Aug 7, 2018

Carl Icahn calls Cigna-Express Scripts merger a "travesty"

Carl Icahn. Photo: Heidi Gutman/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

The proposed merger between Cigna and Express Scripts would be a "travesty," activist investor Carl Icahn wrote in an open letter to shareholders this morning. Ichan said Amazon and the Trump administration, together, could challenge Express Scripts' "very existence" over the next few years.

Between the lines: Express Scripts is the country's biggest pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) — the middlemen between drug companies and insurance coverage. But the Trump administration is focusing on PBMs in its effort to bring down prescription drug prices, and Amazon is still looking to enter the pharmacy business.

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Axios

Updated 13 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 10,695,608 — Total deaths: 516,225 — Total recoveries — 5,481,526 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 2,686,582 — Total deaths: 128,062 — Total recoveries: 729,994 — Total tested: 32,827,359 — Map.
Federal government: Trump says he still thinks coronavirus will "just disappear" at some point, supports another round of direct payments to Americans.
Public health: Thanks to coronavirus, your home is now your gym — Former FDA chief says 500,000 Americans may be contracting coronavirus a day.
States: Georgia and Arizona report record new coronavirus cases — California shuts down bars and indoor dining for most residents.
1 ⚽️ thing: 6 players test positive for coronavirus before MLS comeback tournament.

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Rebecca Falconer

Updated 44 mins ago - Health

U.S. daily coronavirus cases top 50,000 for first time

A medical technologist processes test samples for the coronavirus at a lab in Tampa, Florida, on June 25. Photo: Octavio Jones/Getty Images

A record 50,655 tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the United States on Wednesday, Johns Hopkins data shows.

Driving the news: The pandemic is accelerating across the U.S., with the Sun Belt being hit particularly hard. Daily coronavirus case records were reported on Wednesday in Texas (8,076), Arizona (4,878), Georgia (2,946), North Carolina (1,843) and Tennessee (1,806).

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Rebecca Falconer

Updated 4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden outraises Trump again with record $141 million June haul

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden at Philadelphia City Hall in Pennsylvania in June. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Former Vice President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party raised $141 million in June, his campaign announced on Wednesday night.

Why it matters: It's the most the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has raised in a month. It's also more than the record $131 million President Trump's re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee raised last month.