The hardwood flooring retailer formerly known as Lumber Liquidators signed an agreement with private equity firm F9 Investments for a sale of its business on Friday afternoon. Under terms of the deal, expected to close by the end of September, F9 will acquire 219 stores and a Virginia distribution center — as well as LL Flooring’s intellectual property and other assets.

Another 211 LL Flooring stores are still set to close, however. That includes 117 locations where closings were recently initiated and 94 others that were already in the process when the Virginia company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Aug. 11.

Just weeks after filing for Chapter 11, LL Flooring previously said that it would be “winding down operations” and closing all of its stores after failing to find a buyer in negotiations. The retailer expected the process to take about 12 weeks.

But that changed after a deal was reached with F9 on Friday. In a statement, LL Flooring president and CEO Charles Tyson said that company was “pleased to have reached this agreement” with F9 “following significant efforts by our team and advisors to preserve the business.”

Tyson added that LL Flooring remains “committed to continuing to serve” customers and vendors as the transaction moves through bankruptcy court for approval.

F9, based in Miami, is owned by Tom Sullivan, who founded Lumber Liquidators over 30 years ago. Sullivan told The Associated Press that the 219 stores set to be purchased by F9 will open under the Lumber Liquidators name again.

“We’ll be getting back to basics,” Sullivan said. “Basically, yellow and black is coming back … We know what worked before. It’s not fancy offices in Richmond with 200 people that didn’t know the flooring business. It’s great people in our stores that know flooring (and) customers that want a great deal and know Lumber Liquidators is the place to go.”

Sullivan explained that the company plans to narrow down to a more “manageable” selection of flooring options, and getting rid of material that feels duplicative or doesn’t sell well, so customers will likely see big discounts on much of the inventory left behind from LL Flooring’s bankruptcy process. He added that the company will be closely aligned with Cabinets To Go, another F-9 owned brand that he founded, to help with shipping efficiency.

Lumber Liquidators got its start in 1993, as a modest operation in Massachusetts, and later expanded operations nationwide. The brick-and-mortar retailer officially changed its name to LL Flooring at the start of 2022.

The company previously faced turmoil after a 2015 segment of “60 Minutes” reported that laminate flooring it was selling had illegal and dangerous levels of formaldehyde. Lumber Liquidators later said it would stop selling the product and agreed to pay $36 million to settle two class-action lawsuits in 2017.

LL Flooring has had difficulty turning a profit in recent years. Net sales fell 18.5% in 2023, according to a recent earnings report, amid declines in foot traffic and weak demand with mortgage rates and housing prices high. In its Chapter 11 filing, LL Flooring disclosed that total debts amounted to more than $416 million as of July 31, compared with assets of just over $501 million.

Ahead of filing for bankruptcy, LL Flooring also entered a proxy battle over the summer — centered on attempts to keep Sullivan, who had tried to acquire the business before, off the board. In June, company leadership wrote a letter urging shareholders to vote for other nominees, accusing Sullivan of “pushing a personal agenda.” But LL Flooring later confirmed that the founder and F9’s other nominees were elected at its annual shareholder meeting in July.

Lebron filed to trademark “very demure very mindful” for various entertainment and advertising services, including the promotion of beauty products, last week with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Two filings dated Thursday are under her legal name, a representative for Lebron confirmed to The Associated Press.

Trademarks can help secure rights to maintain certain business down the road. But it’s also possible — although rare — for content creators to make meaningful income after gaining social media fame through other avenues like direct brand sponsorships and viewer donations. Lebron, who is a transgender woman, said last month that she was able to finance the rest of her transition.

Lebron’s trademark filings are still pending, and it could be a while before there’s a final determination. But the move is particularly notable after several other individuals with no known connection to Lebron separately tried to register demure-related trademarks in an apparent effort to capitalize on the success of those phrases, much to the dismay of Lebron’s fans.

The saga, while unfinished, has spotlighted the complex process of filing trademarks that capture a viral moment — and the battle that social media content creators face to both get credit and find protections to monetize off the trends they popularize.

Here’s what you should know.

Can you trademark a viral phrase?

Yes. But in the U.S., there needs to be an attached commercial use.

“It’s not just coming up with a phrase … (or) using it on social media and making it go viral,” said Alexandra J. Roberts, a professor of law and media at Northeastern University, explaining that there must be a connection to the sale of concrete goods or services. She calls trademarks a “source indicator,” as they help consumers understand who is producing what they’re buying now, but not necessarily who came up with a name in the first place.

