It’s as if everyone in Hollywood ran out of new ideas all at once. Don’t blame writers, but executives who are rapidly shepherding their industry towards irrelevance with an over-reliance on reworked IP, while original ideas are left unproduced. In better news, the winter Olympic Games are this year, with the opening ceremony taking place Feb. 6 on NBC. (The Super Bowl is that Sunday as well.)

“The Pitt”

The Pittsburgh-set medical drama from “ER” showrunner John Wells is back for a second season, premiering almost exactly a year after it first debuted. Imagine, a streaming series returning on a reliable schedule! Dr. Robby (“ER” veteran Noah Wyle) is back once again, overseeing the managed chaos, student doctors and medical residents of his emergency department. One of the best examples of competency as comfort, something we could all use more of at the moment in real life. From Jan. 8 on HBO Max.

“The Night Manager”

Stylish and prestige-y as hell, Season 1 of this Tom Hiddleston spy drama premiered (squints) eight years ago. Welp, this is how TV works today. Season 2 follows Hiddleston’s character across the UK, Spain, Colombia and France as he “races to expose a conspiracy designed to destabilize a nation.” From Jan. 11 on Amazon. 

“Hijack”

The first season of this “Die Hard” ripoff starring Idris Elba took place on a seven-hour flight from Dubai to London. For the entirely unnecessary second season, the setting is now a subway in Berlin that’s been taken hostage. If Elba’s character doesn’t say “Why does this keep happening to me?!” at any point, then what are we even doing here? From Jan. 14 on Apple TV.  

“Ponies”

“Game of Thrones” alum Emilia Clarke stars in this 1977-set Cold War thriller about two women (the other is played by Haley Lu Richardson) who become CIA operatives after their husbands are killed under mysterious circumstances in Moscow. The pair become “ponies” in the parlance — persons of no interest — in order to uncover the truth of what really happened. From Jan. 15 on Peacock. 

“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”

Another “Game of Thrones” spinoff. A prequel, this one takes place a hundred years before the events of “GoT,” as two unlikely heroes wander through Westeros: “A young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.” From Jan. 18 on HBO. 

“Steal”

Here I am typing “Game of Thrones” again because the show’s alum Sophie Turner returns to TV in this thriller about a heist at a British pension fund investment company: “But who would steal billions of pounds of ordinary people’s pensions and why? DCI Rhys (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) is determined to find out, but as a recently relapsed gambling addict, Rhys must keep his own money problems at bay while dealing with the secret agendas and competing interests at the center of this far-reaching crime.” From Jan. 21 on Amazon.  

“Drops of God”

I really liked the first season of this emotionally engrossing drama about two young wine experts who battle for a massive inheritance. The series was also criminally underseen, likely because: 1) Apple’s approach to promotion leaves much to be desired; 2) there are no recognizable (American) stars; and 3) that title, which makes sense once you’ve seen the show, but otherwise … nope. It’s back for a second season and if you’ve been missing that frisson of discovery in your TV viewing, this one is worth seeking out. From Jan. 21 on Apple TV.  

“Bridgerton”

Not a fan of this show, but plenty are, so mark your calendars. The Shonda Rhimes historical romance returns for Season 4, with a focus on the family’s second-eldest son, Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), who falls for a servant who sneaks into a masquerade ball. Netflix is chopping the season into two parts. From Jan. 29 on Netflix; the second half premieres Feb. 26.  

“Dark Winds”

This adaptation of Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn & Chee novels, with their stories of the Navajo Tribal Police in the 1970s, continues with a fourth season about a missing Navajo girl, which takes our investigators out of their usual setting and sends them to the underbelly of organized crime in Los Angeles. A tick or two better than your typical cop show, star Zahn McClarnon is reason enough to watch. From Feb. 15 on AMC.  

“Scrubs”

The medical comedy from the early aughts is back, reuniting the old gang: J.D. (Zach Braff), Turk (Donald Faison), Elliot (Sarah Chalke), Carla (Judy Reyes) and John C. McGinley’s memorably tangy Dr. Cox. New cast members include Vanessa Bayer and Joel Kim Booster. The premise appears to be the same as it was, picking up where the show left off. From Feb. 25 on ABC.

“Scarpetta”

A crime thriller based on Patricia Cornwell’s book series about the forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta, played by Nicole Kidman. According to the marketing blurb: “With skilled hands and an unnerving eye, this unrelenting medical examiner is determined to serve as the voice of the victims, unmask a serial killer, and prove that her career-making case from 28 years prior isn’t also her undoing. Set against the backdrop of modern forensic investigation, the series delves beyond the crime scene to explore the psychological complexities of both perpetrators and investigators, creating a multi-layered thriller that examines the toll of pursuing justice at all costs.” From March 11 on Amazon.  

From Neko Case to Rob Thomas and The Philadelphia Funk Authority to an annual Hank Williams tribute concert at Godfrey Daniels, the Lehigh Valley is a music-lovers paradise this month.

Read on for January’s top Lehigh Valley concerts.

