US, CHINA CONSULTED ON SAFETY AS THEIR CRAFTS HEADED TO MARS

As their respective spacecrafts headed to Mars, China and the U.S. held consultations earlier this year in a somewhat unusual series of exchanges between the rivals.

TAIWAN CHIP MAKER TSMC TO INVEST $100B TO GROW CAPACITY

Major Taiwan computer chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to invest $100 billion in the next three years in expanding its manufacturing capacity and supporting research and development, the company said Thursday.

STEVEN SPIELBERG'S AMAZING STORIES – WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH APPLE TV+'S NEW SHOW!

Back in 1985, famed director and Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg had his sciencefiction anthology, Amazing Stories, air on NBC from 1985 to 1987.

SAFETY LAST: RISKY INVESTMENTS SOARED AT START OF 2021

Who needs safety when the world’s about to get back to normal?

MICROSOFT WINS $22 BILLION DEAL MAKING HEADSETS FOR US ARMY

Microsoft won a nearly $22 billion contract to supply U.S. Army combat troops with its augmented reality headsets.

LAWYERS CLASH OVER $1B HYDROPOWER TRANSMISSION CORRIDOR

Attorneys for conservation organizations and an electric utility clashed this week before a federal appeals court over the adequacy of environmental reviews of a key portion of a power transmission project in western Maine.

CAN I STILL SPREAD THE CORONAVIRUS AFTER I'M VACCINATED?

Can I still spread the coronavirus after I’m vaccinated?

BIG TECH, NEVADA REPAIR SHOPS CLASH OVER ‘RIGHT TO REPAIR'

Trade groups representing big tech companies faced off with independent repair shop owners during a committee hearing in the Nevada Legislature over a proposal that would require manufacturers to give repair shops the ability to fix devices like computers, phones, tablets and printers.

BIDEN ANNOUNCES HUGE INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN TO ‘WIN THE FUTURE'

President Joe Biden outlined a huge $2.3 trillion plan Wednesday to re-engineer the nation’s infrastructure in what he billed as “a once-in-a-generation investment in America” that would undo his predecessor’s signature legislative achievement — giant tax cuts for corporations — in the process.

ANIMATION COMPANY GOT $49M IN EXCESSIVE TAX CREDITS

Blue Sky Studios, the company behind “Ice Age” and other animated films, received $49 million more in Connecticut state tax credits than it should have, state auditors said in a report released this week.

TWITTER TO ESTABLISH LEGAL ENTITY IN TURKEY, COMPLY WITH LAW

Twitter has announced it will establish a legal entity in Turkey in order to continue operating in the country, which passed a controversial social media law last year.

REGAL CINEMAS, 2ND LARGEST CHAIN IN US, TO REOPEN IN APRIL

Regal Cinemas, the second largest movie theater chain in the U.S., will reopen beginning April 2, its parent company, Cineworld Group, announced this week.

TOOL CREATED TO AID CLEANUP FROM MICROSOFT HACK IN BROAD USE

A tool designed to help businesses protect themselves from further compromises after a global hack of Microsoft email server software has been downloaded more than 25,000 times since it was released last week, the White House’s National Security Council said this week.

TEXTING 911 NOW AN OPTION IN SOUTH DAKOTA

South Dakotans now have the option to text 911 when they’re unable to make a 911 call.

AUTO INDUSTRY BRACES FOR MORE CHIP SHORTAGES AFTER FIRE

A fire at a plant owned by Japanese chipmaker Renesas could deepen the ongoing global semiconductor shortage that has especially hampered automobile production.

‘60 MINUTES' WILL HAVE STREAMING SPINOFF ON PARAMOUNT+

CBS News is launching a streaming version of “60 Minutes” on the new Paramount+ service, hoping to expose the durable brand to a younger and more diverse audience.

FORMER GOOGLE CEO GIVES $150M FOR RESEARCH IN BIOLOGY, AI

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy, have given $150 million to a research institute to establish a “new era of biology” aimed at battling diseases with a mix of data and life science studies.

AMAZON BRINGS BACK FORMER EXECUTIVE TO RUN CLOUD BUSINESS

Amazon said that it’s bringing back a former executive to run its cloud-computing unit, which has become the online shopping giant’s most profitable business.

CONGRESS TO PRESS BIG TECH CEOS OVER SPEECH, MISINFORMATION

The CEOs of social media giants Facebook, Twitter and Google face a new grilling by Congress Thursday, one focused on their efforts to prevent their platforms from spreading falsehoods and inciting violence.

AMAZON PRIME VIDEO TO STREAM 21 YANKEES GAMES

Amazon Prime Video will stream 21 Yankees games to members in New York’s broadcast market for the first season, a slate that starts with an April 18 matchup against Tampa Bay.

MISSISSIPPI LAW WILL REQUIRE COMPUTER SCIENCE IN SCHOOLS

A new law will require the Mississippi Department of Education to set a computer science curriculum for K-12 schools by the 202425 academic year.

WILL WORK FROM HOME OUTLAST VIRUS? FORD'S MOVE SUGGESTS YES

It’s a question occupying the minds of millions of employees who have worked from home the past year: Will they still be allowed to work remotely — at least some days — once the pandemic has faded?

SWISS POLICE RAID OVER HACK ON U.S. SECURITY-CAMERA COMPANY

Swiss authorities confirmed a police raid at the home of a Swiss software engineer who took credit for helping to break into a U.S. security-camera company’s online networks, part of what the activist hacker cited as an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of mass surveillance.

STRIPE CONTINUES CASH HAUL, NOW VALUED AT $95 BILLION

The online payment company Stripe continues to attract investors, raising $600 million in funding to reach a whopping company valuation of $95 billion.

SONOMA COUNTY TO USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AGAINST FIRES

Sonoma County officials say they will add artificial intelligence technology to help fight wildfires with a 24-7 monitor to track fire outbreaks.

PRE-EMBRYOS MADE IN LAB COULD SPUR RESEARCH, ETHICS DEBATES

For the first time, scientists have used human cells to make structures that mimic the earliest stages of development, which they say will pave the way for more research without running afoul of restrictions on using real embryos.

NO CIGAR: INTERSTELLAR OBJECT IS COOKIE-SHAPED PLANET SHARD

Our solar system’s first known interstellar visitor is neither a comet nor asteroid as first suspected and looks nothing like a cigar. A new study says the mystery object is likely a remnant of a Pluto-like world and shaped like a cookie.

GOOGLE ANNOUNCES NORTH CAROLINA CLOUD ENGINEERING HUB

Google announced plans Thursday to create a hub in Durham, North Carolina, for hundreds of engineers working on its Google Cloud products.

ENCRYPTED MESSAGING APP SIGNAL BLOCKED IN CHINA

Encrypted messaging app Signal appears to have been blocked in mainland China, the latest foreign social media service to cease working in a country where the government tightly controls the flow of information.

CHINA SUMMONS TECHNOLOGY FIRMS OVER VOICE SOFTWARE SECURITY

Chinese authorities summoned 11 companies including Alibaba and Tencent for talks regarding the security of voice software, as Beijing steps up scrutiny over the internet sector.