To the Editor: Your July 2 editorial, “No patriotism in the Pa. House?” is as wrong as it is misleading, so I am compelled to offer an alternative opinion. My opinion is shaped by my perspective as ha...

It’s starting to sound like we’re in the middle of the Spanish Civil War. For those of you who forgot, the Spanish Civil War was the great prequel to World War II, in which the combatants were proxies...

A big thank you to all of the volunteers, donors, organizations and anyone else who had a part in community Fourth of July fireworks celebrations and holiday festivals around the area. Community firew...

THE WESTMORELAND COUNTY DISTRICT Attorney’s office and the Monessen police department found themselves in “unchartered territory” when they “forced to execute a search warrant” Wednesday on the Washin...

Donald Trump has gone from red hats to red hate. With his popularity stuck below 40% in most polls, the president knows that if the fall elections become a referendum on his record, Republicans will l...

Birthday, Happy America! It was 100 degrees as the sun was setting and a toddler with red curls was running toward the Ferris wheel on the National Mall, part of the national State Fair for America’s ...

ALLEGHENY COUNTY JAIL is in the market for a warden. If it seems like just last year that Trevor Wingard took the reins at the second-largest county jail in Pennsylvania, you’re right. He stepped in t...

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. will give a license to Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air defense systems to help counter Russian missile attacks, a huge coup...

President Trump had two messages in his speech at Mount Rushmore on the eve of July 4. The first, expected, message was a traditional celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The second, less ex...

FUNDRAISERS FILL A LOT of gaps in Pennsylvania communities. They keep volunteer fire companies functioning. They support veterans organizations. They help churches operate food pantries, shelters and ...

Already it must be said: The semiquincentennial has all the makings of a dud. Like all the 50th anniversary predecessors, this big anniversary celebration occurred amid controversy, questions about th...

To the Editor: Kudos to the MVI (an asset to our community) for printing opposite political views. Three topics have recently come to my attention. The first one is that Trump’s name occurs repeatedly...

HERE WE ARE AGAIN. July. The annual observance is upon us. Pennsylvania once more has seen the yearly state budget deadline — and blown past it like a reckless driver. Did anyone expect anything else?...

Win some bluestate and bluecity races, and the cocky new socialist Jacobins believe that they have either already taken over the Democratic Party or will soon absorb it. And in reaction to these new s...

The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. By JOHN CALABRESE Assistant Professor, School of Public Affairs and Non-Resident Senior ...

WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) — Michael Alfonso, the 26-year-old son-in-law of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, has an answer for people who say he doesn’t have the experience necessary to join Congress ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — On Saturday, President Donald Trump’s administration launched Trump Accounts, tying the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence to an effort to boost fina...

AMERICA IS OFTEN DESCRIBED as a grand experiment. That’s true. The hypothesis of the Founding Fathers was unlike anything found in the monarchies of Europe. It was new and exciting. It took British co...

Editor’s note: The following editorial appeared in the July 3, 1976, edition of the Valley Independent to commemorate our nation’s bicentennial. We’re republishing it here in honor of our nation’s 250...

For the fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that ended Roe v. Wade, I found myself over an hour away from the George Washington Bridge, at a convent hidden within a protective shield of g...