starbucks baristas will stop writing race together a week after the campaign was launched it was aimed at sparking conversations with customers about racial issues in america. it was criticized by the public and employees. starbucks plans several other initiatives including expanding into urban neighborhoods. >>> futures are lower ahead of the opening bell this morning. the markets come off a positive week, the nasdaq at its third highest close ever friday above 5,000. investor also continue to digest the fed's signal that it will raise interest rates gradually and get economic reports on housing, inflation and gdp. friday the dow rising to 18127 and the nasdaq up 34 to 5026. sam, back over to you. >> trying to keep that positive momentum going. thank you very much, landon. >>> it is 4:47 right now. we want to look at that forecast, which is a rainy one this morning. good morning, christina. >> good morning. lot of this came down while you were sleeping, but the good news is, we picked up some significant totals, happy to tell about you about that this morning obviously, if you have th

. >>> today, starbucks baristas topped writing "race together" on cups. tarbucks said it intended all along to phase out the messages. the campaign has been criticized as been opportunistic, coming in the wake of racially charged events like protests of police killings of black men. >>> tomorrow is national puppy day. we're getting into the spirit now with photos sent in by many of you. jennifer sent us this of bubba and spartan cuddling during a nap. just tweet or instagram your photographs and join us tomorrow morning. we will be live streaming our puppy cam all morning on abc7news.com. oh, my goodness. i'll take all of them i've seen so far. anyone want to donate their dog to me? i'll take good care of them. >> i need a dog. golden retriever, love puppies. in terms of weather great for the runners this morning. cloudy and cool and that's what we're seeing tonight as well. live doppler will show you we're tracking some broken showers. it's all ahead of a cold front that's going to swing overnight into monday morning. some light showers falling around pet

a half hour ago starbucks opened and the baristas got sticker that is say race together. they are encouraging people to write the words race together. if somebody asks about it, that is how a dialogue about race is supposed to get started. the initiative was started because of racially charged tragedies around the country. he didn't want to be a silent bystander and having his baristas openly engaged with customers about race relation, it would be helpful. >> if a customer asked you what this is, try and engage in a discussion. we have problems in this country with regard to race and racial inequality and we believe we are better than this. >> reporter: it has people talking, especially on social media, but it hasn't been all positive. some people don't want to delve into a big talk about racial inequality while they are trying to rush off to work. others are saying it will make them uncomfortable. one starbucks executive got so many angry tweets he had to delete his twitter account. a lot of people are saying starbucks should stay out of it. schultz is telling the barist

. >>> starting today starbucks baristas will no longer be writing -- the campaign discusses on race met with a lot of back lash. critics called it inappropriate. starbucks spokesperson said while employees will not be writing messages on cups the campaign is far from over and said the company will still hold forums on the topic and co produce special sections on usa today and is helping to put more stores in minority communities. >>> a big show of support for a silicon valley tech executive and stroke survivor. the story was part of our bay area proud series last week. today he kicks off the cross country bike trip. the former intel vice president plans to cross through 14 cities on his way to new york. he expects to get there in june. hundreds came out to support him. >> i think i'm nervous, i'm very nervous and every day will be a new day. so fingers crossed. >> it was a time when he couldn't speak he had to learn that all over again. an amazing story. the event raises awareness about heart disease and stroke prevention. he will make his first stop in santa cruz county and will be the

. >>> today is the last day starbucks baristas will write the words "race together" on coffee cups. the movement started last week as a way to get people to talk about race relations, it worked but online critics called it a marketing ploy. the ceo says he's not ending the practice because of the controversy, but still plans more activities in the coming weeks. >>> i felt like you know my life was, you know about to end. >> a man who says he was asailed by a prince george's county police officer relives the terrifying ordeal. >>> and an area college prepares to shut its doors for good but find out what some students are doing to try to save that i schools. >>> virginia finds themselves with a little deja vu >>> supporters of sweetbrier college are taking their fight for the nation's capital, trying to raise money to keep their school open. today's students and alumnae held signs and marched down the national mall. it's a small liberal arts school for women. the school's president says it needs $250 million to stay afloat. >> it's a very one-to-one professor to student relationship t

