What to Know
- It was an extraordinary decision at a tense time for editors at The New York Times
- Several major hospital groups launched their own generic drug company, Civica Rx, to tackle chronic shortages and high prices
- Goop will pay civil penalties over products including egg-shaped stones that are meant to be inserted into the vagina to improve health
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Anonymous Official Cites Trump's ‘Amorality’ in NY Times Op-Ed
It was an extraordinary decision at a tense time for editors at The New York Times: a senior official at the Trump administration wanted to tell the world that some who work for the president try to blunt his worst instincts, but wanted the cover of anonymity to avoid being fired. The Times agreed and posted the column titled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," provoking fury from the man who frequently revs up supporters by railing against "fake news" and the "failing New York Times." Trump called the move gutless and demanded the Times reveal the author's identity "for national security purposes." The internet was abuzz with speculation on who wrote the column, which veered in tone between a hostage note and a reassurance to Americans that, as the writer put it, "there are adults in the room."
Brett Kavanaugh Faces Final Round of Questioning Without Missteps
Senators will launch a final round of questioning of Brett Kavanaugh, but after a marathon 12-hour session, President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court appears to have avoided any major missteps that could trip his confirmation. So far, Kavanaugh does not seem to have changed minds on the Judiciary Committee, which is split along partisan lines. The judge left unanswered questions over how he would handle investigations of the executive branch and whether he would recuse himself if cases involving Trump under special counsel Robert Mueller's probe end up at the court. His credibility may face new tests by senators who are seeking to make public some emails and documents from his Bush White House years that are being withheld by the committee as confidential. Trump says he's pleased with his nominee's televised performance, and Republicans are united behind him, eager to add a conservative judge to the court.
Hospital Groups Launch Own Company to Make Generic Drugs
Local
Several major hospital groups launched their own generic drug company to tackle chronic shortages and high prices. The new company, Civica Rx, plans to start with 14 widely used hospital drugs long in short supply. The company isn't disclosing the drugs' names for competitive reasons, but they include a mix of generic pills, patches and injectable drugs for treating infections, pain and heart conditions, board chairman Dan Liljenquist said. "The mission of Civica is to make sure these drugs remain in the public domain, that they're available and affordable to everyone," he said. Drug shortages have been widespread for more than a decade, particularly for inexpensive generic drugs, due to manufacturers consolidating, stopping production of low-profit medicines and having to fix manufacturing problems. Hospitals are particularly hard hit and frequently must scramble to find scarce medicines, often at huge price markups, or come up with workarounds that may not be as effective or safe for patients.
Major Opioid Maker to Pay for Overdose-Antidote Development
A company whose prescription opioid marketing practices are being blamed for sparking the addiction and overdose crisis says it's helping to fund an effort to make a lower-cost overdose antidote. OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma announced it's making a $3.4 million grant to Harm Reduction Therapeutics, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit, to help develop a low-cost naloxone nasal spray. The announcement comes as lawsuits from local governments blaming Purdue, based in Stamford, Connecticut, and other companies in the drug industry for using deceptive marketing practices to encourage heavy prescribing of the powerful and addictive painkillers. Last week, the number of lawsuits against the industry being overseen by a federal judge topped 1,000.
Goop Settles Over Claims Its Vaginal Eggs Have Health Perks
Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle company goop has agreed to pay $145,000 in civil penalties over products including egg-shaped stones that are meant to be inserted into the vagina to improve health. Prosecutors in eight California counties jointly announced the settlement after a task-force investigation found some of goop's health claims were unfounded. The settlement involves advertisements saying goop's Jade Egg and Rose Quartz Egg could balance hormones, regulate menstrual cycles and improve bladder control. In addition to the penalty, the company will provide refunds to customers who ask. A goop statement says the settlement acknowledges no liability on the company's part and addresses only advertising, not the products themselves. The statement says there is honest disagreement between the sides, but goop wanted to settle the matter quickly and amicably.
Kanye West Apologizes to Drake and Addresses Pusha T's Diss Tracks
Kanye West took to Twitter to apologize to Drake and address their feud. "Sending good energy and love to Drake and family and crew," the "Gold Digger" star wrote alongside a screenshot of Drake's stage. "I haven't seen the show in person but the images look incredible online I understand where the confusion started." His mea culpa also included an apology for "stepping on your release date in the first place" and noted that the two had been "building a bond and working on music together, including squashing the issues with Cudi at our office. He also admitted he had been "a bit ramped up doing 25 tweets a day" at the time and that "TMZ happened shortly after." Because we spoke about doing Lift Yourself together I should have given you the opportunity for us to do this together before I released it," he later added after boarding a plane, citing the track he released in April.
