This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Target, just a few years ago, went totally woke by promoting LGBT, specifically transgender, products in its stores. Its stock fell, stores faced headwinds staying open and even now it's busy replacing its CEO.
And don't forget Bud Light, which partnered with a man who says he's a woman, and its popularity collapsed like a really bad souffle, and never has recovered.
Now it's Cracker Barrel restaurants, with a new "wokey-type" CEO, that is turning itself inside out, and gets a 7% stock plunge in just a day, or a collapse of $100 million.
A report at CBS said the company "shed almost $100 million in market value after its stock plunged … following the release of a new logo."
It now says "Cracker Barrel," after eliminating the "drawing of an overall-clad man leaning against a barrel, in favor of a cleaner logo featuring just the chain's name."
The slide appeared to halt on Friday.
The company has been working to change itself around.
The report noted, "It's unusual for a company's share price to plunge dramatically due to a logo redesign, although marketing missteps can cause investors to question a company' strategy. Cracker Barrel's overhaul has been overseen by CEO Julie Felss Masino, who last year described the chain as 'not as relevant as we once were,' and announced plans to update its down-home menu."
The company claimed, "Our values haven't changed, and the heart and soul of Cracker Barrel haven't changed."
But marketing experts have criticized the company's overhaul and many charged the company with going "woke."
And Bolt Health founder Kevin Dahlstrom, who has been marketing chief in several companies, said the rebrand is a "fiasco."
"The holy grail of marketing is to create a brand that customers give a damn about — and feel some ownership of. It's exceedingly rare and when you have that — as Cracker Barrel did — you NEVER EVER abandon it, you only double down on it," Dahlstrom wrote.
The company soared in the 1990s and its stock reached $180 in 2018. More recently, it has traded in the $55 range and its revenue has been growing by small numbers.
David Marcus, in a commentary said the company was abandoning customers and trading "authenticity for corporate slop."
"Few things in American life have felt as trapped in the amber of history as Cracker Barrel restaurants, with their recipe of comfort food served up in cozy confines that evoke a bygone era. It's little wonder Americans routinely wait for an hour to get a table after church, or welcome a road-trip diversion when they see the classic logo on a highway sign," he said. "Now, the cracker-jack whiz-kid marketing team at the iconic eatery's corprate headquarters has decided to forgo all of this, including possibly, based on public reaction to their changes, the long lines."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
One of the most influential Christian leaders for decades, Dr. James. C. Dobson, has died at the age of 89.
His James Dobson Family Institute announced his passing on Thursday.
He was "tireless advocate for the traditional family."
"A psychologist, New York Times best-selling author, a Radio Hall of Fame broadcaster, and advisor to five U.S. presidents, Dr. Dobson dedicated his life to strengthening marriages, guiding parents, and defending biblical values by championing the central role of family in America," the JDFI confirmed.
"Dr. Dobson was a pioneer—a man of deep conviction whose voice shaped the way generations view faith, family and culture," said Gary Bauer, senior vice president of public policy at the organization.
"His bold leadership, integrity, and compassion helped equip countless families to thrive in a world of shifting values. He was a mentor, a counselor, and a steady voice of truth in turbulent times."
Born in 1936 in Shreveport, Louisiana, Dr. Dobson founded Focus on the Family in 1977, creating one of the largest faith-based organizations in the world. His daily broadcasts were heard on over 4,000 radio stations across North America and translated into 27 languages in more than 160 countries. Following his departure from Focus on the Family in 2010, Dr. Dobson launched the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute (JDFI), continuing his mission through Family Talk, a nationally syndicated radio broadcast offering timeless counsel for today's families, the JDFI said.
He played multiple key roles in presidential commissions, serving in positions to which he was appointed by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
He was instrumental in shaping national conversations around pornography, gambling, teen pregnancy prevention, and the sanctity of human life, and he served on President Donald Trump's Evangelical Executive Advisory Board.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Shirley; their children, Danae and Ryan; daughter-in-law Laura; and two beloved grandchildren.
