Oscar Holland, CNN; Photo editor: Jennifer Arnow (CNN) — Just four days into the new year, Hollywood’s 2026 awards season kicked off in chic but relatively pared-back style at the 31st Critics Choice Awards on Sunday evening. The annual ceremony is considered a bellwether for the Oscars, with the industry closely monitoring how hotly tipped
Continue Reading By Lilit Marcus, CNN (CNN) — Welcome to 2026! The new year is a great time to pause, relax and reflect — and start thinking about what you’d like to achieve in the next 12 months. While you’re easing into the new year, get started thinking about where you would like to go on vacation.
Continue Reading By Rachel Tashjian, CNN (CNN) — On a frigid New Year’s Day, New York’s new democratic socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani was sworn in, with his wife, Rama Duwaji, alongside him, grabbing attention for her romantic brown frock coat, trimmed at the hem and cuffs with chocolate faux fur. For political wives, the inauguration coat is
Continue Reading
By Karina Tsui, Sandra Gonzalez, CNN (CNN) — A violinist who performed on tour with Will Smith has filed a lawsuit against the actor-musician and a management company, accusing them of retaliation, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. According to a complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County court, violinist Brian King Joseph was fired shortly
Continue Reading
By Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN Ask an American to name their favorite Chinese takeout dishes, and images of General Tso’s chicken, chow mein and egg rolls stuffed into white cardboard containers will likely spring to mind. Things are a little different across the Atlantic, in the UK. British Chinese takeout — a much-cherished cuisine but
Continue Reading
By Dan Heching, CNN (CNN) — With a giant evil spider monster, mysterious briefcase and a whole lot of teary characters bidding adieu, “Stranger Things” has now become a thing of the past. The Netflix series that capitalized on ’80s homages and synth notes mixed with pop hits ended its fifth and final season with
Continue Reading
By Scottie Andrew, CNN (CNN) — Fifty years ago, weeks before the premiere of the show that would become “Saturday Night Live,” Chevy Chase had a camera test. NBC execs wanted to see how the untested cast of the late-night series looked onscreen. Many of them were nervous. But Chase knew how he looked. The
Continue Reading
By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — For American architecture, 2025 may be remembered for the deaths of icons Frank Gehry, Robert A. M. Stern and Ricardo Scofidio, a mastermind of New York’s High Line. More likely, however, it will go down as a year dominated by Donald Trump — his preference for classicism and disdain
Continue Reading CNN Travel Team (CNN) — Whether you’re a full-time nomad or a once-a-year vacationer, every special travel memory begins with one essential question: where to? This year, the team at CNN Travel hopes to answer not only the question of where, but also the question of why now? These destinations are special all the time,
Continue Reading By Jack Guy and Jacqui Palumbo, CNN (CNN) — It’s out with the old and in with the new in Times Square this year as the famous New Year’s Eve ball drop rings in 2026 with a dazzling new ball — the largest in the history of an event that started in 1907. The Constellation
Continue Reading
By Miriam Elder, CNN (CNN) — Isiah Whitlock Jr., whose singular delivery of a tagline in “The Wire” gave the world one of the most iconic phrases of the century, has died at the age of 71. Whitlock “passed away today peacefully in NYC after a brave battle with a short illness,” his manager, Brian
Continue Reading
By Lisa Respers France, CNN (CNN) — The star of one of Rob Reiner’s most celebrated films, “The Princess Bride,” has posted a lengthy and loving tribute to the director and his wife, more than two weeks after they were found dead, saying he “can finally put my grief into words.” Cary Elwes shared footage
Continue Reading
By Scottie Andrew, Leah Asmelash and Eleanor Stubbs, CNN (CNN) — This was the year of rot, slop and rage. Everything that happened in pop culture in 2025 felt like a huge deal, and not all of it made sense. Perhaps you joined the national barfight over Sydney Sweeney’s jeans or speculated about the “Wicked”
Continue Reading
By Maureen O’Hare, CNN (CNN) — The bigger the orchard, the more the bad apples. Close to five billion people were estimated to have traveled by air in 2025 — a record-breaking number — and plenty more tourists were also gadding about by boat, train or road. While most enjoyed their vacations without incident and
Continue Reading By Rachel Tashjian, CNN (CNN) — Fashion! A delight to the senses, a thing of beauty, a source of pleasure, pain and, in its determined ridiculousness, humor. But this year, fashion was more likely to inspire something else: pure, unadulterated rage. Sydney Sweeney’s great jeans ad — or were they great genes?! — became a
Continue Reading By Chris Lau, CNN (CNN) — Beyoncé has joined the ranks of billionaires, according to Forbes, becoming the fifth musician to be crowned the elite status. The Grammy Award-winning superstar now stands alongside Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna and her husband Jay-Z, according to a report published by the outlet Monday. The 44 –year-old’s financial
Continue Reading
CNN By Chris Lau, CNN (CNN) — Beyoncé has joined the ranks of billionaires, according to Forbes, becoming the fifth musician to be crowned the elite status. The Grammy Award-winning superstar now stands alongside Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna and her husband Jay-Z, according to a report published by the outlet Monday. The 44 –year-old’s
Continue Reading
By Jessie Yeung, CNN (CNN) — Actor George Clooney and his family have been granted French citizenship, official government documents show, after he has previously voiced concern about raising his children amid the glitz of Hollywood. A gazette notice listing all new French naturalizations, released on Saturday, includes Clooney – as well as his wife,
Continue Reading
By Lisa Respers France, CNN (CNN) — It is still the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas is past, but there’s still New Year’s Eve to look forward to and if you plan on staying in this year to celebrate, here’s where you can still party without battling traffic or crowds. CNN The dynamic
Continue Reading
By Fiona Sinclair Scott, Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — Long before words like “French Girl Chic” became algorithmically entrenched in online shopping guides and mood boards, the late French film starlet Brigitte Bardot created the blueprint for what was once a fresh and exciting style of dressing. Her tousled blonde bouffant, bikinis and capri pants
Continue Reading