Technology category, Page 17

Mint Mobile, partly owned by actor Ryan Reynolds, is being acquired by T-Mobile as part of a cash-and-stock deal worth as much as $1.35 billion. T-Mobile’s purchase of Ka’ena Corp. will give it access to the budget wireless provider Mint, along with Ultra Mobile and wholesaler Plum. The brands, which...

Facebook parent Meta is slashing another 10,000 jobs and will not fill 5,000 open positions as the social media pioneer cuts costs. The company said Tuesday it will reduce the size of its recruiting team and make further cuts in its tech groups in late April, and then its business...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A rocket made almost completely of 3D-printed parts came within a half-second of blasting off Saturday on its debut flight, but remained grounded after back-to-back launch aborts. The engines ignited, but abruptly shut down, leaving Relativity Space’s rocket, named Terran, standing on its pad. Launch controllers...

WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Elon Musk’s mass layoffs at Twitter and trying to obtain his internal communications as part of ongoing oversight into the social media company’s privacy and cybersecurity practices, according to documents described in a congressional report. The FTC has been watching the company...

SAN FRANCISCO — If you’re not told you are fired, are you really fired? At Twitter, probably. And then, sometimes, you get your job back — if you want it. Haraldur Thorleifsson, who until recently was employed at Twitter, logged in to his computer last Sunday to do some work...

American higher education is touted as the world’s envy, but a new report says the United States and other Western countries have fallen dangerously behind China in research that results in leading-edge technology. The world’s most populous country has amassed a “sometimes stunning lead,” says the Australian Strategic Policy Institute,...

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter on Wednesday unveiled a new policy prohibiting “violent speech” on its platform, though the rules appear very similar to guidelines against violent threats that the company had on its books before Elon Musk took it over. Among the updates, Twitter expanded its policy to include a...

TikTok said Wednesday that every account held by a user under the age of 18 will have a default 60-minute daily screen time limit in the coming weeks. The changes arrive during a period when there are growing concerns among different governments about the app’s security. Families have struggled to...

The United States is ratcheting up national security concerns about TikTok, mandating that all federal employees delete the Chinese-owned social media app from government-issued mobile phones. Other Western governments are pursuing similar bans, citing espionage fears. So how serious is the threat? And should TikTok users who don’t work for...

BARCELONA, Spain — Holding the bulky brick cellphone he’s credited with inventing 50 years ago, Martin Cooper thinks about the future. Little did he know when he made the first call on a New York City street from a thick gray prototype that our world — and our information —...

“Once you send that photo, you can’t take it back,” goes the warning to teenagers, often ignoring the reality that many teens send explicit images of themselves under duress, or without understanding the consequences. A new online tool aims to give some control back to teens, or people who were...

The timing seemed right in November 2019 when the Community College of Allegheny County announced an ambitious workforce development initiative that included building a multi-story academic hall and expanding programming to steer more students into high-demand fields. The areas of study slated for the new Workforce Development and Training Center...

Microsoft is ready to take its new Bing chatbot mainstream — less than a week after making major fixes to stop the artificially intelligent search engine from going off the rails. The company said Wednesday it is bringing the new AI technology to its Bing smartphone app, as well as...

Carnegie Mellon University and the Norman and Ruth Rales Foundation are unveiling a $150 million initiative to broaden the nation’s pipeline of “STEM” talent by tapping women, minorities and others who are underrepresented in science, technology engineering and math. The intent is to diversify those fields by offering not only...

LOS ANGELES — Twitter users were greeted early Saturday with an ultimatum from the social media app: Subscribe to the platform’s new premium service or lose a popular account security feature. A pop-up message warned users they will lose the ability to secure their accounts via text message two-factor authentication...

TOPEKA, Kan. — Banning TikTok from government devices enjoys bipartsan support across the U.S., but a few Democratic legislators in Kansas object to expanding one imposed by their party’s governor because they don’t want a state law to target a company by name. The Republican-controlled Kansas House voted 109-12 on...

Susan Wojcicki, a longtime Google executive who played a key role in the company’s creation, is stepped down as YouTube’s CEO after spending the past nine years running the video site that has reshaped entertainment, culture and politics. In an email to YouTube employees that was shared publicly Thursday, the...

DETROIT — Tesla is recalling nearly 363,000 vehicles with its “Full Self-Driving” system to fix problems with the way it behaves around intersections and following posted speed limits. The recall, part of a larger investigation by U.S. safety regulators into Tesla’s automated driving systems, came after regulators expressed concerns about...

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The United States launched an initiative Thursday promoting international cooperation on the responsible use of artificial intelligence and autonomous weapons by militaries, seeking to impose order on an emerging technology that has the potential to change the way war is waged. “As a rapidly changing technology,...

NEW YORK — Tesla workers at a factory in New York are launching a campaign to organize a union in New York. In a letter to management Tuesday, the Tesla Workers United organizing committee said that the employees are seeking a voice on the job at the plant in Buffalo...

NEW YORK— At a time when consumers are inundated with so-called social media influencers peddling the latest products online, a slew of TikTok users are leveraging their platforms to tell people what not to buy instead. The trend, called “de-influencing,” is a stark contrast to prior ones like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, when...

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, thousands of volunteer software developers have been using a crucial Twitter tool to comb the platform for calls for help — including from people trapped in collapsed buildings — and connect people with rescue organizations. They could lose access...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dubai again is planning for the takeoff of flying taxis in this futuristic city-state on the Arabian Peninsula, offering its firmest details yet Monday for a pledged launch by 2026. Since 2017, the commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates has offered promises to launch...

NEW YORK — In a video from a Jan. 25 news report, President Joe Biden talks about tanks. But a doctored version of the video has amassed hundred of thousands of views this week on social media, making it appear he gave a speech that attacks transgender people. Digital forensics...

Many Twitter users found themselves unable to tweet, follow accounts or access their direct messages on Wednesday as the Elon Musk-owned platform experienced a slew of widespread technical problems. “Twitter may not be working as expected for some of you. Sorry for the trouble. We’re aware and working to get...