Although “inspired by true events,” “The Woman King” clearly isn’t tethered to them, using the underlying story of 19th-century female warriors in an African kingdom as the jumping-off point for a rousing
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Nudity is getting more creative. Not in an artistic sense — the naked human form has been a favorite subject of painters and sculptors for more than 2,000 years — but in the imaginative and sometimes offbeat ways that people are using to shed their clothes in public.
In January, the Norwegian Pearl completed an 11-day Caribbean cruise with 2,300 naturists onboard. Dubbed the “Big Nude Boat,” it was hailed as the first-ever clothing optional cruise on a large passenger ship. Bare Necessities, the Texas-based travel company that organized the voyage, is already booking two future nude cruises.
On the other side of the Atlantic, you can play a round of golf completely unclothed on the six-hole course at La Jenny Naturist Village in France (which also offers naked tennis, ping pong, volleyball, archery, chess, and bocce).
In places like Jamaica, Indonesia, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, where public nudity is illegal, a growing number of private naturist resorts are the best way to get naked.
Despite all this clothing-optional innovation, nude beaches remain the primary means to achieve an overall tan.
Nudist explains what you should definitely not do at a nude beach
From rocky coastlines to talcum-powder fine sands and big city bays to secluded shores, there are now hundreds of beaches where it’s perfectly legal (or at least de facto legal) to frolic beside the sea in nothing more than your birthday suit.
“Soft, smooth sand, warm ocean breeze, gentle ocean waves and lots of other naturists makes for a great clothing-optional beach,” says Nicky Hoffman of The Naturist Society, who’s also the managing editor of Nude & Natural magazine and co-author of “The World’s Best Nude Beaches & Resorts.”
While clothing-optional beach destinations may seem like a modern invention, it’s actually quite an old idea, a product of the otherwise prudish Victorian era.
During the 1880s, American poet Walt Whitman extolled the virtues of the “Adamic air bath” — his nude walkabouts and swims along Timber Creek in New Jersey, writing of “the free exhilarating ecstasy of nakedness in Nature.”
Channeling that same vibe, the naturist movement took off in Europe and North America during the first half of the 20th century, with city parks, camp grounds and eventually beaches established for those who wanted to experience nature in their most natural state.
One of the spin-offs of the socially and sexually liberal 1960s was a “free beach” movement that saw a proliferation of nude beaches around the world.
And their popularity continues today, with more and more popping up each year. Here are 25 of the best nude beaches you can visit around the world:
A 20-minute drive from Punta del Este, Uruguay’s best-known nude beach overlooks Portezuelo Bay on the Atlantic coast.
Photogenic dunes and water temperatures that reach 25 Celsius (77 F) and higher even in the Southern Hemisphere winter add to the strand’s allure.
After decades as an unofficial naked getaway, Chihuahua finally achieved legal status in 2000.
Since then, amenities have expanded to include the Hotel El Refugio Nudista Naturista clothing-optional resort.
Playa Naturista Chihuahua, Avenida Las Amarras, 20003 Chihuahua, Uruguay
The chilly Baltic Sea may not seem like the most obvious place to skinny dip. But this gorgeous strand on the long, sandy Curonian Spit offers one of Europe’s most picturesque spots to take it all off.
With its wildflower-covered dunes (among the highest in Europe) and shoreline forest, the beach was the focus of a 19th-century artists’ colony that attracted many of the leading painters, poets and writers of the time.
Walk far enough south along the strand and you eventually come to a fence that marks the Lithuania-Russia border.
Nida Nude Beach, Nidos-Smiltynės pl., Nida, Lithuania
Oriental Beach Village, Phang Nga province, Thailand
Like much of Asia, public nudity is frowned upon in Thailand. The one exception is Oriental Beach Village resort on the west coast Kho Kho Khao island.
Thailand’s only legal clothing-optional beach, this naturist getaway offers a rare opportunity to relax au naturel along a talcum-powder-fine shore and skinny dip in the warm Andaman Sea.
The resort offers bikes and kayaks for exploring other parts of Kho Kho Khao, but you will need to wear clothing for those adventures. Non-guests can pay a 1,000-Baht day fee (about $30) to use the resort facilities and beach.
Oriental Beach Village, Phang Nga province, Thailand
Sweden may be home to many beaches where nudity is accepted, but Ågesta Beach, located roughly 15 kilometers (9 miles) south of Stockholm, is its only official nude beach.
Based in the southern end of the lake Magelungen, Ågesta Beach’s sandy shores are popular with locals as well as visitors looking for an escape from the bustling capital city.
Open from May to September, this beach is very well looked after, with picnic tables, BBQ areas, public bathrooms and play areas for children available.
Ågesta Beach, Huddinge, Sweden
Little Palm Beach, Waiheke, New Zealand
Although it’s technically legal to go naked on any beach in personal-liberty-loving New Zealand, the nation’s naturists tend to congregate at well-known clothing-optional spots like Little Palm Beach on Waiheke Island.
Reaching the secluded strand entails a 40-to-60-minute ferry ride from Auckland, a taxi or rideshare to the island’s north shore, and then a short downhill hike.
You can top or tail your beach adventure at Waiheke’s many wineries, restaurants, and art galleries.
Little Palm Beach, Miro Road, Waiheke Island 1081, New Zealand
Flanked by sheer cliffs and shades by pine trees, this remote beach on the mainland opposite Brač island is reached via a narrow path that seems ready made for goats rather than people seeking an apparel-free escape on the Adriatic.
Be sure to bring a thick towel or even a beach chair — like many Croatian beaches the surface is pebbles rather than sand.
Nugal is about a half-an-hour walk from the nearest town, although it can also be reached by boat or sea kayak from Makarska or Tučepi.
