Salena Zito is a Pittsburgh-based columnist for the Washington Examiner. She is the author of "The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics."
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KANAWHA COUNTY, West Virginia—Steve Lipscomb was a son, a father, a husband, a Marine, a man of faith, and a coal miner. Ten days ago,… Read More
PoliticsNews
WOODLAWN, Maryland—There is a pattern in the Trump administration that if you are very good at the first job you are appointed to, you are… Read More
SocietyCommentary
DONEGAL, Pennsylvania—It is 6:14 p.m. on a Thursday. You’re hiking along the Forbes Trail, nestled deep in the Appalachian Mountains somewhere along the Westmoreland-Somerset County… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
“The stakes couldn’t be higher,” Jay Jones, the Virginia Democrat running for state attorney general, said Monday in an X post. It was an ironic… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
BALDWIN, Pennsylvania—Collin Arthrell sat at a table filled with young people at a luncheon in a middle-class suburban Pittsburgh borough, dressed neatly in a suit… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
WINCHESTER, Virginia—The one thing that has been consistent in covering Virginia’s off-year statewide elections since as far back as the year Republicans George Allen and… Read More
SocietyCommentary
The sign outside the little Baptist congregation in Sewickley read simply: “In Memory of Charlie Kirk 1993-2025.” It was one of dozens of images on… Read More
SocietyCommentary
PITTSBURGH—If you were looking for young people distraught over Sept. 10’s brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk here, you were looking in the wrong place. They… Read More
SocietyCommentary
SAVANNAH, Georgia—Tyler Merritt understands the power of community, belonging, and purpose. It’s what drew him toward the military as a high school senior, not long… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — In casual conversations with Democrats in August from across the Midwest, I found that their biggest frustration with the national party is… Read More
EconomyCommentary
ERIE, Pennsylvania—Few outside of those who live there understand what the county of Erie’s future holds for its economic future. Is it rural? A port?… Read More
SocietyCommentary
CLAIRTON, Pennsylvania—Richard Lattanzi started his morning on Aug. 11 getting ready to take his father to his doctor’s appointment at Jefferson Hospital on Coal Valley… Read More
SocietyCommentary
“The Rabbit Club,” the newest novel from Christopher Yates, America’s finest writer of thrillers, weaves a tale nearly impossible to put down. It includes Oxford… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
HARRISON CITY, Penn.—Eileen Cunningham is a mother of four and grandmother of three, with another on the way. The wife of “Goose” Cunningham—when you are… Read More
EnergyCommentary
PITTSBURGH—President Donald Trump last week fulfilled his pledge to protect America’s national security and grow prosperity in the middle of the country when he announced… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
When the active-duty Air Force and Missouri Air National Guard bomber crews who attacked the Fordow uranium enrichment plant in Iran went to work on… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
LATROBE, Pennsylvania—Weeks before the election last year, Jason Zugai, the vice president of United Steelworkers Local 2227, pulled then-U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick aside at… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
Before he was David Mamet the acclaimed author, filmmaker, and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, he worked a variety of low-paying jobs well into his 20s: from… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
In reading “Original Sin,” the blockbuster book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, I vividly remembered covering then-candidate Joe Biden when he came to… Read More
EconomyCommentary
WEST MIFFLIN, Pennsylvania—Flanked by a sea of steelworkers dressed in their orange safety jackets and hard hats, President Donald Trump was given a hero’s welcome… Read More
EconomyCommentary
WEST MIFFLIN, Pennsylvania—Local steelworkers, community leaders, and economic experts said President Donald Trump’s announcement Friday that a deal was struck between U.S. Steel and Nippon… Read More
PoliticsFeature
McKEESPORT, Pennsylvania—Take the left off of Nessley Avenue after climbing the switchback up from this city’s once-thriving downtown business district. For the next three blocks,… Read More
SocietyCommentary
FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia—Steve Hotz started Black Horse Forge, a nonprofit organization that provides support for veterans, active-duty military personnel, and first responders through the ancient art… Read More
SecurityCommentary
CARLISLE, Pennsylvania—Maj. Gen. David Hill was standing a few feet from where the Black Hawk helicopter en route from the Defense Department would soon be… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Dana Perino has a superpower. It is a special gift that has nothing to do with her position as a Fox News anchor or her… Read More
SocietyNews
Megyn Kelly is a tour de force in American journalism. Her daily podcast boasts several million subscribers. She’s recently launched a morning briefing news segment… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
WASHINGTON—Vice President JD Vance stood at the head of the table in the Roosevelt Room during one of the most significant moments of his life,… Read More
EnergyNews
HOMER CITY, Pa.—Eleven days after the massive smokestacks and cooling towers of Pennsylvania’s largest coal-fired power plant came down in a dramatic fashion in this… Read More
EnergyFeature
HOMER CITY, Pa.—On March 22 at 7 a.m., Shawn Steffee stood on a hill overlooking the Homer City Generating Station with his family and the… Read More
EconomyCommentary
SAXONBURG, Pa.–Small businesses have been the backbone of the United States since its founding. The Hotel Saxonburg, which has also been known as the Vogeley… Read More
