Infant formula price-gouging crackdown on NYC

NEW YORK - Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order Sunday that declared a state of emergency in New York City over the nationwide infant formula supply shortage.

The executive order means that the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection will be able to crack down on retailers price-gouging for baby formula during the shortage.

"The nationwide infant formula shortage has caused unimaginable pain and anxiety for families across New York - and we must act with urgency," Adams said in a statement. "This emergency executive order will help us to crack down on any retailer looking to capitalize on this crisis by jacking up prices on this essential good. Our message to struggling mothers and families is simple: Our city will do everything in its power to assist you during this challenging period."

RELATED: Baby formula shortage: 78,000 pounds of formula arrives in U.S.

On Sunday afternoon, a military plane carrying enough specialty infant formula for more than half a million baby bottles arrived in Indianapolis, the first of several flights expected from Europe aimed at relieving a shortage that has sent parents scrambling to find enough to feed their children.

President Joe Biden authorized the use of Air Force planes for the effort, dubbed "Operation Fly Formula," because no commercial flights were available.

The flights are intended to provide "some incremental relief in the coming days" as the government works on a more lasting response to the shortage, Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Sunday.

With the Associated Press.