FACEBOOK OWNER META UNVEILS $1,500 VR HEADSET: WILL IT SELL?

Facebook parent Meta unveiled a high-end virtual reality headset this week with the hope that people will soon be using it to work and play in the still-elusive place called the “metaverse.”

CRYPTO EXCHANGE BITTREX TO PAY $24M FOR VIOLATING SANCTIONS

Crypto exchange Bittrex was fined $24 million by U.S. authorities for helping clients evade U.S. sanctions in places such as Syria, Iran and Crimea.

Innovation: The next breakthrough tech coming from Apple labs

It's no secret Apple is working on several exciting products at Apple Campus, from virtual reality headsets to self-driving cars.

CHINESE FIRM TESTS ELECTRIC FLYING TAXI IN DUBAI

A Chinese firm tested out an electric flying taxi in Dubai this week, offering a glimpse of futuristic technology that could one day whisk people through cities high above any traffic.

HOW ONE COMPUTER FORECAST MODEL BOTCHED IAN

As Hurricane Ian bore down on Florida, normally reliable computer forecast models couldn’t agree on where the killer storm would land. But government meteorologists are now figuring out what went wrong — and right.

FORMER UBER SECURITY CHIEF GUILTY OF DATA BREACH COVERUP

The former chief security officer for Uber was convicted Wednesday of trying to cover up a 2016 data breach in which hackers accessed tens of millions of customer records from the ride-hailing service.

TO FILL TEACHER JOBS, COMMUNITY COLLEGES OFFER NEW DEGREES

In her second-grade classroom outside Seattle, Fatima Nuñez Ardon often tells her students stories about everyday people realizing their dreams.

PELOTON TO CUT 500 JOBS AS TURNAROUND EFFORTS CONTINUE

Peloton is looking to trim hundreds of jobs as the company continues to reorganize its business which has stalled as the coronavirus related surge fades.

US APPLICATIONS FOR JOBLESS BENEFITS INCREASED LAST WEEK

More Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, the largest number in four months, but the labor market remains strong in the face of persistent inflation and a slowing overall U.S. economy.

RUSSIA FINDING NEW WAYS TO SPREAD PROPAGANDA VIDEOS

Russia has devised yet another way to spread disinformation about its invasion of Ukraine, using digital tricks that allow its war propaganda videos to evade restrictions imposed by governments and tech companies.

WILL SMITH'S 'EMANCIPATION' GETS RELEASE DATE, POST-SLAP

After holding "Emancipation" in limbo following Will Smith's slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in March, Apple will release the actor's next big project this December.

MICRON TO BRING MICROCHIP PLANT TO UPSTATE NEW YORK

Micron, one of the world's largest microchip manufacturers, announced it would open a semiconductor plant in upstate New York, promising a long-term investment of up to $100 billion and a plant that could bring 50,000 jobs to the state.

HOSPITAL CHAIN SAYS 'IT SECURITY ISSUE' DISRUPTS OPERATIONS

A major nonprofit health system with 140 hospitals in 21 states, CommonSpirit Health, reporting an "IT security issue" that has disrupted operations in multiple states.

REPORT: AMAZON FREEZES HIRING ON CORPORATE RETAIL DIVISION

Amazon is implementing a hiring freeze on the corporate side of its retail business for the rest of the year, according to a New York Times report, becoming the latest company to pause hiring plans amid growing concerns about an economic downturn.

GOOGLE DISCONTINUES GOOGLE TRANSLATE IN MAINLAND CHINA

Google has discontinued its Google Translate services in mainland China, removing one of the company's few remaining services that it had provided in a country where most Western social media platforms are blocked.

Amazon to Raise Average Hourly Pay by $1 to $19 in October

Amazon said it's raising its average starting pay for frontline workers from $18 to $19 a hour, a boost that could help it attract more employees in a tight labor market as the holiday season approaches.

HOW TO HELP LOVED ONES DEAL WITH DEBT

Juan Pinon, an electrical engineer in McAllen, Texas, struggled with credit card debt for years. It wasn't until he confided in his sister that he began to turn things around.

STATES GET FINAL OK TO BUILD HIGHWAY EV CHARGING NETWORK

Attention, potential car buyers: New electric vehicle charging stations are on their way to highway locations near you.

ALZHEIMER'S DRUG SHOWS PROMISE IN EARLY RESULTS OF STUDY

Shares of Biogen and other drugmakers researching Alzheimer's disease soared early Wednesday after Japan's Eisai Co. said its potential treatment appeared to slow the fatal disease in a late-stage study.

JETBLUE CEO FIRST WITNESS IN US LAWSUIT AGAINST 2 AIRLINES

Government lawyers used airline executives' own words in trying Tuesday to persuade a federal judge to kill a partnership between American Airlines and JetBlue Airways.

GM SPENDING $760M TO CONVERT TOLEDO FACTORY TO MAKE EV PARTS

General Motors says it will spend $760 million to renovate its transmission factory in Toledo, Ohio, so it can build drive lines for electric vehicles.

SENATORS PUSH TO REFORM POLICE'S CELLPHONE TRACKING TOOLS

Civil rights lawyers and Democratic senators are pushing for legislation that would limit U.S. law enforcement agencies' ability to buy cellphone tracking tools to follow people's whereabouts, including back years in time, and sometimes without a search warrant.

ROHINGYA SEEK REPARATIONS FROM FACEBOOK FOR ROLE IN MASSACRE

With roosters crowing in the background as he speaks from the crowded refugee camp in Bangladesh that's been his home since 2017, Maung Sawyeddollah, 21, describes what happened when violent hate speech and disinformation targeting the Rohingya minority in Myanmar began to spread on Facebook.

AUSTRALIA DEMANDS OPTUS PAY FOR NEW CUSTOMER ID DOCUMENTS

Australia's federal and state governments called for Optus to pay for replacing identification documents including passports and driver's licenses to avoid identity fraud after 9.8 million of the telecommunications company's customers had personal data stolen by computer hackers.

AMAZON UNVEILS BEDSIDE DEVICE THAT TRACKS SLEEPING PATTERNS

Soon enough, a bedside Amazon device might know whether you're sleeping - or not.

Adobe Buying Figma in $20b Cash-and-stock Deal

Software company Adobe is buying online design company Figma in an approximately $20 billion cash-and-stock deal.

JAMES CAMERON TURNS TO EARTH BEFORE RELEASE OF NEW ‘AVATAR'

There’s a new nature documentary series that promises to show viewers incredible animal behavior in vibrant clarity. Heard that all before? Well, this one is on steroids.

WHY A NASA SPACECRAFT WILL CRASH INTO AN ASTEROID

In the first-of-its-kind, save-the-world experiment, NASA is about to clobber a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away.

FRANCE'S MACRON SEEKS ‘MASSIVE' BOOST FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY

French President Emmanuel Macron called for a “massive acceleration” of renewable energy development in his country, including offshore wind farms and solar power, via a new plan that seeks to bring lagging France closer to the energy policies of its European neighbors.

THEATER COMMUNITY UNITES FOR SPECIAL ANTI-CENSORSHIP PODCAST

The theater community is banding together for a special podcast to combat censorship that features performances from plays and musicals under threat and appearances by Bryan Cranston, Raúl Esparza, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Richard Kind.