He wrote more than 70 books include "The New Dare to Discipline," "The New Strong-Willed Child," "Bringing Up Boys," "Bringing Up Girls," and "When God Doesn't Make Sense."
He worked to found several other very influential groups, including the Alliance Defending Freedom, a coalition of legal experts who have fought on behalf of religious rights before the nation's Supreme Court multiple times.
He also was integral to the founding of the Family Research Council and the Family Policy Alliance, and more.
"The world has lost a mighty voice for truth and an incredibly influential servant of Christ today," said ADF CEO Kristen Waggoner. "Dobson's bold leadership and commitment to the Gospel shaped the lives of so many and will continue to do so many years after his passing. We know that death is not the end, and we are confident he is walking victoriously into the arms of his Savior and hearing the words, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.' ADF is grateful for the vision and inspiration Dobson provided us, and we extend our warmest sympathies to Shirley and the rest of the Dobson family."
It was in 1994 that Dobson joined with Bill Bright, Marlin Maddoux, D. James Kennedy, Larry Burkett, and William Pew to launch the ADF.
Dobson had previously served with Alan Sears on the U.S. Attorney General's Commission on Pornography in 1986, which led to Dobson being a central figure in calling Sears to serve as CEO, president, and general counsel for ADF for 26 years.
"I am sad to learn of the passing of my ally and friend, Dr. James Dobson," said Sears. "He gave us the greatest gift any person can give: his name and reputation. It was an incredible trust and turned out to be a gift that changed the world. Without Dobson in those early years, it's unlikely ADF would have become what it is today."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Some federal security grants intended for a variety of Muslims groups identified as having "alleged terrorist ties" have been canceled, and more are being reviewed, after a new report cited "extremist" agendas.
Fox News Digital is reporting that 49 projects "with alleged affiliations to terrorist activities" already have been canceled, a move that will save taxpayers $8 million.
And a review is moving forward of other cash handed out through FEMA's Nonprofit Security Grant Program that is intended to help churches, mosques, synagogues and other faith-linked institutions defend themselves from hate-driven violence.
Fox News reports the actions follow an extensive report by the Middle East Forum, a think tank, that charged more than $25 million in DHS and FEMA grants went to "terror-linked groups" from 2013 to 2023.
The new review is being done in the Department of Homeland Security.
Fox explained, "A DHS official said the department is conducting its own independent review of funding but added, 'We take the results of the MEF report very seriously and are thankful for the work of conservative watchdog groups.'"
For example, MEF cited a $100,000 grant in 2019 to the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Virginia, which has previously been described by Customs and Border Protection as a "mosque operating as a front for Hamas operatives in the U.S.," Hamas being the terrorist organization that, among other attacks, invaded Israel on Oct. 7 and slaughtered some 1,200 innocent civilians and kidnapped another 250 or so.
Now the review is being done so that current and future contracts do not send tax funding to such groups.
There also is consideration of a way to recover unspent funds.
"Funding for fiscal year 2024 has already been allocated. That includes $94 million for 500 Jewish organizations and another $110 million shared among 600 Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jewish institutions," the report said.
The 2025 fiscal year handouts now will have to go through "robust" vetting.
"We don't want to be empowering groups that could be causing a threat to our community here in the United States," a DHS official told Fox.
The MEF investigation and report documented "specific cases of funding that it claims went to groups with extremist ties. It said $10.3 million had gone to the Islamic Circle of North America, which the forum alleges is tied to the South Asian Islamist movement Jamaat-e-Islami," Fox explained.
And the report cited $250,000 handed to the Council on American Islamic Relations, "which DHS has accused of having 'Hamas ties.'"
The MEF report cited an additional $750,000 dispatched to Michigan and Texas mosques described by DHS as "outposts for Iran's revolutionary brand of Shi'a Islamism."
CAIR's charge to Fox was that "Kristi Noem's Department of Homeland Security is embarrassing President Trump by making decisions based on the ravings of the Middle East Forum, an Israel First hate website."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Trump is getting ready to officially debut the newly updated White House Rose Garden by testing the new speakers – with Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American," of course.
