Qantas Completes Historic Test Of Longest Nonstop Passenger Flight - HuffPost

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2019-10-20 12:56:00Z
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GM Strike Continues, Deepening Pain Felt by Midwest Workers, Firms - The Wall Street Journal

A worker outside a GM plant in Flint, Mich., on Thursday. UAW workers continue to picket until a labor pact is ratified, putting further pressure on local economies. Photo: Jake May/Associated Press

By

Ben Foldy

Ben Foldy
The Wall Street Journal
• Biography
• @
• ben.foldy@wsj.com

Oct. 20, 2019 8:00 am ET

With the strike at General Motors Co. stretching into a second month, the impact is intensifying across the Midwest economy, hitting more businesses and auto-parts suppliers reliant on GM’s U.S. factories for work.

The United Auto Workers struck a tentative labor agreement with GM last week, but union leaders decided Thursday to continue picketing until workers approve the deal.

The move likely extends the nationwide walkout, already the company’s longest in decades, through Friday as UAW leaders turn their attention to educating workers on the proposed contract terms and as voting gets under way on whether to ratify the agreement.

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As the consequences of the strike ripple through the Midwest, to what extent will communities support GM workers? Join the conversation below.

Meanwhile, the financial toll is mounting for both the company and states—like Michigan and Indiana—where GM has a concentration of unionized workers. Economists say the cascading effect of lost wages, production and employment will likely linger even if the strike ends, weighing on regional economies already straining from the tariff dispute with China.

U.S. factory activity overall hit a 10-year low in September after contracting for a second straight month, according to the manufacturing index published by the Institute for Supply Management.

“The trade war has already done a lot of damage, and this is just adding insult to injury,” said Mark Zandi, principal economist at Moody’s Analytics. “This is a double whammy to areas of the country that are already getting hammered.”

The strike has idled more than 30 GM factories across the U.S., suspended work at another two dozen company-owned parts warehouses and distribution centers and led to temporary layoffs of nearly 10,000 GM factory workers not represented by the UAW in the U.S., Canada and Mexico but still affected by the walkout.

GM already has lost the production of more than 300,000 vehicles because of the idled factories, according to research firm IHS Markit, and analysts say the Detroit auto maker will struggle to make it up before the year’s end, likely putting a more than $2 billion dent in second-half earnings.

The Federal Reserve said Thursday that the strike contributed to a drop in factory output overall last month, accounting for a 0.7% decline in production of durable, or long-lasting, goods. That included a steep 4.2% decline in the production of autos.

Related

• UAW Leaders Face Tough Task Selling New Labor Deal (Oct. 18)
• Heard: UAW Deal Turns Headlights on GM’s Planning (Oct. 18)
• UAW Reaches Tentative Labor Deal With GM (Oct. 16)

“The GM strike is likely to weigh on production again in October, but with a tentative deal in place, auto production should rebound in November and December as GM looks to make up for lost output,” said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

Striking GM workers also are pulling back on spending, having now lost a month’s worth of company paychecks. Many are trying to get by on $275 a week, the strike pay offered by the UAW to provide some financial assistance. That figure is a fraction of their regular pay, which ranges from $630 to $1,200 for a 40-hour week.

For veteran workers earning the top wage, the strike has resulted in more than $4,000 in lost pay, analysts at Bank of America estimate. If GM workers ratify the proposed contract, they would get a hefty signing bonus payout—$11,000 for full-time workers and $4,500 for temporary employees—which would help offset lost wages. But there is no guarantee members will back the deal.

Jason Kirkpatrick, who works at a GM factory in Flint, Mich., but is currently on strike, said his family has held off on big purchases, as well as more minor spending, such as splurging on his daughter’s 14th birthday.

“We can’t make any big decisions right now,” said 46-year-old Mr. Kirkpatrick. “Normally, we would have had a party and brought some kids over, but we just don’t have that extra money right now.” Other workers say missed wages have led to canceled vacations, missed bill payments and delayed purchases.

Auto-parts suppliers reliant on GM for business are also taking a big hit. With no cars coming off assembly lines, many suppliers producing parts and materials for GM vehicles had little recourse but to stop production themselves.

As a result, 120 of GM’s direct suppliers furloughed some 17,000 workers in the U.S. during the strike, according to the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, a trade organization. That count doesn’t include layoffs further down in the supply chain, the association said, and some analysts have estimated that up to 60,000 more jobs have been affected.

