Latest news with #LGBTQ-themed
Miami Herald
22-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Target to end price match policy — and customers are seeing red. ‘Not a good move'
Target is planning to ditch its competitor price match policy, a decision that has some customers seeing red. Starting July 28, the retail giant said it will only offer price matching between Target stores and a company spokesperson confirmed to McClatchy News. For more than a decade, Target's 'price match guarantee' allowed customers to match the price of identical items sold at a lower price by Walmart and Amazon, in addition to its own stores, according to its website. For example, customers could match prices on in-store purchases, and vice versa. Prices can be matched at the time of purchase or within 14 days, Target said. 'We've found our guests overwhelmingly price match Target and not other retailers, which reflects the great value and trust in pricing that consumers see across our assortment and deals,' a Target spokesperson told McClatchy News in a statement July 21. The Minneapolis-based retailer launched its price match policy in 2013 in a move then-CEO Gregg Steinhafel said would offer shoppers an 'unbeatable value,' CBS News reported. The new policy will allow customers to 'continue to shop with confidence,' the Target spokesperson said. A notice shared in stores also cited 'guest feedback' for the changes, which have drawn the ire of some shoppers. 'I used to shop at Target a lot,' one person wrote on Reddit. 'Not anymore. This is ridiculous, and not a good move.' 'What, do guests not like saving money?' wrote another. 'I'd price match Amazon or Walmart at times and then use my discount (yes this follows policy),' another shopper posted on Reddit, adding: 'Well, I'll just buy less or buy it where it's cheaper.' The changes comes as Target struggles with lagging sales, due in part to ongoing fallout over the company's decision to roll back its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, as reported by KCRA and CNN. The company also pointed to backlash over LGBTQ-themed items offered at stores during Pride Month in 2023. First-quarter sales this year dipped nearly 4 percent as the retailer 'navigated a highly challenging environment,' Target CEO Brian Cornell said in an earnings report published in May. '...We're not satisfied with current performance and know we have opportunities to deliver faster progress on our roadmap for growth,' Cornell said. Target was the last to continue offering a price match guarantee on items from competitors, according to NewsNation. Walmart doesn't offer price matching for rival retailers — only online and in-store purchases, its website says. Amazon currently does not offer price matching.
Hindustan Times
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Over 20 states sue Trump over $6.8 billion frozen funds for after-school, summer programmes
More than 20 states have sued US President Donald Trump over the freezing of about $6.8 billion in funding for after-school, summer programmes and other programmes. The states have argued that the Donald Trump administration has violated the US Constitution by not considering Congress's sole authority over spending. (Bloomberg) Attorney generals or governors from 24 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration in federal court in Providence, Rhode Island. They argued that the US department of education and the office of management (OMB) and Budget brought chaos to schools across America by freezing funding for six programmes approved by Congress. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson told ABC News, "This is plainly against the law." He went on to explain from a legal standpoint that this is "against the Constitution, against the Impoundment Act. This is not a hard case". According to the Impoundment Control Act, 1947, Congress must note and review the executive branch withholdings of budget authority. This requires the President to report any such withholdings to Congress. ALSO READ | 20 US states sue Trump administration over sharing of medical aid data with deportation officials While the Trump administration has been going after Ivy League universities head-on, freezing millions and billions of dollars in funding, the freeze also extended to the money used to support migrant farm workers and their childrens' education, recruitment and training of teachers, English proficiency learning and academic enrichment, besides the after-school and summer programmes. The lawsuit filed against Trump said that his administration was legally required to release the funds to the states by July 1, Reuters reported. Instead, the education department notified them on June 30 that the funds would not be released under those programmes as per the deadline, citing the change in administration as its reason. At the time, an OMB spokesperson reportedly said, "ongoing programmatic review" of education funding and said initial findings showed what he termed as a misuse of grant funds to "subsidize a radical leftwing agenda." The department also raised objections to the grant money being used to support scholarship for immigrant students and LGBTQ-themed lessons. The Democratic-led states said