Retailers Limit Sale Of Baby Formula As Shortage Intensifies

Parents of young children are growing worried over a nationwide shortage of baby formula that has prompted major retailers to limit the amount customers can buy.

CVS and Walgreens told The New York Times they had placed a three-item purchase limit on baby formula. Target capped online purchases to four units.

A shortage of baby formula caused by supply chain problems has intensified in recent weeks after a major manufacturer, Abbott Nutrition, recalled Similac, Alimentum and EleCare products following the deaths of two children, according to CNN.

“Inflation, supply chain shortages, and product recalls have brought an unprecedented amount of volatility for baby formula,” Ben Reich, CEO of the retail data-tracker Disassembly, said in an April 13 statement detailing out-of-stock trends.

Baby formula was one of the most distressed product categories this year, Reich said. “We expect to continue to see the baby formula category being dramatically affected by these conditions,” he added.

Out-of-stock rates started rising at the end of November and reached 31% nationwide in April. Some states — Connecticut, Delaware, Montana, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington — topped 40%, according to Disassembly.

Parents with firsthand experience have been voicing frustrations.

“It’s an every-week scavenger hunt, almost, without the fun involved,” Sara Owens, the mother of a 6-month-old living in Florence County, South Carolina, told NPR.

“I hit the bottom of the can when I’m making a bottle and it’s like, you know, what do I do now?” Owens continued.

Gabby Orr, a CNN reporter, described the situation as “unreal.”

“No grocery store near us has the brand we use, it is temporarily out of stock on Amazon Prime and the generic version that is ‘available’ on Amazon has a 1-2 month lead time,” Orr tweeted.

Republican lawmakers seized the opportunity to blame President Joe Biden. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) tweeted “Bare shelves Biden,” linking to a Fox Business article on the topic. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) said the U.S. “looks more and more like a third-world country.”

Baby formula is not the only product category affected by shortages lately.

Major tech and auto companies have been grappling with manufacturing problems caused by a shortage of chips and other parts, according to CNBC. COVID-related supply chain issues may cost Apple between $4 billion and $8 billion in sales this quarter, the company said in late April.

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Dozens dead after suspected militia raid in eastern DRC

Dozens of people were killed and many more are missing after armed men raided a mining encampment near the town of Mongwalu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC’s) eastern Ituri province, three civil society leaders said.

 

Army spokesman Jules Ngongo Tsikudi confirmed a deadly attack had taken place at a mining camp near Mongwalu, but did not detail the number of casualties.

“In the following hours we will know the exact number of deaths,” Tsikudi said late on Sunday. “The army is working day and night to completely eliminate the armed groups here in Ituri.”

Civil society leaders estimated that between 30 and 50 people were killed. One said the local hospital had been overwhelmed by the number of victims.

Dieudonné Lossa, who leads a collective of civil society groups in Ituri, blamed the killings on the CODECO militia, which has built a reputation for attacking civilian encampments.

Its fighters killed 18 people at a church last month, and another 60 at a camp for displaced people in February, authorities have said.

“The authorities were warned because rumours were already circulating, but misfortune followed,” Lossa said.

Attacks on civilians are daily hazards in DRC’s eastern provinces, where groups like CODECO and other warring militias, as well as a local ISIL (ISIS) affiliate, routinely spar for territory and resources.

Such conflicts have killed thousands and displaced millions more since the turn of the decade, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.

This month marks one year since DRC’s government declared martial law in Ituri and its neighbouring North Kivu province to quell the violence. But deadly raids have surged since then, according to the Kivu Security Tracker, which monitors the conflict in the region.

DNT News

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Ukraine war puts EU ‘at crossroads’ ahead of Europe’s Day anniversary

As nations marked Victory in Europe Day on Sunday, the EU is set to celebrate its anniversary this Monday, with the bloc transforming into a more muscular global actor – a shift that has been accelerated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking before the weekend, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen declared the war in Ukraine is “fundamentally challenging” Europe’s peace architecture, and that can be seen in the EU’s evolution.

What began seven decades ago as a trade bloc binding former warring nations together, is today a political heavyweight funnelling weapons to Kyiv and imposing unprecedented sanctions on Russia.

The EU is also challenging an assertive China, and it learned bitter lessons from Brexit and four years of Donald Trump in the United States.

However analysts say the bloc still has a long way to go to become the strategically autonomous goliath championed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who currently holds the EU presidency.

According to Luuk van Middelaar, a Dutch political theorist who served in the cabinet of former European Council president Herman Van Rompuy: “Fundamentally, for Europe to morph into a geopolitical actor, this requires more than some policy fix or institutional fixes.”

The EU indeed “crossed a Rubicon” by deciding to finance €1.5 billion of arms deliveries to Ukraine, says van Middelaar – a “striking” turnaround from its pacifist history.

Yet it has a poorly defined common strategy towards its near neighbours, whether they be Russia or the “grey zone of countries” aspiring to join, including Ukraine.

