AT&T plans to open Chicago flagship store today that nods to Apple.

Al Jezeera bets on soccer to win U.S. viewers.

Apple rejects app that tracks U.S. drone strikes.

Barilla makes pasta push in U.S.

Beachbody sees PX90 orders rise thanks to Paul Ryan's abs.

Facebook plans to roll out e-mail and phone-number targeting.

Ford is accused of infringing on fuel-injection patent in F-150.

Hyundai seals wage deal with unions. Continue reading...

It's 7-Eleven Day, so slurp it up! Highlighting the obvious tie-in between its brand name and event marketing manna from heaven, 7-Eleven stores long ago picked July 11 (7/11) at the height of North America's summer to throw a party and drive customers to the Slurpee machine.

To celebrate the convenience store chain's 85th year in business, 7-Eleven is giving away free 7.11 (of course) ounce Slurpee drinks between 11 AM and 7 PM local time (not, alas, 7 AM-11 PM) on 7/11/12. Last year, 7-Eleven handed out 5 million Slurpee drinks on 7-Eleven Day. This year, how many do you think they expect to distribute? Why, 7 million, of course.Continue reading...

A new Green Lantern clip proves that the Green Lantern may be able to imagine anything into existence, but if he wants a delicious foot-long sub, all he needs is $5.

The Subway product placement is just one of the myriad brand tie-ins trying to get a taste of the latest summer superhero. While X-Men: First Class seemed to eschew product partners, Green Lantern is more than making up for it.Continue reading...

Airbus may develop longer-range plane to rival Boeing.

Apple tucks Newsstand into WWDC announcements.

AT&T's bid for T-Mobile is supported by Microsoft and Facebook.

Barack Obama's chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, resigns.

Bayer prostate-cancer drug shows promise.

BHP Billiton starts first US Gulf well since BP disaster.

BP tries to salvage Rosneft deal.Continue reading...

Six Flags theme parks are emerging from bankruptcy just in time for a new season and marketing campaign built around the company’s Mr. Six mascot. Could there be any better harbinger of a brighter economy on the horizon?

In fact, the amusement-park chain is giving Mr. Six a younger companion named Little Six, pairing them up in pitches that include TV commercials and appearances on the Six Flags website.

To some, Mr. Six has been a bit, well, creepy ever since he appeared in 2008. Skeptics, no doubt, will dismiss Little Six as a happier echo of Mini-Me, the diminutive doppelganger in the Austin Powers movie series.Continue reading...

Hewlett-Packard confirmed rumors that it will acquire Palm for about $1 billion, and plans to "invest heavily in product development." The sale should be good news for mobile computing and Palm investor Bono. In personal branding news, Bruce Willis taped a spot (above) for his upcoming cologne launching in (Cologne?) Germany while David Letterman is launching his own music label. Also garnering buzz today:Continue reading...