Business

Ars Technica reports: When Elon Musk bought Twitter in October 2022, a fairly ordinary tech company was transformed into a most unusual private corporation. Many strange things have happened at the Musk-owned social network, but this article will focus on just one puzzling aspect of Musk’s leadership: His apparent refusal to pay bills. Over two dozen lawsuits alleged that Twitter—which …

Reuters reports: Elon Musk’s X Corp sued California on Friday, challenging the constitutionality of a state law establishing new transparency requirements for social media companies, including how they police disinformation, hate speech and extremism. X, the social media platform once called Twitter, said the law, known as Assembly Bill 587, violates its free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution’s First …

CNBC reports: The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday said Elon Musk’s SpaceX must keep its Starship Super Heavy rocket grounded, saying the company needs to take 63 corrective actions before it is cleared for another test flight. The FAA has now wrapped its probe into the April launch, which saw the rocket explode mid-flight. The corrective actions include: “redesigns of …

The Washington Post reports: SpaceX cut off Starlink satellite internet service to Ukrainian submarine drones last year just as they were launching an attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, according to a new biography of SpaceX founder Elon Musk. The new details of the previously reported incident underscore how dependent multiple governments have become on a man who controls …

The Messenger reports: Bill Gates bought 1.7 million shares of struggling Anheuser-Busch last quarter in a $95 million transaction made through The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Gates’s bet on Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, comes as the beer company struggles to recover from a conservative backlash to its …

Florida Politics reports: Anheuser-Busch has delivered two truckloads of water — more than 100,000 cans — to areas impacted by Hurricane Idalia, after a request from the American Red Cross to assist with recovery efforts. The cans of water were delivered to Tri-Eagle Sales in Midway, who will work with the American Red Cross to distribute the water to those …

CBS News reports: Starting next month, X’s updated privacy policy will entitle it to collect some users’ biometric data and other personal information. Under the revised policy, which takes effect September 29, X (formerly known as Twitter) “may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security and identification purposes” so long as the user provides consent. The biometric data …

Bloomberg News reports: Users of X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, will be able to make video and audio calls through the platform without having to share their phone number, owner Elon Musk said in a post Thursday, in the latest expansion of services as he seeks to create an “everything app.” Musk wants X to become more …

Reuters reports: A U.S. judge has rejected Burger King’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit claiming that it cheated hungry customers by making its Whopper sandwich appear larger than it actually is. Customers in the proposed class action accused Burger King of portraying burgers with ingredients that “overflow over the bun,” making it appear that the burgers are 35% larger and …

Courthouse News reports: The U.S. Department of Transportation has fined American Airlines $4.1 million for not letting 5,821 passengers on 43 flights get off the plane during lengthy delays. Officials announced the fine Monday through a consent order, ending the department’s investigation of flights from 2018 to 2021. “This is the latest action in our continued drive to enforce the …

The Messenger reports: The social media company founded by Donald Trump advisor Jason Miller stiffed a tech outfit they hired for IT services out of more than $3 million, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in New York. The tech company, TierPoint LLC, claims it entered into a contract with social media company Gettr in February 2022 to perform “various …

Mediaite reports: The firefighters who protect Walt Disney World made headlines when they controversially backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) takeover of the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), the special taxing district on Disney property. But now that alliance seems to be turning sour. At the CFTOD board meeting this week, a budget proposal was presented that would eliminate the …

NBC News reports: Spirit Airlines has agreed to pay up to $8.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit by passengers who said the low-cost carrier blindsided them with surprise carry-on bag fees on tickets bought through third-party travel services. Lawyers for the passengers disclosed the deal in a motion late Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn and asked a …

Fortune reports: Already involved in two lawsuits with Disney, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees to a board that oversees Disney World’s governing district on Monday launched a battle against the company on a new front — free passes and discounts for district employees. Board members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District submitted a complaint to the state Inspector General, claiming …

The Insider reports: Elon Musk confirmed on Monday night that he’d ordered work on removing news headlines from X posts, so links only display an article’s lead image. “This is coming from me directly,” Musk wrote on X, responding to an earlier Fortune report that broke the news. “Will greatly improve the esthetics,” he added. “It’s something Elon wants,” an …

The New Yorker reports: In 2018, the Times reported that members of the Tesla board had grown concerned about Musk’s use of the prescription sleep aid Ambien, which can cause hallucinations. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that he uses ketamine, which has gained popularity both as a depression treatment and as a party drug, and several people …

The Associated Press reports: Still haven’t seen “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer”? This Sunday, you’ll be able to catch up for $4 a ticket in movie theaters nationwide. Theater owners announced Monday that the second annual National Cinema Day will be held Sunday, Aug. 27. For one day, all movies — in all formats and at all showtimes — will be $4 …

The Associated Press reports: American Airlines is suing a travel website that sells tickets that let people save money by exploiting a quirk in airline pricing. American sued Skiplagged Inc. in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, this week, accusing the website of deception. It threatened to cancel every ticket that Skiplagged has sold. In a practice called skiplagging and …

Mashable reports: Of the 153,209,283 X accounts following Musk at the time the data was collected, around 42 percent of Musk’s followers, or more than 65.3 million users, have zero followers on their own account. Just over 72 percent, or nearly 112 million, of these users following Musk have less than 10 followers on their account. When it comes to …

Courthouse News Service reports: The Walt Disney Company shot back late Thursday against the authority claimed by a Florida-backed oversight board to void agreements giving Disney control of the special district where its theme park is located. It contends that the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is essentially the same entity as the previous board, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, …