Farewell to @sweden — and to Theranos

Stockholm's Riddarholmen district  viewed here from City Hall  is tourable by bike. Stockholm's Riddarholmen district  viewed here from City Hall  is tourable by bike. Photo: Cameron Hewitt / Rick Steves' Europe Photo: Cameron Hewitt / Rick Steves' Europe Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Farewell to @sweden — and to Theranos 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

@sweden says Skol!

After almost seven years of confusion, controversy and comedy, @sweden, the first national Twitter account to be handed to a different citizen each week, will tweet its last at the end of the month, the Guardian reported. Begun in 2011 to boost interest in Sweden (Stockholm's bikeable Riddarholmen district is shown at right), the project won awards and attracted nearly 150,000 followers. While some curators stirred up controversy (Sara Persson on what three things make Sweden unique: “We don’t believe in God. We trust state more than family. We eat sweet jam together with meat.”), others drew kudos. When Donald Trump told a rally last year that Sweden was “having problems like they never thought possible” after taking in so many refugees, 22-year-old Max Karlsson tweeted: “Hey Don, this is @Sweden speaking! It’s nice of you to care, really, but don’t fall for the hype. Facts: We’re ok!”

Theranos dissolving

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Theranos, the Silicon Valley blood testing company accused of defrauding investors, will formally dissolve, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company will seek to pay unsecured creditors its remaining cash in coming months, the Journal said, citing a shareholder email. The move comes after founder Elizabeth Holmes settled a shareholder lawsuit in July aimed at recovering whatever can be salvaged from the blood testing startup. Holmes, who reigned briefly as the world’s youngest female self-made billionaire over her promise to revolutionize blood testing, was criminally charged in June with defrauding investors along with the Palo Alto company’s former president, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani.

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