CNBC News

CVS Health‘s $69 billion merger with health insurer Aetna will create a new data-driven health-care model that’s more personal, convenient and tailored to individual patients than ever before, CVS CEO Larry Merlo said Thursday. Merlo is, in a way, disrupting and rewriting the business model for his drugstore chain before someone else does. Announced in December, the deal is awaiting antitrust approval from the Department of Justice. The company expects it to close at the…

The Food and Drug Administration is considering fast-tracking the review process for e-cigarettes that include features that make the products less likely to be used by kids, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Thursday. Gottlieb last week announced a historic crackdown on e-cigarettes after reviewing unpublished federal data he’s reviewed showing teen use has reached “epidemic” levels. The FDA ordered five brands — Juul, British American Tobacco‘s Vuse, Altria‘s MarkTen, Imperial Brands‘ Blu E-cigs and…

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions against a Chinese military agency and its director for buying defense equipment from Russia, in contravention of a sweeping U.S. sanctions bill signed in 2017. U.S. State Department officials said it would immediately impose sanctions against China’s Equipment Development Department, which oversees defense technology, for engaging in “significant transactions” with Rosoboronexport, Russia’s main arms exporter. WATCH: This is the cost of President Trump’s ‘America first’ policy Free America…

Volunteer for the Coney Island hot dog eating contest. Bike polo captain. Six-time marathon finisher. Part-time cannabis farmer. These are the job skills from resumes that Ashley Irvine, Growth Manager at Three Ships and Remedy Review, says she has never forgotten — and thinks more people should copy. “Recruiters want to see candidates that stand apart from the ‘average Joe.’ We want to know that the prospective hire will impact our company in a unique…

The Department of Agriculture wants you to check your freezer. A Colorado-based meat producer is recalling more than 132,000 pounds of its ground beef due to possible E. coli contamination and the USDA is afraid the product could be frozen in consumer’s homes. The ground beef, which was packaged on June 21 by Cargill Meat Solutions, was identified as the probable cause behind 17 illnesses and one death in July. This week’s recall comes less…

Chipotle Mexican Grill has a new plan to improve its food safety protocols — hire the company that’s already doing it for Domino’s, KFC and Jersey Mike’s. The burrito chain said Thursday it will deploy Zenput at more than 2,400 restaurants. Zenput is a mobile platform that helps restaurants, convenience stores and retailers track their operations using a tablet or phone. The software allows managers to assign a checklist of specific tasks to various jobs,…

Chamath Palihapitiya, one of Silicon Valley’s most outspoken investors, has decided he doesn’t want to be a traditional venture capitalist. The founder of Social Capital has adjusted the firm’s investor payouts and sought to advance the company beyond “Stanford MBAs in fleece vests,” Palihapitiya said in an interview with The Information. In a blog post on Medium, Palihapitiya explained that the firm would no longer accept outside investment from limited partners, and would instead act…

College freshmen might feel like they have a lot to worry about. They have to juggle making new friends, taking rigorous classes and learning how to be independent. At the same time, students have financial interests that need protecting. Most students take on loans to cover the cost of college and many will be managing their own finances for the first time. A student who has never balanced a checkbook before may suddenly be responsible…

Last week, U.S. News & World Report released its rankings of the best universities in the country. The schools at the top of the list are all household-names. Princeton University earned first-place while Harvard University, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Chicago and Yale University follow closely. All of these schools have a crucial thing in common: sky-high graduation rates. Prospective students often overlook graduation rates when they are considering colleges, but…

As a center for the New York Knicks, Enes Kanter is set to earn $18.6 million for the upcoming NBA season. So the 26-year old can afford to take an Uber — he can afford to have a driver or take a limo, in fact. But for Kanter, New York City’s subway beckoned. “I took a subway one day, and then people in the subway were just looking at me: ‘What is this 6’11” Knicks…