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Rescue operation underway after possible overboard incident on Carnival Cruise ship
The Carnival Radiance turned back near Ensenada, Mexico, after reports of a possible person overboard, prompting a rescue operation Thursday.
Charge against Melodee Buzzard’s mom dismissed, ankle monitor removed as FBI hunts for missing 9-year-old
A California mother had a felony charge dismissed as the FBI continues searching for her missing 9-year-old daughter, Melodee, who was last seen near the Utah-Colorado border.
US-backed foreign broadcaster selling pricy news gear for pennies on the dollar to ‘spite’ taxpayers
Congressman Darrell Issa calls Radio Free Asia’s online equipment auction a betrayal after the broadcaster sells taxpayer-funded assets for pennies.
Biden DOJ subpoenaed Jim Jordan’s phone records covering more than two years
The Department of Justice subpoenaed the personal phone records of House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan in 2022, seeking the Ohio Republican’s phone data covering a more than two-year period.
AOC sounds off on Trump-Mamdani meeting as NYC’s mayor-elect prepares to take office
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is prepared to meet with anybody ahead of his meeting with President Donald Trump.
Man caught on camera approaching, spraying unknown substance toward Yellowstone wolves: rangers
National Park Service rangers at Yellowstone cited a visitor caught on camera approaching a wild wolf pack and sprayed them with an unknown substance.
Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb clears up rumors about why he, teammate were benched vs Raiders
Dallas Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb cleared up the reasons why he and George Pickens were benched for the team’s first drive against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Vance Urges Republicans To ‘Have Our Debates’ But ‘Focus on the Enemy’
Vice President J.D. Vance addressed the ongoing fights within the Republican Party in an interview on Thursday, giving his lengthiest answer to date on the debates raging on the right about whether to welcome racists and anti-Semites traditionally marginalized by the GOP into the coalition. While Vance encouraged debate, he also urged the GOP to focus on unity against opponents on the left.
The post Vance Urges Republicans To ‘Have Our Debates’ But ‘Focus on the Enemy’ appeared first on .
‘Abortion Is Everything’ book for kids calls killing unborn children ‘human superpower’
Abortions are described as a “uniquely human superpower” in a new kids’ book meant for children as young as 5 years old.
The book, titled “Abortion Is Everything,” was created by Amelia Bonow, an activist who is also responsible for the “Shout Your Abortion” campaign.
‘The book is marketed to children from 5 to 8, with the goal of explaining abortion in kid-friendly language. This isn’t just propaganda. It’s grooming.’
A post on the group’s social media page proudly marketed the book, according to the Live Action pro-life group.
“Parents, caregivers, and educators who work with children have long been searching for a tool to talk with kids about abortion, especially given the volume of political noise currently surrounding the issue,” reads a post on Instagram.
The book intends to describe how an abortion feels and why people have them.
“With accessible, inclusive language, ‘Abortion Is Everything’ frames abortion as the actualization of a uniquely human superpower: our capacity to imagine the future and make choices that lead us towards the life we envision,” the post reads. “Abortion is a tool that allows human beings to shape our destinies, and which has shaped the entire world around us.”
The Live Action group strongly condemned the effort in a post on social media.
“The founder of ‘Shout Your Abortion’ is now targeting kids. With a children’s book. Promoting abortion,” the post reads. “The book is marketed to children from 5 to 8, with the goal of explaining abortion in kid-friendly language. This isn’t just propaganda. It’s grooming.”
RELATED: Missouri man admits to kidnapping pregnant girlfriend at gunpoint to force her to have abortion
Photo by Chris Polk/E! Entertainment/NBC via Getty Images
“The abortion industry has long tried to indoctrinate children into their pro-abortion agenda,” the group continued on its website. “This book, presenting abortion as human empowerment, is just the latest example.”
The political fight over abortion has moved to the state level after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the decision establishing federal abortion rights in the historic 2022 Dobbs decision.
