By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — Is it a bird? Is it a winged goddess? Is it an ode to the history of traditional Dutch ceramics? At Miss Universe 2024, it was all those things — and much more — as the annual pageant kicked off with its flamboyant national costume competition Thursday evening. Tasked
Continue Reading By Junko Ogura and Karla Cripps, CNN (CNN) — A 65-year-old American tourist has been arrested in Japan for allegedly carving letters into a torii gate at a Tokyo shrine. The suspect, Steve Lee Hayes, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of property damage, a Tokyo Metropolitan Police spokesperson told CNN. Police said the man allegedly
Continue Reading By Karina Tsui, CNN (CNN) — The United States has returned more than 1,400 looted artifacts worth $10 million to India as part of an ongoing initiative to repatriate stolen art from countries across South and Southeast Asia, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office announced Wednesday. The trafficked goods recovered include items that, until recently, were
Continue Reading By Joe Yogerst, CNN (CNN) — More than 260 peaks over 3,000 meters (9,800 feet), hiking trails blazed by Indigenous people thousands of years ago, remarkable national parks and forests, and epic surf churned up by waves that roll unimpeded across the entire Pacific. That may sound like Chile, New Zealand or even California. But
Continue Reading By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN (CNN) — Eva Longoria has chosen to live her life outside of the US. The “Desperate Housewives” star told Marie Claire in an interview published Wednesday that she and her husband José Bastón, along with their six-year-old son Santiago, no longer call Los Angeles home base. For years, her family has
Continue Reading By Lisa Respers France, CNN (CNN) — Denzel Washington rules on screen, but there is one thing audiences won’t get to see him do in his latest film. In an interview to promote “Gladiator II” with Gayety, the Oscar-winning actor talked about playing Roman emperor Macrinus. Washington was asked about “how gay” he thought the
Continue Reading By Lisa Respers France, CNN (CNN) — Nicole Kidman has worked with some amazing directors, but there’s one she has not. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the Oscar-winning actress was asked about her AFI Lifetime Achievement Award’s speech in which she listed some of the filmmakers she’s worked with. They included Jane Campion,
Continue Reading By Lisa Respers France, CNN (CNN) — Ariana Grande would like to put to rest a popular inaccuracy about a lyric in the hit Broadway musical “Wicked.” Grande stars a Glinda, later known as the good witch in “The Wizard of Oz,” in the big-screen adaptation of the musical. She and co-star Cynthia Erivo, who
Continue Reading By Lisa Respers France, CNN (CNN) — Taylor Swift trolling Ryan Reynolds is how we learned how close she is to the actor and his family. Swift showed her support for his “Deadpool & Wolverine” movie over the summer with a social media post that shouted out Reynolds as “my godkids’ sperm donor!” Reynolds has
Continue Reading By Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — Hollywood star Sydney Sweeney has hit out at what she calls “fake” pronouncements on female empowerment in the entertainment industry. Sweeney made the comments in an interview with Vanity Fair published Wednesday, responding to widely reported comments made by Hollywood producer Carol Baum earlier this year, who said Sweeney
Continue Reading By Lilit Marcus, CNN (CNN) — Seoul’s Incheon Airport has taken a major stance. Throughout the terminal, large signs in Korean and English warn about an American product whose presence in your luggage can result in police action — Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel seasoning. The seasoning blend — which includes poppyseeds, banned in
Continue Reading By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN (CNN) — Visitors to New York City’s famed Flatiron Building may have noticed the landmark’s lesser-known neighbor — a narrow high-rise that would be modest if not for its extravagant gold dome. Now, the 5,777-square-foot penthouse that occupies the shimmering dome (and the two-story octagonal cupola it crowns) is on sale
Continue Reading By Leyla Rose, CNN (CNN) — The train click-clacks along at a steady rhythm, passing through various shades of green. Lush rice fields morph into dense forests, while rivers glisten in the morning sun. The verdant, tropical landscape is briefly interrupted by colorful sparks of life in the form of towns and villages, where people
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By Dan Heching and Cheri Mossburg, CNN (CNN) — Legendary musician, composer and producer Quincy Jones died from pancreatic cancer, according to his death certificate. The document, a copy of which was obtained by CNN on Wednesday, listed no other contributing factors to Jones’ death but noted that he had been living with cancer for
Continue Reading By Marnie Hunter, CNN (CNN) — The name “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport” is off-limits to Oakland’s airport — at least for now. On Tuesday, US Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson blocked the Port of Oakland from using the name it recently adopted for the Bay Area airport that was formerly called Metropolitan Oakland
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CNN By Maureen O’Hare, CNN (CNN) — In travel news this week: crackdowns on overtourism in Florence and Pompeii, new developments in the world of long-haul and ultralong-haul flights, plus the California couple who moved to France, where things did not go as they hoped. Launch of the Airbus A321XLR It’s slim, it’s sleek, it
Continue Reading By Lianne Kolirin and Jacqui Palumbo, CNN (CNN) — The oldest known tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament sold on Wednesday for $5.04 million, more than double its high estimate. The stone, which dates back around 1,500 years to the Late Roman-Byzantine era, sparked more than 10 minutes of “intense” bidding,
Continue Reading By Lisa Respers France, CNN (CNN) — “Squid Game” was a huge hit for Netflix, but the man behind the juggernaut South Korean drama is sharing that it wasn’t all roses for him. Producer Hwang Dong-hyuk said he lost “eight or nine” teeth during filming of the first season in an interview with BBC. So
Continue Reading By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN (CNN) — Brett Goldstein knew he had to nail the emotional scene at the center of this week’s episode of “Shrinking,” in which Alice (Lukita Maxwell) confronts the man who killed her mother in a drunk driving accident, played by the “Ted Lasso” alum. Thankfully, this isn’t his first time riding
Continue Reading By Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Rome (CNN) — The historic Italian city of Florence is taking steps to cut overtourism, introducing measures including a ban on key boxes used by short-term rental landlords and tour guide loudspeakers, amid complaints that a surge in visitors has become unsustainable. With stunning Renaissance art and architecture, Florence, in
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