What you're getting wrong about Plan B, robotexts are replacing robocalls: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: What you're getting wrong about emergency birth control
Wellness reporter Jenna Ryu looks at Plan B misconceptions. Plus, the House Judiciary Committee considers a bill that would ban assault weapons, producer James Brown looks at onion burgers' place in Oklahoman food, tech reporter Brett Molina warns there are now robotexts instead of robocalls and a historic heat wave continues in Europe.
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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Wednesday, the 20th of July, 2022. Today, misconceptions about Plan B, plus a potential ban on assault weapons, and more.
Here are some of the top headlines:
The House yesterday passed a bill codifying federal protections for same sex marriage. The move comes amid growing concern from lawmakers and advocates that the Supreme Court could revisit its landmark 2015 decision.
Capital Police yesterday arrested 17 members of Congress at an abortion rights protest near the Supreme Court. Police said demonstrators were blocking traffic.
And days of tribal clashes in a Southern part of Sudan have killed at least 79 people. Clashes grew out of the killing of a farmer last week.
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With the overturn of Roe versus Wade, some Americans are scrambling to find safe and effective ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies. That includes emergency contraception medications. 5 Things producer PJ Elliott spoke with reporter Jenna Ryu about some misconceptions with the Plan B pill.
Jenna Ryu:
Yeah. So, Plan B is a form of emergency birth control. Some hail it as a miracle or morning after pill, especially because it's supposed to be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. And a lot of people assume that because it has a high efficacy rate, that it's a miracle drug, that it works for everyone, especially because it is sold without a prescription over the counter. But the truth is that it's not necessarily accessible, or affordable, or even effective for everyone. For example, Plan B works by delaying ovulation. So, if you're already in the process of ovulating, Plan B will be completely ineffective. There's also not exactly a weight limit, but there have been research studies that show that Plan B is less effective for people who weigh either over 170 pounds, or if you have a body mass index of 30 or higher. Not that it's ineffective, but that it may be less effective, which is a caveat that people should take into account. Also, it's important to note which medications you are taking, because there are certain ones, even supplements, that can affect the efficacy of Plan B.
PJ Elliott:
So, what about since the fall of Roe and the Supreme Court's decision on abortion? What's going to happen to Plan B now? Is it in jeopardy?
Jenna Ryu:
Yeah. So, I know there have been concerns rising about the future of birth control, now that Roe vs. Wade has been overturned. So far in our coverage, we've seen that pharmacy chains like Rite Aid and CVS have set purchase limits, just because there's such an overwhelming demand for Plan B. And I know some states have adopted restrictions on contraceptives like Plan B. For example, some states excluded from contraceptive coverage mandates, others allow pharmacists to refuse dispersing it. But with that being said, the experts I've spoken to said now is not necessarily the time to panic, and what's really important is the least we can do right now is spread more awareness about the options we do have. As we've seen with Plan B, there's already these misconceptions that it works for everyone, and not everyone is aware that it may be ineffective for people depending on their weight or menstrual cycle. So, it's important to talk about it, these risks, these options, through inclusive sex education.
Taylor Wilson:
For more, find a link in today's episode description.
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The House Judiciary Committee is expected to consider a bill during a hearing today that would ban assault weapons. The move comes after a series of high profile mass shootings in recent weeks, and on the heels of President Joe Biden signing a bipartisan gun safety bill. It strengthens background checks on gun buyers aged 18 to 21, and encourages states to develop red flag laws that deny guns to people deemed too dangerous.
President Joe Biden:
While this bill doesn't do everything I want, it does include actions I've long called for that are going to save lives. It funds crisis intervention, including red flag laws. It keeps guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves and to others.
Taylor Wilson:
If today's bill becomes law, it would ban the sale, import, manufacture, or transfer of certain semi-automatic weapons, though the ban would not include those who already own the firearms.
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A few weeks back, we asked you which foods define your part of the world. One listener told us about a burger at the crossroads of America that represents perseverance, the American dream, and the Okie mentality. USA TODAY'S James Brown explains.
James Brown:
Logan Tally works 60 hours a week.
Logan Tally:
I'm a senior at Oklahoma State University studying business management, and I deliver liquor.
James Brown:
He grew up in Moore, Oklahoma. That's outside of Oklahoma City. In between shifts, school, and caring for his eight year old son, the 31 year old says onion burgers are everywhere he turns.
Logan Tally:
Honestly, I don't remember hearing about it. I just remember being around it my entire life.
James Brown:
Watching them being made is a curious site.
Logan Tally:
And they would cut these onions up super thin, and then I would see them. Because the way that they do it is they would press down on the grill with the meat. I was like, "Why are they doing that?" He goes, "Oh, they've always done it like that." Come to find out it's been done since the '20s. But with onions, for a lot of people, it just you have that sting and smell when you're slicing them, and it kind of hurts. But we know the more you grill them on, you smell the subtle sweet. And you smell the meat too, so it's just all combined together. Some would say umami, but honestly, it's just all savory to me. It's just mouthwatering.
James Brown:
What was that word?
Logan Tally:
Umami. That's the Japanese sense for the sixth sense of taste.
Dave Cathey:
Everyone knows when you go get an onion burger for lunch, you're going to wear it the rest of the day, just like barbecue. You're you're just going to smell like an onion burger joint, and most people are okay with that.
