CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
U.S. sues Rite Aid over opioid prescriptions
By Darryl Coote

The Justice Department on Monday filed a lawsuit against Rite Aid, accusing it of illegally filling hundreds of thousands of prescriptions.

File Photo by Shawn Thew/EPA

March 14 (UPI) -- The United States on Monday sued Rite Aid and several of its subsidiaries on allegations they knew their pharmacists had for years filled hundreds of thousands of illegal prescriptions for controlled substances, fueling the opioid epidemic.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, eastern division, accuses one of the country's largest retail pharmacies of not only filling the prescriptions despite red flags having been raised but of knowing it was occurring and taking steps to delete internal warnings about suspicious prescribers.

"The Justice Department is using every tool at our disposal to confront the opioid epidemic that is killing Americans and shattering communities across the country," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. "That includes holding corporations, like Rite Aid, accountable for knowingly filling unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances."

Federal and local governments have filled numerous lawsuits against companies on allegations of fueling the opioid epidemic, which between 1999 and 2020 resulted in the deaths of more than 564,000 people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pharmaceutical companies, including retail pharmacies, such as CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, have reached multimillion and in such cases billion-dollar settlements with states that have filed thousands of lawsuits against them, with federal prosecutors filing their own. Late last year, the Justice Department sued AmerisourceBergen, one of the largest drug manufactures, on similar allegations to the case it brought Monday against Rite Aid.

In the Monday lawsuit, prosecutors accuse Rite Aid of filling the prescriptions from May 1, 2014, to June 10, 2019, despite obvious and often multiple red flags indicating misuse related to the prescriber, customer or a combination of both.

The prescriptions in question were either medically unnecessary, lacked a medically accepted indiction or were not issued in the usual manner, the document states.

While the pharmacists "ignored these red flags," the company knew that such prescriptions for controlled substances were "routinely and pervasively" filled, federal prosecutors said.

"While Rite Aid pharmacists were supposed to use a validation process for certain highly diverted controlled substances and to resolve red flags before dispensing, Rite Aid knew the validation process was a fig leaf," the complaint states

Rite Aid's Government Affairs Department is further alleged to have repeatedly directed employees to delete internal notes about suspicious prescribers logged in its dispensing software.

"Cash only pill mill???," "writing excessive dose[s] for oxycodone" and "DO NOT FILL CONTROLS" were among the examples of allegedly deleted notes included in the court document.

"Instead of ensuring this vital information was available to all Rite Aid pharmacists, a Government Affairs analyst admonished a Rite Aid pharmacist who added such a note 'to always be very cautious of what is put in writing,'" it continued.

Federal prosecutors state that despite knowing prescriptions for controlled substances were being filled for illegitimate medical purposes, Rite Aid "very rarely took action to stop the flow of opioids prescribed by that practitioner."

The federal government is specifically accusing the company with more than 2,200 pharmacies in 17 states of violating the Controlled Substances Act and the False Claims Act for submitting false or fraudulent claims for prescriptions to federal healthcare programs.

Prosecutors also filed the complaint in a whistleblower lawsuit brought against Rite Aide in 2019.

Rite Aid declined to comment on the litigation.

"The opioid crisis has exacted a heavy toll on communities across the United States. Today's complaint is an important reminder that the Justice Department will hold accountable any individuals or entities, including pharmacies, that fueled this terrible crisis," Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton said in a statement.

Chinook salmon fishing season canceled off coasts of Oregon, California

The recreational and commercial Chinook salmon fishing season has been canceled along the coasts of Oregon and California, through the middle of May, due to dwindling numbers of Chinook in the states' largest rivers. 

Photo courtesy by Michael Humling, courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service


March 13 (UPI) -- The recreational and commercial salmon fishing season has been canceled along the coasts of Oregon and California, through the middle of May, due to dwindling numbers of Chinook salmon in the states' largest rivers following years of drought.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries announced the in-season action to protect the Klamath River fall-run Chinook salmon and Sacramento River fall-run Chinook, which returned to California's Central Valley last year at "near-record low numbers."

Ocean salmon fishing will be banned, starting Friday, between Cape Falcon, Ore., and the U.S.-Mexico border until May 15. Sport fishing had been scheduled to open off the coast of California on April 1.

Beyond mid-May, the Pacific Fishery Management Council in Seattle issued three regulatory options through May 15, 2024. While each option considers quotas for Oregon and Washington, none would allow commercial or sport salmon fishing off California until April of 2024.

