SYDNEY, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Google agreed on Monday to pay a A$55 million ($35.8 million) fine in Australia after the consumer watchdog found it had hurt competition by paying the country's two largest telcos to pre-install its search application on Android phones, excluding rival search engines. The fine extends a bumpy period for the Alphabet-owned internet giant in Australia,...

02:46 PM EDT, 08/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with NHTSA's comment and Rivian's petition in the last three paragraphs.) Rivian Automotive ( RIVN ) said $100 million in revenue is on hold after the Trump administration eased US fuel economy rules, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration halted issuing compliance letters needed for...

02:50 PM EDT, 08/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with company response in the fourth and fifth paragraphs.) Xcel Energy ( XEL ) is among multiple utility companies facing an investigation launched by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton related to the 2024 Smokehouse Creek and Windy Deuce Fires, according to a Friday press release. Paxton's office issued civil investigative demand letters...

(Reuters) -U.S. Senator Josh Hawley launched a probe into Facebook parent Meta Platforms' artificial intelligence policies on Friday, demanding documents on rules that had allowed its artificial intelligence chatbots to engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have expressed alarm over the rules outlined in an internal Meta document first reported...