Nugal Beach, 21300 Makarska, Croatia
Perched at the island’s western extreme, Moshup is a long curving strand that wraps around a headline crowned by the historic Gay Head Lighthouse (built in 1799).
Located right below the ancient light, the clothing-optional portion lies beneath rust-colored sandstone cliffs that were declared a National Natural Monument in 1966.
Moshup is open free of charge to anyone who wants to take their clothes off, as opposed to Lucy Vincent, the island’s other nude beach, which requires a town permit to visit.
Moshup Beach, 71 Moshup Trail, Aquinnah, MA 02535
Although it sometimes seems like just about any beach in Australia is clothing-optional, there are a number of official nude beaches including Lady Bay.
Also called Lady Jane Beach, the little pocket of sand lies just inside the South Head of Sydney Harbour. The beach is small and narrow, but incredibly secluded for such a big city location.
The rocky ledges around South Head are also used for nude sunbathing.
Lady Bay Beach, Watson’s Bay, Sydney, Australia
Studland Bay, Dorset, England
The Brits may have been prudish in the Victorian era, but by the 1920s they weren’t afraid to drop their drawers in public, especially along the shore of Studland Bay in Dorset.
A 900-meter strip of the white-sand strand is reserved for naturists — and prominently marked so that non-nudist beachgoers don’t accidentally cast their eyes on naked bodies.
Managed by the National Trust, the pristine beach is easily reached by road or passenger/vehicle Sandbanks Ferry from Bournemouth.
The naturist beach has no facilities. But just down the shore are the National Trust’s Knoll Beach Café, the Bankes Arms pub and upscale digs at The Pig on the Beach boutique hotel.
Studland Bay, Dorset, England
Billed as one of the world’s longest nude beaches at 7.8 kilometers (4.9 miles) long, Wreck Beach is actually a series of sandy strands, pebble flats and rocky outcrops wrapped around the end of Point Grey.
With the University of British Columbia just across the street, a steady stream of students and teachers have shed their clothes on this beach since the early 1970s, when it first became popular.
Evergreen trees along the shore and snowcapped peaks across the water complement the Canadian ambiance.
Wreck Beach, Vancouver, British Columbia; Canada
“Grin and bare it” might well be the motto for nudists on this North Sea island, where the average water temperature in summer is a chilly 17 C (63 F).
Technically all of the beaches on Sylt are clothing optional, but Buhne 16 was the first and is still the foremost location for nude sunbathing along the German shore.
Beachgoers can chill in the famous blue-and-white striped wicker beach chairs or let it all hang out at summer beach parties.
Buhne 16, Listlandstr 133b, 25980 Kampen (Sylt), Germany; +49 4651 4996
Set beneath the towering cliffs of Torrey Pines, Blacks has been the Golden State’s favorite place for all-over tans for more than 50 years and was once the only legal nude beach in the entire United States.
Long, wide and blessed with great surf, the beach is reached via the zig-zag Ho Chi Minh Trail from La Jolla Farms Road or the Citizens Trail from Torrey Pines Gliderport near the University of California, San Diego.
Black’s Beach, Torrey Pines Scenic Drive, San Diego, CA 92037
This secluded shore on the south side of Crete is a hotspot for nude sunbathing in Greece.
Named after its ocher-colored sand and cliffs, Red Beach (or Kokkini Ammos) is reached via a 20-minute hike from Matala or a very short boat ride from the village waterfront.
Pioneered by Euro hippies during the 1960s, the beach offers chair and umbrella rentals and is home to a funky little bar called Yianni’s that’s renowned for its mojitos.
Note: the mysterious rock carvings at the end of the beach are a modern creation and definitely not ancient Minoan relics.
Red Beach, Matala, Crete 702 00, Greece
Callantsoog Beach, Netherlands
Callantsoog is the oldest nudist beach in the Netherlands, having been officially recognized as a nudist beach since 1973.
Situated 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Amsterdam, near the coastal town of Callantsoog, this beautiful stretch of sand enjoys Blue Flag status and is a great place to spot seals.
Its designated nudist section is marked between two poles.
Those keen to get even closer to nature can pay a visit to the nearby Zwanenwater, a protected nature reserve and home to the largest natural dune lakes in Europe.
Callantsoog Beach, Strandslag Dorpsplein, 1759 Callantsoog, Netherlands
Anse de Grande Saline, St. Barts
While the Caribbean may be full of wonderful, chilled out beaches, this wild, white sand strand on the rear side of St. Barts is one of the few places on the islands where public nudity is tolerated (although sunbathing naked is technically prohibited in St. Barts.)
Anse de Grande Saline (or Saline Beach) is another self-catering beach. Visitors will need to bring along everything they need for a day at the shore, especially sunscreen, as there is no shade to speak of.
You’ll need to put your clothes back on, but L’Esprit by chef Jean Claude Dufour, an excellent French restaurant, is within walking distance of Grande Saline.
Anse de Grande Saline, St. Barthélemy
Set between the deep blue Mediterranean and multicolored salt pans near Ibiza’s southernmost point, official nudist beach Es Cavallet is separated into various different sections, including a beach club party section, a gay scene and a more secluded, middle section where the clothing-free crowd hang out.
However nude sunbathers aren’t the only beings who frequent this area. Those bright pink things you’ll see pacing in the background aren’t sunburned tourists, but flamingos that like to gather in the shallow salines saltwater ponds.
Platja des Cavallet, 07818, Balearic Islands, Spain
Sometimes called the “Naked City,” Cap d’Agde Naturist Village is the world’s largest clothing-optional beach resort, attracting as many as 40,000 guests on any given day during high season.
Visitors are free to be naked wherever they want — restaurants and stores, post office or banks, sailing their boat or lounging on the long public beach (where nudity is obligatory, even for those not staying at the resort).
