Costco strike, Elon Musk's DOGE, Netflix price hikes, the next Ozempic

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Image for article titled A Costco strike, Elon Musk's DOGE, more Netflix price hikes, and the next Ozempic: Business news roundup — Image: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu (Getty Images), picture alliance (Getty Images), UCG / Contributor (Getty Images), Photo: Justin Lewis (Getty Images), Christopher Furlong (Getty Images), Kenny Holston-Pool (Getty Images), Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg (Getty Images), Jim Watson/AFP (Getty Images)

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A Costco strike is coming. Here’s what to know

Workers inform customers about a power outage outside of a Costco in Foster City, California.

A strike at Costco (COST) is now a real possibility after the union representing thousands of workers voted to authorize it.

With 85% of Teamsters members backing the move, workers are prepared to walk off the job unless the retailer comes to the table with what they deem to be a fair agreement. The union, which represents over 18,000 Costco workers nationwide, has been in contract negotiations for months. The current agreement expires on Jan. 31 and, without a resolution, workers may strike to demand higher wages and improved benefits, pointing to Costco’s record profits as justification for their demands.

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The 10 smartest states in America

There’s no real way to measure the intelligence of a population, but a research team at the testing platform BrainManager tried.

It attempted to figure out the smartest states in the U.S. based on 19 indicators, grouped into three categories: academic success, learning culture and support, and innovation and technology.

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Elon Musk’s DOGE is real now. Here’s what it is and how it actually works

Elon Musk — the world’s richest man alive — has been handed his own task force designed to reign in government spending. Here’s what you need to know about DOGE, which President Donald Trump officially created on Monday.

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Trump has already been sued over Elon Musk’s DOGE

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, alongside other tech leaders, were given coveted seats at President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

It took less than 10 minutes into his new administration for President Donald Trump to get slapped with a lawsuit.

A trio of organizations — nonprofit watchdog Public Citizen, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and the left-wing nonprofit State Democracy Defenders Fund — on Monday sued Trump and his administration over plans to launch the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, under the leadership of billionaire Elon Musk.

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Netflix is raising prices after adding more subscribers than ever

Netflix (NFLX) reported strong earnings in 2024, thanks to 19 million new paid memberships during the fourth quarter – its largest increase ever. The streaming giant finished 2024 with with 302 million memberships.

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Elon Musk’s DOGE mandate is updating software and firing federal workers

Elon Musk speaks during the 60th presidential inauguration parade at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.

One day in, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) looks like it will have a tough time living up to the expectations he and President Donald Trump outlined months ago.

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Trump finally signed a crypto executive order. Here’s what it means

President Donald Trump signed a highly-anticipated executive order late Thursday establishing a working group on digital assets that will be responsible for putting forward potential regulations for the sector and evaluating a national cryptocurrency stockpile.

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The race for the next Ozempic is on

Still life of Wegovy an injectable prescription weight loss medicine that has helped people with obesity.

Two recent disappointing clinical trials of highly-anticipated weight-loss drugs have made it clear that it is too early to crown any winners in the race for the next generation of anti-obesity treatments.

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