Business Highlights: Big Tech firms agree to AI safeguards; Actors, writers strike enters 2nd week
Solar panels on water canals seem like a no-brainer. So why aren’t they widespread?
The idea of putting solar panels on top of the world’s thousands of miles of irrigation canals has long seemed like a good one. In arid locations, besides the clean electricity, there is the added benefit of reducing evaporation. But the technology has been slow to take off. Pilot projects in India were never broadened. A study measuring the potential of covering canals in California has given the idea new legs. Now a startup company is trying to learn from India’s challenges and will install panels on canals in California’s Central Valley. And environmental groups are pressing for even greater adoption.
Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and other tech firms agree to AI safeguards set by the White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is praising new commitments by Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and other companies that are leading the development of artificial intelligence technology to meet a set of AI safeguards brokered by his White House as an important step toward managing the “enormous” promise and risks posed by the technology. Biden on Friday announced that his administration has secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure their AI products are safe before they release them. The commitments include third-party oversight of the workings of commercial AI systems, though they don’t detail who will audit the technology or hold the companies accountable.
Actors and writers strikes enter second week with no signs of a deal to get Hollywood working again
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The combined strike by Hollywood actors and screenwriters is entering its second week with no sign of a swift ending. Actor, writer and comedian Marc Maron was on the picket lines outside Netflix on Friday, saying he had gathered a bunch of his comedian buddies to come out and support their fellow strikers. For a week, actors including household names like Tina Fey, Kevin Bacon and Rosario Dawson have given a jolt of star power to picket lines. In London on Friday, British actors held a solidarity event. They chanted “One struggle, one fight” and “The luvvies, united, will never be defeated,” using a British slang term for actors.
From Barbie to millennial pink, the cultural phenomenon behind the color that sells
The release of “Barbie” is upon us, and the color pink is nearly inescapable. It’s a color that has commanded fascination for generations, each shade and hue with its own connotation. Throughout history, designers, artists, and brands have played with the emotions the color evokes, shaping meanings that are ever-evolving. From gender to class, those associations have constantly been challenged, flipped and subverted. While the definition of pink is always in flux, its cultural staying power is one constant. Brands love it, but one artist is pushing back against “Big Color” to try to make “the Barbiest pink” accessible to all. Unless you’re a Mattel employee.
A UPS strike could be just around the corner. Here’s what you need to know
NEW YORK (AP) — As the deadline to reach a new contract nears, a potential UPS strike feels closer than ever. The Teamsters — which represent some 340,000 UPS workers — are calling for better pay, particularly for part-time workers, and safety improvements. Following a negotiation stalement that started earlier this month and rallies held across the country, the union and UPS say they will resume talks next week. But if an agreement isn’t met before the current contract expires on July 31, the unionized workers have authorized a strike. Such an impasse hasn’t been seen since 1997, in a very different landscape for delivery services, when a walkout by 185,000 workers crippled UPS. Here’s what you need to know.
Wall Street ends mixed, still marks another winning week
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street drifted to a mixed closed but still marked another weekly gain. The S&P 500 eked out a gain of less than 0.1% Friday. The index had its eighth winning week in the last 10. The Dow edged up just 2 points and the Nafsdaq fell 0.2% a day after tumbling to its worst loss in more than four months. Roper Technologies rallied for one of the S&P 500’s larger gains after reporting better profit and revenue than analysts expected. That helped offset a sharp drop for American Express, which reported revenue that was below forecasts.
Low levels of radioactive tritium may be near the Mississippi River after an energy company’s leak
MONTICELLO, Minn. (AP) — Groundwater containing low levels of radioactive material may have reached the edge of the Mississippi River. That’s according to the energy company responsible for the leak from its nuclear power plant in Monticello, Minnesota. Xcel Energy said tritium — a radioactive isotope of hydrogen — hasn’t been detected in the river water itself. But it has been detected about 30 feet from the river at levels that are still safe to drink. State health officials also said these levels of tritium do not threaten public health. The issue has still prompted concerns among residents and raised questions about aging pipelines.
The Trump Organization and former fixer Michael Cohen settle his lawsuit over unpaid legal bills
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s company and his former longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen have settled a lawsuit over Cohen’s claims he was unfairly stuck with big legal bills after getting entangled in investigations into the former president. Lawyers for the two sides disclosed the settlement during a video conference with the judge in New York on Friday, days before Cohen’s 2019 lawsuit was slated to go to trial in a Manhattan state court. Details of the agreement haven’t been made public. Cohen says the matter “has been resolved in a manner satisfactory to all parties.” Lawyers for the Trump Organization haven’t commented.
American Express profit rises, but it sets aside more money for possible defaults
American Express saw its profit and revenue climb in the second quarter, but the credit card issuer and global payments company’s stock slipped before the market open as it set aside more money for possible defaults on payments. American Express earned $2.17 billion, or $2.89 per share. A year earlier the company earned $1.96 billion, or $2.57 per share. The performance beat the $2.80 per share analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected.
Prosecutors say FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is harassing a key witness at his upcoming trial
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors say FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is harassing a key witness against him at his upcoming trial by publicly disclosing personal things she wrote while she was the chief executive at his cryptocurrency hedge fund trading firm. Prosecutors late Thursday asked a judge to order trial participants not to make statements that might taint a Manhattan federal court jury. The letter to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said Bankman-Fried’s release of personal writings by Caroline Ellison, his onetime romantic partner, had the effect of harassing her and seemed designed to deter other potential trial witnesses from testifying.
The S&P 500 rose 1.47 points, or less than 0.1%, to 4,536.34. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.51 points, or less than 0.1%, to 35,227.69. The Nasdaq composite fell 30.50 points, or 0.2%, to 14,032.81. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 6.90 points, or 0.4%, to 1,960.26.