Caitlyn Jenner gracing the cover of Vanity Fair is a powerful symbol of how far transgender Americans have come -- and the many challenges they still face.

Discrimination, poverty, suicide, even murder continue to haunt the trans community, even as it enjoys greater public acceptance and understanding.

Fictional city-wrecking monster Godzilla has been granted special residency in Tokyo's Shinjuku ward, as a newly-installed model of the lizard's huge head proves a pull to visitors.

Marking "the emergence of the 12-meter (40-feet) high Godzilla head on a terrace on the eighth floor of Shinjuku Toho Building... we issued a special certificate of residence to Godzilla," a Shinjuku official told Agence France Presse Wednesday.

Would you fork out $8,000 for an old handbag? For fashionistas who simply must get their hands on a rare model from an iconic brand, the answer is an emphatic yes.

Thanks in part to the economic downturn, some of the stigma of buying second-hand accessories has eased in recent years -- although many buyers still prefer to use euphemisms like "pre-owned".

He is a fantasy for millions of women across the planet. And now Christian Grey, enigmatic hero of best-selling erotic novels "Fifty Shades of Grey," is getting his own sequel.

Author EL James delighted fans Monday by announcing that she is publishing a new version of her sexually explicit novel written from the point of view of the tormented tycoon and not the shy, young object of his desires, Anastasia Steele.

Mega-disaster epic "San Andreas" lived up to its earth-shaking hype -- at least at the box office -- earning $54.6 million in ticket sales in its debut weekend early in the blockbuster summer season, data showed Monday.

The big-budget spectacular stars Dwayne Johnson as a rescue pilot teaming up with his estranged wife to rescue their daughter after temblors unleash chaos on Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Caitlyn Jenner, the transgender Olympic champion formerly known as Bruce, unveiled her new name and sexy look Monday in a Vanity Fair covershoot -- drawing widespread praise and smashing a Twitter record.

A fuchsia-colored crocodile-skin Hermes bag has broken the record for the most expensive handbag sold at auction, selling for U.S.$222,912 at a Christie's auction in Hong Kong. 

The shiny pink bag was sold to an Asian phone bidder in an auction that saw "fast-paced bidding from start to finish", Christie's said in a statement late Monday.

American actor Matt Dillon put a rare star-powered spotlight on Myanmar's long-persecuted Rohingya Muslims, visiting a hot, squalid camp for tens of thousands displaced by violence and a port that has been one of the main launching pads for their exodus by sea.

It was "heartbreaking," he said after meeting a young man with a raw, open leg wound from a road accident and no means to treat it.

The family of the late Robin Williams is at odds over how to split the actor's estate after meeting with a mediator.

Court records show that the actor's widow, Susan Williams, and his three children remain divided over how much cash the widow should receive. The two sides have settled most of their differences over dividing the actor's personal effects.

Tweet this: Millions of viewers were firing off those 140-character texts while they watched TV in the season just past. And there were plenty of people reading them.

Nielsen Social has tracked all that digital back-and-forth, and Monday is releasing a report on television-related Twitter activity in the U.S. from Sept. 1, 2014 through May 24, 2015. And while CBS consistently tops the weekly Nielsen ratings for viewers, it's an also-ran when it comes to Twitter.