CATEGORIES

HONG KONG WATCHING CHINESE NUCLEAR PLANT AFTER LEAK REPORTED

China’s government said Tuesday no abnormal radiation was detected outside a nuclear power plant near Hong Kong following a news report of a leak, while Hong Kong’s leader said her administration was closely watching the facility.

SELF-DRIVING CAR PIONEER WAYMO GETS $2.5B TO FUEL AMBITIONS

Waymo, the self-driving car pioneer spun off from Google, isn’t allowing a recent wave of executive departures to detour its plans to expand its robotic taxi service.

LOUISIANA CREATES RULES FOR SELF-DRIVING DELIVERY DEVICES

Louisiana has created a framework for self-driving delivery robots to drop off packages on the state’s streets, under a bill backed by lawmakers and Gov. John Bel Edwards.

UK WATCHDOG EXAMINES APPLE-GOOGLE MOBILE SYSTEM CONTROL

U.K. competition regulators are looking into Apple and Google smartphone operating systems, app stores and browsers, over concern that the control of “mobile ecosystems” by the two tech giants is harming consumers.

UTILITY'S GREEN ENERGY PLAN FUELS DEBATE IN KANSAS, MISSOURI

Kansas’ largest electric company expects to make its first big investments in solar energy over the next three years and promises zero net carbon emissions in 2045.

NATO NATIONS READY TO JOINTLY RESPOND TO ATTACKS IN SPACE

NATO leaders expanded the use of their all for one, one for all, mutual defense clause to include a collective response to attacks in space.

WINNING AUCTION BID TO FLY IN SPACE WITH JEFF BEZOS: $28M

An auction for a ride into space next month alongside Jeff Bezos and his brother ended with a winning $28 million bid last weekend.

REPORT SAYS TECHNOLOGY KEPT 2020 CENSUS BELOW EXPECTED COST

The 2020 census is expected to cost $14.2 billion, well below a previous estimate of $15.6 billion, reflecting a slowdown in the price tag for the nation’s head count thanks to technological innovations, according to a new watchdog report released this week.

Monterey macOS - UNLOCKING THE TRUE POWER OF THE M1 PROCESSOR

When it came to software enhancements and breakthrough features, this year’s WWDC was a little more understated than previous iterations, but after a year of coronavirus restrictions, it’s understandable that Apple would focus on refining its existing offering than try to reinvent the wheel.

BATTERY RECYCLING FIRM TO EXPAND OPERATIONS IN NEVADA

A battery recycling company founded by a former executive at Tesla Inc. broke ground on 100 acres (40 hectares) of land at an industrial park near Reno as part of its expansion plan.

COMPUTER TROUBLE HITS HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, SCIENCE HALTED

The Hubble Space Telescope has been hit with computer trouble, with all astronomical viewing halted, NASA said.

BEHIND IN QUANTUM COMPUTER RACE, GERMANY GETS BOOST FROM IBM

IBM unveiled one of Europe’s most powerful quantum computers in Germany, boosting the country’s efforts to stay in the race for what’s considered a key technology of the future.

AMAZON NOW SAYS REMOTE WORK OK 2 DAYS A WEEK

Corporate and tech employees at Amazon won’t have to work in offices full time after coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

BOOK REVIEW

CHAIRMAN AT THE BOARD: RECORDING THE SOUNDTRACK OF A GENERATION, by Bill Schnee. Backbeat Books, 2021. 219pp. $24.49, hardcover; $21.49, Kindle e-book.

CHINA SAYS US REVOKING OF CHINA APPS BAN A ‘POSITIVE STEP'

China’s Ministry of Commerce said that a U.S. move to revoke the Trump administration’s executive orders intended to ban apps like TikTok and WeChat was a “positive step,” amid strained relations between the two countries.

EYING DEAL, GM SOFTENS ON TOUGH STANDARDS FOR CAR POLLUTION

The nation’s largest automaker said Wednesday it can support greenhouse gas emissions limits that other car manufacturers negotiated with California — if they are achieved mostly by promoting sales of fully electric vehicles.

FERRARI TAPS EUROPEAN CHIP-MAKER EXECUTIVE AS NEW CEO

Luxury sports carmaker Ferrari has tapped Benedetto Vigna, an Italian executive at Europe’s largest semiconductor chipmaker, as its new CEO, the company announced this week.

OWN AN ECHO? AMAZON MAY BE HELPING ITSELF TO YOUR BANDWIDTH

Do you own an Amazon smart device? If so, odds are good that the company is already sharing your internet connection with your neighbors unless you’ve specifically told it not to.

STARTUP LORDSTOWN MOTORS WARNS IT MAY NOT STAY IN BUSINESS

Startup commercial electric vehicle maker Lordstown Motors says it may not be in business a year from now as it tries to secure funding to start full production of an electric pickup truck.

GERMANY STARTS ROLLING OUT A DIGITAL EU VACCINATION PASS

Germany on Thursday started rolling out a digital vaccination pass that can be used across Europe as the continent gets ready for the key summer travel season.

SCIENTISTS HAIL GOLDEN AGE TO TRACE BIRD MIGRATION WITH TECH

A plump robin wearing a tiny metal backpack with antenna hops around a suburban yard in Takoma Park then plucks a cicada from the ground for a snack.

GLOBAL WAR ON RANSOMWARE? HURDLES HINDER THE US RESPONSE

Foreign keyboard criminals with scant fear of repercussions have paralyzed U.S. schools and hospitals, leaked highly sensitive police files, triggered fuel shortages, and, most recently, threatened global food supply chains.

SENATE PASSES BILL TO BOOST US TECH INDUSTRY, COUNTER RIVALS

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill that aims to boost U.S. semiconductor production and the development of artificial intelligence and other technology in the face of growing international competition, most notably from China.

GUCCI DIGITALLY OUTFITS GEN-Z IN METAVERSE FORAY WITH ROBLOX

Anyone whose virtual alter ego is wandering around the Roblox online game platform these days might run into other avatars sporting Gucci handbags, sunglasses or hats.

JUST HOW VULNERABLE IS THE INTERNET?

An outage at a little-known firm that speeds up access to websites knocked a lot of top internet destinations offline this week, disrupting business and leisure for untold millions globally. The problem was quickly resolved. The company, Fastly, blamed a configuration error in its technology.

US DROPS TRUMP ORDER TARGETING TIKTOK, PLANS ITS OWN REVIEW

The White House dropped Trump-era executive orders that attempted to ban the popular apps TikTok and WeChat and will conduct its own review aimed at identifying national security risks with software applications tied to China, officials said this week.

iOS 15: CONNECT, FOCUS, EXPLORE, AND DO MORE

After making some significant leaps forward with iOS and iPadOS in 2020, it was only right that this year’s updates would be more understated, but it didn’t stop Apple from announcing some exciting new additions to its popular operating systems.

JEFF BEZOS WILL BLAST INTO SPACE ON ROCKET'S 1ST CREW FLIGHT

Outdoing his fellow billionaires in daredevilry, Jeff Bezos will blast into space next month when his Blue Origin company makes its first flight with a crew.

EUROPEAN REGULATORS LAUNCH FRESH PROBES OF FACEBOOK, GOOGLE

European Union and British regulators opened dual antitrust investigations into whether Facebook distorts competition in the classified advertising market by using data to compete unfairly against rival services.

GLOBAL STING BEGAN BY CREATING MESSAGE SERVICE FOR CROOKS

When the FBI dismantled an encrypted messaging service based in Canada in 2018, agents noticed users moving to other networks. Instead of following their tracks to rivals, investigators decided on a new tactic: creating their own service.