Here's A List Of RadioShack Stores Slated To Close By March 31

RadioShack as we know it is dead.

The electronics retailer, which filed for bankruptcy protection last week, will sell up to 2,400 stores. Many of those stores are slated to stay open and be operated by Sprint. The rest of the stores are scheduled to shut down.

Store closures will start as soon as February 17, according to court documents. In total, 1,784 stores could potentially close by the end of March.

Below is RadioShack's "potential store closure list," which can be found on the company's website. The list is grouped by sale termination date (ie. when the stores are planning to close), with the first bunch of stores scheduled to close on February 17, the second group scheduled to close on February 28, and the third group scheduled to close on March 31.

According to The Wall Street Journal, liquidation sales have already begun. Head on over to the WSJ's site for a searchable map of which RadioShack locations are planning to close.

RadioShack did not immediately respond to The Huffington Post's request for comment.

RS Store Closure List

Wegmans Ranked No. 1 For Company Reputation

People love Wegmans.

The Rochester, New York-based grocer has unseated Amazon as the firm with the best corporate reputation among a list of 100 highly visible companies, according to an annual Nielsen poll released this week.

“To be recognized in this way is just incredible,” Danny Wegman, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement. “It always starts with our people, who thrill our customers every day and extend a family feeling in our stores across six states.”

In an age where social media anthropomorphizes products -- from toilet paper to body wash -- branding matters. And although Wegmans has only 85 stores, the company has built a cult following online. Fans applaud the supermarket's decent wages, wide selection of prepared foods and reasonable prices.

Amazon ranked second in the Nielsen poll, followed by Samsung, Costco, Johnson & Johnson and Kraft Foods. The company with the worst reputation on the list was Goldman Sachs.

To determine the rankings in the Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study, evaluated annually for the last 16 years, Nielsen conducted an online survey in English of 27,278 U.S. respondents between Oct. 20 and Dec. 18.

Target Employees Help Teen Prep For His First Interview, Just Because

Two Target employees in Raleigh, North Carolina went the extra mile to help a young shopper prep for a job interview.

According to ABC 11 News, the unnamed teenager walked into the Target ahead of a job interview at Chick-fil-A, which happened to be his first job interview ever.

"I asked him if he needed help and he told me he needed clip on ties," Target employee Cathy Scott told ABC 11. "We didn't have any."

Her co-worker Dennis Roberts knew how to tie a regular tie, though.

"We took the wrapping off it, and I tied it on my neck, and fit it over his head I adjusted it and tightened it," Roberts said. "We said, 'Make sure you look [the interviewer] in the eye.' I'm saying make sure you give him a firm handshake, and she showed him. He tucked his shirt in."

A shopper named Audrey Mark happened to be nearby while all of this was happening, and posted a photo of the prep session that's since been shared over 50,000 times. "Bought headbands, ham and had my heart warmed," she wrote on Facebook.

"This awesome Target team member took the time to help the nervous teen put on his new tie, tuck in his shirt and then showed him how to give a proper handshake and tackle a few tough interview questions!" Mark posted. "As the kid exited the store, a bunch of supportive Target team members cheered him on! THIS is true customer service - Right on the mark, Target!! Fingers crossed for this kid'z interview!!"

Target spokesperson Molly Snyder told The Huffington Post that the company was extremely proud of Scott and Roberts.

"Our team members love going above and beyond every day for our guests," she said. "Dennis and Cathy the Target team members from Raleigh, North Carolina are just two of the countless team members who help make Target uniquely Target. We’re rooting for this young man in his interviews, and by the way, we love his tie."

A spokesman for Chick-fil-A told WNCN the teenager was part of an open interview process, and the restaurant is "still evaluating" candidates.

Comcast Says It's Working On Making It Harder To Change Someone's Name To 'A**hole'

This post originally appeared on Consumerist.

Last week wasn’t a good one for Comcast. It began with a report that someone at the company changed a customer’s name to “A**hole Brown” and ended with multiple customers claiming their names had also been changed for the worse. Now Comcast says it’s making an effort to curb this sort of rude and bizarre behavior.

“Each and every customer deserves to be treated with respect,” reads a statement that shouldn’t have to be made from Comcast. “We fell short of that and are taking immediate steps to make sure we fix this.”

The company says it has pulled the plug on its relationship with the vendor call center that was involved with the “A**hole” incident and that it investigating the other reports, which include changing one customer’s name to “whore” and another whose online profile read “dummy” instead of her actual first name.

In addition to apologizing to the affected customers, Comcast says it is making changes internally that it hopes can preempt rogue reps from acting like, well… a**holes.

“We’re also working with our billing partner on technology that will prevent this from happening and re-training our employees across the country,” reads the statement from Comcast. “Respecting our customers is paramount, and we need to do everything we can to make sure that this never happens again.”

