CHICAGO – As banking giveaways go, fintech company Acorns is offering Chicagoans something a little more valuable than the traditional pens and calendars.

Acorns is handing out cold, hard cash.

On Thursday, Acorns debuted its compounding vending machine at Big Star Wrigleyville, an out-of-the-box promotion that replaces potato chips with ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — As more retailers bring AI-powered technologies into stores — including charging different customers different prices for the same item — union leaders and lawmakers are starting to push back.

Retail chains have long varied prices from store to store. But with AI, companies are experimenting with more data-driven pricing, ...Read more

Honda Motor Co. is having second thoughts about its Second Founding.

Along with General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG, the Japanese automaker has been the most committed major legacy automaker to an all-electric vehicle future. Internally called the “Second Founding,” Honda’s electric vehicle transition was rooted in the company’s moral ...Read more

Randy Brooks will never forget the day he had to break the news — live on the air — to a woman that her husband had perished in a tornado.

The KIXQ country music radio host had been tapped to help with 24-hour news coverage in the wake of a massive tornado that decimated Joplin, Missouri, in 2011. With electricity and communication grids ...Read more

The mid-engine Corvette didn’t forget about the Grand Sport.

Chevrolet’s eighth-generation supercar has broken the mold since the sheets were taken off the 2020 model year Stingray. First ‘Vette with the engine amidships. First electrified Corvette. First with all-wheel-drive. First 8,000-RPM, screaming, overhead-cam V-8 derived from the ...Read more

Social media biggies have taken it on the chin from juries this week. And although, for reasons I’ll get to, I’m skeptical that the verdicts will hold up on appeal, I do think there are some important lessons here.

The cases themselves are, by now, well known. On Tuesday, a jury in New Mexico awarded $375 million against Meta Platforms Inc....Read more

The seemingly limitless proliferation of cases in which lawyers have been caught letting fictitious AI-generated legal citations contaminate their briefs continues to amaze.

That's not only because judges are fining more lawyers for their laziness, but because the publicity about these embarrassments has been inescapable.

Here's one involving ...Read more

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — This year Audi debuted its $16 million (estimated), 1,000-horsepower, hybrid-V6-powered R26 Formula One race car to compete in the world’s fastest, highest-tech single-seater motorsport.

The 2026 255-horse, turbo-4-powered Audi Q3 SUV ain’t too shabby, either.

Quick, high-tech and, unlike the F1 car, the $44,995...Read more

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — Subaru Corp. has established a loyal following in the United States making rugged, go-anywhere, dog-friendly, gas-powered hatchbacks and SUVs.

Though its wanderlusting customer base leans green, Subaru has struggled to sell electric vehicles because of range and charging limitations. For 2026, Subaru thinks it has ...Read more

A Chinese-made Leapmotor C10 was traveling down Germany’s fast-moving Autobahn last year when the driver-assistance system braked sharply and jolted it to the side, as if boxed in by scooters in a crowded China megacity.

Leapmotor International’s Germany head, Martin Resch, was at the wheel and emailed engineers in Hangzhou to report the ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Louisville-based spirits company Brown-Forman on Thursday evening confirmed it is engaged in talks with a competitor about a potential merger.

Both Bloomberg and Reuters reported Thursday that spirits industry powerhouses Brown-Forman and Pernod Ricard have discussed a potential merger, and Brown-Forman later Thursday ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — San Diego International Airport was experiencing heavy delays Thursday evening because of a shortage of air traffic controllers.

The airport automatically must slow the number of flights at the airport if the number of air traffic controllers falls below a certain level, based on Federal Aviation Administration rules.

Airport ...Read more

Anthropic PBC won a court order blocking a Trump administration ban on government use of the company’s artificial intelligence technology, after the Claude chatbot maker argued the move could cost it billions in lost revenue.

US District Judge Rita F. Lin issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday, pausing the administration’s plan to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Netflix prices in the U.S. are going up — again.

For the second time in a little over a year, the streaming service will demand a few more dollars a month from its subscribers. Netflix's standard plan with ads will now cost $8.99, up $1. Both the prices for the standard plan with no ads and the premium plan are rising by $2, ...Read more

The French Laundry, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant helmed by renowned chef Thomas Keller, has been sued by a former employee who alleges wage theft and other labor law violations at the Yountville, California, eatery.

The suit, brought by Elena Flores Beteta, a dishwasher at the restaurant for three years beginning in 2022, alleges that ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Louisville-based spirits company Brown-Forman is reportedly in talks with a competitor for a potential merger or acquisition.

Both Bloomberg and Reuters reported Thursday that spirits industry powerhouses Brown-Forman and Pernod Ricard have held talks.

Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, reported the companies have held ...Read more