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A travel advisor working on her computer. (Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/M-Production)WHY IT RATES: The brand new site is notable in that it highlights real members, streamlines navigation and expands resources for the travel advisor community.—Patrick Clarke, TravelPulse Senior EditorThe American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) today announced the official relaunch of its flagship website, ASTA.org, unveiling a fresh, member-driven design that reflects the heart of the travel advisor community.The new ASTA.org is a completely new platform built to showcase and serve the professionals who power the travel industry. From intuitive navigation to vibrant storytelling, every element of the redesign reflects…

This week on StrictlyVC Download, TechCrunch EIC Connie Loizos sits down with former Vice President Al Gore and Lila Preston of sustainability-focused investment firm Generation Investment Management to explore their ninth annual Sustainability Trends Report and how the global climate transition is accelerating despite political headwinds. While traditional media focuses on Trump administration rollbacks, the three discuss why renewable energy economics have fundamentally shifted, with 65% of energy investment now flowing to renewables versus just 35% to fossil fuels, a complete reversal from a decade ago. They dive into how China has become the world’s first “electro-state” with EVs representing…

Zoom on Wednesday launched new products at its Zoomtopia conference, including an upgraded AI companion that can work across meeting apps, as well as the ability to add your own notes, AI-powered meeting scheduling, and AI avatars that resemble users. With these features, the company aims to compete with verticalized meeting startups and productivity suites. The company has long offered an AI bot that can record and transcribe Zoom meetings. However, cross-application meeting notetakers like Read AI, Otter, Fireflies, Granola, and Circleback have made great progress. To tackle that, Zoom is making its AI companion work with other platforms such…

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s Bad Bunny’s world once again. The Puerto Rican superstar leads the 2025 Latin Grammy nominations this year.His 12 nominations mean that he’s dethroned producer and songwriter Édgar Barrera — known for his work with Bad Bunny as well as Madonna, Karol G, Peso Pluma, Shakira, Grupo Frontera and beyond — who previously topped the list in 2023 and 2024 with 13 and 9 nominations, respectively. Don’t cry for him, though: Barrera is tied with Argentinian hip-hop duo CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso for the second most nominations. They have 10 each.The Latin Recording Academy announced this…

A sign with the company logo sits outside of the headquarters of Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 17, 2024.Scott Olson | Getty ImagesEli Lilly on Wednesday said its experimental pill outperformed Novo Nordisk’s own oral drug in the first head-to-head study comparing the two medicines in patients with Type 2 diabetes. The late-stage study comes as Eli Lilly’s pill inches closer to becoming another needle-free alternative in the blockbuster market for GLP-1s, without dietary restrictions. But it may be too soon to establish a clear winner in the pill space, as there is no data comparing Eli Lillly’s drug with…

by Mia Taylor Last updated: 2:05 PM ET, Tue September 16, 2025 The vast majority of travelers taking a vacation this year say their primary goal is to relax, recharge and support mental well-being.And if we’re being honest, who doesn’t need those things amid this particularly tumultuous year? To help you achieve those goals Holafly, an international eSim provider, set about ranking the world’s most relaxing cities for travel.In order to develop its list, the Holafly research team analyzed global destinations using several key health and wellbeing metrics, such as access to parks and nature reserves, the number of spa…

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) — When Lena Astilli first bought her home outside of Denver, she had no interest in matching the wall-to-wall green lawns that dominated her block. She wanted native plants — the kind she remembered and loved as a child in New Mexico, that require far less water and have far more to offer insects and birds that are in decline.“A monoculture of Kentucky bluegrass is not helping anybody,” Astilli said. After checking several nurseries before finding one that had what she wanted, she has slowly been reintroducing those native plants to her yard.Though Astilli was replacing grass…

NEW YORK (AP) — Cardi B is pregnant with her fourth child. It will be her first with boyfriend Stefon Diggs, the New England Patriots’ wide receiver.The Grammy Award-winning rapper revealed the news Wednesday in an interview with Gayle King on “CBS Mornings.”“I’m excited. I’m happy,” she told King. “I feel like I’m in a good space. I feel very strong. I feel very powerful that I’m doing all this work. But I’m doing all this work while I’m creating a baby, me and my man, we’re very supportive of each other.”She added that she and Diggs are in similar…

President and CEO of Frontier Airlines, Barry Biffle attends The Future of Everything presented by the Wall Street Journal at Spring Studios on May 17, 2022, in New York City.Steven Ferdman | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty ImagesFrontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle fired back at his counterpart at United Airlines who said the deep discount model in the U.S. is dead.”That’s cute,” Biffle said Wednesday at the Skift Global Forum, a travel conference in New York. “If he’s good at math he would understand that we have a [flight] oversupply issue in the United States.”Biffle’s comments were a response to…

by Sarah Kuta Last updated: 2:35 PM ET, Tue September 16, 2025 Starting next year, Paul Gauguin Cruises and Aqua Expeditions will begin offering special, expert-led voyages in partnership with The Explorers Club.PONANT EXPLORATIONS has been offering the sailings since 2024. Starting in late 2026, they’ll be expanded to include all three of PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP’s distinct cruise lines. So far, the company has unveiled two departure dates for the m/s Paul Gauguin and four departure dates for Aqua Expeditions. PONANT EXPLORATIONS, meanwhile, will offer more than 15 voyages with The Explorers Club in 2026 and 2027.“Education and exploration go…