Russia social media influence efforts ongoing, report says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia's sweeping political disinformation campaign on U.S. social media was more far-reaching than originally thought, with troll farms working to discourage black voters and "blur the lines between reality and fiction" to help elect Donald Trump in 2016, according to reports released...

Silicon Valley East: Google plans $1B expansion in New York

Silicon Valley is becoming Silicon Nation. Google is planning a major expansion in New York City, announcing Monday it will spend more than $1 billion on a new office complex that will allow the internet search giant to double the number of people it employs there. The move follows similar steps by Amazon and...

First private Israeli lunar mission will launch in February

YEHUD, Israel (AP) — An Israeli nonprofit on Monday said it has pushed back the launch of what it hopes will be the first private spacecraft to land on the moon until February. Officials from SpaceIL and its project partner, the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, announced that the landing craft,...

US and European stocks dip again as health companies fall

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are mostly lower Monday, although they've steadied after a rocky start. Health insurers and hospitals are falling after a judge in Texas ruled that the 2010 Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. Retailers are also sinking, but banks are rising. Other companies that tend to do...

California withdraws 'text tax' after FCC ruling

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California regulators have canceled a plan to charge a fee for text messaging on mobile phones. The California Public Utilities Commission reversed course after a Federal Communications Commission ruling last week classified text messaging as an information service and not a...

Gift Guide: Some tech gadgets that actually fill a real need

NEW YORK (AP) — Sometimes you can sense that tech products are striving to solve problems that are manufactured by their manufacturers. Smartwatches, for instance, have long been a nifty idea — but they've offered few tangible benefits for anyone but health and fitness enthusiasts. That's why it's...

Czech cyber security agency warns against use of Huawei

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic's cyber security watchdog is warning against the use of products by Chinese electronics giant Huawei and another Chinese telecommunications company, ZTE. The National Cyber and Information Security Agency said Monday that their software and hardware pose "a security...

US, China spar again over respective trade policies

GENEVA (AP) — China and the United States clashed again over their respective trade policies Monday at a time the two countries are trying to iron out their differences so further U.S. tariffs are not imposed on Chinese goods. Dennis Shea, the U.S. ambassador to the WTO, said criticism from China about the...

Report: China is driving use of armed drones in Middle East

BEIRUT (AP) — The use of armed drones in the Middle East, driven largely by sales from China, has grown significantly in the past few years with an increasing number of countries and other parties using them in regional conflicts to lethal effects, a new report said Monday. The report by the Royal United...

Google will spend $1 billion to establish 1.7 million square-foot campus in New York City