Last year’s odd economy in five charts, and what to watch for in 2026
Business
By By CHRISTOPHER RU-GABER AP Economics Writer 
January 6, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy in 2025 was filled with contradictions, as growth was healthy while hiring slowed, inflation stayed elevated and unemployment rose. Last year’s odd outcomes raise a host ...
Business
January 6, 2026
LAS VEGAS (AP) — With the start of the New Year squarely behind us, it’s once again time for the annual CES trade show to shine a spotlight on the latest tech companies plan on offering in 2026. The m...
Politics
By By ROBERT MUGGAH Instituto Igarapé; Princeton University 
January 6, 2026
The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. The predawn U.S. military operation that spirited Nicolás Maduro and his wife out of Ven...
Politics
January 6, 2026
The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. By BRANDON ROTTINGHAUS Professor of Political Science, University of Houston Donald Trum...
McKeesport Model Railroad Club wraps up holiday open house
Latest News, Main
January 5, 2026
Sunday marked the final day of this year’s McKeesport Model Railroad Club’s holiday open house display. The club has 40 members and has been in McKeesport for 75 years. The event is held at 2209 Walnu...
Donations sought after West Mifflin fire
Latest News, Main
By TAYLOR BROWN, Senior Reporter 
January 5, 2026
The family lost virtually everything in the Sunday morning blaze, including their car and a dog. Fire officials are investigating after a devastating early-morning house fire Sunday in West Mifflin. F...
Valley veterans advocate Ron Chromulak dies
Death Notices, Latest News, Main
By TAYLOR BROWN, Senior Reporter 
January 5, 2026
The Monessen native and Air Force veteran was 83. Ronald “Ron” Chromulak, a Monessen native and longtime advocate for veterans and community programs across the Mon Valley, died Friday. He was 83. A r...
Work continues on Expressway
Around The Valley, Latest News, Main
By SARAH PELLIS spellis@yourmvi.com 
January 5, 2026
The PA Turnpike Commission has no further plans to close Coal Valley Road, which reopened in December. Coal Valley Road is open again as construction is moving forward with the Mon/Fayette Expressway,...
LIHEAP funds available to help with heating bills
Around The Valley, Latest News, Main
By LADIMIR GARCIA lgarcia@yourmvi.com 
January 5, 2026
Pennsylvania residents can apply for assistance through April 10. As winter takes hold in the Mon Valley, some families may wonder how resources like the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program can ...
Pa. offers new online tools to help those applying for SNAP benefits
Around The Valley, Latest News, Main
By TAYLOR BROWN, Senior Reporter 
January 5, 2026
They’re designed to reduce errors and delays and make sure state residents get the benefits they need. Residents of Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland and Fayette counties who rely on SNAP or other p...
Politics
January 5, 2026
PENN STATE’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES deserves credit for spending more time in public discussion this year than it has in the recent past. After years in which outcomes often were treated as foregone conclu...
The year changes, but many questions remain the same
Politics
January 5, 2026
Anew year, the same questions. The turning of the calendar page doesn’t necessarily mean that the country has turned a page. Many of the same mysteries, many of the same challenges, many of the same p...
Politics
January 5, 2026
By MEGAN JANETSKY and ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — As uncertainty simmers in Venezuela, interim President Delcy Rodríguez has taken the place of her looming ally President Nicolás ...
How cocaine, corruption led to indictment of Maduro
Politics
January 5, 2026
NEW YORK (AP) — A newly unsealed U.S. Justice Department indictmen t accuses captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of running a “corrupt, illegitimate government” fueled by an extensive drug-tr...
Charleroi looks ahead to next steps in Neighborhood Partnership Program revival
Latest News, Main
By TAYLOR BROWN, Senior Reporter 
January 3, 2026
The program led to the reopening of Third Street Park last year. On a cold January morning along Second Street, the Monongahela River is quiet. The trees along the bank are bare, the boat ramp empty, ...
Inglis tackles housing issues with legislation in state House
Latest News, Main
By LADIMIR GARCIA lgarcia@yourmvi.com 
January 3, 2026
It’s a growing problem in Pennsylvania, which ranks near the bottom in recent new home construction. State Rep. John Inglis, D-West Mifflin, has been working with colleagues since early December to la...
Chocolate-dipped orange palmiers are a delicious treat
Features, Food, Latest News
OUT OF THE FRYING PAN
January 3, 2026
By CHRISTINE HAINES For the MVI Not everything that is homemade needs to be made from scratch. I’m starting this new year with a recipe that is sweet, easy and looks like you spent hours on it while t...