Ivy League Lawsuits & Pharma Bro Eyes A Comeback
January 25, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Thursday! Today, we’re talking about lawsuits against universities, strikes in Argentina, whether Britain is boosting enlistment, a Russian plane crash, NRA corruption, mifepristone, and why Pharma Bro is back in the news.
Here’s some good news: Just two infertile female northern white rhinos remain in the world, but the species could be saved from extinction after scientists performed the first successful embryo transfer in white rhinos. Also, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia carried out a first-of-its-kind gene therapy. Their treatment means that 11-year-old Aissam Dam, who was born “profoundly deaf,” can hear for the first time in his life.
Ivy Leagues Are Bleeding Green
Brown, Yale, Columbia, and other institutions are part of a group of U.S. colleges that will have to pay out a combined $62 million to a group of about 200,000 college students. The settlement payment is part of a massive lawsuit against a group of colleges called the 568 Presidents Group that alleges the schools favored wealthier students in the application process.
The schools “agreed among themselves on how to calculate need-based financial aid ‘to reduce or eliminate … price competition’ between members of the 568 Presidents Group,” alleges the lawsuit, “and ensure families pay ‘the maximum that they are capable of paying’.” This is an issue because all of the schools involved in the case are regulated by section 568 of the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994, which allows higher education institutions to share a formula for awarding financial aid so long as the process does not consider students’ financial positions. The schools, obviously, did not comply with that regulation.
So far, many of the schools involved in the “568 Cartel lawsuit” have already paid out millions of dollars. In fact, including the settlement that was made public on Tuesday, the schools have shelled out over $118 million so far. Other schools, including Cornell, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, and more, are the remaining defendants in the suit.
Welcome To Politics, Mr. President
On Wednesday, Argentina’s new President Javier Milei faced a one-day general strike in protest of his economic policies, which include a recent decree targeting unions and a proposal for changes in the country’s labor laws. The country’s biggest union, named CGT, arranged the general strike in an effort to display opposition to Milei’s economic agenda.
In December, the libertarian president issued a decree targeting hundreds of existing laws to weaken unions nationwide and deregulate Argentina’s economy. He’s also sent an omnibus of political, social, fiscal, legal, administrative, and security reforms to Congress, though analysts expect the law to be watered down before it passes.
“For union leaders what is at stake is really a lot. If they don’t complain, their bargaining capacity is going to drop dramatically and their influence in politics is going to dwindle,” said one expert in Argentinian politics. “Milei feels quite comfortable confronting these leaders. He’s still very popular; union leaders are unpopular.”
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Moscow’s Latest Mystery
- On Wednesday, a Russian military transport plane crashed in the Belgorod region of Russia, near its border with Ukraine. Immediately after the crash, Moscow accused Kyiv of shooting down the plane and killing all 74 people on board. The Kremlin also claimed that 65 of its passengers were Ukrainian prisoners of war headed for a swap. Russia provided no evidence for its claims, while Ukraine didn’t confirm or deny its involvement in the incident, or address the claim that the passengers were mostly Ukrainian POWs.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said that the plane was carrying 65 POWs, a flight crew of six people, and three Russian military servicemen. Its statement also claimed that Russian radar systems were able to detect that the two missiles used to shoot down the plane were fired from the Kharkiv border region. “We’ve seen the reports, but we’re not in any position to confirm them,” said U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Supersizing Troops
- On Wednesday, Gen. Patrick Saunders, the head of the British Army, said that a British “citizen army” would be needed in a potential land war with a country like Russia. Saunders stated that, if the conflict expands, “within the next three years, it must be credible to talk of a British Army of 120,000.” He also praised countries close to Russia for preparing for such a war and “prudently laying the foundations for national mobilization.”
- The U.K. government immediately walked back Saunders’ talking points that same day, declaring that the country had no plans to expand its armed forces past the 74,000 full-time troops it currently supports. In a statement about Saunders’ preparation plans, Max Blain, a spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said that “engaging in hypothetical wars” was “not helpful.”
