Walmart is rolling out a new security initiative — and shoppers are not happy with the corporation’s latest attempts at curtailing crime in store parking lots across the country.
A customer in Bentonville, Ark., posted a TikTok video that captured the robot security guard patrolling the store’s parking lot.
The now-viral video featured the TikTokker, Goldpinemusic, following the robot around the parking lot, asking it questions like “What’s your name?”
Nearby shoppers appeared equally interested in the corporation’s newest security guards, as evidenced by one woman in the video who was seen kneeling on the pavement to try to take a close-up photo of the roaming robot.
The bizarre scene depicted in the video quickly amassed online attention and reeled in thousands of views and comments.
“We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins,” warned Walmart CEO Doug McMillon on a mid-May earnings call.
This latest robot-related expansion, as seen in the TikTok video, only sparked further outrage. “That’s why the prices are gonna be going up,” said one viewer.
“Pricing fluctuations are a normal course of business and are influenced by a variety of factors,” a Walmart spokesperson previously told The Post.
Walmart shoppers also worry that new robot security guards will record license plate numbers and other personal information.Xinhua/Shutterstock
Walmart originally began testing the efficacy of robots in select stores in 2015, when they were first used to stock and label shelves.
In the years since, the company has continued to utilize new and improving technology in robotics, AI, and surveillance in an effort to modernize stores, keep up with competitors, and offer guests a positive shopping experience.
In an effort to prevent and more efficiently report parking lot crime, Walmart began installing lot cops — tall solar-powered security towers manufactured by Live View Technologies — in parking lots in select states.
Lot cops aid in increased parking lot surveillance.Getty Images
Though they’re stationed in Walmart parking lots, the bulk of the surveillance footage captured by these Walmart lot cops goes to local law enforcement in the event of a criminal incident.
“The information is actionable, whether it’s getting a license plate off a vehicle. All of that functionality is in the platform,” Live View Technologies Director of Business Development David Studdert told WHNT19.
“Mostly I see litter, [people] throw trash all over the place. I have some friends who experienced car break-ins, too,” Hawaii resident Makakilo Richard Suzuki told KHON2 regarding parking lot crime.
Much like lot cops, which solely serve as surveillance and crime deterrents, the Walmart robot security guards are intended to increase visibility in parking lots, and as many commenters suspect, are operated remotely by loss prevention staff working inside stores.
While many users expressed displeasure at this costly surveillance expansion, others extended a degree of understanding toward Walmart.
“Definitely not the first of its kind,” one commenter wrote. “The hospital my wife works at has had robots like this for the past five years.”
For now, the Walmart robot security guards are only stationed at select locations across the country, but as commentators on the viral TikTok noted, perhaps this move is simply another potential recession indicator.
On Monday, the US Embassy and consulates in Mexico shared a security alert after confirming “several reports of US citizens being kidnapped by individuals the victims met on dating apps in recent months.”
“You’ve got to be careful, buyer beware. You’ve got to assume that something bad could happen to you in this process,” Bobby McDonald, a retired supervisory Secret Service agent and a lecturer in criminal justice at the University of New Haven, shared with Fox News Digital about dating app dangers.
“If you choose to use it, be on extra-high alert. Be extra careful of where you’re meeting this person or persons. Make sure that it’s in a public area. Make sure it’s an area where you’re going to have cellphone service. Make sure that you’re just watching out for yourself, situational awareness. Be careful and let people know where you are,” McDonald urged.
McDonald added that these dating apps are the latest ruse criminals are using.
“Apps are the next level of places where criminals are going to be able to act on their nefarious activities. And you’ve just got to watch out,” McDonald said.
US officials are issuing a security alert to Americans who are using dating apps in certain areas of Mexico, warning travelers to use caution due to a rise in kidnappings linked to the apps.Carmen – stock.adobe.com
“Again, there’s not a whole lot we can do with respect to those apps or getting rid of them off the kids’ phones or people’s phones. People have just got to understand where they are, what they’re doing and be ready to react to a bad situation and figure out how to get themselves out of it on the front end,” he continued.
The alert was issued for the Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Nayarit areas.
The embassy said that “victims and their family members in the United States have at times been extorted for large sums of money to secure their release.”
“Please be aware that this type of violence is not limited to one geographic area,” the embassy said.
The embassy added that travelers should use caution when meeting strangers, encouraging meetings in public places and avoiding isolated locations, “such as residences or hotel rooms, where crimes are most likely to occur.”
The US Embassy and consulates in Mexico shared a security alert after confirming “several reports of US citizens being kidnapped by individuals the victims met on dating apps in recent months.”oatawa – stock.adobe.com
McDonald said that nothing about this alert surprised him.
“This is just kind of the next iteration of what we need to worry about when we’re traveling, whether it’s with our families, with our students going on spring break, all of those types of things. There just always seems to be a next level of something that we have to watch out about,” McDonald said.
Embassy officials did not specifically name which dating apps were involved in the alert.
McDonald recommended that anyone traveling out of the country or even to a new place in the United States “do a little bit of research before you travel” and know what “the surrounding area of where you’re staying is like.”
