Free Republic

Target sinks to new low as customers flee in droves - forcing bosses into drastic move Inflation-weary shoppers are steering clear of Target's messy, understaffed stores. On Wednesday morning, the Minneapolis chain with 1,980 stores said third-quarter profit took yet another hit, deepening a slide that has now stretched across three straight years. Target's slump comes from a four-headed monster: shabby stores, sinking staff morale, jittery investors, and a leadership shake-up waiting in the wings. And the pain isn't ending anytime soon. Executives warned the sales slump will drag straight through the critical holiday shopping season. To stop the bleeding,...

A man being booked into the Manatee County jail for violating his supervised release on a DUI charge, was slapped with another charge last week when drugs fell out of his pants. Jason Graham, 33, of Venice, was changing into his blue jail uniform on June 30 when a supervising deputy said he heard a rubber band snap as Graham pulled his pants up. A white object with a rubber band attached to it then fell out of his pants. “It is apparent that Graham had this package secured around his genital area and it popped off during the changing...

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Democrat hopefuls for the White House wasted little time after the lights came back on to attack President Bush's energy policies but had little to say on America's electricity network before last week's blackout. "The unfortunate events on the East Coast, parts of the Midwest, and in Canada yesterday are further evidence that the Bush administration is inexorably tied to Persian Gulf oil and old energy, and is incapable of devising a comprehensive, forward looking energy strategy," Dick Gephardt (D-MO) said in a statement released on Friday following the major electricity blackout that crossed several Northeast...