CATEGORIES

SYFY'S ‘RESIDENT ALIEN' INVADER GETS LIFT-OFF WITH VIEWERS

“Resident Alien,” a new Syfy series that caught the attention of veteran TV critic Rob Owen and approving viewers, is evidence that inventive shows exist outside premium cable and streaming services.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE RISES FOR SECOND STRAIGHT MONTH

U.S. consumer confidence rose again in February as an accelerating COVID-19 vaccine push provides hope for Americans who have lived through a year of unprecedented restrictions.

HUAWEI UNVEILS FLAGSHIP FOLDABLE SMARTPHONE

Struggling under U.S. sanctions, Huawei unveiled a folding smartphone with an 8-inch (20-centimeter) -widescreen Monday to show off its tech prowess but said it will be sold only in China.

FEDERAL JUDGE SAYS CALIFORNIA CAN ENFORCE NET NEUTRALITY LAW

A federal judge this week ruled that California can for the first time enforce its tough net neutrality law, clearing the way for the state to ban internet providers from slowing down or blocking access to websites and applications that don’t pay for premium service.

COMPANY TESTING FULLY DRIVERLESS CARS ON LAS VEGAS STREETS

An autonomous vehicle company has been testing its cars in Las Vegas without a human backup driver ready to take control in an emergency.

BONE CANCER SURVIVOR TO JOIN BILLIONAIRE ON SPACEX FLIGHT

After beating bone cancer, Hayley Arceneaux figures rocketing into orbit on SpaceX’s first private flight should be a piece of cosmic cake.

A COMPELLINGLY CRUEL ROSAMUND PIKE IN ‘I CARE A LOT'

An air of mystery surrounded Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl” but there’s no mistaking her in “I Care a Lot.” Sporting designer suits and a bob cut so sharp that you tremble for her stylist, Pike’s Marla Grayson is ruthlessly imperious from head to toe.

Youyang Gu – Covid's Data Superstar

It was global public-health institutions vs. a guy living with his parents in California

WALMART SALES STILL SURGING, BUT A CHILL MAY BE ON THE WAY

Walmart is raising wages for 425,000 of its 1.5 million U.S. workers and is investing $14 billion this year to speed up its distribution network as the nation’s largest retailer navigates vast industry changes that were accelerated by the pandemic.

US CHARGES NORTH KOREAN COMPUTER PROGRAMMERS IN GLOBAL HACKS

The Justice Department has charged three North Korean computer programmers in a broad range of global hacks, including a destructive attack targeting an American movie studio, and in the attempted theft and extortion of more than $1.3 billion from banks and companies, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

US STILL UNRAVELING ‘SOPHISTICATED' HACK OF 9 GOV'T AGENCIES

U.S. authorities are still working to unravel the full scope of the likely Russian hack that gave the “sophisticated” actor behind the breach complete access to files and email from at least nine government agencies and about 100 private companies, the top White House cybersecurity official said Wednesday.

MAJOR AUSTRALIAN MEDIA COMPANY STRIKES GOOGLE NEWS PAY DEAL

Seven West Media has become the largest Australian news media business to strike a deal with Google to pay for journalism in a partnership announced this week before the nation’s Parliament considers draft laws to force digital giants to pay for news.

APPLE TV+ TO PRODUCE RIDLEY SCOTT'S NAPOLEON EPIC STARRING JOAQUIN PHOENIX

Ever since Stanley Kubrick’s unrealized dream biopic, Napoleon Bonaparte, the famous French conqueror and rules, has been a very elusive character for directors. The life of Napoleon Bonaparte is an amazing story of revolutionary ideals crushed by the seductiveness of power and his ultimate demise is a story that is one of the best known in history. Kubrick would have been able to make an epic but he never got to it during his lifetime and now, legendary director Sir Ridley Scott has signed a deal with Apple to direct and produce Kitbag, a biopic based on the life of Napoleon Bonaparte.