"California ocean recreational fisheries in all areas from the Oregon-California border to the U.S.-Mexico border are proposed to be closed in all three alternatives given the low abundance forecasts for both Klamath and Sacramento fall Chinook," the council announced Friday.

PFMC manages fisheries for approximately 119 species of salmon, groundfish and coastal pelagic species -- including sardines, anchovies and mackerel --- on the West Coast of the United States. The council also manages migratory species, such as tuna, shark and swordfish.

"The 2023 salmon season discussions have been dominated by the severely low forecasts for both the Klamath and Sacramento River fall Chinook stocks," said Pacific Fishery Management Council Executive Director Merrick Burden.

"The council will need to deliberate on the best path forward in setting 2023 seasons with considerations for economic implications to the coastal communities and the low abandons of key salmon stocks and the need to ensure future generations of healthy salmon returns," Burden added.

PFMC plans to hold a public hearing next week in Santa Rosa, Calif., on the three proposals. Final regulations will be adopted when the council meets next month.

"Meeting our conservation and management objectives continues to be the highest priority for the council," said Council Chair Marc Gorelnik

"Balancing those objectives while providing meaningful commercial and recreational seasons remains a challenge in 2023."

Anti-nausea drug used in pregnancies decades ago linked to colon cancer

By Cara Murez, HealthDay News

The drug, dicyclomine, was initially included in Bendectin, a drug prescribed during pregnancy starting in the 1960s to prevent nausea and vomiting.

 Photo by Pexels/Pixabay


The children of women who took a common anti-nausea drug for pregnancy in the 1960s and 1970s may be at higher risk of colon cancer, according to a new study.

The drug, dicyclomine, is used to treat spasms caused by irritable bowel syndrome. It was also initially included in Bendectin, a drug prescribed during pregnancy starting in the 1960s to prevent nausea and vomiting.

"Our findings suggest that events in the earliest periods of life -- including the womb -- can affect risk of cancer many decades later," said study first author Caitlin Murphy, an associate professor at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health.

"As many as 25% of pregnant women received Bendectin through the mid-1970s, and there may be long-lasting consequences for offspring that continue today," Murphy said in a university news release.

RELATED High blood pressure during pregnancy linked to cognitive issues later

Incidence rates of colon cancer are increasing among adults born in and after the 1960s, according to the study. This suggests that pregnancy-related exposures introduced at that time may now be risk factors.

To study this, researchers analyzed data from Child Health and Development Studies, a multi-generational cohort that enrolled more than 14,500 pregnant women. These women gave birth to more than 18,700 babies in Oakland, Calif., between 1959 and 1967.

About 5% of those offspring, or a total of 1,014 children, were exposed to Bendectin while in the womb.

Incidence rates of colon cancer were about three times higher in those exposed to Bendectin than those not exposed.

Researchers suspect that dicyclomine may target the developing gastrointestinal tract of the fetus. Some studies suggest infants born to women who received Bendectin during pregnancy are more likely to have gastrointestinal birth defects, Murphy said.

The manufacturer of Bendectin removed dicyclomine from the drug's formula in 1976, after reports of birth defects and concerns in the wake of the thalidomide drug tragedy. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, many pregnant women were prescribed the drug thalidomide to ease morning sickness. More than 10,000 of their babies were born with severe deformities.

The findings were published recently in the journal JNCI Cancer Spectrum.

Experimental studies are needed to clarify these latest findings and identify mechanisms of risk with dicyclomine, Murphy said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on medications in pregnancy.

Copyright © 2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

White House sets new drinking water standards targeting PFAS


Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Michael Regan addresses a gathering of state and local government officials at The White House on January 27. He announced new drinking water standards to identify PFAS chemicals on Tuesday. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI | License Photo

March 14 (UPI) -- The Biden administration announced new national drinking water standards that address polyfluoroalkyl substances, of PFAS, limiting their exposure in humans.

Officials said the proposed rule will allow federal and state officials the guidelines it needs to combat PFAS pollution. PFAS is a category of manufactured chemicals that can cause serious health problems, including cancer if people are exposed to them over a long period of time.

The proposed standard will allow the Environmental Protection Agency to test public water systems for six PFAS chemicals, called "forever chemicals" because they don't break down over time.

The agency will be required to notify the public if the levels of these PFAS exceed the proposed regulatory standards and take action to reduce the level of PFAS in the water supply.

