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☆ CDK Global says ‘substantially all’ dealers back online after crippling hack
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —CDK Global said “substantially all” of the nearly 15,000 car dealerships that use its software across North America are back online to its core management system, almost two weeks since a cyber incident caused a software blackout. “We are happy to report that we are ahead of the anticipated schedule,” an automated message on CDK’s customer care phone line said. The outage began on Wednesday, June 19, after two cyber incidents halted the company’s systems, which provide software to nearly 15,000 car dealerships across North America, according to CDK. Auto dealerships use CDK’s software to manage everything from scheduling to records. For days, CDK has said it had started restoring its software, but both car buyers and dealers remained at a standstill.

Persons: CDK, “ It’s, ” Bernard Irvin, Samantha Delouya Organizations: New, New York CNN, Auto, Anderson Economic, Ford, CNN Locations: New York, North America, Greenville , South Carolina

☆ FTC unanimously moves to block $4 billion merger of mattress giants
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —The Federal Trade Commission unanimously voted to block mattress maker Tempur Sealy’s purchase of Mattress Firm on Tuesday. Mattress Firm was already dealing with its own financial issues, including a 2018 bankruptcy. In a statement, Tempur Sealy said the bedding industry is “highly competitive” and only a small fraction of brick-and-mortar storefronts are Mattress Firms. “Tempur Sealy has been working constructively with the FTC to secure regulatory approval for this transaction and is disappointed that the FTC has initiated litigation. Correction: A previous story misstated the Tempur Sealy portfolio.

Persons: Tempur Sealy, –, ”, Henry Liu, Foster, Casper, Serta Simmons, “ Tempur Sealy, “, CNN’s Jordan Valinsky, Sealy Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Trade, United, FTC, Competition, Pedic, Sealy, Amazon, Innovation, Inc Locations: New York, United States, FTC’s, Stearns

☆ State Farm again is seeking huge increases in home insurance rates in California
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —State Farm is seeking increases of as much as 52% for some of its residential insurance rates in California, which could ramp up the financial burden for many homeowners and renters in the state’s troubled insurance market. It’s the third major change for State Farm in California within the last year. “State Farm General’s latest rate filings raise serious questions about its financial condition,” California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a statement. A few months following State Farm’s decision to stop offering new home insurance, Farmers Insurance also started limiting new homeowners insurance policies in California, citing high costs and wildfire risks. Farmers is the second-largest provider of homeowners insurance in the state, after State Farm.

Persons: Ricardo Lara, ” Lara, “, Farmer’s, – CNN’s Cheri Mossburg Organizations: New, New York CNN, State Farm, Farm, California Department of Insurance, Farmers Insurance, Farmers Locations: New York, California, ”, Florida

☆ What to know about the massive car dealership outage
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Here’s what you need to know about the massive software outage. Its systems are used by roughly 15,000 car dealerships across the United States and Canada. Under normal circumstances, the CDK software allows the dealership to register a vehicle almost instantaneously, but now the process faces heavy delays. It said it was able to bring a “small initial test group” of car dealerships back online. But the next morning, the company told dealerships another incident had happened.

Persons: CDK, aren’t, they’ve, Scott Campbell, CNN they’ve, Don Aycock, “, ”, Robbie Jacob, Jacob, Michael Deveney, Katelyn Salvato, hasn’t, Salvato, …, Callahan, We’ve, ” Callahan, it’s, Lisa Finney, ” Finney, ” Eric Noonan, John Dwyer, “ There’s, ” Noonan, Ryan Callahan, Tom McParland, McParland Organizations: New, New York CNN, Auto, CNN, Capital City Buick GMC, Buick, Diego —, Kia, Midway Automotive, Massachusetts, of Motor Vehicles, Pride Motor Group, “, DMV, Bloomberg, Binary Defense, Mazda, Automatch Consulting Locations: New York, North America, United States, Canada, Berlin , Vermont, Clay County , Florida, Diego, Lynn , Massachusetts, Eastern Europe, Seekonk , Massachusetts

☆ Markets unfazed as Donald Trump has much better debate night than Joe Biden
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

