Tuesday, July 12th, 2022
OTC Birth Control?, Thousands of Galaxies & Prime Day Deals
All the news in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Zocdoc.com/newsworthy and Thrivecausemetics.com/newsworthy
Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want to read the latest happenings...
7th Jan 6th Committee Hearing
Today on Capitol Hill, lawmakers investigating the Capitol riot will be focusing on the role of extremists. Some members of the January 6th committee say they have evidence that will link those extremists to former President Trump, but there aren’t many details yet. News outlets have cited sources who say one of the people testifying today is a man who admitted to storming the Capitol on January 6th, along with a former spokesperson for the right-wing militia group Oath Keepers. The public will also see recorded testimony from former White House lawyer Pat Cipollone and more. Today’s hearing starts at 1 p.m. ET.
Read More: Jan. 6th Cmte, CBS News, Politico, Reuters, Fox News, NBC News
Biden Gun Reform Speech
Hundreds of mass shooting survivors and family members of victims got together this week at the White House. They were part of an event to promote new bipartisan gun legislation that President Biden signed into law last month. However, not everyone thought it was time to celebrate. A man who lost his teenage son in the Parkland, Florida school shooting interrupted the president’s speech to demand he and lawmakers do more, saying children are still dying. He ended up getting escorted out of the event. Biden still responded to say the man was right, that “this legislation is real progress, but more has to be done.”
Read More: White House, NY Times, WaPo, Fox News, Politico, Axios
Hospitals Must Provide Abortions in Emergencies
The federal government is giving more guidance to health care providers when it comes to abortion. The Health and Human Services Department says doctors and hospitals still have to provide abortions in emergency situations. It says that’s the case in all states, even those that banned the procedure after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. The Biden administration says it’s up to doctors to decide what’s an emergency and when the procedure qualifies as life- or health-saving care.
Read More: HHS, ABC News, WSJ, Axios, NBC News
FDA Considers OTC Birth Control
For the first time, the FDA is considering letting daily birth control pills be sold over the counter without a prescription. Birth control has been used by millions of American women since the 1960s, but it’s only ever been offered behind the pharmacy counter, generally so doctors can first screen for conditions that raise the risk of rare blood clots. However, drugmaker HRA Pharma asked for approval yesterday, saying the FDA will see that women can screen themselves for those conditions without professional supervision. If the FDA agrees, the Opill birth control could be available over the counter next year.
Read More: HRA Pharma, WaPo, AP, NY Times, CBS News
First Image from James Webb Telescope
The first image from NASA’s revolutionary new space telescope came out this week. It’s a busy picture with hundreds of specks, streaks, spirals, and swirls of white, yellow, orange, and red. It may not look like much at first glance, but it’s pretty incredible, considering it’s the farthest humans have ever seen in both time and distance. It shows stars and galaxies as they appeared 13 billion years ago. Astronomers are now using images from the telescope to understand more about how the universe came to be. Four more pictures will be released today. They include a view of a giant planet outside our solar system and more.
Read More: NASA, AP, NBC News, WaPo, NPR
Euro, Dollar Nearly Equal
For the first time in two decades, the U.S. dollar is almost equal to the euro. At last check, the two currencies are less than one cent away from being equal. Experts say the euro dropped to a 20-year low because of inflation and an energy crisis from the war in Ukraine. This could mean some good deals for Americans traveling in Europe. Hotel and flight costs are still up, but once you’re there, the U.S. dollar will go further in places like restaurants, taxis, and stores. It can also make figuring out how much things cost a little easier while you’re abroad.
Read More: CNN, Fox Business, Business Insider, CBS News
Amazon Prime Day Begins
One of the biggest shopping events of the year is here. Amazon’s Prime Day starts today and lasts through tomorrow. It gives Amazon Prime members discounts and deals on a variety of items and top brands. Some of the best deals are usually on Amazon-brand products like Echo speakers and Fire TV streaming devices. Amazon has been offering some early deals for a couple of weeks, but many more will arrive over the main two days. You have to have a Prime membership to take part. If you don’t want to pay for the full year, Amazon offers a 30-day free trial.
Read More: Amazon, USA Today, Engadget, CNN, The Verge
“Anti-Prime Day” Deals
Because of the hype around Prime Day over the years, rival retailers like Target, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, and more have started offering their own sales for shoppers. Some experts suggest using online tools that help you check historical prices, so you can see if you’re really getting a good deal before you buy. One tool to check Amazon products is called CamelCamelCamel.
Read More: CNET, Forbes, Business Insider, Variety
GameStop Launches NFT Marketplace
Gaming retailer GameStop has moved forward with the expected launch of its online marketplace for NFTs, allowing people to buy, sell, and trade them. They are meant to allow people to truly own a unique, digital asset secured with blockchain technology. GameStop is also now offering a crypto-wallet where you can store digital assets. It comes right after the company fired its CFO and laid off employees as part of a plan to reinvent its business. GameStop has bigger plans for this marketplace, including expanding into areas like Web3 gaming.
Read More: GameStop, CNBC, The Verge, Yahoo! Finance, MarketWatch
Twitter’s ‘Unmention’ Feature
There is a new “unmention” option on Twitter. The social media platform now lets people remove themselves from conversations they don’t want to be part of. To use this feature, select the three dots next to the tweet you’re tagged in, and click “leave this conversation”. That way, the tag gets removed, people can’t mention you again in that same thread, and you’ll stop getting notifications about it.
Read More: Twitter, TechCrunch, Engadget, Fox Business
YouTube’s Pic in Pic Feature
Another new feature that kicked off this week on social media is picture-in-picture on YouTube. It’s been available for Android users for years, but now iPhone and iPad users in the U.S. will get access, even with the free version of YouTube. The feature lets you watch videos in a floating window while using other apps. It will roll out to everyone “over the next several days”. However, that doesn’t include music content unless you have YouTube Premium. That costs about $12 a month.
Read More: Google, The Verge, 9to5Google, Apple Insider
Lea Michele Takes Over ‘Funny Girl’
An actress best known for playing a musical theater fan on “Glee” is about to take on one of the most high-profile roles on the Broadway stage. Lea Michele, who played Rachel Berry on the Fox hit, will soon play Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl”. The previous “Funny Girl” star, Beanie Feldstein, had already announced she would be leaving earlier than expected, saying the production “decided to take the show in a different direction.” Feldstein’s final show is July 31st. Then, the understudy will fill in until Lea Michele takes over this September.
Read More: Lea Michele, LA Times, THR, USA Today, Variety
Trivia Tuesday
What is the highest-grossing Broadway show of all time?
Play along on today’s Instagram Stories quiz. We’ll also have the answer right here next week.
Last Week’s Trivia
Q: Who is considered the first female self-made millionaire in the U.S.?
A: Madam C. J. Walker
Read More: History, Newsweek, PBS