SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 16, 2024-- GoodRx Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: GDRX), the leading prescription savings platform in the U.S., today announced that Wendy Barnes has been appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2025. Wendy brings more than 30 years of leadership experience across the pharmacy and medical benefit industry to her new role. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241216730604/en/ Wendy Barnes (Photo: Business Wire) Wendy will join GoodRx following her role as CEO of RxBenefits, where she led the company in providing pharmacy benefit support to more than 2,000 self-insured clients comprised of more than three million lives. Under her guidance, RxBenefits became a leading entity providing tailored pharmacy benefit solutions that promote affordability and transparency. Before that, as President of Express Scripts Pharmacy, Wendy oversaw the service, operation, and financial success of the organization’s multiple pharmacies on behalf of 100 million members. Wendy also served as Group Vice President at Rite Aid, where she was responsible for all aspects of managed care, including contracting, enhancing relationships with managed care organizations, overseeing pharmacy benefit managers and third-party payers, and developing strategic partnerships. “Wendy is joining GoodRx at a pivotal moment – both for the healthcare industry and for GoodRx. In a world where conventional insurance coverage is increasingly restrictive, and patients and healthcare professionals are bearing increasing costs and time burdens, GoodRx offers a complement to insurance that fills the gaps that existing systems don’t cover and helps Americans save both time and money,” said Scott Wagner, Interim CEO at GoodRx. “Wendy has the expertise, vision, and leadership to help GoodRx grow in unique and valuable ways, both for our customers and as a business. I’m excited for Wendy and I’m particularly excited for GoodRx.” Wendy's career highlights include her effective leadership roles at RxBenefits, Express Scripts, Rite Aid and Pfizer, leading extensive pharmacy operations and simplifying and improving patient healthcare experiences. Wendy also served for 10 years as a Medical Service Corps Officer in the United States Air Force. "I am thrilled to join GoodRx and contribute to its mission of making healthcare more affordable for millions of Americans," said Wendy Barnes, the newly appointed President and CEO of GoodRx. "With the evolving challenges in healthcare delivery and management, I look forward to working with our talented executive leadership team to foster growth and innovation at GoodRx and within the industry. We have a tremendous opportunity to free Americans from friction in getting medication.” In her role as CEO, Wendy will focus on advancing GoodRx’s strategic initiatives, with particular attention on bringing all brand affordability programs onto the GoodRx platform, expanding GoodRx’s product experience with healthcare professionals, and enriching partnerships with retail pharmacies, insurers, and pharmaceutical manufacturers to help save Americans time and money. Driven by a steadfast commitment to making healthcare more accessible and affordable, Wendy aims to build a better patient experience and help fill gaps within the existing system. “As we embark on this transition, I want to thank Scott for his hard work and huge impact over the last year and a half as our Interim CEO. His leadership and deep business expertise has been felt both inside and outside the walls of GoodRx,” said Trevor Bezdek, Co-founder and Chairman of GoodRx. “As we look ahead to the next phase of growth, I’m confident and enthusiastic that Wendy’s experience and dedication to improving patient lives will drive GoodRx’s mission forward.” About GoodRx GoodRx is the leading prescription savings platform in the U.S. Trusted by more than 25 million consumers and 750,000 healthcare professionals annually, GoodRx provides access to savings and affordability options for generic and brand-name medications at more than 70,000 pharmacies nationwide, as well as comprehensive healthcare research and information. Since 2011, GoodRx has helped consumers save over $75 billion on the cost of their prescriptions. GoodRx periodically posts information that may be important to investors on its investor relations website at https://investors.goodrx.com . We intend to use our website as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors and potential investors are encouraged to consult GoodRx’s website regularly for important information, in addition to following GoodRx’s press releases, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and public conference calls and webcasts. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, GoodRx’s website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this press release. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding anticipated consumer savings, convenience and accessibility; the new CEO appointment and related benefits and values; and our plans, expectations and objectives. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, risks relating to our ability to achieve broad market education and change consumer purchasing habits; changes in medication pricing and pricing structures; our reliance on a limited number of industry participants; and the important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and our other filings with the SEC. Any such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, projections and estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241216730604/en/ press@goodrx.com KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HEALTH TECHNOLOGY TELEMEDICINE/VIRTUAL MEDICINE HEALTH TECHNOLOGY HEALTH INSURANCE PHARMACEUTICAL INTERNET SOURCE: GoodRx Holdings, Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/16/2024 04:05 PM/DISC: 12/16/2024 04:04 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241216730604/en
