CATEGORIES

SAMSUNG SCION LEE WON'T APPEAL PRISON SENTENCE FOR BRIBERY

Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong and prosecutors have decided not to appeal a court ruling that convicted him for bribing South Korea’s former president for business favors, confirming a prison term of two and a half years for the country’s most influential corporate leader, according to lawyers and court officials.

RIGHT AT HOME: SPACE-THEMED DECOR BRINGS THE HEAVENS INDOORS

It was a tough year here on Earth, but 2020 was a bright spot for space exploration. SpaceX sent its futuristic Starship to new heights, three countries launched Mars missions, and robots grabbed debris from the moon and an asteroid.

MOBILE LABS TAKE VACCINE STUDIES TO DIVERSE NEIGHBORHOODS

Lani Muller doesn’t have to visit a doctor’s office to help test an experimental COVID-19 vaccine — she just climbs into a bloodmobile-like van that parks on a busy street near her New York City neighborhood.

WIDESPREAD INTERNET OUTAGES HIT NORTHEAST U.S.

Internet users across the northeast U.S. experienced widespread outages for several hours Tuesday, interrupting work and school because of an unspecified Verizon network issue.

PRO PHOTO: UNLEASH THE POTENTIAL OF THE IPHONE 12 CAMERA SYSTEM

Apple made a serious leap forward with the iPhone in 2020 introducing a raft of new features like a stunning new design, 5G connectivity, MagSafe charging, and super-spec cameras.

GOOGLE SAYS NORTH KOREA BACKED HACKERS SOUGHT CYBER RESEARCH

Google says it believes hackers backed by the North Korean government have been posing as computer security bloggers and using fake accounts on social media while attempting to steal information from researchers in the field.

MICROSOFT KEEPS CHUGGING AS PANDEMIC CONTINUES

As the pandemic raged through the U.S., Microsoft’s business continued chugging ahead and beat Wall Street expectations for the last three months of 2020, powered by ongoing demand for its workplace software and cloud computing services as people worked from home.

BALLY'S, CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT ADD DAILY FANTASY SPORT DEALS

Two major casino companies announced deals with daily fantasy sports providers as they seek to expand their reach and integrate different forms of fan engagement with professional sports into their gambling operations.

iPad: Refining The World's Most Popular Tablet

iPad has long been one of Apple’s most successful product categories, and following upgrades to the iPad Pro and iPad mini earlier in the year, Apple used its September Event to unveil the next-generation iPad and iPad Air, taking its tablet portfolio to even greater heights.

RIP: MARS DIGGER BITES THE DUST AFTER 2 YEARS ON RED PLANET

NASA declared the Mars digger dead after failing to burrow deep into the red planet to take its temperature.

TEENS TUTOR PEERS ONLINE TO FILL NEED DURING PANDEMIC

When her suburban Dallas high school was forced to move online last spring because of the coronavirus pandemic, Charvi Goyal realized that the schoolmates she’d been informally tutoring between classes would still need extra help but wouldn’t necessarily be able to get it. So she took her tutoring online, as well.

HIGH-TECH INDOOR FARMER APPHARVEST STARTS SHIPPING TOMATOES

AppHarvest — an indoor farming company backed by Martha Stewart — thinks the agriculture sector is ripe for disruption. And now, its tomatoes are ripe for eating.

US BLACKLISTS XIAOMI, CNOOC, SKYRIZON, RAISING HEAT ON CHINA

The U.S. government has blacklisted Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. and China’s third-largest national oil company for alleged military links, heaping pressure on Beijing in President Donald Trump’s last week in office.

TALK SAFER: APPS TAKE PRIVACY FIGHT TO FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE

As messaging giant WhatsApp prepares to hand over more data to Facebook, users are flocking to rival services in protest, with Signal jumping from 250,000 downloads on the App Store a week to almost 10 million.