. >>> today starbucks baristas stopped writing roy race together" on the cups but the coffee chain says it's not a response to the criticism received. starbucks planned to phase out the handwritten messages intended to create discussion on diversity and rare inequality. the campaign has been criticized at opportunistic, coming in the wake of racially charged events like protests over police killings of black men. >>> coming up at 5:00, farewell to a king. more than 500 years after his death. plus on the brink of civil war, the warning today of chaos increases in yemen and new threats from the country's rebel leader. isis supporters launch an attack on the u.s. oo >>> a helicopter crashed into the side of an orlando mansion. you can see the chopper's tail. it happened be to an apartment above a garage apart from the main house. the pilot died in the crash. no word yet on what caused it. >>> the u.n. special envoy for yemen has warned the u.n. security council during today's emergency meeting event are pushing the arab country to bring of civil war. shiite rebels drove the president anoth

. >>> so the idea of starbucks baristas writing messages about race has some customers seeing the cups when abc's david wright tries to join the conversation? >> reporter: file under the heading, seemed like a good idea at the time. a corporate ceo trying to tackle one of america's thorniest issues. >> we are in this issue for the long-term, trying to make a positive difference. >> reporter: race relations. the head of starbucks hoped to spark conversation about race by having every barista write two words on your coffee cup. >> this is an issue facing the country and facing our people. we're trying to do some good. >> reporter: social media has been percolating for days. some calling the campaign feel-good liberalism at its worst. others noting the coffee is $4.25, the lecture is free. new drink suggestions. how about a malcolm x-presso. or a stop and frisk frappuccino. parodies too. >> one latte, and you people are offensive. >> reporter: including this one. >> what's up my brother? we've been representing #racetogether. can i get an amen? >> reporter: oddly, today when we went to s

hire's your boiling hot coffee and let me tell you where giulana was write or breaking all starbucks baristasill serve baerjs from atop a high horse. the head of starbucks pr suspended his twitter account because it was vicious. what do shareholders think? do they care? we will have that next hour and schultz will be on "mad money" with cramer. back to you. >> i'm sure that cramer will have comments, jane, for him on that as well as other strategies going on at the company. i have to say, i was a starbucks barista, one of my many high school summer jobs, i cannot imagine a single scenario where it would be appropriate to sort of broach that line of customer service and have that conversation. people are in a hurry, they have their personal barriers up. i can't even imagine a single scenario. >> i would say the only problem is i wish they would stop talking when ordering coffee because i want to get in and get out. that's who i am. >> kayla and i will be talking about race during the commercial break. i have some thoughts on rep per ragss. >> see. >> entitlement and i think we'll have a good t

the head of starbucks hoped to spark conversation about race by having every barista write two wordss an issue facing the country and facing our people. we're trying to do some good. >> reporter: social media has been percolating for days. some calling the campaign feel-good liberalism at its worst. others noting the coffee is $4.25, the lecture is free. new drink suggestions. how about a malcolm x-presso. or a stop and frisk frappuccino. parodies too. >> one latte, and you people are offensive. >> reporter: including this one. >> what's up my brother? we've been representing #racetogether. can i get an amen? >> reporter: oddly, today when we went to starbucks for an afternoon fix, the manager shut us down faster than you can say grande doppio mochachino. >> you guys are having the conversation from baristas right? nothing written on the cup at all. as soon as they saw the camera they shut the conversation down telling us we had to call a number in seattle. there, we just had to leave a voice mail. >> reporter: cafe society in corporate america has obvious limits. that said, the idea

starbucks baristas were told to encourage customers to use that hashtag. >> the outcome was a little tended. it was so heated starbucks senior vp of global communications deleted his twitter account amid a torrent of abuse. he has since re-opened that account, though. >>> dentists are reaping a surprise benefit of st. paddy's day. their businesses pick up to the tune of 64% the day after? why? because all the teeth that are lost. >> those include being knocked out doing drunken face plants and lost in bar fights. the biggest jump in delaware mississippi, utah not exactly where a lot of irish are planted but, hey, everybody having a good time. >> people are getting into their st. patrick's day. >> a little too much. clearly. >>> this story might make you feel old. for the youtube series kids react a group of kids were given a piece of high-tech equipment from the 19 0s. >> every home had one. sometimes more than one but the kids have no idea what a video ka rhett recorder is. >> a music player thing. >> i think it's a projection screen. >> is this like a dvd player. >> a vcr player and

