Toys R Us planning major comeback ahead of holiday season
Toys R Us Grand Opening at Macy’s Herald Square on Oct. 13, 2022, in New York City. (Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Macy’s, Inc.)
(NEW YORK) — Toys R Us is planning a major expansion in the U.S. with the addition of 120 new standalone stores by the end of 2026.
The toy retailer, which currently has 40 standalone stores and Toys R Us shops inside Macy’s stores across the country, announced the strategic move, which is being carried out in partnership with Go! Retail Group, on Thursday.
“This is a major moment for [Toys R Us] as we significantly expand our presence across the United States,” Jamie Uitdenhowen, executive vice president of Toys R Us at WHP Global, said in a statement. “Together with our incredible partners, we are growing Toys R Us in unique ways to meet customers wherever they are, whether that’s at a standalone store in their hometown, inside Macy’s, at the airport or at a Navy Exchange.”
The statement continued, “Toys R Us has always been a place for discovery, and we’re building on that legacy by bringing customers the hottest toys, biggest trends and experiences that make the brand unlike any other.”
In addition to established toys such as LEGO bricks, Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, Toys R Us said it will stock popular new toys from “KPop Demon Hunters,” Pokemon and more.
Select new Toys R Us stores will feature “Creator Studios,” described as “dedicated spaces where influencers, creators and toy brands can create content, unveil new products and host toy reveals, launches and special events,” the company said.
Select stores will also have candy shops and cafes inside for customers.
The new plan is a dramatic transformation for Toys R Us, which filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and closed most of its U.S. stores nearly a decade ago.
Private equity firms had previously acquired the retail chain in 2005 for $6.6 billion, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Toys R Us returned briefly with two new brick-and-mortar stores in 2019, however, those locations were shuttered not long after.
WHP Global acquired a controlling stake in the retailer in 2021, and the company launched a new two-story global flagship store at the American Dream shopping mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, that December.
The retailer subsequently opened several additional standalone locations and “shop-in-shop” locations inside Macy’s stores in several U.S. states, as well as a second U.S. flagship store at Mall of America in 2023.
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speak to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 7, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Barters Island Bees, a honey seller in Maine with flavors like “Gentle Ginger” and “Blueberry Lemon,” grew year after year — until a trade dispute broke out between the United States and Canada, chief executive Garret Denniston said.
Sales shrank last year after a drop-off in Canadian tourists hammered business at farmers’ markets and fairs, Denniston said. But revenue has bounced back, he added, surging 75% this year compared to the same period in 2025, in part due to an uptick in Canadian customers as tensions appeared to thaw.
“We thank Canadian tourists every time we see them,” Denniston told ABC News, but he said he’s worried a rekindled trade spat will curtail tourism again. “I’m just astounded. It’s only reasonable to expect it will go back in the other direction.”
When asked whether the trade war could help shape a highly competitive U.S. Senate contest in Maine, Denniston said, “Oh, absolutely. It definitely can.”
Tit-for-tat tariffs issued by the U.S. and Canada in recent weeks risk outsized harm for consumers and businesses in states near the northern border, some analysts told ABC News. Many of those states play host to key races in the battle for control of Congress in November’s midterm elections, including Senate contests in Maine, Ohio and Michigan.
Fresh levies on $20 billion in Canadian goods are expected to hike prices for imports ranging from orchids to hockey sticks, many of which are sold predominantly in states along the border, some analysts said.
A set of matching retaliatory tariffs that took effect on Tuesday, they added, may crimp sales for nearby U.S. businesses that export products to Canada. A drop in cross-border tourism could also damage companies located within a short trip from Canada, they said.
“If you go far up north, it’s an arbitrary line in the dirt between what’s in Canada and what’s in the U.S.,” Tyler Schipper, a professor of economics at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, told ABC News.
For now, levies apply to a sliver of goods that travel between the U.S. and Canada, limiting the overall impact of the trade dispute. The tariffs issued in recent weeks apply to only 6% of U.S. imports into Canada and 5% of Canadian imports into the U.S.
Still, some analysts said, the effects will likely be more pronounced in several states near the U.S.-Canada border, which account for a disproportionately large share of trade with the nation’s northern neighbor.
Canada is the top foreign buyer of exports from 26 U.S. states, and the top source of imports for 22 states, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data issued by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) late last month.
Maine and Michigan each rank among the top 10 states in combined annual import-export business with Canada, while Ohio ranks as the 15th-highest state, RBC found. Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota also rank among the top states on the measure.
“Someone in Oklahoma doesn’t feel this as much as someone in Dearborn, Michigan,” Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, told ABC News, pointing to a major city in the U.S. auto industry. “It’s purely a geography story.”
Even as supply chains stretch across a vast, global economy, trade remains simpler and cheaper along short distances, Miller said.
“Business-to-business relationships still matter, and at the end of the day, the farther you have to transport something, the more challenging and expensive things are,” Miller said.
In Michigan, the powerhouse auto sector has already felt the effects of President Donald Trump’s tariffs — and car companies would face additional fallout from a potential escalation, Glenn Stevens Jr., an executive director of MichAuto, a statewide industry trade group, told ABC News.
