Author: admin

Don Welsh, president & CEO of Destinations International (left) and Sherry L. Rupert, CEO of AIANTA (right). (Photo Credit: Destinations International)WHY IT RATES: The new partnership is paramount as it will assist Indigenous destinations across the U.S. in building awareness through Destinations International’s vast global travel network.—Patrick Clarke, TravelPulse Senior EditorThe American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA), the only national organization dedicated to advancing cultural heritage tourism in Native Nations and communities across the United States, and Destinations International, the world’s largest global network of destination organizations, convention and visitor bureaus (CVBs), and tourism boards, announced a two-year strategic…

As AI systems become more capable, speech is fast becoming the default way we communicate with machines. French AI startup Mistral has jumped into the audio race with its first open model, aiming to challenge the dominance of walled-off corporate systems with open-weight alternatives.   On Tuesday, Mistral announced the release of Voxtral, its first family of audio models aimed at businesses. The company is pitching Voxtral as the first open model that’s capable of deploying “truly usable speech intelligence in production.” In other words, no longer will developers have to choose between a cheap, open system that fumbles transcriptions and…

Kumagaya, Japan CNN  —  Eighty years later, the scars of the last American firebombing of a Japanese city remain — on the skin of a man who still lives mere yards from where hundreds died, on the surface of a statue of a revered Buddhist monk, and in the minds of those whose city was turned to ash in a matter of hours. Almost 90 US B-29 bombers dropped about 6,000 tons of jellied gasoline — napalm — on Kumagaya, Japan, on the night of August 14-15, 1945. The resulting fires, burning at 800 to 1,200 degrees Celsius, killed at…

Travelers flying through Las Vegas International Airport (LAS) in 2026 will be treated to a completely new lounge concept from American Express. Next year, the credit card company will debut Sidecar by The Centurion Lounge, a new category of its beloved premium lounges that will cater to faster visits. The all-new space will be designed for travelers with a short amount of time before their flight who want to stop in for a quick bite or drink. The Sidecar lounge concept will still offer gourmet small plates and signature cocktails, curated by the same team that sets menus at Amex’s other…

When Betsy Fore was five, her grandmother got her a gift she has never forgotten: A Velveteen Rabbit from Goodwill that Fore believed, with enough love, could spring alive. Decades later, that rabbit has lent its name to Fore’s venture firm, Velveteen Ventures, which came to life on Tuesday.  “I realized after building companies for nearly two decades that I could make the greatest ripple in this one precious life by being on the other side of the table,” she told TechCrunch. Her companies include the baby food company Tiny Organics (for which she became the first Native American woman…

Melbourne AP  —  Bradley John Murdoch, known as the “Outback Killer” and convicted of murdering British backpacker Peter Falconio who vanished in arid central Australia 24 years ago, has died, authorities said Wednesday. He was 67. Murdoch died on Tuesday night in the palliative care unit of the Alice Springs Hospital, according to a statement from the Northern Territory Department of Corrections. He was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 2019 and was recently transferred to the hospital from the Alice Springs prison. His death leaves the mystery of the whereabouts of Falconio’s body unsolved. The territory’s police did not…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An “American Idol” music supervisor and her husband were both found dead in their Los Angeles home Monday afternoon.Officers were conducting a welfare check at a home in the Encino neighborhood when they found the bodies of a man and woman with gunshot wounds. An “American Idol” spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Robin Kaye and her husband, Thomas Deluca, both 70. The couple owned their home, according to public records.“Robin has been a cornerstone of the Idol family since 2009 and was truly loved and respected by all who came in contact with her,” an “American…

New York City’s first Hyatt Regency hotel is now open on Broadway.The 795-room upscale hotel offers inspiring views and contemporary décor while paying homage to its bustling, vibrant Manhattan location. Located at 1605 Broadway, the hotel offers a dramatic, soaring porte cochere leading to a two-story lobby with a glass atrium and signature restaurant overlooking the iconic lights of Broadway. Hyatt Regency Times Square also features Broadway-inspired artwork and theater marquees that hang from the ceiling.“Hyatt Regency Times Square is the most exciting recent addition to New York City’s hotel landscape,” said Mohit Malhotra, General Manager, Hyatt Regency Times Square.…

AI researchers from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, and a broad coalition of companies and nonprofit groups, are calling for deeper investigation into techniques for monitoring the so-called thoughts of AI reasoning models in a position paper published Tuesday. A key feature of AI reasoning models, such as OpenAI’s o3 and DeepSeek’s R1, are their chains-of-thought or CoTs — an externalized process in which AI models work through problems, similar to how humans use a scratch pad to work through a difficult math question. Reasoning models are a core technology for powering AI agents, and the paper’s authors argue that CoT…

by Sarah Kuta Last updated: 2:05 PM ET, Tue July 15, 2025 During the upcoming Antarctic cruise season, HX Expeditions plans to launch an expanded kayaking and camping program. Starting in October, guests will have even more opportunities to explore the White Continent. The company is planning a 188 percent increase in kayaking capacity and twice the camping spots, with space for up to 60 guests to sleep on Antarctica. “We’re reimagining how guests experience Antarctica,” says Karin Strand, vice president of expeditions development. “It’s about making these once-in-a-lifetime moments available to everyone on board, while delivering them in small, intimate…