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Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe on the EV maker and its future

Business / Business News /

ATLANTA — RJ Scaringe didn’t build Rivian to make just 50,000 electric vehicles per year.

It’s a company designed to build many times more, the CEO of the upstart EV maker told the editorial board of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week. To get there, Rivian is banking on its newest vehicle, the R2, a two-row crossover, to be a big ...Read more

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Review: Nissan Sentra serves some sizzle in the simple sedan

Business / Business News /

PHOENIX — Nissan’s luxury brand, Infiniti, no longer offers the Q50 compact sedan. But no worries, the Nissan Sentra SR will do the trick.

Twin 12.5-inch digital instrument and infotainment displays in a 15-inch hoodless screen. Chromed climate vents. Wireless Android Auto and charging pad. Eighteen-inch machined wheels. Stitched leather ...Read more

Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Thieves are stealing keyless cars in minutes. Here's how to protect your vehicle

Business / Business News /

LOS ANGELES — Car thieves are using tablets and antennas to steal keyless or "push to start" vehicles, police warn, but there are steps owners can take to protect their vehicles.

Recently, a group of masked individuals forcibly gained access into two vehicles sitting in the driveways of two separate Anaheim Hills homes and drove off with them...Read more

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Shoppers are underwhelmed by deals and crowds on Black Friday

Business / Business News /

Underwhelmed and unimpressed are how shoppers are feeling about Black Friday deals so far.

The Repasky family makes a tradition of coming out to Tysons Corner Center shopping mall in Virginia on Black Friday. One change they noticed this year: fewer doorbuster deals and freebies.

Jennifer Schmuck reported the same from Westfield Montgomery ...Read more

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Michael Hiltzik: Crypto promoters saw Trump as their savior. Then reality set in

Business / Business News /

With Donald Trump's election as president, the cryptocurrency community saw blue skies ahead.

The election sent the price of bitcoin to a record high, exceeding $75,000. After all, during the campaign Trump had vowed to make the U.S. the "crypto capital of the planet" and to create a "strategic reserve" of bitcoin. He and his family members ...Read more

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6 ways AI can upgrade your holiday shopping this season

Business / Business News /

Despite trade uncertainty, inflation and the government shutdown, the National Retail Federation anticipates sales in the 2025 holiday season will hit $1 trillion for the first time ever.

But a different forecast shows average consumer spend is expected to drop 10% from 2024. That’s according to professional services firm Deloitte, which ...Read more

Henry Payne: How Baja-beginner RJ Zanon, Bronco tackled daunting desert race

Business / Business News /

America loves sports underdog stories: basketball’s Muggsy Bogues, Notre Dame wannabe Rudy Ruettiger, high-school football-player Michael Oher.

Welcome off-road racer RJ Zanon.

The California Army Reserve helicopter pilot entered his own Ford Bronco in North America’s most grueling professional off-road race, the SCORE Baja 1000, this ...Read more

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Auto review: 2026 Aston Martin DBX S is helplessly indulgent, fast and true luxury

Business / Business News /

There was a time when SUV and Aston Martin would have gone together like Château Lafite and Cheez Whiz. But times change, and even Aston Martin must bend to the cruel geometry of the modern luxury market.

But here's the surprise: the 2026 Aston Martin DBX S is not a betrayal of the brand. It is, in fact, the most Aston Martin thing they’...Read more

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VW is reviving Scout line to be mostly hybrids rather than EVs

Business / Business News /

Volkswagen AG is reviving its rugged Scout line of SUVs and pickup trucks — originally conceived as pure electric vehicles — as a brand of primarily gasoline-electric hybrids.

More than eight out of 10 consumers who put down a $100 reservation on a Scout have selected plug-in hybrid versions over EVs, according to the brand’s top ...Read more

Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times/TNS

How Alaska Airlines responds to wild weather, IT troubles and travel chaos

Business / Business News /

Jonette Gregory has spent nearly 40 years tracking Alaska Airlines' planes.