London CNN —President Joe Biden had a shaky performance in last night’s presidential debate, triggering panic in the Democrat camp. Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, repeated multiple falsehoods while doubling down on his record of cutting taxes and hiking tariffs during his first presidential term. If repeated in a second Trump term, many economists fear that kind of agenda could stoke inflation at a critical moment and add to America’s rapidly growing debt mountain. That could pull the typical year-end election relief rally forward, said Ed Clissold, chief US strategist at Ned Davis Research. The US dollar has also been reactive — it edged higher as initial CNN polling found that Trump was viewed as the winner of the debate.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, shrugged, ”, Keith Lerner, Barack Obama, Trump, Lerner, Ed Clissold, Ned Davis, Antonio Ernesto Di Giacomo, “, Goldman Sachs ’ Scott Rubner, Jonas Goltermann, Emmanuel Macron, Katie Nixon, France’s, CDK, Ramishah Maruf, Eva Rothenberg, aren’t, they’ve, Scott Campbell, CNN they’ve, Jordan Valinsky, Tim Wentworth Organizations: London CNN, Democrat, Trump, “, Biden, Ned, Ned Davis Research, Investors, Capital Economics, CNN, Renaissance, Northern Trust Wealth Management, CAC, CDK, Auto, Capital City Buick GMC, Bloomberg, Walgreens Locations: France, “, North America, United States, Canada, Berlin , Vermont, Eastern Europe, America

☆ The ongoing cyber-attack incident at CDK Global has crippled car dealerships for days
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The latest attack to receive wide attention continues that trend: An ongoing cyber incident at CDK Global, whose software car dealerships use to manage everything from scheduling to records, has crippled dealerships for days now, with no clear end in sight. Experts say hackers are getting more sophisticated and can hide in an organization’s systems for longer undetected. These hackers target companies in a supply chain-style attack, taking down entire industries to leverage more money. “There’s never been a story written on a company that successfully paid a ransom, and then quickly recovered their systems,” Noonan said. Others say healthcare is targeted because of the field’s aging technology, Steven McKeon, founder and CEO of software companies MacguyverTech and MacNerd, said in a release.

Persons: New York CNN —, ” Dror Liwer, they’re, Liwer, ” Liwer, Eric Noonan, Noonan, “ Ransomware, ” Noonan, John Dwyer, “ There’s, Gabby Jones, Cliff Steinhauer, Steinhauer, ” Steinhauer, Steven McKeon, shutdowns Dwyer, —, CNN’s Sean Lyngaas Organizations: New, New York CNN, CDK, Healthcare, UnitedHealth, Coro, CNN, Binary Defense, Bloomberg, Getty, FBI, “ Auto, National Cybersecurity Alliance, Ascension Providence Rochester Hospital Locations: New York, St, Louis, cybersecurity, Detroit , Michigan

☆ Has the CDK outage at car dealerships affected your paycheck?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ CDK says it’s brought a small group of car dealerships back online after massive weeklong outage
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —CDK Global said Wednesday that it has been able to bring a “small initial test group” of car dealerships back online, a week after a crippling software outage left thousands of car sellers across North America at a standstill. “We have successfully brought a small initial test group of dealers live on the Dealer Management System (DMS), and once validation is complete, we will begin phasing in other dealers,” a statement said. The company said it’s also working to bring additional applications back online, such as its customer relationship management and service solutions, as well as its customer care channels. On Tuesday, CDK said it doesn’t believe its systems will be back online before June 30, a major blow for dealers in the middle of a busy car-buying season. A systems outage caused by a cybersecurity incident has paralyzed nearly 15,000 car dealerships across North America since last Wednesday.

Persons: CDK Global, it’s, CDK Organizations: New, New York CNN, North, Dealer, ” Auto Locations: New York, North America

☆ Think the CDK outage is just about cars and dealerships? Think again
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Last month there were $122 billion of transactions at car dealerships, according to Commerce Department estimates. That accounts for 17% of all retail sales in May. An outage lasting through June 30 would mean 10 days without dealership access to CDK. Now here’s where it gets even more glaring: Retail sales aren’t just some minor part of the economy. Consider yourself warned: You may want to hold off on looking at your 401(k) on July 25, when the government releases second-quarter GDP estimates.