The financial repercussions are starting to show up in third-quarter earnings for major parts suppliers. On Thursday, Faurecia SA, a French maker of automotive seats and other components, reported the strike had dented third-quarter earnings by about $25.6 million.

In Michigan, where GM has around 18,000 UAW-represented workers, the economic pain is most acute.

Todd Collins, president of UAW Local 724, which represents workers at auto-parts suppliers near GM’s two assembly plants in Lansing, Mich., said 1,600 of his 1,800 members have been temporarily laid off during the strike.

“They’re just equally as affected as GM workers, if not more so,” Mr. Collins said, adding that they generally made less than their counterparts.

A spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity said the agency has received 7,900 new unemployment claims from workers at auto-parts suppliers through Oct. 12 that it attributes to the strike.

Sam Kassab, 65, owns the Chene Trombly market where he sells food and liquor close to GM’s Detroit assembly plant. The strike is costing him between 10% to 15% of his usual business, Mr. Kassab said, with most of that caused by layoffs at the supplier factories nearby.

“Everybody is taking a hit,” Mr. Kassab said.

With thousands of workers missing out on paychecks for more than a month, economists and retailers in Michigan expect to feel the loss of their disposable income through the year’s end.

“Holiday season in Michigan is going to be different this year,” said Patrick Anderson, principal at Anderson Economic Group.

—Sarah Chaney contributed to this article.

Write to Ben Foldy at Ben.Foldy@wsj.com

Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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2019-10-20 12:00:00Z
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Wall Street keeps embarrassing itself every time Trump talks about China - Business Insider

It's quite possible that this is Trump's "Got you again, Wall Street" face. Who can really say?AP Photo

• Every time President Donald Trump says he has a trade deal with China the stock market rallies.
• And then it turns out the deal is vapor.
• Meanwhile, US-China relations continue to deteriorate in the background, making anyone bullish on a deal look even more absurd.
• Stop it, Wall Street — you're embarrassing yourself. And we hate to see it.

People, people, people. Why does this keep happening?

On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that he had a trade deal with China, and stocks soared. All was well in the universe of Wall Street. The administration gave itself a pat on the back.

A few hours later, though, everyone figured out that this "phase-one deal" sounded a lot like the trade war detente the US and China came to last December. In this latest "mini-deal," just like the agreement from nine months ago, both parties agreed that China would buy some agricultural goods here and there, and in exchange the US tariffs would not increase for the time being.

(There are more details, we have to assume, but they are difficult to grasp since the agreement wasn't written down or anything this time.)

Of course, this deal leaves untouched the deep structural disagreements between the US and China — issues that include major changes to China's business practices and law enforcement — unresolved. These are the issues at the core of the Trump administration's justification to launch the trade war.

And lo, in the days that followed the announcement of this "phase-one deal," the cracks started to show:

The S&P 500, to its credit, is flat for the month — phase-one deal or no. But it seems every time the president makes one of these pronouncements, the market gets excited, only to be let down again.

Let me tell you a story about the president. From 1986 to 1988, Trump reportedly made millions by betting in the stock market. His strategy was to leak to Wall Street that he was going to take over a company, like a real corporate raider. Then he'd quietly sell his shares before everyone figured out that he was bluffing.

It all ended because after two years Wall Street figured out that Trump's bark was much worse than his bite.

How long is it going to take this time?

President Pump-and-Dump

Meanwhile, as Trump pumps his trade deal and Wall Street foolishly gets their hopes up, the rest of US-Chinese diplomatic relations are in meltdown mode.

So while Trump may say the trade war with China is on the road to resolution, in the rest of the relationship chaos reigns.

And according to Sam Bresnick and Paul Haenle at Foreign Policy, there are some in China who like it that way.

To them, a Donald Trump who is willing to allow democracy to waver in Hong Kong (and the rest of Asia), who is not trusting of his allies, who is easily fooled, is a president who could create the kind of opening that would allow China to gain ground on a swiftly tilting planet. One Chinese thinker called it the "greatest strategic opportunity since the end of the Cold War."