RELATED U.S. manufacturer 3M announces plan to stop using 'forever chemicals' in all its products

"Communities across this country have suffered far too long from the ever-present threat of PFAS pollution," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. "That's why President Biden launched a whole-of-government approach to aggressively confront these harmful chemicals, and EPA is leading the way forward.

Regan said the new PFAS standards will be based on the "best available science" and provide states with information to establish their own standards.


"This action has the potential to prevent tens of thousands of PFAS-related illnesses and marks a major step toward safeguarding all our communities from these dangerous contaminants," Regan said.

RELATED Study finds high levels of PFAS 'forever chemicals' in alligators' blood

PFAS chemicals can be found in fertilizer that then seeps into drinking water, fire extinguisher foam, manufacturing or chemical production facilities, and a wide range of food packaging and personal care products.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

'Fortnite' maker agrees to $245M in FTC fines over unwanted purchases

By Simon Druker

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday, it is finalizing a multimillion-dollar order against Epic Games, the maker of the popular video game "Fortnite." Photo courtesy of Epic Games


March 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday, it is finalizing a multimillion-dollar order against Epic Games, the maker of the popular video game "Fortnite," for tricking players into making unwanted purchases.

Epic agreed to pay $245 million in fines, the FTC said in its order.

The commission contends the North Carolina-based game maker used dark patterns to trick players into purchases. Children ended up getting billed for unauthorized charges without parental consent.

Once finalized, money from the settlement will go toward refunds to game players.

Federal Trade Commission charges supplement company, says it manipulated product reviews on Amazon

Tuesday's order is separate from a $275 million settlement Epic agreed to pay for violating children's privacy laws.

Both agreements were tentatively agreed to in December.

"Epic began and persisted engaging in these practices despite prior public law enforcement actions against Amazon, Apple and Google for failing to obtain parents' consent to charges in kids' gaming apps," the commission said in its order Tuesday.

The order prohibits Epic "from charging consumers through the use of dark patterns or from otherwise charging consumers without obtaining their affirmative consent."

"Fortnite" is free to download and play but offers numerous in-game upgrades for a fee. The content is known as "skins."

The company is also unable to block gamers' accounts if they dispute unauthorized charges.

Consumers can apply for refunds through the FTC's website.

Employees raised concerns internally as far back as 2017, but those were ignored by management, according to court documents.

Despite complaints, the company did not begin age verification for in-game paid purchases until 2019.

"Protecting the public, and especially children, from online privacy invasions and dark patterns is a top priority for the commission, and these enforcement actions make clear to businesses that the FTC is cracking down on these unlawful practices," FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan said in a statement in December.

Tyson Foods to close two chicken plants, affecting hundreds in Virginia, Arkansas

By Patrick Hilsman

Tyson Foods has announced the company will shut down two chicken plants in May as a cost-saving measure. File photo by Shawn Thew/EPA-EFE

March 14 (UPI) -- Tyson Foods has announced that it will be closing two chicken plants because of a drastic drop in sales over the past year.

The plants in Glen Allen, Va., and Van Buren, Ark., will be shut down in May, affecting the 1,661 employees who work at the two facilities.

In a statement to CNBC, Tyson said "while the decision was not easy, it reflects our broader strategy to strengthen our poultry business by optimizing operations and utilizing full available capacity at each plant."

The company says it will help transfer some of the affected employees to other plants.

In October, Tyson announced that it would relocate approximately 1,000 of its corporate staff in Illinois and South Dakota to Arkansas.

The company says inefficiencies in how it manages plants has been largely responsible for recent significant drops in operating income and profits.

The food and beverage industry has faced major layoffs in the past year, with PepsiCo, Impossible Foods, and Beyond Meat restructuring their work forces.

FOR PROFIT CARE

Assisted-care facility executives charged in 14 deaths from COVID-19 outbreak

By Joe Fisher

COVID-19 is especially dangerous for older people, even if they are vaccinated (like those in L.A. in 2020, pictured). Despite the risks, though, an assisted-care facility in Los Angeles is accused of taking in a patient from New York City in March 2020 without testing them for COVID-19. New York City healthcare facilities were in the throes of a rampant COVID-19 outbreak at the time. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

March 14 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles County prosecutor has announced charges against three executives of an assisted-care facility for a COVID-19 outbreak that led to the deaths of 14 people, including 13 residents.

In a press release Tuesday, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced charges against Jason Russo, Kimberly Butrum, and Loren Shook of Silverado Senior Living Management. They are charged with 13 felony counts of elder endangerment and five felony counts of violations causing death.

