Wire stories category, Page 101
U-Haul International to stop hiring smokers in Pennsylvania, 20 other states
PHOENIX — U-Haul International has announced plans to stop interviewing and hiring nicotine users, including people who use e-cigarettes and vaping products. The well-known truck and trailer rental company approved the nicotine-free policy set to go into effect Feb. 1 in more than 20 states where the company operates, the...
Amazon workers clash with company over climate change
NEW YORK — Amazon employees say the company is threatening to fire workers for publicly pushing the company to do more to combat climate change. Amazon Employees For Climate Justice, a climate change advocacy group founded by Amazon workers, said Thursday that the company sent letters to members telling them...
On the Money: Tackling credit card debt from the holidays
NEW YORK — The children are playing with their gifts, the new TV is up on the wall, and that puppy has a brand-new cashmere-lined bed, when another gift arrives in the mail. This one isn’t from Santa. It’s your statement from your friendly credit card company. They want to...
Ex-Nissan boss Ghosn in Lebanon, left Japan over ‘injustice’
TOKYO — Nissan’s former Chairman Carlos Ghosn said Tuesday from Lebanon that he was not fleeing justice but instead left Japan to avoid “injustice and political persecution” over financial misconduct allegations during his tenure leading the automaker. Ghosn had been released on bail by a Tokyo court while awaiting trial...
California vastly expands digital privacy. Will people use it?
SAN FRANCISCO — Forty million Californians will soon have sweeping digital-privacy rights stronger than any seen before in the U.S., posing a significant challenge to Big Tech and the data economy it helped create. So long as state residents don’t mind shouldering much of the burden of exercising those rights,...
Wawa facing lawsuits over data breach at all of its storesVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The Wawa convenience store chain is facing a wave of lawsuits over a data breach that affected its 850 locations along the East Coast. Wawa Inc. discovered malware on its payment processing servers this month before stopping the breach Dec. 12, the company has said. Officials with the...
Raising a glass of Champagne will get more expensive under Trump’s tariff plan
WASHINGTON — That glass of Champagne being raised to welcome in the New Year is about to get a lot more expensive. Absent a major breakthrough in trade negotiations with France, the Trump administration is preparing to raise tariffs on a host of French products — including cheeses, wines and...
Online sales make up a larger portion of overall sales again
NEW YORK — More people did their shopping online this year during one of the shortest holiday shopping seasons in years, helping to push total sales higher. Retail sales in the U.S. rose 3.4% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 compared with last year, according to early data from Mastercard...
Online sales make up a larger portion of overall sales again
NEW YORK — More people did their shopping online this year during one of the shortest holiday shopping seasons in years, helping to push total sales higher. Retail sales in the United States rose 3.4% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 compared with last year, according to early data from...
Women sue Frontier Airlines over sex assaults by passengersVideo
DENVER — Two women who say they were sexually assaulted by passengers on Frontier Airlines flights sued the Denver-based budget carrier for allegedly refusing to help them and either not having or failing to follow policies to respond to assaults. The class action lawsuit was filed Dec. 16 by two...
On the Money: Tips to make the best of post-holiday shopping
NEW YORK — Holiday shopping doesn’t end with Christmas. Shoppers can take advantage of fatter discounts on clothing, home decor and other items well into January. In fact, a National Retail Federation survey of nearly 8,000 adults conducted Nov. 27 through Dec. 5 found that 68% of holiday consumers will...
San Francisco cafes are banishing disposable coffee cups
SAN FRANCISCO — A new cafe culture is brewing in the San Francisco area, where a growing number of coffee houses are banishing paper to-go cups and replacing them with everything from glass jars to rental mugs and BYO cup policies. What started as a small trend among neighborhood cafes...
Former Uber CEO Kalanick severs ties with ride-hailing giant
NEW YORK — Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is resigning from the board of directors, severing ties with the ride-hailing company that he co-founded a decade ago and ran until a series of scandals led to his downfall. The departure, announced Tuesday, did not come as a surprise. Kalanick recently...
