Americans stepped up their spending at retailers last month by the most in a year and a half, easing concerns that the economy might be weakening under the pressure of higher prices and elevated interest rates. The Commerce Department reported that r

Cisco Systems is planning to lay off 7% of its employees, its second round of job cuts this year, as the company shifts its focus to more rapidly growing areas in technology, such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. The company based in San

How much hype is left in Nvidia’s stock? Anyone with an S&P 500 index fund is hoping to get an answer to that weighty question next week. Nvidia has ridden Wall Street’s mania around artificial intelligence to become one of the stock market’s most ma

At Bullard High School in Fresno, it’s easy to see the benefits of banning students’ cellphones. Bullying is down and socialization is up, principal Armen Torigian said. Enforcing the smartphone restrictions? That’s been harder. Instead of putting th

“In space, no one can hear you scream,” went the tagline for the original “Alien” in 1979, a terrifying thought on multiple levels. There may indeed be a scientific rationale for a space scream to be inaudible, but isn’t it scarier to simply realize

It’s not just you. The word “demure” is being used to describe just about everything online these days. It all started earlier this month, when TikTok creator Jools Lebron posted a video that would soon take social media by storm. The hair and makeup

When a little boy burst into tears in her third-grade classroom last fall, Audrey Jost pulled him aside while the other kids were at recess. He said he was getting headaches and falling behind the other students, so Jost spoke with his parents about

Federal safety officials are requiring inspections of cockpit seats on Boeing 787 Dreamliners after one of the jets went into a dive when the captain’s seat lurched forward without warning and disconnected the plane’s autopilot system. Boeing also ha

The North Carolina elections board this week approved the first digital identification that can be used to meet state voter ID requirements, signing off on mobile credentials offered to students and employees at the state’s flagship public university

More than 17,000 AT&T workers in nine states across the Southeast are on strike after accusing the company of unfair labor practices during contract negotiations this summer. The Communications Workers of America — the union representing the striking

A group of authors is suing artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, alleging it committed “large-scale theft” in training its popular chatbot Claude on pirated copies of copyrighted books. While similar lawsuits have piled up for more than a year

TikTok pushed back against U.S. government arguments that the popular social media platform is not shielded by the First Amendment, comparing its platform to prominent American media organizations owned by foreign entities. Last month, the Justice De

Software engineer Kenna Ofoegbu in Houston, Texas tries hard to keep his three kids cool during the summer and that means air conditioning. Yet their house has lost power three times in just the past two and a half months. One of those outages lasted

Facing competition from automakers with lower costs, Ford Motor Co. is shifting its electric vehicle strategy and now will focus on making two new electric pickup trucks and a new commercial van. The company says all will cost less, have longer range

Now is a great time to purchase a used electric vehicle. The average price for a used EV has dropped about 20% compared to this time last year. To top it off, you can qualify for a federal tax credit of up to $4,000 if you purchase an EV for $25,000

Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has shut down CrowdTangle, a tool widely used by researchers, watchdog organizations and journalists to monitor social media posts, notably to track how misinformation spreads on the company’s platforms. T

Target’s comparable sales rose for the first time in a year as grocery aisle deals for cash-strapped customers began to pay off. Sales at stores and digital channels operating over at least the past 12 months rose 2% in the second quarter reversing m

California will be the first U.S. state to direct millions of dollars from taxpayer money and tech companies to help pay for journalism and AI research under a new deal announced this week. Under the first-in-the-nation agreement, the state and tech

Apple’s ecosystem is forever evolving, and with the release of iOS 18.1, it’s set to redefine the boundaries of automation and the Internet of Things by introducing advancements in near-field communication tech and the secure element. This will unloc

Password managers and the recent emergence of Passkeys represent two critical stages in online security. With iOS 18, Apple plans to make it easier for users with the launch of a dedicated Passwords app. Let’s delve into digital authentication’s hist

In the name of consumer protection, a slew of U.S. federal agencies are working to make it easier for Americans to click the unsubscribe button for unwanted memberships and recurring payment services. A broad new government initiative, dubbed “Time I

Current and former Cash App users could be eligible for a hefty piece of a proposed class-action settlement from the popular online payment service. Earlier this year, Cash App Investing and its parent company Block Inc. agreed to pay $15 million to

A federal judge on Wednesday indicated he will order major changes in Google’s Android app store to punish the company for engineering a system that a jury declared an illegal monopoly that has hurt millions of consumers and app developers. Over the

Becky Litvintchouk didn’t think she’d be able to manage the mountain of tasks needed to become an entrepreneur. Every other part of her life has been overwhelming because of ADHD, which can impact her ability to concentrate. So, she turned to AI. The

If you’re ready to move on from a purely gasoline-fueled vehicle but you’re not ready to go fully electric, you have two choices. You can get a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid vehicle. But which one is best? Experts can help you decide. A hybrid electric

Google on Tuesday unveiled its next generation of Pixel phones, providing the maker of Android software a head start on the next iPhone in the race to bring more artificial-intelligence services to devices that have become people’s constant companion

Watching climbing at the Paris Olympics makes it seem as if it’s a sport that would be completely out of the question for a weekend athlete. The speed, strength and dexterity with which the competitors scale the walls appear impossible to match. Thin

California and South Carolina could become the next states to limit cellphone use in schools, with state officials taking up the issue this week. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is sending letters to school districts, urging them to restrict students’ u