Overnight options including a naturist hotel, campground and rental units.
Cap d’Agde Naturist Village, Rond-Point du Bagnas, 34300 Agde, France
Situated along Sardinia’s west coast close to the town of San Vero Milis, Spiaggia Naturista Is Benas is known for its remoteness and its pristine environment.
Designated as an official nude beach in 2022, the naturist zone lies at the super-secluded south end of the Is Arenas beach strip, which offers 4.3 miles (7 km) of uninterrupted sand and gentle waves along the Mediterranean.
Those craving a multi-day nude beach experience can overnight at campgrounds in the north, a golf resort tucked into the pine forest behind the shore, or modest hotels, short- term rentals and B&Bs in nearby S’Archittu and Sa Rocca Tunda villages.
Is Benas Beach, Oristano Province, Sardinia, Italy
This tiny stretch of sand on South Africa’s Indian Ocean coast was once the country’s only official nude beach. After local clergy and churchgoers complained, its official status was revoked. But that doesn’t keep people from going naked.
Located in the Mpenjati Nature Reserve South around a two-hour drive from Durban remains one of only a handful of places in South Africa where you can discard your clothes without local authorities freaking out.
Wiggle your toes in the slow-flowing Mpenjati River as it empties into the ocean. But locals advise against swimming in the sea — like much of the South African coast this is shark country.
Mpenjati Nature Reserve, Palm Beach, Port Edward, South Africa
Playa de Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
Located at the southern tip of Gran Canaria island, Maspalomas is a long, boomerang-shaped beach backed by sand dunes that make it feel more like the nearby Sahara (around 100 miles to the east) than a modern Spanish resort island.
The official naturist zones (gay and non-gay) lie between the towering Faro de Maspalomas lighthouse (built in the 1890s) and the sandy point. Kiosks along the shore offer cocktails, cold drinks, snacks, beach chairs and umbrellas.
Those who prefer more privacy can also steal away among the dunes, where nudity is also allowed.
Playa de Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
Live your “Y Tu Mamá También” fantasies at the beach where so many of the scenes from the sensuous 2001 Mexican movie starring Gael García Bernal were shot on location.
Pioneered by Mexican and American hippies during the 1960s, the strand stretches about two kilometers with rocky bluffs at either end, and is famed as a clothing-optional beach (although it isn’t legal here.)
While the main beach here is backed by budget hotels and cafes, a tiny sliver of sand at the eastern end called Playa del Amor offers far more privacy.
Playa Zipolite, San Pedro Pochutla, Oaxaca, Mexico
Float nude in the warm, ultra-buoyant salty water and smear your entire naked body with soothing, mineral-infused black mud at this rocky beach on the western shore of the Dead Sea.
Perhaps the only place in the Middle East where any kind of public nudity is tolerated, Metsoke Dragot is located about an hour’s drive from Jerusalem and requires a short but rough drive along an unpaved road to reach the shoreline.
Primitive camping is allowed along the shore while clifftop Metzoke Dragot Travelers Village and Tranquilo Glamping offer indoor accommodation near the shore.
Metsoke Dragot, Highway 90, Dead Sea, Israel
Praia Massarandupió, Bahia, Brazil
The string bikinis on Copacabana may expose an awful lot of Brazilian flesh, but not nearly as much as this naturist beach along the Bahia coast.
A two-hour drive north of Salvador, the nude beach is about a one-kilometer walk from the parking lot along the shoreline flanked by coconut palms, rolling dunes and very surfable waves.
Praia Massarandupió, Bahia, Brazil
Edged with pine trees, this Latvian beach is as calming as it is beautiful.
Based close to the capital city of Riga and a relatively short walk from Vecaki train station, it’s known for its shimmering waters, stunning sunsets and of course, its nudist section.
The clothing-optional zone (Nūdistu Pludmale) is a short distance north of the main beach with its waterfront cafes, public restroom and beach volleyball courts.
Vecaki Beach, Selgas iela 20, Riga 1030, Latvia
The most popular public nude beach in the United States, Haulover attracts more than 1.3 million bare-bottomed people to its white sands and warm water each year.
The clothing-optional portion, marked at either end by picket fences, offers rental beach chairs and umbrellas, as well as lifeguards.
Given the stellar weather in south Florida, there’s usually someone in the buff on any given day.
But the biggest crowds gather during National Nude Recreation Week in July and whenever Haulover is trying to set a new Guinness World Record for skinny dipping.
Haulover Beach Park, 10800 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33154
Editor’s note: This story was updated and republished in May 2025.
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By Mark Minnies.
The power outage that temporarily brought operations to a halt at London’s Heathrow Airport in March is just the latest major incident to spark widespread flight disruptions.
Whether it’s a fire or a technical meltdown or a weather system that wreaks havoc on schedules, here’s some advice on what to do if your flight is delayed or canceled.
As bad as it is to find out your flight has been delayed for a long time, or worse, canceled, it’s better to find out from the comfort of home or a hotel room.
“Check your flight status before you go the airport. Most of these notifications are not happening at the last minute,” said Scott Keyes, the founder of Going.com. “Save yourself the drive to the airport.”
Other tips from Keyes:
- Sign up for airlines’ free text alerts on the status of flights when you buy your ticket. Also, download your carrier’s app.
- Put your airline and flight number directly into a Google search bar to retrieve the flight status that way.
- Check the website FlightAware for larger flight trends across the country.
- Hop on waiver offers ahead of bad weather quickly. Early birds have the best choices of the remaining seats and flights.
Sometimes, the delays and cancellations happen after you’ve arrived at the airport. Heathrow is instructing travelers to stay away from the airport, but what if you’re elsewhere in the world, hoping to get to London and now stuck in departures?