Twitter fights interference, deletes 5,929 Saudi accounts
NEW YORK — Twitter has identified and removed nearly 6,000 accounts that it said were part of a coordinated effort by Saudi government agencies and individuals to advance the country’s geopolitical interests. Separately, Facebook said it removed hundreds of Facebook accounts, groups and pages linked to inauthentic behavior from two...
Wawa says data breach affected thousands over 10 monthsVideo
WAWA — The Wawa convenience store chain says a data breach may have collected debit and credit card information from thousands of customers. Pennsylvania-based Wawa Inc. said Thursday that its information security team discovered malware on its payment processing servers on Dec. 10 and stopped the breach on Dec 12....
Erie coke plant shuts down amid mounting pollution concernsVideo
ERIE — A coke plant abruptly shut down Thursday morning amid mounting regulatory pressure over its environmental record. Erie Coke Corp. employed more than 130 people at the plant, which uses coal to produce foundry coke, a key ingredient in the steelmaking process. Workers who showed up at the plant...
Ford to add 3,000 jobs in the Detroit area, invest $1.45B
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is adding 3,000 jobs at two factories in the Detroit area and investing $1.45 billion to build new pickup trucks, SUVs, and electric and autonomous vehicles. The company said Tuesday that about $750 million will go the Michigan Assembly Plant in the Detroit suburb of...
Firms to pay $386 million to settle price-fixing allegations
Thirteen large financial firms are agreeing to pay $337 million to settle claims by Pennsylvania’s treasury department and about a dozen other government agencies and pension funds accusing them of inflating the price of bonds issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to proposed agreements filed in federal court....
Amazon bans sellers from using FedEx for some deliveries
NEW YORK — Amazon is banning its third-party merchants from using FedEx’s ground service to deliver to Prime members, suggesting that it thinks the service is too slow to get packages to their destinations in time for Christmas. The temporary ban will block those companies from using FedEx Ground service,...
Boeing to halt production of 737 Max airliner in JanuaryVideo
Boeing Co. said Monday that it will temporarily stop producing its grounded 737 Max jet starting in January as it struggles to get approval from regulators to put the plane back in the air. The Chicago-based company said production would halt at its plant with 12,000 employees in Renton, Wash.,...
Hallmark to reinstate same-sex marriage commercial it pulledVideo
NEW YORK — The Hallmark Channel will reinstate same-sex marriage commercials that it pulled from the network, according to a company statement sent Sunday. An ad for wedding planning site Zola featuring two brides kissing at the altar was pulled following a complaint from the conservative group One Million Moms....
Are extended warranties worth it? Not so much, experts say
Consumers generally don’t need extended warranties. “They are cash cows for retailers,” said Linda Sherry, a spokeswoman for the advocacy group Consumer Action. “Salespeople get commissions, which is why they push them so hard.” But that doesn’t mean you want to dismiss the idea of purchasing extra protection in all...
In surprise decision, U.S. approves muscular dystrophy drug
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators approved a second drug for a debilitating form of muscular dystrophy, a surprise decision after the medication was rejected for safety concerns just four months ago. The ruling marks the second time the Food and Drug Administration has granted preliminary approval for the disease based...
Happy holidays from Comcast. Your cable bill is going up again.
Comcast is giving the gift of higher cable bills this holiday season. Tens of millions of Xfinity customers will see their bills rise 3.6% nationwide, on average, the company said Thursday, as it boosts prices for broadband plans and hikes TV fees starting next week. Customers in the Philadelphia region...
General Motors to invest $1.5 billion in Missouri plant
WENTZVILLE, Mo. — General Motors plans to invest $1.5 billion in a suburban St. Louis plant that makes trucks and vans, officials announced Friday. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said in a statement that GM is pledging to keep 4,000 jobs at the Wentzville Assembly and Stamping Plant. Close to 4,300...
