Wire stories category, Page 22
Starbucks introducing cold drink cup made with less plastic
Booming sales of cold drinks at Starbucks have created a problem: growing amounts of plastic waste from the single-use cups that Frappuccinos, Refreshers, cold brews and other iced drinks are served in. The coffee giant said Thursday it plans to alleviate some of that waste with new disposable cups that...
Biden administration recruits 15 states to help enforce airline consumer laws
The Biden administration is enlisting the help of officials in 15 states to enforce consumer-protection laws covering airline travelers, a power that by law is limited to the federal government. The Department of Transportation said Tuesday that the states, which include California, New York and Illinois, will help ensure that...
Cheap mortgages deter workers from relocating for $250,000 jobs
Manager recruits in the industrial Midwest are shunning offers to move to the American South — in part because they’re locked into super-low 30-year mortgages. A tight labor market that’s allowing workers to stay closer to home, rising housing costs and a post-pandemic shift toward remote or hybrid-work arrangements are...
The IRS is quicker to answer the phone on this Tax Day
WASHINGTON — On this Tax Day, the IRS is promoting the customer service improvements the agency rolled out since receiving tens of billions in new funding dollars through Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act. From cutting phone wait times to digitizing more documents and improving the “Where’s My Refund” tool to show...
Bob Casey, Sherrod Brown press Biden to stop U.S. Steel-Nippon deal
WASHINGTON — Two steel-state Democrats in tough reelection fights are urging President Joe Biden to do more to stop the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan-based Nippon Steel Corp. “We’re pushing the White House on national security grounds and on trade enforcement,” Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio told Bloomberg...
Goofy sued for negligence, inflicting trauma, in Disneyland collision
LOS ANGELES — Oh, Goofy, what have you done now? Katrina Amian Redfern Griffin was bent over, tying her daughter’s shoes during a trip to Disneyland in April 2022, when a park employee dressed as Goofy — the klutzy but lovable cartoon canine — barreled straight into her, according to...
Fewer Americans file for jobless claims as labor market continues to shrug off higher interest rates
WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits last week as the labor market continues to thrive despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool it. The Labor Department reported Thursday that filings for unemployment claims for the week ending April 6 fell by 11,000 to 211,000 from the previous week’s...
Internet providers must now be more transparent about fees, pricing, FCC says
NEW YORK — Much like nutritional labels on food products, “broadband labels” for internet packages will soon tell you just what is going into the pricing of your service, thanks to new rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission this week. “If you’ve ever shopped for home or mobile internet,...
2 years after its historic win, a divided Amazon Labor Union lurches toward a leadership election
Two years after clinching a historic victory at a warehouse in New York City, the first labor union for Amazon workers in the United States is divided, running out of money and fighting over an election that could determine who will lead the group in the near future. Despite campaigns...
Will China flood the globe with EVs, green tech? What’s behind latest US-China trade fight
WASHINGTON — China’s burgeoning production of electric cars and other green technologies has become a flashpoint in a new U.S.-China trade fight, highlighted by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during her five-day visit to China and seized on by former President Donald Trump in incendiary remarks on the campaign trail. China...
P&G recalls 8.2 million bags of Tide, Gain and other laundry detergents over packaging defect
NEW YORK — Procter & Gamble is recalling more than 8 million bags of Tide, Gain, Ace and Ariel laundry detergent packets sold in the U.S. and Canada due to a defect in the products’ child-resistant packaging. According to Friday notices from both P&G and product-safety regulators in the U.S....
Justice Department can reopen Realtors case, court says
The Justice Department can reopen an antitrust probe into the National Association of Realtors, an appeals court ruled Friday, rejecting a bid by the real estate trade group to enforce a 2020 settlement with the Trump administration to close the case. “The fact that DOJ ‘closed its investigation’ does not...
