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(Corrects paragraph 3 to say 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March, not April) The founder of 23andMe, Anne Wojcicki, has asked a U.S. judge to reopen an auction for the genetic testing company, saying she has the support of a Fortune 500 company with a current market capitalization of more than $400 billion. Wojcicki did not name the Fortune 500 company in court filings. South San Francisco, California-based 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March, seeking to sell its business at auction after a decline in consumer demand and a 2023 data breach that exposed sensitive genetic and personal information of millions of customers. Last month, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals agreed to buy the firm for $256 million, topping a $146 million bid from Wojcicki and TTAM Research Institute, which was founded by Wojcicki and describes itself as a California non-profit public benefit corporation. In a filing dated May 31, Wojcicki claimed that 23andMe’s debtors had attempted to tilt the sales process away from TTAM and in favor of Regeneron. TTAM and Wojcicki said in the filing that 23andMes financial and legal advisers unfairly capped their maximum bid at $250 million due to misplaced concerns about TTAM’s “financial wherewithal”. The plaintiffs said the auction was prematurely concluded before they had the opportunity to submit a bid that would have exceeded $280 million. The company’s debtors said the auction results came after an extensive and careful consideration by a four-member special committee of independent directors, according to the filing. According to another filing, 23andMe is seeking court approval to let Wojcicki and Regeneron submit final proposals by June 12. 23andMe is also seeking a $10 million breakup fee for Regeneron if Wojcicki’s bid is ultimately accepted. Regeneron said it does not comment on the ongoing proceeding and aims to close the acquisition as intended. Lawyers for 23andMe’s debtors and TTAM parties did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. Urvi Dugar, Reuters
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E-Commerce
More than 25,000 residents in three provinces have been evacuated as dozens of wildfires remained active Sunday and diminished air quality in parts of Canada and the U.S., according to officials.Most of the evacuated residents were from Manitoba, which declared a state of emergency last week. About 17,000 people there were evacuated by Saturday along with 1,300 in Alberta. About 8,000 people in Saskatchewan had been relocated as leaders there warned the number could climb.Smoke was worsening air quality and reducing visibility in Canada and into some U.S. states along the border.“Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour,” Saskatchewan’s Public Safety Agency warned Sunday. “As smoke levels increase, health risks increase.”Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said firefighters, emergency crews and aircraft from other provinces and U.S. states, including Alaska, Oregon and Arizona, were being sent to help fight the blazes.“We are truly grateful, and we stand stronger because of you,” Moe said in a post on social media.He said ongoing hot, dry weather is allowing some fires to grow and threaten communities, and resources to fight the fires and support the evacuees are stretched thin.“The next four to seven days are absolutely critical until we can find our way to changing weather patterns, and ultimately a soaking rain throughout the north,” Moe said at a Saturday news conference.In Manitoba, more than 5,000 of those evacuated are from Flin Flon, located nearly 645 kilometers (400 miles) northwest of the provincial capital of Winnipeg. In northern Manitoba, fire knocked out power to the community of Cranberry Portage, forcing a mandatory evacuation order Saturday for about 600 residents.The fire menacing Flin Flon began a week ago near Creighton, Saskatchewan, and quickly jumped the boundary into Manitoba. Crews have struggled to contain it. Water bombers have been intermittently grounded due to heavy smoke and a drone incursion.The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service deployed an air tanker to Alberta and said it would send 150 firefighters and equipment to Canada.In some parts of the U.S., air quality reached “unhealthy” levels Sunday in North Dakota and small swaths of Montana, Minnesota and South Dakota, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow page.