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Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Google and Meta used to champion DEI efforts. Why Big Tech is pulling back

Business / Business News /

More than a decade ago, outcries about the lack of diversity in the tech industry reverberated across major Silicon Valley companies from Facebook to Google.

Women and minorities spoke out about feeling out of place in male-dominated professions, civil rights activists urged businesses to do more and tech workers like Tracy Chou, who was a ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

A Miami crypto venture, a crash, a gambling addiction -- and now jail for wire fraud

Business / Business News /

The founder of a cryptocurrency token business in Miami has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for committing wire fraud during the last crypto boom and ordered to pay victims $1.14 million.

Austin Michael Taylor, 41, founded CluCoin, a cryptocurrency project, which held a successful Initial Coin Offering in May 2021. An ICO, like an IPO ...Read more

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What happens to your 401(k) after you leave a job? 8 key things to consider

Business / Business News /

If you’re changing jobs or have been laid off, chances are that your 401(k) account is the last thing on your mind. But it pays to include that money in your moving plans — even if you don’t deal with it right away.

Fortunately, these workplace retirement accounts are designed to be portable. However, moving your 401(k) and choosing when...Read more

Brandon Bell/Getty Images North America/TNS

Houston's oldest refinery is shutting. It won't be the last

Business / Business News /

After more than a century of churning out fuel on the banks of the Houston Ship Channel, the city’s oldest refinery is preparing to shut down, potentially putting hundreds of people out of work. Its competitors are welcoming its demise.

The closure of the plant — built by industrialist Harry Sinclair in 1918 and now owned by petrochemicals ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Motormouth: Fuel system cleaner

Business / Business News /

Q: When using fuel system cleaner, why is it recommended that the gas tank be almost empty and to run the tank almost empty before the next fill-up?

D.N., Tinley Park, Illinois

A: I always recommend using the additive with a full tank of gas. Pour in the additive and then fill the tank. This blends it for the preferred concentration. Running ...Read more

Scott Sharpe/The News & Observer/TNS

NC Amazon workers overwhelmingly vote against unionizing in historic election

Business / Business News /

RALEIGH, N.C. — Workers at Amazon’s hulking fulfillment center in Garner voted against unionizing, according to election results announced Saturday, marking a defeat for the independent union that had aimed to make history in the nation’s least organized state.

The union election, conducted between Monday and noon Saturday and overseen by...Read more

MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

You can once again download TikTok from Apple and Google app stores in the US

Business / Business News /

Apple and Google have restored TikTok to their U.S. app stores after President Trump delayed enforcement of a law that requires the popular video app to divest or face a nationwide ban.

The tech companies removed TikTok nearly a month ago to comply with the law, which went into effect Jan. 19.

A day later, on his first day in office, Trump ...Read more

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Cameo giving all Chicago employees $10,000 raises to return to the office

Business / Business News /

As Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and other major employers issue mandates to herd their remote workers back to the office, one Chicago-based company is opting for the carrot over the stick.

Celebrity video messaging website Cameo is offering its Chicago-area employees a $10,000 raise to return from their scattered spare bedrooms and coffee shops to ...Read more

Leon Neal/Getty Images North America/TNS

Intel posts best week since 2000 on reports of partnership

Business / Business News /

Intel Corp. shares closed out their best week in 25 years on Friday. The gains came on reports of a potential partnership with a key rival, which fueled bets on a turnaround after an extended period of weakness.

The stock fell 2.2% on Friday but rose 23.6% on the week, its biggest one-week jump since January 2000. At its peak, the gain neared ...Read more

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

California insurance commissioner rejects State Farm's request for 22% emergency rate hike

Business / Business News /

California's insurance commissioner turned down a request by State Farm General for an emergency 22% hike of its home insurance rates due to the Los Angeles wildfires, saying the increase wasn't warranted.

