Wire stories category, Page 29
Deep dive into Meta’s algorithms shows that America’s political polarization has no easy fix
WASHINGTON — The powerful algorithms used by Facebook and Instagram to deliver content to users have increasingly been blamed for amplifying misinformation and political polarization. But a series of groundbreaking studies published Thursday suggest addressing these challenges is not as simple as tweaking the platforms’ software. The four research papers,...
Federal Reserve keeps raising rates. That means it’s harder to get a car loan.
NEW YORK — The Federal Reserve’s decision Wednesday to raise its benchmark rate for the 11th time, by a quarter-point, could once again send ripple effects across the economy. Mortgage rates, which have surged since the Fed began lifting rates in March 2022, may now rise further. So could rates...
Car buyers bear a heavy burden as Federal Reserve keeps raising rates
NEW YORK — The Federal Reserve’s expected move Wednesday to raise interest rates for the 11th time could once again send ripple effects across the economy. Mortgage rates, which have surged since the Fed began lifting rates in March 2022, could rise further. So could rates on credit cards and...
W.Va. residents are at a loss after newspaper that bound community together shuts down
WELCH, W.Va. — Months after Missy Nester ended The Welch News’ 100-year run, she can barely stand to walk through the office doors of the newspaper her mother taught her to read with growing up in West Virginia’s southern coalfields. It’s too painful. The Welch News owner and publisher’s desk...
UPS reaches contract with 340,000 unionized workers, averting potential strike
NEW YORK — UPS has reached a contract agreement with its 340,000-person strong union Tuesday, averting a strike that had the potential to disrupt logistics nationwide for businesses and households alike. The agreement was announced after UPS and the Teamsters came back to the negotiating table Tuesday to talk over...
Santa Barbara’s daily, one of California’s oldest, stops publishing after owner declares bankruptcy
SAN FRANCISCO — The Pulitzer Prize-winning Santa Barbara News-Press, one of California’s oldest newspapers, has ceased publishing after its owner declared the 150-year-old publication bankrupt. The newspaper became an online-only publication in April. But its last digital edition was posted Friday when owner Wendy McCaw filed for bankruptcy. Managing editor...
IRS is ending unannounced visits to taxpayers to protect worker safety and combat scammers
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service said Monday it is ending its decades-old policy of making unannounced home and business visits, in an effort to help keep its workers safe and to combat scammers who pose as IRS agents. Effective immediately, revenue agents will no longer make unplanned visits to...
Elon Musk reveals new X logo to replace Twitter’s blue bird
LONDON — Goodbye, Twitter. Hello, X. Elon Musk has unveiled a new “X” logo to replace Twitter’s famous blue bird as he follows through with a major rebranding of the social media platform he bought for $44 billion last year. The X started appearing at the top of the desktop...
A UPS strike could be just around the corner. Here’s what you need to know
NEW YORK — The clock is ticking. As the deadline to reach a new contract nears, a potential UPS strike feels closer than ever. Negotiations broke down earlier this month and unionized workers have been holding rallies and practice pickets across the country. The Teamsters, which represent more than half...
Musk says Twitter to change logo to X from the bird. Changes could come as early as Monday.
NEW YORK — Elon Musk said Sunday that he plans to change the logo of Twitter to an “X” from the famous blue bird, marking what would be the latest big change since he bought the social media platform for $44 billion last year. In a series of posts on...
Wall Street heads for another winning week as stocks steady
NEW YORK — Wall Street is steadying Friday and clawing back some of its tech-driven losses from a day before, keeping it on track for another winning week. The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading and on pace for its eighth winning week in the last 10. The...
Your paycheck could clear faster now that the FedNow instant payment service for banks has launched
NEW YORK — The Federal Reserve launched a new instant payment service Thursday. FedNow allows banks and credit unions to sign up to send real-time payments so they can offer customers a quicker way to send money between banks. FedNow, which was first announced in 2019, published a list of...
