Aishah Sofey 💋

“There is of course a small group of people that I will be completely fine never interacting with again.” Within weeks of Royal Caribbean’s nine-month-long world cruise setting sail in December 2023, the voyage unexpectedly became the center of a social media storm. The prospect of nine months on a two-decades-old ship, sailing to more than 60 destinations with hundreds of strangers, captured the public’s imagination as passengers began posting on TikTok. It sounded more like the premise for a reality show than the trip of a lifetime. For a moment it felt like everyone – even if they were previously oblivious to world cruises – was talking about the nine-month cruise and its “real life reality show” potential. Social media followers waited to see how this social-experiment-at-sea unfurled. Would there be romance, conflict, drama, twists and turns? Nine months later, the voyage – dubbed the Ultimate World Cruise by Royal Caribbean – is finally wrapping up, reaching its last port, Miami, on September 10. To mark the voyage’s end, CNN Travel caught up with those on board to find out what it was like to spend nine months living at sea with the world watching along at home. Tap the link in bio for more. 📸 : 1.Little Rat Brain, 2.Anthony Antoine McWilliams, 3.Amike Oosthuizen

Twenty-three years after the deadliest attack on US soil in its history, the mantra “Never Forget” endures in the American consciousness as a solemn reminder of that day. For the thousands of families who believe key facts have been withheld around the attack that stole their loved ones, it’s a phrase not so much uttered but lived. Now, as survivors and the victims’ families commemorate another anniversary, they await a federal judge’s pivotal decision in their yearslong legal battle with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over their claim of KSA’s role in backing an extremist support network that assisted the hijackers in the US leading up to the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The Kingdom denies the allegations. For Terry Strada, the national chair of 9/11 Families United, a coalition of victims’ families and survivors pursuing transparency, Never Forget is a constant reminder to push for the truth about the tragedy that led to the death of her husband and nearly 3,000 others so the country is safer for her grandkids’ generation. “It’s not just one time a year to remember those that were lost or murdered that day. It’s a pledge to ensure that the truth is told,” Strada told CNN.” Click the link in bio for more. 📸: Mark Lennihan/AP/File

During the ABC News presidential debate, Trump falsely claimed that Haitian migrants in the city of Springfield, Ohio, are stealing people’s pet dogs and cats and eating them. CNN's Daniel Dale fact-checks. Tap the link in bio for more.

During their first presidential debate, former President Donald Trump said he "couldn't care less" about Vice President Kamala Harris' racial identity. Watch and follow live at the link in bio.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump were asked about their stances on the Israel-Hamas war during ABC News' presidential debate in Philadelphia. Watch and follow live at the link in bio.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump speak about their stances on abortion at ABC News' presidential debate in Philadelphia. Watch and follow live at the link in bio.

Taylor Swift said Tuesday she is supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for president, ending speculation about if or when the superstar singer would share her political views ahead of November's election. Harris became the Democratic Party's nominee in July following President Joe Biden's exit from the 2024 presidential race. In August, Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. In 2020, Swift announced her support for Biden and Harris in their bid for the White House. Swift shared the Harris endorsement in a post on Instagram that was signed "Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady." Read more at the link in our bio. 📸: Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump speaks about Project 2025 in ABC News' presidential debate in Philadelphia. Watch and follow live at the link in bio.

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris face off tonight for the first time in ABC’s presidential debate in Philadelphia. Watch and follow live at the link in bio.

A bridge collapsed into a river, sending vehicles plunging below, as Vietnam faces devastation from Typhoon Yagi. Nine people died when the typhoon made landfall in Vietnam on Saturday before weakening to a tropical depression. At least 50 others have died in the consequent floods and landslides, state media VnExpress reported. Read more at the link in our bio.

CNN's Gabe Cohen talked to two Jewish students at the University of Pittsburgh who say they're reeling from an alleged on-campus attack by a man wearing a keffiyeh. The suspect has also been accused in a similar incident at a different school. Read more at the link in our bio.

An estimated crowd of 600,000 people gathered to welcome Pope Francis for an open-air Mass in East Timor on Tuesday. During his visit, the pope called on the country's political authorities to tackle "every kind of abuse," as clerical sexual abuse scandals have tainted the church there. In 2022, it emerged that the Vatican had secretly disciplined the bishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner Carlos Ximenes Belo after allegations that he sexually abused boys decades before. Read more at the link in bio.

CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen speaks to Ukraine’s 59th army brigade, a unit that consists of a number of inmates who are able to serve in the military as a way to earn an early release from Ukrainian prisons.

The lives of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau were remembered at an emotional joint memorial service at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Media, Pennsylvania. The pair were killed on August 29 after being struck by a suspected drunken driver while riding bikes on a New Jersey roadway, just hours before they were to serve as groomsmen at their sister's wedding in Philadelphia. Read more at the link in bio.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill joined CNN after Miami-Dade police released bodycam footage of an incident where he was detained on his way to a game on Sunday. Tap the link in bio for more.

A bold new SpaceX mission has launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Polaris Dawn mission is attempting the first commercial spacewalk and to reach Earth's radiation belts, a feat that will see the four-person civilian crew travel to heights not reached by any human since the 1970s. Tap the link in bio for more.

Australian breaker Rachael Gunn, the Olympian widely known as B-Girl Raygun who went viral after her performance at the Paris Games, is now ranked the No. 1 breaker in the world. The 37-year-old claimed the top spot in the latest women's rankings released by the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) – the governing body of breaking and other dancesports. Raygun's performances failed to score any points across her Olympic battles against breakers from the United States, France and Lithuania in August, losing 18-0 in all three rounds. However, she won the gold medal at the 2023 WDSF Oceania Championships, securing her 1,000 ranking points and vaulting her up to No. 1 – level on points with world No. 2 B-Girl Riko of Japan – ahead of the breakers who defeated her in the French capital. Her victory at the Oceania Championships also secured her a spot in Paris. Tap the link in bio for more. 📸 : Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Dozens have been killed as Israeli strikes on a Gaza humanitarian zone spark the desperate search for buried victims. At least 40 people have been killed in an overnight Israeli strike on a humanitarian zone created to shelter displaced people in southern Gaza, according to local rescue officials, in what Israel has said was an operation targeting Hamas fighters in the area. More than 60 people were also wounded in the strike, according to the Gaza Civil Defense, as rescuers raced to recover victims buried under sand and debris. The group said its crews were facing "great difficulty" in retrieving victims, many of whom were believed to have been sleeping at the time of the strikes, due to a lack of resources and paucity of light. The Israel Defense Forces said that it "struck significant Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command-and-control center embedded inside the humanitarian area" in Khan Younis, Gaza. Hamas denied it had placed fighters in the area. Tap the link in bio for more. 📸 : Jehad Alshrafi/Anadolu/Getty Images