Last spring, Trump slapped 25% tariffs on imported cars and auto parts, putting strain on a highly integrated auto supply chain between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
The measure excluded goods compliant with United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, a free trade agreement, but it still resulted in $12.5 billion in duties paid on auto-related imports last year, according to the Anderson Economic Group.
Last month, Trump threatened to ratchet up tariffs from 25% to 50% on Canada-made cars and auto parts beginning in January. Trump did not mention an exemption for USMCA-compliant products.
The potential measure, Stevens said, “would absolutely be untenable for the industry to operate under. It would decimate supply chains and virtually grind business to a halt.”
A higher tariff would likely raise prices for consumers and threaten job losses in the state, Stevens added, before noting the attention garnered by trade policy as midterms approach.
“There’s no question in an increasingly intense, rhetoric-filled political season, tariffs and trade are very much a primary issue,” Steven said.
On the campaign trail, Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed said Republican Rep. Mike Rogers would be a “rubber stamp” for Trump in the Senate as Rogers has largely defended the president’s trade strategy, arguing that economic pressure on Canada is necessary to protect American jobs.
“Trump is escalating a trade war with Canada for his own vanity,” El-Sayed wrote in a social media post.
Rogers’ campaign previously declined to comment on the new round of tariffs on Canada, pointing instead to his past comments on bolstering U.S. manufacturing.
The White House said the tariffs put Americans first.
“Countless American workers, farmers, and businesses have borne the brunt of America’s lopsided trade relations, including with Canada which has demanded total access to the American market without reciprocity,” Desai wrote in a statement. “President Trump will never stop fighting to put Americans and America First.”
In Maine, Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is running for reelection, said the dispute would raise costs for families and businesses in the state.
“The on-again/off-again trade talks between the U.S. and Canada lead to higher costs, risk, and uncertainty for Maine businesses. If the Administration proceeds with these tariffs, they will increase costs for Maine families, as most businesses will have no choice but to pass on the tariffs to their customers through higher prices,” she wrote on X late last month.
Despite her opposition, Trump’s tariffs have become a campaign talking point as Democratic challenger Troy Jackson, a former state senator, attempted to tie Republicans to Trump’s policies.
Jackson called the tariffs a “direct tax on working families.”
“Having spent most of my life working along the border, I know how vital trade with Canada is to Maine. Trump’s tariffs are a direct tax on working families,” Jackson said.
For some who live in states near the U.S.-Canada border, however, the trade war may not play a role in their ballot decisions.
Fred Fritz, a retiree who lives in East Lansing, Michigan, sharply criticized the tariffs on Canada imposed by Trump. Still, Fritz added, he remains undecided in the state’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest between Rogers and El-Sayed.
“I don’t like either candidate,” Fritz said, before describing what he considers flaws of each one. “I’m not impressed.”
ABC News’ Gaby Vinick and Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
Sectors that added jobs in August. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
(NEW YORK) — Hiring grew far more than expected in August, bouncing back from a decline in employment a month earlier, according to the federal government’s monthly jobs report.
Employers added 162,000 jobs in August, which marked a major improvement from 23,000 jobs lost in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed.
Hiring came in well above a monthly average gain of 31,000 jobs over the previous 12 months.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, a low level by historical standards.
Employment surged in restaurants and bars, which added 59,000 jobs in August, after averaging just 12,000 jobs gained each month over the past year. Hiring also grew in manufacturing, continuing a period of steady gains since the end of last year.
The fresh data demonstrated economic health, despite a bout of elevated inflation that continues to weigh on shoppers and nudge central bankers toward a possible interest rate hike.
The economy has shown signs of additional strain in recent weeks, including a bond selloff that threatens to raise consumer borrowing costs and a rise in oil prices amid renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran.
The labor market grew at a solid pace over the first half of 2026, despite a historic oil shock that has driven up fuel prices and hiked supply-chain costs for a host of other goods.
The U.S. added an average of 92,000 jobs per month over the initial six months of this year, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed. That pace marks an improvement from an average of about 7,000 jobs lost per month over the second half of 2025.
The Iran war drove up gasoline prices and catapulted inflation to a three-year high in May. Inflation eased in June and July, but a burst of on-again, off-again fighting in recent weeks caused crude prices to rise again.
The annual inflation rate stands at 3.4% as of July, the most recent month on record, putting inflation more than a percentage point above the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.
The combination of elevated inflation and a fairly resilient labor market has raised the chances of an interest rate hike at the Fed’s meeting later this month, financial markets show.
Investors peg the odds of a quarter-point rate hike on Sept. 16 at about 62%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
A rate increase could help fight inflation but the move risks a slowdown in hiring. Central bankers, in turn, may examine the jobs report for information on the sturdiness of the labor market.
The Fed opted to hold interest rates steady at its most recent meeting in July, but central bankers appeared divided over the move. Three of the 12 members on the Fed’s policymaking board voted in favor of a rate hike, marking the largest number of dissenters casting ballots in the same direction since 2016.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who took the helm of the central bank in May, said in recent days that it should prioritize fighting inflation.
