
Venice and Florence demand a halt to Airbnb
CNN
Airbnbs in Venice and Florence have grown to such an extent that rising rents have driven residents out of town. Now the mayors of the city are demanding limits to short-term rentals.
(CNN) — Tourists sprawled over sidewalks, garbage piled up in the streets, and thousands-strong lines to enter museums. Overtourism feels a long time ago now, but the after effects are still being felt in Italian cities, where locals have been squeezed out by Airbnbs, businesses have been drowned out by souvenir shops, and whole economies have been hijacked by tourism, and then hung out to dry. But while destinations flex their marketing budgets for post-pandemic trips, and countries and continents start to put together vaccine passport plans, two of Europe's cities that were hardest hit by overtourism have put together a manifesto for the tourism of the future. Florence and Venice's joint "Decalogo" -- literally a list of Ten Commandments -- has been sent to the Italian government. It outlines 10 things the authorities of the two cities want to see happen as thoughts turn towards the return of travel.
The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications devices, the top military official overseeing the strike told lawmakers on Thursday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of his congressional briefings.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information that could have endangered US troops through his use of Signal to discuss attack plans, a Pentagon watchdog said in an unclassified report released Thursday. It also details how Hegseth declined to cooperate with the probe.