James Brown:
That's Dave Cathey. He's been writing for The Oklahoman since 1990. In 2008, he became a columnist known as the Food Dude.
Dave Cathey:
The onion burger story really is that story of how the American dream pushes itself. The dirty little secret is the American dream is the result of responding to hard times.
James Brown:
In the late 1920s, the Great Depression swept across America. Drought and dust storms hit the Great Plains hard, creating food shortages. Beef went from plentiful to expensive. Like many in their time, the owners of the Hamburger Inn in El Reno, Oklahoma faced a challenge.
Dave Cathey:
Two guys got innovative. They were desperate. Started with desperation. That's the mother of invention. You're desperate. You look around, you see what you got. These guys had some beef and a lot of onions.
James Brown:
It was an instant hit, with many calling it a Depression Burger or at Oklahoma Burger. As the years went on and the crisis waned, some habits remained.
Dave Cathey:
We're 100 years since they were invented, and now all over the state is the legacy that those guys created.
James Brown:
El Reno remains the epicenter for these burgers. The town holds a Fried Onion Burger Festival every May. Nearly 20,000 people visit to witness the cooking of the world's largest onion burger. It's 850 pounds.
Adam Hall:
It's definitely an Okie thing.
James Brown:
That's Adam Hall. He owns Sid's Diner. It's in El Reno near Highway 81 and Route 66. Sid's has served onion burgers for 50 years. Hall and his wife run it today, like his mother and father did before him, and his grandfather, Sid, before them.
Adam Hall:
Here we are today, the third generation, and keeping it going.
James Brown:
He says Sid's attracts travelers from across the world.
Adam Hall:
We got them anywhere from Russia, to Congo, Australia. We get a lot of people out of England. We got Canada. We got Alaska. We got Brazil. Just the whole map is just covered.
James Brown:
All stemming from a moment of desperation at the crossroads of America. For Logan Tally, it represents the resilience running through Oklahoma's veins.
Logan Tally:
And I think that sticks with the Okie mentality I mean, bad things happen and what are we going to do? Are we going to tuck our heads and run, or are we going to stay here and fight it out? And that's what most of us have chosen to do.
James Brown:
James Brown, USA TODAY.
Taylor Wilson:
We want to hear from you about the foods in your neck of the woods. If there's something special in your town or state, send us an email at podcasts@usatoday.com, and you may end up on the show.
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You may have noticed receiving fewer robocalls over the past year, but a new report finds that scammers are using a new way to reach consumers: text messages. Tech reporter Brett Molina has more with producer PJ Elliot.
Brett Molina:
So, there's good news and there's bad news when it comes to this report on robocalls and text scams. Let's start with the good news first, which is robocalls seem to be down from a year ago, which is a good thing. If you have noticed that you're not getting as many of these random calls that are asking you, for example, to update your car warranty or a host of other things that you might be getting requested, those seem to be going down.
The bad news is there is a significant uptick in the number of robotexts or text scams. And basically what they are is these are, they're almost like spam email, where you get a text message and it says something like you have to act on this particular thing. It might be pretending to be your bank, might be pretending to be from Amazon, and there's a link there and you click on it. Once you click on that link, it might ask you for some personal information. And then again, if you add that in, then you potentially open yourself up to being scammed.
PJ Elliott:
So, just how many texts and calls are Americans getting on average?
Brett Molina:
So, there was a report from this service called Robo Killer, and they specialize in blocking unwanted calls and texts. And what they found is the number of spam texts that were going out was at about a billion per month in July of last year. Looking at June of this year, it has skyrocketed up to 12 billion per month.
PJ Elliott:
So, why have robocalls gone down while the text messages have gone up?
Brett Molina:
Well, one of the big reasons is, there's a combination of things and it's tied together. A big reason we've seen robocalls going down is because we've seen new rules put in place by the Federal Communications Commission to cut back on the number of robocalls that consumers receive. We're seeing a lot of wireless carriers and other companies adding technology to make it easier to filter out when someone is calling, and if it's a spam call versus a regular phone number. And the problem is with texting is we're not seeing as many of those rules available.
Last October, a chairwoman from the FCC proposed new rules that would require wireless carriers to block a legal text. So, it would be in a similar fashion where you wouldn't even receive those texts. The problem is it hasn't been passed yet. And also we haven't really seen yet of late a lot that wireless carriers have done to block a lot of those texts ahead of time. So, typically it's up to the consumer to just really spot the difference between what's real and what's fake.
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A historic heat wave in Europe continues. The weather is fueling wildfires in Spain and France, forcing thousands of evacuations. Two people were killed in Spanish blazes, and Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says climate change kills.
Taylor Wilson translating for Pedro Sanchez:
I want to make an obvious statement that climate change kills. It kills people as we have seen. It kills our ecosystems, our biodiversity. It also destroys the things that the societies affected by these fires hold dearest, their houses and homes, their businesses, their livestock.
Taylor Wilson:
The fires come on top of hundreds of heat related deaths in Spain and Portugal, and the United Kingdom crushed its record yesterday of the highest temperature ever recorded there, 104.4 degrees in London.
Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, your smart speaker device, or whatever your favorite podcast app is. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show, and he's in for me the next few days. I'll be back next week with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Plan B misconceptions, historic heat wave continues: 5 Things podcast
