Business

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Publix has been Florida’s favorite grocery chain for decades — but some shoppers are turning their backs on the store after learning it donated more than half a million dollars to gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam. A handful of state advocacy groups have gone to social media — Twitter in particular — urging shoppers to “#BoycottPublix” …

The Associated Press reports: U.S. prosecutors filed a criminal charge Wednesday against the CEO of Bumble Bee Foods as part of an ongoing investigation into price fixing in the packaged seafood industry. A grand jury in San Francisco indicted Christopher Lischewski on one count of price fixing, alleging that from November 2010 to December 2013 he conspired with others in …

CNBC reports: There are now more billionaires in the world than ever before: 2,754. That’s according to The Wealth-X Billionaire Census 2018, which finds that “the billionaire population and their wealth soared to record levels in 2017.” The United States accounts for 25 percent of the global billionaire population, Wealth-X finds though it’s home to just over 4 percent of …

The New York Daily News reports: A robotics company known for its widely shared videos of nimble, legged robots opening doors or walking through rough terrain is preparing to sell some after more than a quarter century of research. Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert said Friday that his company plans to begin selling the dog-like SpotMini robot next year, likely …

The Associated Press reports: Starbucks has adopted an open-bathroom policy following the arrest last month of two African American men at a coffee shop in Philadelphia. Chairman Howard Schultz says he doesn’t want the company to become a public bathroom, but feels employees can make the “right decision a hundred percent of the time,” if that choice is removed at …

Reuters reports: U.S. cable operator Comcast Corp is asking investment banks to increase a bridge financing facility by as much as $60 billion so it can make an all-cash offer for the media assets that Twenty-First Century Fox Inc has agreed to sell to Walt Disney Co for $52 billion, three people familiar with the matter said on Monday. Comcast …

The New York Daily News reports: A Newark-bound Southwest Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Cleveland Wednesday after a window cracked. Photographs taken by a passenger on Southwest Airlines flight WN957, which took off from Chicago Midway International, show a broken window next to a row of passenger seats. A portion of the window’s glass appeared to be missing. …

The Los Angeles Times reports: In response to the controversial death of a dog on a United Airlines flight in March, the carrier is overhauling its pet travel policy, including banning the transport of dozens of breeds of dogs and cats in the cargo compartment. Passengers can still bring small pets, including many of the breeds banned in cargo, into …

Courthouse News reports: A federal judge in Missouri ruled that Dr. Pepper can’t dodge a class action claiming its Canada Dry Ginger Ale is not made with real ginger. “Because plaintiff alleges independent laboratory testing revealed that the product does not contain a detectable amount of ginger and a reasonable consumer would be misled into believing that the product contains …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The boards of Sprint and T-Mobile have agreed to an all-stock merger that, if allowed by antitrust enforcers, would leave the U.S. wireless market dominated by three national players. It is the third time in recent years that the two rivals have attempted the combination. New technology, stiff competition from wireless rivals and an aging …

CNN Money reports: Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” made an estimated $630 million at the worldwide box office for its opening weekend, according to Disney. That shatters the record for biggest worldwide opening held by Universal’s “The Fate of the Furious,” which made $541 million for its global opening last year. “Infinity War” also brought in an estimated $250 million …

Gay Times Magazine reports: Part of the experience of visiting any Disney theme park is wearing your favourite pair of Disney ears, whether that’s a classic Mickey Mouse, a cute Minnie Mouse with a bow, or one of the many limited edition variations that pop up through the year. But we think the latest Mickey ear release might be our …

The Washington Post reports: When Amazon executives recently toured the Dallas-Fort Worth area, one of 20 finalists for a second company headquarters, local officials touted its growing workforce and low taxes as perfectly suited to accommodate 50,000 planned Amazon jobs. But the local team also brought an unexpected guest: the Rev. Neil G. Cazares-Thomas, pastor of a predominantly gay megachurch …

CNN reports: Passengers aboard Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 received a $5,000 check after a deadly engine failure that led to an emergency landing in Philadelphia. In a letter to passengers, the airline expressed “sincere apologies” for the fatal incident and included the check, said Kamau Siwatu, who was aboard the flight. He was one of at least three passengers who …

The Pittsburgh Gazette reports: When Dick’s Sporting Goods said it would no longer sell modern sporting rifles at its Field & Stream stores following the Valentine’s Day shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school, one question was what would happen to the unsold firearms in its inventory. Typically a retailer may return unsold merchandise to the manufacturer. But in this …

NBC News reports: Starbucks announced Tuesday that it will close all of its more than 8,000 stores nationwide to conduct “racial-bias” training amid a racially charged uproar over the arrest of two black men at one of its stores in Philadelphia. Three years ago, Starbucks was widely ridiculed for trying to start a national conversation on race relations by asking …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge in Chicago has tossed a class-action lawsuit that argued McDonald’s was duping consumers because a single “Extra Value Meal” costs more than the sum total of the individual components of the meal bought separately. The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reported Monday that Kelly Killeen said she bought a sausage burrito breakfast Extra Value …

ABC News reports: Stocks fell sharply Friday as trade tensions between the United States and China heated up. The Dow lost nearly 700 points at one point, a drop of more than 2%, after President Donald Trump threatened to escalate a confrontation with China over trade. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq each declined more than 2%. The Dow Jones …

CNBC reports: China announced additional tariffs on 106 U.S. products on Wednesday, in a move likely to heighten global concerns of a tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s biggest economies. The effective start date for the new charges was not announced, though China’s Ministry of Commerce said the tariffs are designed to target up to $50 billion of U.S. products …

CBS News reports: Sky News could be sold to Walt Disney or completely ring-fenced in concessions put forward Tuesday by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox as it seeks to bolster its chances of taking full control of the U.K. satellite broadcaster Sky. The proposals are aimed at easing some of the regulatory concerns over the extent of Murdoch’s influence on …