Business

/

ArcaMax

Aubrey Gemignani/NASA/TNS

General Motors to make batteries for NASA's new manned moon rover

Business / Business News /

General Motors Co. will help develop batteries for new manned rovers to be driven by NASA astronauts on the moon.

NASA awarded private space startup Lunar Outpost $220 million on Tuesday to build the Pegasus vehicle with help from GM, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and tech company Leidos.

NASA plans for astronauts to drive the rover on the moon ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Patagonia trademark lawsuit triggers backlash from drag queen Pattie Gonia

Business / Business News /

Drag queen Pattie Gonia is asking fans for help fighting Patagonia, the popular outdoor apparel and gear company, which has sued the outspoken environmental activist for trademark infringement.

The Ventura-based company filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court in January after the environmentalist drag queen submitted an application for the...Read more

JOSH EDELSON/Getty Images North America/TNS

Meta to slash thousands more Bay Area jobs

Business / Business News /

MENLO PARK, California — Meta Platforms revealed a decision to slash thousands more jobs in the Bay Area, primarily at the company’s South Bay headquarters, a new batch of official filings with the state labor agency shows.

The owner of the Facebook app reported it will eliminate 2,212 jobs in Menlo Park and 313 in Sunnyvale, according to ...Read more

Mike Siegel/Seattle Times/TNS

Alaska Airlines faces fine for allegedly boarding intoxicated passengers

Business / Business News /

Alaska Airlines may face a $165,000 fine for allegedly allowing intoxicated passengers to board its planes.

The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed the fine following incidents on 11 flights between February 2024 and February 2025, according to an FAA statement posted Tuesday. The regulator prohibits airlines from allowing anyone who ...Read more

Handout/General Motors/TNS

General Motors' Tech Center still future-focused after 70 years

Business / Business News /

Seventy years after the opening of the General Motors Technical Center in Metro Detroit, company President Mark Reuss says GM's "nerve center" plays an even greater role at the automaker now.

Roughly 25,000 people are currently employed there — the most of any white-collar GM site despite a series of layoffs — as part of an intentional ...Read more

Toyota/TNS/TNS

Auto review: Impossible to ignore, hard to explain: the 2026 Toyota Crown

Business / Business News /

If the 2026 Toyota Crown sedan proves anything, it’s that when it comes to design, Toyota buyers will tolerate absolutely anything as long as it starts every morning and doesn’t frighten their accountant. The old Avalon may have been dull, but at least it looked like a proper flagship sedan. Its replacement, the Crown, looks like a design ...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

'Facing an existential threat': How Uber is navigating clashes with trial attorneys, assault lawsuits and competition

Business / Business News /

Eighteen years ago, two computer engineers said to be frustrated by their experience ordering a taxi in Paris hatched a wild idea: a mobile app that would allow users to hail a ride from their smartphones.

Their startup, known as Uber, initially clawed its way to success with a growth-at-all-costs strategy that sometimes involved operating ...Read more

Henry Payne/The Detroit News/TNS

Auto review: In the Cadillac Escalade, there's always a button for that

Business / Business News /

STERLING HEIGHTS, Michigan — With 420 horsepower and a satisfying roar, the 6.2-liter pushrod V-8 engine under the hood of my 2026 Cadillac Escalade Platinum Sport tester would usually be my obsession.

But eight is a trivial number in the Platinum Sport model.

What has my attention in the Platinum Sport are the dozens of buttons that operate...Read more

Marc Grasso/Boston Herald/TNS

Auto review: 2026 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro conquers … everything

Business / Business News /

Wrapped in Wave Maker blue paint, the redesigned 2026 Toyota Tundra is here in Grasso’s Garage.

Our weeklong tester, a 2026 Hybrid TRD Pro 4×4, was terrific. We noticed excellent comfort, great exterior appeal, and tons of utility — just a few reasons the 2026 Tundra satisfies consumers.

Powering our 2026 Tundra TRD-Pro tester was an i-...Read more

Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times/TNS

ABC files applications 'under protest' for early renewal of TV station licenses

Business / Business News /

Walt Disney Co.'s ABC has filed renewal applications with the Federal Communications Commission "under protest" after an order mandating a years-early review of the network's eight television station licenses.