Additional World News
- Another mysterious Russian plane crash raises more questions than answers (CNN)
- Hungary’s Orban backs Sweden’s NATO bid, potentially removing last hurdle to accession (CNN)
- Iraq condemns ‘irresponsible’ US air strikes on Iran-backed groups (BBC)
- China says it’s working to de-escalate tensions in the Red Sea that have upended global trade (AP)
- Germany considers entry ban on Austrian behind mass deportation plan (Guardian)
- Popular Thai Opposition Politician Wins Election Law Case (NYT, $)
“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.” – Charles M. Schulz
Triggering A Corruption Investigation
- Oliver North served as president of the NRA from 2018 to 2019. He testified Tuesday at a civil corruption trial in New York that he was voted out of his position after raising concerns about corruption in the organization, specifically tied to the Brewer firm that was hired on to serve as the legal team.
- Wayne LaPierre stepped down just a few weeks ago from his role as president of the NRA. In February 2019, North said, he asked NRA general counsel John Frazer, another defendant, for legal invoices. North testified that Frazer said no, telling him it was at LaPierre’s direction.
- Prosecutors have alleged that the organization’s upper ranks use the nonprofit’s bank account as a “personal piggy bank.” “What was your reaction to LaPierre’s personal expenses?” Monica Connell, special counsel with New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office, asked North. “I was stunned … this was corruption,” he said.
Justice For A Drug
- The Justice Department and Danco Laboratories, which manufactures mifepristone, urged the Supreme Court to protect access to the drug, which has been approved by the FDA for over 20 years. The pair of filings argue that the pill’s challengers didn’t have the right to sue the government over its approval of the drug.
- The justices agreed last year to review the case, but oral arguments haven’t been scheduled. “The loss of access to mifepristone would be damaging for women and healthcare providers around the Nation. For many patients, mifepristone is the best method to lawfully terminate their early pregnancies,” Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar.
Additional USA Reads
- California woman who fatally stabbed boyfriend over 100 times avoids prison (CBS)
- Mystery deepens over Kansas City men found dead in friend’s frozen backyard (Guardian)
- Abbott keeps up border security fight after Supreme Court rules feds’ can cut razor wire (USA Today)
- DeSantis says Trump’s victory in Iowa is ‘a huge warning’ for Republicans (WaPo, $)
- United Auto Workers union expected to endorse Biden (NBC)
- Flood warnings in Texas and Louisiana triggered by rain as threat peaks today (CNN)
Shkreli Gets Shut Out
- Martin Shkreli, a former pharmaceutical industry executive who became famous for raising the price of a lifesaving antiparasitic drug from $17.50 per tablet to $750, wants to return to big pharma. Shkreli was sent to jail in 2017 after being convicted for defrauding investors in two hedge funds, as well as planning to defraud future investors in another pharmaceutical company.
- Luckily for anyone who cares about accessing affordable medication, Shkreli has also been banned from working in the pharmaceutical industry or serving as an executive at any public company as part of his 2017 conviction. The restriction on working in pharma was imposed by a judge in January 2022 ahead of Shkreli’s release from jail in September of the same year.
- Shkreli appealed the decision, saying that the sanctions “go well beyond established legal limits,” but a judge blocked his appeal this week. “Given Shkreli’s pattern of past misconduct, the obvious likelihood of its recurrence, and the life-threatening nature of its results, we are persuaded that the district court’s determination as to the proper scope of the injunction was well within its discretion,” read the court’s decision.
Additional Reads
- Excessively Farting Passenger Reportedly Causes American Airlines Flight to Turn Around (People)
- Libs of TikTok creator accused of inspiring school bomb threats named to Oklahoma library board (NBC)
- Exclusive: Saudi Arabia prepares to open first alcohol store for diplomats (Reuters)
- Ukrainian-born model winning Miss Japan re-ignites identity debate (BBC)
- Who invented butter chicken? Indian judge to rule on dispute over global favourite (Reuters)
- Jon Stewart will return to ‘The Daily Show’ as host — just on Mondays (AP)
- US pledges support for UK after egghead suggests putting salt in tea (Politico)