Latest news with #Mayes'
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Kris Mayes wanted to save democracy from Arizona's fake electors. Now what?
The public has broadly moved on from then-President Joe Biden's win over Donald Trump in 2020, but there is a major exception to that in Arizona. Kari Lake, a member of Trump's current administration, still spends time denouncing the results, but the state's Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes is more focused on the Republicans who tried to help sidestep Arizona's certified election results. These "fake electors," including people like former Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward and former Arizona state Sen. Anthony Kern, are at the center of a felony case pending by Mayes, and going through with the lawsuit was a vital point in her election campaign. But now, those Republicans have been handed a victory. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge recently ordered Mayes to take her evidence back to the grand jury to inform them of a key legal argument made by the electors. This ruling may — or may not — undercut Mayes' case enough to reconsider a matter she has framed as protecting democracy itself. This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl are joined by former Democratic Attorney General Terry Goddard, and later, Republic reporter Stacey Barchenger. Goddard breaks down how rare it is for a case to go back to the grand jury for matters of defense, rather than elements of the alleged crimes, and other insights into the law. Stacey then joins The Gaggle to discuss this specific case and what it means for Mayes' political future. The best way to listen is to subscribe to The Gaggle on your favorite podcast app, but you can also stream the full episode below. Note: The Gaggle is intended to be heard. But we also offer an AI transcript of the episode script. There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio. Follow The Gaggle and all azcentral podcasts on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram. Listen to The Gaggle : Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher You can share your thoughts with us at 602-444-0804 or via email here. Reach the producer Amanda Luberto at aluberto@ Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @amandaluberto and on Bluesky @amandaluberto. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kris Mayes' future after fake electors case update
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Arizona attorney general to help lead prescription drug disposal event to prevent opioid misuse
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes will participate in an event on Saturday, April 26, aimed at raising awareness and preventing opioid addiction. The community of Sun Lakes, just south of Phoenix, will host a Shred-A-Thon and Drug Take-Back event as part of National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. It will be one of over 4,000 free drop-off sites nationwide for unused prescription medications. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon on April 26 at 10440 E. Riggs Road. People can drop off tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of unused prescription drugs. However, liquids, IV solutions, syringes, sharps, and illegal drugs will not be accepted. The Attorney General's Office will also distribute drug deactivation pouches, offering a safe way to dispose of medications at home. As the name suggests, there will be shredding trucks at the event, which previously helped Arizonans scrap about 185,000 pounds of shredded documents. The Drug Enforcement Administration partnered with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, the Sun Lakes Posse and the Attorney General's Office to put on the event, which aims to encourage the public to remove unneeded medications from their homes and prevent misuse. According to a news release, the Attorney General's Office has collected more than 1,000 pounds of prescription drugs during Mayes' tenure. "These Drug Take-Back events are just one of the tools in our toolbox as we continue to curb the opioid epidemic," Mayes said. More help urged: Arizona AG calls for more DEA agents, federal funding after drug bust operation Taking initiative: New Chandler opioid crisis team 'aims to make a meaningful difference in saving lives' This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona attorney general to help lead prescription drug disposal event
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Arizona says GlaxoSmithKline's greed endangered kids with asthma
Arizona sued drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline over what it calls deceptive practices involving the inhaled corticosteroid Flovent that endangered asthma patients. The lawsuit filed Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, citing the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, says that the London-based multinational company was motivated by greed when it discontinued a widely used medication, Flovent (fluticasone propionate) and replaced it with an identical authorized generic version "as part of a calculated scheme to avoid paying Medicaid rebates tied to years of price inflation." GlaxoSmithKline officials on Thursday did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Until it was discontinued in 2023, Flovent was one of the most widely prescribed asthma medications in the country, and more than a million Arizonans relied on it, Mayes' office says. It had been available as a prescription metered-dose inhaler (Flovent HFA) and a dry powder inhaler (Flovent Diskus). The switch to the identical generic version of both the metered dose and dry powder inhalers made by Prasco was deceptive on the part of GlaxoSmithKline and bad for some patients whose insurance did not pay for the generic version of the drug and who did not get the same health benefits from using other brands of inhalers, according to the lawsuit. The switch was bad for taxpayers who lost out on rebates to Medicaid, a government health insurance program primarily for low-income people, the 22-page legal action says. The state's lawsuit says GlaxoSmithKline discontinued Flovent due to greed. While it was still on the market, the company, over time, raised the price far beyond inflation, making billions of dollars from Medicaid and private consumers. When the company faced the possibility of owing Medicaid reimbursements for those excessive price hikes, it stopped making Flovent, the lawsuit says, "GSK put corporate greed ahead of the health and safety of Arizona's families and children," Mayes said in a news release. "Their manipulation of the system has left countless patients without access to life-saving medication, caused a spike in emergency room visits, and likely contributed to preventable deaths. My office will not stand by while corporations put profit ahead of the health of children." A provision of the American Rescue Plan removed a cap on Medicaid rebates on Jan. 1, 2024, which was the same day that GlaxoSmithKline discontinued Flovent. By reclassifying a chemical drug under a different name and label, GlaxoSmithKline avoided rebate obligations tied to the Flovent price inflation, the lawsuit says. "It raised the price so much that, with the removal of the rebate cap, GSK was faced with the prospect of having to pay more to Medicaid in rebates than it would earn from sales of the drug to Medicaid," the lawsuit says. "GSK could have avoided such significant rebates by reducing Flovent's price, and thus reducing the amount of price inflation since Flovent's introduction. But GSK chose not to reduce Flovent's price." The scheme allowed GSK to continue charging high prices while evading its legal obligations to taxpayers under Medicaid, leaving families and the public to bear the burden, the news release from Mayes' office says. The lawsuit, her office says, seeks to hold GSK accountable for violating laws that protect consumers from deceptive and unfair practices. Some Arizona health providers say they witnessed firsthand how discontinuing Flovent resulted in serious health consequences for children with asthma. 'My colleagues and I saw firsthand ... what harm this caused to some of our pediatric patients with asthma. We had patients coming into our emergency departments and admitted to our pediatric intensive care units with severe asthma attacks because they were not taking their controller medication (Flovent),' Dr. Rahul Chawla, a pediatric emergency department physician at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, said in a news release. 'The patients and their families either couldn't obtain Flovent from pharmacies since they did not have it, or their parents could not afford to pay for it out of pocket since the new generic form was not covered.' Reach health care reporter Stephanie Innes at or follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @stephanieinnes. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sues GlaxoSmithKline over Flovent
