix

• An elevated terrace at the former Westinghouse Tower offers great views of the diamond windows at the United Steelworkers headquarters and the iconic glass spires of PPG Place.
• 11 Stanwix St. in Downtown.

Heat Check

• Located in a second-floor vintage shop, this coffee shop provides perfect people watching of the shoppers on Walnut Street.
• 5518 Walnut St. in Shadyside.

Mellon Square Coffee

• Tucked into the Omni William Penn, this charming coffee shop has decent views of Mellon Square park but even better views of the hotel's Italian Renaissance-style lobby. It's easy to take your coffee and just hang out in the lobby.
• 530 William Penn Place in Downtown.

Two more brew views

Screens are winning kids' attention, and now AI companions are stepping in to claim their friendships, too.

Why it matters: Researchers warn that the AI interactions kids are most drawn to — those that feel human rather than artificial — are also the most dangerous.

State of play: When AI says things like, "I understand better than your brother ... talk to me. I'm always here for you," it gives children and teens the impression they not only can replace human relationships, but they're better, Pilyoung Kim, director of the Center for Brain, AI and Child, told Axios.

• In a worst-case scenario, a child in crisis might choose to talk with an AI companion over a loved one or therapist.

The latest: Aura, an AI-powered online safety platform for families, called AI "the new imaginary friend" in its State of the Youth report last year.

• Children reported using AI for companionship 42% of the time.
• About a third of the chats referenced violent themes, and roughly half involved sexual role-play.

Even with safety protocols in place, Kim found while testing OpenAI's new parental controls with her 15-year-old son that the protections are easy to bypass by creating a new account with an older age.

What they're saying: OpenAI told Axios it's in the early stages of developing an age-prediction model, alongside its parental controls, to tailor content for users under 18.

The bottom line: The more human AI feels, the easier it is for kids to forget it isn't.

Go deeper

⚡Pennsylvania electricity rates have jumped 46% since 2018 — outpacing neighboring states and the PJM Interconnection average — driven largely by a surge in natural gas prices in 2022, per the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office.

• A boom in data centers continues to push up grid demand. (Business Times)

🔌 Duquesne Light has installed more than 1,700 solar-powered smart grid sensors on distribution poles in its service area to help speed outage detection and restoration. (Press release)

🧊 A proposal to formally bar McCandless police from collaborating with ICE sparked hours of heated debate on Monday. The township is among several Western Pennsylvania municipalities weighing whether to coordinate with federal immigration officers. (WTAE)

🗳️ Pittsburgh City Council approved one ballot question — asking voters to allow the city to publish public meeting notices in online publications instead of just print newspapers — for the upcoming May primary election. (TribLive)

Kids' AI habits are outpacing adult oversight, raising concerns about privacy, development and online safety.

By the numbers: Seven in 10 teens used generative AI last year, and 83% of parents said schools haven't addressed it, a Common Sense Media survey found.

• A 2025 Pew survey shows that among teens who reported using chatbots such as ChatGPT, Meta AI and Gemini, about 3 in 10 do so every day.

State of play: Conversations about children's safety and AI are just now coming to the forefront.

• OpenAI launched parental controls this fall.
• Character.AI launched "parental insights" in March and then tightened them in October, saying users under 18 won't be allowed to have open-ended chats.

On the policy front, the landscape recently shifted.

• Gov. Josh Shapiro last week rolled out a slate of proposed rules for AI chatbots, including age-verification requirements and a ban on chatbots generating sexually explicit or violent content involving children.
• Trump signed an executive order to override state AI laws — including those aimed at protecting children — in favor of a single national framework.

What they're saying: "There really does need to be more overarching policy to move the needle towards safer online experiences for kids, including AI," Tiffany Munzer, a developmental behavioral pediatrician, tells Axios.