By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN

New York (CNN) — On Monday evening, it took auction house Christie’s just 40 minutes to sell more than $630 million in art, smashing records for both the painter Jackson Pollock and sculptor Constantin Brancusi. Later in the night, it rounded things off with yet more broken records and another $490 million.

The first part of the $1.1-billion New York sale featured 16 works from S.I. Newhouse’s storied collection. It marked the fourth time Christie’s has brought a group of works to market from the late media giant, who owned Condé Nast, as well as large slice of America’s local newspapers and broadcast stations.

But it was the first time that the auction house tapped Nicole Kidman for a promotional video, filming her free-flowing encounter with the golden Brancusi bust “Danaïde,” which was poised to be one of the night’s star lots. The video was based on a 1930s Man Ray film of fellow surrealist Lee Miller, per Christie’s, and while it didn’t quite take off in the same way as Kidman’s viral AMC ad, it did once again prove her commitment to any and all roles.

Netting $107.6 million with fees, “Danaïde” surpassed Brancusi’s previous auction record of $71.2 million almost as soon as bidding began. A pivotal drip painting by Pollock — of which few of its scale remain in private hands — also soared skyward, to applause, landing at $181.2 million with fees to become the night’s top-grossing lot. The price tag far surpassed the abstract expressionist’s previous 2021 record of $61.2 million — and he did it without the help of Kidman.

Hours before the sale, Sara Friedlander, a chair of post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s, said that the celebrity campaign was just one of many approaches used to promote the sales. Brancusi was “such a modern innovator,” she said, “and so I think for us to do things that are innovative around extraordinary objects is something we, too, are experimenting with.”

Works by Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg also contributed to the allure of the Newhouse sale. As a single-owner collection, only that of the late Paul G. Allen has generated more at auction — in 2022, the two-part blow-out sale of works amassed by the Microsoft co-founder fetched a record-breaking $1.5 billion on the first night alone. Newhouse’s works have, instead, sold in occasional tranches, including the $91 million sale of “Rabbit” that made Jeff Koons the world’s most expensive living artist (by public auction records, at least) in 2019.

Newhouse’s collection came to auction, in part, thanks to Tobias Meyer, an art advisor and former auctioneer who has represented the media titan’s family. Meyer was the instrumental voice behind steering this collection,” Friedlander said.

But it also came down to apartment space, too, according to The New York Times, which reported that Newhouse’s widow, Victoria, was scaling down. “I’m not getting any younger and I feel the time has come to start downsizing,” she told the paper. “It’s an effort to simplify my life.”

The top end of the art market, led by Christie’s and Sotheby’s, has been hellbent on a rebound over the past year, after a series of rocky sales and global economic uncertainty cast doubt on demand for blockbuster works. Both auction houses have courted powerhouse single-owner collec

Análisis por Stephen Collinson, CNN

El nuevo fondo de US$ 1.776 millones del presidente Donald Trump para compensar a los aliados que afirman haber sido objeto de un trato injusto por parte de la administración Biden es el tipo de plan que en otro tiempo podría haber manchado irreparablemente una presidencia.

Sin embargo, Trump ha pasado años destrozando las expectativas éticas que rodean su cargo. Su liderazgo descarado hace tiempo que perdió su capacidad de impactar.

El plan, anunciado el lunes por el Departamento de Justicia y denunciado por los críticos como un fondo discrecional, es un estudio en miniatura de su proyecto político.

Esto ejemplifica varias de las reglas fundamentales de Trump a lo largo de sus dos presidencias: guardar rencor, nunca admitir la derrota y buscar siempre la venganza.

La creencia de Trump de que fue perseguido de forma singular debido a su ideología política sigue siendo una fuerza motivadora imperiosa, a pesar de que al recuperar la presidencia logró desviar las investigaciones penales en su contra.

En su trayectoria empresarial, Trump fue un litigante prolífico y participó en innumerables demandas.

Durante sus procesos penales en los últimos años, aprovechó al máximo sus derechos para retrasar con éxito los juicios en su contra.

