Six Flags Over Texas requires guests 17 years old and under to be accompanied by an adult over 21 years old, according to the park’s website.

“The safety of our guests and associates has always been a top priority at Six Flags Over Texas,” the new chaperone policy reads.

“In response to increasing incidents of disruptive behavior across the industry and at other entertainment venues, we are implementing enhanced policies to maintain a safe, family-friendly environment.”

Six Flags Over Texas requires guests 17 years old and under to be accompanied by an adult over 21 years old, according to the park’s website. Bloomberg via Getty Images

Chaperones must provide a government-issued photo ID with a date of birth at entry and can not have more than five minors with them at the Arlington, Texas, attraction.

Guests 17 and older may also be required to verify their age, or face being denied entry.

“We believe these updates will help preserve the positive atmosphere that millions of guests have come to expect from Six Flags Over Texas, where families and friends can make lasting memories together.

Other parks within the Six Flags system have similar chaperone policies, requiring guests under 15 to be accompanied by an adult.

Chaperones must provide a government-issued photo ID with a date of birth at entry and can not have more than five minors with them at the Arlington, Texas, attraction.

Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, NJ, announced its revised chaperone policy in September 2024,

However, the theme park’s website now shows that guests under 17 must be accompanied by a chaperone.

Great Adventure’s policy goes into effect daily by 4:00 p.m.

“We believe these changes will help ensure that Six Flags Great Adventure continues to have a positive atmosphere where generations of families and friends can gather for a day of safe fun and good food. Millions of guests have counted on us for exactly that, and we will continue to deliver on that promise for generations to come,” the park wrote.

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Social media users had mixed emotions over the new policy, with some saying the park was restricting teens’ enjoyment.

“What’s even crazier about this is that you can be 15 and work here but not enjoy the park,” one person commented on Instagram.

“Y’all realize you are glorified daycare for teenagers?” another said.

“Way to ruin the fun!” a third person wrote.

“Good im tired of they ah w these ‘takeovers’” said a fourth.

“Six flags i love you, but this is too strict. This is what teenagers do they go to ride roller coasters and don’t want to always have a parent right there following them around,” wrote another.

Other parks within the Six Flags system have similar chaperone policies, requiring guests under 15 to be accompanied by an adult. TNS

Several brawls involving younger crowds have plagued Six Flags parks in recent years.

A gunfight between a group of youngsters and cops sent hundreds of guests running for cover at Six Flags Over Georgia on March 2, 2024.

Police had responded to gunfire during a massive brawl that had been sparked by an “unruly” crowd of people on the park’s opening day.

Officers chased after one of the suspected shooters, 15-year-old Syere Littlefield, into the woods and shot the young gunman.

Littlefield wasn’t seriously wounded but was hit with a slew of charges, including aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, possession of a firearm under 18 and interference with government property, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

Residents told the outlet they were aware of social media posts that alluded to some teens knowing something was going to occur at the park that night.

The Atlanta-based park has implemented a chaperone policy for guests under 17.

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The update is designed to help Waymo’s self-driving software better recognize and respond to large-scale power outages, allowing vehicles to move through dark intersections more decisively without overwhelming the company’s remote human assistance system, which got bogged down during the blackout.

The fix follows a weekend outage that knocked out electricity for nearly a third of San Francisco and disabled traffic signals citywide, triggering gridlock and leaving multiple Waymo vehicles stopped or stationary in the middle of busy streets.

A Waymo robotaxi sits stationary at a darkened San Francisco intersection after a power outage knocked out traffic signals across large parts of the city. AP

The blackout, sparked by a fire at a PG&E substation in the South of Market neighborhood, knocked out traffic signals across large swaths of the city on Saturday afternoon, creating gridlock that exposed limits in Waymo’s autonomous system as multiple vehicles stopped or remained stationary in the middle of busy streets.

Waymo said it proactively paused operations Saturday evening as the outage intensified, with nonfunctioning traffic lights and transit disruptions overwhelming city streets during one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.

Videos shared on social media showed multiple Waymo vehicles immobilized at intersections and along major corridors as power failed citywide, adding to congestion as police and fire crews were deployed to manually manage traffic in affected neighborhoods.

