Editor's Picks category, Page 18
‘Lion King,’ ‘Phantom,’ ‘Beetlejuice’ among Cultural Trust’s 2026-27 musical season
From awe-inspiring production design to emotional award-winning musicals to old favorites, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh 2026-27 season will be one for the ages. The Trust revealed the new season in a video announcement Monday night, as well as a full slate of more than 50 other...
From Aspinwall to Antwerp: Pianist’s piece wins global competition
An Aspinwall pianist will have his original composition played on the world stage. Danny English, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University School of Music, is the winner of the 2026 World Piano Day International Composition Competition in Antwerp, Belgium. “Sunset in Värmland,” his piece for piano and orchestra, will have...
Visit Pittsburgh marketing campaign hits road to take over Washington D.C.
A new Pittsburgh-branded marketing campaign titled “Forge On” — including bus wraps — will take over the Washington, D.C., metro area in June. Emily Hatfield, vice president of marketing and communications at Visit Pittsburgh, said Pittsburgh will undertake what she calls a D.C. “station domination.” “We’ll be taking over Metro...
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...
March Madness ups threat of problem gambling, especially for younger men
March Madness tipped off this week, a collection of 67 single-elimination basketball games that not only will crown a champion in 2½ weeks but also draw billions of dollars in sports bets. Young men are particularly at risk of developing gambling problems, experts say. According to a 2024 survey conducted...
As demand for GLP-1 pills and shots surges, healthy habits are still key
Whether they’re using weekly shots or daily pills, more Americans than ever are turning to anti-obesity drugs to lose weight and boost health. About 1 in 8 U.S. adults say they are taking a GLP-1 drug, according to a recent survey by the health research group KFF. Just since January,...
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...
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ actor Nicholas Brendon dies at 54
Nicholas Brendon, an actor best known for his role as a loveable underdog sidekick on the hit television series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” has died. He was 54. Brendon’s family announced the death in a statement posted on his social media accounts Friday. They said he died in his sleep...
TV Talk: Paul Van Osdol retires from WTAE after 26 years
WTAE investigative reporter Paul Van Osdol will retire from Channel 4 after 26 years with the station. His last day at WTAE will be Wednesday. Van Osdol joined Channel 4 in 1999 and his coverage included an investigation into fire response times, which earned a George Foster Peabody Award in...
Pittsburgh local music spotlight: AurallaurA
Laura Chu Wiens of AurallaurA described the band’s new record as a musical revue. “I don’t think we could tell the story of our political moment with just one genre, and I find typical leftist music too dirge-y and didactic,” she said. “So we have jazz, latin, some indie folk,...
The media may have unmasked Banksy — again. That’s angered some art fans but not ruffled dealers
LONDON — Years before the rise of Instagram, Banksy figured out that the key to real influence lay in not being famous, exactly, but in being anonymous. The mystery of his identity has long been part of the value of his art, which for decades and across continents defied authority...
The middle-class suburbanites who sell their blood plasma to get by
WEBSTER, Texas — Joseph Briseño arrived at CSL Plasma around 8 a.m., just as the morning rush of donors was thinning out. He took a few small sips from his water bottle, preparing for what he ruefully described as his second job. Four days a week, Briseño, who lives in...
Nonprofits, unions and airports rally to feed TSA officers as shutdown drags
Across the country, collections are popping up to help Transportation Security Administration officers who have been without full pay for more than a month due to the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security. The charity World Central Kitchen, more accustomed to feeding those in war zones and...
Editorial: Should Pittsburgh Public Schools close for the NFL Draft?
Pittsburgh has had NFL Draft fever since the announcement that football’s second biggest day would take place in the Steel City. But does that mean that everything was considered when the plan was being made? Pittsburgh Public Schools revealed it will be shifting to remote learning April 22 to 24....
Verona family receives gifts, love at Semper Gratus’ ‘Small Town Loud Voice’ event
Cora Kuhn is a 5-year-old girl from Verona who loves Disney movies, singing and dancing. She loves to swim in the summer, and play with friends. And since she was just 5 months old, Cora has had 39 seizures that have lasted from as briefly as a few seconds to...
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...
Review: Sebastian Bach continues to fly the flag for Skid Row hits in Pittsburgh showVideo
Sebastian Bach repeatedly noted Friday night that it’s been 37 years since Skid Row’s self-titled debut album hit the airwaves back in 1989. So it had to be reassuring to Bach that some from the next generation are still rocking out to Skid Row hits like “18 and Life” —...
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...
Police video of Justin Timberlake’s 2024 drunken driving arrest releasedVideo
NEW YORK — Justin Timberlake struggled to perform field sobriety tests requiring him to walk a straight line and stand on one leg after he was pulled over in New York’s Hamptons in 2024 by police officers who suspected him of driving drunk, according to video footage released Friday. The...
Noah Wyle tells hearing that ‘The Pitt’ shows TV and film production in the U.S. can be revived
BURBANK, Calif. — “The Pitt” has won praise — and a gurney full of Emmys — for bringing a dose of classic episodic TV to the prestige streaming era. Its star, executive producer and sometimes director Noah Wyle said Friday that the HBO Max hospital series is also a throwback...
‘It’s About Time’: Pittsburgh Opera’s annual fashion show combines community, art and eras
The Pittsburgh Opera is partnering with Richard Parsakian, longtime owner of a leading vintage clothing store in Pittsburgh, to host its annual fashion show fundraiser, featuring an array of local talent. The show, “It’s About Time,” begins at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Bitz Opera Factory at the Pittsburgh Opera’s...
5 things to know about Afroman’s defamation case and victory
This week, rapper Afroman scored a courtroom win, closing out a defamation trial sparked by the songs he made about a police raid on his home. Here are five things to know about Afroman’s case: 1. His Ohio home was raided by police in 2022 Police raided and searched Afroman’s...
Chuck Norris, martial arts master and actor whose toughness became internet lore, dies at 86
Chuck Norris, the martial arts grandmaster and action star whose roles in “Walker, Texas Ranger” and other television shows and movies made him an iconic tough guy — sparking internet parodies and adoration from presidents — has died at 86. Norris died Thursday, in what his family described as a...
Running New York’s ‘toughest job’ shows challenges familiar to Pittsburgh leaders
NEW YORK — Erin Dalton, the new commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services, comes into the role confronting a daunting list of challenges. There are 85,000 people in city shelters. Many thousands of New Yorkers are likely to lose their federal benefits, including health care and...
