Business

The Washington Post reports: The FBI has opened a criminal investigation focusing on the massive container ship that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last month — a probe that will look at least in part at whether the crew left the port knowing the vessel had serious systems problems. Authorities are reviewing the events leading up …

The Atlantic reports: The flow of traffic to Donald Trump’s most loyal digital-media boosters isn’t just slowing, as in the rest of the industry; it’s utterly collapsing. The Daily Caller lost 57 percent of its audience; Drudge Report was down 81 percent; and The Federalist lost a staggering 91 percent. What’s going on? The obvious culprit is Facebook. For years, …

Ars Technica reports: X will soon stop allowing users to hide their blue checkmarks, and some users are not happy. Previously, a blue tick on Twitter was a mark of a notable account, providing some assurance to followers of the account’s authenticity. But then Elon Musk decided to start charging for the blue tick instead, and mayhem ensued as a …

The Associated Press reports: Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay $600 million in a class-action lawsuit settlement related to a fiery train derailment in February 2023 in eastern Ohio. The company said the agreement, if approved by the court, will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius from the derailment and, for those residents who choose to participate, …

The Christian Post is ever so pissed: Fast food chain Shake Shack is offering free Chicken Shack sandwiches every Sunday this month in an apparent jab at Chick-fil-A, known for closing on Sundays to allow employees time for rest and worship. Shake Shack’s April promotion requires a minimum purchase of $10 and features a sandwich described as a crispy, white-meat …

CNN Business reports: Tesla has settled a high-profile case that was set to put the electric car company and its controversial automated-driving system on trial starting Monday. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Jury selection was set to begin Monday in a wrongful death suit filed by the family of a former Apple engineer who died after his Tesla …

The Huffington Post reports: Elon Musk was deposed last month over his role in allegedly promoting a false conspiracy theory that a 22-year-old Jewish man participated in a neo-Nazi brawl. Musk tried to keep the deposition from going public, and perhaps for good reason: It did not go well for him. “There’s some risk that what I say is incorrect, …

CNBC reports: An engine cowling fell off of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 and struck a wing flap during takeoff from Denver International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday. The FAA said Southwest Flight 3695 was on its way to Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport and safely returned to the gate at Denver at 8:15 a.m. local time. Southwest …

Bloomberg News reports: Tesla Inc. plans to unveil its robotaxi on Aug. 8, according to a statement. The shares jumped 3.2% as of 4:59 p.m. after regular trading in New York. The stock was down 34% this year through Friday’s close. The promise of a fully autonomous vehicle has long been key to Tesla’s lofty valuation. In recent weeks, Tesla …

The New York Times reports: Every time a rocket soars into the sky carrying satellites or supplies for the International Space Station, air traffic controllers on the ground must take crucial steps to ensure that commercial and passenger aircraft remain safe. The controllers, hired by the Federal Aviation Administration, close the airspace, provide real-time information on rockets and their debris …

Bloomberg News reports: Apple Inc. has teams investigating a push into personal robotics, a field with the potential to become one of the company’s ever-shifting “next big things,” according to people familiar with the situation. Engineers at Apple have been exploring a mobile robot that can follow users around their homes, said the people, who asked not to be identified …

CNN Business reports: Some people go to Costco for its $1.50 hot dogs, others for its $179 Ozempic prescriptions. The warehouse retailer is now offering its US members access to prescriptions for GLP-1 weight loss drugs through its low-cost health care partner Sesame. Costco first partnered with Sesame, a direct-to-consumer health care marketplace that connects medical providers nationwide with consumers, …

The Associated Press reports: Elon Musk’s X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has named a new head of safety nine months after the last executive to hold the position departed from the social media company. X said that company veteran Kylie McRoberts will oversee the global safety team. The platform also announced that Yale Cohen, who previously worked for …

Yahoo Finance reports: Anti-trans advocates failed to pass a measure at Disney’s annual shareholder meeting Wednesday amid the company’s largest, most expensive and contentious proxy contest in recent history. Today, Chloe Cole, a 19-year-old who has spent much of the last two years testifying in support of legislation to ban gender-affirming care for minors, urged Walt Disney Co. shareholders to …

Ars Technica reports: Amazon is giving up on the cashier-less “Just Walk Out” technology at its Amazon Fresh grocery stores. The Information reports that new stores will be built without computer-vision-powered surveillance technology, and “the majority” of existing stores will have the tech removed. In the early days, Amazon’s ambitions included selling Just Walk Out to other brick-and-mortar stores. The …

Florida Politics reports: Smart & Safe Florida, the campaign behind a recreational marijuana amendment, announced it has raised more than $15 million. While the campaign up until now has largely been backed by Trulieve, its financial support now comes from a number of cannabis businesses and investors across the country. Those include: Verano Holdings, Curaleaf Holdings, AYR Wellness, Cresco Labs, …

The Associated Press reports: More and more businesses are taking advantage of the total solar eclipse set to dim skies across North America on Monday. In the snacks department alone, Krispy Kreme is teaming up with Oreo to sell a limited doughnut-cookie creation. Sonic Drive-In is selling a “Blackout Slush Float.” And Frito-Lay’s SunChips has unveiled a new flavor that …

Axios reports: LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr has hired the founders of Athena, a 2-year-old fitness community app. Grindr aims to expand its app features into areas like travel and health, according to CEO George Arison. Grindr is known as a tool for finding nearby dates, but its users have been using it for other social connections, says Arison. Most of …

Former NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo writes for the Daily News: “They can’t even figure out how to fix a pothole!” That was my grandfather’s rant when as a kid I would be riding in his car and he hit a pothole. It was a metaphor for a general frustration with government’s incompetence: the inability to perform simple, obvious tasks. New …

The Associated Press reports: Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin loved pulling pranks, so much so they began rolling outlandish ideas every April Fool’s Day not long after starting their company more than a quarter century ago. The jokes were so consistently over-the-top that people learned to laugh them off as another example of Google mischief. And that’s why …