Keyes said to head as fast as you can to the airline agents’ desk. “It’s going to make a difference who arrives first. It’s first-come, first-serve. Positioning yourself close to the desk can pay off,” Keyes said.
Then you might want to call up your carrier while you’re waiting. It might be faster to get through to a call center. “Whatever happens first, great,” he said.
Other tactics you can try:
- Go to a self-serve kiosk, American Airlines and United Airlines advise.
- Use social media to your advantage, the travel advice website Travel Lens suggests. Try contacting the airline via X or other platforms when calls aren’t going through.
- Try an international call center for your carrier, Keyes suggests. Calls to US domestic numbers might have longer waits.
Attitude and research matter
Whether you’re dealing with an agent in person or over the phone, how you approach things can make a big difference.
“Honey attracts more flies than vinegar,” Keyes said. “Look at this from the airline agents’ perspective. … The agent is the one who has the most ability to help you. Asking nicely and sympathetically is far more likely to get what you want than being a jerk about it.”
He had another tip when it’s your turn to talk to an agent about making new arrangements: “Come prepared to offer your own options already. Doing your own research is absolutely helpful.”
Other considerations:
- Book directly with an airline if the price is the same. If you’ve booked through a third-party site, you’ll have to deal through them when there’s a cancellation.
- Avoid layovers when booking if possible, the consumer advocacy group US PIRG suggests. The more times you stop, the more chances for something to go wrong.
- Regarding tarmac delays, airlines must provide working bathrooms the entire time, US PIRG says. “After two hours, you must have food and water. After three hours, you must be in the air or back in the airport – or the airline faces massive fines.”
Cooperation between airlines could work in your favor.
“When flights are canceled, many airlines have the option of putting you on another carrier’s flight because they have interline agreements,” Lousson Smith, product operations specialist at Going.com, told CNN Travel.
“This means, for example, if Delta is having service interruptions but American is running a flight to your destination, you may be able to get on that flight.”
Thanks to changes in frequent flyer programs over the past several years, airlines often still have flights available with miles even when demand is high during a weather event, Julian Kheel, founder and CEO of Points Path, told QT Travel in an email.
“You’ll need to be prepared to spend a lot of miles, and you may not get the best value for them. But you could save yourself some significant cash if you’re trying to evacuate away from a storm,” Kheel said.
“Most US airlines now allow you to cancel flights booked with frequent flyer miles without any fee or penalty right up until departure time. That means you can book multiple alternate flights on different airlines using your miles in case one of them ends up delayed or canceled.
“But don’t try to book alternate flights on the same airline, as duplicates can be automatically canceled. And don’t forget to cancel the remaining flights you don’t end up using so you can get your miles back.”
What do you do if it looks like you’re not going to be able to fly out until the next day and you’re not in your home city?
This depends on the specifics of your situation — in the US, for example, airlines aren’t legally required to put you up in a hotel. US-based airlines have their own individual policies that are tracked by the FAA, here.
But UK law is different — so, if you’re being impacted by the current Heathrow cancelations, you’ll likely be automatically entitled to food and drink vouchers and accommodation. You can read all the details at the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)’s website.
Your canceled flight will be covered by UK law if was supposed to be departing from the UK, no matter who you were flying with.
And if your flight was supposed to be arriving in the UK, you’ll be covered by UK law as long as you were traveling on an EU or UK airline. This document from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority explains all the ins and outs of these rules.
Despite this, sometimes airlines can’t help everyone, as the CAA says, “this can happen when staff are stretched during major disruptions.” The CAA advice is to organize “reasonable care and assistance yourself, then claim the cost back later. If you end up paying for things yourself, keep every receipt and do not spend more than is reasonable.”
Other things to consider:
- Book your flight with a credit card, Smith said: “Many credit cards offer travel protections such as reimbursement if a flight cancellation forces you to get a hotel, meals, etc.”
- Consider hunkering down at the airport rather than going to and from a hotel if your flight is delayed but not canceled. A lot depends on your personal comfort level and the estimated wait time, Keyes said.
- Check whether there is a hotel room available within the airport.
- Try getting into an airport lounge if you can, where you can recharge your phone and rest more easily, the Points Guy advises.
- Make safety your No. 1 priority. If extreme weather is causing air travel disruption, trying to make the journey by road could be hazardous, Keyes warns.
Travel insurance and receipts
Consider buying travel insurance, advised Airport Parking Reservations in an email to QT Travel.
It said “most travel insurance policies provide additional cover for travel uncertainty. Additional [coverage] usually becomes applicable if your flight is postponed by more than 12 hours due to a strike, adverse weather or a mechanical breakdown.”
The site also advises that you keep any receipts of airport purchases. You can try to get the money back from the airline later.
Airlines in the United States are now required to give passengers cash refunds if their flight is significantly delayed or canceled, even if that person does not explicitly ask for a refund.
The Department of Transportation says the final federal rule requiring that airlines dole out refunds — not vouchers — went into effect on October 28, 2024. Find out the details here.
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Editor’s Note: (7/19/24) Following the revelation of this narrative in January 2022, Rios, Contreras, and Cisneros admitted guilt to at least one charge each of conspiracy to infringe upon the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Rios and Cisneros received sentences of 50 years in federal prison, while Contreras was handed a 35-year federal prison term, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Grisham accepted guilt for a violent offense in furtherance of racketeering and is anticipated to face sentencing in September.
Federal prosecutors have indicted three suspected gang members and one alleged associate on Thursday in the tragic shooting of off-duty Los Angeles Police Officer Fernando Arroyos during a botched robbery attempt.
Luis Alfredo De La Rosa Rios, 29, Ernesto Cisneros, 22, and Jesse Contreras, 34, are purported members of the F-13 gang, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Rios’s purported girlfriend, Haylee Marie Grisham, 18, was also charged.
