Revenue beats expectations as AI growth drives 54% hike

An image of a semiconductor wafer at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Museum of Innovation in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Jan. 11, 2022.

I-Hwa Cheng | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company on Thursday reported a 54% hike in net profit, as global chipmakers continue to benefit from demand boosted by AI applications.

The company’s net income was 352.3 billion Taiwanese dollars ($10.1 billion) over the July-September quarter, surpassing an LSEG estimate of $300.2 billion Taiwanese dollars cited by Reuters.

TSMC is the world’s largest producer of advanced chips, serving clients such as Apple and Nvidia.

This breaking news story is being updated.

Boeing manufacturing unit strike crosses 1-month mark as stress mounts on CEO

Boeing Machinists union members picket outside a Boeing factory on September 13, 2024 in Renton, Washington. 

Stephen Brashear | Getty Images

It’s been just over a month since more than 30,000 Boeing machinists walked off the job after overwhelmingly voting down a tentative contract. Costs and tensions have only risen since then.

The strike is adding to pressure on Boeing’s new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, who was brought in over the summer to solve the plane maker’s various troubles. The strike, which S&P Global Ratings estimates costs Boeing more than $1 billion a month, bookends an already difficult year that started with a near-catastrophic blowout of a 737 Max door plug and comes six years after the first of two fatal Max crashes put the storied manufacturer in constant crisis mode.

The union and company remain at an impasse, and airplane production at factories in the Seattle area and other locations has been idled, depriving Boeing of cash. Boeing last week pulled a sweetened contract offer that the union had rejected, saying it wasn’t negotiated.

Boeing officials had been upbeat to airline customers about getting to a deal in the weeks before the original vote, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the conversations were private.

But that optimism didn’t pan out, as workers on Sept. 13 voted 95% against an initial tentative labor deal.

“They’ll have to increase their offer. There’s no doubt about that,” said Harry Katz, a professor who studies collective bargaining at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He said one of the union’s demands, a return to a pension plan, is unlikely, however, and estimated the strike could last two to five more weeks.

Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su on Monday was set to meet with the two sides “to assess the situation and encourage both parties to move forward in the bargaining process,” a spokeswoman for the Labor Department said.

Read more CNBC airline news

The process of ending strike has turned more fraught, with federally mediated talks breaking down midweek.

Boeing on Thursday said it filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board that accused the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union of negotiating in bad faith and misrepresenting the plane makers’ proposals.

Late Friday, Jon Holden, president of the striking workers’ union, IAM District 751, pushed for a return to negotiations.

“CEO Ortberg has an opportunity to do things differently instead of the same old tired labor relations threats used to intimidate and crush anyone that stands up to them,” he said in a statement. “Ultimately, it will be our membership that determines whether any negotiated contract offer is accepted. They want a resolution that is negotiated and addresses their needs.”

Boeing’s unionized machinists are not receiving paychecks and lost their company-backed health insurance at the end of September. However, unlike during the last Boeing factory strike in 2008, there is more contract work in the Seattle area to help workers fill the gaps. A union message board posts job opportunities like driving for food delivery services and warehouse work.

Slashing workforce

A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft is assembled at the Boeing Renton Factory in Renton, Washington, on June 25, 2024. 

Jennifer Buchanan | AFP | Getty Images

After the stock market closed Friday, Ortberg said the company plans to cut its global workforce by about 10% “over coming months,” including layoffs of executives, managers and employees.

He also told staff that Boeing will stop producing commercial 767 freighters when it fulfills its backlog in 2027 and that the delivery of its 777X will be delayed yet another year, to 2026.

The surprise cuts came alongside preliminary financial results that showed deepening losses: Boeing said it expects to lose nearly $10 a share for the third quarter and that it will incur charges of about $5 billion in its commercial and defense units. The manufacturer hasn’t had an annual profit since 2018. Ortberg faces investors in his first full earnings call as CEO on Oct. 23.

