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☆ Boycotts rarely work — but anti-LGBTQ+ backlash is forcing companies into tough choices
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Stefan Sykes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

For companies like Target and Disney, it is unclear if boycotts will hit sales. The company said it has not changed any policy on decorations and is encouraging stores to celebrate Pride Month. Despite the mounting headlines and sustained criticism of Bud Light, corporate boycotts are "overstated," and those offended by campaigns tied to Pride Month are in the "minority," Ellis said. Bud Light appears to be an outlierIn April, the brewer ran a March Madness promotion with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who shared a customized Bud Light can on Instagram. Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesIt isn't just Bud Light — brands across the board are facing calls to boycott their goods or services.

Persons: Gene Kim, Bud Light, Anson Frericks, Starbucks baristas, Sarah Kate Ellis, Ellis, Dylan Mulvaney, Brendan Whitworth, — Alissa Heinerscheid, Daniel Blake —, Bump Williams, Busch, Frericks, Bud, Marcel Marcondes, Marcondes, Justin Sullivan, Jack Daniel's, Lawrence Glickman, Glickman, baristas, hasn't, Disney isn't, Ron DeSantis, Lindsey Roeschke, Brayden King, King, David Cliff, Nurphoto Organizations: Anheuser, Busch, Target, Disney, Starbucks, Pride Month, Target's, Pride, GLAAD, Mulvaney, CNBC, Gay, Chamber, Commerce, Cannes Lions International, Creativity, Brands, Kohl's, Nike, Adidas, Ford, Associated Press, American Studies, Cornell University, Consumer, Walt Disney Co, Florida Gov, Brand Intelligence, Morning, Northwestern University, Getty Locations: U.S, America, San Francisco , California, Oklahoma, Florida

Several Republican 2024 presidential hopefuls criticized Donald Trump Sunday as the former president faces 37 federal counts for allegedly hoarding documents after he left the White House. "He's a petulant child when someone disagrees with him," Christie told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday. Presidential hopeful and former Vice President Mike Pence said it is "premature" to say whether or not he would pardon Trump were he to be convicted. "All we know is what the president has been accused of in the indictment," Pence told NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday. But Trump had a supporter on Sunday in Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy who has said the former president should be pardoned if convicted.

Persons: Mike Pence, Donald Trump, Trump, —, Bill Barr, John Kelly, Chris Christie, Christie, CNN's, Pence, NBC's, Joe Biden, Asa Hutchinson, Hutchinson, I'm, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, Martin Luther King Jr Organizations: Republican, Donald Trump Sunday, White, Former New Jersey Gov, Union, Sunday, Press, Republican National, Arkansas Republican, Federal Bureau of, Fox, Civil Locations: Ankeny , Iowa, United States, Arkansas

PGA TOUR logo is seen during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 29, 2021 in San Diego, California. The Justice Department's Antitrust Division has informed the PGA Tour it will review the organization's proposed merger with Saudi-funded LIV Golf, a source told NBC News on Thursday. The Justice Department and LIV Golf declined to comment. The PGA Tour policy board will have to approve the agreement, Monahan told players in a memo. The PGA Tour revealed Tuesday that Monahan is currently recovering from an unspecified medical matter and is taking a leave of absence.

Persons: LIV, LIV Golf, Democratic Sens, Elizabeth Warren of, Ron Wyden, Sen, Richard Blumenthal, Conn, Wyden, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, LIV dangled, Donald Trump, Jay Monahan, Monahan Organizations: Farmers Insurance, Torrey Pines, Department's Antitrust, PGA, Saudi, NBC, Justice, LIV, CNBC, PGA Tour, Democratic, Oregon, DOJ, Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Tour Locations: San Diego , California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, New Jersey

☆ Cracker Barrel saluted Pride Month, and some people are losing it
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Leslie J. Allen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cracker Barrel posted a "Happy Pride Month" salute on social media with a rainbow rocking chair. The restaurant chain posted a photo on its Facebook page Thursday showing a rainbow-themed rocking chair on the porch of a Cracker Barrel restaurant. Facebook user Scarlett Wells wrote: "I've literally avoided Cracker Barrel because I was pretty sure y'all weren't inclusive. The backlash against Cracker Barrel is the latest in a wave of anti-LGBTQ protests and boycotts against major businesses, including Target, Bud Light, and Disney. Cracker Barrel also sparked criticism and boycott threats last year when it added vegan sausage to its menu.

