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Driverless ride-sharing company Waymo expanding to Minneapolis

Business / Business News /

Waymo, the driverless ride-hailing company, is bringing its fleet of autonomous electric vehicles to Minneapolis.

Testing of the signature white Jaguar I-Pace SUVs and Zeekr RT vehicles is set to begin Thursday, but it will likely be several months before passenger service will begin.

“We are here and telling you what we are doing,” said ...Read more

Charly Triballeau/Getty Images North America/TNS

Driverless ride-sharing company Waymo expanding to Minneapolis

Business / Business News /

Waymo, the driverless ride-hailing company, is bringing its fleet of autonomous electric vehicles to Minneapolis.

Testing of the signature white Jaguar I-Pace SUVs and Zeekr RT vehicles is set to begin Thursday, but it will likely be several months before passenger service will begin.

“We are here and telling you what we are doing,” said ...Read more

Courtesy Eli Lilly and Company/TNS/TNS

Eli Lilly & Co. is opening a Lilly Gateway Labs biotech incubator in Philadelphia

Business / Business News /

Philadelphia is the newest destination for Lilly Gateway Labs, an incubator for early-stage biotech companies backed by pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co., the company announced Wednesday.

The Center City incubator will be Lilly’s fifth in the United States. Biotech hotbeds Boston, South San Francisco, and San Diego already have them. (...Read more

Karen Ducey/The Seattle Times/TNS

Seattle Times publisher Frank Blethen hands reins to son Ryan Blethen

Business / Business News /

Ryan Blethen will serve as the next publisher of The Seattle Times, the daily newspaper his great-great-grandfather founded in 1896, the company announced Wednesday.

Blethen, 52, succeeds his father, Frank Blethen, 80, who will step down Dec. 31 after four decades in the role.

Ryan Blethen started working full time with The Seattle Times ...Read more

Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Abbott Laboratories announces $21 billion deal to buy Cologuard-maker Exact Sciences

Business / Business News /

Abbott Laboratories announced a $21 billion deal Thursday morning to acquire Exact Sciences, the maker of Cologuard — its largest acquisition in a decade.

The deal will allow Abbott — which makes medical tests, baby formula and continuous glucose monitors, among other products — to enter the cancer testing space. Exact Sciences focuses on...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

How Home Depot's newest AI tool could give it an edge with pro contractors

Business / Business News /

Home Depot is leveraging artificial intelligence to help professional contractors with a complex task — measuring and quantifying all the materials needed for residential projects.

The Vinings-based home improvement retailer said Wednesday it has launched a new tool called “Blueprint Takeoffs.” The AI-powered service creates a complete ...Read more

Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman/TNS

In 'freedom-loving' Idaho, investors look to gold as government distrust grows

Business / Business News /

Dylan Tinklenberg readily admits that some would consider him to be a “prepper” for the end times. Like many of his customers at Idaho Pawn and Gold in Meridian, Montana, he doesn’t trust the banks — and he invests in gold as a “backup asset” in case “something were to happen.”

“I’m not, like, zombie apocalypse, full-out,”...Read more

Arvin Temkar/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

How Atlanta claimed world's busiest airport crown -- and whether it can keep it

Business / Business News /

“I don’t know where I’m going when I die, … but one thing is sure: I’ll change planes at Atlanta.”

The adage rings as true today as it did when published in a July 1978 article in The New York Times.

At that time, Atlanta boasted the world’s second-busiest airport, behind longtime nemesis Chicago O’Hare International, with ...Read more

ERIC PAUL ZAMORA/Fresno Bee/TNS

1 in 3 Californians have cut back on food to save money, survey finds

Business / Business News /

As grocery prices continue to rise and millions of Californians saw their food benefits disrupted this month, nearly one in three residents statewide says they or someone in their home has spent less on food to save money over the past year, according to a new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.

