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Travel experts warn against one tipping habit while visiting popular vacation spots
For American travelers, tipping may feel second nature — but in Europe, that instinct can backfire.
While navigating new currencies and customs, small gestures like leaving loose change on the table may not translate well, travel expert Rick Steves warns.
“You’re just raising the bar and messing up the local balance,” Steves wrote in a blog post. “And it’s bad style.”
And in busy settings, “the wrong party might pocket the change,” Steves warned.
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In countries like Germany, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg, plus parts of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, tipping with coins can even be perceived as rude, according to Mashed.
The expectation differs from the U.S., where servers often rely on tips to supplement low base wages — a dynamic that, along with constant digital tipping prompts, has fueled growing frustration. Nearly nine in 10 Americans say tipping culture is “out of control,” Fox News Digital recently reported.
But in Europe, where servers are paid a living wage, tipping is not a necessity and handing over a handful of small coins may come across as dismissive.
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“It is not always the amount alone that shapes the impression,” said LaDell Carter, founding partner of Royal Expression Travels in Maryland. “It is the presentation and the intention behind it,” she told Fox News Digital.
Carter added that in more refined settings, particularly, scattered coins can feel like an afterthought.
That doesn’t mean travelers should abandon tipping altogether.
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Steves advises a simple, face-to-face approach that is especially appropriate in Germanic countries, where leaving coins behind is frowned upon. When settling a 10-euro bill with a 20-euro note, say “Eleven, please,” signaling the server to keep 1 euro as a tip and return the rest in change.
When percentages are used, they’re modest by American standards. Around 5% is considered adequate, while 10% is generous, according to Steves. In fact, tipping 15% to 20% can be seen as excessive. “Resist the urge to tip American-style,” he advises.
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Payment method also matters. While card payments are widely accepted, tips are often best given in cash to ensure they go directly to the server, as some businesses may not pass along card-based gratuities in full.
Steves also recommends skipping tips at casual counter-service spots, rounding up taxi fares and giving small tips to guides and hotel staff.
It’s important to keep in mind that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work in Europe, said Steve Schwab, Arizona-based CEO of Casago, a vacation rental and property management company.
“It can vary from one country to the next, so we can’t exactly generalize it as ‘European tipping culture,'” Schwab told Fox News Digital.
“In general, the Nordic countries are the ones where tipping is least expected, largely because they are known for paying high wages and/or including service charges in their bills already,” he added.
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Experts also recommend reviewing the bill carefully, checking for built-in service charges and observing local customs before deciding what to leave. When it doubt, don’t be afraid to ask the locals for country-specific norms.
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Hawks’ late-second heave is too late as Knicks hang on for win
The Atlanta Hawks were about a half-second away from tying their game against the New York Knicks and forcing overtime on Monday night.
The Hawks were inbounding the ball underneath the basket on the far side of the court. The ball came to C.J. McCollum, who took two dribbles and threw up a prayer near halfcourt. The ball banked off the backboard and into the basket as the buzzer sounded.
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Fans at the State Farm Arena went wild as it appeared McCollum tied the game. However, officials reviewed the play and it was determined that the veteran guard got the ball out of his hands a little too late.
New York won the game, 108-105.
Knicks head coach Mike Brown explained why he didn’t instruct the team to foul at the end instead of risking a possible game-tying scenario.
“It’s tricky. If he misses it, obviously it’s a long heave. But if you foul him on the rebound or you foul him when he’s turning to heave it now they get three free throws,” he said, via the New York Post. “It’s something we’ve talked about before — it’s still a toss-up situation. … The whole thing was at worst they’ll tie it and we’ll go to overtime. Lesson learned on a couple possessions down the stretch.”
Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who made two free throws to give the team a three-point lead with a second left to play, led the team with 30 points and 13 assists. Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
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It was Atlanta’s first home loss since early February, ending the team’s 13-game home winning streak.
Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 36 points in the loss. Jalen Johnson added 21 points and 11 rebounds, notching his 48th double-double of the season.
New York and Atlanta could potentially meet in the postseason as they’re jockeying for seeding ahead of the playoffs. The Knicks are 51-28 and currently third in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks fell to 45-34 and are currently fifth in the East.
Atlanta is only 1.5 games up on the Toronto Raptors for their spot.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Artemis II astronaut tells Trump what communication blackout was like: ‘I said a little prayer’
The Artemis II literally went where no man, or woman, has gone before in an historic trek around the dark side of the moon Monday, and the crew did it with pilot Victor Glover making quick request for divine assistance.
“I’d like to ask, what was your feeling when you had no communication?” President Donald Trump asked in a call arranged by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman from Houston mission control to “Integrity,” the crew’s chosen name for the Orion capsule. “Zero communication all of a sudden: It was cut off by obviously your very special location; what was your feeling when you had no communication? A little bit different perhaps.”
“Yes, Mr. President, it was,” Glover replied. “I said a little prayer, but then I had to keep rolling.”
The prayer was quick, because when things went dark, the crew had to get to work during the 45-minute communications outage.
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“I was actually recording scientific observations of the far side of the moon,” Glover continued. “You know, that is actually the time when we were the farthest and the closest to the moon.
“And so we were really able to make some of our most detailed observations of the far side of the moon up close. And so we were busy up here working really hard. And I must say it was actually quite nice.”
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Trump drilled down on the observations.
“Did you see a difference, a big difference between the far side of the moon and the near side of the moon?” Trump asked. “Was there a difference in feel or difference in look, what did you see?”
The lack of light “certainly did” change the perspective, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen said, noting the far side looked strikingly different from the near side, with far fewer of the dark plains visible from Earth.
