News

Tesla CEO Elon Musk restarts California factory amid lockdown

By TOM KRISHER and BEN MARGOT AP Auto Writer FREMONT, Calif. (AP) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed Monday that the company has restarted its California factory, a move that defied local government orders involving measures to contain the coronavirus. In a tweet, Musk practically dared authorities to arrest him, writing that he would be […]

Twitter to label disputed COVID-19 tweets

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Twitter announced Monday it will start alerting users when a tweet makes disputed or misleading claims about the coronavirus. The new rule is the latest in a wave of stricter policies that tech companies are rolling out to confront an outbreak of virus-related misinformation on their sites. […]

Virus drives new demand for Talkspace's online therapy

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic is driving up stress levels for many Americans — and new business for online therapy companies. More than 4 in 10 U.S. adults say worries tied to the outbreak are impacting their mental health, according to a recent poll by the Kaiser Family […]

Semiconductor companies consider new plants in the U.S.

NEW YORK (AP) — Intel and a Taiwanese company are talking to the Trump administration about building new semiconductor plants in the United States amid concern about relying on suppliers in Asia for chips used in a wide variety of electronics. A spokesman for Intel, the biggest American chip maker, said Sunday that the company […]

Google affiliate scraps plan for Toronto smart-city project

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Google abandoned its smart-city development in Toronto on Thursday after more than two years of controversy over privacy concerns and amid economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic. A unit of Google’s parent company Alphabet had been proposing to turn a rundown part of Toronto’s waterfront into a […]

Uber loses $2.9 billion, offloads bike and scooter business

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Uber lost $2.9 billion in the first quarter as its overseas investments were hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, but the company is looking to its growing food delivery business and aggressive cost-cutting to ease the pain. The ride-hailing giant said Thursday it is offloading Jump, its […]

Virus tracing app raises privacy concerns in India

By SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — As India enters an extended coronavirus lockdown, the government is actively pursuing contact tracing to help control infections. At the heart of the effort in the country of 1.3 billion people is a smartphone app that evaluates users’ infection risk based on location services such as […]

Czechia, US to cooperate on security of 5G networks

PRAGUE (AP) — Czechia and the United States have signed a joint declaration Wednesday for cooperating on security of 5G technology. The Czech government office said the document was signed remotely by Czechia Prime Minister Andrej Babis and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The signing comes amid a global battle between the U.S. and […]

Uber lays off 3,700 as virus upends sharing economy

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — In a world where the coronavirus pandemic has turned social distancing into a new way of life, companies whose business models bank on people’s willingness to share their personal space are now struggling. Uber said Wednesday it’s cutting 3,700 full-time workers, or about 14% of […]

Airbnb laying off 1,900 employees due to travel decline

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Airbnb says it is laying off 25% of its workforce as it confronts a steep decline in global travel due to the new coronavirus pandemic. It’s a serious setback for the 12-year-old home-sharing company, which just a few months ago was valued at $31 billion and planning a hotly […]