The law is complicated, and trademarks are often determined on a case-by-case basis. Applications are specific to certain uses, allowing multiple brands to operate under similar names — like Dove chocolate and Dove soap, or Delta Faucet and Delta Airlines. Courts greenlight this when it’s assumed that consumers will easily be able to distinguish between such different products or services.

But a phrase or name that’s strongly associated with a particular individual can sometimes supersede that.

“Simplistically, the entire reason the trademark exists is to prevent consumer confusion,” said Casey Fiesler, an associate professor of information science at the University of Colorado Boulder. “And if (someone else) created a social media marketing service and called it ‘very demure, very mindful social media marketing,’ that would confuse consumers because they’re gonna think it’s associated with (Jools Lebron).”

Trademarks should not be mixed up with copyright. Anyone who has ever made a unique TikTok, for example, owns the copyright to that video, Fiesler explains. But there are still limitations to what’s copyrightable, and short phrases themselves almost never apply.

What options do content creators have to protect their work?

In today’s ever-digitized world of online trends, creators are increasingly expressing concerns about getting credited for their work. And for something like trademark rights, experts stress it’s a battle of both getting there first and having resources to see it through.

It’s not uncommon to see a handful of trademark applications bubble up in the midst of a viral moment. Earlier this year, for example, a handful of trademark applications were filed after Hailey Welch, also now known as “Hawk Tuah Girl,” became famous for using the phrase in a street interview.

Still, some phrases have been determined to be used too pervasively, making it harder for consumers to recognize it as a brand indicator. It can also be difficult when credit isn’t given to the creator who starts a trend in the first place — and experts note the consequences of that haven’t been felt equally in the past.

Historically, young women of color who start a viral trend or put a new phrase on the map have often seen their work get appropriated online — and potentially “get scooped” on trademark rights from someone with more resources, like connections to a lawyer, Roberts explained.

“There are a lot of stories of members of minoritized groups, and particularly women, coming up with new slang … and then seeing that get co-opted by somebody else — often a white guy, but not always … (who) gets out there as the first to register and really make money off it,” Roberts said.

Beyond trademark-specific disputes, Fiesler added that creators seeing their work stolen and reposted in other platforms for monetization continues to be a “huge problem” today but she hopes the tide is starting to turn. That includes with Lebron, who has been so widely-credited for the “very demure” trend.

“I hope to continue to see there being very strong social norms that are enforcing this,” Fiesler said.

What’s the status of other demure-related trademark filings?

Three applications that were submitted before Lebron’s Thursday filings are still listed as live in the USPTO’s records — which would essentially make her “fourth in line” in consideration, Roberts said.

But it’s possible that others might later suspend their filings. And one of the applicants told NBC said that she filed in efforts to help Lebron hold on to trademark until she could transfer it.

What options does Lebron have?

Lebron’s legal team could potentially fight off rival filings or strengthen her own by negotiating with other applicants and updating her filing to reduce any overlap. She could also oppose a rival application down the road on the grounds of false association.

The trademark process itself could take anywhere between six to nine months, and sometimes closer to a year. And that can drag out even further with a legal battle or requested extensions.

Still, Roberts stresses that Lebron can currently “do whatever she wants in terms of use” and start selling merchandise.

There’s also nothing stopping someone from putting “very demure, very mindful” on the front of a t-shirt — as that technically qualifies as ornamental use, not trademark.

But getting those words as a brand, seen on something like an attached clothing tag, is when trademark rights would kick in.

Boeing factory workers say they were pressured to work too fast and asked to perform jobs that they weren’t qualified for, including opening and closing the door plug that later blew off an Alaska Airlines jet.

Those accounts from inside the company were disclosed Tuesday, as federal investigators opened a two-day hearing into the blowout, which further tarnished Boeing’s safety reputation and left it facing new legal jeopardy.

A Boeing door installer said he was never told to take any shortcuts but everyone faced pressure to keep the assembly line moving.

“That’s how mistakes are made. People try to work too fast,” he told investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board. The installer, along with other workers, was not named in probe documents.

The panel that blew off the Boeing 737 Max in January was made and installed by a supplier, Spirit AeroSystems. It was removed at a Boeing factory so that workers could repair damaged rivets, but bolts that help secure the door plug weren’t replaced. It’s not clear who removed the panel.

Another member of the Boeing door crew said workers got no special training for door plugs and should not have been asked to open or close the panels.

Boeing workers at the factory in Renton, Washington, have “been put in uncharted waters to do everybody’s dirty work because no one wants to touch it,” the second worker told investigators. He said Boeing’s safety culture is “garbage. Nobody’s accountable.”

