The Association of American Publishers responded to a request for information from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on development of the Administration’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan. AAP’s submission calls on the Administration to prioritize copyright protections, promote partnerships between American companies, embrace and encourage licensing, reject bloated fair use arguments and other sweeping exceptions that would unjustly enrich tech companies at the expense of authors and publishers, denounce the use of pirate sites in AI training, and work with Congress to prioritize transparency requirements. “The United States is an unmatched leader in both technology and intellectual property, both of which are key to global AI markets,” commented Maria A. Pallante, President and CEO, Association of American Publishers. “We thank the White House for the opportunity to inform its action plan and look forward to working with all parts of the Administration to ensure that authors, publishers, and all creative sectors are protected and positioned to partner with AI developers to achieve the extraordinary benefits of AI for the long term, in safe and lawful fashion. Among our priorities is stopping the proliferation of pirate sites that are a scourge on American IP investments and an illegal source of AI development.”

Ulta Beauty Inc. reported modest gains in comparable sales in earnings for its fiscal Q4 and full year ended Feb. 1, 2025, reflecting a year marked by cautious consumer spending. Including ecommerce, Ulta Beauty comparable sales rose 1.5% in Q4. This was down from 2.5% growth during the same quarter a year before. Despite the slowdown, Ulta reported growth across both store and digital channels. On the retailer’s March 13 earnings call, chief financial officer Paula Oyibo said ecommerce sales in Q4 grew in the mid-single-digit range. However, the company did not share specific figures.

The Postmaster General’s statements about the Postal Regulatory Commission’s role during the recent mismanagement of USPS are false. The Commission follows the law to ensure that USPS provides universal service to all Americans, including those in rural and remote locations, and also safeguards fair competition in package markets by preventing the Postal Service from abusing its monopoly position. The price cap the Postmaster General has complained about for years was established by law, not by the Commission. Once the Commission had the legal authority to change the price cap, the Commission gave USPS significantly more pricing freedom. Combined with the 2022 law passed by Congress, the Postal Service received over $100 billion in financial assistance. So far, the Delivering for America Plan (DFA) has wasted that help, losing more money for the Postal Service (a $9.5 billion loss in FY 2024), making USPS less efficient, and collapsing service, especially for rural Americans. On April 1, USPS is planning to amplify that negative impact on rural areas by deliberately slowing mail to thousands of rural communities nationwide. The Postmaster General has also tried to ignore USPS’ traditional role in mail delivery while expanding the role of the government in the competitive package market, a strategy which has failed miserably to this point. DFA’s failures have received bipartisan scorn and are documented at www.prc.gov. DFA needs transparency and accountability. The Commission has done more than its part to help USPS. In addition to pricing flexibility, the Commission, as required by law, has approved thousands of specialized contracts between USPS and customers in recent years. The Commission approved these negotiated service agreements rapidly, while working to make sure USPS does not compete unfairly with private sector shipping competitors. The Commission has done this work along with its other statutory responsibilities with fewer than 100 staff members.

“Adobe’s success over the next decade will be driven by customer-focused innovation and new offerings for creators, marketing professionals, business professionals and consumers,” said Shantanu Narayen, chair and CEO, Adobe. “Adobe is well-positioned to capitalize on the acceleration of the creative economy driven by AI and we are reaffirming our FY2025 financial targets.” “Our continued innovation and diversified go-to-market strategy drove a record Q1, with new AI-first standalone and add-on innovations exiting the quarter with over $125 million ending ARR book of business,” said Dan Durn, executive vice president and CFO, Adobe. “Our customer- focused strategy, leading product portfolio and strong cash flow position us for sustainable long-term growth and increased market share.”

