(NEW YORK) — The transportation industry has been bracing for pre-pandemic-level crowds this holiday season, but now two major U.S. airlines have been forced to proactively cancel some Christmas Eve flights due to the fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19.
As of Thursday evening, United Airlines has proactively cancelled 112 flights for Christmas Eve.
“The nationwide spike in omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation,” United said in a statement. “As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport.”
“We’re sorry for the disruption and are working hard to rebook as many people as possible and get them on their way for the holidays,” the airline added.
And it’s not just United that’s feeling the impact of the variant on crews.
Delta Air Lines also proactively canceled around 90 flights for Christmas Eve. The airline says the “flight cancellations are due to a combination of issues, including but not limited to, potential inclement weather in some areas and the impact of the omicron variant.”
“Delta teams have exhausted all options and resources — including rerouting and substitutions of aircraft and crews to cover scheduled flying — before canceling around 90 flights for Friday,” Delta said in a statement to ABC News. “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their holiday travel plans. Delta people are working hard to get them to where they need to be as quickly and as safely as possible on the next available flight.”
Airlines for America (A4A), the group that lobbies on behalf of all major U.S. airlines, is calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to shorten the quarantine time for fully vaccinated individuals, saying the omicron surge may create “significant” disruptions.
“The omicron surge may exacerbate personnel shortages and create significant disruptions to our workforce and operations,” Nick Calio, A4A’s CEO, said in a letter on Thursday to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.
Calio proposed the isolation period to be shortened to five days from symptom onset for breakthrough infections.
“In turn, those individuals would be able to end isolation with an appropriate testing protocol,” Calio wrote.
The letter comes after Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways, both A4A members, also asked for isolation periods for fully vaccinated individuals to be shortened.
Lingering health concerns about commercial air travel during the COVID-19 pandemic have fueled a boom in private jet travel, a trend that has led to fresh scrutiny of the industry’s taxpayer bailout — which some critics are calling a “handout to the wealthy.”
The multi-trillion-dollar federal rescue for businesses clobbered by the coronavirus included billions for airlines grounded by travel restrictions and safety concerns — and, according to one report, more than half a billion dollars for boutique aviation firms that deliver private jet travel to the super-rich.
“This was the rest of us paying to subsidize the luxury consumption of the very richest people in the country,” Dean Baker, cofounder of the progressive think tank Center for Economic and Policy Research, told ABC News.
During the summer of 2020, at the time of the first of three bailout programs set aside for aviation, industry experts said that private jet operators — just like the commercial airlines — would be confronting substantial drops in revenue. Executives at private aviation firms said they needed the government’s help to save the jobs of their employees.
But at the same time, many of those same executives said publicly that they saw signs of a coming boom, fueled by concerns about the pandemic.
That forecast is now coming to pass, making the once-niche industry an overnight sensation thanks to those who can afford to shell out up to $20,000 for a flight across the country. Industry analysts say private aviation has now exceeded pre-pandemic levels of popularity.
“Private aviation has bounced back faster than many industries, including the airlines,” said Travis Kuhn, vice president of market intelligence at the aviation consulting firm ARGUS International. “At this point in time, private air travel is about 15% larger today than it was two years ago — and it is almost all directly attributed to the pandemic.”
Furthermore, Kuhn said that after flocking to private aviation “for the perceived health advantages” of avoiding crowded airports and commercial planes, wealthy Americans “have since discovered the time-saving and productivity advantages” — a sign that the increased interest in private aviation may be here to stay.
In 2020, private aviation firms collected a total of up to $643 million in government funds from the Payroll Support Program, the Paycheck Protection Program, and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for small businesses, according to an analysis from Accountable.US, a government watchdog group. Subsequent iterations of the Payroll Support Program released even more funds to the private jet industry.
The overwhelming majority of funds delivered to private aviation firms came as grants that do not need to be repaid, as long as beneficiaries refrained from “conducting involuntary furloughs or terminations of employees” through September of 2021.
But some critics are calling on the firms that rebounded quickly to voluntarily return some of the money.
“These days, it seems many private jet companies are celebrating even greater fortune and opportunity regardless of government aid received,” said Kyle Herrig, the president of Accountable.US. “It’s time to pay taxpayers back.”
Among the biggest bailout recipients was OneSky Flight, an Ohio-based business aviation portfolio of brands like FlexJet, Sentient Jet, and PrivateFly, which received $81 million from a pot of money set aside in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help airlines. In a 2021 extension of the program, FlexJet, Sentient Jet and PrivateFly collected more than $50 million more in grants.
