Business

The Daily Beast reports: Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, will pay $270 million to settle claims by the Oklahoma attorney general that the company helped fuel America’s opioid crisis, The Wall Street Journal reports. It’s the first settlement to be agreed upon from more than 1,600 opioid lawsuits the OxyContin maker faces various from states, cities, and …

CNET reports: Slick new gadgets are usually the stars of Apple’s splashy events. But on Monday, the company will put the spotlight on subscriptions and services. A star-studded new TV service is expected to headline Apple’s event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. Apple will likely unveil a news subscription service built into a reimagined Apple News, as …

Slate reports: One of Germany’s richest families is coming to terms with a disturbing past. The family that owns a controlling stake in Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Panera Bread, among others, will donate $11 million to charity after learning that their ancestors were staunch supporters of Adolf Hitler and extensively used forced labor. The family announced its planned charitable donation …

CNN reports: Pilots transitioning to the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft from older 737 models were given a short, self-administered online course that made no mention of a new system now at the center of two crash investigations, pilots’ unions spokesmen for two American carriers told CNN. “The course was not instructor-led. It was self-administered,” said Mike Trevino, a spokesman …

Out In San Antonio reports: The San Antonio City Council voted on March 21 against allowing the opening of a Chick-Fil-A concession at the city’s airport in a vote of 6 to 4 with one abstention. Chick-Fil-A has long had a reputation for being anti-LGBTQ. In 2012, the company’s CEO, Dan T. Cathy, said he opposed marriage equality. It was …

The Christian Post reports: LifeWay Christian Resources announced today that it will be closing all remaining 170 stores this year and focusing on online sales. Carol Pipes, director of corporate communications for LifeWay, posted the announcement on the company’s website, explaining that it was “a strategic shift of resources to a dynamic digital strategy.” Dates for store closures will vary …

The Washington Blade reports: The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on March 13 suspended the liquor license for the DC Eagle gay bar and nightclub for seven days and fined the club $2,000 over an incident last fall involving former mayor and current D.C. Council member Vincent Gray [photo]. News of the license suspension and fine surfaced on Wednesday when …

The Huffington Post reports: Contrary to Jeff Bezos’ suspicions, it wasn’t the White House, Saudi Arabia or hackers who provided the National Enquirer with the cache of racy text messages that the Amazon founder sent to his girlfriend. Instead, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal, it was her brother who shared the private messages with the …

The New York Times reports: Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into data deals Facebook struck with some of the world’s largest technology companies, intensifying scrutiny of the social media giant’s business practices as it seeks to rebound from a year of scandal and setbacks. A grand jury in New York has subpoenaed records from at least two prominent …

Variety reports: Disney has set March 20 as the closing date for its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. Disney announced the formal closing process Tuesday morning, indicating that the company has received the last major approval for the deal from regulators in Mexico. Disney said current 21st Century Fox shareholders will have until 5 p.m. ET Thursday to choose the …

Reuters reports: Apple Inc on Monday invited media to a March 25 event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, where it is expected to launch a television and video service. Sources previously told Reuters that the company is targeting April for the launch of a streaming television service that will likely include subscription TV service. …

Yahoo News reports: The U.S. economy added a sharply lower-than-expected 20,000 non-farm payrolls in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Consensus expectations called for 180,000 positions to be added for the month, according to Bloomberg data. February’s headline reading for new payrolls was the weakest in 17 months. The unemployment rate fell to 3.8%, from 4% in January. …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Philadelphia is the first major U.S. city to ban cashless stores, placing it at the forefront of a debate that pits retail innovation against lawmakers trying to protect all citizens’ access to the marketplace. Starting in July, Philadelphia’s new law will require most retail stores to accept cash. A New York City councilman is pushing …

NBC News reports: A sprawling General Motors assembly plant near Youngstown was idled on Wednesday after more than 50 years producing cars and other vehicles, a move that will eliminate nearly 1,700 hourly positions by month’s end. GM announced late last year that Lordstown along with three plants in the U.S. and one in Canada would close by early next …

Bloomberg reports: The U.S. trade deficit widened in 2018 to a 10-year high of $621 billion, bucking President Donald Trump’s pledges to reduce it, as tax cuts boosted domestic demand for imports while the strong dollar and retaliatory tariffs weighed on exports. The annual deficit in goods and services increased by $68.8 billion, or 12.5 percent, Commerce Department data showed …

Forbes reports: Capitalism is taking some lumps—and not just in the headlines. For only the second year in a decade, both the number of billionaires and their total wealth shrank, proving that even the wealthiest are not immune to economic forces and weak stock markets. By our latest count there are 2,153 billionaires, 55 fewer than a year ago. Of …

CNBC reports: The Food and Drug Administration called out 15 retailers on Monday for allegedly selling tobacco products to minors and requested information from more than 40 e-cigarette companies the agency thinks may have illegally introduced new products onto the market. The agency named corporate-owned and franchise retailers who were allegedly found selling tobacco products to minors more than 15 …

Reuters reports: OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP is exploring filing for bankruptcy to address potentially significant liabilities from thousands of lawsuits alleging the drug manufacturer contributed to the deadly opioid crisis sweeping the United States, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. The deliberations show how Purdue and its wealthy owners, the Sackler family, are under pressure to respond …

The New York Times reports: The drugmaker Eli Lilly will begin selling a cheaper version of its most popular insulin, Humalog, in an effort to head off criticism about the rising costs of prescription drugs, the company said Monday. Lilly will begin selling an “authorized generic” of Humalog 100 for $137.35 per vial, a 50 percent discount off the list …

The Verge reports: Amazon has said it’s ending plans for a New York City headquarters, but a group of state officials, businesspeople, and union leaders are asking the company to stay. In an open letter set to be published in the New York Times tomorrow, the group will ask Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to reconsider the company’s decision to abandon …