The Postal Service has one of largest fleets in the world, with more than 246,000 vehicles that drive more than a billion miles every year, delivering mail to more than 169 million delivery points across the nation. Safe driving is a paramount part of our duties as we are Delivering for America. As part of a safe driving public awareness campaign, the Postal Service is reminding customers of the importance of staying vigilant when maneuvering near postal vehicles. “Postal Service employees drive our nation’s roads every day, providing a vital service, to deliver America’s mail safely. It is something we strive to do 365 days a year,” said USPS Employee Safety and Health Awareness Manager Leeann Theriault. “We encourage the public to stay alert when around postal vehicles, and together, we can protect our drivers and everyone else on the road. This will reduce risks and ensure that everyone, including our employees, make it home safe.”

From the London Book Fair, Wiley announced it will provide access to a curated collection of Earth science research materials to help enhance the training and capabilities of the European Space Agency's Earth Virtual Expert (EVE). Wiley signed an agreement with Pi School, which is leading the development of the EVE project for ESA's Φ-lab. EVE is a fine-tuned large language model designed to transform how researchers and the public access and engage with Earth Observation and Earth science research and information. The EVE project, developed by Pi School with support from Imperative Space, is creating an innovative virtual expert capable of answering queries about Earth Observation and Earth science in natural language. Pi School's mission is to empower businesses and individuals by delivering cutting-edge AI solutions tailored to real-world challenges.

Best Buy’s sales growth online outpaced growth at stores as the retail chain reported a 0.5% boost in comparable sales for its fiscal Q4 2025, which ended Feb. 1. The company credited strong demand for computing, tablets and services. Meanwhile, Best Buy U.S. online sales in Q4 climbed 2.6% year-over-year, with ecommerce accounting for 39.5% of total revenue, up from 38% last year. “In our digital business, our focus on personalization and speed resulted in app engagement and sales growth,” CEO Corie Barry said during the company’s March 4 earnings call.

Lee Enterprises, the victim of a cyberattack and system outage on February 3, says it has contained the threat and is working with security vendors to restore automation to its business processes. “Currently all products are being produced and distributed, although some limitations remain including limited depth of products due to tightened schedules,” the company says in an SEC filing. “Additionally, certain back-office functions remain delayed including billing our clients, collections, and payments to vendors.” The company expects normal processes to be restored in the coming weeks. Lee publishes over 70 news products throughout the country.

Gannett Co., Inc. announced it has prepaid approximately $57.5 million on its five-year first lien term loan facility. As a result of this prepayment, the Company has reduced its first lien debt from $850.0 million to $792.5 million during the first quarter of 2025. The debt repayment was funded with the proceeds from the sale of the Austin-American Statesmen that was completed on February 28, 2025, as well as cash on hand. "As part of our long-term strategy, debt repayment remains a high priority, and we continue to make measurable progress, while also maintaining a healthy balance sheet and a strong liquidity position," said Michael Reed, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Costco Wholesale Corporation announced its operating results for the second quarter (twelve weeks) and the first 24 weeks of fiscal 2025, ended February 16, 2025. Net sales for the quarter increased 9.1 percent, to $62.53 billion, from $57.33 billion last year. Net sales for the first 24 weeks increased 8.3 percent, to $123.52 billion, from $114.05 billion last year. Net income for the quarter was $1,788 million, $4.02 per diluted share, compared to $1,743 million, $3.92 per diluted share, last year. For the four-week reporting month of February, ended March 2, 2025, the Company reported net sales of $19.81 billion, an increase of 8.8 percent from $18.21 billion last year. Net sales for the first 26 weeks were $133.36 billion, an increase of 8.3 percent from $123.15 billion last year.

*Third quarter reported revenue of $405 million vs. $461 million due to foregone revenue from divested businesses *Third quarter Operating Income $52 million vs. ($46 million) *Year-to-date Operating Income of $145 million vs. ($17 million) “We continue to deliver disciplined growth and material margin expansion as we capitalize on the global demand for scientific research and responsible AI model development,” said Matthew Kissner, Wiley President and CEO. “Our recurring revenue Research business has not only proven to be resilient across economic cycles but poised for continued expansion; our authoritative content and data-driven insights are increasingly coveted by corporations for their research and development initiatives, including AI enablement; and our strong execution and cost re-engineering efforts continue to deliver tangible results, with significant margin and cash flow improvement this year and raised margin expectations for Fiscal 2026.”