The facility is accused of taking in a patient from New York City in March 2020 without testing them for COVID-19. New York City healthcare facilities were in the throes of a rampant COVID-19 outbreak at the time.

After being admitted, the patient allegedly began displaying symptoms of COVID-19 infection and then tested positive, yet they were not quarantined from other residents. The facility is also accused of not prohibiting the entry of visitors who had traveled to places where COVID-19 was reported during the previous 14 days

ABC 7 Los Angeles reports that more than 100 residents were infected. At least 60 were residents and 45 were employees. One of those who died was an employee at the facility.

Gascon launched an investigation into the facility after the death of the employee, who ABC News identified as 32-year-old Brittany Ringo. She allegedly was ordered to admit the patient from New York City, who had arrived directly from the airport. She then tested positive on March 25 and died less than a month later.

"The investigation revealed that the Silverado management team was aware of the risks associated with admitting a new resident from a high-risk area and failed to follow the appropriate procedures to protect their employees and the vulnerable people in their care," Gascon said in a statement.

"These careless decisions created conditions that needlessly exposed Silverado staff and its residents to serious injury and -- tragically -- death."

FOR PROFIT HEALTHCARE
Most medical debt in America is owed to hospitals

By Cara Murez, HealthDay News

Photo by Romy/Pixabay

When Americans have medical debt, it's typically to a hospital, according to new research.

The Urban Institute found that more than 15% of non-elderly adults in the United States have past-due medical debt. Nearly 73% owe some or all of that money to hospitals.

"These findings highlight the persistent challenge of medical debt in America, and the role of hospitals as a key source of that debt," said Michael Karpman, Urban Institute principal research associate.

"Understanding the experiences of people with past-due medical bills can inform discussions around new consumer protections to alleviate debt burdens," he added in an institute news release.

RELATED U.S. leads wealthy nations in healthcare spending but life expectancy lags

Data came from the Urban Institute's Health Reform Monitoring Survey of adults aged 18 to 64 in June 2022.

Although federal regulations stipulate that nonprofit hospitals must provide charity care and other community benefits, these organizations determine their own charity eligibility criteria. Financial assistance policies are often difficult to find and understand, the investigators noted.

About 60% of U.S. hospitals are nonprofit organizations. For-profit hospitals are exempt from these consumer protections.

RELATED Pandemic funding eased medical debt for many Americans

The survey also found that about 28% of adults with past-due medical debt owe all of their debt to hospitals. About 45% owe their debt to hospitals and other providers.

More than 20% owe at least $5,000 and most owe at least $1,000. Adults with past-due hospital bills were more likely to have much higher total amounts of medical debt than adults with only debt from non-hospital providers, according to the survey.

Almost 61% had been contacted by a collection agency.

RELATED More Americans with employer-sponsored insurance can't afford healthcare

Those who had incomes below 250% of the federal poverty level ($57,575 for a family of three) were no more likely to avoid being referred to debt collection or receive discounted care when compared to higher-income earners, the findings showed.

"High rates of medical debt underscore the challenges millions of families and adults -- especially families and adults struggling to make ends meet -- face trying to pay their medical bills," said Gina Hijjawi, senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

"We see that individuals with disabilities, and Black and Latino adults are disproportionately represented among adults carrying past-due medical debt. Consumers need standards in place that protect them from undue medical debt and help them obtain affordable care," she added.

The research was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

More information

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has more on medical debt.

Copyright © 2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

RACIST MEDICINE U$A
More Black patients die of pulmonary fibrosis at younger ages

By Cara Murez, HealthDay News

Black patients with pulmonary fibrosis were consistently younger at the time of their first hospitalization, lung transplant and death, a recent study showed. Photo by Thomas G./Pixabay

Black patients are dying of pulmonary fibrosis, a devastating disease marked by progressive scarring of the lungs, at significantly younger ages than White patients.

A new study probes factors contributing to earlier onset of disease, hospitalization and death in Black patients.

The disease involves a thickening and scarring of lung tissue, making it hard to breathe. It could come from exposure to toxins, medications or autoimmune disorders. About half of patients die within five years of a pulmonary fibrosis diagnosis.

"Pulmonary fibrosis is a deadly disease, and people are often diagnosed right around the time they retire," said lead author Dr. Ayodeji Adegunsoye, assistant professor of medicine at University of Chicago Medical Center.

