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Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN Business’ Nightcap newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free, here. Tonight: Voltswagen’s April Fools joke falls flat; Nike isn’t happy with those Lil Nas X sneakers; and Chipotle is giving away $100,000 worth of bitcoin. Let’s get into it. VOLT-GATE Every

In a move intended to reflect its new push into electric vehicles, Volkswagen’s US arm said Tuesday it was changing its name to “Voltswagen.” Yes, really. Except, not really. On Tuesday afternoon, the company admitted that the whole thing was a tongue-in-cheek deception that had turned into an utter disaster. “Volkswagen of America will not

Editor’s Note: On Tuesday March 30th, the day after this article was originally published, Volkswagen of America doubled down on its stunt and put out a finished version of the press release. Tuesday afternoon, though, the company admitted the whole thing was an “April Fool’s joke” gone wrong. For more, please see our follow-up article.

In a move intended to reflect its new push into electric vehicles, Volkswagen’s US arm said Tuesday it was changing its name to “Voltswagen.” Yes, really. Maybe. In what seemed to be a shocking goof — pun absolutely intended — Volkswagen of America on Monday briefly posted an unfinished press release announcing a plan to

For several weeks, it’s been near impossible to exist on the internet without at least hearing a mention of NFTs. Short for non-fungible tokens, they are pieces of digital content linked to the blockchain, the digital database underpinning cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum. In the simplest terms, NFTs transform digital works of art and

The blockage of a crucial global trade route last week by a 224,000-ton container ship has raised questions over whether vessels have become too large for the waterways they navigate. The Ever Given, which ran aground in the Suez Canal last Tuesday, is in the top 1% globally in terms of vessel size, according to

A new report from the World Economic Forum estimates that attaining global gender parity will take nearly 136 years, up from its previous estimate of almost 100 years. WEF measures parity in four ways: economic participation and opportunity, education, health and political empowerment. Data examined by the organization showed that the gap in political empowerment

Donald Trump is back online. The former president and first lady, Melania Trump, have launched a website to serve their personal offices. The website, 45office.com, comes after Trump’s ban from social media sites in the aftermath of the January Capitol insurrection. The site features a lengthy biography for the former president that starts, “Donald J.

Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling out regulators after little-known hedge fund Archegos Capital Management was able to borrow so much money that its implosion last week sent shockwaves across Wall Street. “Regulators need to rely on more than luck to fend off risks to the financial system,” Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said in a

With so many challenges facing us here on Earth — the pandemic, climate change, the economy — it might seem like an odd time to focus on space. But space exploration offers enormous benefits for all of us. There’s a long list of innovations that have emerged as a result of space research that have

GameStop is adding to its growing list of new executives hired from Amazon and Chewy with the hope of turning the struggling, longtime mall staple into an e-commerce powerhouse. The video game retailer on Tuesday announced the hire of Elliott Wilke as its chief growth officer. Wilke spent the past seven years at Amazon, including

Chipotle is jumping into the bitcoin craze. Sort of. No, the chain isn’t accepting the cryptocurrency as payment for its Mexican dishes. Instead, Chipotle is giving away $100,000 worth of bitcoin on Thursday to celebrate National Burrito Day. The contest marks the first time a US restaurant chain has given away bitcoin, according to Chipotle.

Worsening inequality, trillions of dollars in economic damage and depressed economic growth. Those are the outcomes that economists fear we will face unless the world aggressively confronts the climate crisis. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of economists agree “immediate and drastic” action is warranted to curb emissions, according to a survey released Tuesday from the Institute for

In a move intended to reflect its new push into electric vehicles, Volkswagen’s US arm says it is changing its name to “Voltswagen.” Yes, really. In what seemed to be a shocking goof — pun absolutely intended — Volkswagen of America on Monday briefly posted an unfinished press release announcing a plan to change its

Pizza Hut is doubling down on the growing popularity of the drive-thru with a new digital-focused version now opening at more than 1,500 restaurants with more to come. The pizza chain announced Tuesday a new pick-up window called “The Hut Lane,” which it said offers “convenience and speed without customers ever having to park their

The names of the key players are different, but the lessons similar. The spectacular implosion of hedge fund Archegos Capital Management, much like the GameStop saga earlier this year, serves as a reminder of the dangers posed by extreme leverage, secret derivatives and rock-bottom interest rates. ViacomCBS, Discovery and other media titans’ stocks crashed Friday

An experimental rocket that SpaceX launched at its South Texas facilities Tuesday appears to have exploded, but heavy fog at the landing site left even SpaceX uncertain about what had occurred. “At least the crater is in the right place!” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted. All three of SpaceX’s previous prototypes crash landed or exploded

In a move intended to reflect its new push into electric vehicles, Volkswagen’s US arm says it is changing its name to “Voltswagen.” Yes, really. In what seemed to be a shocking goof — pun absolutely intended — Volkswagen of America on Monday briefly posted an unfinished press release announcing a plan to change its

With so many challenges facing us here on Earth — the pandemic, climate change, the economy — it might seem like an odd time to focus on space. But space exploration offers enormous benefits for all of us. There’s a long list of innovations that have emerged as a result of space research that have