Rising energy prices from the Iran war could help Russia pay for fighting in Ukraine
FRANKFURT, Germany — The Iran war’s disruption of Middle East oil and gas supplies and soaring prices are strengthening Russia’s ability to profit from its energy exports, a pillar of the Kremlin’s budget and a key to paying for its own war in Ukraine. Prices for Russia’s oil exports have...
Astrobotic designing wheels for mobile moon outpost as part of NASA Artemis program
Astrobotic announced Tuesday it’s developing specialized wheels for a mobile lunar outpost, a critical component of the NASA-led Artemis moon exploration program. The Pittsburgh-based aerospace and robotics company has been hired by Thales Alenia Space to build a wheel system that can withstand the moon’s extreme temperatures, radiation, dust and...
Bikeshare workers form union in Pittsburgh
Workers at Pittsburgh bikeshare nonprofit POGOH have unionized. The organizers filed to join the Transport Workers Union of America last month, and they said in a Tuesday press release that POGOH employees “voted overwhelmingly” to do so. TWU already represents workers for bikeshare organizations in New York City, Boston, Chicago,...
Freight rail industry had safest year on record in 2025, advocacy group says
A group representing the nation’s freight rail companies said Wednesday that newly released data show last year was the safest year on record for the industry. The Association of American Railroads said the overall train accident rate dropped 14 percent compared to 2024, while derailments were down 13.6%, according to...
MrBeast is getting into financial services. Parents should pay attention
Jimmy Donaldson, the YouTube celebrity better known as MrBeast, became popular for broadcasting outlandish but charitable stunts that often involved giving away giant piles of money. Now the 27-year-old is asking his followers to entrust him with theirs. With the acquisition of Step, a financial services app for teenagers and...
Westmoreland commissioners to revamp airport authority board
The board that oversees operations at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity is poised to be significantly revamped through a series of new appointments Westmoreland County commissioners are expected to vote on this week. Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew said they will appoint four new members to the nine-person...
Fetterman, Deluzio part of bipartisan push to strengthen rail safety requirements
Bipartisan bills introduced in Congress over the past week aim to strengthen safety requirements for rail carriers hauling hazardous materials, but the group representing the nation’s freight rail companies says the industry is in its “safest era ever.” U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, cosponsored the Senate version of the Railway...
West Deer residents appeal to Commonwealth Court in fight over fracking wells
A case argued Tuesday before Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court could test the reach of local efforts to challenge natural gas fracking. Concerned Residents of West Deer (CROWD), a local advocacy group, has raised concerns for years about the Leto fracking well, which is located near the heart of the West Deer...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette files closure notice with Pennsylvania
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s planned closure will affect 171 workers, according to a WARN notice filed Tuesday with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The WARN Act, meaning Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, is designed to protect workers, families and communities, according to the commonwealth. Through the act, employers are...
U.S. automakers risk being reduced to niche producers of gas vehicles
Perhaps no business needs certainty more than the auto industry. It usually takes at least four years to design a new model and bring it to market, requiring carmakers to divine what buyers will find appealing by the time the vehicles reach showrooms. Yet industry veterans say they can’t remember...
Dow drops 400 after trimming an early plunge of 1,200 as oil prices climb even higher
NEW YORK — A sell-off for stocks wrapped around the world and hit Wall Street on Tuesday, while oil prices climbed even higher on worries about the widening war with Iran. But the big moves that rocked markets in the morning eased substantially as the day progressed. By the end...
Average price for a gallon of gas rises 11 cents overnight to about $3.11 in U.S., AAA says
NEW YORK — The average price for a gallon of gasoline jumped 11 cents overnight to about $3.11 in the U.S., according to motor club AAA. Gas prices were already rising before the U.S. launched strikes on Iran as refiners switch over to summer blends of fuel, but crude futures...
Iran attacks threaten U.S. economy with more uncertainty around inflation, growth
WASHINGTON — The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran add yet more question marks around a U.S. economy already buffeted by on-and-off tariffs, weak hiring, and lingering inflationary pressures. The war has already raised oil prices and could lift prices at the pump as early as this week, but the...
