Wire stories category, Page 100
UPS to expand operations in Pennsylvania, hire 1,700 workers
HARRISBURG — Package delivery company United Parcel Service has committed to spending $1.4 billion to expand its operations in Pennsylvania and hire more than 1,700 new full-time employees, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said Wednesday. Wolf’s administration said it offered UPS $2.7 million in tax credits and more than $6 million...
Fed leaves key rate alone but sees virus among global risks
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged at a low level Wednesday amid an economy that looks solid but faces potential global threats, including from China’s viral outbreak. The Fed sketched a mostly bright picture of the U.S. economy in a statement it released after its...
Chipotle fined $1.3M over thousands of child labor abuses
BOSTON — Chipotle was hit with a $1.3 million fine over more than 13,000 child labor violations at its Massachusetts restaurants, the state’s attorney general announced Monday. Attorney General Maura Healey ordered the largest child labor penalty ever issued by the state against the Mexican restaurant chain after finding an...
Delta Air Lines fined $50,000 by government for alleged discrimination
ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Transportation is fining Delta Air Lines $50,000 for alleged discrimination against Muslim passengers in two separate incidents in 2016. Atlanta-based Delta disagrees with the DOT’s contention that it engaged in discriminatory conduct, according to a DOT consent order issued Friday. The consent order comes...
Samsung’s version of Apple’s AirDrop launching next monthVideo
Samsung Galaxy owners may soon be able to directly transfer files between devices. Apple users have long been able to send photos and other files among Macs and iOS devices using the company’s AirDrop service. The function does not use email or texting, but sends files to any Apple device...
Southern burger chain Krystal files for bankruptcyVideo
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Krystal Co., the Georgia-based restaurant chain known for tiny hamburgers and late-night service across the Southeast, has filed for bankruptcy, but said Tuesday that all of its locations would remain open. Federal court documents showed Krystal sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sunday in Atlanta. The company said...
A new battleground in the web browser wars: Privacy
Google announced a massive shift last week in how it handles cookies, those pesky digital trackers that chase us around the internet and serve up targeted ads that are both creepy yet eerily precise reflections of our wants. The search giant, which just helped Alphabet Inc. surpass a $1 trillion...
Extradition hearing begins for top Huawei exec in Canada
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The first stage of an extradition hearing for a senior executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei started in a Vancouver courtroom Monday, a case that has infuriated Beijing, caused a diplomatic uproar between China and Canada and complicated high-stakes trade talks between China and the United...
Google CEO calls for regulation of artificial intelligence
LONDON — Google’s chief executive called Monday for a balanced approach to regulating artificial intelligence, telling a European audience that the technology brings benefits but also “negative consequences.” Sundar Pichai’s comments come as lawmakers and governments seriously consider putting limits on how artificial intelligence is used. “There is no question...
Banks that shun risky borrowers offer rosy view of U.S. consumerVideo
NEW YORK — With most U.S. households spending more and paying their bills on time, their creditors are feeling more confident than ever. To hear the CEOs of the nation’s largest banks tell it this week, rarely has the American consumer been in better shape. But look deeper and it’s...
U.S. agency examining Tesla unintended acceleration complaint
DETROIT — The U.S. government’s auto safety agency is looking into allegations that all three of Tesla’s electric vehicle models can suddenly accelerate on their own. An unidentified person petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asking for an investigation into the problem. An agency document shows 127 owner complaints...
Stock indexes rally to more record highs, led by tech gains
Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street, pushing major indexes to new record highs. A batch of solid economic data injected more optimism into markets Thursday, a day after the U.S. and China signed an initial trade deal. Technology companies including Microsoft led the gains. Morgan Stanley rose sharply after...
Microsoft: ‘carbon-negative’ by 2030, even for supply chain
Microsoft is pledging to become 100% “carbon-negative” by 2030 by removing more carbon from the environment than it emits. CEO Satya Nadella said Thursday that the commitment will happen “not just across our direct emissions, but across our supply chain, too.” It’s a major step up from Microsoft’s previous green...
