In today’s latest Bulldog wrapup of technology and life science news:

  • Snapchat now lets you book Uber rides
  • Ikea on Amazon? Furniture giant to use online retailers
  • Pfizer considers consumer business sale
  • Walmart sees the future and it is digital
  • Supreme Court rejects free speech appeal in sexting case

The details:

  • Snapchat now lets you book Uber rides

Facebook has often been accused of copying Snapchat. Now Snapchat may be taking a page from Facebook.

Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, announced a new feature called Context Cards on Tuesday that lets users book Uber rides and restaurant reservations directly through the messaging app.

On certain Snapchat posts, users will now be able to swipe up for more related information, including maps, reviews and booking options.

If a restaurant is tagged in a post, for example, Snapchat may offer the chance to make a reservation there through OpenTable, or book a ride to it through either Uber or Lyft.

While the format of Context Cards is unique to Snapchat, the concept of integrating with third-party applications to allow for bookings is not new. Facebook Messenger already lets users book Uber rides and OpenTable reservations.

The appeal goes beyond increasing engagement for users. It also offers Snap a potential new revenue stream by positioning the app as a powerful tool for discovering events and destinations.

  • Ikea on Amazon? Furniture giant to use online retailers

Ikea will start selling furniture through third-party websites next year as it tries to find new ways to reach customers in the digital age.

Kaisa Lyckdal, spokeswoman for the Swedish home furnishing giant, says the aim is to start a trial in 2018 but that “no decisions are made regarding what platforms/markets will be in the pilot.”

Lyckdal said Tuesday in an email to The Associated Press that Ikea would further develop its online sales strategy “over the coming years.”

Ikea’s main focus “remains of course with our existing sales channels,” including its own websites and stores.

The group says 2.3 billion people globally visited Ikea sites in 2017. Founded in Sweden and headquartered fiscally in Leiden, the Netherlands, Ikea has more than 400 stores in 49 countries.

  • Pfizer considers consumer business sale

Pfizer may be done selling ChapStick, Advil, Robitussin and other brands that people can buy without a prescription.

The pharmaceutical giant is weighing options for its consumer healthcare business. It may spin off or sell the unit, which also produces Advil, Preparation H and the Centrum brand of vitamins. Pfizer may also leave the business as is, with no sale.

The New York drugmaker expects any decisions on the business to be made next year.

Chairman and CEO Ian Read said Tuesday that consumer health products are distinct enough from the company’s main biopharmaceutical business that its value might be “more fully realized” outside the company.

The consumer health care unit had revenue of about $3.4 billion last year, while the company as a whole recorded $52.8 billion.

Centerview Partners, Guggenheim Securities and Morgan Stanly are working as financial advisers for the review.

Pfizer’s larger prescription drug business includes the erectile dysfunction treatment Viagra, the breast cancer drug Ibrance and the cholesterol fighter Lipitor. The company booked a $3.07 billion profit in the in the second quarter on $12.9 billion in revenue. The company will report third-quarter results later this month.

  • Walmart sees the future and it is digital

Walmart is all about online, anticipating digital sales next fiscal year will rise about 40 percent and that it will double the number of U.S. curbside locations for online grocery shoppers at its stores.

But the world’s largest retailer continues to scale back new store growth in the U.S., with plans to open only 25 in its fiscal year 2019, which ends January 2019. That compares with opening 230 new U.S. stores during fiscal 2016.

The retail behemoth is predicting net sales growth at or above 3 percent, driven by online sales and growth from existing stores for the next fiscal year.

The company reiterated its per-share earnings guidance for next year and launched a two-year, $20 billion share repurchase program.

Shares rose more than 5 percent on the news

“No doubt we are in a transformational period of history,” said Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart Stores Inc., in an address Tuesday to investors at an annual meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas. “Our future is looking more digital.”

  • Supreme Court rejects free speech appeal in sexting case

The Supreme Court has turned away a free-speech appeal from a former school lunch server in Minnesota who was charged with sexting a 15-year-old student.

The justices did not comment Tuesday in allowing the criminal case against Krista Muccio to proceed.

Muccio was charged with sending words and photos of a sexual nature to the student. The teen’s father found them on his son’s Instagram account.

A Minnesota appeals court had struck down a state law aimed at adults who use social media to lure children into sexual encounters. The state’s Supreme Court overruled the lower court.