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MARSHALL (AP) - Three people have been hurt in a hatchet attack at a Wal-Mart in East Texas and police arrested a transient on assault charges. Marshall police Detective Sonya Johnson said Monday that Christopher Hamilton of Crawford, Ark., allegedly had the hatchet with him when entering the store. Two female workers and a male shopper were attacked early Sunday.

Video at link.

I had a lot of jobs in a somewhat knockabout youth—waitress, clerk, temporary secretary, counter girl in a bakery and in a flower shop. One thing all these jobs had in common was something so common, so expected, that it was unremarked upon. You got holidays off. About a million Wal-Mart workers will have to be in by 5 p.m. for a 6 p.m. opening, so I guess they'll have to eat quickly with family, then bolt. Kmart will open on Thanksgiving too, along with Target, Sears, Best Buy and Macy's, among others. It's not right. The idea that Thanksgiving...

Union front groups are planning more than 1,500 protests at Walmarts nationwide on Black Friday despite lacking significant support from actual employees, critics say. The Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart), a self-proclaimed subsidiary of the United Food and Commercial Workers retail union (UFCW), says it will picket 1,500 stores the day after Thanksgiving, one of the largest shopping days of the year. “Associates do stick together and look out for each other. We have to because Walmart and the Waltons seem to be fine with the financial struggles that we’re all facing,” Colorado Walmart employee Barbara Gertz...

Looks like the Affordable Care Act has another potential critic: Wal-Mart. The discount retail giant mentioned the ACA as a potential factor that will hurt consumer spending this holiday season on an analysts press call Thursday. "While it is not coming through in customer research, we do know that some of our customers are concerned about the impact of the Affordable Care Act," Carol Schumacher, vice president of investor relations said, according to the Wall Street Journal. "For many of our customers, having to afford health care and insurance may be another line item in their personal budget that they...

A Cleveland Wal-Mart store is holding a food drive — for its own employees.  "Please donate food items so associates in need can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner," reads a sign accompanied by several plastic bins. The Cleveland Plain Dealer first reported on the food drive, which has sparked outrage in the area. "That Wal-Mart would have the audacity to ask low-wage workers to donate food to other low-wage workers — to me, it is a moral outrage," Norma Mills, a customer at the store, told the Plain Dealer.   

What do the Bible, "The Hunger Games" and "Fifty Shades of Grey" have in common? All three are works of fiction, according to the booksellers at Costco. Pastor Caleb Kaltenbach made that shocking discovery last Friday as he was shopping for a present for his wife at a Costco in Simi Valley, Calif. “All the Bibles were labeled as fiction,” the pastor told me. “It seemed bizarre to me.” Kaltenbach is the lead pastor at Discovery Church, a non-denominational Christian congregation in southern California. He thought there must be some sort of mistake so he scoured the shelf for other...

Surveillance video...shows a family of nine reportedly stealing from the Toys "R" Us..... young kids were instructed by their parents to undo security devices as the family walked out of the store....

A major U.S. retailer has decided to have a heart for Christmas after a five-year campaign by the American Family Association.About eight years ago, roughly 80 percent of the nation's retailers ignored the theme of Christmas in their stores and in advertising, choosing instead to use the politically correct terms "Happy Holidays" or "Holiday Sales." According to Randy Sharp, director of special projects for the American Family Association, while there has been a major turnaround among the companies, there have been some holdouts."One particularly is GAP, which owns the GAP stores and Old Navy stores all across the nation," he...

Sales growth during the fourth quarter is shaping up to be the weakest since 2008, according to predictions from Morgan Stanley. Same-store sales, a key metric that measures sales at store locations open at least a year, are expected to grow a mere 1.6% from a year ago during the fourth quarter, Morgan Stanley estimates. Last year's holiday sales were up 3.5% from the fourth quarter of 2011. The 1.6% figure excludes sales at troubled J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500). That's because J.C. Penney is expected to offer deep discounts to try and get back on track after a disastrous...

Watch out, 7-Eleven! There just might be a Wal-Mart convenience store opening up next door. According to an Arkansas news site, the retail giant is testing out a convenience store format next to its corporate headquarters in Bentonville. The Northwest Arkansas Business Journal says the new C-store "will offer customers a quick and easy solution for gas, snacks and beverages, and other staples like milk, bread and eggs." As Wal-Mart experiments with smaller-format concepts that step away from the previous superstore expansion model it championed, it's drilling down to the most basic level. While this will be something it uses...