JACK MURRAY & THE BLUE TARP WRANGLERS

When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 1

Where: Godfrey Daniels, 7 E. 4th St., Bethlehem

How much: $26.63-$31.82

Tickets: godfreydaniels.org/ 610-867-2390

Musical style: Americana, blues, country

Known for hits like: “Once a Day,” “Dublin Blues,” “Lost Highway,” “Hey Good Lookin” and “Believe What You Say”

Meet the band: Jack Murray is an accomplished singer-songwriter who has penned songs for Nashville recording artists like Alabama and Ronnie Sessions. He’s played in several bands and has become a main-stay at the Sellersville Theater and Godfrey Daniels. Jack fronts The Blue Tarp Wranglers when not performing as a solo artist. The band’s line-up includes guitarist Alan Landes, bassist Nick Franclik, percussionist Josh Kanusky and pedal steel maestro Dave Van Allen.

Check them out if you like: Hank Williams, Buck Owens, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Chris Smithers, Lenny Kaye, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

PHILADELPHIA FUNK AUTHORITY

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 2

Where: Musikfest Cafe, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem

How much: $19.25-$34.25

Tickets: artsquest.com 610-332-1300

Musical style: Funk, soul, R&B

Known for hits like: Eclectic covers of dance songs, including “Disco Inferno,” “I Can’t Go For That,” “1999,” “Uptown Funk” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”

Meet the band: Philadelphia Funk Authority is an award-winning band that prides itself on bringing the party. Their performances are exceptionally high energy with the intention of getting everyone on the dancefloor. Comprised of nine professional musicians, with a knack for bringing out the best in live crowds, the band takes on the best party hits from the past 50 years.

Check them out if you like: Prince, Hall & Oates, The Trammps, Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Lionel Richie, Kool & The Gang

ROB THOMAS

When: 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16

Where: Wind Creek Event Center, 77 Wind Creek Blvd., Bethlehem

How much: $79.50-$169.50

Tickets: ticketmaster.com/ 610-297-7414

Musical style: Pop, alternative, adult contemporary

Known for hits like: “Smooth” (w/Santana), “3 AM,” and “Push” (both in w/Matchbox 20), “Little Wonders” and “Lonely No More”

Honors: He’s a 10-time Grammy Award nominee and has won three Grammys for his work on “Smooth” with Santana. He’s written songs for Willie Nelson, Mick Jagger and Travis Tritt, and in 2004 the Songwriters Hall of Fame awarded him the first Hal David Starlight Award. He also fronts the band Matchbox 20, who’ve been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards and have topped the Billboard Charts on several occasions.

Check him out if you like: Matchbox 20, Five For Fighting, Train, Goo Goo Dolls, Santana, Hootie & The Blowfish, Tonic

BIG LAZY

When: 8 p.m. Friday, Jan 16

Where: Godfrey Daniels, 7 E. 4th St., Bethlehem

How much: $30.78-$35.98

Tickets: godfreydaniels.org/ 610-867-2390

Musical style: Instrumental noir, jazz, soundtrack

Known for hits like: “Skinless Boneless,” “Avenue X,” “Ramona,” “Girl” and “Don’t Cross Myrtle”

Meet the band: Deemed “The Big Apple Crème de la Crème” by esteemed critic Robert Christgau, NYC’s Big Lazy have been playing their distinct combination of instrumental noir and twang for over two decades, blending elements of rock, jazz and the Avant Garde into one solid sound. The band has been featured on a number of radio, film and television programs, and appeared live on NPR’s Weekend Edition. Stephen Ulrich, the founder of the band, is also the composer for the HBO series “Bored to Death” and the documentary “Art and Craft.”

Check them out if you like: Stephen Ulrich, Marc Ribot, Guano Padano, Spindrift, Langhorns, Friends of Dean Martinez, Shotnez

NEKO CASE

When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17

Where: Archer Music Hall, 939 Hamilton Street, Allentown

How much: $46-$72

Tickets: ticketmaster.com/ 610-798-1466

Musical style: Indie rock, alt-country, singer-songwriter

Known for hits like: “I Wish I Was the Moon,” “Calling Cards,” “Buckets of Rain,” “Star Witness” and “Hold On, Hold On”

Meet the artist: She’s a member of the Canadian supergroup The New Pornographers, was celebrated as the Female Artist of the Year at the PLUG Independent Music Awards in 2006, in 2010 her album “Middle Cyclone” was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Recording Package at the 52nd Grammy Awards, and in 2014 her album “The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You” was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. She’s appeared on numerous television shows, like “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” and the Australian music quiz show “Spicks and Specks.” And she’s been a guest on radio shows like NPR’s “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” and BBC Radio’s “Woman’s Hour.”

