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Days after the deadliest American wildfire in more than a century ignited on West Maui, killing dozens and leveling more than 2,200 buildings, increasingly frustrated residents said that they were receiving far more help from an ad hoc network of volunteers than they were from the government. After the fire destroyed the town of Lahaina, hundreds of local residents — a group that includes evacuees along with nearby residents who found themselves cut off from power and internet service — remained affected in West Maui, miles beyond the highway checkpoints. Some evacuees slept in parks; others stayed in their own homes that survived the disaster or with friends in the wider community of that part of the island. They have been searching desperately for gasoline, phone reception and hot food, especially after power outages rendered refrigerators and microwaves useless. In many cases, they have leaned on church groups, community organizations and volunteers to track down missing relatives, get rides to shelters or access supplies brought in on private boats and airplanes.

Locations: West Maui, Lahaina

The power was out and the air-conditioning off when Dustin Kaleiopu woke up on Tuesday morning in Lahaina. “The wind was noisy,” said Mr. Kaleiopu, 26. When the fire reached his neighbor’s yard, Mr. Kaleiopu said he loaded his grandfather into a car and began preparing to leave. Mr. Kaleiopu has spent recent days with family in another part of Maui, a comfort that others do not have. Still, Mr. Kaleiopu said, there was no question that he would return to Lahaina, that he would carve out a new life in a rebuilt town.

Persons: Dustin Kaleiopu, ”, Kaleiopu, “, Mr, it’s, grandpa, ‘ He’ll, we’ve, ’ Organizations: Longtime, Investors Locations: Lahaina ., Lahaina, Maui, Honolulu

Persons: Dustin Kaleiopu, ”, Kaleiopu, “, Mr, it’s, grandpa, ‘ He’ll, we’ve, ’ Organizations: Longtime, Investors Locations: Lahaina ., Lahaina, Maui, Honolulu

Persons: Dustin Kaleiopu, ”, Kaleiopu, “, Mr, it’s, grandpa, ‘ He’ll, we’ve, ’ Organizations: Longtime, Investors Locations: Lahaina ., Lahaina, Maui, Honolulu

Image The Pioneer Inn in Lahaina, Hawaii, last year. Image Shops and dining destinations along the sidewalks and streets in Lahaina, Maui. Mr. Hedani said the fabled beach areas on Oahu that Hawaii is best known for held nothing on Lahaina. “The sunset looks fake every time I see it.”Image Sunset in Lahaina, Hawaii. “What happens when you take away the most important street on Maui?” he said.

Persons: George Alan Freeland, Freeland’s, ”, Theo Morrison, Daejas, Baldwin, Ephraim Spaulding, Dwight Baldwin, Morrison, Mark Twain, “, —, Kiha Kaina, Patrick T, Kaina, Lee Anne Wong, Wong, Tony Novak, Clifford, Ronald Williams, Williams, it’s, Jared Hedani, Tommy Bahama, Hedani, “ You’re, Jim Wilson, Kamehameha the, Kaniela Ing, Ing, “ I’d, Amy Qin, David W, Chen, Mitch Smith Organizations: Lahaina Restoration Foundation, The New York Times, East Coast, ., Fallon, Agence France, French Culinary Institute, Hawaii State Archives, New York Times, Green New Deal Network Locations: Lahaina, British, Maui, Hawaii, “, United States, Lahaina , Hawaii, Massachusetts, East, Berkeley, Calif, ”, Papa’aina, New York City, Maui . Credit, Mexico City, Shaw, Paradise, Oahu, Waikiki

☆ ESPN Enters Sports Gambling in $2 Billion Deal With Casino Company
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Kellen Browning | More About Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

ESPN on Tuesday announced a 10-year deal with Penn Entertainment, a casino company, to create an online sports betting brand called ESPN Bet, catapulting the sports entertainment network into the lucrative world of online gambling. Penn will operate the online sports book and pay ESPN $1.5 billion in cash for the use of ESPN’s name, marketing, “access to ESPN talent” and other promotional tools, Penn said in a news release. Penn will also give ESPN options to buy $500 million in Penn stock, the news release said. Jimmy Pitaro, the chairman of ESPN, said in the news release that he believed ESPN’s strong brand, combined with Penn’s technology and experience running a sports book, provided a “tremendous opportunity to serve the ever-growing number of consumers interested in betting.”Jay Snowden, Penn’s chief executive, called the deal “transformative” and said it would help Penn continue to evolve into a “North American entertainment leader.”

