In 1955, Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup had a very important job. It was the height of the Cold War, and Shoup was working at the Continental Air Defense Command — now known as the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
One December day, his phone rang, but it wasn&#8217;t his regular phone. It was the red phone — the phone that had a <a href="https://kdvr.com/news/local/wrong-number-started-norad-santa-tracker/">number so secret</a> that only he and a four-star general at the <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/disney-hires-obama-era-pentagon-spokesperson-to-build-on-companys-strong-reputation/">Pentagon</a> knew of its existence. But when he answered the phone, a child was on the other end.
&#8220;Is this Santa Claus?&#8221; the child asked. <a href="https://www.coloradoan.com/story/life/2018/12/21/santa-tracker-creator-norad-colonel-christmas/2369617002/">Shoup</a>, according to his children — Terri Van Keuren, Rick Shoup, Pam Farrel — was initially surprised and annoyed, but when the child began to cry he quickly changed his tone. He said, &#8220;Ho, ho, ho,&#8221; and asked the child whether he had been good — and then he asked to speak to a parent.
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2014/12/19/371647099/norads-santa-tracker-began-with-a-typo-and-a-good-sport">NPR reported</a>:
<blockquote>His children remember Shoup as straight-laced and disciplined, and he was annoyed and upset by the call and thought it was a joke — but then, Terri says, the little voice started crying.
&#8220;And Dad realized that it wasn&#8217;t a joke,&#8221; her sister says. &#8220;So he talked to him, ho-ho-ho&#8217;d and asked if he had been a good boy and, &#8216;May I talk to your mother?&#8217; And the mother got on and said, &#8216;You haven&#8217;t seen the paper yet? There&#8217;s a phone number to call Santa. It&#8217;s in the Sears ad.&#8217; Dad looked it up, and there it was, his red phone number. And they had children calling one after another, so he put a couple of airmen on the phones to act like Santa Claus.&#8221;
&#8220;It got to be a big joke at the command center. You know, &#8216;The old man&#8217;s really flipped his lid this time. We&#8217;re answering Santa calls,&#8217; &#8221; Terri says.</blockquote>
The joke took another turn when, on Christmas Eve of 1955, several of the Airmen under Shoup&#8217;s command drew a sleigh and eight reindeer on the glass board that they normally used to track the paths of airplanes over U.S. and Canadian airspace.
According to Terri, Shoup saw the drawing and asked, &#8220;What is that?&#8221;
The airmen said it was just a joke, apologizing and offering to take it down.
&#8220;Dad looked at it for a while, and next thing you know, Dad had called the radio station and had said, &#8216;This is the commander at the Combat Alert Center, and we have an unidentified flying object. Why, it looks like a sleigh.&#8217; Well, the radio stations would call him like every hour and say, &#8216;Where&#8217;s Santa now?'&#8221; Terri told NPR, adding, &#8220;And later in life he got letters from all over the world, people saying, &#8216;Thank you, Colonel,&#8217; for having, you know, this sense of humor. And in his 90s, he would carry those letters around with him in a briefcase that had a lock on it like it was top-secret information. You know, he was an important guy, but this is the thing he&#8217;s known for.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s probably the thing he was proudest of, too,&#8221; her brother agreed.
In the years since, NORAD has embraced the tradition. Call centers are operational and children can call from all over the world to see where Santa is as he makes his grand journey delivering gifts around the world in a single night.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Take an inside look at our NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center as we track <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Santa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Santa</a> on his magical journey today! Track with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NORAD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NORAD</a> at <a href="https://t.co/7afKWWcryj">https://t.co/7afKWWcryj</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NORADSanta?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NORADSanta</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SantaTracker?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SantaTracker</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NORADTracksSanta?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NORADTracksSanta</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/santaclaus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#santaclaus</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/merrychristmas?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#merrychristmas</a> <a href="https://t.co/NsKxdPvuyo">pic.twitter.com/NsKxdPvuyo</a>
&mdash; NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) <a href="https://twitter.com/NoradSanta/status/1738940517080031321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
There is even an official Twitter account — @NoradSanta — that posts updates and videos throughout the day.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NORADTracksSanta?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NORADTracksSanta</a> is following the heat signature from Rudolph&#39;s nose to Dubai as Santa flies over the Arabian Peninsula.<a href="https://t.co/UVuyzrCgDr">https://t.co/UVuyzrCgDr</a>
&mdash; NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) <a href="https://twitter.com/NoradSanta/status/1738979427218760075?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Santa is making a special stop for the astronauts at the International Space Station! Find out where he will go next at <a href="https://t.co/6qfPToRTlN">https://t.co/6qfPToRTlN</a><a href="https://t.co/pwuCxiDDyg">https://t.co/pwuCxiDDyg</a>
&mdash; NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) <a href="https://twitter.com/NoradSanta/status/1738993195214667809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Our <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NORAD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NORAD</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SantaTrackers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SantaTrackers</a> still going strong and tracking <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Santa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Santa</a> on his magical journey around the world! Call our Santa Trackers at 1-877-Hi-NORAD, or track on our website at <a href="https://t.co/7afKWWcryj">https://t.co/7afKWWcryj</a>!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoradTracksSanta?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NoradTracksSanta</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MerryChristmas?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MerryChristmas</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChristmasEve?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChristmasEve</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SantaClaus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SantaClaus</a> <a href="https://t.co/mFSU6hB8to">pic.twitter.com/mFSU6hB8to</a>
&mdash; NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) <a href="https://twitter.com/NoradSanta/status/1739006882038071397?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Sleighbells are ringing over Athens 📷 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NORADTracksSanta?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NORADTracksSanta</a> <a href="https://t.co/1OZguqLhXv">https://t.co/1OZguqLhXv</a>
&mdash; NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) <a href="https://twitter.com/NoradSanta/status/1739012780760465760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

