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☆ Bernie Sanders says price of Alzheimer's treatment is unconscionable, calls on HHS to take action
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday called on the U.S. Health and Human Services Department to take action to ensure seniors can actually afford the expensive Alzheimer's treatment Leqembi. Sanders, who chairs the Senate Health Committee, in a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra called the $26,500 annual price tag for Leqembi set by drugmakers Eisai and Biogen "unconscionable." Sanders said the "outrageously high price" of Leqembi "will prevent seniors who need this drug from receiving treatment." Most Medicare patients suffering from Alzheimer's would not be able to afford the 20% co-payment of more than $5,000 a year for Leqembi, Sanders said. Co-payments, along with coinsurance and deductibles, are medication and health services costs that patients must personally pay for out of pocket, as opposed to being covered by their health insurance.

Persons: Sen, Bernie Sanders, Sanders, Xavier Becerra, drugmakers Eisai, Becerra, Mr Organizations: U.S, Capitol, U.S . Health, Human Services Department, Health, Medicare, HHS, Services, Leqembi, Democratic, Senate, Clinical Locations: Washington , DC, Vermont

Sen. Peter Welch, Sen. Joni Ernst, and Sen. Mitt Romney. Mariam Zuhaib/AP; Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Bonnie Cash/ReutersSenators from both parties on Thursday night defended their decision to support the debt ceiling deal, despite their concerns about the legislation. Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat, noted that while he had some concerns about the deal, he planned to vote for it anyway. “I'd like to get rid of the debt ceiling, because this hostage-taking sort of approach is becoming institutionalized, very dangerous to the country. I think that Kevin McCarthy negotiated a good deal – for now,” the Iowa Republican said.

Persons: Sen, Peter Welch, Joni Ernst, Mitt Romney, Mariam Zuhaib, Amanda Andrade, Rhoades, Bonnie Cash, “, Welch, Biden, ” Sen, Kevin McCarthy, “ It’s Organizations: Reuters, White, Iowa Republican, Republican Locations: Vermont

☆ Bernie Sanders doubled his income last year by writing a best-selling book that condemns capitalism
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote a book called "It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism." Per new disclosures, he made $170,000 in book royalties in 2022, nearly as much as his $174,000 salary. Coupled with another $170,000 royalties payment from publisher Penguin Random House in 2020, Sanders has so far made $340,000 from the book. Sanders, a two-time runner-up for the Democratic presidential nomination and a proponent of Democratic Socialism, has long drawn scrutiny for the wealth he's managed to amass while in office. Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a fellow progressive and 2020 presidential candidate, made even more than Sanders in book royalties in 2022, according to her own recently-filed financial disclosures.

☆ Eli Lilly CEO vows not to raise insulin prices again, while Novo Nordisk and Sanofi hedge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the committee's chair, asked Ricks and the CEOs of Novo Nordisk and Sanofi to commit to "never increase the price of any insulin drug again." Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen said the Danish company is committed to limiting price increases to "single digits." Net price refers to the amount insurers pay for an insulin drug after discounts and rebates. Sanofi said it plans to cut the price of its most popular insulin drug, Lantus, by 78% and reduce the list price of its short-acting insulin, Apidra, by 70%. At the hearing, Sanders called those actions "good news" and a result of public pressure.

The membership of the panel at Musk’s company, Neuralink, raises questions about potential violations of conflict-of-interest regulations aimed at protecting research integrity, a dozen animal-research and bioethics experts told Reuters. Autumn Sorrells has chaired an oversight board approving animal experiments by Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup, Neuralink, and also run the company’s animal care program. Reuters couldn’t determine the compensation terms of the Neuralink IACUC members who are also company employees. The independence of such boards, Nicolelis said, is critical to protecting the integrity of animal research that could impact humans in future clinical trials. These institutions generally prohibit people with direct financial interests from serving on IACUCs or voting on animal experiments.

