Q: Purchased a new 2020 Audi A4. Salesperson wanted me to buy a maintenance plan that would cover oil changes for four years. Can my local mechanic handle the changes? Is there a reason I would need to use the dealer?

L.S., Davie, Fla.

A: Your warranty will not be voided if you chose to have oil changes, or any routine service, done by your ...Read more

SEATTLE — Like many business owners in Washington state, sisters Tara Espinoza and Sabrina Rinderle, proprietors of Queen Anne Dispatch in Seattle, were neither surprised nor unprepared for Gov. Jay Inslee's second round of COVID-19 restrictions.

Since the first restrictions in March, Espinoza and Rinderle have largely reengineered their ...Read more

Five times a day, tens of millions of phones buzz with notifications from an app called Muslim Pro, reminding users it's time to pray. While Muslims in Los Angeles woke Thursday to a dawn notification that read, "Fajr at 5:17 AM," users in Sri Lanka were minutes away from getting a ping telling them it was time for Isha, or the night prayer.

...Read more

The pandemic is hard on us all — but spare a thought for those with small children, forced to balance work and childcare, closed daycares, and entertain bored, lonely kids during lockdowns.

Millions of couples have postponed weddings because of the coronavirus, and others are reconsidering whether to have a child now.

The good news? While at...Read more

Last week's public spat between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell may have set an end date for the central bank's unprecedented intervention in U.S. credit markets. But make no mistake, the legacy of this episode will most likely permanently change investors' mindset during periods of crisis.

In ...Read more

The outlook continues to be clouded by COVID-19 but a team of University of Michigan economists sees encouraging signs that could bring economic life close to normal by the end of 2021.

Much, though, will depend on how readily a vaccine becomes available by next summer.

The annual U.S. Economic Outlook, released Thursday morning, indicated ...Read more

SEATTLE — Days after the Federal Aviation Administration cleared Boeing's 737 Max to fly passengers again, Alaska Airlines became the first carrier to expand its fleet of the aircraft.

Alaska announced Monday it will lease 13 Maxes from Los Angeles-based Air Lease Corp (ALC).

Alaska already has 32 Maxes on order directly from Boeing, five of...Read more

On Oct. 14, some 1,200 IBM employees signed on remotely to a company website for what was billed as a celebration of the life and career of Lynn Conway, a "tech trailblazer and transgender pioneer," as the event was titled.

Conway's record as a computer science pioneer at IBM and subsequently at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center, or PARC, was ...Read more

Three years ago, Roy Price, then head of Amazon Studios, was at the Four Seasons resort in Santa Barbara when his phone rang.

It was Oct. 12, 2017, and he had arrived for Campfire — the super-secret, invite-only gathering of influential artists, celebrities, writers and thinkers that Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos hosted each fall.

Price ...Read more

DOWNINGTON, Pa. — It's hard to hear what anyone's saying on the turkey evisceration line on account of the lung gun and other contraptions you've never heard of and might not want to know about.

With approximately 46 million turkeys eaten on Thanksgiving each year, thousands of workers across the country have to take a living thing and make ...Read more

DETROIT — General Motors is changing course and will no longer back President Donald Trump's effort to stop California from setting its own emissions rules in an ongoing court fight.

GM CEO Mary Barra said GM is withdrawing from the pre-emption litigation between California, the Trump Administration and other non-government groups.

The move ...Read more

DETROIT — General Motors Co. is abandoning a legal battle between the Trump administration and California over the state's right to set its own standards for greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy rules, the automaker said Monday, and urging other automakers to do the same.

The move signals a recognition by GM that its electrification and ...Read more

Hard times have returned to the nation's toilet paper aisles.

With coronavirus cases and lockdowns once again on the rise, shoppers are reverting to the panic-buying patterns of the early days of the pandemic. In response, grocery companies such as Target, Kroger and Albertsons have reinstated purchase limits on toilet paper, paper towels and ...Read more

We're out of toilet paper again.

Households across the U.S. are once again filling grocery carts brimful in a second round of panic buying as the virus surges and states clamp down on economic activity. Defensive purchasing is affecting everything from paper towels to bacon. Even the world's biggest retailer is reporting shortages of high-...Read more

A highly anticipated U.S. government report on the April 20 oil crash will stop short of blaming any specific traders or firms, and refrain from recommending structural changes for the crude market, said three people familiar with the matter.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission review, which could be released as soon as next week, will ...Read more

The Chicago Department of Aviation is planning to add COVID-19 testing facilities at O'Hare and Midway airports by next month for travelers and employees.

The city announced a request for proposal Friday for drive-up and walk-up facilities, with both the rapid and PCR tests offered. The tests are not free but should be covered by insurance.

"...Read more

Airlines and airports are lowering expectations for Thanksgiving amid surging cases of COVID-19 nationwide.

The pandemic is worsening just ahead of one of the busiest times for air travel.

For months, U.S. airlines have pinned hope of a significant revenue boost on the holiday season. And while more Americans will be flying next week than have...Read more