Walmart is offering new perks to its employees, from new bonus plans to opportunities for skilled jobs.
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is offering new benefits to its hourly workers, including a new bonus plan and the opportunity to move into skilled jobs within the company. The benefits program, announced Wednesday, comes as the nation’s largest private employer faces declining worker turnover. But Walmart, like other companies, still faces a competitive labor market and increasing demand from workers. The new bonus plan the retailer is offering to eligible part-time and full-time store workers is based on store performance. The maximum bonus amount is also tied to years of experience. The training program will begin with 100 workers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Boeing will try again to launch NASA astronauts for the first time after latest repairs
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Boeing is once again gearing up for its first astronaut launch. The launch is scheduled for Wednesday morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It will be the third launch for NASA test pilots aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule. Rocket-related problems averted the first two countdowns. After the Space Shuttle was retired, NASA hired Boeing along with SpaceX to transport astronauts to the space station. SpaceX has been ferrying astronauts there since 2020. Boeing was scheduled to launch astronauts around the same time, but its first unmanned test flight in 2019 was plagued by serious software issues and never made it to the space station.
Online marketplace eBay drops American Express due to fees, says customers have other options
NEW YORK (AP) — Online marketplace giant eBay has announced plans to stop accepting American Express, citing what it calls “unacceptably high fees” and the availability of other payment methods for online shoppers. This is a major blow to the company because American Express customers are often the most attractive to retailers and spend the most on their cards each month. But this isn’t the first time a retailer has pulled out in opposition to AmEx’s business practices, most notably the nearly decade-old warehouse chain Costco.
Big Mac battle: McDonald’s loses EU trademark battle to Irish rival Supermac’s
LONDON (AP) — The European Union’s top court has ruled that McDonald’s has lost its Big Mac trademark across the 27-nation bloc, ruling in favor of Irish fast-food rival Supermac’s in a long-running legal battle. In its ruling on Wednesday, the EU General Court said the U.S. fast-food giant failed to prove that it had genuinely used the Big Mac name on its chicken sandwiches, chicken products or restaurants for five years. According to the company’s website, the Big Mac is a burger made with two beef patties, cheese, lettuce, onions, pickles and Big Mac sauce. The ruling is not about the name of the burger. The dispute erupted after Galway-based Supermac’s applied to register its name in the EU as it eyed expansion plans in Europe.
Russian astronaut becomes first person to spend 1,000 days in space
The 59-year-old Russian cosmonaut has become the first human to spend 1,000 days in space. The Russian Space Agency announced on Wednesday that Oleg Kononenko has traveled to the International Space Station five times since 2008, achieving a record amount of time spent in space. His current journey to the ISS began on September 15, 2023. If Kononenko’s mission ends as scheduled on September 23, 2024, he will have spent a total of 1,110 days in orbit. The International Space Station is one of the few areas in which the United States and Russia continue to cooperate closely following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Phoenix uses ice water to treat heat stroke patients as Southwest temperatures reach triple digits
PHOENIX (AP) — With the season’s first heat wave already bringing triple-digit temperatures to the Southwestern U.S., Phoenix firefighters are adopting a new tactic to try to save more lives. Last year, 645 people died from heatstroke in Maricopa County. Starting this season, the Phoenix Fire Department will immerse heatstroke patients in ice water on the way to area hospitals, which have also recently begun adopting the technique as a standard procedure. The medical procedure, known as cold water immersion, can dramatically reduce body temperature in minutes, experts say. Emergency workers and hospitals are increasingly adopting the procedure as experts warn of the hottest weather since last September.
In their own words: What young people wish they knew about social media
Kids are constantly hearing about the negative aspects of social media from the adults around them, often in the form of stern warnings and commands. But these adults didn’t grow up with social media. Kids who did grow up with it are navigating a whole new world. And as they get older, they’re offering advice to their younger peers. Teens and people in their 20s told the AP they wish they’d known how addictive social media can be, and suggested taking regular breaks to “detox.” They also said it’s okay to set boundaries and block people on social media.
A tranquilized black bear leaps from a tree and falls into a waiting tarp.
CAMP HILL, Pa. (AP) — A young black bear that had wandered into a residential neighborhood in suburban Pennsylvania was given a tranquilizer before jumping from a tree into a tarp. The bear appeared around midday Tuesday near a school in Camp Hill, a suburb of the state capital, Harrisburg. Authorities used a ladder truck to reach the bear and administer the tranquilizer, according to Pennlive.com. Once tranquilized, the bear fell about 20 feet onto a large blue tarp that was being held up by several wildlife officials, police and firefighters. The bear was given another tranquilizer and placed into a bear trap on a trailer. Game wardens told the news agency that the bear will likely be moved to state land.
Didi sold his stake in Revolt, the media company he founded in 2013.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rapper and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs has sold his stake in Revolt, the media company he founded more than a decade ago. The Los Angeles-based company said in a statement on its website Tuesday that all Revolt stock held by Combs, who served as the company’s chairman, has been redeemed and paid for in full. Revolt did not disclose how much Combs paid for his shares in the hip-hop news and entertainment company he founded in 2013. In a statement, CEO DeTavio Samuels said he joined the company in 2020 when he realized “our mission is bigger than any one person.”
New York is considering regulating what kids see on their social media feeds
New York lawmakers are finalizing a bill that would give parents more control over what their kids see on social media. The bill would allow parents to block their children from seeing social media posts that are curated by the platforms’ algorithms, a move to curb feeds that critics say keep young users glued to their screens. But opponents warn that the bill could make things worse for kids by allowing internet companies to collect more information about users. With the legislative session ending this week, lawmakers in Albany are making a final push to pass the bill.
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