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8 of 2023’s worst destinations for overtourism. Here’s how to avoid the crowds next year

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:09 GMT

By Blane Bachelor | CNNFollowing several years of pandemic-induced downturn, the travel sector is not only back, it’s positively booming. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, the industry is expected to bring in some $9.5 trillion in 2023 — which accounts for 95% of its pre-pandemic levels.Related ArticlesTravel | The 10 world’s best and worst airports for 2023 offer plenty of surprises Travel | 12 places you can’t visit in 2024 Travel | A travel quiz for globetrotters and armchair travelers alike Travel | Universal Studios plans United Kingdom theme park Travel | The 25 worst-behaved tourists of 2023 Nowhere is this surge more evident than at popular tourist hot spots around the world, many of which have experienced record visitor numbers over the past year.Such surges may be sweet for local economies and hospitality businesses’ bottom line, but they also come with notable downsides: inc...

Elon Musk’s X fails to block California content moderation law

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:09 GMT

By Peter Blumberg and Malathi Nayak | BloombergElon Musk’s X Corp. lost its effort in court to block a California law that seeks to control toxic posts on social media by requiring companies to disclose their content-moderation polices.In an eight-page ruling Thursday, a federal judge in Sacramento rejected arguments by the company formerly known as Twitter that the measure violates the free-speech rights of social media platforms.The ruling comes after Musk ignited a firestorm in November by endorsing antisemitic posts on his platform. X Corp. Chief Executive Officer Linda Yaccarino scrambled to contain the fallout after major advertisers like Sony, Discovery, Apple and CBS stopped or paused spending on the site.California Governor Gavin Newsom said when he signed AB 587 in 2022 that it was designed to protect the public by demanding companies reveal their policies on hate speech, disinformation, harassment and extremism on their platforms, and report data on their enforcement of t...

Stock market today: U.S. futures are little changed as Wall Street wraps up surprisingly good year

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:09 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock futures are little changed Friday as the market puts the wraps on a year of surprisingly robust gains.The benchmark S&P 500 index is just 0.3% from an all-time high after a gain of 24.6% in 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sits at a record 37,710.10. The Nasdaq shows a year-to-date gain of 44.2%, driven by gains in big technology companies.The so-called Magnificent 7 companies — Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Tesla — accounted for about two-thirds of the gains in the S&P 500 this year, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Nvidia leads the group with a gain of about 240%. Shares in European markets rose as well this year. Benchmark indexes in France and Germany made double-digit advances, while Britain’s has climbed just under 4%.Asia markets had a mixed session on the last trading day of the year for most markets. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gave up 0.2% to 33,464.17. It gained 27% in 2023, its best year in a decade ...

Real Madrid extends Ancelotti’s contract until 2026 after Brazil’s interest in hiring him as coach

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:09 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid has extended Carlo Ancelotti’s contract until 2026, seemingly ending Brazil’s hopes of hiring him as the new national team coach.Ancelotti had been linked with a move to Brazil for the past several months, with the president of the Brazilian soccer confederation publicly expressing his desire to hire the Italian coach.But Ancelotti had said all along that he would like to remain at Madrid if the club wanted him to stay. His current contract with the Spanish club Madrid was set to expire at the end of this season. Financial details of the new contract were not disclosed.This is Ancelotti’s second stint with Madrid. He had previously coached the club from 2013-15, having returned in 2021.Ancelotti has won 10 titles with Madrid, including two Champions Leagues and one Spanish league. The 64-year-old Ancelotti has been linked to Brazil’s men’s team since Tite stepped down as its coach in December 2022 after a disappointing World Cup.Brazil is ...

Utilizó un proveedor de Internet de EEUU: reporte revela nuevos detalles sobre el globo espía chino

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:09 GMT

WASHINGTON – Los servicios de inteligencia de Estados Unidos han determinado que el globo espía chino que sobrevoló EEUU este año utilizó un proveedor de servicios de Internet estadounidense para comunicarse, según dos funcionarios y un exfuncionario estadounidenses familiarizados con la evaluación.Según la evaluación, el globo se conectó a una empresa con sede en Estados Unidos para enviar y recibir comunicaciones de China, principalmente relacionadas con su navegación. Funcionarios familiarizados con la evaluación dijeron que ésta descubrió que la conexión permitía al globo enviar transmisiones en ráfaga, o recopilaciones de datos de gran ancho de banda en cortos periodos de tiempo.El gobierno de Biden solicitó a la Corte Federal de Vigilancia de Inteligencia Extranjera una orden judicial muy secreta para recopilar información sobre el globo mientras sobrevolaba Estados Unidos, según varios funcionarios y exfuncionarios estadounidenses. No se ha revelado la decisión del trib...

