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King Charles and Taylor Swift meet survivors, families of U.K. mass-stabbing victims in Southport
London — Britain’s King Charles III visited the English town of Southport on Tuesday to meet survivors and the families of victims of the knife attack that left three young girls dead and 10 others wounded at a Taylor Swift-themed children’s dance class last month. The monarch’s visit came just a day after the pop icon herself met two of the young survivors backstage at one of her concerts in London.
King Charles arrived in Southport and was greeted by hundreds of the seaside town’s residents as he visited a floral tribute to the victims of the attack.
“His Majesty The King will travel to Southport to express his continued support for those affected by the 29th July attack and the riot which followed in the town, and to thank frontline emergency staff for their ongoing work serving local people,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement earlier. “The meeting will include some of the surviving children who were present at the Hart Space Community Centre, and their families.”
PAUL ELLIS/Pool via REUTERS
Three young girls Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, were killed in the attack. The stabbing rocked the country and sparked riots led by far-right groups across England. The unrest was fueled by widespread disinformation spread on social media about the attacker’s identity in the wake of the attack.
A 17-year-old male was arrested and faces charges of both attempted murder and murder. CBS News partner network BBC News reported that the suspect was born in Cardiff, Wales, and moved to the Southport area in 2013.
On Monday, Swift met two girls who were wounded in the attack backstage at her concert in London’s Wembley Stadium. A TikTok montage posted by the girls’ mother, Sami Foster, of photos showing her daughters meeting the popstar, along with Swift’s own mother Andrea, quickly went viral.
Swift met the family wearing the one-piece costume that has become synonymous with her record-breaking “Eras” concert tour. In one of the photos, one of the young girls appears to have a bandage on her forearm as she poses with the singer.
The post showing Foster’s daughters Hope and Autumn with Swift was captioned: “You drew stars around my scars,” a reference to lyrics in Swift’s song “Cardigan.”
Swift had expressed shock at the attack last month. In a statement posted on her Instagram account in July, she expressed “horror” at “the loss of life and innocence and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families, and first responders.”
“These were just little kids at a dance class,” the post said. “I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”
Tupperware and some of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the once-iconic food container maker said in a statement late Tuesday.
The company has suffered from dwindling sales following a surprise surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, when legions of people stuck at home tried their hands at cooking, which increased demand for Tupperware’s colorful plastic containers with flexible airtight seals.
A post-pandemic rise in costs of raw materials and shipping, along with higher wages, also hurt Tupperware’s bottom line.
Last year, it warned of “substantial doubt” about its ability to keep operating in light of its poor financial position.
“Over the last several years, the Company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” president and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement announcing the bankruptcy filing.
“As a result, we explored numerous strategic options and determined this is the best path forward,” Goldman said.
The company said it would seek court approval for a sale process for the business to protect its brand and “further advance Tupperware’s transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company.”
The Orlando, Florida-based firm said it would also seek approval to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings and would continue to pay its employees and suppliers.
“We plan to continue serving our valued customers with the high-quality products they love and trust throughout this process,” Goldman said.
The firm’s shares were trading at $0.5099 Monday, well down from $2.55 in December last year.
Tupperware said it had implemented a strategic plan to modernize its operations and drive efficiencies to ignite growth following the appointment of a new management team last year.
“The Company has made significant progress and intends to continue this important transformation work.”
In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Tupperware listed assets of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion.
The filing also said it had between 50,000 and 100,000 creditors.
Tupperware lost popularity with consumers in recent years and an initiative to gain distribution through big-box chain Target failed to reverse its fortunes.
The company’s roots date to 1946, when chemist Earl Tupper “had a spark of inspiration while creating molds at a plastics factory shortly after the Great Depression,” according to Tupperware’s website.
“If he could design an airtight seal for plastic storage containers, like those on a paint can, he could help war-weary families save money on costly food waste.”
Over time, Tupper’s containers became popular that many people referred to any plastic food container as Tupperware. And people even threw “Tupperware parties” in their homes to sell the containers to friends and neighbors.
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