Commissioner Ricardo Lara said the state's largest home insurer has failed to prove it needs the increase or explain how the additional ...Read more

Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Thousands of University of California healthcare, research employees vote to authorize strike

Business / Business News /

Thousands of University of California healthcare, research and technical employees voted to authorize a strike, citing what they described as systemic and ongoing staffing shortages that erode patient care and hurt research operations.

The strike authorization comes amid strained negotiations between the university and University Professional...Read more

Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America/TNS

US retail sales drop by most in two years amid fires, storms

Business / Business News /

U.S. retail sales slumped in January by the most in nearly two years, indicating an abrupt pullback by consumers after a spending spree in the closing months of 2024.

The value of retail purchases, not adjusted for inflation, decreased 0.9% after an upwardly revised 0.7% gain in December, Commerce Department data showed Friday.

Nine of the ...Read more

Leon Neal/Getty Images North America/TNS

Intel flirts with historic weekly gain on partnership rumors

Business / Business News /

Intel Corp. shares are on track for their biggest one-week gain on record, as reports of a potential partnership with a key rival fueled bets on a turnaround after an extended period of weakness.

The chipmaker has risen as much as 32% this week, which would represent its strongest such jump in its more-than-40-year history, according to data ...Read more

LEXUS/TNS

Auto review: Bigger, bolder Lexus GX worth the wait

Business / Business News /

Lexus often goes long stretches between model redesigns and refreshes, so no surprise that its new GX luxury midsize crossover has been a long time coming.

As many mothers have repeated over the years, “Good things come to those who wait.” The 2024 GX 550 marked a major stride in the legendary nameplate with a boost in power and physical ...Read more

Rob Nikolewski/San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

California's first zero-emission car mandates are coming. Will targets be reached?

Business / Business News /

The first iteration of zero-emission vehicle sales mandates in California goes into effect next year. But doubts have been raised about whether the targets can be met.

The trade group representing the state’s car dealers says “there’s no way” consumers will buy electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids at the pace needed to meet California�...Read more

Andrew Trahan/Scout Motors/TNS

Casey Williams: Scout Motors is the new EV truck maker that even Elvis would recognize

Business / Business News /

Sitting in an upstairs corner of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Indiana, is a 1979 prototype for an International Scout — a popular SUV that once competed with the Ford Bronco and Chevy Blazer. This handsome vehicle, powered in its prime by a 162-horsepower V-8, was canceled more than 40 years ago as the troubled International ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Seattle-based Redfin to lay off hundreds as it partners with Zillow

Business / Business News /

The same day Seattle-based real estate companies Zillow and Redfin announced a $100 million partnership, Redfin disclosed it would lay off 450 employees in the process.

Zillow said in an earnings call Tuesday that it would become the sole provider of multifamily rental listings on Redfin and its subsidiaries, ApartmentGuide.com and Rent.com. ...Read more

Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Tens of thousands of undocumented farmworkers in South Jersey are laying low and 'scared to death' of potential ICE raids

Business / Business News /

As President Donald Trump’s administration pursues mass deportations across the country, Antonio, an undocumented farmworker in Cumberland County, New Jersey, faces a decision:

Which of his children should he and his wife choose to never see again?

“There’s rumors that ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is coming to our doors...Read more

Tom Wang/Dreamstime/TNS

Future of offshore wind on West Coast is murky under Trump

Business / Business News /

Companies and public officials in the Northwest had high hopes that the offshore wind industry could inject great quantities of cash and jobs here.

But they've encountered a four-year snag.

Just hours into his second term, President Donald Trump ordered a halt to any future offshore wind leases and a slow-walk review process for existing ...Read more

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

The price of eggs just hit an all-time high. Here's how the cost of everyday consumer goods is changing under the Trump administration

Business / Business News /

While President Donald Trump has been in office less than a month, the costs of some consumer goods and services are trending up.

At nearly $5 a dozen, the price of eggs just surpassed record highs, and while quite moderate in comparison, bread, electricity, gasoline and natural gas also saw meager month-over-month increases, according to the ...Read more