The workers’ accounts were among more than 3,000 pages of documents released by the NTSB as it began a two-day hearing into the Jan. 5 accident, which left a gaping hole in the plane and created decompression so violent that it blew open the cockpit door and tore off the co-pilot’s headset.

“It was chaos,” the Alaska Airlines co-pilot told investigators.

The captain said it was so loud that he couldn’t communicate with flight attendants. On an intercom, he heard them talking about a hole in the plane. He decided to land the plane as quickly as possible.

The accident on flight 1282 occurred minutes after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, as the plane flew at 16,000 feet (4,800 meters). Oxygen masks dropped during the rapid decompression, a few cell phones and other objects were swept through the hole in the plane, passengers were terrified by wind and roaring noise, but miraculously there were no major injuries.

“This was quite traumatic to the crew and passengers,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said as the hearing began. “We are so sorry for all that you experienced during this very traumatic event.”

The NTSB said in a preliminary report that four bolts that help secure the panel, which is call a door plug, were not replaced after a repair job in a Boeing factory, but the company has said the work was not documented. During the hearing, safety board members are expected to question Boeing officials about the lack of paperwork that might have explained how such a potentially tragic mistake occurred.

The safety board will not determine a probable cause after the hearing. That could take another year or longer. It is calling the unusually long hearing a “fact-finding” step.

Boeing and Spirit executives said turnover since the coronavirus pandemic has left the companies with less-experienced workforces.

Elizabeth Lund, who has served as Boeing’s senior vice president of quality — a new position — since February, said before the pandemic most new hires at Boeing factories had aerospace experience, often in the military. Now, she said, “considerably more of our employees did not have that aerospace experience.”

Spirit Senior Vice President Terry George said that five years ago, 95% of the company’s factory employees had worked with sheet metal, but now it is 5%. They company has increased training for tasks such as drilling holes and installing fasteners in aircraft bodies, he said.

A representative of the machinists’ union said Boeing cut back on inspections and training over the last several years. Lund said the company has significantly increased training since the Alaska Airlines blowout, and that the company is trying to improve quality as it focuses on “lean manufacturing.”

“Can I make one suggestion?” safety board member Todd Inman interjected.

“Sure, please,” Lund replied.

“Stop talking about leaner and quality and start talking about safer manufacturing,” Inman said.

Lund also said Boeing is working on ways to prevent door plugs from being closed if they are not firmly secured, but she could not say when that redesign might be completed.

Boeing production of Max jets dropped below 10 per month after the blowout and remains under 30 per month, Lund said. The Federal Aviation Administration has set a limit of 38 per month until it is satisfied that Boeing’s manufacturing process is producing safe planes.

Later Tuesday, witnesses were expected to testify about the FAA’s oversight of Boeing. FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker has conceded that his agency’s oversight of the company “was too hands-off — too focused on paperwork audits and not focused enough on inspections.” He has said that is changing.

The accident led to several investigations of Boeing, most of which are still underway.

The FBI has told passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight that they might be victims of a crime. The Justice Department pushed Boeing to plead guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud after finding that it failed to live up to a previous settlement related to regulatory approval of the Max.

Boeing, which has yet to recover financially from two deadly crashes of Max jets in 2018 and 2019, has lost more than $25 billion since the start of 2019. Later this week, the company will get its third chief executive in 4 1/2 years.

Deceptions such as phony emails from people impersonating online retailers like Amazon are nothing new. But phishing attempts increase amid the heavy spending seen during significant sales events, whether it’s Black Friday or Prime Day, according to the Better Business Bureau.

“This is a huge moment on the retail calendar,” Josh Planos, vice president of communications and public relations at the Better Business Bureau, previously told The Associated Press. “And because of that, it represents an enormous opportunity for a scammer, con artist or even just an unethical business or organization to capitalize on the moment and separate folks from their hard-earned money.”

Prime Day, a two-day discount event for Amazon Prime members, kicks off on Tuesday and runs through Wednesday. In updated guidance published last week, the Better Business Bureau reminded consumers to watch out for lookalike websites, too-good-to-be-true social media ads, and unsolicited emails or calls during sales events this month.

Consumers might need to be more vigilant this year than ever before. In June, the Better Business Bureau published a report that said it received a record number of phishing reports in 2023. Reports are also trending up so far this year, the organization said.

Meanwhile, in a report released this month, the Israel-founded cybersecurity company Check Point Software Technologies said more than 1,230 new websites that associated themselves with Amazon popped up in June. The vast majority of them were malicious or appeared suspicious, according to Check Point.

Scott Knapp, director of worldwide buyer risk prevention at Amazon, identifies two areas that the company has seen hoaxes around come Prime Day in recent years: Prime membership and order confirmations.

