Kroger & Walmart Tighten Gun Restrictions, NBC is Cutting Commercial Time
Kroger and Walmart are raising the minimum age for those buying guns to 21, following in the footsteps of Dick's Sporting Goods. Up until now, Kroger sold guns at 43 of its Fred Meyer locations in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Both companies released statements saying the tightening of gun restrictions is in reaction to the Parkland school shooting that left 17 dead. Kroger and Walmart both stopped selling assault-style weapons a few years ago.
NBC Universal will cut the number of ads it airs in primetime by 20%. The media giant owns networks such as NBC, Telemundo, USA, MSNBC, E!, and others. Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising and client partnerships, says this is a necessary move to retain customers who are increasingly turning towards streaming platforms without commercials. The changes will go into effect by the fourth quarter.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
