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

U.S. equities tumbled Thursday, with the S&P 500 Index posting its worst loss since January, amid doubts over a potential ceasefire deal between the United States and Iran and a climb in Treasury yields.

The benchmark S&P 500 Index’s loss was the worst since the Iran war began. Its 1.7% decline dragged it to its lowest closing level since ...Read more

DENVER — Making sure that regular utility customers don’t get stuck bearing the burden of paying to run data centers is a main goal as state regulators consider the impacts of the energy-intensive facilities.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission will soon start reviewing proposed rates for “large-load”‘ customers, which will ...Read more

NEW YORK — Skepticism that the U.S. and Iran will reach a ceasefire any time soon pushed oil higher while sending stocks and bonds down, extending a month of volatile trading since the war began.

After briefly trimming losses when Iran reiterated its terms for a deal, the S&P 500 fell 1.7% as President Donald Trump said he wouldn’t commit ...Read more

As major automakers pare back their EV offerings, Sony and Honda are scrapping their plans to launch a gadget-packed electric vehicle.

The move by Sony Honda Mobility comes weeks after Honda announced a $15.7 billion writedown of its EV business and said it would cancel planned production for three of its own electric models.

Sony Honda ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday sued SeaWorld Orlando’s parent company, alleging that the theme parks' ban on “rollator walkers” discriminates against guests with disabilities, including children and veterans.

The department’s civil rights division filed the lawsuit in Orlando federal court against United ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders will soon render a verdict on Hollywood's biggest merger in nearly a decade.

Warner has set an April 23 special meeting of stockholders to vote on the company's proposed sale, for $31-a-share, to the Larry Ellison family's Paramount Skydance.

The $111 billion deal is expected to reshape the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — New research shows rural counties across Minnesota growing for a change. The timing gives greater Minnesota a one-time opportunity to capitalize on overlooked resources — many of them human — to prepare for a rapidly changing future.

This month, the Center for Rural Policy and Development released its annual report, “The ...Read more

SEATTLE — A push to temporarily roll back Seattle’s defining housing policy of the late 2010s is gaining traction in City Hall as both developers and lawmakers look to plummeting permit applications with growing fear and search for ways to inject new supply into the city’s housing stock.

The Mandatory Housing Affordability program was the...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twin Cities office market is a paradox: There’s a glut of empty space but rents keep rising.

“It’s opposite of what you’d think,” said Tom DeSautel, a commercial broker with Cushman & Wakefield. “No one is in the office. … How could my rent possibly be going up?”

New data shows that during February, the ...Read more

Gas prices are climbing again across the United States — with little clarity on where prices are headed next — spurring proposals for state gas tax holidays in the hopes of offering drivers some relief.

The national average hit $3.96 per gallon Monday, up from $3.72 the week before, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. A...Read more

Meta said its road to the metaverse ran through Seattle. Recent layoffs point to a dead end.

Meta laid off hundreds of employees Wednesday, about two months after a sweeping workforce reduction at the company.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed media reports that the Menlo Park, Calif.-based tech giant's latest cuts hit several divisions, including...Read more

CHICAGO — Candy giant Mars Snacking is investing $100 million to expand its Chicago headquarters, adding two new offices and more than 600 jobs, the company announced Wednesday.

Incentivized by state tax credits, Mars Snacking is opening a new regional office in Fulton Market and taking over the former Kellanova headquarters in River North as...Read more

SEATTLE — In the latest sign of Starbucks' shifting strategy, the Seattle-based coffee giant is leasing a 250,000-square-foot office big enough for 2,000 people in Nashville, Tennessee, according to a copy of the lease viewed by The Seattle Times.

The lease, which starts June 2027 and runs for up to 23 years, was signed by Starbucks on March ...Read more