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Mattel dipping toe into water parks, starting in Orlando
Toy-making giant Mattel Inc. is developing plans that could bring the first retractable-roof water park to Orlando, along with Barbie, Thomas the Tank and Hot Wheels theming.
Creative and operational work is underway, led by Orlando-based Martin Aquatic.
“It is an opportunity to play with one of the cornerstone brands in Americana,” said ...Read more
Visa finds even $200 billion can't resolve battle with merchants
Nine years ago, the $5.7 billion sticker price to settle one of the biggest class-action lawsuits ever was rejected. Last year, it climbed to $30 billion, just to be thrown out again. Now, it’s north of $200 billion, and there’s growing doubt even that will be enough to end two decades of fighting.
Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. this month ...Read more
Don't expect AI to disrupt Google's monopoly on search
In a recent episode of the podcast "Acquired," venture capitalists and hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal argued that the horrible roll-out of Google’s Bard AI chatbot in February 2023 — which led the company’s stock to drop 8% in a day — was a blessing in disguise. That’s because two years later, after a U.S. federal judge ruled ...Read more
Farmworkers sue Trump administration in California over threat to wages
The United Farm Workers, along with more than a dozen farmworkers, are suing the Trump administration in California over a new Labor Department rule they argue will "undercut and adversely affect" wages paid to U.S. workers.
Eighteen farmworkers across the nation, along with the United Farm Workers of America and the UFW Foundation, filed the ...Read more
'Best of the best': 2026 North American Car, Truck and Utility of Year finalists announced
And then there were nine.
The North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards unveiled the 2026 model year finalists Thursday with three contenders in each category. Finalists for Car of the Year are the Dodge Charger, Honda Prelude and Nissan Sentra. The Ford Maverick Lobo, Ram 1500 Hemi and Ram 2500 will fight it out for ...Read more
Former Google chief accused of spying on employees through account 'backdoor'
When Columbia University law and MBA student Michelle Ritter met former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt in 2020, she said she wanted to pitch a potential investment in a sports tech startup she had been developing.
That dinner blossomed into far more, a romance and business partnership in which she says the 70-year-old billionaire invested ...Read more
Is there an AI bubble and has it started to burst?
The artificial intelligence boom seems unstoppable, but a growing number of investors and other observers worry it could be a bubble about to burst.
After skyrocketing more than 50% from April lows, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite experienced a decline of close to 5% this month. Investors are concerned it could take longer than expected to see ...Read more
Econometer: Could a 50-year mortgage work?
President Donald Trump proposed 50-year mortgages recently as a solution to persistent affordability issues in the real estate market.
Critics of the plan said it would do little to resolve core problems in the housing market, such as lack of supply, and mean most borrowers would pay significantly more in interest over the life of the loan.
...Read more
LA's famous 'Hobbit Houses' have a new owner. He calls himself the 'King of Storybook'
In the architectural age of minimalism and millennial gray, a wild and whimsical antidote made of old clinker bricks and jumbled shingles sits on a quiet street at the edge of L.A. and Culver City.
Formally, the spellbinding property is named the Lawrence and Martha Joseph Residence and Apartments, named after the Disney artist and his wife who...Read more
Boeing MD-11 plane that crashed had 'fatigue cracks,' NTSB says
The Boeing MD-11 cargo plane that crashed in Louisville, Kentucky, earlier this month showed signs of “fatigue cracks” and “overstress failure” in a piece of the McDonnell Douglas-built plane that connects the engine to the wing, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report Thursday.
The NTSB’s report does not...Read more
Seattle job market is past its 'golden age' for tech workers
Rhonda Gilligan didn’t want to retire.
Over decades, she built a formidable reputation in the tech industry bringing well-known brands online. Gilligan served in senior roles at big companies like IBM, Expedia and Microsoft. She worked at Disney, where she presented projects directly to Bob Iger, and at Amazon, where she presented to Jeff ...Read more
Auto review: Charger unplugged! Dodge Sixpack muscle car is large and in charge
ANN ARBOR, Michigan — In the early morning light, I rotated my gorgeous red 2026 Dodge Charger Sixpack Scat Pack onto empty Huron River Drive. I floored the throttle and awakened the beast. WAAUUUUUGHH! All four paws translated 531 pounds of torque to the asphalt and I exploded toward the twisties — my fingers rifling through the gears with ...Read more
Auto review: 2025 Subaru Ascent moves people and stuff
In 2025, the options are endless for seven-passenger people movers, as a lot of manufacturers have gotten smart by adding two extra seats in the trunk section to accommodate additional passengers. In Grasso’s Garage today, we consider the Subaru Ascent, another model taking advantage of the usable space and accommodating those who need to move...Read more
Auto review: Affordable Italian glamour: the 2026 Alfa Romeo Tonale
In a building at Alfa Romeo’s test track in Balocco, Italy, there’s a hallway lined with photographs of impossibly glamorous people driving impossibly glamorous cars. They’re the sort of images that make you want to light a cigarette and say something dramatic in Italian, even if you don’t speak a word of it. It’s from a time when ...Read more
Ford aluminum supplier's plant catches fire again
Another fire broke out Thursday morning at a major aluminum plant supplying Ford Motor Co.'s full-size pickup trucks, sending down shares of the automaker.
Aluminum makes up the bodies of the F-Series trucks, the country's best-selling vehicles that drive the company's earnings. Atlanta-based Novelis Inc.'s Oswego, New York, plant accounts for ...Read more
Trump deepens tariff cut on Brazilian foods as prices mount
President Donald Trump is expanding tariff breaks for Brazilian food products, widening the scope of relief from import taxes amid growing U.S. voter dissatisfaction over the cost of living.
An executive order Trump signed on Thursday would exempt dozens of popular food items from a 40% levy he imposed on goods from Brazil earlier this year. ...Read more
Meta settles Cambridge Analytica-related claims for $190 million
Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta Platforms Inc. directors agreed to a $190 million settlement of claims they failed to rectify repeated violations of Facebook users’ privacy and improperly engineered an accord to shield the billionaire chief executive officer from personal liability, court filings show.
The amount of the settlement, disclosed ...Read more
US accuses four of smuggling advanced Nvidia chips to China
Federal prosecutors charged two Chinese nationals and two U.S. citizens with a scheme to ship millions of dollars worth of sophisticated chips made by Nvidia Corp. to China in violation of national security export restrictions.
The men used a fake real estate business in Tampa, Florida, as a front to move the shipments of hundreds of chips ...Read more
Driverless ride-sharing company Waymo expanding to Minneapolis
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
Driverless ride-sharing company Waymo expanding to Minneapolis
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
Popular Stories
- Ford aluminum supplier's plant catches fire again
- Trump deepens tariff cut on Brazilian foods as prices mount
- Boeing MD-11 plane that crashed had 'fatigue cracks,' NTSB says
- Econometer: Could a 50-year mortgage work?
- LA's famous 'Hobbit Houses' have a new owner. He calls himself the 'King of Storybook'










