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Tech companies want to move fast. Trump's 'AI Action Plan' aims to remove 'red tape'

Business / Business News /

The Trump administration on Wednesday laid out a plan that aims to make it easier for companies to quickly develop and deploy artificial intelligence technology.

The initiative shows how Silicon Valley tech executives who backed Trump during the election are shaping federal policy that will impact their businesses as they compete globally to ...Read more

Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post/TNS

Colorado issues notices to companies in falsified data case over cleanup of 404 oil and gas sites

Business / Business News /

State regulators took the first enforcement actions against some of Colorado’s largest oil and gas operators as part of an ongoing investigation into reports of environmental consultants’ falsification of data on the cleanup of 404 sites in Weld County.

The Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, or ECMC, which regulates the oil ...Read more

JIM ROSSMAN/TNS

Tech review: Big sound, small package

Business / Business News /

My wife is a preschool music teacher, and a big part of her curriculum is playing music in class.

She used to carry a small boombox about the size of a cigar box to play music from CDs.

Today she carries all her music on her phone and plays it wirelessly through a speaker connected via Bluetooth.

As the wife of a tech reviewer, she is my main...Read more

Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times/TNS

Tally of Microsoft victims surges to 400 as hackers exploit SharePoint flaw

Business / Business News /

The number of companies and organizations compromised by a security vulnerability in Microsoft Corp.’s SharePoint servers is increasing rapidly, with the tally of victims soaring more than six-fold in a few days, according to one research firm.

Hackers have breached about 400 government agencies, corporations and other groups, according to ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump urges looser rules, wider energy access in AI policy plan

Business / Business News /

The Trump administration called for boosting artificial intelligence development in the U.S. by loosening regulations and expanding energy supply for data centers under new guidelines that also urged withholding funds from states that put burdensome rules on the emerging technology.

The so-called AI Action Plan, released by the White House on ...Read more

Mark Reinstein/Zuma Press/TNS

Feds cancel $4.9 billion loan for Grain Belt Express energy project

Business / Business News /

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri — The U.S. Department of Energy has canceled a conditional $4.9 billion loan for the 800-mile Grain Belt Express transmission line that developers have sought to build for over a decade.

The Department of Energy said in a news release dated Wednesday that the conditions necessary to issue the loan guarantee were ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

White House unveils AI policy vision to spur US development

Business / Business News /

The Trump administration called for boosting artificial intelligence development in the U.S. by loosening regulations and expanding energy supply for data centers under new guidelines that also urged withholding funds from states that put burdensome rules on the emerging technology.

The so-called AI Action Plan, released by the White House on ...Read more

Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times/TNS

Tally of Microsoft victims surges to 400 as hackers exploit SharePoint flaw

Business / Business News /

The number of companies and organizations compromised by a security vulnerability in Microsoft Corp.’s SharePoint servers is increasing rapidly, with the tally of victims soaring more than six-fold in a few days, according to one research firm.

Hackers have breached about 400 government agencies, corporations and other groups, according to ...Read more

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images North America/TNS

New Uber feature will allow women to choose female drivers or riders

Business / Business News /

Uber is rolling out a new program for women in the U.S. that allows them to choose female riders or drivers, the company said Wednesday.

“Across the U.S., women riders and drivers have told us they want the option to be matched with other women on trips,” Uber said in a statement.

Women customers will see an option called “women drivers�...Read more

David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS

Boeing makes final offer to St. Louis-area workers as contract deadline looms

Business / Business News /

ST. LOUIS — The Boeing Corp. said Tuesday it made its final contract offer in talks with thousands of union-represented employees in the St. Louis area.

The proposal calls for 20% general wage increases over four years and a $5,000 ratification bonus, as well as faster progression to the top of the pay scale for workers and more vacation and ...Read more

Henry Payne/The Detroit News/TNS

Winners, losers, movers: Highlights of US auto sales six months in

Business / Business News /

There's never a dull moment in the U.S. market as automakers hustle to divine consumer trends, navigate federal regulations, juggle tariff-driven plant production, and dodge activist Molotov cocktails.

