Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is not backing down after pharmacy giant CVS has threatened to leave the state over a new state law targeting drug middlemen called pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs.
In an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqAe_rGGNek">interview with The Daily Wire</a>, Sanders said she would not allow CVS, which owns one of the &#8220;Big Three&#8221; PBMs called Caremark, to &#8220;manipulate and control the market simply so that they keep a few stores in our state open.&#8221; 
“It shows where their priorities are,&#8221; the governor said over CVS&#8217;s response to the law. &#8220;They would rather own the PBM than keep their pharmacy open and provide care to the patients they claim to care about. I think it tells us everything that we need to know, that they care more about their bottom line.&#8221;
&#8220;Look, I&#8217;m all for private industry making money, but not on the backs of the people who really need access to care, really need access to some of these specialty drugs that they&#8217;re inflating the market on,&#8221; Sanders continued. 
The Republican told The Daily Wire that other pharmacies are willing to take CVS&#8217;s place if need be.
&#8220;We have a number of other pharmacies that I know will be happy to step up and take CVS’s place if they decide to take their ball and go home,&#8221; Sanders blasted. 
As highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/every-cvs-pharmacy-in-red-state-might-close-after-crackdown-on-drug-middlemen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a> last month, CVS said it might have to close all 23 of its pharmacies in Arkansas over the new policy. The company issued similar threats before Sanders signed the bill into law in April.
The law in question is a first-in-the-nation targeting of PBMs, and is set to go into effect in January 2026. It bans PBMs from holding permits for prescription drug sales in Arkansas.
PBMs are supposed to lower drug prices for Americans. They act as middlemen between drug manufacturers, insurance companies, and pharmacies, and negotiate prices. 
However, over the last decade, PBMs have consolidated, and now there are just three companies overseeing prescriptions for more than <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/21/business/prescription-drug-costs-pbm.html">270 million Americans</a>. They’ve been accused by both Republicans and Democrats of inflating prices for their own benefit and driving small pharmacies out of business. 
“What was happening is you have these pharmaceutical companies, they’re supposed to use PBMs to negotiate better drug prices between the insurance companies and the pharmacies,&#8221; Sanders explained. &#8220;But what was actually happening is the pharmacies were buying the PBMs and completely controlling and monopolizing the market. We call &#8217;em drug middlemen, because that’s exactly what they are.&#8221;
&#8220;They’re over-inflating prices and passing that inflation down to the consumer,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;You had three of the largest PBMs in the country controlling 80% of the pharmaceutical market – complete control allows them to charge more.” 
Sanders also stressed that this law in Arkansas is intended to help small pharmacies keep their doors open. PMBs reportedly pay lowball prices to small independent pharmacies, forcing many to close their doors. 
“We&#8217;re optimistic that prices will come down not only in our state, but also that our local pharmacies will be able to keep their doors open, which was another big priority for us, so that people in rural communities don&#8217;t lose that access to care,&#8221; Sanders said. 
In a statement sent to The Daily Wire on Wednesday, CVS called the law in question &#8220;harmful&#8221; and &#8220;unconstitutional.&#8221;
&#8220;We’ve filed a lawsuit to block Act 624, a harmful law that will shut down 23 CVS Pharmacy locations, eliminate hundreds of jobs, and drive-up costs for Arkansans,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;This unconstitutional law puts local politics ahead of patients, restricting their access to life-saving medications and undermining fair competition.&#8221;
The company notes its PBM reimbursing small independent pharmacies in the state more than it does CVS pharmacies.
About a month after Sanders signed the Arkansas bill, President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting PBMs. The EO encourages direct consumer purchases, cutting out PBMs, and mandates more pricing transparency. 
Sanders said momentum is building across the country to tackle this issue. 
&#8220;I think the big thing here is that this isn&#8217;t just going to be something that takes place in Arkansas,&#8221; she said. &#8220;You&#8217;re seeing Louisiana look at passing similar legislation, New York, Texas, other states all over the country. It&#8217;s not even a Republican or Democrat issue. This is something that I think a lot of governors, as well as this president, are recognizing and actually taking action on something that&#8217;s been needed for a long time.” 
Sanders said she&#8217;s optimistic that consumers will have more access to prescription drugs and lower prices soon after this law goes into effect in 2026. 
WATCH the Morning Wire interview with Governor Sanders:
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This post has been updated to include comment from CVS. 
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/every-cvs-pharmacy-in-red-state-might-close-after-crackdown-on-drug-middlemen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Every CVS Pharmacy In Red State Might Close After Crackdown On Drug Middlemen</a>

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Sarah Sanders Won’t Back Down After CVS Threatens To Leave Arkansas