Ahora, en su autoproclamado cargo como máximo responsable de la aplicación de la ley en el país, está llevando el sistema legal al límite de una manera nueva y sumamente controvertida.

El fondo también ejemplifica otra característica prominente de la administración Trump: el deseo, demostrado en numerosas ocasiones, de usar el poder de la presidencia para castigar a los adversarios y recompensar a los amigos.

Refleja una creencia arraigada en el reducido círculo íntimo de Trump: que fue víctima de las investigaciones sobre los contactos de su primera campaña con rusos; de su negativa a reconocer la derrota en las elecciones de 2020; y de las actividades comerciales de su familia y la Organización Trump.

En definitiva, la idea no es más que otra de las enormes extralimitaciones de poder ejecutivo que definen su segundo mandato: Trump se arroga la autoridad para utilizar ingentes cantidades de dinero de los contribuyentes para distribuirlo según sus propios deseos.

El plan tiene una apariencia de legitimidad. Incluirá una comisión de cinco miembros para resolver las reclamaciones. Pero Trump tendrá la potestad de destituir a cualquiera de ellos.

Esta estructura emula su maniobra de nombrar a las entidades que aprobaron sin objeciones la transformación del Centro Kennedy y sus planes para construir un enorme salón de baile en el solar del ala este de la Casa Blanca, ahora destruida.

Pero el presidente insistió en que solo le interesaba compensar un “período terrible” de la historia de Estados Unidos.

“Esto es para compensar a las personas que fueron tratadas horriblemente”, declaró Trump a los periodistas en la Casa Blanca. “Se les están reembolsando sus honorarios legales y las demás cosas que tuvieron que sufrir”.

Si el plan sale adelante, los críticos lo verán como otro intento más de Trump de desmantelar las instituciones y tradiciones de la democracia estadounidense.

Esto se debe a que parece probable que los partidarios de Trump que fueron condenados por el ataque al Capitolio el 6 de enero de 2021 y que perturbaron la certificación de una elección democrática no solo sean elegibles para

By Simone McCarthy, CNN

Beijing (CNN) — Less than a week after Xi Jinping rolled out the red carpet for US President Donald Trump, the Chinese leader is hosting another guest of honor – and this time it’s a close ally.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to arrive in the Chinese capital Tuesday for a state visit clearly calibrated to show Beijing and Moscow’s alignment in the face of global geopolitical upheaval.

Both Beijing and Moscow are navigating shifting relationships with Trump’s United States, and are weighing up whether to play any role in helping to end a US-Iran conflict that’s ensnared global oil supplies and distracted Washington from Russia’s own yearslong war in Ukraine.

That Xi is welcoming, within the space of a week, two world leaders who are both locked in seemingly intractable conflicts of their own making will hardly be lost on the Chinese government, which has used Trump’s war with Iran in particular to play up China as responsible, alternative global leader.

And both Beijing and Moscow have also looked to seize on Trump’s upending of traditional US foreign policy to advance their own vision of a world that’s not dominated by American power or a US-led alliance system.

This week’s visit is Putin’s 25th to China in his more than two decades as president – a period in which China and Russia have tightened cooperation across trade, security and diplomacy, driven by a shared mistrust of Washington and an apparent personal affinity between Putin and Xi – who typically refer to each other as “dear” or “old” friends. The two have met more than 40 times.

It’s a state level visit, so Putin is likely to be welcomed in a ceremony with similar levels of pomp and circumstance – from a red carpet to a military band – to the one Xi afforded Trump last week.

In a message he traditionally gives ahead of his trips to China, Putin hailed Russia-China relations as having reached a “truly unprecedented level.”

The two sides support “each other on matters affecting the core interests of both countries, including protection of sovereignty and state unity,” he said in a message published Tuesday.

Ahead of the visit, Chinese state media also carried articles praising the two countries’ “unshakeable” bonds in a “turbulent international situation.”

An article in the state-backed Global Times also framed the nearly back-to-back visits from the American and Russian leaders as a sign that China was “fast emerging as the focal point of global diplomacy.”

On the table: Trump, energy and the world order

Xi’s recent meeting with Trump, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as their cooperation across energy, trade, and security are all expected to be part of the discussions between the two leaders set for Wednesday.

