Google leans further into AI overviews for its search engine
Google is updating its search engine with the next generation of its artificial intelligence technology as part of an effort to provide instant expertise amid intensifying competition from smaller competitors. The company announced that it will feed its Gemini 2.0 AI model into its search engine so it can field more complex questions involving subjects [...]
Macy’s 4Q profit up despite dip in sales
NEW YORK (AP) — Macy’s swung to a profit in the fourth quarter, though sales dipped with shoppers remaining cautious about spending. The strength of the quarterly profit surprised Wall Street, but sales were below expectations and uncertainty about the American consumer and new tariffs seeped into the company’s outlook for 2025, analysts said. Macy’s [...]
Memo: VA plans to cut 80,000 employees
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes cutting more than 80,000 jobs from the agency that provides health care for retired military members, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. The VA’s chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, informed top-level agency officials of the objective to [...]
Applications for unemployment benefits fall
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell by 21,000 to 221,000 for the week ending March 1, the Labor Department said last week. That’s fewer than the 236,000 new applications analysts expected. Economists say weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs, which have remained mostly in a range between [...]
Architect from China wins Pritzker Prize
The annual Pritzker Architecture Prize has been awarded to Liu Jiakun of China, who earned the field’s highest honor for “affirming architecture that celebrates the lives of ordinary citizens,” organizers announced this week. Liu, based in Chengdu in China’s southwestern Sichuan region, has said that the purpose of his architecture “is to create a beautiful, [...]
State parks set record for lodging
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Watercraft has announced that state parks had a record-breaking year for overnight stays at cabins, campgrounds and lodges last year. In 2024, Ohio’s state parks recorded 1,112,179 overnight stays. The previous record was 1,098,932 overnight reservations in 2023. “Ohio’s state parks are a cornerstone of [...]
Bill would reauthorize state’s Rural Business Growth Program
A bill that would reauthorize the Ohio Rural Business Growth Program and create a distinct category for businesses in the Appalachian region of the state debuted this week during a Senate Ways and Means Committee hearing. The program, established in 2018, awards non-refundable tax credits to insurance companies that invest in growth funds, which either [...]
Several states considering grocery-tax reductions
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The number of states imposing sales taxes on groceries has shrunk over the years, and the number may decrease further in the coming months as lawmakers hear complaints about high prices for eggs and other household staples. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this week unveiled the details of her [...]