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FDA warns 26 eye drop products, including from large store brands, could lead to eye infections and vision loss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

(CNN) — Twenty-six over-the-counter eye drop products including those sold under store brands such as CVS, Target and Rite Aid, could lead to a serious eye infection resulting in vision loss or blindness, the US Food and Drug Administration warns.The agency found “insanitary conditions in the manufacturing facility and positive bacterial test results from environmental sampling of critical drug production areas in the facility” and is recommending the products be recalled.The eye drops, sold under the brands CVS Health, Rite Aid, Target Up&Up, Leader (Cardinal Health), Rugby (Cardinal Health) and Velocity Pharma, are supposed to be sterile.There are no reports of injuries from using the products at this time, according to the FDA, but the agency says that anyone “who has signs or symptoms of an eye infection after using these products should talk to their health care provider or seek medical care immediately.”It also advises that anyone with these eye drops should...

‘A masterpiece rediscovered’: Unseen Monet painting expected to fetch more than $65 million at auction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

(CNN) — A previously unseen painting by Claude Monet is expected to fetch more than $65 million when it goes on sale in New York early next month, according to a statement released by Christie’s auction house.Entitled “Le bassin aux nymphéas” or “Water lily pond,” the two-meter- (6.6-foot-) wide painting forms part of Monet’s famous “Water Lilies” series, depicting light dappling across the water, casting reflections of water lilies and willow trees.Painted around 1917-1919, it dates from the latter period of Monet’s life, as he produced a series of works depicting water lilies that now hang in museums worldwide.And after almost a lifetime of studying color and light, this painting “captures the dynamism and beauty of nature’s transience, exploring the ephemeral atmosphere, seasonal blooms, watery depths, and glimmering reflections of light,” Christie’s statement said.Until now, the painting had remained in the same family collection for more than 50 years, ...

Biden administration calls on schools to stock naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

(CNN) — Overdose deaths among teens have been on the rise for years and now the Biden administration is urging schools to purchase and carry the opioid overdose antidote naloxone.In a joint letter to educators Monday, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Dr. Rahul Gupta and US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said every school in the United States should carry naloxone, adding that faculty and students alike should be prepared to use the nasal spray to stop an overdose.“We want to share resources that could help your school and community prevent drug use before it begins and keep students alive long enough to get the help they need in the event of an overdose or poisoning,” Gupta and Cardona wrote.“We will encourage businesses, restaurants, banks, construction sites, schools, others to think about this – think about it as a smoke alarm or a defibrillator, to make it as easily accessible, because it’s not just you. It could be your...

CVS and Walgreens pharmacy staff plan 3-day walkout

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

New York (CNN) — Employees at some of the largest drugstore chains in the United States are staging a new series of walkouts across the country Monday to demand the companies fix what employees say are harsh working conditions that make it difficult for them to safely fill prescriptions, and which could put the health of their customers at risk.Walgreens and CVS employees are mostly not unionized, which makes a largescale walkout difficult to execute. Staff and organizers in multiple states confirmed to CNN that the walkouts have begun and will take place through November 1, but it remains unclear how widespread the action is.Workers at Walgreens and CVS have previously staged walkouts in Arizona, Washington, Massachusetts and Oregon in September and early October. Those work actions closed a handful of pharmacies briefly, and slowed business at several others. At the time, Walgreens told CNN the impact has been “minimal.”Shane Jerom...

Bruins notebook: Danton Heinen nearing a deal?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

There was no official signing by the end Monday’s morning skate, but it appears as though Danton Heinen’s long wait for a contract is coming to an end.Heinen took the first shift as the fourth line left wing in the morning skate, at the end of the skate, he was awarded with the center stretch to stick taps all around. It certainly seemed as if somehting was in the works.Heinen has been with the B’s on a tryout agreement since the start of training camp but, because of some salary cap constraints, the club had not been able to sign him. That appears to be changing, and a Heinen addition would give coach Jim Montgomery a player he could plug in throughout the lineup.“His versatility is really important he can play both wings adeptly as well and he understands whatever line he’s put on, what the expectation is of the role he’s going to play,” said coach Jim Montgomery, who coached Heinen at the University of Denver.This is would be Heinen’s second go...

