By COLLEEN BARRY

MILAN (AP) — Mount Etna, the volcano that towers over eastern Sicily, has again captivated the world with a spectacular show, spewing smoke and high into the sky.

But the defining event of Monday’s eruption was the more rare pyroclastic flow from the southwestern crater not visible from a distance.

The volcano is Europe’s most active, and the continent’s largest. Etna attracts hikers and backpackers to its slopes while less adventurous tourists can take it in from a distance, most stunningly from the Ionian Sea.

Etna’s latest eruption caused neither injuries nor evacuations, but sent a group of tourists on its flanks running, as captured by video posted on social media with smoke towering in the background.

Authorities emphasized there was no danger to the population, and the pyroclastic flow — a fast-moving mixture of rock fragments, gas and ash — was limited to about 2 kilometers (more than a mile) and didn’t go beyond the Valle del Leone, or Lion Valley, which forms a natural containment area.

Etna has been active recently, and this was the 14th episode since mid-March. The most recent pyroclastic flows with significant reach were recorded on Feb. 10, 2022, Oct. 23, 2021, Dec. 13, 2020 and Feb. 11, 2014, Marco Viccaro, president of Italy’s national volcanology association, said Tuesday.

What’s happening now?

After a 19-day lull, Etna began to erupt with lively explosive bursts of gas and ash followed by a mild lava flow on the eastern slope followed by a smaller flow to the south.

At around 10 a.m. on Monday, Etna exploded with its first major, violent eruption of the year: lava fountains and a column of ash and gas rose several kilometers, or miles, in the air. The event climaxed around 11:23 a.m. when the pyroclastic flow, triggered when magma mixed with snow, traveled 2 kilometers (more than a mile) to the Valle del Leone within a minute.

By late afternoon, scientists said the event had subsided.

Imposing figure

Etna towers around 3,350 meters (around 11,050 feet) above sea level and is 35 kilometers (22 miles) in diameter, although the volcanic activity has changed the mountain’s height over time.

Occasionally, the airport at Catania, eastern Sicily’s largest city, has to close down for hours or days, when ash in the air makes flying in the area dangerous. An aviation warning was put in place during the latest event, but the airport wasn’t closed.

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With Etna’s lava flows largely contained to its uninhabited slopes, life goes in towns and villages elsewhere on the mountain. Among the benefits of the volcano: fertile farmland and tourism.

Deadly past

Inspiring ancient Greek legends, Etna has had scores of known eruptions in its history. An eruption in 396 B.C., has been credited with keeping the army of Carthage at bay.

In 1669, in what has been considered the volcano’s worst known eruption, lava buried a swath of Catania, about 23 kilometers (15 miles) away and devastated dozens of villages. An eruption in 1928 cut off a rail route circling the mountain’s base.

Heading into summer means first closing the book on yet another network TV season, which still follows the fall-spring slot on the calendar. I like that regularity and I think most viewers miss it when it comes to streaming. “The Bear” is an outlier, premiering new episodes each June like clockwork.

This time of year is also when broadcasters announce cancellations and the biggest changes are coming to NBC, where five shows got the ax: the dramas “Found,” “The Irrational” and “Suits: LA” and comedies “Night Court” and “Lopez vs. Lopez.” Some of those decisions were likely a way to make room for NBC’s new deal to carry NBA games.

I’m not seeing anything particularly interesting on the horizon just yet for the broadcast networks next season, with one exception. Fox has ordered a U.S. adaptation of the British series “Doc Martin” called “Best Medicine,” which will star Josh Charles (“The Good Wife”) in an hour-long comedy about a “successful surgeon who abruptly leaves his post in Boston to become a general practitioner in the East Coast fishing village where he spent summers as a kid.”

That’s still a few months off. In the meantime, here’s a look at 15 shows on tap for the summer months, when streaming is your best bet for new and returning series, listed here in chronological order.

Programming note: The 78th Tony Awards will air on CBS on Sunday, June 8.

“The Librarians: The Next Chapter” (May 25 on TNT): It’s been a good while since TNT carried original programming outside of sports, but the network has two series slated for this year, including a miniseries called “High Value Target” about a real-life CIA analyst’s 2003 interrogation of deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein (no date announced yet) and this spinoff of TNT’s adventure series “The Librarians,” which last aired new episodes in 2018. The new version centers on a librarian time traveler from 1847 named Vikram who now finds himself stuck in the present. When he returns to his castle in Belgrade, he discovers that it is now a museum, and he “inadvertently releases magic across the continent,” a mess he then has to clean up with a team of eclectic comrades. The first episode premieres Sunday after the NBA playoffs. The next episode premieres the next night on Monday, following NHL playoffs. (The show will then continue with a Monday night schedule.)

