- 1. Paris climate deal to take effect in November after clearing hurdle
- 2. Twitter shares plunge after report that Google won't bid
- 3. Theranos to close blood-testing labs, lay off 340 workers
- 4. Replacement Galaxy Note 7 emits smoke, forcing plane evacuation
- 5. Ford chief talks to Trump about 'infuriating' criticism of Mexico expansion
1. Paris climate deal to take effect in November after clearing hurdle
The landmark Paris climate accord cleared its final hurdle on Wednesday when the European Union and 10 nations submitted their official ratification of the landmark deal, which was struck last year. The treaty takes effect 30 days after countries responsible for 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions sign on, and the latest ratifications put it over the threshold. The deal requires participants to reduce emissions to keep global temperature rise below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. It now will take effect Nov. 4. President Obama called the news a "turning point for our planet," and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the support is a "testament for the urgency of action."
2. Twitter shares plunge after report that Google won't bid
Twitter shares dropped by 9 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday following a report that Google, owned by Alphabet, would not make a bid for the micro-blogging social-networking site. The report in Recode did not identify its sources. Recode also said Disney had decided not to bid, and that Apple probably would not go for Twitter, either. Salesforce.com reportedly remains in the running. Twitter has struggled to generate profit even though it has more than 300 million monthly active users. It has said it wants to complete negotiations on a sale in time for its third-quarter earnings report on Oct. 27.
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3. Theranos to close blood-testing labs, lay off 340 workers
Embattled medical-testing company Theranos said Wednesday that it would close its blood-testing labs, abandoning its strategy of providing low-price blood tests to consumers. That effort was already on the rocks due to federal sanctions imposed over problems in the once-hot biotech startup's labs. With the change, Theranos will lay off 340 workers, 43 percent of its workforce. The company's founder, Elizabeth Holmes, said in a statement that Theranos' goal now "is to commercialize miniaturized, automated laboratories capable of small-volume sample testing, with an emphasis on vulnerable patient populations, including oncology, pediatrics, and intensive care."
The Wall Street Journal The Associated Press
4. Replacement Galaxy Note 7 emits smoke, forcing plane evacuation
Southwest Airlines evacuated a plane that was awaiting takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, on Wednesday after a passenger said his replacement version of a fire-prone Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone began emitting smoke. The incident prompted investigations by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration. Samsung said it needed to recover the device to investigate. The South Korean company, the world's largest cellphone maker, launched a global recall of 2.5 million of the phones due to the potential that faulty batteries could cause the devices to catch fire.
5. Ford chief talks to Trump about 'infuriating' criticism of Mexico expansion
Ford Motor Co.'s executive chairman, Bill Ford Jr., said Wednesday that he had a one-on-one meeting with Donald Trump to discuss the Republican presidential nominee's "infuriating" criticism of the U.S. automaker for increasing production in Mexico. Ford is moving assembly lines for its Focus and C-Max models from Michigan to Mexico in 2018, but plans to preserve the Michigan jobs by producing two new vehicles there. Trump recently said Ford was "leaving Michigan" in a broad attack on companies moving jobs abroad. Ford said he had a "very good meeting with Trump," calling the candidate a "very good listener."
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