Impacted by closings

Impacted by closings

YOUNGSTOWN

The closure of Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us stores will impact 100 workers in the Mahoning Valley, according to a notice from the company to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

According to the notice, the estimated number of employees affected statewide is 1,178. Some stores already have closed, and others, including the local locations, are slated to close by June 30. Locally, the closures will impact 28 employees in Niles, 38 in Boardman and 34 in Poland, according to the notice.

The store told employees in March it would sell or close all its U.S. stores. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last fall.

Ribbon-cutting event

GREEN

A ribbon-cutting is scheduled at 11 a.m. today for Northeast Ohio Precast LLC, a new manufacturer of precast concrete products for sanitary and storm applications, the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber announced. The company is at 6705 W. South Range Road.

The company produces catch basins, manholes, headwalls, outlet structures and specialty precast concrete pads and structures, according to a news release. It delivers in Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

Visit northeastohioprecast.com for information.

AT&T, Time Warner close $81B merger

washington

AT&T has completed its $81 billion takeover of Time Warner, one of the biggest media deals ever. A federal judge approved the combination just two days earlier over objections by the Trump Justice Department that it would hurt consumers.

The merger could shape the way consumers stream TV and movies and how much they pay, and stands to usher in a new era of accelerating change and deal making in the media and telecom worlds.

The announcement came late Thursday from Dallas-based AT&T, a telephone, cable and satellite behemoth that now will own an array of TV networks and sought-after programming. The deadline to complete the merger was next week, but the closing came swiftly after the Justice Department signaled it wouldn’t ask the court to postpone the merger while it pondered an appeal of the judge’s decision.

Man charged with threatening mass shooting at Disney

COCOA, Fla.

Authorities say they’ve arrested a Florida man who threatened on Facebook to commit a mass shooting at Walt Disney World.

Florida Today reports that 23-year-old Derek Eitel was arrested Tuesday and charged with making written threats to kill or do bodily harm.

The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office says Eitel was in a chat group Tuesday with more than 800 members when he posted, “5 likes and I’ll go shoot up Disney.” Eitel lives near Cocoa, about an hour east of the park.

An arrest report says two of the members reported the statement to authorities. The report says Eitel later confessed to typing the threat on his smartphone.

Eitel was being held on $100,000 bail. Jail records didn’t list an attorney.

Staff/wire reports