Business

Via press release from Speaker Pelosi’s office: House Republicans are using Pride Month to attack LGBTQ-owned small businesses. Republicans lined up on Tuesday to prevent Congressman Richie Torres’ LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act from passing on suspension. The bill would help ensure that financial institutions are providing LGBTQ-owned small businesses equal access to credit. 177 Republicans voted …

Bloomberg News reports: Washington Prime Group Inc., a real estate investment trust that operates enclosed malls and strip centers across the U.S., filed for bankruptcy after the Covid-19 pandemic drove away shoppers. The Chapter 11 filing in Houston lets Washington Prime stay in business while it restructures its debts in a deal that it reached with certain creditors, according to …

The BBC reports: Most coronavirus rules will remain in place in England for another four weeks after the planned 21 June unlocking, government sources have told the BBC. Senior ministers have signed off on the decision to delay the lifting of all legal restrictions on social contact. England was due to move to stage four of the government’s roadmap out …

The BBC reports: A mystery bidder has paid $28m (£20m) for a seat on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s first crewed spaceflight by the billionaire’s Blue Origin company. This winning bid was made at Saturday’s auction, with Blue Origin tweeting that the winner’s identity would be revealed in the coming weeks. The bidding process attracted interest from more than 140 countries. …

The Associated Press reports: Family members of Walmart founder Sam Walton on Thursday launched a $1 million fund for groups assisting LGBT people in the retail giant’s home state of Arkansas, which has enacted measures restricting transgender people’s rights. The new fund is being established with support from the Alice L. Walton Foundation and from Olivia and Tom Walton through …

Reuters reports: Meatpacker JBS USA paid a ransom equivalent to $11 million following a cyberattack that disrupted its North American and Australian operations, the company’s CEO said in a statement on Wednesday. The subsidiary of Brazilian firm JBS SA halted cattle slaughtering at all of its U.S. plants for a day last week in response to the cyberattack, which threatened …

CNN Business reports: Countless websites and apps around the world went down Tuesday after Fastly, a major content delivery network, reported a widespread failure. Fastly supports news sites and apps like CNN, the Guardian, the New York Times and many others. It also provides content delivery for Twitch, Pinterest, HBO Max, Hulu, Reddit, Spotify and other services. Other major internet …

The Verge reports: Android and Windows users will finally be able to join FaceTime calls. During its WWDC keynote, Apple announced that FaceTime is going to be available on the web so users can call in from Android devices and Windows PCs. The video calling service was previously only available on iOS and Mac devices. Apple is turning FaceTime into …

From the Federal Trade Commission: The operators of the MoviePass subscription service have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations they took steps to block subscribers from using the service as advertised, while also failing to secure subscribers’ personal data. Under the proposed settlement, MoviePass, Inc., its parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics, Inc. (Helios), and their principals, Mitchell Lowe …

The New York Daily News reports: Burger King became the latest entrant in the ongoing fast food fracas over fried chicken sandwiches, but the chain announced it was coming for one of the front-runners in more ways than one. The tweets were a clear reference to Chik-Fil-A which has been called out for donating to right-wing causes, including anti-LGBTQ initiatives, …

ABC News reports: The Justice Department has recovered some of the millions in ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline shortly after the company was hacked, according to a warrant unsealed Monday. The Colonial Pipeline hack was carried out by Darkside actors, the FBI said in brief statement days after the attack. The company’s CEO said last month in an interview that …

NBC News reports: Jeff Bezos announced on Monday that he and his brother will join the first crewed spaceflight from his private rocket company on July 20 — just 15 days after he is set to step down as chief executive of Amazon. “Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space,” he wrote in an …

Reuters reports: The United States, Britain and other large, rich nations reached a landmark deal on Saturday to squeeze more money out of multinational companies such as Amazon and Google and reduce their incentive to shift profits to low-tax offshore havens. Hundreds of billions of dollars could flow into the coffers of governments left cash-strapped by the COVID-19 pandemic after …

The Verge reports: Twitter has officially announced Twitter Blue, a paid subscription service that offers access to new features like undoing tweets and viewing threads in an easier to digest “Reader Mode.” Starting Thursday, it will roll out first in Canada and Australia, where the subscription will cost $3.49 CAD or $4.49 AUD per month, respectively. A new undo send …

The New York Daily News reports: After already giving away more than 1.5 million doughnuts to the inoculated since March, the Winston Salem, North Carolina-headquartered doughnut chain has announced it will double the pleasure during National Doughnut Day. On June 4, Krispy Kreme will give two free doughnuts to Americans who have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination shot – …

Australia’s Today Show reports: Qantas CEO Alan Joyce [photo] is calling for more Australian companies to come forward with perks and incentives encouraging the public to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The airline’s vaccine incentive program, which launches in July, will offer several deals including unlimited travel for a year for 10 lucky families. “We are looking at giving 1000 points …

The Wall Street Journal reports: West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is personally on the hook for nearly $700 million in loans his coal companies took out from now-defunct Greensill Capital, according to people familiar with the loans and documents described to The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Justice’s personal guarantee of the loans, which hasn’t been reported, puts financial pressure on …

NBC News reports: Diners are mostly free to speak their mind at a Northern California cafe, but doing so through the protective confines of a mask will cost a cover charge of $5. Fiddlehead’s Cafe in Mendocino on Sunday put up a sign announcing the fee for customers who wear masks while ordering. In March, the cafe announced an ongoing …

USA Today reports: Southwest Airlines has ditched its plans to resume alcohol sales in June and July given a spike in in-flight incidents, including a an altercation between a flight attendant and passenger that sent the flight attendant to the hospital Sunday. “Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause …

The Hill reports: Seventy percent of Americans favor vaccine verification while traveling by plane or staying in a hotel, a new PwC survey found. Over half of respondents to a survey released on Friday said they support policies that would prevent people who don’t show proof of vaccination from traveling. Only 14 percent said they would be upset if they …