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Meta says it will pay up to $18 billion over social media claims

Business / Business News /

Meta Platforms Inc. said it agreed to pay up to $18 billion in landmark settlements to resolve social media claims from U.S. states that would require the company to make major changes to how it operates platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Key parts of the deal, disclosed in a court filing Wednesday, require the company to put new guardrails...Read more

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Time limits, 'school mode': Meta agrees to curb kids' access

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Meta Platforms Inc. agreed to implement a raft of restrictions for teens on its Facebook and Instagram apps as part of a multibillion-dollar settlement with multiple U.S. states on Wednesday. The landmark agreement requires the company to put new guardrails on Facebook and Instagram, including limits on how much time youths can spend scrolling ...Read more

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Terry Savage: Dealing with fear in retirement

Business / Business News /

Once upon a time, a retirement free of fear was defined as “having enough money.” In fact, about 20 years ago I even wrote a book called “The Savage Number: How Much Money Do You Really Need to Retire?”

But now that the huge baby boomer generation is either in or closely approaching retirement, it has become clear that beyond having “...Read more

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Meta says it will pay up to $18 billion over social media claims

Business / Business News /

Meta Platforms Inc. said it agreed to pay up to $18 billion in landmark settlements to resolve allegations from multiple U.S. states that the company deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to encourage compulsive use among young users.

Key parts of the deal, disclosed in a court filing Wednesday, require the company to put new guardrails ...Read more

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General Mills removes artificial colors from all its US cereals

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General Mills has met its own deadline to remove artificial colors from all its cereals, including Trix and Lucky Charms, sold in the United States.

The company said Wednesday it met its deadline to remove these colors by the end of the summer and will strive to remove them from all U.S. grocery store products by the end of 2027.

Opponents of ...Read more

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Uber gives parents the option to livestream their teens' rides

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Parents and guardians can now access live video of their teens as they take an Uber.

The San Francisco ride-hailing company has added the new feature to its teen accounts program, designed to ensure safety and transparency when younger riders are traveling alone.

"Live video is the latest way we're updating teen accounts to meet the needs of ...Read more

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Bill Gates warns of job losses, rising harm in plea for AI policies

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Bill Gates wants to tax robots.

Specifically, Gates is calling for a tax on artificial intelligence automated systems, like tokens and robots, that employers may use to slowly replace human workers as the technology evolves.

The idea might sound absurd on its face, which the Microsoft co-founder acknowledges in a memo released Wednesday on his...Read more

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Andrea Felsted: The real reason why Walmart is slashing prices by $2.9 billion

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You might not know it from looking at the cost of everything from burritos to berries, but the U.S. is on the cusp of a supermarket price war.

Walmart Inc. said last week that it would use most of its $2.9 billion in tariff refunds to slash the cost of household essentials. Just a few months ago, Kroger Co. said it would cut prices on thousands...Read more

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Thomas Black: The quantum computer revolution is tantalizingly close

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When the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, or Eniac, was first built by the University of Pennsylvania for the U.S. Army in 1946, it weighed about 30 tons and had 18,000 vacuum tubes that filled an expansive room. The speed of that first programmable, general-purpose digital computer was about 5,000 hertz, which means it could ...Read more

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Ex-Googlers are planning AI-human hybrid to prevent rogue models

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A new nonprofit founded by former Google researchers wants to keep humans at the center of AI development to ensure that the powerful technology is safe and less likely to escape its creators.

It’s a kind of riposte to what tech companies are currently doing in many cases: using artificial intelligence to oversee artificial intelligence. ...Read more

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California AG Bonta open to Warner Bros. settlement talks if Paramount 'stops playing games'

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta made it clear Tuesday he holds the power to extract major concessions in the battle over the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. merger.

A day after canceling settlement talks, Bonta said he remains open to meeting with Paramount Skydance executives to find remedies to resolve the antitrust lawsuit stalling ...Read more

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NHTSA probes braking-loss petition on Ford Maverick Hybrid truck

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DETROIT -- U.S. regulators have opened an investigation into a petition concerning a 2024 Ford Maverick Hybrid compact pickup that experienced intermittent loss of braking.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened the probe on whether to grant or deny the petition filed on July 7. Granting the petition ultimately could result ...Read more

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SpaceX plans $100 billion Louisiana site in post-IPO growth push

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SpaceX plans to build a new $100 billion launch site for its Starship rocket on the southern coast of Louisiana, allowing the company to expand operations of the behemoth vehicle that’s critical to its future.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and SpaceX executives announced the plans on Tuesday, authorizing the company to build a facility ...Read more

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Ex-Meta staffer says 99% of teens shunned early safety tool

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A former data scientist at Meta Platforms Inc. testified that less than 1% of teenagers were early adopters of a feature designed to get them to take a break from scrolling on Instagram.

George Volichenko — who worked on the platform’s mental well-being team from April 2022 to February 2023 — told a jury that the tool’s initial impact ...Read more

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UAW, Shawn Fain respond to Trump's 50% tariff threat on Canadian autos

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WASHINGTON — The United States' top automotive union leader has condemned President Donald Trump's threat to issue 50% tariffs on Canadian automotive goods beginning Jan. 1, 2027.

"The UAW rejects any escalation on Canada, a country with strong unions and labor standards," United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain said in a statement shared ...Read more

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Jackson Hole offers Warsh a prime stage to rebut his critics

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Kevin Warsh’s first major speech as chairman of the Federal Reserve has become an unexpected trial of his slimmed-down communications style.

The challenge facing Warsh is to counter criticism that he hasn’t been forthright with his views on the economy, without capitulating on his determination not to spoon feed investors with clues on ...Read more

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H.B. Fuller rejects billion-dollar activist offer for key business

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MINNEAPOLIS -- H.B. Fuller is accelerating a dispute with an activist investor by rejecting its bid to buy one of the Minnesota-based adhesive company’s business units for more than $1 billion.

Ancora Group Holdings quickly responded, reaffirming its intention to buy the building adhesive solutions business in a letter sharply critical of ...Read more

Target pulls 'offensive' Halloween costume

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Target pulled a Halloween costume from its website after social media users said it resembled racist caricatures historically used to demean Black people.

The controversy lands as the Minneapolis-based retailer has shown signs of regaining momentum with shoppers, including stronger recent sales after a difficult stretch marked in...Read more

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Apple gears up to launch its first new Mac Mini in two years

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Apple Inc. is gearing up to launch a new version of its Mac mini desktop computer for the first time in almost two years, according to people familiar with the matter.

The new desktop will debut as soon as the coming days, potentially putting the unveiling ahead of a September event to introduce the next iPhones, said the people, who asked not ...Read more

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How LA stopped being Hollywood's leading star

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It was a television show tailor-made for Los Angeles: a highly anticipated Netflix crime drama about a team of ex-special forces operators who outsource their skills to criminals in the city.

The production was backed by a prominent indie studio and had a critically acclaimed lead actor attached. And with a budget of more than $100 million and ...Read more