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Another beverage company, this time vodka retailer Smirnoff, appears to have hired a trans woman and drag queen as one of its paid partners in recent weeks. Several recent Instagram posts from drag queen and trans woman "Maxine LaQueene" featured the official "Paid Partnership with Smirnoff" tags, denoting that the major liquor retailer has hired the biological male for promotional material. In addition to being a promoter of drag and transgenderism, LaQueene is an outspoken LGBTQ activist who had recently been removed from the Texas state capitol building by police for disrupting a legislature vote on a trans bill.

The president and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co., Chip Bergh, has announced that the iconic company, "a pioneer of the American West," will donate more than $1 million to gun-control groups to help end "America's gun violence epidemic," a step the NRA denounced as a "particularly sad episode in the current surge in corporate virtue-signaling." In his announcement, through a commentary in Fortune magazine, CEO Bergh stated that Levi's is "known the world over as a pioneer of the American West and one of the great symbols of American freedom." Nonetheless, "as business leaders with power in the public...

Starbucks announced a new policy Saturday that allows anyone to sit in its cafés or use its restrooms, even if they don’t buy anything. The new policy comes five weeks after two black men who hadn’t bought anything were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks. Company executives have said its previous policies were loose and ambiguous, leaving decisions on whether people could sit in its stores or use the restroom up to store managers. […] The company said anyone can use its cafés, patios or restrooms without buying anything, but it noted workers should still call the police if someone is...

Tensions between Whole Foods Market and some of the most important brands it sells in its stores will come to head on March 19. The grocer notified certain vendors about the meeting last Saturday. A key issue discussed will be Whole Foods' efforts to centralize its merchandising. Tensions between Whole Foods Market and some of the most important brands it sells in its stores will come to a head on March 19, when they will congregate for a recently announced summit, sources familiar with the situation tell CNBC. The grocer notified certain vendors about the meeting by email last Saturday....