Persons: Penn, Jimmy Pitaro, ” Jay Snowden, ” Organizations: ESPN, Tuesday, Penn Entertainment, ESPN Bet, Penn Locations: Penn, American

Russian propaganda is spreading into the world’s video games. In Minecraft, the immersive game owned by Microsoft, Russian players re-enacted the battle for Soledar, a city in Ukraine that Russian forces captured in January, posting a video of the game on their country’s most popular social media network, VKontakte. A channel on World of Tanks, a multiplayer warfare game, commemorated the 78th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in May with a recreation of the Soviet Union’s parade of tanks in Moscow in 1945. On Roblox, the popular gaming platform, a user created an array of Interior Ministry forces in June to celebrate the national holiday, Russia Day. These games and adjacent discussion sites like Discord and Steam are becoming online platforms for Russian agitprop, circulating to new, mostly younger audiences a torrent of propaganda that the Kremlin has used to try to justify the war in Ukraine.

Persons: Vladimir V Organizations: Microsoft, Soviet, Interior Ministry Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Nazi Germany, Moscow, Russia, Crimea

A federal judge on Tuesday ruled against the Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to delay Microsoft’s $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, setting the stage for the tech giant and the video game publisher to merge as soon as this month. In a 53-page decision, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said the F.T.C. had failed to show it was likely to prove that the merger was likely to result in a substantial reduction in competition that would harm consumers. The ruling is a significant blow to the F.T.C.’s efforts to police blockbuster tech mergers more aggressively. has sued Microsoft, Meta and Amazon, but it walked away from one of its cases against Meta and has had little to show for its efforts so far.

Persons: Jacqueline Scott Corley, Lina Khan Organizations: Federal Trade, Activision Blizzard, U.S, Northern, Microsoft, Meta Locations: Northern District, California

☆ Microsoft and Activision Chiefs Testify Merger Will Benefit Consumers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Satya Nadella, the chief executive of Microsoft, appeared in federal court on Wednesday to pledge his support for open platforms and consumer choice, underscoring the tech giant’s commitment to closing its $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard over regulators’ objections. “If it was up to me, I would love to get rid of the entire ‘exclusives on consoles,’” Mr. Nadella testified, rebutting claims from tech regulators that Microsoft’s deal for the video game giant would curtail competition and restrict Activision’s games only to players on Microsoft’s Xbox console. “I have no love for that world.”The fourth day of a hearing in U.S. District Court in San Francisco that could determine the deal’s outcome was the highest-profile session, with appearances by Mr. Nadella and Activision’s chief executive, Bobby Kotick. The Federal Trade Commission’s challenge of the blockbuster acquisition, led by its chair, Lina Khan, is viewed as a test of whether more aggressive efforts to curb tech giants can be successful. is seeking a preliminary injunction that would prohibit the companies from closing the deal before the agency has the chance to argue its case in its internal court.

Persons: Satya Nadella, ’, Nadella, rebutting, Bobby Kotick, Lina Khan Organizations: Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Federal Locations: U.S, San Francisco

☆ DoorDash, Shifting Business Model, Will Offer Drivers Hourly Pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

DoorDash said on Wednesday that it would begin giving its delivery drivers the option to be paid an hourly minimum wage, instead of earning money for each delivery. The significant shift in compensation could be an answer to concerns that some delivery people are not paid fairly. It could also add an incentive for drivers to pick up smaller orders that don’t pay as well and that they would typically avoid. Drivers will be able to choose whether they earn money for each order — usually a few dollars in base pay plus compensation for miles driven — or receive a flat hourly amount, DoorDash said. Tips would be applied on top of the hourly base pay, the company said.

Persons: DoorDash

☆ Microsoft Says It Could Abandon Activision Deal if Judge Delays It
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Kellen Browning | David Mccabe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

On Wednesday, it sued Amazon over allegations that the company tricked users into signing up for its Prime subscription service. has had setbacks: Its challenge to Meta’s purchase of a virtual reality start-up fell apart this year after a judge declined to stop the deal from closing. But that court does not have the legal authority to stop the deal. asked the federal court to step in this month, saying it feared Microsoft would try to complete the deal despite the legal challenges. would be a sign that its broader challenge has legs, and could put new pressure on Microsoft and Activision to reconsider the multibillion-dollar corporate marriage.

Persons: Wilkinson, ”, Jim Ryan, Meta, Microsoft’s, Corley’s Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Nintendo, Nvidia, PlayStation, Sony, Amazon

☆ Twitch Star Signs $100 Million Deal With Rival Platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Lengyel, 27, chats with fans, hosts reality shows and broadcasts himself playing video games. “Kick is allowing me to try and do things I haven’t been able to before,” Mr. Lengyel said in a statement. And some streamers have complained that Twitch has become less responsive to its online community and more focused on profitability than keeping streamers happy. Kick, a streaming platform backed by online gaming and gambling sites in Australia, like Easygo Gaming and Stake.com, an online casino, was launched this year and is emphasizing its streamer-friendly policies. It takes only 5 percent of streamers’ earnings from subscriptions, compared with the 50 percent cut that Twitch takes.