The complaint states that Arroyos was house-hunting on Monday with his girlfriend when a black pickup truck approached. Rios and Cisneros brandished firearms at Arroyos and his girlfriend, seizing items from both, including chains from Arroyos’ neck.
According to the report, an exchange of gunfire ensued between Arroyos and the two suspects, after which Arroyos collapsed and the suspects fled the scene. Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded swiftly and transported Arroyos to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
The four defendants were in the vehicle and allegedly present during the robbery and shooting, the complaint indicated. They face charges of violent crime in support of racketeering, which carries a possible death penalty and a minimum sentence of life in federal prison without the possibility of parole.
QT has attempted to reach out to the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s office in order to secure legal representation for the defendants and is awaiting a reply.
Arroyos, 27, “was embarking on a very promising career,” said LAPD Chief Michel Moore on Tuesday. He had been with the department for three years, assigned to the Wilshire Division.
“He was enjoying a day off after a series of days in patrol, relishing this time with his girlfriend while searching for a home, a place to live, a place to invest in this city and the future of this area,” Moore remarked.
Arroyos is mourned by his mother and stepfather.
“He was an only child, with a bright future ahead that was brutally taken from him during a street robbery,” the chief added.
F-13 represents a “large, multi-generational street gang that has previously been the focus of federal prosecutions, including two significant racketeering cases,” noted the U.S. Attorney’s office in a press release.
The news release did not reveal any affiliation between Arroyos and the accused.
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CNN
—
If you’re a parent, heading out the door before a car ride with the kids probably goes a little like this:
Parent: “Did you go to the bathroom?”
Child: “No, I don’t have to go.”
Parent: “Go now, you may not get the chance later.”
At least for one New Hampshire woman, that was pretty much the ongoing conversation she had with her four kids … so much that she made it her vanity license plate for 15 years.
Wendy Auger is proud of her “PB4WEGO” plate and told CNN she’s never had any issues with it. Until now.
New Hampshire asked Auger, in a letter she received August 16, to surrender her plate because it includes a phrase relating to “sexual or excretory acts or functions,” said Auger.
I’m not a political activist,” she said. “But this is a non-offensive thing that I’ve had and it’s part of who we are as a family and who I am and there was zero reason for them to take it away.”
The recall letter said Auger had 10 days to surrender her plate with the option to choose another vanity plate at no extra cost or have one assigned to her.
If Auger chose to get a regular plate, a portion of her vanity plate fee would be refunded to her, according to the letter.
After hearing about Auger’s situation from a mutual friend, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu got involved.
“Upon this being brought to my attention, I reached out to the Division of Motor Vehicles and strongly urged them to allow Wendy to keep the license plate she has had for the last 15 years,” Sununu told CNN in a statement.
“I recently left a message on her phone to share the good news that her plate will not be recalled.”
Auger said she was happy she got to keep a piece of who her family is with her.
“I wasn’t going to go down without a fight,” she said.
For New Hampshire residents, the cost of a vanity license plate includes the price of your town/city and state registration fees, plus $40 for the Vanity Plate fee, plus a one time $8 fee, according to the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles.
CNN reached out to the New Hampshire DMV for comment but has not heard back.
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Last week, there were an estimated 238,000 first-time claims filed for unemployment benefits, an increase of 4,000 from the week before, according to Department of Labor data released Wednesday. The latest uptick brought the four-week average of initial claims to its highest level since August 2023.
Also, Americans are staying unemployed for longer: Continuing claims, which are filed by people who have received benefits for at least a week or more, rose to their highest level since November 2021.
Luke Tilley, Wilmington Trust’s chief economist, told CNN he is closely watching an underlying datapoint of the monthly jobs report: Unemployed persons by reason for unemployment.
“On a three-month average basis, it’s up about 200,000 people from last year,” Tilley said. “And that metric of permanent job losers, year-over-year, is almost never positive in an expansion. It was never positive between 2010 and 2019; it was not positive in between the tech crash recession of 2001 and then 2008.”
He added: “So when you sort of peel back the onion from what looks like very strong job growth in a raw number count and look at it a little closer … that paints a labor market that has normalized and is at risk of slipping.”
Still, other measures of layoff activity haven’t shown a worrisome spike.
US-based employers announced fewer job cuts last month than they did in May; however, those layoff reports are trending well above last year’s, according to data released Wednesday by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The outplacement and workplace research firm counted 48,786 cuts announced in June. That’s down nearly 24% from the 63,618 cuts announced in May, but 19.8% higher than the 40,709 cuts announced in June last year.
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Israel’s military has ordered the evacuation of more neighborhoods in Rafah ahead of a potential major ground operation in the southern Gaza city, where over 1 million Palestinians are estimated to be displaced. Follow live updates.
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Robert Hur explicitly said he “did not exonerate” President Joe Biden at the end of his yearlong special counsel investigation.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington state, elicited the comments while tussling with Hur over his conclusions. She claimed Hur “exonerated” Biden, but the special counsel immediately took issue with the term during a tense exchange.
“This lengthy, expensive and independent investigation resulted in a complete exoneration of President Joe Biden for every document you discussed in your report. You found insufficient evidence that the president violated any laws about possession or retention of classified materials,” Jayapal said.
“I need to go back and make sure that I take note of a word that you used, ‘exoneration,’” Hur said. “That is not a word that is used in my report and that is not a part of my task as a prosecutor.”
“You exonerated him,” Jayapal retorted.
“I did not exonerate him. That word does not appear in the report,” Hur said.
The result of this back-and-forth is that Jayapal spurred Hur to say something that clearly isn’t helpful for Biden, whom she was aggressively trying to defend.