Sarah Sanders Won’t Back Down After CVS Threatens To Leave State

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ICE arrests the family of the Colorado illegal alien terror suspect as the Trump administration rounds up 1,500 illegal immigrants in another sanctuary state. Drug giant CVS could be closing all of its pharmacies in Arkansas due to a first-in-the-nation law targeting pharmaceutical middlemen. And the FTC probes whether a dozen major advertising and watchdog groups illegally coordinated to blacklist platforms.
It’s Wednesday, June 4, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here: 
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2>Immigrant Terror Rising?</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-928913" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_20_08.Still001.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_20_08.Still001.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_20_08.Still001-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes=" (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: Immigration enforcement continues to ramp up as the Trump administration prioritizes criminal and national security threats.
Senior Homeland Security officials <a href="https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/1929955057421738215">told Fox News&#8217;s Bill Melugin</a> on Tuesday that federal authorities have arrested the immediate family of the Boulder terror suspect, Mohamed Soliman. Sources say the family is “being processed for expedited removal.”
The arrest came a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a general policy of expected removal for immigrants with ties to terrorists. “All terrorists, their family members, and terrorist sympathizers here on a visa should know that under the Trump administration we will find you, revoke your visa, and deport you.”
Meanwhile, in South Carolina, a group of <a href="https://abcnews4.com/news/state/six-illegal-migrants-charged-in-murder-of-sc-woman-defies-any-sense-of-decency">illegal aliens</a>, ranging from just 13 years old to 21, were recently arrested in connection with the brutal murder of Larisha Thompson. She was driving down the road when she was fatally shot. Authorities have charged six illegal aliens of uncertain national origin in connection with the murder. Investigators on the scene found evidence linking the firearm used in the attack to a <a href="https://wach.com/news/local/six-arrested-in-death-of-sc-woman-all-wanted-by-immigration-officials-larisha-sharell-thompson-lancaster">recent burglary</a>. An individual fired at a security camera while burglarizing a gas station convenience store. The SWAT team raided the home of the 21-year-old. The six illegal aliens have each been charged with murder, attempted armed robbery, and second-degree burglary.
And ICE has announced nearly 1,500 arrests in Massachusetts, a sanctuary state. Of those arrested, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/ice-massachusetts-raids-todd-lyons-boston/">790 illegal aliens</a>, more than half of them, had criminal records or pending charges. Patricia Hyde, the acting director of the Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston Field Office, explained that Massachusetts’s sanctuary state policies force immigration enforcement agents to go into the community rather than simply pick up illegal aliens from jails.
<h2>Drug Middleman Crackdown</h2>
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Topline: A first-in-the-nation law takes on pharmacy benefit managers, the drug middlemen both sides of the aisle have blamed for inflating prescription drug prices.
Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) act as middlemen between drug manufacturers, insurance companies, and pharmacies – and by extension, patients. They negotiate with drug companies and pay pharmacies for filing prescriptions. In theory, they’re supposed to lower costs for Americans. However, over the last decade, PBMs have consolidated – now just three companies oversee prescriptions for more than <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/21/business/prescription-drug-costs-pbm.html">200 million Americans</a>. They’ve been accused by both Republicans and Democrats of inflating prices for their own benefit and driving small pharmacies out of business.
A new Arkansas law, Act 624, bans PBMs from holding permits for prescription drug sales. In response, pharmacy giant CVS has said it might have to close all 23 of its pharmacies in Arkansas. CVS owns one of the Big Three PBMs, called Caremark. CVS has also <a href="https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2025/05/29/express-scripts-sues-arkansas-over-new-law-banning-pbms-from-owning-pharmacies">filed suit</a> against the state to prevent the law from going into effect – Express Scripts, another of the Big Three, has also sued the state.
“PBMs [are supposed] to negotiate better drug prices between the insurance companies and the pharmacies,” Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) told The Daily Wire. “But what was actually happening is the pharmacies were buying the PBMs and completely controlling and monopolizing the market. We call ‘em drug middlemen because that’s exactly what they are. They’re over-inflating prices and passing that inflation down to the consumer. … You had three of the largest PBMs in the country controlling 80% of the pharmaceutical market – complete control allows them to charge more.”
Sanders told The Daily Wire that this law is intended to help small pharmacies keep their doors open and criticized CVS for its response. “It shows where their priorities are. They would rather own the PBM than keep their pharmacy open and provide care to the patients they claim to care about. … I&#8217;m all for private industry making money, but not on the backs of the people who really need access to care.”
About a month after Gov. Sanders signed the act into law, President Donald Trump targeted PBMs with an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/05/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-announces-actions-to-put-american-patients-first-by-lowering-drug-prices-and-stopping-foreign-free-riding-on-american-pharmaceutical-innovation/">executive order</a>. The order encourages direct consumer purchases, cutting out the middlemen, and mandates more pricing transparency. Sanders said this momentum is building across the country and told The Daily Wire that she hopes consumers will have more access and see lower prices for prescription drugs once this law goes into effect next year.
<h2>FTC Probes Ad Collusion</h2>
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Topline: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating Media Matters and about a dozen other groups for allegedly pushing advertisers to boycott social media platforms over controversial content.
The FTC is probing whether Media Matters and these other groups violated antitrust law by mobilizing advertisers to boycott platforms like X – to prevent their ads from appearing next to content deemed controversial. The commission is also targeting Ad Fontes Media, which rates media outlets’ biases, investigating the group for “possible collusion.”
Some of the groups that are under investigation help brands choose where to place ads across the internet, and some of the groups, like Media Matters, call out so-called “hateful content” online. More than a dozen organizations are under investigation, and lawyers for the groups said the FTC requested broad information about their business practices.
“I’m concerned about advertiser collusion,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwAPMhdq5c4">said</a> last week. “If you’ve got an idea and you want the world to know it, you need eyeballs. … You talk online, and advertisers advertise next to what you’re saying, and they make money off of that, but if advertisers are getting into a back room somewhere and agreeing, &#8216;we’re not going to advertise next to that guy’s speech,&#8217; right, that is a real problem, and it is a form of concerted refusal to deal that the antitrust laws have long prohibited.”
Ferguson also argued that the FTC’s investigation was nonpartisan – while he agreed that conservatives were disproportionately being targeted, the same principle would apply to progressive speech. “I don’t think anyone on the Left would be comfortable with the idea of a bunch of large businesses getting into a back room and saying, &#8216;hey, whenever anyone says anything favorable about abortion, we’re not advertising next to that, right?&#8217; I don’t think the Left would like that any more than the Right would like the idea that such collusion could be affecting their speech.”
X CEO Elon Musk sued Media Matters in 2023 over this issue, accusing the leftist group of trying to stop advertisers from purchasing ads on X. That lawsuit is ongoing.

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Morning Brief: ICE’s Anti-Terror Offensive And The Crackdown On Prescription Drug Middlemen

