By ALICIA RANCILIO, Associated Press

Tracee Ellis Ross, the actor best-known for her roles in shows like “black-ish” and “Girlfriends,” happens to be single and without children, but she doesn’t let either hold her back from experiencing a fulfilling, joyful life, especially when it comes to vacations.

When friends and family can’t join her, or if she just wants to decompress, Ross will jet-set by herself and have a fabulous time doing it. She says she takes at least one solo trip a year, and if vacationing with others, might stay a little longer to include alone time.

In a new three-part docuseries streaming on The Roku Channel, “Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross,” a camera crew follows the actor on solo trips to Marrakech, Morocco; Cancún, Mexico; and Marbella, Spain.

This image released by Roku shows promotional art for the Roku original series “Traveling Solo with Tracee Ellis Ross. (Roku via AP)

Ross says her first solo travel experience was in her 20s, and she’s learned over the years that even the uncomfortable moments of being by herself have given her coping skills for everyday life.

“What I find is that I gain a muscle strength around being uncomfortable,” she told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “It’s like when a baseball player swings with two bats, and then by the time they get to the one bat, it feels lighter. When you get back into your regular day life and uncomfortable things happen, I have muscle memory to know how to walk through this on my own.”

Ross shared tips to traveling as a party of one:

Ease into it

“Start by going to dinner by yourself,” Ross says. “And if you feel nervous about doing that, go to dinner by yourself on a Tuesday night at 6 o’clock and work your way up to going to dinner by yourself on a Saturday or Friday night at 8 o’clock.

“Walk up to the host and say, ‘I need a table for one.’ See what it feels like to be in that experience because it will only be that times 10 on vacation.”

She suggests bringing something like a book or an iPad when you’re eating alone, and also for when you’re spending time in your room.

That way, “if you end up having to stay in your hotel room the whole time and only going to a restaurant in your hotel or somewhere just around the corner, you don’t feel like you have ruined your trip and done something stupid.”

Know why you’re taking the trip

Ross says there are different reasons for solo trips and you need to understand what yours is.

“Are you going on a solo trip because you’re single and want to meet other people? Are you going on a solo trip because your life is overwhelmed with your children, your dogs, your cats, your job, your life, your survival, all the things, and you’re going to have a moment to sort of recharge and get away by yourself? Or are you going for an adventure?” she asks.

Once you’ve decided what kind of experience you’re seeking, you can make plans to achieve it realistically and safely.

This mage released by Roku shows actor Tracee Ellis Ross in a scene from the Roku original series “Traveling Solo with Tracee Ellis Ross.” (Emily V. Aragones/Roku via AP)

Safety, safety, safety

No matter how independent you are, certain kinds of travelers are more vulnerable than others, especially if they’re by themselves, Ross notes. Take safety seriously when mapping out your itinerary.

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“You might not feel vulnerable, but depending on where you’re going, it might leave you vulnerable. That’s a very specific distinction and something to plan for in order to have a good experience,” she says.

“If you are a Black woman, if you are a woman, if you are LGBTQIA, if you are non-binary, if you are differently abled — that might leave you vulnerable in a foreign place. Make sure you do the best diligence you can to make sure you’re going somewhere that can create a sense of safety for you with whatever those vulnerabilities,” she says.

Ross prefers to travel to destinations with resorts where she can feel safe on her own. “It allows me to not have to adventure off property,” she said. And she returns to places where she’s found comfort “all the time.”

Research many other parts of the trip too

Ross says she’s a planner by nature and does a lot of research online. She also asks around for info about best navigating the experience from beginning to end.

She likes to know whether particular airports are busy and what to expect when she gets there. If it’s a big airport and there’s a lot of walking, she makes sure she has comfortable shoes. She also will pack a personal fan if it’s going to be hot.

