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 Apple today announced that its hit comedy-drama series "Ted Lasso" is returning for a fourth season with a first episode on Wednesday, August 5. One new episode will follow every Wednesday thereafter through October 7.
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The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) union has accused Apple of unlawfully discriminating against the unionized employees of the company's Towson, Maryland retail store. IAM has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Apple with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) after the company announced on April 9 that it was shutting down three of its US stores. One of those locations was the Towson retail outlet, which employed nearly 90 workers and became the first Apple Store in the country to unionize back in 2022.
In its complaint, IAM said that Apple didn't offer the employees it represents the transfer opportunities it provided to non-unionized employees from its other stores. Unlike those non-represented employees, Towson personnel were allegedly told that they had to reapply for positions through the same process as external candidates. "Apple is denying union-represented workers the same opportunities it is giving to others — and doing so because these workers chose to organize," the organization said. "That is discrimination, and it is exactly what federal labor law is designed to prevent."
In addition to the Towson location, Apple also shut down its stores in Trumbull, CT, Escondito, CA. Back when the closures were announced, IAM said that "Apple's claim that the collective bargaining agreement prevents relocation is simply false and raises serious concerns that [the] closure is a cynical attempt to bust the union."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/union-accuses-apple-of-unlawful-discrimina
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 It was only a matter of time before they found a way to use AI agents as corporate shills. On Tuesday, Snapchat rolled out AI Sponsored Snaps, a "new way for brands to show up in Chat through AI agents." Or, put another way, it's conversational advertising. (Yay?)
AI Sponsored Snaps will appear in the app's Chat tab (with a light gray "Ad" notation next to the brand name). After opening the chat, you can ask the agent questions about the brand it represents. Snap showed an example from its first partner for the initiative, Experian. The bot offers to answer your questions on saving money, improving your credit score and — there it is — exploring loans and credit cards.
Whether through credit card offers or other means, the AI agent will presumably try to guide you toward behavior that makes money for the sponsor. So, it isn't clear why this would be better for consumers than asking a general-purpose chatbot like Gemini or Claude the same questions. Maybe the answer is as simple as, "It isn't… but they know people will use it anyway."
Snap"Conversation is
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NEW RESOURCES MinnPost: New app using AI aims to expand civic engagement in Minnesota. "For anyone who isn't familiar with how legislation is written and advanced at the state Capitol, the process […]
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 Apple today seeded the fourth betas of upcoming iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the third betas.
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 The IAM Union representing Apple employees in Towson, Maryland today said that it is filing an Unfair Labor Practice charge [PDF] against Apple with the National Labor Relations Board. The union is accusing Apple of unlawful discrimination against unionized workers.
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 With dummy models of Apple's rumored foldable iPhone now circulating, YouTube channel Max Tech's Vadim Yuryev has shared images and video of the book-style form factor compared to existing Apple devices, giving us a better idea of what to expect when it launches later this year.
— Vadim Yuryev (@VadimYuryev) April 22, 2026
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Anthropic today launched Claude Design, a new AI product for creating designs, prototypes, slides, and more. Claude Design uses Opus 4.7, a new AI model that was introduced earlier this week.
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For Apple-using workers on the go, especially if you frequent shared co-working spaces or public places, don't assume you're as secure as you think you are.
Co-working spaces are particularly under threat, in part because criminals have already figured out that the people using them are good targets for data theft, ransomware, and more.
They've also realized that at least some of those working from such spaces might well be part of, or connected with, larger corporate entities — meaning a successful data heist could unlock the gates to greater and more profitable kingdoms. There are useful resources from government and industry aimed at helping workers lock down their devices and data. In the US, for instance, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has published a useful guide to explain some of the risks, while the US Office of Personnel Management offered up even more useful advice.
To read this article in full, please click here
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