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By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google has been branded an abusive monopolist by a federal judge for the second time in less than a year, this time for illegally exploiting some of its online marketing technology to boost the profits fueling an internet empire currently worth $1.8 trillion.

The ruling issued Thursday by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia comes on the heels of a separate decision in August that concluded Google’s namesake search engine has been illegally leveraging its dominance to stifle competition and innovation.

After the U.S. Justice Department targeted Google’s ubiquitous search engine during President Donald Trump’s first administration, the same agency went after the company’s lucrative digital advertising network in 2023 during President Joe Biden’s ensuing administration in an attempt to undercut the power that Google has amassed since its inception in a Silicon Valley garage in 1998.

Although antitrust regulators prevailed both times, the battle is likely to continue for several more years as Google tries to overturn the two monopoly decisions in appeals while forging ahead in the new and highly lucrative technological frontier of artificial intelligence. read more

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. climbed to its highest level in eight weeks, a setback for home shoppers in the midst of the spring homebuying season.

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The rate rose to 6.83% from 6.62% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.1%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose. The average rate increased to 6.03% from 5.82% last week. It’s still down from 6.39% a year ago, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including global demand for U.S. Treasurys, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions and bond market investors’ expectations for future inflation. read more

By TOM MURPHY, Associated Press Health Writer

UnitedHealth chopped its 2025 forecast after being surprised by rising care use from its Medicare Advantage customers in a worse-than-expected first quarter.

Shares of the health care giant tumbled early Thursday, and the report rattled insurance stocks across the sector.

UnitedHealth said a jump in care use came in far above what the company planned for 2025 and became apparent as the quarter ended. The jump was particularly notable in doctor and outpatient services, which don’t involve overnight hospital stays.

The company’s UnitedHealthcare insurance business is the nation’s largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, with about 8.2 million people enrolled. Those plans are privately run versions of the federal government program mostly for people ages 65 and older.

UnitedHealth also said Medicare Advantage funding cuts enacted by former President Joe Biden’s administration also hurt.

The company’s fast-growing Optum Health business, which provides provides an array of care, also turned in revenue and earnings well below expectations, Leerink Partners analyst Whit Mayo said in a research note. read more

Walt Disney World has released more details about the new villains show slotted to arrive at Disney’s Hollywood Studios next month, including a new song performed by the Magic Mirror, the “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” character that served as the “fairest of them all” barometer.

“Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After” debuts May 27 at the theme park.

“This show is ground-breaking in that the Magic Mirror does more than just talk. He’s actually going to have a song of his very own,” Doug Morris, music producer, said during a promotional video posted on the official Disney Parks Blog on Thursday morning.

The footage includes studio musicians in a recording session and a sample, reflective lyric of “what you see is what you get.”

“It’s a little bit rock and roll, a little bit of orchestra and classic gothic score. It is just fun from start to finish,” said conductor Roger Butterley.

Disney shows three on-stage characters who are backlit amid color-coordinated fog effects: Captain Hook, Cruella De Vil and Maleficent. There will be glimpses of other infamous characters, Disney has said. read more

By AAMER MADHANI and JOSH BOAK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump attacked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday for not cutting interest rates and said he could fire him if he wanted to, renewing a threat from his first term that could cause a major legal showdown over the issue of the central bank’s longstanding political independence.

“If I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me,” Trump said in the Oval Office while taking questions from reporters with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “I’m not happy with him.”

Trump’s comments followed a posting on his social media site in which he called on Powell to cut the Fed’s short-term interest rate and said, “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”

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Supreme Court keeps hold on Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship but sets May arguments

Federal judge will hear arguments as groups try to block Trump’s executive order on elections read more