starbucks ceo asking baristas to write on the coffee cups. >> what if p we were to write #racetogethercks cup and that facilitated a conversation between you and our customers. >> i personally don't want to see it on my coffee cup. >> you don't? >> no. >> it's just a conversation. not driving it towards any direction. that sounds like a good idea to me. >> reporter: starbucks has never shied away from controversial issues like gun control, and this time this is boiling over. people who are had the time and training to facilitate discussions about race but they're not starbucks baristas. the vp for communications deleting his own twitter account, feeling he felt personally attacked. he knew the idea could land the company in hot water. >> some people said howard this is not a subject we can touch. i reject that completely. >> a daily show comedian tweeting before they where race together on cups, can starbucks just spell my name correctly. >> the company wants to make it clear that baristas are not required to write #racetogether on the cups. in los angeles for abc news. >>> american ex

it, it's because i've had 43 lattes since starbucks announced their "race together" campaign last week. you guys already know about it. they told their baristas to talk to their customers about race and told them to write the hashtag race-together on cups. so let's check in. how's it going? >> after a week of controversy starbucks says baristas will no longer write "race together" on customers' cups. >> larry: a week? (laughter) man, ironically, that's the same amount of time it takes to make my salted carmel macchiato. let's understand what really happened here. starbucks wasn't blasted for having a conversation about race. they were blasted for wanting to have a conversation about race. that's how much we need to have a conversation about race. right? (cheers and applause) we can't even talk about talking about it. starbucks, what you need to understand -- for most americans, there's a time and a place to talk about race. that place is nowhere and that time is never. did anyone tell the c.e.o. this was a bad idea? >> when i had the first open forum -- i think it was on december 10th -- not many people knew what the subject was, but there we

news of a campaign that went horribly wrong for starbucks. the baristaswill no longer be writing "race together" on coffee cups. it was meant to stir a debate on race in the country, but starbucks faced a social media backlash. laura: not to mention a little bit annoying. delano: it is all right if they want to start the campaign, but this is a company run by mainly white men. laura: true. moving on, we will find out what has people clicking. it is time for our daily dose of web news. ♪ >> welcome to web news. coming up on today show, a canadian teenager with asp burgers gets a birthday to remember. -- aspergers if a birthday to remember. last week, a canadian mom posted a message to facebook asking social networkers to send her son a message on his birthday. he has aspergers and when he sent out invites to his 13th birthday party, no one rsvp. thousands of canadians posted messages and photos to social networks last friday. it began trending across the country. they were wishing him many happy returns and voicing their support to let the young man know h

starbucks. this week ceo howard shultz asked baristas to write about race. social media complaining that the company overstepped its boundaries. some asked whether young baristas should start these conversations with customers. you went to the man and asked the question, why oh, why? you spoke with howard shultz. >> i think that people pretty high up advised him not to do this and he said, i reject that idea. i'm doing if anyways. he made his opinion in starbucks position on gay marriage, on guns and money on politics very well known. this is clearly the most hot button topic. listen to what howard schultz told me about why he made this move. >> certainly there were people and friends of mine and certain people at starbucks that felt this was not an issue that we should engage in and i rejected that. i rejected that because if we all individually and collectively continue to by a bystander on something that is dividing the nation, where is this headed? and i think we are better than this as a country. i don't think we've made as much progress as we need to.

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. >>> and starbucks baristas no longer write race together on coffee cups. s criticized. starbucks will continue the campaign in other ways putting more stores in minority communities and hiring 10,000 unemployed young people. >>> up next more on today's breaking news. do you think that senator ted cruz has a serious shot at the gop nomination? that is our gut check for you. >>> and this. that's a clip from the french film "girlhood" that looks into the world of women and gangs. "the washington post" calls it frightening, liberating empowering. up next i talk live with two of the stars of "girlhood." access to information, no matter where they are. the microsoft cloud gives our team the power to instantly deliver critical information to people, whenever they need it. here at accuweather we get up to 10 billion data requests every day. the cloud allows us to scale up so we can handle that volume. we can help keep people safe and to us that feels really good. i love making sunday dinners. but when my back hurt, cooking all day... forget about it. tylenol was ok

