by tyler | Feb 14, 2024 | CNN, cnn10
February 13, 2024
Today on CNN 10, we celebrate the 215th birthday of renowned scientist Charles Darwin by following a group of researchers who are retracing his steps as they use his inspiration to make a positive impact on the future. Then, we head to the African nation of Sierra Leone, where forests there are quickly vanishing, and one sanctuary is trying to save chimpanzees and their habitat. And before you go, we head to Paris, where the medals for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Paris will feature pieces of the Eiffel Tower. All that and more on this episode of CNN 10.
Click here to access the printable version of today’s CNN 10 transcript
CNN 10 serves a growing audience interested in compact on-demand news broadcasts ideal for explanation seekers on the go or in the classroom. The show’s priority is to identify stories of international significance and then clearly describe why they’re making news, who is affected, and how the events fit into a complex, international society.
Thank you for using CNN 10
by tyler | Feb 14, 2024 | CNN, cnn10
February 14, 2024
Today on CNN 10, we delve into the latest Consumer Price Index report that showed inflation slowing down in January and why that did not meet economists’ expectations. Next we explain why ‘deflation’ would be bad for the economy. Then, we speak with a biological anthropologist who explains to us what happens to our brains when someone breaks our hearts. And finally, we then head to Kentucky, where a senior living center’s “Valentine’s Day challenge” helped spread some love and joy to their residents. All that and more on this episode of CNN 10.
Click here to access the printable version of today’s CNN 10 transcript
CNN 10 serves a growing audience interested in compact on-demand news broadcasts ideal for explanation seekers on the go or in the classroom. The show’s priority is to identify stories of international significance and then clearly describe why they’re making news, who is affected, and how the events fit into a complex, international society.
Thank you for using CNN 10
by tyler | Feb 13, 2024 | CNN, cnn10
February 9, 2024
Today we have a special CNN 10 show, where we focus on ways for you to live a healthier lifestyle. First, we explain why your health isn’t always directly tied to your weight. Then we show you a series of exercises you can do with just a paper plate! And we head to the grocery store where a dietitian-nutritionist shows us how reading food labels can help us better understand how processed some foods really are. And before you go, we head to Shanghai, China, where a lantern festival is celebrating this year’s Lunar New Year.
WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ
1. The US and its allies struck Iranian-linked militia targets in which three countries in the Middle East?
2. Which species are London officials bringing back 400 years after they were hunted to extinction in the United Kingdom?
3. The Senate unveiled a long-awaited bipartisan deal this week to address what issue?
4. For the first time in its history, who will lead Northern Ireland’s government as First Minister?
5. Which state agreed to spend $2 billion to help students impacted from lost learning during the pandemic?
6. Researchers from the University of British Columbia studied popular TikTok videos which contained misleading information on which neurodevelopmental disorder?
7. Which AI-generated technology could impact this year’s election season?
8. On Thursday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a ballot eligibility case related to which politician?
9. What type of food has been linked to a higher risk of cancer, heart disease, obesity and even early death?
10. According to the Chinese zodiac calendar, what animal symbolizes the coming new year?
Click here to access the printable version of today’s CNN 10 transcript
CNN 10 serves a growing audience interested in compact on-demand news broadcasts ideal for explanation seekers on the go or in the classroom. The show’s priority is to identify stories of international significance and then clearly describe why they’re making news, who is affected, and how the events fit into a complex, international society.
Thank you for using CNN 10
by tyler | Feb 13, 2024 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at WikiLeaks and the trial of Chelsea Manning.
WikiLeaks is purportedly an organization that facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information through its website.
It was founded in 2006 by Julian Assange, activist, computer programmer and hacker.
Chelsea Manning (born Bradley Manning), a former Army intelligence analyst who provided WikiLeaks with classified documents, was convicted of violating the Espionage Act in 2013 and sentenced to 35 years in prison. Her sentence was later commuted by President Barack Obama.
December 2007 – WikiLeaks posts the US Army manual for soldiers dealing with prisoners at Camp Delta, Guantánamo Bay.
March 2008 – WikiLeaks posts internal documents from the Church of Scientology.
September 2008 – WikiLeaks posts emails from the Yahoo email account of Sarah Palin.
November 2008 – WikiLeaks posts a list of names and addresses of people it claims belong to the far-right British National Party.
