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Canada will require Google and Meta to pay media outlets for news

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Canada’s Senate on Thursday passed a bill that will require Google and Meta to pay media outlets for news content that they share or otherwise repurpose on their platforms. The bill, which is set to become law, was passed amid a standoff between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government and Silicon Valley tech giants. Ottawa has said the law creates a level playing field between online advertising giants and the shrinking news industry. And Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has promised to push back on what he describes as “threats” from ...

7.5 million Baby Shark bath toys are recalled after they cut, stabbed children

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 7.5 million singing and swimming “Baby Shark” bath toys are being recalled after multiple lacerations and puncture wounds were reported in children playing with them. Zuru, an El Segundo, California-based toymaker, said it’s recalling both full-size and mini versions of its robotic baby shark toys that have hard plastic top fins, which pose the injury risks. Twelve injuries have already been reported with Zuru’s full-sized Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim Bath Toys — after children sat or fell on the now-recalled products. Nine of these ...

Japan, an economic leader, lags on renewable energy

By BILL SPINDLE TOKYO — Japan, the only Asian member of the elite Group of Seven countries (G7), is lagging in its efforts to decarbonize the world’s third-largest economy, according to climate advocates and scientists. Despite recently releasing a new plan for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, the country’s aim to continue deploying coal- and gas-fired power generation for decades to come could undermine a push by wealthy countries at the major climate summit known as COP28 to eliminate the use of this dirtiest of fossil fuels by the end of the decade. Japan’s actions ...

Microsoft, regulators tangle in court over fate of $69 billion deal

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Federal regulators on Thursday launched a legal attack on Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion takeover of video game maker Activision Blizzard by depicting it as an anticompetitive weapon while Microsoft hailed the deal as a way to make popular games such as Call of Duty more widely available at cheaper prices. Those were the dramatically contrasting pictures drawn by lawyers arguing before U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley on the first of five days of scheduled hearings in San Francisco that are likely to make or break what would be the most expensive ...

FDA warns stores to stop selling top disposable e-cigarette in US

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it has sent warning letters to dozens of retailers selling fruit- and candy-flavored disposable e-cigarettes, including the current best-selling brand, Elf Bar. It’s the latest attempt by regulators to crack down on illegal disposable vapes that have poured into U.S. stores in recent years. Last month, the FDA issued orders allowing customs officials to seize shipments of Elf Bar, Esco Bar and two other brands at U.S. ports. None of the products have received FDA authorization and they come in flavors like cotton ...

Lobbying group sues over plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices

The Associated Press A key drugmaker lobbying group has joined the legal fight against the federal government’s plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, is suing over plans laid out in the Inflation Reduction Act to give the federal coverage program more control over its pharmaceutical costs. PhRMA said in a federal court complaint filed Wednesday that the act forces drugmakers to agree to a “government-dictated price” under the threat of a heavy tax. The complaint said Congress delegated too much authority to ...