From their piece, which is very much worth reading:

During numerous off-the-record discussions with Chinese government officials and scholars, we are finding that an increasing number are hoping for Trump's reelection next year. At a time when China's political influence and military capabilities are growing, they argue that in spite of his anti-China bluster, Trump has afforded Beijing the space to expand its influence across Asia and, more importantly, comprehensively weakened Washington's global leadership. From a zero-sum standpoint, many Chinese have concluded that Trump's policies are strategically very good for China in the long run.

On top of all these complications is the simple matter of trust. Last month, Beijing hosted a China Development Forum Special Session attended by politicians and technocrats the world over. The message out of that, according to Susan Thornton, a former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, was that the Chinese don't think Trump is acting in good faith.

"They think Trump wants to have the China fight going into November elections," she said during a phone call with Business Insider. "They think he doesn't want to make a deal."

Thornton told us that the US and Chinese sides are having trouble understanding each other. Chinese diplomats tend to be subtle in their dealings; the US president is not a subtle man.

"Trump is presiding over the bleeding of US credibility," Thornton said. "There's no way the Chinese believe in the US ... and after seeing Trump's antics on the world stage how anyone is going to do a deal with us ever again?"

If we're stuck in phase one

Now, you may be thinking to yourself: At least the trade war isn't getting worse. If we're stuck in phase one, we're stuck in phase one.

Problem is, phase one is already causing chaos in the global economy. Up until September, the US consumer was the undisputed champion holding things together in a world of negative interest rates, slumping trade and manufacturing data, and declining business investment.

But last month, US retail sales started to sag. And now the Federal Reserve's Beige Book — a quarterly survey of businesses around the US released last week — is replete with complaints about how the trade war is constraining sales and raising input prices.

Then there's what's going on in China, the world's second-largest economy. Last quarter, GDP growth slowed to its lowest rate in three decades, 6%. Trade, manufacturing, industrial production — all declining. The one bright spot is infrastructure investment, which is supported by the government and widely considered a playground for dangerous shadow banking.

The world needs a real US-China trade deal if economic growth is going to return to the planet, not the fake deals the Trump administration keeps serving up. Wall Street — the so-called masters of the universe and the underlings who serve them — should be smart enough to know a real deal when they see one. But no. So far they've bought just about every pump the president has sold them. We hate to see it.

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2019-10-20 12:06:17Z
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7 Changes to Social Security in 2020 - The Motley Fool

There's little question that Social Security is our nation's most valuable social resource. Of the nearly 64 million beneficiaries netting a monthly payout, over a third are being lifted out of poverty, with more than 15 million of these folks being retired workers.

Big changes are headed Social Security's way in 2020

However, Social Security is also a dynamic program. Each and every October the Social Security Administration releases its "Fact Sheet" that provides updates on everything from what beneficiaries will be paid in the upcoming year to what it takes to qualify for a benefit.

The following is a roundup of the seven biggest changes to Social Security in 2020.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Beneficiaries are getting a modest "raise"

Without question, the most anticipated event every year is the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announcement during the second week of October. COLA is a measurement of the inflation that Social Security beneficiaries have faced, and represents the "raise" that they'll receive in the upcoming year. Of course, it's not really a raise in the truest sense of the word given that COLA is merely designed to keep pace with, not outpace, inflation.

Since 1975, Social Security's inflationary tether has been the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). To determine COLA, the average CPI-W reading from the third-quarter of the current year (July through September) is compared with the average CPI-W reading from the third quarter of the previous year. If the current year is higher than the previous year, then beneficiaries will receive a raise that's commensurate with the percentage increase, and rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent.

In 2020, beneficiaries will be receiving a 1.6% COLA, which is more or less par for the course with the average "raise" received over the past decade. This increase in monthly payout equates to about $24 for the average retired worker and nearly $20 for the average disabled worker.

Image source: Getty Images.

2. Social Security's full retirement age increases, once more

For only the 10th time since Social Security was signed into law in 1935, the program's full retirement age is set to increase. The full retirement age (also known as "normal retirement age" by the Social Security Administration) refers to the age at which a retired worker can collect 100% of their monthly benefit, as determined by their birth year.

In 2020, the full retirement age will increase by two months to 66 years and eight months for persons born in 1958. This means these individuals will have to wait until they are at least 66 years and eight months old if they want 100% of their retired worker monthly benefit. If they begin taking their payout at any point between age 62, the first age of eligibility for retired worker benefits, and 66 years and seven months, they'll face a permanent reduction to their monthly payout.