JACK'S BACK: CHINESE E-TYCOON ENDS SILENCE WITH ONLINE VIDEO

China’s highest-profile entrepreneur, Jack Ma, appeared this week in an online video, ending a 2 1/2-month absence from public view that prompted speculation about the future of the e-commerce billionaire and his Alibaba Group.

GOOGLE MUSCLES UP WITH FITBIT DEAL AMID ANTITRUST CONCERNS

Google has completed its $2.1 billion acquisition of fitness-gadget maker Fitbit, a deal that could help the internet company grow even stronger while U.S. government regulators pursue an antitrust case aimed at undermining its power.

GM TEAMS UP WITH MICROSOFT ON DRIVERLESS CARS

General Motors is teaming up with Microsoft to accelerate its rollout of electric, self-driving cars.

EU FINES VIDEO GAME FIRMS FOR BLOCKING CROSS-BORDER SALES

The European Union has issued fines to a U.S. video game platform and five game makers after they blocked players from buying cheaper copies of the games in other countries in the bloc.

CANADA OKS RETURN OF BOEING 737 MAX AIRCRAFT

The Boeing 737 Max can return to Canadian airspace beginning this week, officials said, concluding nearly two years of government review after the aircraft was involved in two deadly crashes that saw the planes grounded worldwide.

Volkswagen Triples Electric Car Sales Ahead Of Climate Rules

Europe’s push into electric cars is gathering speed — despite the pandemic.

Q&A: BITCOIN'S MASSIVE RISE AND WHAT COMES NEXT

The digital currency Bitcoin rocketed to a record high last week above $40,000 a coin.

UK INVESTIGATES GOOGLE'S PLAN TO REVAMP CHROME BROWSER

Britain’s competition watchdog said it launched an investigation into Google’s plan to overhaul its ad data system over worries it could leave even less room for rivals in the online ad industry.

RACE ON: THE LINEUP FOR THE REVOLUTION OF THE CAR INDUSTRY

Wherever you are in the world, it’s hard to deny that 2020 was a challenging year - not least the automotive sector. With car sales plummeting amidst stay-at-home orders, consumers had a chance to reflect on their environmental impact, and as a result, electric vehicles are now more desirable than ever.

SOME UBER, LYFT DRIVERS SUE OVER CALIFORNIA BALLOT MEASURE

Drivers for app-based ride-hailing and delivery services filed a lawsuit to overturn a California ballot initiative that makes them independent contractors instead of employees eligible for benefits and job protections.

TARGET CONTINUES TO THRIVE IN WHIRLWIND RETAIL ENVIRONMENT

Target’s strong sales streak extended through a pandemic-shrouded holiday season after a hard push online and an increased effort to provide alternatives to customers who are trying to minimize risk.

TIKTOK TIGHTENS PRIVACY FEATURES FOR YOUNGER USERS

A month after federal regulators ordered it to disclose how its practices affect children and teenagers, TikTok is tightening its privacy practices for the under-18 crowd.

NEW MERCEDES SCREEN TO STRETCH NEARLY FULL WIDTH OF CAR

Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a key interior component of its upcoming electric luxury sedan: a large, curved screen that sweeps across almost the entire width of the car in the place of a conventional dashboard.

ELECTRIC TRUCK MAKER HITS 100,000 ORDERS AHEAD OF FALL START

An upstart electric vehicle maker said that it now has more than 100,000 orders for its new pickup truck.

CHINA'S GEELY, BAIDU ANNOUNCE ELECTRIC CAR VENTURES

Chinese automaker Geely says it will form an electric car venture with tech giant Baidu, adding to a flurry of corporate tie-ups in the industry to share soaring technology development costs.

LATE SALES REBOUND HELPS US AUTOMAKERS AVOID 2020 DISASTER

Sales of new vehicles in the U.S. fell 14.6% last year, but a second-half rebound from a coronavirus-related plunge in the spring kindled optimism for a recovery later this year.