☆ Despite 'strong differences of opinion,' Bernie Sanders says Joe Biden is the 'clear' choice for 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bernie Sanders said that despite "strong differences," Biden was the "clear" choice to be the Democrats' nominee. It may be a 2020 election rematch against Trump, but Sanders said Biden has the opportunity to "win in a landslide." I think your record that you have established is another thing," Sanders said on Sunday. It's no great secret that he and I have strong differences of opinion," Sanders said. "You do that, and I think Biden is going to win in a landslide."

☆ GM to end production of electric Chevy Bolt, its first mass-market EV, later this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Steve Fecht for ChevroletDETROIT – General Motors plans to stop production of its electric Chevrolet Bolt models by the end of this year, CEO Mary Barra told investors Tuesday when discussing the company's first-quarter earnings. The Chevy Bolt EV and EUV, a larger version of the car, make up the vast majority of the company's electric vehicle sales to date. General Motors CEO Mary Barra unveiled the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle during the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But Bolt sales never caught on as well as many executives hoped, as EV sales overall remained minuscule outside of Tesla . The Vermont State Police released this photo of the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV that caught fire on July 1, 2021 in the driveway of state Rep. Timothy Briglin, a Democrat.

☆ Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi CEOs to testify before Senate on lowering insulin prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In this photo illustration, an insulin pen manufactured by the Novo Nordisk company is displayed on March 14, 2023 in Miami, Florida. Those companies — Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi — had announced in March that they will slash prices of their most widely used insulin products by 70% or more. The companies' versions of insulin cost at least $275 before the announced price slashes, Sanders noted. Novo Nordisk said its CEO looks forward to "a productive and collaborative discussion about this important issue." PBMs have come under criticism for inflating drug prices and not passing on all the discounts they negotiate to consumers.

☆ Battle Over Labor Secretary Nominee Reflects a Larger Fight for Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Noam Scheiber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And once again, there are signs that the administration may fall short, with at least two Democrats and an independent wavering over whether to support Ms. Su. The administration may not be able to lose any of those votes if her nomination is to succeed. Ms. Su noted her role helping the department expand apprenticeships and other training programs under Mr. Walsh, and working at his side to avoid a potentially costly freight rail strike. She said she would seek employers’ advice on improving worker safety, and described the reverence she gained for small business owners after watching her immigrant parents operate a dry cleaner and a pizza franchise. Democrats argue that Ms. Su, who has strong backing from labor unions, would be a strong worker advocate and enforcer of provisions like the minimum wage, safety regulations and restrictions on child labor, as well as the right to join unions.

☆ Bernie Sanders Holds a Moderna Show Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

No good treatment goes unpunished for pharmaceutical companies these days, and Bernie Sanders will offer another example on Wednesday when he holds a political show trial of Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel . His offense? Cooperating with the government to produce life-saving Covid vaccines. The subject of the Vermont Senator’s hearing is Moderna’s plan to quadruple the price of its Covid vaccine to $110 to $130 per dose when U.S. government purchases stop. Pfizer has said it will charge a similar price after vaccines move to the commercial market, which is expected later this year.

The Nor'easter left about 190,000 homes and businesses in New York and New England without power as of Wednesday morning, according PowerOutage.com, a tracking service. In California, about an equal number of customers had no electric service on Wednesday in the wake of the latest in a series of atmospheric river storms to churn through the state this winter. [1/3] A California plate is seen at an area affected by floods after days of heavy rain in Pajaro, California, U.S., March 14, 2023. Along California's coast and lower inland areas, the heavy rain and melting alpine snow triggered renewed flooding from rain-swollen rivers and streams, compromising levees. "It's a little too soon to say for sure if it's another atmospheric river, but the storm is coming," he said.