“The thing is once they get 737 production on track all their money problems are gone but they’re not willing to settle to make that happen,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory. “They’re firing a lot of people who could make that [stable production] happen. It seems like they’re kind of burning down their own house.”

Aboulafia estimated labor in final assembly of an aircraft accounts for about 5% of the airplane’s cost.

Ortberg is now tasked with drumming up cash and stopping the bleeding as the company’s losses mount. Boeing’s shares are down almost 43% this year through Monday’s close, the steepest drop since 2008.

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Boeing and S&P 500 performance

“We also need to focus our resources on performing and innovating in the areas that are core to who we are, rather than spreading ourselves across too many efforts that can often result in underperformance and underinvestment,” Ortberg said in a note to staff on Friday.

S&P Global Ratings last week warned the company that it was at risk of a downgrade to junk status, as halted production of Boeing’s bestselling 737 Max and its 767s and 777s costs the company more than $1 billion per month. The estimate includes previously announced cost cuts like temporary furloughs, a hiring freeze and a halt of most purchase orders for affected aircraft.

Boeing is “facing issues on quality, labor relations, program execution and cash burn, which seem to have created a continuous doom loop cycle,” said Bank of America aerospace analyst Ron Epstein in a note Friday. He said Boeing’s early financial release on Friday likely points to an equity raise in the works of as much as $15 billion.

Boeing 737 fuselages on railcars at Spirit AeroSystems’ factory in Wichita, Kansas, US, on Monday, July 1, 2024. 

Nick Oxford | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The announced job cuts come after Boeing and the rest of the aerospace supply chain worked to hire and train new machinists and other specialists after pandemic-era buyouts and layoffs of thousands of employees.

Instability at Boeing could fan out to its suppliers. Boeing’s 737 fuselage maker, Spirit AeroSystems, is considering furloughing workers in its cost-cutting contingency plans, a spokesman said, adding it hasn’t made any decisions. Boeing is in the process of acquiring that company.

“They’re probably telling us a story about cost savings carrying them through,” Aboulafia said of Boeing’s latest cost cuts. “When has stuff not working stopped them from trying it again?”

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Delta stops sizzling meals on some flights citing caterer meals security problem

Delta Air Lines planes are seen parked at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on June 19, 2024 in Seattle, Washington.

Kent Nishimura | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines had to suspend hot meal service on more than 200 flights out of its Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport hub over the past several days because of a “food safety issue.”

Delta said that operations from the facility were shut down and hot food will be managed by other kitchens.

“During a recent inspection at a DTW kitchen, Delta’s catering partner was notified of a food safety issue within the facility,” Delta said in a statement on Sunday. “Delta and its catering partner immediately shut down hot food production and subsequently suspended all activity from the facility. Hot food and other onboard provisioning will be managed from other facilities.”

A message to a flight crew on Friday said first-class meals couldn’t be loaded because of “an unforeseen supply chain issue” and that the flight would be stocked with additional snacks.

The Food and Drug Administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.

The carrier said no employee or customer illnesses were reported, and that it gave affected customers travel vouchers or frequent flyer miles as compensation.

Airlines serve thousands of meals to passengers a day, generally through third-party catering kitchens. Do & Co., which works with Delta, didn’t immediately comment.

In July, a Detroit-to-Amsterdam Delta flight diverted to New York because of a report of spoiled chicken, forcing the carrier to limit meals to pasta for several days on certain flights.

Commerce rep Lighthizer warns Wall Avenue to be ready

Robert Lighthizer, former US trade representative, speaks during an event with former US President Donald Trump, not pictured, at Precision Components Group in York, Pennsylvania, US, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. 

Graeme Sloan | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Donald Trump’s longtime trade adviser is apparently telling Wall Street money managers that if the Republican presidential nominee is reelected, he could start implementing his sweeping tariff proposals quickly after taking office, according to policy analysts at Piper Sandler.

“We’ve heard from a number of clients that Trump’s former US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, has been meeting with investor groups and telling them that Trump could announce 60% Chinese tariffs and 10% across-the-board tariffs shortly after taking office,” wrote the trio of research analysts at the investment bank in a note Friday.