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A required leadership training program at retail pharmacy giant CVS asks participants to confess their privilege as part of a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) action plan, as well as pledge their allyship to various social justice causes, according to documents obtained by The Daily Wire.
The training, titled “Creating a DEI Action Plan,” was given last month to employees in the <a href="https://jobs.cvshealth.com/general-management-talent-programs/general-management-development-program/#:~:text=The%20GMDP%20is%20a%20transformative,Project%20management">General Management Development Program</a>, an accelerator program that prepares CVS professionals for careers in management. The training is labeled “GMDP Rotation 2 Curriculum” and demands that participants conduct a personal audit of their biases and commit to pushing the DEI agenda as allies.
&#8220;CVS Health’s commitment to inclusion and belonging is unwavering, and our holistic approach to strategic diversity management is inclusive of every one of our colleagues and those we care for each day,&#8221; a slide from the <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/DEI-Action-Plan.pdf">DEI training</a> obtained by The Daily Wire states.
The pharmacy giant&#8217;s embrace of the DEI agenda comes as corporations across the country have faced backlash to the DEI agenda, with many high-profile companies <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anheuser-busch-releases-we-hear-you-statement-over-bud-light-backlash-beer-is-for-everyone">backpedaling</a> away from the woke philosophy. But others, including now CVS, appear to have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nike-immune-from-conservative-backlash-despite-long-history-of-woke-advocacy">doubled down</a> on DEI.
Its embrace comes as it is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/01/14/heres-why-drug-stores-are-closing-in-minority-neighborhoods-walgreens-cvs-and-rite-aid-shutter-more-than-1000/?sh=9b338e341f42">criticized by the Left</a> for the decision to close stores in blue cities where crime is surging. &#8220;What they care about is maximizing profits for their shareholders,” said Jenny Guadamuz, a researcher at the University of California at Berkeley in regards to the store closures. “They’ll make any excuse to close lower-profit stores, which are in these Black and Latino communities.”
But in private, CVS appears to be instructing all of its employees to acknowledge that they have biases.
In one slide titled, “My Personal Commitment to Moving Forward &#8211; Allyship and Advocacy,” the company demands that those in the leadership training program “reflect on the actions you can take to become a better ally and advocate in the workplace.”
<div id="attachment_706651" style="width: 765px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-706651" class="wp-image-706651" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-06-at-3.29.23-PM-300x167.png" alt="" width="755" height="420" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-06-at-3.29.23-PM-300x167.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-06-at-3.29.23-PM-1024x571.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-06-at-3.29.23-PM-768x428.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-06-at-3.29.23-PM-1536x857.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-06-at-3.29.23-PM.png 1692w" sizes=" (max-width: 755px) 100vw, 755px" />Obtained by The Daily Wire</div>
The presentation asks employees to make three allyship pledges, with a prompt reading, “To be a better ally and advocate in the workplace, I will commit to.” Participants are also asked to outline “specific actions I can take to be a better advocate” as well as why “it is important to create a culture of advocacy.”
“Use the below steps to define your personal commitment to moving forward in combatting biases,” reads another slide from the training titled, “My Personal Commitment to Moving Forward &#8211; Biases.” It goes on to ask: “Where are areas that you tend to have biases? What privileges do you have that others do not?”
<div id="attachment_706655" style="width: 758px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-706655" class="wp-image-706655" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-06-at-3.30.10-PM-300x168.png" alt="" width="748" height="419" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-06-at-3.30.10-PM-300x168.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-06-at-3.30.10-PM-1024x574.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-06-at-3.30.10-PM-768x430.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-06-at-3.30.10-PM-1536x861.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-06-at-3.30.10-PM.png 1692w" sizes=" (max-width: 748px) 100vw, 748px" />Obtained by The Daily Wire</div>
The slide asks participants to document “The personal bias I want to address” and “the inclusive trait I want to develop,” also inquiring how “addressing this personal bias will impact the CVSH/GMDP culture.”
“These two slides focus on identifying and combatting our personal biases and steps we can take to be allies and advocates,” the presentation says. “Allyship, advocacy, and combatting biases are major actions we can take to serve as champions of diversity, equity and inclusion.”
In response to an inquiry on the training, the company said it is part of the effort to &#8220;promote and maintain a culture and work environment that fosters inclusion, belonging, and engagement.&#8221;
“We remain focused on hiring, developing, and retaining a talented workforce that represents and reflects the diversity of the customers, communities, and patients we support,” CVS Health told The Daily Wire.
The training says that one of the &#8220;core&#8221; capabilities it&#8217;s looking for out of the leadership program is &#8220;inclusiveness.&#8221;
“Specifically in Rotation 2, we focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Involvement,” the training says. “Creating a DEI action plan is a great first step in identifying specific steps you can take to build your involvement in company-wide initiatives or your own daily practices.”
Another portion of the training showcases a “Social Identity Wheel,” calling on participants to discuss their gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity and consider the “identities you think about most often” as well as the “Identities that have the strongest effect on how you see yourself as a person.”
There appear to be other DEI trainings for GMDP participants, with one slide asserting that the exercises give participants “the foundation to engage in the remaining Rotation 2 ‘Inclusiveness’ curriculum items.”
The full presentation can be <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/DEI-Action-Plan.pdf">viewed here</a>.

CVS Health

EXCLUSIVE: CVS Leadership Training Requires Participants To Confess Privilege, Make Allyship Pledges

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Pro-life advocates slammed a decision on Friday from pharmacy giants Walgreens and CVS to begin selling abortion pills. 
Both retailers <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/03/01/mifepristone-cvs-walgreens-abortion-pill">announced</a> that they would start selling mifepristone, the pill that is used in over half of all abortions, at certain locations. The announcement, which was applauded by the Biden administration, comes ahead of a Supreme Court hearing on whether the FDA improperly approved mifepristone and other restrictions on the pill. 
“As two of the world’s largest, most trusted ‘health’ brands, the decision by CVS and Walgreens to sell dangerous abortion drugs is shameful, and the harm to unborn babies and their mothers incalculable,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America’s State Policy Director Katie Daniel said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire. “This reckless policy was made possible by the Biden administration, which is pushing to turn every pharmacy and post office in America into an abortion center for the sake of abortion industry greed.”
Walgreens spokesman Fraser Engerman <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/01/health/abortion-pills-cvs-walgreens.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The New York Times that it would begin dispensing pills in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois to women with prescriptions. CVS is starting in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. 
Ingrid Skop, a board certified OB-GYN and vice president of the pro-life research group Charlotte Lozier Institute, said that pharmacists “should not be distributing these dangerous drugs.”
“By pushing these medically unsupervised abortions, the FDA and abortion advocates continue down the slippery slope of chipping away at medical standards for women seeking abortion,” she said. &#8220;This is not health care. This is an ideology that prioritizes destruction of unborn human life and does not care that the women injured by these abortions, whom I see in the ER on a regular basis, are collateral damage.&#8221;
The decision from Walgreens and CVS comes just weeks after several major scientific studies on the potential harm of abortion pills <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/completely-unjustified-medical-journal-retracts-major-studies-critical-of-abortion-pill-ahead-of-supreme-court-clash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were retracted</a> by their publisher. The studies&#8217; authors, including Skop, said that the retractions were politically motivated attempts to discredit their research as the Supreme Court hears the mifepristone case. 
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President Joe Biden called the decision a “major milestone” in a statement praising the move. 
“With major retail pharmacy chains newly certified to dispense medication abortion, many women will soon have the option to pick up their prescription at a local, certified pharmacy — just as they would for any other medication. I encourage all pharmacies that want to pursue this option to seek certification,” he said. 
Medication abortion has increasingly become a more common form of abortion, especially in states that have sought to ban abortion. Activist networks have been shipping foreign-made abortion drugs in red states to bypass state laws protecting the unborn.

