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Your pharmacist might be permanently out to lunch

CVS and Walgreens are limiting the amount of baby formula you can buy — a grim reminder of what shortages mean, and how dependent we have become on retail chains, especially when it comes to vital supplies, including drugs. 

Maybe you have noticed that it is getting crowded in CVS or Walgreens these days as you wait for an item, a vaccine or medication.  

Maybe you’ve been on hold for a pharmacist and finally given up. Perhaps you have argued with a pharmacist or been standing on a long line while someone else demanded better service from the pharmacist.

Within the major drug store outlets, you often see a sign that says, “We’re Hiring.” What I never considered is that the people they most need to hire are critical to our health.

Recently I was living in Massachusetts and went to pick up a prescription at my local Walgreens. A sign on the pharmacy counter read, “Closed for the weekend” with a list of nearby locations. I subsequently learned that the pharmacy was closed because of a shortage of pharmacists. And COVID-19 was not the culprit.

I did a bit of research, including a long chat with a pharmacist. It turns out my experience with a closed pharmacy was just one of many across the nation.

Here’s what I learned.

Pharmacists in America are struggling, and many are leaving the profession. Over the next 10 years, it is estimated that America will see a nationwide decline of at least 2 percent of its pharmacists, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

That might not sound like a lot until you consider that new prescription growth in the United States is off the charts. Last March, the volume of prescriptions increased 34 percent over the previous year. Much of that is mail-order prescriptions, which don’t require a pharmacist. But there are certain things that require a human pharmacist, including vaccines, advice on side-effects of medication, help with finding a generic brand to reduce costs and even what to do if you can’t find baby formula. Pharmacists are also wizards at dealing with insurance companies on your behalf.

The problem for pharmacists today, I learned, is not wages. A good pharmacist can earn $75 an hour. Not bad.

The problems have to do with working conditions for pharmacists. One pharmacist at a leading chain told me he does not drink water before his 13-hour shift because there is no time to use the bathroom. The phones are ringing off the hook. Angry customers are demanding refills. And the average pharmacist is backed up trying to prioritize competing demands for antibiotics and inhalers. Volume is up, staffing is down.

Unruly airline passengers got the lion’s share of attention this year while pharmacists were facing angry customers of their own. It is time to admit that Americans have become increasingly short-tempered.

What worries many pharmacists is that dismal conditions can lead to mistakes, accidents and shortages. A 2022 survey by the American Pharmacist Association found that 74 percent of respondents said they did not think they had sufficient time to safely perform patient care and clinical duties.  

The pharmacist shortage comes at a time when COVID infections are up and the supply of nurses and medical technicians is down.  According to the American Hospital Association, almost every hospital in the country has a nursing shortage due to burn out from COVID. One study found that 35 percent of hospitals report a nurse vacancy rate of greater than 10 percent. Whether or not you believe in vaccines is not relevant if you need medication or medical attention or vital goods.

Yes, we know. The American health care system is broken. There is no shortage of reports and commissions looking at America’s health crisis. The answers about how to fix the health system are as complex as the system itself.  

But the narrow sector of pharmacists is a good place to start reform. Major companies like CVS, Walgreens and RiteAid need to staff their stores with more qualified people to ease the burden on existing staff. They can afford it. CVS posted a profit last year of $7.9 billion — up over 10 percent from the year before. Walgreens also had a good year.

Another answer to the pharmacy problem might be to put some of the burden for vaccination back on the internists who have quietly avoided COVID by telling patients to take home tests or get vaccinated at their local pharmacy.  

Ultimately, we all want to support small, local businesses, including the neighborhood pharmacy. But we still turn to the big chains, confident that they will be open and well-staffed and have products on the shelves. In this era of increasing resignations, it is not helpful to have pharmacists resign anywhere in the country.  

Tara D. Sonenshine is the Edward R. Murrow Professor of Public Diplomacy at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

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Appeals court clears way for bid to disqualify Cawthorn as ‘insurrectionist’

A federal appeals court in Richmond on Tuesday cleared the way for a legal effort that seeks to disqualify Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s (R-N.C.) candidacy for office due to his alleged role in the Jan. 6 pro-Trump insurrection.

