Poland Has More Gold Than the European Central Bank

Money Metals News Service
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Poland Has More Gold Than the European Central Bank

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) Poland now holds more gold than the European Central Bank.

National Bank of Poland (NBP) governor Adam Glapiński noted this fact during a recent press conference, saying he views gold as a shield against global instability and a cornerstone of economic sovereignty.

“This shows the stability, abundance, and solvency of the Polish economy.”

Poland officially holds 509.3 tonnes of gold, making up about 22 percent of the country’s total reserves.

Official ECB gold reserves stand at 506.5 tonnes.

Over the last several years, Poland has aggressively increased its gold reserves. In 1996, the NBP only held 14 tonnes of gold.

The National Bank of Poland was the biggest central bank gold buyer in 2024 and stayed on top with continued purchases through the first three months of 2025, adding another 49 tonnes.

Last year, National Bank of Poland Governor Adam Glapiński indicated the central bank planned to increase its gold holdings to 20 percent of its reserves.

“This makes Poland a more credible country, we have a better standing in all ratings, we are a very serious partner, and we will continue to buy gold.”

Glapiński said the country’s gold is worth 60 billion zloty (€14.12 billion) more than what the bank paid for it, and the amount continues to grow, but he emphasized these are paper gains and the Polish central bank has no plans to sell.

Why so much gold?

According to NotesFromPoland.com, Glapiński said that it is not directly linked to any national economic policies, is a safe haven during crises, and retains its real value over the long term.

“It is a symbol of stability that enhances our credibility in the eyes of investors and foreign partners.”

According to the NBP’s website, gold is not a liability and carries no counterparty risk. Furthermore, its physical characteristics ensure durability and near indestructibility.

When he announced the initial plan to expand its gold reserves in 2021, Glapiński said holding gold was a matter of financial security and stability. 

“Gold will retain its value even when someone cuts off the power to the global financial system, destroying traditional assets based on electronic accounting records. Of course, we do not assume that this will happen. But as the saying goes – forewarned is always insured.

“And the central bank is required to be prepared for even the most unfavorable circumstances. That is why we see a special place for gold in our foreign exchange management process.”

Glapiński also pointed out that “Gold is free from credit risk and cannot be devalued by any country’s economic policy. Besides, it is extremely durable, virtually indestructible.” 

Poland’s affinity for gold comes as no surprise, given its history. The county serves as a crossroads between Eastern and Western Europe, and it has seen more than its fair share of war and strife. Memories of German occupation during World War II and Russian domination in the years that followed linger in the Polish psyche.

Many families remember stories about gold coins and jewelry, meaning the difference between life and death during World War II. It bought food and sometimes an escape.

Photo credit: National Bank of Poland

Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.

Trump Admin Delivers $5M Wrongful-Death Settlement for Babbitt

Luis Cornelio
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Trump Admin Delivers $5M Wrongful-Death Settlement for Babbitt

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Justice Department has agreed to pay several million dollars to the family of Ashli Babbitt, the beloved veteran and MAGA activist killed inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 

Babbit’s husband, Aaron, and her family will receive $5 million, according to The Washington Post. 

Judicial Watch, the renewed conservative nonprofit, filed the wrongful death suit on behalf of the family and initially sought $30 million.  

Babbitt was the only person killed during the events of Jan. 6, when thousands of Americans peacefully protested the certification of the 2020 presidential election. 

She was fatally shot by U.S. Capitol Police officer Michael Byrd as she tried to climb through a door leading to the Speaker’s Lobby. 

“The only homicide on January 6 was the unlawful shooting death of Ashli Babbitt. Her homicide by Lt. Byrd is a scandal beyond belief,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton in a press statement on Jan. 5, 2024.  

“This historic lawsuit seeks a measure of justice and government accountability for Ashli’s wrongful death,” he added.  

Despite calls for justice, the Biden administration cleared Byrd of wrongdoing, ruling that he did not use excessive force warranted by the circumstances. 

