Walmart to close four Chicago stores



Walmart announced that it will shut down four Chicago locations, noting that while four other locations will remain open, its Chicago stores have been losing money for years.

"The simplest explanation is that collectively our Chicago stores have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago – these stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years. The remaining four Chicago stores continue to face the same business difficulties, but we think this decision gives us the best chance to help keep them open and serving the community," Walmart explained in a press release.

The company claims that it has endeavored to remedy the profitability problem, but to no avail.

"Over the years, we have tried many different strategies to improve the business performance of these locations, including building smaller stores, localizing product assortment and offering services beyond traditional retail. We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the city, including $70 million in the last couple years to upgrade our stores and build two new Walmart Health facilities and a Walmart Academy training center," Walmart wrote. "It was hoped that these investments would help improve our stores’ performance. Unfortunately, these efforts have not materially improved the fundamental business challenges our stores are facing."

Walmart claimed that there was no action city leaders could take to help the solve the issue.

"Community and city leaders have been open and supportive as we met with them over the years to share these challenges. As we looked for solutions, it became even more clear that for these stores, there was nothing leaders could do to help get us to the point where they would be profitable," Walmart said.

The four locations to be shut down "will close to the public by Sunday, April 16," Walmart reported. "The pharmacies at these locations will remain open to serve patients for up to 30 days."

The company is offering employees the opportunity to transfer to another store.

"All associates will be paid until Aug. 11, 2023, unless they transfer to another location during that time," the company noted. "After Aug. 11, if they do not transfer, eligible associates will receive severance benefits."

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Bill Maher trounces big tech over lab leak theory censorship: 'You were wrong, Google and Facebook!'



Bill Maher took big tech to the woodshed over censorship of the COVID-19 Wuhan lab leak theory that was suppressed on social media. The "Real Time" host also lambasted the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday night's episode.

Maher called out Google and Facebook by name for censorship of the coronavirus lab leak theory that suggests that it is possible that COVID-19 escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

"Facebook banned any post for four months about COVID coming from a lab," Maher said during a panel discussion on the political talk show. "Of course now, even the Biden administration is looking into this."

"Google – a Wall Street Journal reporter asked the head of Google's health division – noticed that they don't do auto-fill searches for 'coronavirus lab leak' the way they do for any other question and the guy said, 'Well, we want to make sure that the search isn't leading people down pathways that we would find to be not authoritative information,'" Maher slammed Google, which has over 86% of the search market share.

Maher then blasted the big tech behemoths, "Well, you were wrong, Google and Facebook! We don't know! The reason why we want you is cause we're checking on this s***!"

Maher continued to criticize the head of Google's health division. "He said, 'We want to ensure that the first thing users see is information from the CDC, the WHO.," Maher added.

"That's who I'm checking on," Maher furiously proclaimed. "The WHO has been very corrupt about a lot of s***, and the CDC has been wrong about a lot of s***. This is outrageous that I can't look this information up!"

Maher then castigated YouTube for censoring evolutionary biology professor Bret Weinstein's podcast on the video hosting platform. Weinstein may have his channel removed from YouTube for interviewing a critical care and pulmonary medicine specialist, who touted the effectiveness of the drug ivermectin as a treatment for coronavirus.

"YouTube should not be telling me what I can see about ivermectin. Ivermectin isn't a registered Republican, it's a drug," Maher said. "I don't know if it works or not and a lot of other doctors don't either."

(CAUTION: Explicit language)

“Outrageous.” @BillMaher railed against Facebook and Google for banning and suppressing content about lab leak. “Yo… https://t.co/5uGZeGsGKJ

— Brent Baker (@BrentHBaker) 1624678534.0

In April, Maher chastised the media for peddling "panic porn," and praised Republican Governors Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott for opening Florida and Texas back up to allow Americans to go outside.

"Sunshine is the best disinfectant and Vitamin D is the key to a robust immune system," Maher said. "Texas lifted its COVID restrictions recently and their infection rates went down in part because of people getting outside to let the sun and wind do their thing. But to many liberals, 'That can't be right because Texas and beach-loving Florida have Republican governors,' but life is complicated."

Also in this week's episode of "Real Time with Bill Maher," the HBO host talked to director Quentin Tarantino about political correctness and cancel culture.

"I've always really appreciated the way you've pushed back when everyone's tried to stifle you, shut you up, shame you, bully you, corral your artistic license—they tried it with the last one, with 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,' some bulls*** about Margot Robbie doesn't have enough lines," Maher told the legendary director. "You do what I wish other people would do: instead of apologizing like a little p****, you say, 'I don't agree with your assessment.' What's so hard about that?"

Tarantino, director of "Kill Bill" and "Pulp Fiction," was attacked and labeled as a "sexist" by the media and online critics over giving actress Margot Robbie only a few lines of dialogue in the movie "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."

Tarantino responded, "Look, even when we're in a pressure situation where your movie is opening next Friday… if somebody brings up something that's actually legitimate, I'll even have a conversation with them about it, because I'm actually into interesting thought, and I don't even have to agree with you… but when it's just BS, when it's just bulls***."

Maher replied, "Well, it seems like criticism in the recent years has gone to this place of not just… 'OK, you can criticize a movie,' but they seem to be saying, 'This isn't the movie I would have made.' Because you can't."

Maher later said, "There are two kinds of movies: virtue-signalers and superhero movies."

Quentin Tarantino: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) www.youtube.com

Two-thirds of nursing homes say they will be forced to close within a year: Report



A recent survey of nursing homes found that more than 65% say they will no longer be in business by this time next year due to the added costs brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report.

What are the details?

The 19th reported that according to a survey conducted by the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, "about 90 percent of nursing homes are operating at a loss or less than a 3 percent profit margin, and more than 65 percent said they will be forced to close within the year due to overwhelming pandemic-related costs."

Long-term care facilities are being crippled by the ongoing need for additional staff, personal protective equipment, and testing costs while residency — and therefore revenue — has gone down.

The outlet reported:

Many providers rely on short-term residents, including those recovering after surgeries, to cover the cost of long-term residents...That funding stream quickly dried up at the beginning of the pandemic as hospitals halted surgeries and families grew more and more reluctant to send their loved ones into nursing homes.

Lisa Sanders, a spokesperson for health care association Leading Age said, "As the pandemic wore on, it became clear that personal protective equipment—critical resources needed to do battle—were needed in volumes that had not been budgeted for."

The Associated Press reported Tuesday about nursing homes' struggles finding adequate staffing as workers contract coronavirus or are forced to quarantine.

The shortages are pushing costs even higher in an industry where workers are critical.

Stephen Hanse, president and CEO of the New York State Health Facilities Association and the New York State Center for Assisted Living, told the AP, "We're also seeing staffing agencies take advantage of the pandemic and demanding very high prices for temporary staff." He explained, "I recently heard of a staffing agency out-of-state from Vermont that wanted to come in and for certified nursing assistants, you had to pay the staffing agency $65 an hour."

Elderly folks are at the greatest risk of dying from COVID-19, and nursing home residents have been particularly vulnerable. According to WUSA-TV, "experts think close to 40 percent of U.S. COVID deaths are connected to long term care."

More than 400,000 people have died in the U.S. from the coronavirus since it emerged in the country more than a year ago.