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Judge: Starbucks violated worker rights in union fight

The Associated Press A federal labor judge has ordered Starbucks to reinstate seven fired workers, reopen a shuttered location and stop infringing on workers’ rights after finding that the company violated labor laws “hundreds of times” during a unionization campaign in Buffalo, New York. The decision issued late Wednesday by Administrative Law Judge Michael Rosas of the National Labor Relations Board requires Starbucks to post a 13-page notice listing its labor violations and workers’ rights in all U.S. stores. The order also requires Starbucks’ interim CEO Howard Schultz ...

Twitter’s ‘violent speech’ policy similar to past rules

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Twitter on Wednesday unveiled a new policy prohibiting “violent speech” on its platform, though the rules appear very similar to guidelines against violent threats that the company had on its books before Elon Musk took it over. Among the updates, Twitter expanded its policy to include a ban on “coded language,” which is often referred to as “dog whistles,” used to indirectly incite violence. It also added a rule that prohibits “threatening to damage civilian homes and shelters, or infrastructure that is essential to daily, civic, or business ...

Ex-U.S. Rep. Buyer of Indiana goes on trial over stock buys

NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer of Indiana went on trial Wednesday on insider trading charges, accused of illegally garnering stock windfalls by exploiting his consulting clients’ corporate secrets years after he left Congress. During his 1993-2011 tenure in Congress, the Republican lawyer and Persian Gulf War veteran chaired the House Veterans’ Affairs committee for a time and served as one of the House prosecutors during former President Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment trial. Buyer (whose last name is pronounced BOO’-yuhr) was indicted last year over stock ...

Warren Buffett touts benefits of buybacks in his shareholder letter

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett said critics of stock buybacks are “either an economic illiterate or a silver-tongued demagogue” or both, and all investors benefit from them as long as they are made at the right prices. Buffett used part of his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders Saturday to tout the benefits of repurchases that fiery Wall Street critics like Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and many other Democrats love to criticize. The federal government even added a 1% tax on buybacks this year after they ballooned to roughly $1 trillion in ...

TikTok sets new default time limits

The Associated Press TikTok said Wednesday that every account held by a user under the age of 18 will have a default 60-minute daily screen time limit in the coming weeks. The changes arrive during a period in which there are growing concerns among different governments about the app’s security and ability to alter its algorithm to push certain posts. The update also mirrors gaming rules imposed on minors in China, where TikTok’s parent company ByteDance was formerly based. It has since relocated to Singapore. In 2021, Chinese authorities issued new rules that barred minors from ...

Tepid outlook from Target after 4th quarterly profit dip

NEW YORK (AP) — Target plans to invest as much as $5 billion this year expanding services for customers, including a drive up service for returns, renovations at 175 stores and improvements in online shopping. The Minneapolis retailer announced the investments Tuesday during its annual investor meeting as it reported a 43% tumble in profits for the holiday quarter, reflecting the ongoing challenges of balancing more cautious consumer spending and rising costs. Target issued a cautious outlook for the year as inflation squeezes household budgets, but it topped Wall Street ...