WASHINGTON -- It's long seemed that nothing could unite President Donald Trump and Democrats on Capitol Hill. Then Facebook Inc. decided to create a cryptocurrency.

Washington's bipartisan distrust of the social-networking giant will be on display this week as it defends the digital-money proposal in two congressional hearings. In a sign that ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- New federal laws will soon address a national chemical pollution problem and could put 3M and other producers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances -- better known as PFAS -- into a multibillion-dollar financial bind.

Once marketed as making items ranging from clothing to cookware resistant to water, grease and heat, PFAS are ...Read more

Some Amazon workers in Shakopee, Minn., began a strike to protest work conditions this afternoon, during the first of a two-day Prime Day sale that's one of its biggest promotions.

The strike is one of the first times workers in the U.S. have challenged Amazon through a work stoppage.

The protest is one of the latest actions organized by the ...Read more

Amazon critics and competitors are turning the retailer's fifth-annual summer sales event into a platform to air their grievances and push their own wares.

A planned strike Monday by workers at a Minnesota fulfillment center is making suburban Minneapolis a focus for the Prime Day protests, with a union representing airline pilots for Amazon ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Just days after another federal agency suspended its periodical study of honey bee populations, the EPA greenlighted the wider use of a pesticide that environmental activists warn could further decimate the pollinators.

A major conservation group says it will take the agency to court over the decision.

The EPA said Friday it was ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Sony's "Spider-Man: Far From Home" continued to dominate the box office in its second weekend of release, adding $45.3 million (a hair above analyst predictions of $35 million to $45 million and a small 51% drop over last week) for a cumulative $274.5 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.

Internationally...Read more

After Norah O'Donnell was named anchor of the "CBS Evening News" in May, she received a congratulatory email from Maureen Orth, the widow of Tim Russert, the late NBC Washington bureau chief and "Meet the Press" moderator.

"Tim would be so proud," the note read. O'Donnell said it brought her to tears. It also reminded her of how Russert, her ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration threw out steeper fines proposed by Obama-era regulators for automakers that fail to meet tougher fuel economy standards, a boost for luxury brands like Jaguar, BMW and Porsche that have paid the highest penalties in the past.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in a filing late Friday, ...Read more

TOKYO -- Japan and South Korea bickered over the details of rival briefings about export-control talks Saturday as the U.S. backed away from a potential role as a mediator in a fight over history and trade between its two Asian allies.

Officials at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry held a press conference at which they denied an ...Read more

I didn't need the fancy dog treats.

Seriously, my dog has plenty of treats. She hates most of them. But I'd just bought her a new bowl, and Amazon told me that other people who bought the bowl also bought these delicious dog treats.

Obviously, I bought the fancy dog treats.

The psychology behind that decision will be on full display, on a ...Read more

Get a robocall lately from Jonathon or someone else saying that your student loans have been flagged for a student loan forgiveness program?

"If you owe more than $10,000 and are not currently enrolled in school, you could qualify for a reduced monthly payment and a large portion of your balance to be forgiven," one caller said.

"To redeem ...Read more

BEIRUT -- As Iran presses on with its gradual dismantling of terms set by the 2015 nuclear deal, and while tensions with the U.S. increase ever higher, European signatories say a new financial mechanism can salvage the accord.

That mechanism, INSTEX, aims to provide Iran with an incentive to stay in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA...Read more

Facebook has agreed to pay a record $5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission after a yearlong investigation into the company's privacy practices, according to multiple news reports Friday.

The reports by the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the New York Times, based on unnamed sources, say that the FTC this week voted...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Labor unrest is escalating at Kaiser Permanente, with unions for 85,000 of the health care giant's workers saying Friday that they are taking steps toward a potential strike because talks on a new contract had stalled.

The workers -- who include most employees who are not doctors, registered nurses or mental health workers -- are...Read more

The New Jersey legislature has passed a "student borrower bill of rights" that regulates companies that service student loans, part of a national trend as America deals with its $1.6 trillion student debt crisis.

The bill forces companies like Navient, FedLoan and other student-loan servicers to register with the Department of Banking and ...Read more

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam -- The requests that textile factory manager Huynh Thi Ai Diem receives are almost always the same: A foreign company is desperately trying to relocate production from China to Vietnam. Tariffs imposed by the U.S. have eaten away their profit margin. Can she help?

Huynh would like nothing more but is swift to provide a...Read more

Two things became apparent this week after a federal judge blocked President Trump's requirement that drug prices be disclosed in TV commercials -- a move intended to shame pharmaceutical companies into being friendlier to patients.

First, the ruling highlighted the limitations of Trump's I-don't-need-no-stinking-Congress approach to policy. ...Read more