At the height of the outage, as many as 130,000 households — about 30% of the city — lost electricity, knocking out signals from downtown to the Richmond and Presidio and causing Waymo vehicles to stop at intersections just ahead of peak evening traffic.

The company said it worked with San Francisco officials throughout the blackout, returning vehicles to depots or pulling them safely to the side of the road as emergency crews worked to restore order on streets where traffic lights were completely dark.

Waymo suspended robotaxi service after a weekend blackout disabled traffic lights and left autonomous vehicles stalled at intersections citywide. Anadolu via Getty Images

Waymo resumed service Sunday evening after power was restored to most neighborhoods, though thousands of customers remained without electricity and PG&E crews continued repairs into Monday following what the utility described as “significant and extensive” damage at the substation.

Waymo said its vehicles are designed to treat dark signals as four-way stops, but acknowledged that the scale of the outage led to cars remaining stationary longer than usual as they attempted to confirm intersection conditions amid widespread signal failures.

The pause marked one of the most visible disruptions yet for Waymo in its home market, where the company operates fully driverless ride-hailing at scale and has pitched its technology as capable of handling complex urban conditions without human intervention.

A driverless Waymo vehicle waits at a nonfunctioning traffic signal during a massive power outage that snarled traffic across San Francisco. @brahmsstan via Storyful

Waymo has emerged as the leading commercial robotaxi operator in the US, running fully driverless ride-hailing services in five major cities and logging more than 100 million autonomous miles and over 14 million paid rides as of late 2025.

Its fleet of more than 1,500 vehicles operates at scale in markets including Phoenix, Los Angeles, Austin and Atlanta, as the company pushes an aggressive expansion plan targeting more than two dozen additional cities by the end of 2026.

Despite publishing data showing sharply lower crash rates than human drivers, Waymo has faced mounting scrutiny following a series of high-profile incidents, particularly in San Francisco.

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Those include collisions with cyclists and vehicles, animal fatalities, software-related traffic violations and disruptions tied to infrastructure failures.

The latest San Fran incident has intensified concerns among residents and some lawmakers about how autonomous vehicles handle rare but predictable “edge cases,” such as large-scale power outages.

Critics argue those scenarios expose limitations in current technology even as Waymo seeks rapid growth.

The outage exposed limits in Waymo’s autonomous system as vehicles stopped amid widespread infrastructure failures. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

The company has said it is reviewing lessons from the outage while continuing to scale its driverless service nationwide.

“We resumed ride-hailing service in the San Francisco Bay Area on Sunday,” a Waymo spokesperson told The Post.

“Saturday’s power outage was a widespread event that caused gridlock across San Francisco, with non-functioning traffic signals and transit disruptions. While the failure of the utility infrastructure was significant, we are committed to ensuring our technology adjusts to traffic flow during such events.”

The spokesperson added that “throughout the outage, we closely coordinated with San Francisco city officials.”

“We are focused on rapidly integrating the lessons learned from this event, and are committed to earning and maintaining the trust of the communities we serve every day.”

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Neil Kiefer, who’s been friends with Hooters’ founders since 1992, is fighting in bankruptcy court to take control of 50 shuttered locations and transform them back into what he calls “delightfully tacky” family destinations.

“I don’t think you’re going to see a bunch of butt cheeks hanging out,” Kiefer told the Wall Street Journal, explaining his plan to ditch the bikini-style bottoms some restaurants adopted in favor of traditional orange shorts.

The plan to make Hooters more family-friendly includes doing away with skimpy bottoms worn by the chain restaurant’s servers. The image above shows Hooters Girl Ashley Santos at the Fresh Meadows, New York, location. Stephen Yang

Despite efforts to appeal to families, current job postings for “Hooters Girls” explicitly list physical appearance standards alongside serving duties.

Hooters of America crashed into bankruptcy in March after years of declining sales, citing inflation pressures and mounting debt that killed the chain’s $1.2 billion peak from 2009.

Kiefer, who already owns nearly two dozen Hooters locations, wants to become chief executive of the management company and “re-Hooterize” the struggling brand with $300,000 worth of upgrades per restaurant.

His plan to turn the chain around includes having butter sauce slathered on more than 70% of menu items, which he plans to upgrade to Grade A butter across all locations.

