President-elect Joe Biden campaigned on raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations. But the fate of Biden’s plan rests largely on whether or not Democrats take control of the Senate. WSJ’s Richard Rubin explains. Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP/Bloomberg
The northern Gaza Strip is still heading toward a famine, the deputy U.N. food chief said on Thursday, appealing for a greater volume and diversity of aid to be allowed into the enclave and for Israel to allow direct access from its Ashdod port through Erez crossing. Israel pledged three weeks ago to improve aid access, including reopening Erez and allowing the use of Ashdod port. The move came after U.S. President Joe Biden demanded steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying the U.S. could place conditions on support if Israel did not act.
Google’s corporate parent Alphabet Inc. on Thursday released a quarterly report showing it’s still reaping double-digit revenue gains from its digital advertising empire while sowing potentially lucrative new ground in artificial intelligence. The results for the first three months of the year provided the latest evidence that Google has regained its momentum after an unprecedented downturn in 2022 coming out of the pandemic. In the January-March period, Alphabet’s revenue rose 15% from the same time last year to $80.54 billion, which surpassed the projections of analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.
Pro-Palestinian protests and encampments are springing up at numerous colleges, leading to arrests and heightened security concerns. Here’s what's happening.
The Kaiser Foundation Health Plan confirmed that 13.4 million residents had their information taken in a data breach, as per a legally required notice filed with the U.S. government on April 12 and reported on Thursday. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, which operates as Kaiser Permanente, is one of the leading U.S. health care providers. Kaiser Permanente said it is not aware of any misuse of any member's or patient's personal information.
Microsoft on Thursday said its profit rose 20% for the January-March quarter as it tries to position itself as a leader in applying artificial intelligence technology to make workplaces more productive. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Microsoft to post revenue of $60.86 billion for the quarter. Microsoft doesn't spell out how much money it makes from AI products, including its flagship Copilot chatbot that can compose documents or generate images.
Roku, which sells streaming devices and has its own free, ad-supported channel, has seen more people turn to its platform as major streamers such as Netflix increased prices and economic uncertainty pressured consumer spending. A shift towards subscription-based streaming services from traditional cable packages and the launch of third-party streaming channels, including Peacock, Disney+ and HBO Max, on Roku has also fueled user growth. Roku in April said it had identified a second cyberattack that impacted about 576,000 additional accounts while investigating a breach that affected 15,000 user accounts earlier this year.
Microsoft reported better than anticipated Q3 earnings on Thursday, powered by growth in its cloud products.
Perrier destroyed two million bottles of its famous sparkling water suspected of being contaminated with "faecal" bacteria under government orders, the public health agency said Thursday. Health authorities in the Occitanie region of southern France told Nestle Waters France to destroy all Perrier production from March 10 to 14 from one of its sources near Nimes, the DGS health agency said in a document shared with AFP. Nestle has said about two million bottles were destroyed "out of precaution"
The Supreme Court considers Donald Trump’s assertion of total immunity from criminal charges over his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.
Gilead Sciences reported a first-quarter loss on Thursday after taking a $3.9 billion charge for its recent acquisition of liver drug developer CymaBay Therapeutics, while revenue rose 5% on higher HIV, oncology and liver disease treatment sales. For full-year 2024, Gilead said it still expects product sales of $27.1 billion to $27.5 billion, but lowered its earnings outlook to include the recent charge as well as incremental expenses related to the CymaBay deal. Wall Street analysts currently project Gilead's 2024 earnings at $3.94 a share on revenue of $27.5 billion, according to LSEG data.
The median mortgage payment jumped to a record $2,843 in April, up nearly 13% from a year ago, a new analysis finds.
In a joint statement, the U.S. and 17 other nations urged Hamas to release hostages held in Gaza and open the way to a ceasefire with Israel.
Intel reported its Q1 earnings on Thursday, beating analysts' estimates. But a disappointing outlook sent shares sliding.
The Department of Justice doubled down on its decision to not release the audio files of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur to House Republicans, stating that Republicans have not established a legitimate legislative purpose for demanding these recordings, in a new letter obtained by CNN.
(Reuters) -Alphabet announced its first-ever dividend on Thursday and a $70 billion stock buybuck, news cheered by investors who sent the stock surging more than 13% after the bell. The Google parent is returning capital while spending billions of dollars on data centers to catch up with rivals on generative artificial intelligence. The dividend will be 20 cents per share.
Meta's AI reality check has dented hopes for a Big Tech revival for stocks, with a GDP update showing the US economy grew slower than expected in the first quarter.
The Arabic language spokesperson of the U.S. State Department has resigned, citing her opposition to Washington's policy related to the war in Gaza, in at least the third resignation from the department over the issue. Hala Rharrit was also the Dubai Regional Media Hub's deputy director and joined the State Department almost two decades ago as a political and human rights officer, the department's website showed. "I resigned April 2024 after 18 years of distinguished service in opposition to the United States' Gaza policy," she wrote on social media website LinkedIn.
Two US astronauts arrived Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of their launch aboard the Boeing Starliner's first crewed mission next month. The space capsule finally managed to arrive at the ISS in May 2022 -- without a crew on board.
Mexico’s president said Thursday that the country’s violent criminal gangs and drug cartels are essentially “respectful people” who “respect the citizenry” and mostly just kill each other. The claims by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are clearly at odds with the reality of millions of Mexicans who live in areas dominated by drug cartels. A reporter asked López Obrador whether drug cartels behaved well when he visited the township of Badiraguato, Sinaloa — the hometown of imprisoned drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, which he has controversially visited as president about a half dozen times.
The death of a Missouri doctor who was found 11 months ago in a northwest Arkansas lake has been ruled a suicide, Arkansas authorities said Thursday. Dr. John Forsyth died of a gunshot wound to the head, the Benton County, Arkansas, sheriff's department said in a statement. An autopsy by the chief medical examiner at the Arkansas State Crime Lab concluded that it was a suicide.
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