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By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press

The Campbell’s Co. said Tuesday it has placed one of its executives on leave while it investigates claims that he made racist comments and mocked the company’s products and customers in an audio recording.

Martin Bally, Campbell’s vice president of information technology, was named in a lawsuit filed last week by Robert Garza, a former Campbell’s employee. The lawsuit was filed in Michigan, where both men live. Campbell’s is headquartered in New Jersey.

In the lawsuit, Garza claimed he met with Bally in November 2024 to discuss his salary. During the meeting, which Garza allegedly recorded, Bally described Campbell’s as “highly process(ed) food” and said it was for “poor people.”

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By R.J. RICO, Associated Press

Landlords could no longer rely on rent-pricing software to quietly track each other’s moves and push rents higher using confidential data, under a settlement between RealPage Inc. and federal prosecutors to end what critics said was illegal “algorithmic collusion.”

The deal announced Monday by the Department of Justice follows a yearlong federal antitrust lawsuit, launched during the Biden administration, against the Texas-based software company. RealPage would not have to pay any damages or admit any wrongdoing. The settlement must still be approved by a judge.

RealPage software provides daily recommendations to help landlords and their employees nationwide price their available apartments. The landlords do not have to follow the suggestions, but critics argue that because the software has access to a vast trove of confidential data, it helps RealPage’s clients charge the highest possible rent.

“RealPage was replacing competition with coordination, and renters paid the price,” said DOJ antitrust chief Gail Slater, who emphasized that the settlement avoided a costly, time-consuming trial. read more

While cruise lines run flash sales and specials throughout the year, they traditionally reserve some of the best deals of the year for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with some discounts already available.

Here’s a rundown of discounts from some of the lines.

Atlas Ocean Voyages: The all-inclusive luxury line offers up to 40% off and a complimentary amenity on 20 expeditions. Book by Dec. 5. Details at atlasoceanvoyages.com or call 844-442-8527.

Carnival Cruise Line: Shop the Black Friday pre-sale with cruises from $79 per person, per day. Packages also include room upgrades from $1, a bonus onboard credit of up to $50 and up to 40% off cruise rates for sailings through April 2028. Carnival is rolling out deals throughout Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Travel Tuesday and Green Monday. Details at carnival.com or call 800-764-7419.

Cunard: Fares start at $899, plus up to 40% off launch fares, included onboard credit, reduced deposits and more during the Black Friday event. Book by Dec. 8. Details at cunard.com or call 800-728-6273. read more

It was a bold bowl move. Orlando-based Ripley Entertainment has purchased a 18-karat gold toilet at auction for $12.1 million. It’s the most money that the company has ever spent to add to its vast collection of oddities.

Ripley nabbed the fully functional toilet via auction by Sotheby’s New York this month.

“We were the only bidder, which was quite surprising because we thought it was going to fetch a lot more, because the artist himself is quite famous,” said Suzanne Smagala-Potts, senior manager with Ripley.

The piece was one of three identical golden toilets produced by satirical visual artist Maurizio Cattelan, who was born in Italy. In 2016, one version was installed in New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, where more than 100,000 visitors lined up to use it as if it were any other public facility. (Folks were allotted five minutes in the Guggenheim restroom.)

That toilet, which became a shiny selfie sensation, was loaned to Blenheim Palace, a British attraction with contemporary art exhibitions, in 2019. Within months it was stolen. read more

By MATT BROWN, Associated Press

In a packed room at library in a downtown Boston, Rep. Ayanna Pressley posed a blunt question: Why are Black women, who have some of the highest labor force participation rates in the country, now seeing their unemployment rise faster than most other groups?

The replies Monday from policymakers, academics, business owners and community organizers laid out how economic headwinds facing Black women may indicate a troubling shift for the economy at large.

The unemployment rate for Black women increased from 6.7% to 7.5% between August and September this year, the most recent month for available data because of the federal government shutdown.

That compares with a 3.2% to 3.4% increase for white women over the same period. And it extended a year-long trend of the Black women’s unemployment rate increasing at a time of broad economic uncertainty.

Many roundtable attendees view those numbers as both an affront and a warning about the uneven pressures on Black women. read more