Check her out if you like: The New Pornographers, Nicole Atkins, Jenny Lewis, Dusty Springfield, Wilco, Rilo Kiley, Lucinda Williams

PROFESSOR LOUIE & THE CROWMATIX

When:  8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17

Where: Godfrey Daniels, 7 E. 4th St., Bethlehem

How much: $30.78-$35.98

Tickets: godfreydaniels.org/ 610-867-2390

Musical style: Blues, gospel, American roots

Known for hits like: “Miss Marie,” “Don’t Wait,” “Living in the Country” and “A Thousand Ways to Freedom”

Meet the band: Professor Louie & The Crowmatix started out as the backing band for The Band, they’ve received five Grammy nominations, their album, “Crowin’ the Blues” reached No. 24 on the Australian Blues & Roots Airplay International Charts in 2017, and “Miles of Blues,” was awarded “Best Album” by Radio Crystal Blue in 2019. Professor Louie (real name Aaron L. Hurwitz) produced three albums for The Band — “Jericho,” “High on the Hog” and “Jubilation” — and has also produced and performed with Graham Parker, Commander Cody, Guy Davis, and Buckwheat Zydeco. Professor Louie was inducted into New York’s Blues Hall of Fame in 2016.

Check them out if you like: The Band, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, The Allman Brothers Band

THE MENZINGERS

When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24

Where: Archer Music Hall, 939 Hamilton Street, Allentown

How much: $46-$71

Tickets: ticketmaster.com/ 610-798-1466

Musical style: Pop punk, alternative, punk rock

Known for hits like: “After the Party,” “I Don’t Wanna be an Asshole Anymore,” “Good Things,” “Lookers” and “Anna”

Meet the band: Formed in Scranton in 2006, The Menzingers are a punk band that signed with Epitaph in 2011, and have released seven studio albums to date. Last year they put out a deluxe edition of their 2023 album, “Some of it was True,” produced by Brad Cook (Bon Iver, The War on Drugs, Waxahatchee) and expanding the album with two new tracks.

Check them out if you like: Gaslight Anthem, Bouncing Souls, Beach Slang, Modern Baseball, The Wonder Years, Against Me!, Hot Water Music

STRANGELOVE: THE DEPECHE MODE EXPERIENCE

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27

Where: Sellersville Theater, 24 W. Temple Ave.

How much: $40-$47

Tickets: www.st94.com/ 215-257-5808

Musical style: New wave, synth-pop, post-punk

Known for hits like: Covers of Depeche Mode hits like, “Never Let You Down Again,” “Enjoy the Silence,” “Master and Servant,” “Policy of Truth,” “People are People” and “A Question of Lust”

Meet the band: They were featured on E!’s “Clash of the Cover Bands,” and in 2015 were included in LA Weekly’s “20 Best Tribute Acts in Los Angeles.” They formed in 2010 and have since played all over the U.S. as well as internationally in Mexico, Canada, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and England. They were featured on a Depeche Mode tribute album called “Music for Constructions,” that went to No. 1 on Amazon Germany in the Indie & Lo-Fi category.

Check them out if you like: Depeche Mode, New Order, Soft Cell, Duran Duran. Tears for Fears, Simple Minds, Gary Numan

JESSIE’S GIRL: BACK TO THE ’80s SHOW

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31

Where: Penn’s Peak, 325 Maury Rd., Jim Thorpe

How much: $48-$58

Tickets: www.pennspeak.com/ 866-605-7325

Musical style: New wave, pop, arena rock

Known for hits like: Covers of classic ‘80s hits including “1999,” “99 Red Balloons,” “Rebel Yell,” “Like a Virgin” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me”

Meet the band: Celebrate the ‘80s in true style with this team of seasoned musicians taking on the most memorable hits of everyone’s favorite decade. From high-profile appearances at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, ABC/NY Magazine’s launch party, The Goldbergs, a Halloween bash with Jamie Foxx, a private birthday party for ‘80s icon Neil Patrick Harris, to opening for Smash Mouth, Jessie’s Girl continues to sell out shows across the country.

Check them out if you like: Prince, Bon Jovi, Hall & Oates, Madonna, Billy Idol, Men at Work, Def Leppard

Jay Honstetter is a freelance writer.

The department confirmed to NBC4 that though the Reiners’ causes of death “have already been made public,” LAPD wanted “to ensure detectives from Robbery-Homicide Division learned of important information surrounding their deaths before the media and the public. The order was not sought to undermine transparency.”

The Los Angeles County Office of Medical Examiner told the outlet that the medical examiner’s report is among the information now subject to the hold, which indefinitely prevents its release.

“The Department understands the public’s interest in these cases and remains committed to transparence when possible,” said the M.E.’s office. “Information will be made available once the court order is lifted.”

The “When Harry Met Sally” director, 78, and 70-year-old photographer — who also shared son Jake, 34, and 28-year-old daughter Romy — were fatally stabbed in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14. Son Nick, 32, was quickly taken into custody and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He faces life in prison without parole or the death penalty, if convicted.

A police source confirmed to People earlier this month that Nick, who has long battled substance abuse, was in solitary confinement and on suicide watch, which might last for “a long time depending on his mental health.”

While Nick reportedly suffers from schizophrenia — medication for which is said to have made his “alarming” behavior more “erratic and dangerous” — he also admitted on a podcast in 2016 to having faked being “crazy” so he could get access to the antidepressant Wellbutrin.

Now in its 26th year, there are many ways you can help make the Lehigh Valley a better place to live, like these angels have:

Restoration Life Center, Allentown, received two office chairs from an anonymous donor.

