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The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Amazon’s $1.7 billion acquisition iRobot, the latest deal that’s under scrutiny by the regulators amid growing concerns about the company’s market power. In a regulatory filing this week, iRobot said both it and Amazon received a request for additional information in connection with an FTC review of the merger. Earlier this month, securities regulators made a similar request to Amazon and One Medical, the primary health care company the e-commerce giant is planning to buy for $3.9 billion. Both Amazon and iRobot said they would cooperate with the FTC’s review, which delays the completion of a deal. Following an investigation, the agency can challenge a merger in court, seek remedies or do nothing, which allows the deal to close. The agency says it retains…

Hertz plans to order up to 175,000 electric vehicles from General Motors over the next five years. The agreement announced this week includes electric vehicle deliveries through 2027 and will include SUVs, pickups and luxury automobiles from Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop. The companies expect deliveries of the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV will start in the first quarter of next year. “We are thrilled to partner with GM on this initiative, which will dramatically expand our EV offering to Hertz customers, including leisure and business travelers, rideshare drivers and corporates,” Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr said in a prepared statement. Hertz’s current goal is for one-quarter of its fleet to be electric by the end of 2024. GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra believes the partnership will help…

A federal appeals court ruled in favor of a Texas law targeting major social media companies like Facebook and Twitter in a victory for Republicans who accuse the platforms of censoring conservative speech. But the decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is unlikely to be the last word in a legal battle that has stakes beyond Texas, and could impact how some of the world’s biggest tech companies regulate content by their users. The Texas law, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott last year, has been challenged by tech trade groups that warn that it would prevent platforms from removing extremism and hate speech. A similar law was also passed in Florida and ruled unconstitutional by a separate appeal court. The final say is…

by George Miller Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Released: 2022 Price: $19.99 Three Thousand Years of Longing While attending a conference in Istanbul, academic Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) encounters a djinn (Idris Elba) who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. Although she initially doubts that he is real, he insists otherwise – and she makes an unconventional wish. FIVE FACTS: 1. Nick Enright had been set to co-write this film’s script with George Miller before the former passed away in 2003. 2. However, before Enright’s death, he suggested that Augusta Gore – his godchild and Miller’s daughter – take over his co-writing duties for this movie. 3. The script is adapted from A. S. Byatt’s short story “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye”. 4. An activist protesting against…

Video game producer Rockstar Games said this week that early development footage from the next version of its popular title Grand Theft Auto was stolen in the hack of its network. Someone claiming to be the hacker, posting on Telegram, dumped 90 video clips from the theft online last weekend and claimed also to have source code, which they were seeking to sell for a minimum of $10,000. The Associated Press downloaded and viewed the development footage to confirm its authenticity. In a statement on Twitter, the company said it did not anticipate any disruption in live game services or any impact on ongoing projects. A spokesperson for its New York-based parent company, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., declined to answer questions from the AP about when it learned of the…

Apple has revolutionized audio with AirPods, transforming how we listen to our favorite content. With AirPods Pro 2, Apple further elevates the listening experience with new features designed to offer unrivaled audio quality and even more on-the-go convenience. INTRODUCING AIRPODS PRO 2 Apple first lifted the lid on AirPods Pro almost three years ago, introducing several high-end features designed to offer consumers more control over their listening experience. Unlike the iPhone, which requires annual updates to introduce new features, AirPods Pro was a pretty perfect release: Apple mastered the wireless earbud product and has sold millions of units. So at this year’s Far Out event, the AirPods Pro 2 announcement wasn’t perhaps as exciting as the new Apple Watch Ultra or Dynamic Island, but it takes the AirPods to the…

A complex software change to the cryptocurrency ethereum holds the potential to dramatically reduce its energy consumption — and resulting climate-related pollution. But the transition known as “the merge” is not going to do the trick by itself. With the change enacted, ethereum — the world’s second most valuable cryptocurrency after bitcoin — has effectively eliminated the energy-intensive task of “mining” new coins on its blockchain. Mining requires enormous computing power, which translates to huge energy consumption and, in many areas, greater greenhouse gas emissions at older power plants. By itself, however, the ethereum change won’t eliminate crypto’s expected environmental impact, although it’s expected to help a great deal. The backers of bitcoin have so far shown little interest in doing away with mining. BACK UP A SECOND. WHAT IS…

There’s no denying the impact that smartphones and tablets have had on modern vehicles. Look into just about any new car and you’ll find a touchscreen and maybe even a bank of capacitive touch buttons that seek to approximate the function of mechanical buttons. The appeal is obvious: A cabin with these design elements can look sleek and modern. But there are drawbacks that aren’t always considered. Those who haven’t been in a new car as of late may not know what to look for when evaluating the technology. With this in mind, experts have listed a few pros and cons to touchscreen car interfaces to help you determine if this technology is something of interest or a deal-breaker. PRO: FEWER BUTTONS EQUAL LARGER SCREENS Most people prefer a large…

Elon Musk’s hope to operate his satellite internet firm in Iran requires permission from the Treasury Department, which said it welcomes applications to support internet freedom in the country that is largely isolated from Wwestern economies. The Tesla CEO tweeted that his satellite internet firm Starlink would seek permission to operate in Iran. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said it’s up to Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to decide on Starlink’s next steps. “We have of course, in the past, provided for various forms of exemptions for the Iranian people’s ability to communicate with each other and with the world,” Sullivan said during a White House press briefing Tuesday. Starlink, a division of spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX, also owned by Musk, has been in operation since 2019. It disperses thousands…