“And Just Like That …” (May 29 on HBO Max): Not a fan of this continuation of “Sex and the City,” so much so I didn’t even bother with the second season, nor am I planning to watch its third. So consider this just a heads-up for anyone who feels otherwise and has stuck with the show despite it all.

“Dept. Q” (May 29 on Netflix): A stubborn and sarcastic police detective in Edinburgh (Matthew Goode) is exiled to his department’s basement to work as his own one-man cold case unit. It’s a PR stunt his boss fixes up, mostly to get him out of her hair — nobody can stand the guy; he can barely stand himself — but slowly he builds a small team, who try to find out what happened to a prosecutor who went missing four years prior. The series blends droll humor and well-worn cop show tropes to focus on a grisly case.

“Stick” (June 4 on Apple TV+): Owen Wilson stars in this comedy as a pro golfer who has mediocre personal and professional prospects (“Tin Cup,” anyone?). With nothing else to lose, he decides to back a teenage golf phenom who has problems of his own. Apple is calling it a “heartfelt, feel-good comedy about a found family and their relationships set within the world of golf as it has never been shown before.”

“Art Detectives” (June 9 on Acorn TV): Stephen Moyer (“True Blood”) stars as an art-loving police detective who works in the Heritage Crime Unit of this UK-set series, where he and his partner tackle murder cases connected to the art and antiquities world, “from Old Master paintings, to Banksy street art, medieval manuscripts and collectible vinyl.” Plot twist: He must contend with the sudden reappearance of his father, who is a notorious art forger. You don’t say! Sounds fun, but it’s all in the execution.

Rishi Nair returns as the vicar in Season 10 of “Grantchester.” (Kudos/ITV/Masterpiece/PBS)

“Grantchester”(June 15 by Masterpiece on PBS): It’s the 1960s in an English village, where a police detective teams up with the local vicar to solve crimes. Sure, there have been three vicars over the show’s many seasons, all young and handsome and somehow each finds himself doing some freelance sleuthing. The show was losing steam there for a while, but then Rishi Nair joined the cast last year as the newest vicar, bringing a charisma to the role that was otherwise absent, and he’s back again for Season 10.

“We Were Liars” (June 18 on Amazon): The series is based on the 2014 novel from E. Lockhart about a group of wealthy teenagers who summer on a private island. Everything about the protagonist’s life is enviable, until she suffers a head injury that affects her memories one summer. What really happened? And why are certain things so different when she next returns?

“Outrageous” (June 18 on BritBox): Based on the true story of the aristocratic Mitford sisters who, according to Wikipedia, “gained widespread attention for their stylish and controversial lives as young people.” Set in the 1930s as a second World War loomed, there were major divisions in the family, some of whom were pro-fascist. The sisters include the British novelist Nancy Freeman-Mitford, who wrote about the upper crust.

“Ironheart” (June 24 on Disney+): Picking up after the events of the 2022 movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the series centers on Riri Williams, the “genius inventor determined to make her mark on the world (returning) to her hometown of Chicago. Her unique take on building iron suits is brilliant, but in pursuit of her ambitions, she finds herself wrapped up with the mysterious yet charming Parker Robbins aka ‘The Hood.’”

Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams in “Ironheart.” (Marvel/TNS)

“The Bear” (June 25 by FX on Hulu): As with previous seasons, all 10 episodes of Season 4 will be available to stream at once, which I know has been a controversial choice for audiences who prefer a weekly conversation about the show. I think a binge drop is fine in this instance. I had some mild critiques of Seasons 1 and 2, but overall really liked the show. Season 3? Less so. The narrative felt stalled in place and I think there are other characters getting short shrift whose stories are more interesting to explore than yet more Carmy angst. Here’s hoping Season 4 bounces back.

“Smoke” (June 27 on Apple TV+): A crime drama centering an arson investigator (Taron Egerton) and a police detective (Jurnee Smollett) from Dennis Lehane (best known for novels such as “Gone, Baby, Gone” and “Mystic River”) based on true events as the pair track down two serial arsonists.

“Nautilus” (June 29, AMC and streaming on AMC+): A reimagining of Jules Verne’s 1870 science fiction adventure classic “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.” Originally made for Disney+ (which then declined to release the series) AMC has picked it up for U.S. distribution. The title comes from the name of the vessel in Verne’s book, with Shazad Latif starring as Nemo, who “plans to reach the fabled Viking treasure buried at the Pillars of Halvar. But first, he must win the trust of his crew, and keep out of the clutches of the ruthless East India Mercantile Company, who will do whatever it takes to stop him.”