Gracedale Nursing Home, Nazareth, received five ieGeek portable DVD players from George Frack of DannyKay Properties LLC, Northampton. Anita Decker of Emmaus donated five Walmart gift cards. Hovus Inc., Bethlehem donated nine robotic cats and six robotic dogs.

Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley, Allentown, received a monetary donation from an anonymous donor.

Burro Manor Donkey Sanctuary, Danielsville, received a monetary donation from Carol Neibauer.

Lehigh Valley Therapy Dogs, Allentown, received a monetary donation from an anonymous donor.

Hackerman-Patz House at LVHN, Allentown, received a Target gift card from Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Narsewicz of Easton.

Mosser Nursing Home, Trexlertown, received Hobby Lobby and Giant gift cards from M.J. Sollenberger. John and Jessie Ann Moser of Wescosville made a monetary donation for residents who can’t afford to get their hair done at their hair salon.

Friends of the Bethlehem Mounted Police, Bethlehem, received monetary donations from William Jesse of Allentown, George and Linda Oplinger of Bethlehem, Kathleen Bielinkski of Bethlehem, Raymond and Maureen Reph of Bethlehem, and Sal and Lynn Vincelli of Bethlehem. Tractor Supply gift cards were donated by Carter Atkins of Bethlehem and an anonymous donor.

Comprehensive Health Services, Allentown, received new hats and gloves from anonymous donors. 

Northampton Area Public Library received an Amazon gift card from LeAnn Chandler of Northampton. A monetary donation was made by Joan Miller of Northampton.

Dream Come True, Lehigh Valley, received postage stamps from Cindy and Tim Talaber of Coopersburg. Target gift cards were donated by William Jesse of Allentown and Dennit and Donna Golden of Pen Argyl. Monetary donations were made by Peter Peluso of Wescosville, Scott and Debra Schreffler of Bethlehem, John and Susan Winders of Macungie in memory of their granddaughter Laura, and the Zawada Family in memory of their son Ryan.

If your nonprofit participated in the Be an Angel campaign, please report your donations to beanangel@mcall.com.

The Be an Angel campaign runs through Jan. 31. To see what items are needed, visit mcall.com/beanangel.

PARIS (AP) — Brigitte Bardot, the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later a militant animal rights activist and far-right supporter, has died. She was 91.

Bardot died Sunday at her home in southern France, according to Bruno Jacquelin, of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the protection of animals. Speaking to The Associated Press, he gave no cause of death, and said that no arrangements had been made for funeral or memorial services. She had been hospitalized last month.

Bardot became an international celebrity as a sexualized teen bride in the 1956 movie “And God Created Woman.” Directed by then husband Roger Vadim, it triggered a scandal with scenes of the long-legged beauty dancing on tables naked.

At the height of a cinema career that spanned more than two dozen films and three marriages, Bardot came to symbolize a nation bursting out of bourgeois respectability. Her tousled, blond hair, voluptuous figure and pouty irreverence made her one of France’s best-known stars, even as she struggled with depression.

Such was her widespread appeal that in 1969 her features were chosen to be the model for “Marianne,” the national emblem of France and the official Gallic seal. Bardot’s face appeared on statues, postage stamps and coins.

‘’We are mourning a legend,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in an X post.

Bardot’s second career as an animal rights activist was equally sensational. She traveled to the Arctic to blow the whistle on the slaughter of baby seals. She also condemned the use of animals in laboratory experiments, and she opposed Muslim slaughter rituals.

“Man is an insatiable predator,” Bardot told The Associated Press on her 73rd birthday, in 2007. “I don’t care about my past glory. That means nothing in the face of an animal that suffers, since it has no power, no words to defend itself.”

Her activism earned her compatriots’ respect and, in 1985, she was awarded the Legion of Honor, the nation’s highest recognition.

Turn to the far right

Later, however, she fell from public grace as her animal protection diatribes took on a decidedly extremist tone. She frequently decried the influx of immigrants into France, especially Muslims.

She was convicted and fined five times in French courts of inciting racial hatred, in incidents inspired by her opposition to the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep during annual religious holidays.

Bardot’s 1992 marriage to fourth husband Bernard d’Ormale, a onetime adviser to far-right National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, contributed to her political shift. She described Le Pen, an outspoken nationalist with multiple racism convictions of his own, as a “lovely, intelligent man.”

In 2012, she supported the presidential bid of Marine Le Pen, who now leads her father’s renamed National Rally party. Le Pen paid homage Sunday to an “exceptional woman” who was “incredibly French.”

In 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, Bardot said in an interview that most actors protesting sexual harassment in the film industry were “hypocritical,” because many played “the teases” with producers to land parts.

She said she had never had been a victim of sexual harassment and found it “charming to be told that I was beautiful or that I had a nice little ass.”

Privileged but ‘difficult’ upbringing

Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born Sept. 28, 1934, to a wealthy industrialist. A shy child, she studied classical ballet and was discovered by a family friend who put her on the cover of Elle magazine at age 14.

Bardot once described her childhood as “difficult” and said that her father was a strict disciplinarian who would sometimes punish her with a horse whip.