Appeals Court Keeps Abortion Pill Mifepristone Available, But With Restrictions

‘Shameful’: Pro-Lifers Slam Decision From Pharmacy Giants To Begin Selling Abortion Pills

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As retail theft soars in Washington, D.C., one CVS store is taking drastic measures to prevent its stock of toilet paper and other products from being stolen. 
Instead of seeing packages of toilet paper on the shelf, at a CVS on H Street NE in the nation’s capital, you will only find framed photos of the product. The move comes in response to a spike in theft at the store, particularly among the homeless population, according to a <a href="https://wtop.com/dc/2023/10/northeast-cvs-only-has-photos-of-paper-products-on-shelves-due-to-theft/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from WTOP News. 
“It seems to be a case that people don’t care about laws or respect that anymore,” a tourist told the outlet. “In the United Kingdom, we are seeing shops closing down because they’re losing so much money from people shoplifting, which is obviously having an impact on the economy in general.”
Sources told WTOP that homeless people had been entering the store and stealing toilet paper and other products, prompting it to remove items from display. To get the products for purchase, shoppers need to press a button for assistance &#8211; something that&#8217;s becoming more common across the country, especially in Democrat-run cities. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Washington DC CVS replaces shelves of toilet paper with framed photos of products amid rising thefts
A CVS location in Washington DC was forced to wipe its shelves clean of toilet paper and replace them instead with framed photos of the products amid rising thefts in the… <a href="https://t.co/mUfhQ6vfUj">pic.twitter.com/mUfhQ6vfUj</a>
&mdash; Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) <a href="https://twitter.com/OwenGregorian/status/1723689549623124145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2023</a></blockquote>
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In 2023, there were roughly 4,922 homeless people in D.C., an 11.6% increase from 2022, according to the annual Point-in-Time count <a href="https://dcist.com/story/23/05/05/dc-homelessness-increase-2023-pit-count/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> in May.  
According to a recent <a href="https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/cvs-thefts-columbia-heights-dc/65-1490b69c-abc1-46ea-887f-ce317f01ae16" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from WUSA9, thieves ransack a separate CVS location in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of D.C. nearly every day. Sources told the outlet that people leave the store with boxes of stolen goods daily, with staff saying that thieves will specifically target the store when it gets new shipments, stealing the product before it&#8217;s put out for sale. The result: near-empty shelves. 
“I think it’s enforcement and the infractions are not tough,&#8221; a woman who recently bought a home near the store told the outlet. &#8220;A lot of times, it’s just a slap on the hand.&#8221; She also said she was reconsidering moving to the area, saying, &#8220;It&#8217;s getting worse. People get killed in front of the Metro, stores are robbed every single day. You can’t even find food.&#8221;
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According to Fox Business, retail theft in the nation’s capital <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/retail/washington-dc-cvs-only-shows-pictures-toilet-paper-products-rising-theft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is up 68%</a> over 2022, with more than 3,000 robberies taking place so far this year. At this point last year, 1,791 robberies had occurred, the outlet noted. 
A CVS spokesman <a href="https://wtop.com/dc/2023/10/thieves-hit-columbia-heights-cvs-leaving-shelves-nearly-empty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> WTOP that the company has no plans to shutter any of its Washington, D.C., locations. 
In July, it was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/some-san-francisco-stores-locking-up-frozen-foods-to-prevent-shoplifting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that some stores in San Francisco began locking up their frozen foods section due to retail theft. One CBS News Bay Area reporter said that a Walgreens location was being robbed 20 times a day, prompting it to start locking up goods. 
“Workers said normally shoplifters clean out all the pizza and ice cream every night. They’re usually hit 20x a day. The whole store is virtually locked up,” CBS News Bay Area reporter Betty Yu said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/bett_yu/status/1681124070077906945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1681138386382331904%7Ctwgr%5Eac0f748e14bb10b8414dc9738d77cc5cdca4ae75%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fsan-francisco-food-stores-lock-up-frozen-goods-to-mitigate-shoplifting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on X. 
A video accompanying the tweet shows ice cream, microwave dinners, frozen fish sticks, and frozen pizzas in freezers locked with a chain. Additionally, rows of makeup, hair products, cleaning supplies, candles, laundry detergent, and other items are in locked cases.

Toilet Paper Replaced With Framed Photos Of Product In D.C. Drugstore As Retail Theft Soars

Crime

shoplifting

Theft

Washington D.C.

