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Just In | The Hill 

Morphe makeup, a cosmetics company known for its collaborations with social media stars, announced Friday that it is planning to close all stores in the U.S.

In a statement posted to Twitter Friday, the company said customers can continue to shop the Morphe brand online, at select retailers and at stores outside the U.S., which will remain open. There were nearly 20 U.S. stores listed on the Morphe website Friday, with nearly 10 located in California alone.

“We have made the difficult decision to close all Morphe stores in the U.S.,” Morphe tweeted. “We are forever grateful to our store teams for their passion, talent and dedication over the years.”

Morphe collaborations with social media personalities James Charles and Jeffree Star gained them popularity in the past, but eventually cut ties with both of them after Charles was accused of sexual misconduct in 2021 and Star was accused of using racist language in 2020. Bloomberg reported that these collaborations helped the company’s revenue top $400 million in 2019, but ultimately led to revenue falling in 2021 after cutting ties with the internet celebrities.

Morphe reintegrated its company into Forma Brands in 2020, which in addition to manufacturing its own makeup, would purchase other beauty brands under the company umbrella, The New York Times reported. Forma Brands then announced its new brands, including Morphe 2, Such Good Everything and Bad Habit, which was a skincare brand with social media celebrity Emma Chamberlain as its creative director.

Such Good Everything, a vitamin and supplement label, is no longer advertised on its website and Chamberlain is no longer involved with Bad Habit, according to the New York Times.

Morphe products are still sold in some retailers, including Ulta Beauty and Target, according to their respective websites.

​News, Emma Chamberlain, James Charles, Jeffree Star Read More 

Just In | The Hill 

An experimental Alzheimer’s drug that moderately slows cognitive decline was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday.

The drug, called lecanemab, was granted conditional approval based on a study finding it reduced levels of a protein called amyloid from the brains of people with early-stage Alzheimer’s. 

The drug was approved through the agency’s accelerated pathway, which FDA can use to approve drugs based on early trial results for serious conditions where there is an unmet medical need, and if the drug is shown to have a reasonable clinical benefit to patients. 

FDA based its approval on a single study of 856 patients with Alzheimer’s disease. While modest, the results were the first to show that reducing amyloid can benefit patients. 

The medication will be sold under the brand name Leqembi and marketed by Japan’s Eisai and its U.S. partner Biogen.

The approval gives Biogen another shot at the Alzheimer’s drug market after the disastrous rollout of its previous drug, Aduhelm. 

Last week, a congressional investigation found FDA’s 2021 approval of Aduhelm was “rife with irregularities.” Aduhelm was granted fast track approval despite serious concerns about its effectiveness, and against the advice of FDA’s own outside advisory panel. 

The agency did not seek an advisory panel opinion with Leqembi.

Both Aduhelm and Leqembi target clumps of amyloid plaque that build up in the brain. Reducing that plaque is thought to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s.  

Leqembi is given as a bi-weekly infusion. The companies have not disclosed the price yet, but earlier estimated it could cost anywhere between $9,249 to $35,605 annually. 

As a result of the Aduhelm controversy, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will only cover amyloid drugs if patients are enrolled in a clinical trial. The agency won’t make a reimbursement decision until later this year.

​Healthcare, Policy, alzheimer's disease, drug approval, drug pricing, fda Read More 

Just In | The Hill 

Here are the tentative agreements and offers that Kevin McCarthy has made, and others under discussion, as he aims to woo the 20 Republicans voting against him for Speaker. 

Thirteen of those 20 Republicans backed McCarthy in Friday’s vote, edging him closer to a Speakership.  

Several said their votes were pending negotiations.  

What McCarthy has offered 

Motion to vacate: McCarthy has offered to lower the threshold to bring up a move to force a vote on ousting the House Speaker down to just one member, a change from a threshold of five members that was revealed in a House Rules package over New Year’s weekend.  

That was also lowered from a threshold of half of the House GOP conference that was agreed to in November. 

Floor vote to establish term limits for all House lawmakers: Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who has introduced a term limits bill, said McCarthy made that commitment. 

Floor vote on a border security bill: In a House GOP conference call on Friday, Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) said there will be movement on legislation encompassing a border security plan crafted by Texas Republicans, according to a source.

Commitment to move bills through regular order: McCarthy has pledged to bring up 12 regular appropriations bills individually and also made commitments on an open amendment process.

Create Subcommittee on “Weaponization of the Federal Government”: Housed under the House Judiciary Committee, the panel is a response to a request from GOP members who have withheld support for McCarthy to form a “Church-style” committee to investigate alleged government abuses, in reference to a 1975 Senate select committee named for former Sen. Frank Church (D-Idaho) that investigated intelligence agencies. 

Require 72 hours from release of final bill text before a vote on the House floor.

Bring back the Holman rule: A recently released House rules package brings back the Holman rule, which allows members to propose amendments to appropriations bills that cut the salaries of specific federal workers or funding for specific programs down to $1, effectively defunding them.  

Some Republicans have suggested using the rule to defund certain investigations and officials in the FBI and Department of Justice or the Department of Homeland Security or officials who were involved in COVID-19 policies.

What McCarthy has discussed 

Committee membership still under discussion: Hard-line conservatives want increased representation on influential committees, but there is no agreement or promise on that – and McCarthy does not have the sole power to give it, as is a decision for the House GOP Steering Committee, a group of around 30 members from leadership and elected regional representatives.

What McCarthy has not offered 

On a House GOP conference call on Friday, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) shut down rumors that Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) had been promised chair of the powerful House Rules Committee.  

​House, News, border security, Holman rule, House Speakership vote, Kevin McCarthy, Motion to vacate, term limits Read More