Getty
Welcome to the weekend! Toys ‘R’ Us will be back open in time for the holidays, more than two years after filing for bankruptcy. A Michigan man won the Mega Millions jackpot but is now fighting to keep all of his winnings after the courts decided his ex-wife is entitled to half. And a brand of bottled water sold at Walmart and Target has been pulled from the shelves amid reports that it contained high levels of a toxic chemical.
Here’s what you need to know in your daily roundup:
TOP STORY: Toys ‘R’ Us Is Making a Comeback in the United States
The kids will be extra excited for this piece of news (and their nostalgic parents): Toys ‘R’ Us is coming back! The iconic chain will reopen its doors later this year, according to Bloomberg. The goal is to have a few stores ready to go in time for the holiday season.
Toys ‘R’ Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017 due to slumping sales and increased competition. The company is now under the umbrella of Tru Kids Brands™, a move that was announced back in February.
Bloomberg, citing “people familiar with the matter,” reported that the plan to bring back Toys ‘R’ Us will start small. The company plans to open just a handful of brick-and-mortar stores, which will be substantially smaller in size than they used to be. An e-commerce website for Toys ‘R’ Us will also debut later this year.
OFF-BEAT: Michigan Lottery Winner Has to Split Earnings With His Ex-Wife
Michigan Man Who Won $80 Million Lottery Jackpot During Divorce Ordered to Pay Half to Ex-Wife t.co/lxPxz95u2k
Detroit man Richard Zelasko was the lucky winner of the Mega Millions jackpot in 2013. The pot had reached $80 million. Zelasko chose the cash option and was awarded about $39 million after taxes.
At the time, Zelasko was separated from his wife. They had split up in 2011 and were in the process of getting a divorce. But because the divorce was not yet finalized at the time Zelasko bought the Mega Millions ticket, an appeals court decided that Zelasko needed to share his lottery winnings with her.
His attorney, Scott G. Bassett, says he will appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court, according to People.
WHAT’S BUZZING THAT HAS EVERYONE TALKING: The Mars Rover Snaps a Photo of a Mysterious Glowing Light
NASA/JPL-CaltechImage was taken by Navcam: Right B onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 2438 (2019-06-16 03:53:59 UTC)
The Mars Curiosity rover has been searching the red planet for signs of life since 2012. To clarify, scientists are not necessarily looking for “aliens.” NASA described the mission on its website: “Investigate whether conditions have been favorable for microbial life and for preserving clues in the rocks about possible past life.”
But a recent photo showing a mysterious white glow had earth-dwellers all excited about what NASA could have uncovered. The photo, embedded above and snapped on June 16, shows a floating bright light in the distance.
NASA scientists are not exactly sure what caused the bright light but have explained in the past that cosmic rays or a flare from the camera itself are known to happen. Justin Maki of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in 2014, “In the thousands of images we’ve received from Curiosity, we see ones with bright spots nearly every week. These can be caused by cosmic-ray hits or sunlight glinting from rock surfaces, as the most likely explanations.”
It’s #NationalSelfieDay and our @MarsCuriosity rover is a pro selfie-taker, thanks to 17 cameras used for surveying the vast landscape of the Red Planet. 📸 Discover how the rover takes self-portraits using its robotic arm: t.co/2QLJzeUDJb
The Mars rover does like to have some fun as it navigates the red planet. Yesterday, the rover celebrated National Selfie Day by beaming back a few self-portraits.
DAILY NEWS ROUNDUP
- The Woodbury Fire in Arizona has burned more than 66,000 acres. See maps and updates here.
- A skydiving aircraft crashed in Hawaii, killing nine people.
- President Trump says in a new interview that he is willing to talk with Iran’s leaders and is not looking to go to war.
- The bones from an adult triceratops uncovered in Colorado are believed to be 68 million years old.
- An Air Canada passenger fell asleep and was left alone on the empty plane.
UPDATE TO A STORY WE BROUGHT YOU YESTERDAY: Keurig Dr. Pepper Has Pulled Peñafiel Water Bottles From Its Stores
The withdrawal of Keurig Dr Pepper’s Peñafiel follows a series of articles by CR that showed that regulators identified high levels of arsenic in this mineral spring water since as early as 2009. “It’s about time,” says CR’s William Wallace.
t.co/AOrYG1c8ef
Yesterday’s top story was about researchers at the Center for Environmental Health discovering high levels of arsenic in two bottled water brands sold at Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods. The company Keurig Dr. Pepper, which sells Peñafiel water bottles at Walmart, Target and other stores, announced on Friday that it was pulling the brand off its shelves.
In a news release, the company stated that it had also conducted tests via an independent laboratory and found levels of arsenic that “exceeded the FDA’s bottled water standards for mineral water.” The recall was voluntary.
The second brand identified by the CEH was Starkey, which is owned by Whole Foods. The grocery chain told USA Today that Starkey water “complies with FDA standards for heavy metals.”
Missed Yesterday’s Roundup? Click here.