Asked about the note, Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not deny that Lighthizer has been meeting with investors. But she cautioned, “No policy should be deemed official unless it comes from President Trump directly.”

It was not immediately clear which groups have spoken with Lighthizer, and the Piper Sandler analysts did not reply to a request from CNBC for more details. But clients of the firm would likely be large asset management firms that pay for its stock and economic research.

Lighthizer is advising Trump’s presidential campaign on economic issues, according to Inside U.S. Trade.

A key player in crafting and enacting Trump’s first-term trade policies, Lighthizer is also seen as a top prospect for a number of senior posts in a potential Trump Cabinet, including commerce secretary and treasury secretary.

He currently serves as chair of the Center for American Trade at the Trump-aligned Washington think tank, America First Policy Institute. A spokesperson for AFPI did not reply to a request for comment. Lighthizer is also a director of Trump Media, the publicly traded social media company that is majority owned by the former president.

Lighthizer’s reported conversations, and his apparent influence with Trump, both underscore how central tariffs are to carrying out Trump’s overall economic vision.

Numerous economists and tax experts have warned that Trump’s expansive tariff plans will raise prices, lower U.S. gross domestic product and hurt employment in key industries.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has repeatedly cited a progressive group’s analysis that Trump’s tariffs could equate to a nearly $4,000 tax increase for the average U.S. family.

The Trump campaign stressed to CNBC that Trump’s tariff ideas should be viewed in concert with his broader plans, which include slashing regulations, ramping up U.S. oil drilling and deporting millions of undocumented immigrants.

Republican National Committee spokeswoman Anna Kelly also noted that Harris and President Joe Biden have maintained, and in some cases boosted, many of the tariffs from Trump’s first term in office.

“Harris has always opposed tariffs because she can’t be trusted to put workers first, but President Trump will re-shore American jobs, keep inflation low, and raise real wages by lowering taxes, cutting regulations, and unshackling American energy,” Kelly told CNBC in a statement.

‘Flood the zone’

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks at the Detroit Economic Club on October 10, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. 

Bill Pugliano | Getty Images

The Piper Sandler analysts in Friday’s note relayed their information about Lighthizer as they warned investors to take seriously Trump’s promises to hike tariffs to historic levels.

“We expect the tariffs to come quicker in a second Trump term than the first,” they wrote.

Trump “has the will and the way to follow through on his commitment to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese imports.”

The analysts wrote that it would not be surprising if Trump were to try to enact a broad 10% tariff by force, even though such an effort would likely be tangled up in court battles over his authority to do so.

If that happens, they wrote, Trump could “flood the zone” with even more targeted tariffs.

Those narrower tariffs could be focused on countries with whom the U.S. has large trade deficits, or on selected industries like the auto industry, where Trump has vowed to protect U.S. companies.

The analysts added, “There is little doubt Trump would use the threat of higher tariffs as leverage to win concessions on unrelated issues.”

Deterrent or cash cow?

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Riverfront Sports on October 09, 2024 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Trump’s love of tariffs is well documented. He has presented them on the campaign trail as a panacea, both the key to prosperity and the master tool for reshaping the U.S. economy in a protectionist mold.

“Tariffs are the greatest thing ever invented,” the former president said during a September town hall in Warren, Michigan.

He argues that his tariff plans will rake in enough money to pay for an array of massive tax cuts, without requiring any compromises or cuts to costly government programs like Social Security and Medicare.

At the same time, Trump has vowed to use tariffs as a tool to deter unwanted foreign competition, and to gain geopolitical leverage over other nations.

Trump has repeatedly called for a 10% universal baseline tariff on foreign imports, and he has floated the possibility of expanding that tariff to 20%.

He has also called for a 60% tariff on all Chinese imports, and has suggested he would push for even higher tariffs in specific circumstances.

