Living News

A trio of high rises are expected to outreach Utrecht, Netherlands’ tallest building and be a beacon of sustainable urban living in the historic city. The MARK Vertical Village, designed by a consortium of architects and developers, won a recent high-rise development contest and the team plans to break ground starting in 2021. The residential buildings will surround an urban forest and feature extensive greenhouses at their pinnacles.

By Brandy McDonnellBrickUniverse LEGO Fan Convention is returning to downtown Oklahoma City March 16-17 at the Cox Convention Center. The massive LEGO convention this year will be showcasing some of the world's best LEGO creations and featuring interactive attractions and activities, according to a news release. Oklahoma City will be one of the only 10 cities in North America to host a BrickUniverse event in 2019, according to the release, and BrickUniverse Oklahoma City will be one of the largest LEGO fan events in the world.

For those history buffs out there, a stay in this beautifully converted WWII train car would be a dream come true. Tucked into the Smoky Mountains in Maryville, Tennessee, Platform 1346, which was previously used as a kitchen car for U. S. Army cooks, has been carefully revamped to provide a serene tiny home retreat in an idyllic setting while still retaining its historic character. The train car goes back to 1942 when it was used as a troop train kitchen car for U.

By Brandy McDonnellSony Pictures Entertainment Marvel Studios released today the first teaser trailer for "Spider-Man: Far From Home," and while exciting, it brings up a lot of questions. The second standalone outing as Spidey for Tom Holland opens in theaters July 5, a couple months after the April 26 cinematic release of "Avengers: Endgame.

A legislator in the California Assembly has introduced a bill that, if passed, would require retailers to make digital receipts the default instead of paper. California Assemblymember Phil Ting (D – San Francisco) has introduced AB 161, nicknamed “Skip the Slip.” If it becomes law, it would be the first of its kind in the United States. According to Green America, each year up to 10 million trees in the U.

In 1835, Charles Darwin was the last person to officially see a land iguana on Santiago Island in the Galapagos. After that encounter, predators like the feral pig wiped the lizard population out of that location. Now — nearly two centuries later —  an initiative by the Galapagos National Park authority has reintroduced more than 1,400 land iguanas (Conolophus subcristatus) back to Santiago Island. Authorities said in a recent statement that on January 3 and 4, the land iguanas were taken from neighboring North Seymour Island and introduced to the coastal regions Puerto Nuevo and Bucanero, which have similar ecosystems to the iguanas’ former home. The Galapagos Conservation Trust says that the archipelago’s land iguana population suffered when species like cats, rats, dogs and pigs were introduced.

The salmon-fishing season got under way on the banks of Scotland's River Tay on Tuesday with a whisky toast and pipe band and, more unusually, hopes of rain.

Comfy puffer jackets, brightly printed tops and sleek goggles gave Berlin a cool start to its fashion week late on Monday, with German brand Bogner mixing ski and clubbing for its latest looks.

By Brandy McDonnellAn abbreviated version of this story appeared in the Sunday Life section of The Oklahoman.'Let's play': National Cowboy Museum embarks on $15 million educational expansion Legendary sharp-shooter Annie Oakley’s secret to hitting “the bull’s-eye of success” was simple but memorable.“Aim at a high mark and you will hit it.

Fiat Chrysler has reached a settlement with the Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the owners of about 100,000 of their diesel-powered Jeep SUV’s and Ram pickups. After facing charges that the company had sold diesel vehicles in the United States that had improper software — allowing it to violate emissions rules — Fiat Chrysler has agreed to pay $800 million to settle the matter. The automaker will pay different state and federal agencies approximately $400 million in fines, plus $280 million to the car owners — which is up to $2,800 per vehicle.

Pilgrims from across the world are gathering in India for the Kumbh Mela, a heady mix of spirituality, politics and tourism that begins on Tuesday, garnering extra attention ahead of a general

Bulgaria's southern city of Plovdiv kicked off its year as an European Capital of Culture with a lights and music show on a 30-meter high tower in the city center and fireworks that attracted

California’s Monarch butterfly population hit a record low in 2018 after dropping a whopping 86 percent from the previous year. According to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the total population has declined 97 percent since the 1980s, but this latest one year drop is “potentially catastrophic.” In the western part of the United States, monarchs migrate to California for the winter, traveling from Idaho and Utah.

By Brandy McDonnellAn excerpt of this review appears in Friday's Weekend Life section of The Oklahoman. 4 of 4 stars. Movie review: 'Winter's Bone' director Debra Granik returns with engrossing drama 'Leave No Trace'After garnering near-universal acclaim with her 2010 thriller “Winter’s Bone,” which introduced the world to Oscar-winning superstar Jennifer Lawrence, director Debra Granik makes her long-awaited return to feature film with the empathetic and engrossing drama “Leave No Trace,” one of my favorite movies of 2018.

West Bengal’s biggest annual festival recently saw the addition of a strikingly contemporary pavilion that is 100 percent recyclable in Kolkata, India. Designed by Abin Chaudhuri of the firm Abin Design Studio, the metal mesh pavilion was one of many temporary pavilions — or pandals — constructed to honor the goddess Durga as part of a five-day Hindu festival called Durga Puja.