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Tech review: These two chargers might be all you need

Business / Business News /

Phones used to ship with a lot of accessories that usually included headphones, a charging cable and a USB wall charger.

Today, phones ship with a charging cable and that’s about it, so you’re on your own for a wall charger. A lot of people will just go with whatever charger they happen to have tucked away in their junk drawer, but chances ...Read more

Katie Wood/The Denver Post/TNS

Colorado State University goes all in on AI, partnering with Microsoft to create RamGPT

Business / Business News /

Colorado State University has partnered with Microsoft to pilot a university-wide artificial intelligence system similar to ChatGPT that places the land-grant institution at the front of the pack in collaborations between higher education and AI companies.

Unlike ChatGPT, the custom-built CSU-GPT and its forthcoming companion RamGPT were ...Read more

Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump's Fed chair search becomes hunt for elusive unicorn

Business / Business News /

President Donald Trump’s search for a new Federal Reserve chair is becoming a hunt for an elusive unicorn candidate as blowback from his attacks on the central bank complicates the decision.

Trump is trying to check several boxes in a replacement for the current chair, Jerome Powell: He wants a loyalist who will pursue steep interest-rate ...Read more

Dreamstime/TNS

Trump looks to Congress to cap credit card rates at 10%

Business / Business News /

President Donald Trump said he would ask Congress to implement his proposal to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year, a policy that’s drawn pushback from some of the biggest banks and card issuers.

“I’m asking Congress to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year and this will help millions of Americans save for a ...Read more

Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Historic Radford Studio Center in default amid Hollywood slowdown

Business / Business News /

Radford Studio Center, the storied movie lot that gave Studio City its name, is in financial distress and is expected to be returned to lenders as declining film and television production racks the entertainment industry.

Formerly known as CBS Studio Center, the Los Angeles lot has been home to generations of landmark television shows ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

California crypto startup moves to South Dakota as debate over proposed wealth tax heats up

Business / Business News /

California cryptocurrency startup BitGo has moved to South Dakota ahead of its initial public offering and amid a heated debate about a proposed ballot measure to tax billionaires.

The company that had been based in Palo Alto is now based in Sioux Falls, S.D., according to a December filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

...Read more

Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Daily Herald, longtime suburban Chicago newspaper, notifies state of potential sale

Business / Business News /

The publisher of the Daily Herald filed notice with the state earlier this month that it is considering a sale of the northwest suburban newspaper.

In a Jan. 6 letter to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Paddock Publications said it was notifying the state and its employees 120 days before the potential sale, a requirement of...Read more

Anna Gałaszkiewicz/Dreamstime/TNS

Meta lays off hundreds in Seattle area

Business / Business News /

Meta is laying off 331 workers in the Puget Sound region as part of broader cuts to its virtual reality division.

The Facebook parent company last week said that it was cutting about 10% of its 15,000-employee Reality Labs division as it shifts resources away from what it called the metaverse to wearables like smart glasses.

This is part of ...Read more

Stephen Brashear/Getty Images North America/TNS

Microsoft CEO warns AI needs to spread beyond Big Tech to avoid bubble

Business / Business News /

As tech companies spend billions on artificial intelligence data centers and computer chips, fears of an AI bubble held privately by Wall Street traders and some Big Tech titans are beginning to pop into public view.

Speaking to the world’s economic elite Tuesday in Davos, Switzerland, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella tossed out his 2 cents.

AI ...Read more

Scott Olson/Getty Images North America/TNS

China's soy purchases hit 12 million tons to meet US pledge

Business / Business News /

China has purchased roughly 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans in the last three months, clearing a closely watched trade hurdle and meeting a key pledge outlined by the Trump administration in November.

The world’s top consumer had been hovering close to the target for days and has now booked enough cargoes to meet it, according to traders ...Read more

Elizabeth Flores/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Minnesota statewide strike, economic blackout to protest ICE on Friday

Business / Business News /

Thousands of union members, religious faithful and ordinary citizens are expected to participate in a massive statewide economic strike on Friday that organizers are hoping will bring an end to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Minnesota.

