WHAT’S INSIDE:

• Top US EVs, EV Scooter, Oakley x Meta, Online Double Dating, Apple AutoMix

• Feature: Europe's Tourism Tipping Point

• Latest food and dining and food technology news

• Arts and culture news, intersection of tech and entertainment

• The latest sports news and sports tech

• Futurism, the latest in future concepts and cutting edge deep tech

• Latest news in wellness and wellbeing tech, biotech, medtech and more

TOP CONSUMER TECH NEWS

Top US EVs — Tesla leads the 2025 U.S.-Made Index with four top vehicles, and six of the top ten are EVs including Kia EV6 and Volkswagen ID.4. China’s BYD just unveiled the Yangwang U7, luxury EV super sedan with nearly 1,300 hp.

Infinite Machine’s EV Scooter — The $3,495 Olto scooter features a 40-m range, swappable battery, and dual-suspension for two riders. Or you could opt for a Skyrider X6 Hybrid flying motorcycle soon.

Oakley x Meta Smart Glasses — New smart glasses arrive on June 20, featuring a central camera for athletes, and a Prada range will blend tech with high-fashion.

Online Double Dating — Tinder introduces a Double Date feature, allowing users to team up with friends for group chats with potential matches.

Apple Music's AI DJ — AutoMix tool for AI-driven seamless transitions between songs in iOS 26 is going viral, a surprise hit from its wwdc reveals.

Hobot's Window Wizard — The $439 Hobot S7 Pro robot cleans lightly soiled windows with ease, featuring easy navigation and support for frameless windows.

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FEATURE ARTICLE 

Europe's Tourism Tipping Point

This summer, the simmering resentment over mass tourism in Europe has boiled over into street protests, spontaneous strikes, and viral outrage. In Spain, frustrated locals in Barcelona and Mallorca took to the streets on June 15, spraying unsuspecting café-goers with water pistols and chanting “Go home!” Meanwhile in Paris, staff at the Louvre Museum—the most visited museum in the world—walked off the job, citing untenable crowding and unsafe working conditions. These incidents were part of a mounting backlash sweeping across southern Europe, with protests erupting from Lisbon to Venice, signaling a breaking point in how Europe manages its most profitable—and problematic—industry.

Barcelona’s Breaking Point

In Barcelona, where tourism contributes 14% of GDP, the city's romantic alleys and beaches have become ground zero for a growing anti-tourism movement. Activists argue that the economic benefits are concentrated in too few hands, while the consequences—skyrocketing rents, the disappearance of local businesses, and the transformation of neighborhoods into hollow shells of short-term rentals—are borne by residents. “We’re being pushed out of our homes,” read one protest sign. The mood has shifted: what was once quiet frustration has turned into organized resistance.

The Mona Lisa Says Enough

Just a day after the Spanish demonstrations, a different kind of protest unfolded in Paris. Visitors to the Louvre Museum found its famous glass pyramid surrounded by confused tourists. Behind the scenes, staff had staged an emergency walkout, demanding immediate action against chronic overcrowding, understaffing, and deteriorating infrastructure. According to Sarah Sefian, a gallery attendant, the daily experience has become “a physical ordeal.”

The numbers are staggering: 8.7 million visitors in 2024, with daily caps of 30,000, far beyond what the museum was designed to handle. A single gallery—the Salle des États, home of the Mona Lisa—receives up to 20,000 people a day, many of whom jostle for selfies and rarely glance at the masterpieces flanking her.

French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged €700–800 million under a “Louvre New Renaissance” plan, promising a new entrance and dedicated Mona Lisa gallery by 2031. But for striking staff, that timeline feels glacial. “We can’t wait six years for help,” Sefian said.

Venice, Lisbon, and the Fight for Livability

Elsewhere, cities like Venice—already infamous for its dwindling resident population and now experimenting with entry fees—and Lisbon, where foreign investors and digital nomads have upended the housing market, joined the June protests. Activists across these cities share a unified message: unchecked tourism is no longer sustainable.

In Venice, which receives 20 million visitors annually despite a local population below 50,000, locals have compared the city to a theme park. Gondolas may still glide through the canals, but many Venetians have been priced out or pushed out altogether. Lisbon faces a similar fate, as traditional neighborhoods are hollowed out to make room for Airbnbs and short-term lets.

A Crisis of Crowds and Climate

Mass tourism is also exacerbating environmental stress—from cruise ship pollution to water scarcity. Cities are investing in mitigation, but too often, the solutions are surface-level. What's really at stake isn’t just space or comfort; it's the soul of these cities.

Part of the tension stems from a profound mismatch: destinations promote themselves as timeless escapes, but offer experiences marked by queues, heat, noise, and disconnection. The Acropolis in Athens is now trialing time-slot tickets, while Amsterdam is banning cruise ships entirely from the city center.

Instagrammable Ruin

Then there’s the Instagram effect. Shows like White Lotus turned places like Taormina, Italy, into viral sensations. “It’s night and day,” said one frequent traveler. “It used to be peaceful. Now it’s overrun, overpriced, and inaccessible.” The power of pop culture to rapidly tip the balance of a destination underscores how delicate tourism ecosystems have become.

What Comes Next: Limits or Collapse?