AI drives Nvidia’s multibillion-dollar deal with Butler County’s Coherent
Chipmaking giant Nvidia announced a multibillion-dollar deal Monday with Coherent, a Butler County-based maker of fiber optic and laser technology critical for data centers. Nvidia committed to buying billions of dollars in Coherent products while also investing $2 billion to support the Saxonburg company’s research and manufacturing capabilities. The goal...
New restaurant at Live Casino Pittsburgh, Mangia, to feature DeLallo Italian Market
The new restaurant at Live Casino Pittsburgh will showcase DeLallo Italian Market, the iconic local brand, the casino announced Monday. The new eatery, Mangia, will open April 9 and “feature the best of DeLallo’s recipes and marketplace,” the casino said. It replaces Guy Fieri’s American Kitchen & Bar, which closed...
What to know before asking an AI chatbot for health advice
WASHINGTON — With hundreds of millions of people turning to chatbots for advice, it was only a matter of time before tech companies began offering programs specifically designed to answer health questions. In January, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Health, a new version of its chatbot that the company says can analyze...
Back in black: UPMC reverses recent losses with $286M operating income in 2025
UPMC’s operating income hit $286 million last year, snapping a two-year streak of red ink. A rebound from UPMC’s health insurance division helped the organization return to positive margins after operating losses of $339 million in 2024 and $198 million in 2023, according to a financial report released Friday. Insurance...
Energy prices surge as tanker disruptions and facility shutdowns rattle global supply
FRANKFURT, Germany — Energy prices rose sharply Monday as disruptions to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and damage to production facilities raised uncertainty about how U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran would affect supply to the world economy. The biggest shock was to natural gas prices, which rose...
Oil prices rise sharply in market trading after attacks in Middle East disrupt global energy supply
NEW YORK — Oil prices rose sharply when market trading began Sunday, as U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes against Israel and U.S. military installations around the Gulf sent disruptions through the global energy supply chain. Traders were betting the supply of oil from Iran and elsewhere...
Trump expects his Fed pick and AI to deliver a replay of the ’90s boom. Economists have doubts
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, his Treasury secretary and his choice to lead the Federal Reserve believe they can coax the U.S. economy into partying like it’s 1999. They are putting their faith in artificial intelligence to duplicate what happened when another technology arrived in the 1990s: the internet. Back...
From box office bomb to media powerhouse: Skydance’s 20-year rise to overtake Paramount, Warner Bros
NEW YORK — In its debut film, Skydance Productions released a special effects-laden World War I drama about fighter pilots with a starring role for an unknown actor, the company’s founder, David Ellison. It was a box office bomb. Twenty years later, in a twist fit for Hollywood itself, the...
Breaking into the trades: 4 blue-collar women from Western Pa. share their storiesVideo
When the explosion thundered through the U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works, Renee Hough thought her life was over. She was about 500 feet away when the blast went off in August. The experience left her in therapy for her mental health. Nearly 30 years ago, her job in the male-dominated...
The IRS shut its direct file, but here are other free filing options
The federal government tested a free, direct online tax-filing program for two years but with the change in administrations shut it down. There are still ways, though, to file your return at no charge, using government or commercial options. Direct File, a program started in the Biden administration, was tested...
McCormick visit to Pittsburgh spotlights driverless trucking leader Aurora, liquefied natural gas industry
Aurora Innovation, a Pittsburgh company leading the charge on autonomous trucking in the U.S., is looking for cheerleaders in government to shape regulation of the emerging industry. They may have just found one in U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, who said Friday on a tour of an Aurora manufacturing facility in...
Target will stop selling cereals with synthetic colors by end of May
Target will stop selling cereals containing synthetic colors by the end of May. The Minneapolis-based discounter said Friday it had been phasing out synthetic colors in cereals for several years. Right now, 85% of its cereal sales already come from products made without synthetic dyes. Target said it has worked...