She’s not just an aviation enthusiast. Gregory’s job is to make sure Alaska’s fleet is operating smoothly, to identify snarls in the making before they interrupt a flight and to make recommendations about what to do if something unexpected happens.

She monitors ...Read more

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Tech firms from Dell to HP warn of memory chip squeeze from AI

Business / Business News /

Dell Technologies Inc., HP Inc. and other tech companies are warning of potential memory-chip supply shortages in the coming year due to soaring demand from the build-out of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Consumer electronics makers including Xiaomi Corp. have sounded the alarm about potential price increases, while others including ...Read more

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Snapchat is nearing 1 billion monthly users. Why can't it turn a profit?

Business / Business News /

Snapchat, an app whose disappearing messages and silly face filters made chatting with loved ones more casual, is close to a milestone that few social media platforms achieve: reaching 1 billion monthly users.

But Snap, the Santa Monica company behind the app, faces a crucial test. The 14-year-old tech company is still losing money and has seen...Read more

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Campbell's fired executive accused of a racist rant

Business / Business News /

Campbell’s Co. said Wednesday it no longer employs an executive who was allegedly recorded criticizing the company’s food and making racist remarks.

Martin Bally, a vice president of information technology at Campbell’s, said the company’s products were highly processed food for “poor people” and referred to Indian co-workers as �...Read more

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Shuli Ren: Sam Altman's business buddies are getting burned

Business / Business News /

As investors start to take sides in the AI race, Sam Altman’s buddies are getting burned.

SoftBank Group Corp.’s shares have tumbled 40% from late October, while Oracle Corp.’s stock has given up all gains made since early September, when the legacy database software company all of a sudden got an AI halo after announcing a $300 billion ...Read more

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Battered by ICE raids, LA's Fashion District desperately needs Black Friday miracle

Business / Business News /

Lizzie Osorio remembers customers flooding Lion Boots in early May, browsing embroidered shoes and tasseled suede dresses.

Beyoncé had four concerts scheduled in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium for her Cowboy Carter tour. So the store tucked in Santee Alley, where 24-year-old Osorio works selling cowboy boots and other Western-style clothing, was ...Read more

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In Minnesota farm country, a plan for a $4 billion data center takes root with vast wind, solar and battery projects

Business / Business News /

WORTHINGTON, Minn. — A power developer has a novel plan to build a $4 billion data center in rural southwestern Minnesota, as well as an armada of wind, solar and battery plants the company hopes will attract a wealthy buyer.

Somewhere among the farm fields that dominate the landscape around the tiny enclaves of Brewster and Reading, Geronimo...Read more

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Farmers Insurance to lift cap on new California home policies, seeks rate hike

Business / Business News /

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Farmers Insurance Group, California’s second-largest home insurance company, is seeking a rate hike amid plans to lift a cap on the number of new homeowner polices it writes each month in the state.

The insurer announced this month that it will eliminate the monthly 9,500 policy limit, while asking for state approval to ...Read more

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Florida AG vows to investigate Campbell's after claims of 'lab grown meat'

Business / Business News /

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he plans to investigate Campbell Soup Company over allegations it uses “lab grown meat” in soups — a claim the company vehemently denies.

The investigation comes after a TV station in Detroit reported Monday on an audio recording of a Campbell’s vice president criticizing the company for ...Read more

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From Silicon Valley to Hollywood, why California's job market is taking a hit

Business / Business News /

California is among the world's largest economies, but the engines that drive it haven't been firing on all cylinders.

The state has been buffeted by a litany of layoffs this year from Hollywood to Silicon Valley — and beyond. Economists cite several explanations, including contraction in the entertainment industry, displacements caused by ...Read more

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Medicare negotiates 71% discount on Novo's Ozempic, Wegovy

Business / Business News /

The U.S. government said Tuesday it negotiated a 71% discount off of the list price of Novo Nordisk A/S’s blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy for patients in Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly.

Medicare plans already get significant rebates and discounts off of drug company’s list prices, but the government ...Read more