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Party City is going out of business

Business

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20 December, 2024

New York — Party City is closing down all of its stores, ending nearly 40 years in business, CNN has learned.

CEO Barry Litwin told corporate employees Friday in a meeting viewed by CNN that Party City is “winding down” operations immediately and that today will be their last day of employment.

“That is without question the most difficult message that I’ve ever had to deliver,” Litwin said at the meeting, which was held on a video conference call. Party City’s “very best efforts have not been enough to overcome” its financial challenges, he added, resulting in the company’s collapse.

FILE - People shop in a Party City store on January 18, 2023 in Miami, Florida. — FILE – People shop in a Party City store on January 18, 2023 in Miami, Florida.Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

“It’s really important for you to know that we’ve done everything possible that we could to try to avoid this outcome,” Litwin said. “Unfortunately, it’s necessary to commence a winddown process immediately.”

Party City didn’t immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Bankruptcy and collapse

The chain is the largest party supply store in the United States and recently exited bankruptcy in September 2023. That plan included the canceling of nearly $1 billion in debt, the dissolution of its stock and a majority of its 800 US stores staying open.

Though in the short term Party City managed to avoid the same fate as Bed Bath & Beyond and 99 Cents Only Stores, it still had more than $800 million in debt to overcome, which strained earnings this year.

The company had closed more than 80 stores from the end of 2022 to August 2024, according to its most recent financial documents.

Party City said in a previous statement that it had renegotiated many of its leases and exited “less productive locations,” which resulted in many of chain’s workers remaining employed. The company had approximately 6,400 full-time and 10,100 part-time workers as of 2021.

Party City filed for bankruptcy in January 2023 after struggling to pay off its $1.7 billion debt load. As a result, it was also delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

The New Jersey-based company announced Litwin as its new CEO just four months ago. In a LinkedIn post, he said the company’s “main priority is to strengthen our financial health, and there is work ahead of us.”

Net sales for Party City decreased to $407 million for the three months ending in September 2023, compared to $502 million in the same period in 2022, according to the company’s latest financial disclosures.

The company, which sells balloons, Halloween costumes and other party goods, has stumbled in the face of growing competition from e-commerce sites and pop-up concepts like Spirit Halloween. Competition from big-box retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Costco and others also crushed smaller chains.

It also had to contend with rising costs during the pandemic and a helium shortage, which hurt its crucial balloon business.

The chain joins a growing list of retailer bankruptcies this year as customers cut back on discretionary spending amid the rising cost of living. Notably, Big Lots announced Thursday it was starting “going out of business” sales at all of its locations after a plan for a private equity firm to rescue the bankruptcy retailer failed.

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Major chains are on track to close the highest number of stores in 2024 than in any year since 2020, according to Coresight Research.

Texas House panel may never hear death row inmate Robert Roberson’s testimony after new legal move

Crime

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20 December, 2024

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Texas House panel may never hear death row inmate Robert Roberson’s testimony after new legal move

A Texas House Committee was left without its key witness on Friday after Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a motion late Thursday barring death row inmate Robert Roberson from testifying at the Capitol.

The bipartisan House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence had planned to hear directly from Roberson on Friday at noon about his failed efforts to overturn his capital murder conviction using the state’s junk science law, which grants new trials in cases that relied on scientific evidence that is later discredited.

But Paxton’s motion, which argued that the panel’s subpoena to Roberson was “procedurally deficient and overly burdensome,” excused the state prison system from complying with the committee’s subpoena and allowing Roberson to testify in person.

That left the future of Roberson’s testimony unclear.

Lawmakers have tried for weeks to bring him to Austin after the Texas Supreme Court noted in November that state officials should be able to produce Roberson for testimony in compliance with a subpoena that does not interfere with a scheduled execution. After the committee’s first subpoena expired, it served him with another one this week.

Roberson was convicted of capital murder in 2003 for the death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki, who was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome. He has argued that new scientific evidence discredits Nikki’s diagnosis and shows she died of natural and accidental causes.

