Confession: I grew up eating bland foods and never developed a taste for spiciness. My wife, children and friends, who all love spice in its myriad forms, enjoy taunting me to try different foods, usually by claiming something like, “It’s not too spicy! You’ll be fine.” I never am. Whenever I ate spicy foods as a kid, my mother would give me a glass of milk to help ease the burning. I never knew why, but it seemed to work. The good news is that the right beer works too, helping me not only tolerate spicy food but almost enjoy the experience. And for people who already love that chili pepper he ..read more

NORRISTOWN — A Norristown man, who authorities alleged was speeding at the time of a two-vehicle crash that killed a woman in the second vehicle, is facing vehicular homicide and manslaughter charges. Adan Ortiz-Gonzalez, 18, of the 400 block of East Marshall Street, was arraigned before District Court Judge Marc Alfarano on charges of homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person, speeding and reckless and careless driving in connection with the Feb. 26, 2024, two vehicle crash at DeKalb and East Brown streets that killed the second driver, 37-year-old K ..read more

WEST ROCKHILL – It was not the start Billy O’Neill was aiming for as the Council Rock South junior right-hander gave up a pair of runs to Pennidge in the bottom of the first inning Wednesday afternoon. “My glove side was yanking too much and I was just getting too open,” O’Neill said. But the visiting Golden Hawks picked up their pitcher in their next chance at the plate, scoring three times in the top of the second to take the lead before adding another run in the sixth. O’Neill, meanwhile, responded by settling in, retiring 14 straight batters before giving up a one-out double to Matt Atchle ..read more

Jon Bon Jovi acknowledges that the new documentary “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story” is “a little overwhelming, emotional.” It’s also a proverbial warts-and-all presentation of his life, as well as the 40-plus-year career of the band that bears his name. But Bon Jovi wouldn’t have it any other way. “All I’ve ever wanted to sell was the truth,” the 62-year-old New Jersey rock icon explains via Zoom. “If you’re not gonna show it warts and all, don’t bother. This wasn’t a VH1 ‘Behind the Music.’ I wasn’t interested in a puff piece.” “Thank You, Goodnight” — premiering Friday, April 26 on ..read more

“Challengers,” a sexy tennis love triangle from acclaimed director Luca Guadagnino and budding superstar Zendaya, has generated enough buzz and rave reviews that it may reach No. 1 in the rankings.  But even if the story, directing and acting are all aces, to achieve greatness the movie still needs to provide genuine excitement and realistic drama on the court. To provide an air of credibility, the film hired former pro and veteran analyst Brad Gilbert to consult on the film and to train Zendaya for three months; Guadagnino says she got so good he barely had to use her tennis stunt double ..read more

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction on Thursday, saying the trial judge should not have allowed other women to testify about alleged assaults the movie mogul wasn’t charged with. Here is some of the reaction to the decision: ___ “This is what it’s like to be a woman in America, living with male entitlement to our bodies.” — Ashley Judd, whose on-the-record statement accusing Weinstein of sexually harassing her as a young actor helped launch the case. —— “Judges throughout this nation are going to scale back what they allow to come into ev ..read more

Betty Hallock | (TNS) Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES — Call them the vegetable whisperers. Sarah Hymanson and Sara Kramer are the two produce-obsessed chefs behind Kismet restaurant in Los Feliz, the growing chainlet of Kismet Rotisserie takeout shops (there are three across L.A. now, where the tahini roasted cauliflower is as popular as the chicken) and a new vegetable-forward cookbook to be released at the end of this month. How is it that Hymanson and Kramer can create seemingly simple dishes of mostly vegetables (and a little meat too) in smart, surprising ways with ..read more

If fears about “the bomb” permeated life in the mid-20th century, the video game “Fallout” takes that premise to its worst conclusion. In a post-nuclear wasteland, some survivors have been recreating their 1950s-era idyll underground in elaborate bomb shelters called vaults. Those less lucky have been eking out a life on the surface, where it is dusty and brutal, and nasty oddities abound in the form of ghouls, who exist in a liminal space between human and zombie. How the hell did we get here? The Amazon TV adaptation explains by toggling between two timelines: Los Angeles of the 1950s and wh ..read more

By Mary Ann Anderson, Tribune News Service MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga.— When the Savannah-born Flannery O’Connor, widely regarded as the queen of Southern Gothic literature, moved home to Georgia from Connecticut in 1951, she was diagnosed with lupus, an incurable, crippling autoimmune disease. Her mother brought the then 25-year-old to live with her at Andalusia, the family farm just north of Milledgeville, a town of some 17,000 in the heart of Georgia’s lake country. Environment is everything to a writer, and the venerable yet charming two-story white house rising on a hill and overlooking a quietly ..read more

Stephanie Lai | (TNS) Bloomberg News Republican nominee Donald Trump and his campaign will host a donor retreat next week in Palm Beach, Florida, with some prominent Republicans who have been discussed as his potential running mate. Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina; North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem; and Representatives Elise Stefanik of New York and Byron Donalds of Florida are scheduled to appear, according to an invitation obtained by Bloomberg News. About 400 donors to Trump’s political operation are expected to attend th ..read more