JAPAN LAUNCHES ROCKET CARRYING LUNAR LANDER AND X-RAY TELESCOPE TO EXPLORE ORIGINS OF UNIVERSE

Japan launched a rocket Thursday carrying an X-ray telescope that will explore the origins of the universe as well as a small lunar lander.

GOOGLE REACHES TENTATIVE SETTLEMENT WITH ALL 50 STATES OVER ALLEGED APP STORE MONOPOLY

All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have reached an agreement in principle with Google to settle a lawsuit filed in 2021 over the tech giant's alleged monopolistic control of app distribution for the software that runs most of the world's cellphones.

BATTERY PARTS MAKER ENTEK BREAKS GROUND ON $1.5B MANUFACTURING CAMPUS IN WESTERN INDIANA

Oregon-based battery parts producer Entek broke ground Wednesday on a $1.5 billion manufacturing campus in western Indiana that officials said will create more than 640 jobs and give a boost to Indiana's growing electric vehicle industry.

MICROSOFT TO STOP PACKAGING TEAMS AND OFFICE SOFTWARE IN EUROPE TO HEAD OFF EU ANTITRUST ACTION

Microsoft will stop packaging its Teams videoconferencing app with its Office software in Europe in an effort to head off antitrust penalties by regulators.

THE AVERAGE LONG-TERM US MORTGAGE RATE FELL TO 7.18% THIS WEEK, EASING FROM MORE THAN 20-YEAR HIGH

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate slipped after climbing for five consecutive weeks to a more than 20-year high, a modest relief for would-be home-buyers challenged by rising home prices and a thin inventory of homes on the market.

JCPENNEY IS SPENDING $1 BILLION ON STORE AND ONLINE UPGRADES IN LATEST BID TO REVIVE ITS BUSINESS

JCPenney said Thursday it plans to spend more than $1 billion by the end of 2025 in a bid to revive the storied but troubled 121-year-old department store chain.

VISUAL ARTISTS FIGHT BACK AGAINST AI COMPANIES FOR REPURPOSING THEIR WORK

Kelly McKernan’s acrylic and watercolor paintings are bold and vibrant, often featuring feminine figures rendered in bright greens, blues, pinks and purples. The style, in the artist’s words, is “surreal, ethereal ... dealing with discomfort in the human journey.”

T-MOBILE WILL LAY OFF 5,000 EMPLOYEES, OR ABOUT 7% OF ITS WORKFORCE, IN THE COMING WEEKS

Wireless carrier T-Mobile said it plans to cut 5,000 jobs, or about 7% of its workforce.

THE MATH PROBLEM: KIDS ARE STILL BEHIND. HOW CAN SCHOOLS CATCH THEM UP?

On a breezy July morning in South Seattle, a dozen elementary-aged students ran math relays behind an elementary school.

DENZEL WASHINGTON'S VIGILANTE BATTLES THE ITALIAN MAFIA IN 'EQUALIZER 3'

There’s an awful lot of talk about the end of movie stars considering Denzel Washington is right over here, walking around.

INDIA'S LUNAR ROVER KEEPS WALKING ON THE MOON, DAYS AFTER SPACECRAFT'S HISTORIC TOUCHDOWN

India’s lunar rover continued its walk on the moon after the historic touch-down of India’s spacecraft near the moon’s south pole last week, the country’s space agency said. The rover’s data collection and experiments could help determine if there is oxygen and hydrogen on the moon.

INDIA'S MOON ROVER CONFIRMS SULFUR AND DETECTS SEVERAL OTHER ELEMENTS NEAR THE LUNAR SOUTH POLE

India’s moon rover confirmed the presence of sulfur and detected several other elements near the lunar south pole as it searches for signs of frozen water nearly a week after its historic moon landing, India’s space agency said.

US ECONOMIC GROWTH FOR LAST QUARTER IS REVISED DOWN TO A 2.1% ANNUAL RATE

The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.1% annual pace from April through June, showing continued resilience in the face of higher borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, the government said this week in a downgrade from its initial estimate.

WHEN IT COMES TO THE HOLLYWOOD STRIKES, IT'S NOT JUST THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY THAT'S BEING HURT

The company had struggled for years, tossed around by pandemic-induced production shutdowns that began in March 2020. Last year, though, business for Valentino’s Costume Group had finally picked back up.

TO STOP WILDFIRES, RESIDENTS IN SOME GREEK SUBURBS PUT THEIR OWN MONEY TOWARD EARLY WARNING DRONES

The nightmare repeats itself every year: A towering wall of flames devours forests, farmland and homes, forcing animals and people to flee for their lives.