Video on X Tuesday shows the refurbished area outside the West Wing of the White House, now consisting of white stone pavers instead of grass.
Criticism of the new look began months ago when Trump first talked of redoing the outside space with a more practical ground cover. That area of the executive mansion's grounds, often used for ceremonial and diplomatic events, has had a tendency to display the pitfalls of any American's backyard: wetness, mud and uneven ground.
According to an Aug. 4 report in Newsweek, Trump is more than enthusiastic about the makeover.
"We're getting great reviews of the Rose Garden, and we had to do it," Trump told reporters on Aug. 3, adding that the manicured lawn presented problems when hosting events.
"When we had a press conference, you'd sink into the mud. It was grass and it was very wet, always wet and damp and wet and if it rained it would take three, four, five days to dry out and we couldn't use it really for the intended purpose," Trump said.
The new look has been compared to Mar-a-Lago, the Trumps' "gaudy palace in Palm Beach, Florida," as The Guardian described it.
As Amuse on X points out, the Rose Garden has gone through several different iterations since the early 20th century:
"President Trump's decision to replace the grass lawn with a grid of stone pavers should be understood not as desecration, but as correction, and a long-overdue one at that. If anything, the outrage at this change reveals a profound ignorance of the Rose Garden's true nature. It is not, and has never been, a museum piece. It is a working space. It is a site of activity, visibility, and power. And it has always evolved."
Typical critiques slammed Trump's more practical approach to the space, like this post claiming it "looks worse than anyone could have ever imagined."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Democrats and other extremists long have insisted the January 6, 2021, events at the U.S. Capitol were an "insurrection."
And they continually blame President Donald Trump, who urged its supporters to protest "peacefully" that day.
They've even tried to use their assumption of an "insurrection" to try to keep Trump off the 2024 presidential ballot.
That stunt reached full fruition at the Colorado state Supreme Court, where an all-Democrat panel decided to go for it, before being summarily blocked and reprimanded by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Actually, those events were a protest that got out of control, with the result being vandalism damage to the Capitol and hundreds and hundreds of protesters jailed for months by anti-Trump prosecutors.
But now there's new evidence of an "insurrection."
Actually, constitutional expert Jonathan Turley describes it as more of a "mutiny."
It came in a commentary in the New York Times by Barack Obama administration officials Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson.
They seemed to write that the U.S. military should disobey the commander in chief, President Donald Trump.
Their sentiments were that they were counting on the military to overthrow the president and they now are disappointed that that apparently won't happen.
The dispute arose over Trump's agenda to crack down on crime, including the rampant violence in Washington, D.C., by using the National Guard to keep order there.
Turley explained, "The NY Times seems to have changed its mind on insurrections. Former Obama officials Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson wrote the bizarre column, 'We Used to Think the Military Would Stand Up to Trump. We Were Wrong.' Only the last three words are demonstrably true…"
He added, "There is no question that Trump has the authority to order the National Guard into Washington, a federal enclave. Yet, the column decries how 'it now seems clear to us that the military will not rescue Americans from Mr. Trump's misuse of the nation's military capabilities'…
"So, let's get this straight. A President issued clearly lawful orders for deployment and the NY Times and these Obama officials expected them to simply disregard his orders. In fairness, that is not exactly an insurrection; more like a mutiny."
Commentary postings at Twitchy first said, "At this point in our Twitchy lives, you'd think nothing would bother or shock us, and yet The New York Times found a way to do just that. Hey, we get it, they hate Trump, they're not big fans of America in general, and the idea of 45-47 doing something to help Americans struggling is somehow triggering to these people, but still. Whining because the military hasn't overthrown our duly elected president. Really, you guys? That's low and stupid, even for you."