The first six months of 2025 saw robust sales on track for an annual 16.3 million in unit sales as gas prices dropped and tariffs rose. America�...Read more

Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Tesla's darkening outlook to test robotaxi vision pushed by Musk

Business / Business News /

Tesla Inc.’s core car-making business is facing a deteriorating outlook, providing a major test of Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s ability to lift the stock price with his vision of a self-driving future.

The electric-vehicle maker is expected to post the sharpest drop in revenues in more than a decade when it reports earnings on ...Read more

Scott Olson/Getty Images North America/TNS

Apple launches $20-a-month AppleCare One plan covering up to three devices

Business / Business News /

Apple Inc. is launching a new product-insurance plan that bundles coverage for as many as three devices, part of a broader effort to drum up subscription revenue.

The new offering is called AppleCare One and costs $20 a month, the company said Wednesday. The service also includes battery replacements, all-hours customer support and coverage for...Read more

Tomasz Bidermann/Dreamstime/TNS

US nuclear weapons agency breached in Microsoft SharePoint hack

Business / Business News /

The U.S. agency responsible for maintaining and designing the nation’s cache of nuclear weapons was among those breached by a hack of Microsoft Corp.’s SharePoint document management software, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

No sensitive or classified information is known to have been compromised in the attack on the ...Read more

Ritu Jethani/Dreamstime/TNS

Hershey raising candy prices by double digits on high cocoa costs

Business / Business News /

Hershey Co. is raising prices on its candy due to historically high cocoa costs.

The Pennsylvania-based maker of Hershey’s chocolates and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups told its retailers last week that it would be implementing a roughly double-digit price increase, company officials said Tuesday. That increase reflects a higher list price as ...Read more

Nathan Howard/Getty Images North America/TNS

AI boom leads to record costs on US grid and call for new plants

Business / Business News /

Businesses and households served by the largest U.S. power grid will spend a record $16.1 billion to ensure electricity supplies — a result that prompted immediate calls from utilities and energy groups to build more generation amid the AI frenzy.

The payouts to generators and other suppliers topped last year’s record $14.7 billion, ...Read more

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images North America/TNS

Wells Fargo executive barred from leaving China, as bank suspends travel there

Business / Business News /

Wells Fargo has suspended all employee travel to China after a U.S. executive was barred from leaving the country last week due to “a criminal case,” several national news outlets have reported.

China blocked Wells Fargo banker Chenyue Mao, a Shanghai-born managing director based in Atlanta, from leaving the country because “she is ...Read more

Kilmermedia/Dreamstime/TNS

Jonathan Lansner: 19% of California houses are owned by investors

Business / Business News /

Relatively speaking, California is not a hot spot for housing investors.

That’s a conclusion from my trusty spreadsheet’s review of data on investor activity across the nation from BatchData, a small data tracker that digs deeper into property records than many traditional real estate analysts.

BatchData reviewed California ownership ...Read more

Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News/TNS

Americans are paying for Trump's tariffs, not foreign companies

Business / Business News /

Who’s paying for Donald Trump’s tariffs? So far, American businesses and consumers.

General Motors Co. was the latest U.S. company to disclose how the levies are raising costs, with the automaker saying Tuesday that the duties dented profits by more than $1 billion as it chose to absorb the blow. That helps explain why car prices didn’t ...Read more

Meri Simon/Bay Area News Group/TNS

H-1B visa: Trump administration signals major change for controversial foreign-worker program

Business / Business News /

The administration of President Donald Trump plans to change the criteria for awarding the controversial H-1B visa, intended for foreign workers with specialized skills, and heavily used by Silicon Valley technology companies. But the nature of the change remains unclear.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Thursday notified the ...Read more