The News

 The Food and Drug Administration has announced a recall for thousands of bottles of the antidepressant duloxetine, sold under brand names like Cymbalta, due to the presence of a chemical that can potentially cause cancer.

The recall went into effect on Oct. 10. More than 7,100 bottles of the medication have been recalled.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Why is there a duloxetine recall?

The FDA says there is the “presence of nitrosamine drug substance related impurity (NDSRI), N-nitroso-duloxetine, above the proposed interim limit.

FDA, in collaboration with regulatory counterparts around the world, has set internationally-recognized acceptable daily intake limits for nitrosamines. Nitrosamines below this level are acceptable in drugs,” the FDA says on its website. “If drugs contain levels of nitrosamines above the acceptable daily intake limit, FDA recommends these drugs be recalled by the manufacturer.”

“Nitrosamine impurities may increase the risk of cancer if people are exposed to them above acceptable levels and over long periods of time,” the agency adds, “but a person taking a drug that contains nitrosamines at-or-below the acceptable daily intake limits every day for 70 years is not expected to have an increased risk of cancer.” 

What kind of recall is this?

The FDA is calling this a Class II recall. That is considered “a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote,” according to the FDA.

What is being recalled?

The recall is lot No. 220128, with an expiration date of December 2024.

What should you do if you have pills that have been recalled?

The FDA recommends on its website contacting your pharmacy to confirm if your medicine is indeed part of a recall. If it was, you can speak to your pharmacist to figure out what to do and whether you should look for an alternative medication.

“The FDA encourages patients to talk to their health care professional if they have questions about their medicine, as the risks of stopping their medicine may outweigh the potential risk of exposure to nitrosamines. The FDA and the international scientific community do not expect nitrosamines to cause harm when ingested at low levels,” the agency says.

 Chicago rapper and Englewood native Lil Durk, born Durk Banks, was arrested in Florida Thursday in connection with an alleged murder-for-hire plot, according to records from the Broward County sheriff’s office.

Banks, 32, was held in the Broward County Jail as of early Friday, records show, but the exact nature of the charges remained unclear. A representative for Lil Durk could not be reached Friday morning.

Banks was arrested the same day that federal prosecutors in California announced charges against five other men, all with ties to Chicago gangs, in the attempted murder of Georgia rapper Quando Rondo, born Tyquian Terrel Bowman. That shooting, carried out at a Los Angeles gas station in August 2022 and captured on surveillance video, took the life of Quando Rondo’s cousin, Saviay’a Robinson.

The charges include conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, committing murder-for-hire involving a death, and use of a machine gun in a violent crime resulting in death. The most serious charge carries up to the death penalty if convicted.

The indictment alleges that all five have ties to “Only the Family,” also known as OTF, a hip-hop collective founded by Lil Durk, a mentor of King Von. The flights and rental cars were paid for with credit cards linked to OTF, according to prosecutors.

OTF was founded by Lil Durk more than a decade ago as Chicago’s drill rap scene was gaining international attention. Federal prosecutors say the group primarily “produced and sold hip hop music” from artists from Chicago.

FBG Duck, the Chicago drill rapper, was killed in a hail of gunfire on Oak Street in 2020, and his death led to the convictions of several men in a federal conspiracy trial last January. Earlier this month, FBG Duck’s mother filed a lawsuit alleging Lil Durk, OTF and King Von were involved in the shooting, as well. The lawsuit alleges that OTF operates as a criminal enterprise.

Lil Durk is among the most successful drill rappers to come out of Chicago since the genre first gained a foothold. Also popularized by Chief Keef, G Herbo and other artists, drill is hallmarked by hyper-violent lyrics that often revolve around — and sometimes worsen — feuds between gang factions.