It’s been a busy 48 hours as President Trump has issued, and in some cases temporarily delayed sweeping tariffs which had spurred retaliation from the affected countries. On Wednesday, March 5, Trump announced he would grant a one-month delay for any tariffs on imported vehicles from Canada and Mexico that comply with the terms of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a trade agreement Trump signed with the other two countries in July 2020 during his first presidential term. Trump followed that decision up with executive orders on Thursday, March 6 that exempt all Canadian and Mexican imports which fall under the USMCA from the 25% tariff until Wednesday, April 2. According to a statement from the White House to CNBC, roughly 50% of Mexican imports and 38% of Canadian imports fall under USMCA.

Hearst Newspapers announced the launch of a multi-market advertising initiative that showcases the power of its journalism and its advances in digital storytelling. The campaign, which begins with two of Hearst’s leading news brands — the San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle — will expand to additional markets in the coming months. The effort was created in partnership with PMG, which was recently named Hearst’s creative and media agency of record. Titled “There’s More with the Chronicle,” the initiative highlights the wide-ranging coverage and digital innovations that connect readers to the issues that shape their communities and to the wider world. The campaign is part of a previously announced multimillion-dollar, multi-platform investment in brand building across Hearst’s businesses and is a key component of the company’s broader investment in its newspaper business, alongside its recent announcement to acquire the Austin American-Statesman. “We are committed to high-quality journalism and growing readership in the digital era,” said Jeff Johnson, president, Hearst Newspapers.

“As we close out the first year of the Bold New Chapter strategy, investments in the customer experience enabled us to achieve our highest comparable sales of the year, our best performance in 11 quarters,” said Tony Spring, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. “At Macy’s, our First 50 locations delivered four quarters of increased sales, while our luxury nameplates, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury, achieved accelerated annual sales growth. As we enter the second year of our strategy, we plan to scale initiatives that are resonating with our customers to drive long-term profitable growth and further unlock shareholder value.” Macy’s, Inc. net sales decreased 4.3% to $7.8 billion, with comparable sales down 1.1% on an owned basis and up 0.2% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis. Comparable owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace sales growth at Macy’s First 50 locations, Macy’s digital channel, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury was offset primarily by weakness in Macy’s non-First 50 and non-go-forward locations. Macy’s, Inc. go-forward business2 comparable sales were down 0.7% on an owned basis and up 0.6% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.

Walkouts were averted at six Gannett titles in New Jersey and New York when employees and the firm agreed on “ life-changing” increases in pay and job protections. A vote on ratification was scheduled for Thursday. The publications include the Asbury Park Press, Courier News, Home News Tribune, the Journal News, Poughkeepsie Journal and Times Herald-Record. The Jersey staffers were represented by the APP-MCJ Guild and the New York State employees by the Hudson Valley NewsGuild.

President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 10% increase to tariffs on goods from China, went into effect on March 4—and although the tariffs had been delayed once before, the publishing and printing industries are still left with more questions than answers as they look for ways to navigate the new levies. While American publishers will now face higher costs, printers in the United States hope that the tariffs will lead to more business. While the amount of printing done in Canada and Mexico is far less than in China, the new tariffs on those two nations present other challenges. For one thing, the U.S. imported $1.82 billion of uncoated paper, some of which is used in books, in 2023, according to government statistics, with 67% of that paper coming from Canada.

Total revenues across all categories year-to-date were up 6.5%, reaching $14.2 billion. Revenues for the month of December 2024 were down 4.3% as compared to December 2023, coming in at $904.6 million. Trade revenues were up 6.0%, at $9.5 billion on a year-to-date basis. Hardback revenues were up 6.8%, coming in at $3.5 billion; Paperbacks were up 3.0%, with $3.2 billion in revenue; Mass Market was down 13.3% to $122.9 million; and Special Bindings were up 4.3%, with $231.7 million in revenue. eBook revenues were up 1.6% as compared to 2023 for a total of $1.0 billion. The Digital Audio format was up 23.8%, coming in at $1.1 billion in revenue. Physical Audio was down 37.4% coming in at $8.7 million.

