Editor's Picks category, Page 241
Beery Christmas and Hoppy New Year: 10 festive beers to stuff in your holiday stocking
Candy canes are fun. Gift cards are useful. But nothing festively stuffs a stocking — or brightens a Hanukkah or Kwanzaa for that matter — quite like a beer tasting of the season. Holiday beers come in an array of styles: light and dark; elaborate and blessedly simple; sweet, tart...
The 22 best (and 5 worst) movies of 2022, a ‘Maverick’ kind of year
After two years Hollywood would rather forget, 2022 offered some hope. At the beginning of the year, the December 2021 holdover “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was still rocking the box office, breathing life back into the Hollywood machine after the covid-19 pandemic completely derailed the movie industry. That movie proved...
Holiday sale brings out shoppers at Bushy Run Battlefield
Bill and Karen Gourdie were ready for the rush. The owners of Bushy Run Winery brought 30 cases to sell Sunday afternoon for the fourth annual Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society Christmas sale. “They’ll probably be all gone by the end of the day,” Karen Gourdie said. Husband Bill serves...
Sharing a roof, and money, with adult kids
When Amanda Claypool was 28, she left a government contracting job in Washington, D.C., and moved back to her parents’ house in upstate New York while she figured out her next step. Then the pandemic struck, and her temporary return lasted longer than she’d planned. Living with her parents for...
Victory Brinker joins Latshaw Pops for holiday show at The Palace
“America’s Got Talent” veteran Victory Brinker will reunite with the Latshaw Pops Orchestra for “The Sounds of Christmas,” set for 3 p.m. Sunday at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg. The precocious opera singer, now 10, made her first appearance in the orchestra’s annual holiday concert in 2021. “Our orchestra was...
Photos: It’s all downhill for 300 skiing Santas, a Grinch and a tree
NEWRY, Maine — A bunch of Santa lookalikes took to the ski slopes to spread some seasonal cheer on Sunday. More than 300 jolly ol’ elves — all dressed in red — dashed together down a mountain with white beards and Santa hats flapping in the breeze at the Sunday...
TV Talk: Everything you need to know about the state of subscription streaming TV, top streaming services
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers viewing tips for would-be streaming service subscribers. The business of streaming TV, which impacts the offerings subscribers receive in their home, is in a state of confusion. Until earlier this year when Netflix saw a 200,000 decline in subscriptions — it’s first...
Behind the scenes at ‘The Nutcracker’ rehearsal at Palace Theatre is a winter whirlwind
In the two days leading up to the first performance of “The Nutcracker” at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg, every square inch of the space is a flurry of activity and excitement. Onstage, dancers of all ages — some 4 years old — practice pirouettes, leaps and twirls in fluttering...
All aboard! Bull Creek Model Railroad Association has holiday train display up and running
Bull Creek Model Railroad Association President Billy Atkinson and Vice President Rick Holsing look over a layout at the group’s display the Bull Creek United Presbyterian Church on Friday, Dec 9, 2022. The display has three layouts with different size trains. It’s capable of running 21 trains. The Holiday Train...
Pricey pants from 1857 go for $114K, raise Levi’s questions
RENO, Nev. — Pulled from a sunken trunk at an 1857 shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina, work pants that auction officials describe as the oldest known pair of jeans in the world have sold for $114,000. The white, heavy-duty miner’s pants with a five-button fly were among 270...
AP Investigation: Prison boss beat inmates, climbed ranks
The prison staff didn’t know much about the new acting warden. Then, they say, he made a bizarre and startling confession: Years ago, he beat inmates — and got away with it. Thomas Ray Hinkle, a high-ranking federal Bureau of Prisons official, was sent to restore order and trust at...
Trevor Noah signs off of ‘Daily Show’ with heartfelt farewellVideo
Seven years after stepping into the role, Trevor Noah bid farewell Thursday night on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” During his final episode, Noah thanked his fans and audience, as well as Black women in his life and in America. He appeared to become teary-eyed when talking about Black women...
Amazon will tip your delivery driver if you ‘thank’ them through Alexa
Amazon customers with Alexa-enabled devices can send a dose of goodwill to their delivery driver through a program the company announced this week. And the gratitude won’t cost the customer anything. Customers can use the device to say “Alexa, thank my driver” to have an appreciative message — and $5...
