Catch up on your 'Need 2 Know' stories on Wednesday, October 19th. President Biden promising to codify 'Roe' if Democrats keep majority after the midterm elections, his administration tackling high gas prices and a drug normally used to treat alcoholics may help patients with long term Covid side effects. Watch! 

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N2K Headlines: Biden Administration Attempting To Lower Gas Prices 

midterm elections exactly three weeks away. President biden promising to make row the law of the land. If voters give democrats control of Congress next month, the president saying in a speech Tuesday, it would be the very first bill that he would send to the Senate. So let's go straight to our aerial Hickson who is live in Washington to bring us the latest on the president's get out the vote efforts when it comes to abortion rights. Good morning Ariel. Good morning baker. Election day is three weeks away and the stakes are higher than ever. At the Democratic National Committee event monday, President biden put the spotlight on abortion. And like you mentioned, it's a big promise if democrats can take control of the House and Senate, take a listen. Here's the promise I make to you and the american people. The first bill that I will send to the Congress will be to codify roe v wade And when Congress passes it, I'll sign it in January 50 years after Roe was first decided the law of the land. This is the president's latest effort to encourage voters to vote blue at the polls come november and it's a tall order for democrats considering inflation is at an all time high. Also, historically, the opposing party of the president tends to have the upper hand come midterms. Right now we're short a handful of votes. If you care about the right to choose, then you gotta vote. That's why in these midterm elections are so critical look more democratic senators to the United States Senate and more democrats to keep control of the House of Representatives. The President also asked the american people to reflect on how they felt the moment the Dobbs decision was turned down overturning roe after 50 years. Looking ahead if democrats win both chambers, he plans to sign the bill into law come january and veto any Republican led bill that restricts abortion nationwide and sticking with midterms area. What's the latest as we get closer and closer to the big election day? Well, I want to focus on Georgia where first day early voter turnout is especially high breaking a record. More than 100 and 31,000 voters cast ballots since early voting began. That's an 85% boost over 2018 midterms. And this all comes as Georgia is one of the hottest elections to watch. As senator. Raphael Warnock battled Republican herschel walker, lots of skin their plus Democratic Senate candidate Stacey Abrams challenges Republican governor brian kemp also a familiar face is hitting the campaign trail. Former President Barack Obama is attending rallies in battleground states including Georgia, michigan and Wisconsin. And you know, according to a gallup poll, the majority of americans actually approved of how he handled his presidency and given the high stakes for democrats election, he's trying to use his influence to motivate those voters to show up at the polls. Some hot races around the country. Alright Ariel Hickson live from Washington, D. C. Thanks for that update. Alright. And more political news. President biden is expected to announce his administration's move to lower gas prices. That includes tapping into oil reserves. Reporter Amy Kiley has more. You're going to hear from him talking about gas prices. President joe biden is expected to announce three steps on that topic today. The first is the sale of 15 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to be delivered in december. The White House says that would meet his promise to release a total of 180 million barrels over six months. The president took historic historic efforts in the past several months to make sure that we, what gas prices down, biden is also expected to talk about shoring up reserves for the future. That involves a plan to buy oil for the spr when prices go down. He's also poised to call on oil and gas companies to pass on sky high profits to consumers. So far, they haven't shown signs of wanting to do that. It's difficult, you know, for people to deal with groceries where the price is increasing, where the price of gas is increasing. The White House's is trying to highlight biden's actions ahead of the midterms. Gas prices dropped about three cents a gallon over the last week. The triple A attributes it to low demand as a possible recession looms. The broader trend is that gas prices are likely to keep rising. Opec plus is set to cut oil production starting next month. Ultimately, what we have to do in the short term is supply has to meet demand so that prices continue to come down. I'm amy kiley reporting and of course, thanks to amy for that report. All right now, let's get to some of the need to know headlines for this morning. A french cement company is pleading guilty to paying ISIS to keep its plant in Syria running as the terror group was kidnapping and killing westerners barge, agrees to pay on Tuesday $777 million to resolve a US federal criminal charge. Now the company made around $10 million in payments to ISIS and other terrorist organizations. Between 2013 and 2014, investigators say that this is the first time a corporation has been charged with providing resources to foreign terror organizations. Meanwhile, an Iranian rock climber who competed without a headscarf said that she did so unintentionally that as it was widely assumed that she was supporting the protests in Iran footage of Al Nas. Rikabi showed her scaling a wall without her head covered that during a competition in South Korea. This while representing her home country of Iran, Iran's embassy in South Korea denied reports about her going missing after the competition. Rikabi returned to Tehran just hours ago to crowds chanting her name and calling her a hero. Now she's saying she's not wearing her headscarf was unintentional here she had a quote, there was poor scheduling and I was called to climb unpredictably. Well the trial of that seventies show actor, Danny Masterson is underway in Los Angeles now he is charged with raping three women at his home between 2001 and 2003. Masterson is a member of the Church of scientology and all three women were former members there. Masterson has pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he could face up to 45. A drug used to treat addiction might also help people suffering with long covid. Researchers are finding that now Truck Zone may alleviate pain, fatigue and brain fog that millions of americans are experiencing months after coronavirus infection. At least four clinical trials are planned to test now Truck Zone in patients with long covid. The drug has anti inflammatory properties and has been used to treat Crohn's disease and also multiple sclerosis. It's also been approved for the treatment of alcohol and opioid addiction as well. One of the two winning mega millions. Winning tickets valued at $494 million was sold less than a month ago at a 7 11 in Fort Myers florida, which was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian's landfall last month. As you can see we're gonna show you some images right there on your screen. The Fort Myers area was heavily affected by Ian's wrath with more than half of the storm related deaths in florida coming from lee county of course, which is where Fort Myers is located. The mega millions winner. Winners have about 180 days in florida to claim their prizes. And the other winning ticket was sold in san Jose California. So let's pray they have that ticket. Yeah. Meanwhile the I. R. S. Announcing changes to their tax brackets yesterday. This in response to persistently high inflation. These adjustments increase the standard deductions for single married filing jointly and head of households. It also boost tax brackets about 7%, aiming to avoid pushing workers who received cost of living raises into a higher bracket despite their pay not changing significantly. Finally it also increases the amount you can save in your flexible spending account or your F. S. A. The head of household tax credit. And it also adds exemptions to the estate tax. So there is a downside to all of this. These changes are not going to go into effect until the 2023 tax year. So you won't get these updates until you file your taxes in 2024