(AP) — Walgreens plans to close about 600 drugstores as it completes a $4.38 billion deal to buy nearly 2,000 from rival Rite Aid.
Company spokesman Michael Polzin says that most of the closings will be Rite Aid stores, and the vast majority will be within a mile of another store in the Walgreens network.
Walgreens isn’t saying which stores will close.
The store closings will start next spring and be completed over 18 months. Walgreens operates more than 13,200 stores worldwide.
(The Associated Press) – More than 40,000 outlet converters are being recalled because they pose a shock and fire hazard. Other recalled consumer products this week include outdoor chairs with a faulty base and cake knife sets with faulty handles.
Here’s a more detailed look:
OUTLET CONVERTERS
DETAILS: Commercial electric 15-amp triplex outlet converters, also known as taps, with model number LA-05 and UPC 818897010121. The white plastic converters convert a single electrical outlet into three outlets with an outlet plug on the left, front and right side of the tap. The model number is printed on the mold on the side that the prongs are located and the UPC number is printed on a sticker on the top of the converter along with the UL listing. They were sold at Home Depot stores and at www.HomeDepot.com from February 2017 through July 2017.
WHY: The outlet converters front outlet prongs are not configured correctly, resulting in reverse polarity when plugs inserted, posing shock and fire hazards.
INCIDENTS: One report of a consumer who was shocked while using an outlet converter.
HOW MANY: About 42,000.
FOR MORE: Call Home Depot at 877-527-0313 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday or visit www.homedepot.com and click on “Product Recalls” located under customer service for more information.
OUTDOOR CHAIRS
DETAILS: Girona outdoor wooden dining chairs with four legs, and a back and seat made of flat woven weather-resistant wicker straps. The chair is sold in two colors: white (SKU/UPC 536034/0000002536034) and grey (SKU/UPC 536033/0000002536033). The SKU and UPC can be found on the UPC ticket attached to the underside of the chair seat. They were sold at Cost Plus World Market and World Market stores and at www.worldmarket.com from January 2017 through August 2017.
WHY: The seat base can separate from the chair back causing the chair to collapse, posing a fall hazard to consumers.
INCIDENTS: Three reports of separation of the a joint located between the chair’s back and seat, and two reports of in-store display chairs collapsing while being used by customers. These two customers reported receiving minor cuts and bruises.
HOW MANY: About 2,600.
FOR MORE: Call Cost Plus at 877-967-5362 from 7 a.m. to midnight ET daily, or visit www.worldmarket.com and click on “Product Recalls” for more information.
CAKE KNIFE AND SERVER SETS
DETAILS: Macy’s Martha Stewart Collection Whiteware cake knife and server set. The set includes a knife and a cake server. Each is about 11 inches long. Both the knife and cake server have a white, textured ceramic handle. “Martha Stewart Collection” is embossed on the metal where the blades meet the handles. UPC 608356963330 and Product ID PRCDCKSRVR are printed on the product packaging. They were sold at Macy’s stores nationwide and online, and at Military Exchanges between January 2014 and July 2017.
WHY: The handles on the knife and server can break during use, posing a laceration hazard.
INCIDENTS: Four reports of the handles on the knife and server breaking, resulting in lacerations, including cuts requiring stitches.
HOW MANY: About 18,900.
FOR MORE: Call Macy’s at 888-257-5949 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET seven days a week or visit www.macys.com and click on Product Recalls at the bottom of the page for more information.
DETROIT (AP) — BMW is recalling more than 85,000 SUVs in the U.S. because a mat that detects front-seat passengers can fail, meaning the air bag might not inflate in a crash.
The recall covers the X3 from 2006 through 2010.
BMW says in government documents that the mat can wear and develop cracks that can interrupt electrical signals. That can cause the front air bag to switch off, activating a warning light. The mats are part of the system that changes how air bags inflate if children are in the seat.
BMW says it doesn’t know of any injuries from the problem. It’s the third recall for the issue since 2013.
The company will notify owners and dealers will replace the mat. The recall is expected to start on Nov. 20.
BELLEFONTAINE NEIGHBORS, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a relative of a slain 3-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of killing the teenager accused of unintentionally shooting the toddler.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that police say 17-year-old Kameron Harvey was shot on Oct. 4 while riding his bike in Bellefontaine Neighbors, a city just north of St. Louis.
Harvey was on house arrest while awaiting his manslaughter trial in the December 2015 death of the toddler, Xavier “Zae” Robinson.