Disgruntled Airbnb guests are taking to Twitter and TikTok to vent about everything from cleaning fees to misleading listings. But they aren’t the only ones with complaints: Airbnb hosts themselves have become increasingly disillusioned with the platform and its disrespectful guests. On message boards and Facebook groups, hosts are sharing their own challenges and horror stories. One host claimed that a group of guests was unwilling to leave the property despite receiving a full refund from Airbnb. “I went to the apartment to check what was going on, and I was in shock to discover that the tenants were still in the apartment,” the host wrote on the website AirbnbHell. “They immediately called the police on me and I was kicked out of my own apartment by a team of…

Acres of water lilies will bloom on Wall Street this fall, at least digitally. A massive, immersive exhibition celebrating French artist Claude Monet will make its U.S. debut in downtown New York starting in November, promising a multisensory experience that puts visitors as close to inside his iconic flower paintings as possible. “Monet’s Garden: The Immersive Experience” will splash the Impressionist pioneer’s paintings across walls and floors of a spacious, one-time bank building and boost the effect by adding scents, music and narration in multiple language. “To be able to address more than just two senses I think will immerse people a bit more,” said Dr. Nepomuk Schessl, producer of the exhibition. “We certainly hope it’s going to be the next big thing.” Visitors will be greeted by aromas of…

The expanding audio books market has a major new retailer: Spotify. The music streaming service announced its long-rumored audiobook initiative, launching a store that includes more than 300,000 titles, including such popular works as Delia Owens’ “Where the Crawdads Sing,” Michelle Obama’s “Becoming” and Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us.” Spotify has previously offered audio books on a limited basis, including J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and such public domain novels as Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and Jane Austen’s “Persuasion.” “We’ve always believed that the potential for audio is limitless, and have been saying for a while now that our ambition is to be the complete package for everyone’s listening needs,” Nir Zicherman, Spotify’s vice president and global head of audiobooks and Gated Content, said. “Audiobooks are next…

The ride-hailing service Uber said that all its services were operational following what security professionals are calling a major data breach, claiming there was no evidence the hacker got access to sensitive user data. But the breach, apparently by a lone hacker, put the spotlight on an increasingly effective break-in routine involving social engineering: The hacker apparently gained access posing as a colleague, tricking an Uber employee into surrendering their credentials. They were then able to locate passwords on the network that got them the level of privileged access reserved for system administrators. The potential damage was serious: Screenshots the hacker shared with security researchers indicate they obtained full access to the cloud-based systems where Uber stores sensitive customer and financial data. It is not known how much data the…

The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that all new vehicles in the U.S. be equipped with blood alcohol monitoring systems that can stop an intoxicated person from driving. The recommendation, if enacted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, could reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes, one of the biggest causes of highway deaths in the U.S. The new push to make roads safer was included in a report released this week about a horrific crash last year in which a drunk driver collided head-on with another vehicle near Fresno, California, killing both adult drivers and seven children. NHTSA said this week that roadway deaths in the U.S. are at crisis levels. Nearly 43,000 people were killed last year, the greatest number in 16 years, as Americans returned to…

Genre: Alternative Number of Songs: 10 Price: $9.99 (self-titled) Marcus Mumford “It’s a record about freedom and it’s a record about healing,” Mumford & Sons lead singer Marcus Mumford told Apple Music about (self-titled), the first studio album he has released as a solo artist. Other artists guesting on the album include Phoebe Bridgers and Clairo. FIVE FACTS: 1. Mumford shared the album’s first lead single, “Cannibal”, in July 2022. 2. That month, Mumford revealed that he wrote the song in January 2021, “facing demons I danced with for a long time in isolation”. 3. “The story of the record started with that song,” Mumford said to Apple Music. 4. “I didn’t know at that point whether it was going to be for the band or for someone else or…

The theater community is banding together for a special podcast to combat censorship that features performances from plays and musicals under threat and appearances by Bryan Cranston, Raúl Esparza, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Richard Kind. The Dramatists Legal Defense Fund’s “Banned Together: An Anti-Censorship Podcast” has readings, scenes and snippets from works including Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America,” Jonathan Larson’s “Rent” and Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues.” It is available to download now through Sept. 24 in conjunction with Banned Books Week. “Boldly putting this art out there is really important,” said Tony-winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Lisa Kron, who is twice represented on the podcast. Her song with Jeanine Tesori “Changing My Major” from “Fun Home” is heard, and Kron also performs a scene from “The Vagina Monologues.” Other plays…

Mortgage rates have jumped, home sales have slumped and credit cards and auto loans have gotten pricier. Savings rates are slightly juicier, though. As the Federal Reserve has rapidly increased interest rates, many economists say they fear that a recession is inevitable in the coming months — and with it, job losses that could cause hardship for households already hurt worst by inflation. Even before the Federal Reserve acts again Wednesday to sharply raise its key short-term rate — a third straight three-quarter-point hike is likely to be announced – its previous rate increases are being felt by households at all income levels. The Fed’s latest move is expected to raise its benchmark rate to a range of 3% to 3.25%, the highest level in 14 years. Its steady rate…