Business News at a Glance

Trump Accuses Google of Burying Conservative News in Search Results

President Donald Trump, in a series of early morning Twitter posts Tuesday, attacked Google for what he claimed was an effort to suppress conservative news outlets supportive of his administration. Trump’s remarks — and an additional warning later in the day that Google, Facebook and Twitter “have to be careful” — escalated a conservative campaign against the internet industry that has become more pointed since Apple, Google and Facebook removed content from Alex Jones, a right-wing conspiracy theorist who runs the site Infowars. Google said that its search service was “not used to set a political agenda and we don’t bias our results toward any political ideology.”

Blocked From Posting Printable Gun Plans, Activist Will Mail Them Instead

The day after he was blocked by a federal judge from posting free blueprints for 3D printed guns online, a man who describes himself as a crypto-anarchist said he would instead send the plans to buyers for whatever they’re willing to pay. The seller, Cody Wilson, has fought for years to offer his downloadable blueprints. But on Tuesday he said he had begun selling the plans on his website, offering to mail buyers flash drives loaded with the files. "Everyone is going to continue to get these files,” Wilson told reporters Tuesday.

California Lawmakers Set Goal for Carbon-Free Energy by 2045

California took some of the most aggressive steps yet to counter the effects of climate change as legislators voted Tuesday to require that 100 percent of the state’s electricity come from carbon-free sources. The bill gives the state until 2045 to meet the goal. California had already imposed a mandate to generate 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The move highlights California’s determination to be a leader on climate issues. In May, state regulators revised the building code to require newly built homes to be equipped for solar power. California joins Hawaii, which passed legislation in 2015 calling for 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045.

Canada and U.S. Meet as Trump Moves Ahead with Mexico Trade Deal

A day after President Donald Trump threatened to exclude Canada from a revised North American Free Trade Agreement, top Canadian officials raced to Washington and said they were moving “full steam ahead” to try to reach a compromise that could save the trilateral pact. “This is a really big deal,” Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s foreign minister, said Tuesday after meeting with the U.S. trade representative. “We are encouraged by the progress that the U.S. and Mexico have made, particularly on cars and labor,” she said, adding that those concessions were “going to be valuable for workers in Canada and the United States.”

Barnes & Noble, in Fight With Former CEO, Says He Was Fired for Sexual Harassment

When Barnes & Noble fired its chief executive, Demos Parneros last month, the bookseller was mysteriously quiet about why. On Tuesday, the explanation came spilling out in a public exchange of accusations between Parneros and the company — including that Parneros had been fired in part because of claims of sexual harassment by an employee. The fight began when Parneros filed a lawsuit claiming defamation and breach of contract. He said that he had been fired without warning after a deal to sell the company fell through. He said he was owed severance of $4 million in cash, plus equity and damages.

Dozens at Facebook Unite to Challenge Its ‘Intolerant’ Liberal Culture

A post that went up quietly on Facebook’s internal message board last week, titled “We Have a Problem With Political Diversity,” quickly took off inside the social network. “We are a political monoculture that’s intolerant of different views,” Brian Amerige, a senior Facebook engineer, wrote in the post, which was obtained by The New York Times. More than 100 Facebook employees have since joined Amerige to form an online group called FB’ers for Political Diversity, according to two people who viewed the group’s page. The activity is a rare sign of organized dissent within Facebook over the company’s largely liberal workplace culture.

Producers of Plant-Based Food Sue Missouri Over Labeling of Meats

Call that veggie burger what you like, but if you’re in Missouri, don’t call it meat. A bill that was passed in May and went into effect Tuesday prohibits companies from “misrepresenting a product as meat that is not derived from harvested production livestock or poultry.” But proponents of plant-based products aren’t letting this go without a fight. Four organizations sued the state of Missouri on Monday, seeking an injunction preventing the law from being enforced. That set off a legal battle in which both sides say they are looking out for baffled consumers who want to know what exactly has gone into their burger, hot dog or chicken.