CATEGORIES

MANY STEPS NEEDED FOR ACCURATE COVID-19 TEST RESULTS

A widely used coronavirus test is under scrutiny this week after federal health officials warned that it could deliver inaccurate results if laboratory technicians don’t follow the latest updates from the manufacturer.

JUDGE OKS $60M SETTLEMENT OVER TESLA BUYOUT OF SOLARCITY

A Delaware judge has approved a $60 million settlement in a shareholder lawsuit challenging electric car maker Tesla Inc.’s $2 billion acquisition of solar-panel installer SolarCity in 2016.

FOR PANDEMIC JOBLESS, THE ONLY REAL CERTAINTY IS UNCERTAINTY

For three decades, Kelly Flint flourished as a corporate travel agent, sending everyone from business titans to oil riggers around the planet. Then came the worst pandemic in a century, leaving her jobless and marooned in an uncertain economy.

TESLA AND APPLE BOOSTS TURBOCHARGED STOCK WITH PLAN FOR SPLIT

Tesla will split its stock for the first time in its history so more investors can afford to buy a stake in the electric car pioneer following a meteoric rise in its market value.

HUAWEI: SMARTPHONE CHIPS RUNNING OUT UNDER US SANCTIONS

Chinese tech giant Huawei is running out of processor chips to make smartphones due to U.S. sanctions and will be forced to stop production of its own most advanced chips, a company executive says, in a sign of growing damage to Huawei’s business from American pressure.

BACK TO SCHOOL: RETURNING TO THE CLASSROOM SAFELY

Five months on from the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and policymakers and public health officials have decided it’s time to return to the classroom.

WHAT DO THE KIDS SAY? K-12 STUDENTS SOUND OFF ON SCHOOL

Parents have weighed in on reopening schools. Teachers have weighed in. Public health experts, too, along with cities, states and President Donald Trump.

MTA ASKS APPLE'S HELP TO SOLVE iPHONE MASK ISSUES

New York’s mass transit agency wants Apple to come up with a better way for iPhone users to unlock their phones without taking off their masks, as it seeks to guard against the spread of the coronavirus in buses and subways.

FEDERAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS KEY WAYS TO PREVENT SCHOOL ATTACKS

School officials nationwide should improve mental health resources, monitor student social media accounts and improve physical security measures, according to a Justice Department report on school safety released this week.

A SUPERB RYLANCE LIFTS UP LANGUOROUS ‘BARBARIANS'

Watching Mark Rylance play a man of basic decency getting swallowed up by an evil world — and a sadistic Johnny Depp — in “Waiting for the Barbarians,” I absent-mindedly jotted down in my notes: “Nobody does basic decency like Mark Rylance.”

APPEALS COURT TOSSES ANTITRUST RULING AGAINST QUALCOMM

A federal appeals court has overturned an antitrust ruling against Qualcomm, dismissing arguments that it unlawfully squeezed out cellphone chip rivals and charged excessive royalties to manufacturers such as Apple.

FAA SPELLS OUT DESIGN CHANGES NEEDED IN GROUNDED BOEING JET

Federal regulators said they will require several design changes to the Boeing 737 Max to fix safety issues that arose in two deadly crashes and led to the worldwide grounding of the plane.

FLORIDA TEEN ARRESTED AS MASTERMIND OF TWITTER HACK

A Florida teen was identified last weekend as the mastermind of a scheme earlier this month that commandeered Twitter accounts of prominent politicians, celebrities and technology moguls and scammed people around the globe out of more than $100,000 in Bitcoin. Two other men were also charged in the case.

INSIDE BIG TECH: PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN WITH ‘HOT' EMAIL

The House Judiciary chairman was closing in on his Perry Mason moment with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Fortified with “hot” internal company documents, Rep. Jerrold Nadler was building his case at a hearing that seemed almost like a trial for Facebook and three other tech giants over alleged anti-competitive tactics.

