Associated Press

News Agency

In Africa, rescuing the languages that Western tech ignores

Computers have become amazingly precise at translating spoken words to text messages and scouring huge troves of information for answers to complex questions. At least, that is, so long as you speak English or another of the world’s dominant languages. But try talking to your phone in Yoruba, Igbo or any number of widely spoken […]

EXPLAINER: What caused Amazon's outage? Will there be more?

Robotic vacuum cleaners wouldn’t start. Doorbell cameras stopped watching for package thieves, though some of those deliveries were canceled anyway. Netflix and Disney movies got interrupted and The Associated Press had trouble publishing the news. A major outage in Amazon’s cloud computing network on Dec. 7 severely disrupted services at a wide range of U.S. […]

US probes potential of drivers playing video games in Teslas

The U.S. has opened a formal investigation into the potential for Tesla drivers to play video games on a center touch screen while the vehicle is in motion. In a document posted Wednesday on its website, the agency says the feature, called “Passenger Play,” may distract the driver and increase the risk of a crash. […]

Intel apologizes for asking suppliers to avoid Xinjiang

Intel Corp. apologized Thursday for asking suppliers to avoid sourcing goods from Xinjiang after the chipmaker became the latest foreign brand to face the fury of state media regarding the region, where the ruling Communist Party is accused of widespread abuses. The company, in a statement on its social media account, said the reference to […]

China defends science exchange program following US arrest

China on Wednesday defended its international scientific exchange programs in the wake of the conviction of a Harvard University professor charged with hiding his ties to a Chinese-run recruitment program. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China manages such exchanges along the same lines as the U.S. and other countries. U.S. agencies and officials should […]

Biden boosts fuel-economy standards to fight climate change

In a major step to fight climate change, the Biden administration is raising vehicle mileage standards to significantly reduce emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases, reversing a Trump-era rollback that loosened fuel efficiency standards. A final rule issued Monday would raise mileage standards starting in the 2023 model year, reaching a projected industry-wide target of 40 […]

Asian markets bounce back from omicron sell-offs

Asian shares were mostly higher on Tuesday after a worldwide slump for financial markets spurred by worries about how badly the omicron variant, inflation and other forces will hit the world economy. Tokyo gained nearly 2% and other benchmarks in Asia also were higher. Much of the concern over the outlook has been driven by […]

Oracle buys medical records company Cerner for $28 billion

Software maker Oracle is buying electronic medical records company Cerner in an all-cash deal valued at about $28.3 billion. Oracle will pay $95 per Cerner share and the deal is expected to close next year. Hospitals and physicians offices use Cerner software to record and share health and medical data. The companies said Monday that […]

EU approves 5th COVID-19 vaccine for bloc, one by Novavax

The European Union’s drugs regulator gave the green light Monday to a fifth COVID-19 vaccine for use in the 27-nation bloc, granting conditional marketing authorization to the two-dose vaccine made by U.S. biotech company Novavax. The European Medicines Agency decision to recommend granting conditional marketing authorization for the vaccine for people aged 18 and over, […]