Politics

The U.S. Supreme Court stayed out of the multibillion-dollar fight over Internet sales taxes, leaving intact a New York law that forces Amazon to collect money from customers in that state. The justices, without comment on Monday, rejected appeals by Amazon and another Internet retailer, Overstock.com, which said New York is violating the Constitution by Continue Reading →

The National Security Agency ended a program used to spy on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and a number of other world leaders after an internal Obama administration review started this summer revealed to the White House the existence of the operation, U.S. officials said. Officials said the internal review turned up NSA monitoring of some Continue Reading →

The National Security Agency monitored the phone conversations of 35 world leaders after being given the numbers by an official in another US government department, according to a classified document provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The confidential memo reveals that the NSA encourages senior officials in its “customer” departments, such the White House, State and Continue Reading →

Samsung must stop importing some models of smartphones and tablet computers into the U.S. after President Barack Obama’s administration upheld a ban won by Apple in a patent-infringement dispute. “After carefully weighing policy considerations, including the impact on consumers and competition, advice from agencies, and information from interested parties, I have decided to allow” the Continue Reading →

In his speech over the government’s shutdown and the launch of a new healthcare site, President Barack Obama has brought up the trump card in modern political debates: successful and beloved tech companies. Obama addressed criticism of Healthcare.gov, the sleek but buggy and unreliable system that lets Americans shop for health care plans, by comparing Continue Reading →

I apologize if you can’t read this. It’s tough to get in a word around Sen. Ted Cruz. The Texas Republican spoke on the Senate floor for over 21 hours to protest President Obama’s health care law. How does one talk for almost an entire day? By chatting about anything imaginable: health care, politics, Dr. Seuss and, yes, White Castle cheeseburgers. Continue Reading →

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives prefer Apple’s iPhone more than competitor Blackberry by over twice as much. According to a survey conducted by Meet the Press, 58 percent of the House uses an iPhone, compared to 23 percent who use a Blackberry. The iPhone also maintains wide bipartisan support and is the runaway Continue Reading →

Ridesharing has finally been approved within the state of California. Today, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) officially recognized companies like Lyft, Sidecar, and Uber as “New Online Enabled Transportation Services” or “Transportation Networked Companies” (TNCs), approving a set of 28 rules and regulations for these entities. The move will allow ridesharing companies to continue Continue Reading →

“Liking” something on Facebook is a form of speech protected by the First Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, reviving a closely watched case over the extent to which the Constitution shields what we do online. In doing so, the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a former deputy sheriff in Hampton, Continue Reading →

A federal appeals court rejected Google Inc’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of violating federal wiretap law when it accidentally collected emails and other personal data while building its popular Street View program. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to exempt Google from liability under the federal Wiretap Act for having Continue Reading →