A 73-year-old Florida lawyer is fighting to take Hooters out of bankruptcy and turn the company around. Hooters server Lana Greenberg is seen at the Fresh Meadows location. Stephen Yang

His strategy of maintaining its provocative identity while attracting families eating lunch alongside men who come to “flirt” with servers contrasts sharply with recent changes that made uniforms even more revealing. Those tighter, shorter shorts “dragged down the brand’s image,” he told the Journal.

While the chain hopes to attract more families into their locations, the waitresses know their appearance remains a key draw for diners.

“You need to be camera-ready always,” explained server Mikayla Flanagan, 25, who spends hours preparing her hair and makeup before each shift.

While Hooters plans to roll back skimpy uniforms, job postings still require servers to maintain “glamorous hair styling” and “ability to maintain attractive fit & image.” Stephen Yang

“You never know when someone is going to ask for a picture.”

The chain’s cultural relevance has become increasingly questionable, as evidenced by a viral Reddit thread titled “Who the F—k Is Keeping Hooters in Business” that generated over 8,000 comments.

Customer Jeff Oppido, a 42-year-old project manager, perfectly captured the modern dilemma.

Despite considering Hooters’ prices decent and beer selection good, he stopped visiting after changing jobs.

“We felt this place was a bit awkward to be in,” Oppido told the Journal.

Yet Kiefer claims success with an unlikely demographic. His new location at the Villages senior living community in central Florida posted record sales, suggesting the brand’s appeal transcends age groups.

The chain’s origins as an April Fools’ Day joke by six restaurant novices who wanted a place “they couldn’t get kicked out of” has evolved into a legal and cultural minefield.

Neil Kiefer, who is looking to take control of Hooters, is seeking to transform the restaurant into what he calls a “delightfully tacky” family destination. Dennis A. Clark

Hooters has settled numerous harassment lawsuits from servers and discrimination cases from male and black employees denied positions, paying fines and agreeing to operational changes while maintaining its all-female waitstaff.

Kiefer faces the challenge of reviving a brand that peaked during an era of different social attitudes.

His locations currently show sales down 2% compared to last year, though he claims recent improvements.

The bankruptcy court decision in Dallas will determine whether Kiefer’s vision of butter-soaked nostalgia can compete against casual-dining competitors like Chili’s that appeal to budget-conscious consumers.

“There’s so much more than the little outfits,” Flanagan insisted, embodying the contradiction Kiefer must navigate between sex appeal and family dining.

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Target on Friday said it’s rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion programs — including some that aim to make its workforce and merchandise better reflect its customers.

In a memo sent to its employees, the Minneapolis-based retailer said it will end its three-year DEI goals, stop reports to external diversity-focused groups like the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and end a program focused on carrying more products from Black- or minority-owned businesses.

The memo was sent to staff Friday and viewed by CNBC. It was written by Kiera Fernandez, chief community impact and equity officer at Target.

“Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy,” she said in the memo. “And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future – all in service of driving Target’s growth and winning together.”

A Target spokesperson said there are no job cuts as part of Friday’s DEI announcement.

With the move, the discounter joins a growing list of companies including Tractor Supply, Facebook’s parent Meta, Walmart and McDonald’s that have dropped DEI-related pledges and goals. Some of those companies faced pressure from conservative activists or cited the Supreme Court’s ruling blocking affirmative action at colleges — which may not compel corporations to take any action on the issue.

The company’s decision also follows President Donald Trump’s executive orders, made almost immediately after his Inauguration, to end the government’s DEI programs and put federal officials overseeing those initiatives on leave.

Not all companies have joined the trend. On Thursday, Costco said at its annual meeting that more than 98% of shareholders voted against a proposal to review risks of its DEI programs. Costco’s board of director had urged shareholders to vote it down.

Many corporations’ diversity commitments, including Target’s go back for years and were strengthened in the wake of the “Black Lives Matter” protests and the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

Four years ago, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the murder — which happened just a short distance from Target’s headquarters in its hometown — felt personal. He said it motivated him to step up Target’s diversity and equity efforts.

“That could have been one of my Target team members,” he said at the time, recounting his thoughts as he watched the video of Floyd taking his final breaths.