Vadim, a French movie produce who she married in 1952, saw her potential and wrote “And God Created Woman” to showcase her provocative sensuality, an explosive cocktail of childlike innocence and raw sexuality.

The film, which portrayed Bardot as a teen who marries to escape an orphanage and then beds her brother-in-law, had a decisive influence on New Wave directors Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut, and came to embody the hedonism and sexual freedom of the 1960s.

The film was a box-office hit, and it made Bardot a superstar. Her girlish pout, tiny waist and generous bust were often more appreciated than her talent.

“It’s an embarrassment to have acted so badly,” Bardot said of her early films. “I suffered a lot in the beginning. I was really treated like someone less than nothing.”

Bardot’s unabashed, off-screen love affair with co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant eradicated the boundaries between her public and private life and turned her into a hot prize for paparazzi.

Bardot never adjusted to the limelight. She blamed the constant media attention for the suicide attempt that followed 10 months after the birth of her only child, Nicolas. Photographers had broken into her house two weeks before she gave birth to snap a picture of her pregnant.

Nicolas’ father was Jacques Charrier, a French actor who she married in 1959 but who never felt comfortable in his role as Monsieur Bardot. Bardot soon gave up her son to his father, and later said she had been chronically depressed and unready for the duties of being a mother.

“I was looking for roots then,” she said in an interview. “I had none to offer.”

In her 1996 autobiography “Initiales B.B.,” she likened her pregnancy to “a tumor growing inside me,” and described Charrier as “temperamental and abusive.”

Bardot married her third husband, West German millionaire playboy Gunther Sachs, in 1966, and they divorced three years later.

Among her films were “A Parisian” (1957); “In Case of Misfortune,” in which she starred in 1958 with screen legend Jean Gabin; “The Truth” (1960); “Private Life” (1962); “A Ravishing Idiot” (1964); “Shalako” (1968); “Women” (1969); “The Bear And The Doll” (1970); “Rum Boulevard” (1971); and “Don Juan” (1973).

With the exception of 1963’s critically acclaimed “Contempt,” directed by Godard, Bardot’s films were rarely complicated by plots. Often they were vehicles to display Bardot in scanty dresses or frolicking nude in the sun.

“It was never a great passion of mine,” she said of filmmaking. “And it can be deadly sometimes. Marilyn (Monroe) perished because of it.”

Bardot retired to her Riviera villa in St. Tropez at the age of 39 in 1973 after “The Woman Grabber.” As fans brought flowers to her home Sunday, the local St. Tropez administration called for “respect for the privacy of her family and the serenity of the places where she lived.”

Middle-aged reinvention

She emerged a decade later with a new persona: An animal rights lobbyist, her face was wrinkled and her voice was deep following years of heavy smoking. She abandoned her jet-set life and sold off movie memorabilia and jewelry to create a foundation devoted exclusively to the prevention of animal cruelty.

Depression sometimes dogged her, and she said that she attempted suicide again on her 49th birthday.

Her activism knew no borders. She urged South Korea to ban the sale of dog meat and once wrote to U.S. President Bill Clinton asking why the U.S. Navy recaptured two dolphins it had released into the wild.

She attacked centuries-old French and Italian sporting traditions including the Palio, a free-for-all horse race, and campaigned on behalf of wolves, rabbits, kittens and turtle doves.

“It’s true that sometimes I get carried away, but when I see how slowly things move forward … my distress takes over,” Bardot told the AP when asked about her racial hatred convictions and opposition to Muslim ritual slaughter,

In 1997, several towns removed Bardot-inspired statues of Marianne after the actress voiced anti-immigrant sentiment. Also that year, she received death threats after calling for a ban on the sale of horse meat.

Environmental campaigner Paul Watson, who was beaten on a seal hunt protest in Canada alongside Bardot in 1977 and campaigned with her for five decades, acknowledged that “many disagreed with Brigitte’s politics or some of her views.”

“Her allegiance was not to the world of humans,” he said. “The animals of this world lost a wonderful friend today.”

Bardot once said that she identified with the animals that she was trying to save.

“I can understand hunted animals, because of the way I was treated,” Bardot said. “What happened to me was inhuman. I was constantly surrounded by the world press.”

___

Elaine Ganley provided reporting for this story before her retirement. Angela Charlton contributed to this report.

The Easton landmark announced Friday that it would close its doors for the last time at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

“Saying goodbye is hard to do,” the restaurant posted on Facebook. “We want to thank all of our staff and our patrons who have been with us for the past 15+ years. The memories and friendships we made over the years will last forever. We’re gonna miss you all.”

Located on Lehns Court in Easton, on the southeast corner of Centre Square, Mother’s has been in operation for more than three decades. Its current owners, Joseph and Michael Simonetta, recently purchased and reopened the nearby Pearly Baker’s Alehouse along with brother Philip.

NEW YORK (AP) — Perry Archangelo Bamonte, longtime guitarist and keyboardist for the influential goth band The Cure, has died. He was 65.

The band made the announcement on their official website on Friday.

“It is with enormous sadness that we confirm the death of our great friend and bandmate Perry Bamonte, who passed away after a short illness at home over Christmas,” the band wrote.