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why baristas at starbucks will stop writing about race on coffee cups. >> an a spring touch-up inside homes thanks to generous volunteers. >> plenty of sunshine today. cooler temperatures. it looks likes these numbers will go lower for the first full week of spring. we'll have the details coming up in the full and exclusive accuweather forecast. >> plus villanova may have lost and one local college team it still posting wins. jamie apody has that story in sports when "action news" comes right there's nothing more romantic than a spontaneous moment. so why pause to take a pill? and why stop what you're doing to find a bathroom? with cialis for daily use, you don't have to plan around either. it's the only daily tablet approved to treat erectile dysfunction so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. plus cialis treats the frustrating urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as it may c

. >>> starbucks is launching a new campaign some are calling a social experiment. barista at 12,000 starbucks across the country will initiate a conversation about race by writing "race together" on customers' cups. the ceo of the coffee chain says he knows this is an emotional issue but hope it starts a conversation. customers are already talking about it. >> i think everybody needs to be engaged in talks about being more involved with other people. >> it's not a good idea because it's promoting racism by not promoting racism. >> according to starbucks' ceos baristas only have to take part in the campaign if they feel comfortable. >>> new at 5:00 today some big names in the business world met with veterans looking for jobs. but the meetings weren't face-to-face. it was a virtual job fair online only. instead of dressing up driving to a conference center and handing out resumes, job seekers logged onto the computer. for a few hours they chatted with local executives and interviewed for positions. a vet we spoke to says the program, veteranrecruiting.com, changed his life.

. >> reversal by starbucks the baristas are no longer writing "race together," that got starbucks in hot water. starbucks say they always plans to end that part of campaign after a week anyway. >> insurgent surged to the to which the box office. >> the sequel to a movie bayed on best selling science fiction story with two more flips in the works. >>> sin israel what was in second and "run all night," was in third. >> i have not examine to the movies in a long-term. that is america's money. >> now a check on the weather forecast. we have spotty showers. >> absolutely. here is live doppler hd and you can see where you are wet or where you will have the wet payment. look at the south bay from sunnyvale and cupertino and to the east of saratoga and winchester boulevard and saratoga avenue, and stevens creek and over to blossom hill road and center road all of those areas all the way from cupertino to alum rock are getting wet this morning and livermore and pleasanton, the southern suburbs and a lot of the grapevines will get wet including the boutique wineries about to get wet. we will s

plus a latte and a lecture, starbucks encouraging it's baristas to discuss race relations with customers. wait until you hear what some of those customers told me. >> eric, thank you. we will be watching. up here next the first government run pot shop opening its doors and guess who's in charge, the government. should local governments be in the business just because i'm away from my desk doesn't mean i'm not working. comcast business understands that. their wifi isn't just fast near the router. it's fast in the break room. fast in the conference room. fast in tom's office. fast in other tom's office. fast in the foyer [pronounced foy-yer] or is it foyer [pronounced foy-yay]? fast in the hallway. i feel like i've been here before. switch now and get the fastest wifi everywhere. comcast business. built for business. >>> the nation's first government run pot shop is here owned and operated by a small town in washington state. now, the proceeds from the sales are all said to go back to the local community, but, steve, should the government be in the business of selling pot to its own citize

plus a latte and a lecture, starbucks encouraging it's baristas to discuss race relations with customersntil you hear what some of those customers told me. >> eric, thank you. we will be watching. up here next the first government run pot shop opening its doors and guess who's in charge, the government. should local governments be in the business the lightest or nothing. the smartest or nothing. the quietest or nothing. the sleekest... ...sexiest ...baddest ...safest, ...tightest, ...quickest, ...harshest... ...or nothing. at mercedes-benz we do things one way or we don't do them at all. the 2015 c-class. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. [ female announcer ] who are we? we are the thinkers. the job jugglers. the up all-nighters. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owne

