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Lying in an intensive care unit hospital bed, 11-year-old Genevieve Bisek is comforted by the many handmade cards she has received from fellow classmates after Wednesday’s shooting at a Minneapolis church.Some are decorated with beads, some with sparkling stars. All of them are taped to the walls of her room at the Hennepin County Medical Center, where she has been recovering. Her condition has been upgraded from critical to satisfactory.“All of these handmade cards are just absolutely adorable and heartfelt,” Genevieve’s aunt, Wanda Stipek, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Saturday. “This is coming from other kids who…

by Donald Wood Last updated: 8:15 AM ET, Fri August 29, 2025 A group of cruise operators has filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Hawaii over a new law that taxes cruise ships, similar to the one imposed on hotel operators.According to Hawaii News Now, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said as part of its lawsuit that the Hawaiian government violated the United States Constitution when it passed an 11 percent tax on out-of-state cruise passengers in January. The tax on cruise lines is similar to the transient accommodations tax levied against hotel and vacation rental guests.“Here…

Henrik Fisker once envisioned a burgeoning EV empire at the startup he named after himself, which was to be led by the Ocean SUV. But cracks started showing in that vision almost as soon as the Ocean hit the road in 2023.  Fisker cut production targets multiple times, failed to meet sales goals and laid off staff. What’s more, its Ocean SUV was beset with software and mechanical issues, rendering it inoperable for some. Add troublesome brakes, sudden power loss and doors that wouldn’t open to the list of issues that led to multiple safety investigations and ultimately a pause…

A sign for the CDC sits outside of their facility at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Roybal campus in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., May 30, 2025. Megan Varner | ReutersThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told staff it expects them to return to offices by Sept. 15, roughly five weeks after a gunman’s deadly attack on the agency’s headquarters in Atlanta, CNBC has learned. “Your safety remains our top priority. We are taking necessary steps to restore our workplace and will return to regular on-site operations no later than Monday, September 15,” Lynda Chapman, the agency’s new chief operating…

Taco Bell’s chief digital officer says the company is having an “active conversation” about when to use and not to use AI. The company has apparently rolled out voice AI-powered ordering at more than 500 drive-throughs, leading to unflattering viral moments like someone ordering 18,000 water cups in order to “bypass” the AI and get connected to a human server. Chief Digital and Technology Officer Dane Matthews told The Wall Street Journal that even he has mixed experiences with technology: “Sometimes it lets me down, but sometimes it really surprises me.” Overall, it sounds like Taco Bell is still deciding…

by Ken Shapiro Last updated: 9:00 PM ET, Thu August 28, 2025 (Photo Credit: JTB Corp.)Northstar Travel Group, a leading B2B travel industry events, media and information services company, today announced that JTB Corp., one of Japan’s leading travel solutions providers, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Northstar from investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital and its co-investors. As part of the transaction, Northstar will operate as a wholly-owned, independent subsidiary of JTB and will continue to be led by its existing management team, including Chief Executive Officer Jason Young. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.Northstar operates iconic…

by Sarah Kuta Last updated: 7:00 AM ET, Fri August 29, 2025 New ships, major leadership changes and several high-profile incidents made headlines for the cruise industry this month. Below, some of the biggest stories you might have missed from August 2025.Norwegian Cruise Line President David Herrera Steps DownIn a major leadership shakeup, David Herrera, the president of Norwegian Cruise Line, left the company on August 20. Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, took over Herrera’s day-to-day duties on an interim basis until a replacement can be found. The company revealed the news in…

TILBURG, Netherlands (AP) — The southern Dutch city of Tilburg is seeing more color than usual this weekend, as thousands of redheads from all over the world gather in the Netherlands for a once-a-year festival to celebrate their flaming locks.The 2025 edition of the Redhead Days festival includes music, food trucks and workshops tailored to particular needs of redheads, from makeup explainers to skin cancer prevention. Organizers expect the three-day event to draw several thousand attendees from some 80 countries.Elounda Bakker, a Dutch festival veteran of 15 years, played cards with a group of redheaded friends from across the world…

I recently moved to a new apartment, and unfortunately, the television didn’t make the cut during the amicable roommate split. While my studio isn’t as cramped as my previous living situations, fitting a bulky TV into the living area still felt impractical to me.  In my search for a suitable alternative, a startup called Lumi Labs reached out about testing its new portable projector, the Lumi Max. From the moment I unboxed it, I was impressed by how far projectors have come since my college days, when I struggled with a dingy one passed down from a friend that projected…

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an afternoon’s walk through ground zero of Americana — the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History — objects around every corner invite one question: What could possibly be more American than this?What could be more American than that enormous Star-Spangled Banner in all its timeworn glory? Or more American than Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz”? And what could be more American than a reckoning with the nation’s sins, as illustrated by shackles representing slavery and photos of Japanese Americans confined to detention camps in World War II? It’s in authoritarian countries, like Russia,…