Persons: Ramishah Maruf, Peter Valdes, CDK, Russell Price, ” Price Organizations: New, New York CNN, North America, Commerce Department, Ameriprise, CNN Locations: New York

☆ CDK Global says it won’t be able to come back online until June 30 after massive hack
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

A systems outage caused by a cybersecurity incident has paralyzed nearly 15,000 car dealerships across North America since last Wednesday. In an automated voice message to clients, CDK said it is making “significant progress” in restoring its core application. Auto dealerships use CDK’s software to manage everything from scheduling to records, said Saturday it has begun restoring its software. Other services, such as state inspections, repairs and parts deliveries, have come to a standstill in some parts of the country. CDK has said it is working to investigate the shutdown after two cyber incidents brought down its systems.

Persons: CDK, CNN’s Eva Rothenberg Organizations: New, New York CNN, CDK, Auto, Bloomberg Locations: New York, North America, Eastern European

☆ Can I even buy a car? What to know about the massive auto dealer outage
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —CDK Global is ubiquitous in the auto dealership world – its software is used at 15,000 dealers. Here’s what the CDK Global outage means for both car sellers and shoppers. Post Memorial Day, “this presents increased opportunities for vehicle sales, service and, of course, revenue. It also means that it’s time to roll out your summer Sales and Service marketing campaigns.”Can I still buy a car? Ford also said its dealerships involved in the CDK outage have alternate ways to take care of customers.

Persons: There’s, it’s, CDK, Lisa Finney, ” Finney, aren’t, Jeff Ramsey, ”, Brian Benstock, Ramsey, Ford, ” Ford Organizations: New, New York CNN, CDK Global, CNN, Service, Ourisman Auto Group, Paragon Honda, Paragon Acura, Kia, Toyota, Dodge, Lincoln Locations: New York, United States, Canada, Maryland, Long Island City , New York, Ford

☆ Vitamix recalls almost 570,000 blender parts
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

After dozens of reports of lacerations from exposed blades, Vitamix announced a recall of about 569,000 blending containers and blade bases for its high-powered blenders. All affected customers should immediately stop using the recalled parts, the company said, and contact Vitamix for a repair kit. Vitamix instructed customers who repaired their blenders in the 2018 recall to stop using those blender parts as well. The recall affects all Ascent and Venturist Series 8-ounce blending containers, 20-ounce blending containers, and blade bases. Ascent blenders can retail for up to $749.95 and the Venturist V1200 can retail for up to $549.95 on the Vitamix website.

Persons: Vitamix, Williams Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, Consumer Product Safety, Costco, Walmart, QVC Locations: New York, Target, Williams Sonoma

☆ What’s open and closed on Juneteenth 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Here’s what’s open and closed on Juneteenth 2024. TD Bank, which has remained open in previous years, will also be closed Wednesday. Schools and government agenciesFederal offices will be closed on Juneteenth. In 2023, at least 28 states recognized Juneteenth as a public holiday for which state workers received a paid day off, according to a Pew Research analysis. RetailersMost major retailers and grocery stores will be open on Juneteenth.

Persons: New York CNN —, Gordon Granger, Abraham Lincoln, —, Juneteenth, Here’s, CNN’s Harmeet Kaur Organizations: New, New York CNN, Black Americans, Union Army, Washington DC, Black American, United States Postal Service, UPS, FedEx, Nasdaq, New York Stock Exchange, Federal Reserve, Chase, Bank of America, TD Bank, Pew, Walmart, Target Locations: New York, United States, Galveston , Texas, Juneteenth

☆ Nationwide says it’s dropping thousands of pet insurance policies due to inflation
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Nationwide Pet, the country’s largest provider of pet insurance, says it is dropping about 100,000 policies between now and next summer to keep up with spiraling costs in vet care. The move comes as other types of insurance, from homeowners to vehicles, are increasingly becoming harder to obtain for many Americans. There was roughly a 10% to 12% increase in homeowners’ insurance costs last year in the United States, Mark Friedlander, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, a nonprofit industry association, previously told CNN. The higher costs insurers face from higher replacement costs and re-insurance, the type of insurance used by insurers to limit their own risks, is getting passed down to consumers. Insurers in states like California and Florida have paused issuing policies altogether.

