Last Thursday, members of the Sackler family – who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma – and the company itself, agreed to pay up to $7.4 billion in a new settlement to lawsuits over the toll of the powerful prescription painkiller, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced. Joining Attorney General James in securing the settlement […]
After lawyers for TikTok appeared before the Supreme Court on Friday and received a skeptical reception, it seems only a few pathways remain and time is ticking down for the platform’s future in the United States. As NBC News reports, if the Supreme Court votes to uphold the law that President Joe Biden signed in April, TikTok […]
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration set maximum levels for lead in baby foods like jarred fruits and vegetables, yogurts and dry cereal, part of an effort to cut young kids’ exposure to the toxic metal that causes developmental and neurological problems. As NBC News reports, the agency issued final guidance that it estimated could reduce […]
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a series of major changes to the company’s moderation policies and practices last week, citing a shifting political and social landscape and a desire to embrace free speech. As NBC News reports, Zuckerberg said Meta will end its fact-checking program with trusted partners and replace it with a community-driven system […]
Last week, a person in Louisiana was hospitalized with a severe case of H5N1 infection, a.k.a. bird flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this is the first severe case reported in the United States. As NBC News reports, the CDC said the patient was likely exposed to the virus from a […]
The Food and Drug Administration is (finally) making moves to ban the synthetic food coloring Red No. 3. As Food & Wine reports, last week, Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods, shared with the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that it’s likely time to reevaluate the safety of red food dye. […]
A rare tornado struck Scotts Valley, just south of the Bay Area, overturning cars, damaging trees and knocking out power with an estimated peak winds of 90 mph. As AccuWeather reports, San Francisco city and county received the first warning Saturday since the inception of reliable weather records in 1950, Nicole Sarment, a weather service […]
In recent months, our sun has ramped up activity, with giant flares erupting off the surface and belching streams of plasma and charged particles into space. Several of the solar storms have been aimed at our planet, and when they do, they trigger severe geomagnetic storms and supercharged dazzling displays of the northern lights. As NBC News […]
It’s officially illegal to farm octopus in the state of California. Gov. Gavin Newsom has just signed the bipartisan bill (which had zero opponents) that criminalizes the farming of octopuses for human consumption, based on the ideas that the aquatic animals are “highly intelligent,” have “long-term memory,” and have “have a well-developed nervous system.” And, […]
Hurricane Milton’s last 36 hours have been nothing short of astonishing, as it strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just over a day. As NBC News reports, the storm’s blisteringly fast evolution is part of a trend of rapidly intensifying storms fueled by climate change. The term “rapid intensification” describes an increase in sustained […]