Twitter begins limited rollout of a new web interface with a two-column layout, keyboard shortcuts, a dedicated emoji button, and a revised trends section  —  Don't be surprised if Twitter looks very different on the web in the near future.  The social network has started rolling …

Apple Pay expands to Target, Taco Bell, and other US chains and now covers 74 of the top 100 US merchants  —  Seventy-Four of the Top 100 US Merchants Now Accept Apple Pay  —  Target, Taco Bell, Hy-Vee supermarkets in the Midwest, Speedway convenience stores and Jack in the Box …

Google will retire classic Hangouts for G Suite customers in October, after its previous announcement that Hangouts would be split into Hangouts Chat, Meet apps  —  Google announced in March 2017 that it would split Hangouts, its cross-platform messaging service, into two core apps …

New research details how two widely received spam email campaigns over the past few months were made possible by a previously detailed weakness at GoDaddy.com  —  Two of the most disruptive and widely-received spam email campaigns over the past few months — including an ongoing sextortion email scam …

US DoL files complaint against Oracle for discrimination against women and people of color, seeks $400M+ for workers who have suffered pay inequities  —  US labor department accuses company of rampant exclusion of black and Hispanic people in hiring and higher pay for white men

Analysis of millions of Glassdoor reviews finds 400+ companies, including SpaceX and Slack, have unusual single-month increases in mostly positive posts  —  Employers flood the ranking site with 5-star postings requested from enthusiastic staffers, leading to unusual spikes, a WSJ investigation found

A look at the history of LiveJournal, the early blogging platform that boasted 10M+ accounts at its height but faltered after questionable business decisions  —  George RR Martin's platform switch reminds us of an early blogging giant greatly changed.  —  Last April, famed writer …

The Motion Picture Association of America has added Netflix as a member, the first internet-based service to be added  —  UPDATED with Netflix officially joining: It's official, Netflix is a member of the MPAA.  The Washington, DC-based organization just dropped the following release:

DHS issues rare “emergency” directive ordering federal agencies to secure credentials for DNS records; sources: six agencies have seen malicious DNS activity  —  The Department of Homeland Security has issued a rare “emergency” directive ordering federal civilian agencies to secure …

Google announces it will contribute an additional $3.1M to Wikimedia and give Wikipedia editors free access to Custom Search API and Cloud Vision API  —  GOOGLE IS POURING an additional $3.1 million into Wikipedia, bringing its total contribution to the free encyclopedia over the past decade …

Despite Bitcoin's dive, thousands of Georgians have sold cars to buy computers to mine Bitcoin; ~10% of the country's energy output goes into mining Bitcoin  —  Tax breaks, land deals and cheap energy have spurred cryptocurrency mining in Georgia, which wants to be a digital data leader.

Google spent $21.2M on US govt lobbying in 2018, up from $18.04M in 2017; Facebook spent $12.62M, up from $11.51M; and Microsoft spent $9.52M, up from $8.5M  —  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google disclosed on Tuesday that it spent a company-record $21.2 million on lobbying …

NPD Group: US video game revenue in 2018 reached a record $43.4B, up 18% YoY, with software earning $35.8B, up 18% YoY, and hardware earning $7.5B, up 15% YoY  —  Red Dead Redemption 2 crowned best-selling game of 2018; Super Smash Bros. Ultimate takes December

Google says 30M Chromebooks are used in education, up 5M from May 2018, and that 80M people use its G Suite for Education platform  —  Kicking off tomorrow is BETT, an annual conference and show for education.  Several companies have already announced the latest Chrome OS devices for the market …

Viacom to acquire Pluto TV, a free, ad-supported streaming service, for $340M in cash; Pluto TV to operate as an independent subsidiary when the deal closes  —  Viacom announced Tuesday that it has agreed to buy Pluto TV — one of the fastest-growing free, ad-supported TV streaming services in the U.S. — for $340 million in cash.

In Colorado, over two dozen law enforcement agencies statewide have encrypted their radio communications, making it hard for crime reporters to cover their beat  —  Colorado journalists on the crime beat are increasingly in the dark.  More than two-dozen law enforcement agencies statewide …

Desktop Metal, a maker of 3D metal printing systems for commercial and industrial use, raises $160M led by a subsidiary of Koch Industries at a ~$1.5B valuation  —  Why it matters: The Massachusetts startup has now raised more venture capital ($438m total) than any other 3D printing company in history …