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“The gravitational pull of the Earth has had a profound effect on the near side of the moon, changing all those dark mares, those dark patches of the moon you see from Earth. It’s very different on the far side.
“While you see some small patches of those mare and deep craters, it’s very much absent on that side. So that’s really neat.”
Hansen also took a moment to thank Trump on behalf of Canada, a country that has had at-times testy dealings with Trump.
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“And while I have the microphone, sir, I just want to thank you on behalf of Canada: The space leadership you spoke of from America truly is extraordinary,” Hansen said. “I’ve said this many times before, a nation that leads like that and creates and sets big goals for humanity, that brings other countries along with it, is truly incredible.
“And I know that’s a very intentional, not a necessary decision, intentional decision to lead by example and to allow other countries like Canada to share our gifts and help you achieve these mutually beneficial goals, like establishing a presence on the moon and eventually going to Mars.
“And Canadians are so proud to be a part of this program.”
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Trump referenced Canadian hockey great Wayne Gretzky and said the country is proud of Hansen’s bravery.
“They are so proud of you, and you have a lot of courage,” Trump said. “I’m not sure if they’d want to do that. I’m not even sure if The Great One would want to do that, to be honest with you. But you have a lot of courage doing what you’re doing, a lot of bravery and a lot of of genius. But they’re very, very proud of you.”
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Mission specialist Christina Koch spoke about regaining sight of Earth after the blackout and the importance of U.S. leadership in deep-space exploration.
“One of the biggest highlights was coming back from the far side of the moon and having the first glimpses of planet Earth again, after being out of communication for about 45 minutes,” said Koch, the first woman to the moon, who already holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (328 days) and was part of the first all-female spacewalk.
“It really just reminds you what a special place we have and how important it is for our nation to work, to lead and not follow in exploring deep space.”
Commander Reid Wiseman told Trump the crew had witnessed views that were first sights for humanity, including a solar corona during an eclipse and planets lining up beyond the moon.
“We saw sights hat no human has ever seen before, not even in Apollo, and that was amazing for us,” Wiseman said. “And then the surprise of the day, we just came out of an eclipse where the sun, moon — the entire dark moon about that big right out the window that we were watching — we could see the corona of the sun, and then we could see the planet train line up, and Mars.
“And all of us commented how excited we are to watch this nation, and this planet become a two-planet species.”
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White House unleashes on Stacey Abrams in latest clash over Trump’s election order
The White House tore into Democrat activist and failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Monday after she argued President Donald Trump‘s executive order seeking to rein in mail-in voting was “illegal.”
“Has Stacey Abrams conceded the multiple elections she lost yet or is she still pretending to be Governor?” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “Election integrity has always been a top priority for President Trump, and the American people sent him back to the White House because they overwhelmingly supported his commonsense election integrity agenda.”
The comment was in response to Abrams, who said during an appearance on MS NOW over the weekend that Trump’s order would disenfranchise voters, resurfacing long-held tensions with the president amid his latest push to enhance voter security ahead of the midterms. Abrams previously ran for Georgia governor twice and refused to formally concede her 2018 election.
“It is patently illegal, and it is entirely in the playbook of voter suppression that Republicans, including Donald Trump, have been using for the last decade or so,” Abrams said.
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Trump’s order, called “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” directs the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration, in coordination with state leaders, to create a list of citizens, and then directed the U.S. Postal Service to only deliver mail-in ballots to people on the list.
“The president will do everything in his power to defend the safety and security of American elections and to ensure that only American citizens are voting in them – that’s only controversial for Democrats like Stacey,” Jackson added.
Abrams founded Fair Fight Action after her 2018 loss to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, saying Georgia’s election system suppressed voters. The group was later ordered to reimburse the state more than $200,000 in legal costs after an unsuccessful lawsuit.
Separately, Abrams-linked advocacy groups have faced campaign-finance and nonprofit-compliance scrutiny, including a Georgia Ethics Commission case involving the New Georgia Project and a 2025 IRS complaint targeting Fair Fight Action.
Abrams has since criticized Republican-led voting initiatives at the federal and state level as relics of the Jim Crow era and designed to disenfranchise racial minorities.
“The Constitution gives to the states the authority to determine how elections are held,” Abrams said. “What the Republican regime is upset about is that democracy has been working.”
Trump criticized Abrams as far back as 2018 over her stance on voting, accusing her of wanting “illegal aliens to vote.” Abrams “opposed requiring proof of American citizenship at the ballot box,” Trump said at the time.
Trump has long argued that noncitizen voting, which is illegal, is a widespread problem in U.S. elections. In addition to his executive order, Trump has urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act before the 2026 elections to impose a physical identification requirement on people registering to vote, though it lacks the needed support from Democratic senators to advance in the upper chamber.
While the White House has framed Trump’s executive order as an effort to bolster election integrity, Abrams and other critics argued it intruded on state authority and would unfairly suppress votes.
“The biggest risk for Americans right now is that we see these as piecemeal, and we don’t recognize it’s part of a pattern,” Abrams said. “This is step 10 in an authoritarian playbook. You end democracy.”
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Abrams also alleged that the executive order would serve to create a master list of voters, effectively usurping state control over voter registration lists and federalizing elections.
“The creation of a database … should terrify all of us,” Abrams said. “That is an attempt to do national surveillance.”
In addition to Abrams’ criticisms, roughly two dozen states and voting rights groups filed lawsuits seeking to block the executive order, arguing Trump’s directives violated the Constitution by encroaching on states’ authority to administer elections.
Fox News Digital reached out to an Abrams representative for comment.
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