BETHESDA, Md. – November 03, 2026 -- The Luxury Collection has launched a limited-edition advent calendar for $218, with 24 drawers that each hold a chocolate inspired by one of the brand's hotel destinations.

Artist, designer and the brand's Epicurean Global Explorer Laila Gohar created the calendar. Joana Avillez illustrated it, and Casa Bosques made the chocolates.

Nashville, Tenn. – October 31, 2026 -- Matt Robertson of Kuttawa, Kentucky, won $1.25 million at World Bass Enterprises' inaugural "The Champions" tournament, the biggest payout ever awarded to a bass fishing tournament winner. He landed five fish weighing 20 lbs. 2 oz. on the final day.

Annapolis – October 31, 2026 -- Race for Life Rescue, a nonprofit that flies at-risk dogs and cats out of overcrowded shelters and disaster zones, completed its 200th mission on Oct. 14, carrying 112 animals from Louisiana to the Northeast. The milestone comes four years after its first flight. The group has since flown more than 12,000 animals and worked with shelters in more than 30 states.

Through Dec. 31, founder Jim DeFrancesco is matching every donation to the organization.

Pompano Beach – October 30, 2026 -- Dr. Phil McGraw's $67.5 million compound in the Beverly Hills area leads October's celebrity real estate news. Listings from Dolly Parton, Halle Berry and Jelly Roll round out the month, as do sales by Aaron Paul and Simone Biles.

Birmingham – October 29, 2026 -- A free three-part docuseries about the Catholic rite of exorcism, "In Jesus' Name," premieres Oct. 28 at 4 pm ET on EWTN+ and EWTN.com, with new episodes on Oct. 29 and Oct. 30.

The series trades Hollywood horror for first-person accounts

EWTN Studios and Cumberland Creative produced the series. It features experienced exorcists and survivors of demonic oppression describing how, in their telling, evil enters human lives and how it can be overcome.

Bethesda – October 19, 2026 -- Starting in November, the ice! Christmas attraction opens at eight Gaylord Hotels and JW Marriott resorts across the United States, with new Harry Potter, Home Alone and Nightmare Before Christmas themes. More than 300 master ice artisans from Harbin, China, have arrived to build it.

Pompano Beach – October 16, 2026 -- The 30-year fixed mortgage rate now averages 7.4%, the highest since November 2023, even as the US housing market tilts toward buyers for the first time in years. The 15-year fixed rate averages 6.73%, up from 5.53% a year ago.

Sellers outnumber buyers by 58% nationwide

In August, there were 58% more sellers than buyers, the widest gap since Redfin began tracking the data in 2013. The National Association of Realtors puts supply at 4.9 months at the current sales pace, the highest in almost ten years.

Irvine – October 13, 2026 -- HI-CHEW is taking a haunted-manor trunk-or-treat experience to five US cities this October, with free candy, games and a mystery flavor that will only be revealed on Halloween Day.

The Mystery Manor Tour is built around the returning HI-CHEW Halloween Mystery Mix. The assortment includes three familiar flavors, Green Apple, Orange Creamsicle and Cotton Candy, plus one new flavor the brand is keeping secret.

Nashville, Tenn. – October 12, 2026 -- Convenience-store pizza fans can pick up two limited-time pies from Hunt Brothers Pizza starting October 12: Chicken Bacon Ranch and Italian Trio. It is the first time in the brand's history that two limited-time offers (LTOs) have launched together, timed to the brand's 35th anniversary.

Dallas – October 12, 2026 -- Southwest Airlines will open its first-ever airport lounges in late 2027, starting at four U.S. airports, with access tied to a new premium credit card.

Four airports get lounges first, with seven more to follow

Construction has begun on the first four lounges. They are located at Austin-Bergstrom International, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, Daniel K. Inouye (Honolulu) International, and Nashville International.