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Target is being held hostage by an anti-LGBTQ campaign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:15 GMT

New York (CNN) — During every Pride Month in June for the past decade, Target has sold merchandise for LGBTQ customers, employees and allies. But this year, Target faced an anti-LGBTQ campaign that went viral on social media.Fueled by far-right personalities and on social media platforms, the anti-trans campaign spread misleading information about the company’s Pride Month products and its business practices.Hurting brands’ sales and reputations was the stated goal of the campaign: “The goal is to make ‘pride’ toxic for brands,” said right-wing commentator Matt Walsh on Twitter. “If they decide to shove this garbage in our face, they should know that they’ll pay a price. It won’t be worth whatever they think they’ll gain.”The campaign became hostile, with threats levied against Target employees and instances of damaged products and displays in stores.That effectively held Target hostage: The company was forced to make an impossible choice to either safeguard its employees and stores...

Gabby Petito’s parents get ‘burn after reading’ letter from Brian Laundrie’s parents in civil lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:15 GMT

(CNN) — Gabby Petito’s parents now have a copy of a letter Brian Laundrie’s mother wrote to her son, which included references to getting a shovel and burying a body.Attorneys for both sides argued in a Sarasota County, Florida, courtroom Wednesday over whether the letter is relevant to the lawsuit brought by Gabby Petito’s parents against Laundrie’s parents and the Laundries’ former attorney.The envelope containing the letter – which is undated – said “burn after reading” and was recovered from Brian Laundrie’s backpack when his remains were found in October 2021.“As we all know the letter references burying a body bringing a shovel and burying a body,” Petito family attorney Patrick Reilly said in court Wednesday. “Those are criminal acts, by the way, that Roberta Laundrie has said she would commit.”The Petitos sued the Laundries for emotional distress in connection with Gabby Petito’s death while traveling the Western United States with Brian Laundrie, her fiancé. Laundrie came h...

Britain’s Rishi Sunak just loves reading raunchy horse novels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:15 GMT

LONDON — Tech bro. Numbers guy. Mega-fan of … horse-racing-themed romance books?U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed Thursday that he’s an avid reader of Jilly Cooper, the English author whose raunchy tales of romance and infidelity among horse riders and show jumpers have been best-sellers.In a mostly gentle grilling on the U.K. daytime TV favorite “This Morning”, Sunak was asked if he was “really into” Cooper’s books, as hinted at by an article in the Spectator magazine earlier in May.“Yes that is true,” a blushing Sunak said. “It is unclear how that has emerged.” Reeling off a list of Cooper’s titles, Sunak appeared unable to narrow it down to just one all-time fave: “Riders, Rivals, Polo, The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous, Appassionata — she’s done a lot of different books, but that is the set of books that I like,” he said.The front cover of “Riders”, an international best...

Frederick County teen Samantha Heyison, daughter of former Orioles draft pick, at top of world para athlete rankings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:15 GMT

Routine matters to Samantha Heyison.On the days when she is set to participate in track and field meets, the senior at Urbana High drinks a red Gatorade in the morning and then a C4 energy drink in the afternoon. She has reined in her habit of eating a chocolate bar but always listens to Survivor’s 1982 hit “Eye of the Tiger.”“That might be a must before my Gatorade, my Snickers bar, my energy drink,” said Heyison, who lives in Adamstown in Frederick County. “That is the best song to listen to before a track meet.”The rituals are paying off for the 17-year-old Heyison. Despite being born with a clubbed left foot with all five toes partially amputated, a right foot with three toes fused together and a right hand missing two fingers, she will defend the state championship she captured in the discus throw last spring when the Class 4A state meet begins Friday at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex in Hyattsville.Heyison’...

Marcus Stroman delivers his best start of the year in the Chicago Cubs’ 4-2 win vs. his former team: ‘The sinker was sankin’ ‘

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:15 GMT

A fired-up Marcus Stroman repeatedly slapped his mitt while approaching the Chicago Cubs dugout.Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner’s smooth exchange on a double-play ball to end the eighth inning Wednesday night capped a stellar performance by Stroman against his former team. The right-hander held the New York Mets to two runs and four hits in the Cubs’ 4-2 victory at Wrigley Field.The Cubs (22-26) have now scored in 48 consecutive games to start the season, a modern-era franchise record. The team opened with a longer run-scoring streak in 1898, when it scored in each of its first 91 games.Wednesday’s start was Stroman’s major-league-high ninth quality start this season and his longest outing since July 21, 2021 — with the Mets.“Younger me may have seen it as a revenge game,” Stroman said. “But now I know how to pitch. I’m really good at what I do, and it’s just a matter of getting to the point mechanically and rolling start a...