Tulane QB Mensah transfers to DukeSyrian rebel groups said on Sunday that they have begun entering the capital, Damascus, without any sign of army deployments. "We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners, releasing their chains, and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison," they added. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad boarded a plane and left Damascus for an unknown destination on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters. All flights at Damascus International Airport have been suspended, and staff have been evacuated, AP reported. The rebel fighters announced they had gained full control of the key city of Homs early on Sunday. The leader of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said their control of Homs marked a "historic event that will distinguish between truth and falsehood." Homs lies about 140 kilometers north of the capital and is the third major city seized by the rebel groups, who began their advance on November 27, reigniting a years-long war that had become largely dormant. Existential threat to Assad government The fall of Homs and the threat to the capital pose an immediate existential danger to the Assad government. Special commentator Song Xiaojun told China Media Group that once Homs is captured, the key port cities on the Mediterranean coast, such as Latakia and Tartus, will be cut off from Damascus, preventing the Syrian government from receiving supplies from the coastal region. Noting that Latakia is the stronghold of Assad's Alawite sect in Syria and also the location of Assad's hometown, Song said that the loss of Homs will put enormous psychological pressure on the Syrian government. Homs' capture is also a powerful symbol of the rebel movement's dramatic comeback in the 13-year-old conflict. Swathes of Homs were destroyed by grueling siege warfare between the rebels and the army years ago. The fighting wore down the insurgents, who were ultimately forced out. The pace of events has stunned Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Türkiye and Russia issued a joint statement calling the crisis a dangerous development and urging a political solution. The United Nations said the violence has displaced 370,000 people. UN Special Envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, called for "urgent political talks" to implement a 2015 Security Council resolution that outlined a roadmap for a negotiated settlement. Allies' role in supporting Assad Assad has long relied on allies to subdue the rebels. Russian warplanes conducted bombing raids, while Iran sent allied forces, including Hezbollah and Iraqi militias, to reinforce the Syrian military and storm insurgent strongholds. But Russia has been focused on its conflict with Ukraine since 2022, and Hezbollah has suffered significant losses in its own conflict with Israel, which has greatly limited its ability, or that of Iran, to bolster Assad. Now, with Homs captured by rebel groups, Russia's military presence in Syria has been significantly impacted, said Song, who explained that Russia's military forces in Syria are mainly concentrated in Latakia and Tartus, while Homs serves as an important passage to and from these two locations. Song added that Russia faces a difficult decision: If its ground forces are insufficient, the heavy equipment at these military bases may need to be withdrawn early to avoid heavy losses, such as bombing oil depots or damaging aircraft and ships. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. should "not get involved," after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Friday for a "political solution to the conflict" in a call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. After Fidan and his Iranian and Russian counterparts discussed Syria in Qatar on Saturday, Iran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said they agreed on initiating political dialogue between the Syrian government and rebel groups. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was "inadmissible" to allow a "terrorist group to take control" of Syrian territory. (With input from agencies)
HMEIMIM, Syria (AP) — A convoy of Russian military vehicles rolled down the highway towards the Syrian city of Tartus on Monday as soldiers stood guard. Planes periodically descended and rose from Russia’s Hmeimim air base in the Syrian coastal province of Latakia while smoke rose from the base. It was unclear what was burning. In the streets of Hmeimim, a town dotted with orange groves, many of the shops bear signs in Russian, a nod to the significance of the Russian military presence. But whether and how long that presence will last after the fall of former Syrian leader Bashar Assad is now an open question. Russia’s scorched-earth intervention on behalf of its ally, Assad, once turned the tide of the Syrian civil war. In 2017, Assad’s government signed a deal with Russia that offered it a free lease of the Hmeimim air base and the Tartus naval base for 49 years. But opposition forces in the country’s northwest launched a shock offensive last month that again threatened Assad’s rule. This time, Moscow largely stood aside — although it has granted asylum to the former president and his family. On Monday, in his first public statement since his ouster, Assad said he had left Damascus for the Hmeimim air base on Dec. 8 after insurgents stormed the capital, but hadn’t planned to flee the country. He said that after the base came under attack by drones, the Russians decided to evacuate him to Russia. Since Assad’s departure, there have been no clashes between Russian troops and the former insurgents who have suddenly become the de facto security forces for all of Syria. That’s despite the fact that many of the fighters are from areas of northern Syria that came under frequent Russian bombardment and have little love for Moscow. A fighter guarding the shuttered civilian airport next to the Hmeimim base said Monday, “The Russians are preparing to withdraw from Syria, God willing.” He gave only his nickname, Abu Saif, because he