Category: News and Views

Airbus finds another issue affecting its best-selling A320 passenger planes | CNN Business

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Airbus has identified an issue affecting “a limited number” of metal panels in its A320 passenger planes, a spokesperson for the company said Monday, just days after warning of another technical problem in its aircraft.

The plane manufacturer is inspecting all aircraft that are potentially impacted by what it calls a “supplier quality issue,” but expects that only some of them will require further action to be taken, the spokesperson told CNN.

“The source of the (metal panels) issue has been identified, contained, and all newly produced panels conform to all requirements,” the spokesperson said, noting that the number of planes in service affected by the problem is “very limited.”

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An extra solar system planet once orbited next to Earth — and it may be the reason we have a moon | Live Science

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The catastrophic collision that forged the moon, and marked one of the most consequential events in Earth’s early history, may have been triggered not by a distant interloper, but by a sibling world that grew up right next door, according to a new study.

About 4.5 billion years ago, a Mars-size world slammed into the young Earth with such tremendous force that it melted huge swaths of our planet’s mantle and blasted a disk of molten debris into orbit. That wreckage eventually clumped together to form the moon we know today. Scientists have long favored this “giant impact” origin story, but where the long-lost world, nicknamed Theia, came from and what it was made of remain a mystery.

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Labor Department cancels full October jobs report over shutdown | Fast Company

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The Labor Department said Wednesday that it will not be releasing a full jobs report for October because the 43-day federal government shutdown meant it couldn’t calculate the unemployment rate and some other key numbers.

Instead, it will release some of the October jobs data—most importantly, the number of jobs that employers created last month—along with the full November jobs report, now due a couple of weeks late on December 16.

The department’s “employment situation” report usually comes out on the first Friday of the month. But the government shutdown disrupted data collection and delayed the release of the reports. For example, the September jobs report, now coming out Thursday, was originally due October 3.

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Starbucks to sell majority stake in China business | BBC News

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Starbucks says it is selling a 60% stake in its business in China as part of a $4bn (£3.04bn) deal with investment firm Boyu Capital.

Under the agreement, the world’s biggest coffee chain will have a 40% stake in the Chinese retail operation and retain ownership of the Starbucks brand there.

Starbucks entered China in 1999 and the country is now its second-largest market outside the US, but has struggled in recent years with the rise of homegrown brands like Luckin Coffee.

The business will continue to be headquartered in Shanghai and will own and operate 8,000 outlets in the Chinese market, with plans to grow to as many as 20,000 locations, the firm said on Monday.

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Trump administration will tap emergency fund to pay partial food stamp benefits | BBC News

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US President Donald Trump’s administration has said it will provide reduced food aid to more than 42 million Americans, as the government shutdown this week heads towards becoming the longest ever with no resolution in sight.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a court filing that Americans who receive food assistance will get half their normal monthly allotment, after the government dipped into emergency funding.

Judges had given the Trump administration until Monday to provide a plan for how it would pay out Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, also known as food stamps.

Funding for the programme has been in limbo due to the more-than-month-long shutdown.

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YouTube announces ‘voluntary exit program’ for US staff | TechCrunch

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YouTube announces ‘voluntary exit program’ for US staff

YouTube is conducting a “voluntary exit program” with severance for U.S.-based employees, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Wednesday. The news was first reported by Sources.

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan told employees about the program via an internal memo on Wednesday.

The memo also announced that the Google-owned company was reorganizing its product teams into three separate organizations that all report directly to Mohan. The “Subscription Products” team will focus on YouTube’s subscription products across YouTube Music & Premium and OTT.

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X is retiring Twitter.com and may lock your account if you don’t act fast | Mashable

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You might need to act soon to keep accessing your X account.

Elon Musk’s website, formerly known as Twitter, quietly announced it was killing off the old Twitter.com domain. That means the company is requiring users who use a hardware security key or passkey to re-enroll; otherwise, they will be locked out of their account.

X’s safety account posted a statement alerting folks to the change. It read:

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GM will introduce eyes-off driving in 2028 | CNN Business

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General Motors, the 100-year-old car company that has struggled with its expensive modernization efforts, plans to offer Americans hands-free driving and the freedom to watch a movie on the go.

The company unveiled new “eyes-off” driving technology that will be available starting in 2028, part of a new technology initiative revealed by GM executives in New York on Wednesday. The automaker said the initiative includes a conversational AI technology that will be introduced into vehicles next year.

“Imagine you step into your vehicle, you push a button, and it drives you to the office. You catch up on work, send emails, or watch an episode of your favorite show,” said GM CEO Mary Barra. “The car drops you off … then it goes to get your dry cleaning, take out for dinner, and it comes back in time so you can drive your kids to their soccer game.”

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Tesla posts bigger than expected drop in earnings despite record sales | CNN Business

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You’d think after a tumultuous year for Elon Musk’s car company, Wall Street would be cheering Tesla’s record quarterly sales. They’re not.

That’s for two main reasons: First, Tesla’s profit fell from a year ago and missed analysts’ estimates.

Second, Tesla’s sales were largely booming last quarter because customers scrambled to nab electric cars before a US tax credit expired.

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) fell 2% in after-market trading following the report, but ahead of a call for investors scheduled for 5:30 pm ET.

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NATO Partners with Oracle to Enhance 5G Security for Cyber Defense | Small Biz Trends

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The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) has recently collaborated with Oracle and Druid Software to enhance battlefield connectivity through the implementation of secure private 5G networks. While this initiative is primarily aimed at fortifying NATO’s cyber defenses, small business owners can glean important insights about the implications of advanced technology in their own operations.

Oracle’s 5G Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP) will play a vital role in enabling seamless, secure communications across NATO networks. “Safeguarding mission-critical and sensitive information over communications networks is paramount to national and global security,” stated Andrew Morawski, Oracle’s executive vice president. This commitment to data security resonates with small businesses, as the need for robust cybersecurity can’t be understated in a world increasingly reliant on digital communication.

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