Governments are now faced with an impossible balancing act: preserve economic benefits while restoring livability. But that may require hard limits—tourist caps, zoning restrictions, tiered ticketing, and higher taxes. France’s Louvre may charge non-EU visitors more in the coming months, and cities like Barcelona are cracking down on illegal rentals. Still, many argue these steps are too little, too late.

Officials are beginning to realize that you can’t market every alley, piazza, or ruin as “authentic” while gutting the communities that make them so. Without more serious structural reforms, the tourism model may collapse under its own weight—taking local culture with it. Maybe it’s time to consider a local summer vacation this year.

FOOD + DRINK

James Beard Awards 2025 — Jungsik Yim won Outstanding Chef and Frasca Food and Wine was named Outstanding Restaurant at the 2025 James Beard Awards.

Starbucks' Protein Boost — Starbucks introduces Protein Cold Foam, adding 15-18 grams of protein to beverages. This innovation caters to the rising demand for protein, aiming to enhance customer experience, counter declining same-store sales.

Kraft Heinz Goes Natural — Kraft Heinz pledges to eliminate all artificial dyes from U.S. products by 2027, following pressure from RFK Jr.’s MAHA.

Sage's Ultimate Coffee Machine — The Sage Barista Touch Impress excels in coffee flavor with its user-friendly tamping system and customizable drinks.

In-N-Out Tops — In-N-Out Burger ranks first in U.S fast-food employee satisfaction for the 10th year, with 91% recommending their job. Top brands include Raising Cane's and Dutch Bros.

ARTS + CULTURE

ANCESTRA: A New Era in Filmmaking — Eliza McNitt premiered her short film at the Tribeca Festival, using Google's Veo AI to blend live-action and AI sequences, highlighting innovative storytelling in cinema.

Streaming Explosion — Streaming services surpassed cable and broadcast TV in viewership, reaching 44.8% of total TV viewership, with YouTube and Netflix leading this trend.

No Kings Killing — Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, a fashion designer and former project Runway contestant, was shot and killed during the "No Kings" protest, leaving a lasting impact on the arts community.

TikTok Symphony — TikTok launched Symphony, a suite of AI tools, enabling marketers to create engaging video content, boosting creativity and efficiency in advertising.

AI Avatars Outsell Humans — Luo Yonghao used a digital avatar on Baidu's platform to achieve over $7M in sales, beating himself and showcasing the potential of AI-powered commerce.

SPORTS DESK

Record NBA Sale — The LA Lakers have been sold for a record $10Bn to Mark Walters, surpassing previous valuations and setting a new NBA record. The Buss family cashes in after four decades at the helm, with Jeanie Buss to stay as governor.

Panthers' Cup — The Florida Panthers clinched their second consecutive Stanley Cup, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6. Sam Reinhart's hat trick and Sergei Bobrovsky's critical saves were pivotal.

AI-Driven NBA Ad — Kalshi aired an AI-generated ad during the NBA Finals, crafted by PJ Accetturo using Google's Veo 3 in just two days.

NFL AI Boost — Microsoft integrates a new AI assistant into the NFL Combine App, enabling scouts to use natural language queries for player stats, enhancing assessment efficiency.

FIFA’s Billion-Dollar Gamble — The Club World Cup expands to 32 teams with a $1B prize and serving as a 2026 World Cup venue test.

NCAA Settlement — A historic settlement permits college athletes to be paid from July 1. Division I schools must share up to $20.5M in revenue, while the NCAA will provide $2.75Bn in backpay, transforming college sports.

FUTURISM

Mars Terraforming — SpaceX claims Mars could support plant growth in 40 years via advanced warming techniques and engineered microbes with a $300Bn investment, paving the way for extremophiles and eventually humans.

Revolutionizing Chemistry — A collaboration has released Open Molecules 2025, a dataset with over 100M molecular simulations, enabling ML models to achieve quantum chemistry-level accuracy.

Yeast Turns Waste to Wealth — Researchers develop a genetically modified osteoyeast to convert human urine into hydroxyapatite, a mineral vital for surgery and dentistry.

Human-Mouse Hybrids — Researchers develop a method to grow human cells in mice by injecting human organoids into pregnant mice, resulting in offspring with human cells in their intestines, liver, and brain.

Portable Viral Detector — A portable biosensor using NMR technology and AI offers rapid viral detection and immune monitoring byt distinguishing active from past infections.

Game-Changing Battery — Georgia Tech's new lithium-sodium solid-state battery reduces pressure needs and could enable a 500-mile EV range.

WELLBEING TECH

Chimeras — Human heart cells grown in pig embryos developed into beating hearts over 21 days, a significant step toward creating chimeric animals to tackle organ transplant shortages.

Opioid Settlement — All U.S. states agree to a $7.4Bn settlement with Purdue Pharma, ending Sacklers' ownership. Funds will support addiction treatment programs over 15 years.

NIH Grant Revival — A federal judge mandates NIH to reinstate grants halted under Trump, citing unlawful bias against minorities, women, and LGBTQ+.

ALS Breakthrough — A significant scientific discovery enables targeting of cells crucial to ALS, opening avenues for potential new treatments and advancing research.

Gene-Editing — Verve Therapeutics stock skyrockets 82% after Eli Lilly agrees to a $1.3Bn acquisition, driven by promising results from its gene-editing treatment for high cholesterol.

Sword Health's Strategic Raise — Sword Health secures $40M at a $4Bn valuation, delaying IPO to 2028. CEO Virgílio Bento plans service expansion and strategic acquisitions.