☆ A United flight was grounded after a passenger found a bomb threat note in the bathroom: reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A United Airlines flight was grounded for several hours in Vermont on Sunday. A local NBC affiliate obtained audio of the plane's pilot discussing an apparent bomb threat. The Burlington airport was closed during the search and reopened around 7:30 p.m. local time. "A flight attendant just came up and said that a passenger found a note in the aft lav that said there was a bomb on board," the pilot can be heard saying. A spokesperson for United referred Insider to Republic Airways, which was operating the regional flight.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank's spectacular implosion shows how digital banking can decimate a lender in 24 hours
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Silicon Valley Bank's rapid implosion showed how bank runs can go at warp speed in the digital age. But while digital banking meant SVB's collapse accelerated to warp speed, its foundations had been left shaky. Digital banking, and the expectation of instantaneous transactions, is now the norm for the internet generation. Bianco said SVB's collapse should "scare the hell" out of bankers and regulators worldwide. Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, an independent financial adviser, said SVB's collapse had brought Trump-era deregulation into question.

☆ Ex-Bon Appétit editor Marissa Ross says the wine world ruined her. Now she's back and ready to give it hell.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +40 min

Her rise was tied to a period of reinvention for the wine world during which natural wine conquered millennial taste buds and became ubiquitous on menus across the US. Marissa Ross, Bon Appétit's wine editor from 2016 to 2020, often posted pictures of herself chugging straight from the bottle — a technique she called "The Ross test." "Natural wine," a nebulous term that generally refers to wine made with minimal intervention and without additives like sulfites, was tentatively entering the American wine world. Many in the wine world took the idea that you didn't have to be educated to know about wine as a personal insult. When she first told BA that she planned to cover only natural wines, Ross said, Rapoport called to try to change her mind.

☆ Bernie Sanders jabs Joe Biden for not replying when asked to fulfill his promise to halt federal contracts for anti-union employers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sanders liked Biden's campaign promise to halt federal contracts for anti-union employers. Sanders criticizes Biden for not responding to his request that he follow through on the promise. He reminded Biden of his campaign promise to "institute a multi-year federal debarment" for employers illegally opposing unions and ensuring federal contracts only go to employers who agree to not run anti-union campaigns. "That campaign promise was exactly right. He called Amazon the "poster child as to why this anti-union busting Executive Order is needed now more than ever."

☆ Bernie Sanders says he agrees with Bill Gates that the government should 'tax the robots' replacing workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Bernie Sanders says government should "tax the robots" that replace workers. In his new book, Sanders references Microsoft's Bill Gates' ideas on this issue. "We're going to need to adapt tax and regulatory policies" to address robots, Sanders write. He also wants to tax robots. His book references policy ideas from other proponents, including Microsoft's Bill Gates, a billionaire who Sanders notes is "not someone I regularly agree with."

☆ Sen. Bernie Sanders blasts 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley's call for 'mandatory mental competency tests' for politicians over 75 as 'absurd'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Bernie Sanders blasted Nikki Haley's idea of an age-based mental competency test for politicians. She's the second major Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential race, joining former President Trump, who'll turn 77 years old in June. "We'll have term limits for Congress, and mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old." "I think she should test her own mental competency," Hirono said of the presidential aspirant. "Come on, how many times has she said she's fighting Trump, and then the next thing you know, she's kissing his ring?"

☆ Get paid up to $10,000 to move? That's great for remote workers, but economists say it's not a good investment for the cities footing the bill
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

The more than 2,000 people who received Tulsa Remote grants have a median income of more than $85,000. For starters, he found the income generated by recipients of the Tulsa Remote program was just a sliver of the $80 billion the 468,000-plus workers in the Tulsa metro area generated in 2021. A Brookings Institution analysis of the Tulsa Remote program published in September found that the program was generally effective at bringing high-skilled labor to the area. He compared the impact of the incentive program to the opening of a Honda manufacturing plant in Greensburg in 2007. A previous audit from Hoffer's office in 2019 identified two major flaws in the Think Vermont program.

☆ Howard Schultz declined Bernie Sanders’ request to testify before Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Dayun Park | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Howard Schultz has declined Bernie Sanders’ request to testify before Congress. While Starbucks Workers United has sought better pay and benefits, the company has apparently put efforts into retaliating against workers who tried to unionize. About 100 Starbucks stores across the U.S staged a three-day strike in December, following a one-day strike in November, to protest unfair labor practices. One of the main reasons Starbucks workers organized is to hold billionaire executives, like Schultz, accountable for their actions,” Starbucks Workers United said in a statement to CNN. A total of 338 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since 2021, 282 have been certified across 36 states and 56 didn’t get certified.

