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As the fight over the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline seems be accelerating towards a final decision, protestors are turning up the heat on President Obama to reject the project with a major, youth-led protest at the White House this weekend called "XL Dissent."
As the fight over the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline seems be accelerating towards a final decision, protestors are turning up the heat on President Obama to reject the project with a major, youth-led protest at the White House this weekend called "XL Dissent."
More than 1,000 students and youth from across the country have signed up to take part in a march to the White House from Georgetown University, where President Obama laid out his "climate test" for the pipeline this summer. Once there, more than 300 youth are expected to risk arrest in a sit-in, the largest youth act of civil disobedience at the White House in a generation.
The young people represent over 50 colleges and universities and are taking action in solidarity with groups on the frontlines of dirty energy expansion and climate impacts, such as First Nations and refining communities, ranchers and farmers along the route, and those fighting tar sands expansion in Michigan and beyond.
Press are invited to interview students at the Thurgood Marshall Center on Saturday, from 1:00-4:00pm, or on Sunday at either the rally beginning at Georgetown at 10:00am or at the White House rally beginning at 11:30am.
Here is a full schedule of the weekend's events:
Saturday, March 1
Location: Thurgood Marshall Center, 1816 12th St NW, Washington, DC
12:00-4:00pm: Fossil Fuel Divestment Meetup
Hundreds of students from across the country will come together to share strategies and tactics for the growing fossil fuel divestment movement that has spread to over 300 colleges and universities.
5:00pm-9:00pm: Nonviolent Direct Action Training (closed to press)
Students will take part in a NVDA training to prepare for Sunday's sit-in at the White House.
Sunday, March 2
Location: Georgetown University to Lafayette Park & White House
10:00am: Rally at Georgetown University's Red Square to kick-off the day's events
10:20-11:30am: March from Georgetown to Lafayette Park
The march will begin at Georgetown University, head East on O St, South on Wisconsin, East on M St., East on Penn, and East on H St. to Lafayette Park.
10:30am: Rally Outside Secretary of State John Kerry's House
Youth will rally outside Sec. Kerry's house on O St. with a banner that reads "Sec. Kerry: Don't Tar Your Legacy" to push him to recommend that President Obama reject the pipeline.
11:30am-12:15pm: Rally at Lafayette Park
Speakers will include youth leaders and representatives from communities that would be impacted by the Keystone XL pipeline, as well as those on the frontlines of other dirty energy developments and the climate crisis.
12:15pm-1:00pm: White House Sit-in
At least 300 youth are expected to risk arrest in sit-in on the sidewalk in front of the White House fence.
350 is building a future that's just, prosperous, equitable and safe from the effects of the climate crisis. We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.
The incoming CEO announced 1,800 job cuts after 11 difficult quarters, a boycott over its DEI policy, and various complaints from consumers enduring broader economic pain.
As Americans are feeling the pain of President Donald Trump's economic policies, including the US leader's global tariff war, Minneapolis-based Target told employees Thursday that the retail giant is pursuing its first major job cuts in a decade.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Michael Fiddelke, Target's incoming CEO, said in a memo to staff that the company will lay off around 1,000 of its approximately 22,000 corporate employees and cut 800 open positions, mainly in the United States.
"The truth is, the complexity we've created over time has been holding us back," wrote Fiddelke, who is set to take over for CEO Brian Cornell in February. "Too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions, making it harder to bring ideas to life."
A Target spokesperson told CNBC that no roles in stores or the company's supply chain will be impacted. The last time the company announced mass cuts was March 2015, when it laid off 1,700 people and declined to fill 1,400 open jobs.
The Journal pointed out that "Target has reported 11 consecutive quarters of falling or weak comparable sales growth," and CNBC highlighted that "its shares have fallen by 65% since their all-time high in late 2021."
As CNBC also detailed:
Compared to retail competitors, Target draws less of its overall sales from groceries and other necessities, which can make its business more vulnerable to the ups and downs of the economy and consumer sentiment. About half of Target's sales come from discretionary items, compared to only 40% at Walmart, according to estimates from GlobalData Retail.