Executives at the OneSky companies have described the business as catering to a high-net-worth clientele, largely comprised of corporate clients and wealthy fliers. The companies’ social media feeds are peppered with endorsements from celebrity customers like astronaut Buzz Aldrin and golfer Bubba Watson, and references to their sponsorship of thoroughbred horse racing and an annual snow polo tournament in Aspen.
When OneSky reached out to the federal government for bailout dollars, company executives emphasized the needs of their pilots and flight controllers.
Directional Aviation, OneSky’s parent company, did not respond this week to a request for comment from ABC News.
Dan Hubbard, a spokesperson for the National Business Aviation Association, an industry trade group, told ABC News that “these businesses requested federal aid for the same reason countless other small businesses did: to keep employees on the job.”
“This crisis-moment investment worked — as it has in a host of industries — supporting employees and paving the way for their companies’ gradual recovery,” Hubbard said. “To have denied aviation businesses the same kind of lifeline offered to all other kinds of enterprises would have struck a blow to an entire segment of America’s aviation workforce.”
But critics have pushed back on that premise, arguing that private jet operators could have afforded to support their employees for a short stretch if they anticipated that business would rebound — which many industry executives said publicly at the time.
“It’s true that it does support jobs, but it would also support jobs if we agreed to pick up 25% of the tab for [Amazon CEO] Jeff Bezos’ personal servants,” Baker said of the bailouts. “There are much better ways to create jobs than subsidizing the very rich. If these people value having their private jets, then they will pay what it costs to keep the industry in business.”
Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, said the success of these firms so soon after accepting government support undermines the spirit of the programs.
“These programs are not designed, nor should they be, to make anyone better off, or even whole. They are a bridge to when our economy is on better footing,” said Ellis, who characterized the bailout as a “handout to the wealthy.”
“The private aviation industry benefited from increased interest during the pandemic … so they got taxpayer cash, and business soared,” he said.
Despite the criticism, some industry experts believe the stimulus of private aviation was warranted. Industry market experts have confirmed that private jet operators, just like the well-known commercial airlines, faced significant revenue drops at the height of the pandemic from mid-March through May of 2020.
Doug Gollan, the editor of Private Jet Card Comparisons, a blog covering the world of private aviation, said the success of the industry now is a reflection of how successful the CARES Act was in getting these businesses back on their feet.
“The money was meant to help companies navigate through the crisis,” Gollan said. “So, for the CARES Act, private aviation was the poster child of what a success story should look like.”
But questions about whether federal support should have more carefully targeted industries that would struggle returning to pre-pandemic levels stem in part from statements made by the private jet operators themselves, who’ve been publicly touting their success as the country emerges from the pandemic.
Kenn Ricci, the CEO of OneSky Flight’s parent company, recently told Bloomberg Media that business is now so good that he plans to expand his fleet by 40% over the next year.
And the recent success of private aviation has led the demand for new aircraft to drastically outpace supply, Bloomberg reported.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime grab,” Ricci said.
Lawmakers have previously taken aim at aviation firms that boasted of strong financial returns after accepting funds under the Payroll Support Program. In Oct. 2020, Rep. Jim Clyburn, the chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, urged four cargo carriers to return hundreds of millions of dollars in government funds.
“It is troubling that Kalitta Air is receiving over $161 million in taxpayer funds intended to cover the wages and benefits of its workers, while simultaneously experiencing increased demand for its services,” Clyburn wrote to one of the companies. “Failing to return the funds to the Treasury would be inconsistent with Congress’ clear intent.”
When contacted this week by ABC News, the committee did not provide an update on the companies’ response. A committee spokesperson also declined to comment on whether the committee would be requesting that private aviation firms return pandemic relief money.
In the meantime, the juxtaposition of executives promoting their success after accepting government funds isn’t lost on some industry leaders. Patrick Gallagher, the president of NetJets, one of Ricci’s biggest competitors, has said that he is “hopeful, as a taxpayer, that some of those CARES Act funds get paid back.”
“We see our competitors touting their recent success and returning to pre-pandemic levels,” Gallagher said. “I’m glad that those funds were available to keep people employed, but many of these companies today are outdoing bolt-on acquisitions and spinning off new ventures.”
“Personally,” Gallagher said, “I am hopeful they are also paying back the tens of millions of dollars that they took to make payroll just a few months ago.”