☆ GOP Sen. Cynthia Lummis raves about 'extraordinary' new Democratic Sen. Peter Welch and says she's excited to be reunited in the Senate: 'I love Pete Welch'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cynthia Lummis and Peter Welch are psyched to join forces and get things done in the new congress. And it will serve the Senate well," Lummis said, adding, "I'm very excited that he's on the Senate side." Welch was equally enthused about the reunion, noting that as one of the freshmen senators in the 118th Congress he actually inherited Lummis' old digs. While walking from the Capitol to the Senate office buildings, Welch stopped Lummis, who had two staffers with her, to chat. "I love Pete Welch," Lummis said.

☆ John Fetterman's picture-taking, buddy-making, convention-breaking first month on Capitol Hill
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Delegation-mate Sen. Bob Casey told Insider that Fetterman is “off to a great start.”Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Insider spoke to Fetterman's colleagues, his staff, and congressional reporters about the newcomer's first month in Washington, and what to expect from him as Congress gets rolling. "I know Sen. Fetterman is interested in nutrition, and I share his concerns there, so I look forward to collaborating to get things done for folks in Pennsylvania and Vermont," Welch said. Food issues definitely fall under their purview as newly minted members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. 'Off to a great start'Sen. Casey told Insider that Fetterman has already hit the ground running.

☆ This startup turning human waste into fertilizer just raised $7.5 million. Here's the 17-slide pitch deck Wasted used to raise the fresh funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Wasted is making fertilizer out of urine and just raised $7.5 million in fresh funding. Wasted, which he created alongside Taylor Zehren and Thor Retzlaff, is redesigning the porta-potty to ultimately turn human waste into agriculture fertilizer. At least 40 wastewater treatment plants were damaged as a result of the 2017 hurricane Harvey, which saw raw sewage spill out onto streets. Nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium are common fertilizers found in human waste but are typically extracted from the earth for use. There is a long history of some countries using untreated or partially-treated human waste as fertilizer.

☆ Sen. Sanders asks Moderna not to hike COVID vaccine price
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Michael Erman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Mississippi, U.S. December 20, 2020. Senator Bernie Sanders sent Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) a letter this week asking the drug company to halt planned U.S. price increases on its COVID-19 vaccine, saying price hikes could make the shot unaffordable for millions of Americans. Sanders said in his letter that raising prices would be particularly egregious after the U.S. government provided around $1.7 billion to fund development of the vaccine. The Vermont senator has railed against high drug prices and backed Medicare-for-all, and his chairmanship of the HELP committee could put drug companies in his crosshairs. Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine sales were around $18.4 billion in 2022.

WASHINGTON — Patrick Leahy was swept into the Senate nearly a half-century ago in the wake of the Watergate scandal and President Richard Nixon’s resignation and pardon. Ron Frehm / APSen. Leahy take photos on the inaugural stand during Barack Obama's presidential inauguration at the Capitol on Jan. 21, 2013. Let’s stay here and vote where we can be seen.”Sen. Leahy, D-Vt., walks to the Senate Chamber on Jan. 6, 2021. Ira Schwarz / APSupreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor is sworn in by committee chairman Sen. Leahy, D-Vt., during her confirmation hearing in 2009 in Washington. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., in the Senate subway.

The agency did not respond to requests for comment on its record monitoring animal research experiments nationally. The USDA inspector general has published at least three reports since 2014 critical of the agency’s lax oversight, though its criticism dates back to the 1990s. Neuralink says on its website that it champions animal welfare and tries to reduce animal testing where possible. Two academic studies conducted in 2009 and 2012 found that animal research committees approved between 98% and 99% of experiments proposed by researchers. Envigo was made to sign the consent decree giving up the beagles only after the USDA inspector general and the Justice Department investigated and found evidence of inhumane treatment.

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