Between the two name-change reports, former Comcast exec Frank Eliason wrote a lengthy open letter to his onetime employer, questioning what impact the corporate culture at Comcast had on employees.

“Why do we not hear many incidents like these from other companies?” he asked. “Companies do implement technology solutions to prevent these type of things, which Comcast has stated they are working on, but often other companies do not have the same issue because they hire people to fit within their company culture.”

Americans Are More Stressed About Money Than Anything Else -- And It's Taking A Toll On Their Health

The economy may be improving, but finances are still a stressful burden on Americans -- especially among young adults and parents, according to the American Psychological Association's new Stress in America survey.

The report highlights a growing health problem when it comes to well-being and financial security. Nearly three-quarters of participants reported feeling stressed about money at some point, with some respondents saying they went as far as sacrificing health care because of finances.

"When people are financially challenged, it makes sense their stress level could go up," Norman Anderson, Ph.D., the chief executive officer and executive vice president of the American Psychological Association said in a press conference Wednesday. "Many industries in the economy have shown improvement, but we still know many people aren't benefiting and are still concerned about economic well-being."

The 2015 report, which was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the APA, surveyed more than 3,000 American adults in August 2014. While the APA reports that stress is down overall, there are still some major health concerns. Below are some of the survey's biggest findings about financial anxiety, general stress and well-being:

• Money is the No. 1 stressor overall, but particularly for millennials, those in Generation X and for parents.

• Nearly 1 in 5 Americans say they have skipped or considered skipping going to the doctor in the last year when they needed heath care due to financial problems.

• Those who reported experiencing extreme money concerns were also more likely to resort to unhealthy behaviors to manage their stress.

• A third of Americans said a lack of money prevents them from living a healthier lifestyle.

• Women are more stressed than men overall, with 51 percent reporting that stress has kept them awake at night, compared to only 32 percent of men.

When financial worries become too much of a barrier to a healthy lifestyle, experts recommend seeking social support to mitigate stress.

"You may not be able to change your financial situation but you may be able to better manage it," said Katherine Nordal, Ph.D., executive director for professional practice at the APA. "I think having a support system -- some people who believe in you -- gives you that extra emotional strength to be able to get through the day and do the things you need to do to try to improve your situation."

There's ample research to support her claim, not to mention that emotional support is beneficial for issues beyond financial concerns. Studies show a close-knit support system can improve your longevity, encourage you to be active and even lower your risk for heart disease.

"Emotional support helps with managing stress from a variety of sources," Anderson said. "It's one of the most generally positive things one can do for their health and emotional well-being."

Millions Of Cars Recalled For Faulty Airbags

NEW YORK (AP) — Drivers, bring your vehicles back to the shop for more work on faulty air bags.

The government says more than 2 million Toyota, Chrysler and Honda vehicles need a second fix for air bags that may inadvertently inflate while the car is running.

The recall includes some Acura MDX, Dodge Viper, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Honda Odyssey, Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Corolla and Toyota Avalon models made from 2002 to 2004.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says all of the vehicles covered in Saturday's announcement had already been under a recall for the faulty air bags. Carmakers originally tried to fix the defects by partially replacing the electronic control unit, made by TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. of Livonia, Mich., but that fix didn't always work. The new remedy — full replacement of the unit — will be available to all affected vehicles by the end of the year.

However, the NHTSA is urging consumers with cars under the first recall to have the partial unit installed despite the fix's failure rate, even if they have to return to the dealer under the second recall.

"Even though it's a temporary solution until the new remedy is available," NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said, consumers "and their families will be safer if they take the time to learn if their vehicle is covered and follow their manufacturers' instructions."

About 39 air bags, or 15 percent, that had been replaced under the previous recall have deployed inadvertently again.

The agency says about 1 million Toyota and Honda vehicles involved in the new recalls are also subject to a separate recall related to defective air bags made by Takata Corp. of Japan. Those air bags can deploy and rupture with enough force to cause injury or death.

In nine cases, cars had problems that included both the inadvertent deployment and the Takata rupture. Three of those cases resulted in injuries, including eye injuries, scratches and burns.

No death or injuries related to non-Takata air bag failures have been reported.

The announcement comes days after the family of Carlos Solis filed a lawsuit against Takata. Solis, 35, died on Jan. 18 in a minor crash in a Houston suburb. The lawsuit alleges that as an air bag in his 2002 Honda Accord inflated, it sent a piece of metal into his neck. Solis died at the scene. His death has not officially been linked to the air bag.