Newly re-elected Macron is expected to pursue his agenda more vigorously, backed by some other leaders this week and a bloc-wide citizens’ consultation for ground-up changes to the EU’s underpinning treaties.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi argued to MEPs last week that the EU needs “pragmatic federalism” which would see member states lose their ability to veto decisions agreed by a super majority.

If there is any treaty revision, it should be embraced “with courage and confidence”, he said.

He added that current EU institutions and processes were “inadequate” to address the fall-out from the Ukraine war.

When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February everything changed.

Not only was EU foreign and security policy affected, but also its agriculture, migration, energy and industrial policies.

The European Parliament has endorsed a rewrite of EU treaties, brandishing over 300 recommended changes formulated by the Conference on the Future of Europe citizen consultation, drawn up into 49 proposals.

One idea is qualified majority voting advanced by Macron and Draghi to streamline decision-making.

Another is more powers for the European Commission over areas jealously guarded by national governments, such as defence.

EU officials said the list of proposals – due to be formally handed to Macron on Monday – would be assessed, but it is too early to say whether any of those retained would require a treaty reform.

 

Jill Biden in Ukraine as U.S unveils new sanctions

US First Lady Jill Biden has met her Ukrainian counterpart Olena Zelenska in Ukraine as Washington announced further sanctions on Moscow.

The two first ladies met at a school in the border town of Uzhhorod.

It was Mrs Zelenska’s first appearance in public since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February.

The US imposed new sanctions – including visa curbs on 2,600 Russian and Belarusian individuals – in response to the Russian invasion.

Three Russian TV stations and executives from Gazprombank were also sanctioned by Washington.

Meanwhile, G7 leaders said they were committed to phasing out or banning Russian oil.

The meeting between the two first ladies took place at a school which is currently being used as a temporary shelter for displaced people.

Mrs Biden said she wanted “to show that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine”, adding that the war – now in its third month – had been “brutal” and had to stop.

Mrs Zelenska said it had been a “courageous act” to visit Ukraine while it was at war.

She added that the visit, on Mother’s Day in Ukraine and in the US, was very symbolic.

“We feel your love and support during such an important day.”

The two women later sat down and played with some of the dozens of children who are currently housed at the school, making tissue paper bears – the symbol of the local province.

The announcement of new sanctions came after G7 leaders held a video call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

A senior US official said the new US sanctions would hit 27 Gazprombank executives. However, the measures do not freeze the firm’s assets or outlaw transactions with it.

It is unclear who is on the list of 2,600 Russian and Belarusian individuals to be hit with visa restrictions.

The US announcement came at the end of a day of diplomatic events, which included visits to Ukraine by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the speaker of the German Bundestag and Mrs Biden.

Mr Trudeau announced that Canada was sending new weapons and equipment for Ukraine’s army, as well as imposing its own range of new sanctions on Russian individuals and companies.

“What Putin needs to understand is that the West is absolutely determined and resolved to stand against what he is doing,” Mr Trudeau later told Reuters in an interview.

“His illegal war, his escalations, his crossing of red lines by choosing to further invade Ukraine means that we will do as a world everything we can to make sure that he loses.”

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Internet Providers To Offer Discount For Poor, Says White House

An already existing federal subsidy could make tens of millions of households eligible for free service.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The Biden administration announced on Monday that 20 internet companies have agreed to provide discounted service to low-income Americans, a program that could effectively make tens of millions of households eligible for free service through an already existing federal subsidy.

The $1 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress last year included $14.2 billion funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides $30 monthly subsidies ($75 in tribal areas) on internet service for millions of lower-income households.

 

With the new commitment from the internet providers, some 48 million households will be eligible for $30 monthly plans for 100 megabits per second, or higher speed, service — making internet service fully paid for with the government subsidy if they sign up with one of the providers participating in the program.

Biden, during his White House run and the push for the infrastructure bill, made expanding high-speed internet access in rural and low-income areas a priority. He has repeatedly spoken out about low-income families that struggled finding reliable wi-fi, so their children could take part in remote schooling and complete homework assignments early in the coronavirus pandemic.

“If we didn’t know it before, we know now: High-speed internet is essential,” the Democratic president said during a White House event last month honoring the National Teacher of the Year.

The 20 internet companies that have agreed to lower their rates for eligible consumers provide service in areas where 80% of the U.S. population, including 50% of the rural population, live, according to the White House. Participating companies that offer service on tribal lands are providing $75 rates in those areas, the equivalent of the federal government subsidy in those areas.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday were set to meet with telecom executives, members of Congress and others to spotlight the effort to improve access to high-speed internet for low-income households.

The providers are Allow Communications, Alta Fiber (and Hawaiian Telecom), Altice USA (Optimum and Suddenlink), Astound, AT&T, Breezeflies, Comcast, Comporium, Frontier, IdeaTek, Cox Communications, Jackson Energy Authority, Mediacom, MLGC, Spectrum (Charter Communications), Starry, Verizon (Fios only), Vermont Telephone Co., Vexus Fiber and Wow! Internet, Cable, and TV.

American households are eligible for subsidies through the Affordable Connectivity Program if their income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, or if a member of their family participates in one of several programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA) and Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit.

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