Osceola County sheriff praises grand jury decision to not charge deputies in Target shooting
The Osceola County sheriff praised a grand jury’s decision to not bring charges against two of his deputies involved in a shooting at a Target in Kissimmee in April 2022 that killed one person and injured two others.
Federal lawsuit filed against Osceola County sheriff, deputies in 2022 Target shooting
Attorneys have officially filed a federal lawsuit against Osceola County’s sheriff and two deputies for the 2022 encounter and shooting outside a Target store in Kissimmee where one person was killed and two others were hurt.
Target Q2 sales fall on muted spending, Pride month backlash, and it cuts profit outlook for 2023
Target reported its first quarterly sales drop in six years, dragged down by shoppers' inflation worries and a negative reaction by some customers, widely publicized on social media, to its Pride merchandise.
Target removes some LGBTQ merchandise from stores ahead of June Pride month after threats to workers
Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month, after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers.
Target recalls line of weighted blankets after 2 children die of asphyxiation
Hundreds of thousands of weighted blankets sold exclusively at Target stores and online are being recalled after four reports of young children becoming entrapped in them, two of whom died of asphyxia in April, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Target's 3Q profit drops 52% as shoppers force price cuts
An unexpected and potentially ominous pullback in customer spending ahead of the holiday shopping season pushed third quarter profits at Target down 52% after it was forced to slash prices for Americans who are feeling the squeeze of inflation.
Deadly deputy shooting at Osceola Target leads to push for transparency; questions remain
In April, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez held a brief news conference to announce his deputies had been involved in a deadly shooting in the parking lot of a Target, offering almost no details about what had happened or what led to the shooting.
Jump in hiring fuels optimism for US economic recovery
That is down dramatically from 14.8% last April, just after the virus erupted in the United States. AdAlso hiring last month were retailers, which added 41,000 jobs, health care companies, with 46,000, and manufacturers, with 21,000. But state and local governments have slashed 1.4 million jobs since the pandemic erupted, including 86,000 last month, and most have instituted hiring freezes. The Congressional Budget Office projects the nation will add a substantial 6.2 million jobs this year. Sounding an optimistic note, he said: “There’s good reason to expect job creation to pick up in the coming months."
Target powers through a pandemic; 2020 sales growth explodes
FILE - In this April 6, 2020 file photo, a customer wearing a mask carries his purchases as he leaves a Target store during the coronavirus pandemic, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. The moves come as Target extended its sales streak through the holiday quarter and sales grew by more than $15 billion. Online sales soared 118%. In the previous quarter, same-store sales rose 10%, while online sales spiked 155%. Late last year, it signed a deal with beauty chain Ulta Beauty that will place Ulta shops in more than 100 Target stores by mid-2021.
Target to open mini Apple shops in some stores
Target to open mini Apple shops in some storesTarget is expanding its partnership with Apple by launching mini stores within the big box retailer. Target says these scaled-down versions of Apple stores are opening in the coming months. They will be in 17 stores in Texas, Florida, New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. [TRENDING: How plants solve rapes, murders | Swastikas found on Fla. playground | Proposal seeks major changes to Bright Futures]Target says it will have an expanded assortment of products and staff will receive specialized training from Apple. AdCustomers will still need to visit an Apple store for repairs.
US jobless claims at 730K, still high but fewest in 3 months
The Federal Reserve says theres evidence that hiring has picked up in recent weeks, though the job market remains badly damaged by the pandemic. Jobless claims declined by 111,000 from the previous week to a seasonally adjusted 730,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Still, before the virus erupted in the United States last March, weekly applications for unemployment benefits had never topped 700,000. The latest figures coincide with a weakened job market that has made scant progress in the past three months. AdAll told, 19 million people were receiving unemployment aid as of Feb. 6, up from 18.3 million the previous week.
Federal Reserve sees modest pickup in hiring this month
The Federal Reserve says theres evidence that hiring has picked up in recent weeks, though the job market remains badly damaged by the pandemic. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve says there's evidence that hiring has picked up in recent weeks, though the job market remains badly damaged by the pandemic. In its semi-annual monetary policy report released Friday, the Fed said it has been watching job data compiled by payroll processor ADP. AdThe report will form the basis for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony next week before committees in the House and Senate. Hiring has stalled in the past three months, with job gains averaging just 90,000 a month from November through January.
US consumer prices up 0.3% in January, led by energy spike
U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in October, the lowest reading in five months and an indication that the price spike seen this summer is beginning to fade as coronavirus cases start to increase. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)WASHINGTON – U.S. consumer prices rose 0.3% in January, led by a surge in energy. But even though the gain was the biggest monthly increase since July, inflation gains over the past year have remained modest. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, is also up 1.4% with core prices unchanged in January. “Consumer price inflation remains very tame,” said Kathy Bostjancic, chief U.S. financial economist at Oxford Economics, predicting that the upcoming rise in year-over-year inflation figures should be transitory.
Biden boosting vaccine allotments, financing for virus costs
Starting next week, 1 million doses will be distributed to some 6,500 pharmacies across the country, the White House said. The administration is also boosting by 500,000 the weekly allocation of vaccines sent directly to states and territories for the coming weeks, up to 10.5 million. It is allowing state and local governments to receive additional federal dollars to cover previously incurred expenses relating to the pandemic. The number of participating pharmacies and the allocation of vaccines are expected to accelerate as drug makers increase production. The Biden administration has sought to increase certainty to state governments on their upcoming allocations to streamline deliveries and prevent stockpiling of second doses for the two-dose regimens.
Retail group: holiday sales up 8.3% amid big spending shift
The nations largest retail trade group says Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, that holiday sales soared 8.3%, far exceeding its forecast even as the coronavirus kept shoppers away from physical stores. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)NEW YORK – The nation’s largest retail trade group said Friday that holiday sales soared 8.3%, far exceeding its forecast even as the coronavirus kept shoppers away from physical stores. The retail sales figures exclude sales from autos, restaurants and gas. The non-seasonably adjusted holiday figures, contrast with a downbeat report Friday from the Commerce Department that retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in December from the month before. However, the government reported a 3.7% retail sales gain in November and a 2.9% gain in December compared to the year-ago periods.
U.S. retail sales fell in December for 3rd straight month
(AP Photo/John Raoux)NEW YORK – Retail sales fell for a third straight month as a surge in virus cases kept people away from stores during the critical holiday shopping season. The U.S. Commerce Department said retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in December from the month before. Department store chain Nordstrom, lingerie seller Victoria’s Secret and clothing retailer Urban Outfitters all said sales fell during the holidays. The Commerce Department said shoppers cut back on spending at electronic and department stores. At clothing stores, sales rose 2.4% after dropping 16% for the year.