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The holiday season is in full force and many Americans are getting their shopping done earlier than ever this year.

Lindsay Roberts, gift expert for thegiftinsider.com, is teaming up with Walmart to share the best gift ideas for celebrating the holidays at home.

The national retail federation is forecasting consumers will spend a record 850 billion dollars on holiday shopping this year.

For more information visit, walmart.com.

THIS SEGMENT IS SPONSORED BY WALMART.

(WISH) — Some Hoosiers may soon be able to get vaccines at their local Walmart store, as selected stores in seven states begin administering the shots next week.

They plan to offer the vaccine seven days a week at some locations of their pharmacies.

It comes as President Biden and his administration work to accelerate vaccine distribution. The Centers for Disease Control said 17 million doses of the vaccine have been administered so far. Biden has announced a goal of 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office.

At full capacity, Walmart said it will be able to deliver 10-13 million doses per month when supply and allocations allow. It plans to start by focusing on health care deserts in mostly rural locations and host vaccination events in underserved communities.

To prepare for the rollout, Walmart has been training thousands of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, building a new digital scheduling tool to make appointments easy and partnering with state and federal agencies as they await allocations.

“We want to protect as many patients as possible and this is the easiest way to do that. If you want to go back to having a sense of normal pre-COVID, this is going to be the way to do it,” said Walmart pharmacist Kevin Chung.

Walmart has been administering vaccines in some of its locations in New Mexico and Arkansas.

On Saturday, a Walmart spokesperson said exact locations are still to be determined.



Coronavirus links

Indiana coronavirus timeline

With information from the Indiana Department of Health through March 4, 2021, this timeline reflects updated tallies of deaths and positive tests prior to that date.

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (WISH) — A mission is underway in central Indiana to return a lost teddy bear to its family, but this is no ordinary bear.

The remembrance bear was given to the family of an organ or tissue donor. The bear was found at the Walmart in Brownsburg and social media is trying to get it returned. When it’s squeezed there is a unique sound.

Travis Polen’s daughter Kimberly found a teddy bear in the parking lot.

“Kimberly saw it and she was worried about the teddy bear. We took it home and found out it was a special teddy bear,” said Polen.

When they squeezed it, they were surprised when they heard a heartbeat.

“That’s probably a sound for a baby ultrasound. Turns out it was an Indiana Donor teddy bear,” said Polen.

These kind of teddy bears are a keepsake for families of organ and tissue donors and are used as a way to honor their loved ones.

Travis said he realized the sentimental value of the bear and uploaded a Facebook post asking for help finding the family. The post has been shared more than 11,000 times.

Hoosiers near and far offered a helping hand and words of encouragement. Polen said this is an example of the power of the internet.

“I woke up the next day and my phone was going off. We shared it in a lot of different places. I had one that was 7,000 shares. People were sharing it left and right. Friends and family just are wanting to find the Teddy Bears owner,” said Polen.

One of those people lending a helping hand was Taylor Pesavento, who lives in Terre Haute. She came across the post after one of her friends shared it. Pasavento said it feels good to be a part of something so significant.

“I think it’s definitely something that warms my heart to be a part of. I can only imagine what those families are going through if it’s the heartbeat of a loved one. I would definitely want to keep that close to my heart as a keepsake,” said Pesavento.

Polen said getting the teddy bear out of lost and found and back into the arms of its family would be the perfect way to end the year.

“If we had a teddy bear like that we would look everywhere for it. It’s very important. I know it’s important for someone. I hope someone finds it,” said Polen.

Entrepreneurs who dream of reaching thousands of customers at the world’s largest retailer had the chance to showcase their products. 

On June 19, people from around the world gathered at the Walmart Home Office to pitch their ideas at the Sixth Annual Open Call for American Products. 

Walmart has a 10-year commitment to place 250 billion more United States made products on their shelves, and today a few more got added. 

“I am super excited and super happy that our products got selected,” entrepreneur Ian Schafruen said. 

Schafruen and his wife created Healthee, which is a line of organic and gluten-free easy microwaveable meals. 

“It’s amazing what Walmart is doing to create jobs for products like mine, and I am very excited and looking forward to working with them,” entrepreneur Augustine Guma said.

Guma and his team created Guma Spicy Pies, which features seven different spices representing the seven different continents.

Guma said he is a survivor from the genocide in Uganda, who was saved by the American Special Forces, and decided to use the spices as a way to promote love and peace all over the world. 

Some other products that will soon be on a Walmart shelf near you, come in many styles. 

