Over-the-counter contraceptive:Â The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it has approved the first over-the-counter oral contraceptive. The drug norgestrel, marketed under the brand name Opill, will be available without a prescription. The FDA said that other oral contraceptives will remain by prescription only. The FDA said that the distribution of the drug will be up to the manufacturer but it is likely to be available in drug stores, grocery stores and convenience stores.
SAG-AFTRA strike:Â Actress and comedian Fran Drescher, president of the performers’ union SAG-AFRTA notified union members this morning that the union’s board will be taking a strike vote today and will notify them about when to walk off the job. About 97% of the SAG-AFTRA members previously had authorized the union’s board to call a strike. The performers would join members of the Writers Guild who have been on strike against studios and producers since May.
Epps sues:Â Raymond Epps, a former Donald Trump supporter who took part in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News that also names former Fox Host Tucker Carlson. Epps says Fox defamed him by reporting that he really was an undercover FBI agent who helped the FBI stage the Jan. 6 attack. Epps says he and his wife received death threats as a result of the Fox stories and they were forced to move from their home.
Wray testifies:Â FBI Director Christopher Wray spent five hours under oath testifying before the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee yesterday. Wray defended himself against assaults from Republican members who want to shut down the FBI and claim it was wrong to investigate Donald Trump for taking classified government documents and refusing to return them. Wray characterized comments from at least one of the Republicans as being “somewhat insane” and denied the FBI had been politicized. Wray reminded the committee that his background is as a conservative Republican and he had been appointed to head the FBI by Donald Trump.
ExxonMobil deal:Â ExxonMobil announced today that it is buying the carbon-capture company Denbury in an all-stock transaction valued at $4.9 billion. Denbury has a pipeline network of roughly 1,300 miles and storage facilities for carbon dioxide that has been captured from various sources. Denbury also has oil and natural gas operations in the Rocky Mountains and Gulf Coast that has more than 200 million barrels of oil reserves and pumps about 47,000 barrels of oil a day.
Biden in Finland:Â President Biden went to Helsinki, Finland today after the NATO summit meeting in Lithuania. Biden’s visit was a follow-up to Finland joining NATO. Finland has a border of more than 800 miles with Russia. In 2018, Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki and declared that he trusted Putin more than he trusted U.S. intelligence agencies.
Cover photo courtesy of the White House