." >> starbucks is not necessarily the best place or the most interesting place to have a conversation about race. >> i'm not sure that systemic change is going to happen by talking to your barista at starbucks. >> reporter: schultz himself seemed to anticipate this might not exactly go down smooth for all his customers. starbucks is not backing down. this new campaign has officially launched nationwide. david? >> linsey thank you. >>> and there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this wednesday. the new warning for families after this explosion in the children's playroom. tonight here the culprit. the one thing so many families forget to do. that is just frightening. >>> also tonight, the consumer alert. the recall. why kraft is pulling millions of boxes of its macaroni and cheese off the shelves. >>> and diane sawyer is back tonight. taking us to one very famous mountain, the famous scene from "the sound of music" and what we never knew. the footage we never saw, what julie andrews was really up against. diane with julie, the secrets revealed, right here. i'm the protector of my patio. killing weeds where they grow. a barrier forms so weeds can't appear - serious

dawn like the concept. >> starbucks seems to promote, you know socially progressive things and i think that's a terrific thing. >> i'm mixed on that. i don't know how baristas are going to have time to have conversations. >> reporte customers outside the very first starbucks in seattle were also supportive. mostly. >> i think it's a good idea. >> i don't know how much you can have in a short period of time while waiting to get coffee. >> reporter: would it make you uncomfortable for someone to engage in a conversation about it? >> not really. depends on if i have the time to engage. >> religion race don't talk. just walk out. >> reporter: two for one stock split, new delivery e in new york and seattle later this year. a salute to veterans but a good portion set aside to discuss the rates initiative which is voluntary. workers do not have to do it. but many want to. >> it puts into words how i feel. >> reporter: a new kind of coffee talk while whipping up lattes. >> there's always time to make that extra effort and have those conversations. multitasking. the bottom half of your body that's doing all this stuff and then your head is thinking. so i mean -- >>

. >>> starbucks has a new campaign focusing on race relations. to encourage discussions about race baristas are writing the phrase "race together" on cups. starbucks ceo said if a barista doesn't want to write it or a customer doesn't want to talk about it they don't have to. it's the subject of our nbc washington flash survey. do you think writing "race together" on cups is a good idea. here are the results so far. 5% say yes. 76% say no. and 19% say right conversation coffee shop wrong place. >>> fairfax county schools could be changing to a uniform grading policy. deputy superintendent steven lockhart wants to change the scoring on an f grade from 0 to 50% so it doesn't drag down a student's gpa. it also calls for a separate grading for effort and achievement. it would be for middle and high school students. he's looking for teacher and community input. >>> next an amtrak passenger picks up the wrong backpack which leads to a drug bust across state lines. >>> fairfax county police logging on to keep your children safe online. the warning for parents tonight. >> you have to keep an eye on

why starbucks is changing what it's baristas write on coffee cups. >>> plus, change at the checkout. a ritual that will soon be extinct. >>> robert durst is due back in a louisiana courtroom today. his lawyers will say it's unlawful based on an invalid warrant. he wants to be sent to california as soon as possible. he is convinced of killing his friend 15 years ago. >>> prosecutors in the boston marathon bombing trial may rest their case this week. they say dzhokhar tsarnaev admitted in court that he did it but he said his brother was the mastermind. they will decide if he receives the death penalty or life behind bars. >>> the shiite rebel leader in yemen called on fighters to head south where yemen's president has taken refuge. rebels have seized yemen's capital and more than 100 provinces. more than 100 people were killed in a mosque bombing over the weekend and the u.s. made the call to pull out the last of its special forces out of yemen because of the escalating violence there. during an emergency meeting yesterday, the u.n. special enjoe for yemen told world leaders the countr

1000 fans will get into the after party at city hall. >>> starbucks calling off an initiative about dialogue to promote race relations. baristaso longer writing the words race together on their cups. the goal was to encourage conversations between employees and customers but it was widely panned on social media. starbucks will continue with other aspects, including newspaper inserts. >>> a >>> good morning everyone. it is 5:52 on this monday. march 23rd. we are looking at the san rafael richmond bridge. sure looks sloppy out there. let's confirm the rain. right there with hi def doppler radar. off the san rafael richmond bridge. rain how long it will last. how much to expect, still straight ahead. >>> even a few drops of rain can cause problems on the roads. on the altemont pass westbound 580 at grant line. the metering lights were just switched on over at the bay bridge toll plaza. it is all coming up. >>> a medical emergency led to a coast guard rescue aboard a carnival cruise ship near san diego. the coast guard had to airlift a 56-year-old man after he suffered a heart attack. the crew hoisted him from the dock and transpo

