NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ–Walmart removed all "Made in USA" logos and claims from its website following a recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) probe that had been sparked by a consumer watchdog group.

On October 20, the government said it had “decided not to pursue [the] investigation any further” and that Walmart took several steps to “prevent consumer deception.”

WASHINGTON, DC–The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced on October 27 that it has taken action against a nationwide student financial aid scam that allegedly ripped off tens of thousands of students.

According to a CFPB press release, the culprits illegally charged millions of dollars in fees for bogus financial services.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Two of the three largest drugstore chains in the country will soon join forces, if a $9.4 billion deal for Walgreens to buy Rite Aid is approved.

The Rite Aid store, located at 366 George Street, is just one of more than 4,600 locations in the nation's third largest U.S. drugstore chain.

If the deals moves forward, it will become part of the Walgreens chain, which has a location at 20 Jersey Avenue in New Brunswick. Walgreens is  the number one U.S. drugstore chain with 8,200 stores.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–The unemployment rate in the Hub City dropped slightly in August to 5.5%, down from 6.1% in July, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

While New Brunswick’s 5.5% August unemployment rate was slightly better than NJ’s 5.7% for the month, both were above the national rate of 5.1%.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–Officials confirmed that the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) was evacuated for over an hour on October 7, due to a "suspicious package" sent to the Sheriff. 

"Middlesex County Sheriff Mildred S. Scott received today a suspicious package," reads a statement from county spokesperson Stacey Bersani.

The Sheriff's Office is headquartered at 701 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick, in a building rented by the county from the Boraie real estate company. 

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–A $17.7 billion deal to sell Cablevision, the state’s second largest cable provider, may change service options and pricing for Hub City residents if the proposed transaction closes in the first half of next year.

The sale, if approved, will make Altice, a French telecommunications company, the fourth largest cable operator in the U.S. serving a total of 4.6 million customers in 19 states plus NJ.

EDISON, NJ—Macy’s says it will hire 85,000 seasonal workers nationwide for this year’s Christmas and holiday shopping season and has already begun filling positions at New Jersey's Secaucus direct-to-consumer fulfillment center.

The “megacenter” in Secaucus was cited as one of nine facilities where approximately 15% of the temporary positions will be filled.