WASHINGTON DC. - Federal government funding hangs in the balance as a government shutdown deadline looms at midnight tonight. The U.S. House of Representatives, under the leadership of Speaker Mike Johnson, is racing to pass a new spending bill to extend funding until mid-March. This urgent action follows the failure of a previous proposal, which faced bipartisan opposition, highlighting the significant partisan divisions within Congress.
(January 9, 2024)—Big Lots, the once-popular discount retailer, announced today it will close all stores nationwide after a failed acquisition deal, marking a definitive end for the struggling chain. Following a September Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, Big Lots had been negotiating to sell its assets to private equity firm Nexus Capital Management. However, the deal collapsed, forcing the company to initiate "going out of business" sales at all 963 remaining US locations.