The first subpoena from the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence seeking Roberson’s testimony forced a delay of his scheduled October execution. That led to a Texas Supreme Court ruling on Nov. 15 that said a legislative subpoena of a death row inmate could not be used to postpone an execution.

Roberson’s execution has not yet been rescheduled. The district attorney in his case has not yet requested that the court set a new execution date, which could not land within 90 days of her request.

Reps. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, and Jeff Leach, R-Plano, have accused the attorney general’s office of stalling Roberson’s testimony until the panel automatically dissolves next month with the start of the new legislative session.

In his motion to block Roberson’s testimony, Paxton asked the court to hold a hearing before it decides whether to grant his request. But he asked that the hearing not be set before Jan. 13, 2025, saying he “will be out of the country.”

The new legislative session starts – and the committee disbands – on Jan. 14.

“The attorney general’s office knows that and is trying to delay until the start of the next session, which is just horrifying and maddening to me,” Leach said at an event with the Tribune on Dec. 6.

Paxton’s office, which legally represents the prison system, has hamstrung earlier efforts to secure Roberson’s in-person testimony by insisting that nothing legally compels the executive branch to bring him to the Capitol.

Fifteen emails between Moody and Paxton’s office obtained by the Tribune document the ongoing tensions between lawmakers and the executive branch over Roberson’s case.

In response to the committee’s first subpoena, Paxton’s office sunk plans for Roberson to testify at an Oct. 21 hearing in person and said that the inmate would only be permitted to appear virtually due to public safety concerns – an arrangement the panel opposed due to Roberson’s autism.

Instead, Moody suggested that the committee could travel to death row and take Roberson’s testimony there. But after Moody adjourned the Oct. 21 hearing, Paxton’s office shut that possibility down.

“The subpoena issued to Mr. Roberson required his testimony on Monday, and TDCJ did not impede Mr. Roberson’s compliance with the subpoena, going so far as to attempt to facilitate his appearance via Zoom,” Kimberly Gdula, the attorney general’s chief of general litigation, wrote to Moody on Oct. 25. “The House’s subpoena has now expired, and the committee has adjourned.”

After the Texas Supreme Court issued its ruling that Roberson could testify as long as it didn’t interfere with an execution, Moody asked Gdula in an email if they could reach an agreement on having Roberson testify without requiring a new subpoena.

On Dec. 6, Gdula sent a series of questions and conditions, and sought to bar Moody from directly contacting the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which operates the state prisons.

She asked “why Roberson could not furnish any needed testimony through safer alternatives like remote appearance by video,” and claimed that the office “had no information as to what topics you intend to discuss that only Roberson would be able to provide relevant testimony on.”

She also wrote that representatives from the attorney general’s office, the Anderson County District Attorney’s office and Gov. Greg Abbott’s office had “a right to be present at any hearing where Roberson is testifying so they may assert any objections to questions that go beyond the scope of the Committee’s limited authority to question a death-row inmate.”

Moody rejected the conditions, reiterating the committee’s opposition to a virtual appearance due to Roberson’s autism, referencing public materials describing the committee’s reasoning in seeking Roberson’s testimony and noting that the committee and TDCJ had addressed various safety and logistical issues on Oct. 18 – before Paxton’s office stepped in.

“This is a subpoena, so any opinion related to ‘the import of Roberson’s testimony’ does not authorize disobedience of it,” he wrote. “Anyone may attend this public hearing, but no one will be recognized to ‘assert any objections’ because this is not an adversarial proceeding and there is no judge to whom you may object.”

Moody and Leach, at the Tribune’s Dec. 6 event, vowed to continue fighting for Roberson despite opposition from the attorney general’s office – and even through the start of a new legislative session.

“We will not relent in the pursuit of justice for Mr. Roberson,” Leach said. “If they want to thumb their nose in the face of the Legislature that egregiously and blatantly, they can be – and should be – assured that a new committee next session … will issue a new subpoena if we have to.”

Paris Hilton-backed child abuse bill headed to Biden’s desk for signature

Politics

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19 December, 2024

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Paris Hilton-backed child abuse bill headed to Biden’s desk for signature

The House passed the Paris Hilton-championed Stop Institutionalized Child Abuse bill on Wednesday, a sweet victory for the celebrity hotel heiress after the nearly three years she’s spent lobbying politicians in Washington on the issue of reform in the “troubled teen” industry.