The three-judge panel’s ruling reverses a lower court’s determination that an 1872 federal law that granted amnesty to nearly all former members of the Confederacy had immunized Cawthorn from the lawsuit brought under the 14th Amendment.

“We hold only that the 1872 Amnesty Act does not categorically exempt all future rebels and insurrectionists from the political disabilities that otherwise would be created by Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Judge Toby Heytens, a Biden appointee, wrote for the panel of judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 

Although Cawthorn unofficially lost his primary bid last week, the court said the lawsuit was not moot since a primary winner has not yet been certified.

The court also underscored the narrowness of its decision, emphasizing that it was not ruling on the claim that Cawthorn had engaged in insurrection.

The two other judges on the panel — James Wynn, an Obama appointee, and Julius Richardson, a Trump appointee — joined in the judgment, but each wrote separate concurring opinions. 

The lawsuit arose in January when a group of North Carolina voters filed a complaint to the State Board of Elections, alleging that Cawthorn’s speech before the Jan. 6 riot violated Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

That provision states in part that no person “who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.”

In response, Cawthorn filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to have the effort dismissed.

In March, a U.S. district judge blocked the effort to disqualify Cawthorn, finding that he was covered by the 1872 Amnesty Act, with the ruling prompting an appeal by the challengers. 

Cawthorn, a conservative firebrand who had tied himself closely to former President Trump and railed over unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential race, lost his scandal-ridden campaign for North Carolina’s newly created 13th District to state Sen. Chuck Edwards.

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Mo Brooks says 'I haven't been served anything' by Jan. 6 committee

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) on Tuesday said in an interview, “I haven’t been served anything” by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The comments come less than two weeks since the committee announced that they had subpoenaed the lawmaker.

NBC News correspondent Vaughn Hillyard spoke to Brooks on Tuesday amid voting in Alabama’s primary, the reporter noted toward the end of the interview that Brooks was “one of five Republicans who have been subpoenaed by the January 6th commission.”

“I haven’t been subpoenaed yet,” Brooks interjected. “I haven’t been served anything.”

“The January 6 committee says they have subpoenaed you,” Hillyard replied.

“They haven’t served me anything,” the Alabama Senate hopeful asserted.

Earlier this month, the Jan. 6 committee had announced that it had subpoenaed Brooks along with four other lawmakers. In a letter to Brooks dated May 12, Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said that they had issued him a subpoena after he declined to voluntarily cooperate with the panel.

In an earlier letter to Brooks, Thompson said that the committee was interested in hearing from the Alabama Republican after he made several comments in which he asserted that former President Trump has asked him to dispute the results of the 2020 election.

“As you know, the Committee is examining a series of efforts by President Trump to abandon his solemn duty to support and defend our Constitution. The exchange you have disclosed with the former President is directly relevant to the subject of our inquiry, and it appears to provide additional evidence of President Trump’s intent to restore himself to power through unlawful means,” Thompson wrote to him in a letter dated May 2.

It is not immediately clear, if true, why Brooks would not have received his subpoena yet. 

The committee has previously had difficulty serving a subpoena, as in the case of former Trump aide Dan Scavino when the committee had difficulty finding him; he later had it accepted by a staff member on his behalf following a search for him.

The House voted to hold Scavino in contempt in April after refusing to comply with the subpoena.

The development comes on the same day of Alabama’s primary and as the committee prepares to hold eight public hearings next month. 

The Hill has reached out to the committee and a spokesman for Brooks for comment.

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Appeals court temporarily blocks Jan. 6 committee from getting RNC records

A federal appeals court on Tuesday temporarily blocked the House Jan. 6 select committee from obtaining Republican National Committee (RNC) records while the GOP challenges a subpoena for documents pertaining to its fundraising efforts in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6, 2021.

