Business

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: Target Corp. will stick with its policy of allowing transgender customers to choose the bathroom they wish to use, chief executive Brian Cornell said this morning. He added the company is adding more family restrooms in its stores, an option for people who worry about the mixing of sexes in bathrooms. Cornell made the remarks during …

Watch the video below. Happening today in New York City: Hundreds of senior LGBT and Ally business leaders from around the world will convene on Wednesday, May 11 for the sixth annual Out Leadership Summit in the U.S., hosted by global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, at the Edison Ballroom. Formerly known as Out on the Street, Out Leadership Summits …

According to a tweet issued today by Fox Business, Target officials have agreed to meet with the American Family Association, the anti-LGBT hate group behind the boycott. Fox attributes that news to notorious liar Todd Starnes and no independent confirmation of this meeting can be found at this writing. Last week a Target spokesperson declared that the company was “standing …

From the New York Daily News: A Democratic group is trolling for anti-Donald Trump stories — and trolling the presumptive Republican nominee — with a new website called DonaldTrumpScrewedMe.com. American Bridge, a Democratic outside group whose head has ties to Hillary Clinton, is launching the new website aimed at getting some nasty facts on The Donald. The website is geo-targeted …

Activists from the right wing National Center for Public Policy Research ambushed PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi at the company’s shareholder meeting in North Carolina yesterday, warning her that PepsiCo would be made “another Target” unless she backs off from her call to repeal the state’s anti-LGBT hate law. Nooyi, apparently, wasn’t having it. From the group’s press release, here’s an …

Via press release: After more than 1.1 million people pledged to boycott Target, celebrities and corporations alike are having second thoughts about crossing Americans on such a consensus issue. The decision by the retail giant is not only sparking massive backlash, but it’s helping the country get a real picture of the controversy in North Carolina. It’s also shown liberals …

The Associated Press reports: A battle is brewing at Starbucks over how much ice the coffee chain uses in its drinks. A Chicago woman is suing the chain for $5 million, claiming Starbucks overfills cold drinks with ice. The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of Stacy Pincus, who claims the company is misleading customers. The lawsuit alleges an iced …

MoveOn has launched a #StandWithTarget petition to counter the petition authored earlier this week by the AFA. From the MoveOn petition: “I pledge to support Target and any other business that stands up for transgender rights and accommodates transgender people in their restroom use.” Sign at this link. They’ve gotten 26K signatures already.

Breitbart is thrilled: More than 1,000,000 people have signed the boycott pledge against Target, following the secretive decision by executives to open all of their stores’ bathrooms and changing rooms to people of both sexes. Late Thursday night, roughly 75 people a minute were adding their name to the petition as it clicked over 1 million, just after 10:30 pm …

But their right to rake in about $650,000 in donations? It’s what White Jesus would want. The Oregonian reports: The Gresham bakers who made national headlines after refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding are fighting back against Oregon regulators. In a brief filed in the Oregon Court of Appeals this week, Aaron and Melissa Klein say the …

The Associated Press reports: Another convention has canceled in North Carolina in protest of the state’s new law limiting anti-discrimination protections for the LGBT community. Local media outlets report the American Institute of Architects will not hold its South Atlantic Region Conference in Wilmington this fall. About 500 architects were expected to attend, and tourism officials estimate the loss at …

Kentucky.com reports: A state agency remade by Gov. Matt Bevin last week has approved $18 million in tax breaks to a Grant County amusement park that will feature a “life-size” Noah’s Ark. The $92 million Ark Encounter project, owned by the same company as the Creation Museum in Petersburg, is scheduled to open July 7. The tax break initially was …

Yesterday the city council of Oxford, Alabama, population 21,000, voted unanimously to publicly rebuke Target and criminalize the use of public restrooms by transgender citizens. Violations of the new law can result in a $500 fine or six months in jail. From the Anniston Star: After members approved the new city ordinance, Council President Steven Waits read from a prepared …

More than half a million people have already signed the American Family Association’s boycott petition against Target. Despite the still-growing furor, Target is standing firm. From USA Today: “We certainly respect that there are a wide variety of perspectives and opinions,” says Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder. “As a company that firmly stands behind what it means to offer our team …

From the anti-LGBT group Faith Driven Consumer: Today, amidst growing consumer backlash over Target’s (Faith Equality Index Score 39/100) announcement that it will allow men in women’s bathrooms and changing rooms, Faith Driven Consumer is calling on its community of 41 million who spend $2 trillion annually to engage in a national #BUYcottWalmart effort by choosing Target’s archrival Walmart (FEI …

The Chicago Tribune reports: Gannett announced Monday an offer to buy Tribune Publishing, publisher of the Chicago Tribune, for $815 million, including the assumption of $390 million in debt. The unsolicited, all-cash offer, which translates to $12.25 a share, represents a 63 percent premium over Friday’s $7.52 a share closing price, as well as a premium over the $8.50 share …

From the New York Daily News: Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office says it was misled about the sale of the Rivington House Lower East Side AIDS care facility to a condo developer. State law requires court approval — with recommendations from the Attorney General’s Office and state Health Department — whenever a not-for-profit facility like Rivington House is converted into …

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune: A woman who overheard a cashier at a New Orleans Family Dollar store loudly expressing homophobic sentiments to customers with a “hateful passion” said she was denied service after she identified herself as gay and asked the cashier to stop. Videos recorded by Melissa Langford, 34, capture the moments after her initial confrontation as the …

We’re guessing they are shell company upon shell company upon shell company. The Hill reports: Donald Trump revealed on Friday that he has nearly 400 business entities registered in the state of Delaware, a state that has received renewed scrutiny in the wake of the Panama Papers leak as a domestic tax haven. During a campaign rally in Harrington, Delaware, …

This brings the total to more than 20 lost conventions. Via the Charlotte News & Observer: Another group has canceled an upcoming event in Charlotte because it opposes North Carolina’s new LGBT law. The National Organization for Victim Assistance was supposed to have its 42nd annual training event at Sheraton Charlotte Hotel-Le Meridien Aug. 21-24. About 1,200 were scheduled to …