The news caused Fitbit’s stock to spike 17 percent today and comes after rumors of the purchase circulated earlier this week, as first reported by Reuters. Google’s parent company Alphabet’s stock rose by roughly 0.8 percent, CNBC reported. Google will pay $7.35 per share in cash as part of the deal. Bringing one of the leading health tracking firms into the fold will help Google to better compete in the wearables market dominated by Apple and Xiaomi....

The letter was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. It was signed by Google’s Sundar Pichai, Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon, AT&T’s John Stankey, Wells Fargo Bank’s Charles Scharf, American Airlines’ Doug Parker and Zoom’s Eric Yuan, among others. “We write to urge immediate and large-scale federal legislation to address the health and economic crises brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the letter says....

The three new Chromebooks include models created by Acer, ASUS, and Lenovo, and come with a myriad of features, including a 120Hz (and higher) high-resolution display. The first of the new Chromebooks designed for gaming is the Acer Chromebook 516 GE. This ChromeOS-based laptop will offer a 120Hz display, along with an RGB-powered anti-ghosting keyboard and support for Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. Additionally, users who pick up this Chromebook will be able to take advantage of the included Intel Core i5 (and higher) processor, as well as 8 GB or more of memory....

It’s quite an odd choice of creature to represent the season given that, like a lot of other mammals, hedgehogs typically hibernate from October through to April. Yet, if you put questions of scientific accuracy to one side, it is an endearing image that cozily ushers in the winter period for internet users. Speaking of which, if you were wondering why the Google Doodle has only just debuted after weeks of U....

The message on the Google Doodle reads: “Wear a mask. Save lives.​ As COVID-19 continues to impact communities around the world, help stop the spread by following these steps.” When clicking on the Google Doodle, users are taken to a COVID-19 prevention page with advice and guidance from officials as well as the latest statistics based on their location. The Google Doodle can be seen in countries in North, Central, and South America, and in some countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa....

Trump attacked Yovanovitch as she testified in the second-ever public Trump impeachment hearings on Friday. “Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go?” the president tweeted as the former ambassador explained her removal to lawmakers. After the hearing, Yovanovitch told top Democrat Adam Schiff that Trump’s remarks were “intimidating.” Commenting on the president’s tweet, Democratic Congressman Sean Maloney said “it’s obviously wrong” during a Sunday appearance on ABC’s This Week....

“I don’t see how you walk back something that’s clear,” Rooney, who represents Florida’s 19th District, said in an interview with CNN on Sunday. “I would say game set match on that,” he added. Mulvaney told reporters during a Thursday press conference that Trump had “absolutely” mentioned “the corruption related to the DNC server” in relation to Ukraine military aid. “That’s why we held up the money,” he said. Previously, Republicans and the White House had maintained that military aid being withheld to Ukraine had nothing to do with investigations Trump urged Ukrainian leaders to open against his political rivals....

Hurd penned an op-ed in The New York Times Friday, just hours after Trump announced “China has total control” over the WHO and cut off all funding to the international health body. The congressman cautioned that “leaving the WHO sends the message that the world cannot count on the United States,” while corroborating China’s aggressive disinformation campaign that has been aimed, in part, at exposing America’s lack of commitment to the international community....

As they battle to maintain their own seats—and the Senate majority—amid a pandemic, Republicans have a message for the commander-in-chief: We approve. “It’s been the most trying times, and if there’s one guy who can bring us back from this, it’s President Trump,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who trails Democratic opponent Gov. Steve Bullock by seven points in the latest poll. “By moving boldly and quickly early, he bought us a couple of months of time to prepare for this,” Sen....

The Let Freedom Ring Concert—meant to recognize national freedoms secured by military, police and other first-responders—occurred on October 3 in Helena. It had roughly 250 attendees, the maximum allowed by local health orders meant to prevent COVID-19’s spread, the Independent Record reported. Along with three bands, food and merchandise vendors and kids’ activities, the event featured socially distanced parking and seating areas with numerous supporters of Republican President Donald Trump in attendance....

DeSantis reacted to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walensky after they floated ideas of pre-flight testing and domestic air travel restrictions—although the White House said they aren’t recommending such measures. DeSantis said many Democratic governors are “putting people out of business,” and are hoping to implement such punitive measures in states like Florida through federal restrictions. “It would be unconstitutional, it would be a political attack against Florida,” he said during his television interview with host Maria Bartiromo....

The request follows Trump pardoning several key political figures and fixers ahead of his term ending on January 20, despite his continuing efforts to overturn the election. Included in the list of more than 40 pardons issued this week is Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, longtime adviser Roger Stone, and Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law. Gosar, a Republican representing his state’s 4th district, tweeted Thursday: “More pardons are needed....

Murphy is one of four Wisconsin GOP lawmakers who recently traveled to observe the audit in Arizona. The audit has been widely criticized by both Democrats and Republicans over its alleged biases, lack of transparency and a lack of previous election auditing experience from the firms and individuals conducting it. During a Monday interview on WTAQ’s conservative talk radio show The Regular Joe Show, Murphy said that Vos had been wrong to take criticisms about the audit seriously, dismissing the concerns as “fake news,” while admitting that he would have preferred if leading firm Cyber Ninjas had chosen a different name....

With Republicans taking control of the House with a slim majority and electing Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House after a tumultuous process, the party is set to begin conducting the many investigations it promised voters during last November’s midterm elections. Most of these proposed probes involve common GOP talking points and target conservative political rivals, with one taking aim at “President Biden’s involvement in his family’s foreign business practices and international influence peddling schemes,” NBC News reported last week....

On Thursday, Rultenberg, who was conducting an interview with Mandel for Spectrum News in Ohio, asked the U.S. Senate candidate a question regarding children potentially being carriers of COVID-19 as the 2021-2022 school year is set to begin. “Kids aren’t vaccinated at this point,” said Rultenberg. “If they were a carrier for the disease, if they go to school and come home…how do you protect those that they’re going home to if they are the carrier for this?...

“Do you assume President Trump will run in 2024?” asked Axios co-founder Mike Allen in an interview with Cassidy, which will air Sunday evening. “He’s saying that he’s going to, where he does or not, we don’t know,” the Louisiana Republican said. “If he runs, he wins the nomination,” Allen continued. But Cassidy responded: “I don’t know that. President Trump is the first president, in the Republican side at least, to lose the House, Senate and presidency in four years....

Murkowski said she was not certain she could support Trump’s reelection last week, and she criticized the president’s response to protests against racial injustice and police brutality following the May 25 death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody. A number of Murkowski’s GOP colleagues have now pushed back against the president’s plan to campaign against the senator in apparent retaliation, according to a Monday report from The Hill....

Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Republican, has attended recent House sessions without using a face mask, despite guidance issued last week by a congressional physician requiring that masks be worn during any committee hearings. “I don’t have the coronavirus, turns out as of yesterday I’ve never had it,” Gohmert said about his reasoning for not wearing a mask. Gohmert, 66, was seen at the Capitol Friday by CNN chatting at a “close distance” with Georgia Congressman Barry Loudermilk, also a Republican....

Jelani the gorilla was shown in a video taken at Louisville Zoo prompting a visitor to swipe through her camera roll for his viewing. TikTok user @gertiemusic posted the video on June 20 and has gained over 1.7 million likes, with 16 million views on the post. The clip captured the visitor sitting on the other side of the glass from the gorilla, showing her phone to Jelani. He took the initiative to prompt her to slide to the next photo on the camera roll, using a hand movement toward the phone to let her know when he’s ready to move onto the next one....