A three-judge panel for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the RNC a temporary administrative injunction prohibiting third-party vendor Salesforce from turning over the party’s fundraising records to the select committee. The injunction will remain in effect until the judges decide the RNC’s emergency motion for a more lasting injunction, the panel said in a brief order.

“The purpose of this administrative injunction is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion,” the panel said.

All three judges on the panel were appointed by former President Trump.

Salesforce would have been able to turn over the records as early as Wednesday when a lower court’s injunction was set to expire.

The RNC is appealing a federal judge’s decision from earlier this month ordering Salesforce to comply with the subpoena. The national committee had asked the D.C. Circuit panel to prevent the subpoena from being enforced while it makes its case on appeal.

“Without an injunction, the RNC will have no opportunity to obtain relief on appeal, as Salesforce has indicated it will respond to the Subpoena and the Congressional Defendants claim the Court is without authority to award relief once Salesforce produces,” the RNC’s lawyers wrote in a court filing earlier this month.

The select committee responded by arguing it has an urgent need for the records as it prepares for public hearings to begin as early as next month.

“An injunction pending appeal would deprive the Select Committee of key information relevant to its investigation, its public hearings, and its consideration of legislation,” the select committee said in its own filing. “Further delay in obtaining the materials sought by the subpoena could obscure key facts and affect Congress’ efforts to prevent January 6th from recurring in our rapidly approaching next election cycle, or in the future.”

It’s unclear when the appeals court panel will decide whether to grant the RNC a longer-lasting injunction.

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New York cancels history Regents exam following Buffalo shooting

The New York State Education Department announced on Tuesday that it would cancel a statewide standardized exam on U.S. history and government for high school students following the mass shooting in Buffalo. 

“Our experts determined that there is content on the new Regents Examination in U.S. History & Government (Framework) that has the potential to compound student trauma caused by the violence in Buffalo, which created an unexpected and unintended context for the planned assessment,” the department said in a tweet about the decision to cancel the test, which was scheduled for June 1. 

While the content is “educationally sound,” the department said the recent shooting changed the context of some of the test’s materials, according to a letter from Education Commissioner Betty Rosa. 

The tests had “already been printed and packaged for shipment to schools,” Rosa said, adding that “it is not possible to produce a test with different content or to make modifications to the developed assessment in the short time period before the administration date.”

“We will work together to ensure that goodness and compassion will always triumph over ignorance and hatred,” the letter added.

The decision to cancel the exam came after a mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo last week left 10 people dead and three injured.

The 18-year-old accused of carrying out the shooting, Payton Gendron, allegedly targeted the Tops Friendly Markets location because it was in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Eleven of the 13 people victims in the attack were Black.

Erie County Sheriff John Garcia has called the shooting a “straight-up racially motivated hate crime.” 

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Russian diplomat warns against global ‘cyber confrontation’

Vassily Nebenzia, a Russian representative to the UN, accused Western democracies of being one-sided and influencing the public to think negatively about his country, calling it a “Russophobic information campaign,” according to Business Insider. 

Nebenzia, who spoke on Monday at a UN Security Council briefing, said that the West is trying to shut down Russia’s “alternative views” and build a “cyber-totalitarianism” against his country.

“States that call themselves a ‘community of democracies’ in fact are building a cyber-totalitarianism,” Nebenzia said. 

Nebenzia also denounced Ukraine for allowing a volunteer cyber army to fight back against Russian disinformation online as well as targeting Russian and Belarusian facilities. 

According to a Ukrainian official, the cyber army is made up of developers, cyber specialists, designers, copywriters and marketers. 

“Colleagues, you are creating uncontrollable cyber troops that will master their skills in Ukraine by attacking Russia, but will not stop at that,” Nebenzia said. 

The Russian diplomat also accused Western countries of “militarizing digital domain” which he compared to a nuclear war. 

“Once again, I call you to think of the danger of dragging the world into a cyber confrontation that is no less dangerous than [the] usage of WMDs,” Nebenzia said. 

He also demanded that the West “demilitarize information space,” adding that Russia will respond back to any cyberattacks targeting his country.