“Quiet, intense, intuitive, constant and hugely creative, ‘Teddy’ was a warm hearted and vital part of The Cure story,” the statement continued. “Our thoughts and condolences are with all his family. He will be very greatly missed.”

Bamonte worked with the band in various roles from 1984 to 1989, including as roadie and guitar tech. He officially joined the band in 1990, when keyboardist Roger O’Donnell quit. It was then that he became a full-time member of the group, playing guitar, six-string bass and keyboard.

Having joined just after the band’s mainstream breakthrough, 1989’s “Disintegration,” Bamonte is featured on a number of The Cure’s albums, including 1992’s “Wish” — which features the career-defining hits ″Friday I’m in Love″ and “High” — as well as the 1996’s “Wild Mood Swings,” 2000’s “Bloodflowers” and 2004’s self-titled release.

Bamonte was fired from The Cure by its singer and leader Robert Smith in 2005. At that point in time, he had performed at over 400 shows across 14 years. Bamonte rejoined the group in recent years, touring with the band in 2022 for another 90 gigs.

In 2019, Bamonte was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside the rest of The Cure.

His last performance with the band was on Nov. 1, 2024 in London for a special one-off event to launch their latest album and first in 16 years, “Songs of a Lost World.” The concert was filmed for “The Cure: The Show of a Lost World,” a film released in cinemas globally this month. It is also available to purchase on Blu-ray and DVD.

The Associated Press described “Songs of a Lost World” as “lush and deeply orchestral, swelling and powerful” — one of the best of the band’s career.

Stankovic, the longtime lead singer of the polka band “Stanky and the Coal Miners,” headlined countless Northeast Pennsylvania bazaars and sailed the world for decades as the starring entertainer on cruise ships.

“Every night Stanky ended the performance with the song ‘I don’t want to go home, don’t want to go home’ but today Stanky was called safely home.,” a posting on his band’s website announced. “He will be greatly missed by his family, friends and fans!!!.”

His coal miner father urged Stankovic to learn to play the accordion as a young boy rather than focusing on baseball. He told him if he learned 10 songs he could make a living for himself.

“I told him, ‘I’ll learn 11 and see the world.’ And I did,” Stankovic said in a 2019 interview.

Stankovic toured the world thanks to his accordion playing skills and wholesome polka songs.

He told his life story in an autobiography titled “Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie: The Story of Stanky and the Coal Miners.”

Back in his polka band’s heyday, Stankovic once had a globe-crossing marathon weekend. He performed in England on a Friday, at the Bloomsburg Fair that Saturday and then in Switzerland on Sunday. He once performed in front of one million people at a festival in Tiananmen Square in China. His polka band would pack cruise ships as the main act on excursions all across the world.

“We saw the entire world playing Polka music from Nanticoke Pennsylvania,” said Stankovic’s daughter Debbie Stankovic Horoschock, a trumpeter in his band.

For example, one day they would play in Nanticoke and the next day they would play in South Korea with little notice, Horoschock said.

“He loved entertaining people. He loved being around people. He had a great love for life. There is a heritage and a tradition to it. It’s music that lifts you up,” Horoschock said.

Stankovic was inducted into the International Polka Association’s Hall of Fame in August 2019. Earlier this year, he gained induction into the Luzerne County Arts and Entertainment Hall of Fame. Stankovic was also recognized for 60-plus years of serving the fire station in the city’s Hanover section.

Stankovic’s biggest supporter for most of his career was his wife of more than 60 years, Dottie, well known as Luzerne County’s long-time elected register of wills.

Dottie often took the stage with the band to sing, ring bells and play the violin. For decades, the couple hosted the “Pennsylvania Polka” show on WVIA public television, a show which televised people dancing to polka music.

Stankovic’s band name was originally the “Tip Toppers” until he changed it to “Stanky and the Coal Miners.”

While the name paid tribute to the area’s coal mining roots, for him it was literal.

Stankovic’s early band mates were all coal miners and he picked them up directly from the mines to go on gigs

“We used to pick them up and their faces were black, their clothes were black. We used to get to a job and they would wash their faces off in the restroom and then come out to play,” Stankovic recalled in a 2019 interview.

Hazleton native Jan Lewandowski, one of the world’s most famous polka musicians who was portrayed by actor Jack Black in the 2017 movie “Polka King,” said he was saddened to hear about the news of Stankovic’s death.

They rose the ranks together in the business and often played together at Polka events across the country.

“Stanky was a very close friend to me. He was one of the people who supported me. It was sad news,” said Lewandowski, 83, who now primarily resides in Palm Beach, Florida. “It’s a loss of one of the best polka leaders. He was a very good man. He was everyone’s friend.”

Lewandowski, known professionally as “Jan Lewan,” said Stankovic gave him the single best piece of advice during his career.

During his performances, Lewan said he did covers of Bobby Vinton’s song “My Melody of Love.” Vinton was more famous than both and known nationally as “the Polish Prince.”

Stankovic said Lewandowski told him he did such a good job with the song — maybe even better than Vinton — he should close his shows with it instead of playing it near the beginning.

