The Justice Department antitrust lawsuit aimed at blocking the partnership between JetBlue Airways and American Airlines went to trial on Tuesday. Last year, the Justice Department, the District of Columbia, and six states filed an antitrust lawsuit to block the 2020 agreement between JetBlue and American to sell seats on one another’s flights along specific routes. More: - The 2020 agreement between the airlines, dubbed the Northeast Alliance, created a partnership between American and JetBlue at three New York area airports and in Boston.
- The deal included pooling airport slots, coordinating schedules, and sharing revenue from flights within the scope of their partnership in the Northeast.
- The DOJ claims the partnership is an unlawful merger, and rather than competing, the airlines are collaborating.
- According to Justice Department lawyer William Jones, internal text and email messages from American executives before the partnership show the airline was worried about JetBlue undercutting them on airfares.
- The DOJ said the airline partnership could cost passengers more than $700M annually in higher fares.
- JetBlue and American argue the partnership allows both airlines to compete better with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in the Northeast markets.
- The lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts federal court.
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Brett Harrison, the U.S. president of crypto exchange FTX, announced he is stepping down from the role via Twitter on Tuesday. Harrison said he would transfer his responsibilities and move into an advisory role at the company. Harrison joined FTX in May 2021, growing FTX U.S. from a team of three to over 100. More: - Before FTX, Harrison worked at Citadel Securities and Jane Street, where FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried started his finance career.
- Harrison ended his Twitter thread by noting he can’t wait to share what he’ll be doing next.
- FTX has been working on expanding in the U.S.
- According to sources, the company is in talks to raise up to $1B at a flat valuation.
- FTX was valued at $32B in a funding round earlier this year.
- FTX is set to buy the assets of embattled crypto lender Voyager Digital for about $1.4B.
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The U.S. Transportation Department has approved EV charging stations for all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The plans cover about 75,000 miles of highways. In February, the Biden administration approved $5B to fund EV chargers over the next five years as part of the bipartisan infrastructure legislation. More: - The plan, called the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVIFP), allows states to build a network of EV charging stations along designated alternative fuel corridors on the national highway system.
- States had to provide their EV infrastructure deployment proposals to the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to be approved.
- States now have access to more than $1.5B to help build EV chargers.
- The Transportation Department officials said states should build charging stations every 50 miles and ensure each station is located within one mile of an interstate highway.
- The Biden administration aims to build a national network of 500,000 EV charging stations by 2030.
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Ford is investing $700M and creating 500 additional hourly manufacturing jobs in Kentucky. The investment is part of the automaker's Ford+ plan for growth and value-creation and will support the new F-Series Super Duty pickup being built at Ford's truck plant in Louisville, Kentucky. More: - Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear referred to the investment as the largest in Jefferson County and proclaimed Tuesday as "KenTRUCKy Day."
- The new Ford F-Series Super Duty truck will be unveiled on Tuesday night at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.
- Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is also marking the day with special chicken buckets that say "KenTRUCKy."
- Ford employs more than 12,000 people in Kentucky and contributes roughly $11.8B to the state's GDP.
- Ford is also investing $5.8B in a new battery production facility in Kentucky called the BlueOval SK Battery Park.
- The facility is expected to create 5,000 new jobs in the region.
- Ford shares closed at $11.91 on Tuesday, down less than 1%.
- The company is down over 45% YTD.
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General Motors has pushed back its return-to-office mandate following employee backlash. On Friday, the company initially said corporate employees would be required to return to physical locations at least three days a week starting later this year. More: - On Tuesday, the automaker sent up new communication saying employees would not need to return to the office until Q1 2023.
- GM also said the company wouldn’t specify in-office days but would allow individual teams to determine which days work best for them.
- The company said it would send out more information at the end of the following month as it continues to listen to employee feedback.
- Last year, GM announced a flexible work policy called “Work Appropriately,” aimed at creating a simple approach to its return to office strategy.
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Amazon announced another two-day shopping event similar to its Prime Day two-event held in July. The e-commerce giant hopes the new event, dubbed Prime Early Access Sale, will kick off the holiday shopping season. Prime Early Access Sale is set for Oct. 11 and 12. More: - According to Amazon, customers bought more than 300 million items during its July Prime Day shopping event.
- The October sale event will be available in 15 countries, including the U.S., the U.K, China, and most of Europe.
- The company aims to boost its Q2 revenue, which is its most crucial period of the year.
- Amazon shares closed at $114.41 on Tuesday, down less than 1%.
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- Hurricane Ian is set to become one of the most expensive storms in U.S. history. The storm hit Cuba with winds near 120 mph and is about 230 miles from Sarasota, Florida. The storm is forecasted to bring 6-foot storm surges into Tampa Bay and heavy rains across the southeastern U.S.
- NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft crashed into an asteroid on Monday to deflect the space rock. The mission was a test to see whether this technique could be used to protect Earth from an asteroid disaster someday.
- Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky resigned from the company on Tuesday. In July, the crypto company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Mashinsky’s resignation is effective immediately, but he said he would continue helping the company provide creditors with the best outcomes.
- Founder of defunct crypto firm Terraform Labs Do Kwon refuted claims by South Korean authorities that he is on the run. South Korea has issued an arrest warrant for Kwon and claims that Interpol also has an arrest for Kwon. Kwon is believed to be residing in Singapore.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Freelance Writer for Inside.com. She writes the Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, exploring cities, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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