Protesters condemn Quebec plan to double tuition for out-of-province students

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

MONTREAL — Protesters are marching in downtown Montreal to condemn the Quebec government’s plan to double university tuition for students from other provinces. Protest organizer Alex O’Neill, who grew up in Montreal and studies at McGill University, says out-of-province students can’t afford to pay the $17,000 the government wants to charge them next year. Many participants at the protest, which stretched the length of two city blocks, wore purple, the colour of Bishop’s University, in Sherbrooke, Que., the province’s only English-language university outside Montreal. Sophia Stacey, president of the university’s student association, says she worries Bishop’s will be forced to close if tuition for non-Quebec students is dramatically increased.The Quebec government says the measure is partially motivated to protect the French language by reducing the number of English-speaking people in Montreal. Catherine Bibeau-Lorrain, president of Union ét...

Labour shortages: Quebec to fast-track training for some in-demand construction jobs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

QUEBEC — The Quebec government is offering paid fast-track training programs for workers in skilled trades that are most in demand in the province’s construction industry. Quebec Premier François Legault told reporters today he hopes to train anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000 new carpenters, excavator operators, heavy machinery operators, refrigeration technicians and tinsmiths — workers who make things with sheet metal.He says the province is launching one-time accelerated training programs in which students in those specific trades will receive $750 per week to obtain a professional studies certificate.Those who enrol could be eligible for scholarships of between $9,000 to $15,000 upon graduation.The Quebec government will also be increasing the capacity of the diploma programs in electricity, plumbing and heating beginning in January.Legault says the new fast-track programs, which will cost $300 million, are necessary for the province to complete major projects, such as new scho...

Smoke’s Poutinerie founder and CEO Ryan Smolkin dead at 50

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

AJAX — Smoke’s Poutinerie Inc. says the founder of the fast-food chain has died.The company attributed the Sunday death of 50-year-old Ryan Smolkin to unexpected complications from a recent surgery.Smolkin started the Ajax, Ont.-based brand in 2009, calling himself the company’s chief entertainment officer. Under his leadership, Smoke’s locations cropped up all over Canada and the brand expanded into the U.S.Prior to Smoke’s, Smolkin owned a branding and design company that counted Nike, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Molson Breweries and Corus Entertainment as clients.Smoke’s president and chief operating officer Mark Cunningham will take on Smolkin’s role.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2023.The Canadian Press

B.C. coalition seeks ‘critical’ crackdown on violent retail crime

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

VANCOUVER — A group of more than 30 British Columbia retailers, trade associations and other organizations is calling for a co-ordinated government response for repeat offenders they say are behind a wave of theft, vandalism and violent crime.The Save Our Streets coalition says the need for immediate action is “critical” to meet threats to staff safety, rising security costs and the community impact.The group says federal and provincial governments can’t succeed by addressing “singular aspects” of the problem, such as drug decriminalization, policing resources or mental-health reform.Members of the group include retailers London Drugs, Lululemon and Save-On Foods, as well as the Surrey Board of Trade and Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers. Karen Kuwica with the Nanaimo Area Public Safety Association says the problems cover the entire province.The group says retailers are facing growing losses from theft, and that added to increased security is costing an av...

Canada to deport Montreal man facing death sentence in Egypt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

OTTAWA — An Egyptian refugee claimant in Montreal says the Canadian government is deporting him to face a death sentence at the hands of the Egyptian legal system.Ezzat Gouda has been ordered to return to Egypt by Nov. 1, despite claims that he will be persecuted and killed in Egypt because of his political affiliations in the aftermath of the Arab Spring revolution.Gouda had already been arrested without charges several times by the time he helped establish the Freedom and Justice Party, which was affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood group and came to power following the country’s 2012 elections.In 2013, Egypt’s army chief seized power in a military coup against the elected party’s government, and since then, Egyptian authorities have arrested thousands of the party’s members and Muslim Brotherhood supporters after labelling them as terrorists. Gouda says he showed Canadian officials court documents that prove he has been sentenced to death in Egypt, but w...