Further, the full retirement age will increase by two months in 2021 and again in 2022, ultimately peaking in 2022 at age 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.

Image source: Getty Images.

3. The wealthy can net a higher maximum monthly payout

One of the more interesting quirks about Social Security retired worker benefits is that they're capped at a certain level. In 2019, for instance, no retired worker at full retirement age could take home more than $2,861 a month. This cap on monthly benefits exists because a cap is also in place on the amount of earned income that the payroll tax can impact .(I'll have more to say on this in the following point.)

In order to hit Social Security's maximum monthly benefit, a worker would need to have hit or surpassed the aforementioned maximum taxable earnings cap for 35 years, given that the Social Security Administration (SSA) takes your 35 highest-earning, inflation-adjusted years into account when calculating your retired worker benefit.

In 2020, well-to-do retirees could net quite a bit more each month. According to the SSA, the maximum monthly benefit at full retirement age will increase by $150 a month to $3,011. That's an extra $1,800 a year for lifetime upper-income earners during retirement.

Image source: Getty Images.

4. Well-to-do workers will have to open their wallets a bit wider in 2020

Conversely, upper-income working Americans are going to have to open their wallets a bit more next year.

You see, the payroll tax on earned income -- that's wages and salary, but not investment income – generated more than 88% of the $1 trillion in revenue collected by the program in 2018. This year, all earned income between $0.01 and $132,900 is subject to Social Security's 12.4% payroll tax. Next year, the earnings cap will rise by $4,800 to $137,700. The earnings tax cap rises in-step with the National Average Wage Index each year.

Depending on whether well-to-do workers are self-employed or employed by someone else (the self-employed are responsible for the entire 12.4% payroll tax, whereas employees split their tax liability with their employer), they'll owe up to $595.20 or $297.60 extra, respectively, in 2020.

Image source: Getty Images.

5. Disability income thresholds make a leap

Although Social Security was first and foremost designed as a financial foundation for retired workers, it today provides a monthly benefit to 8.4 million disabled workers and roughly 1.6 million spouses and children of disabled workers.

Every year, the SSA updates the monthly earning thresholds by which payments would cease for these individuals. In 2019, for instance, a non-blind Social Security disability beneficiary could earn up to $1,220 a month without having their monthly benefit from the program stopped. For blind Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) recipients, this threshold was $2,040.

As we look at the calendar change into 2020, the SSA update shows that non-blind SSDI recipients can now earn $40 more a month ($1,260 per month) without benefits ceasing, while blind SSDI beneficiaries can take home $70 more extra a month ($2,110 per month) before benefits would be stopped.

Image source: Getty Images.

6. Withholding thresholds for early filers motor higher

It's no secret that early filers face a number of disadvantages, with the biggest being a permanent reduction to their monthly payout from the program. But the retirement earnings test can also be a major thorn in the side of early filers that continue to work and generate income.

The retirement earnings test allows the SSA to withhold some or all of your benefits if you've begun taking your payout prior to your full retirement age, are still working, and you surpass set income thresholds. In 2020, you're allowed to earn $18,240 ($1,520 a month) without any withholding if you won't hit your full retirement age. This is up $50 a month from 2019. But if you surpass $18,240, the SSA can withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 in earned income above this threshold.

Meanwhile, if you will reach your full retirement age in 2020, you're allowed to earn $48,600 ($4,050 a month) before any withholding would kick in. That's up $140 a month from 2019. Plus, withholding here is only $1 in benefits for every $3 in earned income above the threshold.

Take note that the retirement earnings test no longer applies when you hit your full retirement age (no matter when you began taking your payout), and that any withheld benefits are returned in the form of a higher monthly payout after hitting your full retirement age.

Image source: Getty Images.

7. You'll have to work a bit harder to qualify for a Social Security benefit

Last, but not least, understand that Social Security isn't simply given to you because you were born in the United States. In order to qualify for a retired worker benefit, you'll have to earn it through years of work.

To guarantee yourself a Social Security retired worker benefit, as well as potential disability and/or survivor's insurance protections, you'll want to have earned 40 lifetime work credits, of which a maximum of four can be earned per year. These credits are earned based on your income in a given year. In 2019, for example, $1,360 in earned income equated to one lifetime work credit, with a full year's worth of credits working out to $5,440 in earned income (4 X $1,360). Thus, the SSA sets a very reasonable bar for workers to qualify for a benefit.