And Twitchy pointed out the headline soon was changed: "Somebody at the Times eventually thought that was saying the quiet part a little too out loud, so the title of the op-ed was changed to 'How the military became another instrument of Trump's power.' That's still ridiculous, especially considering that Trump is the Commander-in-Chief of the military."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The Little Sisters of the Poor still are on the battlefield in America to protect the pro-life beliefs of Americans who object to government-ordered funding for the destruction of unborn children, which Barack Obama tried to force on the public some 14 years ago.
They won the protection of the U.S. Supreme Court, but that wasn't good enough for Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which continue even today to try to force the state governments' secular faith about abortion, abortifacient and contraceptives on parts of the population that are Christian.
It was Wendy Beetlestone, a federal judge who was unable to issue her opinion without spelling or typographical errors embedded, who issued a ruling that sided with the two states in their "years-long effort to force the Little Sisters of the Poor – an order of Catholic nuns who care for the elderly poor – to either provide abortion and contraceptives in their healthcare plan or pay tens of millions of dollars in fines."
"The district court blessed an out-of-control effort by Pennsylvania and New Jersey to attack the Little Sisters and religious liberty," explained Mark Rienzi, a lawyer for Becket who is representing the Little Sisters.
"It's bad enough that the district court issued a nationwide ruling invalidating federal religious conscience rules. But even worse is that the district court simply ducked the glaring constitutional issues in this case, after waiting five years and not even holding a hearing. It is absurd to think the Little Sisters might need yet another trip to the Supreme Court to end what has now been more than a dozen years of litigation over the same issue. We will fight as far as we need to fight to protect the Little Sisters' right to care for the elderly in peace."
The judge claimed that the federal agencies establishing the rules for mandated payments, or fines, earlier claimed that contraception was safe and effective, then changed their position to include that its safety and effectiveness is suspect.
That ruling ignored the basic constitutional protections for freedom of religion.
Worse yet, she made it a "nationwide ruling."
The fight has been going on for 14 years, since Obama launched his own barrage against people of faith in America, by including in Obamacare a demand that employers, including Christians who oppose contraception and abortion, must pay for it.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2020 affirmed a federal rule protecting the Little Sisters and other religious groups from the "contraceptive mandate," as the ideology soon was dubbed.
"But Pennsylvania and New Jersey have continued to fight in court to strip the Little Sisters of that protection. Today's ruling keeps that effort alive, and the Little Sisters have vowed to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit," Becket reported.
The origination of the war was with the federal Department of Health and Human Services when it was setting rules for Obamacare.
The "mandate" demands employers provide contraceptives like the week-after pill in their health insurance plans, including some that can cause abortion.
"The original mandate exempted plans covering tens of millions of people for administrative convenience and 'grandfathering,' but did not provide a religious exemption for groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Catholic nuns who have served the elderly poor for nearly 200 years," Becket reported.
The Supreme Court ruling then provided that protection for the Little Sisters, and others, and the two states have been on a campaign ever since to take away their rights.
In fact, their cause has been before the Supreme Court multiple times already, and they have won in each case.
"As Little Sisters of the Poor, we dedicate our lives to caring for the elderly poor until God calls them home," said a representative for the group, Mother Loraine Marie Maguire.
"We will continue to fight for the right to carry out our mission without violating our faith, and we pray Pennsylvania and New Jersey will end this needless harassment."
Beetlestone admitted in the ruling her own earlier decisions in the case, while affirmed then by the 3rd Circuit, were reversed by the Supreme Court.
She claimed the procedures were not followed properly in allowing additional groups to be exempted from the "mandate," but admitted, the Supreme Court "held that defendants had done all that was required of them."
She claimed to walk back the case back so that she could further deliver her own agenda.
"This court did not address … whether the agencies exercised their statutory authority properly in accordance with the APA's requirement the agency action not be 'arbitrary [or] capricious.'"
That dispute, she claimed, is the one for which she now is providing "resolution."
In its original ruling, the Supreme Court found that the "mandate" violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
But Beetlestone was especially upset that President Donald Trump, during his first term, addressed a resolution to the dispute by issuing an order regarding "Free Speech and Religious Liberty" and told agencies to consider amending regulations to address "conscience-based objections" to the contraceptive demands.
