United States

Miami – September 18, 2026 -- Royal Caribbean has named retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Lori J. Robinson as godmother of its newest ship, Legend of the Seas, ahead of a naming ceremony set for November 11 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The ceremony lands on Veterans Day for a reason

Legend of the Seas will arrive in Fort Lauderdale this November following its debut summer season in Europe. Royal Caribbean chose Veterans Day for the naming ceremony to honor Gen. Robinson alongside veterans, active-duty service members and military families connected to the cruise line.

Robinson spent 37 years in the Air Force and became the nation's first female combatant commander, later leading both NORAD and NORTHCOM. "I have seen the importance of bringing people together in pursuit of a shared purpose, and Legend creates those same connections for families and loved ones," she said.

Miami – September 18, 2026 -- ChatOn, an AI chatbot app with 100 million downloads, has launched a fact-checking feature that lets users verify claims, articles, and AI-generated text on the spot.

Users paste a claim and get a verdict with sources

To use the tool, people paste in a claim, article snippet, or AI-generated text, and ChatOn returns a verdict along with supporting sources and the reasoning behind its decision. The system compares multiple sources and assesses their reliability before flagging fabricated statistics, misattributed quotes, or manipulated stories.

A survey exposed how often AI gets facts wrong

ChatOn built the feature after a prior survey found that 39% of Americans verify AI-generated information using Google or other sources. The same study found 36% of Americans have encountered outdated information from AI tools, and 19% have run into made-up sources or references.

Brea, Calif. – September 18, 2026 -- ICECO has partnered with Jeep® to launch the APL35 Limited Edition, a dual-zone 12V fridge freezer inspired by the 1941 Willys MB.

The design pulls directly from the original Willys MB's military heritage.

The cooler features a signature Olive Drab Green finish that echoes the military color tied to the Willys MB. Genuine leather accents appear on the buckles and carry handles, referencing the leather straps and utility gear found on the original vehicles.

Field-ready details reference the vehicle's original tool kit.

Rich brown accents nod to the pioneer tool kit -- including the axe and shovel many Willys models carried -- while rope-inspired detailing mirrors gear often added to vehicles in the field. Olive green, leather, wood-inspired, and rope elements combine into a design rooted in the Willys MB's visual heritage.

Temecula, Calif. – September 18, 2026 -- Fitness 19 has released a new guide, "Is Intermittent Fasting Effective for Workouts?", aimed at helping gym-goers decide when to train while fasting.

Insulin drops accelerate fat burning during a fast

The guide explains that intermittent fasting is about timing meals, not restricting food types. When a person fasts, insulin levels drop, which speeds up fat burning. Many people notice an early dip in energy during fasted workouts, but Fitness 19 says energy levels typically stabilize after a transition period.

Muscle growth is not blocked by fasting, but protein timing matters

According to the guide, intermittent fasting does not hinder muscle growth on its own. People need to hit sufficient protein and calorie targets and schedule workouts either before or during their eating window to support muscle gains.

Woodinville – September 18, 2026 -- PowerA has released a new line of officially licensed Harry Potter gaming accessories for Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox, marking the start of a multi-year partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products.

Four Hogwarts houses get their own Switch 2 gear

The debut lineup includes a Nintendo Switch 2 Advantage Wireless Controller priced at $69.99 and Nintendo Switch 2 Protection Cases at $24.99, each themed around one of the four Hogwarts houses. The designs let fans display their house pride directly on their gaming setup.

Xbox controllers feature Chibi art and Quidditch styling

An Xbox Wired Controller, priced at $34.99, depicts Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and other characters in a Chibi-inspired art style. A pricier Xbox Advantage Wireless Controller, at $99.99, draws on the visual language of Quidditch and includes gold-accented details.

Great Neck, N.Y. – September 18, 2026 -- The viral term "cortisol face," used online to describe stress-related facial puffiness, is not a medical diagnosis, according to a new guide from Laser by Aleya, a laser hair removal and electrolysis studio in Great Neck, New York.

The trend borrows its imagery from "moon face," a real clinical sign linked to Cushing syndrome, a rare endocrine disorder. Per StatPearls, a hallmark of true moon face is that the earlobes are not visible when viewed straight-on, a feature ordinary stress puffiness does not produce. StatPearls also notes that only two to three cases per million are caused by a tumor, with prolonged corticosteroid medication use the most common overall cause, not stress. The Merck Manual states that moderately elevated cortisol is common and non-specific, often tied to obesity, depression, or polycystic ovary syndrome.

Miami – September 18, 2026 -- Oceania Cruises has opened sales for 12 individual segments of its new ship Oceania Aurelia's inaugural 180-day Around the World voyage, letting travelers book portions of the trip ranging from 10 to 19 days instead of committing to the full journey.

The complete voyage departs Miami in January 2028 and touches six continents, with overnight port stays in Papeete, Bora Bora, Sydney, Bali, Tokyo, Bangkok and Mumbai. Nearly 100 UNESCO World Heritage sites fall within reach across the itinerary, alongside thousands of small-group shore excursions.

St. Petersburg – September 18, 2026 -- AI use for trip planning has surged over the past year, but travelers remain wary of letting algorithms make actual decisions, according to new survey data from travel insurance marketplace Squaremouth.

AI adoption for trip planning has more than doubled since last year

The share of travelers who said they never use AI to plan trips fell from 63.1% last year to 27.6% this year. Nearly one in five travelers, 18.7%, now say they use AI to help plan every trip they take.

Gen Z shows the most skepticism toward AI in travel

Despite being widely seen as the most tech-savvy generation, only 38.0% of Gen Z respondents strongly agreed that AI is integral to how they travel. That compares with 55.7% of Gen X, 52.7% of Millennials, and 45.5% of Boomers. Gen Z also posted the highest rate of strong disagreement at 31.0%, versus 24.6% for Millennials, 21.2% for Boomers, and 18.4% for Gen X.

Houston – September 18, 2026 -- Travel insurance provider Travel Guard, part of Zurich Cover-More, has opened entries for its annual World's Unluckiest Traveler contest, offering a $10,000 grand prize to the traveler with the most disastrous vacation story.

Entries open September 15 and close October 5

Residents of the U.S. and Canada can submit a video or photo along with a written account of their travel mishap during the three-week entry window. Travel Guard judges will narrow submissions down to eight finalists, set to be announced on the contest website on October 26, 2026.

Public voting determines the winners

The eight finalists will then compete for votes from the public through November 9, 2026, with finalists encouraged to promote their entries on social media. The submission with the highest vote count wins the $10,000 grand prize, while the second-, third- and fourth-place finishers by vote total will also receive prizes.

Buena Park, Calif. – September 18, 2026 -- Yamaha has unveiled the B200A, a 23.5-inch Dolby Atmos sound bar aimed at bedrooms, apartments, home offices and gaming setups where space is tight. The compact bar will cost $249.95 and hits shelves in November 2026.

The B200A squeezes 3D audio into a small footprint

Yamaha combined Dolby Atmos with its Hi-Fi engineering background to build an audio field around listeners rather than just projecting sound forward. A built-in subwoofer handles low-end output, and a Bass Extension mode adds extra punch for movies and games without requiring a separate subwoofer unit.

"The B200A was designed for people who want better sound without giving up valuable space," said Alex Sadeghian, Yamaha's director of consumer audio. He said the bar targets bedrooms, apartments, home offices and gaming setups where users want immersive sound in a simple, everyday package.