Alaska Airlines tech issue briefly grounds planes in Seattle, disrupts bookings on Cyber Monday
SEATTLE (AP) -- Alaska Airlines says an unspecified technology issue caused the temporary grounding of flights in Seattle and continuing problems with booking flights online. The company said in a statement that the issue Monday morning resulted in a significant disruption to its operation, including delayed flights. The airline said it requested a 40-minute ground stop at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to clear aircraft congestion. No further details were given about the problem. Alaska said in the statement it was working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. In September, Alaska Airlines flights were grounded in Seattle because of what the company called significant disruptions from a technology problem.
A top Fed official leans toward December rate cut but says it depends on economic data
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A top Federal Reserve official says he is leaning toward supporting an interest rate cut when the Fed meets in two weeks but that evidence of persistent inflation before then could cause him to change that view. Speaking at George Washington University, Christopher Waller, a key member of the Fed's Board of Governors, said he was confident that inflation is headed lower and that the central bank will likely keep reducing its key rate, which affects many consumer and business loans. But he noted that there's a risk that inflation "may be getting stuck above" the Fed's 2% target, which would support an argument for keeping the Fed's rate unchanged this month.
Cyber Monday shoppers expected to set a record on the year's biggest day for online shopping
Consumers in the U.S. are scouring the internet for online deals as they look to make the most of the post-Thanksgiving shopping marathon on Cyber Monday. The National Retail Federation coined the term for the Monday after Black Friday in 2005. Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of many people's regular routine, Cyber Monday continues to be the biggest online shopping day of the year, thanks to steady discounts and a fair amount of hype. Several major retails actually started their Cyber Monday promotions over the weekend. Consumer spending for the online shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday provides an indication of how much shoppers are willing to spend for the holidays.
Supreme Court doesn't seem convinced FDA was unfair in blocking flavored vapes teen use increased
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A majority of Supreme Court justices didn't seem convinced Monday that federal regulators misled companies before refusing to allow them to sell sweet flavored vaping products following a surge in teen e-cigarette use. The court did raise questions about an FDA crackdown that included denials on sales of more than a million nicotine products formulated to taste like fruit, desert or candy. The case comes a month before the start of the second Trump administration, which could change the FDA's approach after he vowed to "save" vaping.
Can AI chatbots make your holiday shopping easier?
Tired of thinking about what gifts to get everyone this year? Artificial intelligence chatbots might help, but don't expect them to always give you the right answers. Scouring the internet for Cyber Monday deals may yield an encounter with more chattier iterations of the chatbots that some retailers built to provide customer service. Some companies have integrated models that allow shoppers to ask questions like "What's the best wireless speaker?" Retailers hope consumers use these shopping assistants as virtual companions that help them discover or compare products. The technology is still in its infancy, though, and chatbots are prone to hallucinations, so most of the new tools sometimes get things wrong.
Delaware judge reaffirms ruling that invalidated massive Tesla pay package for Elon Musk
DOVER, Del. (AP) -- A Delaware judge has reaffirmed her ruling that Tesla must revoke Elon Musk's multibillion-dollar pay package. The judge on Monday also rejected an equally unprecedented and massive fee request by plaintiff attorneys. The rulings came in a lawsuit filed by a Tesla stockholder who challenged Musk's 2018 compensation package that carried a potential value of $56 billion. The judge ruled in January that Musk engineered the landmark pay package in sham negotiations with directors who were not independent. Tesla shareholders then voted for a second time to ratify Musk's 2018 pay package, but the judge refused to revisit her initial ruling.
Intel CEO Gelsinger retires; Zinsner and Johnston Holthaus named interim co-CEOs
Struggling chipmaker Intel says in a surprise announcement that CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired. Two company executives, David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, will act as interim co-CEOs while the company searches for a replacement for Gelsinger, who also stepped down from the company's board. The departure of Gelsinger, whose career spanned more than 40 years, underscores turmoil at Intel. The company was once a dominant force in the semiconductor industry but has ben eclipsed by rival Nvidia, which has cornered the market for chips that run artificial intelligence systems. Nvidia's ascendance was cemented earlier this month when it replaced Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Stock market today: Rising tech stocks pull Wall Street to another record
NEW YORK (AP) -- Technology stocks pulled Wall Street to another record amid mixed trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Monday after closing November at an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. Super Micro Computer, a stock that's been on an AI-driven roller coaster, soared after saying an investigation found no evidence of misconduct by its management or the company's board. Retailers were mixed coming off Black Friday and heading into what's expected to be the best Cyber Monday on record. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market.
Better drugs through AI? Insitro CEO on what machine learning can teach Big Pharma
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Artificial intelligence is changing the way industries do business. But executives in the pharmaceutical industry are still waiting to see whether AI can tackle their biggest challenge: finding faster, cheaper ways to develop new drugs. Despite billions poured into research and development, new medicines still typically take a decade or more to develop. Insitro is part of a growing field of AI companies promising to accelerate drug discovery by using machine learning to analyze huge datasets that could lead to new medicines.
FTC opens Microsoft antitrust investigation that Trump administration must carry on or drop
Antitrust enforcers with the Federal Trade Commission have opened a wide-ranging investigation into Microsoft's business practices, starting off a big legal project that an incoming Trump administration must take up or abandon. The FTC is investigating Microsoft's cloud computing business and related product lines such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, according to a person who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. It's the latest action of more than three years of aggressive antitrust enforcement shepherded by FTC Chair Lina Chan, who was elevated to lead the agency by President Joe Biden after he came into office pledging tougher scrutiny of monopolistic behavior by Big Tech companies.