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The European Union has hit Google with another big antitrust fine, the third in a series of billion-dollar penalties the US tech giant has faced for hindering competition.The European Commission on Wednesday ordered Google to pay €1.5 billion (.7 billion) for abusing its dominant position in online search advertising."Google has cemented its dominance in online search adverts and shielded itself from competitive pressure by imposing anti-competitive contractual restrictions on third-party websites," Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.The tech company has now been fined €8.2 billion (.3 billion) in total by Europe over the past three years.EU regulators have taken a much more robust approach to Big Tech companies than their US counterparts, especially when it comes to competition, data protection and tax issues.Google has already been fined in two previous EU antitrust cases.The Commission ordered the company to pay €4.34 billion (.9 billion) in July 2018 for unfairly pushing its apps on smartphone users and thwarting competitors.In 2017, it imposed a €2.4 billion (.7 billion) fine on Google for using its search engine to steer consumers to its own shopping platform.The company said in a blog post Tuesday that it was making further changes to its service based on "feedback" from the European Commission.It has started testing a new format that provides users with direct links to comparison shopping sites. It will also ask new and existing Android users in Europe which browser they'd like to use. 1555

The NHL and the NHL Player Association reached an agreement Friday night to move forward on a plan to resume the season, starting with a 24-team playoff. The season was suspended on March 12, as most teams had completed roughly 70 games of an 82-game schedule. The regular season was set to conclude in April, with the 16-team Stanley Cup Playoffs extending into early June. The resumption plan calls for 24 teams to participate in a playoff, while the bottom seven clubs would effectively have their seasons finished."The Executive Board of the National Hockey League Players¡¯ Association (NHLPA) has authorized further negotiations with the NHL on a 24-team return to play format to determine the winner of the 2020 Stanley Cup,¡± the NHLPA said in a statement. ¡°Several details remain to be negotiated and an agreement on the format would still be subject to the parties reaching agreement on all issues relevant to resuming play."Earlier this week, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that the season could resume with games being played in centralized locations. This would eliminate the need for travel and additional exposure to the coronavirus among players and team personnel. Bettman said that access to tests will remain a key issue in resuming the NHL season. 1282

The Dow dropped some 250 points Friday, following a sharp drop in Boeing's shares.Shares of Boeing, which has been hurt by the grounding of its bestselling 737 Max jet, dropped after the FAA and U.S. Department of Transportation said they are investigating whether the 281

The Department of Education has opened a preliminary investigation of institutions named in the Department of Justice investigation into admissions scams, documents obtained by CNN show.Eight universities -- Georgetown, Stanford, UCLA, the University of San Diego, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin, Wake Forest and Yale -- received letters informing them of the preliminary investigation and requesting written answers to questions pertaining to the Justice Department's investigation.The questions include the names of employees charged, students whose admissions have been mentioned in connection with the case, and all admissions records and policies since 2009.The letters say that "this preliminary investigation will examine whether there is evidence of any violation of the law or regulations governing the Federal student financial aid programs. "Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said last week that the department would review whether any regulations were violated in connection with the scheme.Prosecutors have charged 50 people, including 33 wealthy parents, for carrying out a scheme to cheat on standardized tests and/or bribe college coaches, who then helped the prospective students gain admission by falsely claiming they were athletic recruits.In a statement, DeVos called the alleged actions by the parents, some of whom allegedly paid more than million to secure admission, "disgraceful.""Every student deserves to be considered on their individual merits when applying to college and it's disgraceful to see anyone breaking the law to give their children an advantage over others," DeVos said. "The department is looking closely at this issue and working to determine if any of our regulations have been violated."The nationwide scandal revealed in multiple indictments earlier this month rekindled conversations about fairness in and access to higher education, where the ability to pay, legacy status, and other connections have long played a role in admission.The Education Department investigates anti-discrimination standards for schools, oversees the organizations that accredit colleges and universities, and regulates eligibility and rules for federally-funded financial aid programs.Schools have 30 days to submit their responses.< 2317

The center of Hurricane Dorian made landfall at 8:35 a.m. Friday over Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with maximum sustained winds near 90 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.Overnight, the storm lashed parts of North Carolina and Virginia with rain, storm surges and strong winds as it brushed up against the coast as a Category 1 storm.Before it lost some of its strength early Friday, Dorian caused flooding in parts of the Carolinas and spawned a number of tornadoes, officials said. More than 387,000 people were left in the dark in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, 606

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