Persons: —, Scarlett Wells, I've, Critics, Ronny Jackson, Wu Tang, Bud Light Organizations: Facebook, Service, Pride, Texas Republican, Target, Disney, New York Times Locations: Texas, Tennessee

☆ 'The Flash' reportedly has a 'secret ending' that Warner Bros. is trying to keep from leaking before it hits theaters
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Nathan Mcalone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"The Flash" reportedly has a "secret ending" that studio Warner Bros. is trying to keep under wraps. Warner Bros. is trying to "keep the 'secret ending'" of "The Flash" "under wraps" ahead of its June 16 release, Variety's Tatiana Siegel reported Saturday. Now the ending has been settled, but the studio is still trying to keep its contents from leaking to the general public. In showings on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank this week, Siegel reported, the final scene was intact but "key elements" were blurred out. Siegel reported that a script for a sequel has already been written.

Persons: Ezra Miller, Variety's Tatiana Siegel, Miller, Jason Guerrasio, Guerrasio, — didn't, Siegel, Andy Muschietti, wouldn't, Muschietti, Miller's Organizations: Warner Bros, Morning, CinemaCon Locations: CinemaCon, Burbank

☆ Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll is writing an online romance novel with Trump's niece that will include 'erotic scenes,' 'a very bad man,' but no politics
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

E. Jean Carroll is writing an online romance novel with Mary Trump and law professor Jennifer Taub. The novel will be released in installments on Substack, Carroll announced in her newsletter. Carroll recently won a battery and defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump. "It's completely unlikely and weird and counterintuitive," Mary Trump told The New York Times about the novel. Mary Trump, Carroll, and Taub befriended each other in a Zoom knitting circle during the height of the pandemic, according to Backstory Serial.

Persons: Jean Carroll, Mary Trump, Jennifer Taub, Carroll, Donald Trump, —, Fred Trump Jr, Donald Trump's, Trump, It's, Mary, Taub Organizations: Service, Western New England University School of Law, The New York Times, Times Locations: Bella

☆ Disney still has plans to spend billions in Florida despite its battle with DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Ron DeSantis, Disney remains committed to the state of Florida. Those figures have been repeated by CEO Bob Iger and parks chief Josh D'Amaro over the past few months, as tensions between Disney and Florida lawmakers have continued to ratchet up. Disney recently scrapped plans to open up a new employee campus in Lake Nona, Florida, citing "changing business conditions." "And this includes things like the transformation of Epcot," he explained. "It includes things like there's a new Star Tours attraction coming, we have a new Tiana attraction that's coming.

☆ Disney scraps plans for new Florida campus, mass employee relocation amid DeSantis feud
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Disney has abandoned plans to open up a new employee campus in Lake Nona, Florida, amid rising tensions with the state's governor. "This was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one," D'Amaro told employees. Many Disney employees balked at the company's relocation plans when they were first announced in July 2021 by former CEO Bob Chapek. Disney's announcement comes amid a bitter feud between the company and Florida Gov. The special district has allowed the entertainment giant to effectively self-govern its Orlando parks' operations for decades.

Disney on Tuesday asked a Florida court to dismiss a lawsuit by the board of supervisors that Gov. By signing that legislation, DeSantis essentially carried out the same action that the board is asking the court to take, Disney argued. Disney filed suit after the board voted to undo development contracts that the company says it struck to secure its investments. Disney expanded its lawsuit last week, accusing DeSantis of doubling down on his political vendetta by signing legislation to void Disney's development deals in Orlando. In March, the district's new slate of supervisors accused Disney of crafting "11th-hour" development deals intended to thwart the board's power over the 25,000-acre area.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference at the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum in Titusville, May 1, 2023. Ron DeSantis, accusing the Republican leader of doubling down on his "retribution campaign" against the company by signing legislation to void Disney's development deals in Orlando. Disney's amended lawsuit also noted that Florida's Republican-led legislature passed legislation last week targeting Walt Disney World's monorail system. On Friday, the final day of the state's 2023 legislative session, DeSantis signed a bill that included language effectively targeting Disney's development contracts. Linda Stewart, a Democrat representing Florida's 13th Senate district and a staunch critic of DeSantis' actions against Disney, called the feud between DeSantis and Disney "insane" and laid blame with her Republican counterparts.