US-LIFESTYLE-CHRISTMAS-INTERNET-SANTA-OFFBEAT

‘The Santa Colonel’: How One Air Force Officer Turned A Sears Ad Typo Into A Holiday Tradition

Santa Claus

Sears

U.S. Air Force

One of America&#8217;s most iconic businesses, which has been in business for over 125 years and still employees 68,000 people, is on the verge of liquidation after an eleventh-hour, $4.4 billion takeover bid failed to satisfy advisers to the company, which hasn&#8217;t turned a profit in nearly a decade.
&#8220;Sears Holdings Corp will ask a bankruptcy judge on Tuesday if it can proceed with liquidation after it could not reach an agreement on Chairman Edward Lampert&#8217;s $4.4 billion takeover bid, casting doubt on the survival of the 126-year-old U.S. department store,&#8221; <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sears-bankruptcy-liquidation-exclusiv/exclusive-sears-to-ask-bankruptcy-judge-to-liquidate-sources-idUSKCN1P218J">Reuters</a> exclusively reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Lampert submitted the bid just before the December 28 deadline set by a bankruptcy court, prompting the company&#8217;s advisers to assess if he was a &#8220;qualified bidder&#8221; and the deal was enough to keep the company afloat. According to Reuters&#8217; sources, the bid fell short. Now Sears faces full liquidation of its assets if the judge doesn&#8217;t decide to give Lampert more time to improve his offer, which Reuters&#8217; sources say he and his hedge fund, ESL Investments Inc., are attempting to do.
&#8220;U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in the Southern District of New York, who is presiding over the case, could decide to give Lampert more time to improve on his bid, the sources said,&#8221; Reuters notes. &#8220;A bankruptcy auction for Sears&#8217; assets is not due until Jan. 14.&#8221;
When Sears filed for bankruptcy in October, it announced the closure of 142 Sears and Kmart stores. As The Daily Wire reported last week, Sears has recently announced the closure of 80 more stores across the country, including its automotive shops. The latest round of closures leaves the company with just 400 stores nationwide. Below is the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/39792/here-are-all-80-sears-kmart-stores-closing-over-james-barrett">full list</a> of the stores set to close by March:
Arizona
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 7055 East Broadway, Tucson AZ</li>
</ul>
California
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 2180 E Mariposa Rd, Stockton CA</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 20777 Bear Valley Rd, Apple Valley CA</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1000 San Fernando Rd, Burbank CA</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 2875 Santa Maria Way, Santa Maria CA</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 2505 Bell Rd, Auburn CA</li>
</ul>
Colorado
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 2050 Southgate Rd, Colorado Springs CO</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1650 Briargate Blvd, Colorado Springs CO</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 3201 Dillon Dr, Pueblo CO</li>
</ul>
Connecticut
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 295 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon CT</li>
</ul>
Florida
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 200 Irwin Ne, Fort Walton Beach FL</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 6126 Hwy 301, Ellenton FL</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 1700 W Intl Speedway Blvd, Daytona Beach FL</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1500 Apalachee Pkwy, Tallahassee FL</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 347 Westshore Plz, Tampa FL</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1441 Tamiami Trl Pt, Charlotte FL</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 9409 Us Highway 19 N Ste 101, Port Richey FL</li>
</ul>
Georgia
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 150 Pearl Nix Pkwy, Gainesville GA</li>
</ul>
Illinois
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 235 Saint Clair Sq, Fairview Heights IL</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 7200 Harrison Ave, Cherry Valley IL</li>
</ul>
Indiana
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 11 Sherwood Square, Peru IN</li>
</ul>
Iowa
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 4480 Sergeant Rd, Sioux City IA</li>
</ul>
Kansas
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 7700 E Kellogg Dr, Wichita KS</li>
</ul>
Louisiana
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 2940 Veterans Blvd, Metairie LA</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 4400 Veterans Mem Blvd, Metairie LA</li>
</ul>
Maryland
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 8980 Waltham Woods Rd, Baltimore MD</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 2306 N Salisbury Blvd, Salisbury MD</li>
</ul>
Michigan
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 5500 Harvey St, Muskegon MI</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 27600 Novi Rd, Novi MI</li>
</ul>
Minnesota
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 201 Ninth St S E, Rochester MN</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 2000 N E Court, Bloomington MN</li>
</ul>
Missouri
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 155 Twin City Mall, Crystal City MO</li>
</ul>
Mississippi
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 12057 Highway 49 Delmar Plaza, Gulfport MS</li>
</ul>
Missouri
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 155 Twin City Mall, Crystal City MO</li>
</ul>
Nebraska
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1515 W 3rd St, Alliance NE</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 7424 Dodge St, Omaha NE</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 6400 O St, Lincoln NE</li>
</ul>
Nevada
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 3450 S Maryland Pkwy, Las Vegas NV</li>
</ul>
New Jersey
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 213 Highway 37 E, Toms River NJ</li>
</ul>
New Mexico
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1705 S Main St, Roswell NM</li>
</ul>
New York
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 308 Dix Avenue, Queensbury NY</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1020 Center Street Grand Central Plaza, Horseheads NY</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 121 Bolivar Road, Wellsville NY</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1251 State Rte 29 Ste 1O Greenwich Plaza, Greenwich NY</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 10 Miracle Mile Dr, Rochester NY</li>
</ul>
North Carolina
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 980 Brevard Rd, Asheville NC</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 110 112 Bost Rd, Morganton NC</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 4841 Arendell St, Morehead City NC</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1620 Guess Rd, Durham NC</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; The Streets Of Southpoint, Durham NC</li>
</ul>
North Dakota
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1900 S Washington St, Grand Forks ND</li>
</ul>
Ohio
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 7701 Broadview Road, Cleveland OH</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 620 Plaza Dr, Fostoria OH</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 5053 Tuttle Crossing Blvd, Columbus OH</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1400 Polaris Pkwy, Columbus OH</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan)- 1475 Upper Valley Pike, Springfield OH</li>
</ul>
Oregon
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 400 N East Circle Blvd, Corvallis OR</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 501 Medford Ctr, Medford OR</li>
</ul>
Pennsylvania
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 996 West View Park Drive, Pittsburgh PA</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 2873 W 26Th Street, Erie PA</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 200 Park City Ctr, Lancaster PA</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 5256 Route 30, Greensburg PA</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 5580 Goods Lane Ste 1005, Altoona PA</li>
</ul>
South Carolina
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1143 Broad St, Sumter SC</li>
</ul>
South Dakota
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1111 E North St, Rapid City SD</li>
</ul>
Tennessee
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1805 E Stone Dr, Kingsport TN</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 217 Forks Of River, Pkwy Sevierville TN</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 1000 Rivergate Pkwy, Goodlettsvlle TN</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 2021 N Highland Ave, Jackson TN</li>
</ul>
Texas
<ul>
<li>Sears &#8211; (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 201 S Plano Rd, Richardson TX</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 4310 Buffalo Gap Rd, Abilene TX</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 851 N Central Expwy, Plano TX</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 6001 W Waco Dr, Waco TX</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 7701 1-40 W Ste 400, Amarillo TX</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 2100 S W S Young Dr, Killeen TX</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 3100 Highway 365, Port Arthur TX</li>
</ul>
Virginia
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1531 Rio Rd E, Charlottesville VA</li>
</ul>
Washington
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 4110 E Sprague Ave, Spokane WA</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1321 N Columbia Center Blvd Suite 455, Kennewick WA</li>
</ul>
Wisconsin
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1450 Summit Avenue, Oconomowoc WI</li>
<li>Sears 4301 W Wisconsin Ave Appleton WI</li>
</ul>