(NEW YORK) — U.S. traffic safety regulators have launched a formal probe into certain Tesla vehicles after reports emerged that drivers can play video games on the car’s touchscreen while in motion.
A spokesperson for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that the agency has opened a preliminary evaluation into certain Tesla vehicles, including the Model 3, S, X and Y, that were produced between 2017 and 2022.
The investigation seeks to “evaluate the driver distraction potential of Tesla ‘Passenger Play,'” the spokesperson told ABC News in a statement.
“NHTSA based its decision on reports that Tesla’s gameplay functionality is visible from the driver’s seat and can be enabled while driving the vehicle,” the statement added.
The agency said it has received one owner complaint describing the gameplay functionality and has confirmed that this capability has been available since December 2020 in Tesla “Passenger Play”-equipped vehicles. Prior to this, enabling gameplay was only possible when the vehicle was in park, according to the NHTSA.
The agency said it seeks to evaluate scenarios in which a driver could interact with the “Passenger Play” feature through its investigation.
Earlier this month, the New York Times published an investigation into Tesla’s video game features highlighting the so-called “passenger play” option. The report stated that an update in Tesla’s software package added at least three games drivers could access while the car was in drive — and that in a warning that appears before the game starts, Tesla signals it is aware of this and that “playing while the car is in motion is only for passengers.” The outlet reports a button asks if the player is a passenger, but a driver can also play by simply touching it.
Distracted driving has been blamed for the deaths of more than 3,000 people in 2019, according to separate data compiled by the NHTSA.
Tesla, which previously disbanded its media relations team, did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on Wednesday.
In its statement to ABC News, the NHTSA added that it “reminds the public that no commercially available motor vehicles today can drive themselves.”
“Every available vehicle requires the human driver to be in control at all times, and all State laws hold the human driver responsible for the operation of their vehicles,” the agency added. “Certain advanced driving assistance features can promote safety by helping drivers avoid crashes and mitigate the severity of crashes that occur, but as with all technologies and equipment on motor vehicles, drivers must use them correctly and responsibly.”
The latest investigation from regulators comes on the heels of separate, ongoing probe into Tesla’s Autopilot systems that was launched by the NHTSA in August.
(LOS ANGELES) — The Port of Los Angeles predicts it will break a new cargo record in 2021.
The port said it would process about 10.7 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) this year, a 13% increase from its 2018 record.
“As we approach a new cargo milestone amid this pandemic, I’m so proud of the resilience of this Port, our labor force and all of our partners,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a press release. “While there is much more that we need to improve upon, we’re delivering record amounts of cargo and goods are making their way into the hands of consumers and manufacturers.
Exports have actually been declining in 33 of the last 37 months, according to the release.
The increase in activity at the nation’s busiest port comes as U.S. firms are grappling with supply-chain issues and product shortages, The Associated Press previously reported.
(NEW YORK) — What comes around goes around: Your discarded plastic water bottle may soon become part of your next car.
Automakers are racing to make their vehicles more sustainable — the industry’s favorite buzzword — by turning environmentally unfriendly materials into seat cushions, floors, door panels and dashboard trims. First it was reclaimed wood. Then “vegan” leather. Now, plastic waste from the ocean, rice hulls, flaxseeds and agave are transforming the manufacturing process.
“Everyone is awakening to the problems of plastic and waste,” Deborah Mielewski, a technical fellow of sustainability at Ford, told ABC News.
Ford in particular has been championing the use of renewable materials in its vehicles. In 2008 it replaced the petroleum-based polyol foam in its Mustang sports car with seat cushions made from soy, an industry first. More recently Mielewski and her team started examining how to transform some of the 13 million metric tons of ocean plastic, which threaten marine life and pollute shorelines, into parts for future Ford vehicles. The result? Wiring harness clips in the new Ford Bronco Sport that were once nylon fishing nets.
“Two years ago there was a lot of publicity around ocean pollution and we felt an obligation to do something,” Mielewski said.
Ford acquires the recycled plastic from its supplier DSM, which collects the nets from fishermen who are paid to return them. The nets are harvested, sorted, washed and dried before they’re cut into small pellets and injection-molded into harness clips, which weigh about 5 grams and guide wires that power side-curtain airbags in the Bronco Sport.
Mielewski said Ford is currently testing the recycled plastic’s durability for the Bronco Sport’s wire shields, floor side rails and transmission brackets.
“My hope is we can replace many parts with this material,” she said, adding that more than half of Ford customers “care deeply about the environment and want to understand what companies are trying to minimize their footprint.”
