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by Sarah Kuta Last updated: 2:00 PM ET, Tue December 23, 2025 National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions is sharing more details about the research scientists will conduct aboard its ships during the 2025-2026 Southern Ocean season.Researchers will get to take advantage of the brand’s presence in the hard-to-reach Antarctic region, with the ships National Geographic Resolution, National Geographic Endurance and National Geographic Explorer serving as a home base for 14 projects during 18 voyages. “Research in remote polar regions is both essential and challenging, and it takes resources, expertise and the right platform,” says Amy Berquist, vice president of conservation, education and…
The excitement for the European startup market was hard to ignore at the annual Slush conference in Helsinki last month. But the actual data on the state of the region’s venture market shows a different reality. The upshot: The European market has not recovered from the global venture capital reset that occurred in 2022 and 2023. But there is evidence it is on the cusp of a turnaround, including Klarna’s recent exit and the region’s homegrown AI startups garnering attention from local investors and beyond. Investors poured €43.7 billion ($52.3 billion) into European startups in 2025 across 7,743 deals through…
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been omnipresent during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term.A former reality TV star, he even recently competed in a pull-up contest with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. More notably, Duffy has used his platform to urge the American people to usher in the golden age of travel by behaving better, dressing nicer and minding their manners at every turn.In a scene straight out of a Borat movie minus the comedy, Duffy enlisted the expertise of Elevate Etiquette founder Alison Cheperdak…
If you’re a parent with young children, then you’ll probably hear this a lot on Christmas Eve: “Where’s Santa right now?” With tracking tools like the NORAD Santa Tracker and Google’s Santa Tracker, everyone can know when Father Christmas will arrive. Plus, there are now some new AI tools to bring the holiday magic. Here’s how to follow Santa’s journey this Christmas Eve with the help of AI. Track Santa Claus with NORAD NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) had the first ever Santa tracker in 1955. While it used to be just a boring animation of Santa’s sleigh and…
The travel season is wrapping up for 2025 — and these are the destinations that generated the most interest among leisure and business passengers who traveled by air in 2025.Data compiled by Amadeus company, ForwardKeys, revealed the most popular destinations worldwide, top performers for year-on-year-growth, top APAC destinations and top destinations for business travel.Most Popular Global Destinations London maintained its lead as the world’s most visited destination in 2025. Tokyo followed close behind with a +2.3 percent share, while Paris climbed to third place (+2.0 percent), indicating broadly stable demand across these major hubs.Other popular destinations included:Bangkok (1.9 percent)Dubai (1.8…
Italy has ordered Meta to suspend its policy that bans companies from using WhatsApp’s business tools to offer their own AI chatbots on the popular chat app. The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) on Wednesday said it had found enough cause in its ongoing investigation into whether Meta was abusing its dominant position in the market to offer its Meta AI chatbot within WhatsApp to order the suspension of the policy. “Meta’s conduct appears to constitute an abuse, since it may limit production, market access, or technical developments in the AI Chatbot services market, to the detriment of consumers,” the Authority…
by Brian Major Last updated: 9:00 AM ET, Tue December 23, 2025 Brazil has achieved an unprecedented tourism milestone, recording nine million international visitors before the end of the year. The figure shatters the country’s previous record of 6.77 million set in 2024 and also exceeds the 6.9 million target established in the 2024-2027 National Tourism Plan. From January to November this year, international tourists contributed $7.17 billion to Brazil’s economy, according to figures released by the Central Bank. The figure represents an 8.41 percent increase compared to the same period last year and comes very close to the total…
Every year, TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield pitch contest draws thousands of applicants. We whittle those applications down to the top 200 contenders, and from them, the top 20 compete on the big stage for the Startup Battlefield Cup and a cash prize of $100,000. But the remaining 180 startups blew us away, too, in their respective categories and in their own pitch competition. Here is the full list of the agtech and food tech Startup Battlefield 200 selectees, along with a note on why they landed in the competition. ÄIO What it does: Äio has developed a method to produce edible…
by Sarah Kuta Last updated: 11:10 AM ET, Tue December 23, 2025 Norwegian Cruise Line is getting rid of all non-commissionable fares.The change is permanent and will take effect December 26, 2025, for all sailings departing May 1, 2026 and beyond. The full cruise fare (excluding taxes and fees) is now commissionable, boosting travel advisors’ revenue on every booking. Norwegian has also simplified its fare structure so that travel advisors can more easily understand their earning potential upfront.“Travel advisors are the backbone of our industry, and their success is our success,” says John Chernesky, senior vice president of sales for…
After a federal judge on Tuesday blocked Texas from implementing a new age verification law for app stores, Apple announced it will pause previously announced plans for the state as it continues to monitor the “ongoing legal process.” Apple said its previously announced developer tools for age assurance would remain available for testing and use. The law, SB2420, or the App Store Accountability Act, would have required app stores, like those run by Apple and Google, to verify user ages and require parental consent for those under 18 to download apps or make purchases. In addition, it would have required…