In a speech Thursday at the Detroit Economic Club, for instance, Trump complained that China is building factories in Mexico to produce cars that would be sold in the U.S.

“I will impose whatever tariffs are required” to stop that effort, Trump said.

“100%, 200% … 1,000%,” he said. “They’re not going to sell any cars into the United States with those plants they’re building.”

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He has also proposed using tariffs as part of a carrot-and-stick approach to boosting domestic manufacturing.

“If you don’t make your product here, then you will have to pay a tax, or tariff, when you send your product into the United States,” he said in a campaign speech in Michigan in late September. “And we will take in hundred of billions of dollars into our treasury and use that money to benefit the American citizens.”

In a June meeting with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Trump even floated the idea of scrapping the federal income tax altogether, and replacing it with revenues from tariffs.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics torched that idea, saying it is “literally impossible for tariffs to fully replace income taxes” and warning that such a plan would wreak economic havoc.

All the while, Trump asserts that his tariffs will not exacerbate already-high consumer prices, which he blames Biden and Harris for causing.

“They aren’t gonna have higher prices,” Trump said during the Sept. 10 presidential debate. “Who’s gonna have higher prices is China and all of the countries that have been ripping us off for years.”

Domino’s Workers Save 8-12 months-Previous Boy From Home Fireplace

Naser Khanfar and Sara Jones, two Domino’s employees, are reportedly being hailed as heroes after they rescued an 8-year-old Chicago boy from a house fire.

RELATED: Mother Of Four Found Guilty After Sons Died In A House Fire While She Was Out

How Did Naser Khanfar and Sara Jones, The Domino’s Employees, Save The 8-Year-Old?

According to PEOPLE, authorities received calls reporting a fire around 1:15 a.m. on Monday, October 7. The fire was reportedly located at a mobile home in Airway Mobile Home Community.

“We don’t believe the call came from the residence as the father and one of his sons were able to self-evacuate,” Oak Lawn Fire Department Chief Mike McMillin reported explained in a statement.

The father and his 12-year-old son were reportedly attempting to get the 8-year-old out of the mobile home when Khanfar and Jones noticed the scene, per the Chicago Tribune. The pair were reportedly closing a Domino’s location nearby.

“We saw the trailer on fire, and the father and his son were trying to get another son out through the trailer,” Khanfar explained to reporters. “The father and I broke the windows to help take the boy outside.”

The outlet reports that once firefighters arrived, they were able to extinguish the flames in about 30 minutes.

How Is The Child Doing After The House Fire?

According to NBC Chicago, the family’s trailer was “destroyed” after the incident. Per the Chicago Tribune, Khanfar told authorities once the boy was out of the mobile home, he noticed the 8-year-old was “shaking” and saw “some blood coming.”

Subsequently, the father and his sons were reportedly taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center. They reportedly sustained “varying degrees of smoke inhalation.” Meanwhile, the father reportedly sustained “superficial burns on his neck and shoulders.” Despite this, he and his eldest child were reportedly treated and released.

Meanwhile, the 8-year-old was held for additional observation. According to PEOPLE, as of Friday, October 11, there have been no serious reports of injuries from the fire.

“It’s good that people are willing to get involved and help,” Chief McMillin reportedly added.

The Chicago Tribune notes that the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A Recent Fire In Georgia Is Also Making Headlines

Meanwhile, a recent fire in Georgia has also made headlines. As The Shade Room previously reported, on September 29, a fire erupted at a BioLab in Conyers. This was reportedly caused by a sprinkler malfunction, which led to water mixing with water-reactive chemicals.

The incident ultimately led to residents being evacuated as fumes polluted the area.

On October 9, the Rockdale County Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor, Kenny Johnson, reportedly passed away after speaking out about the incident. An autopsy is reportedly being performed on his body by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

RELATED: Rockdale County Soil & Water Supervisor Passes Away After Testimony About BioLab Fire 

What Do You Think Roomies?

Boeing to chop 17,000 jobs as losses deepen throughout manufacturing unit strike

Boeing 737 MAX airliners are pictured at the company’s factory on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Renton, Wash.