Sears Takeover Bid Fails, Asks Bankruptcy Judge To Liquidate: Report

Last week, Sears was down to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/39750/after-125-years-sears-has-just-hours-avoid-james-barrett">its last few minutes</a> before the iconic 125-year-old company went belly up and the full-scale liquidation process began. But in an eleventh-hour rescue, its chairman, Eddie Lampert, submitted a $4.4 billion bid to keep the company afloat, at least for now &#8212; and only if the company&#8217;s advisers determine that he&#8217;s a &#8220;qualified bidder.&#8221;
In October, the company first filed for bankruptcy, shuttering 142 Sears and Kmart stores as part of its desperate attempt to make itself profitable for the first time since 2010. Despite last week&#8217;s last-minute bid, the company has announced that it is closing 80 more stores by March, with liquidation sales starting in two weeks. The closures include several Sears Automotive Centers that are closing in January.
This latest round of closures leaves the company, which has some 68,000 employees, with just 400 stores nationwide.
So is the Sears or Kmart in your city shuttering its doors? <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/29/sears-and-kmart-closing-80-stores-in-march-heres-where.html">CNBC</a> has provided an interactive map that shows all 80 Sears and Kmart stores that will be closing up shop over the next three months:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Here&#8217;s a map of the 80 Sears and Kmart stores closing in March <a href="https://t.co/ZYDKFwXS91">https://t.co/ZYDKFwXS91</a>
&#8212; CNBC (@CNBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1079040990084775936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Here&#8217;s the full <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-a-list-of-the-80-new-store-closures-sears-has-announced-2018-12-28">list of stores</a> organized by state:
Arizona
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 7055 East Broadway, Tucson AZ</li>
</ul>
California
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 2180 E Mariposa Rd, Stockton CA</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 20777 Bear Valley Rd, Apple Valley CA</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1000 San Fernando Rd, Burbank CA</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 2875 Santa Maria Way, Santa Maria CA</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 2505 Bell Rd, Auburn CA</li>
</ul>
Colorado
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 2050 Southgate Rd, Colorado Springs CO</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1650 Briargate Blvd, Colorado Springs CO</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 3201 Dillon Dr, Pueblo CO</li>
</ul>
Connecticut
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 295 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon CT</li>
</ul>
Florida
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 200 Irwin Ne, Fort Walton Beach FL</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 6126 Hwy 301, Ellenton FL</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 1700 W Intl Speedway Blvd, Daytona Beach FL</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1500 Apalachee Pkwy, Tallahassee FL</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 347 Westshore Plz, Tampa FL</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1441 Tamiami Trl Pt, Charlotte FL</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 9409 Us Highway 19 N Ste 101, Port Richey FL</li>
</ul>
Georgia
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 150 Pearl Nix Pkwy, Gainesville GA</li>
</ul>
Illinois
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 235 Saint Clair Sq, Fairview Heights IL</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 7200 Harrison Ave, Cherry Valley IL</li>
</ul>
Indiana
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 11 Sherwood Square, Peru IN</li>
</ul>
Iowa
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 4480 Sergeant Rd, Sioux City IA</li>
</ul>
Kansas
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 7700 E Kellogg Dr, Wichita KS</li>
</ul>
Louisiana
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 2940 Veterans Blvd, Metairie LA</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 4400 Veterans Mem Blvd, Metairie LA</li>
</ul>
Maryland
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 8980 Waltham Woods Rd, Baltimore MD</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 2306 N Salisbury Blvd, Salisbury MD</li>
</ul>
Michigan
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 5500 Harvey St, Muskegon MI</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 27600 Novi Rd, Novi MI</li>
</ul>
Minnesota
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 201 Ninth St S E, Rochester MN</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 2000 N E Court, Bloomington MN</li>
</ul>
