6 mins read

Demand for cruises appears undimmed despite hantavirus and other onboard outbreaks

Recent outbreaks of hantavirus and norovirus on cruise ships are making headlines, but they’re unlikely to dim the growing popularity of vacation cruises, according to industry representatives and travel experts. In fact, many within the industry still expect a record number of people worldwide to take cruises this year despite three passengers aboard the MV […]

8 mins read

Walmart and Amazon race to win over rural America with speedier deliveries

PEA RIDGE, Ark. | Walmart and Amazon are racing to speed up online order deliveries in rural areas of the U.S., a rich source of untapped sales that major retailers long wrote off as too sparsely inhabited, too remote or too impoverished to serve profitably. Walmart has a running start in the contest to build […]

3 mins read

Bam! Pow! Krakoom! The everlasting allure of the American comic book

BARCELONA, Spain | Pick one up. Be seduced by its glossy cover. Gaze upon the impossibly muscular body clad in a skin-tight suit. Our hero or heroine will surely be soaring, shouting, blasting a villain into next week. They are ridiculous. They are addictively great. Comic books, of the superhero variety, are 100% American. Compare […]

3 mins read

Created as IDs, dog tags became a crucial link between military families and fallen troops

Family members often clench them as if they were still clasping their fallen loved one’s hands. Companions-in-arms have broken down reading them. More than a century after a U.S. Army chaplain pushed for “dog tags” to become standard issue for troops, they remain one of the most powerful links for grieving military families to their […]

4 mins read

Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship docks in the Netherlands for disinfection

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands | The cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak has docked at the Dutch port of Rotterdam for disinfection, wrapping up a troubled journey that put international health authorities on alert. The MV Hondius was still carrying 25 crew members and two medical personnel as it reached Europe’s largest port on Monday […]

6 mins read

Summer travelers who relied on Spirit Airlines may struggle to find budget alternatives

Days after Spirit Airlines shut down in the middle of the night, a lawyer for the defunct budget carrier stood before a bankruptcy judge and apologized to the price-conscious customers who might struggle to find affordable flights in its absence. “We apologize most specifically for those Americans who may now be priced entirely out,” Spirit […]

7 mins read

Researchers stunned by a forgotten medieval book in Rome hiding the oldest English poem

ROME | The researchers in Ireland looked at their computer screen, marveling at a medieval book tracked down in a Roman library. They flipped through its digitized pages and found their sought-after treasure: the oldest surviving English poem. “We were extremely surprised. We were speechless. We couldn’t believe our eyes when we first saw that,” […]

1 min read

Barbra Streisand won’t attend Cannes Palme d’Or ceremony after a knee injury

CANNES, France | Barbra Streisand announced on Sunday that she will not attend the Cannes Film Festival ‘s closing ceremony later this week where she was to receive an honorary Palme d’Or, after sustaining a knee injury. The festival organizers said they would still honor the singer-actor despite her absence, according to a press release […]

4 mins read

PHOTO ESSAY: A symbolic marriage ritual and beauty pageant brings India’s trans community together

KOOVAGAM, India | Under stage lights, hundreds of transgender women adjusted their sarees, tucked flowers into their hair, and waited to be called onstage. One by one, they waved to cheering crowds and struck poses at one of India’s largest gatherings for the transgender community. Held each year in Koovagam village in southern India’s Tamil […]

1 min read

Trump says he’s called off Iran strike planned for Tuesday at request of Gulf allies

WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump said he is holding off on a military strike on Iran planned for Tuesday because “serious negotiations” are underway. Trump’s announcement in a social media post Monday came as he had threatened the clock was ticking for Iran to strike a deal or fighting would renew after a fragile ceasefire. […]