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Ford/Ford/TNS

Auto review: Versatile, eco-friendly Maverick grazes a new trail

Business / Business News /

The economical Ford Maverick of the 1970s was a wildly popular sedan — equaling Mustang sales in its first year — as rising gas prices spurred shoppers to become more fuel conscious. The $1,900 starting price at launch didn’t hurt either.

Ford dusted off the nameplate a couple of years ago and is having similar success with the new ...Read more

Richard Tsong-Taatariii/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

A Wisconsin lawyer's 'cartoon head' billboards created an unlikely celebrity

Business / Business News /

At the annual Country Jam USA in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the songs sound sweeter and the beer runs colder, as its promoters like to say. And Russell Nicolet’s face is everywhere.

Concertgoers encountered Nicolet’s cartoony avatar — wavy beard, bald head, mirrored sunglasses — on billboards all over town. His mug watched over the festival...Read more

TNS/TNS

Auto review: 2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz EV is a modern-day homage

Business / Business News /

The 2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz is more than an homage to another era. It’s representative of Volkswagen’s American market conundrum.

The German automaker is celebrating its 75th year in America, an astounding feat of marketing for a company established by Adolf Hitler in the late 1930s and popularized in the United States by an ad agency whose...Read more

Brandon Bell/Getty Images North America/TNS

Colorado's trial against Kroger-Albertsons merger wraps up. A ruling by judge is next.

Business / Business News /

Attorneys for the state and for the Kroger and Albertsons supermarket chains wrapped up a trial Thursday over the companies’ proposed $24.6 billion merger by disparaging each other’s expert witnesses and accusing the other of pushing an agenda that will harm Colorado shoppers and workers.

Closing arguments capped a trial that started Oct. 1...Read more

Amanda Edwards/Getty Images North America/TNS

Former 'Jeopardy!' staffers file discrimination, retaliation complaints against Sony

Business / Business News /

Former "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" staffers have filed employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation complaints against Sony Pictures Entertainment after the Culver City, California-based company allegedly laid off workers who spoke out against toxic working conditions.

Shelley Ballance Ellis, a former production executive on the...Read more

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

OSHA: No safety violations in crash on set of Georgia-shot Eddie Murphy film

Business / Business News /

A federal agency said it found no safety violations following a seven-month investigation into an April crash that injured crew members during an action sequence on the set of Eddie Murphy’s metro Atlanta-filmed feature “The Pickup.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration closed its investigation Oct. 17, a spokeswoman told The...Read more

Tesla/Tesla/TNS

Tesla soars to best day in 11 years after a blowout quarter

Business / Business News /

Tesla Inc.’s shares surged the most in more than 11 years after the carmaker reported surprisingly strong earnings and forecast as much as 30% growth in vehicle sales next year.

Third-quarter results were buoyed by Tesla turning a corner with the Cybertruck, which generated profit for the first time. Lower material costs, an expanding energy ...Read more

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Looking to take a bite out of Apple, Google set to open first Chicago-area store

Business / Business News /

The Thompson Center isn’t the only slice of Chicago real estate where Google is staking new ground.

The tech giant is opening its first bricks-and-mortar Google Store in the Midwest and its fifth overall next week at Oakbrook Center, offering shoppers a chance to test drive everything from new AI-enhanced Pixel phones to tablets and Fitbit ...Read more

Richard B. Levine/Levine Roberts via ZUMA Press/TNS

US initial jobless claims fall back to pre-hurricanes levels

Business / Business News /

New applications for U.S. unemployment benefits declined for a second week, to levels seen before Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit Southeastern states.

Initial claims decreased by 15,000 to 227,000 in the week ended Oct. 19. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 242,000 applications.

“The impact of Hurricane ...Read more

Stephen Brashear/Getty Images North America/TNS

Boeing CEO's effort to rebuild planemaker suffers strike setback

Business / Business News /

Boeing Co. Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg’s quest to stabilize the struggling US planemaker suffered a stinging setback after factory workers rejected a new labor contract that would have increased their wages by 35% over four years.