Authorities say the shooting happened while Harvey was playing with the laser site on a handgun inside a home. Harvey was a friend of the family and 15 at the time. His case was being prosecuted in adult court.
Police say two 17-year-olds were arrested about an hour after Harvey was killed. Police say at least one is related to the toddler.
NEW YORK (AP) — In a historic change, the Boy Scouts are announcing plans to admit girls into the Cub Scouts starting next year and to establish a new program for older girls using the same curriculum as the Boy Scouts.
Under the plan announced Wednesday, Cub Scout dens — the smallest unit — will be single-gender, either all-boys or all-girls. The larger Cub Scout packs will have the option to welcome both genders if they choose.
The program for older girls is expected to start in 2019 and will enable girls to earn the coveted rank of Eagle Scout.
Boy Scout leaders say the change is needed to provide more options for parents. The Girl Scouts organization has criticized the initiative, saying it strains the century-old bond between the two groups.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Department of Agriculture says it is continuing to receive a high volume of complaints over dicamba from farmers who say the chemical is ruining their crops.
The agency received more than 310 complaints about dicamba this year, the highest number in years. A majority of complaints came from farmers in southeastern Missouri, who contend the chemical drifted from nearby farms and ruined their soybean fields.
The Columbia Missourian reports an estimated 3.1 million acres across the U.S. have been harmed by chemical this summer.
The state temporarily banned the chemical in July, but the ban was lifted within a week with restrictions on its use.
The chemical was designed to kill broadleaf weeds but can drift into other farmer’s crops that are not dicamba-resistant.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A new state task force is considering dropping a panel of citizens who listens to Missouri inmate complaints, as well as combining boards that oversee the state’s pollution rules.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the proposals come from a task force formed earlier this year after Gov. Eric Greitens ordered a reduction in the more than 200 boards and commissions overseeing various state programs.
The Citizens Advisory Committee on Corrections was created in 2003 to give inmates an impartial source to resolve their grievances. It reviews the complaints and makes recommendations to the director of adult institutions.
The task force also is considering a plan to combine the Clean Water Commission and the Air Conservation Commission. Two other environmental oversight panels also would be placed under the new board.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Authorities have evacuated a Springfield apartment complex after concerns were raised about possible explosives during an investigation into a man’s death.
The Greene County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that residents were allowed to return late Sunday after the area was deemed safe. Issues arose as detectives and SWAT team members executed a search warrant that’s tied to an ongoing investigation into the death of 28-year-old Tyler Rambo. Authorities are investigating Rambo’s death Saturday at a mobile home park as a drive-by shooting.
The release says the investigation led to “credible information” about possible explosives inside an apartment and in vehicles in the parking lot.
Sheriff Jim Arnott said in a statement that his office has “made great progress” toward solving the case. No other details were release.
HILLSBORO, Mo. (AP) — The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department in suburban St. Louis is investigating the death of a female murder suspect, though indications are that she killed herself.
Sheriff Dave Marshak says 48-year-old Laurel Leeker had been jailed since Aug. 22, awaiting trial on charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. She was found dead from an apparent hanging in her cell Sunday morning.
Marshak says Leeker was in a cell by herself and the preliminary investigation shows no signs of foul play.
Leeker was accused of fatally shooting her boyfriend, 49-year-old Steven Pettit, while he was asleep and telling police an intruder committed the crime.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol has historically been made up largely of white males, and progress toward change has been slow.
St. Louis Public Radio cites statistics showing that 94 percent of state troopers are white and only about 5 percent of officers on the road are women.
Patrol leaders say they want a diverse force, something especially important in an era when police-involved shootings of black people continue to generate attention. St. Louis is still facing protests three weeks after a judge acquitted former police officer Jason Stockley in the 2011 shooting death of a black suspect.
Patrol recruitment director Roger Whittler says efforts are in place to bring in more African-American and female troopers, but obstacles include a history of racial tension between police and minority communities.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A suspect in the surprise-attack shooting deaths of two men in Kansas City, Missouri, is now charged in a woman’s killing.
Prosecutors on Friday charged 22-year-old Fredrick Demond Scott of Kansas City with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of 64-year-old Karen Harmeyer of Grandview.
The indictment didn’t include details of the death but KCTV reports an officer was called in July to investigate a dead body. Once the officer arrived, witnesses told him about Harmeyer, who lived in woods behind a church.
The officer entered the campsite and found her decomposed body inside a tent.
Scott previously was charged in two killings and is a person of interest in three others. All those victims were older white men. Scott is black.
The men were shot in surprise attacks, some near recreation trails.