“You need to make sure that you are cautious of your surroundings. You need to have the phone number of the US Embassy or consulate on your person. You need to make sure that you’ve made extra copies of your passport,” McDonald said. “Not only leaving a copy at home, but having an extra copy with you.”
McDonald added that travelers also need to make sure they are communicating with people back home and letting them know where they’re going and what they’re doing while on vacation on these trips.
“Just give people some information so that if, God forbid, something does happen to you, or you find yourself in a bad situation, there’s somebody on the outside or back home that may be able to provide you some assistance,” McDonald said.
What makes these situations even more troublesome is that McDonald said there may be no access to Wi-Fi where travelers are vacationing, especially after being abducted.
“Depending upon your phone plan, there may not be any Wi-Fi in the area that you’re taken to off of one of these areas or the resorts. So again, you want to try to minimize your ability to have something happen to you,” McDonald reiterated.
While McDonald does not discourage traveling to areas outside the country, he said to just be mindful of your surroundings and over-communicate with loved ones.
“Again, enjoy the area. Enjoy what’s out there. Many places can be safe as long as you’re keeping yourself in a safe area and watching what you’re doing, providing information to loved ones and friends, and just making sure that you’re enjoying yourself without putting yourself in harm’s way,” he said.
McDonald said what he has seen in his experience is kidnappings evolving into extortion.
Bobby McDonald, a retired supervisory Secret Service agent and lecturer in criminal justice at the University of New Haven, said travelers should make sure they are communicating with people back home and letting them know what they’re doing while on vacation. miguelnaranjomx – stock.adobe.com
“A lot of the issues are also moving towards extortion, taking pictures of you or having you on the phone, calling your parents or grandparents, asking them to wire money. There’s a lot of different scams out there that you can easily find yourself involved with if you’re not situationally aware of where you are and what’s around,” he explained.
The US Consulate General said it is reminding US citizens that in the State Department’s travel advisory for Mexico, Jalisco is classified as “Level 3,” which means “reconsider travel” due to crime and kidnapping. The agency added that while Jalisco is classified as a higher threat, Nayarit is classified as “Level 2,” meaning “exercise increased caution” due to crime.
Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are other countries that also currently have Level 2 advisories from the State Department.
The State Department said it reviews travel advisories on a regular basis and would update alerts “any time conditions change substantially.”
“The Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“We take seriously our commitment to provide US citizens with clear and reliable information about every destination in the world so they can make informed travel decisions. We make this information available to US citizens so they can be aware of their surroundings and take necessary precautions.”
Level 1 and 2 advisories are reviewed every 12 months, while Levels 3 and 4 are reviewed at least every six months, the department added.
The department also said that the security alert issued by the embassy is a reminder for “US citizens to use caution when using dating apps.”
McDonald said that while he feels travelers don’t need to put too much emphasis on the warning levels and the semantics, doing research prior to traveling and reading what the State Department is saying about the area is crucial in decision-making.
“Depending upon your phone plan, there may not be any Wi-Fi in the area that you’re taken to off of one of these areas or the resorts. So again, you want to try to minimize your ability to have something happen to you,” McDonald reiterated.Carlos Flores – stock.adobe.com
“If you’re a little bit concerned, and you’ve done your research on the area, and you’re checking out what the State Department is saying, and they say ‘Exercise increased caution,’ that would say to me, ‘Hey, maybe you want to postpone your trip to that area,’” McDonald said. “That means that that area is on the radar, things are happening there or the potential for more things to happen there are out there.”
McDonald added that there are many safe places for travelers to escape to, and it’s just a matter of being prepared.
“We need to be able to choose wisely when we’re picking our vacation times, and when there are advisories out there like this, we need to be cognizant of the fact that you don’t want to step yourself into an area that might be having increased trouble at the moment,” McDonald said.
“It’s situational awareness, knowledge of your area, a little bit of homework on the front end, and you can hopefully have a very safe and enjoyable vacation.”
New guidance from the EMA has introduced a shift in thinking at the regulator on the inclusion of pregnant and breastfeeding women in clinical trials.
The new document, which is open for public consultation, represents "a change in paradigm" and recommends that including pregnant and breastfeeding subjects in clinical trials should be considered "for all medicines intended for people who can potentially give birth to children."
At the moment, it is well recognised that pregnant and breastfeeding individuals are under-represented in clinical research, with a recent study estimating that less than 1% of US clinical drug trials include pregnant participants.
Europe follows a similar pattern, with data from the EU Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS) estimating that less than 0.4% of all trials carried out in the region include pregnant subjects, falling to 0.1% for those who are lactating.
The low numbers are because they are often excluded from clinical trials at the outset, while subjects who become pregnant while participating in a trial are frequently blocked from participating further.
"As a result, product leaflets usually lack details about the benefits and risks of a medicine, specifically in pregnancy and breastfeeding, requiring patients and healthcare professionals to make treatment decisions without this essential information," said the EMA as it introduced the new guidance (PDF).
"This can lead to suboptimal treatment decisions and potential harm," it added. "Meanwhile, the vast majority of pregnant people take medications, for example, because of chronic diseases, infections, or pregnancy complications."