Persons: Lengyel, ” Mr, “, Twitch, Ed Craven Organizations: Easygo Locations: Australia

☆ F.T.C. Said to Plan to Sue to Stop Microsoft’s Activision Deal From Closing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( David Mccabe | Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The planned lawsuit would be the latest blow to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, which makes popular video games like Call of Duty and Candy Crush. sued to block the deal through an in-house court, arguing it would damage competition in various parts of the video game market. The agency plans to file the separate lawsuit on Wednesday because unlike the F.T.C.’s in-house court, a federal court can issue a restraining order to block a purchase from being completed. In April, the British Competition and Markets Authority also moved to stop the deal, though regulators in the European Union said in May that it could go forward. Governments around the world have been challenging the power of tech giants like Microsoft.

Persons: Meta Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Activision, behemoth, British Competition, Markets Authority, European Union, Amazon, of Justice, Google

☆ Apple Debuts Its Next Big Product, a Virtual Reality Headset
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Apple lived up to months of expectations on Monday when it introduced new high-tech goggles that blend the real world with virtual reality. The $3,500 device, called the Vision Pro, will offer “augmented reality” and introduce “spatial computing,” Apple said. But conspicuously absent from its carefully choreographed announcement were the actual words “virtual reality,” underscoring the challenges the tech giant will likely face in marketing the device to a mass consumer audience. Past virtual reality offerings, including Google Glass, Magic Leap, Microsoft’s HoloLens and Meta’s Quest Pro, have been either commercial failures or only modest successes. And companies have so far failed to demonstrate what is indispensable about virtual reality.

Persons: Apple, ”, —, Microsoft’s Organizations: Google, Meta’s

☆ Apple Is Stepping Into the Metaverse. Will Anyone Care?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Kellen Browning | Mike Isaac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Apple headset is expected to cost about $3,000 and will look like ski goggles, according to current and former employees familiar with its development. Eventual hits like the iPod, iPhone and Apple Watch started in niche markets that grew into big businesses. But even Apple executives have been skeptical about the company’s prospects in virtual reality, which, they say, may still not be ready for its mainstream moment. That drop-off cuts recent metaverse start-up investment to about a quarter of its peak in the first half of 2022, PitchBook said. “The metaverse investment fad — it came and went, and now people are focused on A.I.,” said Doug Creutz, an analyst at Cowen & Company.

Persons: PitchBook, ”, Doug Creutz Organizations: Apple, Worldwide Developers, Apple Watch, PitchBook, Cowen & Company

☆ Has ‘Gig Work’ Become a Dirty Word?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In other words, for some, gig work has become shorthand for instability and low wages. It was vetoed by the governor Thursday, one sign of how fraught the question of protections for an ad hoc work force has become. The writers’ strike and demands have prompted renewed attention to gig work, where someone might work for a variety of companies, or for themselves, often with irregular hours. It’s an old concept, with musicians playing gigs and artists and other creative types working their own hours while selling their work. Over the last decade, the idea of gig work has been popularized by app-based platforms like Uber and Lyft, which classify their drivers as independent contractors and avoid treating them as employees.

☆ Uber’s Diversity Chief Put on Leave After Complaints of Insensitivity
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The term Karen has become slang for a white woman with a sense of entitlement who often complains to a manager and reports Black people and other racial minorities to the authorities. A prominent “Karen” incident occurred in 2020, when Amy Cooper, a white woman, called 911 after a Black man bird-watching in New York’s Central Park asked her to leash her dog. Mr. Khosrowshahi’s efforts included increased diversity initiatives under Ms. Lee, who has led the effort since 2018. “I can confirm that Bo is currently on a leave of absence,” Noah Edwardsen, an Uber spokesman, said in a statement. Ms. Lee did not respond to a request for comment.

☆ Minnesota Passes Bill Seeking to Ensure Minimum Wage for Gig Workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Minnesota Senate passed a bill on Sunday that would guarantee drivers for Uber and Lyft a minimum wage and other benefits, sending the measure to Gov. Drivers for Uber and Lyft are known as gig workers because they are treated as independent contractors, meaning they are responsible for their own expenses and are not guaranteed a minimum wage, health care or other benefits. The bill is a rare win for labor advocates in what has become a protracted, multistate battle over the rights of gig drivers and their status in the economy. Uber and Lyft have long argued that their drivers are independent contractors rather than employees. They say that drivers prefer being contractors because it allows them the flexibility to choose when they work, and many drivers work only part-time.

