A popular medication used to treat anxiety and panic disorders has been recalled because health officials say the tablets could be contaminated. Read on for details.
Hurricane-force winds are in the forecast for California, creating more problems for firefighters trying to stem the spread of life-threatening wildfires.
And a pair of Instagram models have been banned from all future professional baseball games after pulling a flashy stunt during Game 5 of the World Series.
Here’s what you need to know in the daily roundup.
TOP STORY: Popular Anti-Anxiety Medication Recalled Due to Risk of Contamination
Alprazolam Tablets
If you or someone you know takes anti-anxiety medication, doublecheck the bottle. Mylan Pharmaceuticals has issued a recall for Alprazolam Tablets. The drug is a generic version of Xanax and is available only by a doctor’s prescription.
According to a notice by the Food and Drug Administration, health officials are concerned that a specific batch of the drug could be contaminated with a “foreign substance.” Officials did not release any more specific details about what sort of contaminant may have impacted the tablets, but the FDA says the risk of adverse effects is “rare.”
The Alprazolam Tablets included in the recall had an expiration date of September 2020. The batch came in bottles of 500 pills. The bottle should include the following identifiable information: NDC 0378-4003-05 – Alprazolam Tablets, USP C-IV 0.5 mg; lot number 8082708.
The FDA explains that the tablets are used to treat “management of anxiety disorder, the short-term relief of symptoms of anxiety, and the treatment of panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia.” Mylan Pharmaceuticals is in the process of contacting pharmacies and patients to arrange for the Alprazolam Tablets to be returned.
Patients are advised to contact their doctors about any potential side effects as a result of taking the drug. Additional questions should be directed to Mylan Customer Relations at 800.796.9526 or customer.service@mylan.com, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST. See the full release from the FDA about the recall here.
WHAT’S BUZZING THAT HAS EVERYONE TALKING: Wildfires Rage As California Braces For Another Wind Event
GettyFirefighters battle a wind-driven fire burning structures on a farm during the Kincade fire in Windsor, California on October 27, 2019.
More than 25 million people in California are under Red Flag Warnings as the state braces for yet another round of powerful winds. Meteorologists say wind gusts are expected to reach hurricane-strength by tonight and last through Thursday. Forecasters from KABC-TV are saying it could be the “strongest wind event of the season.” The winds combined with low humidity and warm temperatures create the perfect storm for more fires to spark.
The largest wildfire is the Kincade Fire, which started in Sonoma County in the northern part of the state and spread fast. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the flames have burned about 75,000 acres. More than 100 structures have been destroyed, including an unspecified number of homes.
CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller explained that the wildfire “grew at a rate of one football field every three seconds” due to the powerful winds fueling it. As of early Tuesday morning, the fire was about 15 percent contained. Nearly 200,000 people evacuated. Officials say that even once the wildfire is contained, hotspots are expected to burn for several more weeks. Meanwhile, the utility company PG&E has planned another round of power outages that are set to begin today. See blackout maps here.
GettyFirefighters battle the Getty Fire in houses on fire in Brentwood, California on October 28, 2019.
In southern California, about 10,000 structures remained under threat from the Getty Fire as of Tuesday morning. That fire sparked early Monday morning and has scorched about 600 acres. The Tick Fire, which started last Thursday, burned about 4,600 acres and is now primarily contained, according to California fire officials. For live streams and maps of the Getty Fire, click here.
OFF-BEAT: Instagram Models Banned From MLB Games After Flashing Their Breasts During World Series Game
A group of models had a little too much fun during Game 5 of the World Series, pulling a stunt that got at least two of them banned from Major League Baseball for life. Models Julia Rose, Lauren Summer, and Kayla Lauren were seen on camera exposing their breasts during the 7th inning. They were sitting behind home plate and flashed Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole. The three women were all escorted out of the stadium following the stunt, which was seen on live television.
Rose and Summer both say they received letters from the Vice President of Security and Baseball Operations for the MLB, David Thomas, in which he banned them from attending all future MLB events. Rose and Summer shared screengrabs of the letters to Twitter.
The flashing incident was thought to be a publicity stunt to promote the online magazine Shagmag, which Rose founded and runs. The home page of the site explains that subscribers get access to “exclusive and uncensored content of Julia Rose and other up and coming Instagram models.”
But the models insist that their motivation had been to spread awareness about breast cancer and raise money for other women fighting the disease. Summer wrote on Twitter, “Our proceeds from @SHAGMAG_ will be going to women with breast cancer and paying off their medical bills. Meeting with them in person and doing whatever we can to help with the platform we have.”
DAILY NEWS ROUNDUP
Arctic cold will spread from the West into the Plains and Midwest through midweek: t.co/bkLwXrZ22h
- Many trick-or-treaters will have to deal with Arctic cold during Halloween.
- Inyoung You has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the suicide death of her boyfriend, Alexander Urtula.
- A California teenager was sentenced to three months in federal prison for stealing an endangered lemur from the zoo. The animal, named Isaac, was returned to the zoo unharmed.
- Katie Cherry is the musician rumored to be dating Ben Affleck.
- Taco Bell is giving away free Doritos Locos tacos on Wednesday.
CHECK THIS OUT
NASA’s Hubble Telescope captures image of two galaxies colliding
The folks at NASA are having some fun in the leadup to Halloween. The space agency released an image Monday that looks like a ghostly face out in the universe, complete with piercing glowing eyes. NASA explained on its website that the “universe is a bubbling cauldron of matter and energy that have mixed together over billions of years to create a witches’ brew of birth and destruction.”
The Hubble Telescope says the “face” is actually the result of two galaxies colliding into each other. Each “eye” is the core of each galaxy. NASA says that when two entities like this slam into each other, they create this type of structure that lasts for about 100 million years. Astronomers say the two galaxies will take about another 1 to 2 billion years to merge entirely.
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