that was starbuck's chairman howard schultz. baristas now are no longer writing race together after a storm of controversy erupted over the company's plan to discuss racial issues with their customers. should we give starbucks for some credit for having the good sense to scrap a bad idea? that's the way we're going to look at this. backhanded compliment to starbucks. still to come on "closing bell." stay tuned. never before has this kind of passion this kind of innovation, engineering, design and performance... been available... for this kind of price. the 2015 cla from mercedes-benz. see yoalerfers through mercedes-benz financial services. in new yinventing how we do businent the world. from pharmaceuticals to 3d prototyping, biotech to clean energy. whether your business is moving, expanding or just getting started... only new york offers you zero taxes for 10 years with startup ny business incubators that partner companies with universities, and venture capital funding for high growth industries. see how new york can grow your busines

. >>> baristas at starbucks will no longer write the words race together on cover he cups. company is ending short and largey mall aligned initiative. they say it was insensitive. the ceo says they planned to phase the program out and is not doing so as results of all that criticism. >>> folks showed a lot of heart tonight for people battling kidney disease. they came out for 5th annual benefit dinner and silent auction to raise money for marian luckers kidney foundation vrn the fundraiser at the crown applause ain wynnefield heights was a way for dialysis patients to meet and bond with each other. >> hundreds of people got rear in gear today in the city fairmont section. that was name of four mile run to fight colon cancer. it kicked off bright and early belmont avenue. annie mccormick served as event emcee. >> still to come tonight on "action news" a rare site in the skies over our area tonight. the action cam caught this scene outside the studios and tell you what is going on with the moon and what you can see this again. >> and meteorologist melissa magee with that excl

starbucks baristas will no longer write the phrase "race together" on coffee cups.rs talking about race it was roundly criticized. he first face of his race together effort the founder says was always supposed to end after maybe a week. >>> a self-driving car making its first trip. it can navigate four-way stops, merge on to highways and ride around bicycles. people are riding along just in case but the car is doing all the work. >>> a machete attack foiled thanks to a tsa agent who shot and killed the suspect. even after all our security measures are airports still glaringly unsafe? we will talk to a top official who says yes. introducing new flonase allergy relief nasal spray. this changes everything. new flonase outperforms the #1 allergy pill so you will inhale life. when we breathe in allergens our bodies react by over-producing six key inflammatory substances that cause our symptoms. the leading allergy pill only controls one, flonase controls six. and 6 is greater than 1. so roll down your windows, hug your pet dust off some memories, make new ones. new flona

starbucks' pr campaign. on monday, the company encouraged baristas to start writing the words "race together" to get people talkingtarbucks ceo says the idea came after a series of forums with employees in december. it definitely got people talking. some praising the idea as brave. others calling it cringe inducing. some critics say the company's executive team likes diversity. many people put up a link to the company's website, picturing mostly white, male leadership. others say it's not fair to the baristas. one woman who used to be a barista tweeted, being a barista is hard enough. having to talk race together with a woman in lulu lemon pants is hard enough. and one executive deleted his account because he said he felt personally attacked. he's back on today. there are a few supporters like jackie's daughter, who tweeted, hat's off to the ceo of starbucks. there should be conversation and i'm glad someone outside of our community has initiated race together. many took a humorous approach. honest to god, if you start to engage me in a race conversation before i've had my morning coffee it will not end well. amen

starbucks will encourage baristas to discuss race relations with its customers. >> what if we were toher on every starbucks cup and that facilitated a conversation between you and your customers? what if our customers as a result of that had a renewed level of sensitivity about the issue and they would spread that to our own sphere of influence? >> a reading packet on race will be available at starbucks stores starting this friday. shultz says baa reeristas are not obligated to hand out race together cups. >> if a customer doesn't want to receive the cup, give them another beverage or just replace their cup. if a customer asks you what this is, try to engage in a discussion that we have problems in this country with regard to race and racial inequality and we believe we are better than this and we believe the country is better than this. >> joining me now are my guests. i cannot stop talking about this starbucks idea. what is your thought about whether this is a good idea or a terrible one? >> i think it is noble, but i just don't see it working particularly in a town like new york ci

