Lufthansa airline group to shed 4,000 jobs by 2030 with help of AI, sees stronger profits ahead

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Lufthansa Group has announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs by 2030, focusing on administrative roles. The company aims to achieve this through artificial intelligence, digitalization, and consolidating work among its member airlines. Most of the job cuts will occur in Germany. On Monday, Lufthansa shared its strategic plans during a presentation in Munich. The company is seeing strong demand for air travel and expects increased profitability by the end of the decade. Lufthansa is also preparing for the largest fleet modernization in its history, adding over 230 new aircraft by 2030.

Denmark reports new drone sightings at armed forces' locations. NATO boosts Baltic Sea vigilance

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark's defense ministry has reported again observing drones at several military locations overnight. The statement on Sunday came a day after NATO announced plans to enhance vigilance in the Baltic Sea region. The ministry said that it deployed "several capacities" but hasn't detailed the specifics. This follows unexplained drone activity including sightings over five Danish airports last week. It has raised security concerns amid suspected Russian aggression. NATO plans to increase surveillance and defense in the area. Germany and Sweden are providing support to Denmark. Tensions have been high with many unconfirmed drone sightings reported by citizens. Russia denies involvement in the incidents.

Private equity sees profits in power utilities as electric bills rise and Big Tech seeks more energy

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Private investment firms that are helping finance America’s artificial intelligence race and the huge buildout of energy-hungry data centers are getting interested in the local utilities that deliver electricity to regular customers — and the servers that power AI. Billions of dollars from such firms are now flowing toward electric utilities in places including New Mexico, Texas, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Greg Brown, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor, says that's because there’s a lot of money to be made. Buyout proposals are coming at a time when electricity bills are rising fast across the U.S. Opponents worry buyouts will further drive up electric bills for regular people.

Regulators struggle to keep up with the fast-moving and complicated landscape of AI therapy apps

As mental health chatbots driven by artificial intelligence proliferate, a small number of states are trying to regulate them. Laws in Illinois, Nevada and Utah are among the first in the nation to put limits on or ban therapy chatbots. But app creators, policymakers and mental health advocates say it is just a start and federal regulation would be ideal. App makers worry the patchwork of laws could stifle innovation needed due to a nationwide shortage of human therapists. They also note that many of the laws don’t cover generic chatbots like ChatGPT.

British department store Harrods warns customers that some personal details taken in data breach

LONDON (AP) — Harrods has warned some customers about a data breach involving their online systems. The luxury British department store said late Friday that names and contact details were taken after a third-party provider system was compromised. Harrods said that account passwords and payment details weren't affected. The company stated the incident was isolated and has been contained. Harrods said that it wasn't connected to a previous incident in May when hackers sought to gain access to its systems. Four people were arrested in July over their suspected involvement in cyberattacks against Harrods and other British retailers. Cyberattacks have targeted several high-profile British businesses recently.

Denmark reports new drone sightings at military facilities

BERLIN (AP) — Denmark's defense ministry says that “drones have been observed at several of Danish defense facilities.” The new drone sightings overnight Friday into Saturday came after there were several drone sightings in the Nordic country earlier this week. Some of them temporarily shut down Danish airports. Several local media outlets reported that one or more drones were seen near or above the Karup Air Base which is Denmark’s biggest military base. The defense ministry refused to confirm the sighting at Karup or elsewhere.

Trump moves toward deal to give US an equity stake in company developing Nevada lithium mine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is moving forward with a deal that would allow the U.S. government to take a small equity stake in a Canadian company that is developing one of the world’s largest lithium mines. The Department of Energy and Lithium Americas, developer of the proposed Thacker Pass lithium mine and processing plant in Nevada, have agreed on changes to a $2.3 billion federal loan that could allow the project to move forward to extract the silver-white metal used in electric vehicle batteries. The proposed equity stake in Vancouver-based Lithium Americas is the latest example of President Donald Trump’s administration intervening directly in private companies.

Chair of a House committee on China demands urgent White House briefing on TikTok deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok. Moolenaar, chair of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, says the ownership transition is a step forward but not the only requirement. The deal, reached nearly two weeks ago, involves selling stakes in TikTok to comply with the law and licensing TikTok's all-important algorithm. However, Moolenaar wants more details. Critics argue the deal doesn't fully comply with the law, as ByteDance might still have influence.

Mikey Madison will play a Facebook whistleblower in Aaron Sorkin's ‘Social Network’ follow-up

Aaron Sorkin is diving back into the world of Facebook with a new film called “The Social Reckoning.” Jeremy Strong will play Mark Zuckerberg. Sony Pictures announced the film on Friday. It will also star Mikey Madison as Facebook engineer Frances Haugen and Jeremy Allen White as Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz. In 2021, Haugen and Horwitz exposed Facebook's secrets in an investigation known as The Facebook Files. Sorkin is writing and directing this movie, which is described as a “companion piece” to “The Social Network.” The studio plans to release it in theaters in October 2026.

Louisiana's $3B power upgrade for Meta project raises questions about who should foot the bill

HOLLY RIDGE, La. (AP) — Meta is racing to construct its largest data center yet, a $10 billion facility in northeast Louisiana as big as 70 football fields and requiring more than twice the electricity of New Orleans. Last month, the Louisiana Public Service Commission greenlit more than $3 billion in energy infrastructure to service Meta's facility. Local residents, consumer advocacy groups and some regulators say the data center plans lacks transparency and key details are being withheld from the public, which could be on the hook for billions of dollars in electrical grid costs. Others say the rushed build-out is necessary for a facility that promises transformative economic impacts, though locals have mixed feelings.