The settlement follows President Donald Trump’s promise on the campaign trail to revisit Babbitt’s death. 

“I’m a big fan of Ashli Babbitt,” Trump told Newsmax. “Ashli Babbitt was a really good person who was a big MAGA fan, Trump fan, and she was innocently standing there – they even say, trying to sort of hold back the crowd.” 

“And a man did something unthinkable to her when he shot her, and I think it’s a disgrace. I’m going to look into that; I did not know that.” 

Democratic Rep. Charged w/ Assaulting Officer at ICE Center

Headline USA Editor
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Democratic Rep. Charged w/ Assaulting Officer at ICE Center

(Headline USA) Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver is being charged with assault after a skirmish with federal officers outside an immigration detention center, said New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor, who also announced Monday that she was dropping a trespassing case against the Newark mayor whose arrest led to the disturbance.

Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba wrote on social media that McIver is facing a charge of assaulting, impeding or interfering with law enforcement, but court papers providing details were not immediately released or publicly available online.

The prosecution of McIver is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption.

At the same time, Habba announced that her office agreed to dismiss a misdemeanor charge against Democratic Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested after he attempted to join McIver and two other members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation inspecting the facility in their oversight capacity. Habba said the decision was reached “for the sake of moving forward” and said she has invited the mayor to tour the Delaney Hall detention center and will join him herself.

“The citizens of New Jersey deserve unified leadership so we can get to work to keep our state safe,” Habba said in a statement.

McIver has denied any wrongdoing and has accused federal agents of escalating the situation by arresting the mayor. She denounced the charge as “purely political” and said prosecutors are distorting her actions in an effort to deter legislative oversight.

“This administration will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right,” she said in a statement. “I am thankful for the outpouring of support I have received and I look forward to the truth being laid out clearly in court.”

A nearly two-minute clip released by the Homeland Security Department shows McIver on the facility side of a chain-link fence just before the arrest of the mayor on the street side of the fence. She and uniformed officials go through the gate and she joins others shouting “surround the mayor.” The video shows McIver in a tightly packed group of people and officers. At one point her left elbow and then her right elbow struck a police officer.

 

In a post on X, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said McIver was being charged after a “thorough review of the video footage” and investigation by Homeland Security Investigations.

“Assaults on federal law enforcement will not be tolerated,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a post on X. “This Administration will always protect those who work tirelessly to keep America safe.”

McIver, 38, first came to Congress in September in a special election after the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. left a vacancy in the 10th District. She was then elected to a full term in November. A Newark native, she served as the president of the Newark City Council from 2022 to 2024 and worked in the city’s public schools before that.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

‘Dilbert’ Cartoon Creator Says He Has Same Cancer as Joe Biden

Headline USA Editor
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‘Dilbert’ Cartoon Creator Says He Has Same Cancer as Joe Biden

(Headline USA) The creator of the Dilbert comic strip, which was canceled by most newspapers two years ago after he spoke out against anti-white racism, said Monday that he has been diagnosed with the same aggressive prostate cancer as former President Joe Biden.

“I have the same cancer that Joe Biden has,” Scott Adams said Monday during an episode of his YouTube show, “Real Coffee with Scott Adams. “So, I also have prostate cancer that has also spread to my bones.”

He made the announcement after extending his “respect and compassion and sympathy” for Biden and his family. Biden announced his diagnosis on Sunday and said he and his family were reviewing treatment options with his doctors.

Adams, 67, said he’s always in pain, uses a walker to get around and that he expects to die sometime this summer.

“It’s basically intolerable,” he said of the pain.

Adams, who was one an earlier supporter of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, said he has had time to process his diagnosis and that it has given him time to say goodbyes, get his affairs in order and do all the things he needed to do.

Dilbert the comic strip first appeared in 1989, poking fun at office culture. It ran for decades in numerous newspapers but disappeared with lightning speed in 2023 following remarks by Adams.

On his show, Adams referenced a Rasmussen Reports survey that had asked whether people agreed with the statement “It’s OK to be white.”

