Business

Bloomberg News reports: Tesla Inc.’s vehicle sales fell 13% last quarter to an almost three-year low, as the carmaker made over its most important model and dealt with international backlash against Elon Musk. The company said Wednesday that it delivered 336,681 vehicles in the first three months of the year, its worst showing since the second quarter of 2022. Analysts …

Via press release from Hooters: In conjunction with the proposed sale of the Company-owned locations, and with the widespread support of key stakeholders in its capital structure (who will exchange certain of their debt for equity in the Company), the Company filed voluntary petitions for chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. …

The Washington Post reports: Amazon’s new AI-enabled assistant Alexa+ is launching Monday but not all of the features the company showcased at a splashy event last month are ready, and not every Alexa owner will get access to them right away. The delayed features that documents say don’t yet meet Amazon’s standards for public release include the ability to order …

The Mississippi Clarion-Ledger reports: A Mississippi Gulf Coast restaurant came under fire after posting a video offering a free food deal to straight people only. The LGBTQ community is boycotting the business, and the owners’ stances on the matter have been erratic, swinging from backing the decision to apologizing before once again justifying their actions. Now, they’re defending the move. …

St. Louis’s Fox affiliate reports: Anheuser-Busch will end its sponsorship of PrideFest, the annual LGBTQIA festival in downtown St. Louis, after more than 30 years of partnership. Pride St. Louis announced the decision Tuesday morning, expressing sadness over losing such a historic supporter. The festival, which is scheduled for June 28 and 29 at Soldiers Memorial Park, is facing a …

The Associated Press reports: 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and its co-founder and CEO has resigned as the struggling genetic testing company continues its push to cut costs. Anne Wojcicki, who co-founded 23andMe nearly two decades ago, is also stepping down as CEO effective immediately, the company said — but will remain on the 23andMe board. Beyond …

Via press release from California AG Rob Bonta: California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a consumer alert to customers of 23andMe, a genetic testing and information company. The California-based company has publicly reported that it is in financial distress and stated in securities filings that there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Due …

USA Today reports: San Francisco Pride Director Suzanne Ford feels both saddened and determined about this year’s plans for the city’s iconic Pride parade. The longtime LGBTQ organization is dealing with the potential loss of $300,000 in corporate sponsorship for its hugely popular annual parade, funding needed ahead of June’s Pride Month. Multiyear sponsors including Comcast, Anheuser-Busch and Diageo have …

USA Today reports: Walt Disney shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal calling for the entertainment giant to drop its participation in a benchmark index used to rank companies on how friendly their policies are to LGBTQ+ people. The investor proposal presented Thursday at Disney’s annual meeting by the National Center for Public Policy Research, which describes itself as a non-partisan independent …

Mashable reports: Elon Musk is practically synonymous with Tesla — and that’s become a problem for at least one major investor. It’s gotten so bad that one of Tesla’s earliest investors has called for Musk to step down. Ross Gerber said in an interview with Sky News that Musk’s role in the U.S. government — notably the (extremely) divisive DOGE …

CNBC reports: Fast-fashion retailer Forever 21′s U.S. operating company on Sunday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in six years, hamstrung by dwindling mall traffic and mounting competition from online retailers. The move likely means liquidation for the company, which was unable to find a buyer for its roughly 350 U.S. stores. Its trademark and intellectual property …

Ars Technica reports: Since Amazon announced plans for a generative AI version of Alexa, we were concerned about user privacy. With Alexa+ rolling out to Amazon Echo devices in the coming weeks, we’re getting a clearer view at the privacy concessions people will have to make to maximize usage of the AI voice assistant and avoid bricking functionality of already-purchased …

NBC News reports: A California delivery driver was awarded $50 million in damages after a jury agreed a Starbucks location was negligent in its handling of a scalding hot tea. Michael Garcia sued the cafe chain after a tea spilled in his lap at a drive-thru and caused permanent disfigurement to his penis. His attorney Nick Rowley said in a …

Fortune reports: In the the latest sign the Tesla Cybertruck risks becoming Elon Musk’s first full-blown flop, sales of the pickup have been halted amid growing cases of metal paneling falling off. EV enthusiast site Electrek reported Tesla delivery agents as saying all outbound vehicles have been stopped amid concerns that the glue holding the exterior stainless steel paneling in …

The CBC reports: Hudson’s Bay Company is nearly a billion dollars in debt, according to court filings that paint a dire portrait of the struggling Canadian department store chain’s finances. The documents were submitted as part of its creditor protection filing last week. The company owes a total of $950 million to nearly 2,000 secured and unsecured creditors. Some experts …

NBC News reports: It’s happening: Southwest Airlines will start charging passengers to check bags for the first time. It’s a stunning reversal that shows the low-cost pioneer is willing to part with a customer perk executives have said set it apart from rivals in more than half a century of flying in hopes of increasing revenue. Southwest’s changes come after …

Reuters reports: Tesla’s stock has dropped by nearly half in three months. Even so, investors are still debating whether Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker remains overpriced. The company’s market capitalization has dropped 45% since hitting an all-time high of $1.5 trillion on December 17, erasing most of the gains the stock made after CEO Musk helped finance the election victory of …

Norfolk’s PBS affiliate reports: A controversial military-themed brewery championed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin is closing a little more than a year after opening in Norfolk. The company blames a “local woke mob,” but legal filings show a company in deep financial distress dating back years. Armed Forces CEO Alan Beal wrote in a statement the company will sell its Norfolk …

Boston’s ABC affiliate reports: Crews responded to a Littleton shopping complex early Monday morning where seven Tesla EV chargers caught fire, and investigators believe the act was intentional. First responders shows up just after 1 a.m. after receiving reports from a neighbor who saw the fire. Firefighters say the chargers suffered heavy fire damage, and after power was cut to …

CBS News reports: Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen is resigning following a probe into his personal conduct, the grocery chain said Monday. McMullen, who was both the chairman and CEO, is out after a company board investigation found that his personal conduct, “was inconsistent with Kroger’s Policy on Business Ethics,” the company said on Monday. His behavior was unrelated to business, …