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UPS Drone Makes First Home Prescription Deliveries for CVS

China’s Xi Makes Veiled Swipe at US Trade Policies at Import Expo in Shanghai

Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged countries to uphold multilateral trade principles and criticized protectionist policies, in a veiled swipe at U.S. trade policies, in a speech at a trade fair in Shanghai on Nov. 5. Xi inaugurated the opening of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), an annual import show in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to Nov. 10, saying more must be done to remove global trade barriers. His comments come as Washington and Beijing work to finalize the text of a “phase one” trade agreement which may be signed by President Donald Trump and Xi later this month. Xi said that there was no country that could singlehandedly resolve the challenges facing the world economy. “We must hold our hands rather than do things separately. We must demolish the…

A CVS location in Providence, R.I., on Nov. 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, file)

LOS ANGELES—United Parcel Service Inc. Flight Forward drones have flown prescription medications to the front lawn of a private home and to a retirement center, the UPS unit’s first revenue-generating deliveries for drugstore chain CVS Health Corp.

Flight Forward’s maiden delivery flight on Nov. 1 in Cary, N.C., beat rivals in one phase of the race for the nascent market. The second drone flight delivered medications to a public space at a retirement community.

The packages, roughly the size of small shoeboxes, were lowered from drones hovering at an altitude of about 20 feet.

UPS and CVS said on Nov. 5 the deliveries were the first of their kind under a program approved by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Regulators are still hammering out rules for how the unmanned winged vehicles will operate in U.S. airspace and guidelines are expected in 2021.

“We see big potential in drone delivery in rural communities where life-saving medications are needed and consumers at times cannot conveniently access one of our stores,” said Kevin Hourican, president of CVS Pharmacy.

“CVS is exploring many types of delivery options for urban, suburban and rural markets,” Hourican added.

In September, UPS became the first company to win the broadest FAA certification to operate a drone airline. That permits Flight Forward to collect payment for drone deliveries and to fly as many drones supported by as many operators as necessary to meet customer demand.

Flight Forward and drone startup Matternet have inked a variety of deals to deliver biological samples on a handful of medical campuses.

Wing, a drone operator owned by Google parent Alphabet Inc, is partnering with Walgreens and FedEx Corp for a home delivery pilot in Christiansburg, Virginia.

By Lisa Baertlein

This article is from the Internet:UPS Drone Makes First Home Prescription Deliveries for CVS

McConnell: If Impeachment Trial Were Today, Trump Wouldn’t Be Removed From Office

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that House Democrats appear likely to impeach Republican President Donald Trump, but he doesn’t think the Senate will convict Trump. “I will say, I’m pretty sure how it’s likely to end. If it were today, I don’t think there’s any question it would not lead to a removal. So the question is, how long does the Senate want to take. How long do the presidential candidates want to be here on the floor in the Senate instead of in Iowa or New Hampshire,” McConnell told reporters at the weekly Senate Republican leadership press conference on Nov. 5, referring to Democratic presidential candidates such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.). “I’d be surprised if it didn’t end the way…