Most agreed, but Adams noted that 26% of Black respondents disagreed and others weren’t sure.

“Based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from black people,” Adams said about the results of the poll.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

Challenges Remain on GOP Budget Package After Initial Holdouts Allow It to Advance

Headline USA Editor
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Challenges Remain on GOP Budget Package After Initial Holdouts Allow It to Advance

(Thérèse Boudreaux, The Center Square) The Republican multitrillion-dollar budget reconciliation package may undergo significant edits before reaching the House floor after party leaders conceded to holdouts’ demands.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wants the 1,116-page policy bill to pass the House before Memorial Day next Monday, but fiscal hawks on the House Budget Committee stalled his plans Friday by opposing the mammoth legislation that committees spent weeks drafting.

Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas; Ralph Norman, R-S.C.; Andrew Clyde, R-Ga.; Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., refused to support the alarmingly expensive bill, which, among other things, would permanently extend President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and cost anywhere from $3.3 trillion to $4.1 trillion over the next decade alone. 

Russell Vought, director of the federal Office of Management and Budget, pushed back on deficit and spending concerns after the failed Friday vote, saying the budget reconciliation bill as written “deserves the vote of every member of Congress” and that Republican holdouts’ criticisms are “profoundly wrong.”

After receiving promises from Johnson that the Medicaid work requirements will take effect sooner than currently written and that further renewable energy subsidies will be cut off, the four lawmakers all voted present in the reconvened budget hearing Sunday.

The legislation now moves to the House Rules Committee, which Roy and Noman are also members of, to receive the final changes early Wednesday before hitting the House floor Thursday.

But Johnson’s challenges are far from over, with Roy and others expressing their continued dissatisfaction after the Sunday night vote.

“Thanks to discussions over the weekend, the bill will be closer to the budget resolution framework we agreed upon in the House in April, but it fails to actually honor our promise to significantly correct the spending trajectory of the federal government and lead our nation towards a balanced budget,” Roy said on X.

But other Republicans in vulnerable seats will likely object if they consider the promised changes to Medicaid and renewable energy subsidies too drastic. A dozen of those lawmakers even sent Johnson a letter in April, warning they will withhold their support on the House floor if Medicaid is substantially changed. 

Supreme Court Allows Trump Admin to Terminate Venezuelan’s Protected Status

Headline USA Editor
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Supreme Court Allows Trump Admin to Terminate Venezuelan’s Protected Status

(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday granted the Trump administration’s request to stay a lower court’s ruling, allowing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to end a federal “temporary protected status” (TPS) designation for roughly 300,000 Venezuelans released into the country by the Biden administration.

The protected status was granted to roughly 600,000 Venezuelans, with one group’s status ending in April of this year and another in March of next year, The Center Square reported.

After millions of illegal foreign nationals were released into the country through new parole programs created by the Biden administration, at least one million of them were granted TPS from deportation outside of the parole programs. They include citizens of countries of foreign concern with ties to terrorism.

Those receiving TPS are granted deferred enforced departure (DED) status, a temporary, discretionary, administrative stay of removal.

On President Donald Trump’s first day in office, he rescinded the Biden administration order, including the parole programs and TPS for Venezuelans.

He did so after more than 1 million Venezuelans illegally entered the U.S., the greatest number in U.S. history, including violent Tren de Aragua members who expanded operations in at least 22 states, The Center Square first reported. Since then, the Trump administration designated TdA a foreign terrorist organization and through the Enemy Aliens Act moved to deport TdA members from the country. This deportation effort is being held up in court.

As has been the case with most of Trump’s orders and agency decisions, lawsuits were filed and emergency appeals were made to the Supreme Court.

In the Venezuelan TPS case, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California attempted to halt the administration’s decision, which the Supreme Court stayed on Monday.

In a one paragraph order, the Supreme Court granted a request for a stay presented to Justice Elena Kagan, which was referred to the full court. A March 31, 2025, order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California “is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such a writ is timely sought,” the order states. “Should certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically. In the event certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court.”

