Approving

Colorado workers who need to take time off from work to care for a new baby or family member — or to deal with their own serious health condition — can now receive pay for that time away from their job. But there are limitations on both the length of paid time available and how much is paid under the state’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance program, known as FAMLI. Colorado voters created the program in 2020 when Proposition 118 passed with nearly 58% support. Employers and employees began paying into the program last…

Microsoft’s big deal to eat up one of the biggest power pellets of the video game industry received a boost from EU regulators. On Monday, the European Commission—the body overseeing the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard merger—announced it had approved the $68.7 billion deal to go forward, as long as the companies pinkie swear they’ll throw a competitive bone to other publishers along the way.Warning! Microsoft Wants ChatGPT to Control Robots NextIn its announcement Monday morning, the commission said that Microsoft and…

We need climate action. But just because something gets grouped under the umbrella of things that theoretically combat climate change doesn’t mean it’s actually good for the planet or people. In an alarming example, production of certain alternative “climate-friendly” fuels could lead to dangerous, cancer-causing emissions.Bees Are Fish Now, I Guess?A Chevron scheme to make new plastic-based fuels, approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, could carry a 1-in-4 lifetime cancer risk for residents near the company’s…

The ruling, which was initially sealed and was released late Friday, rejected the FTC’s arguments for why Meta’s acquisition of Within Unlimited was anticompetitive. But the judge sided with the FTC on some legal and factual arguments, bolstering the agency’s ability to bring similar cases in the future, some antitrust lawyers said. The FTC had sought an injunction blocking Meta from buying Within, which makes a popular virtual-reality fitness app called Supernatural, arguing the transaction would undermine competition in…

Facing pressure from progressives and tech hawks on both sides of the aisle, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to hold a vote on the bipartisan antitrust bill targeting tech giants as early as this fall, according to a new report from the New York Post on Thursday. The bill — the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICO) — would restrict dominant tech platforms, like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook’s parent company Meta, from favoring their own products and services on their platforms over those of…

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at Georgetown University in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. Photo: Nick Wass (AP)Kenya’s national cohesion watchdog threatened to suspend Facebook from the country Friday if it doesn’t mitigate hate speech ahead of the country’s general elections next month. The regulator has given the company one week to remediate the problem, which included Facebook’s approval of ads advocating for ethnic cleansing. Human rights organizations and the Facebook whistleblower are calling on Facebook to…

SpaceX, an American aerospace company owned by entrepreneur Elon Musk, has urged the Indian government to kick off approvals for satellite broadband technologies. The move is aimed at expanding SpaceX's satellite Internet constellation Starlink to the country. SpaceX has expressed its interest in launching Starlink in India in a filing submitted with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The company said it was on track with constellation deployments for continuous Starlink coverage throughout India by the end…