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As the restaurant industry endured another difficult year, many chains opted to close underperforming locations as they try to turn around their businesses.Inflation-weary consumers have pulled back their restaurant spending, choosing to eat at home or chasing deals when they go out for a meal. While some restaurants have won over reluctant diners, the industry has largely struggled with the sales slump. Traffic to restaurants open at least a year fell every month in 2025, excluding only July, according to Black Box Intelligence. In years past, restaurant closures have been more concentrated across casual-dining chains, which lost customers to fast-casual…

GameSir is no stranger to experimenting with unique controller features — its Tarantula Pro can automatically swap its face button labels to accommodate alternate layouts, and its Pocket 1 clamps Game Boy controls onto your phone. What sets its new Swift Drive controller apart is a small steering wheel located smack-dab in the middle of the gamepad that’s connected to what GameSir calls the “world’s smallest direct drive motor” providing force feedback effects for racing games.Pricing and availability hasn’t been announced yet, but GameSir has revealed plenty of details about the Swift Drive’s features and functionality. The steering wheel uses…

Ben SolakDec 30, 2025, 06:55 AM ETCloseBen Solak joined ESPN in 2024 as a national NFL analyst. He previously covered the NFL at The Ringer, Bleeding Green Nation and The Draft Network.With one week and only a few meaningful regular-season games left in the 2025 NFL regular season, it’s the right time to summarize some seasonlong performances. MVPs and All-Pro lists will be debated for the next month, but I wanted to build first- and second-team All-Rookie rosters to highlight standout debut seasons before the playoff field is set and we turn our eyes to the race to Super Bowl…

Comparing Our Favorite Digital NotebooksOur Favorite Smart PensNeo Smartpen M1+ for $129: Skip the tablet and write directly on paper with a smart pen instead. The Neo Smartpen M1+ is the thinnest and lightest of all the pens I tried, which makes it feel a bit more like your standard pen. Importantly, it’s comfortable to hold and use. You should be able to find whatever size and style of notebook you need as well as planners. The Neo Studio app (iOS, Android) is nice, with an easy-to-navigate notebook system and the ability to search for pages by page number or…

It’s not always easy to marry your haircut to your glasses, but when you do find the right cut, it’s the perfect way to enhance them. Celebrity stylist Larry King recommends taking your specs to your hair appointment: “That way, your stylist can adapt and personalize your cut to your face when you’re wearing glasses, and when you aren’t. In long hair, for example, it might be a case of adding some face-framing layers, so that when you pull your hair up, there are softer pieces that fall down.”It’s especially important to have your glasses with you when it comes…

Every year, TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield pitch contest draws thousands of applicants. We whittle those applications down to the top 200 contenders, and of them, the top 20 compete on the big stage to become the winner, taking home the Startup Battlefield Cup and a cash prize of $100,000. But the remaining 180 startups all blew us away as well in their respective categories and compete in their own pitch competition. Here is the full list of the consumer/edtech Startup Battlefield 200 selectees, along with a note on why they landed in the competition.  Ahoi  What it does: Helps people find places that are…

It’s always interesting and fun to look at the common-thread players on fantasy’s championship teams. Here are the 10 players most commonly found on title-winning squads in Yahoo Fantasy Public Leagues in 2025 (kickers and defenses were left off this list).1. Bijan Robinson on 27.35% of championship rostersRobinson saved his best game of the year for the fantasy finals (37.4 points), and he was the leading scorer among non-quarterbacks in the fantasy playoffs. He’s still a month shy of his 24th birthday; this plane is just taking off.Advertisement2. Christian McCaffrey (25.67%)He was the RB4 for the fantasy playoffs and the…

Enterprises have been piloting and testing different AI tools for the past few years to figure out what their adoption strategy will look like. Investors think that period of experimentation is coming to an end. TechCrunch recently surveyed 24 enterprise-focused VCs and an overwhelming majority predicted enterprises will increase their budgets for AI in 2026 — but not for everything. Most investors said this budget increase will be concentrated, and that many enterprises will spend more funds on fewer contracts. Andrew Ferguson, a vice president at Databricks Ventures, predicted 2026 will be the year that enterprises start consolidating their investments…

SoftBank has completed its $40 billion investment commitment to OpenAI, sources told CNBC’s David Faber. The Japanese investment giant sent over a final $22 billion to $22.5 billion last week, according to sources familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named in order to discuss details of the transaction. SoftBank had previously syndicated $10 billion and invested $8 billion in the ChatGPT maker. The investment takes SoftBank’s stake in the company above 10%. CNBC reported in February that the company was finalizing a $40 billion investment in the Sam Altman-run startup at a $260 billion pre-money valuation. At…

When making mocktails, Gullickson is more concerned with enjoyment than perfection. “Don’t worry about making your drink perfect,” she says. “Worry about making it yours, and if you don’t have a specific ingredient, use what’s in the fridge; that’s okay! Sip, experiment, and trust yourself.”All The BitterAlcohol-Free Aromatic Bitters NSGiffardNon-Alcoholic Elderflower LiqueurGlasswareDon’t skimp on glassware; the sort of thoughtful attention to detail pays off. “If you want a nonalcoholic bar to feel intentional and elevated, the accessories matter just as much as the beverages,” says Gurland.Sheinbaum is all for leaving the water glasses in the cabinet and reaching for something…