Regulators give phone companies new tools to fight robocalls

Federal regulators voted Thursday to give phone companies the right to block unwanted calls without getting customers' permission first.The Federal Communications Commission's move could make call-blocking widespread and help consumers dodge annoying robocalls, which have exploded into a problem that pesters Americans on the level of billions of calls a month.One caveat: Phone companies don't actually have to do anything, and they could start charging you if they do — just as they now char