Every basketball rim, backboard and stand in the NCAA basketball tournaments and the NBA's leagues comes from Jefferson, Iowa., home of American Athletic and its 94 employees. Hiring local is important for building chemistry and a workforce that stays for the long haul, says executive Mark Lane.
The US House of Representatives passed HR 1, a voting reform package, that has sections specifically designed to help college students in the process of voting. The bill is aimed at addressing issues commonly affecting students with changes such as allowing same-day registration and changing state voting ID laws.
The US and China hope to sign a trade agreement toward the end of April at a summit at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, a US official says. Talks reportedly have stalled amid dissent over some issues, but US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will go to China next week with the aim of finalizing a deal.
Giant Eagle will now allow fuelperks rewards points to be used on a wider range of items, including for grocery discounts. The fuelperks plus program is getting a gradual rollout starting in the Pittsburgh and Cleveland markets.
Stakeholders in the health care sector are encouraged to implement a values framework to enhance the security of health data not covered by the HIPAA privacy rule, according to a report released by Manatt Health and the eHealth Initiative and Foundation. "Before developing strict privacy policies, policymakers and industry leaders may want to first focus on developing a values framework to guide the future use of personal health information," authors of the report wrote.
The Facebook Journalism Project Community Network was unveiled Monday to help publishers share ways to cultivate audience relationships and build a community atmosphere. Facebook is accepting grant proposals for community-building activities tied to local news and will cover the cost of the grants.
Walmart is using its physical stores as warehouse space, allowing online shoppers to make purchases and pick them up using in-store locker systems. Consumers can even add items to their shopping baskets up until the night prior to the scheduled pickup time while the system learns to predict what customers buy weekly to ensure those products are always available.
Alphabet's Google is launching a browser-based video game streaming service, Stadia, that will allow a player to run a game on a server and stream the video feed to a device. Google also announced that Jade Raymond, former executive at Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, will head Stadia Games and Entertainment.
AdvaMed and other stakeholders have submitted comments on the FDA's draft guidance on cybersecurity management for premarket submissions, calling for the amendment or elimination of a proposed two-tiered approach to identifying cyberrisk in medical devices. AdvaMed recommends the agency "remove the two-tiered approach in favor of a single risk-based approach that addresses the Agency's cybersecurity expectations based on the exploitability of a device vulnerability and the severity of patient harm (if exploited), as outlined in the Agency's postmarket cybersecurity guidance."
A jury in a US federal court in San Diego ruled that Apple violated three Qualcomm patents in the iPhone 7, 8 and X and awarded Qualcomm $31.6 million in damages. The fight isn't over though since the companies are due back in a San Diego court April 15 in what is expected to be a much more intense face-off over patent licenses and royalties.
Home Depot is planning to leave the roofing installation business nationwide, and it will also no longer install siding, gutters or insulation. The company says shortages of workers and materials have caused delays.
Speaking at CERAWeek in Houston, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the oil and natural gas industry to assist the US in using its energy riches to reduce the geopolitical influence of China, Russia and Iran, as well as promote American values such as free trade and democracy. "The more we can spread the US model of free enterprise, of the rule of law ... the more successful the US will be," Pompeo said.
Alaska Airlines has a history of using technology to enhance the passenger experience, from being the first to implement kiosks and mobile check-in to offering inflight Wi-Fi and virtual reality experiences. "We know that our travelers care very much about technology, so we're looking at ways to be creative," said Annabel Chang, vice president for the Bay Area at Alaska Airlines.
Marriott says it will open more than 1,700 hotels over the next three years, adding between 275,000 and 295,000 rooms. The increase in rooms is expected to boost fee revenue by $400 million.
