Author: Rockey Ramson
A federal judge on Saturday voided layoffs at Voice of America (VOA) while also ruling that the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s (USAGM) acting CEO, Kari Lake, unlawfully ran the independent federal agency.U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C., Judge Royce Lamberth wrote that Lake oversaw the media agency in violation of the Constitution’s appointments clause and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.Lamberth’s ruling comes after VOA’s White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara filed the lawsuit last year.President Trump nominated Lake to be senior adviser to acting CEO Victor Morales in February 2025. Morales designated Lake “to perform the functions and responsibilities specified” to 19 out of the 22 duties…
With Netflix declining to raise its bid, Paramount is now poised to take control of Warner Discovery, owner of major properties including HBO, Superman, and the Harry Potter franchise.
Three leading social media companies have agreed to undergo independent assessments of how effectively they protect the mental health of teenage users, submitting to a battery of tests announced Tuesday by a coalition of advocacy organizations.The platforms will be graded on whether they mandate breaks and provide options to turn off endless scrolling, among a host of other measures of their safety policies and transparency commitments. Companies that reviewers rate highly will receive a blue shield badge, while those that fair poorly will be branded as not able to block harmful content. Meta, which operates Facebook and Instagram, TikTok and…
Washington Post publisher and CEO Will Lewis is stepping down from his role just days after the newspaper carried out significant layoffs, the company announced Saturday
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is seeking an early boost for shares after the rocket-and-satellite business makes its stock market debut later this year
The BBC’s new antisemitism training course says people who “have no intention to offend Jewish people” should not “criticise Zionists”. The training, rolled out to BBC staff last week and seen by Middle East Eye, says: “Antisemites frequently use the word ‘Zionist’ (or worse, ‘Zio’), when they are in fact referring to Jews, whether in Israel or elsewhere. “Those claiming to be ‘anti-Zionist, not antisemitic’, should do so in the knowledge that many Jewish people consider themselves to be Zionists.” The training adds: “If these individuals mean only to criticise the policies of the government of Israel, and have no intention to offend Jewish…
Coca-Cola said it will roll out a new version of its signature soft drink that will be sweetened with cane sugar instead of corn syrup — days after President Trump posted about it on social media. “As part of its ongoing innovation agenda, this fall in the United States, the company plans to launch an offering made with US cane sugar to expand its Trademark Coca-Cola product range,” the company said in a Tuesday statement. The Coke made with US cane sugar will complement the company’s existing product line, the Atlanta-based company added. Coca-Cola produced for the US market is…
PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) shares climbed Thursday after the global food and beverage giant reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, fueled in part by favorable currency movements. However, despite the upbeat report and a slight upward revision to its full-year outlook, analysts and investors are eyeing deeper concerns that could cloud the company’s future growth trajectory. For the second quarter of 2025, PepsiCo reported revenue of $22.4 billion, up 4.1% year-over-year, and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.18, beating the Wall Street consensus estimate of $2.09. The company credited a combination of strong international demand for its snack brands and a weaker U.S.…
Starbucks will increase its return to work mandate for corporate employees to four days a week — even as CEO Brian Niccol is allowed to work remotely from his California home after getting hired last year. The new policy, outlined in a companywide message from Niccol, will require corporate employees and managers to be on-site Monday through Thursday at the company’s Seattle and Toronto offices as well as at its North American regional hubs, beginning in January. “To give partners time to adjust, this expectation will begin with the new fiscal year,” Niccol wrote in the memo. “We’ll share more details…
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is intervening in current transatlantic trade negotiations to bolster American oil giants by pressuring the European Union to relax its landmark climate regulations—moves that threaten to weaken global environmental commitments. In recent trade discussions ahead of the July 9 deadline, Trump officials have floated proposals aimed at diluting the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and methane emissions mandates, both central to Brussels’ aggressive climate stance. These rules impose rigorous environmental and human rights oversight on companies and require verified methane caps for fossil fuel imports by 2030—a move the U.S. energy sector says could…