News items you should check out: February 26

Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, occasionally we’ll direct your attention to articles from various other sources worth your time.

° For Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, Apple “is further amplifying female voices that drive culture and change by bringing to the forefront untold stories, exclusive content, and curated collections across all of its services” on its Newsroom page. Available beginning in March, these offerings celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of all women who accelerate the conversation around gender equality. 

° Apple says it’s helping the nonprofit Encircle expand its support for LGBTQ+ youth and families.

° Shares in Kia Corp rose as much as 8.1% on Friday after a South Korean online news site said there was still potential for the automaker to form a partnership with Apple, reports Reuters.

° Apple has begun pinning the first repairability clues on its smartphones and computers. The score out of ten is visible in the Apple Store app, in this support sheet and on the manufacturer’s French website, notes MacGeneration.

° Apple MacArthur Center in Norfolk, Virginia will permanently close in the near future. The store originally opened in September 2006.

° Apple is researching how to improve Siri to better understand people who talk with a stutter, according to The Wall Street Journal.

° The Verge says the U.S. House Judiciary Committee is looking into legislation that could be proposed as early as this spring could aim to reform big tech like companies such as Apple, Facebook, and Amazon.

° Apple Pay is likely a few days to a few weeks away from launching in Israel, according to local website The Verifier.

° In a note to clients — as noted by AppleInsider — JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee says demand for the iPhone 12 lineup is starting to wane, the investment bank is still tracking a year-over-year increase in shipments because of 5G adoption.

° Belkin is purportedly working on a wireless audio adapter that supports Apple’s AirPlay 2.

° Facebook is launching a new PR campaign that highlights how small businesses rely on personalized advertising to help their businesses grow from “an idea into a livelihood.”