The measure that would require more federal oversight into these facilities for troubled minors passed by a vote of 373-33.

All those who voted against the legislation were Republican, most from the far-right faction of the party, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar of Arizona, Byron Donalds of Florida, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, among others.

The Senate passed the bill a week ago with unanimous support. It now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.

“I am so emotional right now. I have never felt prouder in my life,” Hilton told reporters after the vote. “Just to be here today and see our bill pass in Congress has been one of the most incredible moments of my life and I just know that the teenage me would be so proud of the woman that I am today — turning my pain into purpose and being a voice for so many people who don’t have a voice.”

Hilton said she traveled to Washington every six to 10 months starting in October 2021 to push for a child abuse bill. She traveled back to the Hill on Monday and has spent the past two days meeting with representatives in order to get the measure across the finish line. She held a press conference outside the Capitol on Monday evening, urging the House’s passage of the bill.

Hilton was personally in contact with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise regarding movement on the bill this week.

Hilton for years has been an advocate for reform in congregate care facilities and residential treatment programs for “troubled” minors. She’s brazenly described her own traumatizing experience at Provo Canyon School in Utah when she was a teenager.

The legislation — which would ordinarily pass through the House Energy and Commerce committee before it could get called by leaders to the floor — was fast-tracked by bypassing that step, according to a source familiar with committee business.

“When the U.S. Senate came together in a rare show of unity to pass the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act unanimously on Wednesday December 11th, it was one of the best moments of my life. It was proof that when we listen to survivors and put politics aside, we can create real, meaningful change. But this journey isn’t over. I can’t celebrate until this bill becomes law, and now it’s up to the U.S House of Representatives to finish what the Senate started,” Hilton wrote in an open letter shared to her Instagram page on Monday.

“To Leader Scalise, Speaker Johnson, and every member of the House: I urge you to think about the children who can’t speak for themselves. They’re relying on us—on you—to stand up for their safety and dignity. Passing this bill would be a testament to what we can achieve when we lead with empathy and courage.”

Hilton has traveled to Washington every six to 10 months starting in October 2021, according to her spokesperson, each time asking Congress to reform youth residential treatment facilities.

She’s met individually with members like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who thanked Hilton after the bill’s passage last week for her work on the issue, and Republicans like Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Tim Scott of South Carolina.

Some of her biggest advocates have been the cosponsors of the bill: Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, along with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Hilton said.

“A lack of oversight and transparency in residential youth programs has allowed for the abuse of children in facilities across the country for far too long,” Cornyn said in a statement after the bill passed.

“I’m proud that the Senate unanimously passed this legislation to ensure the vulnerable children in these facilities are protected, and I want to thank the countless advocates who have bravely shared their stories to help end institutional child abuse.”

Hilton also testified before the House Ways and Means Committee in June, emotionally recounting her experience being at Provo Canyon School as a teen.

“These programs promised healing, growth, and support, but instead did not allow me to speak, move freely, or even look out a window for two years,” she testified in 2023. “I was force-fed medications and sexually abused by the staff. I was violently restrained and dragged down hallways, stripped naked, and thrown into solitary confinement.”

The Provo school in Utah, which is still operating today, released an updated statement in June 2024 saying they couldn’t comment on the operations or student experiences at the school prior to August 2000, when it had changed ownership shortly after Hilton’s stint there. Provo said it did not “condone or promote any form of abuse,” in their statement.

Hilton has gone to the White House to advocate for child welfare, meeting with policy staff in May 2022.

“We have had some prior conversations with the White House about the bill, and we don’t have a reason to believe that they wouldn’t sign it into law,” Hilton’s spokesperson said.

The socialite’s push for congregate-care reform started in 2021, when she came to Washington in support of a similar measure, the Federal Accountability for Congregate Care Act, which was a different bill that was introduced in October 2021 and led by Khanna, Merkley, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

Before her visit in 2021, Hilton had opened up about her 11-month experience at Provo Canyon school in her 2020 documentary “This is Paris,” and in a Washington Post op-ed.