Jayapal brought this up while arguing Hur didn’t have enough evidence to conclude Biden broke the law, in addition to Hur’s determination that a jury would sympathize with the president because of his age and at-times faltering memory.
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Heavy snow and blizzard conditions will continue to blast portions of the Midwest. Strong winds will also ramp up across the region, reaching their peak once the powerful storm hits its full strength Friday evening.
Thunderstorms will continue to roll across the Southeast, where some may become severe through Friday afternoon and evening. Rain and thunderstorms will arrive in parts of the mid-Atlantic by Friday evening and much of the Northeast will deal with rain and potential flooding by Friday night.
Here’s what a few cities in the path of the storm can expect:
Chicago: A mix of rain and snow Friday afternoon will gradually turn fully back over to snow Friday evening. Winds will remain gusty throughout the day, with gusts of 40 to 60 mph likely once again Friday night. Snow continues through Saturday as much colder conditions arrive.
Atlanta: Thunderstorms will continue to develop and move across the city Friday afternoon. Some may become severe, with the potential for damaging wind gusts, hail and even a tornado. A Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms is in place Friday with the potential for damaging wind gusts, hail and even a tornado. Storms will exit the area Friday evening, but breezy conditions will linger through Saturday.
Washington, DC: Rain and a few thunderstorms will arrive Friday evening and 1 to 2 inches of rain may drench some areas caught under heavy downpours. Winds will be quite strong with gusts of 30 to 50 mph possible. The combination of wind and rain may lead to power outages. Rain will taper off by early Saturday morning, but strong winds will persist.
New York City: Rain, heavy at times, and strong wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph will arrive Friday night. Rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches are likely across the city, with higher amounts possible just north. Rain will taper off Saturday morning, but gusty winds will persist through the weekend.
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CNN
—
Here is a look back at the events of 2023.
January 3 – Republican Kevin McCarthy fails to secure enough votes to be elected Speaker of the House in three rounds of voting. On January 7, McCarthy is elected House speaker after multiple days of negotiations and 15 rounds of voting. That same day, the newly elected 118th Congress is officially sworn in.
January 7 – Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, is pulled over for reckless driving. He is hospitalized following the arrest and dies three days later from injuries sustained during the traffic stop. Five officers from the Memphis Police Department are fired. On January 26, a grand jury indicts the five officers. They are each charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. On September 12, the five officers are indicted by a federal grand jury on several charges including deprivation of rights.
January 9 – The White House counsel’s office confirms that several classified documents from President Joe Biden’s time as vice president were discovered last fall in an office at the Penn Biden Center. On January 12, the White House counsel’s office confirms a small number of additional classified documents were located in President Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, home.
January 13 – The Trump Organization is fined $1.6 million – the maximum possible penalty – by a New York judge for running a decade-long tax fraud scheme.
January 21 – Eleven people are killed in a mass shooting at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, as the city’s Asian American community was celebrating Lunar New Year. The 72-year-old gunman is found dead the following day from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
January 24 – CNN reports that a lawyer for former Vice President Mike Pence discovered about a dozen documents marked as classified at Pence’s Indiana home last week, and he has turned those classified records over to the FBI.
January 25 – Facebook-parent company Meta announces it will restore former President Donald Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks, just over two years after suspending him in the wake of the January 6 Capitol attack.
February 1 – Tom Brady announces his retirement after 23 seasons in the NFL.
February 2 – Defense officials announce the United States is tracking a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon over the continental United States. On February 4, a US military fighter jet shoots down the balloon over the Atlantic Ocean. On June 29, the Pentagon reveals the balloon did not collect intelligence while flying over the country.
February 3 – A Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derails in East Palestine, Ohio. An evacuation order is issued for the area within a mile radius of the train crash. The order is lifted on February 8. After returning to their homes, some residents report they have developed a rash and nausea.
February 7 – Lebron James breaks the NBA’s all-time scoring record, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
February 15 – Payton Gendron, 19, who killed 10 people in a racist mass shooting at a grocery store in a predominantly Black area of Buffalo last May, is sentenced to life in prison.
February 18 – In a statement, the Carter Center says that former President Jimmy Carter will begin receiving hospice care at his home in Georgia.
February 20 – President Biden makes a surprise trip to Kyiv for the first time since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago.
February 23 – Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly is sentenced to 20 years in prison in a Chicago federal courtroom on charges of child pornography and enticement of a minor. Kelly is already serving a 30-year prison term for his 2021 conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges in a New York federal court. Nineteen years of the 20-year prison sentence will be served at the same time as his other sentence. One year will be served after that sentence is complete.
February 23 – Harvey Weinstein, who is already serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York, is sentenced in Los Angeles to an additional 16 years in prison for charges of rape and sexual assault.
March 2 – SpaceX and NASA launch a fresh crew of astronauts on a mission to the International Space Station, kicking off a roughly six-month stay in space. The mission — which is carrying two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates — took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
March 2 – The jury in the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh finds him guilty of murdering his wife and son. Murdaugh, the 54-year-old scion of a prominent and powerful family of local lawyers and solicitors, is also found guilty of two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in the killings of Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh on June 7, 2021.
March 3 – Four US citizens from South Carolina are kidnapped by gunmen in Matamoros, Mexico, in a case of mistaken identity. On March 7, two of the four Americans, Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, are found dead and the other two, Latavia McGee and Eric Williams, are found alive. The cartel believed responsible for the armed kidnapping issues an apology letter and hands over five men to local authorities.
March 10 – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announces that Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by California regulators. This is the second largest bank failure in US history, only to Washington Mutual’s collapse in 2008. SVB Financial Group, the former parent company of SVB, files for bankruptcy on March 17.
March 27 – A 28-year-old Nashville resident shoots and kills three children and three adults at the Covenant School in Nashville. The shooter is fatally shot by responding officers.
