October 6, 2021 (Reuters) -General Motors Co laid out an ambitious agenda on Wednesday aimed at convincing investors it is refashioning itself into a more profitable, software-driven company that will challenge Tesla for electric vehicle leadership by 2030. Among the initiatives, GM: * Outlined a new “dual platform” strategy for Ultium-branded electric vehicle components and […]
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Prince Andrew can review 2009 Jeffrey Epstein settlement
October 6, 2021 By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – Prince Andrew will have a chance to review a 2009 settlement agreement that he hopes will shield him from a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing a woman two decades ago, when she was underage. In an order on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Loretta […]
NATO expels eight ‘intelligence officers’ from Russian mission to alliance
October 6, 2021 By Robin Emmott and Andrew Osborn BRUSSELS/MOSCOW (Reuters) -NATO has expelled eight members of Russia’s mission to the alliance who were “undeclared Russian intelligence officers”, a NATO official said on Wednesday, the latest deterioration in East-West ties that are already at post-Cold War lows. The expulsion of the Russians was reported earlier […]
Twitter is selling MoPub to AppLovin for $1.05 billion
Twitter announced Wednesday that it would offload MoPub, the mobile ad platform it bought back in 2013, selling the company to mobile game and marketing software maker AppLovin. Twitter paid around $350 million for MoPub back in 2013 and will sell the company for $1.05 billion in cash. MoPub helped Twitter bring in around $188 […]
Daily Crunch: Leaker releases huge cache of Twitch data, promises more to come
To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here. Hello and welcome to Daily Crunch for October 6, 2021. We have an absolutely packed newsletter for you today. So no jokes up top from us, just a note that we’ve put […]
Posts Spread Baseless Claims About Cause of Cargo Ship Backups
Quick Take U.S. ports slowed by pandemic-induced labor and equipment shortages cannot keep up with Americans’ demand for imported goods, resulting in cargo ship backups on both coasts. But social media posts, without citing evidence, falsely claim the Biden administration is purposely “orchestrating” product shortages. Full Story Cargo ships are backed up in record numbers at U.S. ports, […]
Right-wing merger aims to form Brazil’s largest political party
October 6, 2021 BRASILIA (Reuters) – Two right-wing political parties in Brazil decided on Wednesday to join forces to become the country’s largest political party, with plans to field an alternative to President Jair Bolsonaro in next year’s elections. The Democratas (DEM) and the Social Liberal Party (PSL), which Bolsonaro joined ahead of his 2018 […]
Simulated AI creatures demonstrate how mind and body evolve and succeed together
Artificial intelligence is often thought of as disembodied: a mind like a program, floating in a digital void. But human minds are deeply intertwined with our bodies — and an experiment with virtual creatures performing tasks in simulated environments suggests that AI may benefit from having a mind-body setup. Stanford scientists were curious about the […]
Soccer-Spain end Italy’s unbeaten run to reach Nations League final
October 6, 2021 By Simon Evans MILAN (Reuters) – Spain ended European champions Italy’s world record 37-match unbeaten run as Ferran Torres scored twice in a 2-1 win at the San Siro stadium in their Nations League semi-final on Wednesday. Spain will face the winners of Thursday’s other semi-final between France and Belgium, in Sunday’s […]
White House says reforms should happen given concerns about Facebook
October 6, 2021 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House said more needs to be done and reforms should happen given privacy and trust concerns raised about Facebook Inc. White House press secretary Jen Psaki made the comments a day after former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen testified before Congress about concerns that the social media […]
‘The Harder They Fall’ opens London Film Festival with glam red carpet
October 6, 2021 By Sarah Mills LONDON (Reuters) – Netflix Western “The Harder They Fall” opened the London Film Festival on Wednesday, with an all-star red carpet kicking off the return to glitzy in-person premieres at the annual event following a mainly virtual 2020 version. Oscar winner Regina King, “Luther” star Idris Elba and “Da […]
White House declines to comment on Granholm remark on possible crude oil export
October 6, 2021 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House press spokesperson Jen Psaki declined to comment on U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s remarks on Wednesday that a ban on U.S. crude exports is a possible tool to calm oil prices. “I would defer to the energy secretary, but I don’t have anything new to report on […]
GM is upping its investment in charging infrastructure to increase confidence in EVs
General Motors will be upping its investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure by nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars, in a bid to lure drivers who may otherwise be leery of charging availability to EVs. The automaker said it would spend nearly $750,000,000 through 2025 in order to create more access to public, home and […]
Tennis-Murray has no qualms about taking wildcards
October 6, 2021 (Reuters) – Andy Murray does not feel bad taking wildcards away from younger players given all he achieved in tennis before missing time due to hip surgeries, he said on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Critics suggest wildcards are better suited to up-and-coming players but Briton Murray, a […]
Tennis-Gauff urges Raducanu not to focus on social media
October 6, 2021 (Reuters) – American teenager Coco Gauff has urged U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu to be wary of social media following the Briton’s maiden Grand Slam triumph at Flushing Meadows last month. Raducanu, who became the first qualifier to win a major, has since gained thousands of new followers on social media, setting […]
Mexico’s electricity proposal “negative” for sovereign rating – Moody’s
October 6, 2021 MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The Mexican president’s proposal to reform the country’s electricity sector is “negative” for the sovereign credit rating of Latin America’s second-largest economy, Moody’s Investors Service said on Wednesday. The ratings agency warned in a statement the bill would likely trigger international legal disputes, affect foreign investment competitiveness as […]
Bitcoin rises 7.1% to $55,163
October 6, 2021 (Reuters) – Bitcoin rose 7.11% to $55,162.92 at 20:01 GMT on Wednesday, adding $3,661.73 to its previous close. Bitcoin, the world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, is up 98.9% from the year’s low of $27,734 on Jan. 4. Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, rose 2.15% to $3,591.72 on Wednesday, […]
Dow aims to add $3 billion to core earnings by 2030 with new net-zero unit
October 6, 2021 By Arathy S Nair (Reuters) -Dow Inc unveiled on Wednesday plans to boost its core earnings by $3 billion a year over the next decade, with investments that include building a new net-zero carbon emissions ethylene and derivatives facility in Alberta, Canada. The chemicals maker, once part of DowDupont, joins a growing […]
Union at Exxon Beaumont, Texas, refinery faces removal vote
October 6, 2021 By Erwin Seba HOUSTON (Reuters) – Members of the union representing locked-out workers at Exxon Mobil Corp’s Beaumont, Texas, refinery have submitted a petition to force a vote on removing the union, the union and company said on Wednesday. Exxon and the local United Steelworkers union said they were notified by the […]
Factbox: How Fed policymaker investments stack up against each other
October 6, 2021 (Reuters) – U.S. Federal Reserve senior officials’ private investments are under growing scrutiny following revelations and the subsequent resignations of two regional Fed Bank Presidents for controversial trades last year at a time when the central bank was undertaking a rescue of the economy. The six members of the Fed Board of […]