NRG Park needs $2 billion for facility repairs, according to new assessment

Houston

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19 December, 2024

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NRG Park needs $2 billion for facility repairs, according to new assessment

Facilities within NRG Park need roughly $2 billion of repairs, according to a new assessment that will inform the complex’s next master plan.

The Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation released a facilities condition assessment Wednesday detailing the costly repairs needed in the park that is home to the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The assessment estimated a 30-year capital expense project is needed to address the aged facilities. With a price tag of $116 million alone, the mostly costly repair outlined in the assessment is a new rooftop.

But it’s still unclear who might bare the costs of repairing the multi-billion dollar complex.

“NRG Park is one of our region’s most valuable public assets,” Martye Kendrick, executive director of the sports corporation, said in a statement. “To ensure NRG Park continues to serve the community effectively, we will need investments that match the high level of activity the park supports.”

“At the same time, we must balance our responsibility to the public as responsible stewards of this county-owned asset,” Kendrick said.

County leaders have for years called for upgrades to NRG Park.

Former Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation CEO Ryan Walsh last year said the complex generates roughly $60 to 65 million per year hosting the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Texans home games and other sporting events, and concerts, but that’s not including all of the overhead and all of the costs of operating the facility.

Key tenants of NRG Park say the assessment highlights challenges that need to be address in the near, and long term.

“Our goal remains to provide the best possible gameday experience for our fans and also recognize the importance of NRG Park and NRG Stadium to our entire community,” Houston Texans President Greg Grissom said in a statement. “Together, with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, we look forward to supporting Harris County and HCSCC to identify the best solutions to address these challenges.”

Since its opening in 2002, the park has seen more than 100 million visitors, bringing in more than 5.5 million visitors every year.

Planning for the park’s next master plan is underway, including a multi-year capital improvement plan. More than $35 million worth of projects have already been planned and budgeted, , according to the sports corporation.

The facility assessment did not include an analysis of NRG Arena or the Astrodome.

CVS knowingly dispensed ‘massive’ amount of invalid opioid prescriptions: DOJ lawsuit

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19 December, 2024

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CVS knowingly dispensed ‘massive’ amount of invalid opioid prescriptions: DOJ lawsuit

The largest pharmacy chain in America is accused of “unlawfully dispensing massive quantities of opioids and other controlled substances to fuel its own profits at the expense of public health and safety,” according to a civil lawsuit filed by the Justice Department, which was unsealed Wednesday.

The DOJ lawsuit alleges that CVS has, for more than a decade, knowingly filled sometimes-dubious prescriptions for controlled substances that lacked a legitimate medical purpose, or were not valid.

Those prescriptions included “dangerous and excessive quantities of opioids” and “trinity cocktails” — a blend of “especially dangerous and abused combination of drugs made up of an opioid, a benzodiazepine and a muscle relaxant,” the suit stated.

MORE: Overdose deaths have continued to drop, now at their lowest level in 3 years, data shows

The suit also accuses the company of filling “at least thousands of controlled substance prescriptions” penned by “known ‘pill mills.'”

In a statement to ABC News, CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault called the suit “misguided” and said company officials “strongly disagree with the allegations and false narrative” described in the DOJ suit and will “defend ourselves vigorously.”

DOJ’s lawsuit says CVS “contributed to the opioid crisis, a national public health emergency with devastating effects in the United States.” The suit went on to say: “These included illegitimate prescriptions for extremely high doses and excessive quantities of potent opioids that fed dependence and addiction, as well as illegitimate prescriptions for dangerous combinations of opioids and other drugs.”

The suit accuses CVS of ignoring sometimes “egregious red flags” about prescriptions “bearing the hallmarks of abuse and diversion.” The lawsuit points to performance metrics and incentive compensation policies that allegedly pressured pharmacists to “fill prescriptions as quickly as possible, without assessing their legitimacy” and corporate policies that allegedly prioritized speed over safety.