As a result of that and other company-specific challenges, Target's sales trends and stock performance have diverged sharply from competitors. Shares of Walmart are up about 123% in the past five years, compared to Target's decline of 41% during the same time period.
Target is among several that responded to Trump's return to office and executive order on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives by ditching its DEI policies. The decision caused some shoppers to boycott Target. While experts have debated the impact of the protest, it has certainly drawn attention to the company's financial state.
"When Target reported $23.85 billion in first-quarter sales, it missed analyst expectations by nearly $500 million. Foot traffic has declined for 11 straight weeks, with Placer.ai data showing consistent year-over-year drops since the boycott began," Investopedia reported last month. "Comparable sales in the second quarter fell 1.9%, with both transaction frequency and spending per visit declining. Operating income dropped by a fifth (19.4%) to $1.3 billion in the second quarter, while earnings per share fell about 20% to $2.05."
No woke, no growth: "Target cuts 1,800 corporate jobs in its first major layoffs in a decade. Target’s shares have fallen by about 65% since their all-time high in late 2021." www.cnbc.com/2025/10/23/t...
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— Social Media Lab (@socialmedialab.ca) October 23, 2025 at 4:59 PM
While acknowledging the DEI boycott, Bloomberg on Thursday also noted other issues, including that "many customers have pointed to long wait lines, empty shelves, and less distinctive items."
"Getting back on track won't be easy," Bloomberg added. "Shoppers remain selective, with consumer sentiment remaining subdued on concerns around inflation and the job market."
"Maybe other cities should try to convince a wealthy tech CEO or two to keep the president from siccing his agents on them," quipped one writer.
After threatening for days to deploy troops to San Francisco, President Donald Trump announced that he would pull back for the moment, apparently after some of his billionaire "friends" in the city called him and asked him not to.
"The Federal Government was preparing to 'surge' San Francisco, California, on Saturday," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "But friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge in that the Mayor, Daniel Lurie, was making substantial progress."
Trump said he "spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around. I told [Lurie], I think he is making a mistake, because we can do it much faster, and remove the criminals that the Law does not permit him to remove. I told him, 'It's an easier process if we do it, faster, stronger, and safer but, let's see how you do?'"
In a separate post, Lurie affirmed that he had spoken with Trump. He said he told the president that "San Francisco is on the rise," and that a military occupation would "hinder our recovery."
Although Trump is walking back his troop threat, for now, US Customs and Border Protection agents still arrived in the Bay Area on Thursday as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants.
The Associated Press reported that "police used at least one flash-bang grenade to clear a handful of demonstrators from the entrance" of Coast Guard Island in Alameda, where the CBP agents will be based.
In addition to threatening San Francisco in recent days, Trump has sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles, California; Washington, DC; Portland, Oregon; and Chicago, Illinois—where a judge has halted the deployment.
Like virtually all of the cities where Trump has either surged or threatened to surge federalized troops, San Francisco has no crime wave to "turn around." In fact, crime has been falling precipitously in the city. Homicides dropped by 35% during 2024 and hit a 60-year low this year, contradicting Trump's assertions that the city is a "mess" and that people there lived in constant fear of being "mugged, murdered, robbed, raped, assaulted, or shot."
Lurie said he agreed to help Trump go to war on this imaginary crime wave, and said he would welcome "would welcome continued partnerships with the FBI, DEA, ATF, and US attorney."
Trump said he was persuaded to hold off on the surge of troops after he was called by two Silicon Valley billionaires, Marc Benioff and Jensen Huang, whom he called "great people."
Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, was a longtime Democrat who quickly morphed into an outspoken Trump supporter after his victory in 2024. He was also an initial champion of Trump's proposal to send troops to San Francisco, but later backed off and even apologized after facing criticism from local officials and former political allies.