Mississippi
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 12057 Highway 49 Delmar Plaza, Gulfport MS</li>
</ul>
Missouri
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 155 Twin City Mall, Crystal City MO</li>
</ul>
Nebraska
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1515 W 3rd St, Alliance NE</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 7424 Dodge St, Omaha NE</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 6400 O St, Lincoln NE</li>
</ul>
Nevada
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 3450 S Maryland Pkwy, Las Vegas NV</li>
</ul>
New Jersey
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 213 Highway 37 E, Toms River NJ</li>
</ul>
New Mexico
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1705 S Main St, Roswell NM</li>
</ul>
New York
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 308 Dix Avenue, Queensbury NY</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1020 Center Street Grand Central Plaza, Horseheads NY</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 121 Bolivar Road, Wellsville NY</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1251 State Rte 29 Ste 1O Greenwich Plaza, Greenwich NY</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 10 Miracle Mile Dr, Rochester NY</li>
</ul>
North Carolina
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 980 Brevard Rd, Asheville NC</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 110 112 Bost Rd, Morganton NC</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 4841 Arendell St, Morehead City NC</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1620 Guess Rd, Durham NC</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; The Streets Of Southpoint, Durham NC</li>
</ul>
North Dakota
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1900 S Washington St, Grand Forks ND</li>
</ul>
Ohio
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 7701 Broadview Road, Cleveland OH</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 620 Plaza Dr, Fostoria OH</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 5053 Tuttle Crossing Blvd, Columbus OH</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1400 Polaris Pkwy, Columbus OH</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan)- 1475 Upper Valley Pike, Springfield OH</li>
</ul>
Oregon
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 400 N East Circle Blvd, Corvallis OR</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 501 Medford Ctr, Medford OR</li>
</ul>
Pennsylvania
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 996 West View Park Drive, Pittsburgh PA</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 2873 W 26Th Street, Erie PA</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 200 Park City Ctr, Lancaster PA</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 5256 Route 30, Greensburg PA</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 5580 Goods Lane Ste 1005, Altoona PA</li>
</ul>
South Carolina
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1143 Broad St, Sumter SC</li>
</ul>
South Dakota
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1111 E North St, Rapid City SD</li>
</ul>
Tennessee
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1805 E Stone Dr, Kingsport TN</li>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 217 Forks Of River, Pkwy Sevierville TN</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 1000 Rivergate Pkwy, Goodlettsvlle TN</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 2021 N Highland Ave, Jackson TN</li>
</ul>
Texas
<ul>
<li>Sears &#8211; (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 201 S Plano Rd, Richardson TX</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 4310 Buffalo Gap Rd, Abilene TX</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 851 N Central Expwy, Plano TX</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 6001 W Waco Dr, Waco TX</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 7701 1-40 W Ste 400, Amarillo TX</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 2100 S W S Young Dr, Killeen TX</li>
<li>Sears &#8211; 3100 Highway 365, Port Arthur TX</li>
</ul>
Virginia
<ul>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1531 Rio Rd E, Charlottesville VA</li>
</ul>
Washington
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 4110 E Sprague Ave, Spokane WA</li>
<li>Sears (Auto Center closing in Jan) &#8211; 1321 N Columbia Center Blvd Suite 455, Kennewick WA</li>
</ul>
Wisconsin
<ul>
<li>Kmart &#8211; 1450 Summit Avenue, Oconomowoc WI</li>
<li>Sears 4301 W Wisconsin Ave Appleton WI</li>
</ul>
<div class="embed">
<div><a data-scayt-word="href" data-wsc-lang="en_US">href=&#8217;#&#8217;&gt;&lt;img alt=&#8217; &#8216; src=&#8217;https:&amp;#47;&amp;#47;public.tableau.com&amp;#47;static&amp;#47;images&amp;#47;SE&amp;#47;SEARSKMARTDEC2018&amp;#47;Dashboard1&amp;#47;1_rss.png&#8217; style=&#8217;border: none&#8217; /&gt;</a></div>
</div>