It also states Justice Ketanji Jackson would have denied the request for a stay.

Ending the Venezuelan TPS was the first of many TPS recissions being made by the administration, which “is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said. Continuing TPS for most illegal border crossers “is contrary to the national interest of the United States.”

Rescinding TPS is “part of President Trump’s promise to rescind policies that were magnets for illegal immigration and inconsistent with the law,” DHS said.

“The TPS system has been exploited and abused,” DHS said. “For example, Haiti has been designated for TPS since 2010. The data shows each extension of the country’s TPS designation allowed more Haitian nationals, even those who entered the U.S. illegally, to qualify for legal protected status.

“In May of 2011, DHS estimated that 57,000 Haitians were eligible to register for TPS. In August 2021, DHS estimated that 155,000 Haitians were eligible under the new designation. And by July 2024, the estimate skyrocketed to 520,694.”

In February, DHS rescinded TPS for Haitians, ending it August 3.

Under the Biden administration, nearly 700,000 Haitians illegally entered the country, the greatest number in U.S. history. As a result, local communities nationwide struggled with increased crime and taxpayer-associated costs, The Center Square reported.

Last week, DHS announced it was terminating TPS for Afghan nationals, expiring on May 20 with effective termination July 14.

This is after multiple federal reports found that Biden administration agencies didn’t properly vet tens of thousands of Afghans released into the U.S. after the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, The Center Square reported.

After waging a war against “terrorism” in Afghanistan for 20 years, between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, Border Patrol agents apprehended “aliens on the terrorist watchlist from 36 different countries, including places with an active terrorist presence such as Afghanistan,” a U.S. House Judiciary report found.

From fiscal years 2021-2024, the greatest number of KSTs were apprehended in U.S. history of 1,903, The Center Square exclusively reported. The majority, 64%, were apprehended at the northern border coming from Canada, according to CBP data.

Moody’s Knocks Down U.S. Credit Rating Over Continuous Deficits

Headline USA Editor
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Moody’s Knocks Down U.S. Credit Rating Over Continuous Deficits

(Brett Rowland, The Center Square) Moody’s knocked down the U.S. credit rating to AA1 on Friday, projecting Congress won’t be able to reduce the nation’s growing debt. 

Moody’s was the last credit-rating agency to keep the U.S. at a top AAA rating. That changed Friday, with Moody’s joining S&P Global and Fitch on the lower rating. Fitch Ratings downgraded the U.S. in 2023 and S&P Global Ratings did so 2011.

Moody’s said it didn’t see any budget proposals that would address the country’s more than two decades of spending more money than it takes in. 

“Successive U.S. administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs,” Moody’s wrote in a statement.

It expects Congressional policies to move the nation in the wrong direction.

“We do not believe that material multi-year reductions in mandatory spending and deficits will result from current fiscal proposals under consideration,” Moody’s said. “Over the next decade, we expect larger deficits as entitlement spending rises while government revenue remains broadly flat.”

Those deficits will add to the nation’s $36.2 trillion in debt. 

“Persistent, large fiscal deficits will drive the government’s debt and interest burden higher,” Moody’s noted. “The US’ fiscal performance is likely to deteriorate relative to its own past and compared to other highly-rated sovereigns.”

The U.S. has been able to run deficits in part because most people believe it can afford to do so. 

“While we recognize the US’ significant economic and financial strengths, we believe these no longer fully counterbalance the decline in fiscal metrics,” Moody’s noted. 

The agency wasn’t optimistic, but kept the rating outlook stable. 

“Over more than a decade, U.S. federal debt has risen sharply due to continuous fiscal deficits. During that time, federal spending has increased while tax cuts have reduced government revenues. As deficits and debt have grown, and interest rates have risen, interest payments on government debt have increased markedly,” Moody’s noted.

“Without adjustments to taxation and spending, we expect budget flexibility to remain limited, with mandatory spending, including interest expense, projected to rise to around 78% of total spending by 2035 from about 73% in 2024. If the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is extended, which is our base case, it will add around $4 trillion to the federal fiscal primary (excluding interest payments) deficit over the next decade.”

