NEW EVIDENCE MAY TOSS IPOD LAWSUIT
san francisco For want of an iPod, a billion-dollar lawsuit may be in jeopardy.
Apple attorneys are raising a lastminute challenge to a class-action lawsuit over the company’s use of restrictive software that kept iPods from playing music sold by competitors. Apple says new evidence shows the two women named as plaintiffs in the case may not have purchased iPod models covered by the lawsuit. Opposing lawyers disagree.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said she isn’t ready to decide but told both sides to file legal briefs as soon as possible.
Bookseller to end deal with Microsoft B »
new york Bookseller Barnes & Noble said Thursday it is ending its commercial agreement with Microsoft for its Nook e-book reader ahead of its planned Nook spinoff.
The news came as the largest U.S. traditional bookseller reported second-quarter net income that missed expectations.
Barnes & Noble said in June that it plans to split off its money-losing Nook e-reader division as it looks to boost shareholder value.
Million-dollar truffle to be auctioned
new york » A record-setting 4.16-pound white truffle is going on the auction block before it goes on the chopping block.
Sotheby’s will auction the enormous fungus Saturday in New York. The truffle was found last week in Umbria, Italy, by Sabatino Truffles.
The firm says it has turned down million-dollar offers from buyers in China.
Instead, it is selling the luxury item to benefit Citymeals-onWheels and the Children’s Glaucoma Foundation.
P&G protesters will accept plea agreement B
cincinnati » The Greenpeace activists charged in a protest at Procter & Gamble Co. headquarters in Cincinnati plan to accept a plea agreement, a defense attorney said Thursday.
Seven activists scheduled for trial in January on felony burglary and vandalism charges will plead guilty to criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor, attorney Jay Clark said. Another activist who earlier pleaded guilty to breaking and entering, a low-level felony, will change his plea to trespassing, he said.
Jobless benefits fall below 300,000
washington » The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits slipped below 300,000 last week, after having spiked above that level in the prior week for the first time in nearly three months.
Weekly applications fell 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 297,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 4,750 to 299,000.
Lyft names new CMO, CFO.
Lyft Inc. named a new chief marketing officer and chief financial officer, filling out its executive ranks as it competes in the car-booking market with Uber Technologies Inc.
KiraWampler, who most recently worked at real-estate website Trulia Inc., is joining to lead the company’s marketing efforts, and Brian Roberts was promoted to CFO after working on business development at Lyft. Denver Post wire services