Editor's Picks category, Page 232
Michael Jackson’s nephew to star in King of Pop biopicVideo
NEW YORK — Michael Jackson’s 26-year-old nephew, Jaafar Jackson, will play the King of Pop in the planned biopic “Michael” to be directed by Antoine Fuqua. Lionsgate announced Jackson’s casting Monday for the film being produced by Oscar-winning “Bohemian Rhapsody” producer Graham King. Jackson is the second-youngest son of Jermaine...
Lisa Marie Presley lost 40-50 pounds, took opioids before death, report says
Lisa Marie Presley was taking opioids and weight loss medication before her death this month, according to a report. The only child of Elvis Presley lost between 40 and 50 pounds over a six-week stretch ahead of the Golden Globe Awards, TMZ reported Monday, citing family sources. Presley, who was...
Greensburg Country Club hosts first antique show since before pandemic
Dozens gathered at the Greensburg Country Club on a rainy Sunday to view and buy antiques at the club’s 2023 Antique Show and Sale. It was the club’s first show since the pandemic. Items for sale included Iranian rugs, an elegant doll house and intricate paintings among other things....
’24,’ ‘Runaways’ actor Annie Wersching dies at 45
Actor Annie Wersching, best known for playing FBI agent Renee Walker in the series “24” and providing the voice for Tess in the video game “The Last of Us,” has died. She was 45. Wersching passed away Sunday morning in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer, her publicist told...
Guitarist Tom Verlaine, co-founder of Television, dies at 73
NEW YORK — Tom Verlaine, guitarist and co-founder of the seminal proto-punk band Television who influenced many bands while playing at ultra-cool downtown New York music venue CBGB alongside the Ramones, Patti Smith and Talking Heads, has died. He was 73. He died Saturday in New York City, surrounded by...
Pittsburgh Ballet’s new artistic director returning to familiar spaces
Adam McKinney will take over as artistic director of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in March, but he says there are many ways in which he already feels at home in the role and in the city. McKinney, 46, grew up in Milwaukee but often visited Pittsburgh, where his late father, Gerald...
Westmoreland Mall sports card show sees strong turnout as hobby’s popularity continues
When the pandemic hit, sports card collector and seller Joe Tucci expected sports cards to dip in popularity. Instead, the opposite happened. “We got stimulus checks and everyone jumped in,” said Tucci, from Robinson. “… The hobby exploded.” Tucci was one of dozens of sellers reaping the benefits of the...
Auction set for Abby Lee Dance Co.’s Penn Hills studio memorabilia
The beginning of the end for the Abby Lee Miller Dance Co. studio in Penn Hills has begun. On Feb. 8, almost everything in the studio will be auctioned off to buyers. The site was the predominant backdrop of the popular Lifetime network reality TV series “Dance Moms.” Murrysville-based Cleanout...
Norwin children’s librarian makes learning lively
When Barbara McKee walked into the Norwin Library more than two decades ago, she didn’t expect it to be the start of a career. “My youngest son was in second grade, and I came to the library to take a crochet class because I finally had time to myself because...
Brackenridge resident spearheads effort to rename borough street for Chief McIntire
The Brackenridge street where fallen police Chief Justin McIntire was killed could be renamed in his honor if a longtime resident has her way. Family friend Debbie Beale is spearheading the effort to rename Third Avenue, where the 46-year-old chief grew up and also where he was killed during a...
‘A Thousand and One’ wins Sundance grand jury prize
“A Thousand and One,” a drama about an impoverished single mother and her son in New York City, won the Sundance Film Festival’s grand jury prize in the U.S. dramatic competition, while “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project” was awarded the top prize in the U.S. documentary category. This...
Bob Dylan almost died in 1997. Months later, ‘Time Out of Mind’ revived his career
A quarter of a century ago, Bob Dylan found vital new life in an album about death’s inexorable approach. “I’m walking through streets that are dead,” the rock ‘n’ roll legend sang — wheezed, really — right at the top of “Time Out of Mind,” which came out in the...