Last year, for example, more than two-third of scams reported by Amazon customers claimed to be related to order or account issues, Knapp wrote in an emailed statement. People reported getting unsolicited calls or emails saying there was something wrong with their Prime membership and seeking bank account or other payment information to reinstate the accounts, Knapp explained.

Urging consumers to confirm an order they didn’t place is also a common tactic at this time of year, he added. Scammers might pick something expensive, like a smartphone, to get attention — and again ask for payment information or send a malicious link. They might also try to lure in consumers with promises of a giveaway, or by using language that creates a false sense of urgency.

Amazon is attempting “to ensure scammers are not using our brand to take advantage of people who trust us,” Knapp wrote, adding that customers can confirm their purchases and verify messages from the company on its app or website.

Additional scams are probably out there, but it’s hard to know what form they might take before this year’s Prime Day begins. Still, experts note that the same shopping scams tend to resurface year after year.

“Typically, the bones remain the same,” Planos said, pointing to fake delivery scams, email phishing and other repeated methods. “It’s always a ploy to separate consumers from (their) personal and payment information.”

But online hoaxes are also constantly evolving to become more sophisticated, Planos and others warn. That means images might look more legitimate, text messages may sound more convincing and fake websites that look very similar to real shopping destinations.

Amazon’s Knapp has said that with artificial intelligence “starting to leak in,” the scams targeting e-commerce shoppers follow the same approach but with a machine populating an email or text instead of a person.

According to data from the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported losing about $10 billion to fraud in 2023, a 14% jump from 2022. Online shopping scams were the second most-reported form of fraud, following impostor scams, the FTC said.

Both the FTC and Better Business Bureau provide consumers with tips to avoid scams year-round. Guidance includes blocking unwanted messages, not giving financial information to unsolicited callers and checking links before clicking — secure websites, for example, will have “HTTPS” in the URL, Planos notes, never “HTTP.”

Scammers will often pressure you to act immediately, experts say. It’s important to pause and trust your gut. Experts also urge consumers to report scams to regulators.

Beyond scams that impersonate companies or retailers, it’s also important to be cautious of counterfeit products and fake reviews on the sites of trusted retailers. Just because you’re shopping on Amazon, for example, doesn’t mean you’re buying from Amazon. The online shopping giant, like eBay, Walmart and others, has vast third-party marketplaces.

The quality and look of counterfeit products has significantly increased over recent years, Planos notes, making the activity difficult to police. A good rule of thumb is looking at the price tag — if the product is being sold for less than 75% of its year-round market rate, “that’s a pretty big red flag,” he says.

Sketchy sellers can show up on different platforms, including sites like Amazon, “all the time” Planos said, urging consumers to check out companies on the Better Business Bureau’s website. Like other scams, counterfeit products may increase around high spending periods.

Amid increasing pressure to tackle counterfeit products, Amazon has reported getting rid of millions of phony products in recent years. The company said it also blocked billions of bad listings from making it on to its site. In 2023, Amazon the company said more than 7 million counterfeit items were “identified, seized and appropriately disposed of.” The online retailer has also filed multiple lawsuits against fake review brokers.

Amazon notes customers can also report fake reviews and other scams on its website. If a shopper purchases a counterfeit item detected by the company, Amazon has said it will “proactively contact” the customer and provide a refund.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government’s auto safety agency is investigating a potential “loss of motive power” in more than 94,000 Jeep Wrangler 4xe vehicles, after receiving complaints for cars outside the scope of an earlier recall involving an engine shutdown condition in the same SUV model.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it opened a recall query on Friday “to assess the severity of the alleged defect” as well as the effectiveness of the remedy provided in the previously announced recall.

Back in November 2022, the NHTSA announced a recall of nearly 63,000 model year 2021-2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe vehicles equipped with a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle engine. At the time, NHTSA documents warned that these cars may experience engine shutdown that could result in sudden loss of motive power while driving.

A calibration software update was provided as a remedy to impacted owners, but more complaints still piled up since. In its recall query summary published this week, the NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation noted that it’s identified 68 owner reports alleging a loss of motor power for Jeep Wrangler 4xe vehicles of model years 2021 now through 2024.

According to the NHTSA, these failure complaints involve both vehicles that already received the remedy for the 2022 recall and those not initially included — although the current rate of reports is higher among the “out of scope” Wranglers than those that were later covered by the recall, the regulator noted.

The NHTSA estimates that some 94,275 model year 2021-2024 Jeep Wrangler 4xes could be affected. At this time, all vehicles covered by the 2022 recall are part of the investigation, an agency spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.