Brian Moody, executive editor of Autotrader, said automakers like Ford have been attempting to produce environmentally responsible vehicles for years. He recalled Ford’s Model U concept which premiered on Jan. 5, 2003, at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show. It had a hybrid engine and its door panels were built with a natural fiber-filled composite material.
“This is not just a passing trend. Sustainability is here to stay,” Moody told ABC News. “Environmental regulations are likely to become more strict in the years to come [and it’s] another incentive for automakers to start looking for a solution right now.”
Automakers deliberately added plastics to reduce the weight and cost of vehicles and increase performance and fuel economy, according to Gregory Keoleian, director of the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan.
“About 40 different types of basic plastics and polymers are commonly used to make cars today and state-of-the-art separation technologies are very capital intensive,” he told ABC News. “The majority of plastics are derived from petroleum and natural gas feedstocks and when vehicles are retired these materials are generally disposed of in landfills.”
For German automaker Audi, sustainable materials are a launching point to becoming net CO2 neutral by 2050. Recycled PET bottles are ground up and transformed into a polyester yarn, accounting for 89% of the seat material in Audi’s fourth-generation A3 car. An additional 62 PET bottles were recycled for the carpet in the A3. The carpet and floor mats in the all-electric e-tron GT are made from Econyl, a recycled nylon fiber constructed from fishing nets. The e-tron GT’s 20-inch wheels are also assembled from low-CO2 emission aluminum.
In August, the company showed off its skysphere electric roadster concept, which featured sustainably produced microfiber seat fabric, environmentally certified eucalyptus wood and synthetically produced imitation leather.
“Audi is committed to sustainable materials and we’re implementing these changes in new vehicles,” Spencer Reeder, director of government affairs at Audi, told ABC News. “We have very high standards and fully vet these products.”
Reeder, however, said Audi’s top priority is expanding its lineup of electrified vehicles. By 2025, 30% of Audi vehicles in the U.S. will be full battery electric or plug-in hybrid.
“We’re delivering on things that really truly matter to the environment,” he said. “The focus right now in the industry is on battery materials — nickel, lithium, magnesium — and sustainably sourcing those materials.”
Keoleian pointed out that 17% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are from automobiles.
“Automakers leading in sustainability are companies accelerating their launch of EV models,” he said.
Stephanie Brinley, an analyst at IHS Markit, said automakers are promoting these green efforts aggressively because consumers are more curious and aware of the manufacturing process. These eco-friendly materials “have to look good and be durable and work” to win over consumers, she told ABC News.
“If the material performs just as well, consumers will be happy,” she noted, adding, “You’d be hard-pressed to find a consumer who is against sustainable materials.”
Volvo, the Swedish automaker, said it’s addressing all areas of sustainability — not just carbon emissions — in its vehicles. The company said it will go leather-free by 2030 and use a material it developed called Nordico that consists of textiles made from recycled material such as PET bottles, bio-attributed material from sustainable forests in Sweden and Finland and corks recycled from the wine industry.
The automaker has even been “looking to reduce the use of residual products from livestock production which are commonly used within or in the production of plastics, rubber, lubricants and adhesives, either as part of the material or as a process chemical in the material’s production or treatment,” according to Rekha Meena, Volvo’s senior design manager for color and material.
“We see a growing trend in consumer demands for more sustainable materials, particularly alternatives to leather, in most of our key markets due to concern over animal welfare and the negative environmental impacts of cattle farming, including deforestation,” she told ABC News. “We share these concerns and are choosing to transition away from leather and focus on high-quality sustainable alternatives, like Nordico, to meet this customer need.”
Polestar, Volvo’s electric performance brand, cut plastic from its car interiors by choosing a composite made from flax.
The instrument panel in BMW’s all-electric iX SUV is treated with a natural olive leaf extract to avoid any production residue that is harmful to the environment, according to the company. BMW also chose FSC-certified wood and a large chunk of the iX’s door panels, seats, center console and floor are manufactured from recycled plastics.
For its all-new MX-30 EV, Mazda wanted to use materials that “show an even greater respect for environmental conservation,” a spokesperson told ABC News. The center console and door grips in the MX-30 EV are made of cork and the seats feature leatherette and a fabric that uses 20% recycled threads. The door trims also use recycled PET bottles.
Environmental aesthetics will certainly attract a discerning segment of drivers, according to Brinley.
“Some consumers will feel much better about their vehicles,” she said. “But we’re still pretty far away from having a car made entirely from renewable materials.”
