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A bipartisan group of President Donald Trump’s critics is launching a new organization, dubbed the Cost Coalition, to highlight Trump’s struggle to control rising costs in the early months of his new presidency.The group expects to be especially active ahead of upcoming elections in Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, according to preliminary plans shared with The Associated Press this week ahead of a formal announcement. The Cost Coalition will push its message through a combination of paid advertising, social media, press interviews and on-the-ground events with small business leaders, veterans and the faith community.Terry Holt, a former spokesperson to former President George W. Bush and former House Speaker John Boehner, both Republicans, is serving as a senior communications adviser along with Andrew Bates, a former spokesperson for former President Joe Biden, a Democrat.“In 100 days, Donald Trump put the best-performing economy in the world on a crash course toward recession. Trump’s tariffsthe biggest middle class tax hike in modern historyare making everyday prices skyrocket and wreaking havoc for businesses large and small,” Holt and Bates said in a joint statement. “Next up are grossly inflationary tax cuts for the wealthy that will only saddle future generations with staggering debt. Whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, or anything else, Donald Trump’s agenda is an economic crisis threatening your livelihood and standard of living.”The new group enters a political landscape already packed with powerful voices fighting to shape the national conversation little more than 100 days after Trump began his second term. The Republican president vowed to “end inflation” on Day 1, but he has focused more on immigration, culture wars and exacting revenge against his political adversaries while launching a global trade war that has pushed some costs higher and threatens to send the U.S. economy into recession.Trump late last week said on his social media platform that there is “NO INFLATION” and claimed that grocery and egg prices have fallen, and that gasoline has dropped to $1.98 a gallon.That’s not entirely true: Grocery prices have jumped 0.5% in two of the past three months and are up 2.4% from a year ago. Gasoline and oil prices have declinedgas costs are down 10% from a year agocontinuing a longer-running trend that has continued in part because of fears the economy will weaken.Inflation did drop noticeably in March, an encouraging sign, though in the first three months of the year it was 3.6%, according to the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, well above its 2% target.The Cost Coalition will be led by a team of veteran operatives who played key roles for Kamala Harris’ unsuccessful presidential campaign: Republican strategist Austin Weatherford, the leader of “Republicans for Harris”; Rev. Jennifer Butler, Harris’ national faith and engagement director; Libby Jamison, the Harris campaign’s national director of veteran and military family engagement; political strategist Leslie Gross, a veteran of the Obama-Biden administration; and George Holman, who served in the Biden administration.A spokesperson declined to say how the new group will be funded, except to say it has “seed contributions” from some large donors in both parties and will also rely on grassroots donations. As a project of the American Values Alliance, the organization will be set up as a nonprofit with a hybrid political action committee. As such, it won’t have to publicly disclose all of its funding sources. Steve Peoples, AP National Politics Writer
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E-Commerce
Beleaguered pharmacy chain Rite Aid has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after weeks of media reports suggesting that it was on the cusp of doing so. The bankruptcy is Rite Aid’s second in two years, and it leaves a lot of questions for both customers and employees, including whether stores will be closing, if there will be layoffs, and what happens to customers prescriptions. Heres what you need to know about Rite Aids second bankruptcy. Why did Rite Aid file bankruptcy the first time? Rite Aid originally filed for bankruptcy in 2023. It emerged from the process less than a year ago, in 2024, with the hopes of being in a better financial position and on more resilient footing. But with its second bankruptcy filing yesterday, those hopes seem to have been dashed. To understand why Rite Aid is once again filing for bankruptcy, it helps to understand why the company originally filed for bankruptcy in 2023something Rite Aid has laid out in detail in documents it filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court in the District of New Jersey today. Rite Aid cited multiple factors that necessitated its 2023 bankruptcy filing, including: suboptimal lease portfolio of underperforming stores elevated labor costs increased costs from “shrink” (theft) lower credit limits more restrictive payment terms from vendors reduced demand for its non-medication front end products The lack of such inventory, Rite Aid said, gave rise to a vicious cycle: high-margin front-end sales declined due to insufficient inventory, and lagging sales depleted liquidity and caused vendors to tighten trade terms even further. The companys 2023 bankruptcy was meant to help the struggling pharmacy chain address the financial issues caused by these problems. But thats not the way things have played out since, which has led to the company filing its second bankruptcy this week. Why is Rite Aid filing for bankruptcy again? In a court document, Rite Aid said that its post-emergence business plan was based on data-driven projections (and extensive discussions with vendors) that Rite Aids front-end vendors would return to their less restrictive prepetition payment terms as well as assurances from select capital providers that the company would be provided with the needed letter of credit facilitiesall of which the company said was crucial to Rite Aids recovery. But the filing goes on to say that