Companies also agreed to waive late fees and open Wi-Fi hot spots to Americans who need them.

Companies also agreed to waive late fees and open Wi-Fi hot spots to Americans who need them.

Aiming to make it easier for people to get help and to reduce the stigma associated with mental health, federal regulators are moving toward setting up a new three-digit number for people to reach a suicide prevention hotline. A law last year required the Federal Communications Commission to study assigning a three-digit number for suicide prevention. That study found evidence...

Iconic kids’ show “Sesame Street” will celebrate its 50th anniversary this weekend.

This first episode of “Sesame Street” — sponsored by the letters W, S and E and the numbers 2 and 3 — aired in the fall of 1969. It was a turbulent time in America, rocked by the Vietnam War and raw from the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King the year before. The media, like today, was going through disruption.

This first episode of “Sesame Street” — sponsored by the letters W, S and E and the numbers 2 and 3 — aired in the fall of 1969. It was a turbulent time in America, rocked by the Vietnam War and raw from the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King the year before. The media, like today, was going through disruption.

Telecom companies big and small have reached an agreement with 51 attorneys general to block illegal robocalls from reaching customers’ phones. Attorneys general from North Carolina, New Hampshire and Arkansas announced the deal with 12 phone companies, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint, in a joint news conference Thursday. Carriers that have signed on to the agreement pledge to take...

Jimmy Kimmel has learned an expensive lesson: don’t mess with the government’s emergency alert system. Kimmel’s network, ABC, was one of four media organizations fined by the Federal Communications Commission this week for improper use of the emergency signal that is sent over television, radio and mobile phones to warn people of danger like floods and fires. The $395,000 fine...

With suicides on the rise , the U.S. government wants to make the national crisis hotline easier to reach. Once implemented, people will just need to dial 988 to seek help. Currently, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline uses a 10-digit number, 800-273-TALK (8255). Callers are routed to one of 163 crisis centers, where counselors answered 2.2 million calls last year....

U.S. regulators have approved T-Mobile’s $26.5 billion takeover of rival Sprint, despite fears of higher prices and job cuts, in a deal that would leave just three major cellphone companies in the country. Friday’s approval from the Justice Department and five state attorneys general comes after Sprint and T-Mobile agreed to conditions that would set up satellite-TV provider Dish as...

AT&T said this week that it will soon block spam calls or alert customers of suspected spammers. The blocking will first activate for new lines and will then be applied to all existing accounts, the carrier said on Tuesday. The feature will be on by default but can be turned off by users who don’t want it, per rules set...

The Federal Trade Commission announced Tuesday a major crackdown on illegal robocalls, including 94 actions targeting operations around the country said to be responsible for more than one billion calls. The nationwide enforcement sweep was coordinated with more than two dozen federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, as part of a major government clampdown on illegal robocalls “pitching a...

The Federal Trade Commission announced Tuesday a major crackdown on illegal robocalls, including 94 actions targeting operations around the country said to be responsible for more than one billion calls. The nationwide enforcement sweep was coordinated with more than two dozen federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, as part of a major government clampdown on illegal robocalls “pitching a...

With no computer or internet at home, Raegan Byrd’s homework assignments present a nightly challenge: How much can she get done using just her smartphone? On the tiny screen, she switches between web pages for research projects, losing track of tabs whenever friends send messages. She uses her thumbs to tap out school papers, but when glitches keep her from...

With no computer or internet at home, Raegan Byrd’s homework assignments present a nightly challenge: How much can she get done using just her smartphone? On the tiny screen, she switches between web pages for research projects, losing track of tabs whenever friends send messages. She uses her thumbs to tap out school papers, but when glitches keep her from...

Federal regulators voted Thursday to give phone companies the right to block unwanted calls without getting customers’ permission first. The Federal Communications Commission’s move could make call-blocking widespread and help consumers dodge annoying robocalls, which have exploded into a problem that pesters Americans on the level of billions of calls a month.

Federal regulators voted Thursday to give phone companies the right to block unwanted calls without getting customers’ permission first. The Federal Communications Commission’s move could make call-blocking widespread and help consumers dodge annoying robocalls, which have exploded into a problem that pesters Americans on the level of billions of calls a month.

Both the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission receive a mind-boggling number of complaints monthly from Americans who can’t stand the growing scourge of scam calls. Last year, the FCC received 232,000 complaints regarding unwanted calls like robocalls and telemarketing offers, while the FTC received more than 3.7 million robocall complaints alone, NBC News reports. Responding to a Freedom of...

Real estate mogul Franklin Haney contributed $1 million to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee and all he’s got to show for the money is the glare of a federal investigation. The contribution from Haney, a prolific political donor, came as he was seeking regulatory approval and financial support from the government for his long-shot bid to acquire the mothballed Bellefonte...

New measures by U.S. regulators could help thwart some of the billions of robocalls received in the U.S. The rising volume of calls in the last few years has created pressure on Congress, regulators and phone companies to act. The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday that it will vote in June on whether to allow to carriers block spam calls...