Author: admin@primenews

It’s soon going to cost more money to get your foot in the door at Costco. But the good news is your hot dog is still $1.50 — for now at least. The retailer is raising membership fees by $5 to $65 a year in the US and Canada, Costco announced Wednesday. This marks the first time in seven years Costco is raising membership fees. Additionally, Costco’s premium “Executive Membership” is going up by $10 to $130 a year. But those members will soon be able to earn a maximum of $1,250 in rewards annually versus $1,000 currently. The company estimated that…

MOD Pizza, the fast-casual chain where diners can customize individual pizza pies, announced a new owner Wednesday in a move that could prevent or delay a bankruptcy filing. Elite Restaurant Group has acquired MOD, though terms of the deal were not disclosed and little information about the company is available online. After reports last week that the pizza chain was considering filing for bankruptcy, a company spokesperson said a turnaround plan was underway. “We’re working diligently to improve our capital structure and are exploring all options to do so,” Rick Van Warner, MOD spokesperson, said at the time. MOD Pizza wants to…

A US judge has dismissed a case brought by former Twitter staff, who had accused billionaire Elon Musk of unlawfully denying roughly $500m in severance payments owed to workers fired after his takeover of the company. Judge Trina Thompson said the employees had not proven that their claims were protected by federal law. The ruling is a win for Mr Musk, who purchased Twitter in 2022 and immediately set about making changes, including sacking thousands of staff. The moves sparked multiple lawsuits from former staff and vendors, accusing the company of withholding payments that had been promised. This complaint was filed…

There’s an issue dividing K-pop fans right now – artificial intelligence. Several of the genre’s biggest stars have now used the technology to create music videos and write lyrics, including boy band Seventeen. Last year the South Korean group sold around 16 million albums, making them one of the most successful K-pop acts in history. But it’s their most recent album and single, Maestro, that’s got people talking. The music video features an AI-generated scene, and the record might well include AI-generated lyrics too. At the launch of the album in Seoul, one of the band members, Woozi, told reporters he was…

Motoring organisations have taken part in a five-day rally to test electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure on a circuit across the UK. Fifty teams, including manufacturers, power firms and charging companies, drove EVs on a 1,500-mile (2,400km) course from Wolverhampton to Chester via Scotland and Wales. Two delivery vans were the only entrants not to cross the finishing line. Other vehicles included a lorry capable of 300-mile (480km) journeys while fully laden and an electric motorcycle which was charged by plugging into a car. The heavy goods vehicle, which goes into production later this year, could potentially collect a…

Microsoft has announced big price rises for Game Pass, its Netflix-style subscription service for games. The gaming giant, which purchased studio Activision Blizzard for a record $69bn (then £56bn) in 2023, says monthly charges for PC Game Pass will rise by £2 to £9.99, while its premium service, Ultimate, will go up by £2 to £14.99 per month. It is also replacing its standard subscription tier on Xbox consoles in September, meaning Xbox gamers will now have to subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate if they want access to new games on the day they are released. It comes after Microsoft…

Scotland’s most powerful charging “super-hub” for electric vehicles is being opened in Dundee. The site – off the Myrekirk roundabout on the Kingsway – contains 24 ultra-rapid charging bays, eight of which can provide up to 60 miles of driving range in three minutes. It comes just 18 months after BBC Scotland revealed that a quarter of the country’s publicly-owned chargers were recording faults. The body representing drivers – EVA Scotland – says the situation is improving but rural charging is still a challenge. Having previously invested millions in creating a public charging network, Scottish ministers said significant private investment…

A jury in New York has found the Wall Street investor, Sung Kook ‘Bill’ Hwang, guilty of fraud and market manipulation. It comes three years after the failure of his investment fund Archegos Capital Management, which caused billions of dollars in losses for several major banks. Prosecutors accused Hwang of lying to lenders as he secretly amassed large bets on several companies. When Archegos was unable to repay the banks, it prompted a mass sell-off of stocks and the fund collapsed. Hwang’s deputy at Archegos and co-defendant, Patrick Halligan, was also found guilty on the three counts he faced. Sentencing has…

The Chinese government says it will investigate allegations that fuel tankers have been used to transport c ooking oil after carrying toxic chemicals without being cleaned properly between loads.The controversy has spread online as social media users express concerns about potential food contamination. Tankers used for transporting fuel were found to be carrying food products, like cooking oil and syrup, and were not decontaminated correctly, according to state-run Beijing News. Transporting cooking oil in contaminated fuel trucks was said to have been so widespread it was considered an “open secret” in the industry, according to one driver quoted by the…

An Australian father has been charged with murdering three of his children and attempting to kill the rest of his family in a house fire. A five-month-old girl, a two-year-old boy and a six-year-old boy died in the blaze. Three boys – aged four, seven and 11 – and a nine-year-old girl survived, along with their mother. The 28-year-old man is facing three counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder and one charge of destroying property. He remains in hospital under police guard. The fire has horrified the country and comes at a time when Australia’s government has declared…