Meta Platforms Inc. was ordered to pay a groundbreaking $25 billion civil penalty to the state of New Mexico in a consumer deception case spurred by the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The fine issued Wednesday by state court Judge Francis Mathew is among the largest verdicts ever issued in U.S. legal history.

The award comes after a jury in ...Read more

Meta Platforms Inc. boosted its capital spending outlook and announced plans for a new class of nonvoting stock, escalating its already-stratospheric bet on artificial intelligence.

Capital expenditures will be $135 billion to $145 billion in 2026, the social-media giant said during its quarterly earnings report Wednesday, raising the bottom ...Read more

The Trump administration is waiving recordkeeping requirements in a bid to encourage farmers, truck-stop operators and other companies to buy tax-exempt red diesel.

The move, part of President Donald Trump’s effort to combat high diesel costs by expanding sales of a tax-exempt variety, was described by an administration official who asked ...Read more

Millions of Americans lost their health insurance this year when Obamacare premium subsidies disappeared.

Many small families found that their health insurance costs quadrupled — pricing them out of the market. Many of these uninsured work for small businesses that do not offer health insurance.

But this month, if you work for a small ...Read more

California isn’t the only state with global bragging rights for its business heft.

To grade the economies of the 50 states and the District of Columbia on a global scorecard, my trusty spreadsheet reviewed two recently updated sets of 2026 data on gross domestic product, a broad measure of business output and consumer spending.

Mid-year ...Read more

Minnesota hospital leaders fear 2027 will be the year when a crisis becomes an emergency, as federal budget cuts push small-town facilities to close.

Hospital leaders gathered at the State Capitol on Tuesday, ahead of the midterm elections and the next legislative session, to warn that state or federal policy changes are needed to preserve ...Read more

A Bloomington, Minnesota, startup is testing whether its interactive prescription drug dispenser can help older Minnesotans take their medications on schedule — especially in rural areas that lack pharmacies.

Omcare’s Home Health Hub is about the size of a coffee maker and dispenses medications, sent monthly by mail, along with alarms to ...Read more

The record $1.5 trillion U.S. military budget for next year has mostly left out the Philadelphia’s area’s helicopter industry.

Over the past decade, Boeing and Leonardo invested many millions and put thousands to work with the expectation they had Army or Air Force jobs for years to come. But their leaders may have to write off losses and ...Read more

Silicon Valley companies may be going all in on artificial intelligence, but Bay Area residents are broadly concerned about the technology — including many of the tech workers riding the wave.

That’s according to a poll of Bay Area locals this summer by the Mercury News and Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a nonprofit think tank. Only 28% of ...Read more

The last time Washingtonians voted on an income tax, the state's biggest corporations opened their wallets to kill the idea.

In 2010, Microsoft and Boeing and top executives for companies including Amazon bankrolled opposition to an initiative that would have levied a tax on people making $200,000 or more a year. Voters overwhelmingly rejected ...Read more

Abbott Laboratories plans to spin off its nutrition business into a separate company – a move that follows years of tumult over its infant formulas.

The new business will sell Abbott products including Similac, PediaSure, Pedialyte, Glucerna and Ensure. The company also makes medical tests, medical devices and generic pharmaceuticals.

The ...Read more

The U.S. government has blacklisted a Chinese venture firm established by ex-Microsoft Corp. AI scientist Lu Qi for alleged ties to a startup accused of stealing technology from Alphabet Inc.’s Google.

The State Department on Monday announced measures against Shanghai Zhisuan Technology Co., founded by Ding Linwei, a former Google software ...Read more

Elon Musk capitalized on a strong quarter of earnings at SpaceX to openly press for combining the business with Tesla Inc. in what would be the biggest merger of all time.

Toward the end of a call about SpaceX results that far exceeded expectations, the chief executive officer initially said he was “tap dancing through a minefield” when ...Read more

Alaska Air Group blamed its downbeat third-quarter earnings on jet fuel expenses.

The airline reported a net loss of $147 million, a dip of $1.32 per share, for the third quarter, according to an earnings report published Tuesday. The company consists of Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, regional carrier Horizon Air and ground support company...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced $8 billion in aid to farmers struggling with high diesel prices while also tying his support for increased ethanol content in gasoline — a boon to Midwest corn growers — to the reelection of a Kansas senator.

Trump made the proclamation Monday while stumping for the embattled Sen. Roger ...Read more

The Trump administration announced $8 billion in aid for farmers to help offset rising fuel costs, a major burden for growers during the harvest.

The move is the administration’s latest attempt to ease financial burdens on growers — traditionally a strong Republican voting base — ahead of midterm elections. The White House earlier this ...Read more

Ahead of a holiday shopping season packed with new game releases, Best Buy is making a pitch for gamers’ attention — and their next purchases.

The Richfield, Minnesota-based consumer electronics retailer is launching Best Buy Gamers, a free online platform that combines game reviews, personalized recommendations, deals and information about...Read more

Ask a child what they want to be when they grow up and the answers are often familiar: teacher, firefighter, veterinarian, nurse.

For generations, Americans have counted on jobs like these to help them reach, and stay in, the middle-class. Careers in fields like education, health care, manufacturing and the trades have paid enough to support a ...Read more

Chrome Holding Co., formerly known as 23andMe, is set to pay $6 million to the state of California to settle allegations that it failed to protect customers' genetic data and sold that data without consent during its bankruptcy process.

The settlement was filed this week in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Missouri and is ...Read more

The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday certified Boeing’s largest Max variant, the 737 Max 10, after years of manufacturing and regulatory hurdles.

The FAA’s decision clears the way for Boeing to begin delivering the Max 10 to customers and brings airlines one step closer to flying passengers on board the newest aircraft. It is ...Read more