March 29 – Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is detained by Russian authorities and accused of spying. On April 7, he is formally charged with espionage.
March 30 – A grand jury in New York votes to indict Trump, the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges. On April 4, Trump surrenders and is placed under arrest before pleading not guilty to 34 felony criminal charges of falsifying business records. Prosecutors allege that Trump sought to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election through a hush money scheme with payments made to women who claimed they had extramarital affairs with Trump. He has denied the affairs.
April 6 – Two Democratic members of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Rep. Justin Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson, are expelled while a third member, Rep. Gloria Johnson, is spared in an ousting by Republican lawmakers that was decried by the trio as oppressive, vindictive and racially motivated. This comes after Jones, Pearson and Johnson staged a demonstration on the House floor calling for gun reform following the shooting at the Covenant School. On April 10, Rep. Jones is sworn back in following a unanimous vote by the Nashville Metropolitan Council to reappoint him as an interim representative. On April 12, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners vote to confirm the reappointment of Rep. Pearson.
April 6-13 – ProPublica reports that Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas, have gone on several luxury trips involving travel subsidized by and stays at properties owned by Harlan Crow, a GOP megadonor. The hospitality was not disclosed on Thomas’ public financial filings with the Supreme Court. The following week ProPublica reports Thomas failed to disclose a 2014 real estate deal he made with Crow. On financial disclosure forms released on August 31, Thomas discloses the luxury trips and “inadvertently omitted” information including the real estate deal.
April 7 – A federal judge in Texas issues a ruling on medication abortion drug mifepristone, saying he will suspend the US Food and Drug Administration’s two-decade-old approval of it but paused his ruling for seven days so the federal government can appeal. But in a dramatic turn of events, a federal judge in Washington state says in a new ruling shortly after that the FDA must keep medication abortion drugs available in more than a dozen Democratic-led states.
April 13 – 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard is arrested by the FBI in connection with the leaking of classified documents that have been posted online.
April 18 – Fox News reaches a last-second settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, paying more than $787 million to end a two-year legal battle that publicly shredded the network’s credibility. Fox News’ $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems is the largest publicly known defamation settlement in US history involving a media company.
April 25 – President Biden formally announces his bid for reelection.
May 2 – More than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) go on strike for the first time since 2007. On September 26, the WGA announces its leaders have unanimously voted to authorize its members to return to work following the tentative agreement reached on September 24 between union negotiators and Hollywood’s studios and streaming services, effectively ending the months-long strike.
May 9 – A Manhattan federal jury finds Trump sexually abused former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll in a luxury department store dressing room in the spring of 1996 and awards her $5 million for battery and defamation.
June 8 – Trump is indicted on a total of 37 counts in the special counsel’s classified documents probe. In a superseding indictment filed on July 27, Trump is charged with one additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts, bringing the total to 40 counts.
June 16 – Robert Bowers, the gunman who killed 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, is convicted by a federal jury on all 63 charges against him. He is sentenced to death on August 2.
June 18 – A civilian submersible disappears with five people aboard while voyaging to the wreckage of the Titanic. On June 22, following a massive search for the submersible, US authorities announce the vessel suffered a “catastrophic implosion,” killing all five people aboard.
June 20 – ProPublica reports that Justice Samuel Alito did not disclose a luxury 2008 trip he took in which a hedge fund billionaire flew him on a private jet, even though the businessman would later repeatedly ask the Supreme Court to intervene on his behalf. In a highly unusual move, Alito preemptively disputed the nature of the report before it was published, authoring an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal in which he acknowledged knowing billionaire Paul Singer but downplaying their relationship.
June 29 – The Supreme Court says colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis for granting admission, a landmark decision overturning long-standing precedent.
July 13 – The FDA approves Opill to be available over-the-counter, the first nonprescription birth control pill in the United States.
July 14 – SAG-AFTRA, a union representing about 160,000 Hollywood actors, goes on strike after talks with major studios and streaming services fail. It is the first time its members have stopped work on movie and television productions since 1980.
August 1 – Trump is indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington, DC, in the 2020 election probe. Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.
August 8 – Over 100 people are killed and hundreds of others unaccounted for after wildfires engulf parts of Maui. Nearly 3,000 homes and businesses are destroyed or damaged.
August 14 – Trump and 18 others are indicted by an Atlanta-based grand jury on state charges stemming from their efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 electoral defeat. Trump now faces a total of 91 charges in four criminal cases, in four different jurisdictions — two federal and two state cases. On August 24, Trump surrenders at the Fulton County jail where he is processed and released on bond.
August 23 – Eight Republican presidential candidates face off in the first primary debate of the 2024 campaign in Milwaukee.
September 12 – House Speaker McCarthy announces he is calling on his committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden, even as they have yet to prove allegations he directly profited off his son’s foreign business deals.
September 14 – Hunter Biden is indicted by special counsel David Weiss in connection with a gun he purchased in 2018, the first time in US history the Justice Department has charged the child of a sitting president. The three charges include making false statements on a federal firearms form and possession of a firearm as a prohibited person.
September 22 – New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez is charged with corruption-related offenses for the second time in 10 years. Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” in exchange for the senator’s influence, according to the newly unsealed federal indictment.
September 28 – Dianne Feinstein, the longest-serving female US senator in history, dies at the age of 90. On October 1, California Governor Gavin Newsom announces he will appoint Emily’s List president Laphonza Butler to replace her. Butler will become the first out Black lesbian to join Congress. She will also be the sole Black female senator serving in Congress and only the third in US history.
September 29 – Las Vegas police confirm Duane Keith Davis, aka “Keffe D,” was arrested for the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.