Urban Outfitters’ net sales increased 10.1% to a company-record $1.6 billion for its fiscal Q4, which ended on Jan. 31, delivering a new milestone for the company’s rental business Nuuly. The record quarter was part of a record year for the Philadelphia-based retailer. It saw total company net sales increase 7.7% to $5.6 billion. During its earnings call, Frank Conforti, the co-president and chief operating officer at Urban Outfitters, credited success to the Anthropologie, Free People, FP Movement and Nuuly brands. Of those brands, Nuuly also distinguished itself by becoming profitable for the retailer’s full fiscal year. “The strong revenue growth in the fourth quarter resulted in expense rate leverage in almost every expense line item, which helped deliver a record fourth quarter operating profit and another Nuuly first, its first full year of profitability,” he stated.

For the fiscal year ended February 1, 2025, net earnings were $294 million and EPS was $1.74, with EBIT of $495 million, or 3.4 percent of sales. Excluding charges related primarily to a supply chain asset impairment in the second quarter, accelerated technology depreciation in the third and fourth quarters, and privatization fees in the fourth quarter, adjusted EBIT was $593 million, or 4.1 percent of sales, and adjusted EPS was $2.17 for fiscal 2024.1 For the 13-week fourth quarter in fiscal 2024, total Company net sales decreased 2.1 percent versus the 14-week period in fiscal 2023, or increased 2.5 percent excluding approximately $190 million related to the 53rd week in fiscal 2023. Total Company gross merchandise value ("GMV") decreased 0.2 percent. Nordstrom banner net sales decreased 3.7 percent and GMV decreased 1.0 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2023. Net sales for Nordstrom Rack increased 1.2 percent.2 "Customers responded positively to the strength of our offering across both banners in the fourth quarter," said Erik Nordstrom, chief executive officer of Nordstrom, Inc. "We maintained the momentum we built throughout the year, which resulted in full-year sales and profitability coming in at the high end of our expectations."

U.S. ecommerce sales and penetration of total sales reached new peaks in 2024, according to Digital Commerce 360 analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce data. Ecommerce penetration — or the percentage of total U.S. retail sales that are completed online — has grown every year but one since the Commerce Department began tracking this data in 2000. In 2022, ecommerce penetration was 20.7%, a slight dip compared to 20.8% in 2021. As such, ecommerce penetration reached a record 22.7% in 2024. Ecommerce has accounted for at least a fifth of U.S. retail sales every year since 2020.

Most local newsrooms are cutting back their print schedules, or even eliminating them. Kentucky’s Owensboro Times is going in the opposite direction. The hyper-local digital news source is launching a quarterly print product that will hit mailboxes in Daviess County for free. The decision is based, in part, on a local regulatory issue. In an unsigned opinion column, the paper states that “outdated language in Kentucky law dictates that only print newspapers qualify as the official ‘newspaper of record.’ This designation is critical because it determines which publications can carry public notices, legal announcements, and other official records.”

Dockworkers on the East and Gulf coasts overwhelmingly approved a six-year contract Tuesday, averting the threat of a strike that could have crippled the economy. The yes vote was expected after the leadership of the International Longshoremen’s Association union reached a tentative contract agreement in January with the U.S. Maritime Alliance of ports and shipping companies. The alliance approved the contract last month, and on Tuesday rank-and-file members voted for it with nearly 99% in favor, the union said in a statement. The contract calls for a 62% pay hike over six years that would lift hourly wages at the top of the union pay scale from $39 an hour to $63 an hour. ILA President Harold Daggett, who served as the union’s chief negotiator, was quoted in the statement as saying the agreement is “the ‘gold standard’ for dockworker unions globally.”