American pharmacy chain Walgreens faced backlash over the weekend after announcing it would not sell abortion pills in states where the drugs remain legal after nearly two dozen Republican state attorney generals threatened legal action against the company.
Walgreens, the second-largest pharmaceutical chain in the United States, told <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/02/walgreens-abortion-pills-00085325">Politico</a> last week they would not dispense abortion pills either by mail or at locations in 21 states, including Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, and Montana, where the drug is legal.
The decision followed a letter from 20 Republican attorneys general last month, who warned of violating state laws if the company mailed out abortion pills. Several other pharmacies, including CVS, Walmart, and Costco, also received a similar letter from those state officials.
&#8220;This is a very complex and in flux area of the law, and we are taking that into account as we seek certification,&#8221; Fraser Engerman, a spokesman for Walgreens, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/03/health/walgreens-abortion-pills.html">The New York Times</a> on Friday.
Following the announcement, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walgreens-boycott-pharmacy-wont-sell-abortion-pills-20-states-2023-3">Business Insider</a> reported the phrases &#8220;Walgreens&#8221; and &#8220;#BoycottWalgreens&#8221; trended on Twitter as critics called on consumers to stop supporting the pharmacy — which cited tweets from one of President Joe Biden&#8217;s aides, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) — all calling on the pharmacy to reverse its decision.
Kristi Hamrick, a spokesperson for Students for Life, praised Walgreens&#8217; decision.
&#8220;This response indicates that pro-life concerns are being heard and that corporations are not rushing to take over the abortion business but are proceeding cautiously,&#8221; Hamrick told Poltico.
Students for Life and other pro-life groups have also written to Walgreens and CVS, threatening &#8220;legal ramifications&#8221; for the pharmacies if they begin filling prescriptions for abortion pills, Politico reported.
Other states Walgreens included in the announcement were those that made it illegal to dispense the abortion pill through mail such as Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
A Walgreens spokesperson told Business Insider that it would still distribute abortion pills &#8220;only in those jurisdictions where it is legal and operationally feasible,&#8221; adding it still plans on becoming an FDA-certified pharmacy to sell the drug.
Earlier this year, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/22-attorneys-general-urge-fda-to-reverse-abortion-pill-decision">22 attorneys general</a> wrote to Federal Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf asking the agency to reverse its decision to certify retail pharmacies to dispense abortion pills.
The letter argues that the distribution of abortion-inducing drugs threatens women&#8217;s health.
&#8220;The Food and Drug Administration&#8217;s decision to abandon commonsense restrictions on remotely prescribing and administering abortion-inducing drugs is both illegal and dangerous,&#8221; the letter read. &#8220;In direct contravention of longstanding FDA practice and congressional mandate, the FDA&#8217;s rollback of important safety restrictions ignores both women&#8217;s health and straightforward federal statutes.&#8221;
Such medications used to induce abortions, Mifeprex and its generic Mifepristone Tablets, are approved by the FDA for up to 10 weeks gestation, as a woman&#8217;s health risk reportedly increases after that time.
Since the historic overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling by the Supreme Court last summer, medication-induced abortions have been sought after as an alternative abortion method.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, more than half of all &#8220;facility-based abortions&#8221; in the U.S. yearly have been due to such drugs.

Walgreens Posts Quarterly Earnings That Beat Analysts’ Expectations

Walgreens Won’t Distribute Abortion Pill In 21 States, Spokesperson Says

Walgreens Won't Distribute Abortion Pill In 21 States, Spokesperson Says

Pro-Abortion

Social Issues

U.S.

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/republican" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republican</a> attorneys general of 20 states issued a letter to CVS and Walgreens on Wednesday, explaining the illegality of sending <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/abortion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abortion</a> pills through the mail.
The <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3840332-20-gop-attorneys-general-tell-cvs-walgreens-plans-to-dispense-abortion-pills-both-unsafe-and-illegal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> was <a href="https://khn.org/morning-breakout/republican-ags-say-cvs-walgreens-abortion-pill-plans-are-illegal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">written</a> to Danielle Gray, the executive vice president of Walgreens Boots Alliance, and explained the legal situation.
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In an effort to uphold the laws as written and defend the welfare of women and unborn children, I led a coalition of 20 AGs in sending a letter to CVS and Walgreens informing them that their announced plan to use the mail to distribute abortion pills is both unsafe and illegal. <a href="https://t.co/iTpyK7EYiM">pic.twitter.com/iTpyK7EYiM</a>
&mdash; Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) <a href="https://twitter.com/AGAndrewBailey/status/1620792168079327233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The attorneys <a href="https://twitter.com/AGAndrewBailey/status/1620792168079327233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1620792168079327233%7Ctwgr%5E8fd96ac53dba1c9bd20ae54508265b6cc064b97f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/republican-attorneys-general-cvs-walgreens-abortion-pills_n_63db2ff5e4b01a4363923f7d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">general</a> <a href="https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/2023-02-01-fda-rule---walgreens-letter-danielle-gray.pdf?sfvrsn=ff1e6652_2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that “many people are not aware that federal law expressly prohibits using the mail to send or receive any drug that will ‘be used or applied for producing abortion.’” The law is <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/republican-attorneys-general-cvs-walgreens-abortion-pills_n_63db2ff5e4b01a4363923f7d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">known</a> as the Comstock Act. The officials noted that it says “every [sic] article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion … shall not be conveyed in the mails&#8221; and anybody who “knowingly takes any such thing from the mails for the purpose of circulating” has committed a federal crime.
However, the Biden administration’s Office of Legal Counsel told the U.S. Postal Service to ignore the law.
In December, the Justice Department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/olc/opinion/file/1560596/download" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the law “does not prohibit the mailing, or the delivery or receipt by mail, of mifepristone or misoprostol where the sender lacks the intent that the recipient of the drugs will use them unlawfully.”
The administration noted that the law does not allow abortion drugs to be sent or gathered through the mail, but said that the words should not be “[t]aken literally,” according to the letter.
The attorneys general went on to explain that they do not agree with “the Biden administration’s bizarre interpretation” and believe that the courts will not accept it, either.
The officials added that several states do not allow abortion pills to be sent or obtained through the mail, so it is not only a federal legal issue, but also one that has been determined at the state level in many cases.
“These state laws reflect not only our commitment to protecting the lives and dignity of children, but also of women,” they noted. “Abortion pills are far riskier than surgical abortions, according to established scientific consensus …”
They also pointed out that “mail-order abortion pills” welcome a rise in “coerced abortions,” noting that, apart from the regulated medical situation, it is not hard for someone to get an abortion drug and then force a woman to take the pill.
“We emphasize that it is our responsibility as State Attorneys General to uphold the law and protect the health, safety, and well-being of women and unborn children in our states. Part of that responsibility includes ensuring that companies like yours are fully informed of the law so that harm does not come to our citizens,” they concluded, in part. 
The letter comes after CVS and Walgreens both <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/02/gop-attorneys-general-warn-cvs-walgreens-against-mailing-abortion-pill-in-their-states.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> that they were planning to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/05/abortion-cvs-and-walgreens-will-sell-mifepristone-in-pharmacies.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">go</a> through the process to sell abortion pills where allowed.
“We are not dispensing Mifepristone at this time,” Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman said, per <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/02/gop-attorneys-general-warn-cvs-walgreens-against-mailing-abortion-pill-in-their-states.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC</a>. “We intend to become a certified pharmacy under the program, however we fully understand that we may not be able to dispense Mifepristone in all locations if we are certified under the program.”
Attorneys general in Missouri, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia all signed the letter.