Here Are All 80 Sears & Kmart Stores Closing Over Next Three Months

After 125 years as one of America&#8217;s most recognizable and profitable companies, Sears has just a few hours to secure financing to buy the company out of bankruptcy or it will be forced to begin the process of liquidating its assets and laying off its 68,000 employees, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/27/sears-may-need-to-liquidate-if-no-bid-comes-in-by-tomorrow.html">CNBC</a> reports.
After filing for bankruptcy on October 15, Sears executives have been scrambling to come up with cash to satisfy the bankruptcy court by a 4 p.m. December 28 deadline.
&#8220;Its last shot at survival is a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/06/sears-chairman-eddie-lampert-submits-proposal-to-save-sears.html">$4.6 billion proposal</a> put forward by its chairman, Eddie Lampert, to buy the company out of bankruptcy through his hedge fund, ESL Investments,&#8221; CNBC reports. &#8220;ESL is the only party offering to buy Sears as a whole, people familiar with the situation tell CNBC. Without that bid or another like it, liquidators will break the company up into pieces.&#8221;
However, as of Thursday afternoon, Lampert had not submitted his bid for failure to raise the cash, insiders say. If he manages to submit the bid by 4 p.m. Friday, Sears&#8217; advisors will have a week to determine if he is a &#8220;qualified bidder.&#8221; If he&#8217;s approved, his hedge fund could &#8220;take part in an auction against liquidation bids on Jan. 14,&#8221; the outlet reports.
CNBC&#8217;s sources say it still is possible that Lampert could pull it off, as he&#8217;s managed similar feats in the past, and the the SEC&#8217;s requirement that he makes his bid public may be motivating him to wait until the last second. &#8220;Nonetheless, the quickly approaching cutoff puts Sears the closest to death it has ever been,&#8221; the outlet reports.
If he fails to submit the bid or qualify, Sears and Kmart, which ESL purchased in 2002, would begin the liquidation process as laid out by the bankruptcy court, a process which would take weeks.
Sears, which hasn&#8217;t been profitable since 2010, has already begun the painful process of dramatically downsizing, announcing the shuttering of nearly 200 stores over the last three months and reportedly looking into closing 50 to 80 stores in the near future.
Lampert took over as CEO for Sears five years ago and has used his hedge fund experience to help keep the struggling company afloat through ESL investments, which were protected by Sears&#8217; assets until the company was forced to file for bankruptcy when it faced a $134 million payment it couldn&#8217;t make.
CNBC notes that court documents show that creditors have called Lambert&#8217;s financing plan to keep Sears alive a &#8220;foolhardy gamble with other people&#8217;s money.&#8221;
Sears is not the only iconic department store struggling to stay alive; JC Penney has likewise been scrambling to figure out how to compete in an increasingly online and mall-averse shopping climate. Over the last two years, J.C. Penney has been forced to close over a hundred stores nationwide.