BEST USED ELECTRIC VEHICLES UNDER $25,000

Pricing for new electric vehicles can be daunting for many shoppers. But more and more EVs are becoming available on the used vehicle market, and that’s creating greater opportunities for buying a lower-priced used EV. There’s also a further incentive to purchase a used EV that costs less than $25,000 thanks to an available federal tax credit of up to $4,000.

FBI AND EUROPEAN PARTNERS SEIZE MAJOR MALWARE NETWORK IN BLOW TO GLOBAL CYBERCRIME

U.S. officials said this week that the FBI and its European partners infiltrated and seized control of a major global malware network used for more than 15 years to commit a gamut of online crimes including crippling ransomware attacks.

NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFESAVING CPR? A NEW STUDY SAYS IT'S PROBABLY WISE NOT TO ASK ALEXA, CORTANA, OR SIRI

Ask Alexa or Siri about the weather. But if you want to save someone’s life? Call 911 for that.

STARLINK - THE SPACEX SATELLITE NETWORK THAT WILL CONNECT EVERYTHING

In a world dependent on technology, Elon Musk is a name that often comes to mind. From X to Tesla, the entrepreneur has his fingers in a number of pies.

BROADBAND SUBSIDY PROGRAM THAT MILLIONS USE WILL EXPIRE NEXT YEAR IF CONGRESS DOESN'T ACT

One of the features that President Joe Biden cited in his plan to bring internet to every home and business in the United States by 2030 was affordability. But an important federal program established to keep broadband costs down for low-income households is set to expire next year.

HOW PAYPAL IS USING AI TO COMBAT FRAUD, AND MAKE IT EASIER TO PAY

Artificial intelligence has been the buzzword of 2023 ever since ChatGPT made its public debut earlier this year, with businesses, schools, universities and even non-profits looking for ways to integrate AI in their operations.

SOLAR PANELS TO SURROUND DULLES AIRPORT WILL DELIVER POWER TO 37,000 HOMES

Travelers taking off and landing at Dulles International Airport outside the nation's capital will soon see an array of 200,000 solar panels laid out near the runways the largest renewable energy project ever built at a U.S. airport.

MICROSOFT BUDGES ON VIDEO GAME STREAMING RIGHTS IN PUSH FOR UK TO APPROVE ACTIVISION BLIZZARD DEAL

British competition regulators opened a new investigation into Microsoft's revamped bid to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard, representing the last major hurdle to closing one of the biggest deals in tech history.

'GRAN TURISMO' MOVIE DRIFTS INTO CLICHES AND VIDEO GAME AESTHETICS

In 2006, a Nissan marketing executive had a truly insane idea to create a competition and an \"academy\" to turn gamers into race car drivers.

BUSINESS TYCOON CARLOS GHOSN'S RISE, FALL AND DRAMATIC ESCAPE IS SUBJECT OF NEW APPLE TV+ SERIES

Carlos Ghosn, the former rock star businessman who fell from grace and fled authorities smuggled in a music instrument box, is getting what his dramatic story deserves — a multi-part documentary series.

'BARBIE' FOR $4? NATIONAL CINEMA DAY IS COMING.WITH DISCOUNTED TICKETS NATIONWIDE 7

Still haven't seen \"Barbie\" or \"Oppenheimer\"? This Sunday, you'll be able to catch up for $4 a ticket in movie theaters nationwide.

INDIA LANDS A SPACECRAFT NEAR THE MOON'S SOUTH POLE, A FIRST FOR THE WORLD AS IT JOINS ELITE CLUB

India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon's south pole on Wednesday - a historic voyage to uncharted territory that scientists believe could hold vital reserves of frozen water, and a technological triumph for the world's most populous nation.

CHILDREN'S ADVOCATES ASK FTC TO INVESTIGATE GOOGLE FOR TARGETING ADS TO KIDS

Children's advocacy groups including Fairplay and Common Sense Media are asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Google, saying the tech giant serves personalized ads to kids on YouTube despite federal law prohibiting the practice.

WHITE HOUSE SCIENCE ADVISER CALLS FOR MORE SAFEGUARDS AGAINST ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RISKS

When President Joe Biden has questions about artificial intelligence, one expert he turns to is his science adviser Arati Prabhakar, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

GM'S CRUISE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE UNIT AGREES TO CUT FLEET IN HALF AFTER 2 CRASHES IN SAN FRANCISCO

General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle unit has agreed to cut its fleet of San Francisco robotaxis in half as authorities investigate two recent crashes in the city.