DETROIT — U.S. new car sales in 2024 continued to rise from their pandemic lows, bolstered by replenished inventories, higher incentives and surging demand for hybrid vehicles, automakers reported on Friday. Sales of new vehicles finished at 15.9 million last year, according to Wards Intelligence, up 2.2% from the prior year, …
your ad hereFAA chief: Boeing needs culture shift to put safety above profits
A year after a panel blew out of a Boeing 737 Max during flight, the nation’s top aviation regulator says the company needs “a fundamental cultural shift” to put safety and quality above profits. Mike Whitaker, chief of the Federal Aviation Administration, said in an online post Friday that his …
your ad hereBiden blocks Japan’s Nippon Steel from buying US Steel
President Joe Biden said Friday that he was blocking the proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of American company U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel. Analysts said rejection of the deal could hurt relations with Japan, a key ally and trade partner. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports. …
your ad hereUS blocks Nippon Steel’s bid to purchase US Steel
Washington — U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday followed through on his pledge to block Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel, citing concerns the deal could hurt national security. The move, long expected, cuts off a critical lifeline of capital for the beleaguered American icon, which has said it …
your ad hereTesla annual deliveries fall for first time as incentives fail to drum up demand
Tesla reported its first fall in yearly deliveries on Thursday as lucrative year-end incentives for the Elon Musk-led EV maker’s aging line up and the new Cybertruck pickup failed to lure customers wary of high borrowing costs. Shares of the company fell about 6%. Musk had earlier predicted “slight growth” …
your ad hereUS appeals court blocks Biden administration effort to restore net neutrality rules
Washington — A U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday the Federal Communications Commission did not have legal authority to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules. The decision is a blow to the outgoing Biden administration that had made restoring the open internet rules a priority. President Joe Biden signed a 2021 executive …
your ad hereVOA Mandarin: What cards does China hold in US-China tech, trade battles?
Beijing has launched a series of retaliatory actions against U.S. technological sanctions, including cutting off supplies of rare earth elements and punishing American companies operating in China. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly warned of additional tariffs on Chinese exports, and analysts believe he will further tighten technological restrictions on …
your ad hereVOA Mandarin: Quantum technology a key battleground in US-China competition
Quantum computing is emerging as a revolutionary technology capable of solving complex problems that traditional computers cannot address. The U.S. leads in quantum innovation, driven by companies like Google and IBM, robust government funding and top-tier research institutions. China, however, has rapidly advanced through massive state-led investments, dominating global quantum …
your ad hereUS oil production rose to record high in October, data show
NEW YORK — U.S. oil production rose 260,000 barrels per day month-over-month to a record 13.46 million bpd in October as demand surged to the highest levels since the pandemic, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Tuesday. U.S. oil output has grown rapidly this year as drilling operations …
your ad hereNo ‘Santa Claus rally’ for global stocks as equities slide
new york — Global stock markets mostly fell Monday in jittery holiday trading ahead of a potentially tumultuous 2025 that will see Donald Trump return to the White House. Wall Street’s three main indices slumped to end the day, adding to losses Friday that ended Wall Street’s usual holiday-period “Santa Claus …
your ad hereLosing your kids to doom scrolling? Greece is building government app for that
ATHENS, GREECE — Greece announced plans on Monday to enhance parental oversight of mobile devices in 2025 through a government-operated app that will help get digital age verification and browsing controls. Dimitris Papastergiou, the minister of digital governance, said the Kids Wallet app, due to launch in March, was aimed at …
your ad hereUS Treasury: Chinese hackers remotely accessed workstations, documents
WASHINGTON — Chinese hackers remotely accessed several U.S. Treasury Department workstations and unclassified documents after compromising a third-party software service provider, the agency said Monday. The department did not provide details on how many workstations had been accessed or what sort of documents the hackers may have obtained, but it said …
your ad hereAI technology helps level playing field for students with disabilities
For Makenzie Gilkison, spelling is such a struggle that a word like rhinoceros might come out as “rineanswsaurs” or sarcastic as “srkastik.” The 14-year-old from suburban Indianapolis can sound out words, but her dyslexia makes the process so draining that she often struggles with comprehension. “I just assumed I was …
your ad hereTrump sides with Musk in H-1B visa debate, saying he supports program
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday sided with key supporter and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk in a public dispute over the use of the H-1B visa, saying he fully backs the program for foreign tech workers opposed by some of his supporters. Trump’s remarks followed a …
your ad hereInternet is rife with fake reviews – will AI make it worse?
The emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools that allow people to efficiently produce novel and detailed online reviews with almost no work has put merchants, service providers and consumers in uncharted territory, watchdog groups and researchers say. Phony reviews have long plagued many popular consumer websites, such as Amazon and …
your ad hereUS proposes cybersecurity rules to limit impact of health data leaks
Health care organizations may be required to bolster their cybersecurity to better prevent sensitive information from being leaked by cyberattacks like the ones that hit Ascension and UnitedHealth, a senior White House official said Friday. Anne Neuberger, the U.S. deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, told reporters …
your ad hereTreasury secretary to Congress: US could hit debt limit in mid-January
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said her agency would need to start taking “extraordinary measures,” or special accounting maneuvers intended to prevent the nation from hitting the debt ceiling, as early as January 14, in a letter sent to congressional leaders Friday afternoon. “Treasury expects to hit the statutory debt …
your ad hereTrump asks court to delay possible TikTok ban until he can weigh in as president
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a “political resolution” to the issue. The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company …
your ad hereNASA spacecraft ‘safe’ after closest-ever approach to sun
NASA said on Friday that its Parker Solar Probe was “safe” and operating normally after successfully completing the closest-ever approach to the sun by any human-made object. The spacecraft passed 6.1 million kilometers from the solar surface on Tuesday, flying into the sun’s outer atmosphere — called the corona — …
your ad hereMassive Chinese espionage scheme hit 9th telecom firm, US says
WASHINGTON — A sprawling Chinese espionage campaign hacked a ninth U.S. telecom firm, a top White House official said Friday. The Chinese hacking blitz known as Salt Typhoon gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. The White House earlier this month …
your ad hereBrazil views labor violations at BYD site as human ‘trafficking’
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — Authorities in Brazil said Friday they are probing Chinese auto giant BYD and one of its contractors for suspected “trafficking” of Chinese workers building a factory in the South American country. Federal prosecutors in Brazil are weighing possible criminal action after labor inspectors found 163 Chinese …
your ad hereUkraine tech company presents latest military simulators
Russia’s invasion has pushed Ukrainian tech companies working with defense simulation technology to seriously compete in global markets. One such company is SKIFTECH, which specializes in high-tech military simulators. Iryna Solomko visited the company’s production site in Kyiv. Anna Rice narrates the story. Camera: Pavlo Terekhov …
your ad hereJapan Airlines suffers delays after carrier reports cyberattack
TOKYO — Japan Airlines reported a cyberattack on Thursday that caused delays to domestic and international flights but later said it had found and addressed the cause. The airline, Japan’s second biggest after All Nippon Airways (ANA), said 24 domestic flights had been delayed by more than half an hour. Public …
your ad hereWorld Bank raises China’s GDP forecast for 2024, 2025
The World Bank raised on Thursday its forecast for China’s economic growth in 2024 and 2025, but warned that subdued household and business confidence, along with headwinds in the property sector, would keep weighing it down next year. The world’s second-biggest economy has struggled this year, mainly due to a …
your ad hereChina, Japan foreign ministers meet and agree on visit, security dialog
BEIJING/TOKYO — Talks between China and Japan’s foreign ministers in Beijing have paved way for Japan to host China’s foreign affairs chief next year, and mutual agreement to hold a security dialog as soon as possible, Japan said on Wednesday. No details were given for when the events will take place …
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