Free Republic

Executives at McDonald's may not be lovin' it if they don't get their full McBonuses in accordance with new company policy. The fast-food company announced on Thursday it would be reducing the bonuses of top brass if they fail to staff more minorities in senior leadership roles. "We’re implementing policies that hold our leaders directly accountable for making tangible progress on our [diversity, equity, and inclusion] goals," McDonald’s Corp. said in a press release titled "Allyship through Accountability." McDonald's, pushing to achieve "gender parity" by 2030, said it "expects to increase representation of historically underrepresented groups in leadership roles (Senior...

A former pro baseball player who built one of the largest Black-owned McDonald’s franchises claims the company forced him to sell stores to white owners in a squeeze play that violated his civil rights.

A settlement has been reached in a wrongful death civil lawsuit between the family of Breonna Taylor and the city of Louisville. The deal includes $12 million for the family and more "significant" police reforms, including new drug testing rules for LMPD officers, an incentive for officers to live in specific neighborhoods and a new level of scrutiny over search warrants. Mayor Greg Fischer announced the changes at 2 p.m. with Taylor's family, attorneys Lonita Baker and Ben Crump, and others.

(CU) - The Reverend Al Sharpton is the man FBI agents referred to as “CI-7”, short for confidential informant #7, in secret court filings. In those documents, investigators confidently vouched for him as being a reliable, productive, and accurate source of private information regarding investigations into illegal activities. Today Sharpton continues to straddle the corporate and street cultures while maintaining the unofficial position of America’s senior spokesman for civil rights issues. Our collective memories don’t appear to be as strong as needed or the left side of the political aisle simply assumes short memories have washed clean Sharpton’s reputation.

The Rev. Al Sharpton on Tuesday slammed the nationwide call to defund the police as a “latte liberal” ideology. Sharpton made the comments on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” during a discussion about policing and a recent spate of violence in the Big Apple. “To take all policing off is something that I think a latte liberal may go for as they sit around the Hamptons discussing this as some academic problem,” Sharpton said.

How dangerous have things gotten in the New York City under Bill de Blasio and Andrew Cuomo? So bad that even Joe Scarborough has to grudgingly admit that things were a lot safer under Mayor Rudy Giuliani. So dangerous that even Al Sharpton has to oppose defunding the NYC police, saying that notion is something for "latte liberals" sitting around in the Hamptons. Those surprising statements were heard on today's Morning Joe. NYC resident Willie Geist was left as the sole defender of the city, claiming that, unlike others, he feels safe. But in a bit of unintended gallows humor,...

The American Federation of Teachers union boss Randi Weingarten claimed at the union's annual convention that teachers were so terrified of going back to school that they were "quitting in droves" and "making their wills". The AFT threatened that its members would go on strike if they were expected to go back to actually doing their jobs and teaching in a classroom. In New York City, the United Federation of Teachers, which is affiliated with the AFT, marched with cardboard coffins and fake body bags. Some union teachers wore skeleton t-shirts. A Halloween skeleton attached to a garbage bag held...

The Louisville cadre of Black Lives Matter activists sent a letter to many downtown businesses demanding they “diversify” their employees. But at least one Cuban-American business owner objected to the threatening tone of the letter and posted his displeasure on Facebook. Fernando Martinez owns a restaurant group with several Hispanic eateries. He accused BLM of using “mafia tactics” and explained his position. “There comes a time in life that you have to make a stand and you have to really prove your convictions and what you believe in,” Martinez wrote in a public Facebook post. “… All good people need...

An ice cream shop is at the center of ongoing protests in Gastonia. The ongoing protests are centered around Tony’s Ice Cream on East Franklin Boulevard. When police responded Wednesday night, they closed all roads near the business. Thursday, Tony’s Ice Cream was closed. People came by to write supportive messages on their door. Police say the protests happened following some “civil disturbances” there at Tony’s Ice Cream on Monday and Tuesday. The crowd was being dispersed by police.

President Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden both set eye-popping fundraising records last month – but Biden’s records were larger. The former vice president’s campaign announced on Wednesday night that they, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and their joint fundraising committees hauled in a combined $141 million in June, which was by far the campaign’s best monthly figure to date. Biden’s campaign called it a “jaw-dropping sum of money”

Starbucks said Friday that the chain would allow workers to wear attire and accessories highlighting the Black Lives Matter movement, reversing its prior stance after social media users called for boycotts of the company. Buzzfeed first reported on Wednesday that the coffee chain would not allow its employees to wear Black Lives Matter clothing or accessories, and management justified the decision by saying that such items could be misunderstood and incite violence. While Starbucks has a policy against wearing personal, political or religious clothing or accessories, workers told Buzzfeed that the company hands out buttons and attire celebrating LGBTQ rights...

Tucker Carlson may have one of the most watched shows on cable news, but the Fox News Channel host is losing advertisers – again. Whereas in 2018, over 20 companies yanked their ads after Carlson obtusely proclaimed that the undocumented made America “poorer, and dirtier, and more divided,” this time the exits are over the host’s stance on the death of George Floyd and the nationwide protests that followed against police violence and racism.

The corporate apparatus that oversees NBC News has again revealed itself to be a massive SJW media behemoth. And it is devoting $100 million to prove it.

Manhattan federal court judge Deborah Batts who was slated to oversee Michael Avenatti’s Stormy Daniels-related embezzlement trial, has died. She was 72. The Philadelphia-born jurist, who was the first openly gay member of the federal judiciary, passed away February 2, according to sources familiar with the matter.

MADRID (Reuters) – Major economies resisted calls for bolder climate commitments as a U.N. summit in Madrid limped toward a delayed conclusion on Saturday, dimming hopes that nations will act in time to stop rising temperatures devastating people and the natural world.[snip] The annual climate marathon had been due to conclude on Friday, but dragged on with ministers mired in multiple disputes over implementing the Paris deal, which has so far failed to stem the upward march of global carbon emissions.[snip] The Paris process has been weakened by a move by U.S. President Donald Trump to begin withdrawing the world’s...

offer from Goldman Sachs over the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad fund (1MDB) scandal. The country’s prime minister ­Mahathir Mohamad, who is still demanding $7.5bn (£5.8bn) in compensation for losses incurred, told the Financial Times in an interview yesterday that he was not satisfied with the offer.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia filed criminal charges on Friday against 17 current and former directors at subsidiaries of Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) following an investigation into a multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal that led to the demise of state fund 1MDB.Those charged on Friday include Richard Gnodde, chief executive of Goldman Sachs International, Michael Evans, president of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) and a former director at Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC, and Michael Sherwood, former vice chairman of Goldman Sachs Group.The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the bank for its role as underwriter and arranger of the bond offer....

(Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Deutsche Bank AG violated foreign corruption or anti-money-laundering laws in its work for state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday. The news comes after the bank announced plans to scrap its global equities unit, cut some fixed-income operations and slash 18,000 jobs globally in a 7.4-billion-euro ($8.34 billion) restructuring program. Deutsche Bank's work for 1MDB included helping to raise $1.2 billion in 2014 as concerns about the fund's management and financials had begun to circulate, the newspaper said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter....

Chick-fil-A, once under fire for donating to "anti-LGBT" Christian organizations, has now taken flack for funding seemingly pro-LGBT charities. In a truly shocking development, the fast-food chain even funded the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which is notorious for slandering conservative and Christian organizations by calling them "hate groups" on par with the Ku Klux Klan. While conservative Christians have been defending Chick-fil-A from criticism, the fast-food chain donated to one of their worst enemies.On Wednesday, a Christian non-profit Chick-fil-A once supported called for a boycott of the fast-food chain. "It’s time for Christians to find a fast-food alternative...

Rep. Al Green’s Probe into People’s Sexuality Mark Zuckerberg, the creator and CEO of Facebook, which currently has 2.7 billion users around the world plans to launch a digital currency and payment platform named Libra. The establishment of such a product requires consideration of multifaceted ramifications. The House Financial Services Committee is charged with investigating the potential liabilities Libra may impose on competing digital currency, the U.S. dollar and the global commercial system built around it. Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington D.C. to respond to questions about the new money. Zuckerberg delivered an opening...