Persons: Fido, “, Price, It’s, Mark Friedlander Organizations: New, New York CNN, Nationwide, Insurance Information Institute, CNN Locations: New York, United States, California, Florida

☆ Hot dog eating champs Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi to face off on Netflix
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —World record holder Joey Chestnut may not be competing at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest this year, but now fans will be able to watch Chestnut face off with his rival Takeru Kobayashi on Netflix on Labor Day. The two professional competitive eaters will face off in a Netflix special titled “CHESTNUT VS. KOBAYASHI: UNFINISHED BEEF,” which the streaming company advertised as a determination of the ultimate hot dog eating champion. Netflix’s announcement comes just a day after Chestnut was banned from competing in Nathan’s hot dog eating contest because he signed a deal with rival plant-based food company Impossible Foods. Chestnut is a hot dog champ. Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi stuff hot dogs into their mouths during Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest in Coney Island in New York City, on July 4, 2009.

Persons: Joey Chestnut, Takeru Kobayashi, Chestnut, He’s, Kobayashi, Yana Paskova, ”, Kobayashi —, —, CNN’s Erika Tulfo Organizations: New, New York CNN, Nathan’s, Netflix, Labor, Impossible Foods, League Eating Locations: New York, Coney Island, New York City

☆ Sony Pictures is buying Alamo Drafthouse
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Sony Pictures Entertainment has bought dine-in movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse, the companies announced Wednesday. Sony said in a press release that the movie theater chain will be managed under a new division, Sony Pictures Experiences. While other Hollywood studios have jumped into streaming, Sony Pictures CEO and chairman Tom Rothman has expressed his commitment to movie theaters, according to various trade publications including The Hollywood Reporter. Sony Pictures touted its other spaces in the press release, such as Wonderverse, an immersive entertainment space, in Chicago and a Wheel of Fortune LIVE! Sony acquired Alamo from owners Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group and founder Tim League.

Persons: Michael Kustermann, Ravi Ahuja, Tom Rothman, “, Tim League Organizations: New, New York CNN, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Alamo, Business, Sony, Sony Pictures, SPE, Hollywood, Hollywood Reporter, Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group, Fest Locations: New York, Austin , Texas, Chicago

☆ More than 15,000 Amazon contract drivers file legal claims asking for compensation for overtime and unpaid wages
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —More than 15,000 Amazon contract drivers filed arbitration claims against the e-commerce giant on Tuesday, alleging Amazon classified them as independent contractors instead of employees with minimum wage and overtime rights. Amazon Flex, launched in 2015, allows independent contractors to sign up to deliver Amazon packages. Flex drivers provide Amazon Fresh grocery deliveries or same-day deliveries from the company’s warehouse hubs. Since the drivers are classified as independent contractors, these claims ask for compensation for unpaid wages and overtime, and reimbursement for expenses such as mileage and cell phone usage. Tindall told CNN that the workers filed independent arbitration claims instead of a class action lawsuit because drivers have to sign an agreement that forbids class action.

Persons: misclassification, Steven Tindall, Tindall, Joseph Sellers, “, Sellers, we’re, ” Tindall, CNN’s Samantha Delouya Organizations: New, New York CNN, Amazon, Flex, American Arbitration Association, Drivers, CNN Locations: New York, California , Massachusetts, Illinois

☆ The WNBA just had its most-watched games ever
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The league also said Monday it had its most-watched start of the season games ever across all six networks that broadcast matches — ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS, ION and NBA TV. Women’s basketball is experiencing a boom thanks to the phenomenon around WNBA rookie Clark. Since then, her entry to the WNBA, along with other players like Reese, has kicked off a new era in the league. Tick Pick, an online ticketing site, reported a 435% increase year over year in total tickets sold for WNBA games in May, with the average price of the tickets increasing 60%. Indiana Fever had a whopping 4,493% increase in May tickets sold.

Persons: Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Clark, Reese, we’ve, ”, Edison, Los Angeles Sparks’s Cameron Brink, Kate Martin, Tick Pick Organizations: New, New York CNN, WNBA, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS, ION, NBA, NCAA, Iowa Hawkeyes, South Carolina Gamecocks, Indiana Fever, Chicago Sky, Las Vegas Aces Locations: New York, alma, Los Angeles

☆ British banknotes featuring King Charles III enter circulation
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

CNN —AT&T’s second prolonged outage so far this year left customers irate on Tuesday, with experts criticizing the company’s response and saying the wireless company risked losing user loyalty over the issues. Because of the problem connecting to other carriers, thousands of Verizon customers also reported a service outage on Down Detector Tuesday. In a statement Tuesday, AT&T said it had resolved the outage and that calls between AT&T customers were not impacted. Tens of thousands of AT&T customers in America could not make phone calls, send texts, reach emergency services or access the internet. After two consecutive outages and a March data breach, North said AT&T needs to work to regain customer trust.

