Walt Disney Co. is experimenting with using artificial intelligence to test out different concepts for music videos showcasing the lyrics to its songs, starting with “Go the Distance” from its 1997 animated movie, “Hercules.”

The effort is part of a deal with Bay Area AI startup OpenArt, which makes AI generated videos. Disney can input...Read more

SEATTLE — Kate Neville is dreading the new year.

As a freelance grant writer, Neville has to buy her own health insurance, and for years her premiums have been climbing.

Her Kaiser Permanente plan cost around $350 per month just three years ago. Today, she pays $633 per month for the same plan — a nearly 80% increase. As open enrollment ...Read more

These new glasses can help you hear.

You read that right. Former Qualcomm engineers have invented smart glasses that can amplify the sounds you want to hear while reducing the background noise around you. Now the startup is recruiting San Diego-area participants to test its latest prototypes.

The San Diego company behind the glasses is Aynak, ...Read more

A magnetic gray box, no larger than a Post-it note, rests on the refrigerator in Sammy Mousa’s apartment, holding up a maroon University of Chicago Law School flag. The word “Brick” is imprinted on the square’s surface.

On his way to class in the morning, Mousa, 26, taps his phone on the device, in the same way he would tap to pay at a ...Read more

The Federal Trade Commission and 20 states have filed a federal lawsuit alleging deceptive pricing practices against a convenience store chain that serves rural and impoverished pockets of America.

The 29-count civil lawsuit was filed Oct. 26 in the U.S. Middle District Court of Tennessee, claiming that Dollar General had engaged in a practice ...Read more

The Baltimore County Council on Monday unanimously approved a 30-year property tax credit that aims to incentivize the development of Anduril Industries’ proposed submarine manufacturing shipyard in Sparrows Point.

But while county officials say the project could bring more than 3,100 permanent jobs to the region, the legislation does not ...Read more

Burbank-based post-production studio Roundabout Entertainment plans to lay off 81 employees, the latest sign of contraction in L.A.'s struggling film and TV industry.

The job cuts are set to take effect Dec. 29, according to a filing with the state's Employment Development Department.

The reductions are part of a restructuring plan initiated ...Read more

Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy has a new CEO leading it through the crucial holiday season.

But Jason Bonfig, who took over the helm on Sunday, will have more than the holiday shopping season to contend with as Best Buy’s sixth CEO. He will have to fend off competing electronics retailers, adapt the business model to boost alternative...Read more

Tired of stale cereal? General Mills is trying to zip up the issue.

The Golden Valley, Minnesota-based company launched boxes of Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios on Walmart.com equipped with bags featuring Ziploc seals.

As of Oct. 30, the 14.4-ounce resealable Honey Nut product costs the same as an 18.8-ounce box with a traditional bag. The new...Read more

Sahara hotel-casino has begun accepting cryptocurrency to fund gaming transactions, becoming the first Strip property to announce the option, according to payment provider BurraPay.

The platform allows customers to deposit Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin at the casino cage in exchange for chips, tickets and other gaming funds. The cryptocurrency...Read more

Waymo expanded its Los Angeles service area on Tuesday, adding three South Bay neighborhoods to the 210-square-mile region where the robotaxis roam.

Riders can now travel to Torrance, El Segundo, and Manhattan Beach in a Waymo driverless taxi, but they still won't be able to call a ride to or from Los Angeles International Airport.

The ...Read more

SOUTHFIELD, Michigan — The autonomous rideshare wars are heating up just in time for the cold Michigan winter.

A fleet of gold, butterfly-door Tesla Cybercabs has joined Waymo driverless vehicles in Detroit, expanding the competitive playing field from Austin, Texas, to Michigan's more complicated, multi-season environment. Two dozen ...Read more

Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth is leaving his position at the end of this month for a new job leading a luxury gym chain, AB InBev announced Monday.

His departure for Equinox, a New York City-based gym chain, comes after a tumultuous five years at the helm of A-B marked by declining beer sales and political backlash following a 2023 ...Read more

As a criminal investigation into Southern California Edison's actions before last year's deadly Eaton fire continues, the state's for-profit utilities are lobbying for legislation that would protect their shareholders from paying for future catastrophic fires they cause.

According to slides recently presented by a Pacific Gas & Electric ...Read more

Mustafa Suleyman has some thoughts about whether artificial intelligence bots can become conscious. The answer, he says, is no. What's more, he says that AI developers should stop even speculating about it.

What's important about Suleyman's take is that he is the chief executive of Microsoft AI, which makes him one of the top three or four ...Read more

For most crypto investors, the theft of $6.3 billion from Binance was a reminder of the risks that still surround digital assets. For a small group of fast-moving trading firms and skilled investors, it was a chance to make a quick buck.

As apparent North Korean hackers rushed to convert funds stolen from the world’s biggest crypto exchange, ...Read more

Apple Inc. delivered a mixed outlook to investors in its first quarterly report under Chief Executive Officer John Ternus, with narrower profit margins overshadowing an upbeat sales forecast.

Though Apple predicted revenue growth of 7% to 10% during the holiday season — beating the 6.1% estimated by Wall Street — the company warned that ...Read more

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to expand California's current Film and Television Tax Credit Program from $750 million to at least $1 billion annually.

The proposal would include credits for above-the-line talent and extend the tax credit through 2040, according to a news release Monday. If passed, the credit would be the country's largest capped film...Read more

Even the really big, existential questions start with a zoning permit.

The question currently roiling municipalities across Pennsylvania is data centers — large buildings filled with computers. What all of those computers are calculating is not subject to municipal oversight, but it’s the current that runs through the long township meetings...Read more

Should artificial intelligence systems be given rights? One of the leading thinkers on the fast-evolving technology weighed in over the weekend.

Microsoft AI Chief Executive Mustafa Suleyman, in an X post published on Sunday, repeated his stance that current AI systems are not conscious, do not have subjective experiences and cannot suffer. He ...Read more