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A typical EV charger in the U.S. is a bulky, 6-foot-tall box in a parking lot. In Germany, a startup is rolling out a new type of charger that looks very different: Called the Curb Charger, it fits seamlessly inside a curb at the edge of a street. The Curb Charger upgrades existing urban infrastructure and adds hardly any additional street furniture to cities, says Felix Stracke, vice president of new mobility at Rheinmetall, the company that designed the charger. (Rheinmetalls primary business is defense manufacturingthe $80 billion company is the largest arms manufacturer in Germanybut it diversified into EV charging when it saw the opportunity for growth.) For an apartment dweller who parks their car on the street, having curbside charging suddenly makes it much easier to own an EV. Instead of driving to a store and waiting while the car charges, its possible to plug in overnight or when the car would otherwise be parked for hours. It also makes slow charging feasible, which helps EV batteries last longer and is less of a strain on the grid. [Photo: Rheinmetall] Larger chargers dont necessarily fit well on a curb. On a narrow sidewalk, they can take up too much space; they’re at more risk of vandalism; they can also block views and change the visual identity of a historic neighborhood. But the scaled-down design of the new chargers is nearly invisible. That invisibility is also a challenge, since drivers can’t quickly spot a charger. But an app can be deployed to direct someone to the nearest charging point. Other companies have taken different approaches to curbside charging, including making chargers that double as streetlights or packaging them in a sleek box that looks better than a conventional charger and is easier to install. [Photo: Rheinmetall] The Curb Charger sits inside a case that’s exactly the same size as a standard German curb. (The size can be adjusted for other locations.) It’s strong enough that a heavy truck can drive over it, and its waterproof, so the system can keep working in heavy rain. Drivers activate it through an app or by scanning a QR code. It does require that drivers have their own charging cord, though that’s standard in Europe. Rheinmetall says the equipment doesn’t cost more than a conventional charging station, and the small size means that installation can be simpler and cost less. If a charger needs repair, the charging module can be swapped out, making maintenance less expensive as well. When streets have major repairs, they could potentially be rebuilt with the hollow curb cases, ready to add the charging equipment as needed. In a yearlong pilot in the city of Cologne, the chargers were used nearly 3,000 times through all weather conditions, staying online 99% of the time. Users gave them high ratings. Now, Rheinmetall is scaling up production and beginning new installations in other cities.
Category:
E-Commerce
Sports-bar chain Hooters has abruptly closed a number of locations across multiple states as its bankruptcy process continues. The restaurant closures come just over two months after Hooters of America, LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March. At the time, the company did not announce any closures but said it was reviewing its “operational footprint.” Heres what you need to know about the latest Hooters restaurant closures. Which Hooters locations have closed? At least 23 Hooters restaurants appear to have recently closed, according to a Fast Company review of pre-recorded phone messages and Google listings. The locations have also been removed from the store locator tool on the Hooters website. The list was reported earlier by USA Today. The closures impact Hooters’ locations in at least 12 states. Florida Sanford Orlando (Kirkman Road) Kissimmee (Osceola Parkway) Melbourne (Babcock Street) Georgia Atlanta (Peachtree Road) Douglasville (Douglas Blvd) Duluth (Gwinnett Drive) Valdosta Indiana Indianapolis (US-31) Illinois Rockford Kentucky Newport Michigan Flint (Miller Road) Taylor Missouri St. Louis (7th Street) North Carolina Charlotte (South Blvd) South Carolina Columbia Rock Hill Tennessee Murfreesboro Memphis (Peabody Pl) Nashville (Largo Drive) Texas Grapevine Houston (Farm to Market 1960 Road) San Marcos USA Today has also noted that two additional storesFort Smith, Arkansas, and Madison, Wisconsinhave been delisted from the Hooters website, suggesting their closures. What has Hooters said about the restaurant closures? Fast Company has reached out to Hooters of America for comment on the reported closures and to ask for a full list and closure dates. We will update this post if we hear back. In a statement to USA Today, the company said that the closures were of company-owned stores and were a “difficult decision. ‘Here to stay’ When it announced its bankruptcy in March 2025, Hooters of America