Several Western nations, including the U.S., have condemned Russia for launching destructive cyberattacks against Ukraine, which has become a testing ground for Russia’s cyber operations. 

Earlier this month, the U.S. and the European Union (EU) confirmed that Russia was behind a cyberattack that targeted Ukraine’s satellite network in late February. 

The European Council in a statement said the hack took place an hour before the invasion, causing significant communication outages and disrupting several public authorities and businesses. 

“This unacceptable cyberattack is yet another example of Russia’s continued pattern of irresponsible behaviour in cyberspace, which also formed an integral part of its illegal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine,” the European Council said. 

The U.S., the EU and other allies have vowed to take further steps to prevent and deter such actions taken by Russia against Ukraine. 

Experts and policymakers have also warned that Russia is likely to deploy its cyber arsenal in the U.S. midterm elections which may take different forms, including disinformation campaigns and election hacking. 

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‘Misinterpreted’ data: It’s time to end Commerce solar tariff inquiry

Launched in late March, the Commerce Department’s solar tariff inquiry has been controversial from the beginning. Commerce initiated the process in response to a petition from a California solar company that had little to offer in the way of substantiation for its claim. Since then, the inquiry — which threatens the imposition of retroactive tariffs of up to 250 percent on imports of key solar panel components — has created immense cost uncertainty and brought the booming growth in U.S. solar deployment to a screeching halt. 

The petition conceded there was no direct data to buttress its assertions because the petitioner, unknown to many in the renewable sector, lacked access to third-party data. The best it could do was provide research on solar manufacturing by BloombergNEF, which is cited dozens of times both in the petition and the Commerce Department memo that launched the tariff process. But now, in a devastating twist, the authors of this same Bloomberg research reveal this usage of their data does not “accurately reflect our research.”

Given this new information, we call on Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to bring the inquiry to a rapid end.

In response to questioning from Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and others, Raimondo has claimed that she did “not have discretion or ability to weigh in,” reflecting earlier statements that her “hands are tied.” There is good reason to question such an assertion in any circumstance, but surely all can agree that Commerce is not obliged to pursue an inquiry based on mischaracterized data. Commerce Department regulations specifically provide that the secretary can rescind a circumvention inquiry “if the secretary determines it is appropriate to do so.”

We urge Commerce to act quickly. After all, the booming growth in American solar power has been one of the few bright spots that give hope to scientists working to combat climate change. Prior to the Commerce inquiry, the U.S. solar sector demonstrated impressive resilience and routinely outperformed expectations, becoming an important driver for national economic growth.

But companies that invest in, develop, or buy solar power cannot be expected to do business in an environment where the costs of solar equipment have become essentially unknowable. A related problem is that solar cells and modules have become scarce in the U.S. since Commerce put its process in motion, as global suppliers choose to ship their solar products to other nations where they do not risk punitive tariffs. 

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) documented the scope of the impacts in a recent survey of more than 700 companies. SEIA found 83 percent of companies that purchase or use photovoltaic modules have been told expected shipments were canceled or delayed. The majority of respondents report that at least half of their workforce is now at risk. And 80 percent of domestic manufacturers, the group this Commerce action was supposedly intended to benefit, describe the inquiry as “severely negative” or “devastating.” 

More than 300 new solar projects have been canceled or delayed in the wake of this inquiry. Meanwhile, electric utilities now deprived of anticipated new solar energy installations are concerned about increased power prices and reduced grid reliability as we head into the warmest months of the year. Among several examples, the Northern Indiana Public Service Company recently announced the Commerce inquiry has forced it to delay the planned shutdown of two coal-fired power plants by two years, a tragic setback to climate goals that could be only a harbinger of what is to come.

Absent quick action by Secretary Raimondo, the paralysis of the solar sector resulting from Commerce’s action will result in higher electricity bills, a less reliable grid, and a debilitating blow to the Biden administration’s ambitious clean energy and climate goals. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm expressed grave concerns about these impacts in recent testimony, warning that the Commerce inquiry is “smothering” solar investment and jobs.