RELATED Black, Hispanic, publicly insured patients get shorter primary care visits

"You can imagine how devastating it would be, to work diligently all your life and then as you are about to retire, you're diagnosed with a disease with a life expectancy of around three years," he said in a center news release.
The researchers looked at data from four U.S. hospitals, following outcomes of more than 4,500 patients between January 2003 and April 2021.

On average, Black patients were diagnosed at 57.9 years of age, White patients at 68.6.

RELATED Black, Hispanic patients less likely to be treated for complications of stroke

Black patients were more likely to be female and more likely to be hospitalized than White and Hispanic patients, researchers found. Black patients were consistently younger at the time of their first hospitalization, lung transplant and death.

Adegunsoye said his work with patients on Chicago's impoverished South Side prompted the study.

"This disease has no clear cause and no cure, but it is not a cancer; the poor prognosis made me wonder if Black patients are as affected by this disease as Whites, and whether or not they experienced different outcomes," Adegunsoye said. "And we saw that Black patients' experience with the disease is accelerated by about 10 years."

The disparities may be linked to lifestyle and socioeconomic factors that put Black patients at higher risk, according to the study.

"For example, Black people are more likely to live along transit corridors, exposing them to more air pollution," Adegunsoye said. "They're also more likely to be underinsured or uninsured. Being Black is not the health risk; it's the environmental and societal factors that make it difficult for Black patients to access high-quality care."

Risk factors for the disease include air pollution, jobs in which there is a higher risk of inhaling particulate matter and smoking.

Adegunsoye called the findings so profound that everyone should be screened earlier for the disease, especially those who have risk factors.

"If you can pick up the disease sooner, the outcomes will improve," he said. "We know more about the disease now than we did even 10 years ago, and while there is no cure, there are treatments available -- some of them are as simple as changing your environment or wearing a mask to reduce environmental exposure, but there are also drugs that can slow the progression of the disease."

While not all coughs are a sign of pulmonary fibrosis, patients and their care teams need to evaluate symptoms carefully, he said.

His team is now investigating the role of molecular mechanisms and environmental exposures play in the racial disparities.

Understanding how pollution, diet and stress can alter human biology may help clarify why and how certain patients end up with pulmonary fibrosis, researchers said.

They are also investigating whether having COVID-19 adds to pulmonary fibrosis risk.

Adegunsoye said he simply wants patients to get what they need when they need it, including information about how protecting their lungs from pollutants and irritants is an easy way to preventing many types of pulmonary fibrosis.

"Something as simple as wearing a mask if you're working in a refinery or factory could help," he said. "People should understand that breathing clean air, as simple as it sounds, can make a huge difference."

Study findings were published recently in JAMA Network Open.

More information

The American Lung Association has more on pulmonary fibrosis.

Copyright © 2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

CRYPTO CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
FTX transferred $3.2 billion to Bankman-Fried, documents show

Story by Investing.com • By Geoffrey Smith

FTX transferred $3.2 billion to Bankman-Fried, documents show

© Provided by ca.investing.com

Investing.com -- FTX transferred over $3 billion to founder Sam Bankman-Fried and his inner circle before its collapse in November, according to a statement issued by the bankrupt exchange's administrators late on Wednesday.

FTX Trading Ltd. issued late on Wednesday what are known as Schedules of Assets and Liabilities and Statements of Financial Affairs (the "Schedules and SOFAs") for all of the entities involved in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The 'Schedules and SOFAs' filed describe $3.2 billion in payments and loans to founders, chiefly from Alameda Research the hedge fund which FTX vainly tried to keep afloat as its bets on cryptocurrency went wrong last year.


Related video: Sam Bankman-Fried Charged With Additional Bank Fraud Allegations in New Indictment (CoinDesk)
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The payments included $2.2B to Sam Bankman-Fried himself, around $587M to Nishad Singh, $246M to Gary Wang and $6M to Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried's sometime girlfriend, whom he installed as CEO of Alameda.

All of the above except Bankman-Fried have already pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges, and are likely to receive more lenient sentences in exchange for cooperation in the prosecution of Bankman-Fried.

The new management of FTX, under John J. Ray, noted that this didn't include $240M spent to buy luxury property in the Bahamas, or the millions paid in political donations by Bankman-Fried and others in the U.S. and elsewhere.

"Although some of the property purchased with the proceeds of these transfers is already in the control of the FTX Debtors or governmental authorities with whom the FTX Debtors are cooperating, the amount and timing of eventual monetary recoveries cannot be predicted at this time," the statement said.

Two other senior executives, Sam Trabucco and Ryan Salame, received $25M and $87M, respectively, the SOFAs showed.