Author: DispatchTimes News Desk

CVS Pharmacy has agreed to pay $315 million (£234 million) to settle US federal allegations that it unlawfully filled opioid and other controlled-drug prescriptions before seeking reimbursement from Medicare and other government healthcare programmes. The settlement covers alleged conduct between October 17, 2013 and December 2, 2025. The US Department of Justice said the company had agreed to resolve claims under both the Controlled Substances Act and the False Claims Act, without admitting liability. Prosecutors alleged that CVS pharmacies dispensed dangerous or excessive quantities of opioids, filled prescriptions early and supplied so-called “trinity” combinations involving an opioid, a benzodiazepine and…

The death of eight-year-old Amrita Lanka at Melbourne’s Monash Children’s Hospital was preventable, a deputy state coroner has found, as she became tearful while reading part of the girl’s mother’s impact statement. Amrita died in 2022 from lymphocytic myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. Her father, Chandra Sekhar, said the family had endured years of anguish and claimed hospital staff had “just left her to die”. Amrita had initially attended the emergency department with nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Doctors suspected gastroenteritis, which causes inflammation of the stomach and small intestine. Her condition worsened before a new doctor reviewed…

Donald Trump’s cost-of-living promises are facing growing scrutiny as American households contend with higher prices for many of the essentials he pledged to make cheaper. With the midterm elections less than a month away, frustration over the economy is being driven largely by the gap between campaign assurances and daily expenses. Nine in 10 Americans say prices are the most important factor shaping their view of the economy, according to a recent poll. That concern persists despite solid economic growth and low unemployment. Consumers are still dealing with the cumulative effect of five years of post-pandemic inflation. Economists say some…

Wheelchair user and amputee Nigel Ward, 71, has had his application for a Blue Badge parking permit denied by Norfolk County Council. Mr Ward said the decision would make journeys “troublesome” without the permit.

AI agent commerce is expanding rapidly as developers give automated systems their own cryptocurrency budgets, with payments through the x402 protocol on the Base blockchain rising to more than 138 million by the third quarter of 2026. The figures, from blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis, show a sharp increase from about 1,500 payments in mid-2025. The protocol allows bots to pay automatically for online services using cryptocurrency. Under the model, a developer funds an AI agent’s digital wallet with stablecoins, usually Circle’s dollar-pegged USDC. The agent can then pay for computing power, live web data, coding tools and other services as…

A newly seen mug shot of Duane “Keffe D” Davis shows the man convicted over Tupac Shakur’s murder with his eyes closed, days after he was sentenced to 40 years in prison in Nevada. The booking photograph, taken by the Nevada Department of Corrections, shows Davis holding a slip bearing his name, offender identification number and parole date: “6/10/2026”. Davis was arrested in September 2023 and has remained in custody while awaiting trial over the 1996 shooting in Las Vegas. The photograph was taken while he was serving a sentence of between 16 and 40 months for battery by a…

CVS Pharmacy has agreed to pay $315 million to settle US government allegations that it unlawfully dispensed thousands of opioid and other controlled-substance prescriptions before seeking reimbursement from Medicare and other federal healthcare programmes. The settlement, announced by the US Department of Justice on Tuesday, resolves claims relating to conduct alleged to have taken place between 17 October 2013 and 2 December 2025. Prosecutors said CVS breached the Controlled Substances Act and the False Claims Act. The government alleged that pharmacists filled prescriptions for excessive quantities of opioids, supplied medicines earlier than permitted and dispensed so-called “trinity” combinations involving an…

A new recovery hub has opened in Perth’s east, giving Genesis Health + Fitness Belmont members access to dedicated wellness facilities alongside the gym’s existing fitness services. Recovery at Genesis Belmont was officially unveiled on October 10. The space includes a red light therapy room, an infrared sauna, massage chairs, massage guns and a recovery boots station. It is the fitness brand’s first dedicated recovery space in Western Australia and its fifth nationally. Josh Pirone, franchisee at Genesis Health + Fitness Belmont, said demand for recovery services was growing across Australia. “Recovery is now being recognised as an essential part…

The US may have deliberately withheld an early warning from Ukraine before Russian missile strikes on Kyiv and other areas this week, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Ukrainian officials were told that the system used to detect Russian missile launches had failed because of “bad weather”, the sources said. Officials in Kyiv, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the issue, said they did not believe the explanation and accused the US of “playing” with the system. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had received no advance warning from its partners before a ballistic missile barrage early on…

Kelly Clarkson’s dispute with a New York curiosity shop is continuing, marking another reported difficulty for the singer linked to her taste for expensive purchases. The latest row is not the first time Clarkson has encountered trouble over a costly item, although no further details of the ongoing dispute have been provided.