Business briefs: Total threatens to scuttle $2 billion natural gas project in Iran

The French oil giant Total threatened Wednesday to pull out of a $2 billion natural gas project in Iran if President Donald Trump does not give it a waiver from sanctions he reimposed on Iran last week. Total said it was seeking French government support for "a specific project waiver" from the Trump administration that would protect the company from indirect effects of U.S. sanctions. Total signed a 20-year contract with Iran last July 4, agreeing to spend at least $2 billion on the South Pars field, an offshore area Iran shares with Qatar. U.S. banks provide more than 90 percent of Total's financing, the French firm said.

Two female former employees of AT&T Mobility LLC accused the company of discriminating against pregnant women, alleging that they were both fired for missing work because of pregnancy-related medical care. The plaintiffs say the AT&T subsidiary penalized them under the company's nationwide "no-fault" attendance system that allows employees to have a certain number of absences without explanation. But the policy also assigns point-based demerits for late arrivals, early departures or absences, and although it exempts a number of absences from the point system — ranging from jury duty to short-term disability — it does not mention pregnancy. The case raises concerns about the legal boundaries of "no-fault" attendance policies, which tend to apply to jobs that offer hourly pay.\

21st Century Fox Inc.'s Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of media magnate Rupert Murdoch, plans to take the helm of the remaining business following a proposed deal to sell most of its entertainment assets to Walt Disney Co. The executive will assume both the CEO and chairman jobs at the company, which is being referred to as New Fox. Rupert Murdoch will become co-chairman, alongside his son. The widely expected move comes as Fox tries to complete the Disney deal, which involves selling about $52 billion of entertainment assets. But the matter may not be settled. Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable channel, is said to be preparing financing for a potential counterbid for the Fox operations.

In a day of high drama even for the media industry's most combative family, Shari Redstone spent Wednesday furiously trying to outmaneuver CBS in a brawl for control of the storied media company. The day ended in a Delaware courtroom where the judge issued a protective order to prevent further changes to CBS or its board, according to a person close to the situation who was not authorized to comment. The Redstones are locked in a dispute with CBS over a proposed merger with Viacom. Shari Redstone wants to merge CBS with Viacom, which owns MTV, Comedy Central, BET and Nickelodeon. CBS does not want to be saddled with the troubles of the weaker Viacom, and on Sunday a special committee of the CBS board determined that such a merger was not in the company's best interest.

Walmart has ended its Scan & Go test at stores in a few states including Texas, Arkansas, Florida and Tennessee. The phase out comes as Amazon said it will take its automated convenience store, Amazon Go, to Chicago and San Francisco. Like it has with so many other shopping experiences, Amazon will be teaching more customers to like something new. Amazon opened its first Go store in Seattle letting its own employees shop there first and then opening it to the public in January. The scan-as-you-shop system will continue in Sam's Clubs, said Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield. She said that while this test market is ending, the retailer is "working to bring customers more convenience and so we'll use what we've learned to improve this and other services in the future." A labor group, Making Change at Walmart, said Walmart is giving up on the test because customers don't want to do the job of a cashier.