[Kennedy]

CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS ARE PUSHING FOR A NATIONWIDE BOYCOTT OF TARGET OVER ITS DECISION TO PHASE OUT ITS DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES.

D-E-I SUPPORTERS GATHERED OUTSIDE OF TARGET’S HEADQUARTERS IN MINNEAPOLIS THURSDAY … URGING PEOPLE TO START A BOYCOTT SATURDAY – THE FIRST DAY OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH. 

THE PROTEST COMES AFTER THE RETAIL GIANT ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK IT WOULD JOIN WALMART AND A NUMBER OF OTHER STORES IN SCALING BACK D-E-I INITIATIVES … FEELING THE PRESSURE FROM CONSERVATIVE GROUPS AND PRESIDENT TRUMP’S RECENT SIGNING OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS TO END D-E-I PROGRAMS IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.  

“We thought that they would hold the line. We thought that they would continue to stand for the values that we all hold dear. But instead, they acted cowardly, and they made the decision to bow down to the Trump administration. Well, we are here today saying we will not bow down. We will not step back and we will not turn around.”

SEVERAL BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES THAT SELL THEIR PRODUCTS AT TARGET … INCLUDING THE COSMETICS COMPANY LIP BAR … HAVE EXPRESSED FEAR THEIR BOTTOM LINE WILL BE IMPACTED IF THEIR CUSTOMERS STOP SHOPPING AT TARGET STORES.

BUT SUPPORTERS OF THE BOYCOTT ARE NOW ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO SHOP DIRECTLY FROM THE BLACK-OWNED COMPANIES’ WEBSITES … INSTEAD OF PURCHASING THEIR PRODUCTS FROM TARGET. 

TARGET, WHICH HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN A STRONG ADVOCATE FOR THE RIGHTS OF BLACK AND L-G-B-T-Q PLUS PEOPLE, HASN’T COMMENTED ON THE CALLS FOR A BOYCOTT.

IN A MEMO TO EMPLOYEES LAST WEEK, TARGET’S CHIEF COMMUNITY IMPACT AND EQUITY OFFICER, DESCRIBED THE D-E-I DECISIONS AS A “NEXT CHAPTER” IN THE COMPANY’S STRATEGY.

FOR SAN I’M KENNEDY FELTON. 

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[RYAN ROBERTSON]

THE ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE SAYS IT HASN’T SEEN NORTH KOREAN TROOPS ON THE FRONTLINES IN RUSSIA’S KURSK REGION IN WEEKS,

A SPOKESEPERSON FOR UKRAINE’S MILITARY SPECIAL FORCES SAYS HE BELIEVES IT’S BECAUSE OF ALL THE MASS CASUALTIES THOSE SOLDIERS SUFFERED.

AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, AROUND 12-THOUSAND NORTH KOREAN TROOPS WERE DEPLOYED TO RUSSIA AND UKRAINE SAYS AROUND FOUR THOUSAND WERE EITHER KILLED OR INJURED SINCE THEN

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK IN DAVOS THAT DESPITE RUSSIA’S 60-THOUSAND TROOPS IN KURSK AND 12-THOUSAND NORTH KOREANS, UKRAINIAN FORCES REMAIN IN THE REGION…FIGHTING TO HOLD ONTO RUSSIAN LAND IN THE HOPES OF HAVING A BETTER BARGAINING CHIP SHOULD PEACE TALKS START. 

THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR, A D-C-BASED MILITARY THINK-TANK, ALSO REPORTS KYIV RECENTLY MADE SOME ADVANCEMENTS IN KURSK.

WHILE RUSSIA’S DEFENSE MINISTRY SAYS MOSCOW’S FORCES RECAPTURED A KURSK VILLAGE ON THE BORDER OF RUSSIA AND UKRAINE.

UKRAINIAN MILITARY OFFICIALS SAY THEY BELIEVE PYONGYANG SENT HIGHLY-TRAINED SOLDIERS BUT MOSCOW REALLY ONLY USED THEM TO CARRY OUT GROUND ASSAULTS AND MEAT-WAVE ATTACKS–MAKING EASY TARGETS FOR UKRAINIAN FIGHTERS AND DRONE PILOTS. 

SO FAR, NEITHER MOSCOW NOR PYONYANG PUBLICLY MENTIONED THE PRESENCE OF NORTH KOREAN SOLDIERS IN UKRAINE.