Huang, the CEO of the computer tech company Nvidia, meanwhile, cut an unprecedented deal with Trump in August that allowed the company to sell computer chips in China if it handed 15% of the revenue from those sales to the federal government, which was described as a "shakedown" by one financial columnist.
Trump said that these two and some unspecified "others" called him, "saying that the future of San Francisco is great" and that "they want to give [Lurie's efforts] a 'shot.'"
"Therefore," Trump said, "we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday."
Hafiz Rashid, a writer for the New Republic, quipped that "maybe other cities should try to convince a wealthy tech CEO or two to keep the president from siccing his agents on them."
"I'm voting yes to get Volkswagen to come back to the table," said one employee at the plant. "The majority of the people I know don't want VW's 'final offer.'"
Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who unionized with the United Auto Workers last year, announced Thursday that they will vote next week to authorize a strike after over 13 months of fruitless contract negotiations with the auto giant.
The strike authorization vote planned for October 28-29 "comes after months of unfair labor practices committed by the company, including bad faith negotiations, unlawful intimidation, and the unilateral cutting of jobs at Volkswagen’s only US assembly plant," UAW said in a statement. The union also highlighted Volkswagen's $20.6 billion in profits last year.
Company spokesperson Michael Lowder said Monday that "Volkswagen made it clear to the union that our last, best, and final offer is indeed final. We cannot in good faith prolong negotiations by continuing to bargain when we have already put our best offer on the table. It is time for the UAW to give VW employees a voice and let them decide for themselves by voting on our final offer."
However, multiple employees said Thursday that they are not happy with the company's latest offer and plan to vote for a strike.
"I'm voting yes because this is the time to show Volkswagen we are serious about receiving industry-standard treatment. Job security's essential. They could pay us $100 an hour, but it means nothing if they close the plant two weeks into the agreement," said James Robinson. "I'm hoping this process shows the company we are serious about getting a fair contract. We will show them their offer wasn't enough, show them we're willing to stand up to get what we deserve."
"I'm hoping this process shows the company we are serious about getting a fair contract."
Employee Taylor Fugate said that "I'm voting yes to get Volkswagen to come back to the table. The majority of the people I know don't want VW's 'final offer.' They want to keep negotiating, and we are willing to do what it takes to make that happen."
"We need affordable healthcare and a strong job security statement that leaves no gray area," Fugate added. "We also deserve equal standards—Southern autoworkers shouldn't be treated differently!"
One elected Republican held a press conference on Wednesday in a bid to bully the union into holding a vote on the company's latest offer. Local 3 News reported that Hamilton County Commissioner Jeff Eversole said: "Volkswagen put forward a final union contract offer over a month ago that offers significant gains for Chattanooga workers, including a 20% wage increase, a cost-of-living allowance, a $4,000 ratification bonus, lower healthcare costs, and much more. Many employees have been reaching out to the UAW to vote, and the UAW has refused."
Payday Report's Mike Elk pointed out Thursday that "the tactics used by the GOP in Chattanooga are similar to the tactics that they have used for more than a decade to sometimes successfully dissuade union votes by implying that the plant may close if the union gets 'too greedy' (their words, not my mine, as the son of a Volkswagen auto assembly line worker)."
Local 3 News noted that "during the press conference, dozens of members from both the UAW and the Chattanooga Area Central Labor Council, or CLC, began picketing outside of the VW plant."
The outlet also spoke with some employees. One of them, Dakotah Bailey, explained that "originally, it was going to be a 25% increase in wages. They didn't want to take that, and now they dropped it down to 20%. I wanted to try and get my money now. Especially right before the holidays. It would be great to have an extra $5,500 sitting in my bank account."
According to a "Volkswagen Stories" video series published by the UAW on YouTube, wages are a primary concern for workers. Other top priorities include health and safety conditions at the plant, healthcare, paid time off, and retirement benefits.
"I don't want to strike, but if it comes to it, I will," Volkswagen worker Mitchell Harris said Thursday. "Because I feel that all my brothers and sisters of UAW Local 42 deserve respect, to provide a better life for their families, and have job security for us and generations to come."