CATEGORIES
CALIFORNIA VOTERS REJECT REVAMP TO PROPERTY TAX SYSTEM
California voters rejected a proposal to partially dismantle the state’s 42-year-old cap on property taxes, a move that would have raised taxes for many businesses in a pandemic-hobbled economy.
NEW DEVICE PUTS MUSIC IN YOUR HEAD — NO HEADPHONES REQUIRED
Imagine a world where you move around in your own personal sound bubble.
APART BUT TOGETHER: TIPS FOR A COZIER ZOOM THANKSGIVING
We all know Thanksgiving is going to look different this year.
AIRLINE ALLIANCES URGE TESTING OVER QUARANTINES
Three global airline alliances are urging governments to put into practice common guidelines for passenger testing and digital health pass technology, to help people start flying again.
Alibaba Revenue Up 30% as Virus Drives Demand for E-Commerce
China’s biggest e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding on Thursday reported a 30% jump in quarterly revenue, as China recovers from the virus and online shopping demand remains high.
FLASH OF LUCK: ASTRONOMERS FIND COSMIC RADIO BURST SOURCE
A flash of luck helped astronomers solve a cosmic mystery: What causes powerful but fleeting radio bursts that zip and zigzag through the universe?
MORE US PATIENTS TO HAVE EASY, FREE ACCESS TO DOCTOR'S NOTES
More U.S. patients will soon have free, electronic access to the notes their doctors write about them under a new federal requirement for transparency.
SPACE STATION MARKING 20 YEARS OF PEOPLE LIVING IN ORBIT
The International Space Station was a cramped, humid, puny three rooms when the first crew moved in. Twenty years and 241 visitors later, the complex has a lookout tower, three toilets, six sleeping compartments and 12 rooms, depending on how you count.
GOOGLE AD COSTS, NOT ITS ALLEGED MONOPOLY, IRKS BUSINESSES
When asked about Google, Bryan Clayton voices a familiar lament among small business owners.
MARKET DEBUT OF CHINESE E-FINANCE GIANT ANT GROUP POSTPONED
The planned stock market debut of the world’s biggest online finance company, Ant Group, was suspended in Shanghai and Hong Kong, disrupting a record-setting $34.5 billion initial public offering that highlighted China’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
IS IT SAFE TO STAY IN HOTELS DURING THE PANDEMIC?
Is it safe to stay in hotels during the pandemic?
DID SOCIAL MEDIA ACTUALLY COUNTER ELECTION MISINFORMATION?
Ahead of the election, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube promised to clamp down on election misinformation, including unsubstantiated charges of fraud and premature declarations of victory by candidates. And they mostly did just that — though not without a few hiccups.
FBI INVESTIGATES ROBOCALLS WARNING VOTERS TO ‘STAY HOME'
Voters across the U.S. received anonymous robocalls in the days and weeks before Election Day urging them to “stay safe and stay home” — an ominous warning that election experts said could be an effort to scare voters into sitting out the election.
ARMY CORPS RECONSIDERING PERMIT FOR $9.4B PLASTICS COMPLEX
The Army Corps of Engineers is considering whether potential environmental impacts require it to change, suspend or revoke the permit for a $9.4 billion plastics complex planned in Louisiana by a Taiwan company, U.S. Department of Justice lawyers said Wednesday.
CLOUD GROWTH HELPS MICROSOFT BEAT WALL STREET EXPECTATIONS
Microsoft reported quarterly earnings this week that beat Wall Street expectations, as it continued to weather the coronavirus pandemic amid increased demand for its flagship software and services.
SONY'S PROFITS RISE AS PANDEMIC HAS PEOPLE PLAYING GAMES
Profit at Japanese electronics and entertainment company Sony Corp. more than doubled in the last quarter on healthy gains in its video game sector, as people stayed home during the pandemic, the company said this week.
CHINA'S LEADERS VOW TO BECOME SELF-RELIANT TECHNOLOGY POWER
China’s leaders are vowing to make their country a self-reliant “technology power” as a feud with Washington cuts access to U.S. computer chips and other high-tech components, hampering Beijing’s industrial ambitions.
NOKIA PROFIT UP, NEW CEO PLEDGES TO BOOST 5G INVESTMENTS
Finnish telecommunications company Nokia on Thursday reported improved third-quarter earnings largely in line with expectations but acknowledged it faced challenges in the race for 5G cellular networks.
ITALIAN REGULATOR INVESTIGATES GOOGLE OVER DIGITAL ADS
Italian regulators opened an investigation this week into Google over alleged abuse of its dominant role in the country’s online ad market, adding to the global scrutiny that the Silicon Valley company is facing.
HUAWEI SALES UP, BUT GROWTH SLOWS UNDER VIRUS, US PRESSURE
Chinese tech giant Huawei, one of the biggest makers of smartphones and switching equipment, said its revenue rose 9.9% in the first nine months of this year, but growth decelerated in the face of U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic.
MOON HOLDS MORE WATER IN MORE PLACES THAN EVER THOUGHT
NASA’s astrophysics director Paul Hertz said it’s too soon to know whether this water — found in and around the southern hemisphere’s sunlit Clavius Crater — would be accessible.
NEW PROGRAM ALLOWS SOLDIERS TO INNOVATE FROM THE BOTTOM UP
In combat, U.S. Army Maj. Evan Adams is a tank officer responsible for leading intricate cavalry and reconnaissance operations.
CHINESE FINTECH COULD SHATTER RECORDS WITH $35B SHARE OFFER
The world’s largest fintech company, China’s Ant Group, will try to raise nearly $35 billion in a massive public offering of stock that would shatter records.
AS WORLD GOES ONLINE IN PANDEMIC, ANOTHER MAMMOTH CHIP DEAL
Advanced Micro Devices is buying Xilinx for $35 billion in an all-stock deal that will combine the two Silicon Valley chipmakers and accelerate an already rapid-fire pace of mergers and buyouts in the industry.
DC Debuts Smartphone-Based Covid-19 Exposure Alert System
The nation’s capital has become one of the first jurisdictions in the country to employ a new COVID-19 notification system, a joint Google-Apple venture that delivers alerts to people’s phones, notifying them that they may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
Census Says Deadline Can Be Reached With Tech, Nonstop Work
Technology and working around the clock should allow the U.S. Census Bureau to crunch numbers from the 2020 census in half the time originally allotted, but if the work isn’t completed by a year-end deadline, the statistical agency will take the extra time needed to finish it, bureau officials said Wednesday.
A Desk of Their Own To Ease Remote Learning For Kids In Need
As remote schooling surged during the pandemic, parents across the country realized that many kids didn’t have desks at home.
NEW HUAWEI PHONE COMES AT CRUCIAL TIME FOR CHINESE COMPANY
Huawei’s new smartphone has an upgraded camera, its latest advanced chipset and a better battery. What it may not have outside the Chinese tech giant’s home market is very many buyers.
INTEL TO SELL NAND BUSINESS TO SKOREAN RIVAL FOR $9 BILLION
Intel has agreed to a $9 billion deal to sell most of its memory business to South Korea’s SK Hynix as it moves toward more diverse technologies while shedding a major Chinese factory at a time of deepening trade friction between Washington and Beijing.
NONPROFIT APP AIMS TO HELP UNBLOCK GLOBAL AIR TRAVEL
A nonprofit foundation is testing a smartphone app that could make it easier for international airline passengers to securely show they’ve complied with COVID-19 testing requirements. It’s an attempt to help get people back to flying after the pandemic sent global air travel down by 92%.