FRANCE FINES AMAZON $35 MILLION FOR 'EXCESSIVELY INTRUSIVE' MONITORING OF WAREHOUSE STAFF

France’s privacy watchdog said this week that it slapped Amazon‘s French warehouse business with a 32 million euro fine ($35 million) for using an “excessively intrusive system” to monitor worker performance and activity.

MICROSOFT SAYS STATE-BACKED RUSSIAN HACKERS ACCESSED EMAILS OF SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBERS

State-backed Russian hackers broke into Microsoft’s corporate email system and accessed the accounts of members of the company’s leadership team, as well as those of employees on its cybersecurity and legal teams, the company said.

JAPAN BECOMES THE FIFTH COUNTRY TO LAND A SPACECRAFT ON THE MOON

Japan became the fifth country in history to reach the moon when one of its spacecrafts without astronauts successfully made a soft landing on the lunar surface early Saturday (20).

WWE'S 'RAW' IS MOVING TO NETFLIX NEXT YEAR IN A MAJOR STREAMING DEAL WORTH MORE THAN $5 BILLION

WWE’s weekly television show “Raw” will move to Netflix next year as part of a major streaming deal worth more than $5 billion.

NETFLIX'S GAINS 13M NEW GLOBAL 4Q SUBSCRIBERS AS IT UNWRAPS ITS BEST-EVER HOLIDAY SEASON RESULTS

Netflix registered its third-consecutive quarter of accelerating subscriber growth in the final three months of 2023, closing out a comeback year that included a crackdown on viewers freeloading on the video-streaming service and a smattering of price hikes.

A LOOK AT SOME OF THE COMPANIES IN THE TECHNOLOGY SECTOR THAT HAVE RECENTLY MADE LAYOFFS

A bunch of companies in the technology sector have been laying off some of their employees recently after quickly ramping up hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic while people spent more time and money online.

ONLINE RETAILER EBAY IS CUTTING 1.000 JOBS. IT'S THE LATEST TECH COMPANY TO REDUCE ITS WORKFORCE

Online retailer eBay Inc. will cut about 1,000 jobs, or an estimated 9% of its full-time workforce, saying its number of employees and costs have exceeded how much the business is growing in a slowing economy. It marks the latest layoffs in the tech industry.

AMERICANS' ECONOMIC OUTLOOK BRIGHTENS AS INFLATION SLOWS AND WAGES OUTPACE PRICES

After an extended period of gloom, Americans are starting to feel better about inflation and the economy — a trend that could sustain consumer spending, fuel economic growth and potentially affect President Joe Biden’s political fortunes.

APPLE TV+ ACHIEVES REMARKABLE 13 OSCAR NOMINATIONS WITH 'KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON' & 'NAPOLEON'

Apple TV+ has emerged as a major contender in this year’s Academy Awards, securing 13 nominations for its cinematic offerings, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ and ‘Napoleon’. The Oscars ceremony, set for March 10, will be a moment of truth for these Apple Original Films.

JETBLUE AND SPIRIT AIRLINES SAY THEY WILL APPEAL A JUDGE'S RULING THAT BLOCKED THEIR MERGER

JetBlue and Spirit Airlines said they will appeal a federal judge’s ruling this week that blocked their plan to combine into a single carrier.

Generative OS

THE FUTURE OF AI PERSONAL COMPUTING IS COMING IN 2024

FLEXIBLE UNDERPINNINGS OF NEW BIG STELLANTIS VEHICLES WILL HELP COMPANY NAVIGATE POLITICAL CHANGES

On the surface, you wouldn’t think the platform beneath a new generation of automobiles has anything to do with politics and elections.

AIRBNB DONATES $10 MILLION TO 120 NONPROFITS ON 6 CONTINENTS THROUGH ITS UNUSUAL COMMUNITY FUND

Airbnb on Tuesday donated a total of $10 million to more than 120 nonprofits in 44 countries on six continents, the short-term rental giant’s latest outlays in its unusual distribution of $100 million through its Airbnb Community Fund.

APPLE OFFERS RIVALS ACCESS TO TAP-AND-GO PAYMENT TECH TO RESOLVE EU ANTITRUST CASE

Apple has promised to open up its tap-and-go mobile payment system to rivals, the European Union said, as the U.S. tech company seeks to resolve an antitrust case and avoid a fine that potentially could be worth billions.

HOW (AND WHERE) TO WATCH OSCAR-NOMINATED FILMS ONLINE

The winner in the Oscar nominations race after a bruising year for the film industry was “Oppenheimer” with 13 nods, followed by the otherworldly “Poor Things” with 11 and the period epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” with 10.