“Mifepristone (Mifeprex) and Misoprostol, the two drugs used in a medication abortion”

Republican Attorneys General Explain Laws Regarding Sending Abortion Pills Through Mail To Walgreens, CVS

Republican AGs Explain Laws Regarding Sending Abortion Pills Through Mail To Walgreens, CVS

Two major pharmacy stores have placed limits on customers purchasing children&#8217;s medicine amid reports of shortages as the winter cold-and-flu season impacts families across the United States.
According to a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-prescription-drugs-children-422dca9684a866ff06bcd537a0dd740d">report</a>, CVS Health and Walgreens are limiting customers from buying Children&#8217;s Tylenol and other over-the-counter fever-reducing medicines.
CVS Health said customers have only a two-product limit on all children&#8217;s pain relief products bought through its pharmacies or online.
A CVS spokesperson told <a href="https://www.today.com/health/cold-flu/tylenol-motrin-shortage-rcna59622">TODAY.com</a> that the company has seen customers searching for cold, flu, and children&#8217;s pain relief products.
&#8220;We&#8217;re committed to meeting our customers&#8217; needs and are working with our suppliers to ensure continued access to these items,&#8221; the CVS spokesperson said. &#8220;In the event a local store experiences a temporary product shortage, our teams have a process in place to replenish supply.&#8221;
Walgreens reportedly said online customers could only buy up to six children&#8217;s over-the-counter fever-reducing products. However, the limit does not apply in stores.
A Walgreens spokesperson told <a href="https://www.today.com/health/cold-flu/tylenol-motrin-shortage-rcna59622">TODAY.com</a> that the store is &#8220;prepared and able to continue meeting the needs of our customers and patients.&#8221;
&#8220;We are working with our diverse set of suppliers and distributors to ensure our patients have the products they need most,&#8221; the spokesperson said.
Pharmacist Don Arthur told NBC affiliate <a href="https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/health/childrens-tylenol-medicines-short-supply-wny-buffalo-shelves/71-2564f24c-1e4d-47ea-9c49-5d3db7cd7ea6">WGRZ</a> in Buffalo, New York, that he first noticed the shortages in neighboring towns and cities across the U.S./Canada border.
He said the shortage &#8220;first appeared on our radar when we had patients calling us from over the border — Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, even as far as Toronto — because, apparently, up in Canada, the liquid forms of Tylenol are unavailable.&#8221;
There&#8217;s &#8220;just too much demand for the current supply,&#8221; he added.
The shortages come as the annual U.S. flu season spiked, along with other respiratory illnesses.
According to December 16 data from the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>, there have been 15 million flu illnesses, 150,000 hospitalizations, and 9,300 deaths, 30 of which were in kids. The statistics surpassed the totals for the last flu season and increased from the previous week, which showed 13 million illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations, and 7,300 deaths.
Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/childrens-hospitals-overflowing-with-respiratory-illness-patients">reported</a> recent data showing Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases spiked in October. RSV usually causes children to contract the usual mild-cold symptoms, but the impact could be much worse for those who may be immunocompromised or have a preexisting heart defect.
Children contracting respiratory illness may have contributed to the shortage of medicine.
Dr. Shannon Dillon, a pediatrician at Riley Children&#8217;s Health in Indianapolis, told <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-business-prescription-drugs-children-422dca9684a866ff06bcd537a0dd740d">The Associated Press</a>, &#8220;there are more sick kids at this time of year than we have seen in the past couple years.&#8221;
&#8220;At this point, it&#8217;s more like toilet paper at the beginning of the (COVID-19) pandemic,&#8221; Dillon said. &#8220;You just have to look in the right place at the right time.&#8221;
Big pharmaceutical giant Johnson &amp; Johnson said as reported by The Associated Press that although Children&#8217;s Tylenol may be &#8220;less readily available&#8221; at some stores, the drugmaker has not experienced widespread shortages.
White House officials have weighed in on the ongoing shortages of over-the-counter medicines that treat common respiratory illnesses, especially for children.
&#8220;(The Food and Drug Administration) and the (Department of Health and Human Services) are tracking this very closely,&#8221; Dr. Ashish Jha, White House COVID-19 response coordinator, told <a href="https://www.today.com/health/cold-flu/tylenol-motrin-shortage-rcna59622">TODAY</a> last week. &#8220;The good news here is that we have plenty of supply. &#8230; Manufacturers, they&#8217;re working 24/7. Supply is actually up. The challenge is demand.&#8221;
Jha said illnesses like influenza, COVID-19, and RSV are spreading &#8220;at high levels&#8221; among young children and the elderly nationwide.
&#8220;That demand is really unusual, unlike what we&#8217;ve seen in years, so we are seeing some of those mismatches,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;But the supply is working great, manufacturing is going great, and we&#8217;re going to keep plugging away at making sure that there&#8217;s plenty of supply across the country as we enter the holidays.&#8221;

High Number Of Flu Cases In Southern California Leads To Shortages Of Over The Counter Medicine