They are also set to tout their aligned worldview in a declaration on “establishing a multipolar world” and a “new type of international relations,” Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said earlier this week.

This is not the first time Putin and Xi have held talks in close proximity to diplomacy with the US. They spoke hours after Trump’s inauguration last year, days after Trump had spoken with Xi. Putin has also briefed Xi on past US-Russia talks on ending the war in Ukraine.

For Putin, his army’s recent losses in the now more than four-year war in Ukraine may put more pressure on the meeting.

China’s purchases of Russian oil and exports of du

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

(CNN) — It’s time to stock up on sunscreen, but few choices on store shelves today are both safe and effective, according to an annual report by the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, a nonprofit health and environmental advocacy organization.

Now in its 20th year, EWG’s 2026 Guide to Sunscreens analyzed 2,784 products and found only 550 — about 20% — deliver safe and effective protection against the harmful rays of the sun.

The new guide, released May 19, lists the best baby and child sunscreens, including those which are a good “bang for the buck” and the top recreational sunscreens designed for outdoor activities such as sports or spending time at the beach.

In addition, consumers can find top-rated daily use sunscreens, including moisturizers with sun protection factor (SPF) and the best lip balms with SPF in the report.

To be recommended by EWG, sunscreens must protect against both UVA and UVB, two types of ultraviolet rays known to damage DNA and age the skin. Due to inhalation risks, sprays and powders are not included. Manufacturers cannot claim over 50+ SPF or use federally banned marketing claims such as “waterproof.”

Consumers are often drawn to more expensive products that reach SPF levels of up to 100+, which claim to block 99% of UVB rays. Yet there’s little difference in effectiveness — a cheaper 50+ SPF sunscreen can block 98% of rays, according to the report.

For some products, SPF numbers may also be inflated. A peer-reviewed study by EWG scientists found, on average, sunscreens provided only a quarter of the UVA protection and 59% of the UVB protection stated on the labels.

Recommended sunscreens in the new guide also avoid retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A; and chemicals suspected to cause cancer, skin irritation, allergic reactions or reproductive harm, developmental issues or neurotoxicity.

“Retinyl palmitate is part of the retinoid family that dermatologists recommend to fight wrinkles and other signs of aging. Those products come with warnings not to expose skin to the sun,” said Alexa Friedman, a senior scientist at EWG.

“In 2010, about 40% of products contained retinal palmitate,” Friedman said. “Today that’s dropped down to 3%, which is good news for consumers.”

Mineral versus chemical sunscreens

Of the 550 products recommended by EWG, 497 are predominantly made from minerals that sit on the skin and physically deflect and block the sun’s rays. Because they are not absorbed into the dermis, mineral-based sunscreens cause little skin irritation or toxicity.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved two minerals for use in sunscreen — zinc oxide and titanium dioxide — which used to be known for the chalky, white cast they left after being applied to the skin. New, innovative formulations and tinted options now on the market have mostly removed that concern, experts say.

Chemical sunscreens, however, are designed to soak into the skin and work by creating a chemical reaction that absorbs ultraviolet radiation as energy, dispersin

Por Erick E. Beltran, CNN en Español

Este lunes se conoció el cartel del Corona Capital 2026, uno de los festivales musicales más importantes de México, que se llevará a cabo los días 20, 21 y 22 de noviembre en el Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez de la Ciudad de México.

El viernes 20 se presentarán Gorillaz, Mumford & Sons, Daniel Caesar, James Blake y The Kooks, entre otros.

Al día siguiente, las principales atracciones serán Twenty One Pilots, The Offspring, Pierce The Veil, Underworld y Mother Mother, entre varias más.

Y el domingo saltarán al escenario de The Strokes, The XX, Lola Young, Lil Yachty y Bunt, en una jornada donde también destacan Angine de Poitrine, The Black Crowes y Tricky.
De acuerdo con el festival, los boletos se podrán adquirir en preventa bancaria a partir del 26 de mayo, mientras que la venta general se realizará desde el 27 de mayo.

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