MORE: McKinsey to pay $650 million over role in OxyContin epidemic

The suit claims CVS refused to implement compliance measures recommended by its own experts to reduce the number of invalid prescriptions with red flags “primarily due to fear that they would slow the speed of prescription filling and increase labor costs,” according to the suit.

The government is seeking civil penalties, injunctive relief and damages to address what it called CVS’ unlawful practices and to prevent future violations.

In her statement, Thibault, the CVS spokesperson, said the company has been an industry leader in fighting opioid misuse.

“Each of the prescriptions in question was for an FDA-approved opioid medication prescribed by a practitioner who the government itself licensed, authorized, and empowered to write controlled-substance prescriptions,” Thibault’s statement said.

She said the DOJ lawsuit “intensifies a serious dilemma for pharmacists, who are simultaneously second-guessed for dispensing too many opioids, and too few.”

Amazon workers strike at multiple facilities as Teamsters seek labor contract

Business

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19 December, 2024

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Amazon workers strike at multiple facilities as Teamsters seek labor contract

Workers at seven Amazon facilities went on strike Thursday, an effort by the Teamsters union to pressure the e-commerce company for a labor agreement during a key shopping period.

The Teamsters said the workers, who voted to authorize strikes in recent days, joined picket lines after Amazon ignored a Sunday deadline the union set for contract negotiations. The union called it the largest strike against the company in U.S. history, although Amazon said it did not expect the labor action to impact its operations.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters claims it represents nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, a small portion of the 800,000 workers employed in the company’s U.S. warehouses. The union hasn’t said how many workers would participate in the strike or how long the walkout would last.

“Amazon is pushing its workers closer to the picket line by failing to show them the respect they have earned,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in a statement.

The strikes happening Thursday are taking place at seven delivery stations, which are run by contractors who drop off of packages to customers everyday. They include three locations in Southern California, and one each in New York City, Atlanta, Georgia, and Skokie, Illinois, according to the union’s announcement.

The biggest warehouse affiliated with the Teamsters is located in the New York City borough of Staten Island. In 2022, thousands of workers at the warehouse, known as JFK8, voted to be represented by the nascent Amazon Labor Union. Workers then choose to affiliate with the Teamsters this past summer.

The National Labor Relations Board certified that election to unionize, but Amazon has refused to bargain on a contract. In the process, the company has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionalityof the labor board.

At the other six facilities, employees – including many delivery drivers – unionized with the Teamsters by demonstrating majority support but without holding government-administered elections. Under labor law, companies can recognize unions without elections being held, but the practice is rare, said John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University.

Amazon workers in more locations are “prepared to join” the fight, the Teamsters said, noting that employees at the Staten Island warehouse and at a company air hub in California also have authorized strikes.

When asked about the strike Thursday, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said: “What you see here are almost entirely outsiders, not Amazon employees or partners, and the suggestion otherwise is just another lie from the Teamsters.”

“The truth is that they were unable to get enough support from our employees and partners and have brought in outsiders to come and harass and intimidate our team, which is inappropriate and dangerous,” Nantel said.

Amazon has said it does not consider delivery drivers like the ones on strike to be its employees. Under the company’s business model, the drivers work for third-party businesses, called Delivery Service Partners, who deliver millions of packages daily. Amazon has accused the union, which says it represents some of the drivers, of “intentionally” misleading the public.

“This is another attempt to push a false narrative,” Nantel said.

But the Teamsters have argued Amazon essentially controls everything the drivers do and should be classified as an employer. Some U.S. labor regulators have sided with the unionin filings made before the NLRB. In September, Amazon boosted pay for the drivers amid the growing pressure.

Shares of Amazon.com Inc. rose more than 2.4% by midday Thursday.

University of Houston to Ban TikTok on Campus Network in 2025

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19 December, 2024

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University of Houston to Ban TikTok on Campus Network in 2025

That’s right, the University of Houston has announced that they will be banning the hit social media platform from their campus network starting in 2025.

No TikTok in Houston

I should start with saying that it is unclear if the TikTok app will be available on all personal devices. What IS known is that, according to a security memo from University of Houston System, they will be begin blocking the popular site on January 3, 2025.