“It always came back to me what John Stanky said about the ‘Melody of Love.’ ‘You should sing it in the end and not the beginning.’ The ‘Melody of Love’ has been going on through my career because of what Stanky said,” Lewandowski said.

Plymouth Councilwoman Alexis Eroh, the leader of the nonprofit group Plymouth Alive, said Stankovic, was a great man. He performed at the Plymouth Alive Kielbasa Festival from the beginning.

“John Stanky was a living polka legend and a Plymouth Alive was so fortunate to have his incredible talents at the Kielbasa Festival for over 20 years,” Eroh said.

State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-121, of Wilkes-Barre, who was a musician on the side of his teaching career, said Stankovic was a legend.

“When I was a kid, the polka music was ‘thee’ music. You would hear it on a Sunday afternoon and all day at your house,” Pashinski said.

Pashinski said Stankovic changed the world and industry. .

“Because of John Stanky’s talent, John exposed everyone who heard him to polka music. He shared it all over the United States and beyond. Now he’s known worldwide. I have great admiration for him,” Pashinski said. “He’s a legend.”

Stankovic’s band inspired a new generation of local Polish band members, the group “Polka Bandski.”

The band leader Dan Van Why said Stankovic was an inspiration.

“He’s a legend,” Van Why said. “He’s one of the last giants of polka in the region.”

The band has long prided itself on pairing infectious, techno-driven rhythms with sharp social and political commentary. That approach continues on the recent single “Hater Liquidator,” taken from the forthcoming album “We Mean It, Man!” — a defiant, high-energy track that plays like post-punk revenge set to a dance-floor pulse.

Led by Ukrainian-born frontman Eugene Hütz, Gogol Bordello is closing out the year with a run of East Coast dates, including a stop at Archer Music Hall in Allentown on Sunday.

I recently spoke with Hütz about the upcoming Allentown performance, the new album and more in the interview below.

Q. What can fans expect from the band’s upcoming performance at Archer Music Hall in Allentown?

Hütz: We just came back from touring Europe and spent two months sizzling up to perfection our new material. So it’s a safe time to say the new material is fully activated. We’re not going to be testing it out. It’s fully blazing. It’s going to be a broiler and a boiler.

Is there a way you can put into words what the music of Gogol Bordello is all about?

As a band we wanted to do something that was going to be chimney for our love of music. We have all of these logs burning with our love for punk rock, gypsy music, classical, hardcore and techno in this one fireplace called Gogol Bordello. It’s a synthesis of all of these elements. By margining this orchestra pit with mosh pit aesthetics we stumbled into this Frankenstein of high energy sinful, gypsy and hardcore folk punk.

What can you tell me about the band’s most recent single, “Hater Liquidator?”

It’s a perfect example of bringing in new elements. This one heavily features synth and the brilliant playing and catchy melodies by Erica Mancini. The song is about perseverance through the crazy times in which we’re living. But it’s also an optimistic song that points to the fact that these tough times are a distillation process of letting go of negative patterns in your life and letting the positive qualities in ourselves bubble up to the top.

The track is part of the band’s new album coming out in February. How does this one relate to some of the band’s previous work?

The opening track, “We Mean It, Man!” kind of paints the picture fast. It’s high energy, post punk/post hardcore along the lines of our breakthrough album, Gypsy Punks. It’s a playful album with a lot of similar qualities.

We’re seeing quite a bit of AI being used to create songs these days. What’s your opinion on that and do you see it having any sort of real impact?

I don’t see it happening because it’s such a blatant personality-less way of creating. A person can tell the genericness of the material they’re being fed. I believe AI is a fantastic development for tech that will do good in engineering and give new hope in medicine and astronomy but it’s not going to be great for soul matters. As long as people are made of flesh and bone the idea of AI is not going to be a dominant force in life.

Was a career in music something you always envisioned for yourself?

Absolutely. I never debated it. As a kid I loved music and was also an athlete and long-distance runner. But when I was thirteen and heard Ronnie James Dio’s album “The Last in Line” and the opening track “We Rock,” my athletic career quickly came to an end [laughs].

Are there any other projects you’re working on for 2026?

Running my record label, Casa Gogol Records, is a project that takes a lot of care. I’m finding myself more and more in a producer chair working with new bands from New York City. It makes me feel optimistic. It’s a period where people with infectious energy are playing exciting music with just drums bass and a couple of guitars. The things they’re doing are mind blowingly exciting. I’m really enjoying this rebirth of this atmosphere. Our label is all about being a portal for that.

Is there a message you have for fans here in the Lehigh Valley prior to the band’s performance? Something you’d like them to know?

If you like the idea of dancing around the fire to high energy music and have taste for maximum celebration then this will be a night for you. It’s great to be together. We love rocking out with our friends, family and our fans in one cathartic hoe down. So if you’re into that uplifting energy, this should be your call.

James Wood is a freelance writer. His new music-themed novel, “Beyond What We Know” is available now. You can contact him at jimmywood@gmail.com

NEW YORK (AP) — Tom Freston could easily fill a book with stories from the formative days of MTV and his celebrity encounters — Bono would merit a few chapters on his own. Ultimately, though, Freston feels that his life has a more valuable lesson to offer.

