Author: Press Room

The number of nights spent in tourist accommodation in the European Union in 2022 approached pre-pandemic levels, the bloc’s statistics office Eurostat said on Wednesday.The 27-nation bloc recorded 2.72 billion nights spent in tourist accommodation last year, down by only 5.6% from 2019 levels, before COVID-19 inflicted heavy losses on the tourism industry due to border closures and lockdowns.This number is an increase of 91.1% and 48.3% from 2020 and 2021 levels, respectively. The figures cover short-stay accommodation in hotels and similar establishments, as well as camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks.SPAIN’S TOURISM REVENUE EXPECTED TO INCREASE BY…

Mayor Eric Adams demanded Wednesday that President Biden immediately appoint someone to develop a “decompression strategy” that will stop the surge of migrants to the Big Apple and other cities. In a not-too-veiled shot at both Vice President Kamala Harris — whom Biden named his border czar almost two years ago — and embattled Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Adams said that “the White House must assure the immediate needs of cities that are impacted.” “You see the support they deserve,” Adams said. “And that includes a person with the singular responsibility of a decompression strategy and other methods to…

Bed Bath & Beyond has been in discussions with prospective buyers and lenders as it works to keep its business afloat during a likely bankruptcy filing, according to people familiar with the matter.The retailer is in the midst a sale process in hopes of finding a buyer that would keep the doors open for both of its major chains, its namesake banner and Buybuy Baby, said the people, who weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly.At the same time, Bed Bath has also been looking for a lender to provide financing that would keep the company going if it were…

Jay Briscoe’s daughters, Jayleigh and Gracie, are hospitalized after the head-on collision that killed their father, a longtime Ring of Honor wrestling star, in Delaware on Tuesday. Briscoe, real name Jamin Pugh, was a 13-time tag-team champion in Ring of Honor with his brother Mark Briscoe in a career that spanned over 20 years. He was 38. Briscoe’s widow, Ashley Pugh, posted an update on Facebook early Wednesday. “We need prayers!” she wrote, explaining the injuries sustained by the couple’s 9- and 12-year-old daughters. “Gracie is on her way into surgery on her back. Jamin would want the whole world…

Despite Beyoncé performing at two Super Bowls in the last 10 years, Stephen A. Smith wants her back.Beyoncé performed twice in a three-year span, headlining Super Bowl XLVII’s halftime show and appearing as a special guest when Coldplay headlined Super Bowl 50. Rihanna will perform at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, Feb. 12, but ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith doesn’t think she will do what Beyoncé has done.”I don’t wanna say I’m not excited. She’s fantastic,” Smith told Sherri Shepherd Wednesday. “That’s not where I’m going with this. Ladies and gentlemen, she’s a lot of things. She’s spectacular, actually. And…

The U.S. may be about to hit its debt ceiling.Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last week that the U.S. would likely hit the ceiling Thursday. Absent steps taken by Congress, the event may “cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy, the livelihoods of all Americans, and global financial stability,” she wrote in a letter to new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.Here’s what the debt ceiling is, and what makes it so important for consumers.What is the debt ceiling?The debt ceiling is the amount of money the U.S. Treasury is authorized to borrow to pay its bills.Those obligations include Social Security…

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein slammed Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s stances on abortion and LGBTQ+ rights as Stein announced his candidacy for governor Wednesday.”Today, there’s a different set of bomb throwers who threaten our freedoms and our future. While some politicians spark division, ignite hate and fan the flames of bigotry,” Stein says in a 2024 gubernatorial video announcement alongside clips of Robinson speaking at various public events, including an appearance with former President Donald Trump.Stein, a Democrat, references Robinson’s remarks during a May 2022 appearance at Charlotte’s Freedom House wherein Robinson stated “we are called to be led…

Washington CNN  —  New York City on Wednesday began providing free abortion pills at a city-run sexual health clinic in the Bronx. The city already offers medication abortions at its 11 public hospitals, but the new program will eventually expand access to four public health clinics and provide an avenue to the procedure at no cost to patients. Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, announced the program at a City Hall news conference on Tuesday, in which he hailed an endeavor that “no other city in the nation or in the world” has undertaken via its public health department providing medication…

Russian President Vladimir Putin made sweeping claims during a recent press tour, including promises that the Russian military will end its operations in Ukraine – with victory. “In fact, full-scale hostilities in the Donbas have not stopped since 2014, with the use of heavy equipment, artillery, tanks and aircraft. It all happened,” Putin told veterans and residents in Saint Petersburg. “Everything we do today, including in a special military operation, is an attempt to stop this war. That is the meaning of our operation.”He claimed that victory in Ukraine would “protect our people who live there, in these territories.””Russia has come…

Founders Fund, the venture capital firm co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, closed almost all of its eight-year bet on cryptocurrencies shortly before the market began to crash last year, generating about $1.8bn in returns.The San Francisco-based fund made its first investment in bitcoin in early 2014 and went on to invest large sums in crypto. About two-thirds of its overall investment was used to buy bitcoin, said people close to the fund. Founders Fund sold out of the vast majority of its entire cryptocurrency portfolio by the end of March 2022 — before the digital assets market became swept up…