the ceo of starbucks is encouraging baristas to talk about race relations. >> it is a voluntary act byour people. it is not mandatory. we all have unconscious bias and perhaps through education and understanding we would be able to move the country forward. we are not going to solve the race problem but perhaps by leaning into it we can have a positive affect on the national conversation. companies have a deeper responsibility to their people in the communities we serve. i am trying to use our scale for good. that's the bottom line. >> that is the bottom line. the race together campaign has faced a lot of backlash. kareem abdul jabar called it flawed and worries that conversation could escalate to violence. that's true. i was just talking about birth control at mcdonalds. i got pushed by grimace. is it working because we are talking about race? >> when aren't we talking about race? it is 24/7. when we are not talking about it we are talking about when we are not talking about it. interesting there is no starbucks in ferguson. >> really? >> so this guy wants a conversation. open a starb

still make my train. >> starbucks is not the best or most interesting place to have a conversation about race. >> i'm not sure that systemic change will happy talking to a baristat starbucks. >> reporter: he seemed to anticipate it may not go down smooth for all customers. >> we anticipated an emotional reaction because this is a seriously, emotionally charged yirn. >> reporter: despite the social media firestorm, starbucks is not backing down. the national campaign has already launched nationwide. linsey davis, abc news new york. >>> more teenagers than ever are turning to vaping instead of cigarettes. one bay area school district is trying to turn them off the e-cigarettes wlechl show the volkswagen jetta is really fun-to-drive. go for it. okay. wow... woohoo! i'm dreaming... pinch me. no, not while you're driving. and, right now, you can get a one-thousand-dollar volkswagen credit bonus on jetta models. seriously, pinch me. it's not a dream. ow! it's the volkswagen stop dreaming, start driving event. stop dreaming, and test-drive one today. hurry in and you can get 0% apr plus a $1000 volkswagen credit bonus on 2015 jetta and passat models. >>> san francisco

i think that the priest at the starbucks have -- the baristas at starbucks are put in danger by possiblyoing into an inflammatory conversation. possibly any barista at starbuck has better business since then the ceo. host: thomas is up next from maryland. go ahead. caller: hello, how are you doing? as far as discussing race, i don't want to talk to blacks about anything. i've fed up with them. they are rude, violent and very racist. i don't want anything to do with them. they are being given ever every opportunity in this country possible, and there's still whining, crying. here all the black colors calling in. they make a hero out of this michael brown who tried to smash that police officers face in. he got what he deserved. host: roger from connecticut. next. i'm sorry, i pushed the wrong button. roger from new haven. caller: good morning. i'm concerned about this starbucks. i think it is a ploy by the company to bring more customers aidin, and by patronizing a certain racial group, it's a way to increase their base. i know i go to a starbucks in the new haven area, and you might see m

plus, the conversation you will likely won't be happening with your starbucks barista.zed campaign on race relations. we'll be right back. the real question that needs to be asked is "what is it that we can do that is impactful?" what the cloud enables is computing to empower cancer researchers. it used to take two weeks to sequence and analyze a genome; with the microsoft cloud we can analyze 100 per day. whatever i can do to help compute a cure for cancer, that's what i'd like to do. >>> what if we were to write race together on every starbucks cup and that facilitated a conversation between you and our customers? if a customer asks you what this is try and engage in a discussion that we have problems in this country with regard to race and racial inequality. >> i think it's pretty clear no one has said no to this guy in 25 years. a conversation about race is clearly important, but there's a time and a place. and it is not the length of time it takes to whip up a a frappacchino. ly think about it best case scenario you get a heartfelt conversation about race going and

. >>> the ceo of starbucks started a dialogue about race relations. baristas at the 12,000 starbucks locations in the u.s. will be asked to write race together on customers cups. some people like the idea, others -- >>> former san francisco giants coach tim flannery speaking out on his new life. up next, we catch up with the beloved coach about his decision to retire, and his pursuit of a new passion. >> at 10:45, burning rubber in the north bay, a high octane effort to curb street racing shifts into high gear. (mom) when our little girl was born we got a subaru. it's where she said her first word. (little girl) no! saw her first day of school. (little girl) bye bye! made a best friend forever. the back seat of my subaru is where she grew up. what? (announcer) the 2015 subaru forester (girl) what? (announcer) built to be there for your family. love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. the volkswagen jetta is really fun-to-drive. go for it. okay. wow... woohoo! i'm dreaming... pinch me. no, not while you're driving. and, right now, you can get a one-thousand-dol