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said Congress must change course while it has time.

“Today Moody’s looked at what Congress is proposing and determined that it would make things even worse, to the point of questioning our ability to get our borrowing under control,” MacGuineas said. “Congress, take note: stop what you’re doing, step away from the ledge, and start working on a way out of this mess.”

Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, said Moody’s move should serve as a wake-up call.

“For those looking for a signpost to tell us when to stop adding to our national debt, they should look no further than Moody’s downgrade,” he said. “It’s unacceptable for a great country like America to harm its own credit rating. We have plenty of options on the table to fix this, and it can be done quickly, with leadership.”

The downgrade comes after House Budget Committee lawmakers left for the weekend without advancing a budget reconciliation package The move delays House Speaker Mike Johnson’s plans to have a GOP megabill reach the floor by early next week. That giant reconciliation bill would permanently extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and cost anywhere from $3.3 trillion to $4.1 trillion over the next decade alone.

Congress has run a deficit every year since 2001. 

Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. would not default on its obligations. 

FBI Reportedly Seen Near Suspected Fertility Clinic Bomber’s Home before Attack

Ken Silva
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FBI Reportedly Seen Near Suspected Fertility Clinic Bomber’s Home before Attack

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Guy Edward Bartkus of Twentynine Palms, California, has been identified by the FBI as the suspect in the apparent car bombing Saturday that damaged the clinic in the upscale city of Palm Springs in the desert east of Los Angeles, and killed Bartkus in the process.

Most of the media has focused on Bartkus’s anti-natalist views, which hold that people should not continue to procreate, authorities said. The FBI is treating the incident as a domestic terrorism case.

But at least one reporter has raised questions about whether the alleged bomber was on the FBI’s radar beforehand.

At the FBI’s press conference on Sunday, a reporter from the area’s local News Channel 3 asked about the matter. The press conference was shut down immediately after her question.

“We had a reporter on scene at the Twentynine Palms area yesterday, and community members were telling her that there was an FBI presence there in the days leading up to that. Can you confirm that?” the reporter asked.

“I cannot,” responded Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office.

Another FBI official immediately piped in, ending the conference just as Davis was about to take another question: “OK folks, we’re done here.”

The FBI insists that Bartkus was not on its radar. Authorities were executing a search warrant Sunday in Twentynine Palms, a city of 28,000 residents about 50 miles northeast of Palm Springs, as part of the investigation.

The bombing gutted the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic and shattered the windows of nearby buildings along a palm tree-lined street. Witnesses described a loud boom followed by a chaotic scene, with people screaming in terror and glass strewn along the sidewalk and street.

Investigators said Barktus died in the blast, which a senior FBI official called possibly the “largest bombing scene that we’ve had in Southern California.” A body was found near a charred vehicle outside the clinic.

Bartkus attempted to livestream the explosion and left behind writings that communicated “nihilistic ideations” that were still being examined to determine his state of mind, said Davis. U.S. Attorney Bilal “Bill” Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in the area, called the message “anti-pro-life.”

“This was a targeted attack against the IVF facility,” Davis said Sunday. “Make no mistake: we are treating this, as I said yesterday, as an intentional act of terrorism.”

The bombing injured four other people, though Davis said all embryos at the facility were saved.

“Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients,” Dr. Maher Abdallah, who leads the clinic, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Crew Members of Tall Ship that Collided with Brooklyn Bridge Return Home to Mexico

Headline USA Editor
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Crew Members of Tall Ship that Collided with Brooklyn Bridge Return Home to Mexico

(Headline USA) Many crew members on the Mexican navy tall ship that suffered a deadly collision with the Brooklyn Bridge have flown home from New York, officials said Monday.

Seven officers and 172 cadets who were aboard the Cuauhtemoc training vessel arrived early Monday at the port of Veracruz, where Mexico’s naval school is, the Mexican navy said in a post on X. Two cadets remained in New York getting medical treatment. They were in stable condition, the navy said.

