Strawberry pretzel salad remains a dessert darling in Western Pennsylvania
Strawberry pretzel salad is a very non-salad sweet treat easily spotted with its colorful red and white appearance. The only thing salad-like about it is that it’s served cold. Otherwise, the salty and sweet dessert has a spot in many Western Pennsylvanians’ hearts — and stomachs. Amy Stivason considers the...
Easter eggs can be dyed and still eaten. Just follow these tips to make sure it’s safe
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Easter is around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about how to decorate your eggs. Whether you’re dying eggs for your table spread or planning to hide them for an egg hunt, it’s important to follow food safety guidelines to minimize germs and maximize...
Where to eat in Downtown Pittsburgh during the NFL Draft
With the 2026 NFL Draft coming to the North Shore and Point State Park, Pittsburghers and out-of-town visitors won’t go hungry in either place, but Downtown has a wider range of options. From exotic seafood to flavorful steak cuts to quick tacos, there’s a restaurant for every palate and budget....
The age-old obsession with living forever
LONDON — In the first room of “The Coming of Age,” an exhibition at the Wellcome Collection that explores experiences and perceptions of aging, a series of 13 portraits depicts incredibly, unbelievably old people. An engraving from 1635, titled “The Old, Old, Very Olde Man,” shows Thomas Parr, a sly-looking...
Why ‘unretired’ seniors are picking up gig work to pay the bills
PLAINVIEW, New York — Before Stu Goldberg begins his night shift driving for Uber, he pulls out a notebook to read a handwritten list of reminders. “No tickets. Full stops,” he’d scrawled in the book. “Careful backing up. Watch for pedestrians and bikes.” With a Ph.D in neuropsychology and decades...
World’s oldest known tortoise still very much alive despite rumor to the contrary
LONDON — Reports on April Fools’ Day of the death of the world’s oldest living land animal — a 193-year-old tortoise called Jonathan — were greatly exaggerated. Jonathan is still kicking — albeit slowly — on the island of St. Helena. “It was a hoax,” Anne Dillon, head of communications...
Penn Brewery insists it’s not closing despite filing for bankruptcy protection
Penn Brewery is not closing despite filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, owners said in a social media post early Thursday morning. The popular brewery and restaurant in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood said it is using the filing “as a strategic tool to restructure and secure a stronger future.” In...
$7.5M Fallingwater project designed to ensure iconic home will stand the test of time
The results of a $7.5 million preservation project at iconic Fallingwater are practically invisible to visitors. This subtlety was entirely intentional, as the primary goal was to ensure architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s revolutionary home design stays intact for decades without altering its historic aesthetic. Finishing touches are wrapping up at...
If you’re looking to sell your home this spring, here’s how you will want to prepare
HARTFORD, Conn. — With spring on its way, it’s a popular time for homeowners to consider selling their homes. It can be daunting to think about listing your home so where do you start? Being able to get the best first impression is crucial, according to Julie Sirois, a realtor...
More women are having babies later in life. How to improve your chance of a healthy pregnancy
Dr. Jacquelyn Means knew that being pregnant in her late 30s would be challenging. “It is definitely harder on your body. You just feel a lot more fatigued. There are certain complications to watch out for,” said Means, a Texas OB-GYN who had her first child at 37 and her...
Passover and Easter are just days apart this year — here are some dishes that can be adapted to both holidays
A holiday table says a lot about tradition. During Passover, the meal follows centuries-old rules about what can and cannot be served. At Easter, the centerpiece might be a glazed ham with rich, festive breads and pastries surrounded by spring vegetables and sweets. But when the holidays fall just days...
Panicked travelers hear a new message from airports: Don’t get here so early
Images of never-ending security lines at U.S. airports and frustrating tales of missed flights are pushing panicked travelers to show up way before their departures. But some airports where the wait times have been manageable are telling passengers to stop arriving so early. In Ohio, John Glenn International Airport in...