“Too Much” (July 10 on Netflix): The 10-episode series follows a millennial workaholic named Jessica (Megan Stalter, so good on “Hacks”) who, fresh off a breakup, moves from New York to London to start over. From the streamer that brought you “Emily in Paris” comes a show I’m sure they referred to internally as “Jessica in London.” Stalter has a lot of talent and tang, so here’s hoping the series is actually much better than that. Will Sharpe (“White Lotus”) plays the handsome Brit who catches her eye.

“Wednesday” (Aug. 6 on Netflix): I liked the Addams Family spinoff series well enough when it premiered in November 2022. Was it good enough to be one of the more popular offerings from Netflix? Not in my opinion. It’s a teen drama — one with style, though not an especially inventive one; executive producer Tim Burton is recycling old ideas by this point  — which works best when it’s simply being funny. The heavy plotting around a mysterious supernatural something or other? Didn’t do anything for me. It’s back for Season 2 and once again, Netflix is weirdly not premiering it around Halloween. This installment will be divided into two chapters, with the second picking up a month later in September.

“Peacemaker” (Aug. 21 on HBO Max): Season 2 of the DC Studios series starring John Cena arrives after a three-plus year delay. Well, maybe audiences are inured to these kinds of things by now. I like the first season. It’s a ridiculous show that knows it’s ridiculous, with a fully R-rated Saturday morning cartoon sensibility that refuses to take itself too seriously. I was less interested in the way Peacemaker is presented as a racist and sexist figure who really just needs a hug: A cuddly Cro-Magnon. It’s worth thinking about why, even within a largely comedic endeavor, this type of character has been designed to generate our sympathy.

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic.

By Linda Gassenheimer, Tribune News Service

At a recent event catered by Michael Meltzer, the owner of Michael’s Catering, a variety of buffet tables showcased an array of delicious dishes. To my surprise, the longest line was at the table serving grilled cheese sandwiches. Curious, I asked Michael about this unexpected favorite, and he shared that, no matter what the event, these sandwiches are always the star of the show.

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I asked him for his special recipe and adapted it for use at home. One of the key secrets he explained is ensuring the bread is perfectly toasted—never burned—and that the cheese is melted, creating a balance of crispness and gooey goodness.

HELPFUL HINTS:

Any flavor jam can be used.

Any type of bread can be used.

COUNTDOWN:

Prepare all ingredients.

Make the Grilled Cheese sandwich.

While sandwiches cook, assemble the spinach and tomato salad.

SHOPPING LIST:

To buy: 1 mild brie cheese (3 ounces needed), 1 loaf whole wheat bread, 1 jar fig spread or jam, 1 small apple, 1 can olive oil spray, 1 bag washed, ready-to-eat spinach leaves, 1 container cherry tomatoes, 1 bottle reduced fat salad dressing.

Staples: butter

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Supper

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

4 slices whole wheat bread

Olive oil spray

3 ounces sliced mild brie cheese

2 tablespoons fig spread or jam

1/2 cup very thinly sliced apple

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups washed, ready-to-eat spinach leaves

2 cups cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons reduced fat salad dressing

Place the bread slices on a counter. Spray slices with olive oil spray. Heat a large skillet with olive oil spray. Add the four slices and cook about 1 to 2 minutes to slightly toast the slices. Turn the burner off. Remove the slices from the skillet and place on the counter, toasted side up. Move the skillet away from the heat. Divide the cheese slices between 2 toasted slices. Spoon 1 tablespoon fig jam over each cheese. Add the apple slices on top of the fig jam. To make the sandwich, place the remaining 2 toasted slices over the apples, toasted side inside. Reheat the skillet over low heat and add the butter. When the butter sizzles, add the sandwiches. Cover skillet with a lid and cook 2 minutes. Check to see that the bread is crisp, not turning black. Turn the sandwiches over and cover the skillet with a lid. Cook. 2 more minutes. Meanwhile, divide the spinach leaves between 2 dinner plates and add the cherry tomatoes. Drizzle dressing on top. When ready, remove sandwiches to the 2 dinner plates, cut them in half and place next to the Spinach and Tomato Salad.

Yield 2 servings.

Per serving: 490 calories (47 percent from fat), 25.6 g fat (11.9 g saturated, 8.5 g monounsaturated), 58.4 mg cholesterol, 18.5 g protein, 50.7 g carbohydrates, 7.7 g fiber, 567 mg sodium.

