Wire stories category, Page 105
Former college towns left to adapt to business loss
POULTNEY, Vt. — As colleges and universities come alive this fall, some campuses sit closed and empty after succumbing to a recent wave of fewer students and financial challenges. Now communities that long hosted those historic institutions and relied on them for an economic boost — and their very identity...
Barbie maker makes room in the toy box for gender-inclusive dolls
LOS ANGELES — Mattel, the toymaker behind Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, is now officially woke. The company has launched its first gender-inclusive dolls to encourage more creative play for girls, boys and anyone identifying as both or in between. The Creatable World doll line, which launched Wednesday, is...
US economy grew at modest 2% rate in second quarter
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew at a modest 2% annual rate in the second quarter, a pace sharply lower than the 3%-plus growth rates seen over the past year. Many analysts believe growth will slow further in coming quarters as global weakness and rising trade tensions exert a toll....
Walmart’s Sam’s Club launches health care pilot to members
NEW YORK — Walmart’s Sam’s Club is teaming up with several health care companies to offer discounts on routine care that customers might delay or skip because of the cost. Starting next month, Sam’s Club members in Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina will be able to buy bundles of health...
Uber adds more services to its app in its quest for profit
SAN FRANCISCO — Uber is cramming more services into its ride-hailing app as it explores ways to generate more revenue and finally turn a profit. The makeover announced Thursday includes force-feeding its food delivery service, “Eats,” into the Uber app that millions of people use to summon a ride. That...
U.S. stocks rebound on housing data, Trump trade deal remark
U.S. stocks finished broadly higher Wednesday after President Donald Trump indicated that a deal to resolve the long-running, costly trade dispute with China could happen soon. Trump’s remarks, in addition to a sharp increase in sales of new U.S. homes, helped reverse an early slide for stocks. Technology companies led...
WeWork CEO stepping aside amid questions about company
NEW YORK — WeWork’s charismatic but controversial CEO is stepping aside from the company he founded, another moment of reckoning between a fast-growing tech company and its disenchanted investors. The New York-based company, which runs trendy communal office spaces, said Tuesday that Adam Neumann will remain on its board as...
Fresh U.S.-China trade worries erase early gains for stocks
Wall Street closed out a volatile week with losses Friday as investors worried that upcoming trade talks aimed at resolving the costly trade war between Washington and Beijing could be in trouble. The selling, which erased modest early gains for the market, snapped a three-week win streak for the S&P...
Trump says he doesn’t need China trade deal before election
WASHINGTON — As China and the U.S. near a new round of trade talks, President Trump said Friday he doesn’t feel he needs to secure an agreement before next year’s election. Trump told reporters he wants a complete deal with China and won’t accept one that addresses only some of...
What makes Impossible meat possible? A ‘bloody’ ingredient
NEW YORK — What makes Impossible burgers possible? An engineered ingredient that makes the veggie patty look bloody — and one of many new concoctions food regulators expect to see more of in the coming years. Several new vegetarian products are competing to win over meat lovers, but two California...
Colt suspends production of AR-15 for civilian market
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Gun-maker Colt is suspending its production of rifles for the civilian market including the popular AR-15, the company said Thursday in a shift it attributed to changes in consumer demand and a market already saturated with similar weapons. The company said it will focus instead on...
‘Middle of the herd’ no more: Amazon tackles climate change
NEW YORK — Online shopping giant Amazon revealed a carbon footprint Thursday that rivals that of a small country and vowed to reduce the damage to the planet by cutting its use of fossil fuels. The company, which ships more than a 10 billion items a year on fuel-guzzling planes...
Walgreens, Google affiliate to launch drone delivery test
Walgreens and a Google affiliate are testing drone deliveries that can put drugstore products on customer doorsteps minutes after being ordered. Snacks like Goldfish Crackers or gummy bears as well as aspirin for sick kids will be delivered starting next month in Christiansburg, Virginia, by a 10-pound drone flying as...
Airbnb says it will go public in 2020
Airbnb Inc. said Thursday it plans to go public in 2020, a long-awaited move by the home-sharing company that is both loved and reviled for its disruption of the accommodation sector. Airbnb disclosed the news in a brief statement. It didn’t give a target date for the initial public offering...
A divided Fed reduces rates but may not cut again this yearVideo
WASHINGTON — A sharply divided Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year but declined to signal that further rate cuts are likely this year. The Fed’s move reduced its key short-term rate — which influences many consumer and business loans — by an...
Cash-starved Air India putting crews on low-fat diet
Cash-starved Air India is putting its crew on a diet, changing their inflight menu to special low-fat meals. Dhananjay Kumar, the state-run airline’s spokesman, said Wednesday that the objective is to provide healthy and cost-effective meals to crews on domestic and international flights. Kumar declined comment on media reports that...
U.S. economy could shrug off oil prices if disruption is brief
DALLAS — The price of gasoline crept higher after a weekend attack devastated Saudi Arabian oil output, but if the disruption to global supplies is short-lived, the impact on the U.S. economy will probably be modest. Prices spiked Monday by more than 14%, their biggest single-day jump in years, but...
WeWork delays its IPO amid tepid investor interest
NEW YORK — WeWork’s parent company put its stock market debut on the backburner Tuesday, struggling to drum up investor enthusiasm for a fast-growing enterprise that spread trendy communal office spaces across the globe while piling up massive losses and drawing concerns about its CEO’s corporate governance practices. The We...
Agency considering Three Mile Island nuclear debris in Idaho
BOISE, Idaho — The partially melted reactor core from the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history could remain in Idaho for another 20 years if regulators finalize a license extension sought by the Energy Department, officials said Monday. The core from Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania partially melted in 1979,...
Ohio receives $17.8 million to study self-driving vehicles
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio has received $17.8 million to generate data on self-driving vehicles, an area of research in which the state is already playing a prominent role, according to the state’s U.S. senators. Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Sen. Rob Portman said the grant, announced this week, will...
Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy as part of settlement
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and its owners expressed sympathy but not responsibility for the nation’s opioid crisis as the company filed for bankruptcy protection late Sunday night, part of a move to settle some 2,600 lawsuits — most from state and local governments. “Like families across America, we have deep...
Rise in health uninsured may be linked to immigrants’ fears
WASHINGTON — When the Census Bureau reported an increase in the number of people without health insurance in America, it sent political partisans reaching for talking points on the Obama-era health law and its travails. But the new numbers suggest that fears of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown may be...
UAW says its 49K members at GM plants will go on strike
DETROIT — Roughly 49,000 workers at General Motors plants in the United States plan to go on strike just before midnight Sunday, but talks between the United Auto Workers and the automaker will resume. About 200 plant-level union leaders voted unanimously in favor of a walkout during a meeting Sunday...
Man brings support clown to his layoff meeting
A man working at a New Zealand advertising agency had a funny way of dealing with his own firing. The unidentified adman was permitted to have someone at his side for support in a meeting where his job was being terminated, reports the New Zealand Herald. Rather than choosing a...
U.S., China exchange goodwill gesture ahead of trade talks
WASHINGTON — The United States and China traded conciliatory gestures, raising hopes they can de-escalate a standoff over trade that has shaken financial markets and cast gloom over the global economy. In Beijing, China’s Commerce Ministry said Thursday that Chinese importers are asking U.S. suppliers for prices of soybeans, pork...