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‘I feel like I’ve been fired by America’: Cracker Barrel CEO nearly brought to tears over redesign backlash
Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino told BlazeTV’s Glenn Beck that the company was trying to correct for lighting and comfort when it presented its redesign.
Masino was at the center of controversy in August when the old country store was blasted for changing its logo, branding, and interior design. Customers particularly took issue with the removal of the country man sitting on a chair next to a barrel, as well as the barrel itself, leaving just black “Cracker Barrel” text on a yellow background.
‘Were you surprised you weren’t fired?’
Beck sat down with Masino inside a Cracker Barrel, tucked away in a corner booth along with the company’s senior vice president of store operations, Doug Hisel. During the hour-long conversation that saw Masino almost shed tears at one point, the CEO expressed anxiety about agreeing to the interview due to feeling that her position throughout the ordeal had been misconstrued.
“I want to set the record straight,” she said. “I want people to know that this is the brand that they’ve always known and loved, and that our job is to take care of it and just set it up for the next 55 years.”
Beck cut the noise and directly asked, “Were you surprised you weren’t fired?”
“I feel like I’ve been fired by America,” Masino replied.
“That’s probably worse,” Beck noted.
The CEO explained that her intentions were only to help Americans love the brand, “the way I love this brand … the way everybody who works here.”
Pointing to the some 70,000 employees at Cracker Barrel, Masino said she knows the responsibility she has on her shoulders and that she must ensure her employees are taken care of, and in turn are able to put a roof over their head and food on their table.
“My job is to make sure that Cracker Barrel helps them do that,” she added.
RELATED: Cracker Barrel saves its old-timey decor — but will we settle for a Potemkin past?
Cracker Barrel CEO Finally Addresses ‘Woke’ Rebrand Controversy | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 275
Surrounded by classic Americana synonymous with the store, Beck asked the execs about the disconnect in terms of the rebranding; Masino rejected that there was ever a plan to remodel.
“Was [the rebrand] ever intended to get rid of all this?” Beck asked, kindly referring to the bleakly remodeled restaurants that were shown online.
“I think a lot of people think that Doug and me and other people sit around are like, ‘Let’s remodel Cracker Barrel.’ Nothing could be further from the truth,” Masino claimed.
The real reason for the recalibration, she cited, were customer experiences that described visits as being “real dark” and not being able to read the menu. She then recalled not one but two stories where she spotted customers using a stadium cushion while eating at the restaurant.
“I love your food; I love it here, but your chairs are so uncomfortable,” she remembered one man telling her.
“That’s really where it all started,” Masino said. “How do we make the stores more comfortable?”
“How do we get the right balance of investment, of comfort, of nostalgia, of the tradition that everybody knows and loves here? But in a way, that’s easy for our teams to take care of,” she went on.
Masino said it was her expectation that customers would take issue with the presence of too many booths, but “it wasn’t that. It was the black and white and the decor.”
“So that’s why, when people got upset about it, we were like, ‘Oh gosh, that’s not the intention. We can revert them,'” she added.
RELATED: Cracker Barrel folds again, tells customers they ‘don’t need to worry’
Glenn Beck (L) interviews Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Masino (M) and Doug Hisel (R), senior vice president of store operations. Image courtesy Blaze TV / Glenn Beck
Beck was able to extract a lot of the boardroom reasoning behind the branding blunder from the CEO. Masino told him that the remodeled stores in question were all company-owned and have since been reverted back to their original design, save for four in Florida that are dealing with permitting laws; but the company is working on that.
During this line of questioning, Beck pointed out that he could feel Masino’s genuine nature and that she was “hurt deeply” and “personally” from the backlash the company received.
“You’re so human, and you’re fighting it. Why?” Beck asked.
“I don’t know,” Masino replied, appearing to tear up. At this point, Hisel jumped in to reassure Masino that she is a good person, doing her best.
The productive conversation concluded with a brief mention of Hisel and Masino reaffirming that “everybody is welcome at Cracker Barrel.”
“It’s America’s store,” Hisel said. “Come as you are. If you play checkers, we can do pancakes and country fried turkey. Come as you are.”
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