The United States Postal Service announced refined service standards for certain market-dominant services. This includes service standard adjustments for First-Class Mail, Periodicals, Marketing Mail, and Package Services (Bound Printed Matter, Media Mail, and Library Mail). The changes will maintain service at existing levels for most volume and upgrade standards for more market-dominant volume than is downgraded. The changes will enhance service reliability nationwide while maintaining the existing five-day service standard day range for First-Class Mail, whereas the day ranges for end-to-end Marketing Mail, Periodicals and Package Services will be shortened. Similar changes will be made with respect to the Postal Service’s competitive products. As a result of these refined service standards, the Postal Service projects at least $36 billion in savings over 10 years from transportation, mail processing, and real estate cost reductions. As part of the ongoing “Delivering for America” plan, the Postal Service has to date lowered $1.8 billion in annual transportation costs by eliminating redundant networks and rationalizing the use of air and surface options, and reduced 45 million workhours, or $2.3 billion annually, by improving plant productivity, and eliminating unnecessary facilities. In addition, the Postal Service has increased revenue by $3.5 billion annually while transitioning its product offerings in the face of significant declines in mail volume.

As is typical in Q4, U.S. ecommerce sales — and total retail sales, for that matter — hit a quarterly high, according to Digital Commerce 360 analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce data. U.S. ecommerce sales grew at more than 6x the rate of total sales. As such, Q4 2024 marks the seventh consecutive quarter that U.S. ecommerce sales growth was at least double the rate of total sales growth. It also marks the 10th consecutive quarter that ecommerce growth outpaces total growth. Prior to that, Q2 2021 through Q2 2022 saw U.S. year-over-year total sales growth outpace ecommerce sales when COVID-19 pandemic restrictions loosened.

Walmart Inc. announces fourth-quarter results with strong growth in revenue and operating income. Globally, eCommerce grew 16% with penetration up across all segments. Walmart U.S. comp sales up 4.6%2 with positive growth in general merchandise. Looking ahead, the Company issues guidance for FY26 with net sales expected to grow 3% to 4% and adjusted operating income in constant currency (“cc”)1 to grow 3.5% to 5.5%, including a headwind of 150 basis points from the acquisition of VIZIO Holding Corp. (“VIZIO”) and lapping leap year. "Our team finished the year with another quarter of strong results. We have momentum driven by our low prices, a growing assortment, and an eCommerce business driven by faster delivery times. We’re gaining market share, our top line is healthy, and we’re in great shape with inventory. We’ll stay focused on growth, improving operating margins, and strengthening ROI as we invest to serve our customers and members even better.” Doug McMillon President and CEO, Walmart

"In 2024, we made continued strong progress executing on our strategy to advance our digital transformation, resulting in total digital revenues exceeding 45% of total revenues in the fourth quarter, and amounting to over $1.1 billion for the year. Equally important, we expanded our audience, improved engagement, and grew digital revenues through diversified channels. Total 2024 digital revenues increased by over 5% compared to 2023," said Michael Reed, Gannett Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "The successful execution of our strategy has driven continued improvement across our key financial metrics. In 2024, we delivered full-year growth in both Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow, while driving improvement to our bottom line. We also remained focused on enhancing our capital structure in 2024, which was evidenced by repaying $73.5 million of debt in addition to repayments made in connection with the completion of our comprehensive refinancing that extended our debt maturities and significantly reduced potential future dilution from our convertible notes."

The Postal Service provided a pointed response to the Postal Regulatory Commission’s (PRC) recently published Advisory Opinion on the organization’s proposed service standard changes: PRC Docket No. N2024-1, captioned “Operational and Service Standards to Meet Statutory Requirements for Reliable, Efficient High-Quality Service and Financial Sustainability Through an Integrated Mail and Package Network”. An excerpt of the response cover letter from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to PRC Chairman, Michael Kubayanda follows: “I must say that I was confounded by the Commission’s dismissal of cost savings of nearly $4 billion a year as “meager”, while characterizing service standard changes that are carefully designed and modest in impact within the current service standard day ranges as a “severe degradation” in service that must be avoided at all costs.

