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Target's stock value is taking a hit, leaving shareholders in the lurch as controversy continues to swirl over its Pride merchandising plans, as first reported by Fox News Digital.
Shares slipped another 1.6% on Thursday and have dropped more than 12.6% since the furor erupted a week ago Wednesday, as tracked by Dow Jones Market Data Group. That amounts to $9.3 billon in market value.
Shares have fallen for six consecutive days over that period, their longest losing streak since December 2022 and the worst six-day stretch since the six days ending May 25, 2022, when shares fell 27.34%.
Over the same time frame, the S&P 500 is little changed. Inquiries by FOX Business to Target on its stock selloff were not immediately returned.
Target .
"For more than a decade, Target has offered an assortment of products aimed at celebrating Pride Month," a company spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Since introducing this year’s collection, we've experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work. Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior. Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year."Ticker Security Last Change Change % TGT TARGET CORP. 140.78 -2.33 -1.62%
CONSUMERS CREEPED OUT BY TARGET'S ‘TUCK-FRIENDLY’ WOMEN'S SWIMWEAR: ‘SHOPPING ELSEWHERE’
Adding fuel to the fire, the retailer's Gay Pride collection has been linked to a controversial designer: Abprallen's Erik Carnell, who is an outspoken Satanist whose brand features occult imagery and messages like "Satan respects pronouns" on brand apparel, Fox News Digital reported separately.
He is also known for aggressive messaging and phrases, including "Burn down the cis-tem," which have been featured on the website along with one that says "homophobe headrest" with an image of a guillotine.
Carnell explained in an Instagram post that Satan represents "passion, pride and liberty" and "loves all LGBT+ people."Ticker Security Last Change Change % BUD ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV 56.87 -0.73 -1.27%
Target is experiencing a similar ongoing trend at Anheuser-Busch following the Bud Light backlash after the brand sent transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney a personalized pack of beer with the influencer's likeness as part of an ad for the company's March Madness contest and to celebrate the year anniversary since Mulvaney began identifying as a woman.
Bud Light has faced intense backlash from longtime customers over a recent campaign with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. (Instagram/Fox News / Fox News)
Since March 30 through May 25, the Bud Light parent has lost $18.8 billion in market value with shares down more than 14%, as tracked by Dow Jones Market Data Group, as nationwide boycotts of the beer began and sales tanked. The S&P 500 has risen 2.5% over the same time period.
CEO Michel Doukeris attempted to distance the company from the campaign while also vowing to help distributors who bore the brunt of the financial outcry.
Now with Memorial Day weekend approaching, the company is attempting even more damage control. Fox News Digital reported that Bud Light revealed a new promotion called the US Budweiser Family Memorial Day Rebate online for customers from eligible states. The rebate promises an amount "equivalent to the purchase price of one (1) 15-pack or larger, up to $15" of Bud Light, Budweiser, Budweiser Select or Budweiser Select 55 paid via Anheuser-Busch Digital Prepaid Mastercard. Based on recent prices for Bud Light products, however, in some cases this would be giving packs of beer away for free.
Anheuser-Busch .
BUD LIGHT SALES DOWN 23.6% IN FIRST WEEK OF MAY AS BACKLASH CONTINUES INTO FIFTH WEEK AMID MULVANEY FALLOUT
Several executives who created and launched the campaign have since been put on leave.
Fox News Digital's Brian Flood, Kristine Parks, Lindsay Kornick and Alexa Moutevelis contributed to this report.
Donald Trump described the hush money case against him as a “mess” after the jury who will decide his fate has been selected.
Leaving the court in New York after proceedings were adjourned for the day, Trump addressed reporters, saying he was supposed to be in states like Georgia, New Hampshire and North Carolina as part of his campaign for the 2024 presidential election.
“[But instead] I’ve been here all day,” he said, labelling the trial as “unfair”.
Trump held up a stack of news stories and editorials that he said were critical of the case while he continued railing against the trial.
“The whole thing is a mess,” he said.
It comes as all 12 jurors have been seated in the first criminal case against a former US president.
Members of the jury include a sales professional, a software engineer, an English teacher and multiple lawyers.
Sky News’ US partner network, NBC News reported there are seven men and five women on the jury.
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It comes after lawyers grilled hundreds of potential jurors asking questions on everything from their hobbies and social media posts to their opinion of the former president.
More than half of a second group of prospective jurors were dismissed by Judge Juan Merchan on Thursday after most said they doubted their ability to be fair and impartial.
One juror was also dismissed after she said she “slept on it overnight” and woke up with concerns about her ability to be fair and impartial in the case.
The challenge now is to select six alternate jury members before the trial can move to opening statements, with Mr Merchan hopeful this will be completed on Friday.
Trump is accused of criminally altering business records to cover up a $130,000 (£104,200) payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, during his 2016 election campaign.