Two members of the Cuauhtemoc’s crew suffered fatal injuries Saturday when the ship’s tall masts struck the Brooklyn Bridge’s main span after the ship departed a Manhattan dock where it had been open to visitors for several days.

Footage of the collision shot by horrified onlookers show the ship moving swiftly backwards and then grinding beneath the 142-year-old bridge as its topmasts snapped off. Multiple cadets in the ship’s crew were aloft, standing on the ship’s yards when the collision happened. Several were left dangling by safety harnesses as the masts partially collapsed.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the cause of the crash, which police said was possibly related to a mechanical problem. The ship was moving quickly under motor power in the opposite of its intended direction when the collision happened. A tugboat that had helped the ship get out of its berth could be seen on video trying to get ahead of the vessel as it headed toward the bridge but couldn’t overtake it in time.

The safety board planned to hold its first media briefing later Monday. The investigation is likely to take months. The crippled Cuauhtemoc remained at a dock in Manhattan.

The Brooklyn Bridge escaped major damage but at least 19 of the ship’s 277 sailors needed medical treatment, according to officials. Among those killed was América Yamilet Sánchez, a 20-year-old sailor who had been studying engineering at the Mexican naval academy. Her family has said she died after falling from one of the Cuauhtemoc’s masts.

The Cuauhtemoc arrived in New York on May 13 as part of a global goodwill tour. The vessel, which sailed for the first time in 1982, had been docked and welcoming visitors in recent days at the tourist-heavy South Street Seaport. It was next bound for Iceland.

The ship’s main mast has a height of 160 feet (50 meters), far too high for the span of the Brooklyn Bridge at any tide.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.

Biotechnology Company Regeneron Buying 23andMe for $256 Million

Headline USA Editor
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Biotechnology Company Regeneron Buying 23andMe for $256 Million

(Headline USA) Biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is buying 23andMe for $256 million, two months after the genetic testing company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In March 23andMe said that it was looking to sell “substantially all of its assets” through a court-approved reorganization plan. Its co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki also resigned from the top post, but remained as a board member.

23andMe has faced an uncertain future for some time. Beyond battles to go private, the company struggled to find a profitable business model since going public in 2021. Privacy concerns related to customers’ genetic information have also emerged, notably spanning from a 2023 data breach — along with questions around what new ownership could mean for users’ data.

The proposed transaction with Regeneron includes 23andMe’s personal genome service and total health and research services. It does not include the Lemonaid Health subsidiary, a telehealth services provider which 23andMe plans to wind down.

“We believe we can help 23andMe deliver and build upon its mission to help people learn about their own DNA and how to improve their personal health, while furthering Regeneron’s efforts to improve the health and wellness of many,” Regeneron co-founder, board co-chair and Chief Scientific Officer George Yancopoulos said in a statement.

Regeneron said Monday that it will comply with 23andMe’s privacy policies and applicable law, process all customer personal data in accordance with the consents, privacy policies and statements, terms of service, and notices currently in effect and have security controls in place designed to protect such data.

“We are pleased to have reached a transaction that maximizes the value of the business and enables the mission of 23andMe to live on, while maintaining critical protections around customer privacy, choice and consent with respect to their genetic data,” said Mark Jensen, chair and member of the special committee of 23andMe’s board.

Regeneron will be keeping all of 23andMe’s employees, Jensen added.

As part of the court-supervised sale process, 23andMe required all bidders to guarantee that they will comply with its privacy policies and applicable law.

Regeneron said that its proposed deal aligns with 23andMe’s privacy statement, but that a court-appointed, independent consumer privacy ombudsman will also examine the transaction and any potential impact on consumers’ privacy. The ombudsman will present a report to the court by June 10.

A court hearing to consider approval of the transaction is currently scheduled for June 17. The deal, which still needs approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, is expected to close in the third quarter.

Shares of Regeneron fell slightly before the market open.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.

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