When reached by The Associated Press, a spokesperson for Jeep’s owner Stellantis said that the Michigan-based company was cooperating with the NHTSA.

The engine shutdown issue isn’t the only recall that Jeep Wrangler 4xe owners have faced over recent years. In November 2023, Stellantis announced a recall of over 32,000 of these hybrid SUVs for posing a potential fire risk.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Fourth of July is right around the corner, and the travel rush is already heating up.

Millions of Americans are preparing to get out of town sometime in the coming holiday week. That will likely mean busy roads, as well as packed airports and train stations.

Motor club AAA projects that some 70.9 million travelers will head 50 miles (80 kilometers) or more from their homes over a nine-day Independence Day travel period — surpassing pre-pandemic numbers for the U.S. holiday. And the Transportation Security Administration expects to screen over 32 million individuals in airports from this Thursday through July 8, up 5.4% from last year’s numbers.

Are you traveling for the Fourth? Here’s a rundown of what you need to know.

When is the best time to hit the road for July Fourth?

Smooth sailing for travel around any holiday is never a given. But avoiding the most hectic times, when others are rushing out of town, is a good way to start.

If you’re traveling by car for the Fourth of July, it’s best to hit the road in the morning, according to transportation data and insights provider INRIX. Peak traffic congestion varies by location, INRIX data published by AAA shows, but the worst times to drive on, or leading up to, the holiday are generally between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Either way, be prepared for the roads to be jammed.

“Road trips over the holiday week could take up to 67% longer than normal,” Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX, said in a prepared statement.

July Fourth falls on a Thursday this year, and many travelers will likely take Friday July 5th off to extend their trip into a four-day weekend. Drivers in large metro areas can expect the biggest delays on Wednesday July 3 and Sunday July 7 — as travelers leave and return to town, Pishue added.

And if you’re renting a car ahead of July Fourth, the busiest pickup days will be Friday, Saturday and Wednesday before the holiday, AAA notes.

When will airports be busiest?

Airports will also likely be packed all week long — but the TSA expects most people will take to the skies on Friday.

It anticipates that it will screen more than 3 million individuals Friday. That would surpass the agency’s current record for most people screened on a single day, which reached just under 3 million last Sunday.

“We expect this summer to be our busiest ever,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said, adding that travel typical peaks around Independence Day.

Last year, the busiest day for Fourth of July air travel was also the Friday ahead of the holiday, TSA data shows. If past trends hold, travel will likely be higher on the days before and after the Fourth — particularly closer to the weekend. In 2023, for example, more than 2 million people were screened on the Fourth, which landed on a Tuesday last year, down from 2.88 million the Friday before.

What should I do if my flight is delayed or canceled?

Flights can be delayed or canceled for an array of reasons — from plane-specific mechanical problems to major storms impacting popular travel paths.

If your flight is canceled, airlines required to provide refunds for customers, even if the cancellation is due to weather. Delays are trickier, because they typically have to meet certain criteria for relief, such as refunds or compensation — but carriers will often give customers to chance to switch to alternative flights, if available, at no cost.

In April, the Biden administration issued final rules that include requiring airlines to provide automatic cash refunds within a few days for canceled flights and “significant” delays. Those rules are set to take effect over the next two years, but the Department of Transportation has a site that lets consumers see the commitments each airline has made for refunds and covering other expenses when flights are canceled or significantly delayed.

Always check your itinerary before leaving home

It’s better to be stuck at home than locked in hourslong traffic or stranded in an airport terminal. Before heading out the door this holiday week, do yourself a favor and check the status of your travel plans.

Was your flight, train or bus ride delayed? Are there are traffic incidents set to disrupt your drive? And what about the weather? A quick look through your itinerary — such as trip updates on a carrier’s website — checking weather forecasts and monitoring traffic safety through services like the 511 hotline or your phone’s navigation apps can go a long way toward avoiding travel misery.

Here are a few more tips to keep in mind:

— Leave early: There are more people everywhere during a holiday week, so lines will be longer and roads will be busier. Give yourself more time to get to your destination or to make your way through airport security.

— Keep an eye on the weather — and not just for your destination: Look at the weather for your entire travel path. Even if it’s sunny skies both at home and the place you’re headed, it’s important to keep an eye out for any storms in between. You may need to do some rerouting.

— Be kind: A trip delay or cancellation can be really frustrating — but if you’re running into disruptions, chances are others are too. Customer service agents have a lot on their plate at this time of year, and it’s important to be patient and respectful as they try to help you.

CDK Global, a company that provides software for thousands of auto dealers in the U.S. and Canada, was hit by back-to-back cyberattacks Wednesday. That led to an outage that has continued to impact operations.

