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Wisk, Boeing's air taxi firm, rushed software testing, ex-employee claims

Business / Business News /

A former software manager at Wisk Aero, Boeing’s autonomous air taxi subsidiary, has accused Wisk of rushing software testing and retaliating against her for raising safety concerns.

Briahna O’Neill said she was fired from Wisk in March 2025 after filing two internal safety reports alleging company executives pushed engineers to reduce ...Read more

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Michael Hiltzik: Is Elon Musk really a 'trillionaire'? Only on paper

Business / Business News /

Well, that's a fun ride, isn't it?

SpaceX, which is controlled by Elon Musk, went public on June 12 at a stratospheric valuation that made Musk the first trillionaire in history.

He retained that status, according to Bloomberg's billionaires index, for 11 days after the initial public offering, or until the stock price drifted back to Earth ...Read more

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Joby Aviation creates a joint venture with Toyota to build air taxis

Business / Business News /

The race to bring air travel to the sky is heating up as Santa Cruz-based Joby Aviation and Toyota launch a joint venture to commercially produce air taxis.

The companies said in a news release Tuesday that they will work together on productivity, quality and costs and move toward mass production of Joby's electric vertical takeoff aircraft. ...Read more

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General Motors claims No. 1 US vehicle sales spot in recent months

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General Motors Co. sold the most vehicles of any automaker in the United States over the past three months despite a drop in sales compared to last year, the company said Wednesday.

The Detroit automaker sold close to 32,000 fewer vehicles in the past three months compared to the same time period last year. Rivals including Toyota Motor Corp. ...Read more

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Boeing's professional aerospace union to start contract talks July 1

Business / Business News /

Boeing and the union representing its white-collar workers are set to start contract negotiations July 1, teeing up discussions over wages, benefits and job security.

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, or SPEEA, represents about 20,000 workers at Boeing facilities and its subsidiaries in Washington, Oregon, Kansas, ...Read more

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US lifts export restrictions on Anthropic's Fable 5 model

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The U.S. government removed foreign access restrictions on Anthropic PBC’s Fable 5 artificial intelligence model, clearing it for wider distribution after the startup resolved the Trump administration’s safety controls.

The Commerce Department had imposed an export control rule via a private letter on June 12 requiring the company obtain U....Read more

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Apple and Epic Games are headed to the Supreme Court in long-running case

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After six years and multiple rulings, the case between Apple and North Carolina video game developer Epic Games is heading to the nation’s highest court. On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear Apple’s appeal over how a lower court enforced an earlier antitrust decision that went against the California tech giant.

What the ...Read more

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Ford recalls certain F-150s, SUVs over risk for damage to park system

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A new recall from Ford Motor Co. is affecting hundreds of thousands of pickups and SUVs over concerns about potential damage to the vehicles' parking system, and it could be months before a remedy is available.

The recall affects certain 2018-2021 Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition SUVs, 2020-2021 Explorer and Lincoln Aviators and 2021 F-150...Read more

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Anthropic partners with California to expand AI use by government workers

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Anthropic teamed up with California to get more state workers to use its artificial intelligence assistant Claude as part of an effort to leverage technology to make the government more efficient.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who announced the partnership on Monday, said state agencies will be able to access Claude at a 50% discount. Free training and ...Read more

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Philip Morris can market Zyn as lower risk than cigarettes

Business / Business News /

The Food and Drug Administration authorized Philip Morris International Inc. to market its Zyn nicotine pouches as less harmful than cigarettes, the first time the category has received the distinction.

The company is allowed to say that 20 variants of the pouches pose less risk than the combustible alternatives for a litany of diseases ...Read more

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British regulator may challenge Paramount takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery

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Britain's culture minister may challenge Paramount Skydance's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery — presenting a potential speed bump to David Ellison's plan to wrap up his $111 billion deal by September.

Earlier this month, Paramount secured the U.S. Justice Department's blessing to buy the Warner assets, which include CNN, HBO, Cartoon ...Read more

Rocket Lab enters satellite communications market with $8 billion deal

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Rocket Lab took a big step Monday to better compete with rivals SpaceX and Amazon, announcing an $8-billion acquisition of satellite communications company Iridium.

The Long Beach rocket-and-satellite maker is buying a company that provides critical communications services to pilots, mariners and others, while giving Rocket Lab a foothold in ...Read more

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iHeartMedia lays off on-air personalities nationwide

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Riverside, California-based radio station KGGI has lost its last local on-air hosts.

Longtime radio personalities Evelyn Erives, Nick Nack and Garrison King were all cut from the Inland Empire station last week as part of iHeartMedia's latest round of national layoffs. In an internal memo, the media giant said it would restructure its radio ...Read more

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Bally's Chicago retains former Mayor Lori Lightfoot in legal battle with city over video gaming terminals

Business / Business News /

As the battle between Bally’s and the city heats up over the advent of video gaming terminals, the casino company has enlisted an unlikely ally — former Mayor Lori Lightfoot — whose administration chose the Rhode Island-based company to build Chicago’s first casino.

Bally’s has hired Lightfoot’s law firm, RKF Global, to navigate the...Read more

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SpaceX IPO sparks race for luxury housing in Southern California

Business / Business News /

LOS ANGELES -- With SpaceX’s historic initial public offering minting a small army of new millionaires overnight, the Southern California housing market is bracing for a big wave of buyers looking to upgrade their digs or perhaps snag a second home, potentially driving up prices in some in-demand neighborhoods.

Shares of SpaceX started ...Read more

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These businesses are finding a silver lining with tariffs

Business / Business News /

KEEGO HARBOR, Mich. — As tariffs and inflation squeeze Michigan companies, some under-the-radar businesses are thriving because they never needed imports in the first place.

From thrift stores to consignment boutiques to salvage lumber yards, these reuse and resale retailers have, in some cases, benefited from the tariffs President Donald ...Read more

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Zepbound craze fuels $1.3 billion windfall for religious causes

Business / Business News /

The blockbuster success of weight-loss drugs is fueling a wave of giving that’s boosting Christian ministries across the U.S. and Canada.

Eli Lilly & Co.’s largest shareholder, the independent Lilly Endowment, gave nearly $1.3 billion to religious causes in 2025, much of it specifically to Christian groups, according to its annual report ...Read more

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With Minnesota's last known elevator operator, Nicollet Mall office building honors its past

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MINNEAPOLIS -- A buzz and a red light on the panel alerts Lee Bowser that his elevator is being summoned.

Bowser closes the inner brass gate, careful not to pinch a finger. He turns a large crank slightly to the right — about the 1 o’clock position— and the outer door rumbles shut.

He then pulls it to the 3 o’clock spot, and the cab ...Read more

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San Diego's Qualcomm to buy startup Modular for $3.9 billion in AI push

Business / Business News /

SAN DIEGO — Qualcomm agreed to acquire AI software startup Modular in an all-stock deal valued at $3.92 billion, the San Diego chipmaker said Wednesday during its Investor Day, as it works to expand beyond smartphone chips into data center and AI markets.

Equity holders of Modular will receive up to 19.2 million newly issued Qualcomm common ...Read more

Seattle ups its payout for vandalized small businesses. Is it enough?

Business / Business News /

SEATTLE — When a rock smashed the window of Capitol Hill's Analog Coffee last month, the owners were left with a $2,000 bill.

But within weeks, they were reimbursed the repair costs thanks to the city of Seattle’s Back to Business program — which has doled out over $1 million over the past year to small Seattle businesses hit by vandalism...Read more