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Old theatre gets makeover

By Matt Jones The Standard-Journal WATSONTOWN — Behind its quiet facade, the one adorned with a marquee that has been a familiar sight to residents of Watsontown for generations, the Watson Theatre is undergoing a big transformation. “There’s a lot of stuff that could easily be done in this space, and it has just been sitting empty for so long,” said Bryan King, the new owner of the Watson Theatre. King, who operates a preschool, a car dealership, and an after-school program and summer camp at the Turbotville Elementary School, is in the process of remodeling the former ...

TurboTax customers to receive checks for $141M settlement

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of Americans who qualified for free tax services — but were instead deceived into paying TurboTax for their returns — will soon get settlement checks in the mail. In a settlement last year, TurboTax’s owner Intuit Inc. was ordered to pay $141 million to some 4.4 million people across the country. Those impacted were low-income consumers eligible for free, federally-supported tax services — but paid TurboTax to file their federal returns across the 2016, 2017 and 2018 tax years due to “predatory and deceptive marketing,” New York Attorney General ...

BMW: Don’t drive older models with Takata airbag inflators

DETROIT (AP) — BMW is warning the owners of about 90,000 older vehicles in the U.S. not to drive them due to an increasing threat that the air bags might explode in a crash. The warning covers vehicles from the 2000 through 2006 model years that previously had been recalled to replace faulty and dangerous air bag inflators made by Takata. The company used volatile ammonium nitrate to inflate the air bags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate over time when exposed to heat and humidity and blow apart a metal canister, hurling shrapnel that can injure or kill drivers and ...

Feds fine franchisees with workers as young as 10 among hundreds

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Two 10-year-olds are among 300 children who worked at McDonald’s restaurants illegally, a Labor Department investigation of franchisees in Kentucky found. Agency investigators found the 10-year-olds received little or no pay at a McDonald’s in Louisville, the Labor Department said. The franchisee for the Louisville store was among three McDonald’s franchisees fined $212,000 in total by the department. Louisville’s Bauer Food LLC, which operates 10 McDonald’s locations, employed 24 minors under the age of 16 to work more hours than legally permitted, ...

What’s behind shortages of Adderall, Ozempic and other meds?

The Associated Press Shortages of drugs like Adderall are growing in the United States, and experts see no clear path to resolving them. For patients, that can mean treatment delays, medication switches and other hassles filling a prescription. In recent months, unexpected demand spikes, manufacturing problems and tight ingredient supplies have contributed to shortages that stress patients, parents and doctors. For some drugs, such as stimulants that treat ADHD, several factors fueled a shortage and make it hard to predict when it will end. Shortages, particularly of generic drugs, ...

Darden buys Ruth’s Chris Steak House for $715 million

The Associated Press The Ruth’s Chris Steak House chain is being acquired by Darden Restaurants for about $715 million. The original Chris Steak House was opened on New Orleans’ Broad Street in 1927, and it was acquired by Ruth Fertel in 1965. The company has 154 locations worldwide, including 80 company-owned or -operated restaurants and 74 franchised restaurants. The company, now based in Winter Park, Florida, suffered as most restaurants did during the pandemic, closing 23 restaurants in early 2020, furloughing workers and announcing that executives were taking less ...