After 125 Years, Sears Has Just Hours To Avoid ‘Liquidation’

As Sears Holdings struggles to stay above water, recently filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, many of its subsidiaries have been shutting down. According to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sears-kmart-stores-closing-list-2018-10&#8203;">Business Insider</a>, Sears plans on closing approximately 65 of its subsidiary Kmart stores by the end of 2018.
Before the Kmart in McMurray, Pennsylvania closed its doors for the final time on Sunday, one employee of 18 years decided to offer a heartfelt farewell over the store&#8217;s intercom.
&#8220;Attention Kmart shoppers; attention Kmart shoppers,&#8221; said Joshua Englert. &#8220;The time is now 4:25, and your McMurray Kmart will be closing for the last time in just five minutes.&#8221;
Englert then broke for a moment, becoming visibly emotional.
&#8220;I wanted to take this opportunity not to sell you 40-cent plaid skirts or five-cent panties, but instead to thank you for supporting a lifetime of memories. A sincere thank you to those people that have made this store their second home,&#8221; he continued.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve worked for Kmart for 18 years &#8212; more than half my life. I&#8217;m the man I am today because of the people that I&#8217;ve met here at Kmart. The retail environment, it&#8217;s pretty stressful, but we&#8217;ve always worked together to get through those stressful times &#8212; the inventories, the Black Fridays, the long lines for Tickle Me Elmos and Playstation 4s when we only had three of them,&#8221; Englert stated, his voice cracking at times. &#8220;Thank you deeply to the Kmart McMurray team. You guys have made it all worthwhile. Once again, the time is 4:25. Your McMurray Kmart will be closing at 4:30.&#8221;
<div class="embed"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></div>
Speaking with The Daily Wire about his last day, Englert said he thought &#8220;it would be fun and appropriate to do a sentimental&#8221; announcement as the store closed, adding that he frequently used the intercom &#8220;to make announcements in a fun and exciting way, and the associates always got a crack out of it.&#8221;
&#8220;The moment after I made the announcement,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I had several associates come up to me and give me a hug, and they told me that it was beautiful. It was a great moment for our last day.&#8221;
Regarding the video going viral, Englert said: &#8220;I love that it&#8217;s brought so many people together. It was a raw, honest moment that people can relate to, and I love hearing the stories that others have shared with me.&#8221;
The clip has garnered more than 117,000 views as of publication, and comments have flooded in, many from fellow Kmart employees from across the country who are sharing their own experiences with Englert, and wishing him well in the future.