“Lower-income Californians are...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Warner Bros. auction poised to recast Hollywood with Paramount, Comcast and Netflix vying for the prize

Business / Business News /

Now, the real jockeying begins for the future of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Paramount, Comcast and Netflix are each expected to submit proposals for all or parts of the storied media giant by Thursday's deadline, according to people familiar with the process but not authorized to speak publicly. The nonbinding bids mark the completion of the ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Do I need to move concrete fence before selling my home?

Business / Business News /

Q: When we bought our house almost 20 years ago, it had a concrete partition wall running along the property line between our house and our neighbors. We’re getting ready to move, and our neighbor told us that the fence is actually a foot onto his property, and we needed to move it before we sold the house. Is this something I need to be ...Read more

Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Hyundai CEO: White House apologized for raid on Georgia battery factory

Business / Business News /

A White House official telephoned Hyundai Motor Co. Chief Executive José Muñoz to apologize for the September immigration raid at the South Korean company’s electric vehicle manufacturing campus near Savannah, Muñoz said Wednesday.

Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, Muñoz said the unnamed official told him he or she...Read more

David Guralnick/The Detroit News/TNS

Economists say Michigan is in slow patch, but will pick up alongside US by 2027

Business / Business News /

Softened tariffs and tax cuts are expected to boost both the Michigan and national economies with growth expected by 2027 at the latest, according to a new report by University of Michigan economists.

But import taxes and other policy under President Donald Trump will create some short-term pain for Michigan, researchers wrote in the 2026-2027 ...Read more

Yui Mok/Pool/Getty Images North America/TNS

Meta AI pioneer LeCun announces exit, plans new startup

Business / Business News /

Yann LeCun, an artificial intelligence pioneer who runs a research lab at Meta Platforms Inc., told employees that he will depart the social media giant at the end of the year and start a new company, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

LeCun, who has been at Meta since 2013, made the announcement on Wednesday, according to the ...Read more

US government to become a shareholder in battery maker EOS

Business / Business News /

EOS Energy Enterprises Inc. is the latest public company that will have the U.S. government as a shareholder.

The zinc-based battery manufacturer, whose main factory is in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, said Tuesday that it signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to issue the government warrants — vouchers to buy stock — for 570...Read more

Karen Ducey/The Seattle Times/TNS

Pack your bags: REI brings back travel experiences for its members

Business / Business News /

REI Co-op is returning to its roots of offering experiences by introducing a new benefit to its members Wednesday: trips planned through a tour operator to domestic and global travel destinations.

The Issaquah-based outdoor retailer has partnered with Intrepid Travel, which refers to itself as the world's largest adventure travel company," to ...Read more

Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times/TNS

Microsoft critics say complaints about Israel work go 'into a void'

Business / Business News /

REDMOND, Washington — Two months after Microsoft for the first time restricted services to an Israeli military unit, protesters were again on the company’s doorstep to demand Microsoft sever all ties with Israel’s government.

On a chilly Tuesday morning in Redmond, pro-Palestinian activists beat drums, waved flags and pointed megaphones ...Read more

Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times/TNS

University of Washington pumps $10 million donation into AI

Business / Business News /

The University of Washington unveiled its new initiative Tuesday to spearhead the college's approach to artificial intelligence.

The initiative, AI@UW, was made possible in part through a $10 million donation by Charles and Lisa Simonyi, a husband-wife pair of philanthropists, according to a news release shared with The Seattle Times.

Charles ...Read more

Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

Target will invest $1B more in store, merchandise refresh as sales slide continues

Business / Business News /

Target will spend an additional $1 billion next year to revamp merchandise and improve stores as sales and profits continue to slip and the retailer tries to catch up to competitors.

The company also announced a new partnership with OpenAI to expand online shopping options as it reported quarterly results Wednesday.

Long known for clean stores...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Companies are warming up to saying AI is the reason for job cuts

Business / Business News /

In late September, the German airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG told analysts and investors that it planned to eliminate 4,000 administrative positions by the end of the decade. Among the reasons it cited was “the increased use of artificial intelligence.”

Weeks later, Dutch lender ING Groep NV said nearly 1,000 positions were at risk from “...Read more