CATEGORIES

CHINA SAYS XIAOMI REMOVAL FROM U.S. BLACKLIST “BENEFICIAL”

China’s commerce ministry on Thursday welcomed the removal of Xiaomi Corp. from a U.S. government blacklist, a day after the U.S. reversed a ban on U.S. investments in the smartphone maker that was imposed under former President Donald Trump.

KENTUCKY PLANT BENEFITING FROM LATEST APPLE INVESTMENT

Apple deepened its ties to a Kentucky plant on Monday by awarding another $45 million to support Corning Inc.’s work to supply glass for the tech giant’s iPhones and other devices.

FACEBOOKBACKED DIGITAL CURRENCY PROJECT DIEM SHIFTS TO US

A once-ambitious Facebook-backed digital currency project — formerly known as Libra, now called Diem — is shifting operations from Switzerland to the U.S. and said it plans to launch a cryptocurrency tied to the U.S. dollar later this year.

JAPANESE TYCOON PLANNING SPACE STATION VISIT, THEN MOON TRIP

The Japanese fashion tycoon who’s booked a SpaceX ride to the moon is going to try out the International Space Station first.

AMAZON WINS EU COURT FIGHT OVER $300 MILLION TAX RULING

In the latest setback to European Union efforts to tackle corporate tax avoidance, a court on Wednesday annulled a ruling by the European Commission that a tax deal between Amazon and Luxembourg’s government amounted to illegal state support.

BIDEN SIGNS ORDER TO BEEF UP FEDERAL CYBER DEFENSES

President Joe Biden signed an executive order meant to strengthen U.S. cybersecurity defenses in response to a series of headline-grabbing hacking incidents that highlight how vulnerable the country’s public and private sectors are to high-tech spies and criminals operating from half a world away.

ALIBABA RECORDS FIRST QUARTERLY OPERATING LOSS SINCE IPO

Alibaba had its first quarterly operating loss since it went public in 2014 after Beijing slapped a record $2.8 billion fine on the nation’s largest e-commerce company for abusing its market position.

WALMART INVESTS IN GM'S CRUISE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE SUBSIDIARY

Walmart and some institutional investors have joined the latest investment in Cruise, bumping the capital influx into the General Motors autonomous vehicle subsidiary from over $2 billion to $2.75 billion.

PANDEMIC GIVES BOOST AS MORE STATES MOVE TO DIGITAL IDS

The card that millions of people use to prove their identity to everyone from police officers to liquor store owners may soon be a thing of the past as a growing number of states develop digital driver’s licenses.

THE NEW APPLE TV 4K: CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE WITH A12 BIONIC CHIP & NEW SIRI REMOTE

Whilst it was the overhauls to the iMac and iPad that got people talking at this year’s Spring Loaded event held in Cupertino, California, Apple also used the virtual keynote to announce a refresh to its popular Apple TV set-top box. The latest iteration drives huge leaps forward in graphics performance, introduces the A12 Bionic chip to Apple TV, as well as an all-new Siri Remote, designed to take Apple’s cinema-athome experience to even greater heights.

RANSOMWARE GANGS GET MORE AGGRESSIVE AGAINST LAW ENFORCEMENT

Police Chief Will Cunningham came to work four years ago to find that his six-officer department was the victim of a crime.

MLB TELLS ATHLETICS TO EXPLORE RELOCATION IF NO NEW BALLPARK

Major League Baseball instructed the Athletics to explore relocation options as the team tries to secure a new waterfront ballpark it hopes will keep the club in Oakland long-term.

NEBRASKA COULD LET STATE BANKS OFFER CRYPTOCURRENCY SERVICES

Nebraska banks that want to cash in on the cryptocurrency tech craze could start offering services to customers who own Bitcoin and other digital assets under a bill backed by Monday state lawmakers.

ELON MUSK SHOWS HUMILITY AND HUBRIS AS ‘SNL' HOST

Elon Musk showed a combination of humility and hubris as he opened his highly anticipated hosting gig on “Saturday Night Live.”

