#1: The Price of Gas:

The average price of gas at the pump fell by about 19 cents, to $4.86 per gallon over the past two weeks. It is expected that the price will continue to slowly drop as the cost of crude oil falls. If nothing else changes, it is possible motorists will see prices drop another 10-20 cents. 

Diesel fuel is also going down. It dropped about 13 cents since the end of June. 

The highest average price for regular-grade gas was in the San Francisco Bay Area, where it reached $6.14 per gallon. The lowest average price was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana – $4.19 per gallon.

#2: Steve Bannon:

Former advisor to Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, has agreed to testify at the January 6 House Committee Hearings, having previously defied a subpoena.

It was revealed that the Justice Department interviewed attorney Justin Clark, a former Trump attorney, and Clark said that Trump never invoked executive privilege over Bannon’s testimony. 

Bannon was hoping to use the executive privilege angle as a ploy to get out of testifying before Congress. Clark’s statements conflict with Bannon’s. 

Bannon was charged with contempt of Congress last year after he defied the Congressional subpoena, arguing that Trump’s executive privilege claim protected him from testifying.  He is scheduled to begin trial next week.

So, somebody is misrepresenting the truth. Clark says Trump never claimed executive privilege. Bannon says he did. And now Bannon is agreeing to testify before the January 6 Committee, perhaps to make himself look good in the eyes of his jurors. 

“All of the above-described circumstances suggest the Defendant’s sudden wish to testify is not a genuine effort to meet his obligations but a last-ditch attempt to avoid accountability,” prosecutors say.

#3: Sri Lanka: 

After months of public, mostly peaceful, demonstrations, protests escalated over the weekend in Sri Lanka, as over 100,000 people hit the streets and stormed the residences of Sri Lanka’s President and Prime Minister, forcing them to resign. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has agreed to resign on July 13. The Prime Minister will follow. The country is facing a devastating economic crisis said to be due to corruption and mismanagement. 

Photos can be seen of protestors swimming in the president’s private pool. Angry mobs set the house of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on fire. 

Four other ministers resigned over the weekend.

The nation of 22 million is suffering through a humanitarian crisis, with people unable to pay for basic necessities. 

#4: Elon Musk and Twitter:

Fickle Elon Musk said he wants to buy Twitter and now he doesn’t. He is trying to cancel his $44 billion deal. Twitter said it will sue Musk and the law appears to be on Twitter’s side.

One reason Musk wants out, he says, is because he is dissatisfied with the information given to him by Twitter regarding the presence of bots, or fake accounts. 

But Twitter can force Musk to close the deal. 

Negotiations will follow, but they will be fighting it out in court. 

#5: Over-the-counter Birth Control:

A French pharmaceutical company, HRA Pharma, is asking the FDA for permission to offer a birth control pill to be sold over-the-counter. Hormone pills for birth control, used by women since the 1960’s, have required a prescription, so that clinicians can determine if the medication should be ruled out for women at high risk for dangerous side effects. 

The drug company says it has research to prove that women can do their own screening and decide for themselves. 

Birth control pills are sold without a prescription in many countries in  South America, Asia and Africa. Last year, HRA Pharma  received approval in the UK for the first birth control pill available there without a prescription.

If approved by the FDA, the pill, which would be called “Opill,” could be offered to the public next year.