Persons: ”, Mojtaba, ” Vaezi, Karen North Organizations: CNN —, Verizon, Wireless, Laboratory, Villanova University, CNN, University of Southern, & & Locations: New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, America, University of Southern California, Camden County , Georgia, Scranton , Pennsylvania

☆ Lululemon dominated the pricey athleisure market for years. Now it faces big competition
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The departure of the company’s chief product officer adds to a “wall of worry” Raymond James analysts said. Choe joined Lululemon more than seven years ago and became chief product officer in 2018, according to her LinkedIn. “I think that there’s a lot of people out there who believe that she was the person behind the scenes and was the most instrumental to Lululemon’s success,” Nikic said. Lulu has been “hyper aware” of dupe culture, Nikki Neuburger, then its Chief Brand Officer, previously said in an interview with CNN Business. However, Lululemon wasn’t stocked enough in these smaller sizes, which could have led these younger shoppers to competitors, Nikic said.

Persons: New York CNN —, Lulu, Alo, –, Sun Choe, ” Raymond James, Choe, Raymond James, Tom Nikic, “, ” Nikic, Mike Kemp, Vuori, Nikki Neuburger, Hailey Bieber, Martha Stewart, Lululemon, Nikic, Calvin McDonald, Samsul Said Organizations: New, New York CNN, preteens, Nike, Wall, Vans, CNN, Jefferies, CNN Business, Shoppers, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: New York, athleticwear, Covent, London, United Kingdom, Los Angeles, preteen, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, China

☆ Columbia University settles with Jewish student who sued over hostile environment on campus
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Columbia University has settled with a Jewish student who sued in late April, claiming the Ivy League university failed to provide a safe environment. As part of the settlement, Columbia said it is providing 24/7 walking escorts and safe entrances to campus. Columbia also created a “Safe Passage Liaison,” who will manage and coordinate the safe passage escorts. Columbia president Minouche Shafik acknowledged in a statement in April that many Jewish students and other students have “found the atmosphere intolerable in recent weeks.”“Many have left campus, and that is a tragedy. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act says universities and K-12 schools have a responsibility to provide all students with an environment free from discrimination.

Persons: ”, we’ve, Minouche Shafik, “, ” Shafik, CNN’s Matt Egan Organizations: New, New York CNN — Columbia University, Ivy League, Hamilton Hall, Columbia, US Department of Education’s, Civil Rights, Civil Locations: New York, Israel, Gaza, Columbia, Palestine

☆ Department of Labor sues Hyundai over child labor
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

In a new complaint, the department alleges Best Practice, a staffing agency, sent the child to work at SMART Alabama, which provided car parts to Hyundai. The complaint alleges all three companies were responsible for employing the child. “We are reviewing the new lawsuit and intend to vigorously defend the company,” Hyundai said in a statement provided to CNN. The complaint, filed in an Alabama federal court, seeks an order requiring the companies to release any profits related to the use of child labor as well as an order to stop any future use of child labor. Hyundai and its suppliers had been the subjects of a series of investigations by news service Reuters into the use of child labor in Alabama.

Persons: Jessica Looman, ” Hyundai, “, Hyundai Organizations: CNN, United States Department of Labor, Hyundai, SMART Alabama, Fair Labor, Reuters Locations: Alabama, United States, America

☆ Live Nation says that a hacker is trying to sell Ticketmaster data on the dark web
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Here is what’s open and closed on Memorial Day 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, with many students out of school and office workers enjoying the day off. This year, Memorial Day is on Monday, May 27. Here’s what will be open and closed on Memorial Day 2024. Walmart and Target will be open on Memorial Day. Postal servicesThe United States Postal Service will not be delivering mail on Memorial Day.

Organizations: CNN, Retail, Walmart, Target, Kroger, Aldi, Costco, New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, United States Postal Service, UPS, FedEx

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