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%.

TESLA POSTS NET PROFIT FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT QUARTER

Tesla charged through a summertime auto industry sales slump in the U.S. to post stronger-than-expected net earnings for the third quarter.

SHORT-VIDEO APP QUIBI SHUTTING DOWN JUST MONTHS AFTER LAUNCH

Short-video app Quibi said it is shutting down just six months after its early April launch, having struggled to find customers.

DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX CONVENE SESSION ON DIGITAL WORLD

Creating online communities free of danger and misinformation is crucial in building a better world, the Duchess of Sussex told an online audience during a special Time100 Talks episode she curated with her husband, Prince Harry.

ERICSSON EARNINGS BOOSTED BY 5G NETWORK ROLLOUTS

Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson has reported upbeat third-quarter earnings, helped mainly by the rollout of 5G wireless networks in China and a strong U.S. market.

EXTRA SAFETY SCRUTINY PLANNED AS VIRUS VACCINE WORRIES GROW

Facing public skepticism about rushed COVID-19 vaccines, U.S. health officials are planning extra scrutiny of the first people vaccinated when shots become available — an added safety layer experts call vital.

NASA MOON-LANDING TECH HITCHES RIDE TO SPACE ON BEZOS ROCKET

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space company launched a New Shepard rocket for a seventh time from a remote corner of Texas on Tuesday, testing new lunar-landing technology for NASA that could help put astronauts back on the moon.

UNITED LOSES $1.8 BILLION, AIMS TO SHIFT FOCUS TO RECOVERY

United Airlines financial hole grew deeper over the summer as a modest recovery in air travel slowed down, pushing the carrier to a loss of $1.84 billion in the typically strong third quarter.