Some 64% of the union members who cast ballots on Wednesday voted against the tentative agreement, ...Read more

Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America/TNS

A wave of major listeria recalls shows food safety will 'never be perfect'

Business / Business News /

Deli meats, grab-and-go salads and frozen meals are staples of the modern American diet — convenient and inexpensive options that shoppers readily toss into their carts during grocery runs.

But after hundreds of those products were flagged in major listeria-related recalls recently, nervous consumers have been left to scour their ...Read more

John Spink / John.Spink/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

UPS is showing signs of a turnaround after more than a year of struggles

Business / Business News /

Sandy Springs, Georgia-based UPS has turned the corner after a year and a half of financial struggles, reporting improvements in quarterly profit and revenue for the third quarter.

“After a challenging 18-month period, our company returned to revenue and profit growth,” said UPS CEO Carol Tomé in a written statement.

The shipping giant’...Read more

Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images North America/TNS

Top US consumer watchdog warns firms over tracking workers

Business / Business News /

A top U.S. consumer watchdog warned companies not to use tools that track or assess their workers without their knowledge or permission, a move that comes amid the emergence of new technology making it easier to monitor staffers.

Employers are increasingly deploying tools such as algorithmic scores or background dossiers to assess workers, the...Read more

Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Bay Area home sales fall in September, even as mortgage rates decline

Business / Business News /

While the Bay Area might have seen a second summer in September, home sales were already cooling down.

Home sales in the nine-county region hit their lowest level since March, declining 9.4% from a month earlier, even as mortgage rates trended down, according to recent data from the California Association of Realtors. The average rate for a 30-...Read more

Real estate Q&A: What should I watch for during search for rental apartment?

Business / Business News /

Q: I recently graduated and landed a good job. I am about to rent my first apartment and want to make sure I don’t make a mistake. What should I look out for? — Christine

A: Renting a home is a significant commitment, not only because of the legal agreements involved but also due to the time and effort it takes to find and settle into a new...Read more

Nic Coury/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Apple CEO Tim Cook's other job: helping Nike turn things around

Business / Business News /

A new iPad lineup wasn’t the only thing on Tim Cook’s mind when he introduced the tablets from Apple Inc.’s California headquarters in May. The hint was on his feet: a pair of one-of-a-kind sneakers designed on an iPad just for Cook, by Nike Inc.

Cook, Apple’s chief executive officer and the longest-tenured member of Nike’s board of ...Read more

K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

'TikTok is your billboard': Social media platform means big business in Nevada

Business / Business News /

Marsean Nelson used to work seven days a week and a minimum of 14 hours a day until his business went viral on TikTok.

Nelson, co-owner of TasteBudz Creole Kitchen with his wife Latricsha Nelson, received a visit from Keith Lee, famous Las Vegas-based TikToker, when they were just a food truck. When the video went viral — receiving over 4.1 ...Read more

Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times/TNS

Boeing Machinists reject offer with no end in sight for 5-week strike

Business / Business News /

SEATTLE — Boeing Machinists have rejected a contract offer meant to end the five-week strike, with 64% voting against the proposal.

Boeing’s unionized Machinists walked out on Sept. 13, with 96% of members voting to authorize a strike. The work stoppage has taken a toll on the company and on workers, who are living without paychecks or ...Read more

Ken Wolter/Dreamstime/TNS

Intel eyes another 500 Bay Area job cuts as tech titan's layoffs widen

Business / Business News /

SANTA CLARA, California — Intel plans to chop another 500 jobs in the Bay Area in a fresh round of staffing reductions that reveal the local impact of the massive worldwide cutbacks that the tech titan has orchestrated.

The company has decided to eliminate 516 jobs in Santa Clara, Intel reported via an official WARN letter that the company ...Read more

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Disney World raises prices on annual passes

Business / Business News /

Walt Disney World has raised prices on all four levels of its annual passes, including the top tier Incredi-Pass, which now sells for more than $1,500, according to the resort’s website.

The increases range between $30 and $100, usually a hike of about 7%. Annual pass pricing as it now stands:

—The Disney Incredi-Pass, which has no ...Read more