Stephen Brashear | AP

Boeing will cut 10% of its workforce, or about 17,000 people, as the company’s losses mount and a machinist strike that has idled its aircraft factories enters its fifth week. It will also delay the launch of its new wide-body airplane.

The manufacturer won’t deliver its still-uncertified 777X wide-body plane until 2026, putting it some six years behind schedule, and will stop making commercial 767 freighters in 2027 after it fulfills remaining orders, CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a staff memo on Friday afternoon.

Boeing expects to report a loss of an $9.97 a share in the third quarter, the company said in a surprise release on Friday. It expects to report a pretax charge of $3 billion in commercial airplane unit and $2 billion for its defense business.

In preliminary financial results, Boeing said it expects to have an operating cash outflow of $1.3 billion for the third quarter.

“Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together,” Ortberg said. “Beyond navigating our current environment, restoring our company requires tough decisions and we will have to make structural changes to ensure we can stay competitive and deliver for our customers over the long term.”

The job and cost cuts are the most dramatic moves to date from Ortberg, who is just over two months into his tenure in the top job.

He was tasked with restoring Boeing after safety and manufacturing crises, but the labor strike has been the biggest challenge yet for Ortberg. Credit ratings agencies have warned the company is at risk of losing its investment-grade rating, and Boeing has been burning through cash in what company leaders hoped would be a turnaround year.

S&P Global Ratings said earlier this week that Boeing is losing more than $1 billion a month from the strike, which began Sept. 13 after machinists overwhelmingly voted down a tentative agreement the company reached with the union. Tensions have been rising between the manufacturer and the union, and Boeing withdrew a contract offer earlier this week.

On Thursday, Boeing said it filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board that accused the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers of negotiating in bad faith and misrepresenting the planemakers’ proposals. The union had blasted Boeing for a sweetened offer that it argued wasn’t negotiated with the union and said workers wouldn’t vote on it.

The job cuts, which Ortberg said would occur “over the coming months,” would hit just after Boeing and its hundreds of suppliers have been scrambling to staff up in the wake of the pandemic, when demand cratered.

The Lincoln Mission Presents To Pay For Trump’s Cognitive Check

The Lincoln Project is offering to pay for Trump’s cognitive test so that he can prove that he is mentally all there.

The text of the ad:

Okay, Donald. You’ve mentioned cognitive tests enough. We’re convinced. Now that you’re the old man in the race, we want to make you an offer. The majority of voters believe cognitive tests should be required for precedent. So, take a real cognitive test at a nationally renowned medical center. All you have to do is sit down and be that smart guy you’re so sure you are.

You’ll pass, right? And hey, we know money is tight for you right now, so we’ll pay for it. Every penny. Unless you’re scared. After all, Kamala Harris

did make you look awfully bad in that debate. Almost as if you aren’t a stable genius. Take the test, Donald. Prove to America that you’re sane, smart, all there.

The majority of Americans will back you on this. You’ll come out looking better than ever. Won’t you?

Watch the ad:

It is funny how Trump started talking a lot less about cognitive tests once he became the 78 year old candidate who makes no sense in the race.

Donald Trump won’t release his medical records, so the odds that he will take a cognitive test that will have the results released to the public are exactly zero.

Trump keeps attacks Kamala Harris intellectual abilities as he is trying to project the issue that plagues him on to a candidate who is twenty years younger.

The Lincoln Project is calling Trump’s bluff.

If he is such a stable genius, he has an easy and free chance to prove it.

To comment on this story, join us on Reddit.

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

Jason EasleyLatest posts by Jason Easley (see all)

Harris small enterprise tour launches in play for Latino, Black voters

Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks onstage during a campaign event, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., September 29, 2024.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

Harris campaign surrogates are planning a series of stops with small businesses in at least six battleground states this week, according to a preview of the announcement first obtained by CNBC on Tuesday.

