Editor's Picks category, Page 181
Sold Taylor Swift concert tickets online? You may have to pay taxes
Over the summer, Swifties were willing to shell out notoriously high prices to get a seat at the Taylor Swift “Eras Tour.” Now, Uncle Sam wants to collect on those who resold their tickets on online marketplaces. This year, the Internal Revenue Service is requiring third-party businesses, like Ticketmaster, StubHub...
Musk’s X tests $1 fee for new users in the Philippines and New Zealand in bid to target spam
LONDON — Elon Musk’s social media platform X has begun charging a $1 fee to new users in the Philippines and New Zealand, in a test designed to cut down on the spam and fake accounts flourishing on the site formerly known as Twitter. The company said late Tuesday that...
TV Q&A: Why does local TV news cover water main breaks?
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review. Q: TV news reporters used to be called ambulance chasers, just like lawyers. Now it seems WPXI-TV reporters are chasing water main breaks, even ones on...
Westmoreland 250: 10 things to see in New Stanton, Youngwood
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
Bullet For My Valentine unleashes intricate heavy metal in Pittsburgh concert
Bullet For My Valentine singer/rhythm guitarist Matthew Tuck wasn’t 100% for Tuesday night’s concert at Stage AE in Pittsburgh. But that didn’t stop the veteran Welsh band from delivering a crowd-pleasing night of melodic metalcore. “So I woke up this morning not feeling too good — not going to lie...
Warhol Museum proposes $45M entertainment venue on Pittsburgh’s North Shore
The Andy Warhol Museum is looking to expand with a new, $45 million entertainment venue in Pittsburgh’s North Shore. Dan Law, the museum’s associate director, said the proposed Pop District Entertainment Venue is part of the Andy Warhol Museum’s Pop District initiative, which aims to include “physical and programmatic expansion...
Wheelchair-bound opossum from Greensburg will be featured in international calendarVideo
Olli the Virginia opossum was one lucky marsupial. As a baby, Olli was attacked by several predators, leaving him with major bite wounds and abscesses and a severely injured spinal cord. He was rescued by a veterinarian and eventually came to Cheri Berri, 48, of Greensburg, who has been doing...
Study: Climbing 5 flights of stairs a day may reduce heart disease risk
Climbing five flights of stairs can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 20% according to a recent study published in Atherosclerosis Journal. The study collected data from more than 400,000 adult participants in the United Kingdom. “These findings highlight the potential advantages of stair climbing as a primary...
Reese’s $25,000 promotion may violate sweepstakes laws
Reese’s may be in violation of state and federal laws with its new sweepstakes offer currently advertised on packs of peanut butter cups. The promotion on two-cup packages reads “You could win $25,000” and, in smaller print, “See details inside.” But only after consumers have bought and opened a package...
Local noise-rock trio Mirakler steals spotlight in 3-band bill
Talk about cutting to the chase. Pittsburgh noise-rock trio Mirakler kicked off a blistering, 22-minute set Monday night at The Government Center on the North Side with a raucous take on its bonafide crowd-pleaser: the vicious “Instant Drugs.” When played live, the song erupts around its edges and borders on...
Pepper X marks the spot as South Carolina pepper expert scorches his own Guinness Book heat record
FORT MILL, S.C. — Ed Currie, the South Carolina hot pepper expert who crossbred and grew the Carolina Reaper that’s hotter than most pepper sprays police use to subdue unruly criminals, has broken his own world record with a pepper that’s three times hotter. Pepper X was publicly named the...
Pittsburgh Pop podcast: Talking regional Emmy winners, ‘The Morning Show,’ ‘Sunday Ticket’ on YouTube
In this episode of the “Pittsburgh Pop” podcast, host Tim Benz and TV Talk columnist Rob Owen discuss Pittsburgh pop culture news of the moment including local winners of the 2023 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards that were handed out in Philadelphia Saturday night. WQED-TV garnered eight trophies. WPXI took home seven...
TV Talk: Pittsburgh-filmed ‘Handyman from Hell’ debuts on Lifetime Movie NetworkVideo
Comedian Steve Hofstetter isn’t an area native – he grew up in Queens, N.Y. – but his career as a stand-up performer brought him to Western Pennsylvania often enough that he opted to move here two-and-a-half years ago. He bought a former Stanton Heights church and turned it into the...