☆ A former Nike runner says the company stopped paying her while she was pregnant and portrayed her as 'Miss America in a crop top'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Nike "takes great pride as a leader in supporting female athletes," the company said. Goucher's book also describes a persistently sexist culture at the Nike Oregon Project and says that Alberto Salazar, a celebrated distance runner and former Nike coach, sexually assaulted her. "My story helped sell shoes, shorts, T-shirts, and bras," Goucher wrote of her time as a Nike-backed runner. "In 2018 we standardized our approach across all sports to support all of our female athletes during pregnancy," Nike said in the statement. We know that Nike can continue to play an elevated role in supporting female athletes and improving their experience in sports."

☆ Major fears are sweeping into Israel's economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Jason Gewirtz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesNew concerns about Israel's economy are leading global investors to question the money they have in the country. The law would alter Israel's judicial system by giving sitting governments full control of judicial appointments. A drop in Israel's credit rating would increase the cost of borrowing and hurt fundraising. A major part of the Israeli economy is tied to the value of the Israel shekel against the U.S. dollar. That in turn hurt critical parts of Israel's economy including real estate, as companies and individual citizens moved their money into U.S. dollars or other currencies.

☆ Nina Montée Karp and Dr. Harvey Karp turned the $1,700 Snoo into the holy grail of parenting. But some say they overhyped the crib's abilities and created a nightmarish corporate culture.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Kate Taylor | Jake Swearingen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Karp and Montée Karp built the hype into a parenting-media empire that put out three books and two instructional films in 10 years. Karp and Montée Karp met at a Hollywood party in the early '90s. Karp and Montée Karp promised her independence and flexibility to accommodate her two young children's day-care schedules and a 90-minute commute. Karp and Montée Karp insisted on being involved in minutiae that most top executives hand off. Karp and Montée Karp turned the Snoo into an award-winning holy grail of parenthood in just a few years.

☆ A husband-wife duo turned the $1,700 Snoo into the holy grail of parenting, but some say they run their company like a dysfunctional 'surveillance state'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Kate Taylor | Jake Swearingen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

☆ Belarus' exiled opposition leader says trial has 'nothing to do with justice'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Belarus' exiled opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, has bene put of trial for charges of treason and attempting to seize power. Belarus' exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was put on trial in absentia this week on treason charges, said she has no hope that she will receive a fair trial. Tsikhanouskaya fled Belarus after Lukashenko seized power in the sharply contested 2020 elections, which were followed by widespread demonstrations over alleged electoral fraud. She was put on trial Tuesday and faces a possible jail term of 15 years on charges of treason and attempting to seize power. Tsikhanouskaya's trial comes amid ongoing concerns over Lukashenko's ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the possible escalation of Belarus' engagement in the war in Ukraine.

☆ ChatGPT: CEOs at Davos are using it to write work emails
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Davos, Switzerland CNN —Jeff Maggioncalda, the CEO of online learning provider Coursera, said that when he first tried ChatGPT, he was “dumbstruck.” Now, it’s part of his daily routine. He uses the powerful new AI chatbot tool to bang out emails. Maggioncalda is one of thousands of business leaders, politicians and academics gathered in Davos, Switzerland this week for the World Economic Forum. He’s also used the platform to write emails and claims no one has noticed the difference. He even had it perform some accounting work, a service for which Tradeshift currently employs an expensive professional services firm.

☆ Apple and Google are both at their biggest risk of disruption in over a decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Matt Weinberger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This year, Apple and Google will both face their first real tests in a very long time. Apple could finally open its walled garden, potentially disrupting the App Store juggernaut. Google has spent the last decade-plus guarding its advertising business; Apple has built as many moats around its all-important iPhone business as possible, happily collecting App Store fees and Apple Music subscriptions. Let's look at how this is finally the year that Apple and Google will face their most meaningful competition yet. If the App Store opens up and the iPhone doesn't become a toxic hellstew, perhaps Apple will reconsider its approach.

☆ Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI dies at 95
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Corky Siemaszko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican," the statement said. Benedict was the longest-living pope, having surpassed Pope Leo XIII in September 2020. "We must think about what Pope Benedict said — 'It's the epoch of sin against God the Creator,'" Francis said at a gathering of Polish bishops. Unlike most priests, Benedict logged little time in parishes. In 2005, his first year as pope, he was accused in a lawsuit of having personally covered up a priest's abuse of three boys in Texas.

