Free Republic

The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times has reportedly blocked its editorial board from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president. Members of the newspaper's editorial board were prepared to endorse Harris for commander in chief until a shock announcement from executive editor Terry Tang. ... She reportedly said the decision came straight from the paper's owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a doctor who made his fortune in the healthcare industry. The decision marks a major departure for Harris' home state newspaper, which has exclusively endorsed Democratic presidential candidates since then-Senator Barack Obama ran in 2008....

Bristol-Myers Squibb is buying cancer drugmaker Celgene in a cash and stock deal valued at $74 billion, the companies announced Thursday. Under the agreement, Celgene shareholders will receive one Bristol-Myers Squibb share and $50 in cash for each share held, or $102.43 per share, a premium of 53.7 percent to Celgene's Wednesday close. Shares of Celgene surged 28 percent in midmorning trading, to near $85 per share, while shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb fell 11 percent. "Together with Celgene, we are creating an innovative biopharma leader, with leading franchises and a deep and broad pipeline that will drive sustainable growth and...

A Democratic super PAC with close ties to Senate leaders plans to spend $3 million on last-minute advertising aimed at saving Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who faces an unexpectedly difficult race against a self-funding Republican businessman. The Senate Majority PAC will spend money on statewide television advertising bashing Bob Hugin (R), the retired pharmaceutical CEO who has spent $15 million on his own campaign. “Bob Hugin is a Trump sycophant who is funding his campaign off the millions he made raising prices on cancer drugs as a pharma CEO,” said Chris Hayden, a Senate Majority PAC spokesman. Hayden said the...

The race for a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey is a statistical dead heat, with incumbent Democrat Bob Menendez leading Republican challenger Bob Hugin by two percentage points, according to a Stockton University poll released today. Menendez leads with 45 percent to Hugin’s 43 percent five weeks before the Nov. 6 election, according to poll numbers of likely voters who say they lean toward one candidate or the other. Libertarian Murray Sabrin pulls 3 percent, while other candidates and undecided voters total 8 percent. Menendez, who was reprimanded by a Senate ethics panel after corruption charges were dismissed following...