Lori Falce: Do we really understand gaslighting?
Gaslighting is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year. When I heard this, it set my teeth on edge. I certainly understood the reasoning. The dictionary’s website saw a 1,740% increase in people checking out the definition in 2022 alone, but its use has exploded over the past four years. “Gaslighting” is...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: Dec. 9-11
Cookies galore The annual Christmas Cookie Tour is set for 5 to 8 p.m. today in downtown Irwin. Local businesses, churches and restaurants will be open to offer cookie samples, while supplies last. The family-friendly festivities will include horse and carriage rides, Christmas karaoke, kids’ cookie decorating and a visit...
Celine Dion diagnosed with rare neurological disorderVideo
Celine Dion has put a halt on all performing after being diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder. In an emotional video messages posted in French and English on Thursday on Instagram, Dion said Stiff Person Syndrome was causing spasms that affect her ability to walk and sing. “Unfortunately, the spasms...
7 no-regret New Year’s resolution parties
Some people call them resolutions, others goals, and there are even those who may refer to them as a little pointless. But regardless of semantics, New Year’s fill-in-the-blanks offer an opportunity for a clean slate. In celebration of new beginnings and shaking the dust off another year in the rearview,...
Wiz Khalifa to make W.Pa. stops to push his medical marijuana products
Rapper Wiz Khalifa is making another mark on the Pittsburgh area — his medical marijuana products will be available at Trulieve locations statewide starting Monday. Khalifa, a graduate of Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill, will be back in his old neighborhood at the Trulieve location there, as well as...
‘Monticello Lights’ fundraiser will benefit Project Bundle-Up, Delmont police this yearVideo
Clark Griswold’s got nothing on the residents of Monticello Drive. Between a dozen of them, they will invest more than 200 hours and use more than 500 strands of lights as they decorate their Delmont homes and yards for the annual Monticello Lights fundraiser. “We’ve added lights, repurposed some things...
Meet Charlie: Highlands School District’s first-ever therapy dog
Trotting through the halls at Highlands Middle School in Harrison, an 8-month-old Labrador retriever is the district’s newest tool to help improve student success. The puppy, Charlie, will be tasked with more than looking cute. “He will increase the overall well-being for students,” said the dog’s owner, Principal Becky Bragan....
After PIAA approves NIL policy, Laurel Highlands’ Rodney Gallagher quickly adds 1st deal
MECHANICSBURG — The vote was only a couple of hours old when Laurel Highlands senior Rodney Gallagher announced the first NIL deal for a PIAA athlete. Pennsylvania high school students can maintain their amateur status and accept money for use of their name, image and likeness under a groundbreaking policy...
Oldest DNA reveals life in Greenland 2 million years ago
NEW YORK — Scientists discovered the oldest known DNA and used it to reveal what life was like 2 million years ago in the northern tip of Greenland. Today, it’s a barren Arctic desert, but back then it was a lush landscape of trees and vegetation with an array of...
Microsoft strikes 10-year deal with Nintendo on ‘Call of Duty’
LONDON — Microsoft agreed Wednesday to make the hit video game “Call of Duty” available on Nintendo for 10 years should its $69 billion purchase of game maker Activision Blizzard go through — an apparent attempt to fend off objections from rival Sony. The blockbuster merger is facing close scrutiny...
Extinctions, shrinking habitat spur ‘rewilding’ in cities
DETROIT — In a bustling metro area of 4.3 million people, Yale University wildlife biologist Nyeema Harris ventures into isolated thickets to study Detroit’s most elusive residents — coyotes, foxes, raccoons and skunks among them. Harris and colleagues have placed trail cameras in woodsy sections of 25 city parks for...
Database spotlights those who died at Pearl Harbor
JOHNSTOWN — The stories of the more than 2,300 American service members who died at Pearl Harbor, including Cambria County Military Hall of Fame member Navy Petty Officer 1st Class John Lipple, from Ashville, have been chronicled by Stories Behind the Stars. The nonprofit is working to compile brief bios...