October 3 – McCarthy is removed as House speaker following a 216-210 vote, with eight Republicans voting to remove McCarthy from the post.
January 8 – Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro storm the country’s congressional building, Supreme Court and presidential palace. The breaches come about a week after the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in a runoff election on October 30.
January 15 – At least 68 people are killed when an aircraft goes down near the city of Pokhara in central Nepal. This is the country’s deadliest plane crash in more than 30 years.
January 19 – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden announces she will not seek reelection in October.
January 24 – President Volodymyr Zelensky fires a slew of senior Ukrainian officials amid a growing corruption scandal linked to the procurement of war-time supplies.
February 6 – More than 15,000 people are killed and tens of thousands injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Turkey and Syria.
February 28 – At least 57 people are killed after two trains collide in Greece.
March 1 – Bola Ahmed Tinubu is declared the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election.
March 10 – Xi Jinping is reappointed as president for another five years by China’s legislature in a ceremonial vote in Beijing, a highly choreographed exercise in political theater meant to demonstrate legitimacy and unity of the ruling elite.
March 16 – The French government forces through controversial plans to raise the country’s retirement age from 62 to 64.
April 4 – Finland becomes the 31st member of NATO.
April 15 – Following months of tensions in Sudan between a paramilitary group and the country’s army, violence erupts.
May 3 – A 13-year-old boy opens fire on his classmates at a school in Belgrade, Serbia, killing at least eight children along with a security guard. On May 4, a second mass shooting takes place when an attacker opens fire in the village of Dubona, about 37 miles southeast of Belgrade, killing eight people.
May 5 – The World Health Organization announces Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency.
May 6 – King Charles’ coronation takes place at Westminster Abbey in London.
August 4 – Alexey Navalny is sentenced to 19 years in prison on extremism charges, Russian media reports. Navalny is already serving sentences totaling 11-and-a-half years in a maximum-security facility on fraud and other charges that he says were trumped up.
September 8 – Over 2,000 people are dead and thousands are injured after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hits Morocco.
October 8 – Israel formally declares war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas after it carried out an unprecedented attack by air, sea and land on October 7.
Awards and Winners
January 9 – The College Football Playoff National Championship game takes place at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The Georgia Bulldogs defeat Texas Christian University’s Horned Frogs 65-7 for their second national title in a row.
January 10 – The 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards are presented live on NBC.
January 16-29 – The 111th Australian Open takes place. Novak Djokovic defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to win a 10th Australian Open title and a record-equaling 22nd grand slam. Belarusian-born Aryna Sabalenka defeats Elena Rybakina in three sets, becoming the first player competing under a neutral flag to secure a grand slam.
February 5 – The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony takes place in Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena.
February 12 – Super Bowl LVII takes place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35. This is the first Super Bowl to feature two Black starting quarterbacks.
February 19 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins the 65th Annual Daytona 500 in double overtime. It is the longest Daytona 500 ever with a record of 212 laps raced.
March 12 – The 95th Annual Academy Awards takes place, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting for the third time.
March 14 – Ryan Redington wins his first Iditarod.
April 2 – The Louisiana State University Tigers defeat the University of Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 in Dallas, to win the program’s first NCAA women’s basketball national championship.
April 3 – The University of Connecticut Huskies win its fifth men’s basketball national title with a 76-59 victory over the San Diego State University Aztecs in Houston.
April 6-9 – The 87th Masters tournament takes place. Jon Rahm wins, claiming his first green jacket and second career major at Augusta National.
April 17 – The 127th Boston Marathon takes place. The winners are Evans Chebet of Kenya in the men’s division and Hellen Obiri of Kenya in the women’s division.
May 6 – Mage, a 3-year-old chestnut colt, wins the 149th Kentucky Derby.
May 8-9 – The 147th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show takes place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York. Buddy Holly, a petit basset griffon Vendéen, wins Best in Show.
May 20 – National Treasure wins the 148th running of the Preakness Stakes.
May 21 – Brooks Koepka wins the 105th PGA Championship at Oak Hill County Club in Rochester, New York. This is his third PGA Championship and fifth major title of his career.
May 22-June 11 – The French Open takes place at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris. Novak Djokovic wins a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title, defeating Casper Ruud 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 7-5 in the men’s final. Iga Świątek wins her third French Open in four years with a 6-2 5-7 6-4 victory against the unseeded Karolína Muchová in the women’s final.
May 28 – Josef Newgarden wins the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500.
June 10 – Arcangelo wins the 155th running of the Belmont Stakes.
June 11 – The 76th Tony Awards takes place.
June 12 – The Denver Nuggets defeat the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5, to win the series 4-1 and claim their first NBA title in franchise history.
June 13 – The Vegas Golden Knights defeat the Florida Panthers in Game 5 to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.
June 18 – American golfer Wyndham Clark wins the 123rd US Open at The Los Angeles Country Club.
July 1-23 – The 110th Tour de France takes place. Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard wins his second consecutive Tour de France title.
July 3-16 – Wimbledon takes place in London. Carlos Alcaraz defeats Novak Djokovic 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 in the men’s final, to win his first Wimbledon title. Markéta Vondroušová defeats Ons Jabeur 6-4 6-4 in the women’s final, to win her first Wimbledon title and become the first unseeded woman in the Open Era to win the tournament.
July 16-23 – Brian Harman wins the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, Wirral, England, for his first major title.
July 20-August 20 – The Women’s World Cup takes place in Australia and New Zealand. Spain defeats England 1-0 to win its first Women’s World Cup.
August 28-September 10 – The US Open Tennis Tournament takes place. Coco Gauff defeats Aryna Sabalenka, and Novak Djokovic defeats Daniil Medvedev.
October 2-9 – The Nobel Prizes are announced. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi for “her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all,” according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
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