Those assurances were broken. Rite Aid said that the letters of credit it did obtain were materially less than expected and that many vendors didnt end up relaxing the more restrictive payment terms to the anticipated levels. Pile on macroeconomic pressures to this and Rite Aid said that The combined effect of lower-than-expected liquidity from the letter of credit facilities, inventory challenges, strained vendor relations, lower consumer spending, and competitive pressures has ultimately left the Company with insufficient liquidity to operate its business and service its debt obligations in the ordinary course. Thus, its second bankruptcy filing this month. Whats happening with Rite Aid prescriptions? Of course, many customers will be concerned about what will happen to their prescriptions during the bankruptcy process. In a letter to customers dated May 5, Rite Aid said that one of its paramount priorities during the bankruptcy process is to ensure that customers pharmacy needs are not interrupted. Rite Aid says that a majority of its stores will remain open for the next few months and that during that time pharmacy services including prescriptions and immunizations will remain available. In other words, for a few months at least, most customers should be able to still get their prescriptions filled at their local Rite Aid store. However, the company also stated that it’s working to facilitate a smooth transfer of customer prescriptions to other pharmacies. This is most likely in preparation for inevitable Rite Aid store closures or sales. Are Rite Aid stores closing? Some already have, and more closures in the months ahead are almost a certainty. According to documents Rite Aid that filed with the court, these 11 locations have already closed or will close soon: Poughkeepsie, NY Redmond, WA Sunnyside, WA Craigsville, VA Costa Mesa, CA Harrisburg, PA Keene, NH Ridgewood, NY Kutztown, PA Neptune, NJ Halifax, PA Rite Aid also says that customers can keep an eye on which stores are open using its online store locator tool. The locator currently states that Rite Aid has 1,240 locations in the United States across 15 states. Whats happening to Rite Aid employees? It is thought that Rite Aids bankruptcy will see some store locations closed, while other stores will be sold to other entities that may seek to keep the stores running in some fashion. Indeed, in a press release confirming its bankruptcy plans, Rite Aid CEO Matt Schroeder said that he was encouraged by meaningful interest from a number of potential national and regional strategic acquirors. But inevitably, layoffs are to be expected, as Schroeder said that one of the companys priorities was preserving jobs for as many associates as possible. Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that an internal letter was sent by Schroeder to employees that the company will begin cutting jobs at its corporate offices in Pennsylvania. What will shopping at Rite Aid be like while this is happening? Although the company says most stores will remain open for the next few months, expect to notice changes before then. In a letter to vendors, the pharmacy chain said, “At this time, Rite Aid has generally stopped purchasing goods and services, except for those that it believes are essential to supporting this process.” Customers should also be aware that Rite Aid has posted a banner on its website stating that as of June 5, the company will no longer honor Rite Aid gift cards and wll no longer accept returns or exchanges.
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E-Commerce
Pinterest fans are nothing if not loyal. Many have spent yearssometimes decadescarefully curating boards filled with wedding inspiration, home decor ideas, fashion, and more. Now users are logging in only to find themselves locked out of their accounts without warning, with all their pins gone. Frustrated users have taken to platforms like X and r/Pinterest to vent. The comment sections on Pinterests official Instagram and TikTok pages are flooded with pleas from angry users demanding answers. I had a beautiful Pinterest board with over 26,000 of the most beautiful images and my account was just permanently banned, one user posted on X. Pinterest you will be dealt with. Another, who reportedly lost an account they had maintained for seven years, wrote, I feel like my library of Alexandria has been burned down. For creatives, Pinterest isnt just for funits also a professional tool. “Its the industry standard to present a moodboard before any project goes into action, and the sheer amount of valuable references Ive lost out on since being banned is hard to describe,” wrote one Reddit user. “Ive had to postpone shoots and scramble to reassemble projects. Years and years of curating down the drain and multiple projects stuck in limbo.” Those whove lost accounts claim theyve done nothing wrong. I made a new account, didn’t even add anything yet. Get an email saying I’m banned/suspended, one user posted on X. I try to dispute it and your typical bot responds saying there’s nothing it can do. Others are now afraid to even open their accounts for fear of what they might find. Many are pointing the finger at AI. Pinterest’s Help Center states that it uses AI in “improving content moderation,” a system it has relied on for years to enforce its Community Guidelines. Like many platforms, Pinterest uses a mix of AI and human review. A Pinterest spokesperson tells Fast Company: Pinterest has long-established public Community Guidelines that clearly outline what is and isnt allowed on the platform. Were committed to building a safer and more positive platform, and enforce these policies rigorously and continuously. Users who believe their account may have been deactivated mistakenly may submit an appeal. For some, that response doesnt cut it. Instead, theyre exploring legal action, seeking recovery for the damages users have suffered, which may include financial compensation. These damages include direct financial losses from Pinterest ad campaigns or traffic, as well as emotional distress.
Category:
E-Commerce
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