AS CHIP SHORTAGE GOES ON, CARS ARE SCARCE AND PRICES ARE UP

For the next few months, Charlie Gilchrist figures his 11 car dealerships in the DallasFort Worth area will sell just about every new vehicle they can get from the factories — and at increased prices.

SEYFRIED LENDS GROUNDING PRESENCE TO CAMPY THRILLER

Hollywood thrillers in which sophisticated, attractive city folk move to creaky old country homes and experience scary things are a dime a dozen. Less common is when those Hollywood thrillers are based on the theology of 18thcentury Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg.

AMAZON BLOCKED 10 BILLION LISTINGS IN COUNTERFEIT CRACKDOWN

Amazon, which has been under pressure from shoppers, brands and lawmakers to crack down on counterfeits on its site, said Monday that it blocked more than 10 billion suspected phony listings last year before any of their offerings could be sold.

AGS URGE FACEBOOK TO DROP ‘INSTAGRAM FOR KIDS' PROPOSAL

A bipartisan group of 44 attorneys general has written to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg urging him to drop company plans for a version of Instagram for children under the age of 13, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced Monday.

Classical Rock / Pop Jazz: Record Reviews

In its sixth year, International Anthem seriously stepped up production. 2020 saw the Chicago label releasing a fast succession of rewarding albums, including a standout disc by Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker and adventurous jazz by Rob Mazurek and the collective Irreversible Entanglements.

Tech vs. Journalism

Silicon Valley feels picked on by “woke” journalists “who can't code." Reporters feel picked on by petty zillionaires with anger-management problems. Inside the nasty clout battle for how the world’s most influential industry gets covered.

BIG TECH STOCKS FLEX MUSCLES AGAIN AFTER A ROUGH WINTER

Big Tech stocks are flexing their enormous strength again, after getting knocked around a bit earlier this year.

BEFRIEND YOUR MONEY AND REAP THE BENEFITS

What’s your relationship with money? Maybe your personal finances are like a distant cousin you barely think about — or an unsettling stranger you avoid. Or perhaps money feels like your enemy, frustrating you and rarely doing what you want.

NASCAR'S FUTURE IS HERE: NEXT GEN CAR FINALLY ARRIVES

NASCAR’s next-generation race car is finally here after two years of hype and hope that it will revolutionize the stock car series.

AIRTAGS: NEXT-GENERATION TRACKING TECHNOLOGY HAS ARRIVED

Two years after they were first rumored, Apple finally lifted the lid on its tracking device AirTag at its Spring Loaded event in April, designed to help consumers keep track of items that matter most.

VERIZON SELLS INTERNET TRAILBLAZERS YAHOO AND AOL FOR $5B

AOL and Yahoo are being sold again, this time to a private equity firm.

MEREDITH TO SELL TV STATION DIVISION TO GRAY TELEVISION

Magazine publisher and multimedia company Meredith Corp. said this week it will sell its Local Media Group consisting of 17 television stations to Gray Television Inc. for $2.7 billion in cash and will focus on expanding its print and digital magazines business.

LATIN AMERICA LOOKS TO SPACE, DESPITE LIMITATIONS ON GROUND

Mars missions, astronauts coming and going at the International Space Station, China’s increasingly ambitious space program. Space-related news is flowing, and not just from the world’s richest, biggest nations. Take Latin America.

BAIDU ROLLS OUT PAID DRIVERLESS TAXI SERVICE IN BEIJING

Chinese tech giant Baidu rolled out its paid driverless taxi service last Sunday, making it the first company to commercialize autonomous driving operations in China.

GOOGLE SIGNS DEAL WITH WNBA TO HELP CHAMPION WOMEN'S SPORTS

The WNBA signed a multi-year deal with Google this week to be the presenting partner for the league’s playoffs, part of the technology giant’s efforts to help champion women’s sports.

60 YEARS SINCE 1ST AMERICAN IN SPACE: TOURISTS LINING UP

Sixty years after Alan Shepard became the first American in space, everyday people are on the verge of following in his cosmic footsteps.