The United States Postal Service is today announcing that Louis DeJoy, America’s 75th Postmaster General, has notified the Postal Service Board of Governors that it is time for them to begin the process of identifying his successor. The Governors of the Postal Service, working with key stakeholders, will now begin the process of identifying an appropriate candidate to serve as the next Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service. Postmaster General’s letter to the Board of Governors: “Louis DeJoy has steadfastly served the nation and the Postal Service over the past five years,” said Amber McReynolds, chairwoman of the Board of Governors. “The Governors greatly appreciate his enduring leadership and his tireless efforts to modernize the Postal Service and reverse decades of neglect.” She added that “Louis is a fighter, and he has fought hard for the women and men of the Postal Service and to ensure that the American people have reliable and affordable service for years to come.” DeJoy stated, “While there remains much critical work to be done to ensure that the Postal Service can be financially viable as we continue to serve the nation in our essential public service mission, I have decided it is time to start the process of identifying my successor and of preparing the Postal Service for this change. The major initiatives we are currently endeavoring are multi-year programs and it is important to have leadership in place whose tenure will span this future period. After four and half years leading one of America’s greatest public institutions through dramatic change during unusual times, it is time for me to start thinking about the next phase of my life, while also ensuring that the Postal Service is fully prepared for the future."

The annual circulation figures for 26 brands within Bauer Media Group’s UK Publishing business shows that they remain a valued source of content for readers across the country with significant print sales. At the same time, many of our brands continue to expand and diversify their digital presence. Commenting on the results, Helen Morris, Co-CEO, UK Publishing said: “These results once again demonstrate the enduring impact and longevity of our brands as millions of people across the country continue to invest their time and money in our printed products and digital offerings. The success of our brands is only made possible by the relentless commitment of all our teams to develop highly engaging and creative content across a variety of formats. We’re extremely grateful to everyone across Bauer for their invaluable contributions.”

Lee Enterprises admits that its business has been affected by a cyber attack. “The incident impacted the Company’s operations, including distribution of products, billing, collections, and vendor payments,” the firm says in an SEC filing. It adds, “Distribution of print publications across our portfolio of products experienced delays, and online operations were partially limited.”

A group of independent publishers has formally incorporated as the Publishers Cooperative, a new organization aimed at leveraging collective buying power and sharing resources. The cooperative, which received its articles of incorporation this year, is currently seeking seven additional mid-sized publishers to join its eight founding members: AdventureKEEN, C&T Publishing, Gibbs-Smith, Mango Publishing, Mixed Media Resources, Mountaineers Books, Schiffer Publishing, and Ulysses Press. Membership will require publishers to meet certain scale requirements, to maintain the group's collective buying power. Amy Barrett-Daffin, publisher at C&T Publishing, said that the organization began informally in 2021, when several publishers started meeting monthly to discuss industry challenges. The founding members—Brad Farmer of Gibbs-Smith, Pete Schiffer of Schiffer Publishing, Tom Helleberg of Mountaineers Books, and Barrett-Daffin—“would try to meet monthly, and we were just sort of talking through what's working, what's not working," she said, adding that the organization's mission is "to increase profitability, to raise all boats for the co-op."

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, announced exciting summer learning solutions to support school districts in accelerating student learning in math and literacy. Savvas Summer Impact solutions offer ready-to-use instructional materials, combined with adaptive assessments and personalized learning programs, that provide summer-specific, standards-aligned curriculum to help students master grade-level instructional priorities in math (for grade K–Algebra 1) and literacy/ELA (for grades K–8). “Whether the goals of their summer learning programs include bringing students up to grade level, reenergizing learning, or preventing the summer slide, school districts are looking for high-quality instructional materials that are easy to use and maximize valuable teaching time,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company.

The Role of Print in Learning and Education goes beyond just providing information—it enhances cognitive retention, balances screen time, and fosters a focused academic environment. Unlike digital devices that contribute to digital exhaustion, print offers a tactile and immersive experience, helping students better process and retain information. By minimizing distractions and providing a well-rounded approach to education, print remains an essential tool for effective learning.