All Saints Convent in Etna transformed into apartment living
The cross details and All Saints name remain on the front of the building, the beloved home to nuns for many years. But, as is protocol for the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh when a religious building is being reposed, anything liturgical, including stained glass with symbols such as a chalice...
Jay Leno breaks bones in motorcycle wreck months after fire
Two months after undergoing surgery for serious burns, Jay Leno is now contending with a number of broken bones after being knocked off a motorcycle. The comedian and former “Tonight Show” host told a Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Thursday that he broke his collarbone and two ribs and cracked his...
Green comet zooming our way, last visited 50,000 years agoVideo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A comet is streaking back our way after 50,000 years. The dirty snowball last visited during Neanderthal times, according to NASA. It will come within 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) of Earth Wednesday before speeding away again, unlikely to return for millions of years. So...
Murrysville company FlexScreen begins licensing its technology with automated manufacturing line, wins ‘BIG’ awardVideo
Eight years ago, Joe Altieri was in his Plum garage trying to perfect a new, flexible, easy-to-install window screen. Today, he is the owner of FlexScreen, a multimillion-dollar Murrysville company that earned an investment from “Shark Tank” host Lori Greiner. It opened its seventh manufacturing facility last June in New...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: Jan. 27-29
Cards and collectibles The annual Joe’s Sports Card & Collectible Show returns to Westmoreland Mall this weekend. For more than a decade, the show has offered attendees the opportunity to buy, sell and trade cards, memorabilia, action figures, gaming products and other items. Vendors will be set up in the...
TV Talk: ‘Gilmore Girls’ veteran proves the MVP of ‘The Watchful Eye’Video
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Teen-targeted TV has largely moved to online streaming — see: Amazon Prime Video’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” — because that’s where teens are consuming entertainment. Surely the fact that Freeform’s “The Watchful Eye” will...
5 things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend: Jan. 27-29
From the grand spectacle of a symphonic “Harry Potter” performance to the weirdness of a World Oddities Expo, there is a wide array of entertainment options in Pittsburgh this weekend. ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ in Concert This sounds like a can’t-miss event for “Harry Potter” fans. The...
Vandergrift residents organizing inaugural Pride event
A new, inclusive event is coming to Vandergrift. Pride Picnic at the Park is tentatively scheduled for June 24 at Kennedy Park. Pride — an acronym for professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity and excellence — was adopted 16 years ago by the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. “We’re organizing...
Sheetz reviewing ‘smile policy’ that says employees can’t have visible dental issues
If you need to have a little dental work done, and want to take a job to help save some cash for that, Sheetz would not be the place to apply. At least not right now. According to a recent report, the popular convenience store and gas station has a...
Highlands Middle School launches Golden Bean Coffee Shop run by Life Skills students
The halls are buzzing at Highlands Middle School since the launch of a new student-run initiative: The Golden Bean Coffee Shop. Twice a day, apron-clad teens scurry between classrooms to deliver coffee, tea and hot chocolate to thirsty teachers, many of whom have become loyal customers. “It’s kind of cool...
TV Talk: ‘Poker Face’ gives ‘Columbo’ vibe; WPXI-TV reporter exitsVideo
PASADENA, Calif. — Miss “Columbo?” Then you might appreciate Peacock’s “Poker Face,” a modern take on the episodic detective show that’s less whodunnit (that’s shown in the opening scene of each episode) and more “howcatchem,” as premiere episode writer/director Rian Johnson (“Knives Out”) calls the show’s formula of starting with...
A fridge too far? Living sustainably in NYC by unplugging
NEW YORK — There are those for whom recycling and composting are not nearly enough, who have reduced their annual waste to almost zero, ditched their clothes dryer or given up flying, and are ready to take the next step in exploring the frontiers of sustainable living. For Manhattanite Joshua...
John Mayer’s solo acoustic tour to stop in Pittsburgh
John Mayer is headed back to Pittsburgh — all by himself. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter’s “Solo” tour will play PPG Paints Arena on March 18. “Just like the early days,” Mayer wrote on social media Thursday, announcing the tour. “I’ll be playing old songs. Newer songs. Songs you haven’t heard yet...
