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login fb777 casino Published 4:13 pm Thursday, December 5, 2024 By Blake Bell An officer-involved shooting that killed 19-year-old Amarion Thomas Wednesday in a neighborhood on Bazinsky Road has been taken over by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) this week, while Vicksburg Police Department (VPD) continues to work a related case involving a now-jailed 17-year-old suspect. Thursday, Vicksburg Chief of Police Penny Jones said the genesis of Wednesday’s shooting was a call about attempted automobile burglaries in late November on Commerce Street. “ I want to address the community regarding the officer-involved shooting that occurred recently, resulting in the unfortunate loss of life,” Jones said. “I understand that emotions are high, and questions are being raised. It’s important to clarify what happened and assure you that the facts are being handled with transparency and integrity. On November 29, 2024, officers responded to a call about suspicious individuals who were burglarizing vehicles. Upon arriving, one of our officers was fired upon, with bullets striking the patrol car. This unprovoked attack escalated the situation, leading officers to pursue the suspects on foot. During the investigation, evidence was recovered linking the individuals to the assault on a police officer. As a result, warrants were issued.” Jones said that information led officers to a home on Bazinsky Road, where VPD was attempting to serve a warrant prior to Wednesday’s shooting. “Later, (officers) were able to get some evidence to identify the people that were involved,” Jones said. “We were later able to make an arrest on one particular subject, who is 17 years old, and he had his initial (court) appearance today in county court. We went yesterday to execute a warrant on the other subject, who was involved. Once the officers arrived, a gun was displayed and officers took action, and unfortunately, it ended in that person’s life being ended.” Jones said the 17-year-old suspect has been identified as Artrial Bingham. While Bingham’s charges have not yet been released, Jones said he is being identified by name due to being charged as an adult. In the hours following Wednesday’s shooting, the case was turned over to MBI, per state protocol. Thursday, both Jones and Police Commissioner and Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said city officials’ thoughts are with the families of both the suspect and the officer involved in Wednesday’s shooting. “While the incident remains under active investigation, we can confirm that the officer involved was not physically harmed,” Flaggs said. “Tragically, the individual involved in this incident lost their life. Our thoughts are with all those impacted, including the family and loved ones of the individual who lost their life, as well as our officer and their family. As is standard procedure, an outside agency, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, has been brought in to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation. This ensures that the process remains transparent and that all facts are evaluated fairly.” “ I want to extend my deepest sympathies to the family of the young man who lost his life,” Jones said Thursday. “No loss of life is taken lightly, and we recognize the pain his family is feeling. At the same time, prayers for the officers at our agency.” Jones also acknowledged threats toward VPD officers that have been made – predominantly online – in the 24 hours following Wednesday’s shooting. “We understand emotions run high during difficult incidents, but spreading misinformation on social media without knowing the facts can have serious consequences. Speculating or sharing false information not only fuels confusion but also puts people at risk of harm or legal trouble. We urge everyone to be responsible and allow the facts to come out through proper channels.”