Next year, it'll be incrementally tougher to earn these credits. Qualifying for a work credit will require $1,410 in earned income, or $5,640 for the year to max out your credits.

In just 2.5 months these big changes are set to take effect, so make sure you're in the know.

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https://www.fool.com/retirement/2019/10/20/7-changes-to-social-security-in-2020.aspx

2019-10-20 10:06:00Z
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Qantas test flight completes record 19-hour non-stop flight from New York to Sydney - CNN

With 49 people on board, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flight completed the 10,066-mile journey from New York to Sydney in 19 hours and 16 minutes.

Qantas Group Chief executive Alan Joyce said: "This is a really significant first for aviation. Hopefully, it's a preview of a regular service that will speed up how people travel from one side of the globe to the other."

Research into the health and well-being of those on board were conducted during the flight with tests ranging from monitoring pilot brain waves, melatonin levels and alertness to exercise classes for passengers.

Joyce added: "We know ultra long haul flights pose some extra challenges but that's been true every time technology has allowed us to fly further. The research we're doing should give us better strategies for improving comfort and wellbeing along the way."

The next test flight will take place in November, from London to Sydney, while there will be another New York to Sydney flight before the end of the year.

Qantas has said it hopes to operate direct flights from three cities on Australia's east coast -- Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane -- and New York and London by 2022 or 2023.

Captain Sean Golding said: "Overall, we're really happy with how the flight went and it's great have some of the data we need to help assess turning this into a regular service."

The Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane arrives at Sydney International Airport after flying direct from New York on Sunday, October 20, 2019.

David Gray /Getty Images for Qantas/GETTY IMAGES

How will the passengers be monitored?

Researchers from Sydney University's Charles Perkins Centre, Monash University and the Alertness Safety and Productivity Cooperative Research Centre -- a scientific program backed by the Australian government -- will examine the impact of the long flight on those on board.

Passengers in the main cabin wore monitoring devices, and experts from the Charles Perkins Centre will study how their "health, wellbeing and body clock" was impacted by a set of variables that include lighting, food and drink, movement, sleep patterns and inflight entertainment.

Those on board were advised to keep a daily log in the lead-up to the flight and for two weeks afterwards, to show how they feel and how they've coped with jet lag.

Pilots and cabin crew will also keep sleep diaries. Cameras were mounted in the cockpit to record pilot alertness.

"People seem to be wildly different when it comes to the experience of jetlag -- and we need more research on what contributes to jetlag and travel fatigue, so we can try and reduce the impact of long-haul flights," Professor Stephen Simpson, academic director of the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre, told CNN Travel.

"We have a long way to go in terms of understanding how the wide variety of influences -- including nutrition, hydration, exercise, sleep and light -- might work together for maximum benefit."

Monash University scientists will focus on the flight crew, recording their melatonin levels before, during and after the flights, as well as studying brain wave data from electroencephalogram devices worn by the pilots.

This information will then be shared with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority "to help inform regulatory requirements associated with ultra-long-haul flights," Qantas said in a statement.

Francesca Street and Emily Dixon contributed to this report.

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2019-10-20 08:46:30Z
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Coca-Cola that's good to the last drop? Soft drink-maker infuses signature brand with java - Fox Business

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett and Vice Chair Charlie Munger tell FBN’s Liz Claman that Coca-Cola shouldn’t venture into the marijuana business.

Coca-Cola Plus Coffee and its zero-sugar alternative are part of a growing diversification of beverages that have helped the company boost sales.

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The infusion of Brazilian coffee beans into the signature soft drink is available in over 25 international markets after successful trial runs dating back to 2017.

"Internationally, a scaled launch of Coca-Cola Plus Coffee in more than 20 markets with a diligent consumer focus, consistent messaging and an integrated execution plan has driven strong performance," the Atlanta-based company said. International success hasn't led Coca-Cola to commit to bringing the product to the United States, however, according to a company spokeswoman.

The market for carbonated soft drinks declined 1.6 percent annually from 2012 to 2017, according to a bevindustry.com report, and brands have responded with a variety of strategies.  As consumers drink less sugary sodas and look for healthier alternatives, beverage companies have had no choice but to adjust their product lineups.