Column: Are the Chicago White Sox back in business in baseball’s most forgiving division?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:15 GMT

Major League Baseball expanded its postseason from 10 to 12 teams last year with the addition of a third wild-card entrant in each league, then adopted a 2023 schedule in which every team plays at least one series against all 29 other teams.The early results of the new schedule have confirmed what most everyone knew: The American League East is far and away the best division in baseball, while the AL Central is the worst.The Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, tied for the worst record in the AL East through Tuesday, were one game ahead of the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins.But if the playoffs had begun Wednesday, the Twins would’ve gotten in as a division champion while the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels would’ve missed out on a wild-card spot in spite of better records. It’s hard not to root for a scenario like that, if only to hear the outcry from New Englanders if the Red Sox somehow miss the postseason despite being a much better team than the...

Get to know the Chicago Bears 2023 draft class

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:15 GMT

The Chicago Bears drafted 10 players in last month’s NFL draft, from Darnell Wright at No. 10 to Kendall Williamson at No. 258. The Tribune spoke to each draft pick’s college coach for more insight.No. 10: Darnell Wright, OT, TennesseeThe Bears loved what they saw from Darnell Wright that day on the Tennessee campus, and three weeks later they made him the No. 10 pick in the draft, locking him in as a likely starter for his rookie season and beyond.Tennessee offensive line coach Glen Elarbee worked with Wright for two seasons and sees high-end NFL potential for the massive tackle. Elarbee spoke to the Tribune recently to provide insight into Wright’s game and wiring. Read more here.No. 53: Gervon Dexter, DT, FloridaGeneral manager Ryan Poles passed on the consensus best defensive tackle in the draft — Georgia’s Jalen Carter — and that move will be evaluated for some time. But the Bears got a young player with upside at the position in the second r...

Get to know Darnell Wright: Q&A with the new Chicago Bears offensive tackle’s college coach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:15 GMT

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles wanted a full test of Darnell Wright’s resilience and grit. In the final stages of the team’s draft preparation in April, Poles was strongly considering using his first first-round pick as an NFL GM on an offensive lineman and had Tennessee’s Wright tabbed as the top tackle on the board.But Poles wanted Wright to pass one more test and flew to Knoxville, Tenn., with Bears offensive line coach Chris Morgan in early April to conduct an intense daylong assessment of Wright’s mental and physical stamina.The Bears loved what they saw from Wright that day on the Tennessee campus, and three weeks later they made him the No. 10 pick in the draft, locking him in as a likely starter for his rookie season and beyond.Tennessee offensive line coach Glen Elarbee worked with Wright for two seasons and sees high-end NFL potential for the massive tackle. Elarbee spoke to the Tribune recently to provide insight into Wright’s game ...

Chicago Bears Q&A: Could the Jaylon Johnson situation result in a trade? Will Justin Fields be the franchise’s 1st 4,000-yard passer?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:15 GMT

The Chicago Bears are in the midst of their first week of organized team activities, but not everyone is present at Halas Hall for the voluntary sessions. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson’s absence Tuesday raised a few eyebrows, and Brad Biggs’ weekly Bears mailbag begins with a question about that situation.Are we headed for another Roquan (Smith)-type situation with Jaylon Johnson? I get the sense Ryan Poles would rather move on from a player who rustles contract feathers than reward them. I can envision using him as a trade opportunity for a need midseason. — @obsidianarcadeI think you’re probably overreacting to the news that Johnson, for the second year, has not reported for the voluntary portion of the offseason program. Would the Bears prefer Johnson was there? Sure. Will missing OTAs — and keep in mind, Johnson could show up any day — affect his 2023 season? Probably not. Some players pick and choose when they want to show up, and that’s th...

Reports: 3 dead after attacks in central Japan; police searching for masked man with rifle and knife

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:15 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Three people including two police officers were killed in Nagano in central Japan on Thursday, and a suspect with a rifle and knife was holed up inside a building, according to police and media reports.A witness told NHK public television that a woman fell while being chased by the suspect, who then stabbed her with a knife and shot at two police officers as they arrived at the scene in Nakano city in the prefecture of Nagano.The three were taken to a nearby hospital, where the woman was later pronounced dead, police said. The two police officers also died later, according to NHK. A fourth person who was injured could not be rescued because he was near where the suspect was holed up, Kyodo News agency reported. Television footage on NHK showed uniformed police wearing bulletproof vests and carrying shields with an ambulance nearby.Police described the suspect as a man wearing a camouflage outfit, a hat, a mask and sunglasses, Kyodo News said. City officials urged those ...