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Even mighty Texas, the energy powerhouse of America, is feeling the wrath of Mother Nature. A deep freeze this week in the Lone Star state, which relies on electricity to heat many homes, is causing power demand to skyrocket. At the same time, natural gas, coal, wind and nuclear facilities in Texas have been knocked

Marriott International’s president and CEO Arne Sorenson died Monday following a nearly two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, the hotel chain announced Tuesday. The company announced two weeks ago that Sorenson was reducing his work schedule to continue cancer treatment, though it called his death “unexpected” in Tuesday’s press release. Sorenson was diagnosed with stage 2

Ford is shutting its Kansas City assembly plant, which makes its best-selling F-150 pickup, because of a shortage of natural gas caused by severe winter weather hitting much of the country. “To ensure we minimize our use of natural gas that is critical to heat people’s homes, we decided to cancel operations for a week,

Adidas says it will offload struggling US fitness brand Reebok as part of a strategic overhaul. The German sportswear company said in a statement on Tuesday that it has decided to begin a formal process “aimed at divesting Reebok” following a review of the business that it announced late last year. “Reebok and Adidas will

At this point, there’s nothing particularly special about a fast food chain announcing a new fried chicken sandwich. So, McDonald’s is hoping to differentiate the upcoming launch of theirs with limited edition collection of clothing and music. McDonald’s will sell a limited number of $5 swag packages via a special website on Thursday. The swag

Parler, the social network favored by conservatives, came back online Monday with a redesigned website one month after it was suspended by Amazon Web Services and effectively driven offline. “Speak freely and express yourself openly, without fear of being ‘deplatformed’ for your views,” Parler’s homepage read. Content from before Parler vanished no longer seems to

Bitcoin topped $50,000 Tuesday, continuing a stunning rise that has sent it soaring about $20,000 this year. The digital currency hit a record $50,602.53 before pulling back somewhat. Bitcoin is still up about 2% over the past 24 hours, and has rallied nearly 260% since the beginning of November. Investors have sent the price of

When the federal government announced the Payroll Protection Program a few months after the pandemic began in 2020, many microbusiness owners — those with just one to 10 employees — assumed they’d have little problem securing one of the interest-free loans. Many of them were disappointed. In fact, nearly 79% of the PPP funds distributed

The carmakers at the heart of Germany’s huge manufacturing industry are facing a new threat: border checks that could delay crucial parts deliveries and force their factories to close. Truck drivers have experienced lengthy delays after Germany introduced stronger Covid-19 checks and immigration rules at its borders with Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia on

Move over, Robinhood, here comes Goldman Sachs. The prestigious investment bank, known mainly for advising the affluent how to manage their money and for helping to engineer big deals on Wall Street, unveiled a new robo-adviser Tuesday for the average investor. Marcus Invest, an offshoot of the company’s Marcus retail banking arm, will let Goldman

Breaking off a piece of that vegan KitKat bar is now a reality. Nestlé is launching a non-dairy version of the popular candy bar, called KitKat V. The Swiss company is jumping on the the plant-based alternative food trend. Nestlé promises the new candy still has the “perfect balance between crispy wafer and smooth chocolate.”

A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. You can sign up for free right here. “We’re back,” Mark Preston said on the phone from Wisconsin Monday night. “The CNN town halls are back.” President Biden will be fielding questions from Wisconsinites at a CNN town hall Tuesday at 9 p.m.

Elon Musk wants to have a conversation with Vladimir Putin on his new favorite social media app: Clubhouse. On Saturday, the Tesla CEO tagged the Kremlin’s official account to ask if the Russian president would like to join him in a conversation on the audio-only app. “Would you like join me for a conversation on

HBO Max will feature many big movies this year — all of Warner Bros.’ 2021 film slate, in fact. However, one of the biggest movies hitting the new service isn’t from 2021. It’s not even new; it’s a fresh take on a film from four years ago. On Sunday, the service released the latest trailer

Tesla’s $1.5 billion investment in bitcoin has helped legitimize the cryptocurrency as an investment, leading analysts and traders to ask which blue chip company will be the next to take the plunge, buying bitcoin for its corporate balance sheet. Wall Street analysts have peppered executives at other high-profile companies about possible bitcoin forays during recent

Many French workers can now eat at their desks without breaking the law. To help curb the spread of Covid-19, the country has suspended a longstanding prohibition on desk lunches, according to a government decree published Sunday. The lunch break, or “la pause déjeuner,” has long been considered sacrosanct in France. Until now, French labor