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Social media policy banning term 'Black Lives Matter' prompts Minneapolis ad agency to walk out
MINNEAPOLIS -- Periscope ad agency's parent company changed a rule forbidding employees from using "Black Lives Matter" in social media posts after 179 Minneapolis workers walked off the job on Thursday.
Employees said they wanted to use the term to show solidarity with Black and racial justice protesters in the wake of the George Floyd killing...Read more
Atlantic City's casinos — all but one — reopen with no smoking, drinking, or eating inside
Atlantic City casinos welcomed gamblers for the first time in almost four months on Thursday, but the seaside city famous for not enforcing Prohibition couldn't let its guests drink on the casino floors.
The booze ban was one of several state restrictions that casinos complied with to open during the coronavirus pandemic. Gamblers wore masks ...Read more
Google probe has states split on strategy with US antitrust case looming
WASHINGTON -- With the U.S. Justice Department nearing a lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.'s Google for antitrust violations, a coalition of states that are conducting a parallel investigation are divided over the best strategy for taking on the internet giant, according to people familiar with the matter.
While the multistate investigation into ...Read more
Natasha Frost: 4 steps to avoiding a horrible co-living situation
With the unemployment rate at its highest since the Great Depression, perhaps you're one of the many Americans currently having difficult conversations -- or avoiding one -- on the topic of sharing space.
That might mean welcoming a roommate into your home, crashing with Mom and Pop for the foreseeable future, or taking the plunge to work from ...Read more
The Week Ahead: Follow the mouse
There were several milestones in March that grabbed the attention of Americans to the fast developing threat from the novel coronavirus: local schools closing, California's statewide stay-at-home order, and Disney closing the gates of its theme parks.
Some of those gates are scheduled to reopen in the week ahead. Downtown Disney starts the ...Read more
Even popular Ford F-Series hit hard amid plummeting industry sales
DETROIT -- If anything in life is predictable, it's steady sales of the Ford F-150.
The popular pickup truck saves the day -- every quarter, evey year -- for Ford Motor Co.
America loves its trucks. And, global pandemic or not, trucks sell.
The F-Series allowed Ford to reflect the smallest second quarter sales drop of the Detroit Three.
Ford...Read more
Unemployment and job growth show strong improvement, but coronavirus darkens the outlook
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. economy added a larger-than-expected 4.8 million jobs in June despite the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, registering solid gains for the second straight month after suffering near-Great Depression losses in the spring, the government reported Thursday.
Reflecting the June increase, the nation's unemployment level fell to 11...Read more
Consumer Confidential: Fake reviews should stay online, researchers say. I'm not so sure
Perhaps it was inevitable that in this strange era of "alternative facts" and fake claims of "fake news," someone would make the case for why bogus online reviews are a good thing.
Still, that anyone would make such an argument is jarring, especially when it comes from scholars writing in an academic journal.
The study is titled, "A Tangled ...Read more
Silverado edges out Ram in the truck wars as automakers report dismal overall sales
DETROIT -- The Chevy Silverado is keeping the ever-encroaching Ram at bay in the ongoing truck wars, despite overall dismal industry auto sales in the second quarter due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
On Wednesday, many automakers reported quarterly sales results that reflected the impact of idled vehicle production for most of the quarter...Read more
Some homeowners struggled to pay PACE improvement loans. The coronavirus made it harder
LOS ANGELES -- It wasn't until the work was done that Marcelino and Josefina Rodriguez said they learned the truth.
They had been signed up for a roughly $45,000 PACE home improvement loan at nearly 10% interest -- even though they said a woman working with the contractor told them their new roof and water heater would be free through a ...Read more
New trade agreement means steep learning curve for auto industry
DETROIT -- Imagine being asked to bake a cake but not being told what kind of cake you'll be baking and knowing you'll be judged on the results.
You might know you need milk, eggs and flour, but whether the cake needs to be chocolate or carrot is pretty important, too, and will change what you pick up during your shopping trip.
That's how ...Read more
Ford Motor Co. partners with Disney on Ford Bronco reveal
DETROIT -- Disney will partner with Ford Motor Co. on the upcoming Ford Bronco reveal, the automaker confirmed Thursday.
Ford will unveil the all-new SUV "across Disney's broadcast, cable, digital and streaming properties" on July 13, Ford said in a news release.
"Three custom 3-minute films will air on ABC, ESPN and National Geographic, in ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: Who has to pay for place to stay while rental home is tented for termites?
Q: We rent a single-family home and just found out that it needs to be tented for termites early next month. The landlord told us she would reduce our rent for the time we need to stay in a hotel. Money is tight, and a few days of rent reduction will not cover the cost of a hotel and meals. We want her to pay for these too. This is a massive ...Read more
Grindr's new owners are straight. They say that's OK
The international ownership saga of America's most popular gay dating app, Grindr, came to a close last month when a group of American investors took control of the West Hollywood company.
China-based Beijing Kunlun Tech Co. bought Grindr in 2016 and had hopes of taking the company public in a large stock offering until the U.S. government ...Read more
US June jobs rise above-forecast 4.8 million; claims elevated
The rebound in the U.S. labor market accelerated in June as broader reopenings spurred more hiring last month, though filings for unemployment benefits remained elevated last week as coronavirus cases picked up.
Payrolls rose by 4.8 million in June after an upwardly revised 2.7 million gain in the prior month, according to a Labor Department ...Read more
Americans face 25% jump in power bills, adding to summer of woe
As the U.S. faces a blisteringly hot summer, millions of people already reeling from the coronavirus's economic fallout are about to face sharp increases in electric bills that may drive some to the brink of financial ruin.
With soaring temperatures expected in July and August, people stuck at home because they're unemployed or working remotely...Read more
House clears bill extending loan program for small businesses to Aug. 8
WASHINGTON -- A day after the Senate passed a last-minute extension of the Paycheck Protection Program loan application deadline, the House did the same Wednesday, clearing the bill for the president.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the Senate by unanimous consent passed a bill on Tuesday from Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., extending the Small Business...Read more
United adding 25,000 flights in August despite spikes in COVID-19 cases
CHICAGO -- United Airlines plans to fly about three times more routes in August than it did last month as passengers slowly return to the skies, even as the number of new COVID-19 cases across the U.S. rises.
Chicago-based United will have about 60% fewer flights on its schedule in August compared with the same month last year. But travelers ...Read more
Film in the time of corona: LA shoots restart
Even as a rebound in COVID-19 cases brings new business closures, the gears of Hollywood's film industry have started to turn as filming resumes on the streets of Los Angeles.
Since June 19, FilmLA, the nonprofit group that handles film permits for the city and L.A. County, said it has received about 14 film permit applications per day and ...Read more
Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Google Chiefs to Testify in Congress
The chief executive officers of Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. have agreed to testify before a congressional panel investigating competition issues in the technology industry, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee overseeing the probe.
Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Jeff Bezos and Tim ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Some homeowners struggled to pay PACE improvement loans. The coronavirus made it harder
- Atlantic City's casinos — all but one — reopen with no smoking, drinking, or eating inside
- Even popular Ford F-Series hit hard amid plummeting industry sales
- The Week Ahead: Follow the mouse
- Unemployment and job growth show strong improvement, but coronavirus darkens the outlook
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