CATEGORIES

LOVE IT OR HATE IT.SELF-CHECKOUT IS HERE TO STAY. BUT IT'S GOING THROUGH TA RECKONING

The promise of self-checkout was alluring: Customers could avoid long lines by scanning and bagging their own items, workers could be freed of doing those monotonous tasks themselves and retailers could save on labor costs.

KANSAS COURTS' COMPUTER SYSTEMS ARE STARTING TO COME BACK ONLINE.2 MONTHS AFTER CYBERATTACK

The court system in Kansas has started bringing its computer system for managing cases back online, two months after a foreign cyberattack forced officials to shut it down along with public access to documents and other systems, the judicial branch announced.

GOOD NEWS FOR LATE HOLIDAY SHOPPERS: RETAILERS ARE IMPROVING THEIR DELIVERY SPEEDS

Haven't ordered any of your holiday gifts yet?

A GROUP REPRESENTING TIKTOK, META, AND X SUES UTAH OVER STRICT NEW LIMITS ON APP USE FOR MINORS

A trade group that represents TikTok and other major tech companies sued Utah this week over its first-in-the-nation laws requiring children and teens to obtain parental consent to use social media apps.

Taylor Swift

THE RECORD-BREAKER OF THE YEAR ACROSS STREAMING & STADIUMS

US TREASURY DEPARTMENT ISSUES GUIDELINES AROUND A NEW TAX CREDIT FOR SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL

The Biden administration released long-awaited guidance around tax credits for aviation fuel that reduces emissions of greenhouse gases compared with fuel made from crude oil.

WHITE HOUSE BACKS INDUSTRY EFFORT TO STANDARDIZE TESLA'S EV CHARGING PLUGS

The White House is lending its support to an auto industry effort to standardize Tesla's electric vehicle charging plugs for all EVs in the United States, part of a broad effort to stimulate their sales to help combat climate change.

CALIFORNIA IS SET TO BECOME 2ND STATE TO OK RULES FOR TURNING WASTEWATER INTO DRINKING WATER

When a toilet is flushed in California, the water can end up in a lot of places - the ice in a skating rink, the manufactured snow on ski slopes, in pipes providing irrigation for farmland. And - coming soon - in your drinking glass.

GOOGLE WILL PAY $700M IN ANTITRUST SETTLEMENT REACHED WITH STATES BEFORE RECENT PLAY STORE TRIAL LOSS

Google has agreed to pay $700 million and make several other concessions to settle allegations that it had been stifling competition against its Android app store — the same issue that went to trial in a another case that could result in even bigger changes.

2023: THE YEAR WE PLAYED WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND WEREN'T SURE WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

Artificial intelligence went mainstream in 2023 — it was a long time coming yet has a long way to go for the technology to match people’s science fiction fantasies of human-like machines.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES OWNERS AND SOLAR ROOFTOPS FIND MUTUAL ATTRACTION

When Jim Selgo moved to his home in Goodyear, Arizona in 2019, he quickly had rooftop solar installed, having had a positive experience with solar at his previous home.

More Americans Are Expected to 'Buy Now, Pay Later' for the Holidays. Analysts See a Growing Risk

Consumers are expected to use “buy now, pay later” payment plans heavily this holiday season, a forecast that bodes well for retailers but that has credit experts again sounding alarm bells.

EUROPE REACHES A DEAL ON THE WORLD'S FIRST COMPREHENSIVE AI RULES

European Union negotiators clinched a deal on the world's first comprehensive artificial intelligence rules, paving the way for legal oversight of AI technology that has promised to transform everyday life and spurred warnings of existential dangers to humanity.

US AGENCY TAKES FIRST STEP TOWARD REQUIRING NEW VEHICLES TO PREVENT DRUNK OR IMPAIRED DRIVING

U.S. auto safety regulators say they have taken the first step toward requiring devices in vehicles that prevent drunk or impaired driving.

HOLIDAY CROWDS AT AIRPORTS AND ON HIGHWAYS ARE EXPECTED TO BE EVEN BIGGER THAN LAST YEAR

More Americans are expected to fly or drive far from home over Christmas than did last year, putting a cap on a busy year for travel.