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President-elect Trump rewarded the Tesla, X and SpaceX chief for his support during the White House campaign by naming him head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, along with another wealthy ally, Vivek Ramaswamy. Although the office, dubbed DOGE, has a purely advisory role, Musk's star power and intense influence in Trump's inner circle bring political clout. As Musk and Ramaswamy strode into the Capitol for meetings with lawmakers, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson touted "a new day in America." "There's an enormous amount of waste, fraud and abuse," he told reporters. "Government is too big, it does too many things, and it does almost nothing well." Musk and Ramaswamy have said they can identify billions of dollars of cuts in spending, sparking questions about whether Republicans will even try to slash politically popular social security programs. Writing in the Wall Street Journal last month, the two businessmen laid out plans for the White House to cut staff, trim government programs and reduce federal regulations, even if it means bypassing Congress, which holds budgetary power. "The entrenched and ever-growing bureaucracy represents an existential threat to our republic, and politicians have abetted it for too long," Musk and Ramaswamy wrote. "We're doing things differently. We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. During Trump's election campaign, Musk vowed to reduce federal spending by $2 trillion. This would represent cutting total US spending by a third, almost certainly meaning devastation of social support programs -- something that has never garnered strong political backing. Musk's emphasis on firing large numbers of government employees, however, echoes Republican talking points about the need to take on an overbearing state and may garner more support. Musk says he is seeking "mass head-count reductions across the federal bureaucracy." Musk suggested banning government employees from working at home as an opening tactic. "Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome." Cuts will also target subsidies to public broadcasters and groups such as Planned Parenthood, which campaigns for abortion access and offers an array of reproductive health services. But DOGE is unlikely, at least initially, to go after welfare programs such as Social Security or health insurance for the poor and seniors, Ramaswamy said in an interview with Axios on Wednesday. Such cuts should be "a policy decision that belongs to the voters" and their representatives in Congress, Ramaswamy said. A reduction in military spending, which climbed to $820 billion in 2023, is also unlikely to be on the table. Musk's new role raises the question of potential conflicts of interest, since he could be issuing policy recommendations that impact directly on his own business empire. Underlining the close connection to DOGE, Musk's favorite cryptocurrency is called Dogecoin. rle/ev/md/sms/md

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart's sweeping rollback of its diversity policies is the strongest indication yet of a profound shift taking hold at U.S. companies that are revaluating the legal and political risks associated with bold programs to bolster historically underrepresented groups in business. The changes announced by the world's biggest retailer followed a string of legal victories by conservative groups that have filed an onslaught of lawsuits challenging corporate and federal programs aimed at elevating minority and women-owned businesses and employees. The risk associated with some of programs crystalized with the election of former President Donald Trump, whose administration is certain to make dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs a priority. Trump's incoming deputy chief of policy will be his former adviser Stephen Miller , who leads a group called America First Legal that has aggressively challenged corporate DEI policies. “There has been a lot of reassessment of risk looking at programs that could be deemed to constitute reverse discrimination,” said Allan Schweyer, principal researcher the Human Capital Center at the Conference Board. “This is another domino to fall and it is a rather large domino,” he added. Among other changes, Walmart said it will no longer give priority treatment to suppliers owned by women or minorities. The company also will not renew a five-year commitment for a racial equity center set up in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd. And it pulled out of a prominent gay rights index . Schweyer said the biggest trigger for companies making such changes is simply a reassessment of their legal risk exposure, which began after U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2023 that ended affirmative action in college admissions. Since then, conservative groups using similar arguments have secured court victories against various diversity programs, especially those that steer contracts to minority or women-owned businesses. Most recently, the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty won a victory in a case against the U.S. Department of Transportation over its use of a program that gives priority to minority-owned businesses when it awards contracts. Companies are seeing a big legal risk in continuing with DEI efforts, said Dan Lennington, a deputy counsel at the institute. His organization says it has identified more than 60 programs in the federal government that it considers discriminatory, he said. “We have a legal landscape within the entire federal government, all three branches -- the U.S. Supreme Court, the Congress and the President -- are all now firmly pointed in the direction towards equality of individuals and individualized treatment of all Americans, instead of diversity, equity and inclusion treating people as members of racial groups,” Lennington said. The Trump administration is