Drugstore operator CVS Corp. announced Wednesday it is buying pharmacy benefi ts manager Caremark Rx for about $21.2 billion in stock.

Mesa police arrested two men suspected of robbing CVS pharmacies on several occasions earlier this year.

CHICAGO - Drugstore chain CVS Caremark Corp. said Tuesday that it’s buying Longs Drug Stores Corp. in a deal valued at $2.7 billion, excluding the assumption of debt.

An attempt to pull out an ATM machine with a leather loop from a Mesa CVS drugstore Friday morning was unsuccessful.

A Gilbert robbery suspect captured by the Department of Public Safety has been linked to similar crimes in Mesa and Apache Junction, police say.

NEW YORK - Wall Street was surprised when CVS Caremark Corp. offered $2.7 billion to buy Longs Drugs Stores Corp., but some Longs shareholders are saying they'll oppose the deal if Longs doesn't tell them more about the value of its real estate.

The newly merged CVS/ Caremark Corp. is a health care powerhouse with much of its might here in Scottsdale and Phoenix.

The nation’s largest provider of retail-based health care has expanded into the East Valley with three locations inside CVS/pharmacy stores.

A multimillion dollar corporate merger on Wall Street has resulted in a quirky scene at a Tempe intersection. At the southwest corner of Rural and Elliot roads sits a CVS drugstore while at the northeast corner sits an Osco drugstore.

The retail pharmacy division of CVS Caremark Corp. agreed last week to pay $17.5 million to settle allegations that it routinely overbilled the government's Medicaid prescription programs in 10 states, including Minnesota. CVS was allegedly inflating claims for the prescription co-pays that Medicaid picks up for those patients who are primarily covered by private health insurance.

CVS/Caremark Corp. will eliminate 136 positions at its offices in Scottsdale, less than three months after cutting 423 positions in its Phoenix mail-order operations and less than a year after the company announced plans to hire more workers in the Valley.

CVS/Caremark will close its Phoenix mail-service pharmacy operation on New Year’s Eve, leaving more than 300 jobs in jeopardy. The closing was announced Sept. 28.

Caremark Rx shareholders approved a $26.5 billion acquisition by drugstore operator CVS Corp., the pharmacy benefits manager announced Friday.

Two retail medical clinics have opened in the East Valley, operated by the fledgling industry’s giant, MinuteClinic, at CVS/pharmacy stores. The openings in Gilbert and Mesa last month follow the locally owned MediMin clinics, which launched earlier this year inside Bashas’ grocery stores in Scottsdale, Peoria and west Phoenix.

CVS/Caremark will close its Phoenix mail-service pharmacy operation on New Year’s Eve, leaving more than 300 jobs in jeopardy.

Pharmacy giant CVS, which bought rival Eckerd’s last month in a $2.15 billion deal, has closed three Arizona Eckerd’s — all serving East Valley customers — because they are too close to CVS stores.

Peoria police need help in identifying a suspect in a robbery that occurred at CVS Pharmacy, 8332 W. Thunderbird Road.

Mesa police arrested a 61-year-old former CVS Pharmacy shift manager on Monday who is accused of stealing $85,000 worth of items from the drugstore and selling them on eBay over a period of nearly four years.

National drugstore giant CVS announced Monday that it plans to buy half of rival Eckerd, including all the Arizona stores, forming the country’s largest pharmacy retailer with more than 5,000 stores in 36 states.

CVS/Caremark Corp. will eliminate 136 positions at its offices in Scottsdale, less than three months after cutting 423 positions at its Phoenix mail-order operations and less than a year after officials announced plans to hire more workers in the Valley.