WHAT DID YOU GOOGLE IN 2023? 'BARBIE.' ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR ARE AMONG THE YEAR'S TOP INTERNET SEARCHES

Your Google search history for 2023 has arrived.

'LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND' IS A TERRIFIC BLEND OF THRILLER, DISASTER AND SATIRE

Imagine that it's close to midnight and there's a knock at the door of your luxurious weekend rental home. A man is standing there, calmly apologizing.

PEW SURVEY: YOUTUBE TOPS TEENS' SOCIAL-MEDIA DIET, WITH ROUGHLY A SIXTH USING IT ALMOST CONSTANTLY

Teen usage of social media hasn't dropped much, despite rising concerns about its effects on the mental health of adolescents, a survey from the Pew Research Institute found.

EPIC WINS ITS ANTITRUST LAWSUIT AGAINST THE PLAY STORE. WHAT DOES THIS VERDICT MEAN FOR GOOGLE?

Google lost an antitrust lawsuit over barriers to its Android app store, as a federal court jury has decided that the company's payments system was anticompetitive and damaged smartphone consumers and software developers.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SAYS NEW HAMPSHIRE COMPUTER CHIP PLANT THE FIRST TO GET FUNDING FROM CHIPS LAW

This would be the initial allocation of incentives from last year's bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which provides more than $52 billion to boost the development and manufacturing of semiconductors in the United States.

AWS CHIEF ADAM SELIPSKY TALKS GENERATIVE AI, AMAZON'S INVESTMENT IN ANTHROPIC AND CLOUD COST CUTTING

Adam Selipsky is shepherding Amazon's cloud unit at one of the most important moments in tech history.

MAINE IS CONSIDERING CALIFORNIA-STYLE INCENTIVES TO ENCOURAGE ELECTRIC VEHICLE SALES

Maine environmental regulators are set to decide next week whether the state should join others in adopting California-style regulations to drastically limit the sale of new gas-powered vehicles.

WHAT IS CARBON CAPTURE AND WHY DOES IT KEEP COMING UP AT COP28?

The future of fossil fuels is at the center of the United Nations climate summit in Dubai, where many activists, experts and nations are calling for an agreement to phase out the oil, gas and coal responsible for warming the planet.

NEW YORK PLEDGES $1B ON CHIP RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN ALBANY IN BID FOR JOBS, FEDERAL GRANTS

New York state will spend $1 billion to expand research into chip technology in Albany, the state's capital, with the goal of turning the region into a global center of semiconductor research and manufacturing, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this week.

iOS Journal

THE NEW APP FOR WRITING ABOUT MOMENTS & OPTIMIZING YOUR TIME

WHAT TESLA AUTOPILOT DOES, WHY IT'S BEING RECALLED AND HOW THE COMPANY PLANS TO FIX IT

Tesla introduced Autopilot software in October of 2015 with CEO Elon Musk heralding it as a profound experience for people.

FDA APPROVES 2 GENE THERAPIES FOR SICKLE CELL. ONE IS THE FIRST TO USE THE EDITING TOOL CRISPR

Regulators approved two gene therapies for sickle cell disease that doctors hope can cure the painful, inherited blood disorder that afflicts mostly Black people in the U.S.

IN HYPOCHONDRIA PARADOX, SWEDISH STUDY FINDS A HIGHER DEATH RATE IN THOSE WHO FEAR SERIOUS ILLNESS

A large Swedish study has uncovered a paradox about people diagnosed with an excessive fear of serious illness: They tend to die earlier than people who aren't hypervigilant about health concerns.

WHAT SMALL BUSINESSES NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NEW REGULATIONS GOING INTO 2024

Regulations are a double-edged sword. They're created to improve business dealings, discourage unfair or illegal business activity, and protect workers.

2023: THE YEAR WE PLAYED WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND WEREN'T SURE WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

Artificial intelligence went mainstream in 2023 - it was a long time coming yet has a long way to go for the technology to match people's science fiction fantasies of human-like machines.