It’s time to end this destructive process and allow the renewable sector to recover and resume its role in driving economic growth, reducing electricity costs, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Surely the revelation that the investigation was premised on mischaracterized research is sufficient reason for an abrupt course change, and more than meets the standard for when it is “appropriate” to bring a tariff investigation to a prompt end.

Gregory Wetstone is President and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy, a national nonprofit that unites finance, policy and technology to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy.

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Former UN ambassador 'optimistic' WNBA star Brittney Griner 'will come home'

Bill Richardson, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that he is “optimistic” that detained WNBA star Brittney Griner “will come home” as calls for her release from Russia continue to grow. 

During an appearance on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” Richardson tells host Bryant Gumbel that he is “optimistic” about Griner’s return back to U.S. soil, adding it will “happen soon”. 

Sources told sports media outlets ESPN earlier this month that Richardson agreed to work on Griner’s case. 

“Bottom line. You optimistic?” Gumbel asked Richardson on Tuesday’s episode of the program.

“I’m optimistic,” Richardson replied. “I am. Hopefully, it’ll happen soon, but it will happen. Brittney Griner will come home. It’s gonna happen.” 

Richardson also told Gumbel that he sees the similarities in Griner’s case with Trevor Reed, a former U.S. marine who was released from Russian detainment last month, saying Moscow will aks for something in return for Griner due to her being a “very high profile” figure. 

“Well, yes. Both the Russians held them, I believe, as bargaining chips. They want something in return. Usually another prisoner, a Russian, in the United States,” Richardson told Gumbel. 

“I’m convinced the Russians are gonna ask for something in return, because Brittney Griner is very high profile,” Richardson added. “There’s a lot of attention to her. She’s a world figure. And the Russians are gonna want something in return.” 

This comes as national advocacy group Black Feminist Future (BFF) announced on Monday plans to hold a demonstration outside of a WNBA game in an effort to call for Griner’s release. 

Griner, whose case was classified as a “top priority” by the State Department, has been detained in Russia for the last three months after being accused by Moscow authorities of illegally having vape cartridges containing hashish oil with her at an airport. 

The seven-time all-star and Olympic gold medalist’s current detainment in the country was extended for another 30 days earlier this month. 

Recently, Democratic House Reps. Shelia Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Collin Allred (D-Texas), and Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) introduced a resolution calling for the “immediate release” of Griner from Russian custody. 

“She is a victim of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s desperation to rule the world, and unfortunately, her freedom is made more difficult by inconsistent Russian responses to our embassy personnel and a bad legal system in Russia,” Jackson Lee said in a statement. 

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Greta Van Susteren hired by Newsmax

Broadcaster Greta Van Susteren has been hired by Newsmax to serve as an anchor on the network, the outlet announced on Tuesday.

Susteren will debut on June 14 in a new show based in Washington, D.C., titled “The Record with Greta Van Susteren,” which will feature what the network says will be a “solid hour of factual, fair, and independent perspective on the news.”

“With all that is going on in the world, I am getting back to my roots — a daily live news show with real reporting from the places where things are happening,” Van Susteren said in a statement. “I have been friends with [Newsmax CEO] Chris Ruddy for years, and he is giving me this great opportunity to return, giving me the complete freedom to cover the news that really matters to people,” Van Susteren said.

Van Susteren, who has hosted a cable show on each of the three major cable news providers, has most recently been working as a political analyst for Gray Television and hosting a show for Voice of America.

She told Variety this week that she wasn’t interested in a prime-time show.

“That’s opinion time,” she told the outlet. “I’ve been able to get Republicans and Democrats on my show, regardless of my network. I like leaving the opinions to the opinion people. This is a better hour for me.”

Newsmax emerged as an alternative network for supporters of former president Trump following his loss in the 2020 presidential election. With an audience that is fractional compared to competitors like Fox News, Newsmax is one of several conservative media outlets that has been sued in recent months for content on its airwaves falsely suggesting a coordinated effort by voting systems companies to commit fraud.

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