GM bids to buy land for a new battery factory in Lordstown
General Motors wants to build a new battery factory in Lordstown, Ohio, right next door to its former car assembly plant that it shuttered and sold last year. The automaker said it has a purchase agreement to buy a 158-acre vacant site in Trumbull County, Ohio. It is land GM...
Warner Bros. breaks ground on massive new studio with Gehry-designed ‘iceberg buildings’
Warner Bros. on Tuesday officially broke ground on a pair of Frank Gehry-designed office towers, which when completed will mark a major expansion of the Burbank, Calif.-based movie and TV studio’s headquarters. The project, first announced in April, was commemorated in a ceremony with Warner Bros. Chief Executive Ann Sarnoff...
Climate is changing. Investing needs to, too, says BlackRockVideo
NEW YORK — A changing climate means dramatic risks for the world — and for investments too, the chief of the world’s largest investment manager said Tuesday. To prepare for and protect against those risks, BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink said in his influential annual letter to CEOs that his firm,...
U.S. drops designation of China as currency manipulator
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is dropping its designation of China as a currency manipulator in advance of the signing Wednesday of a Phase 1 U.S.-China trade agreement. The preliminary pact that the two sides are set to sign includes a section that’s intended to prevent China from manipulating its...
Microsoft ends free Windows 7 security updates on Tuesday
If you’re still using Microsoft’s Windows 7, your computer might soon be at risk. Microsoft will stop providing free security updates for the system on Tuesday, meaning computers using it will be more vulnerable to malware and hacking. Users who want to protect their computers need to upgrade to Windows...
Chat logs, emails show cavalier attitude by Boeing employees
NEW YORK (AP) — Internal documents reveal that Boeing employees were aware of problems with the Max 737 jet ahead of two deadly crashes, and that the company emphasized speed over safety during the approval process with the Federal Aviation Administration. The documents were made public Thursday by Boeing at...
Carnival Cruise Line’s new dress code bans ‘offensive’ clothingVideo
Carnival Cruise Line has expanded its dress code policy to include a ban on “offensive” clothing. The new rules state “items worn during the cruise should not contain any message that may be considered offensive or contain nudity, profanity, sexual innuendo/suggestions,” according to the company’s website. “Clothing/accessories should not promote...
Facebook riles tiny Oregon town with plan for undersea cable
TIERRA DEL MAR, Ore. — A battle playing out in Oregon is pitting residents of a tiny coastal town with no stoplights or cellphone service against one of the world’s biggest tech companies. Locals in Tierra del Mar are trying to stop Facebook from using property in their quiet community...
Deadly crash of a Boeing jet in Iran adds to company’s woesVideo
Still reeling from a crisis involving its long-grounded Max jet, Boeing faces new questions after an earlier model of the 737 crashed Wednesday in Iran. It is too early to know what caused the crash and whether Boeing bears any responsibility for the lives of all 176 people who died...
Mack Trucks to lay off 300 at Pennsylvania assembly plant
MACUNGIE — Mack Trucks plans to lay off 305 employees at its assembly plant north of Philadelphia, the company said Wednesday. Mack blamed the layoffs at its Lower Macungue Township plant on a downturn in the heavy-duty truck market. They will take effect at the end of February, The (Allentown)...
Facebook bans deepfakes in fight against online manipulation
LONDON — Facebook says it is banning “deepfake” videos, the false but realistic clips created with artificial intelligence and sophisticated tools, as it steps up efforts to fight online manipulation. The social network said late Monday that it’s beefing up its policies to remove videos edited or synthesized in ways...
Federal Reserve last month saw a declining risk of recession
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve’s policymaking committee saw much less risk of recession at its meeting last month, when it kept interest rates steady after three straight cuts and signaled that it expected to keep low rates unchanged through this year. Minutes of the December meeting, released Friday, showed that...
