What's on Your Mind?

In the past week, law enforcement agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have issued a warning about the ongoing threat of Medusa ransomware. Here’s what you need to know about the threat and how you can protect yourself. What is Medusa ransomware? Ransomware is a type of software that is designed to compromise your information, allowing hackers to steal it. Once these bad actors have your data, they then contact you (or the software contacts you on their behalf), and they inform you that unless you pay a ransom, your data will either be deleted, sold to the highest bidder, or rel…

The Federal Communications Commission on Monday said it would ban new foreign-made drones, a move that will keep new Chinese-made drones such as those from DJI and Autel out of the U.S. market. The announcement came a year after Congress passed a defense bill that raised national security concerns about Chinese-made drones, which have become a dominant player in the U.S., widely used in farming, mapping, law enforcement,ss and filmmaking. The bill called for stopping the two Chinese companies from selling new drones in the U.S. if a review found they posed a risk to American national security. The deadline for the review was Dec. 23. The FCC said Monday the re…

Federal regulators on Thursday approved a new higher-dose version of the blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy that may help users lose more weight and keep it off. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a 7.2-milligram dose of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide. Previously, the highest approved dose of the drug, taken as a weekly shot, was 2.4 milligrams. The new dose received accelerated review through the FDA’s ultra-fast drug review program. The approval was granted 54 days after the request for review was approved, the agency said in a statement. The new dosage will be available in April at pharmacies in the U.S., with a price to be announced t…

Federal officials on Thursday approved a new type of pain pill designed to eliminate the risks of addiction and overdose associated with opioid medications like Vicodin and OxyContin. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Journavx for short-term pain that often follows surgery or injuries. It’s the first new pharmaceutical approach to treating pain in more than 20 years, offering an alternative to both opioids and over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen. But the medication’s modest effectiveness and lengthy development process underscore the challenges of finding new ways to manage pain. Studies in more tha…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss pill on Monday, giving the Danish drugmaker a leg up in the race to market a potent oral medication for shedding pounds as it looks to regain lost ground from rival Eli Lilly. The pill is 25 milligrams of semaglutide, the same active ingredient in injectable Wegovy and Ozempic, and will be sold under the brand name Wegovy. Novo already sells an oral semaglutide for type 2 diabetes, Rybelsus. The approval could help spur a turnaround for Novo after a rocky year of sliding shares, profit warnings and slowing sales of its injectable Wegovy amid intense competition from Lilly and pressure from c…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration blocked imports of spices this week from an Indonesian company amid widespread worries of radioactive contamination. The agency said it found cesium 137 in spices—specifically cloves—from Indonesian company PT Natural Java Spice that were shipped to California. The discovery marks the second food product imported from Indonesia found to have radioactive contamination, as recalls of potentially tainted imported shrimp expanded. “Products from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati and from PT Natural Java Spice will not be permitted to enter the U.S. market until these firms provide the FDA with information to adequately demonstrate that th…

On May 20, 2025, the Food and Drug Administration announced a new stance on who should receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The agency said it would approve new versions of the vaccine only for adults 65 years of age and older as well as for people with one or more risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes. These risk factors include medical conditions such as asthma, cancer, chronic kidney disease, heart disease and diabetes. However, healthy younger adults and children who fall outside of these groups may not be eligible to receive the COVID-19 shot this fall. Vaccine manufacturers will have to conduct clinical trials to demonstrate that the vaccine benefits low-risk g…

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is honing in on infant formula in his food safety review. RFK Jr. says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will further test formula brands for heavy metals after some concerning results from Consumer Reports (CR) were released earlier this week. “The FDA will use all resources and authorities at its disposal to make sure infant formula products are safe and wholesome for the families and children who rely on them,” Kennedy said in a statement. HHS is calling the plan “Operation Stork Speed.” On Tuesday, CR revealed the results of testing on 41 types of powdered formula, from major labels such…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning people to stop using certain types of glucose monitor sensors after the company that makes them, Abbott Diabetes Care, said the devices were linked to seven deaths and more than 700 injuries. Certain FreeStyle Libre 3 and FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensors may provide incorrect low glucose readings, FDA officials said this week. Such readings over an extended period may lead people with diabetes to make bad treatment decisions, such as consuming too many carbohydrates or skipping or delaying doses of insulin. “These decisions may pose serious health risks, including potential injury or death,” the FDA said in the alert. The …

More than 10,000 cans of Original Coca-Cola distributed in two states have been voluntarily recalled. Manufacturer Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling initiated the recall on March 6 after reports of foreign plastic found inside cans. On March 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated the recall as Class II, per the FDA enforcement report. According to the FDA’s recall classification page, a Class II recall means “a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.” The report indicated that 864 12-count packs of the product distributed in Il…

“Season’s greetings” aren’t as cheery when it’s a season of layoffs. November marked the eighth time this year that job cuts were up over the same period the year before, according to research from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. To make matters worse, hiring in November was down 35% from 2024, marking the lowest year-to-date total since 2010. News about the current labor market can be unnerving—even more so when layoffs are hitting your company. Being prepared can help make it less so. And one group of people knows more about that than most. A page out of the prepper book The word prepper may bring to mind images of shows like Doomsday …

This Sunday’s full moon, or “big cheese,” as it’s sometimes called, comes with a side of queso and chips. Fast-casual restaurant chain Qdoba is offering stargazers a free 4-ounce serving of its signature 3-Cheese Queso or Queso Diablo and chips all day on February 1, according to a press release. The deal is available for Qdoba Rewards members with the purchase of a full-size entrée in-restaurant, online at Qdoba.com, and through the Qdoba mobile app. No telescope is required. “The moon may not really be made of cheese, but we think a free side of our creamy, cheesy queso and tortilla chips—seasoned with salt and lime—is the next best thing,” Qdoba’s chief marketi…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman issued a housing market warning during a speech at the Kentucky Bankers Association Annual Convention in Asheville, North Carolina on September 23. Bowman noted that housing activity has slowed significantly, with declines in single-family construction and sales coinciding with rising inventories and falling house prices in many markets. “Declines in housing activity, including single-family home construction and sales, have been accompanied by higher inventories of homes for sale and falling house prices,…