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Walmart is making a slate of changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, becoming the latest in a growing list of major corporations to halt the so-called “woke” initiatives.

Anti-woke activist and filmmaker Robby Starbuck, who has been leading a campaign exposing major corporations’ woke policies, said on X on Monday that he warned Walmart executives last week that he would be doing a story on “wokeness” at the retail giant.

“Instead,” Starbuck shared, “we had productive conversations to find solutions.”

Starbuck outlined the changes Walmart agreed to make, including working to remove sexual and transgender products inappropriately marketed toward children, and reviewing grants to Pride events to avoid funding sexualized content targeting kids. 

Walmart clarified that these changes have been in the works for a few years and were not a result of the conversation with Starbuck.

Walmart confirmed to FOX Business that it plans to change how it monitors products within its marketplace and reviews the funding of grants. 

The company said some products that violated its policies have been removed, such as chest binders products designed to flatten the chest when marketed to children.

The company also confirmed it will review all grants, especially for community events, to ensure they promote an appropriate environment for children. However, Walmart will continue to support Pride celebrations.

The company has also decided not to extend the Racial Equity Center it launched in 2020 as a five-year initiative, and will ditch the terms “LatinX” and even “DEI” altogether in official communications. It will instead focus on the term “belonging” for all associates and customers.

Walmart also joined an array of companies in recent months  including Ford and John Deere to end participation in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which is an annual survey and report used to gauge “policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) employees.” 

Walmart confirmed it was notified about the Starbuck video last week. Walmart does not generally comment on politics.

In a statement to FOX Business, Walmart said it is “willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America.”

“Weve been on a journey and know we arent perfect, but every decision comes from a place of wanting to foster a sense of belonging, to open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers and to be a Walmart for everyone,” the company said.

Starbuck is taking a victory lap over Walmart’s announced changes, telling FOX Business, “Walmart is the single largest employer in the United States. Removing wokeness from Walmart has both downstream effects on suppliers and sets the tone for corporate America.”

“Changing normal operating policy at a nearly $1 trillion company is a gargantuan feat that many have tried to achieve but no one until now has actually been able to get done,” he continued. “It speaks to the strength and scale of our movement to eliminate wokeness from society and how effective I’ve been as a megaphone for the concerns of your average consumer.”

Starbuck added, “I won’t stop until wokeness is a relic of the past.”

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112 crypto companies urge Senate to protect developers in market structure bill

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112 crypto companies urge Senate to protect developers in market structure bill

112 crypto companies urge Senate to protect developers in market structure bill

Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple, a16z and others pressed the Senate to add explicit protections for developers and non-custodial services in the market structure bill.

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World

Putin, Xi, and Kim set to unite at major military parade

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Putin, Xi, and Kim set to unite at major military parade

Kim Jong Un will join Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at a major military parade in Beijing next week, North Korean and Chinese state media have announced.

The dictator will make the rare trip abroad as China marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

Mr Putin’s presence had already been confirmed. He and Mr Kim will be among 26 foreign leaders at the event, with none expected from the US or Western Europe.

China, Russia, and North Korea are close allies. Beijing has long been Pyongyang’s biggest aid and trading partner, while Mr Kim has been providing the Russian president with troops for his war in Ukraine.

There are currently no details of exactly when and for how long Mr Kim will be in China. It’s set to be his first visit in some six years – before the pandemic.

Hong Lei, assistant foreign minister of China, said the country would “warmly welcome” Mr Kim and that “maintaining, consolidating, and developing” relations between the two countries’ governments was a priority.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, North Korea, October 7, 2024. Pic: Reuters
Image:
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, North Korea, October 7, 2024. Pic: Reuters

Asked what message China was sending by hosting Mr Putin, Mr Lei said the Russian president’s attendance at commemorative events “further demonstrates the high level of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era and declares the unity and solidarity between China and Russia”.

He added: “Facing an international landscape fraught with both change and turmoil, China and Russia, as founding members of the UN and permanent members of the Security Council, will continue to uphold the authority of the United Nations and international fairness and justice.”

It may not be the last of Mr Kim’s major global summits of the year, with Donald Trump having said earlier this week he fancies another meeting with the North Korean.

The pair had an unprecedented meeting during the US president’s first term, and he’s suggested they could reunite later this year.

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Technology

Microsoft fires two employees over breaking into its president’s office

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Microsoft fires two employees over breaking into its president’s office

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators hold banners and signs as they protest outside the Microsoft Build conference at the Seattle Convention Center in Seattle, Washington on May 19, 2025.

Jason Redmond | Afp | Getty Images

Microsoft on Thursday said that it had terminated two employees who broke into President Brad Smith’s office earlier this week.

The news comes after seven current and former Microsoft employees on Tuesday held a protest in the company’s building in Redmond, Washington, in opposition to the Israeli military’s alleged use of the company’s software as part of its invasion of Gaza.

The protesters, affiliated with the group No Azure for Apartheid, gained entry into Smith’s office and had demanded that Microsoft end its direct and indirect support to Israel.

In a post on Instagram, No Azure for Apartheid said Riki Fameli and Anna Hattle had been fired by the company.

“Two employees were terminated today following serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement, noting unlawful break-ins at the executive offices.

“These incidents are inconsistent with the expectations we maintain for our employees. The company is continuing to investigate and is cooperating fully with law enforcement regarding these matters,” the statement added.

In the aftermath of the protests, Smith claimed that the protestors had blocked people out of the office, planted listening devices in the form of phones, and refused to leave until they were removed by police. 

No Azure For Apartheid defines itself as “a movement of Microsoft workers demanding that Microsoft end its direct and indirect complicity in Israeli apartheid and genocide.”

The Guardian earlier this month reported that the Israeli military had used Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure to store the phone calls of Palestinians, leading the company to authorize a third-party investigation into whether its technology has been used in surveillance.

Smith said on Tuesday that the company would “investigate and get to the truth” of how services are being used. 

According to Smith, No Azure For Apartheid also mounted protests around the company’s campus last week, leading to 20 arrests in one day, with 16 having never worked at Microsoft. 

No Azure for Apartheid has held a series of actions this year, including at Microsoft’s Build developer conference and at a celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that a Microsoft director had reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding the protests.

Microsoft’s actions come after tech giant Google fired 28 employees last year following a series of protests against labor conditions and the company’s contract with the Israeli government and military for cloud computing and artificial intelligence services. In that case, some employees had gained access to the office of Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google’s cloud unit.

— CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed to this report. 

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