Apple is reportedly in talks with miners to get thousands of tons of cobalt, a key ingredient in iPhone batteries. The tech giant is considering buying a five-year supply of the metal to sustain production of its devices. Cobalt is also used to make electric vehicles, so Apple may be acting on fears of a shortage in the coming years.
Amazon quietly launches a line of over-the-counter health products. The e-commerce giant reportedly brought in a private label manufacturer to make drugs similar to Mucinex and Advil. Analysts say this could be good for consumers as it may encourage pharmacies to lower prices.
President Trump asks the Justice Department to make bump stocks illegal following the Parkland shooting. Newsweek's Gersh Kuntzman says bump stocks are the "lowest of the low-hanging fruit" in the push for gun reform. Kuntzman says regulating these devices doesn't even qualify as gun control since there are already laws on the books restricting machine guns. Bump stocks, which convert guns into automatic weapons, weren't used in the Parkland shooting, but they were used in the Las Vegas shooting last year.
Actress Lori Loughlin talks about playing Aunt Becky on "Full House" and "Fuller House," and her Hallmark show "When Calls the Heart." Loughlin plays Abigal Stanton in the Hallmark period drama. She says she fought to make her character the town mayor in the show to highlight strong female leads. Loughlin also discusses how pleased she's been with fan reaction to "Fuller House." Netflix recently announced the show would return for a fourth season.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