“We should expect at least a couple more rounds of Canadian smoke to come through the U.S. over the next week,” said Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the U.S.Separately, a fire in the U.S. border state of Idaho burned at least 100 acres (40 hectares) as of Sunday, prompting road closures and some evacuations, according to the Idaho Department of Lands. The agency said in a news release that at least one structure was burned, but did not provide additional details about the damage.Strong gusty winds of 15 to 20 mph (24 to 32 kph) and steep terrain were making it difficult for firefighters battling the fire, which ignited Saturday.Evacuation centers have opened across Manitoba for those fleeing the fires, one as far south as Winkler, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the U.S. border. Winnipeg opened up public buildings for evacuees as it deals with hotels already crammed with other fire refugees, vacationers, business people and convention-goers.Manitoba’s Indigenous leaders said Saturday at a news conference that hotel rooms in the cities where evacuees are arriving are full, and they called on the government to direct hotel owners to give evacuees priority.Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said it was one of the largest evacuations in the province since the 1990s.“It’s really sad to see our children having to sleep on floors. People are sitting, waiting in hallways, waiting outside, and right now we just need people to come together. People are tired,” Wilson said at a news conference.Canada’s wildfire season runs from May through September. Its worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023. It choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months. Associated Press reporter Julie Walker contributed from New York. Associated Press
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E-Commerce
This week, home discount retail chain Big Lots will open dozens of additional stores, marking the culmination of the beloved brand’s dramatic turnaround after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late last year. Heres what you need to know about Junes Big Lots store reopenings. Big Lots bankruptcy was expected to be the end In December 2024, Big Lots announced that it had filed for bankruptcy and would be closing all of its roughly 800 locations. But in a surprising turn of events, the chain was saved from completely going out of business after another discount retail chain operator, Variety Wholesalers, swept in and agreed to buy 219 Big Lots locations from liquidator Gordon Brothers. Variety Wholsalers, which also owns discount retail chains including Bargain Town and Super Dollar, said it would not only keep the 219 stores alive, but that it would operate them under the Big Lots brand, after a period of renovation and re-merchandising. Prior Big Lots reopenings Variety Wholesalers said it would reopen the 219 Big Lots stores it acquired in four waves, with the first beginning in April. Heres how many stores Big Lots opened in each prior wave: First wave: nine stores across six states in April Second wave: 54 stores across 12 states in early May Third wave: 78 stores across 13 states in mid-May Now, Big Lots will be commencing its fourth wave of store openings. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}(); 78 Big Lots fourth wave June reopenings Big Lots fourth wave of store reopenings will happen this week, with 78 stores opening across nine states. The planned opening date is Thursday, June 5. The states with the most store reopenings in the fourth wave include North Carolina, with 22 locations reopening; Ohio, with 13 locations reopening; and Pennsylvania, with 11 stores reopening. Here is the full Big Lots store reopening list for June: Florida 6247 Highway 90, Milton, FL 32570 2384 Commercial Way, Spring Hill, FL 34606 3401 13th St Ste 100, St. Cloud, FL 34769 843 W Bloomingdale Ave, Brandon, FL 33511 3048 E College Ave, Ruskin, FL 33570 13970 N Cleveland Ave, North Ft. Myers, FL 33903 4901 Palm Beach Blvd Ste 230, Fort Myers, FL 33905 Georgia 127 Commerce Ave, LaGrange, GA 30241 3111 Highway 278 NW, Covington, GA 30014 13 Lester Rd Ste C, Statesboro, GA 30458 Kentucky 3000 Scottsville Rd, Bowling Green, KY 42104 North Carolina 125 Weaver Blvd, Weaverville, NC 28787 273 Franklin Plaza Dr, Franklin, NC 28734 1176 Russ Ave, Waynesville, NC 28786 1639 US Highway 74A Byp, Spindale, NC 28160 1450 Andrews Rd, Murphy, NC 28906 1251 Burkemont Ave, Morganton, NC 28655 711 E Innes St, Salisbury, NC 28144 280 Concord Pkwy N, Concord, NC 28027 720 NC 24 27 Byp E, Albemarle, NC 28001 950 S Cannon Blvd Ste A, Kannapolis, NC 28083 1677 Westchester Dr, High Point, NC 27262 2531 Eastchester Dr, High Point, NC 27265 630 Lakestone Commons Ave, Fuquay Varina, NC 27526 2950 S Horner Blvd, Sanford, NC 27332 1371 N Sandhills Blvd, Aberdeen, NC 28315 1664 S Main St Ste B, Laurinburg, NC 28352 520 Berne Sq, New Bern, NC 28562 2750C N Roberts Ave, Lumberton, NC 28358 1110 Western Blvd, Jacksonville, NC 28540 2900 Arendell St Ste 19, Morehead City, NC 28557 6832 F Market St, Wilmington, NC 28405 4600 Main St Ste 1, Shallotte, NC 28470 Ohio 8489 Market St, Mentor, OH 44060 12588 Rockside Rd, Cleveland, OH 44125 1890 W Market St, Akron, OH 44313 405 Howe Ave, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221 241 W Wooster Rd, Barberton, OH 44203 426 East Waterloo Rd, Akron, OH 44319 1336 Whipple Ave NW, Canton, OH 44708 10560 Harrison Ave, Harrison, OH 45030 3640 Werk Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45248 110 S 7th St, Marietta, OH 45750 9025 Ohio River Rd, Wheelersburg, OH 45694 400 Silver Bridge Plz, Gallipolis, OH 45631 367 County Rd 406 Ste B, South Point, OH 45680 Pennsylvania 750 Ohio River Blvd, Rochester, PA 15074 4717 McKnight Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237 2444 Philadelphia St, Indiana, PA 15701 11628 Penn Hills Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15235 254 Oak Spring Rd, Washington, PA 15301 6041 State Route 30 Ste 20, Greensburg, PA 15601 1425 Scalp Ave Ste 130, Johnstown, PA 15904 389 N Reading Rd, Ephrata, PA 17522 500 Lincoln Hwy Ste 4, Fairless Hills, PA 19030 2140 White St, York, PA 17404 1150 Carlisle St, Hanover, PA 17331 South Carolina 1206 Highway 9 Bypass W, Lancaster, SC 29720 9221 Two Notch Rd Ste 30, Columbia, SC 29223 6169 St. Andrews Rd, Columbia, SC 29212 1641 Church St, Conway, SC 29526 710 Hwy 17 S Ste D, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582 1370 S Kings Hwy, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 1013 Old Highway 52, Moncks Corner, SC 29461 431 Saint James Ave Unit G, Goose Creek, SC 29445 10150 Dorchester RdUnit 227, Summerville, SC 29485 328 Robert Smalls Pkwy, Beaufort, SC 29906 Tennessee 633 S Jefferson Ave, Cookeville, TN 38501 1301 S James Campbell Blvd, Columbia, TN 38401 1913 Sherwood Rd, Kingsport, TN 37664 3901 Hixson Pike Ste 157, Chattanooga, TN 37415 1426 N Gateway Ave, Rockwood, TN 37854 Virginia 180 Kents Ridge Rd, Richlands, VA 24641 1090 Bypass Rd, Vinton, VA 24179 6610 Mooretown Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23188 2318 W Mercury Blvd, Hampton, VA 23666 1851 E Little Creek Rd, Norfolk, VA 23518 1971 S Military Hwy, Chesapeake, VA 23320 No more Big Lots openings? With the additional 78 Big Lots stores reopening in its fourth wave this week, Variety Wholesalers will have reopened all 219 stores that it said it would after acquiring them from Gordon Brothers. While fans of the retail brand are undoubtedly happy to have hundreds of locations reopened, the 219-store count represents just over a quarter of the Big Lots locations that were open at the end of last year. Privately held Variety Wholesalers has not publicly announced plans to open any brand-new Big Lots locations at this time. For now, if there isn’t a Big Lots location near you after the fourth wave of reopenings this week, it’s likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
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E-Commerce
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