His lawyers say the payment was meant to spare himself and his family embarrassment, not to help him win the election.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He could get up to four years in prison if convicted.
The former president faces two other criminal trials accusing him of trying to subvert his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, and another that accuses him of mishandling classified information after he left the White House in 2021.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
It was a message made public and combined with back-channel briefings we were getting from the White House and the State Department.
Washington’s message to the Israeli government was that the spectacular failure of the Iranian attack, combined with the diplomatic first of having the Jordanians and the Saudis defending Israel, was a victory.
“Take it, don’t retaliate,” was the message they hoped would land. Uncontrolled escalation is just too much of a risk.
But Israel has been ignoring America for a few months now. Biden has frequently found the limits of his influence over Gaza.
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15:02
‘Blasts’ seen in sky above Iran – reports
As this week progressed, it became clear that on this issue too Netanyahu wasn’t going to be bent by Washington, London or anywhere else.
And there were plenty who questioned the wisdom of Biden’s diplomatic directive.
Israel had just faced the biggest aerial assault in its history by a nation committed to its destruction.
“Take the win”?! Really? To many, it sounded like an astonishing appeasement of Iran.
And so, as it dawned on diplomatic visitors to Israel this week that Netanyahu and his war cabinet were going to ignore Biden and hit back, the language began to shift.
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Cameron: Israel’s response ‘should be smart’
My understanding is that Western diplomats were given a heads-up by Israel that it was hitting back overnight and with some detail on the type and location of the targets.
But this past week raises questions about the Biden administration’s influence and its strategy.
Biden’s call for no retaliation was very public and echoed by allies. It was driven by the real fear of uncontrolled escalation.
But was it diplomatically smart to make the call so public? Some are asking if that didn’t just undermine Israel’s ability to reestablish deterrence.
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Privately call for restraint, maybe. But why publicly?
But more than that, did the public “don’t do it” messaging just expose President Biden to failure and weakness when his directive was simply ignored by Israel?
Perhaps a steady de-escalation through a series of strikes on targets each less significant than the one before it – both sides saving face, both claiming deterrence.
Taylor Swift has revealed her latest release is a “secret double album” – with 15 more tracks than fans were expecting.
In a 2am surprise (around 7am UK time), the 34-year-old announced on social media that The Tortured Poets Department includes a second instalment.
She wrote: “It’s a 2am surprise: The Tortured Poets Department is a secret DOUBLE album. I’d written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you, so here’s the second instalment of TTPD: The Anthology. 15 extra songs. And now the story isn’t mine anymore… it’s all yours.”
It’s the superstar’s 11th studio album and features a bumper 31 songs spilling over two hours.
Swift announced details of the record in February this year when she won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights.
At the time, she revealed the new album includes collaborations with Post Malone and Florence + The Machine who feature respectively on the tracks Fortnight and Florida!!!.
Swift is believed to have included songs about her break-ups with British actor Joe Alwyn and The 1975 star Matty Healy in the album, while a song full of American football references is thought to be inspired by her latest romance with NFL star Travis Kelce.
The 15th track, The Alchemy, appears to be a nod to her relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs star with references to American football terms including the team, warm benches, winning streak, and trophy, and also features the line: “So when I touch down, call the amateurs and cut ’em from the team.”
She began dating the athlete last year and her attendance at the Super Bowl made headlines around the world, including that kiss with Kelce after the Chiefs’ victory.
Kelce, who has recently landed a role as host of the game show Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity?, said he listened to parts of the album and said it’s “unbelievable”.
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0:33
Taylor and Travis unite after Chiefs win
So Long, London is number five in the tracklist – the slot reserved for the most meaningful song on each of Swift’s albums – and is thought to offer new insight into her split with The Favourite actor Alwyn after six years together.
In the lyrics, Swift hints at wedding plans, singing: “You swore that you loved me but where were the clues, I died on the altar waiting for the proof” – as well as being upset at having to leave London which she said she “loved”.
The very title of the album may be referring to a WhatsApp group Alwyn previously set up with fellow actors Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, called The Tortured Man Club.
On Healy – who Swift dated for a few weeks last year after her split with Alwyn – several songs seem to reference him, including on Guilty As Sin, where she sings about having “fatal fantasies” for someone from her past while in a relationship.
Writing songs about past old flames is nothing new for Swift including Joe Jonas (Mr Perfectly Fine), Harry Styles (Style), Jake Gyllenhaal (All Too Well) and John Mayer (Dear John).
The singer posted the significance of the album on X as a flurry of fans commented their love for it.
Swift wrote: “The Tortured Poets Department. An anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time – one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure.
“This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed. And upon further reflection, a good number of them turned out to be self-inflicted.
“This writer is of the firm belief that our tears become holy in the form of ink on a page. Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it. And then all that’s left behind is the tortured poetry.”
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