also likely to take direct aim at DEI initiatives through executive orders and other policies that affect private companies, especially federal contractors. “The impact of the election on DEI policies is huge. It can’t be overstated,” said Jason Schwartz, co-chair of the Labor & Employment Practice Group at law firm Gibson Dunn. With Miller returning to the White House, rolling back DEI initiatives is likely to be a priority, Schwartz said. “Companies are trying to strike the right balance to make clear they’ve got an inclusive workplace where everyone is welcome, and they want to get the best talent, while at the same time trying not to alienate various parts of their employees and customer base who might feel one way or the other. It’s a virtually impossible dilemma,” Schwartz said. A recent survey by Pew Research Center showed that workers are divided on the merits of DEI policies. While still broadly popular, the share of workers who said focusing on workplace diversity was mostly a good thing fell to 52% in the November survey, compared to 56% in a similar survey in February 2023. Rachel Minkin, a research associated at Pew called it a small but significant shift in short amount of time. There will be more companies pulling back from their DEI policies, but it likely won’t be a retreat across the board, said David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at New York University. “There are vastly more companies that are sticking with DEI," Glasgow said. "The only reason you don’t hear about it is most of them are doing it by stealth. They’re putting their heads down and doing DEI work and hoping not to attract attention.” Glasgow advises organizations to stick to their own core values, because attitudes toward the topic can change quickly in the span of four years. “It’s going to leave them looking a little bit weak if there’s a kind of flip-flopping, depending on whichever direction the political winds are blowing,” he said. One reason DEI programs exist is because without those programs, companies may be vulnerable to lawsuits for traditional discrimination. “Really think carefully about the risks in all directions on this topic,” Glasgow said. Walmart confirmed will no longer consider race and gender as a litmus test to improve diversity when it offers supplier contracts. Last fiscal year, Walmart said it spent more than $13 billion on minority, women or veteran-owned good and service suppliers. It was unclear how its relationships with such business would change going forward. Organizations that that have partnered with Walmart on its diversity initiatives offered a cautious response. The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, a non-profit that last year named Walmart one of America's top corporation for women-owned enterprises, said it was still evaluating the impact of Walmart's announcement. Pamela Prince-Eason, the president and CEO of the organization, said she hoped Walmart's need to cater to its diverse customer base will continue to drive contracts to women-owned suppliers even if the company no longer has explicit dollar goals. “I suspect Walmart will continue to have one of the most inclusive supply chains in the World,” Prince-Eason wrote. “Any retailer's ability to serve the communities they operate in will continue to value understanding their customers, (many of which are women), in order to better provide products and services desired and no one understands customers better than Walmart." Walmart's announcement came after the company spoke directly with conservative political commentator and activist Robby Starbuck, who has been going after corporate DEI policies, calling out individual companies on the social media platform X. Several of those companies have subsequently announced that they are pulling back their initiatives, including Ford , Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s and Tractor Supply . Walmart confirmed to The Associated Press that it will better monitor its third-party marketplace items to make sure they don’t feature sexual and transgender products aimed at minors. The company also will stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual benchmark index that measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees. A Walmart spokesperson added that some of the changes were already in progress and not as a result of conversations that it had with Starbuck. RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, senior director of the HRC Foundation’s Workplace Equality Program, said companies that “abandon” their commitments workplace inclusion policies “are shirking their responsibility to their employees, consumers, and shareholders.” She said the buying power of LGBTQ customers is powerful and noted that the index will have record participation of more than 1,400 companies in 2025.The Right to Buy scheme, which allows social housing tenants to purchase their homes at a discount, could be set for significant changes under new proposals. The scheme currently offers up to 70% off the market value of a home, capped at £102,400 or £136,400 in London. However, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her Autumn Budget that these maximum discounts would be reduced to £16,000 and £38,000 in London, returning them to pre-2012 levels. A consultation has now been launched by the Government, outlining further potential changes to the scheme. These include extending the minimum tenancy period required to access the scheme from three years to potentially five, ten, or more than ten years. The consultation will also consider whether new-build homes should be excluded from the scheme. Currently, properties over three years old are eligible for Right to Buy, but this could be increased to between ten and 30 years, or even made permanent. Introduced in 1980, the Right to Buy scheme allows secure tenants with a public sector landlord - such as a council, housing association or NHS trust - to