Texas man says an H-E-B manager accused him of stealing, then a general manager allegedly blamed an AI that 'misidentifies people's photos and cars' 'I've been a very loyal customer.' A Texas shopper says he was ordered out of an H-E-B he visits almost every day after a security system allegedly flagged his car as linked to a theft. According to The Nerd Stash, he described the encounter in a post on Reddit, where he says a general manager later called it a mistake. He says an assistant manager and a guard stopped him inside the Tech Ridge store and claimed he had stolen there before. After he confirmed he drove a particular car, he says he was told, "Our security system has flagged that car as being associated with a theft yesterday. You need to leave the store right now." He says he had asked for evidence, including photos of him stealing. The manager allegedly did not know the car's plate number and would not check it, then held up a still of him walking out of the building. He says the still showed him holding groceries he had paid for. He told the manager, "That's proof of me paying for my groceries!" He says the reply was, "I'm not going to argue with you. Get out now before APD gets here. And do not ever come back to this store." Receipt disputes at the door have drawn attention before, such as a Walmart shopper accused of not scanning. The general manager called it a mistake. He says he requested the general manager's details before walking out. The next morning, he says he reached the general manager, who told him, "Yeah, we know it was our mistake. There's an AI security system we use. It sometimes just misidentifies people's photos and cars. We're sorry. And thanks for being so cool about it, because most people aren't." He wrote, "I've been a very loyal customer." A manager's theft accusation also sparked a viral post from a Tampa CVS shopper. In an update, he says H-E-B's corporate complaints team offered only a scripted apology. He also reported the incident to the Texas Attorney General and got back only a confirmation email. All details are based on his Reddit post and its update. The Texas Attorney General states that its consumer protection office will "receive consumer complaints and review them to identify illegal activity." The page adds that a confirmation email does not mean "a case or investigation is open." The FTC states that Rite Aid used AI facial recognition from 2012 to 2020 and that the system "generated thousands of false-positive matches." Its complaint says employees acting on false alerts "followed consumers around its stores, searched them, ordered them to leave." Rite Aid, a different retailer from H-E-B, was barred from using facial recognition for surveillance for five years. In the same update, he says H-E-B denies using AI cameras. He claims employees told him the stores rely on automated cameras that photograph vehicles and faces and sometimes tag innocent shoppers as thieves. Filed under: Follow the mary sue: Anshu Thakur Anshu Thakur is a writer who covers culture and trending stories across the internet. Her work focuses on the intersection of internet trends, entertainment, and fan reactions.

Enter your ZIP code for local news. The fate of the conveniently located pharmacy you stop by after work may hang in the balance after a major announcement from CVS Health on Wednesday. What are Connecticut's chances of a white Christmas? This Video Cannot Be Played The Rhode Island-based company said it plans to split into two separate businesses: one made up of its health benefits, pharmacy services and care delivery units, and another consisting of its national retail pharmacy and community healthcare units. Article continues below this ad Get Digital Access and Stay Informed With Trusted Local News. "Ongoing strategic execution creates opportunity for CVS Health to evolve into two companies with greater focus and more value for stakeholders," the company said in a statement. The split is expected to be completed in the first half of 2028. Spinning off its pharmacies into a separate business could put pressure on CVS's profits and lead to more store closings, said Angela Mattie, a Quinnipiac University professor and healthcare expert. "If the pharmacies are going to stand alone, they're going to be under financial constraints," Mattie said. "So potentially, we could see more pharmacies closing as a result of this." More For You With all Rite Aid locations closing statewide in recent years, Connecticut residents have already seen a steep drop in the number of retail pharmacies. Article continues below this ad Connecticut had 569 active pharmacies listed in the state's current license database, down 128 from a peak of 697 in 2021, according to state data. Pharmacies also tend to be less accessible in some communities. Nearly 18% of Americans lived in "pharmacy deserts" as of 2025, according to a study led by a Yale Medical School doctor. The study defined a pharmacy desert as an area where it takes longer to reach a pharmacy than a supermarket. CVS Health's decision to split reflects broader pressures in the for-profit healthcare industry and turmoil caused by impending federal funding cuts under the Trump administration, Mattie said. "The bigger policy question is: Can an organization that has shareholders and has multiple areas of the business do its best for the patient and the consumer?" she said. Article continues below this ad The same competitive pressures that lead to store closings could eventually bring down the cost of prescription drugs for consumers due to the split between CVS Health's insurance division Aetna, headquartered in Hartford, and its retail pharmacy locations, said Ellen Andrews of nonprofit consumer advocate the Connecticut Health Policy Project. "Combining insurance with pharmacies creates massive opportunities to game the system by steering patients to more lucrative options for the company," Andrews said. "When they are separate, there is a natural tension between pharma and payers that should get us better value at better prices." Andrews added, "I hope the independence of the two sectors they promise is real." While cheaper medications for ordinary customers is likely to be a ways off if it happens at all, CVS Health's announcement may represent a turning point in a recent trend that has contributed to higher healthcare costs, said Liz Dupont-Diehl, associate director of nonprofit advocacy organization the Connecticut Citizen Action Group. Article continues below this ad The group released a report earlier this year critiquing companies like CVS Health that have combined healthcare services like insurance, retail pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers and medical clinics as part of a "vertical integration" strategy designed to maximize profits. "This is certainly a stark reminder that the corporatization of healthcare is bad for patients and for the overall healthcare delivery system," Dupont-Diehl said. "It's particularly bad for Connecticut, given the number of jobs that have been eliminated by the CVS-Aetna merger and adventures over the years. We still need to urgently develop a healthcare system that is not driven by stockholder short-term limitless profit needs, but focuses on patient access and care." CVS Health's new structure could also impact employee insurance plans, including Connecticut's largest plan, which is run for state workers by newly reelected Comptroller Sean Scanlon. Scanlon "will now be conducting a full analysis of potential areas of financial or member impact on our plan," his office said in a statement on Wednesday. "We are currently out to a competitive bid for all prescription benefit management services, and our focus continues to be providing our members access to the most effective, high-quality care at the lowest cost available." Article continues below this ad Nov 5, 2026 Business Reporter Liese Klein is a reporter focusing on the business of healthcare. She has covered business in Connecticut for 15 years and previously worked at The Hartford Business Journal, New Haven Biz, Business New Haven, the New York Daily News, the Asahi Evening News in Tokyo and the Miami Herald.