LOS ANGELES -- Telecommunications giant AT&T is facing mounting pressure from an activist shareholder to pare down its operations by unloading the El Segundo-based satellite television giant DirecTV, which has been reeling from the loss of millions of subscribers.

Elliott Management Corp. of New York, which owns a $3.2 billion stake in AT&T, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Stating that California's interest in fighting discrimination against LGBTQ residents outweighs the right to impose religious standards on health care, an appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit against the Catholic Dignity Health hospital chain for barring a hysterectomy for a transgender patient.

The lawsuit was brought by Evan ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California businesses will be limited in their use of independent contracts under a closely watched proposal signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, a decision that is unlikely to quell a growing debate over the rules and nature of work in the 21st century economy.

Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 in a private ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Wednesday that could reframe the state's economy by compelling industries to give employment benefits to more workers.

Assembly Bill 5 was shaped by concerns that gig economy giants like Uber and Lyft have exploited workers, but it would affect many other industries as well.

Here...Read more

DETROIT -- General Motors and the UAW returned to bargaining early Wednesday with negotiators buckling down at "all levels."

The parties have been meeting steadily at GM's headquarters in Detroit in an effort to reach a four-year contract agreement as 46,000 union workers enter the third day of a nationwide strike.

Sources close to the talks ...Read more

SEATTLE -- Everyone from recent college grads to late-career job switchers lined up in South Lake Union to learn about openings at Amazon, which held job fairs in Seattle and five other U.S. cities Tuesday as part of a push to fill some 30,000 positions nationwide, including more than 10,000 locally.

While the national unemployment rate is at a...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday criticized the Trump administration's plan to rescind California's nearly half-century-old authority to impose tough car emissions standards, vowing to take legal action to block the move.

"California will prevail because we're leaders in this space," Newsom said.

Newsom's comments came ...Read more

DETROIT -- Within 36 hours of the UAW strike against General Motors, the Detroit automaker announced a decision to shift worker health care payments to the union immediately -- a strategy that risks dragging out the strike, labor negotiators say.

"They're pouring gasoline on the fire," said Harry Katz, the Jack Sheinkman Professor of Collective...Read more

Just before more than 80,000 workers announced Monday they planned an October strike against Kaiser Permanente, Kaiser CEO Bernard Tyson talked with The Bee about the union's concerns about pay inequity, labor strategy and concerns voiced by workers.

Leaders of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions said their strike will begin Oct. 14 and ...Read more

Facebook on Wednesday took another step in its efforts to gain a piece of the home video-communications market by taking the wraps off of Portal TV, a new set-top box for streaming TV programs and video chats.

In a company blog post, Facebook said that Portal TV will cost $149; they'll be shipped Nov. 5. The device will include streaming TV ...Read more

Facebook on Tuesday revealed how it plans to handle disputes over its content decisions, detailing how its purportedly independent "Oversight Board" will operate.

Facebook users who object to a content decision by the company or the algorithms it uses to approve or remove content, and who have exhausted appeals, will be able to request a review...Read more

Q: I received what appears to be a scam e-mail from Computer Help Security & Services. It urged me to renew my membership or call their telephone number to cancel (and thus avoid an impending $300 renewal charge to my account). I've never done business with this company, but is it possible they have my credit card number? Should I just delete ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve on Wednesday is poised to cut interest rates for a second straight time, but the big question is: How many more rate reductions is the central bank prepared to make in coming months?

The Fed shaved a quarter point from its key interest rate on July 31, and it has been signaling a similar move would be coming at...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The price of a small car could increase $322 to $627 if the United States agrees to a new free trade deal with Mexico and Canada.

Mid-size car prices could rise $105 to $231, while pickup trucks could cost an additional $151.

Those figures, derived from separate estimates by the government's International Trade Commission and ...Read more

SEATTLE -- Amazon's new Alexa Answers program, which encourages unpaid volunteers to fill in gaps in its databases to better respond to user queries, raises a host of questions about information quality and transparency in the fast-evolving voice computing era.

Many people make purchases, control home automation systems, play music and ask ...Read more

Ted Farnsworth is a survivor.

The sometime South Florida resident -- and, until Tuesday, head of MoviePass' parent company -- has stared down lawsuits, busted businesses, tech industry scrutiny, and Hollywood skepticism.

Farnsworth remains standing -- and is now ready for his next act.

On Tuesday, Farnsworth announced he would be stepping ...Read more