“Inflation is running above our 2% target so the Fed’s predominant focus right now should be on prices,” Warsh said in remarks last week at the Fed’s annual summer gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
“If the Fed gets inflation wrong and judges the economy wrong, who gets the worst of it? Not the financial high-fliers. Hard-working Americans are the ones left to deal with inflation that is too high or jobs that suddenly appear less secure,” Warsh added.
Emily Normandin-Parker is seen in this photo. Her parents Carol Normandin and Ken Parker were awarded $40 million in arbitration after their daughter was struck and killed after her Uber driver left her along a Southern California freeway. (Courtesy Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP)
(NEW YORK) — The parents of a 23-year-old woman who was struck and killed after her Uber driver left her along a Southern California freeway are speaking out after being awarded $40 million in an arbitration against Uber and the driver.
Carol Normandin and Ken Parker, the parents of Emily Normandin-Parker, sat down exclusively with “Good Morning America” in an interview aired on Thursday to discuss their daughter’s death and the arbitration award.
Asked if they believe Uber put profits over their daughter’s safety, Normandin responded, “Absolutely.”
Normandin-Parker, a 2022 UCLA graduate, was taking an Uber home with her friend Luna Moore after a night out when Moore became sick during the ride, according to the arbitration award.
The driver, Vu Tran, pulled over on State Route 73 in Orange County at a gore point — the triangular area by the off-ramp on the freeway, according to the arbitration.
“He chose to pull over there and demand money and kick them out of the car. All I can think that Emily was doing — her friend, the driver arguing — was to get help. They argue, Emily gets hit while they’re arguing,” Normandin told ABC News’ Trevor Ault in an interview that aired Thursday on “GMA.”
In his arbitration award, retired Judge Richard A. Stone, who served as the arbitrator, described the gore point as an “unsafe and illegal” area and found that Tran could have instead taken the nearby MacArthur Boulevard exit and stopped in a safe location.
Stone also wrote in the award that Tran knew Normandin-Parker and Moore were intoxicated and had argued with Moore over a cleaning fee before leaving the women at the location.
Normandin-Parker later entered the freeway and was struck and killed by a vehicle.
According to the arbitration award, GPS data showed Tran drove near Normandin-Parker’s body before taking the next exit and calling Uber to seek a cleaning fee.
Stone described Tran’s testimony as “largely — in fact, almost entirely — incredible and unbelievable.”
The arbitrator also found Tran showed “far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers” and that he had options to get the women to a safe location.
According to attorneys representing Normandin-Parker’s parents, evidence presented during the arbitration showed Uber had received previous complaints about Tran’s driving. One rider described a trip with Tran as “the least safe” ride they had experienced, while another said “he cannot drive.”
Parker described the complaints to “GMA” as “driving the wrong way on a one-way, erratic driving, almost hitting pedestrians, very erratic behavior.”
Following the five-day arbitration, Stone awarded $20 million each to Normandin and Parker, finding Uber and Tran jointly and severally liable. Moore was separately awarded $300,000. The arbitrator did not award punitive damages.
Stone also found Uber vicariously liable for Tran’s negligence as a common carrier. In his decision, Stone rejected Uber’s argument that it is “merely a technology company” connecting riders with drivers, finding that Uber provides transportation services to the public through its app, sets prices and controls key aspects of the rider experience.
The arbitrator also rejected Uber’s argument that Proposition 22 — a California ballot measure approved by voters in 2020 that allows companies to classify app-based drivers as independent contractors instead of employees — prevented the company from being held liable for Tran’s conduct.
In a statement to “GMA,” an Uber spokesperson said, “No family should have to suffer the loss of a child, and our thoughts continue to be with the Normandin-Parker family.”
“While we respect the arbitration process, we believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uber legally responsible for the tragic events of that night,” the statement continued.
“We have continued to strengthen our approach to safety over the years…including additional guidance to drivers about avoiding drop-offs in unsafe locations,” the statement said.
Normandin-Parker’s parents also spoke to “GMA” about Uber’s efforts to keep the arbitration award from being made public.
“We didn’t have much time to absorb the award before Uber almost immediately started contending that it could not be made public and then sent an agreement to us requiring non-disparagement, the $10 million penalty for saying anything bad about Uber,” Parker said.According to a press release from their attorneys, Normandin and Parker established the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation following their daughter’s death to advocate for ride-hailing safety and corporate accountability. Proceeds from the arbitration award will be used to fund the foundation, the release said.
Ian Samson, an attorney for the family, told “GMA,” “he said, I’m troubled by all this, and changing the policies and practices is something Uber should do. And since the arbitration award was issued, what I’ve seen is great urgency by Uber to try to keep it secret.”
According to a press release from their attorneys, Normandin and Parker established the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation following their daughter’s death to advocate for ride-hailing safety and corporate accountability. Proceeds from the arbitration award will be used to fund the foundation, the release said.
When asked what else they wanted people to know about their daughter, Normandin said, “Her laugh was contagious.”
“And she was funny. And she could sing. Oh my god, could she sing,” Normandin said.