“We take your taste buds to 15 exotic destinations around the world through our freshly prepared meals and high protein hot wraps,” entrepreneur Lisa Sohanpal said. 

She created Mini Nom Nom’s, which featured healthy world food for kids. 

“Our products are gluten, grain, and grasses family free,” said entrepreneurs Margie and Ann Mae Traxler.

The mother-daughter duo created Grain Free Mama’s, which features mixes such as:

It was an opportunity for those who got to show off their products, but it was also an enjoyable day for those who didn’t.

“It’s a great place to show off Walmart and Northwest Arkansas, and we are having a lot of fun,” Walmart Vice President for Merchandising Services Cindi Marsiglio said. 

“As with any Walmart event, the vibes here are pretty positive and pretty high energy,” Greater Bentonville Chamber President and CEO Graham Cobb said. 

After the 2019 Open Call event, Walmart invited attendees to reception to congratulate those who participated in the event. 

Entrepreneurs who dream of reaching thousands of customers at the world’s largest retailer had the chance to showcase their products. 

On June 19, people from around the world gathered at the Walmart Home Office to pitch their ideas at the Sixth Annual Open Call for American Products. 

Walmart has a 10-year commitment to place 250 billion more United States made products on their shelves, and today a few more got added. 

“I am super excited and super happy that our products got selected,” entrepreneur Ian Schafruen said. 

Schafruen and his wife created Healthee, which is a line of organic and gluten-free easy microwaveable meals. 

“It’s amazing what Walmart is doing to create jobs for products like mine, and I am very excited and looking forward to working with them,” entrepreneur Augustine Guma said.

Guma and his team created Guma Spicy Pies, which features seven different spices representing the seven different continents.

Guma said he is a survivor from the genocide in Uganda, who was saved by the American Special Forces, and decided to use the spices as a way to promote love and peace all over the world. 

Some other products that will soon be on a Walmart shelf near you, come in many styles. 

“We take your taste buds to 15 exotic destinations around the world through our freshly prepared meals and high protein hot wraps,” entrepreneur Lisa Sohanpal said. 

She created Mini Nom Nom’s, which featured healthy world food for kids. 

“Our products are gluten, grain, and grasses family free,” said entrepreneurs Margie and Ann Mae Traxler.

The mother-daughter duo created Grain Free Mama’s, which features mixes such as:

It was an opportunity for those who got to show off their products, but it was also an enjoyable day for those who didn’t.

“It’s a great place to show off Walmart and Northwest Arkansas, and we are having a lot of fun,” Walmart Vice President for Merchandising Services Cindi Marsiglio said. 

“As with any Walmart event, the vibes here are pretty positive and pretty high energy,” Greater Bentonville Chamber President and CEO Graham Cobb said. 

After the 2019 Open Call event, Walmart invited attendees to reception to congratulate those who participated in the event. 

Walmart has provided a design plan for a future home office building in Bentonville.

In a press conference at the current home office, Walmart unveiled a design for what they call “a new connected campus” that’s built in a neighborhood-like environment. Each neighborhood would offer convenient parking and expanded dining options.

The connected campus would have more than 15 acres of lakes and the company calls the design, “smart and sustainable.”

Walmart Inc. President and CEO Doug McMillon, Walmart Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Dan Bartlett were in attendance. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and Bentonville Mayor Stephanie Orman joined Walmart at the press conference.

“Arkansas has been good to us, and there’s nowhere else we’d rather call home. When I imagine the next 60 years, I can’t help but smile at the possibilities.” McMillon said.

Check out the video below for a sneak peek at the design plan.

Walmart.com featured many St. Patrick’s Day outfits in the spirit of the holiday, but a viewer tipped us off that a particular piece of clothing featuring a marijuana leaf was making its rounds on social media. 

Even more strange, it was a youth garment. 

As you can see in the image above, the sweater featured a three-leaf clover, a four-leaf clover, and a marijuana leaf. The images sat on top of the words, “normal, lucky, super lucky.” 

When we examined the link the viewer sent, it took us to what appeared to be the normal Walmart.com site. All of the tabs are functional, including the cart option for purchases, and when signed in to an account the user’s info appears in the upper-righthand corner. By all indications the sweater is a Walmart item, but when we reached out to Walmart.com for comment they knew very little about the item. 

“This isn’t an item sold on Walmart.com and we will alert the IT team to remove the image and/or page immediately,” a Walmart.com supervisor stated. 

As of right now, the page and the link are still functional but the item is no longer available for purchase.