Pharmacies Limit Children’s Medicine Purchases Amid Shortages

COVID

COVID-19

Medical

Hearing aids are now available without a prescription at stores and online nationwide.
The announcement was revealed on Monday in a &#8220;Fact Sheet&#8221; from the White House regarding the approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
&#8220;Specifically, today, under <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-08-17/pdf/2022-17230.pdf">a final rule</a> issued by the FDA, adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss can buy hearing aids at a store or online without a prescription, exam, or audiologist fitting,&#8221; the fact sheet <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/17/fact-sheet-cheaper-hearing-aids-now-in-stores-thanks-to-biden-harris-administration-competition-agenda/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
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Starting this week, we&#39;re making hearing aids available over the counter, so people don&#39;t have to pay for expensive visits to specialists. 
The FDA estimates this is going to save patients as much as $3,000 per pair.
&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1582017274160250881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;FDA estimates this could lower average costs by as much as $3,000 per pair—providing significant breathing room for the nearly 30 million Americans with hearing loss, including nearly 10 million adults under age 60,&#8221; it added.
In addition to online options, the White House noted several U.S. retailers that will now or soon be making over-the-counter hearing aids available. The list includes Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Sam&#8217;s Club, Best Buy, and Hy-Vee.
Prices will vary from as low as $199 per pair (Walmart/Sam&#8217;s Club) or $200 at Best Buy. The new hearing aid options are being sold at prices much lower than similar devices previously only available by prescription, sometimes by thousands of dollars, according to the FDA.
&#8220;This final rule will generate potential benefits in the form of cost savings for consumers with perceived mild to moderate hearing impairment who wish to buy lower cost hearing aids not bundled with professional services and not requiring professional advice, fitting, adjustment, or maintenance but who are currently unable to buy such products online because of state regulations or because they do not shop online,&#8221; the FDA&#8217;s <a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/160971/download" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> stated.
The new action is part of President Joe Biden&#8217;s Executive Order on <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/09/fact-sheet-executive-order-on-promoting-competition-in-the-american-economy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Promoting Competition in the American Economy.</a> Signed in July 2021, the order claimed to promote competition in the American economy, lowering prices for families and increasing wages for workers.
The Hearing Industries Association offered its support for the effort in an August press release, though it cautioned about the ongoing need for consulting with licensed professionals.
“This is a significant step forward for the millions of Americans who suffer hearing loss yet are untreated,” <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/08/16/2499396/0/en/Hearing-Industries-Association-Supports-FDA-Final-Rule-on-the-Sale-of-Prescribed-and-Over-The-Counter-Hearing-Aids.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Kate Carr, President of HIA. “Hearing loss is unique to each person, and most do not know if their condition is mild, moderate, or greater, caused by another medical issue or something as simple as ear wax. HIA supports the final rule and recommends that the best treatment for hearing loss involves seeing a hearing professional.”
While many hard-of-hearing Americans will welcome the new change, the executive order is not having the impact on inflation that the Biden administration has claimed.
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inflation-surpasses-forecasts-ahead-of-midterm-elections-in-bad-omen-for-democrats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 8.2% between September 2021 and September 2022, according to a <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The level surpassed expectations in a dreadful report for Democrats just weeks ahead of the nation&#8217;s midterm elections.

hearing aids

Hearing Aids Now Available Without A Prescription At Stores And Online

Best Buy

Safety

Walmart

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/walmart">Walmart</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cvs">CVS</a> are rationing Plan B pills due to a surge in demand, according to a report.
After the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/supreme-court">Supreme Court</a> overturned <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/roe-v-wade">Roe v. Wade</a> — the 1973 opinion which argued that the Constitution guarantees the right to an <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/abortion">abortion</a> — surgical centers carrying out the procedure <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/24/abortion-clinics-closing-roe-wade">closed their doors</a> in many conservative-leaning states. According to a report from <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/cvs-walmart-limit-purchases-of-plan-b-pills-after-surge-in-demand-11656358819?mod=business_minor_pos4">The Wall Street Journal</a>, retailers are now restricting the sale of over-the-counter contraceptives.
Walmart had “some pills available without limits, but only in cases where they wouldn’t ship until next month” and will be limiting sales to “four or six” at a time, the outlet reported. CVS is “limiting purchases to three” in an effort to ensure “equitable access.”
Plan B stops the release of an egg from the ovary, prevents the union of sperm and egg, and sometimes prevents fertilized eggs from implanting in the womb, according to the U.S. <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/fdas-decision-regarding-plan-b-questions-and-answers">Food and Drug Administration</a> (FDA).
“The pills, which are available without a prescription, are often referred to and sold under the Plan B brand,” The Wall Street Journal explained. “Also called morning-after pills, they are designed to be taken up to three days after unprotected sex.”
Plan B and similar products typically sell from $10 to $50. The “cheapest option available” from major retailers’ websites was $35 on Monday, according to the outlet.
Despite the closure of abortion clinics in many parts of the country, medication is now used for 54% of all abortions in the United States, according to the <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2022/02/medication-abortion-now-accounts-more-half-all-us-abortions">Guttmacher Institute</a> — a substantial increase from 39% of abortions in 2017. The FDA <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/mifeprex-mifepristone-information">authorizes</a> a series of two drugs — mifepristone and misoprostol — to abort babies through ten weeks of gestation. Louisiana <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/louisiana-governor-signs-bill-outlawing-the-mailing-of-abortion-pills">passed legislation</a> earlier this month that would impose fines and jail sentences for those who mail abortion pills.
“Medication abortion can be completed outside of a medical setting — for example, in the comfort and privacy of one’s home,” the Guttmacher Institute said. “Pills can be provided at a clinic or delivered directly to a patient through the mail… in areas of the country that are rural or underserved by providers, medication abortion can save a patient hundreds of miles of travel.”
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-woke-businesses-vowing-to-cover-travel-costs-for-employees-abortion-tourism">several major corporations</a> announced that they would cover employees’ abortion-related interstate travel expenses through their health benefits packages, calls mounted for Walmart — which employs 1.6 million Americans — to follow suit. Worker advocacy group United for Respect said that the firm must &#8220;step up and ensure its associates are supported.&#8221;
&#8220;As the largest private employer in the nation, Walmart executives can set the standard for other companies by supporting their associates and providing adequate maternity leave, paid sick leave, and covering the cost of expenses for associates who need to travel across the state lines to access abortion services,&#8221; the group said on Friday, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-roe-v-wade-abortion-disney-dicks-sporting-goods-walmart-travel-costs/">CBS News</a>.
Earlier this month, Walmart shareholders <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/walmart-shareholder-proposal-abortion-ban-impact-fails-2022-06-01/">overwhelmingly struck down</a> a proposal from activist investors to create a report evaluating the possible effect of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. The proposal would have compelled Walmart&#8217;s board of directors to examine &#8220;any known and any potential risks and costs to the company caused by enacted or proposed state policies severely restricting reproductive rights.”

