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Target Q2 sales fall on muted spending, Pride month backlash, and it cuts profit outlook for 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:22:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Target reported its first quarterly sales drop in six years, dragged down by shoppers’ inflation worries and a negative reaction by some customers, widely publicized on social media, to its Pride merchandise.The Minneapolis retailer expects high interest rates, which makes credit cards more expensive to use, and higher prices on food to continue to put a strain on customers and on Wednesday, the chain cut its profit outlook for the year. It also expects sales will decline for the remainder of the year. In lowering its forecast, Target also cited the end of the student loan moratorium, which had provided one-time college students a little more financial breathing room. Profit for the fiscal second quarter came in above expectations, however, as Target brought inventories closer in line with cautionary spending on discretionary items by customers. Shares rose nearly 4% in afternoon trading Wednesday despite trimming profit expectations for the year. Target is amo...

Former fundraiser for Rep. George Santos faces charges of impersonating an aide to top House Republican

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:22:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former fundraiser for Rep. George Santos faces charges of impersonating an aide to top House Republican.Source

Gruesome video circulating on social media recalls darkest days of Mexico’s drug cartel brutality

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:22:32 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A gruesome video circulated Wednesday on social media may have recorded the last moments of five kidnapped young men, and has transported Mexico back to the darkest days of drug cartel brutality in the 2000s.Prosecutors in the western state of Jalisco say they are investigating the video, and relatives of the missing group of young friends told local media that their clothing resembled that worn by the men in the video.The most horrifying thing is not just the pair of bound, inert bodies seen lying in the foreground. It is the fact that the youth seen bludgeoning and apparently decapitating another victim appears to be himself the fourth member of the kidnapped group of friends.The fifth member of the kidnapped group — young friends who had traveled to attend a festival in the city of Lagos de Moreno in Jalisco state — may be the body police found inside a burned-out car in the area. The young men went missing Friday in an area known for cartel violence, and autho...

Theresa Caputo of TLC’s ‘Long Island Medium’ brings her ‘psychic’ gift to MGM National Harbor

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:22:32 GMT

Hear our full chat on my podcast “Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley.” toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews Theresa Caputo at MGM National Harbor (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); You know her as the self-proclaimed psychic medium from the TLC reality series “Long Island Medium.”This Friday night, Theresa Caputo performs live at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.“I’ll come ou...

Boston College hopes healthy offensive line can restore running game that fizzled last season

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:22:32 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Winning just three games qualifies as a disappointment at Boston College.Doing it while unable to run the ball is an affront for a program that likes to think of itself as “O-Line U.”The school that has sent a steady stream of guards and tackles to the NFL — along with several of the backs they blocked for — ran for its fewest yards since at least 1955 last season. The Eagles failed to produce a single 100-yard rushing game for the first time since 1990.“At BC you have to run the ball, and we’re going to run the ball. The key to our team, the strength of our team needs to be the O-line, and it will be the O-line,” coach Jeff Hafley said.“That’s how it has to be here, and that’s what excites me the most about this team is the offensive line,” he said. “Now, we have to go prove it.”BC (3-9, 2-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) took a step back in 2022 after winning six games in each of Hafley’s first two seasons. And the troubles on the offensive line were a big part of the pr...

2 Pinterest directors resign from Nextdoor’s board in response to antitrust enforcement efforts

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:22:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Justice Department said Wednesday that two directors resigned from Nextdoor’s board in response to the department’s efforts to enforce an antitrust law aimed at barring executives from holding similar positions at rival companies.The Justice Department pointed to Section 8 of the federal Clayton Act — which, in most cases, prohibits company directors and officers from serving on the boards of competitors at the same time. An enforcement initiative from the department’s antitrust division has led to the resignations of 15 interlocking directors on 11 boards so far, it said.“We remain steadfast in our commitment to protect competition by preventing interlocking directorates that we believe violate Section 8 of the Clayton Act,” Deputy Assistant Attorney General Andrew Forman of the department’s antitrust division said in a statement.The directors’ resignations from Nextdoor’s board went into effect Aug. 1, “without the directors or eit...

Russia risks war with NATO in Black Sea, former top commander in Europe warns

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:22:32 GMT

Moscow risks sparking a direct war with NATO by intercepting ships in international waters and seeking to impose an economic stranglehold on Ukraine, NATO’s former Supreme Allied Commander Europe is warning. Ex-U.S. Admiral James Stavridis, who led the alliance’s forces on the continent between 2009 and 2013, told POLITICO that escalations at sea — including the boarding of a Turkish ship on Sunday — could force Kyiv’s partners to intervene to prevent Ukraine’s economy being crippled.“Russia’s actions in the international waters of the Black Sea create a real risk of escalating this to a war at sea between NATO and the Russian Federation,” said Stavridis. NATO, he went on, “is not going to provide all the weapons and money for Ukraine, only to watch Russia strangle their economy with an illegal blockade.”On Tuesday, Russia’s defense ministry confirmed it had fired warning shots before boarding the Şükrü Okan, a Palau-flagg...

‘Barbie’ tops ‘The Dark Knight’ to become Warner Bros.’ biggest movie ever at the American box office

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:22:32 GMT

New York (CNN) — “Barbie,” which has broken numerous box office records since its July 21 opening, just broke another.The Greta Gerwig-directed film about the iconic doll, is now Warner Bros.’ highest-grossing domestic release, beating the former title holder, the 2008 film “The Dark Knight.” As of Tuesday, “Barbie” has made $537.4 million at the US box office, surpassing the haul of director Christopher Nolan’s Batman blockbuster, “The Dark Knight,” which amassed $536 million.Warner Bros. Discovery, which also owns CNN, announced Wednesday that “Barbie” had also crossed the $1.2 billion mark globally, after hitting the $1 billion milestone less than two weeks ago — a feat achieved only by about 50 films in history, adjusted for inflation, Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, previously told CNN. It also placed Gerwig as the highest-grossing woman movie director in history.The comedy raked in a stunning $155 million domestically in...

Another close call between planes at Boston Logan International Airport, FAA investigating

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:22:32 GMT

The FAA will yet again be investigating a close call between planes at Boston Logan International Airport after a flight had to cancel its takeoff.The close call was between an American Airlines flight and a Spirit Airlines flight at Logan early Monday afternoon, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.“An air traffic controller instructed American Airlines Flight 457Q to cancel its takeoff at Boston Logan International Airport after the controller noticed Spirit Airlines Flight 1444 coming close to the runway hold line,” the FAA said in a statement.“The controller canceled the takeoff clearance for the American Airlines Boeing 737 out of an abundance of caution,” the FAA added. “The FAA is investigating the incident that occurred around 12:50 p.m. local time on Monday, Aug. 14.”The American Airlines flight was traveling from Boston to Chicago. The plane returned to the Logan gate after the nixed takeoff.The flight later departed at 2:38 ...

SIU discontinues investigation after man fractured finger striking case of beer

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:22:32 GMT

Pour decisions make great stories.The province’s police watchdog says it discontinued an investigation into the injuries of a Hamilton man after it was determined he fractured his finger striking a case of beer.The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said on April 18, 2023, officers in Hamilton were called to a home on Sherman Avenue North after an occupant phoned the authorities to report that he and a female acquaintance had been threatened with a knife by a man known to them.Responding officers located the man at another residence and arrested him without incident. The SIU noted the man was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with a fracture of the right pinky finger.SIU director Joseph Martino confirmed on Wednesday that the province’s police watchdog discontinued the case after it was determined that the man didn’t sustain the injuries in police custody.“It resulted when he struck a case of beer with his right hand at the Sherman Avenue North residence befor...