Business

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, …

Variety reports: Elon Musk’s latest tweak to Twitter, the former name of what he now calls X: Users will no longer be able to block other accounts — as Musk claims the feature “makes no sense.” “Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature’, except for DMs,” the tech mogul posted on X Friday. “Makes no sense.” X/Twitter describes …

The Washington Post reports: The company formerly known as Twitter has begun slowing the speed with which users can access links to the New York Times, Facebook and other news organizations and online competitors, a move that appears targeted at companies that have drawn the ire of owner Elon Musk. The delayed websites included X’s online rivals Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky …

The Verge reports: Netflix is kicking off the first public tests of its cloud-streamed games. Beginning Monday, some Netflix subscribers in Canada and the UK will be able to check out Netflix games streamed to select TVs, connected TV devices, and on the web from Netflix.com. The company first launched its mobile gaming offerings as a free perk for subscribers …

The Real Deal reports: A City law that demands landlords squash illegal weed shops went into effect on Monday. The enacted bill, from Queens Council member Lynn Schulman, will slap fines up to $10,000 on landlords who knowingly lease commercial space to unlicensed marijuana sellers, according to a press release. Weed sellers themselves get off a lot easier. They face …

Bloomberg News reports: For years, Elon Musk has been outspoken about the dangers of population collapse. As it turns out, the billionaire has been putting his money where his mouth is. The Musk Foundation made one of its biggest ever donations and its largest to higher education — $10 million to the University of Texas at Austin in 2021 to …

Reuters reports: A U.S judge on Friday revoked Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail, after finding probable cause that the indicted founder of the bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange tampered with witnesses at least twice. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan announced the decision at a hearing in federal court in Manhattan, less than two months before the scheduled October fraud trial. He rejected a …

Gizmodo reports: Are you not entertained?! Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk’s will they/won’t they continues, and it appears that the long awaited fight between the two tech billionaires could take place in Italy. Musk tweeted this morning that he spoke to the Prime Minister of Italy and the Minister of Culture to hold the brawl in Italy. The fate of …