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Spring has arrived, and America’s services sector is positively booming. As some pandemic restrictions are relaxed and vaccines are put in more arms, pent-up consumer demand is getting released — and that’s helping economic activity in the services sector roar back, according to the Institute for Supply Management‘s monthly report. For March, the group’s index
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Over the weekend, cybersecurity experts revealed that about half a billion Facebook users’ personal information was breached — a treasure trove of data the includes full names, birthdays, phone numbers and their location. Facebook said that massive leak stems from an issue in 2019, which has since been fixed. Still, there’s no clawing back that
Continue ReadingLG is getting out of the “incredibly competitive” business of making smartphones. On Monday, the South Korean tech giant announced that it would close down its mobile phone unit after years of losses, marking the end of an era for a trailblazer in the Android world. The division is expected to be wound down by
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Last month, I set out to buy my father, an avid Before the Bell reader, a non-fungible token, or NFT. We’d spent lots of time discussing the various signs of market mania that had cropped up in the past year — including the rush into NFTs, the digital tokens feeding a boom in virtual art.
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The economic recovery in the United States and China is gaining steam, triggering a wave of upgraded forecasts and optimistic commentary. Meanwhile, economists watching other parts of the world are getting worried. “While the outlook has improved overall, prospects are diverging dangerously not only within nations but also across countries and regions. In fact, what
Continue ReadingMcDonald’s is expanding its lineup of sweet treats with a new McFlurry flavor. Beginning May 3, the chain is adding a Caramel Brownie McFlurry to its menus at US locations for a limited time. McDonald’s says the dessert combines vanilla soft serve ice cream with brownie pieces and caramel topping that’s blended throughout. Prices vary
Continue ReadingCiting several contributing factors, Delta Air Lines canceled approximately 100 flights Sunday. “Delta teams have been working through various factors, including staffing, large numbers of employee vaccinations and pilots returning to active status. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and the majority have been rebooked for the same travel day,” a Delta spokesperson
Continue ReadingPresident Biden, sometimes called “Amtrak Joe” for his train enthusiasm, appears to be living up to the name. The $2 trillion infrastructure plan Biden released this week calls for $80 billion to improve American train service. Rail experts say it’s the biggest commitment to rail travel in more than a generation and will revitalize a
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The personal information of about half a billion Facebook users, including their phone numbers, have been posted to a website used by hackers, cybersecurity experts say. There are records for more than 32 million accounts in the United States, 11 million in the United Kingdom, and 6 million in India, according to Alon Gal, the
Continue ReadingCiting several contributing factors, Delta Air Lines canceled approximately 100 flights Sunday. “Delta teams have been working through various factors, including staffing, large numbers of employee vaccinations and pilots returning to active status. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and the majority have been rebooked for the same travel day,” a Delta spokesperson
Continue ReadingThe Derek Chauvin murder trial is well underway, and CNN correspondent Sara Sidner said it is unlike any other that she’s covered as a journalist. Last week, jurors heard testimony from bystanders who described the moment they witnessed Chauvin kneel on George Floyd’s neck. “This is the first time an entire trial from start to
Continue ReadingThe movie theater industry has been in desperate need of good news since the beginning of the pandemic. That good news finally came on Sunday thanks to a giant radioactive lizard and an oversized ape. Warner Bros.’ monster mash “Godzilla vs. Kong” brought in the biggest opening weekend of the pandemic era so far. The
Continue ReadingThe state of Georgia got called out for its new voting law in the latest “Saturday Night Live” cold open on Saturday. In another episode of the talk show “Oops, you did it again,” Britney Spears, played by Chloe Fineman, hosts the pariahs of the week to decide who is “not that innocent.” At the
Continue ReadingLast fall, when General Motors revealed the GMC Hummer EV electric pickup, Duncan Aldred, head of the Buick and GMC brands, told CNN Business, “There will be an SUV, so watch this space.” That space is now filled. GM revealed the GMC Hummer EV SUV on Saturday in a 60-second commercial narrated by LeBron James
Continue ReadingAmericans can expect to receive more cellphone robocalls and texts because of a US Supreme Court decision issued Thursday, according to a consumer advocacy group. In a unanimous ruling that could have a major impact on telemarketing, the Supreme Court ruled that Facebook cannot be sued for repeatedly texting customers security alerts because its texts
Continue ReadingAfter being forgotten in a desk drawer for almost 35 years, a sealed copy of the Nintendo video game Super Mario Bros. sold at auction on Friday for a whopping $660,000. It’s the most ever paid for a video game, according to a news release from Heritage Auctions, which ran the sale. The Dallas-based auction
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Liz Wong is a nurse anesthetist at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs who has invented a patented medical device, which decreases surgical site infections and catheter-related bloodstream infections. “So what we have done is we have invented an intravenous port and syringe system that is completely encased in a sterile chamber,” said Wong.
Continue ReadingUber has been ordered to pay $1.1 million after an arbitrator ruled that the rideshare company’s drivers discriminated against a blind woman and her guide dog on more than a dozen separate occasions. Lisa Irving, a California resident, said she was denied rides or verbally abused by drivers 14 times in 2016 and 2018, Irving’s
Continue ReadingTesla has not built any of its two most expensive cars — the Model S and Model X — so far this year. Tesla did not respond to any questions for the reason for the production decision. Even so, the automaker still managed to produce a record number of cars in its most recent quarter,
Continue ReadingStores and restaurants in airports have been slammed by the pandemic and the falloff in air travel. But travelers are beginning to fly again, offering airport stores signs of hope. Airline travel in the United States recently reached its highest level since the pandemic began, although it’s still around half of what it was pre-pandemic,
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