Kill Your 'Idol': Netflix's 'Rhythm + Flow' rewrites the rules for music competitions
Like many viewers during the height of “American Idol” fever over a decade ago, Cardi B was glued to the TV, imagining what kind of judge she would be if tasked with critiquing aspiring performers. “Everybody always wanted to be a judge on one of those judgey shows. You see Simon Cowell and you think,…
Missing the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway? It just reopened
The popular Palm Springs Aerial Tramway that takes visitors from the desert floor up to a high point on Mt. San Jacinto reopened Monday morning. It had been shut for maintenance since Sept. 9. The tram runs every day year-round but closes annually to test its mechanical and electrical systems, according to a press release.…
Hiking trail reopens, a year and a half after Kilauea's eruptions and 60,000 quakes
The popular Kilauea Iki Trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park recently fully reopened, a year and a half after Kilauea erupted and more than 60,000 quakes rattled the volcano’s summit. The shaking last year damaged much of the park, including the popular four-mile loop from the rim of a crater to its floor. Now visitors…
Amtrak launches 2-for-1 sale on sleeping car tickets for long-distance train travel
Ready for a long train ride on your next vacation? Buy a roomette or bedroom ticket on selected Amtrak trains, and a companion goes free. It’s cool savings for those who want to see America by riding the rails on long-distance routes. Sample destinations on sale include: ▶ Los Angeles to Seattle aboard the Coast…
Museum of Selfies coming to Las Vegas, but don't miss the city's other Insta spots
Sick of your selfie self yet? Likely not. The Museum (and I use the term loosely) of Selfies opened last year in Hollywood as a place for anyone to Insta indulge. Now a second site will open in the Miracle Mile Shops on the Las Vegas Strip on Oct. 25. In Las Vegas, some of…
Twitter says it used security phone numbers for ad targeting
Twitter Inc. said it used phone numbers and email addresses that some users uploaded for security reasons to target them with ads. The company said this was “an error” and that the information should not have been used for ad targeting. “We’re very sorry this happened,” Twitter wrote Tuesday in a blog post. It didn’t…
China’s leading AI start-ups hit by U.S. blacklisting
A U.S. move to blacklist four of China’s leading artificial intelligence start-ups has thrown a blockbuster Hong Kong listing into doubt and left billions of dollars of foreign investment caught in the cross fire. On Monday, the U.S. Commerce Department put eight companies on its “entity list,” accusing three of China’s leading facial recognition companies,…
Uber's stock market woes are bad news for PayPal
PayPal Holdings Inc. will report a $228-million loss on investments before taxes in the third quarter, driven in large part by a bad bet on Uber Technologies Inc. just before it went public. Click Here: Cheap Golf Drivers The San Jose-based payments company said the investment in Uber, for $500 million at the initial public…
Weakness in pot stocks scuttles MedMen’s acquisition of PharmaCann
A weakness in pot stocks has scuttled MedMen Enterprises Inc.’s planned acquisition of PharmaCann less than a month after it received antitrust approval. The Los Angeles-based cannabis company said Tuesday that it will terminate the all-share deal, which was valued at $682 million when it was announced last October and MedMen was trading at about…
Slow-braised fresh lima beans are ready when you are
As a pantry staple, you can’t beat dried beans. They’re cheap, store well for a long time, and are filling and hearty. But the thing is, I just don’t have the patience for them. I often get the hankering for beans as soon as I’m hungry, and well, there’s no time for that critical step…