THOUGH, AS WE REPORTED, LAST YEAR, MONTHS BEFORE THOUSANDS OF PYONGYANG SOLDIERS WENT TO FIGHT IN RUSSIA’S WAR, DICTATOR VLADIMIR PUTIN AND KIM JONG UN SIGNED A KEY DEFENSE AGREEMENT PROMISING TO AID EACH OTHER IN CASE OF AN ATTACK.

IN ADDITION TO THE TROOPS, PYONGYANG ALSO SUPPLIED RUSSIA WITH MILLIONS OF ARTILLERY SHELLS, ROCKETS AND MISSILES, ACCORDING TO WESTERN INTELLIGENCE.

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FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS– I’M RYAN ROBERTSON.

[Ray Bogan]

Federal employees have been told to remove their pronouns from email signatures to align with President Trump’s recent executive orders. Workers have until 5 p.m. Friday Jan. 31 to comply, the notice did not say if there are consequences for inaction, it just thanked employees in advance for their “immediate attention”. 

Independent Journalist Ken Klippenstein shared an email that was sent to CDC employees which said both the CDC and HHS are implementing two executive orders that President Trump signed both of them on his first day in office. 

Trump stated during his inaugural address that it would be the official policy of the federal government that there are only two genders: male and female. One of his executive orders instructed government agencies to use the word “sex” instead of “gender”. 

According to the email obtained by Klippenstein, government signatures may only contain the following information: name, degree(s), title, organization, contact information, links to surveys, and other approved information.

[CRAIG NIGRELLI]

MORE THAN A MILLION PEOPLE IN JAPAN ARE BEING TOLD TO AVOID TAKING SHOWERS OR DOING LAUNDRY AS RESCUERS TRY TO REACH A MAN WHO HAS BEEN STUCK IN A MASSIVE SINKHOLE FOR DAYS.

THE 74-YEAR-OLD AND HIS THREE-TON TRUCK WERE SWALLOWED UP BY THE SINKHOLE TUESDAY MORNING.

THE HOLE HAS NOW REPORTEDLY GROWN TO ABOUT THE LENGTH OF AN OLYMPIC SWIMMING POOL AND IS SOME 30 FEET DEEP.

THE DRIVER SPOKE TO RESCUERS SHORTLY AFTER BECOMING TRAPPED BUT AUTHORITIES SAY THEY HAVE NOT HEARD FROM HIM SINCE THEN.

RESCUERS HAVE ATTEMPTED TO DIG OUT THE DRIVER AND FLEW A DRONE INTO THE SINKHOLE TO SEE IF IT WAS POSSIBLE TO CLIMB DOWN.

THEY EVEN TRIED TO LIFT THE TRUCK WITH CRANES BUT COULD ONLY PULL OUT THE LOADING PLATFORM, LEAVING BEHIND THE CAB, WHERE THE DRIVER IS BELIEVED TO BE STUCK.

AUTHORITIES SUSPECT THE GROWING SINKHOLE IS THE RESULT OF CORRODED SEWAGE LINES WITH PUNCTURES IN THE PIPES LEAKING WATER INTO SOIL, CREATING UNSTABLE GROUND UNDER THE CONCRETE.

OFFICIALS HAVE NOT VENTURED INTO THE HOLE OVER FEARS OF FALLING DEBRIS AND ARE WAITING UNTIL THEY CAN STABILIZE THE SURROUNDING AREA.

THERE ARE EFFORTS TO BUILD A NEARLY 100 FOOT SLOPE TO REACH THE MAN BUT AUTHORITIES WARN IT MAY TAKE DAYS TO CONSTRUCT.

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS HAVE CALLED ON ONE-POINT-TWO MILLION PEOPLE ACROSS A DOZEN TOWNS AND CITIES IN THE AREA TO HOLD OFF ON BATHING AND DOING LAUNDRY TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF LEAKING WASTEWATER AND SEWAGE IN THE HOLE, COMPROMISING RESCUE OPERATIONS.

OFFICIALS ALSO SAY THE SINKHOLE CONTAINS A GAS PIPELINE AND ORDERED THE EVACUATION OF 200 HOMES IN THE AREA BECAUSE OF THAT.

SINKHOLES HAVE BEEN POPPING UP MORE FREQUENTLY IN JAPAN AS THE COUNTRY’S AGING SEWAGE PIPELINES FALL INTO DISREPAIR.

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