Those rules were adopted, and Pennsylvania sued to stop them, later being joined by New Jersey.
Beetlestone claimed the rules adopted are "invalid," even though the Supreme Court said the "Final Rules were not procedurally invalid."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A published report describes the situation as "chilling" as it explains a public high school in Virginia has come under investigation for allegedly arranging and paying for abortions for underage students, without even letting their parents know.
The Washington Stand explained the scandal is in Fairfax County Public Schools, which is investigating reports Centreville High School was promoting abortions back in 2021.
"The news, first revealed by the W.C. Dispatch Substack, has sparked outrage among parents, pro-life advocates, and concerned citizens, raising serious questions about parental rights and school overreach," the report said.
It quoted WJLA as confirming one of the two girls involved was only 17 years old. And it continued:
"One girl underwent the procedure at 17; the other, five months pregnant and pleading to keep her baby, bolted from the clinic after social worker Carolina Díaz allegedly told her she 'had no choice.' Principal Chad Lehman, the girls insist, knew — and taxpayers footed the bill. … A handwritten statement from the first student, translated for clarity, lays out how Díaz scheduled the appointment, paid the clinic's fees, and swore her to secrecy."
The report continued, "That alone would be enough to raise the hair on the back of a patriotic taxpayer's neck, but there is more. A second Centreville minor, five months pregnant and wavering, was allegedly told by the same social worker that she 'had no other choice.' The girl, terrified, ultimately bolted from the clinic rather than go through with the procedure. She later confided in her teacher, Mrs. Zenaida Perez, who allowed her name to be used on the record and provided The W.C. Dispatch a recording of the family confirming that no one at the school had ever informed them of the intent to terminate their daughter's pregnancy."
The district said it had no prior knowledge of the scheming, and is investigating.
Supt. Michelle Reid stated, "I want to stress that at no time, would the situation as described in these allegations be acceptable in Fairfax County Public Schools."
State law, in fact, demands parental consent and notification for minors seeking abortions. The school's policy also has requirements to encourage students to discuss their situation with their parents.
40 Days for Life said, "A Fairfax high school secretly arranged and paid for student abortions — without telling parents. This isn't 'healthcare.' It's state-funded child exploitation. Every official involved must be held accountable."
And Concerned Women for America said it is "an absolutely outrageous affront to parental rights."
Mary Szoch, of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council, called the charges a tragedy for students, a violation of parental rights and a "grave overstep" by the school.
"Schools not informing parents, and worse, paying for the killing of a teenager's unborn child is horrific," she said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Saying the American public "is not going to put up with it any longer," President Donald Trump is now providing some details about cleaning up the nation's capital city of Washington, D.C.
On Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said a news conference is slated for 10 a.m. Monday in the White House Press Briefing Room to address the matter.
"I'm going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before," the president began.
"The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong.
"It's all going to happen very fast, just like the Border. We went from millions pouring in, to ZERO in the last few months. This will be easier – Be prepared! There will be no "MR. NICE GUY." We want our Capital BACK."
In a follow-up message, Trump indicated the news conference "will not only involve ending the Crime, Murder, and Death in our Nation's Capital, but will also be about Cleanliness and the General Physical Renovation and Condition of our once beautiful and well maintained Capital.
"We are not going to allow people to spend $3.1 Billion Dollars on fixing up a building, like the Federal Reserve, which could have been done in a far more elegant and time sensitive manner for $50 to $100 Million Dollars. The Renovation would have actually been better, and we would have saved $3 Billion Dollars, Traffic Jams, and never-ending Construction.
"The Mayor of D.C., Muriel Bowser, is a good person who has tried, but she has been given many chances, and the Crime Numbers get worse, and the City only gets dirtier and less attractive.
"The American Public is not going to put up with it any longer. Just like I took care of the Border, where you had ZERO Illegals coming across last month, from millions the year before, I will take care of our cherished Capital, and we will make it, truly, GREAT AGAIN!