Friendship Donut Co. opens in Leechburg, fostering community spirit
Virginia Lindsay and Karen Heilman have been business partners for a long time. From gardening and antiquing to two successful local coffee shops, the women have long mastered the balance of friendship and business. “I always say, ‘Women in business: You either support each other or fail,’ ” said Heilman,...
Longest line at Philly airport? Cheesesteaks, not security
PHILADELPHIA — Travelers passing through Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday may have expected long security lines. But the longest line was made of cheesesteaks. Organizers say they achieved a new Guinness World Record for the longest line of cheesesteak sandwiches, with 1,291 lined up inside a departure hall to mark...
AI is coming for the sommeliers
Like many people, Spencer Herbst finds choosing wines in restaurants to be stressful. He likes wine, he said, but considers himself relatively uninformed. “It feels like a quiz you didn’t prepare for,” he said. So, six months ago, Herbst, who builds artificial intelligence capabilities at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York, did...
Here’s how to recycle those old laptops, iPhones and earbuds lying around
Many consumers are guilty of filling drawers or closets with old laptops, cellphones, fitness trackers and other electronic devices once they are no longer needed. It’s hard to know where to recycle those items, or it seems costly and inconvenient. The world generates millions of tons of electronic waste —...
A professional organizer’s guide to spring cleaning your life
The New Year has come and gone and with it your resolutions for doing a deep, cleansing purge. What has stayed, however, is the clutter. Piles of clothing, boxes of books, bags of crafts and cords. The start of spring offers a new opportunity to clean, well, everything, including your...
Spring is here. Do you care?
For the past several years, autumn has been the star season, its popularity helped along by social media videos of influencers in cozy knitwear against backdrops of gaudy foliage. More than a calendric event, fall has become an aesthetic, a lifestyle, a vibe, complete with its own TV show (comforting...
People ‘bathe’ in nature to get respite from chaotic news cycle
RALEIGH, N.C. — For two hours, Claire Jefferies wanted to get away from the war in Iran and the rising gas prices and just commune with nature. And, so, she treated herself to a little forest bathing. “When I’m here, it’s almost like a protective bubble around me,” the human...
Welcome to allergy season. Here’s how to protect yourself
ATLANTA — Allergy season can be miserable for tens of millions of Americans when trees, grass, and other pollens cause runny noses, itchy eyes, coughing and sneezing. Where you live, what you’re allergic to and your lifestyle can make a big difference when it comes to the severity of your...
Models with Down syndrome in Romania strike a pose for World Down Syndrome Day
BUCHAREST, Romania — Dozens of models with Down syndrome strutted down a catwalk at a fashion show in Romania’s capital for an evening celebrating style, “atypical beauty” and courage to mark World Down Syndrome Day. The SEEN Anonymous Seamstresses Gala in Bucharest brought together designers from across the country, who...
Pierogi plot twist: A roundup of Western Pa.’s strange-but-true dumplings
There are few foods Western Pennsylvanians are more devoted to than the pierogi. While nearly every culture has its version of the dumpling, the region remains fiercely attached to the Polish comfort food brought over by Eastern European immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th century. With Pittsburgh standing...
1800s horse farm for sale, includes old letters found inside walls in Clinton Township
A sprawling 1800s equestrian farm on the market in Butler County has something most homes don’t — original letters penned by a gentleman to a lady of the house. “The love letters, all believed to have been written during the 1800s by a man to a young lady living in...
Milanes Mobile expands from Cuban food truck to brick-and-mortar restaurant in McKees Rocks
It’s a tall order to make Western Pennsylvania feel like the Caribbean, but Collyn and Carlos Milanes Jr. were up for the challenge. The couple, owners of the popular Cuban food truck Milanes Mobile, which launched last May, are expanding with a brick-and-mortar restaurant in McKees Rocks. Milanes Cuban Corner...
In an always-on culture, employees try ‘microshifting’ to reclaim personal lives
NEW YORK — Before the house is humming and her teenagers ask her to whip up breakfast or chauffeur them to school, Jen Meegan reads her company emails and revisits ideas she drafted the night before. She works for an hour or so, then after the school run shops for...