TURN YOUR QUARANTINE CLUTTER INTO MONEY

I placed more online orders than I can count in 2020. And I justified all of them.

IN SURPRISE MOVE, FACEBOOK BLOCKS NEWS ACCESS IN AUSTRALIA

In a surprise retaliatory move Thursday, Facebook blocked Australians from sharing news stories, escalating a fight with the government over whether powerful tech companies should have to pay news organizations for content.

COST OF A SINGLE BITCOIN EXCEEDS $50,000 FOR FIRST TIME

The seemingly unstoppable rise of Bitcoin continued with the cost of a single unit of the digital currency rising above $50,000 for the first time.

AUTOWORKERS FACE UNCERTAIN FUTURE IN AN ERA OF ELECTRIC CARS

When General Motors boldly announced its goal last month to make only battery-powered vehicles by 2035, it didn’t just mark a break with more than a century of making internal combustion engines. It also clouded the future for 50,000 GM workers whose skills — and jobs — could become obsolete far sooner than they knew.

LUXURY CAR BRAND JAGUAR TO GO ALL-ELECTRIC BY 2025

Struggling luxury car brand Jaguar will be fully electric by 2025, the British company said this week as it outlined a plan to phase out internal combustion engines.

GM'S CHEVY BOLT SUV JOINS PARADE OF NEW US ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Whether people want them or not, automakers are rolling out new electric vehicle models as the industry responds to stricter pollution regulations and calls to reduce emissions to fight climate change.

EPIC GAMES FILES EU ANTITRUST COMPLAINT AGAINST APPLE

Epic Games said it filed an antitrust complaint against Apple with European Union regulators, opening a new front in its war with the tech giant over app store payments.

UNITED: SMALL ELECTRIC AIR TAXIS WILL ZIP PEOPLE TO AIRPORTS

United Airlines said it will buy up to 200 small electric air taxis to help customers in urban areas get to the airport.

RIGHT-WING FRIENDLY PARLER ANNOUNCES RE-LAUNCH

The right-wing friendly social network Parler, which was forced offline following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of thenPresident Donald Trump, says it is re-launching.

DELIVERY-ONLY RESTAURANT BRANDS SEE PANDEMIC-FUELED GROWTH

Do you know which restaurant cooked the meal you just had delivered? Increasingly, it can be hard to tell.

IN NEVADA DESERT, A TECHNOLOGY FIRM AIMS TO BE A GOVERNMENT

In the Nevada desert, a cryptocurrency magnate hopes to turn dreams of a futuristic “smart city” into reality. To do that, he’s asking the state to let companies like his form local governments on land they own, which would grant them power over everything from schools to law enforcement.

GAMESTOP'S SAGA MAY BE OVER; ITS EFFECT ON WALL STREET ISN'T

The frenzy around GameStop’s stock may have quieted down, but the outsized influence small investors had in the saga is likely to stick around.

APPLE MAPS: A NEW DIRECTION WITH CROWD COLLABORATION

Apple is taking a leaf out of Waze’s book with its iOS 14.5 update, bringing a plethora of new features to its Maps software including accident reporting, speed checks, and hazards.

FORD TO GO ALL ELECTRIC IN EUROPE BY 2030

Ford announced a major push into electric vehicles in Europe, vowing to convert its entire passenger car lineup on the continent to electrics by 2030.

AIRLINES PUSH WHITE HOUSE TO REJECT TESTING FOR US FLIGHTS

Leaders of several major U.S. airlines met online with White House officials to press their case against requiring coronavirus tests for passengers on domestic flights, saying it would undermine the already fragile industry.

Class-D-elightful

Whether you fall into the “all well-designed amps sound the same when used within their limits” camp or the “amp selection is critical” army of true believers, it’s arguable that prior to the turn of the millennium amps designed for high-performance audio had fallen into a rut.

The Next Generation

The big car companies refresh their lineups on a pretty regular schedule. Honda, for example, brings out all-new versions of its models every four to five years, and it makes smaller upgrades and improvements in the years between the big changes.