The event, called “A Day of Truth and Freedom,” is being organized by union ...Read more

Alessandro Rampazzo/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Wall Street has worst session since April meltdown: Markets wrap

Business / Business News /

Stocks, bonds and the dollar fell after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on various European countries before high-level meetings in Davos amid a growing standoff over his ambitions to take over Greenland. Bitcoin plunged. Gold hit all-time highs.

The renewed tensions drove the S&P 500 down 2%, erasing its 2026 gain. A gauge of equity ...Read more

Tobias Schwarz/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

FTC to appeal court ruling on Meta win in monopoly case

Business / Business News /

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it will appeal a federal judge’s decision that Meta Platforms Inc. doesn’t have a monopoly in social networking.

Judge James Boasberg ruled in November that Meta’s acquisitions of photo-sharing app Instagram and messaging service WhatsApp didn’t violate antitrust laws. His decision found the social...Read more

Neal St. Anthony/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Businesses turning to temps as employees flock to Minnesota's paid leave program

Business / Business News /

More than 25,000 workers have already applied for Minnesota’s new paid leave program, sending businesses scrambling to cover their work and creating an unexpected windfall for temp agencies.

True Talent temporary staffing agency and many of its competitors have been fielding an influx in requests for help since Minnesota’s paid medical and ...Read more

PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Disney succession: Inside the search for a CEO to replace Bob Iger

Business / Business News /

The Walt Disney Co. can ill afford another succession implosion.

The last time Chief Executive Bob Iger handed over the reins, the plan backfired, executives revolted, his replacement got bounced and Iger returned to lead the storied entertainment giant for another four years.

Iger will close out his two-decade tenure at Disney at the end of ...Read more

Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Uber, Lyft drivers could win union rights if state law changes

Business / Business News /

An estimated 100,000 rideshare drivers in Illinois could win the right to join a union under new legislation expected to be filed in Springfield this month, an effort that comes on the heels of similar campaigns in Massachusetts and California.

Because they are classified as independent contractors and not employees of companies like Uber and ...Read more

Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register/TNS

California hits milestone in electric vehicle sales

Business / Business News /

In 2012, when there were about 30,000 electric vehicles on the road statewide in California, Tesla was a small new company that mostly appealed to hobbyists, and the Toyota Prius was still a rarely seen novelty in many areas, former Gov. Jerry Brown signed an executive order setting an audacious goal: 1.5 million EVs sold statewide by 2025.

...Read more

Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America/TNS

Food costs spiked in December while gas prices cooled. Here's the latest look at consumer expenses

Business / Business News /

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest consumer price report last week, providing a closer look at how energy costs, grocery prices and other everyday expenses have shifted in the nearly 12 months since President Donald Trump assumed office.

Across the board, inflation accelerated last month, with prices rising 0.3% from ...Read more

Cheng Xin/Getty Images North America/TNS

Xi's export machine gets lift from US move to strongarm allies

Business / Business News /

As Xi Jinping battles unprecedented deflation and shrinking investment, he’s betting that China can sell more and more goods to the world to drive growth. To that end, Donald Trump’s threats against key U.S. allies are coming at a good time.

China’s world-beating export juggernaut played a key role in helping Xi hit his 5% growth target ...Read more

Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

How Twin Cities restaurants are changing amid ICE surge: 'We are pretty much back to COVID'

Business / Business News /

The bar stools were filled at Marna’s Eatery and Lounge in Robbinsdale on a recent weekday evening as owner Rolando Diaz poured a creamy cocktail from a shaker. Neighbors trickled in, and Diaz moved from bar to dining room to kitchen, packing takeout boxes, sorting silverware and greeting guests in a space designed to feel like a tropical ...Read more