Life

By Barry Neild and Anna Chernova, CNN (CNN) — Russia’s leading aircraft manufacturer says it’s completed a successful test flight of a new widebody passenger airplane that it claims could replace Western aircraft in the country’s skies.  The United Aircraft Corporation said a prototype of its IL-96-400M long-haul airplane has taken off for the first

By Leah Dolan, CNN London (CNN) — What do a 17th-century European woman and an image-conscious Gen Z-er have in common? For one, both might choose to adorn a blemish mark with a star-shaped sticker. In the 17th and 18th centuries, women (and sometimes men) bought beauty patches to cover smallpox, syphilis scars, or simply

By Francesca Street, CNN (CNN) — When a famous British tree was “deliberately felled” in September, pictures showed the trunk lying, horizontal, over part of Britain’s Roman-built Hadrian’s Wall. The tree, located in the Northumberland National Park in northern England, was recognizable internationally thanks to its cameo in Kevin Costner’s 1991 movie “Robin Hood: Prince

By Thomas Page, CNN (CNN) — Art history is filled with examples of the powerful and the wealthy communicating their status through portraiture. Not just sovereigns, but military leaders, aristocrats, and champions of industry. This is particularly true of Western art, at a time when European nations conquered land, peoples and commerce. But what of

By Chris Lau, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — American company Pizza Hut has teamed up with a century-old Hong Kong restaurant to put a modern spin on a traditional dish, or more simply, snake on a pizza. The new offering combines shredded snake meat, black mushrooms and Chinese dried ham – all indispensable ingredients of

CNN By Lilit Marcus, CNN (CNN) — For a few days in the southern hemisphere every spring, the world’s biggest and most famous coral reef explodes. This is coral spawning season – a time when the Great Barrier Reef creates the next generation of corals. In fact, as some scientists explain it, it’s when the

By Christy Choi, CNN (CNN) — Following criticism from animal rights group PETA for using live butterflies in dresses, the founder of Japanese brand Undercover has apologized and promised to never feature living animals in his designs. “I regret that I trapped butterflies that could fly freely in the sky,” said Jun Takahashi in a

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — On Monday night in New York City, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) presented its annual Fashion Awards at the American Museum of Natural History. It’s one of the biggest events of the year for industry insiders and creatives, as the ceremony aims to promote US designers on

By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN (CNN) — On the afternoon photographer Mayan Toledano snapped a playful bedroom portrait of her friends in Mexico City — an image that would eventually become the cover of her first book — one member of the group, Karla, had gotten into an argument with her boyfriend. Toledano, who is primarily based

By Marc Bain (CNN) — When Revolve and Maison Meta, an AI-centric creative agency, teamed up for the first AI Fashion Week this April, the promise was always that the online retailer would turn garments from the top three collections submitted to a design competition that ran during the fashion week’s proceedings into physical products

Julia Buckley and Marnie Hunter, CNN (CNN) — For most people, arriving for a trip to Las Vegas brings excitement, mixed with a little trepidation. But for Rodney Hodgins, who traveled in August, his flight into the city was an experience so traumatic, he says, that it ruined the rest of his trip. Hodgins, a

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — “West Side Story” breakout Rachel Zegler is set to join the blockbuster “Hunger Games” franchise with the release of prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” on November 17. In the film, Zegler plays Lucy Gray Baird, a “tribute” from District 12 in the tenth iteration of the movies’

By Chris Lau, CNN (CNN) — A tiny wooden shed perched on a steep cliff in a scenic southern Chinese region has earned the nickname of “most inconvenient convenience store” in the country. Hanging a whopping 120 meters (394 feet) above the ground, the two-square-meter shop replenishes climbers with drinks and light refreshments in the

By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — For almost four decades, its cartoonish eyes gazed out placidly over Sathorn, a commercial district in downtown Bangkok. Now, with its facade stripped back to a concrete frame amid major renovations, the tower affectionately known as the “Robot Building” is barely recognizable, save for its characteristically blocky silhouette. The

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — Whether you’re going out or just going to bed, Kim Kardashian wants to make sure you can glisten head-to-toe. The reality star-turned-business mogul’s clothing brand Skims revealed this week a new partnership with jewelry brand Swarovski: A line of shimmering crystal bodysuits, dresses and even underwear launching November 7.

