TV Talk: WQED boss talks impact of $1.8 million fed funds loss
After Congress voted last week to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS and NPR, Pittsburgh’s WQED Multimedia announced an open-to-the-public “State of the Station” webinar to address the resulting $1.8 million federal funding cut, about 11% of WQED’s annual funding for each fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, 2025, and...
Jimmy Kimmel attends anti-Trump rally as president predicts his cancellation
Jimmy Kimmel is taking time out of his vacation to protest against President Donald Trump amid “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s” cancellation and the president’s prediction Kimmel is on the chopping block, too. The 57-year-old host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” shared a photo of himself at an anti-Trump protest...
Billy Joel shares encouraging update after brain disorder diagnosis
Billy Joel reassured fans about his health on Monday. The 76-year-old musician had previously canceled all of his scheduled concerts after announcing in May that he was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). NPH occurs when excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain’s ventricles, with patients experiencing cognitive decline, difficulty...
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, ‘Cosby Show’ actor, dies at 54 in Costa Rica drowning
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who as teenage son Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” was central to a cultural phenomenon that helped define the 1980s, died at age 54 in an accidental drowning in Costa Rica, authorities there said Monday. Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department said Warner...
Charli XCX and The 1975 drummer George Daniel are married
LONDON — Charli XCX and The 1975 drummer George Daniel have tied the knot. A representative for Daniel confirmed to The Associated Press that the pair married over the weekend. The couple were seen posing in front of London’s Hackney Town Hall on Saturday. Daniel wore a suit, and Charli...
Country music star, ex-Steelers QB address ‘wild rumors’ about marriage
Lainey Wilson and Devlin “Duck” Hodges made headlines back in February when they got engaged. There was a whole buildup to Duck popping the question on February 12 on George Jones’ estate, and the entire country music world seemed invested in it. And seems like folks are still pretty interested...
Breaking Benjamin and Flyleaf singers rock out acoustically at Roxian Theatre
How much fun it must be to front a platinum-selling rock band, make longtime friends with other rock vocalists and then go out on tour to play music and laugh together. Such are the current lives of Benjamin Burnley, the founding member and lead singer of Breaking Benjamin, and Lacey...
Pittsburgh local music spotlight: Rachel Whitcomb
Rachel Whitcomb described her new album “Wildest Dreams” as a love letter to 1990s country music. Whitcomb, an associate dean at Duquesne University, worked with Nashville musicians like Brent Mason (guitar) and Scotty Sanders (steel guitar), as well as Ryan Joseph (fiddle), a Duquesne graduate who has toured with Alan...
TV Talk: Western Pa. dentist’s murder conviction gets true crime treatment in Hulu’s ‘Trophy Wife’
The story of a former Pittsburgh-area dentist convicted of murder gets the true crime docuseries treatment in ABC News Studios’ “Trophy Wife: Murder on Safari,” now streaming on Hulu. The three-episode program (about 40 minutes each) chronicles the story of Larry Rudolph, who was convicted of killing his wife, Bianca,...
Is late night dead? Stephen Colbert’s CBS cancellation raises troubling questions
NEW YORK — The shocking cancellation of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” is a sign that time is running out for one of TV’s most beloved formats. The late-night talk show was invented in the 1950s as a way for networks to own their own programming rather than have...
‘Superman’ flexes its might in second weekend with $57.3 million
NEW YORK — James Gunn’s “Superman” showed staying power in its second weekend at North American box offices, collecting $57.3 million in ticket sales and remaining the No. 1 movie in cinemas, according to studio estimates Sunday. None of the week’s new releases — “I Know What You Did Last...
Wiz Khalifa brings good vibes only to hometown show at Star Lake
When it comes to rap, Pittsburgh may not be Los Angeles, New York or Atlanta, but we do pretty well for ourselves. That was evident on Saturday night, when hometown rapper Wiz Khalifa came through to play the Pavilion at Star Lake on his Good Vibes Only Tour. Along for...
Tech company CEO resigns after controversy over video captured at Coldplay concert
The IT company CEO captured in a widely circulated video showing him embracing an employee at a Coldplay concert has resigned. Andy Byron resigned from his job as CEO of Cincinnati-based Astronomer Inc., according to a statement posted on LinkedIn by the company Saturday. “Astronomer is committed to the values...
