For: March 26, 2026
>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed higher on Wall Street Wednesday. It comes as investors keep their eye on oil prices as the war against Iran continues. West Texas Intermediate futures and International Brent were both under pressure, losing two-percent respectively. Treasury yields have also seen a tumble. Elsewhere, shares of technology saw a boost, with Nvidia, AMD and Intel all jumping. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 305 points to 46-429. The S&P 500 rose 35 points to 65-91. The Nasdaq jumped 167 points to 21-929.
>>Liable Verdict In For L.A. Social Media Trial
(Los Angeles, CA) -- Social media giants may have to make major changes after being found liable for addicting kids to their platforms. This after the jury in Los Angeles sided with the plaintiff, a young woman, in the landmark federal trial involving Instagram's parent company Meta and YouTube's parent company Google. She accused the companies of designing their platforms to get her hooked early on, leading to depression and suicidal thoughts into adulthood. She was awarded three-million dollars in damages for the negligence involving the companies. Snapchat and TikTok previously settled with the woman. The case was being watched closely because it's seen as a test case by hundreds of similar lawsuits across the U.S. still pending.
>>Gas Prices Hold Steady
(Heathrow, FL) -- Gas prices are holding steady just shy of four-dollars a gallon. Triple-A puts today's national average at three-98 - the same as yesterday. That halts a string of steady jumps since the outbreak of war in Iran. The national average was a dollar less at two-98 a gallon one month ago.
>>'Fortnite' Maker Epic Games Laying Off 1,000+ Workers
(San Francisco, CA) -- "Fortnite" maker Epic Games is laying off more than a thousand workers. The company is based in North Carolina, with offices in San Francisco. CEO Tim Sweeney says the company has seen a decline in engagement in the hit videogame Fortnite since last year, leading to continued losses. Epic Games has identified more than half-a-million-dollars in cost savings involving contracting, marketing and closing open positions. Sweeney says the layoffs are not related to AI.
>>Meta Lays Off Hundreds As It Spends Billions On AI
(Menlo Park, CA) -- Meta is laying off hundreds of employees. Multiple reports say workers are being laid off in Meta's recruiting, sales and social media teams, and in the division that develops Meta smart glasses and VR headsets. A company spokesperson told "The Verge" that they are finding "other opportunities" for employees "where possible." Meta employs about 79-thousand people. The layoffs come as Meta is projected to spend about 135-billion dollars on AI data centers.