VIRTUAL SCHOOL: TEACHERS WANT TO IMPROVE BUT TRAINING VARIES

After a rocky transition to distance learning last spring, Georgia teacher Aimee Rodriguez Webb is determined to do better this fall. She bought a dry-erase board and a special camera to display worksheets, and she set up her dining room to broadcast school lessons.

VIRGINIA FIRST TO ROLL OUT PANDEMIC APP FROM APPLE, GOOGLE

Virginia has rolled out a smartphone app to automatically notify people if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus, becoming the first U.S. state to use new pandemic technology created by Apple and Google.

PHIL SCHILLER ADVANCES TO APPLE FELLOW

Apple announced that Phil Schiller will become an Apple Fellow, continuing a storied career that began at Apple in 1987. In this role, which reports to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Schiller will continue to lead the App Store and Apple Events. Greg (Joz) Joswiak, a longtime leader within the Product Marketing organization, will join the executive team as senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

SONY'S PROFIT UP AS PEOPLE STAYING HOME PLAY VIDEO GAMES

Japanese electronics and entertainment company Sony Corp. said that its April-June profit jumped 53% as its video game and other online businesses thrived with people staying home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

EU REGULATORS INVESTIGATING GOOGLE'S PLAN TO BUY FITBIT

European Union regulators opened an in-depth investigation into Google’s plan to buy fitness tracking device maker Fitbit.

BEYONCÉ'S ‘BLACK IS KING' IS SUPREME BLACK ART

King Beyoncé’s new film takes you on a journey of Black art, music, history and fashion as the superstar transports you to Africa to tell the story of a young man in search of his crown, matched to epic songs she created while inspired by “The Lion King.”

A SWEET TEARJERKER IN WWII FILM ‘SUMMERLAND'

“Summerland” might look like something you’ve seen before: A scenic story about a schoolchild who must leave London during the war and take up shelter with a reluctant caregiver. But while it is comfortingly familiar in many ways, and a little cliche and overwrought in others, it also has a modern edge and bite to it that keeps it novel enough to sustain interest.

Google to Keep Most of Its Employees at Home Until July 2021

Google has decided that most of its 200,000 employees and contractors should work from home through next June, a sobering assessment of the pandemic’s potential staying power from the company providing the answers for the world’s most trusted internet search engine.

Can You Trust Your Mobile Payment App?

Money transfer apps including Venmo, Cash App and PayPal have surged in popularity during the pandemic as people seek safe, contactless ways to send and receive money. Unfortunately, many people don’t understand the limitations of these payment platforms or how they can put someone’s finances at risk.

Australian Watchdog Accuses Google of Privacy Breaches

Australia’s consumer watchdog launched court action against Google this week alleging the technology giant misled account holders about its use of their personal data.

GUIDE DOGS HELPING BLIND RUNNERS STAY FIT DESPITE PANDEMIC

Social distancing rules can make exercising a challenge for a blind runner who needs a volunteer tethered as a guide. But Thomas Panek has no problem because his running guide, Blaze, is a Labrador retriever.

US CONSUMER CONFIDENCE TUMBLES IN JULY AS COVID-19 SPREADS

U.S. consumer confidence tumbled in July to a reading of 92.6 as coronavirus infections spread in many parts of the country.

NASA'S NEXT MARS ROVER IS BRAWNIEST AND BRAINIEST ONE YET

With eight successful Mars landings, NASA is upping the ante with its newest rover.

U.S. AGENCY: PANDEMIC MASKS THWARTING FACE RECOGNITION TECH

Having a tough time recognizing your neighbors behind their pandemic masks? Computers are finding it more difficult, too.

XBOX: TAKING YOUR PLAY TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH SERIES X

Games Showcase, we edged even closer to the release of one of the world’s most advanced gaming machines.

VIRGIN GALACTIC SHOWS OFF PASSENGER SPACESHIP CABIN INTERIOR

Passengers flying Virgin Galactic on suborbital trips into space will be able to see themselves floating weightless against the backdrop of the Earth below while 16 cameras document the adventures, the company said.