Geoffrey Heal, a Columbia Business School professor, said automakers could make an even greater impact by powering their factories with renewable electricity and building cars that are easily recyclable at the end of their life cycle. Reusing plastic and biodegradable materials is laudable but would have to be done at a significant scale to truly be effective, he argued.
“Automakers are doing this because they feel pressure both by consumers and the government. But there is genuinely some concern [by automakers] to make the world a better place,” Heal told ABC News. “These are small steps but every little step helps.”
Ford’s Mielewski said the company will continue experimenting with innovative and earth-friendly materials — agave, potato peels, coffee chaff — to try to reduce Ford’s impact on the planet.
“We’ve been doing this for quite a long time. I hope everyone will join us,” she said.
(NEW YORK) — The World Economic Forum announced Monday it has indefinitely postponed its upcoming summit in the Swiss resort town of Davos due to uncertainty caused by the omicron coronavirus variant.
The announcement makes the high-profile gathering of business leaders, politicians and more the latest event to be canceled or put on hold recently due to omicron’s spread. It also marks the second year in a row that the Davos summit was disrupted by the pandemic.
Event organizers said the annual meeting, which was scheduled to take place from Jan. 17-Jan. 21, is now planned for early summer, though specific dates were not yet released.
“Current pandemic conditions make it extremely difficult to deliver a global in-person meeting. Preparations have been guided by expert advice and have benefited from the close collaboration of the Swiss government at all levels,” Adrian Monck, the managing director of public engagement at the World Economic Forum, said in a statement Monday. “Despite the meeting’s stringent health protocols, the transmissibility of Omicron and its impact on travel and mobility have made deferral necessary.”
Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, added in a statement that the postponement of the meeting “will not prevent progress through continued digital convening of leaders from business, government and civil society.”
“Public-private cooperation has moved forward throughout the pandemic and that will continue apace,” Schwab said. “We look forward to bringing global leaders together in person soon.”
The delay of the in-person gathering comes amid a new surge of COVID-19 cases globally, propelled by the omicron and delta variants, that has upended many business leaders’ plans for a return to normalcy in the aftermath of a coronavirus vaccine rollout.
Nearly two years into the pandemic, the recent disruptions may be causing deja vu for some and serve as a harsh reminder the global health crisis is not over. A slew of major companies have again announced new delays in return-to-office plans and the omicron variant has been linked to the cancellations of Broadway productions to sports events in recent weeks.
(NEW YORK) — Proctor & Gamble has issued a recall for dozens of its products.
P&G announced it is discontinuing a wide range of aerosol dry shampoos and conditioners from some of the company’s standout brands such as Pantene, Herbal Essences, Old Spice and more due to the presence of benzene, a potential cancer-causing agent.
Benzene is a colorless or light yellow liquid chemical that has a sweet odor and is flammable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It evaporates into the air quickly and dissolves only slightly in water.
The CDC has said long-term exposure to high levels of benzene in the air can cause leukemia, cancer of the blood-forming organs.
Based on exposure modeling and cancer risk assessments published by the Environmental Protection Agency, P&G said daily exposure to benzene in its recalled products — at the levels detected during testing — would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences.
The personal care and consumer goods corporation stated that it has not received any reports of adverse events related to this recall to date. It said the recall was conducted as a cautionary action.
“While benzene is not an ingredient in any of our products, our review showed that unexpected levels of benzene came from the propellant that sprays the product out of the can,” P&G stated. “We detected benzene in aerosol dry shampoo spray products and aerosol dry conditioner spray products.”
The brands impacted by the recall are offering reimbursements for eligible products, and any reactions or quality problems related to the use of any of the recalled products should be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program.
See the full list of P&G products being recalled below:
– Waterless Dry Conditioner Weightless Smooth (3.6 oz) with UPC 37000543954 with a production code in the range of 0002-0248 or 9298-9350.
– Waterless Dry Conditioner Instant Moisture (3.6 oz) with UPC 37000543831 with a production code in the range of 0009-0069 or 9297-9350.
– Waterless Dry Conditioner Weightless Smooth (.98 oz) with UPC 37000544111 with a production code in the range of 0084-0085 or 9284-9361.
– Waterless Dry Conditioner Instant Moisture (.98 oz) with UPC 37000544227 with a production code in the range of 0017-0100 or 9283-9284.
– Waterless Dry Shampoo No Residue (3.7 oz) with UPC 37000543787 with a production code in the range of 0004-0357 or 9291-9344.
