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Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday acknowledged the importance of making its search engine the default in keeping users loyal -- a key point in a once-in-a generation US antitrust fight focused on billions of dollars Google paid to be the default on laptops and smartphones. Google, which started paying for default status on devices in 2005, monitored for compliance. At one point, the company expressed concern to Apple that its Safari browser would send particular queries, especially lucrative ones, to companies like Amazon.com. "We were obviously doing the deal for default placement," said Pichai. Under cross-examination, Pichai said of Google's tens of billions in annual payments for default status: "We definitely see value." The US government brought the case over whether Google acted illegally to maintain its dominance of online search and parts of search advertising. If the government wins, the company may be forced to scrap some...

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have reached an “agreement in principle” to resolve the looming debt crisis WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an “agreement in principle” to raise the nation's legal debt ceiling , but now Congress must rush to approve the spending cuts package in a matter of days to avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default . The agreement risks angering both Democratic and Republican sides as lawmakers Sunday begin to unpack the the concessions made to compromise. Negotiators agreed to some Republican demands for increased work requirements for recipients of food stamps that had sparked an uproar from House Democrats as a nonstarter. But they stopped short of greater spending cuts overall that Republicans wanted. Support from both parties will be needed to win congressional approval before a projected June 5 government default on U.S. debts. The Democratic president and Republican speaker reached the...