Sonos IPO: “Smart” speaker maker climbs 17% in public debut

Last Updated Aug 2, 2018 11:51 AM EDT Sonos’ life as a public company got off to a sound start Thursday on Nasdaq, with its shares rising double digits as the smart speaker shook off a decision to undercut its initial share price. The maker of smart speakers for homes priced its initial public offering at $15 a share, beneath…

Sonos IPO: “Smart” speaker maker set for public debut

Sonos is set Thursday to start life as a public company on Nasdaq. The maker of smart speakers for homes priced its initial public offering at $15 a share, beneath the anticipated $17-to-$19 range, suggesting weaker-than-expected investor demand for the stock. The offer price values Sonos at just under $1.5 billion.  Possibly weighing against Sonos were disappointing earnings this week…

French parliament approves fines for sex harassment on streets, outlaws “upskirting”

People sit at the terrasse of a cafe during a summer night in Paris on June 27, 2018. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images PARIS — French lawmakers gave final passage Wednesday to a bill that expands the criminal definition of child rape and outlaws sex harassment on the street — measures the government described as a signal of deep social change.  The legislation…

Trump stumps for Ron DeSantis in Florida — live updates

President Trump is in Tampa, Florida, Tuesday night to stump for GOP Rep. Ron DeSantis, who is running for governor. DeSantis has been a vocal advocate of Mr. Trump and his policies, as well as a vocal critic of the Justice Department and intelligence agencies. Florida’s primary is Aug. 28. It remains to be seen how much Mr. Trump will…

Trump rallies Florida supporters for Ron DeSantis as governor

FILE – In this May 24, 2016 file photo, House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla. testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington.  Andrew Harnik / AP President Donald Trump is diving deep into Florida’s Republican politics, joining his preferred candidate for governor in a competitive primary. Mr. Trump is holding a rally in Tampa on Tuesday in a show…

“Bigfoot erotica” becoming issue in pivotal congressional race

Image from tweet from Virginia Democratic congressional candidate Leslie Cockburn showing image from Instagram account of her GOP foe, Denver Riggleman @LeslieCockburn / Twitter RICHMOND, Va. — Here’s a political attack you don’t hear every day – or ever: A Virginia congressional candidate says her opponent is unfit for office because he is a “devotee of Bigfoot erotica.” Democrat Leslie…

The story of the My Pillow king

Who better to share some pillow talk with than a pillow tycoon? Martha Teichner does the honors (This story was originally aired on April 15, 2018): Mike Lindell spends $1.5 million a week on commercials to make sure that you know about his pillow. He’s sold more than 41 million of them. Against some pretty stiff odds, Mike Lindell, the…

Seth Rogen to be the new voice of Vancouver public transit

Never underestimate the power of a social media campaign. TransLink BC, the public transportation system in Vancouver, British Columbia, announced Thursday that actor Seth Rogen will lend his voice to announcements — an initiative born from a social media request. The campaign to get Rogen involved began in May, days before plans to have Morgan Freeman become the voice of…

Auto tariffs coming despite opposition, trade pros say

A growing chorus of trade experts say the Trump administration seems likely to impose billions of dollars worth of tariffs on imported autos and automobile parts in the next year despite widespread opposition from both domestic and overseas manufacturers, dealers throughout the U.S. and even local and state government officials. U.S. Commerce Department public hearings held last week on the proposed tariffs…

Walmart may launch streaming video service: Report

First came Netflix. Next comes Disneyflix. And then comes… Walmartflix? Giant retailer Walmart is considering launching a subscription streaming video service to go up against Netflix and its e-commerce foe Amazon, according to a report by The Information, which cites unnamed people familiar with the matter. It could be priced at less than $8 a month, according to one of the people cited by the report,…

Social media, the scourge of adolescence

America’s schoolchildren are on summer vacation – no more teachers, no more books. But the same can’t be said for their smartphones. Those devices are firmly in the hands of an entire generation of young people – call them the “iGEN.” For them, the iPhone is like the very air they breathe, as Tracy Smith reports in our Cover Story: …

Subatomic particle traced to black hole billions of light years away

Doug Cowen is a professor of astronomy, astrophysics and physics at Pennsylvania State University; Derek Fox is an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University; Azadeh Keivani is a Frontiers of Science Fellow at Columbia University. About four billion years ago, when the planet Earth was still in its infancy, the axis of a black hole about…

Obama stars in promo video for anti-gerrymandering group

Former President Barack Obama stars in a promotional video against gerrymandering released Wednesday by the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), an organization formed by former Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder’s group aims to fight partisan redistricting. In the nearly three-minute video, Obama advocates for “protecting” democracy through “rethinking the way we draw our congressional districts.” President Obama on Gerrymandering, Redistricting,…

Top Dem asks intel chief if Trump’s North Korea claims are true

The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee has asked the head of U.S. intelligence to assess whether North Korea’s posture and actions regarding denuclearization match up with the Trump administration’s claims.  Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Virginia, wrote to Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on Thursday, asking him to answer a number of questions related to North…

Starbucks plans to stop offering plastic straws by 2020

Starbucks will eliminate plastic straws from all of its locations within two years, citing the environmental threat to oceans. The company becomes the largest food and beverage company to do so as calls to cut waste globally grow louder. Plastic straws have become one of the biggest targets. Viral videos — including one depicting researchers extracting a plastic straw from a sea…

3 thrill-seeking travel vloggers killed in waterfall accident

Three young adventurers were killed earlier this week when they fell from the third-highest waterfall in British Columbia, Canada. The social media personalities were known for posting stunning videos and photos of daring feats and travel. The vloggers were part of the travel collective “High On Life” whose YouTube videos urged viewers to explore the world outside of their comfort…

These bike helmets protect you better than others

Commuting on two wheels has lots of health benefits, including a lowered risk of heart disease and cancer.  But sharing the road with cars, trucks and buses can be risky, with a growing number of bicyclists dying each year in crashes with motor vehicles, and many of those riders going without helmets. More than half of the 835 cyclists killed…