TECH FIRM BAIDU DENIES REPORT THAT ITS ERNIE AI CHATBOT IS LINKED TO CHINESE MILITARY RESEARCH

Technology company Baidu refuted a newspaper report that said its artificial intelligence chatbot Ernie was linked to Chinese military research.

AMAZON'S AUDIBLE IS LAYING OFF 5% OF ITS WORKFORCE, MARKING ANOTHER ROUND OF JOB CUTS IN TECH

Amazon-owned online audiobook and podcast service Audible is laying off about 5% of its workforce, marking the third round of job cuts at the e-commerce giant’s businesses last week as the technology industry continues to shed roles in the new year.

BANKS PREPARE TO TAKE ON THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OVER BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN OVERDRAFT FEES

The squabble over billion of dollars in overdraft fees that Americans get charged every year is intensifying.

STILL TRYING TO MAKE 'FETCH' HAPPEN, NOW IN SONG: 'MEAN GIRLS' GETS A MUSICAL UPDATE

The first “Mean Girls,” that compulsively watchable high-school based social satire by Tina Fey, came out in 2004. The Broadway musical opened in 2018.

BOEING TO INCREASE QUALITY INSPECTIONS ON 737-MAX FOLLOWING ALASKA AIRLINES BLOW OUT

Boeing told employees this week that it plans to increase quality inspections of its 737 Max 9 aircraft, following the failure of an emergency exit door panel on an Alaska Airlines flight last week.

UBER CUTS OFF DRIZLY, THE ALCOHOL DELIVERY APP IT BOUGHT FOR $1.1 BILLION THREE YEARS AGO

Uber is shutting down alcohol delivery app Drizly, the company confirmed, three years after acquiring the platform for $1.1 billion.

MORE CEOs FEAR THEIR COMPANIES WON'T SURVIVE 10 YEARS AS AI AND CLIMATE CHALLENGES GROW, SURVEY SAYS

More executives are feeling better about the global economy, but a growing number don’t think their companies will survive the coming decade without a major overhaul because of pressure from climate change and technology like artificial intelligence, according to a new survey of CEOs by one of the world’s largest consulting firms, PwC.

CELLEBRITE DONATES AI INVESTIGATIVE TOOLS TO NONPROFITS TO HELP FIND MISSING CHILDREN FASTER

John Walsh, advocate for missing children and longtime host of “America’s Most Wanted,” said he feels outmanned by criminals all the time – especially in the courtroom.

THE SUPREME COURT ALLOWS A COURT ORDER TO TAKE EFFECT THAT COULD COST APPLE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS

The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed a court order to take effect that could loosen Apple’s grip on its lucrative iPhone app store, and potentially affect billions of dollars in revenue a year.

THE WORLD COULD GET ITS FIRST TRILLIONAIRE WITHIN 10 YEARS

The world could have its first trillionaire within a decade, anti-poverty organization Oxfam International said this week in its annual assessment of global inequalities timed to the gathering of political and business elites at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

HERE'S HOW CHATGPT MAKER OPENAI PLANS TO DETER ELECTION MISINFORMATION IN 2024

ChatGPT maker OpenAI has outlined a plan to prevent its tools from being used to spread election misinformation as voters in more than 50 countries prepare to cast their ballots in national elections this year.

TECH INNOVATIONS THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE AT CES 2024

From electric cars to transparent TVs to the latest accessibility tech and virtual assistants backed by artificial intelligence, there was a wide range of innovations presented at the CES tech show in Las Vegas last week. The best of it aimed to solve big real-world problems. Some of it aimed to make your life more fun. And some of it was just a little out there.

AS A NEW GENERATION RISES, TENSION BETWEEN FREE SPEECH AND INCLUSIVITY ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES SIMMERS

Generations of Americans have held firm to a version of free speech that makes room for even the vilest of views. It's girded by a belief that the good ideas rise above the bad, that no one should be punished for voicing an idea except in rare cases where the idea could lead directly to illegal action.

ROBOT BARISTAS AND AI CHEFS CAUSED A STIR AT CES 2024 AS CASINO UNION WORKERS FEAR FOR THEIR JOBS

The barista tipped the jug of smooth, foamy milk over the latte, pouring slowly at first, then lifting and tilting the jug like a choreographed dance to paint the petals of a tulip.

Hands On - AS NEVER BEFORE: EXPERIENCING VISION PRO DEMOS IN APPLE STORE

The imminent launch of Apple's Vision Pro headset marks a pivotal moment in the company's history and, for the first time, requires a comprehensive presentation and hands-on experience for the average consumer to truly appreciate its capabilities.