For prospective car buyers, that’s meant delays at dealerships or vehicle orders written up by hand. There’s no immediate end in sight, with CDK saying it expects the restoration process to take “several days” to complete.

On Monday, Group 1 Automotive Inc., a $4 billion automotive retailers, said that it continued to use “alternative processes” to sell cars to its customers.

Here is what you need to know.

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What is CDK Global?

CDK Global is a major player in the auto sales industry. The company, based just outside of Chicago in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, provides software technology to dealers that helps with day-today operations — like facilitating vehicle sales, financing, insurance and repairs.

CDK serves more than 15,000 retail locations across North America, according to the company.

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What happened last week?

CDK experienced back-to-back cyberattacks on Wednesday. The company shut down all of its systems out of an abundance of caution, spokesperson Lisa Finney said last week.

“We have begun the restoration process,” Finney said in an update over the weekend — noting that the company had launched an investigation into the “cyber incident” with third-party experts and notified law enforcement.

“Based on the information we have at this time, we anticipate that the process will take several days to complete, and in the interim we are continuing to actively engage with our customers and provide them with alternate ways to conduct business,” she added.

In messages to its customers, the company has also warned of “bad actors” posing as members or affiliates of CDK to try to obtain system access by contacting customers. It urged them to be cautious of any attempted phishing.

The incident bore all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack, in which in which targets are asked to pay a ransom to access encrypted files. But CDK declined to comment directly — neither confirming or denying if it had received a ransom demand.

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Are impacted dealerships still selling cars?

Several major auto companies — including Stellantis, Ford and BMW — confirmed to The Associated Press last week that the CDK outage had impacted some of their dealers, but that sales operations continue.

In light of the ongoing situation, a spokesperson for Stellantis said Friday that many dealerships had switched to manual processes to serve customers. That includes writing up orders by hand.

A Ford spokesperson added that the outage may cause “some delays and inconveniences at some dealers and for some customers.” However, many Ford and Lincoln customers are still getting sales and service support through alternative routes being used at dealerships.

Group 1 Automotive Inc., which owns 202 automotive dealerships, 264 franchises, and 42 collision centers in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, said Monday that the incident has disrupted its business applications and processes in its U.S. operations that rely on CDK’s dealers’ systems. The company said that it took measures to protect and isolate its systems from CDK’s platform.

All Group 1 U.S. dealerships will continue to conduct business using alternative processes until CDK’s dealers’ systems are available, the company said Monday. Group 1’s dealerships in the U.K. don’t use CDK’s dealers’ systems and are not impacted by the incident.

With many details of the cyberattacks still unclear, customer privacy is also at top of mind — especially with little known about what information may have been compromised this week.

In a statement sent to the AP on Friday, Mike Stanton, president and CEO of the National Automobile Dealers Association said that “dealers are very committed to protecting their customer information and are actively seeking information from CDK to determine the nature and scope of the cyber incident so they can respond appropriately.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Gas prices are once again on the decline across the U.S., bringing some relief to drivers now paying a little less to fill up their tanks.

The national average for gas prices on Monday stood around $3.44, according to AAA. That’s down about 9 cents from a week ago — marking the largest one-week drop recorded by the motor club so far in 2024. Monday’s average was also more than 19 cents less than it was a month ago and over 14 cents below the level seen this time last year.

Why the recent fall in prices at the pump? Industry analysts point to a blend of lackluster demand and strong supply — as well as relatively mild oil prices worldwide.

Here’s a rundown of what you need to know.

Today’s falling gas prices, explained.

There are a few factors contributing to today’s falling gas prices. For starters, fewer people may be hitting the road.

“Demand is just kind of shallow,” AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said, pointing to trends seen last year and potential lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Traditionally — pre-pandemic — after Memorial Day, demand would start to pick up in the summertime. And we just don’t see it anymore.”

Last week, data from the Energy Information Administration showed that U.S. gasoline demand slipped to about 8.94 million barrels a day. That might still sound like a lot — but before the pandemic, consumption could reach closer to the 10 million barrel-a-day range at this time of year, Gross noted.

Beyond pandemic-specific impacts, experts note that high gas prices seen following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and persistent inflation may have led many Americans to modify their driving habits. Other contributing factors could be the increased number of fuel-efficient cars, as well as electric vehicles, on the road today, Gross said.

Some of this is still seasonal. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, noted that gas prices typically ease in early summer because of refinery capacity. At this time of year, he said, many factors boosting prices in late winter and early spring — particularly refinery maintenance — are no longer present.

