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Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times/TNS

LA Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida is grilled by staff over 73 layoffs

Business / Business News /

LOS ANGELES — Facing a raw and angry staff stunned by the announcement of 73 layoffs, Los Angeles Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida on Thursday accepted responsibility for making “really difficult decisions” that led to dramatic cuts to the newsroom.

The organization is cutting photojournalists, longtime copy editors, news desk editors ...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Authors Richard and Leah Rothstein discuss new book on racial segregation in housing

Business / Business News /

A new book suggests that racial segregation in housing can be undone if Americans come together across racial lines to pressure lawmakers and communities to address the segregation created by federal, state and local officials that has led to vast inequality between white and Black Americans.

Richard Rothstein and Leah Rothstein, a father-...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Artificial intelligence taking a more visible role in homebuying process

Business / Business News /

LAS VEGAS — Artificial intelligence will play a bigger role in helping consumers buy and sell homes, as it moves from behind the scenes to front and center in a whole range of areas, according to members of a panel at the annual conference of the National Association of Real Estate Editors in Las Vegas.

Zillow, the country’s largest real ...Read more

Arvin Temkar/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

New efforts in Atlanta are boosting Black developers

Business / Business News /

Darion Dunn surveyed the graded red clay on a sliver of land in Forest Park, Georgia. Where blue piping laid stacked on the ground on a recent Tuesday, Dunn’s company will build 16 townhomes.

The 1.6-acre site on North Avenue might look a lot like townhome developments sprouting across metro Atlanta. But the project represents more than new ...Read more

David Guralnick/The Detroit News/TNS

Ford on track to produce 150,000 F-150 Lightnings, lowering customer wait times

Business / Business News /

Ford Motor Co. is on track to reach its 150,000-unit production goal on the electric F-150 Lightning this year and giving the largest production increase to the XLT trim customers have been waiting for, the Dearborn, Michigan, automaker said Thursday.

Customers wanting the $64,474 Lightning XLT can order one today from a local Ford dealer ...Read more

Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Is California facing a home insurance crisis like hurricane-ravaged Florida?

Business / Business News /

Farmers Insurance had covered Don Baker’s light-gray house with powder-blue trim since he and his family moved to Boulder Creek, California, 13 years ago. A few weeks ago, he got notice his policy won’t be renewed after it expires in August.

Baker looked around and got an offer from State Farm to cover his home nestled among redwood trees ...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Congress tries to save AM radio as automakers threaten to pull the plug. Chicago listeners may have a lot riding on the outcome

Business / Business News /

When Ford announced it would stop installing AM radios in its vehicles this spring, it generated so much static among station owners, listeners and legislators that the automaker quickly reversed course.

But with Tesla and a growing number of EV manufacturers banishing the original car radio from their high-tech digital dashboards and into the ...Read more

Revenge served ice cold? Top LA law firm outs former partners' racist, sexist emails

Business / Business News /

Last month, Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard and Smith, one of the nation’s largest law firms, was rocked by the announcement that two top partners were starting their own boutique practice and taking as many as 140 colleagues with them.

The shock inside Lewis Brisbois’ downtown Los Angeles headquarters soon gave way to anger as the recently ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Consumer Reports pushes for free automatic crash notification in vehicles

Business / Business News /

WASHINGTON — Consumer Reports is launching a campaign to pressure automakers to include free technology in vehicles that calls emergency responders in case of a crash.

Most automakers provide this technology in new vehicles, the safety advocate says, but charge $100 per year or more to enable it.

The effort is aimed at General Motors Co., ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

As IRS funding shrinks, California's wealthiest can breathe a bit easier

Business / Business News /

California millionaires and billionaires who were set to face the full auditing firepower of a revamped Internal Revenue Service can breathe a bit easier, thanks to congressional Republicans.

This week, President Biden signed a bill that slashes $21 billion from a planned $80-billion increase in the agency's funding — a key GOP demand as part...Read more

Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Medical bills pushed this California family into poverty. They're not alone

Business / Business News /

One in 10 Los Angeles County residents are burdened with medical debt, according to new research from Los Angeles County's Department of Public Health.

And often even relatively small amounts of debt can plunge a patient into a financially precarious situation.

In 2021, 11.3% of L.A. County adults with medical debt owed on average more than $4...Read more

Here's how much money you need to afford the average rent in South Florida

Business / Business News /

Renters in South Florida need to make over $100,000 in order to rent comfortably in the tri-county area, according to a new study.

In order to avoid paying more than 30% of their income toward rent, the average household would need to make at least a yearly income of $112,183 to afford the typical rent in South Florida, the study conducted by ...Read more

Renters dominate California -- but they are struggling to survive

Business / Business News /

Evelyn Arceo holds down a full-time job as a baker at Universal Studios Hollywood, earning $19 an hour. But even when she gets a few hours of overtime at the theme park, the single mother of four can barely afford the rent of her one-bedroom apartment in Panorama City.

On her salary, buying a home is out of the question.

Already, her monthly ...Read more

John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS

Private island offers luxury living in Palm Beach. It's listed for over $200 million

Business / Business News /

For buyers looking for their own private island and luxury living, an island in Palm Beach, Florida, has hit the market offering just that.

The property, 10 Tarpon Isle, is listed for $218 million. If it gets its asking price, it would be the most expensive home sold in Florida.

Developer Todd Michael Glaser purchased the little over 2-acre ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Should I tell potential buyers about train noise?

Business / Business News /

Q: Our house is near some train tracks, where a commuter line runs during the week, but rarely runs on weekends. It is pretty loud when it goes past, but not unbearable. We are about to sell our home, and I remember your article where you wrote sellers should tell potential buyers about hidden problems. Do we have to disclose the occasional ...Read more

Delta settles case to pay refunds for flights canceled during pandemic

Business / Business News /

Delta Air Lines has agreed to a settlement of a class-action lawsuit over refunds owed to customers for flights it canceled in parts of 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Atlanta-based Delta doesn’t admit wrongdoing in the settlement preliminarily approved by a federal judge June 2. Documents filed in the case state that there are ...Read more

Six arrested in alleged multimillion dollar scheme to defraud COVID funds

Business / Business News /

Six people were arrested this week and charged with wire fraud and money laundering for an allegedly yearslong scheme to bilk the federal government out of millions of dollars of COVID-19 aid intended for rental assistance, small businesses and the unemployed, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

U.S. Attorney Nick Brown, Western District ...Read more

Philippe Antonello/Amazon Studios/TNS

Amazon explores ad-supported tier for Prime Video streaming service

Business / Business News /

Amazon is exploring the launch of an ad-supported plan for its Prime Video streaming service, following a trend led by other rival outlets looking to boost revenue by adding commercials to their offerings.

The ecommerce giant is considering running ads against its programming while offering customers the option to pay more to watch the shows ...Read more

Radzh Dzhabbarov/Dreamstime/TNS

A third of California families don't earn enough to afford basic needs, United Way finds

Business / Business News /

More than one-third of California families don’t have enough money to meet their basic needs, according to a newly released study from the United Ways of California.

Black and Latino families, immigrant-led households, parents with lower educational attainment and families led by single mothers all struggle disproportionately.

The 2023 ...Read more

Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group/TNS

He's 14, just graduated Santa Clara University and about to join SpaceX

Business / Business News /

Like thousands of 14-year-olds, Kairan Quazi graduates this month — but not from middle school. He’ll be getting his bachelor’s degree at Santa Clara University as the youngest graduate in the institution’s history, and then heading to SpaceX to become a software engineer.

“I’m really excited for this new chapter of my life,” said...Read more