Business

The Drive reports: Gas station and convenience store chain Kum & Go will reportedly rebrand after being bought out in 2023. The new owners are reportedly worried the double entendre in Kum & Go’s name could hurt its business prospects. Established in Iowa in 1959, Kum & Go was acquired by FJ Management’s Maverik chain in April 2023. After blowing …

CNBC reports: A federal judge blocked JetBlue Airways’ purchase of budget rival Spirit Airlines, a major win for Biden’s Justice Department, which sued to stop the merger, alleging it would drive up fares for some of the most price-sensitive consumers. JetBlue’s proposed $3.8 billion purchase of discounter Spirit would have produced the country’s fifth-largest airline, a deal the carriers said …

Ars Technica reports: An actor who was hired to pretend to be the highly qualified CEO of a shady, collapsed cryptocurrency hedge fund called HyperVerse has apologized after a YouTuber unmasked his real identity last week. An Englishman currently living in Thailand, Stephen Harrison confirmed that HyperVerse hired him to pose as CEO Steven Reece Lewis. Harrison told The Guardian …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is launching a formal investigation into the Boeing 737 MAX 9 after a cabin panel blew off an Alaska Airlines flight last week in mid-air, forcing an emergency landing, the regulator said on Thursday. The FAA on Saturday grounded 171 Boeing MAX jets with the same panel pending safety inspections. Most are operated …

Reuters reports: Tesla has lowered driving-range estimates across its lineup of electric vehicles as a new U.S. government vehicle-testing regulation takes effect with the goal of ensuring that automakers accurately reflect real-world performance. Tesla has historically issued range estimates that overstate what its cars can deliver, prompting widespread complaints from customers, according to some automotive testing experts and a Reuters …

Bloomberg News reports: Boeing Co. Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun fought back tears as he said the planemaker must own up to its shortcomings as it grapples with a safety incident that has renewed questions over the quality of its manufacturing. “We’re going to approach this — No. 1 — acknowledging our mistake,” Calhoun told Boeing employees Tuesday during a …

The Hill reports: The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) account on the platform formerly known as Twitter was breached Tuesday, the agency said, after it appeared to announce the approval of several bitcoin investment funds. The SEC’s account on X posted a message earlier Tuesday — featuring a picture of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler — announcing the approval of exchange-traded …

Reuters reports: Social media company X on Tuesday announced three new content deals with former CNN anchor Don Lemon, former U.S. congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and sports radio host Jim Rome, part of an effort to grow video content on the site. The Elon Musk-owned platform, formerly Twitter, has struggled to retain advertisers amid of series of controversies ever since the …

The Messenger reports: The accounts of several prominent journalists and progressive-leaning influencers have been suspended by Elon Musk’s X platform for apparently violating X’s rules. The affected users include Ken Klippenstein, an investigative journalist who is on staff at The Intercept, and Texas Observer reporter, Steven Monacelli. Monacelli told The Messenger that he did not receive an explanation for the …

The Guardian reports: United Airlines has found loose bolts on multiple 737 Max 9 aircraft, it said Monday, referring to the Boeing model that has been grounded after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated plane in mid-flight over the weekend. Industry publication Air Current reported that United found discrepant bolts on other parts on at least five panels that …

Bloomberg News reports: Elon Musk’s drug use has worried executives and board members at businesses he runs, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the billionaire and the companies. Musk has used LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms, often at private parties, the Journal said, citing unnamed witnesses and others with knowledge of the matter. People close …

Bloomberg News reports: SpaceX sued the US labor board in federal court on Thursday, arguing that a complaint against the Elon Musk-led company for firing employees should be put on hold because the agency’s structure is unconstitutional. The response comes after National Labor Relations Board prosecutors filed a formal complaint against SpaceX, accusing the space transportation company of illegally firing …

CNN Business reports: Some fans of TGI Fridays were likely surprised this week when they found their local restaurant permanently closed because the chain abruptly shut down dozens of locations around the US. The chain said in a release that it closed 36 “underperforming” restaurants as part of its “ongoing growth strategy,” which also includes also a shakeup of its …

Reuters reports: Rocket and satellite maker SpaceX on Wednesday was accused by a U.S. labor agency of unlawfully firing eight employees for circulating a letter calling founder and CEO Elon Musk a “distraction and embarrassment.” A regional official with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a complaint claiming SpaceX violated the workers’ rights under federal labor law to band …

The New York Daily News reports: The new year begins with a series of new laws going into effect Monday throughout the New York area. Perhaps most notable is New Jersey’s bipartisan “Seinfeld Bill” requiring Garden State telemarketers to provide the name, mailing address, and telephone number of the company for which they’re working within 30 seconds. The inspiration for …

Axios reports: Fidelity has again marked down the value of its shares in X Holdings, which the mutual fund giant helped Elon Musk buy for $44 billion when the company was known as Twitter. Fidelity believes that X is worth 71.5% less than at the time of purchase, according to a new disclosure that runs through the end of November …

The Tennessean reports: The North Nashville gas station and marketplace that was recently found to be hosting a gym for a local white supremacist group above the store will soon be purchased by Nashville-based Tri Star Energy, a fuel service company that owns more than 200 gas station convenience stores across the south. Dawn Boulanger, Tri Star Energy’s vice president …

Business Insider reports: On Thursday, Google agreed to settle a $5 billion class-action privacy lawsuit alleging that it spied on people who used the “incognito” mode in its Chrome browser to track their internet use. The lawsuit filed in 2020 claimed Google misled users into believing that it wouldn’t track their internet activities while using incognito mode. The suit argued …

Reuters reports: Elon Musk’s X on Thursday failed to block a California state law that requires social media companies to publicly disclose how they moderate certain content on their platforms. X, formerly known as Twitter, in September sued California to undo the content moderation law, saying the law violated its free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment and …

The Associate Press reports: The NBA on Wednesday approved the sale of controlling interest of the Dallas Mavericks from Mark Cuban to the families that run the Las Vegas Sands casino company. The deal was approved just shy of a month after the families of Miriam Adelson and Sivan and Patrick Dumont announced their intention to buy the club. The …