Target’s latest ads feature Kristen Wiig’s SNL ‘Target Lady’ and Prince’s music
Target has brought the “Target Lady” back with her bowl cut, red vest and overexuberant approach to customer service and all things “Tergit” to help get out the word out about Target Circle Week and changes to the retailer’s loyalty program. It’s the first time the Minneapolis-based retailer has tapped...
Google to purge billions of files containing personal data in settlement of Chrome privacy case
SAN FRANCISCO — Google has agreed to purge billions of records containing personal information collected from more than 136 million people in the U.S. surfing the internet through its Chrome web browser. The massive housecleaning comes as part of a settlement in a lawsuit accusing the search giant of illegal...
Trump Media stock falls more than 21% after company discloses $58 million loss for 2023
NEW YORK — Less than a week after a flashy stock market debut, Donald Trump’s social media company Monday disclosed it lost nearly $58.2 million last year, sending its stock tumbling more than 21%. Losses in 2023 for Trump Media & Technology Group — whose flagship product is Truth Social...
UPS to become the primary air cargo provider for the United States Postal Service
UPS will become the primary air cargo provider for the United States Postal Service. The Atlanta shipping company said Monday that it had received an air cargo contract from the U.S. Postal Service that significantly expands an existing partnership between the two. UPS will move the majority of air cargo...
How to successfully negotiate real estate commissions
In a real estate transaction, there’s always some level of negotiation. If you’re the seller, you face haggling not only with prospective buyers, but also with the person you’re working with to seal the deal: your real estate agent. Thanks to a federal lawsuit that was recently settled, the way...
Do you want fries with that? Krispy Kreme doughnuts are coming to McDonald’s
NEW YORK — Krispy Kreme and McDonald’s are getting together over breakfast. The doughnut chain and the fast food giant unveiled plans Tuesday to offer Krispy Kreme products at McDonald’s locations across the United States. A phased rollout is expected to start later this year, the companies said, with availability...
FBI tells passengers on Alaska Airlines flight that lost panel they might be crime victims
The FBI has told passengers on the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max that lost a door-plug panel in midflight they might be victims of a crime. “I’m contacting you because we have identified you as a possible victim of a crime,” a victim specialist from the federal agency’s Seattle office...
Reddit, the self-anointed ‘front page of the internet,’ soars in Wall Street debut
NEW YORK — Reddit’s stock soared in its Wall Street debut as investors pushed the value of the company close to $9 billion seconds after it began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Reddit, which priced its IPO at $34 a share, debuted Thursday afternoon at $47 a share....
Federal Reserve still foresees 3 rate cuts this year but envisions higher rates in future
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve officials signaled Wednesday that they still expect to cut their key interest rate three times in 2024 despite signs that inflation stayed surprisingly high at the start of the year. Yet they foresee fewer rate cuts in 2025, and they slightly raised their inflation forecasts. After...
IRS chief zeroes in on wealthy tax cheats in AP interview
WASHINGTON — IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel has a message for high-wealth tax cheats who are wrongly deducting private jet travel and otherwise shorting the government on their taxes: Pay your fair share so “others aren’t shouldering the burden of funding our government.” He also has a thought for ordinary taxpayers...
Doing business in China is growing tougher, more uncertain, European business group says
BEIJING — Uncertainty and “draconian regulations” have drastically raised risks for foreign businesses in China, a report by a European business group said Wednesday. The lengthy paper by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China urges China’s leaders to do more to address concerns that it says have “grown...
Reddit is preparing to sell shares to the public. Here’s what you need to know
SAN FRANCISCO — Reddit, that vast, lively and sometimes chaotic repository of internet discussion, is expected to carry a valuation up to $6.4 billion when it conducts its initial public offering on the stock market. The offering also makes Reddit one of the first online companies to offer shares to...
Crafts retailer Joann files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as consumers cut back on pandemic-era hobbies
NEW YORK — Fabric and crafts retailer Joann has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as consumers continue to cut back on discretionary spending and some pandemic-era hobbies. In a Monday statement, the Hudson, Ohio-based company said that it expected to emerge from bankruptcy as early as the end of...