published an FAQ about the restructuring, with one point stating that Hooters was here to stay.” However, as Fast Company reported at the time, the companys press release on the matter left open the possibility that Hooters of America may indeed shutter locations as the bankruptcy process continued. As part of the Companys broader business transformation and planning, Hooters is evaluating the Companys operational footprint as part of its financial restructuring process to position itself to invest its resources in its strongest assets moving forward, the company stated in the release. It now appears that the company has indeed evaluated its operational footprint and has decided it is necessary for some stores to close. Why did Hooters file for bankruptcy? Its important to note that while in March there were 410 Hooters restaurants in 38 states and 24 countries, they arent all owned by the same company. In America, many are owned by Hooters of America, which also owns the Hooters brand. However, the remainder of the locations in America are operated by franchisees, including Hooters Inc., which is one of the largest franchisees of the Hooters brand. Hooters Inc. is owned by the brand’s original co-founders. It’s Hooters of America that sought bankruptcy protection and not Hooters Inc. or any other Hooters franchisee. As part of its bankruptcy process, Hooters of America plans to divest its ownership of physical Hooters stores and sell many of them to existing franchisees. Hooters of America, LLC will then continue to operate as essentially a licensing company. It will strictly license its restaurants to franchisees and will cease operating locations directly. Hooters transition from a partially directly owned restaurant chain to an entirely franchise-owned model comes after Hooters of America has faced struggles for years. Many restaurant chains, including Red Lobster, Tijuana Flats, Buca di Beppo, and Roti, have turned to bankruptcy as they have faced similar struggles. Those struggles include higher costs due to inflationary pressures as well as reduced foot traffic from cost-conscious consumers cutting back on discretionary spending, such as dining out. Hooters of America, LLC says it expects its bankruptcy proceeding to wrap up this summer. On June 10, the company will attend a conditional disclosure statement hearing and will face several additional hearings throughout the summer until August.
Category:
E-Commerce
To attract the brightest minds to America, President Donald Trump proposed a novel idea while campaigning: If elected, he would grant green cards to all foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges.“It’s so sad when we lose people from Harvard, MIT, from the greatest schools,” Trump said during a podcast interview last June. “That is going to end on Day One.”That promise never came to pass. Trump’s stance on welcoming foreign students has shifted dramatically. International students have found themselves at the center of an escalating campaign to kick them out or keep them from coming as his administration merges a crackdown on immigration with an effort to reshape higher education.An avalanche of policies from the Trump administrationsuch as terminating students’ ability to study in the U.S., halting all new student visa interviews and moving to block foreign enrollment at Harvardhave triggered lawsuits, countersuits and confusion. Foreign students say they feel targeted on multiple fronts. Late Wednesday, Trump himself took the latest action against international students, signing an executive order barring nearly all foreigners from entering the country to attend Harvard.In interviews, students from around the world described how it feels to be an international student today in America. Their accounts highlight pervasive feelings of fear, anxiety and insecurity that have made them more cautious in their daily lives, distracted them from schoolwork and prompted many to cancel trips home because they fear not being allowed to return.For many, the last few months have forced them to rethink their dreams of building a life in America. A standout student from Latvia feels ‘expendable’ Markuss Saule, a freshman at Brigham Young University-Idaho, took a recent trip home to Latvia and spent the entire flight back to the U.S. in a state of panic.For hours, he scrubbed his phone, uninstalling all social media, deleting anything that touched on politics or could be construed as anti-Trump.“That whole 10-hour flight, where I was debating, ‘Will they let me in?’it definitely killed me a little bit,” said Saule, a business analytics major. “It was terrifying.”Saule is the type of international student the U.S. has coveted. As a high schooler in Latvia, he qualified for a competitive, merit-based exchange program funded by the U.S. State Department. He spent a year of high school in Minnesota, falling in love with America and a classmate who is now his fiancee. He just ended his freshman year in college with a 4.0 GPA.But the alarm he felt on that flight crushed what was left of his American dream.