wasn’t authorized to comment publicly. Russian forces have pulled out of some areas of Syria. Russian forces and military vehicles were seen withdrawing from southern Syria on Friday toward their primary base in the city of Latakia. On Thursday, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Russian forces were leaving bases in Ain Issa and Tel Al-Samn in the Al-Raqqah countryside. Satellite images released by Maxar Technologies on Friday show what appear to be cargo planes at a Russian military airfield in Syria with their nose cones opened to receive heavy equipment, along with helicopters being dismantled and prepared for transport. Moscow has reached out to the new Syrian authorities to try to ensure the security of its bases and extend its forces' stay. The three-starred flag of the Syrian revolution was quickly hoisted at the Syrian Embassy in Moscow in place of the old government’s two-starred flag. In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Obeida Arnaout, spokesman for the political department of the new transitional government, called on Russia to “reconsider its presence” in Syria, as well as its interests. But he didn’t rule out the possibility that Russian forces could remain. “Their interests were linked to the criminal Assad regime. They can reconsider and take the initiatives to reach out to the new administration to show that they have no animosity toward the Syrian people, and that the era of Assad regime is finally over,” Arnaout said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a call with reporters Monday that Moscow was discussing the issue with the new authorities. “We are in contact with representatives of the forces that are currently in control of the situation in the country, and all of this will be determined in the course of dialogue,” Peskov said. ___ Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report from Damascus, Syria.Congressman Pete Stauber hopes Trump, GOP trifecta open northern Minnesota to miningWhat has Bill Belichick done? A look at the new UNC coach’s career highlights
Insurgents reach gates of Syria’s capital, threatening to upend decades of Assad rule
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Britain, France and Germany have told the United Nations Security Council that they are ready - if necessary - to trigger a so-called "snap back" of all international sanctions on Iran to prevent the country from acquiring a nuclear weapon. They will lose the ability to take such action on Oct. 18 next year when a 2015 U.N. resolution expires. The resolution enshrines Iran's deal with Britain, Germany, France, the United States, Russia and China that lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program. Iran is "dramatically" accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade, the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief told Reuters last week. The move comes as Iran has suffered a series of strategic setbacks, including Israel's assault on Tehran's proxy militias Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and the ouster of Iranian ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Western states say there is no need to enrich uranium to such a high level under any civilian program and that no other country has done so without producing nuclear bombs. Iran denies pursuing nuclear weapons. "Iran must deescalate its nuclear program to create the political environment conducive to meaningful progress and a negotiated solution," the U.N. ambassadors of Britain, Germany and France wrote in a Dec. 6 letter to the Security Council. "We reiterate our determination to use all diplomatic tools to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, including using snap back if necessary," they said. The communication was in response to letters earlier last week from Russia and Iran, which followed an initial note to the council by Britain, Germany and France on Nov. 27. Russia and Iran also then followed up with further letters this week. The tit-for-tat letters came as European and Iranian diplomats met late last month to discuss whether they can work to defuse regional tensions, including over Tehran's nuclear program, before Donald Trump's return to the White House. During his first term, Trump quit the nuclear deal in 2018. 'EMBRACE DIPLOMACY' In a letter to the council on Monday, Iran's U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani urged the Europeans to "abandon their ineffective and failed policy of pressure and confrontation," saying they "should embrace diplomacy and focus on rebuilding the trust essential to resolving the current impasse." The European parties to the Iran nuclear deal have adopted a tougher stance on Iran in recent months, notably since Tehran ramped up its military support to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia - in a Tuesday letter - said Britain, Germany and France had no right to invoke the "snap back" of sanctions and that it was irresponsible of them to suggest the possibility of using the "snap back" mechanism. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres submitted his biannual report to the Security Council on the implementation of the 2015 resolution on Tuesday, warning there was a "critical need for a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear issue" given the deteriorating situation across the Middle East. The "snap back" of international sanctions on Iran would require Iran to suspend all nuclear enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, and ban imports of anything that could contribute to those activities or developing nuclear arms delivery systems. It would also reimpose a conventional arms embargo, ban Iran from developing ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons and revive targeted sanctions on dozens of individuals and entities. Countries also would be urged to inspect shipments to and from Iran and authorized to seize any banned cargo. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis)
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