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Plus-size fashion chain Torrid to shutter a third of its stores

Business / Business News /

LOS ANGELES -- Plus-size retail chain Torrid is shuttering nearly a third of its stores as it grapples with sliding sales.

The City of Industry-based company closed 151 locations last year and an additional 11 stores since the start of 2026.

The closures targeted “structurally unproductive stores” with low sales, the company said on an ...Read more

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Epic Games lays off 1,000 employees, citing dip in 'Fortnite' popularity

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Epic Games, the developer of the popular video game “Fortnite,” is laying off more than 1,000 employees and cutting $500 million in costs.

Chief Executive Tim Sweeney announced the cuts Tuesday morning in a message to employees. He said it has nothing to do with AI and instead pointed to what he said was a lack of “Fortnite” engagement ...Read more

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Epic Games to lay off 1,000 as NC game developer cites Fortnite fall

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Cary, North Carolina, video game developer Epic Games announced Tuesday it will lay off 1,000 workers as the company cited falling player interest in its hit Fortnite franchise.

This is Epic’s second mass jobs cut in the past three years. In September 2023, the company laid off 830 employees companywide, including 170 in the...Read more

Nathaniel Levine/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

Will CA finally grant unions' bid for confidential conversations with workers?

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- In California, attorney-client privilege ensures that communication between an individual and their lawyer remains confidential. California labor groups are hoping 2026 will be the year that a similar, albeit lesser, privilege is extended to union representatives and their members.

A bill authored by Assemblymember Patrick...Read more

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War knocks global economy with dual shock to growth, prices

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The world economy’s first signs of a synchronized shock emerged in business surveys revealing how the Iran war’s fallout is crippling growth momentum and stoking prices.

Multiple purchasing manager indexes compiled by S&P Global for March showed declines. Among the releases on Tuesday, composite measures for the U.S. and the euro zone were ...Read more

Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Why is Jeff Bezos raising $100 billion to bring AI to factories? Here's what to know

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Jeff Bezos is trying to leapfrog into the artificial intelligence race with a $100 billion fund to acquire manufacturers and bring more AI superpowers to factory floors.

The Amazon founder has reportedly traveled to the Middle East and elsewhere to meet with potential investors for the massive fund. If he succeeds, it would be one of the ...Read more

Andrej Sokolow/dpa via ZUMA Press/TNS

Zoox robotaxis to roam in more San Francisco neighborhoods and cover new cities

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LOS ANGELES — The Bay Area-based robotaxi company Zoox is trying to get ahead of the competition with a significant expansion in San Francisco and Las Vegas and plans to launch in Austin, Texas, and Miami.

Zoox will quadruple its service area in San Francisco starting this spring, expanding rides to the eastern half of the city, including the...Read more

Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Philly's gig economy runs on immigrant workers. Now that labor pool is shrinking amid tougher ICE enforcement

Business / Business News /

PHILADELPHIA — Are you waiting longer for the rideshare driver to show up? Or for that burger and fries to be delivered to your door? Does it all cost more?

Here’s part of the reason: stricter immigration enforcement. And not just the arrest and deportation of workers who lack official permission to be in the country, but the fear that ...Read more

Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

The health care industry fueled most of Philadelphia's job growth in the last decade

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PHILADELPHIA — The health care industry accounted for more than 70% of new jobs in the Philadelphia area over the past decade, nearly double the growth rate for health care nationally, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The region added approximately 184,000 jobs since 2015. More than 132,000 were in health care, with home ...Read more

Carlos Gonzalez/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Minnesota wellness shot startup So Good So You sold to New York private equity firm

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MINNEAPOLIS -- So Good So You, the fast-growing Minnesota company that makes wellness shots available nationwide, announced Tuesday that it sold to a private equity firm.