“Once refinery maintenance is done, output or utilization of the nation’s refineries goes up — and that contributes to rising supply,” De Haan said. And that stronger supply, paired with weaker consumption, has led to a “bit more noticeable” decline in prices this year. He added that U.S. refinery utilization is at some of its highest levels since the pandemic.

Separately, the Biden administration announced last month that it would be releasing 1 million gasoline barrels, or about 42 million gallons, from a Northeast reserve with an aim of lowering prices at the pump this summer. But De Haan noted that such action has little impact nationally — 42 million gallons equals less than three hours of U.S. daily gas consumption.

“Really, what we’re seeing right now with (declining) gasoline prices … has been driven primarily by seasonal and predictable economics,” he said.

What about oil prices?

Experts also point to cooling oil costs. Prices at the pump are highly dependent on crude oil, which is the main ingredient in gasoline.

West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, has stayed in the mid $70s a barrel over recent weeks — closing at under $78 a barrel Monday. That’s “not a bad place for it to be,” Gross said, noting that the cost of crude typically needs to go above $80 to put more pressure on pump prices.

Oil prices can be volatile and hard to predict because they’re subject to many global forces. That includes production cuts from OPEC and allied oil producing countries, which have previously contributed to rising energy prices.

OPEC+ recently announced plans to extend three different sets of cuts totaling 5.8 million barrels a day — but the alliance also put a timetable on restoring some production, “which is likely why the price of oil had somewhat of a bearish reaction,” De Haan said.

Could prices go back up?

The future is never promised. But, if there are no major unexpected interruptions, both Gross and De Haan say that prices could keep working their way down.

At this time of year, experts keep a particular eye out for hurricane risks — which can cause significant damage and lead refineries to power down.

“Prices move on fear,” Gross said. In the U.S., he added, concern particularly rises once a hurricane enters the Gulf of Mexico — and even if it doesn’t eventually make landfall, refineries may pull back on operations out of caution. Impacts can also range by region.

But barring the unexpected, analysts like De Haan expect the national average to stay in the range of $3.35 to $3.70 per gallon this summer. Gas prices typically drop even more in the fall, and it’s possible that we could see the national average below $3 in late October or early November, he said.

What states have the lowest gas prices today?

While gas prices nationwide are collectively falling, some states always have cheaper averages than others, due to factors ranging from nearby refinery supply to local fuel requirements.

As of Monday, per AAA data, Mississippi had the lowest average gas price at about $2.94 per gallon — followed by $2.95 Oklahoma and just under $2.97 in Arkansas.

Meanwhile, California, Hawaii and Washington had the highest average prices on Monday — at about $4.93, $4.75 and $4.41 per gallon, respectively.

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This story has been corrected to note that U.S. gasoline demand has slipped to about 8.94 million barrels a day, not billion.

The front power seat motor on the affected Tellurides from the 2020-2024 model years may overheat because of a stuck slide knob, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That could potentially result in a fire while the car is parked or being driven.

Kia made the decision to recall the vehicles on May 29, NHTSA documents published Friday show, after receiving reports of one under-seat fire and six incidents of localized melting in the seat tilt motor between August 2022 and March 2024. No related injuries, crashes or fatalities were reported at the time.

The recall report notes that strong external impact to the recalled Tellurides’ front power seat side cover or seat slide knob can result in internal misalignment — and with continuous operation, that can cause overheating. People driving vehicles with the issue may find they can’t adjust the power seat, may notice a burning or melting smell, or see smoke rising from underneath the seat.

To fix this, dealers will install a bracket for the power seat switch back covers and replace the seat slide knobs at no cost. Until the vehicles are repaired, owners are being instructed to park their cars outside and away from buildings.

Owner notification letters are set to be mailed out starting July 30, with dealer notification a few days prior. Irvine, California-based Kia America did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment on why these notifications wouldn’t begin until the end of next month.

In the meantime, drivers can also confirm if their specific vehicle is included in this recall and find more information using the NHTSA site and/or Kia’s recall lookup platform.

The recall covers 462,869 model year 2020-2024 Tellurides that were manufactured between Jan. 9, 2019 and May 29, 2024. Kia America estimates that 1% have the defect.

This isn’t the only recall impacting Kia Telluride owners. In March, Kia America said it would be recalling more than 427,000 of 2020-2024 Telluride SUVs due to a defect that may cause the cars to roll away while they’re parked.

Just last fall, Kia and Hyundai announced previous “park outside” recalls for 3.4 million other car and SUV models due to the danger of engine compartment fires. Amid long-delayed repairs, many of those vehicles remained on the road months later, posing serious concerns from drivers and consumer safety advocates.

