Editor's Picks category, Page 85
TV Talk: Best TV series of 2024Video
There’s no way one person can watch every new scripted series each year, even in a post-PeakTV environment, so consider this list the best of the scripted shows I saw in 2024. Perhaps this list can steer you toward a program you’ve yet to watch. With broadcast TV in reruns...
Invasive ‘murder hornets’ wiped out in the U.S., officials say
SEATTLE — The world’s largest hornet, an invasive breed dubbed the “murder hornet” for its dangerous sting and ability to slaughter a honey bee hive in a matter of hours, has been declared eradicated in the United States, five years after being spotted for the first time in Washington state...
New York man finds mastodon jaw while gardening in his backyard
SCOTCHTOWN, N.Y. — Scholars are hailing the discovery of a fossilized mastodon jaw discovered by a man who spotted two giant teeth while gardening at his upstate New York home this year. The mastodon jaw and some other bone fragments were found in late September in a backyard near Scotchtown,...
‘Bluey’ is bound for the big screen with a feature film coming in 2027
NEW YORK — “Bluey” is heading to the big screen. The Walt Disney Co. and BBC Studios announced Tuesday that a film based on the hit Australian animated series will arrive in theaters in 2027. The movie will be written and directed by series creator Joe Brumm, with a voice...
How to avoid financial stress during the holiday season
NEW YORK — The holidays are meant to be a time of celebration with family and friends. But they can also bring pressure to spend money on gifts, gatherings and plane tickets home, exacerbated by brand emails, social media influencers and family expectations. With credit card debt rising and prices...
AP photographers capture stunning scenes of nature and wildlife in 2024
An insect hovers near flowers decorating the area around the holy remains of the patron saint of the Romanian capital Bucharest. A municipal worker in Montenegro holds owlets rescued from a fallen tree after a powerful storm in Podgorica. A herd of deer cross a road in a bucolic scene...
Strip District restaurants to close: Cioppino and Osteria 2350
New Year’s Eve will be the last night for upscale Cioppino Restaurant & Cigar Bar as well as its less formal sister restaurant, Osteria 2350, in the Strip District. “Unfortunately, the pressures of running a fine-dining business have become increasingly untenable,” the owners said in a social media post. Cioppino...
TV Q&A: Will the Netflix Steelers game air locally?Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions weekly at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: Will the Steelers Christmas game be available to fans without Netflix? — Ed, via email Rob: Yes! Netflix’s deal for carrying NFL games on Christmas Day...
Digital authorization required for Americans to travel to U.K. in 2025
Planning a trip to the United Kingdom in 2025? If so, you’ll need more than just a passport. Starting Jan. 8, American citizens will need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization in order to enter the U.K., Time Magazine reported. “U.S. citizens transiting through or traveling to the United...
The winter solstice is almost here, the Northern Hemisphere’s darkest day
The winter solstice is Saturday, bringing the shortest day and longest night of the year to the Northern Hemisphere — ideal conditions for holiday lights and warm blankets. For those who would rather have more sunlight, you can try to make your way to the Southern Hemisphere, where it is...
TV Talk: WTAE reporter Bob Mayo announces retirement
Applying the law of “things come in threes,” Tuesday’s announcement by longtime WTAE general assignment reporter Bob Mayo that he will retire Dec. 31 is appropriate as it’s the third significant on-air retirement from Pittsburgh TV stations this quarter, following the departures of KDKA-TV’s Jon Delano and WPXI’s David Johnson....
Millions of Stanley mugs recalled
Could your Stanley travel mug be dangerous? About 2.6 million of Stanley’s switchback and trigger action stainless steel travel mugs sold in the U.S. have been recalled due to a burn hazard, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The mugs’ lid threads can shrink when exposed to heat and...
Luke and Mike’s Frontporch in Aspinwall set to close
After 14 years of “blood, sweat and tears,” an Aspinwall-based restaurateur is calling it quits. “It was time,” said Sheri Rice on Monday of Luke and Mike’s Frontporch, the popular bar and restaurant she co-owns with her ex-husband, Billy Rice. “We did try and make this corner beautiful and try...