Adobe released the new Firefly application, the most comprehensive destination to generate images, vectors and now videos with the Firefly Video Model in public beta. The Firefly app is the all-in-one professional destination that inspires users to seamlessly ideate and create production quality work with unparalleled creative control, multi-modal workflows and integration with industry-leading Creative Cloud applications. The new Firefly Video Model— the industry’s first commercially safe AI video generation model — powers Generate Video (beta) in the Firefly application, as well as Generative Extend (beta) in Adobe Premiere Pro, and generates IP-friendly video content that can be used in production today. It is the latest offering in the Firefly family of creative generative AI models, which has been used to generate over 18 billion assets globally. Adobe introduced two new offerings — Firefly Standard and Firefly Pro — that give customers access to premium Firefly video and audio features. All Firefly plans include unlimited access to Firefly imaging and vector features and tiered capacity for premium video and audio features so customers can choose the right capacity for their generative AI needs.

In what appears to be a first, a federal judge has found that an artificial intelligence company infringed copyright by training its service on material it didn't own. The ruling, issued Tuesday by Judge Stephanos Bibas in Delaware federal court, comes in a battle between two companies that sell legal research tools -- Thomson Reuters' Westlaw and the competitor Ross Intelligence. Westlaw publishes court opinions, and also publishes “headnotes” to those opinions. Those headnotes provide short summaries of the key points in the opinion. Ross trained its rival legal research platform on those Westlaw headnotes, according to the court ruling.

The Company reported fourth quarter 2024 reported revenue of $3.592 billion, an increase of 14% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. Fourth quarter GAAP net income increased 52% to $880 million and GAAP diluted earnings per share increased 56% to $2.85 driven primarily by strong Ratings growth. For the full year 2024, reported revenue increased 14% year over year to $14.208 billion. Excluding the impact of Engineering Solutions (divested in 2023), revenue growth would have been 15% year over year. 2024 GAAP net income increased 47% to $3.852 billion and GAAP diluted earnings per share increased 50% to $12.35, driven primarily by revenue and operating profit growth in the Company's Ratings division.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (“Costco” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: COST) today reported net sales of $19.51 billion for the retail month of January, the four weeks ended February 2, 2025, an increase of 9.2 percent from $17.87 billion last year. Net sales for the first 22 weeks were $113.55 billion, an increase of 8.2 percent from $104.94 billion last year.

Meredith Kopit Levien, president and chief executive officer, The New York Times Company, said, “The fourth quarter capped another strong year for The Times in which we made further progress toward becoming the essential subscription for every curious person seeking to understand and engage with the world. Our market-leading news and premium lifestyle products proved more valuable to more people in 2024. Deep engagement fueled our multi-revenue stream model, and enhanced our durability even in a dynamic information ecosystem. Altogether, this momentum gives us confidence that we can deliver another year of healthy growth in subscribers, revenue, and profitability, as well as strong free cash flow.” • Growth in both digital subscribers and ARPU drove a year-over-year increase in digital subscription revenues of 16.0 percent.• Digital advertising revenues increased 9.5 percent year-over-year largely as a result of higher revenues from direct-sold display advertising and programmatic advertising. • Other revenue increased 16.3 percent year-over-year as a result of higher Wirecutter affiliate referral and licensing revenues.

The Postal Regulatory Commission (Commission) issued an in-depth analysis of the Postal Service’s Delivering for America (DFA) initiatives proposing nationwide changes to mail service. While the Commission acknowledges the challenges the Postal Service faces are significant, and change is essential, the Commission finds the Postal Service is irreversibly changing its network without laying a foundation for success. First, the Postal Service’s plan depends on defective modeling and does not appear to be ready for implementation. Second, the Postal Service relies on overly optimistic and unsubstantiated financial projections for cost savings that are not likely to improve the financial health of the Postal Service. Third, the Postal Service’s proposal has significant negative impacts on rural communities throughout the United States.