WATCH: Kmart Employee Offers Emotional Last Call As Store Closes For Final Time

After previously closing 100 unprofitable stores back in May, Sears has announced it will be closing 46 more unprofitable stores come November.
USA Today <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/08/23/sears-kmart-store-closures/1071356002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reports</a> that the closings include 33 Sears locations along with 13 Kmart locations. Liquidation sales will kick off as early as next week.
&#8220;We continue to evaluate our network of stores, which is a critical component to our integrated retail transformation, and will make further adjustments as needed,&#8221; <a href="https://searsholdings.com/press-releases" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sears said in a statement.</a>&#8220;We thank associates affected by these store closures for their many contributions to our company. Eligible associates will receive severance and will have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Kmart or Sears stores.&#8221;
According to <a href="https://www.newsmax.com/finance/companies/sears-kmart-stores-shut/2018/08/23/id/878347/">Newsmax</a>, Sears has experimented with new concepts to diversify their dying brand, such as &#8220;standalone mattress stores and combined Sears and Kmart locations.&#8221; The company also sold its Craftsman tool brand to Stanley Black &amp; Decker Inc. and partnered with Amazon to sell Kenmore and DieHard products online. The efforts have mostly failed. More from Newsmax:
<blockquote>
For years, Chief Executive Officer Edward Lampert has used his own money to keep Sears afloat amid declines in store traffic and sales. The company has already closed hundreds of stores and shaved more than $1 billion from annual expenses.
Lampert&#8217;s hedge fund, ESL Investments Inc., said in April it would be open to buying some of the company&#8217;s assets and urged the department store to put the businesses on the block. ESL submitted a bid for the store&#8217;s Kenmore and Sears Home Improvement businesses at a valuation of around $470 million, according to a regulatory filing last week.
The Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based retailer&#8217;s shares have lost value in each of the last four years. So far in 2018, the stock has declined 67 percent. <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/shld" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sears shares (SHLD)</a> have fallen more than 85 percent over the past 12 months, bringing the company&#8217;s market cap to $127.8 million, or less than Lampert is willing to pay for the Kenmore brand alone, CNBC explained. The stock hit an all-time intraday low of $1.15 earlier this week, CNBC said.
</blockquote>
The mall apocalypse, called the &#8220;retail apocalypse&#8221; in some places, has been surging at a faster rate on an annual basis since 2014. According to <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40553238/retail-apocalypse-watch-malls-are-becoming-graveyards-but-theres-a-plot-twist">Fast Company</a>, large malls have seen an expanding <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/mall-vacancies-reach-six-year-high-as-retail-slump-batters-local-economies-1522615729">vacancy rate</a> by 8.3% in the first quarter of 2018, which is at its &#8220;highest since the fourth quarter of 2012.&#8221;
&#8220;Reis Inc, a real estate data firm that studies 77 metropolitan areas, says 41 of those areas experienced an increase in vacancy during the 12 months ending on March 31,&#8221; reports the outlet. &#8220;Part of this slump has to do with the fact that customers can easily buy products online, instead of dragging themselves to malls, many of which haven&#8217;t been updated in years.&#8221;&#8203;

Retail Apocalypse: Sears Closing 46 More Unprofitable Stores

Economy

After Toys &#8220;R&#8221; Us <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/28460/toys-r-us-deserves-humiliating-end-paul-bois">paved the way</a> in the coming &#8220;mall apocalypse,&#8221; Sears is following in close pursuit by closing down 72 unprofitable department stores for both the Sears and Kmart brands, according to the <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2018/05/31/sears-kmart-closings-iowa-des-moines-kenmore-craftsman-sioux-city-davenport-council-bluffs-webster/659188002/">Des Moines Register</a>.
&#8220;As part of our ongoing efforts to streamline the company&#8217;s operations and focus on our best stores, we have identified approximately 100 non-profitable stores, 72 of which will begin store closing sales in the near future,&#8221; the company stated in its first quarter earnings report released Thursday. &#8220;We continue to evaluate our network of stores, which are a critical component in our transformation, and will make further adjustments as needed and as warranted.&#8221;
The exact stores being closed will be announced later on Thursday.
&#8220;The ailing company reported first-quarter sales of $2.9 billion, compared with $4.2 billion in the same period a year earlier,&#8221; reports the outlet. &#8220;The company has sold off its popular Craftsman brand tool division and is looking to sell its Kenmore appliance brand this year.&#8221;
Sears has said it will collaborate with Amazon by potentially offering installation and service for tires bought off the online retail outlet.
The mall apocalypse, called the &#8220;retail apocalypse&#8221; in some places, has been surging at a faster rate on an annual basis since 2014.
According to <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40553238/retail-apocalypse-watch-malls-are-becoming-graveyards-but-theres-a-plot-twist">Fast Company</a>, large malls have seen an expanding <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/mall-vacancies-reach-six-year-high-as-retail-slump-batters-local-economies-1522615729">vacancy rate</a> by 8.3% in the first quarter of 2018, which is at its &#8220;highest since the fourth quarter of 2012.&#8221;
&#8220;Reis Inc, a real estate data firm that studies 77 metropolitan areas, says 41 of those areas experienced an increase in vacancy during the 12 months ending on March 31,&#8221; reports the outlet. &#8220;Part of this slump has to do with the fact that customers can easily buy products online, instead of dragging themselves to malls, many of which haven&#8217;t been updated in years.&#8221;