– Waterless Dry Shampoo No Residue (1 oz) with UPC 37000543978 with a production code in the range of 0175-0176 or 9295-9297.
– Pantene Sultry Bronde All in One Luxury Mist (4.9 oz) with UPC 80878188710 with production code 0038.
– Pantene Smooth Talker Dry Conditioning Oil (3.9 oz) with UPC 80878192397 with a production code in the range of 0183-0365 or 1042-1046.
– Pantene Mist Behaving Dry Conditioning Mist (3.9 oz) with UPC 80878190898 with a production code in the range of 0048-0336 or 1008-1218 or 9247-9349.
– Pantene Mist Behaving Dry Conditioning Mist (3.9 oz) with UPC 80878188758 with a production code in the range of 9108-9303.
– Pantene Mist Behaving Dry Conditioning Mist (1 oz) with UPC 80878188765 with a production code in the range of 0107-0262 or 9112-9288.
– Pantene Gold Series Instant Nourishing Spray (4.9 oz) with UPC 80878188987 with a production code in the range of 0307 or 9263-9266.
– Aussie Smooth Vibes Dry Conditioner (4.9 oz) with UPC 381519187957 with production code 0021 or 1038 or in the range of 9294-9325.
– Aussie Petal Soft Dry Conditioner (4.9 oz) with UPC 381519187544 with a production code in the range of 9196-9246.
– Aussie Sleekend Warrior Dry Conditioner (4.9 oz) with UPC 381519187537 with a production code in the range of 0014-0062 or 9198-9349.
– Herbal Essences Blue Ginger Refresh Dry Shampoo (4.9 oz) with UPC 190679001498 with a production code in the range of 9047-9072.
– Herbal Essences White Grapefruit & Mint Dry Shampoo (4.9 oz) with UPC 190679000262 with a production code in the range of 0015-0314 or 1004-1019 or 9028-9348.
– Herbal Essences White Strawberry & Sweet Mint Dry Shampoo (4.9 oz) with UPC 190679000255 with a production code in the range of 0167-0308 or 1105-1106 or 9049-9348.
– Herbal Essences Cucumber & Green Tea Dry Shampoo (4.9 oz) with UPC 190679000248 with a production code 0093 or 1075 or in the range of 9029-9294.
– Herbal Essences Cucumber & Green Tea Dry Shampoo (1.7 oz) with UPC 190679000330 with a production code in the range of 0036-0329 or 1019-1098 or 9023-9312.
– Pantene Dry Shampoo No Water Refresh (4.9 oz) with UPC 80878177042 with a production code in the range of 9009-9058.
– Pantene Dry Shampoo Sheer Volume (4.9 oz) with UPC 80878185276 with a production code in the range of 9025-9260.
– Pantene Never Tell Dry Shampoo (4.2 oz) with UPC 80878188727 with a production code in the range of 0006-0364 or 1074-1133 or 9157-9329.
– Aussie After Hours Dry Shampoo Texture Spray 4.9 oz) with UPC 381519187834 with a production code in the range of 0139-0140.
– Aussie Tousle Hustle Dry Shampoo (4.9 oz) with UPC 381519187285 with a production code in the range of 0013-0300 or 1038 or 9189.
– Aussie Bounce Back Dry Shampoo (4.9 oz) with UPC 381519187278 with a production code in the range of 0013-00357 or 1018-1123 or 9189-9345.
– Aussie Clean Color Protect Shampoo (4.9 oz) with UPC 381519187360 with a production code in the range of 9047-9123.
– Aussie Clean Texture Dry Shampoo (4.9 oz) with UPC 381519187285 with a production code in the range of 9072-9176.
– Aussie Clean Volume Dry Shampoo (4.9 oz) with UPC 381519187278 with production code 9085.
– Hair Food Coconut Dry Shampoo (4.9 oz) with UPC 37000876717 with a production code in the range of 0027-0192 or 9007.
– Old Spice Fiji Dry Shampoo (4.9 oz) with UPC 37000779421 with a production code in the range of 9046-9228.
– Old Spice Pure Sport Dry Shampoo (4.9 oz) with UPC 37000785170 with a production code in the range of 9040-9239.
(SAN JOSE, Calif.) — A jury of eight men and four women will begin to deliberate on Monday in the criminal fraud case against fallen Silicon Valley CEO Elizabeth Holmes.