Knowing what to expect won’t just lead to feeling prepared and comfortable in general but feeling prepared and comfortable by yourself.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street and Treasury yields are falling sharply after the government reported a sharp slowdown in hiring last month. Markets are also reacting early Friday to the latest tariff news. The S&P 500 fell 1% in the first few minutes of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 383 points, or 0.8%. The Nasdaq composite was down 1.4%. The suprisingly weak hiring numbers led investors to step up their expectations for an interest rate cut in September.

President Donald Trump issued a new set of sweeping import duties that will apply to dozens of countries as of Aug. 7.

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, Associated Press Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld a jury verdict condemning Google’s Android app store as an illegal monopoly, clearing the way for a federal judge to enforce a potentially disruptive shakeup that’s designed to give consumers more choices.

The unanimous ruling issued Thursday by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals delivers a double-barreled legal blow for Google, which has been waylaid in three separate antitrust trials that resulted in different pillars of its internet empire being declared as domineering scofflaws monopolies since late 2023.

The unsuccessful appeal represents a major victory for video game maker Epic Games, which launched a legal crusade targeting Google’s Play Store for Android apps and Apple’s iPhone app store nearly five years ago in an attempt to bypass exclusive payment processing systems that charged 15% to 30% commissions on in-app transactions.

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The jury’s December 2023 rebuke of Google’s app store for Android-powered smartphones began a cascade of setbacks that includes monopoly judgements against the company’s ubiquitous search engine last year and the technology underlying its digital ad network earlier this year.

Although not as lucrative as Google’s search engine or ad system, the Play Store for Android apps has long been a gold mine that generated billions of dollars in annual revenue by taking a 15% to 30% cut from in-app transactions funneled through the company’s own payment processing system.

Following a month-long trial, a nine-person jury determined that Google had rigged its system to thwart alternative app stores from offering better deals to consumers and software developers. That verdict resulted in U.S. District Judge James Donato ordering Google to tear down digital walls shielding the Play Store from competition, triggering the company’s appeal to overturn the jury’s finding and void the judge’s mandated shakeup.

But a three-judge panel that heard Google’s appeal in February rejected its lawyers’ contention that Donato erred by allowing the case to be determined by a jury that deviated from the market definition outlined by another federal judge who mostly sided with Apple in Epic’s case against the iPhone maker’s app store.

Epic’s lawsuit “was replete with evidence that Google’s anticompetitive conduct entrenched its dominance, causing the Play Store to benefit from network effects,” the judges wrote in the decision.

The ruling “will significantly harm user safety, limit choice, and undermine the innovation that has always been central to the Android ecosystem,” Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland said in a statement.

Unless Google can extend the enforcement delay placed on Donato’s order issued last October, the company will have to begin an overhaul that includes making the Play Store’s entire library of more than 2 million Android apps available to would-be rivals and also help distribute the alternative options. Google has argued that the required revisions will raise privacy and security risks by exposing consumers to scam artists and hackers masquerading as legitimate app stores.

But Epic’s lawyers have ridiculed Google’s warnings about the changes as scare tactics in a desperate attempt to protect the fortunes of its corporate parent Alphabet Inc.

Although Epic fell short in its attempt to have the iPhone’s app store declared a monopoly, that case resulted in a judge issuing an order that required Apple to surrender exclusive control over the payment processing of in-app transactions and allow links to alternative systems without collecting a commission.

Besides being hit with Donato’s order, Google still faces further trouble ahead that could leave an even bigger dent in its finances.

As part of the effort to address Google’s illegal monopoly in search, a federal judge is weighing a proposal by the U.S. Justice Department that would require the sale of its Chrome web browser and ban the multibillion dollar deals that company has been making with Apple and others to lock-in its search engine as the main gateway to the internet.

Google is also facing a proposed breakup of its advertising technology as part of the countermeasures to its monopoly in that business. A trial on that proposal is scheduled to begin in September.

By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

PITTSBURGH — Cocktails are a wonderful thing because they offer such a wide array of flavors. Everyone has their favorite, with choices often predicated by the season.

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Cooler months tend to lean on beverages crafted with warm spirits like bourbon or scotch, while in summer we crave bright and refreshing drinks to chase away the heat. Often that means building them around citrus.