©2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

By LAURA UNGAR

About five years ago, Gail Friedman noticed her Parson Russell Terrier was constantly licking his paws and seemed super uncomfortable.

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“The poor dog. I would put baby socks on his feet so that he wouldn’t lick them or bite at them,” said Friedman, of Oak Brook, Illinois. “I was constantly changing the socks, washing his feet a lot. Nothing worked.”

It turned out her canine companion, Mr. Friedman, had allergies.

It’s a common and tricky problem in pets — caused by various things such as pollen, dust, mold, chemicals and food — but veterinarians say there are several ways to ease their suffering.

What sorts of allergies do dogs and cats get?

Allergies happen when the immune system overreacts to a foreign substance. Cats and dogs react to many of the same things people do, as well as pests like fleas.

There are no definitive recent statistics on how many pets have allergies, but research suggests the problem is growing.

“I probably see allergic dogs and cats every single day, probably multiple times a day,” said Dr. Karen Woodard, medical director at Thrive Pet Healthcare-Elmhurst in Illinois.

About 90% of allergic pets react to environmental triggers, Woodard said, and the rest have food allergies only.

Gail Friedman holds her dog, Mr. Friedman, while Dr. Karen Woodard checks his ear for signs of allergies in Elmhurst, Ill. on May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)

Dog breeds that are especially vulnerable include various types of terriers, boxers and bulldogs; in cats, it’s Persians, Siamese and Himalayans.

Pets can even be allergic to other animals — cats to dogs, dogs to cats and either to another species.

“It’s possible for them to be allergic to us, just like we are to them,” said Thrive’s Dr. Anthea Elliott Schick of Scottsdale, Arizona, immediate past president of the American College of Veterinary Dermatology.

How can you tell if your pet has allergies?

Allergic cats and dogs aren’t as likely as humans to sneeze and cough. More often, they scratch and lick themselves, shake their heads and develop ear infections.

Woodard said her Yorkie mix, Teddy, had the classic signs — scratching around his shoulders and getting rashes and ear infections starting as a six-month-old puppy. She lived in the South at the time, and he tested positive for allergies to various trees and grasses there.

A common sign of allergies in her feline patients is “overdoing their grooming,” said Woodard, who’s on the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association’s board of directors. “Cats shouldn’t be pulling their hair out when they groom. So if you start seeing bald patches on your cat, even though the skin underneath it looks normal, that could be a sign of allergies.”

Even food allergies, often to chicken, beef, lamb or other protein sources, frequently show up on the skin, although pets can have vomiting or diarrhea, too.

Rarely, pets can develop life-threatening anaphylactic reactions, perhaps after being stung by an insect. But most allergies are simply miserable for the animals.

Dr. Karen Woodard checks for fleas and ticks on Gail Friedman’s allergy-prone dog, Mr. Friedman, in Elmhurst, Ill. on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)

“It breaks my heart because it gets to a point that not only do I have socks on poor Mr. Friedman — which is humiliating for him — he sometimes gets so bad he has to wear the cone of shame,” Gail Friedman said. “And that’s not fair because he can’t move around right, he can’t sleep right. It’s terrible.”

How can you help your pet?

The first step is to get a diagnosis from the vet. This could involve allergy testing, or in the case of food allergies, an “elimination diet,” which involves feeding limited ingredients the pet hasn’t previously eaten.

If the allergy culprit is environmental, there are medications like anti-inflammatory drugs and newer oral and injectable medications for dogs to block chemical signals associated with itchiness. Food allergies may be treated with special diets such as “hydrolyzed” food, in which proteins are chemically broken down into tiny pieces.

All this can get expensive. Friedman estimates she’s spent about $10,000 on testing, medication and care for Mr. Friedman and another allergic dog.

Various shampoos and cleansing products for treating allergies in pets sit on a shelf at Thrive Pet Healthcare in Elmhurst, Ill. on May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)

But vets say there are also ways to help pets at home by cleaning their bedding frequently, wiping their fur with a wet washcloth and giving them baths.

Outdoors, “they’re almost acting like little Swiffers, getting allergens on their skin, and it goes through their skin and actually becomes a problem,” Schick said. “We say bathe your dog, at a minimum, once a week if they’re allergic.”

After she’s tried nearly everything, Friedman’s dogs are still vexed by allergies. But they’re doing better.

“I’m going to keep experimenting until we find what stops it completely,” she said. “All you can do is try.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.