So Good So You didn’t disclose the terms of the Bansk Group’s majority-stake acquisition. But the leader of a local food startup incubator characterized it as likely one ...Read more

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One Beverly Hills developer raises $4.3 billion to finish the massive luxury project

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LOS ANGELES — The developers of One Beverly Hills have secured $4.3 billion in financing to complete the project, another milestone for one of the largest real estate projects underway in the country.

Work on the high-end residential and hotel complex, which will include the tallest buildings in Beverly Hills, began in 2024 and went vertical ...Read more

Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America/TNS

Stephen Mihm: AI is hastening the résumé's demise. Good riddance

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Artificial intelligence isn’t just being blamed for killing jobs; it’s exposing the fundamental flaw in one of hiring’s oldest tools: the résumé.

Thanks to AI, any applicant can churn out a polished, professional-looking version with a few basic prompts — regardless of their qualifications. Frustrated companies have responded in kind ...Read more

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump wants Powell out, but what happens if Warsh isn't confirmed in time?

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The ongoing legal standoff between the Trump administration and Federal Reserve is increasing the likelihood that the next Fed chief won’t be confirmed by the Senate before Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends in May.

Powell last week addressed speculation about what will happen in that instance: He declared he intends to remain in charge, ...Read more

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Data centers under scrutiny by California lawmakers as fears rise about health and energy impacts

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IMPERIAL, Calif. — Whenever the weather changes suddenly, or the skyline becomes shrouded in a windy haze, Fernanda Camarillo braces herself for an asthma attack.

Her condition has become more manageable, but the 27-year-old said it's still scary when her chest tightens and she starts to wheeze. It was one of her first thoughts when she ...Read more

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Auto review: 2026 RX350h is the Lexus your garage deserves

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As models are refreshed across fleets nationwide, Lexus sticks to their guns and continues to do what they do best, ensuring the RX is a fan-favorite.

Our weeklong tester was wrapped in Incognito – “army grey,” as I like to call it – and really showed out nicely. Its $56K base price was a solid base for the upscale luxury vehicle brand,...Read more

John Sommers II/Getty Images North America/TNS

Toyota adds $1 billion investment across Kentucky, Indiana plants

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GEORGETOWN, Ky. — Toyota Motor Corp. is investing $1 billion between its Kentucky and Indiana plants as part of a broader $10 billion multiyear commitment to manufacturing in the United States, the company said Monday.

The move comes amid a push from President Donald Trump to both entice and coerce more companies to make their products within...Read more

General Motors Co./General Motors Co./TNS

General Motors tests self-driving tech on Michigan, California highways

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DETROIT — General Motors Co. on Monday began testing its new, mostly self-driving technology on Michigan and California highways.

Trained drivers are behind the wheels of 200 test vehicles to take over if necessary, according to the Detroit automaker. GM said it's been collecting data from test vehicles driven in 34 states over the last six ...Read more

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump's wild, 5-minute rally sends clear message to Wall Street

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Just moments after Donald Trump backed down from his threat to bomb Iran’s energy infrastructure in a Truth Social post at 7:05 a.m., oil prices plunged over 13%, Treasury yields tumbled and traders signaled that U.S. stocks would surge at the opening bell.

It almost didn’t matter that less than an hour later Iran contradicted Trump’s ...Read more

Why more Washington state utilities want to remotely control your thermostat

Business / Business News /

SEATTLE — At 6 p.m. on a recent chilly Tuesday, Jim Sullivan’s thermostat in his Maple Valley, Minnesota, home automatically turned down to 60 degrees — not because he set it, but because his utility adjusted it down 4 degrees during a “rush hour” event of high energy demand.

In recent years, utilities across the state — including ...Read more

Michael Hickey/Getty Images North America/TNS

Aaron Brown: By all measures, productivity is sky-high. So why do we feel so left out?

Business / Business News /

Like many Americans born in the 20th century, I measure each day by my productivity. My children laugh and call me a “try-hard.” But you should try hard, I say. They laugh again. They might be smarter than me.

If you’re not sure what “productivity” means, your boss certainly does. In economic terms, productivity measures how ...Read more