The recent US study also found that rates of inclusion of pregnant participants in drug trials have not changed in 15 years, despite calls for greater involvement and a recognition that this under-representation raises concerns about the safety and efficacy of medicines on maternal and child health.
Meanwhile, a recent paper in The Lancet concluded that the current low rates of inclusion "contributes to fragmented maternal health policies and practice, as well as exacerbating gender, social, and geographical inequalities."
The new EMA guidance is open for comment until 15th September. It outlines scientific, regulatory, and ethical considerations for the design of pre- and post-marketing trials so pregnant and breastfeeding individuals can be included and retained in studies.
The EMA said it is encouraging developers to carry out "proactive planning and early consultation" with regulators "to ensure the safety and efficacy of treatments during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Women who are taking weight-loss injections have been warned by the UK medicines regulator that they should make sure they are using effective contraception, due to concerns the drugs could harm unborn children.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that, while it is not known definitively that taking GLP-1 agonist medicines like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy (semaglutide) and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro (tirzepatide) can cause damage to foetuses in the womb, there is some evidence from animal studies pointing to a risk.
"These medicines must not be taken during pregnancy, while trying to get pregnant, or during breastfeeding," according to the agency, which also noted that the jabs – specifically Mounjaro – may make oral contraceptives less effective in women who are overweight.
Its recommendation for women taking Lilly's drug is to use non-oral contraceptive methods like an implant, coil, or condoms for four weeks after starting Mounjaro and after any dose increase.
The lack of information on the effects of GLP-1 agonists in pregnancy stems in part from the reality that clinical trials often specifically exclude people who are pregnant or breastfeeding, an under-representation that is addressed in newly published guidance from the EMA.
"There is hardly any available data from human studies to be able to advise if these weight loss drugs are safe in pregnancy," said Prof Rebecca Reynolds, a metabolic medicine expert at the University of Edinburgh.
"The data from animal studies suggests the potential for harm with low birthweight and skeletal abnormalities, though more evidence is needed to assess if there are risks of taking these drugs in humans," she added.
Meanwhile, the MHRA has also warned all people seeking treatment with the so-called "skinny jabs" to beware of counterfeit pre-filled pens that closely mimic the appearance of the licensed products and can be dangerous, advising anyone who suspects that they've had an adverse or suspects it is not a genuine product to report it to the agency.
The weight-loss injections are only available via the NHS to people with a very high BMI of 35 kg/m2 or more, but huge demand for the shots has led many people to try to source them from unregulated sources.
According to Dr Channa Jayasena, a specialist in reproductive medicine at Imperial College London (ICL), obesity reduces fertility in women, so women with obesity taking GLP-1 drugs are more likely to get pregnant than before they lost weight.
"The guidance produced by the MHRA is sensible, since it highlights that women could accidentally get pregnant when taking GLP-1 drugs," she said.
"We don't know how harmful GLP-1 drugs are during pregnancy; however, we know that other forms of weight loss, like weight-loss surgery, can increase chances of a miscarriage. So, women are advised to do all they can to prevent pregnancy while taking GLP-1 drugs."
Using mRNA to stop HIV from hiding away in white blood cells could be the key to developing a way to eradicate the infection, rather than simply managing viral levels in the body.
The tantalising development has been reported by researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia, who have used mRNA to force HIV to be mobilised from the reservoir of latent virus integrated into resting CD4-positive T lymphocytes in lab studies.
Viruses that remain in that latent state cannot be targeted using standard antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV, so while treatment can suppress it to almost undetectable levels, the dormant viruses can re-emerge if treatment is interrupted.
Exposing that reservoir could, in theory at least, render the viruses vulnerable to ART and allow the infection to be eradicated.
The Doherty Institute researchers have worked out a way to deliver mRNA sequences that force HIV out of hiding to this cell population, something that was previously thought to be impossible because CD4+ T cells lack the cellular mechanism needed to take up the lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) that are usually used to deliver large molecules like RNA.
Research fellow Dr Paula Cevaal – the lead author of a paper on the work published in Nature Communications – told The Guardian that the team had solved that challenge by designing a new type of LNP – dubbed LNP X – that can be taken by resting CD4+ cells and allow mRNA-based latency-reversing agents (LRAs) to be delivered.
While other types of LRAs, including oral HDAC inhibitors, have been tested in trials, none have been able to reduce the size of the HIV reservoir, according to the researchers. The mRNAs offer greater potency, switching off the genetic sequences that block viral replication, and don't seem to cause any toxicity to the host cells, according to the paper.
According to Cevaal, the initial data with the LNP X approach were so good that the team was unconvinced by the results and repeated the experiments again and again.
The approach "could be a new pathway to an HIV cure," she said, whilst acknowledging there is still a long way to go before human clinical testing is an option.
"We have never seen anything close to as good as what we are seeing, in terms of how well we are able to reveal this virus," she added. "So from that point of view, we're very hopeful that we are also able to see this type of response in an animal, and that we could eventually do this in humans."
The work also raises the possibility of using LNP X to target T cell populations associated with other diseases with mRNA-based therapeutics.