Trans-Siberian Orchestra drummer Jeff Plate on 25 years of touring and hard rock Christmas musicVideo
When Trans-Siberian Orchestra started touring theaters in 1999, they traveled with just one 24-foot box truck, filled with a couple dozen lights, a fog machine and a star curtain. “It was really more about, let’s put this thing on stage and see if this is going to work. Obviously it...
TV Talk: Classic Christmas commercials cater to viewers’ nostalgiaVideo
Whether or not they continue to air in 2024, Christmas-themed commercials that aired year after year are easily conjured in the minds of TV viewers. Whether it’s Santa Claus riding a Norelco razor through the snow, Peter coming home for a cup of Folgers or Hershey’s Kisses as bells, plenty...
Community rallies around Penn-Trafford junior diagnosed with leukemia
Nicole Cianciotti had driven only about 4½ miles from UPMC Children’s East when she got the call that her son Braeden’s left lung collapsed. The 17-year-old Penn-Trafford junior — Nicole’s oldest of six children — sat next to her in the passenger seat Nov. 22, seemingly unaware of the battle...
Bethel Park observes Wreaths Across America Day
Perhaps the most poignant moment of Bethel Park’s Wreaths Across America observance took place when Debbie Huffner and Rogert Kurtz started walking in tandem. Each had lost a son while on active duty serving his country: Patrick Kutschbach, who was 25 when he died in Afghanistan in 2007, and 10...
Kinetic Theatre’s ‘Sherlock Carol’ is a witty seasonal melding of classic tales
“Moriarty was dead, to begin with.” That sentence would cause any lover of 19th-century British literature to do a double take. One half of the line mirrors the opening of Charles Dickens’ novella “A Christmas Carol,” while the rest evokes Professor James Moriarty, the greatest foe of Arthur Conan Doyle’s...
TV Talk: PBS’s ‘NOVA’ recounts Notre Dame discoveriesVideo
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. It’s easy to take TV for granted. Its ubiquity, especially now with dozens of channels and streaming platforms, makes the medium so omnipresent and at times overwhelming with the number of choices that it’s easy...
Small businesses say cautious shoppers are seeking ‘cozy’ and ‘festive’ this holiday season
After the busy Black Friday holiday weekend, Kristen Tarnol, owner of Emerald City Gifts in Studio City, California, is already asking her supplier to send more more fuzzy alpaca scarves and warm slippers that were best sellers over the weekend. “Even though it’s Los Angeles … I think people are...
Hanukkah sweets are treats for any holiday table
Hanukkah, like Christmas, is just around the corner. This year, the Jewish and Christian holidays both fall on Dec. 25. Hanukkah’s eight days of celebration will cover Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. That’s a lot of festivity. And, as with most holidays, it also means a...
Christmas Giveaway at The Promise Center of Homewood sparks joy across the community
Imagine walking into a room filled to the brim with toys, clothing, electronics and stationery — all free. At The Promise Center of Homewood, for many families and kids, that was their reality on Saturday. During the Christmas Giveaway, children left with bikes, clothing and Barbie dolls, and there were...
The Smithereens drummer Dennis Diken discusses moving forward with guest vocalists after death of frontmanVideo
It’s been a little more than seven years since The Smithereens singer/guitarist Pat DiNizio died, but the power-pop band is still going with a little help from their friends on vocals. With a revolving group of lead singers, the New Jersey group known for songs like “A Girl Like You”...
Movie Review: ‘Kraven the Hunter’ is another misfire in the Spider-Man universeVideo
Kraven the Hunter can climb sheer walls like a gorilla, snatch fish out of streams like a bear and outrun deer. But there’s something this slab of human beef can’t do: Anchor a decent movie. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays the titular hero in “Kraven the Hunter,” the sixth attempt in Sony’s...
African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania luncheon focuses on coming together
The African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania held its annual luncheon on Thursday, celebrating achievements within the African American community and economic development. The event marked the final luncheon for founder and CEO Doris Carson Williams before her retirement. Carson Williams described the afternoon as both exciting and...