Harris will not be attending these specific events herself. The campaign said “elected officials” and “community leaders” will go in her place, but did not specify who the surrogates will be.

The campaign tour, titled “Small Business for Harris-Walz,” is billed in part as an appeal to Black and Latino communities, key voter demographics that were essential to Democrats’ 2020 victory but have begun to slip in favor of Republican nominee Donald Trump this election cycle.

Trump has been working to capitalize on that momentum.

“If you’re Black or Hispanic, thank you very much, vote for Trump. You’ll be in good shape,” he said at a Georgia rally last Tuesday.

This week’s small business tour is the Harris campaign’s latest effort to quell Trump’s gains.

President Joe Biden ran a similar playbook when he was expected to be the Democratic presidential nominee before he dropped out of the race in July.

In December, for example, he touted the gains of Black-owned and Latino-owned small businesses under his administration as a way to highlight his efforts to close the racial wealth gap and to win back voters who felt nostalgic for the pre-pandemic economy that Trump oversaw.

Harris is adopting that argument for her own campaign, working to draw a similar contrast with her Republican opponent.

“Vice President Harris has proven that she will be a champion for small business,” Richard Garcia, the Harris campaign’s small business engagement director, wrote in a statement Tuesday. “Unlike Donald Trump who is only fighting for himself.”

Over the next week, the Harris campaign will extend that pitch specifically to small businesses in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. The campaign plans to host a variety of organizing events, volunteer trainings and house parties.

So far, Harris has proposed giving small businesses a $50,000 tax deduction for their startup expenses, a tenfold expansion from the current $5,000 deduction. She has also floated a 28% tax on long-term capital gains, a lower rate than Biden’s 40% tax proposal in order to reward “investment in America’s innovators, founders and small businesses.”

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CVS, UnitedHealth, Cigna say FTC ought to take Lina Khan off PBM case

FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan testifies during the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing titled “Fiscal Year 2025 Request for the Federal Trade Commission,” in Rayburn Building on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. 

Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

CVS Health, UnitedHealth Group and Cigna are demanding Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and two other commissioners recuse themselves from a suit accusing the companies and other drug middlemen of boosting their profits while inflating insulin costs for Americans. 

In separate motions filed Tuesday night with the FTC, the companies argued that all three commissioners have an extensive track record of making public statements that indicate allegedly serious bias against the companies’ so-called pharmacy benefit managers. 

The companies accused Khan, as well as Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, of incorrectly asserting that PBMs are “price gougers” that hold significant control over the pricing and access to drugs like insulin. CVS said those statements demonstrate that the commissioners have “prejudged this matter,” so their participation in the case “violates due process.” 

“If the opposite of ‘complete fairness’ is ‘blatant bias,’ the Three Commissioners would easily satisfy even that standard,” CVS wrote in a 23-page motion.

Meanwhile, UnitedHealth’s 17-page motion said, “Any judge who made these remarks about a litigant at the outset of a lawsuit would immediately need to recuse for blatant bias.”

Cigna, in one of three motions filed, said Khan has “prejudged the facts and law relating to this action.”

“She has repeatedly and wrongly asserted that PBMs ‘control’ drug pricing and patient access to drugs,” Cigna said.

The FTC filed its complaint through its so-called administrative process, which initiates a proceeding before an administrative judge at the agency who would hear the case and issue an opinion. FTC commissioners then vote on that opinion.

The FTC on Wednesday declined CNBC’s request for comment on the motion. 

More CNBC health coverage

Other corporate giants, including Amazon and Meta, have unsuccessfully pushed for Khan to be disqualified from previous cases or investigations, citing concerns about her objectivity. Khan has resisted those calls, saying she has never prejudged any case or set of facts. 

The FTC filed the suit last month against the three largest PBMs, CVS Health’s Caremark, UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Rx and Cigna’s Express Scripts. All are owned by or connected to health insurers and collectively administer about 80% of the nation’s prescriptions, according to the FTC. 