Overall, I expect this to be another calendar year of dramatic change for the United States Postal Service as we continue to refine and execute our Delivering for America Plan. I remind everyone that the Delivering for America Plan is the only comprehensive plan in existence that attempts to transform the Postal Service and set us on a path for a viable future. To begin, I want to thank the dedicated men and women of the United States Postal Service for their efforts this past quarter, which included a presidential election, our usual peak season activities, as well as a number of hurricanes and storms. We continued to meet the challenge of the year’s peak surge in mail and package volume with expanded processing capabilities, optimized transportation strategies, and enhanced operational precision.

Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Robert Thomson said: “News Corp had a fruitful quarter, qualitatively and quantitatively. Revenues on a continuing operations basis, which excludes Foxtel, grew 5 percent to $2.24 billion, net income from continuing operations surged 58 percent to $306 million and Total Segment EBITDA rose 20 percent to $478 million. The three pillars of growth—Digital Real Estate, Dow Jones and Book Publishing—continued to expand Segment EBITDA robustly. We also saw the positive impact of rigorous cost discipline and digital development in the News Media segment, and our overall margin rose meaningfully compared to the prior year."

Fourth Quarter 2024 - Net sales increased 10% to $187.8 billion in the fourth quarter; Operating income increased to $21.2 billion in the fourth quarter; Net income increased to $20.0 billion in the fourth quarter. Full Year 2024 - Net sales increased 11% to $638.0 billion in 2024; Operating income increased to $68.6 billion in 2024; Net income increased to $59.2 billion in 2024. "The holiday shopping season was the most successful yet for Amazon and we appreciate the support of our customers, selling partners, and employees who helped make it so,” said Andy Jassy, President and CEO, Amazon. “When we look back on this quarter several years from now, I suspect what we’ll most remember is the remarkable innovation delivered across all of our businesses, none more so than in AWS where we introduced our new Trainium2 AI chip, our own foundation models in Amazon Nova, a plethora of new models and features in Amazon Bedrock that give customers flexibility and cost savings, liberating transformations in Amazon Q to migrate from old platforms, and the next edition of Amazon SageMaker to pull data, analytics, and AI together more concertedly. These benefits are often realized by customers (and the business) several months down the road, but these are substantial enablers in this emerging technology environment and we’re excited to see what customers build.”

The Association of American Publishers announced that its Directors have elected Brian Murray as Chair of the Board for the 2025-2026 term. Mr. Murray, who is President and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers, has been on the board since 2008. He was previously elected Chair in 2015, and served as an officer from 2014-2017. Additionally, Mr. Murray served on the executive committee of the International Publishers Association for AAP from 2011 to 2018. In 1970 HarperCollins Publishers, then known as Harper & Row, was a founding member of AAP. The Board also elected Tyrrell Mahoney, President of Chronicle Books, to the position of Vice Chair. Ms. Mahoney has served on the AAP Board since 2019. Jeremy North, Managing Director, Books, Taylor & Francis, who has served on the Board since 2015, was re-elected as Treasurer. YS Chi, Chairman of Elsevier, and Director of Corporate Affairs for the RELX Group, will remain an officer as Immediate Past Chair.

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, is excited to announce that Savvas CTE, its offering of online career and technical education (CTE) and certification prep courses, has won the Tech & Learning Best of 2024 Award. The Best of 2024 award program celebrates the brightest new products in the educational space — the technology that’s been turning heads, supporting teachers, and helping students to learn faster, easier, and more successfully than ever before. Tech & Learning selected Savvas CTE as a winner in the secondary education category of the most impactful educational technologies helping schools improve teaching and learning in 2024.

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, is excited to announce that the South Carolina State Board of Education has approved the full suite of Savvas K-12 math programs for statewide adoption across all grade levels. Savvas is the only learning solutions provider to have all of its K-12 math programs approved as state-adopted high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) covering every grade level for South Carolina classrooms. The Savvas math programs for South Carolina, which are fully aligned to the 2025 South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Mathematics Standards, include: enVision Mathematics South Carolina Grades K-5; enVision Mathematics South Carolina Grades 6-8; enVision A|G|A (Geometry, Algebra 1, Algebra 2) South Carolina; Experience Math Grades K-5.