Sears has confirmed that Chairman Edward Lampert's ESL Investments won an auction to acquire the company with a $5.2 billion bid and a plan to keep about 400 stores operating. Unsecured creditors who blame Lampert for the retailer's struggles have raised objections to the plan and have requested a public hearing.
⋅ Gizmodo
Snap fired several senior leaders, including former head of global security Francis Racioppi, following an investigation about an alleged affair that Racioppi had with an outside contractor. Corey Webeck, the former manager of global resiliency, was let go for his alleged role in the cover-up.
⋅ The Exponent Telegram (Clarksburg, W.Va.)⋅Deseret News (Salt Lake City)⋅KTVB-TV (Boise, Idaho)⋅The Baltimore Sun
Educators and students across the US are engaging in learning, activities and service to honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. Students in foreign-language classes in West Virginia translated pamphlets about King into Spanish and Italian, while Utah elementary-schoolers engaged in service learning. College of Idaho students held a march and vigil in King's honor, and students in Maryland participated in an essay contest and celebrated King's life with performing arts.
China's GDP rose by 6.6% in 2018, the slowest expansion in nearly three decades, the government said. Factory activity, retail spending and investment all declined, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
Walmart will team with Point Pickup, Skipcart, AxleHire and Roadie to grow its grocery delivery service in four states, as part of the retailer's ongoing efforts to bring grocery delivery to 1,600 stores. The company offers delivery from 800 stores with partners including Postmates, Deliv and DoorDash.
Replacing 30 minutes of sitting per day with physical activity lowers the risk of premature death by up to 35% in older adults, according to a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Moderate to vigorous activity was most effective, but even light-intensity activity was associated with a 17% lower risk of premature mortality.
Data broker Acxiom has issued a statement that backs Apple CEO Tim Cook's call for US national privacy legislation. "What everyone must understand is that the cost of compliance for all businesses in the US will be punitive and detrimental to our economy if everyone must adhere to multiple and independent state laws versus a singular, united set of policies across the US," the statement says.
⋅ CNBC
Walmart and CVS Health have resolved a dispute that would have split their pharmacy divisions and ended prescription reimbursement for Medicaid and CVS Caremark members who bought their medicines at Walmart. The new deal is a multiyear contract, the terms of which were not disclosed.
Google will buy the intellectual property rights to Fossil's smartwatch in a deal worth $40 million. The purchase will include some of Fossil Group's research and development team moving over to Google.
Medical device makers are calling on the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health to provide a database of products that have been approved under the Breakthrough Devices Program, as well as the rationale, as a way to increase transparency. At a recent FDA webinar, Steve Silverman, AdvaMed's vice president of technology and regulatory affairs, recommended publishing metrics including the total time to FDA decision and the number of requests granted versus denied.
Artificial intelligence will be implemented in networks, industrial applications, services and virtualization in the coming year, analysts say. It will also play a part in 5G cellular communications, the internet of things and expanding bandwidth for video streaming, they note.
Construction is booming in Atlanta, with a record $5.6 billion in construction permits issued in 2018. Permits grew from roughly $930 million in 2011 to more than $4.6 billion in 2017, covering public transit, apartments, office towers and more.
New Colorado Gov. Jared Polis unveiled plans for legislation that would grant more power to local governments in decisions related to the state's $32 billion oil and natural gas industry. Polis said that solidifying local control would improve market confidence and investor certainty.
SpaceX took one step closer to a manned mission as the company raised a Falcon 9 rocket with its Crew Dragon capsule into position at its Florida launchpad. A test flight anticipated within about a month and the Crew Dragon will eventually take astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
Alaska Airlines is introducing a new West Coast wine menu that includes a rotating selection of wines chosen for their superior taste. "We really looked into what would play well in the air when you're [30,000] or 40,000 feet up," said Jonathan Hardy, certified sommelier.