Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, are donating $120 million toward student scholarships at historically black colleges and universities.
The couple is giving $40 million to each of three institutions: the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College and Morehouse College. The organizations said it is the largest individual gift in support of student scholarships at HBCUs.
Hastings has a history of supporting educational causes, including charter schools. He launched a $100 million education fund in 2016, beginning with money toward college scholarships for black and Latino students.
Hastings said now is the time when "everyone needs to figure out" how to contribute to solving racism. He said HBCUs have been resilient "little-known gems" for black education.
Amid protests over police brutality that began three weeks ago, companies and business leaders have been pledging solidarity with their black employees and the black community. But tech companies — including Netflix — have fallen short in hiring, retaining and promoting underrepresented minorities within their own ranks.
Other tech industry donations in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests have largely been on the company level. Last week, for instance, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the company will spend $100 million on a new Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, investing in education and criminal justice reform among other things. YouTube, meanwhile, pledged $100 million to help black artists and other creators.
U.S. Bank has been hit with a $36 million fine for freezing debit cards that distributed unemployment benefits during the pandemic.
Construction of new homes rose by double digits in November, according to data from the Commerce Department.
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Stocks opened lower after the opening bell and on track for its first decline in 10 days after a recent winning streak.
Tesla drivers in the U.S. were in more accidents than drivers of any other car brand this year, according to a study.
The promise of self-checkout was alluring: Customers could avoid long lines by scanning and bagging their own items, workers could be freed of doing those monotonous tasks themselves and retailers could save on labor costs.
Monsanto was ordered to pay $857 million to students and parent volunteers at a Washington school.
A federal judge has struck down hundreds of lawsuits filed against the makers of Tylenol and generic acetaminophen.
California regulators are preparing to vote on new rules for turning recycled wastewater into drinking water.
Hackers accessed Xfinity customers’ personal information by exploiting a vulnerability in software used by the company, the Comcast-owned telecommunications business announced this week.