The jurors will be tasked with weighing the 11 fraud charges leveled against Holmes following weeks of witness testimony from insiders who worked at the blood-testing startup, and patients and investors who prosecutors say were defrauded by the Theranos founder once lauded as the next Steve Jobs.
Holmes, 37, is charged with nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She could face decades in prison if convicted.
Holmes’ fate was handed to the jury on Friday, after defense attorneys concluded their closing arguments and prosecutors wrapped up their rebuttal.
In the last minutes of his closing remarks, Holmes’ lawyer, Kevin Downey, doubled down on his team’s central defense: that their client did not intend to defraud the alleged victims — something prosecutors must show to secure a conviction.
Even as the company was thrust into turmoil, Downey said, Holmes stayed on as the company’s leader and never cashed out a single share of her Theranos stock, once worth billions.
“You know that at the first sign of trouble, crooks cash out, criminals cover up, and rats leave a fleeing ship,” he said, his voice rising to a crescendo. “She didn’t do any of those.”
“She stayed the whole time and she went down with that ship when it went down,” he added. “You don’t need more from me to know what her intent was.”
But in his rebuttal argument, prosecutor John Bostic reframed Holmes’ propensity for hard work and company success as a motive for the alleged crimes.
“The defense holds that out as a reason to doubt Ms. Holmes’ intent to defraud in this case,” he said. “But in fact that was her motive.”
“She committed these crimes because she was desperate for the company to succeed,” he added.
Theranos was the brainchild of Holmes, who dropped out of Stanford University at the age of 19 to pour herself into building a diagnostics company which she vowed would revolutionize health care. And just a few years later, when she was 26, prosecutors contend, she knowingly made false statements to investors and others to get money.
The “rosy” picture of her startup, which promised its technology could run a full range of blood tests from a tiny sample, among other claims, was never real, Bostic said.
“It never existed,” he told the jury at the top of his rebuttal, adding that this version of Theranos did exist in the minds of the investors and patients who believed Holmes.
But Downey said that some of the allegedly false statements Holmes made about her company to investors arose from information she obtained from her Theranos team.
Her perception of the number of tests that could be run by her marquee miniature analyzer — which she dubbed the “Edison” or “miniLab” — was provided by scientists and engineers, according to Downey, and the hefty financial projections Theranos had shared with investors were prepared by Holmes’ ex-boyfriend and company COO Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani.
It was also not until the fall of 2015 that she began to hear about the issues that beset her lab, and would be later uncovered in a federal audit, he added.
But in their two days of closing arguments, the defense did not utter a word about the bombshell abuse allegations Holmes had brought against Balwani during her seven-day stint on the stand — claims that Balwani has firmly denied.
The government, on the other hand, offered the jury a framework to judge Holmes’ accusations against her former boyfriend.
“In the absence of any evidence linking that experience to the charged conduct, you should put it out of your mind,” Bostic said.
(NEW YORK) — The Kellogg Co. said it’s reached a tentative agreement that could end the ongoing strike of some 1,400 workers, as lawmakers and even President Joe Biden have weighed in to support members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union.
The work stoppage commenced Oct. 5. Union members are set to be presented with the new tentative deal this weekend and vote at the local level, with results expected to be released by Tuesday, according to Corrina Christensen, director of public relations and communications for the BCTGM union. The union declined to comment on the details of the new agreement at this time.
Kellogg’s said in a statement that the new contract includes $1.10 per-hour wage increases plus cost of living adjustments and more. The company also said employees at its U.S. cereal plants are among the highest paid in the industry, with average earnings in 2020 for “the majority of hourly employees” approximately $120,000.
“We value all of our employees. They have enabled Kellogg to provide food to Americans for more than 115 years,” Chairman and CEO Steve Cahillane said in a statement. “We are hopeful our employees will vote to ratify this contract and return to work.”
The strike at the company that produces breakfast staples such as Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies comes as an apparent labor shortage has given workers new leverage in negotiating with employers while the pandemic ebbs in the U.S.
News of the new tentative deal also comes after Kellogg’s signaled in a statement on Dec. 7 that it plans to “hire permanent replacement employees in positions vacated by striking workers,” saying the prolonged work stoppage “has left us no choice.”
The move to replace striking workers drew condemnation from Biden late last week, and progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced that he will be in Battle Creek, Michigan, on Friday to meet with union members.
“Collective bargaining is an essential tool to protect the rights of workers that should be free from threats and intimidation from employers,” Biden said in a statement last week. “That’s why I am deeply troubled by reports of Kellogg’s plans to permanently replace striking workers from the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International during their ongoing collective bargaining negotiations.”
