After the Trump administration’s latest attack on tech companies over their use of the H-1B visa program, Microsoft is disputing a claim by Vice President JD Vance that last year it hired thousands of workers from other countries.

Microsoft said in a statement Thursday that the workers “are not new arrivals to our country.”

Vance ...Read more

Subject to debate: What's the dumbest idea to emerge from the Department of Transportation under its boss, former reality TV contestant Sean Duffy?

Some might vote for Duffy's attack on bike lanes — excuse me, "DEI bike lanes" as he calls them — based on a claim that bike lanes cause traffic congestion. (They don't.)

Or his suggestion ...Read more

For months, delivery robots have rolled across San Jose’s sidewalks without any rules.

Now, the city is finally reining them in — establishing a 5 mph sidewalk speed limit, granting transportation officials broad oversight over their operation, and instituting fines ranging from $100 to $500 for devices that block curbs and crosswalks under...Read more

A pet project of architect Frank Gehry, a smaller concert hall to complement his legendary Walt Disney Concert Hall, is taking shape in downtown Los Angeles for an opening next September.

Elements Gehry devised to set it apart are already visible, as construction on the $337 million addition to the Colburn School of Performing Arts reveals ...Read more

Eight U.S. doctors, including two Minnesota physicians, were mistakenly identified as dead in letters sent to patients last month by health insurer UnitedHealthcare.

A UHC spokesman confirmed the total this week after the Minnesota Star Tribune received a copy of a letter that incorrectly notified some patients of the death of Dr. Geoffrey ...Read more

After weeks of negotiations, Duke Energy and several other groups have agreed on a new large load tariff — a set of standard contract terms that big energy users, including data centers, will have to follow.

As data centers begin using massive amounts of energy from local electric grids, large load tariffs are seen as a way to make sure that ...Read more

More than 265,000 Ram cargo vans have been recalled over a defect with the vehicles' steering system.

At issue are the electric power steering systems in ProMaster vans from model years 2022-26. Federal regulators say water can seep into the steering systems, damaging the vehicles' electrical wiring and potentially causing permanent loss of ...Read more

When it comes to retirement planning, the first and most obvious questions revolve around money. Will there be enough to carry you through retirement? How much regular income can you generate from a combination of Social Security, retirement plan withdrawals, and even part-time work?

Retirement planning also requires thinking about ongoing ...Read more

When Jim Bakker resigned from his PTL Ministries amid mounting scandals in March 1987, there was still hope in York County, South Carolina, that whatever came next for Heritage USA wouldn’t derail the economic engine that had fueled phenomenal growth and development across the region.

At the time, PTL’s plans included $2 billion in ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The health-focused restaurant chain True Food Kitchen has shut down three locations in Southern California after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the weekend.

The closures are among nine others across the country that served customers for the last time on Sunday.

Backed by Oprah Winfrey, True Food Kitchen says it serves ...Read more

Housing officials from President Donald Trump’s administration are launching an investigation into Wells Fargo over efforts to improve Black homeownership, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development sent a letter to the bank’s chief executive, Charlie Scharf, saying it is going to ...Read more

Gold has been on a wild ride this year.

The precious metal soared to a record of nearly $5,600 an ounce before tumbling to roughly $4,000. It has since clawed its way back to about $4,200, leaving investors wondering whether gold’s spectacular run has more room to go — or whether the metal’s best days are behind it.

Daniel Eye, senior ...Read more

Ford Motor Co. on Thursday notified salaried employees of changes to its paid-time off policy starting in 2027, including the elimination of a program to purchase vacation time and changes to vacation milestones that the automaker said would increase paid days off for some employees.

The changes are a part of human resources-related updates the...Read more

A massive retailer plans to bring aerial drone delivery to the Seattle area next year and no, it's not Amazon.

Walmart announced Monday that it will expand its drone delivery service to two new metro areas in 2027: Seattle and Denver. The company is aiming to offer drone delivery from more than 270 stores across the country, though it did not ...Read more

PLEASANTON, California — The overall pace of Bay Area tech industry layoffs has slowed in recent months, even though software company Workday has just revealed a fresh round of local job cuts.

Workday intends to eliminate 142 jobs at its corporate headquarters in Pleasanton, the cloud-based software services company reported to the state ...Read more

On a sprawling property near the Murray River in Australia’s southeast, Andrew Russell is gearing up to harvest one of his best grain crops in years after plentiful rain. But two wars half a world away are souring what should be a celebrated season for the nation’s farmers.

Diesel prices have soared globally as supplies tighten due to ...Read more

With home heating oil prices skyrocketing, officials are urging Connecticut residents to reach out for assistance before the freezing weather whips across the state this winter.

The current price of $5.91 per gallon is 86% above the average at this time last year and up 50% from June, officials said. The ongoing war in Iran has put a strain on ...Read more

Canadian autoworkers union Unifor has scheduled a strike authorization vote for employees at the maker of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram.

Negotiations between the Toronto-based labor union and Stellantis NV have been at an impasse for almost a month after the transatlantic automaker disclosed it has a tentative agreement to sell its idled ...Read more

Drivers on Detroit roads are about to become acquainted with a phenomenon that's become commonplace in other cities across the South and the West Coast: cars traveling without anyone behind the wheel.

Waymo LLC’s rideshare service began full autonomous testing in Detroit this week without a human specialist at the wheel as the rideshare ...Read more