PBMs sit at the center of the drug supply chain in the U.S., negotiating medication rebates with manufacturers on behalf of insurers, creating lists of preferred medications covered by health plans and reimbursing pharmacies for prescriptions. The FTC has been investigating PBMs and their role in insulin prices since 2022.

The agency’s lawsuit argues that the three PBMs have created a “perverse” system that prioritizes high rebates from manufacturers, which leads to “artificially inflated insulin list prices.” The suit also alleges that PBMs favor high-list-price insulins even when insulins with lower list prices become available. 

The lawsuit also includes each PBM’s affiliated group purchasing organization, or GPO, which brokers drug purchases for hospitals and other health-care providers. Zinc Health Services operates as the GPO for Caremark, while Emisar Pharma acts as the GPO for OptumRx. Ascent Health Services is the GPO for Cigna.

The lawsuit is just one of several headwinds CVS is facing. Shares of the company are down more than 20% this year as it grapples with runaway medical costs in its insurance segment and pharmacy reimbursement pressure. 

CVS has engaged advisors in a strategic review of its business, which could potentially involve splitting the company’s insurer from its retail pharmacies. It’s unclear where Caremark would fall in the case of a breakup. 

A general view shows a sign of CVS Health Customer Support Center in CVS headquarters of CVS Health Corp in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, U.S. October 30, 2023. 

Faith Ninivaggi | Reuters

In the motion Tuesday, CVS alleged that Khan has vilified PBMs during her entire professional career. For example, the company cited a 2022 statement in which Khan said PBMs “practically determine which medicines are prescribed, which pharmacies patients can use, and the amount patients will pay at the pharmacy counter.”

CVS similarly pointed to Slaughter’s previous comments about the allegedly “disturbing,” “unacceptable” and “rotten” rebating practices of PBMs, and how she believes they create “competitive distortions in pharmaceutical markets.” Meanwhile, the company cited Bedoya’s suggestions that “a significant part of the blame” for insulin price increases rests on rebates demanded by PBMs. 

CVS called the prior statements of the three commissioners “incorrect assertions” about Caremark and other PBMs. 

The health-care giant also alleged that during the FTC probe, the three commissioners attended closed events to help fundraise for anti-PBM lobbying groups. Organizers of those events vilified PBMs as “bloodsuckers” and “vampires,” CVS argued in the motion.

The Biden administration and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have escalated pressure on PBMs, seeking to increase transparency into their business practices as many patients struggle to afford prescription drugs. Americans pay two to three times more than patients in other developed nations for prescription drugs on average, according to a fact sheet from the White House.

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The Greatest Boot Traits for Fall

The products featured in this article are from brands available in NBCUniversal Checkout. E! makes a commission on purchases.

There’s plenty to love about fall, the chill in the air, frizz-free hair, and all things pumpkin spice.

However, the true highlight of the fall season is the fashion, especially when it comes to boots.

Let’s be real, no fall outfit is truly complete without a stylish pair of boots. That means adding a few pairs to your shoe rotation is a must. 

Luckily, boots come in every fabric, color, and height you can imagine. But which boot trend will dominate this fall? Our shopping experts did the hard work for you and rounded up this year’s top styles.

The best boots for fall (and even winter) are trendy, timeless, and complete any autumnal outfit.

For everyday wear, you can never go wrong with a Chelsea boot, whether you’re headed to the office or the pumpkin patch. Shop our favorite options below. 

If you’re looking for something a bit dressier, go for a leather ankle boot with a block heel. We found a chic croc-embossed pair that will go with everything.

Naturally, a night out on the town calls for some show-stopping heels, such as a pair of sky-high platforms or some knee-high boots.

Looking for something with a low heel? Try a 60’s-inspired boot with a kitten heel – a trend from spring that’s still going strong – or try out an edgy ankle-height rain boot for a similar effect.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a boot roundup without a pair of cowboy boots. They’re even suitable for both day and night.

Embrace fall with a new pair of boots! Keep reading to shop the biggest fall boot trends you’ll see on the streets this fall.