“If you had asked me at the end of 2024 what my plans were, it was to get married, find a great job here in the U.S. and start a family,” said Saule, who hopes to work as a business data analyst. “Those plans are not applicable anymore. Ask me now, and the plan to leave this place as soon as possible.”Saule and his fiancee plan to marry this summer, graduate a year early and move to Europe.This spring the Trump administration abruptly revoked permission to study in the U.S. for thousands of international students before reversing itself. A federal judge has blocked further status terminations, but for many, the damage is done. Saule has a constant fear he could be next.As a student in Minnesota just three years ago, he felt like a proud ambassador for his country.“Now I feel a sense of inferiority. I feel that I am expendable, that I am purely an appendage that is maybe getting cut off soon,” he said. Trump’s policies carry a clear subtext. “The policies, what they tell me is simple. It is one word: Leave.” From dreaming of working at NASA to ‘doomscrolling’ job listings in India A concern for attracting the world’s top students was raised in the interview Trump gave last June on the podcast “All-In.” Can you promise, Trump was asked, to give companies more ability “to import the best and brightest” students?“I do promise,” Trump answered. Green cards, he said, would be handed out with diplomas to any foreign student who gets a college or graduate degree.Trump said he knew stories of “brilliant” graduates who wanted to stay in the U.S. to work but couldn’t. “They go back to India, they go back to China” and become multi-billionaires, employing thousands of people. “That is going to end on Day One.”Had Trump followed through with that pledge, a 24-year-old Indian physics major named Avi would not be afraid of losing everything he has worked toward.After six years in Arizona, where Avi attended college and is now working as an engineer, the U.S. feels like a second home. He dreams of working at NASA or in a national lab and staying in America where he has several relatives.But now he is too afraid to fly to Chicago to see them, rattled by news of foreigners being harassed at immigration centers and airports.“Do I risk seeing my family or risk deportation?” said Avi, who asked to be identified by his first name, fearing retribution.Avi is one of about 240,000 people on student visas in the U.S. on Optional Practical Traininga postgraduation period where students are authorized to work in fields related to their degrees for up to three years. A key Trump nominee has said he would like to see an end to postgraduate work authorization for international students.Avi’s visa is valid until next year but he feels “a massive amount of uncertainty.”He wonders if he can sign a lease on a new apartment. Even his daily commute feels different.“I drive to work every morning, 10 miles an hour under speed limit to avoid getting pulled over,” said Avi, who hopes to stay in the U.S. but is casting a wider net. “I spend a lot of time doomscrolling job listings in India and other places.” A Ukrainian chose college in America over joining the fight at homefor now Vladyslav Plyaka came to the U.S. from Ukraine as an exchange student in high school. As war broke out at home, he stayed to attend the University of Wisconsin.He was planning to visit Poland to see his mother but if he leaves the U.S., he would need to reapply for a visa. He doesn’t know when that will be possible now that visa appointments are suspended, and he doesn’t feel safe leaving the country anyway.He feels grateful for the education, but without renewing his visa, he’ll be stuck in the U.S. at least two more years while he finishes his degree. He sometimes wonders if he would be willing to risk leaving his education in the United Statessomething he worked for years to achieveif something hppened to his family.“It’s hard because every day I have to think about my family, if everything is going to be all right,” he said.It took him three tries to win a scholarship to study in the U.S. Having that cut short because of visa problems would undermine the sacrifice he made to be here. He sometimes feels guilty that he isn’t at home fighting for his country, but he knows there’s value in gaining an education in America.“I decided to stay here just because of how good the college education is,” he said. “If it was not good, I probably would be on the front lines.” AP Education Writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report. The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Jocelyn Gecker, AP Education Writer
Category:
E-Commerce
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