Author: admin

LONDON (AP) — London’s Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square will be lit up Thursday as part of a British tradition with roots in the Norwegian forest. The tree symbolizes the friendship between London and Oslo in an annual ceremony that highlights the history of the countries’ alliance.Here’s how the tradition began:Token of thanksThe bond between the two countries was forged during World War II. When Nazi Germany invaded Norway in 1940, King Haakon VII and his government-in-exile fled to London. Much of Norway’s resistance work grew out of Britain. The BBC, and its Norwegian counterpart NRK, broadcast the news in…

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. looks on as he attends a press conference to discuss health insurance reform, at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 23, 2025.Kevin Mohatt | ReutersHealth and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hand-picked vaccine committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to change a longstanding recommendation that every baby get vaccinated against hepatitis B within 24 hours of birth. It’s unclear if the panel, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, will significantly delay or eliminate that so-called birth dose…

The online gaming platform Roblox has been banned in Russia, according to a report from Russian state media. Roblox is a user-generated content platform where players can create and share their own games and experiences, similar to Minecraft. The platform hosts various interest-based and affinity communities, including military roleplaying games and LGBTQ solidarity groups. But Russia has laws designating public LGBTQ advocacy as “extremist activity.“ According to a translation of an article in TASS, a state-owned Russian news agency, Russia’s communications agency cited the presence of LGBTQ content on the platform as one of the reasons behind the ban. Roblox…

Is it time for MrBeast to hit the New York Stock Exchange? Three years ago, the idea of a YouTuber with a $1.5 billion valuation left some onlookers incredulous — but Beast Industries ended up raising at a $5 billion valuation last year. Now we’re asking a bigger question: Would you buy stock in a 27-year-old named Jimmy? It’s getting to the point where even if you don’t have a child under the age of 15, you should know who MrBeast is. The North Carolinian Jimmy Donaldson’s MrBeast channel has over 450 million YouTube subscribers — more than any other…

Alan Dye, the design executive who led Apple’s user interface team for the last decade, is leaving the company to join Meta, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. This is a significant hire for Meta, as the company makes a push toward consumer devices like smart glasses and virtual reality headsets. Dye will focus on improving AI features in these devices and report directly to Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth. At Apple, Dye will be replaced by Steve Lemay, who has had “a key role in the design of every major Apple interface since 1999,” according to a…

Amazon Web Services’ annual tech conference AWS re:Invent has wrapped up another day with a deluge of product news and keynotes — plus the obligatory customer success stories. The unsurprising theme is AI for the enterprise. This year it’s all about upgrades that give customers greater control to customize AI agents, including one that AWS claims can learn from you and then work independently for days. AWS re:Invent 2025, which runs through December 5, started with a keynote from AWS CEO Matt Garman, who leaned into the idea that AI agents can unlock the “true value” of AI. “AI assistants…

Is there any way for another AI coding tool to worm its way into the hearts of startup founders — and past Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini Code Assist, GitHub Copilot, the many other AI-wrapped VSCode forks, and vibe-coding phenoms like Replit and Lovable? Amazon wants to try using the tried-and-true method of giving its tool away for free. The cloud giant says it will grant qualified early-stage startups a free year of credits to its competitor, Kiro Pro+, AWS CEO Matt Garman announced during his keynote speech at the re:Invent 2025 conference. These startups can request free credits for…

Brevo, a customer relationship management company headquartered in Paris, is now a unicorn — a startup valued at more than $1 billion. The startup raised €500 million in fresh equity funding ($583 million), which will fund its efforts to compete with larger players such as Hubspot and Salesforce not just in Europe, but also on their home turf in the U.S. Formerly known as Sendinblue, Brevo started out in 2012 as an email marketing solution for small businesses. The company expanded into mid-market and repositioned itself with a new name reflecting its broader product scope. That move paid off. Brevo…

Spark by Hilton introduced its first hotel in the Caribbean and Latin America with the opening of a 120-room hotel in Ponce, expanding the company’s presence in Puerto Rico.The new hotel, located in Puerto Rico’s second-largest city, offers a budget-friendly option while still maintaining a high-quality guest experience. Features like its serene courtyard, Spanish architecture, outdoor swimming pool, fitness center, and over 1,600 square feet of flexible event space help make this an attractive hotel, and the property offers these amenities at an accessible price point. “The Spark by Hilton brand has seen incredible momentum since its launch two years…

United Airlines and Travelport are forming a long-term strategic partnership that is redefining collaboration between the airline and its multi-source content providers.Under the new agreement, Travelport will receive early access to United’s NDC-enabled extras. Teams at both companies will also work together to co-develop and rapidly launch new tech features that benefit travel agencies and corporate buyers. Among the highlights of the new agreement are a deeper level of technical collaboration than a traditional airline-distributor partnership, with a specific focus on developing new capabilities for Travelport+, the company’s all-in-one retailing platform for travel agencies. United will also add its portfolio of…