The criticism was part of the network's applications for the FCC review, which were filed ahead of a deadline Thursday. In an objection ...Read more

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Waymo launches services with cheaper robotaxis in Los Angeles

Business / Business News /

Waymo is rolling out a new driverless taxi to help the company expand into more cities and tackle tougher driving conditions, including snowy roads, the company announced Wednesday.

The new vehicle, dubbed the Ojai, will begin serving select customers in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix in the coming weeks. Rides will be free of charge as...Read more

Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta to acquire Caesars in $17.6B deal

Business / Business News /

Billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta is expanding his hospitality empire by taking over a U.S. casino giant.

Fertitta Entertainment Inc. is acquiring Caesars Entertainment Inc. in an all-cash deal announced Thursday valued at $17.6 billion, which includes roughly $5.7 billion in equity value and an assumption of nearly $11.9 billion of ...Read more

Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/TNS

Stocks hit record highs after US-Iran deal reports: Markets Wrap

Business / Business News /

Wall Street traders sent stocks to all-time highs, bonds rose while a rally in oil waned amid speculation about a diplomatic breakthrough in the three-month war that has rattled markets around the world.

Equities rebounded on news reports the US and Iran have reached a tentative deal to extend a ceasefire by 60 days and launch further talks on ...Read more

Angela Weiss/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Wall Street rushes to mimic crypto's playbook on Capitol Hill

Business / Business News /

Wall Street executives were repeatedly stunned by the cryptocurrency industry’s newfound political dominance in the wake of the 2024 elections.

Now, they’re ramping up their own spending with a strategy resembling the crypto sector’s tactics.

Late last year, the Financial Services Forum, an advocacy organization representing the eight ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

EU braces for talks with Anthropic on access to Mythos AI model

Business / Business News /

European Commission officials are planning to meet with Anthropic PBC to seek more information on the company’s Mythos model and request making the groundbreaking artificial intelligence tool available to the bloc, according to people familiar with the matter.

Officials from the commission were set to visit San Francisco on Thursday for ...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Illinois to crack down on insurance rate hikes for auto and homeowner policies

Business / Business News /

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — Illinois lawmakers on Wednesday advanced two long-debated measures to prevent insurance companies from raising auto and homeowners’ insurance rates without more stringent state oversight, and Gov. JB Pritzker said he intends to sign both into law.

The legislation represents some of the latest efforts by Democrats who...Read more

Renée Jones Schneider/Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Soon-to-be CEO says Best Buy 'not just a retailer anymore'

Business / Business News /

Best Buy’s incoming chief executive said stronger-than-expected financial results are adding momentum as the company seeks to redefine its role in a rapidly evolving retail market.

Beyond its core business as a consumer electronics store, the Richfield, Minnesota-based company wants to expand into a broader mix of services, including its ...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Groupon laying off 400 employees -- nearly 25% of its workforce -- in AI shift

Business / Business News /

Groupon, the Chicago-based online marketplace, is slashing up to 400 positions — nearly a fourth of its worldwide workforce — in a plan to rebuild as an AI-native company.

Citing projected annualized savings of about $25 million, the company expects to eliminate the majority of the 400 positions by the end of the third quarter, according to...Read more

Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Aerospace company behind California chemical leak scare faces court cases, supply disruption

Business / Business News /

Even as authorities lifted all evacuation orders related to last weekend's Orange County chemical leak scare, the company behind the incident faces lawsuits and supply disruptions that could affect its operations and the aerospace industry.

The Garden Grove, California, facility of GKN Aerospace was ground zero for the evacuation when a ...Read more

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Sale of Oceanwide Plaza graffiti towers in Los Angeles delayed

Business / Business News /

The cleanup of one of the most notorious collections of graffiti in the country has been postponed again as the proposed buyer of the stalled Oceanwide Plaza development in downtown Los Angeles struggles to reach terms with city officials who must sign off on the $470 million sale.

Wiping clean the empty high-rise towers besmirching the city ...Read more