"Before the tents, squalor, filth, and Crime, it was the most beautiful Capital in the World. It will soon be that again. Thank you for your attention to this matter – See you tomorrow at 10 A.M.!"
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A fight to hold accountable a cop who framed a teen for a crime she did not commit and watched her go to prison for two years is being elevated.
The Institute for Justice confirms it is seeking a review by the full 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a panel affirmed the dismissal of a civil rights case brought on behalf of Hamdi Mohamud.
She sued St. Paul officer Heather Weyker, "who framed Mohamud in 2011," the IJ explained.
"Because Weyker was working on a state-federal task force and cross-deputized as a federal officer at the time, the court held that Weyker cannot be held accountable for fabricating evidence that put then-teenaged Mohamud behind bars for nearly two years," the IJ charged.
It now will petition the entire 8th Circuit for en banc review so that all active judges may reconsider the panel's decision.
"Today's decision is deeply disappointing," said Patrick Jaicomo, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice. "Despite clear evidence that Officer Weyker lied to frame Hamdi, the courts continue to grant her immunity. No constitutional right is safe if judges invent or maintain loopholes for officers who flout the law."
The decision being targeted was from a three-judge panel of the court.
"At the heart of Mohamud v. Weyker is a growing accountability gap created when local police officers join work cooperatively with federal officers on task forces. Ordinarily, a federal law known as 'Section 1983' allows victims to sue state and local officers who violate the Constitution. But when those officers work alongside federal colleagues, courts tend to bless them with sweeping immunities that leave their victims with no legal remedy. This long-running is a case in point," the IJ charged.
It reported in 2019, the Eighth Circuit first held that Weyker could not hide behind qualified immunity because "a reasonable officer would know that deliberately misleading another officer into arresting an innocent individual to protect a sham investigation is unlawful," the legal team explained.
Then a year later the court claimed Weyker could not be sued "as a federal officer," but that Mohamud had to show Weyker was acting as a state officer.
The IJ presented extensive documentation describing how Weyker was working as a state officer—on a St. Paul led task force with its mission to benefit Minnesota.
But the decision disregarded the evidence, the IJ said.
"Today's decision allows Officer Weyker to escape scot-free for framing an innocent teenager. But IJ will continue the legal battle by appealing this case to the full Eighth Circuit and, if necessary, Supreme Court," the IJ said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
One would think that an institution called "Aloha High School" might be allowed to honor the first king of Hawaii, Kamehameha, with its logo – but it will no longer be tolerated.
The Beaverton, Oregon, high school received a bit of pushback last year over its longtime logo, which represents the team name, the "warriors."
Here is the former logo, considered "inappropriate" by some, featuring King Kamehameha:
While the school will keep the moniker "warriors," the new symbol representing the name will be a wolf, officially introduced with the new school year.
As KOIN-TV reports, Oregon has prohibited public schools from using Native American mascots and team names, unless they reached an agreement with federally recognized tribes across the state, since July 2017.
While the school's mascot depicts the first king of Hawaii instead of a Native American figure, and "warriors" is permitted as a team name as long as it isn't combined by imagery associated with American Indian Tribes, Aloha High School revealed in spring 2024 that several people had raised an issue with its branding.
Subsequently, a committee was formed to consider replacing the iconic Kamehameha.
Apparently, part of the problem with the king is his "specific gender."
"In the Beaverton School District and at Aloha High School, we believe that all students belong," the district said on its website. "We're committed to ensuring that all aspects of our school culture reflect this inclusivity, including our mascot. As a district, we're moving away from school mascots that depict human figures or specific genders, as these types of mascots do not connect to or represent all students."
The student body eventually voted to approve a new logo depicting a howling "warrior" wolf. It is unclear what gender the wolf identifies as.
While countless schools and professional sports teams have changed mascots to assuage community sensitivities in recent years, the Trump administration is restoring "inappropriate" names of military bases and other facilities that had been 86'd during the Biden years.