Did you hear the big news? American retailers are carrying out a “war on the American family.” Seriously. That’ s how some media hosts and pundits are characterizing the fact that many American retailers are planning to keep stores open on Thanksgiving Day. And then there’s social media that all abuzz about the shocking, horrific developments. “Because I believe in family, I pledge to NOT shop on Thanksgiving” the much-shared Facebook “avatar” reads. “If I’m shopping, someone else is working and not spending time with their family. Everyone deserves a holiday.” Well, how about this: if I’m shopping in...

Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd confirms they were called in to help the employees at Walmart because there were so many people clearing off the shelves. He says Walmart was so packed, “It was worse than any black Friday” that he’s ever seen. Lynd explained the cards weren’t showing limits and they called corporate Walmart, whose spokesman said to let the people use the cards anyway. From 7 to 9 p.m., people were loading up their carts, but when the cards began showing limits again around 9, one woman was detained because she rang up a bill of $700.00 and...

The Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system allows recipients of government food stamps to purchase goods using a digital card with a set spending limit, but for a few hours over the weekend, that limit disappeared for many users visiting Walmart stores in Louisiana. Walmart and local police in Springhill and Mansfield confirmed to CBS affiliate KSLA that officers were called into the stores to help maintain order Saturday as shoppers swept through the aisles at two stores and bought as much as they could carry. Xerox, which hosts some of the infrastructure used by the EBT card system, told KSLA...

Shelves in Walmart stores in Springhill and Mansfield, LA were reportedly cleared Saturday night, when the stores allowed purchases on EBT cards even though they were not showing limits. The chaos that followed ultimately required intervention from local police, and left behind numerous carts filled to overflowing, apparently abandoned when the glitch-spurred shopping frenzy ended. Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd confirms they were called in to help the employees at Walmart because there were so many people clearing off the shelves. He says Walmart was so packed, "It was worse than any black Friday" that he's ever seen. Lynd explained...

MANSFIELD, LA (KSLA) - Shelves in Walmart stores in Springhill and Mansfield, LA were reportedly cleared Saturday night, when the stores allowed purchases on EBT cards even though they were not showing limits. Additional Links Computer issue, not government shutdown, likely cause of EBT card failures The chaos that followed ultimately required intervention from local police, and left behind numerous carts filled to overflowing, apparently abandoned when the glitch-spurred shopping frenzy ended. Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd confirms they were called in to help the employees at Walmart because there were so many people clearing off the shelves. He says...

We're not sure why anyone would want to dress as Osama bin Laden for Halloween and even less sure why Wal-Mart would've sold a pre-packaged bin Laden costume. But that particular outfit will no longer be sold at Wal-Mart, Amazon.com, Sears or any other retailers, having been yanked from the shelves after receiving a number of complaints from the Sikh community. ((pic @ link))

Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest employer, announced Monday that 35,000 part-time employees will soon be moved to full-time status, entitling them to the full healthcare benefits that were scheduled to be denied them as a result of Wal-Mart’s efforts to avoid the requirements of Obamacare.

J.C. Penney’s stock hit a 13-year low Wednesday as investors grow increasingly concerned about the future of the 112 year old iconic American retailer. Shares plunged more than 15% at one point and briefly dipped below $10 a share — a level they have not touched since November 2000. Several analysts are predicting that J.C. Penney did not have a good back to school shopping season, and that sales continued to plummet in late August and early September. Investors had already been spooked by reports that J.C. Penney might be seeking to raise more cash through the sale of new...

Here’s something you won’t hear from the Hispanic media, the mainstream media, or the White House: Among the many terrible side effects of Obamacare is its adverse effects on Hispanics. This stems from the fact that the Hispanic population is one of the youngest, in addition to Obamacare’s impact on the wholesale and retail industry, which employs many Hispanic Americans. Wholesale and retail will be hit especially hard by Obamacare, because, as one consultant noted, “employers not currently offering coverage to all employees working at least 30 hours a week may be more inclined to change their workforce strategy so...