Business

FAA Opens Chick-Fil-A Probe After Texas Airport Ban

The San Antonio Express-News reports: The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation into the San Antonio City Council’s decision to remove Chick-fil-A from an airport vendors contract, breathing new life into a controversy that roiled the mayor’s race and potentially putting millions of dollars in federal grants at risk. The FAA told San Antonio officials Friday that it is …

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Walmart Announces Higher Prices Due To Tariffs

Reuters reports: Walmart Inc said on Thursday that prices for shoppers will go up due to higher tariffs on goods from China as the world’s largest retailer reported its best comparable sales growth for the first quarter in nine years. U.S. President Donald Trump increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10% last week. The …

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Macy’s Warns Of Rising Prices Due To Trump’s Tariffs

The Associated Press reports: Macy’s customers may start to feel the impact of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. The administration is preparing to extend the 25% tariffs to practically all Chinese imports not already hit with levies including toys, shirts, household goods and sneakers, which furnish Macy’s behemoth stores. Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette told investors Wednesday the higher …

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Manhattan Trump Tower Units Now Selling At A Loss

Bloomberg reports: Trump Tower, once the crown jewel in Donald Trump’s property empire, now ranks as one of the least desirable luxury properties in Manhattan. The 36-year-old building has been turned into a fortress since Trump won the presidency, ringed with concrete barriers and the two main entrances partially blocked off. It hasn’t been substantially updated in years. And Trump’s …

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Walmart To Roll Out Free One-Day Delivery Program

The Verge reports: Walmart will offer free one-day delivery on up to 220,000 items on its online store with orders over $35. Walmart is currently offering the new service in Phoenix and Las Vegas, and will come to Southern California in the coming days. The retailer expects the service to be available to 75 percent of the US by the …

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Comcast Sells Operational Control Of Hulu To Disney

Variety reports: Disney is now the only one with its hands on Hulu’s steering wheel. Disney and Comcast announced a deal under which Disney will assume full operational control of Hulu, effective immediately. Under their pact, Comcast’s NBCUniversal will retain its 33% ownership interest in Hulu but as early as January 2024, Comcast can require Disney to buy NBCUniversal’s interest …

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Third-Largest US Coal Company Files For Bankruptcy

Wyoming Public Radio reports: One of the largest domestic coal companies has voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Cloud Peak Energy warned of its financial problems in November of last year. By 2018, Cloud Peak had nearly no cash, were hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, and sold less coal than it had in years. The company points to …

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China Hits Back With New Tariffs On $60B In US Goods

CNBC reports: China will raise tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods in retaliation for the U.S. decision to hike duties on Chinese goods. Beijing will increase the tariffs to 25% from 10% on June 1, the Chinese Finance Ministry said Monday. It follows President Donald Trump’s decision to raise duties on $200 billion in Chinese products to 25% from …

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TEXAS: Gay Lawmaker Derails “Save Chick-Fil-A” Bill That Would Protect Anti-LGBT Business Discrimination

The Corpus Christi Times reports: An openly gay freshman member of the Texas House derailed a bill backed by religious conservatives but denounced by opponents as a tool to target the LGBT community for discrimination. “Hopefully, this is the day of discrimination against the LGBT community dies in Texas,” said State Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Carrollton, after using a procedural maneuver …

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Party City To Shutter 45 Stores Due To Helium Shortage

USA Today reports: Amid a global helium shortage, Party City announced Thursday it will shutter 45 stores in 2019. The New Jersey-based party supplies company did not release a list of affected stores but said the closures will take place throughout the year. Party City said it is working to secure a new helium source and a contract, which is …

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Trump Cultist Brand MyPillow Lays Off 150 Workers

Minneapolis’ Fox affiliate reports: MyPillow is laying off about 150 workers at its Shakopee factories as the company’s CEO plans a new business venture, according to a statement from MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. Lindell says the layout of the Shakopee facilities will be changing as he prepares to launch MyStore.com, which will be an “online store for entrepreneurs and inventors …

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AOC/Bernie Bill Would Cap Credit Card Interest At 15%

Axios reports: 2020 candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — both self-declared Democratic-socialists — will introduce a bill on Thursday to prevent credit card interest rates from rising above 15% and capping consumer loans. Credit cards are one of the most insidious forms of indebtedness. By bundling a loan with a very convenient payments device, banks …

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Facebook Co-Founder: It’s Time To Break Up Facebook

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes writes in a NYT op-ed: Mark’s influence is staggering, far beyond that of anyone else in the private sector or in government. He controls three core communications platforms — Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — that billions of people use every day. Facebook’s board works more like an advisory committee than an overseer, because Mark controls around …

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Trump Taunts China As US To Hike Tariffs To 25%

Reuters reports: The United States announced on Wednesday it would hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10 to 25 percent effective Friday, according to a notice posted on the Federal Register. Sources with knowledge of the talks told Reuters that China has sought to alter previously agreed provisions specifying changes to Chinese laws affecting nearly every …

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Avengers Gross Sinks Titanic, Closes In On Avatar

Variety reports: In less than two weeks, “Avengers: Endgame” has made more money than any other movie in history except one — “Avatar.” “Avengers: Endgame” surpassed $2.188 billion worldwide in just 11 days, making it the fastest film to surpass $2 billion. It took “Avatar,” the previous record-holder, 47 days to reach that benchmark. That was back in 2009, when …

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MAINE: First State To Ban Styrofoam Food Containers

Vox reports: Maine just became the first state to ban Styrofoam food containers. The bill, which was signed into law today and goes into effect in January 2021, prohibits convenience stores, restaurants, grocery stores, farm stands, and coffee shops from using containers made of polystyrene, which is more commonly referred to as Styrofoam. “Polystyrene cannot be recycled like a lot …

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Pornhub “Extremely Interested” In Acquiring Tumblr

Buzzfeed News reports: Pornhub Vice President Corey Price said in an email to BuzzFeed News that the porn-streaming giant is extremely interested in buying Tumblr, the once uniquely horny hub for young women and queer people that banned adult content last December to the disappointment of many of its users. Price said that restoring Tumblr’s NSFW edge would be central …

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Verizon Seek Buyer For Tumblr After Ruining It

The Verge reports: Verizon is seeking a buyer for Tumblr, the blogging platform it acquired along with other Yahoo assets in 2017. The Wall Street Journal reports that Verizon has approached other companies in recent weeks that could be potential new homes for Tumblr. The platform hosts 465.4 million blogs and 172 billion posts, according to its about page. The …

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Theresa May Sacks Defense Minister Over Security Leak

The BBC reports: Gavin Williamson has been sacked as defence secretary following an inquiry into the leak of information from the National Security Council. Downing Street said the PM had “lost confidence in his ability to serve” and Penny Mordaunt will take on the role. The inquiry followed reports over a plan to allow Huawei limited access to help build …

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Salesforce CEO Donates $30M To SF Homeless Study

Forbes reports: Marc Benioff, billionaire founder of enterprise software behemoth Salesforce, and his wife Lynne are donating $30 million to the University of California, San Francisco to fund a new research initiative that will identify the root causes of, and find evidence-based solutions towards ending, homelessness. The new program, called the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, will be part of …

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