Feriados en Argentina en 2024: estos son los días festivos y puentes

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:09 GMT

(CNN Español) — El Gobierno de Javier Milei publicó en el Boletín oficial el viernes 29 de diciembre, último día hábil del año, los feriados con fines turísticos. Tomando como base la Ley 27.399, sobre feriados y días no laborables y sancionada en 2017, quedó estipulada cuál será el calendario oficial de feriados en 2024.En Argentina, de acuerdo con dicha legislación, existen dos tipos de feriados. Los trasladables —según el sitio oficial del Gobierno— cuyas fechas coincidan con los días martes y miércoles serán trasladados al día lunes anterior. Los que coincidan con los días jueves y viernes serán trasladados al día lunes siguiente. Los feriados nacionales, por otra parte, son aquellos que se rigen por el la Ley de Establecimiento de Feriados y Fines de semanas largos.Además, también habrá días no laborables para fieles de distintas religiones.El listado de los países con más feriados y festivos en LatinoaméricaEn lo publicado en Boletín Oficial se establece que los días 1 d...

December 2023 has been one of the driest on record for snowfall

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:09 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Even after blizzard-like conditions hit parts of Colorado the day after Christmas, December 2023 will go down in history as one of the driest on record.A post-Christmas snowstorm brought blowing snow to the Eastern Plains and caused several major highways to close. Near the metro, Aurora got around 7 inches of snow. However, Denver International Airport only saw a trace.With the lack of snow, this December has been one of the driest on record.According to Pinpoint Weather Meteorologist Travis Michels, DIA, where precipitation is officially measured for the Mile High City, only got around 1.4 inches of snow this month. Looking at the data from the National Weather Service, the lack of snow would put 2023 as the 18th least snowiest December on record. Take a hike – for free – on these days at Colorado’s national parks The data goes back to 1882 when historical records were recorded in Colorado. According to that data, the last December that made the list of least sn...

2 missing girls found safe after allegedly being taken from home

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:09 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — An endangered missing persons alert has been deactivated after a 15 and 10-year-old were found safely. According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the girls were last seen in Silverthorne near the 400 block of Brian Avenue at around 11 p.m.On Friday at around 7 a.m., CBI deactivated the alert and said the girls had been safely located. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox CBI said the girls were believed to have been taken from their home by a 23-year-old woman and were allegedly driving south towards Mexico.Officials have not said if the suspect has been taken into custody.

Israeli military report reveals new failures in mission to rescue mistakenly killed hostages

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:09 GMT

(CNN) — Israel’s army chief said troops failed in their mission to rescue three hostages mistakenly killed in Gaza earlier this month as the military on Thursday published its report into the incident.Herzi Halevi, chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said the shootings “could have been prevented,” but he determined there was “no malice in the event and the soldiers carried out the right action to the best of their understanding of the event at that moment.”Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer Talalka were captured by Hamas on October 7 and taken to Gaza. The three men were accidentally killed during an IDF operation around the Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaiya on December 15 in an incident that shocked Israeli society.The report into their deaths concluded that Israeli command ranks had information about ...

More Than 400 Families On Emergency Shelter Waitlist

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:09 GMT

More than 400 families are on the waitlist to access the state’s overburdened emergency shelter system, a top Healey administration official said Thursday, less than a week after the state abruptly opened a new overflow site in Cambridge.During a 90-minute virtual community meeting, city and state leaders candidly explained how they selected the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds building and began welcoming families, including migrants, last Friday with little public notice or engagement. About three-quarters of families stuck on the waitlist have been directed to temporary shelter and overnight arrangements.Officials have been scrambling to open temporary overflow sites since the shelter system hit Gov. Maura Healey’s 7,500-family capacity limit in November amid a surge of new arrivals, and each day brings about 10 additional families to Massachusetts, Emergency Assistance Director Scott Rice said. When Secretary of State William Galvin offered up the east Cambridge pro...