The president called permanently replacing striking workers an “existential attack on the union and its members’ jobs and livelihoods.” He expressed his “unyielding support for unions” and urged “employers and unions to commit fully to the challenging task of working out their differences at the bargaining table in a manner that fairly advances both parties’ interests.”
In what many view as a show of solidarity from fellow workers across the U.S., one Go Fund Me page launched to support the striking workers has raised nearly $140,000 from over 3,000 donors.
Sanders blasted Kellogg’s in an op-ed published by Fox News on Thursday as the “poster child for the culture of corporate greed.”
“Last year, Kellogg’s made over $1.4 billion in profits. It paid its CEO, Steven Cahillane, nearly $12 million in total compensation, a significant increase over recent years,” Sanders wrote. “One of the reasons that Kellogg’s had such a profitable year during this pandemic was the extraordinary sacrifices made by their employees who, in significantly understaffed factories, were asked to work an insane number of hours.”
The senator lamented how these workers are now being treated as “disposable” after they were revered as “heroes” for helping feed America during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The workers’ struggle against Kellogg’s is a lot more than just 1,400 employees on strike in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Nebraska,” Sanders wrote. “It’s about what this country and our economy is supposed to stand for.”
(SAN JOSE, Calif.) — Federal prosecutors went toe-to-toe with defense attorneys for Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes as both sides delivered hours-long closing arguments in her criminal fraud trial.
Prosecutors concluded their roughly three-hour-long closing statements on Thursday, and defense attorneys were over two hours into their remarks when Judge Edward J. Davila adjourned court for the day.
Holmes’ lawyer, Kevin Downey, is expected to resume his closing argument Friday morning, followed by a rebuttal from prosecutors, meaning jury deliberations could begin as early as Friday.
U.S. Attorney Jeff Schenk told the court on Thursday that Holmes had a choice to make in 2009, 2010 and again in 2013 — years when he said the blood-testing startup that would later grow into a $9 billion business was running out of money.
Holmes “chose fraud over business failure,” Schenk said, adding that “she chose to be dishonest with her investors and with her patients.”
“That choice was not only callous, it was criminal,” he continued.
Schenk then asked the jury to consider what an honest pitch to investors would have sounded like back in 2013.
“Ms. Holmes knew that these honest statements would not have led to any revenue, and she chose a different path,” he said.
Downey later shot down Schenk’s claims, telling jurors that, “Elizabeth Holmes was building a business and not a criminal enterprise.”
“The government would have you believe that entity that she presided over as CEO was built by lies, by swindling, by half-truths, by misrepresentations that were carried out over years and years and years,” Downey said.
“I think you will see that the full picture reveals something very different from what the government has been presenting to you for three months and, indeed, for the last three hours,” he added.
Holmes, who completed her testimony last week after seven days on the stand, is charged with 11 counts of fraud for allegedly defrauding investors and patients.
The 37-year-old faces nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and could be sentenced to decades in prison if convicted. She has pleaded not guilty.
By dawn, over 60 members of the press and public were already lined up outside of the Robert F. Peckham Federal Courthouse, the crowd spilling out of the courtyard and onto South First Street. Hours later, at around 8 a.m., Holmes, her mother, her father and her partner, Billy Evans, arrived at the courthouse, all wearing blue and walking hand in hand as the rest of her entourage trailed behind.
At 9:05 a.m., the judge and the jury took their seats in the fifth-floor courtroom. Three minutes later, Schenk began.
One by one, the prosecution projected the picture of each witness their team had called to the stand as Schenk reminded jurors what the investors, patients and others had said to implicate Holmes.
Among those who testified were former lab director Dr. Adam Rosendorff, who said he voiced concerns to Holmes over lab procedures and test accuracy; lab associate turned whistleblower Erika Cheung, who said she was uncomfortable processing patient blood-samples; and former board member Gen. James Mattis, who said he was left to learn about the turmoil at Theranos from the press.
“[Theranos] is the story of a tragedy, but it is also the story of some people acting with really remarkable integrity,” Schenk said, pointing to the decisions made by both Rosendorff, Cheung and senior scientist Surekha Gangakhedkar, another government witness.
For Downey, the fate of his client — who was once was hailed as the next Steve Jobs — comes down to the question of intent.
“At the end of the day, the question you’re really asking yourself is, what was Ms. Holmes intent?” he asked. “Was she trying to defraud people?”
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