U.S. jobless claims fall again as labor market continues to flash strength
Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week with the labor market continuing to cruise along despite higher interest rates intended to cool hiring. U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 228,000 for the week ending July 15, from 237,000 previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The...
Tesla recalling nearly 16,000 of its 2021-2023 Model S and Model X vehicles due to seat belt issue
Tesla is recalling nearly 16,000 of its 2021-2023 Model S and Model X vehicles because some front-row seat belts may not have been reconnected properly after being repaired. Tesla said in its safety recall report that in the vehicles, a first-row seat belt was disconnected from its pretensioner anchor as...
How to pay for an expensive summer move
Packing your things and moving to a new home is a financial hurdle even in the best of times, but higher demand for moving-related services in the summer can send prices skyrocketing. If you’re wondering how to pay for an upcoming move, there are financing options, including credit cards and...
Gucci’s CEO is stepping down as its French parent shakes up leadership
LONDON — The president and CEO of Gucci is stepping down later this year, the latest shakeup to the luxury fashion brand and coming as part of a series of changes to its parent company, the French conglomerate Kering. Marco Bizzarri will depart the Italian design house in September after...
In-N-Out bans employees from wearing masks
California fast-food institution In-N-Out Burger announced that it will soon ban employees from wearing masks in five of the seven states in which it operates restaurants, according to an internal memo leaked Friday The exceptions? Workers in California and Oregon will still be able to mask, if they choose, to...
Americans bump up spending in June as inflation eases in a strong jobs market
NEW YORK — Americans increased their spending last month as inflation eased in many areas, and the job market remained remarkably strong. Retail sales rose 0.2% from May to June, following a revised 0.5% increase the previous month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. The figure matched the pace of consumer...
Base F-150 Lightning electric pickup will cost less than $50,000 as Ford slashes prices across line
The sticker prices for Ford’s F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks are being lowered by thousands of dollars across the board, the company said Monday, due to increased plant capacity, falling costs for battery raw materials and internal efforts to scale production by the Detroit automaker. The price cuts across the...
Microsoft agrees to keep Call of Duty on Sony Playstation after it buys Activision Blizzard
NEW YORK — Microsoft has signed an agreement with Sony to keep the Call of Duty video game series on the PlayStation console after the tech giant acquires video game maker Activision Blizzard. The announcement was made Sunday in a Twitter post by Phil Spencer, who heads up Microsoft’s Xbox...
Teamsters president says he’s asked the White House not to intervene if UPS workers go on strike
NEW YORK — The head of the Teamsters said Sunday that he has asked the White House not to intervene if unionized UPS workers end up going on strike. Negotiations between the delivery company and the union representing 340,000 of its workers have been at a standstill for more than...
Editorial cartoonists’ firings point to steady decline of opinion pages in newspapers
NEW YORK — Even during a year of sobering economic news for media companies, the layoffs of three Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonists on a single day hit like a gut punch. The firings of the cartoonists employed by the McClatchy newspaper chain last week were a stark reminder of how...
IRS says it collected $38 million from more than 175 high-income tax delinquents
WASHINGTON — The IRS is showcasing its new capability to aggressively audit high-income tax dodgers as it makes the case for sustained funding and tries to avert budget cuts sought by Republicans who want to gut the agency. IRS leaders said they collected $38 million in delinquent taxes from more...
OpenAI’s ChatGPT bot probed by FTC over consumer harms
The Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into OpenAI Inc., questioning whether its popular ChatGPT conversational AI bot puts consumers’ reputations and data at risk, according to a person familiar with the matter. The probe into the Microsoft Corp.-backed startup marks the first official inquiry into a technology that...
Kia to invest $200M in Georgia plant to begin building electric SUV there, hiring 200
ATLANTA — Kia Corp. will invest $200 million in its Georgia factory to begin producing an electric-powered SUV, the company announced Wednesday. The South Korean company said it would hire an additional 200 workers to begin producing its large EV9 vehicle in West Point by early 2024. The company said...