☆ Midterm elections live updates: Pennsylvania races, New Hampshire Senate race too early to call
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Brandy Zadrozny | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Sahil-Kapur-Headshot.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +109 min

Share this -Link copiedWisconsin Senate and governor's races too early to call It is too early to call the Senate and gubernatorial races in Wisconsin, according to NBC News. Share this -Link copiedNew Hampshire Senate race too early to call The Senate race in New Hampshire is too early to call, according to NBC News. Share this -Link copiedPennsylvania Senate and governor races are too early to call After polls closed at 8 p.m. While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a “hiccup,” it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said.

While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a “hiccup,” it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. According to the poll, 46% of voters said their family’s financial situation is worse than it was two years ago. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP, filed a similar complaint Friday against state election officials. The app and portal had been down for part of the morning and the state's election hotline also briefly experienced issues. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said.

☆ A gay Republican who said Trump was 'at his full awesomeness' on January 6 is headed to Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

George Santos is set to become the only openly gay sitting Republican member of Congress. Santos will also be only the third openly gay Republican member of Congress, following former Reps. Jim Kolbe of Arizona and Steve Gunderson of Illinois. He is the first Republican to be openly gay at the time of his election. At the same time, Republicans have shown an increasing openness to same-sex marriage. Nonetheless, most members of the House Republican Conference voted against enshrining the right to same-sex marriage into law.

☆ While Elon Musk said 'comedy is now legal' following his acquisition of Twitter, jokes about the new owner and criticism over his takeover are getting users blocked and suspended
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The day after he purchased Twitter, billionaire Elon Musk posted "comedy is now legal" on the platform. In the days since, parody accounts impersonating Musk and joking about the acquisition have been removed. Musk tweeted on Sunday that unlabeled parody accounts will be "permanently suspended" without warning. The day after he purchased Twitter, Musk posted a tweet saying "comedy is now legal" on the platform, but in the days since his takeover, parody accounts impersonating Musk have cropped up across the site, riffing about the new owner, and getting banned in the process. Musk added that going forward, any change in name at all from a verified account would result in a "temporary loss of verified checkmark."

☆ DeSantis went to battle with Disney, but he didn't mention he got married there
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ron and Casey DeSantis got married at the Walt Disney World Resort in 2009.in 2009. But details of the DeSantis Disney wedding, known to an estimated 150 guests in attendance at the September 26, 2009, nuptials, hasn't previously been reported. Three people confirmed the location to Insider, which learned of the DeSantis wedding location while reporting a story about Casey DeSantis. Octavio Jones/Getty ImagesDeSantis revoked Disney's special carve-outThe Disney wedding venue is the latest news to emerge from the DeSantis-Disney saga. Disney is Florida's largest private employer through its Walt Disney World theme park and resort, and the company has championed gay rights since the 1990s.

☆ DeSantis' popularity among Latinos is boosting his chances of being the first Republican in 20 years to win Miami-Dade
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carmen.Jpg | Carmen Sesin | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Ron DeSantis’ popularity among Latinos, saying they are boosting his chances of becoming the first Republican governor in 20 years to win traditionally blue Miami-Dade County and therefore propelling his chances of a successful presidential run in 2024. The last time a Republican governor won Miami-Dade County was Jeb Bush in 2002. “DeSantis overperforms here in a way that you don’t tend to see Republican candidates perform elsewhere with Hispanics,” he said. Faced with this, Florida Democrats have expressed frustration and anger over their limited resources and money from national donor groups. Hillary Clinton won Miami-Dade County by almost 30 points in 2016, but Biden won the county by only 7 points.

LONDON — Her tenure as Britain’s prime minister began in the early days of fall, but it didn’t even last until winter. The plan was criticized not only by the opposing Labour Party, but also President Joe Biden and the International Monetary Fund. Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng and British Prime Minister Liz Truss attend the annual Conservative Party conference on Oct. 2. Truss told Parliament on Wednesday, “I am a fighter, not a quitter,” after repeatedly being told she was unfit for office by opposition lawmakers. Under an expedited process, leadership challengers must win the support of 100 fellow Conservative Party lawmakers (out of a total of 357) by Monday afternoon.

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