. >> starbucks is decaffeinating its diversity campaign. its baristas are no longer writing "race together" on customers' cups. the practice got starbucks in a bit of hot water making fun on social media. starbucks said it had always planned to end that part of the campaign after a week and the rest of its diversity campaign will continue. >> "insurgents" surged to the top of the box office. a sequel to "divergent". based on a science fiction trilogy. three more films are in the works and in their second weekend at the movies "cinderella" fell to second place and action thriller "run all night" to third. >> well if you can't get the pope to the pizzeria, bring the pizza to the pope. that's exactly what happened. you see you're going to see this owner of a pizzeria. pope francis riding through naples. that's a pizza owner. going up to the pope mobile, and he hopped a security fence and hands him a custom-made pie marked with the words long live the pope. the pope accepted it. on an interview days ago pope francis said he wanted to go out to a pizzeria on

. >>> baristas at starbucks will no longer write the phrase "race together" on coffee cups. we've been following reaction to this since last week when starbucks first announced the initiative. the company's goal was to spark conversation with customers about race relations, but the campaign has been heavily criticized so now starbucks is apparently looking for other ways to raise awareness about this sensitive issue. alexandra peterye writes the compost blog for "the washington post" and she joins us live right now. >> alexandra, this did not last long. you've been pretty opinionated about why this whole concept was a bad one. how did you see this coming so early? >> well i just think it was so xhit exciting to hear, oh, the ceo of a major company has realized racism is an issue in america. the next after that was we're going to write a phrase or marker on our cups and he was thinking how can i possibly generate the worst situation to have a national conversation about race when people haven't had coffee when people who think pumpkin spiced lattes and the second coming of th

. >>> starbucks is no longer encouraging its baristas to engage customers in conversations about raceelations. the ceo said in an open letter yesterday they can stop putting stickers or writing the words "race together" on customers' cups. he says this was just a phase of the company's campaign and says it was only scheduled to last a week. >>> and that will do it for us. thank you for joining us ktvu channel 2 news at noon. we'll have more coming up at 5:00 and 6:00. Ñw? - [voiceover] on this episode of xploration outer space, (piano music) with the solar system full of danger, somebody has to lead the way. enter the robots. we'll meet robots who can lift, draw, drive, and even a few that you can wear. we're going to the extremes, and bringing a few friends along with us, on xploration outer space. (light rock music) - i'm emily calandrelli, and i'm at johnson space center in houston, texas where over the next 30 minutes we'll go meet "people" like robonaut, roboglove, x1, and athlete.

. >>> starbucks making a major announcement about their race together campaign. the company had baristaste that slogan on cups to spark conversations about diversity and race. but not anymore. but mara schiavocampo with the update. >> reporter: tonight, an end to a starbucks initiative that stirred up lots of controversy. ceo howard schultz announcing baristas will no longer be writing "race together" on coffee cups. an initiative launched earlier this month to spark national conversations on race. >> i think we knew going in, this is a highly emotional issue that divides many people across the country when you talk about race and racial inequality. >> reporter: the program is ending as planned. in a memo to employees, shultz writing, "we believed that starting this dialogue is what matters most." after receiving harsh criticism online, comments like "i don't have time to explain 400 years of oppression to you and still make my train." the backlash so strong, a company executive temporarily deleted his twitter account, saying he felt personally attacked. but some customers we spoke to th

. >> starbucks is not the most or interesting place to have a conversation about race. >> i'm not sure that systemic change will happy talking to your baristatz himself seemed to anticipate this may not go down smooth for all of his customers. >> what we anticipated is there would be an emotional reaction because this is a seriously emotionally charged issue. >> reporter: despite the social media fire storm, starbucks is not backing down. this national campaign has already launched nationwide. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> okay. >> we are saying the same thing here. good for you. make people uncomfortable. talk about race. not getting anywhere when race comes up in this country. get uneasy, folks. >> does it make people feel uncomfortable. >> clearly it did. people don't like the idea at all. >> what do you do if you are writing something on a coffee cup, how does that get the conversation going? >> gets you thinking, interesting, baristas get you talking, next thing you know you find something in common. the possibility of doing it that way versus somebody on television, some leader doing something. >> did you have coffee today? >>