NASCAR set to allow fans back in Florida, Alabama
NASCAR is set to allow fans back at the track for races this month at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. NASCAR will allow up to 1,000 Florida service members, representing the Homestead Air Reserve Base and U.S. Southern Command in Doral, to attend the Cup Series race Sunday as honorary guests and view the race from the grandstands. – AP
Western Small Business Accelerator helping firms survive pandemic
Businesses on the west side of the Birmingham metro area now have a resource as they navigate the coronavirus pandemic. The Western Communities Redevelopment Alliance (WCRA) and the Five Points-West Business Alliance have launched the Western Small Business Accelerator, which will be offering Zoom webinars through the fall to help small businesses. – AL.com
AMC to reopen theaters globally in July, shares rise
AMC Entertainment said on Tuesday it expects to reopen its theaters globally in July after shutting them down in mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sending its shares up about 4% in extended trading. The world’s largest movie theater operator said it was planning to reopen almost all its U.S. and UK theaters in time to showcase Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet”, slated for release on July 17, and Walt Disney Co’s “Mulan” on July 24. – CNBC
Mall-based jewelry chain to close up to 400 locations nationwide
The owner of mall-based jewelry stores like Kay, Zales and Jared will close as many as 400 locations, according to its recent financial statements. The Dallas Morning News reported Signet saw a first-quarter loss of $291 million with a 41% drop in sales due to coronavirus pandemic. Signet operates 3,200 stores, including Kay, Zales, Jared, H. Samuels, Peoples and Piercing Pagoda. – AL.com
IBM abandons facial recognition software, condemns racially biased surveillance
IBM will no longer provide facial recognition technology to police departments for mass surveillance and racial profiling, Arvind Krishna, IBM’s chief executive, wrote in a letter to Congress. Krishna wrote that such technology could be used by police to violate “basic human rights and freedoms,” and that would be out of step with the company’s values. – APR
SUVs and trucks driving the U.S. auto market recovery
Sport utility vehicles and trucks are dominating U.S. auto sales like never before as carmakers start to recover from the biggest shock to their industry in decades. Recovering pickup and SUV demand helped the annualized rate of sales rebound to 12.2 million in May from 8.6 million in April, according to researcher Wards Intelligence. The earlier reading was the lowest seasonally adjusted figure in data going back to 1976. All of the state’s automakers have SUVs or trucks in their lineup. – AL NewsCenter
