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Rivian sees jump in revenue amid questions over $6.6B federal loan

Business / Business News /

Rivian ended last year by sharply increasing its revenue and posting a gross profit for the first time in the company’s history, although the electric vehicle startup still has a long journey before potentially becoming profitable on a net income basis.

The California-based company reported Thursday a gross profit of $170 million in the ...Read more

Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Trader Joe's organic acai bowl recalled over contamination fears

Business / Business News /

Trader Joe's has recalled a popular frozen dish over possible plastic contamination, the grocery chain said.

The organic acai bowl, which sells for $3.99, may contain plastic material, the retailer announced last week. The company encouraged customers who had purchased the bowls, which include berries, bananas, granola and dried coconut, to ...Read more

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Herbalife names new CEO to lead the nutrition company as it works to move past controversies

Business / Business News /

Herbalife has named a new chief executive, marking a new chapter for the Los Angeles nutrition products company as it continues to rebuild after a string of controversies over the last decade.

Stephan Gratziani, who started as an independent distributor at Herbalife nearly 34 years ago, will take over the top job May 1. He has been the direct-...Read more

Stellantis/TNS/TNS

Stellantis pauses work on next-gen Jeep Compass at Canadian plant

Business / Business News /

Stellantis NV said Thursday it has paused work at its Brampton Assembly Plant in Ontario as the automaker reevaluates plans for its next-generation electrified Jeep Compass SUV that was scheduled to start production there early next year.

The carmaker said all work on the future compact crossover, which has included retooling and other ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Can my neighbor cut down avocado tree I planted?

Business / Business News /

Q: I live in a small condominium community. About five years ago, I planted an avocado pit in a common area landscape island in the parking lot, which has since grown to be a lovely tree. I came home yesterday and noticed one of the residents decided to cut it down on his own. Our condo docs are silent on this issue. Do I or the Association have...Read more

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Stellantis develops in-house automated driving technology

Business / Business News /

Stellantis NV says it has developed an in-house automated driving system that aims to help make commuting in dense urban areas easier, with drivers able to take their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road.

The maker of Jeep and Ram vehicles said in a Thursday announcement that the new STLA AutoDrive 1.0 technology can handle stop-and-go ...Read more

Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times/TNS

Starbucks, K&L Gates and Amazon ditch diversity mentions amid Trump threats

Business / Business News /

President Donald Trump’s crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion has reached beyond the federal government and into corporate board rooms, as his administration threatens legal action against businesses that don’t dismantle their DEI programs.

Some prominent Seattle employers — including Amazon, Starbucks and the law firm K&L ...Read more

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Could this Irvine neighborhood be the blueprint for a more fire-resistant LA?

Business / Business News /

IRVINE, California — Four years before the Palisades and Eaton fires ravaged Los Angeles, Irvine braced for a blaze of its own.

A bone-dry summer left the landscape parched and primed to ignite as Santa Ana winds roared through the region at 80 mph. On the morning of Oct. 26, 2020, the Silverado fire erupted.

Firefighters deployed. The city ...Read more

Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Philadelphia is 'rare' city where eviction filings dropped and stayed down. Here's why

Business / Business News /

PHILADELPHIA — Housing counselor Kenya Dow-Hill is good at striking deals.

Through Philadelphia’s Eviction Diversion Program, she was paired with a tenant living in a cold and leaky home who faced eviction after withholding rent for two months to try to force the landlord to make repairs.

During a mediation session last month, the landlord...Read more

Christina House/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Scams, bidding wars and predatory landlords: One couple's quest for housing after the fires

Business / Business News /

As the flames plunged down Eaton Canyon on Jan. 7, Todd Smoyer fled his Altadena, California, home in tears knowing it would be the last time he’d see it.

His neighbor confirmed the next morning that the Midcentury ranch was a heap of ash.

