Business News

(LOS ANGELES) -- A landmark trial over social media addiction has drawn fresh scrutiny to a decades-old legal shield: Section 230.The case, which began last Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, centers on claims against Meta -- the parent company of Facebook and Instagram -- and YouTube, which is owned by Google. Plaintiffs argue the companies knowingly built features that encouraged compulsive use among young users, contributing to long-term […]

(NEW YORK) -- Some Verizon customers were experiencing a service outage on Wednesday afternoon, according to the company.Verizon said it was not immediately clear how long the service would be down."We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers," Verizon said in a statement to ABC News. "Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly. We understand how […]

(WASHINGTON) -- Mark Zuckerberg took the stand on Wednesday in a landmark Los Angeles trial alleging that major social media platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive for children and teens.The case, which began last Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, centers on claims against Meta -- the parent company of Facebook and Instagram -- and YouTube, which is owned by Google. Plaintiffs argue the companies knowingly built features that encouraged compulsive […]

(NEW YORK) -- A thaw in the housing market may deliver relief for homebuyers left out in the cold over recent years, analysts told ABC News.After the pandemic, a rapid rise in home prices coincided with stubbornly high mortgage rates, shutting out potential buyers.Glimmers of hope have started to emerge, however. Mortgage rates are falling, wages are rising faster than home prices and homebuyers are scooping up their biggest discounts […]

(WASHINGTON) -- Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify Wednesday in a landmark Los Angeles trial alleging that major social media platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive for children and teens.The case, which began last Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, centers on claims against Meta -- the parent company of Facebook and Instagram -- and YouTube, which is owned by Google. Plaintiffs argue the companies knowingly built features […]

(NEW YORK) -- An inflation report on Tuesday is set to provide a key gauge of the nation’s economy, just days after reports of a Department of Justice probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell brought fresh scrutiny to the independence of the central bank and its capacity to manage price increases.Economists expect year-over-year inflation to have been left unchanged at 2.7% in December. Inflation stands at its lowest level […]

Money Cash Stocks Decline ( Anton Petrus/Getty Images) (NEW YORK) -- Stocks slid in early trading on Monday hours after reports that the Department of Justice had opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell centered on the central bank leader's remarks to Congress about an office renovation project.Powell, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, issued a rare video message rebuking the investigation as a politically motivated effort to influence the […]

(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump this week issued an attention-grabbing proposal cracking down on Wall Street in an effort to lower home prices and ease affordability woes.In a social media post, Trump said he would move to ban large institutional investors from "buying more single-family homes" and he urged Congress to codify the policy into law. Trump accused industry behemoths of buying up properties and shutting average Americans out of the housing market.“People live […]

(NEW YORK) -- Valentine's Day shoppers may feel jilted by runaway chocolate prices.Chocolate prices soared 14.4% over the initial weeks of 2026 when compared to the same period a year earlier, nearly doubling the pace of price increases at the start of 2025, according to findings shared with ABC News by intelligence firm Datasembly.The sharp rise in chocolate prices owes to a cocoa shortage caused primarily by adverse weather and […]