The Mall Apocalypse: Sears Closing More Stores

Early this morning, Washington Free Beacon&#8216;s Adam Kredo <a href="http://freebeacon.com/culture/sears-selling-free-palestine-end-israeli-occupation-t-shirts-sparking-ire/">reported</a> that the American department store Sears was selling anti-Semitic t-shirts saying &#8220;Free Palestine&#8221; and &#8220;End Israeli Occupation&#8221; on its <a href="http://www.sears.com/search=free%20palestine">website</a>. This sparked outrage from <a href="https://www.israelsvoice.org/2017/06/06/immediate-call-action-sears/">pro-Israel groups</a> and individuals who found Sears&#8217; decision to sell anti-Semitic propaganda to be distasteful and problematic.
Here are some examples of the merchandise:
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" alt height="297" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/sears_1.jpg" width="630" /></div>
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" alt height="354" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/sears_2.jpg" width="630" /></div>
After Kredo published the article, a spokesperson for Sears contacted Free Beacon and said that the t-shirts &#8220;were being sold by a third-party seller via the Sears Marketplace&#8221; and that the department store was removing the merchandise. However, the spokesperson took umbrage that individuals singled out Sears instead of Amazon, WalMart, and eBay as well as noting that Sears employs nearly 200 individuals in Israel.
Not only is there <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/11948/breaking-down-israeli-occupation-myth-elliott-hamilton">no &#8220;occupation of Palestinian territories,&#8221;</a> but also the call to free &#8220;Palestine&#8221; is deliberately anti-Semitic. According to the &#8220;Palestine&#8221; Liberation Organization and countless other anti-Israel groups, &#8220;Palestine&#8221; represents the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea where Israel is currently situated. By that logic, in order to free &#8220;Palestine,&#8221; Israel must be completely destroyed and the Zionist project of Jewish self-determination and statehood in formerly Islamic lands must fail. These calls are promulgated on college campuses from organizations such as Students for Jewish Persecution (otherwise known as Students for Justice in Palestine) and Jewish Voice for Peace as well as the professoriate.
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sears_1

Following Backlash, Sears Removes Anti-Semitic Merchandise

Israel

Palestinians

Those halcyon days when bricks and mortar stores dominated the American landscape seem to be coming to a close; Sears, Kmart, and Payless are on the precipice, warning that they may soon go out of business; Radio Shack has declared bankruptcy again, and Staples is closing 70 of its stores.
Brick-and-mortar stores have a physical presence in buildings, unlike Internet retailers like Amazon.
On Tuesday, Sears Holdings, which also owns K-Mart, which it merged with in 2005, <a href="http://ktla.com/2017/03/22/sears-has-substantial-doubt-that-it-will-stay-in-business/">warned</a> its investors it might not stay in business, stating in its annual report, “Our historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
Sears owes $4.2 billion; last year it owed roughly $3 billion. The company lost $2.2 billion in the fiscal year ending in January; the last year it showed an annual profit was 2010. It has lost $10.4 billion since then.
Chief Financial Officer Jason Hollar tried to stick the proverbial finger in the dike, asserting, “It is very important to reiterate that Sears Holdings remains focused on executing our transformation plan. This is evident in the decisive actions we have taken in recent months. Despite the risks outlined we remain confident in our financial position.”
In 2006, Sears had 355,000 employees; it currently has 140,000. Kmart had bought Borders Books and Sports Authority, but filed for bankruptcy in 2002.
Sears lost business to Walmart and Home Depot, as well as its place in the Dow Jones index of the nation’s most important companies in 1999.
Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/PSS:US">Payless Inc.</a>, the discount shoe chain, said it may <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-21/payless-is-said-to-be-filing-for-bankruptcy-as-soon-as-next-week">file for bankruptcy</a> as soon as next week. The chain plans to close 400 to 500 stores as it reorganizes operations. The company was founded in 1956 in Topeka, Kansas, and has over 4,000 stores in 30 countries.
Lastly, Staples <a href="http://ktla.com/2017/03/09/staples-announces-plans-to-close-70-more-stores/">announced</a> it will close 70 more stores, having reported a $548 million loss and a 3 percent drop in sales in the fiscal fourth quarter that ended in January. Staples had attempted a merger with Office Depot, but the Federal Trade Commission blocked that effort in 2016.
On Wednesday, RadioShack filed for bankruptcy for the second time in two years, announcing it would close 200 of its 1,500 stores. Macy’s has announced it is closing 68 stores and cutting 10,000 jobs.

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