CATEGORIES

INSURANCE TELEMARKETERS FINED $225M FOR A BILLION ROBOCALLS

The U.S. communications regulator proposed a $225 million fine, its largest ever, against two health insurance telemarketers for spamming people with 1 billion robocalls using fake phone numbers.

GOOGLE QUIETLY ROLLS OUT TEST VERSION OF ANDROID UPGRADE

Google has released a test version of its annual upgrade to its Android software without the usual fanfare heralding the latest operating system powering most smartphones.

DAVIDSON STEPS UP IN ‘THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND'

The protagonists in Judd Apatow movies don’t generally have their stuff together. They are emotionally stunted, occasionally underachieving, unmotivated to change and often even border on unlikable. But whether it’s Seth Rogen’s stoner-entrepreneur, Steve Carell’s 40-year-old virgin or Adam Sandler’s depressed movie star, there has always been at least some separation between the actor and the character.

AS BUSINESS TRICKLES BACK, HOTELS COMPETE ON CLEANLINESS

Marriott, Hilton and other big hotel companies are used to competing on price or perks. Now they are competing on cleanliness.

‘Welcome Back' Several Famed Museums Reopen Across Europe

In the Netherlands, the intimate gaze of the Girl with the Pearl Earring can once again startle and entice visitors. Down in Spain, the rusty maze of steel sheets by Richard Serra is a wonderland anew for art lovers. And at the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam can drop jaws like it has done for ages.

Snapchat To Stop 'Promoting' Trump Amid Uproar Over Tweets

Snapchat will stop “promoting” President Donald Trump on its video messaging service, the latest example of a social media platform adjusting how it treats this U.S. president.

Cinema Chain AMC Warns It May Not Survive The Pandemic

Movie theater chain AMC warned that it may not survive the coronavirus pandemic, which has shuttered its theaters and led film studios to explore releasing more movies directly to viewers over the internet.

Dispatches From Yosemite: Alone With The Bears and Beauty

The glacier-carved valleys of Yosemite National Park have been closed to the public for nearly three months and a few dozen lucky kids have had it mostly to themselves.

‘NEVER HAVE I EVER' BRINGS RARE VOICE, AND A NEWCOMER, TO TV

When Mindy Kaling was growing up in the Boston area, few classmates looked like her, and her television choices ranged from angsty white teenagers to funny white teenagers.

NSA: RUSSIAN AGENTS HAVE BEEN HACKING MAJOR EMAIL PROGRAM

The U.S. National Security Agency says the same Russian military hacking group that interfered in the 2016 presidential election and unleashed a devastating malware attack the following year has been exploiting a major email server program since last August or earlier.

LAS VEGAS REOPENS FROM HISTORIC CORONAVIRUS CASINO CLOSURE

The casino coronavirus closure has ended. Cards are being dealt, dice are rolling and slot machines flashed and jingled for the first customers who started gambling again early Thursday in Las Vegas and throughout Nevada.

FARM-TO-TABLE DINING TAKES ON NEW MEANING AMID PANDEMIC

Eric Pray is used to shipping seafood all over the country. But since the coronavirus took hold, he has shifted his focus closer to home — selling lobsters from a homemade tank in his garage.

DOCUMENTARY ABOUT ELECTRIC RACING HOLDS LITTLE SPARK

For proof that Leonardo DiCaprio can’t save every film he touches, look no further than “And We Go Green,” a languid documentary about the electric car racing circuit.

EPIDEMIC OF WIPES AND MASKS PLAGUE SEWERS, STORM DRAINS

Mayor Jim Kenney kicked off a recent briefing on Philadelphia’s coronavirus response with an unusual request for residents: Be careful what you flush.

Easy Jet Reveals 'Sophisticated' Hack of Customer Details

U.K.-based budget airline easyJet said that “highly sophisticated” hackers accessed the email addresses and travel details of approximately 9 million customers.

AN OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD EXPERIMENT IN ‘SPACESHIP EARTH'

During lockdown, have you taken a moment to appreciate that at least you’re not quarantined with eight free-thinking adventurers in a terrarium of depleting oxygen levels?

FRANCE DEPLOYS $8.8 BILLION TO RESCUE AILING CAR INDUSTRY

France’s government is injecting more than 8 billion euros ($8.8 billion) to save the country’s car industry from huge losses wrought by virus lockdowns, and wants to use the crisis to make France the No. 1 producer of electric vehicles in Europe.

41 MILLION JOBS LOST; HOMEBOUND GEAR UP TO GET OUT, WAY OUT

The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments related to the national and global response, the workplace, and the spread of the virus.

IN PANDEMIC, USING DRONES TO DROP MEDICAL SUPPLIES FROM SKY

With a loud whir and a whoosh, a fixed-wing drone slingshots out of a medical warehouse, zips through hazy skies at 80 mph, pops open a belly hatch, and drops a box of medical supplies. Slowed by a little parachute, the box drifts downward and lands with a plop, less than 8 minutes after launch.

BRANSON'S VIRGIN ORBIT FAILS ON FIRST ROCKET LAUNCH ATTEMPT

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit failed Monday in its first test launch of a new rocket carried aloft by a Boeing 747 and released over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California.

ORDERS FOR US BIG-TICKET FACTORY GOODS DROP 17.2% IN APRIL

U.S. orders for big-ticket factory goods plunged for the second straight month in April as the coronavirus pandemic hammered the economy.

PANDEMIC A BOON FOR THE BICYCLE AS THOUSANDS SNAP THEM UP

Joel Johnson hadn’t owned a bicycle since he was 15, but the pandemic changed all that.

PATRONS UNDER PLASTIC: RESTAURANTS GET CREATIVE IN VIRUS ERA

Dining at a table where each person is enclosed by a clear plastic shield might look and sound futuristic, but it could be one way for some restaurants to reopen. It also might help out if your companion orders escargots, heavy on the garlic.

VANISHING JOBS FOR YOUNG COULD CREATE ‘LOCK-DOWN GENERATION'

Bashar Ali Naim used to work in a perfume and accessories store in Baghdad, earning $480 per week on average. About three months ago, the coronavirus outbreak swept into Iraq, and the 28-year-old father of two has been out of work ever since.

WORRY, HASTE, RETAIL THERAPY: WHAT HAVE WE BOUGHT AND WHY?

Between technical glitches and food worries, retail therapy, and sheer amnesia, something has happened to shopping during the pandemic that can be summed up thusly: rubber chickens.

Airbnb Laying Off 1,900 Employees Due To Travel Decline

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.

Beaches, Nightclubs? Europe Mulls How To Get Tourists Back

The Mediterranean resort town of Ayia Napa is known for its boisterous parties. Each summer, thousands of young foreign tourists pack the dance floors of its nightlife district after a day at the beach.

AstraZeneca Secures Orders For Virus Vaccine Under Testing

Drug maker AstraZeneca said Thursday it had secured its first agreements for 400 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine it is testing, bolstered by an investment from the U.S. vaccine agency.

AT&T To Drop Misleading ‘5G' Marketing For Non-5G Networks

AT&T says it will stop advertising its wireless network as “5G Evolution” after a division of the Better Business Bureau determined that its language was misleading. The network AT&T branded this way is not, in fact, 5G — a new technology for fast wireless data.

Q&A: SAFETY A BIG CONCERN AS WORKERS RETURN TO THEIR JOBS

With more businesses across the country easing back to life, the new challenge will be how to keep workers safe during the pandemic.