Pittsburgh CLO spreads wintry magic in the summer with ‘Disney’s Frozen’ at the Benedum Center
As Pittsburgh CLO executive producer Mark Fleischer looked out over the crowd at the Benedum Center before Friday’s opening night performance of Disney’s “Frozen,” he said, “It’s great to see so many blue dresses on young people. How many people are here seeing your very first live musical?” The response...
Review: Guitarist Ace Frehley dives into Kiss history in Pittsburgh area show
Ace Frehley didn’t rock and roll all night on Friday, with the former Kiss guitarist’s show at Jergel’s Rhythm Grille in Warrendale ending shortly before 11 p.m. But “The Spaceman” showed why countless guitar players derived inspiration from his Kiss heyday, as he and his band took a dive into...
TV Talk: Netflix pulls back curtain on end game of ‘Stranger Things’
This week, Netflix dropped the first trailer for the final season of “Stranger Things,” which lives up to its title with some of the new hairstyles on the ever-aging lead characters. (“Terminator” alum Linda Hamilton joins the cast with a ’do that resembles ’80s-era Lucille Ball.) Set in fall 1987,...
Coldplay concert ‘kiss cam’ moment goes viral
NEW YORK — Chris Martin caused a stir at the Boston Coldplay concert with a quip about a couple caught in a cozy moment on the jumbotron, video shows. The clip seemingly features Astronomer CEO Andy Byron with his arms wrapped around a woman who resembles his company’s chief people...
Piano playing a passion for Aspinwall musician Lucas Bowman
The Bowman family of Aspinwall have built-in musical entertainment for their growing family with freelance musician, dad and husband Lucas Bowman. Bowman and his wife, Jenna, are raising twin 14-month-old boys, Charlie and Leo, in a home complete with keyboards and a guitar. “The biggest perk to being married to...
Stephen Colbert says CBS is ending his ‘Late Show’ in May 2026
CBS is axing “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” in May 2026, the host told an audience at a taping Thursday. The announcement came two days after Colbert spoke out against Paramount Global, parent company of his network CBS, settling with President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” story. “I...
Disneyland is celebrating its 70th anniversary: Here’s a look at the park then and now
Disneyland is celebrating 70 years of being “The Happiest Place on Earth.” The summerlong festivities in southern California include the opening of “Walt Disney — A Magical Life,” a show featuring a lifelike animatronic of the company’s founder that debuts Thursday and also marks Disneyland’s official anniversary. Walt Disney’s vision...
Pittsburgh local music spotlight: The Pump Fakes
Earlier this year, The Pump Fakes released their first new album in 14 years, with several reasons for the big gap. “The easy answer is the pandemic,” singer/guitarist Patrick Maloney said, “but it was really that and the changes within the band lineup and trying to narrow it down to...
Legendary singer Connie Francis dead at 87
Connie Francis, the wholesome pop star of the 1950s and 1960s whose hits include “Pretty Little Baby” and who would later serve as an ironic title for a personal life filled with heartbreak and tragedy, has died at age 87. Her death was announced Thursday by her friend and publicist,...
TV Talk: ‘Strange New Worlds’ treks to mostly familiar terrain
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week. Is the “Star Trek” franchise running out of steam on Paramount+? “Star Trek: Discovery” got unceremoniously canceled after five seasons without an opportunity to wrap its story in a satisfactory fashion. Animated comedy “Lower Decks”...
Emma Watson loses driver’s license for 6 months over a series of speeding tickets
Call her Emma Walks-on. Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in all eight “Harry Potter” films, lost her driving privileges for six months Wednesday in Britain after racking up more than a dozen points on her driving record in the space of two years. She was also ordered to pay...
Pete Davidson and Elsie Hewitt are expecting their first child
Pete Davidson is going to be a dad. His girlfriend, Elsie Hewitt, announced their baby news Wednesday on Instagram with an ultrasound preview. The model and actor posted photos of herself and the “Saturday Night Live” alum with the caption: “welp now everyone knows we had sex.” She included a...