Eagles’ ‘Long Goodbye’ concert delivers nostalgia, classic hits for fans
Legendary American rockers the Eagles needed no introduction Sunday night as they presented “The Long Goodbye,” their final tour, at PPG Paints Arena. “Thanks for coming out on a Sunday night. It’s a beautiful time of the year in Western Pennsylvania,” said original Eagles band member Don Henley to more...
Plum’s Festival of Honor returning to support Rustic Ridge community
A festival created after a tragedy that shook the Plum community more than a decade ago is returning in the wake of another. After a six-year absence, the Plum Borough Education Association, the school district’s teachers union, is bringing back its Festival of Honor to support Rustic Ridge families affected...
Tarentum Boo Festival brings hayrides, balloon art and an obstacle course
A sidewalk chalk contest, inflatable obstacle course and caricature artist will fill Tarentum’s Riverview Memorial Park for the annual Boo Festival. Sponsored by the borough’s recreation board, the event will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 28. “It’s a wonderful event,” said Carol McPherson, a longtime volunteer. “It’s so...
What Google’s antitrust trial means for your search habits
If government regulators prevail against Google in the biggest U.S. antitrust trial in a quarter century, it’s likely to unleash drastic changes that will undermine the dominance of a search engine that defines the internet for billions of people. As the 10-week trial probing Google’s business practices nears its midway...
‘Always Sunny’ gang visits Harrisburg liquor store to promote their whiskey
“The Gang” from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” made a stop Saturday in Harrisburg to promote their latest libation. Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney, three members of the Always Sunny Gang, stopped at the Fine Wine & Good Spirits distributor on Jonestown Road to promote their new whiskey,...
Family inspired love of the Pitt Panthers for this ultimate fan
Pitt is definitely it for Luciana “Miss Lu” Bair. She claims to be the biggest Panthers fan, and she’s got a pretty solid case. Let’s start with the vehicle she drives. It’s a 2023 Dodge Durango with custom seating in the school’s colors of blue and gold. Her tires have...
New CEO brings lifelong love of museums, private-sector experience to bear at The Westmoreland
Silvia Filippini-Fantoni says a trio of happenstance instances ultimately brought her to The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg. “Sometimes you have to read the signs,” said Filippini-Fantoni, a native of Italy who for the past two decades has worked with museums in Europe and the United States. She...
Rally for Israel hosted in Aspinwall parkVideo
Orly Aridor did not mince words when talking about the war in Gaza. A native of Israel who lives in Fox Chapel, Aridor called the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas unbelievable, barbaric and horrific. “What happened there needs to be condemned. That’s what I expect from the people in the...
Nicotine Dolls singer Sam Cieri discusses ‘America’s Got Talent,’ the band’s name and Indiana JonesVideo
Nicotine Dolls singer Sam Cieri appeared on “America’s Got Talent” in the summer of 2022 and made an immediate impression. Judge Sofia Vergara’s jaw literally dropped as Cieri started singing, and fellow judge Heidi Klum described his voice as “if Rod Stewart and John Mayer had a baby.” But, after...
Weekend weather could make partial eclipse tough to watch in Western Pa.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania professor Kenneth Coles had only one word to sum up the forecast for Saturday’s partial eclipse: dismal. “Clouds and rain is what they’re calling for right now,” Coles said. “But if we get a hole in the clouds — and we’re always hopeless optimists about that...
Man admits stealing ‘Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers from museum in 2005, but details remain mystery
MINNEAPOLIS — A man charged in the museum heist of a pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in the “The Wizard of Oz” pleaded guilty Friday in a deal that could keep him out of prison due to his failing health, but only cleared up some of the...
TV Talk: George Romero leaps off comic book page in ‘Creepshow’
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. McCandless native Greg Nicotero loves to weave Pittsburgh homages into his “Creepshow” series, which televises its fourth season at 10 p.m. Fridays beginning Oct. 13 on AMC (episodes also stream on Shudder and AMC+). In...