The devastating news kicked off a manic January for Smoyer and his husband, who joined thousands of ...Read more

Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/TNS

The 45 companies on the MAGA anti-DEI hit list

Business / Business News /

For President Donald Trump’s operatives seeking corporate targets to investigate for “illegal DEI,” conservative activists have already done the legwork and drawn up a list.

From Amazon.com Inc. to Yum! Brands Inc., 45 companies with a combined market value of almost $10 trillion have been attacked for their DEI efforts in the past three ...Read more

Katherine KY Cheng/Getty Images North America/TNS

Delta Air Lines offers $30K to each passenger on crash-landed Toronto flight

Business / Business News /

Delta Air Lines is offering to pay $30,000 each to passengers on Delta Connection Flight 4819 that crashed while landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday afternoon.

The Atlanta-based airline confirmed the amount Wednesday afternoon. Spokesperson Morgan Durrant said in an email the Delta Care Team is telling customers the money...Read more

Evan Ramstad/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Lawsuit alleging UnitedHealthcare used faulty AI to deny coverage advances in federal court

Business / Business News /

A federal judge in Minneapolis has ruled portions of a patient lawsuit can move forward in which plaintiffs allege UnitedHealthcare has used a faulty artificial intelligence program to deny coverage for post-acute care needed by Medicare patients.

Judge John Tunheim of the U.S. District Court of Minnesota ruled last week that federal law ...Read more

L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

Las Vegas Strip gaming revenue down, industry growth declining, group says

Business / Business News /

LAS VEGAS — Boosted by online gambling and expanded sports betting, the U.S. gaming industry grew for the fourth straight year in 2024, with $71.9 billion in revenue, and the Las Vegas Strip remained the largest American gaming market, the American Gaming Association reported Wednesday.

But in a 25-minute state-of-the-gaming-industry webinar,...Read more

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Farmers announces initial $600 million loss for Los Angeles fires

Business / Business News /

Farmers Insurance, the state's second-largest home insurer, said it expects to lose at least $600 million from the Los Angeles fires, a substantially smaller figure than some other major insurers have announced.

The Los Angeles-based company said the figure includes payments from its reinsurance program but not an expected assessment from the ...Read more

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Trader Joe's union notches uncertain win amid backdrop of Trump-era federal labor landscape

Business / Business News /

CHICAGO — A union seeking to represent Trader Joe’s workers at a Chicago grocery store notched a win in a hotly contested union election Tuesday. But Trader Joe’s said it plans to appeal the decision, a move that could stall the case indefinitely before the paralyzed National Labor Relations Board, which has not been able to issue ...Read more

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS

NBCUniversal completes green upgrade of historic studio

Business / Business News /

LOS ANGELES — People who toil on the Universal Studios lot out of the public eye recently got an upgrade to their workplace meant to bring it more in line with its glamorous image as a historic movie factory and theme park known to the world.

The old campus was so uninspired and bland that wags compared it to "a mayonnaise factory," said Ed...Read more

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Microsoft debuts generative AI that can create video-game scenes

Business / Business News /

Microsoft Corp. unveiled artificial intelligence tools that can create video-game scenes that would normally have to be programmed and animated by a human, a model it built using data collected from Xbox gamers and their controllers.

Called Muse, the model is the first of its kind, according to Microsoft. A machine learning research team ...Read more

Nancy Lane/Boston Herald/TNS

'Stop making cents' could be easier said than done

Business / Business News /

The push to put pennies out of circulation that was kicked off during the Super Bowl by President Donald Trump ultimately depends on Congress, which has shown reluctance to cancel the 232-year-old coin since one of the first serious proposals to do so during the administration of President Gerald Ford.

Although momentum may be building toward a...Read more

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America/TNS

DOGE says it's saved $55 billion; data show much less

Business / Business News /

The federal cost-cutting effort dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency says it has saved $55 billion in federal spending so far, but its website only accounts for $16.6 billion of that.

And that’s before factoring in an error in the data published on DOGE’s website that mislabels a contract as $8 billion, which was later corrected ...Read more