potentially purchase their primary residence at a discounted rate. However, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner, has expressed concerns over the scheme's impact on social housing availability, reports the Mirror . She stated: "For millions of people in the position I was once in, that first step into the secure social housing that changed my life has become a distant dream. Too many social homes have been sold off before they can be replaced, which has directly contributed to the worst housing crisis in living memory. "We cannot fix the crisis without addressing this issue – it's like trying to fill a bath when the plug's not in. A fairer Right to Buy will help councils protect and increase their housing stock, while also keeping the pathway to home ownership there for those who otherwise might not have the opportunity to get on the housing ladder." However, Shadow Housing Secretary Kevin Hollinrake criticised Labour 's stance, saying: "Labour are now pulling up the drawbridge on home ownership and limiting aspiration and social mobility. It's the height of hypocrisy for Angela Rayner to constrain the policy that helped her move onto and up the housing ladder." ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities. We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all! To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice . Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community Join our Court & Crime community Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community Join our Northumberland community Join our County Durham community Join our Sunderland community Join our NUFC community Join our SAFC community Join our Great North Run community( ) is up 15% in the past six months. Investors who missed the rebound are wondering if FTS stock is still and good to buy for a self-directed Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) or Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) portfolio focused on and total returns. Fortis stock price Fortis trades near $63 per share at the time of writing compared to $52 at one point in June. The stock has recovered most of the losses incurred through 2022 and 2023 when rising interest rates stoked fears that higher borrowing costs would eat into profits and reduce cash available for dividends. With inflation back near target levels, the Bank of Canada began reducing interest rates this summer and the U.S. Federal Reserve started to cut rates in recent months. This has provided a good chunk of the support for the move higher in Fortis stock through the second half of 2024. Operations Fortis is a utility company with 10 regulated utility businesses spread out across Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. The operations include natural gas distribution, power generation, and electricity transmission. Nearly all of the revenue comes from rate-regulated utilities. This means cash flow should be predictable and reliable. Fortis has historically grown through a combination of strategic acquisitions and development projects, although the company hasn’t made a large acquisition for several years. Falling interest rates, however, could spark a new wave of consolidation in the utility sector as borrowing becomes cheaper. On the development side, Fortis is currently working on a $26 billion capital program that is expected to boost the rate base from $38.8 billion in 2024 to $53 billion in 2029. Dividends As the new assets are completed and go into service, the company should see revenue and cash flow increase enough to support planned annual dividend hikes of 4-6% over the next five years. Fortis has other projects under consideration that could be added to the capital program. This would potentially extend the dividend-growth outlook or increase the size of the annual dividend increases. Fortis recently raised the dividend by 4.2%, marking the 51st consecutive annual increase to the distribution. Investors who buy Fortis stock at the current price can get a dividend yield of 3.9%. Risks Bond yields have drifted higher over the past two months despite the rate cuts. This suggests that markets are scaling back expectations for the size and speed of additional rate cuts in the coming months. Higher inflation in the U.S. and Canada in October is part of the reason. Markets in the U.S. are also concerned about the potential inflationary impact of Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs next year. If inflation continues to drift higher, the central banks might be forced to pause or even reverse the cuts to interest rates. In that scenario, Fortis and other utility stocks could come under renewed pressure as borrowing costs increase. The bottom line on Fortis stock Near-term turbulence could be on the way, but buy-and-hold investors should be comfortable holding Fortis at the current level. The company’s dividend-growth plan should be solid, and investors should see good total returns in the long run. If you have some cash to put to work in a self-directed TFSA or RRSP, Fortis deserves to be on your radar.

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj stirred controversy by alleging an attempt to set fire to AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal during his Padyatra campaign. This accusation, which involves a man reportedly linked to the BJP, adds fuel to the ongoing political tensions between the parties. Bharadwaj claimed the attacker, who carried spirit and a matchbox, attempted to harm Kejriwal but was thwarted by alert volunteers. The BJP, led by Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva, dismissed the allegations as a fabricated tactic by the AAP. Amidst the accusations, Bharadwaj criticized the law-and-order situation under BJP's governance, attributing growing violence in Delhi to their leadership. However, the Delhi Police, under the Union Home Ministry, maintains that only water was thrown at Kejriwal. (With inputs from agencies.)

