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Following a recent announcement that Amazon and iRobot have terminated their $1.4 billion merger agreement, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Associate Director for Merger Analysis Nathan Soderstrom released a statement expressing the Biden regulators’ pleasure at the dissolution. “We are pleased that Amazon and iRobot have abandoned their proposed transaction…The Commission’s investigation revealed significant concerns about the transaction’s potential competitive effects,” Soderstrom said in the statement. U.S. federal lawmakers, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, previously called on the FTC to block the merger in a joint letter. “iRobot is a powerful market incumbent, and Amazon, given its vast resources, history...

Archaeologists excavating a Medieval cemetery site in Kałdus, Poland, recently discovered hundreds of graves — among them, they found 14 anti-vampire burials. Some of these people were decapitated, others buried face-down, and still more were weighted down with stones. One of the major theories about ancient “vampire” graves is that people buried in this way were unhealthy or disabled, causing their compatriots to treat them differently in death because of their physical differences in life. A team of researchers set out to investigate diseases apparent on the bones of these 14 so-called vampires.

The Tour de France will do away with its traditional pair of podium hostesses, Tour director Christian Prudhomme announced at a press conference Wednesday. Instead, the Tour will have a male host on one side of the podium and a hostess on the other side.

The all-new model is being developed by 400 staff at its HQ in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. Further work will take place at a nearby former RAF base with staff moving in next February. A factory has yet to be chosen but the battery-powered car will be on sale after 2020. Company founder Sir James Dyson told staff in an e-mail: "Competition for new technology in the automotive industry is fierce and we must do everything we can to keep the specifics of our vehicle confidential." Dyson has had an ambition to develop an electric car since 1998 but was rejected by...

As Wendy’s Co. continues its effort to modernize restaurants, up to 130 U.S. restaurants could be closed in the coming year because they are not making enough money to be worthy of being remodeled or rebuilt. The news came yesterday as the Dublin-based company announced earnings for the fourth quarter and full year. Wendy’s is beginning the third year of its Image Activation program to raze, rebuild or remodel nearly half of its 600 company-owned stores by the end of 2015. So far, the Dublin-based fast-food restaurant has rebuilt 58 company-owned stores since 2011, and it plans to rebuild or...

A 22-year-old man fell into a vat of chemicals at a Centralia (Missouri) company and was airlifted to University Hospital with acid burns all over his body. Thomas Antle was working at the A.B. Chance Co. plant at 210 N. Allen St. when he fell into a large container of ammonium chloride about 9:30 p.m. yesterday, Boone County Fire Protection Division Chief Gale Blomenkamp said. Antle was in serious condition this afternoon. A.B. Chance makes earth anchors for the electric utility and pipeline industries. After being pulled from the container, Antle was put in a decontamination shower. "It’s all over...

California Assembly Passes Bill Discouraging 'Anti-Gay Rhetoric' (CNSNews.com) - The California Assembly has passed a bill intended to discourage candidates from using "anti-gay rhetoric" in their political campaigns. The bill adds "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to California's Code of Fair Campaign Practices -- an "anti-discrimination" pledge that is given to every candidate for public office. Signing the pledge is voluntary, but failure to sign it could prove difficult for candidates who might risk being judged "unfair." Critics call the bill an effort to muzzle any politician who refuses to support the homosexual agenda. But homosexual activists say its an...

VITAL SIGNS Women who breast-feed have a lower risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, even decades later, researchers have found. And the longer they nurse their babies, the smaller the risk becomes. The findings grow out of the long-term Nurses' Health Study, which has followed the health of more than 120,000 women since 1976. The study, led by Dr. Elizabeth W. Karlson of Brigham and Women's Hospital, a Harvard affiliate, appears in the current issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism. Rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that can destroy the joints, affects women much more often than it does men. Some scientists have...