that the freeze has resulted in cancellations of summer school and after-school programmes and the halting of other initiatives, with little time for schools to fill in the gaps in their budget. ALSO READ | Trump administration sues California over transgender athletes in schools The states have argued that the Trump administration has violated the US Constitution by not considering Congress's sole authority over spending and went against the federal administrative law by freezing funds without any logical explanation. They also said that the administration failed to abide by the Impoundment Control Act, which prevents the executive branch from single-handedly refusing to spend funds approved by Congress unless certain procedures are followed. Jackson further told ABC News, "If the courts don't act promptly, the consequences will be dire." He warned that districts face the threat of immediate harm as the school year is nearing. The North Carolina Attorney General said that the massive effect of the pause could also result in the firing of about 1,000 educators in the district. "Everybody knows when it comes to juvenile crime, you want a safe place for teenagers to be able to go, to be able to keep them out of trouble," Jackson said, adding that elimination of after-school programmes across the US has never been considered a "good idea". ALSO READ | 12 states sue Donald Trump administration in trade court to stop tariff policy Alabama State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey said that this will affect the students with the "greatest need". He told ABC News, "The loss of funding for those rural, poor, high poverty school districts, is just going to be, you know, more fuel for the fire that makes it more difficult to educate children in those communities." Christy Gleason, executive director of Save the Children Action Network, which provides after-school programming for 41 schools in rural areas of Washington and across the South, where the school year is set to begin as soon as August, said, "Time is of the essence." "It's not too late to make a decision, so the kids who really need this still have it," she added.
Calgary Herald
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
A Liberal government uninterested in fighting culture wars? This could be it
Article content Religious and scriptural books will also be exempt. Article content Kathleen Wynne, a former Liberal premier of Ontario, said the order would send Alberta down '(T)he slipperiest of slopes.' She also shared an article calling the order a 'blatant act of cultural vandalism.' Article content Alberta Senator Kristopher Wells said he was worried about the order limiting access to sex-ed materials, but added he was relieved that there was nothing in its plain text preventing students from learning about LGBTQ identities. Article content Wells, a 2024 Trudeau appointee, accused the Alberta government last month of playing to an 'old homophobic trope' by singling out LGBTQ-themed books as pornographic. Article content So far, Carney and his cabinet have not commented on the policy. Article content His predecessor, Trudeau, blasted New Brunswick in 2023 over its policy requiring schools to disclose student pronoun changes to parents, calling the policy 'far-right.' The policy enjoyed the support of the vast majority of New Brunswickers and their fellow Canadians at the time. Article content Article content Then minister of women, gender equality and youth Marci Ien was an equally vocal critic of similar parental disclosure policies rolled out in Saskatchewan and Alberta, saying at one point that these policies put transgender and nonbinary children in a ' life-or-death situation.' Article content Trudeau also accused Alberta's plan to restrict medical transitioning for children of being 'anti-LGBT,' opposed Ontario's changes to its sex-ed school curriculum, and criticized Quebec for rules barring religious symbols being worn by public servants. Article content Article content Chrystia Freeland, a senior minister under Trudaeau would later argue that Trudeau's loud championing of LGBTQ rights and other culture war issues were part of the reason he fell out of favour with Canadians. Article content 'Liberals … lose when people think that we are focused on virtue-signalling and identity politics,' Freeland said in an interview earlier this year. Article content Article content Carney looks to be taking this lesson to heart, treading lightly on cultural issues. The women and gender equality portfolio was conspicuously absent from Carney's maiden cabinet, although he assigned former minister of small business Rechie Valdez to the role shortly after April's election. Article content Carney said in a post-debate media scrum that he believed there were two biological sexes, but also believed that transgender individuals should be accommodated where possible. Article content 'This is Canada (and) we value all Canadians for who they are,' said Carney. Article content Tyler Meredith, a longtime Liberal insider and former senior adviser in the Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Finance, said that attacking the Alberta school libraries order would be a bad use of Carney's time and political capital.