A federal law to shield journalists from unwarranted government snooping once enjoyed near universal support. It has lately become a political football — but it shouldn’t be. President-elect Donald Trump took to social media recently to urge Republicans in Congress to kill the PRESS Act, the shorthand name for the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act. Until then, this bill enjoyed broad bipartisan support. What would the PRESS Act do? It would shield journalists from being compelled to reveal their confidential sources and other sensitive information gathered in the reporting process. It provides reasonable exceptions, however, in cases involving terrorism, other serious emergencies or journalists suspected of crimes. The PRESS Act passed the House in January with overwhelming support from both parties. Its chief sponsor, Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-California, reminded his colleagues then that “liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and journalists are often the first to expose government fraud, waste, abuse and encroachments on personal freedoms. In a free country, we need to make sure that the government cannot unmask journalists' sources without good cause, and that is why the need for this legislation is so strong." The PRESS Act has languished in the Senate, however, where it was sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and includes cosponsors Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois. Now, with Trump calling on GOP members of Congress to deep-six it, its fate hangs by a thread. We at the Society of Environmental Journalists urge the president-elect and members of his party to reconsider. Our group is a membership organization of 1,500 journalists who cover climate change and the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Our members rely on their ability to protect sources and the information they provide to hold government officials and corporations accountable, report corruption, expose malfeasance and publicize the most important stories of our time. While some who question climate change might see our group's support of the PRESS Act as ample reason to oppose it, that’s akin to cutting off your nose to spite your face. As the bill’s advocates have pointed out, the PRESS Act would protect conservative, independent and nontraditional journalists just as much as it would those in the mainstream press. Indeed, one of the most outspoken advocates for the PRESS Act is Catherine Herridge, a former Fox News reporter facing fines — and possibly even jail time — for refusing to identify her source for her stories about the founder of a Virginia school who has ties to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. In a recent appearance on NewsNation, Herridge said her reporting on those and other stories relied on confidential sources and “a credible pledge that I would protect their identity.” She said if she could sit down with Trump, she’d remind him of how he had praised her reporting eight years ago that found flaws in the investigation of Russian collusion in his 2016 election. “It’s not a political thing,” Herridge concluded. “It’s really a democracy thing.” For the sake of democracy and the First Amendment, we appeal to the Senate to pass the PRESS Act without further delay. It’s urgently needed and long overdue. Tim Wheeler is chair of the Society of Environmental Journalists' Freedom of Information Task Force and a former board member and president of the organization.

U.S. Bancorp stock underperforms Thursday when compared to competitors despite daily gainsNEW YORK (AP) — Walmart’s sweeping rollback of its diversity policies is the strongest indication yet of a profound shift taking hold at U.S. companies that are re-evaluating the legal and political risks associated with bold programs to bolster historically underrepresented groups. The on Monday followed a string of legal victories by conservative groups that have filed an onslaught of lawsuits challenging corporate and federal programs aimed at elevating minority and women-owned businesses and employees. The retreat from such programs crystalized with the election of former President Donald Trump, whose administration is certain to make dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs a priority. Trump’s incoming deputy chief of policy will be his former adviser , who leads a group called America First Legal that has aggressively challenged corporate DEI policies. “There has been a lot of reassessment of risk looking at programs that could be deemed to constitute reverse discrimination,” said Allan Schweyer, principal researcher the Human Capital Center at the Conference Board. “This is another domino to fall and it is a rather large domino,” he added. Among other changes, Walmart said it will no longer give priority treatment to suppliers owned by women or minorities. The company also will not renew a five-year commitment for a racial equity center set up in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd. And it pulled out of a . Schweyer said the biggest trigger for companies making such changes is simply a reassessment of their legal risk exposure, which began after that ended affirmative action in college admissions. Since then, conservative groups using similar arguments have secured court victories against various diversity programs, especially those that steer contracts to minority or women-owned businesses. Most recently, the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty won a victory in a case against the U.S. Department of Transportation over its use of a program