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The Florida tourism industry continues its pattern of sustained growth in visitation.In the third quarter of 2025, the state welcomed an estimated 34.3 million travelers, reflecting a continued year-on-year growth in visitation, according to VISIT FLORIDA. Domestic travelers accounted for 91.7 percent of all visitors, with 31.5 million Americans traveling to Florida in Q3. International visitation showed a 3.2 percent growth, reaching 2.3 million while Canadian visitors totaled 507,000. Arrivals from Latin American countries, including Brazil, climbed nearly 3 percent in Q3 from the previous year. “Florida tourism remains strong and leads the nation,” Bryan Griffin, president and CEO of VISIT…
Threads is exploring games in chats, beginning with a basketball game. A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to TechCrunch that the company is internally prototyping the game and that it’s not available to the public. The game was first spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who often finds unreleased features while they’re still under development. Paluzzi shared a screenshot of the basketball game, which appears to let users virtually shoot hoops by swiping their finger. The idea behind the game is likely to allow friends to compete to see who can score the most baskets, similar to other mobile basketball games. Launching…
A Texas teachers union sued the state’s education department on Tuesday, accusing it of an improper “wave of retaliation” against public school employees over their social media comments following the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.The lawsuit says the free speech rights of teachers and other school staff were violated by the Texas Education Agency and its commissioner, Mike Morath, because they directed local school districts to document what the education agency described as “vile content” posted online after Kirk’s fatal shooting in September. Despite calls for civility, some people who criticized Kirk after his death have drawn backlash…
by Guest Author Last updated: 7:00 PM ET, Mon January 5, 2026 KHM Travel Group enjoyed an incredible 2025 by celebrating travel agents, a milestone anniversary, record-breaking commission payouts, and more shared travel experiences than ever before. It was a busy year of booking travel and seeing the world! KHM Rocks (Photo Credit: KHM Travel Group)KHM Travel Group started the year living out one part of the company’s mission: educating travel agents. January’s Boot Camp 2.0 set the tone for a year focused on learning, growing, and developing new skills. Boot Camp 2.0 includes interactive sessions on business planning, myTravelCRM™, financial…
Mario Götze will go down in soccer history as the player who scored the winning goal that made Germany the 2014 FIFA World Cup champion. But he is also an increasingly seasoned angel investor. Companion M, Götze’s personal investment vehicle, now has a portfolio of more than 70 companies, two of which became unicorns in 2025 — Danish fintech Flatpay and German AI startup Parloa. But the athlete also learned some lessons along the way about vetting opportunities. “I only agree to invest if the startup and its founders check all the boxes,” he told TechCrunch. The boxes can be…
A version of this article appeared in CNBC’s Inside Alts newsletter, a guide to the fast-growing world of alternative investments, from private equity and private credit to hedge funds and venture capital. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.With fears growing of an investment bubble in artificial intelligence infrastructure, the next phase of AI growth will come from private software companies already creating massive gains in productivity, according to Robert Smith, CEO of Vista Equity Partners.The soaring valuations of Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, OpenAI and other hyperscalers and large-language models have dominated the debate over AI opportunities and risks.…
Travelers with tight connecting flights can rest a little easier on their next layover, thanks to a technology expansion happening at American Airlines.The Dallas-based carrier has been expanding an AI-based service called Connect Assist, which uses an algorithm to assess whether the airline can hold the plane for passengers with tight connections, to more airports throughout the United States. Here’s how it works: Connect Assist technology flags passengers’ itineraries that could be at risk for missed connections to recommend crew hold departing planes for a short amount of time where possible. The airline’s team members use the AI tool to…
A view of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wall Street November 13, 2024, in New York City. Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty ImagesA version of this article appeared in CNBC’s Inside Alts newsletter, a guide to the fast-growing world of alternative investments, from private equity and private credit to hedge funds and venture capital. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.Private equity firms that raised funds in 2025 charged the lowest average management fee rates ever recorded, continuing a multiyear downward trend. Buyout funds of last year’s vintage asked investors to pay a mean rate of 1.61% of…
by Brian Major Last updated: 9:10 PM ET, Mon January 5, 2026 The International Association of Destination Wedding Professionals (IADWP) will host Love Caribbean – Jamaica Edition May 11 to 14, 2026 at the Princess Grand and Princess Senses: The Mangrove resorts. The event is a gathering of top travel advisors, wedding planners and hospitality providers for business development opportunities. Participants from six different countries will be immersed in authentic Jamaican cultural experiences blended with direct connections with resorts, tourism boards and key suppliers in romance travel during the conference. The wedding and romance travel segment has become a powerful…
Amazon’s augmenting its Ring smart doorbells with new features, including new fire alerts, an app store, and a new set of Ring Sensors. Announced at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, the company said the new Ring Sensors can detect motion, openings, glass breakage, and smoke, and can also monitor carbon monoxide levels, leaks, temperature changes, and air quality. They also let you control lighting and appliances that are connected to your smart home network. Amazon is also adding a new app store to the Ring app to allow users to use its cameras with third-party apps. The store is currently…