Takata is under fire for air bag inflators that can explode, shooting out metal and plastic pieces. At least five deaths and dozens of injuries have been linked to the problem worldwide. Ten automakers have recalled about 12 million vehicles in the U.S. and about 19 million globally for problems with the air bags. The company is still trying to determine the cause of the problem.

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Online:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchYesterdayRecall

Soon, Not Even 1 Percent Of Fortune 500 Companies Will Have Black CEOs

When McDonald's CEO Don Thompson officially steps down in March, there will be just four black CEOs in the Fortune 500.

Even as politicians, pundits and the business community work to increase the number of women in the C-suite, Thompson’s departure is a reminder that the highest levels of corporate America are also severely lacking in racial diversity. Black CEOs will lead just .8 percent of America’s top companies once Thompson steps down. When Marvin Ellison takes the reins of J.C. Penney in August, that share will grow to 1 percent.

The lack of diversity at the top of corporate America extends beyond black CEOs. Fortune reported in February 2014 that just over 4 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs at that time were minorities, a classification including African-Americans, Asians, and Latin-Americans. And there were 24 women CEOs in the Fortune 500 -- representing 4.8 percent of companies -- as of June.

At one time there were as many as 12 black CEOs in the Fortune 500, according to Ronald C. Parker, CEO of the Executive Leadership Council, an organization representing top black executives in the Fortune 500. Why the decline in recent years? Part of it has to do with the push toward globalization, Parker told The Huffington Post: As America's top companies placed more value on leaders with international experience, they focused less on women and minorities.

"Women and people of color aren't afforded those opportunities," said Parker, who served as Pepsi's senior vice president for human resources, labor relations and global diversity and inclusion. "We're not in the conversation early enough. Organizations who do this well are very intentional about it."

There are other reasons why women and minorities are so rare at the highest echelons of corporate America. Unconscious biases against people who don’t look like a “typical” (aka white male) leader can make it harder for top female and minority leaders to climb the corporate ladder. Though studies show that diversity is good for business, leaders are often subconsciously more comfortable working with people like themselves. In addition, some companies committed to diversity haven't quite figured out how to effectively recruit, cultivate and retain women and minority talent.

"People have a tendency to select individuals that they are familiar with and comfortable with," Parker said, noting that the vast majority of board members at America's top companies are still white men. "They are comfortable with their network of the people that they know, therefore the people that get those opportunities tend to look like them."

Once they do make it into leadership positions, women and minority CEOs tend to have rockier tenures and less freedom to lead than their white male counterparts. They are also more likely to be tapped as CEOs when a crisis is looming, a phenomenon know as the “glass cliff,” according to research by Christy Glass and Alison Cook, professors at Utah State University.

“After they’re promoted, if the firm suffers in both the short-, medium- and long-term, they’re at very high risk of being replaced by a white man CEO,” Glass said. “One of the reasons they’re given fewer degrees of freedom is because they’re under this microscope. They don’t look like our stereotypical model of the leader. We have some biases about their competence and ability.”

Thompson, an engineer by trade, doesn’t fit the “glass cliff” stereotype. He was groomed for years to become the company’s CEO. At one point he considered leaving McDonald’s, but the chain’s chief diversity officer at the time advised him to move from his job designing electronic equipment to an operational role with better opportunities for advancement, according to a 2011 profile in Crain’s Chicago Business.

He took the reins of McDonald’s in July 2012, during a period of strong revenue and profit for the fast food chain. Still, investors worried that there wasn’t any room left to continue the chain’s momentum, according to a Wall Street Journal article published at the time.

Those fears appear to have come true. Thompson’s tenure as CEO has been marked by struggles, particularly in the U.S., where diners are fleeing the Golden Arches for the freshness and variety offered at fast-casual chains like Chipotle and Five Guys. McDonald’s menu has also ballooned to more than 100 items over the past few years, causing complications in the kitchen and longer wait times.

And it’s not just the food. McDonald’s has been the main target of protests for higher wages in the fast-food industry -- protests that have gained traction over the past few years.

Under Thompson, the chain has worked to address some of these issues. McDonald’s announced late last year that it would expand its “Create Your Taste” program, which allows diners to customize their burgers with fancy toppings like guacamole and creamy garlic sauce. The chain is also cutting eight items from its menu.

But it may be too little, too late for Thompson, who will step aside from the CEO position to make room for McDonald's Chief Brand Officer Steve Easterbrook, a white man. According to Cook and Glass, it's not unusual for a company to swiftly appoint a white male leader to soothe shareholders once signs of trouble emerge -- they call it "the savior effect."

McDonald's declined to comment on Thompson's departure.

“White men CEOs lead failing firms all the time,” Glass said. “Women and minorities aren’t given the benefit of the doubt. When they slip up -- even if it's not their fault -- it's really easy to blame them because we already have these biases that they may not be as competent as other leaders.”