CNN – Business/Consumer

By Sophie Tanno, Anna Chernova, CNN (CNN) — Russia has confirmed that it has blocked instant messaging app WhatsApp in the country, instead directing Russian citizens to use its state-backed Max app. The news comes days after it emerged that Russian authorities were restricting access to Telegram, another instant messaging app that is used by

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN New York (CNN) — Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants to tackle huge problems in New York City like housing, mass transit and child care. His starting point? Public bathrooms. There’s a shortage in New York —just one bathroom for every 8,500 residents. Many are musty and the toilets don’t flush. Some double

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Laura Kotting figured her home heating bill would be higher than usual because of the recent polar temperatures. But she was not prepared for the latest monthly tab to jump nearly 30% to $200 compared to last year. “My first thought was ‘I’m not going shopping. I’m going to

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN (CNN) — When it comes to their federal income tax returns, tens of millions of US households pay for tax preparation and filing. Yet many might qualify to do so for free through IRS-approved programs. So why don’t they use them? One reason might be the complexity of the tax code.

By Samantha Delouya, Clare Duffy, CNN Los Angeles (CNN) — Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, testified on Wednesday that he does not think users can be “clinically addicted” to the social media app. Mosseri is the first executive to testify in the landmark social media addiction trial against YouTube and Instagram parent company Meta

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN New York (CNN) — Kraft Heinz is calling off its planned breakup and keeping the company together. The food giant that owns Kraft, Heinz, Oscar Meyer and Philadelphia cream cheese said last year that it was splitting its business in two. The company’s sales had slumped for years, and a breakup

By Chris Isidore, CNN (CNN) — You may not know what neodymium is (or even how to pronounce it). But you have plenty of it in your home. Neodymium is a rare earth, one of the minerals near the bottom of the periodic table that are crucial for everyday life. The element is among the

By John Towfighi, CNN New York (CNN) — US stocks were little changed Wednesday after new data showed the economy added 130,000 jobs in January, exceeding economists’ expectations. Stocks fluctuated between gains and losses. The Dow closed lower by 67 points, or 0.13%. The S&P 500 was flat. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.16%. The

By Alicia Wallace, CNN (CNN) — US job growth was historically weak last year. And US job growth was significantly stronger than expected at the start of this year. In the January jobs report released Wednesday – a Schrödinger’s cat of employment snapshots – the seemingly opposed dynamics both held true. The US economy added

By Brian Stelter, CNN (CNN) — About 125 million people in the US watched the Super Bowl on Sunday night, making it the most-watched program in NBC’s 100-year history, the network said Tuesday. NBC, citing Nielsen ratings data, said the game ranked as “the second-most watched show in US history,” behind only last year’s Super

By Whitney Wild, CNN (CNN) — Former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who faces several charges related to his coverage of a protest at a St. Paul church last month, has hired a prominent former Minnesota federal prosecutor to represent him, according to court records filed Tuesday. That lawyer, Joseph H. Thompson, is now pitted against

By Hadas Gold, Brian Stelter, CNN (CNN) — A major breakthrough in the Nancy Guthrie case largely came down to Google’s technical expertise, a person familiar with the investigation told CNN. The mother of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie disappeared over a week ago in Arizona. But on Tuesday, authorities revealed footage of a masked and

By Chris Isidore, Allison Main, Manu Raju, Casey Riddle, CNN (CNN) — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed on Tuesday that he and his family had lunch with Jeffrey Epstein on the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender’s Caribbean island in 2012, even as he insisted the two did not have a relationship. “I did have

By Andrew Kirell, CNN (CNN) — Paramount on Tuesday moved again to sweeten its hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, escalating its effort to derail the company’s pending acquisition by Netflix. The David Ellison-led entertainment empire said it would pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders (WBD) approximately $650 million for each quarter the Netflix deal is

By Chris Isidore, CNN (CNN) — McDonald’s is offering a few customers a special Valentine’s meal this year – Chicken McNuggets and caviar. Starting at 11 am ET on Tuesday, McDonald’s is giving away a limited number of kits including caviar and a gift card for McNuggets at mcnuggetcaviar.com/countdown. The giveaway underscores the lengths restaurants

By Hanna Ziady, CNN London (CNN) — The United States has fallen to its worst-ever position in a leading global index that measures perception of corruption in the public sector among independent experts and businesspeople. The world’s most powerful democracy last year slipped one notch to 29th place, out of 182, in Transparency International’s Corruption

By Bryan Mena, Alicia Wallace, CNN Washington (CNN) — The US economy’s engine may be starting to sputter, as Americans’ paychecks lose steam and their debt becomes even more unwieldy, new data showed Tuesday. Retail sales were unexpectedly flat in the crucial holiday month of December, the Commerce Department said, well below the 0.4% gain

By Alicia Wallace, CNN (CNN) — We’ll get a first look Wednesday at the state of the US job market as 2026 kicked off, as well as a clearer picture of hiring in 2025. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the January jobs report at 8:30 am ET Wednesday. The crucial employment

By Auzinea Bacon, CNN (CNN) — Eddie Bauer LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday and hopes to sell about 200 of its namesake outdoor sportswear stores in the United States and Canada, citing declining sales and supply chain challenges. The company said its financial headwinds were exacerbated by the Trump administration’s uncertain

By Clare Duffy, Samantha Delouya, CNN Los Angeles (CNN) — Lawyers for a now-20-year-old woman argued that addictive features harmed her mental health as opening statements began Monday in a landmark trial against Meta and YouTube, the first of hundreds of similar cases to go to trial. The plaintiff — identified by her first name,