US-NEWS-IDAHO-BIRTHCONTROL-ID

Major Retailers Take Action In Response To Huge Demand Spike For Plan B

Walmart, CVS Ration Plan B Pills Amid Spike In Demand Following End Of Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade's Long And Brutal Legacy

Walgreens and CVS are reportedly closing down some of the companies’ pharmacies on Saturdays and/or Sundays to address the worker shortage issue that is affecting various industries across the country. 
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/walgreens-cvs-shut-some-pharmacies-on-weekends-as-omicron-strains-staffing-11642156381?mod=hp_lead_pos7">reported</a>, &#8220;CVS Health Corp. […] and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. […] said weekend shutdowns are unusual but become a reality when locations lack enough pharmacists and technicians to remain open.”
Other stores such as Macy’s and Walmart are reducing their hours, as well, as staff either are remaining at home because they are sick, waiting to get test results back, or are taking care of other people who have been infected with the coronavirus. 
The Journal reported that prior to the Omicron variant spreading across the country, the drugstore companies were shortening hours, increasing wages, and attempting to bring on tens of thousands of additional employees to deal with the worker shortages. “But with their roles as major providers of Covid-19 testing and vaccinations, the chains are also dealing with growing discontent among existing staff as well as customers’ concern about service,” the outlet added. 
CVS and Walgreens both reportedly said they are not able to measure the weekend shutdowns, which change every week and sometimes take place without much of a heads-up. Customers in Washington, D.C., as well as areas of Maine and New York said they have been surprised to find the drive-through service or the pharmacy area closed in recent weeks. Some even came to the pharmacy for a scheduled COVID-19 vaccination appointment to discover that the pharmacy itself was not open. 
Last month, Rite Aid also said it would start shutting down its shops an hour early and permit walk-in vaccinations for just one hour each day due to the low amount of workers. 
A CVS spokesperson, per The Journal, noted that a minor fraction of its almost 10,000 stores in the United States are shutting down for one or two days of the weekend “to help address acute staffing issues amidst both the Omicron surge and the workforce shortage affecting nearly every industry and company.”
A Walgreens spokeswoman reportedly said that a large majority of its 9,000 U.S. stores are open during their usual hours. “The ongoing labor shortage, combined with the surge of Covid-19 cases, has resulted in isolated instances in which we’ve had to adjust operating hours or temporarily close a limited number of stores,” she said.
The Journal added:
<blockquote>
When a pharmacy has to close, Walgreens tries to shut it on days with the lowest demand and then to prepare nearby locations to handle added business, the spokeswoman said. The company tries to alert customers as soon as possible with signage, automated phone calls and adjustments in refills. Employees from closed locations often are deployed to help staff at other stores, she said.
</blockquote>
The staffing shortage is being felt across many industries, with healthcare being especially hard hit.
The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hospitals-struggle-with-covid-related-worker-shortages-many-fired-unvaccinated-workers">reported</a> that hospitals across the country are being stretched as staff members call in sick over COVID-19 infections after health care systems fired employees over their vaccination status.  The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/hospitals-cut-beds-as-nurses-call-in-sick-with-covid-19-11641810781">reported</a> that employee shortages led the Mass General Brigham hospital system to maintain 83 empty beds last Friday. “The University Hospitals system in Ohio has closed as many as 16% of its intensive-care beds recently, while Parkland Health &amp; Hospital System in Dallas has shut 30 of 900 beds,” The Journal noted. 
Physicians and healthcare authorities have said that reducing capacity is a last measure for hospitals where it is done to maintain the necessary safety and care of specific patients. However, such actions can have negative and potentially devastating effects. People are left waiting in emergency rooms, ambulances have to wait, and other care like cancer treatment is put off until a later date. 
On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the vaccine mandate from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in a 5-4 decision, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-allows-cms-vaccine-mandate-for-healthcare-workers-to-go-forward">reported</a>. 
“The mandate covers approximately 10 million healthcare workers at roughly 76,000 hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities. The majority in the CMS case argued that the government had the ability to mandate the vaccine as it dealt with facilities that received Medicare and Medicaid funding,” per The Daily Wire.

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CVS, Walgreens Close Some Pharmacies On Weekends Due To Worker Shortages

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As looting continues and lockdowns return, many retail companies have announced recently that they are shuttering some locations that have become simply too expensive to maintain.
Major cities have been hit by a wave of &#8220;smash-and-grab&#8221; robberies, where organized groups of looters attack store employees and escape with thousands of dollars in merchandise. Organized retail theft now costs retailers across the country a grand total of about $65 billion per year.
Meanwhile, some areas announced this month that they are again implementing stricter COVID restrictions, including mask and vaccine mandates, over concerns about rising virus cases and the new Omicron variant. Early <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/omicron-shows-signs-of-low-lethality">data</a> has pointed to the Omicron variant being less lethal but more contagious than the Delta variant.
Some of the country&#8217;s major pharmacy chains have said that they plan to close a number of stores.
In November, CVS announced that it will close around 900 retail locations over the next three years, which amounts to about 9% of its 10,000 stores. CVS locations across the country have been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cvs-closes-some-stores-looting-protests-2020-6">affected</a> by looting over the past year and a half, but the company cited more customers shopping online in its decision to close stores.
Rite Aid said just this week that it is closing 63 stores in order to reduce costs and boost profitability.
In October, Walgreens announced that they would close five locations in San Francisco, citing rampant shoplifting across the city. The company said that it increased security measures at Walgreens locations “across the city to 46 times our chain average” in an effort to combat San Francisco&#8217;s &#8220;organized retail theft&#8221; epidemic.
Walgreens is far from the only retailer to be suffering from increased crime sprees in San Francisco. The city has seen a particularly high number of robberies involving merchandise worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Grocery stores are also feeling the effects of spiking crime, as well as lingering damage from government lockdowns.
Kroger, the nation&#8217;s largest grocery store chain, made <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvxkj8/why-is-kroger-closing-stores-instead-of-paying-hazard-wages-for-its-employees">headlines</a> earlier this year when it closed several stores in Seattle and Long Beach, California, after the local governments demanded the company pay its workers hazard pay for working through the pandemic.
Iconic department stores are not immune either.
Macy&#8217;s is on track to close the remaining 60 out of 125 stores the company has been working on sunsetting over the last year or so. The company said last month that it plans to close 10 of those stores in January. Macy&#8217;s has shifted to focusing more on its e-commerce business in recent years.
Macy&#8217;s and many other retail companies also took a hit in 2020 when government lockdowns hobbled their business and looters damaged locations in major cities during rioting in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
JCPenney and Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy last year after weeks of lockdowns became the final straw for the struggling companies.
Asked about the more recent surge in retail robberies last month, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki appeared to blame former President Donald Trump, saying President Biden has proposed more funding for local police than Trump did. She also blamed COVID-19, saying the pandemic is “a root cause” of the rise in looting incidents.

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These Stores Are Closing Due To Looting And Lost Profits

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