Target expanded its diversity goals at the time, saying it would increase representation of Black employees across its workforce by 20% over the next year. The company started a new program to help Black entrepreneurs develop, test and scale products to sell at mass retailers like Target. And it promised to spend more than $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025, from construction companies that build or remodel stores to advertising firms that market its brand.

The company and its foundation also gave $10 million to support social justice groups, including the National Urban League and African American Leadership Forum.

On its website in recent years, Target has touted Cornell’s and the company’s “steadfast commitment to stand with Black families and fight against racism.” In other posts on its website, the company provided updates on its efforts to add more officers of color, reduce turnover of people of color, and increase promotions of women and minorities.

One post was titled “We Are Never Done,” and started off with a quote from Black poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.

Target dissolved the goals at a time when conservative politicians and activists have increasingly turned their focus on company efforts to be more inclusive.

Target had already felt the heat from conservative groups over some of its other longstanding initiatives. About two years ago, the retailer pulled items from its Pride Month collection after backlash and threats to employees about some merchandise it sold, such as “tuck-friendly” swimsuits for trans people.

Cornell said in 2023 that the backlash contributed to weaker quarterly sales for the company. He said, however, that it would continue to mark heritage months with merchandise collections, such as Black History Month and Pride Month.

Target’s employee base had grown more diverse in recent years.

About 43% of Target’s workforce was white, 31% was Hispanic/Latino, 15% was Black and 5% was Asian in the fiscal year that ended in early February 2024, according to the company’s most recent diversity report.

The company’s leadership team is less diverse than its overall workforce. Seventy-two percent of the leadership was white, followed by 11% Hispanic/Latino, 11% Asian and 6% Black.

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Anti-woke activist and filmmaker Robby Starbuck, who has been leading a campaign exposing major corporations’ woke policies, said on X on Monday that he warned Walmart executives last week that he would be doing a story on “wokeness” at the retail giant.

“Instead,” Starbuck shared, “we had productive conversations to find solutions.”

Starbuck outlined the changes Walmart agreed to make, including working to remove sexual and transgender products inappropriately marketed toward children, and reviewing grants to Pride events to avoid funding sexualized content targeting kids. 

Walmart clarified that these changes have been in the works for a few years and were not a result of the conversation with Starbuck.

Walmart confirmed to FOX Business that it plans to change how it monitors products within its marketplace and reviews the funding of grants. 

The company said some products that violated its policies have been removed, such as chest binders – products designed to flatten the chest – when marketed to children.

Walmart clarified that these changes have been in the works for a few years and were not a result of the conversation with Starbuck. Hannah Mattix / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The company also confirmed it will review all grants, especially for community events, to ensure they promote an appropriate environment for children. However, Walmart will continue to support Pride celebrations.

The company has also decided not to extend the Racial Equity Center it launched in 2020 as a five-year initiative, and will ditch the terms “LatinX” and even “DEI” altogether in official communications. It will instead focus on the term “belonging” for all associates and customers.

Walmart also joined an array of companies in recent months – including Ford and John Deere – to end participation in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which is an annual survey and report used to gauge “policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) employees.” 

Walmart confirmed it was notified about the Starbuck video last week. Walmart does not generally comment on politics.

Anti-woke activist and filmmaker Robby Starbuck, who has been leading a campaign exposing major corporations’ woke policies, said he warned Walmart executives last week that he would be doing a story on “wokeness” at the retail giant. William DeShazer for NY Post

In a statement to FOX Business, Walmart said it is “willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America.”

“We’ve been on a journey and know we aren’t perfect, but every decision comes from a place of wanting to foster a sense of belonging, to open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers and to be a Walmart for everyone,” the company said.

Starbuck is taking a victory lap over Walmart’s announced changes, telling FOX Business, “Walmart is the single largest employer in the United States. Removing wokeness from Walmart has both downstream effects on suppliers and sets the tone for corporate America.”

“Changing normal operating policy at a nearly $1 trillion company is a gargantuan feat that many have tried to achieve but no one until now has actually been able to get done,” he continued. “It speaks to the strength and scale of our movement to eliminate wokeness from society and how effective I’ve been as a megaphone for the concerns of your average consumer.”

Starbuck added, “I won’t stop until wokeness is a relic of the past.”

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