My oldest son, Dan, loves a sweet and cold tiki drink like a mai tai when it’s hot outside while his wife, Carolann, wants to be transported to Italy with a sunset-colored Aperol spritz.

My daughters associate summer with margaritas or cocktails topped with egg white foam “because they’re fresh and light. and I can drink a million of them,” says Catherine.

Post-Gazette wine expert Dave DeSimone has named his favorite — an icy cold gin and tonic crafted with a London dry gin.

I root for the gimlet, a sweet and tart mix of gin, lime juice and simple syrup that is believed by some to have gotten its start as a preventative medicine.

To prevent scurvy on British warships in the 1880s, sailors drank a daily ration of citrus juice. But the fruit often went bad during long voyages, so Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Gimlette suggested adding gin to make it more palatable, or so the story goes.

Eventually, the drink made its way to bars, where it was embraced by the drinking public. In 1922, the gimlet cocktail made with Rose’s lime juice turned up in Harry MacElhone’s “ABC’s of Mixing Cocktails,” and the rest is cocktail history.

Whether it was named after the admiral or the drilling tool that had a similar “penetrating” effect on sailors is anyone’s guess. What’s not debatable is that Fig & Ash in the North Side’s Deutschtown neighborhood makes one of the best gimlets in the city.

It’s popularity in summer, says bar manager Rachel Sinagra, “is just one of those things, maybe because it’s citrusy and light.”

Rachel Sinegra from Fig & Ash on the North Side makes the perfect gimlet on June 26, 2025. (Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/TNS)

With just three ingredients, it’s also incredibly simple. To make a gimlet that shines, however, you have to be very picky about the ingredients.

To keep the drink refreshing, Sinagra says gin with a lemony undertone is essential. At Fig, they use Philadelphia-made Bluecoat, an American gin with a botanical, citrus-forward flavor.

“You can also use Hendrick’s,” which is known for its notes of cucumber.

But you probably want to steer clear of juniper-heavy gins, such as Bombay or Tanqueray, which will overwhelm the other ingredients.

Also essential is freshly squeezed lime juice instead of a lime cordial like Rose’s lime juice, which is concentrated and heavily sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. The taste will be brighter and more complex.

To avoid diluting the drink, Sinagra builds it “dry,” meaning she adds the ice after the alcohol, juice and simple syrup have been measured into the shaker. Then, she vigorously shakes it just enough to mix and chill it. She knows when to stop by the sound indicating the ice has cracked up into little chips.

The final step is pouring the finished cocktail into the proper glassware — a coupe or a maybe a Nick & Nora.

A glass with a wide bowl is important, she says, because “you want it to be open at the top and easy to enjoy.” The stem on each of the glasses also keeps the drinker’s hand from warming the sides.

“You want it to be chilled,” she says.

To make the simple syrup that balances the cocktail with a touch of sweetness, Sinagra always does a “spoon test” to determine the right consistency. The syrup should be a little thin, but also have some viscosity.

One great thing about a gimlet, Sinagra adds, is that the cocktail can be tweaked to personal preference. Replacing the gin with vodka is just one example.

“It’s really easy to make at home.”

Classic Gimlet

PG tested

Citrusy and light, a gin gimlet is undeniably perfect in its simplicity. At Fig & Ash, it’s made with Bluecoat American Dry Gin, a dry gin with a lemony undertone that is suited to citrus-forward cocktails.

The simple syrup is also house-made from one part water to one part sugar.; one lime yields about 1 ounce of juice.

The best glass for a gimlet has a shallow, broad bowl such as a coupe, but you also can use a tulip-shaped Nick & Nora.

2 ounces gin
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
3/4 ounce simple syrup

Combine gin, lime juice and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice.

Shake until well-chilled.

Strain into a cocktail glass.

Garnish with a lime wheel.

Makes 1 cocktail.

— Rachel Sinagra, Fig & Ash

©2025 PG Publishing Co. Visit at post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.