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — Before Kim and Kanye or even Posh and Becks, there was Priscilla and Elvis Presley: A fashion-forward couple whose tumultuous relationship is still remembered for its distinctive style as much as anything else. Priscilla was just 14 years old when she was first introduced to 24-year-old Elvis during a

By Karla Cripps, CNN (CNN) — Singapore’s Changi Airport has fully reopened Terminal 2 following a massive 3.5-year expansion project. And given it was voted the world’s best airport in the 2023 Skytrax Airport Awards, it should come as little surprise this was no ordinary makeover. Around 21,000 square meters (226,000 square feet) have been

By Callum Sutherland, CNN (CNN) — To the naked eye not much happens on tree branches in the depths of our forests. But a closer look through a camera lens can tell a different story — one of motherly love. That’s exactly what was captured by the overall winner of the 2023 European Wildlife Photographer

By Lilit Marcus, CNN (CNN) — A tourist tried to avoid a wild animal in a national park and got in a car accident. But it wasn’t a bear or bison that caused the driver to freak out – it was a tarantula. According to a press release issued by the Death Valley National Park

By Katie Lockhart, CNN Luang Prabang, Laos (CNN) — We’ve all heard of buffalo mozzarella. But in one popular Southeast Asia destination, a farm is offering travelers a chance to sample a wide variety of cheeses using milk from local buffalos instead of cows. Laos Buffalo Dairy, in the UNESCO-listed heritage town of Luang Prabang,

By Wayne Chang, CNN Beigan, Taiwan (CNN) — In a sleepy Taiwanese island village just eight miles off the coast of mainland China, scooters whiz past an unassuming building that has stood here, largely overlooked, for decades. As far as residents of Beigan — part of the outlying archipelago of Matsu — are concerned, the

By Leah Asmelash and Nicole Chavez, CNN (CNN) — Día de los Muertos, known in English as Day of the Dead, is a time-honored tradition in Mexico with origins that go back thousands of years. In the US, you’ve probably seen the signs commonly associated with the holiday: papel picado (colorful paper with cutouts), calaveras

CNN By Leah Asmelash and Nicole Chavez, CNN (CNN) — Día de los Muertos, known in English as Day of the Dead, is a time-honored tradition in Mexico with origins that go back thousands of years. In the US, you’ve probably seen the signs commonly associated with the holiday: papel picado (colorful paper with cutouts),

By Devon M. Sayers, CNN (CNN) — A section of the Blue Ridge Parkway has been closed by officials “after multiple documented reports of visitors feeding and attempting to hold a young bear in recent weeks,” the National Park Service said in a news release. The closure affects an eight-mile section of the parkway near

By Elissa Garay, CNN (CNN) — Think of “ghost towns” and images of dusty, lost-to-time towns, like those in America’s Wild West, may come to mind. Indeed, in the second half of the 19th century, a slew of boomtown-gone-bust mining towns were deserted by residents as natural resources and economic viability dried up. Over time,

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — There is nothing like Halloween to provide a quick temperature check on pop culture. Which scream queen reigned supreme in 2023? What deceased pop icon was resurrected ad infinitum? Just how many versions of Barbie, in homage to Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar blockbuster, stepped out in style? Celebrity costumes, too,

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — “PhoebePhilo.com is now open.” It’s music to fashion fanatics’ ears, particularly the self-titled ‘Philophiles’ that have been loyal followers to the British designer since she overhauled French luxury houses Chloé (2001-2006) and Celine (2008-2017) . Known for her sophisticated oeuvre and understated elegance, Philo’s fashion influence is far-reaching. Not only

By Alex Rees, CNN (CNN) — The tears were flowing backstage at Phillip Lim’s latest runway show, as the fashion designer made has return to the New York Fashion Week last month after four years away. Between selfies with celebrity fans and interviews with the fashion press, an emotional Lim snuck in moments with a