Business

The Verge reports: Apple will begin phasing in its planned hybrid work pilot on April 11th, bringing employees back to the office one day a week to start, according to an email from CEO Tim Cook to Apple employees, which was seen by The Verge. Apple originally announced its plans for a hybrid work pilot in November. In the third …

The Wrap reports: The Walt Disney Company on Friday responded to calls for action over the Florida House of Represenatives’ passage of a “Don’t Say Gay” bill that would limit what classrooms can teach about sexual orientation and gender. However, the media giant sidestepped the bill itself  and instead recommitted itself more broadly to LGBTQ+ rights. “We understand how important …

The New York Post reports: Russian shoppers rushed to local Ikea stores this week after the furniture retailer announced it would temporarily pause operations in the country and neighboring Belarus following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Photos showed long lines forming at the chain’s Russia locations as shoppers filled carts with items in what could be their final chance to shop …

Mac Rumors reports: Apple is making it easier for customers to donate to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine through UNICEF by adding a banner on top of its website that directs users to an iTunes page that allows them to donate up to $200 using their Apple ID payment method. Apple says that all donations made through the iTunes portal …

Via press release from the Sabre Corporation: Sabre Corporation, a leading software and technology company in the travel industry, today announced that it has terminated its distribution agreement with Aeroflot, the largest government-majority owned carrier in Russia . Sabre is taking immediate steps to remove Aeroflot flight content from its global distribution system (GDS), a marketplace used by travel agencies, …

The Buffalo News reports: Police removed a JetBlue pilot from the cockpit of a plane about to depart Buffalo Niagara International Airport on Wednesday morning who had a blood-alcohol level more than four times the legal limit for pilots, a Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority spokesperson said. The pilot was “removed from his duties,” the airline said in a statement released …

The Verge reports: Fitbit announced today that it’s working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to voluntarily recall its Ionic smartwatch. The company says it’s received over 100 reports of the watch’s lithium-ion battery overheating, as well as 78 reports of burn injuries to customers. “Customer safety is always Fitbit’s top priority and out of an abundance of caution, we …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: The Orlando World Center Marriott on Friday night was the scene of white nationalist Nick Fuentes’ America First Political Action Conference, or AFPAC, according to HuffPost.  Fuentes was involved in the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in 2017 and has been subpoenaed over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack. Speakers at his …

Bloomberg News reports: Martin Shkreli owes the Securities and Exchange Commission more than $1.39 million and is permanently barred from serving as a public company officer or director for his participation in “multiple” securities fraud schemes, a federal judge in New York said. He’s “unfit to serve as an officer or director of any public company,” the U.S. District Court …

Williamsburg Patch reports: As Threes Brewing co-founder and CEO defends his claim that COVID-19 vaccine mandates are a “crime against humanity,” restaurants and shops across Brooklyn are taking his beer off their menus. Joshua Stylman doubled down with a blog post Wednesday, one week after outraging customers and employees by publicly comparing vaccine mandates to policies of the Jim Crow …

The Washington Post reports: A rodent infestation at a Family Dollar warehouse has prompted the discount store chain to recall a wide range of products sold at hundreds of stores throughout the southern United States. Health concerns about the rat infestation at an Arkansas distribution center have also led to the temporary closure of more than 400 stores in six …

Via press release from the FDA: Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting the public that several categories of FDA-regulated products purchased from Jan. 1, 2021, through the present from Family Dollar stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee may be unsafe for consumers to use. The impacted products originated from the company’s distribution facility in …

USA Today reports: Jeff Bezos’ superyacht is too large to pass through the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, so the town decided to dismantle the bridge. In retaliation, local residents vow to egg Bezos’ yacht as it passed through. As of Thursday, more than 14,000 people were “interested” and 4,000 confirmed they will attend a Facebook event titled “Throwing eggs …

The New York Times reports: Six magazines operated by the media mogul Barry Diller through his Dotdash Meredith group will immediately stop publishing in print and move online. The move, which affects Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, EatingWell, Health, Parents and People en Español, will lead to 200 job cuts, according to a memo sent to employees on Wednesday. The cuts amount …

Mediaite reports: Recently released dashcam footage captured the moment a Tesla being driven on auto-pilot crashed into a parked patrol car, hitting an officer and sending a second vehicle into a ditch. The incident, which occurred in North Carolina last August alongside U.S. Highway 64, was the result of an auto-pilot attempt gone wrong, as the Telsa owner was watching …

NY1 reports: The outdoor dining sheds that changed the landscape of New York City’s streets during the pandemic may soon get packed up for good. During a City Council hearing on Tuesday, Department of Transportation officials said that a revised outdoor dining program likely won’t feature sheds at all. “We don’t envision sheds in the permanent program, we’re not planning …

NBC News reports: Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines, the two largest low-cost carriers in the U.S. have agreed to merge, creating what would become the fifth-largest airline in the country. The boards of both companies approved the deal over the weekend, prior to the CEOs of both airlines announcing the agreement in New York City. The deal, valued at $6.6 …

Mashable reports: Buried in Meta’s dense annual report for the Securities and Exchange Commission, filed Thursday, is a surprisingly stark sentence laying out a scenario in which The Company Formerly Known as Facebook might have to entirely stop operating Instagram and Facebook in Europe. Yep, no Instagram, no Facebook, for all Europeans. At issue are European data regulations that prevent …

CNN reports: Late Wednesday, Meta reported a rare drop in profits, driven by spending on its vision for a so-called metaverse while simultaneously confronting advertising challenges on its existing services. The company’s shares plummeted in after-hours trading and are continuing their steep drop on Thursday. By mid-morning, the stock was down nearly 25%, making it the worst performer in the …

The New York Post reports: A Dutch city has agreed to spend weeks taking down a historic bridge so Jeff Bezos’ new gigantic superyacht can reach the open seas this summer. The Amazon founder’s 417-foot-long, three-masted ship is under construction in the Netherlands, but the pleasure boat will be too tall to pass under Rotterdam’s landmark Koningshaven Bridge. As a …