His memoir, “Unplugged,” shows by example that trying to follow a straight line to success is not the only path.

Freston, 80, was at MTV from the start and became its leader, along with sister networks Comedy Central, VH1 and Nickelodeon, at their greatest periods of success. He rose to become CEO of parent corporation Viacom before chairman Sumner Redstone’s impatience led to his ouster in 2006.

Since then Freston has largely freelanced, advising the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Vice, before its implosion. He made a memorable return to business in Afghanistan, and has been chairman of the ONE Campaign, the anti-poverty organization devoted to Africa that Bono spearheaded, for nearly two decades.

“I was improvising,” he said. “It was like a bebop lifestyle, hitting notes instead of having a long, set classical structure.”

His wanderlust unsettled Freston’s suburban Connecticut parents when he took a gap year after earning an MBA at New York University. They had reason to believe he had gotten it out of his system when he took a job at a Madison Avenue advertising agency in the early 1970s.

Saying no to a life convincing people to squeeze the Charmin

He soon faced a crossroads when he couldn’t muster enthusiasm for a role on his agency’s important Charmin account. An old girlfriend said to him: “All those years of school, that fancy MBA degree, and you are selling toilet paper? You’re better than that.”

She had a point. It was January 1972, and the woman invited him to hitchhike through France and Spain, then eventually into the Sahara Desert. He left the agency behind.

Thus began several years of travel, where he particularly fell in love with Afghanistan and India. Freston started a business importing clothing from Asia. The company, Hindu Kush, was successful for a time before restrictions on imports during the Carter administration killed it.

Freston landed back in New York. He read an interview where an executive in the nascent cable television industry talked about starting a music network built on videos and reached out for an interview for a marketing job. He met with a 26-year-old Bob Pittman, who wondered about the appearance of “Afghanistan” on his resume.

Pittman suspected Freston was a hashish smuggler, but that “seemed to make him like me more,” he wrote. Hey, it was rock ‘n’ roll. Freston got the job.

To encourage cable systems to carry the new network, Freston directed film crews that ambushed Pete Townshend on a London Street and David Bowie on a Swiss ski slope to record ads saying “I want my MTV.” Its rapid rise has been well documented, and by 1987 Freston was running MTV Networks.

Music always played in Freston’s office, giving the young, creative employees the sense that it wasn’t a suit in charge. Former employees say he wasn’t afraid to take risks and empower people. It was almost a requirement — particularly

once MTV decided it needed to reinvent itself every few years to appeal to young people, rather than follow its original audience as it aged.

His international experience helped him create MTVs for different countries all around the world.

“It was irreverent and edgy and nonhierarchical, a lot of creative people,” he said. “If you tried to run it in a classic MBA style, it would have been rejected.”

Looking in on a ghost network

Several factors led to MTV’s demise, among them the rise of streaming that turned many once-popular cable destinations into ghost networks. Record companies wouldn’t grant MTV’ streaming rights to play music videos online, undermining chances for a digital transformation, he said.

Now, when Freston lands on MTV, “it’s like seeing your old high school burning down,” he said.

From his book, Freston is clearly still stung by his sudden ouster from Viacom. He makes it a point to tell of attempts to get him back. But in retrospect, the timing couldn’t have been better.

“It was a good thing, because I’m a loyal guy and I probably would have stayed longer,” he said. “In a way I got fired at the apex of the TV revolution. The digital guys were just starting to have an impact in a big way. So I really didn’t have to deal with those unpleasant facts and challenges.”

He was suddenly a free agent, but in demand. Most rewarding was a return to Afghanistan, and working with an entrepreneur, Saad Mohseni, on a television network for the people there. The Taliban put an end to that when they returned to power in 2021 but recently have let Mohseni produce educational programming for girls.

Freston hasn’t been back since the takeover. “I had a death sentence put on me by the Taliban,” he said. “They say we’re all friends now, but I don’t want to take the chance.”

I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

It’s hard to resist one Bono anecdote. The singer’s seduction of Freston to join the ONE Campaign’s board was sealed on a late night of partying in the Riviera. It was 5 a.m., closing time at a disco and Bono, a Dublin buddy and Freston were the only ones left besides a few busboys and a waitress.

On the way out, Bono spied a microphone connected to a karaoke machine. “Pick a U2 song,” Bono told the server. “Any one!” She chose “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” and the famous frontman channeled Frank Sinatra as he sang his classic. The waitress was the only one left to clap.

Who wouldn’t want to have this CEO’s life?

Readers of Freston’s memoir probably won’t greet the dawn with rock stars. He hopes they appreciate the musical notes of his life and apply it to their own.

“Ideally, younger people would find some inspiration in the fact that you don’t have to graduate from college and start the next day at Goldman Sachs, and if you don’t you have a panic attack,” he said.

“If you’re young, you should take some chances,” he said. “Take a risk. Go see the world. The world is the best classroom. Look at the United States from another person’s perspective. You’ll make yourself more interesting as a candidate for a job when you come back.”

David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.