After weeks of rumors, Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, have tentatively reached a “wide-ranging settlement with thousands of municipal governments, states and tribes nationwide that are suing the pharmaceutical industry for the devastation resulting from the opioid epidemic.” Deal specifics are far from final, but under the current outline, Purdue would file Chapter 11 bankruptcy and dissolve, and a new company would form that would sell OxyContin and other drugs and distribute profits to the plaintiffs – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and Marketplace and Law360

The White House is reportedly nearing a nationwide ban on most flavored e-cigarettes, a direct response to the recent spate of vaping-related illnesses that have affected hundreds across the country – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and Law360

Uber went on record yesterday challenging the applicability of California’s new labor law [requiring companies to “treat workers as employees and not to contractors if they exert control over how workers perform their tasks or if their work is part of an employer’s regular business”] the company, with CLO Tony West arguing in a news conference that Uber’s drivers are “independent contractors” who are “not a core part of Uber’s business.” Sure, Tony.  Sure – NYTimes and Law360

More measured commentary from the White House this week on the Federal Reserve and its interest rate plans – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg

Former high-ranking KPMG auditor David Middendorf will spend a year in prison for “his role in a ‘steal the exam’ that exposed serious weaknesses at one of the Big Four accounting firms” – WSJ and Law360

Whooooa, Charlie. California federal judge Edward Chen has fined StarKist $100 million and put the company on 13 months of probation “for its role in a yearslong tuna price-fixing conspiracy,” though he prorated the fine in an effort to help the company “avoid layoffs” and a potential plant closure – Law360

It’s ECB decision day. Here’s what to watch for from Draghi and co. – Bloomberg and WSJ

Forever 21 is finally pulling the trigger on a bankruptcy filing after months of struggling to raise the cash it needs to stay afloat – WSJ

SDNY Judge George Daniels has given a preliminary okay to $71 million in settlements for 8 Japanese banks “accused of fixing global interest rates, greenlighting a notification process for some 100,000 potential claimants” in the Libor class action litigation – Law360

Oracle’s co-CEO Mark Hurd is stepping down temporarily on medical leave, though the business-software company didn’t say what issues he’s facing – WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch

Oil magnate and famed corporate raider T. Boone Pickens died on Wednesday at age 91 – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg

If you’re not in Mpls to enjoy all that Ann Kim literally brings to the table around here, do yourself a favor and soak up as much as  you can from this Times feature on her. She’s the real deal, folks – NYTimes