But Coca-Cola topped Wall Street's sales expectations in Friday's third-quarter earnings report, bumping its stock 2 percent higher on the back of a changing product development strategy. Revenue grew 8 percent for the Atlanta-based beverage giant.

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KOCOCA-COLA COMPANY

$54.78

+0.99 (+1.84%)

"Our performance gives us confidence that our strategies are taking hold with our consumers, customers and system," CEO James Quincey said in a  statement. "We are positioning the company to create a better shared future for all of our stakeholders."

Coke's move toward smaller cans, lower caloric intake without sacrificing taste and low-sugar offerings, such as sparkling water beverages, have helped boost earnings, according to the company.

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The largest contributor to retail value growth was the flagship U.S. market, driven by continued double-digit volume gains in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, in addition to strong growth in smaller packages, led by double-digit growth in 7.5-ounce mini cans.

Photo: Coca-Cola

Coca Cola Plus Coffee is the company's second attempt at blending the two drinks together under its flagship brand name. The predecessor, Coca Cola Blāk, launched internationally in 2006, but failed to catch on and was discontinued two years later.

Global coffee consumption is growing at 5.5 percent a year, according to Mordor Intelligence. And after Starbucks and Kraft-Heinz, which owns the Maxwell House brand among others, Mordor ranked Coca-Cola as the third-largest global player in the coffee market.

The Coke Plus Coffee product family packs slightly more caffeine than a regular can of Coke, but still clocks in under what a traditional cup of coffee contains. A typical 8-ounce cup of coffee has 95 to 165 milligrams of caffeine. and a typical 8-ounce serving of cola has 24 to 46 milligrams, according to the Mayo Clinic.

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In a further expansion of its coffee enterprise, Coca-Cola closed its $5.1 billion acquisition of England-based Costa Coffee, which was announced last August, earlier this year. Costa joins Coca-Cola's extensive family of non-soda brands, including Dasani, Odwalla and Honest Tea, that target the ever-growing base of health-conscious consumers.

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2019-10-19 11:52:59Z
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Chick-fil-A's First U.K. Restaurant Told to 'Cluck Off', Will Close After Protests Over LGBT Rights - Newsweek

The U.K.'s first and only Chick-fil-A restaurant will close it was announced Friday—just eight days after it opened in Reading, south England.

LGBT+ groups expressed concerns about Chick-fil-A's views on LGBT+ rights and the company's donations to perceived anti-LGBT+ organizations.

The Oracle shopping mall said it would not renew Chick-fil-A's six-month lease, telling the BBC it's the "right thing to do."

"We always look to introduce new concepts for our customers, however, we have decided on this occasion that the right thing to do is to only allow Chick-fil-A to trade with us for the initial six-month pilot period, and not to extend the lease any further," an Oracle spokesperson told the BBC.

LGBT+ rights groups in Reading, including the organizers of Reading Pride, have been critical of the new Chick-fil-A branch in recent weeks. A planned protest on Saturday will go ahead.

"The chain's ethos and moral stance towards #LGBTQ people goes completely against our values, and that of the UK," Reading Pride tweeted earlier this week.

Reading Pride said its concerns about Chick-fil-A's position on LGBT+ views included comments made by the company's CEO Dan Cathy in 2012 opposing same-sex marriage.

In an interview with the Biblical Recorder, Cathy said: "We are very much supportive of the family—the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that ... We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families."

In a radio interview the same year, Cathy said that by redefining marriage, "I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation."

In March, the website ThinkProgress reported that, in 2017, the Chick-fil-A Foundation gave just over $1.6 million to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which requires employees to adhere to a "sexual purity" clause that forbids "homosexual acts."

Reading Pride organizers said Friday they felt it was "reasonable" to allow Chick-fil-A to see out its six-month lease at the Oracle shopping center, which would allow "re-settlement and and notice for employees that have moved from other jobs."

The U.K. Pride Network, a group that brings together organizers of Pride events around the U.K., tweeted Friday: "Cluck off @ChickfilA you are not welcome!" It also said it would show solidarity with Reading Pride organizers at a protest planned at the Chick-fil-A restaurant on Saturday.

Reading Pride organizers said that Saturday's protest will go ahead as planned—despite the store closing—"to advise where their money should go" as they believe Chick-fil-A will be "profiting from unsuspecting patrons" over the six-month tenure of its lease.

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2019-10-19 09:16:43Z
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