APPLE MUSIC LAUNCHES MORE THAN 100 CITY-FOCUSED MUSIC CHARTS

Apple Music is coming to a city near you — the streaming service has launched daily music charts focused on particular cities around the world, including New York City, Tokyo and Lagos.

US JOBLESS CLAIMS FALL TO 547,000, ANOTHER PANDEMIC LOW

The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid fell last week to 547,000, the lowest point since the pandemic struck and an encouraging sign that layoffs are slowing on the strength of an improving job market.

NASA'S MARS HELICOPTER TAKES FLIGHT, 1ST FOR ANOTHER PLANET

NASA’s experimental helicopter Ingenuity rose into the thin air above the dusty red surface of Mars on Monday, achieving the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet.

IS IT FINALLY GAME ON FOR VIDEO GAME ADAPTATIONS?

Is there a more woebegone movie genre than the video game adaptation? This is the pantheon of “Max Payne,” “Wing Commander” and “Assassin’s Creed.” In the 27 years since the first video game movie, “Super Mario Bros.,” these adaptations have been so regularly mocked that you might think the genre was -- like a teetering fighter in “Mortal Kombat” surrounded by chants of “Finish him!” -- on its last legs.

US AID LIFTS SOUTHWEST TO Q1 PROFIT, AMERICAN LOSES $1.25B

With a strong push from taxpayers, Southwest Airlines is the first major U.S. airline to report a profit since the pandemic started, and airlines executives say that the worst of the pandemic caused crisis for their industry appears to be over.

ASTRONAUTS FLYING REUSED SPACEX ROCKET, CAPSULE FOR 1ST TIME

For the first time, NASA is putting its trust in a recycled SpaceX rocket and capsule for a crew.

RESTAURANTS, DELIVERY APPS STILL AT ODDS AS DEMAND GROWS

Diners got used to delivery during the pandemic, and the habit may stick long after dining rooms reopen.

AUSTRALIA PLANS TO SPEND $417M ON HYDROGEN, CARBON CAPTURE

Australia’s prime minister has proposed spending an extra 539 million Australian dollars ($417 million) on hydrogen and carbon sequestration projects, seeking to burnish his government’s green credentials ahead of a climate summit to be hosted by President Joe Biden.

FLORIDA HOUSE OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVES CONSUMER PRIVACY BILL

The Florida House resoundingly approved a consumer privacy bill, giving the public an opportunity to regain ownership of the personal data collected by companies and the right to sue companies for mishandling information in a marketplace where consumers themselves have become lucrative commodities.

APPLE UNVEILS NEW PRODUCTS, SCHEDULES PRIVACY CRACKDOWN

Apple spruced up its product line at an event Tuesday while slipping in quiet notice of a software update, now due next week, designed to enhance the privacy of iPhone users at the expense of digital advertisers such as Facebook.

GOOGLE EARTH ADDS TIME LAPSE VIDEO TO DEPICT CLIMATE CHANGE

The Google Earth app is adding a new video feature that draws upon nearly four decades of satellite imagery to vividly illustrate how climate change has affected glaciers, beaches, forests and other places around the world.

COINBASE SOARS IN MARKET DEBUT, VALUED NEAR $86 BILLION

Coinbase made a rousing debut on Wall Street Wednesday, with shares of the digital currency exchange rising as high as $429, briefly giving it a market value over $100 billion.

US RECOMMENDS ‘PAUSE' FOR J&J SHOTS IN BLOW TO VACCINE DRIVE

The U.S. recommended a “pause” in use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots, setting off a chain reaction worldwide and dealing a setback to the global vaccination campaign.

DRIVERS WANTED: RECORD DEMAND AT UBER AS VACCINATIONS RISE

Uber is offering sign-up bonuses and other incentives for drivers as it faces record demand for rides and meal delivery.

USERS COULD SOON HIDE ‘LIKE' COUNTS ON INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK

The tiny red hearts that appear under Instagram photos of kids, kittens and sandwiches can be a source of stress for many users, an insidious way of measuring self-worth and popularity.

A $1.2 BILLION LOSS FOR DELTA, BUT RECOVERY IS ON THE RADAR

Delta Air Lines lost $1.2 billion in the first quarter, more than expected, but executives said Thursday that the airline could be profitable by late summer if the budding recovery in air travel continues.

THE DISABLED HOPE THEIR OSCAR MOMENT CAN BECOME A MOVEMENT

Right down to its production design, the Oscars have not always felt like the most welcoming place for the disabled.

BIG-BUSINESS PUSHBACK AGAINST VOTING MEASURES GAINS MOMENTUM

Big business has ratcheted up its objections to proposals that would make it harder to vote, with several hundred companies and executives signing a new statement opposing “any discriminatory legislation.”

DOGECOIN: THE NEW BITCOIN IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW

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$1,400 STIMULUS CHECKS HELPED MARCH RETAIL SALES SOAR 9.8%

Newly vaccinated and armed with $1,400 stimulus checks, Americans went on a spending spree last month, buying new clothes and going out to eat again.

GROUPS: CENSUS PRIVACY TOOL COULD HURT VOTING RIGHTS GOALS

The findings reinforce concerns that differential privacy will lower the quality of the data used for redrawing congressional and legislative districts. They also suggest that the census figures won’t support efforts to protect the power of minority voters and comply with court rulings requiring districts to have equal population numbers.

LAWMAKERS CALL YOUTUBE KIDS A ‘WASTELAND OF VAPID' CONTENT

A House subcommittee is investigating YouTube Kids, saying the Google-owned video service feeds children inappropriate material in “a wasteland of vapid, consumerist content” so it can serve them ads.

5 HOME REMODELING TRENDS TO WATCH FOR IN 2021

After a year of spending more time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many homeowners are looking for ways to make their homes fit their new realities.

PIECE OF SPACEX ROCKET DEBRIS LANDS AT WASHINGTON STATE FARM

A piece of burning rocket debris seen streaking across the Pacific Northwest sky last week crashed on a farm in eastern Washington state, authorities said.

VOTE COUNTING TO START IN AMAZON UNION ELECTION

Vote counting in the union push at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, is expected to start as early as Thursday, but hundreds of contested ballots could muddy the outcome if it’s a close race.

HIGH COURT SIDES WITH GOOGLE IN COPYRIGHT FIGHT WITH ORACLE

Technology companies sighed with relief after the Supreme Court sided with Google in a copyright dispute with Oracle. The high court said Google did nothing wrong in copying code to develop the Android operating system now used on most smartphones.

ELECTRIC CHEVY PICKUP TO GET ESTIMATED 400 MILES PER CHARGE

An electric version of the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck will get an estimated 400 miles of range per charge, General Motors says.

‘TANTALIZING' RESULTS OF 2 EXPERIMENTS DEFY PHYSICS RULEBOOK

Preliminary results from two experiments suggest something could be wrong with the basic way physicists think the universe works, a prospect that has the field of particle physics both baffled and thrilled.

NETFLIX SCORES STREAMING RIGHTS TO NEW TOP SONY FILMS

Netflix further beefed up its film catalog on Thursday in a multi-year deal that will make it the new streaming home to Sony Pictures’ top releases in the U.S.

CAN BIDEN ADD ENERGY JOBS? HOPE MIXES WITH DOUBT

Good-paying jobs — many of them.