Briefcase

PlayStation will be back this week, Sony says

SAN FRANCISCO – Sony Corp. plans to restore access to its PlayStation Network and Qriocity movie and music services in the U.S., Europe and Asia – with the exception of Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea – by the end of the week.

The company shut down the services in April after a massive security breach that affected more than 100 online accounts.

Sony started restoring access in the U.S. and Europe on May 15, and began a phased restoration of the service in Japan and elsewhere in Asia on Saturday. Video game consoles such as the PlayStation are effectively banned in China.

Sony says it has added “considerable” security enhancements to its service.

Associated Press

Bank settles complaints from deaf customers

WASHINGTON – Wells Fargo & Co. has reached an agreement with the government to pay up to $16 million to settle complaints from customers who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech defects.

The settlement involving Wells Fargo’s nearly 10,000 retail banking, brokerage and mortgage stores is designed to ensure equal access under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

According to the Justice Department, some disabled customers of Wells Fargo were referred to a device for text communication via a telephone line that told them to leave a message, which the government says went unanswered.

The Justice Department says the bank began addressing the customers’ concerns before the government began looking into the matter.

Associated Press

New York sues for review of gas drilling

ALBANY, N.Y. – New York’s attorney general is suing the federal government to compel a full environmental review of proposed regulations for natural gas drilling in the Delaware River Basin.

Eric Schneiderman says in the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday the welfare of those living in the basin and of millions of New Yorkers who rely on its drinking water must be thoroughly weighed.

He says the Delaware River Basin Commission with approval of federal agencies proposed regulations without doing a full review as required by law.

Gas is being extracted in the Marcellus Shale region underlying southern New York, Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and West Virginia with a process called hydraulic fracturing, which involves pumping water laced with chemicals and sand into the ground.

A commission spokeswoman says the commission hasn’t read the complaint and has no immediate comment.

Associated Press