that gives priority to minority-owned businesses when it awards contracts. Companies are seeing a big legal risk in continuing with DEI efforts, said Dan Lennington, a deputy counsel at the institute. His organization says it has identified more than 60 programs in the federal government that it considers discriminatory, he said. “We have a legal landscape within the entire federal government, all three branches — the U.S. Supreme Court, the Congress and the President — are all now firmly pointed in the direction towards equality of individuals and individualized treatment of all Americans, instead of diversity, equity and inclusion treating people as members of racial groups,” Lennington said. The Trump administration is also likely to take direct aim at DEI initiatives through executive orders and other policies that affect private companies, especially federal contractors. “The impact of the election on DEI policies is huge. It can’t be overstated,” said Jason Schwartz, co-chair of the Labor & Employment Practice Group at law firm Gibson Dunn. With Miller returning to the White House, rolling back DEI initiatives is likely to be a priority, Schwartz said. “Companies are trying to strike the right balance to make clear they’ve got an inclusive workplace where everyone is welcome, and they want to get the best talent, while at the same time trying not to alienate various parts of their employees and customer base who might feel one way or the other. It’s a virtually impossible dilemma,” Schwartz said. A recent survey by Pew Research Center showed that workers are divided on the merits of DEI policies. While still broadly popular, the share of workers who said focusing on workplace diversity was mostly a good thing fell to 52% in the October survey, compared to 56% in a similar survey in February 2023. Rachel Minkin, a research associated at Pew called it a small but significant shift in short amount of time. There will be more companies pulling back from their DEI policies, but it likely won’t be a retreat across the board, said David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at New York University. “There are vastly more companies that are sticking with DEI,” Glasgow said. “The only reason you don’t hear about it is most of them are doing it by stealth. They’re putting their heads down and doing DEI work and hoping not to attract attention.” Glasgow advises organizations to stick to their own core values, because attitudes toward the topic can change quickly in the span of four years. “It’s going to leave them looking a little bit weak if there’s a kind of flip-flopping, depending on whichever direction the political winds are blowing,” he said. One reason DEI programs exist is because without those programs, companies may be vulnerable to lawsuits for traditional discrimination. “Really think carefully about the risks in all directions on this topic,” Glasgow said. Walmart confirmed will no longer consider race and gender as a litmus test to improve diversity when it offers supplier contracts. Walmart says its U.S. businesses sourced more than $13 billion in goods and services from diverse suppliers in fiscal year 2024, including businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans. It was unclear how its relationships with such business would change going forward. Organizations that that have partnered with Walmart on its diversity initiatives offered a cautious response. The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, a non-profit that last year named Walmart one of America’s top corporation for women-owned enterprises, said it was still evaluating the impact of Walmart’s announcement. Pamela Prince-Eason, the president and CEO of the organization, said she hoped Walmart’s need to cater to its diverse customer base will continue to drive contracts to women-owned suppliers even if the company has no explicit dollar goals. “I suspect Walmart will continue to have one of the most inclusive supply chains in the World,” Prince-Eason wrote. “Any retailer’s ability to serve the communities they operate in will continue to value understanding their customers, (many of which are women), in order to better provide products and services desired and no one understands customers better than Walmart.” Walmart’s announcement came after the company spoke directly with conservative political commentator and activist Robby Starbuck, who has been going after corporate DEI policies, calling out individual companies on the social media platform X. Several of those companies have subsequently announced that they are pulling back their initiatives, including , Harley-Davidson, and . Walmart confirmed to The Associated Press that it will better monitor its third-party marketplace items to make sure they don’t feature sexual and transgender products aimed at minors. The company also will stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual benchmark index that measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees. A Walmart spokesperson added that some of the changes were already in progress and not as a result of conversations that it had with Starbuck. RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, senior director of the HRC Foundation’s Workplace Equality Program, said companies that “abandon” their commitments workplace inclusion policies “are shirking their responsibility to their employees, consumers, and shareholders.” She said the buying power of LGBTQ customers is powerful and noted that the index will have record participation of more than 1,400 companies in 2025. Alexandra Olson And Cathy Bussewitz, The Associated Press