Edmonton Journal
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
A Liberal government uninterested in fighting culture wars? This could be it
Article content Kathleen Wynne, a former Liberal premier of Ontario, said the order would send Alberta down '(T)he slipperiest of slopes.' She also shared an article calling the order a 'blatant act of cultural vandalism.' Article content Alberta Senator Kristopher Wells said he was worried about the order limiting access to sex-ed materials, but added he was relieved that there was nothing in its plain text preventing students from learning about LGBTQ identities. Article content Wells, a 2024 Trudeau appointee, accused the Alberta government last month of playing to an 'old homophobic trope' by singling out LGBTQ-themed books as pornographic. Article content His predecessor, Trudeau, blasted New Brunswick in 2023 over its policy requiring schools to disclose student pronoun changes to parents, calling the policy 'far-right.' The policy enjoyed the support of the vast majority of New Brunswickers and their fellow Canadians at the time. Article content Article content Then minister of women, gender equality and youth Marci Ien was an equally vocal critic of similar parental disclosure policies rolled out in Saskatchewan and Alberta, saying at one point that these policies put transgender and nonbinary children in a ' life-or-death situation.' Article content Trudeau also accused Alberta's plan to restrict medical transitioning for children of being 'anti-LGBT,' opposed Ontario's changes to its sex-ed school curriculum, and criticized Quebec for rules barring religious symbols being worn by public servants. Article content Article content Chrystia Freeland, a senior minister under Trudaeau would later argue that Trudeau's loud championing of LGBTQ rights and other culture war issues were part of the reason he fell out of favour with Canadians. Article content 'Liberals … lose when people think that we are focused on virtue-signalling and identity politics,' Freeland said in an interview earlier this year. Article content Carney looks to be taking this lesson to heart, treading lightly on cultural issues. The women and gender equality portfolio was conspicuously absent from Carney's maiden cabinet, although he assigned former minister of small business Rechie Valdez to the role shortly after April's election. Article content Carney said in a post-debate media scrum that he believed there were two biological sexes, but also believed that transgender individuals should be accommodated where possible. Article content 'This is Canada (and) we value all Canadians for who they are,' said Carney. Article content Tyler Meredith, a longtime Liberal insider and former senior adviser in the Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Finance, said that attacking the Alberta school libraries order would be a bad use of Carney's time and political capital.
Indian Express
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
UN, Netherlands cancel LGBTQ event in Senegal after government warning
The UN and the Dutch foreign ministry said on Friday they had cancelled an LGBTQ-themed event in Senegal after the West African nation warned of repercussions for organisers and voiced opposition to all 'promotion of the LGBTQI phenomenon'. Anti-gay laws are in place in many conservative West African countries, including Senegal, where anyone who commits an 'act against nature' with someone of the same sex can be punished by up to five years in prison. In a statement published on X, Senegal's foreign ministry on Friday said it had been informed of a film screening to be hosted by the UN and the Dutch embassy that would have been followed by 'discussions on LGBTI issues'. The statement did not specify when the event was scheduled to occur. 'Accordingly, the government reserves the right to take any appropriate action against any organisers of such activities, and even against participants, whatever their origins, status or rank,' the foreign ministry statement said. The activities of diplomatic missions and international organizations must comply with the country's regulations, it said. Later on Friday, Seif Magango, spokesperson for the UN human rights office, told Reuters the event 'has been cancelled, and we continue to engage with the authorities'. The Dutch foreign ministry said in a statement that, while the Netherlands 'stands for human rights and equal treatment' it had decided to cancel the event 'considering various factors'. In 2022, Senegalese lawmakers rejected a bid to toughen anti-LGBTQ provisions in the penal code, saying the existing legislation was sufficiently clear. Earlier this year, Ghana reintroduced a bill that could become one of Africa's most restrictive pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation after an earlier attempt to enact it fell short because of legal challenges. The fate of that legislation, which would need to be signed into law by the president, is unclear.
