Good morning! The weekend edition is 763 words, a 3-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• Woolly Mammoth RNA

• Gun violence drops in the US

• Why most people are right-handed

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Today’s Big Story

OxyContin Settlement

• A federal bankruptcy judge said Friday he will approve Purdue Pharma's settlement requiring the Sackler family to pay up to $7 billion and give up ownership of the OxyContin maker. The deal resolves six years of lawsuits over an opioid crisis connected to 900,000 US deaths since 1999.

• The settlement replaces one the Supreme Court rejected last year for improperly protecting Sacklers from lawsuits. About $850 million would go to individual victims, with qualifying claimants expected to receive $8,000 to $16,000 each. Most settlement money goes to state and local governments to fight the opioid crisis.

• Purdue will be renamed Knoa Pharma, and future profits will be dedicated to fighting opioids. Sackler family members must give up involvement in opioid companies abroad and cannot have their names on institutions. Company documents normally protected by privilege will also be made public. The deal is among the largest in the roughly $50 billion total opioid settlements.

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Saturday’s Quick Hits

• President Trump said Friday he'll ask the DOJ to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's connections to Democrats, including Bill Clinton. This comes as the House prepares to vote on releasing Justice Department files about Epstein, which Trump opposes. The House just released over 20,000 pages, including emails suggesting Trump knew about Epstein's activities with young women. Trump hasn't been accused of wrongdoing and says they stopped speaking in 2004. (More)

• A New Jersey airline pilot died after eating a hamburger — the first known death linked to alpha-gal syndrome, a red-meat allergy triggered by certain tick bites. He became ill hours after the meal and died later that evening. Blood tests showed antibodies to alpha-gal, a sugar found in red meat that can cause severe reactions in sensitized people. Cases are rising as lone star ticks expand into new regions. (More)

• John Beam, a college football coach featured in Netflix's "Last Chance U," died Friday after being shot on the Laney College campus in Oakland. Police arrested a suspect who knew Beam and called it a "very targeted incident." Beam mentored Oakland youth for over 40 years as Laney's athletic director and head coach, sending multiple players to the NFL. It was Oakland's second school shooting in two days. (More)

• La Niña has arrived and will drive US winter weather, federal forecasters announced Thursday. The pattern brings cooler ocean water into the tropical Pacific, affecting weather nationwide. This winter, the South, California, and the East Coast will likely see warmer temperatures, while the Pacific Northwest and the upper Midwest will get colder. The northern Rockies and Great Lakes should see more precipitation, but the South will be drier. ( More)

• Scientists extracted RNA from a 39,000-year-old woolly mammoth found in Siberia—the oldest ancient RNA ever studied. Unlike DNA, RNA reveals which genes were active when the animal died. Researchers didn't think RNA could survive this long since it degrades within minutes. The mammoth's RNA showed stress genes were active in its final hours, likely from predators. This technique could help scientists understand how ancient RNA viruses evolved. (More)

• Iran seized a Marshall Islands–flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing it into Iranian waters in the first such incident in months. US and private security sources say Iran’s Revolutionary Guards intercepted the Talara as it traveled from the UAE to Singapore. The ship’s manager later reported losing contact. The seizure comes weeks after Iran’s brief war with Israel and rising regional tensions. (More)

Weekly Dose of Positive

• A teen returned $3,500 found outside a gas station, and the grateful owner gave him $1,000, a job, and launched a GoFundMe that raised over $10,000 for his truck fund. (More)

• Eight-year-old Luke Grahame, grandson and son of NHL goalies, sells "Rink Dude" merch named after his own frustrated outburst, raising thousands weekly so other kids can afford to play hockey. (More)

• A Bronx nonprofit launched a free vending machine with fresh eggs, produce, and groceries that anyone can use without questions or applications. (More)

• Gun violence dropped in three-quarters of America's 150 most affected cities, with over half seeing bigger decreases than last year's record lows, spanning red and blue states alike. (More)

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