☆ The E-Sports World Is Starting to Teeter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Six years ago, the Madison Square Garden Company, a group that includes James Dolan, the owner of the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers, announced a triumphant entrance into sports’ next frontier: a professional video game league. As e-sports revenue fell below expectations and investors became skeptical of the industry, Madison Square Garden’s owners last year tried to find a way out of the business by selling their marquee team. After years of fanfare, e-sports in the United States are giving way to economic realities. Unable to turn a profit, team owners are cutting costs by laying off employees and ending contracts with star players. In some cases, they are selling their teams and sometimes at a loss, offering a blunt reality check to people who believed e-sports could be the next big thing in entertainment.

☆ Extremism Finds Fertile Ground in Chat Rooms for Gamers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Steven Lee Myers | Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There are rules people must agree to before joining Unloved, a private discussion group on Discord, the messaging service popular among players of video games. They share some harmless memes but also joke about school shootings and debate the attractiveness of women of different races. Users in the group — known as a server on Discord — can enter smaller rooms for voice or text chats. The name for one of the rooms refers to rape. In the vast and growing world of gaming, views like these have become easy to come across, both within some games themselves and on social media services and other sites, like Discord and Steam, used by many gamers.

☆ Apple’s Slowdown Eases, but Sluggish Demand Hurts Results
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Apple on Thursday provided more evidence for optimists who believe that the worst of the tech industry’s slump may be over while reminding investors that there are still plenty of reasons for concern. Although the company said that its revenue shrank 3 percent in its most recent quarter compared to the same period a year ago, the $94.8 billion total well outpaced investor expectations of $92.9 billion. It was something of a rebound from the previous quarter, when Apple revenue and profit fell more substantially because of economic challenges and a Covid-19 outbreak in China that forced the company’s largest iPhone factory to close temporarily. Apple reported a profit of $24.1 billion, down 3 percent from the same period a year earlier but above the $22.6 billion expected by Wall Street. The company’s sales in its second fiscal quarter were driven by record revenue for its services division and strong demand for iPhones, its flagship product.

☆ Uber’s Revenue Up 29% as U.S. Ride-Hailing Business Improves
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The NewsUber said on Tuesday that its revenue grew 29 percent in its most recent quarter as the company benefited from a series of investments in new services, as well as the continued return of drivers to its ride-hailing business. The company said it had $8.8 billion in revenue, roughly in line with investors’ expectations. Uber had $31.4 billion in gross bookings — the amount of money paid by customers — a 19 percent jump from a year ago. Uber said it remained on track to generate a quarterly profit from the strength of its business operations sometime this year — a milestone on the road to overall profitability. “With our global scale and deeper local density, we are increasingly separating from smaller regional competitors both on driver preference and on the breadth of mobility products we offer consumers,” Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s chief executive, said in a statement.

☆ Lyft Employees Told to Return to Office as New Chief Executive Lays Out Vision
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since the pandemic began, Lyft employees have been able to work remotely, logging into videoconferences from their homes and dispersing across the country like many other tech workers. On Friday, David Risher, the company’s new chief executive, told employees in an all-hands meeting that they would be required to come back into the office at least three days a week, starting this fall. Remote work in the tech industry, he said, had come at a cost, leading to isolation and eroding culture. It could also be an indication that some tech companies — particularly firms that are struggling — may be changing their minds on flexibility about where employees work. Nudges toward working in the office could soon turn into demands.

☆ As Regulators Block Tech Deals, They Increasingly Look to the Future
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( David Mccabe | Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As companies like Google and Facebook grew into giants in the early 21st century, regulators chose largely not to interfere in the still-young market for online services. Now regulators have reversed course: When it comes to tech, they want to see into the future and beat companies to getting there. The decision by the British authorities on Wednesday to block Microsoft’s $69 billion bid for the video game giant Activision Blizzard exemplified the new approach. British officials said a core reason for rejecting the deal was how it could threaten competition in the nascent market for cloud gaming, which lets users stream their favorite video game titles. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which last year sued to block Microsoft’s deal for Activision, also raised concerns about competition in cloud gaming, though the agency focused mostly on the impact to the traditional console games business.

☆ U.K. Blocks Microsoft’s Bid for Activision, a Blow to the Tech Giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( David Mccabe | Kellen Browning | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

British antitrust regulators on Wednesday blocked Microsoft’s plans to acquire the video game giant Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, a significant hurdle for what would be the largest consumer tech acquisition since AOL bought Time Warner two decades ago. The Competition and Markets Authority in Britain said in a statement that Microsoft’s proposal “failed to effectively address the concerns in the cloud gaming sector.”The decision bolsters an effort by the Federal Trade Commission to block the acquisition and is a red flag for big technology companies trying to make large deals despite increasing government scrutiny over whether they abuse their power to hurt rivals and consumers. “Microsoft already enjoys a powerful position and head start over other competitors in cloud gaming and this deal would strengthen that advantage giving it the ability to undermine new and innovative competitors,” Martin Coleman, the chair of a panel that conducted an investigation for the C.M.A., said in a statement.

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