Starting this date, TikTok will be “unavailable on the UH network.” This includes the immediate removal of the platform on UH owned computers and mobile devices.

UH urges all students, faculty, and staff who are currently using university-issued devices to remove the app immediately. Additional controls will be applied where these apps can no longer be installed once removed.

Texas Gov. Abbott’s TikTok Ban

The decision comes from Gov. Abbott’s efforts in 2022 to limit China’s potential influence on American citizens.

In a letter to State Agency Heads in December 2022, Abbott revealed the threat of having a widely accessed social platform partially owned by the Chinese Communist Party.

The governor also included that TikTok harvests large amount of personal data from its users. This information could be accessed and sent to the Chinese government, posing a severe threat to American security.

The ban issued on TikTok only applied to government and/or state-issued devices like cell phones, laptops, tablets, and desktop computers.

The University of Houston is just the latest in public universities applying a ban to the China-based social media platform, as others like UT in Austin have been prohibiting TikTok since February 2023, according to Chron.

South Texas groups sue TCEQ for temporarily allowing SpaceX to discharge industrial water without a permit

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19 December, 2024

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South Texas groups sue TCEQ for temporarily allowing SpaceX to discharge industrial water without a permit

McALLEN — Rio Grande Valley groups are suing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, accusing the agency of bypassing state regulations by allowing SpaceX to temporarily discharge industrial water at its South Texas launch site without a proper permit.

The groups — the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, along with the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas, and Save RGV — filed the lawsuit Monday after the agency decided last month to allow SpaceX to continue its operations for 300 days or until the company obtained the appropriate permit.

It is the latest in a string of lawsuits filed by environmental groups aimed at curbing the possible environmental impacts of SpaceX’s operations at Boca Chica on the southern tip of Texas.

Earlier this year, TCEQ cited SpaceX for discharging water into nearby waterways after it was used to protect the launchpad from heat damage during Starship launches four times this year.

SpaceX did not admit to any violation but agreed to pay a $3,750 penalty. Part of the penalty was deferred until SpaceX obtains the proper permit and on the condition that future water discharges meet pollution restrictions.

The environmental groups say that allowing SpaceX to continue is a violation of permitting requirements and that TCEQ is acting outside of its authority.

“The Clean Water Act requires the TCEQ to follow certain procedural and technical requirements when issuing discharge permits meant to protect public participation and ensure compliance with Texas surface water quality standards,” Lauren Ice, the attorney for the three Rio Grande Valley organizations, said in a statement.

“By bypassing these requirements, the Commission has put the Boca Chica environment at risk of degradation,” Ice said.

A TCEQ spokesperson said the agency cannot comment on pending litigation.

Some of the Rio Grande Valley groups are also involved in a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration for allegedly failing to conduct an environmental review of SpaceX’s rocket test launch in April. The case remains pending in federal court.

They also sued the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for agreeing to a land exchange that would give 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park to SpaceX in exchange for 477 acres adjacent to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. SpaceX canceled the deal in November.

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

NASA’s 2 stuck astronauts face more time in space with return delayed until at least late March

Technology

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19 December, 2024

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NASA’s 2 stuck astronauts face more time in space with return delayed until at least late March

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s two stuck astronauts just got their space mission extended again. That means they won’t be back on Earth until spring, 10 months after rocketing into orbit on Boeing’s Starliner capsule.

NASA announced the latest delay in Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams’ homecoming on Tuesday.

The two test pilots planned on being away just a week or so when they blasted off June 5 on Boeing’s first astronaut flight to the International Space Station. Their mission grew from eight days to eight months after NASA decided to send the company’s problem-plagued Starliner capsule back empty in September.

Now the pair won’t return until the end of March or even April because of a delay in launching their replacements, according to NASA.

A fresh crew needs to launch before Wilmore and Williams can return and the next mission has been bumped more than a month, according to the space agency.

NASA’s next crew of four was supposed to launch in February, followed by Wilmore and Williams’ return home by the end of that month alongside two other astronauts. But SpaceX needs more time to prepare the brand new capsule for liftoff. That launch is now scheduled for no earlier than late March.