Hyundai owns part of Kia, though the two companies operate independently.

NEW YORK (AP) — Legislation forcing TikTok’s parent company to sell the video-sharing platform or face a ban in the U.S. received President Joe Biden’s official signoff Wednesday. But the newly minted law could be in for an uphill battle in court.

Critics of the sell-or-be-banned ultimatum argue it violates TikTok users’ First Amendment rights. The app’s China-based owner, ByteDance, has already promised to sue, calling the measure unconstitutional.

But a court challenge’s success is not guaranteed. The law’s opponents, which include advocacy organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, maintain that the government hasn’t come close to justifying banning TikTok, while others say national-security claims could still prevail.

For years, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed concerns that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over U.S. user data, or influence Americans by suppressing or promoting certain content on TikTok. The U.S. has yet to provide public evidence to support those claims, but political pressures have piled up regardless.

If upheld, legal experts also stress that the law could set a precedent carrying wider ramifications for digital media in the U.S.

Here’s what you need to know.

IS A TIKTOK BAN UNCONSTITUTIONAL?

That’s the central question. TikTok and opponents of the law have argued that a ban would violate First Amendment rights of the social media platform’s 170 million U.S. users.

Patrick Toomey, deputy director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, said a TikTok ban would “stifle free expression and restrict public access” to a platform that has become central source for information sharing.

Among key questions will be whether the legislation interferes with the overall content of speech on TikTok, notes Elettra Bietti, an assistant professor of law and computer science at Northeastern University, because content-based restrictions meet a higher level of scrutiny.

ByteDance has yet to officially file a lawsuit, but Bietti said she expects the company’s challenge to primarily focus on whether a ban infringes on these wider free-speech rights. Additional litigation involving TikTok’s “commercial actors,” such as businesses and influencers who make their living on the platform, may also arise, she added.

COULD TIKTOK SUCCESSFULLY PREVENT THE BAN IN COURT?

TikTok is expressing confidence about the prospects of its planned challenge.

“Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere,” TikTok CEO Shou Chew said in a video response posted to X Wednesday. “The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail again.”

“Many of the calls to completely ban TikTok in the U.S. are about scoring political points and rooted in anti-China sentiment,” Toomey added. “And to date, these steps to ban TikTok had not been remotely supported by concrete public evidence.”

Still, the future of any litigation is hard to predict, especially for this kind of case. And from a legal perspective, it can be difficult to cite political motivations, even if they’re well-documented, as grounds to invalidate a law.

The battle could also string along for some time, with the potential for appeals that could go all the way to the Supreme Court, which would likely uphold the law due to its current composition, said Gus Hurwitz, a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Carey Law School.

HOW MIGHT THE GOVERNMENT RESPOND TO THE CHALLENGE?

TikTok’s legal challenge won’t go on without a fight. The government will probably respond with national-security claims, which were already cited prominently as the legislation made its way through Congress.

Toomey maintains that the government hasn’t met the high bar required to prove imminent national-security risks, but some other legal experts note that it’s still a strong card to play.

“One of the unfortunate and really frustrating things about national-security legislation (is that) it tends to be a trump card,” Hurwitz said. “Once national-security issues come up, they’re going to carry the day either successfully or not.”

Hurwitz added that he thinks there are legitimate national-security arguments that could be brought up here. National security can be argued because it’s a federal measure, he noted. That sets this scenario apart from previously unsuccessful state-level legislation seeking to ban TikTok, such as in Montana.

But national-security arguments are also vulnerable to questioning as to why TikTok is getting specific scrutiny.

“Personally, I believe that what TikTok does isn’t that different from other companies that are U.S.-based,” Bietti said, pointing to tech giants ranging from Google to Amazon. “The question is, ‘Why ban TikTok and not the activities and the surveillance carried out by other companies in the United States?’”

IF THE LAW IS UPHELD, COULD THERE BE WIDER RAMIFICATIONS?

Still, legal experts note that there could be repercussions beyond TikTok in the future.

The measure was passed as part of a larger $95 billion package that provides aid to Ukraine and Israel. The package also includes a provision that makes it illegal for data brokers to sell or rent “personally identifiable sensitive data” to North Korea, China, Russia, Iran or entities in those countries.

That has encountered some pushback, including from the ACLU, which says the language is written too broadly and could sweep in journalists and others who publish personal information.

“There’s real reason to be concerned that the use of this law will not stop with TikTok,” Toomey said. “Looking at that point and the bigger picture, banning TikTok or forcing its sale would be a devastating blow to the U.S. government’s decades of work promoting an open and secure global internet.”