November 2009 – WikiLeaks posts what it claims are 500,000 messages sent during the September 11, 2001 attacks.
April 5, 2010 – A classified military video is posted by WikiLeaks. It shows a US Apache helicopter firing on and killing two journalists and a number of Iraqi civilians in 2007. The military claimed that the helicopter crew believed the targets were armed insurgents, not civilians.
May 2010 – The US military detains Manning for allegedly leaking US combat video, including the US helicopter gunship attack posted on WikiLeaks, and classified State Department records. Manning was turned in by Adrian Lamo, a former hacker, who Manning confided in about leaking the classified records.
July 6, 2010 – The military announces it has charged Manning with violating army regulations by transferring classified information to a personal computer and adding unauthorized software to a classified computer system and of violating federal laws of governing the handling of classified information.
July 25, 2010 – WikiLeaks posts more than 90,000 classified documents relating to the Afghanistan war in what has been called the biggest leak since the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War. The documents are divided into more than 100 categories and touch on everything from the hunt for Osama bin Laden to Afghan civilian deaths resulting from US military actions.
October 22, 2010 – WikiLeaks publishes nearly 400,000 classified military documents from the Iraq War, providing a new picture of how many Iraqi civilians have been killed, the role that Iran has played in supporting Iraqi militants and many accounts of abuse by Iraq’s army and police.
November 28, 2010 – WikiLeaks begins publishing approximately 250,000 leaked State Department cables dating back to 1966. The site says the documents will be released “in stages over the next few months.”
November 28, 2010 – The WikiLeaks website suffers an attack designed to make it unavailable to users. A Twitter user called Jester claims responsibility for the attack.
December 1, 2010 – Amazon removes WikiLeaks from its servers.
April 24, 2011 – Nearly 800 classified US military documents obtained by WikiLeaks reveal details about the alleged terrorist activities of al Qaeda operatives captured and housed in Guantánamo Bay.
September 2, 2011 – WikiLeaks releases its archive of more than 250,000 unredacted US diplomatic cables.
October 24, 2011 – WikiLeaks announces that it is temporarily halting publication to “aggressively fundraise.” Assange states that a financial blockade by Bank of America, VISA, MasterCard, PayPal and Western Union has cut off 95% of WikiLeaks’ revenue.
December 16, 2011 – Manning’s Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury hearing that will determine whether enough evidence exists to merit a court-martial, begins.
February 23, 2012 – Manning is formally charged with aiding the enemy, wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet, transmitting national defense information and theft of public property or records.
February 26, 2012 – WikiLeaks begins releasing what it says are five million emails from the private intelligence company, Stratfor, starting with a company “glossary” that features unflattering descriptions of US government agencies. The authenticity of the documents can’t be independently confirmed.
July 5, 2012 – WikiLeaks begins publishing more than 2.4 million emails from Syrian politicians, government ministries and companies dating back to 2006.
February 28, 2013 – Manning pleads guilty to some of the 22 charges against him, but not the most serious charge of aiding the enemy, which carries a life sentence.
June 3, 2013 – Manning’s court-martial begins.
July 30, 2013 – Manning is acquitted of aiding the enemy, but found guilty on 20 other counts, including violations of the Espionage Act.
August 21, 2013 – A military judge sentences Manning to 35 years in prison.
August 22, 2013 – Through a statement read on NBC’s Today show, Manning announces he wants to live life as a woman and wants to be known by his new name, Chelsea Manning. She later formally changes her name.
July 22, 2016 – WikiLeaks releases nearly 20,000 emails from Democratic National Committee staffers. The emails appear to show the committee favoring Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders during the US presidential primary.
October 7, 2016 – More than 2,000 hacked emails from Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta are published by WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks claims that it has more than 50,000 of Podesta’s emails and pledges to continue releasing batches of documents during the weeks leading up to the election.
January 3, 2017 – During an interview on the Fox News Network, Assange says that Russia did not give WikiLeaks hacked emails.
January 12, 2017 – WikiLeaks tweets that Assange will agree to be extradited to the United States if Obama grants clemency to Manning.
January 17, 2017 – Obama commutes Manning’s sentence, setting the stage for her to be released on May 17.
March 7, 2017 – WikiLeaks publishes what they say are thousands of internal CIA documents, including alleged discussions of a covert hacking program and the development of spy software targeting cellphones, smart TVs and computer systems in cars. In a statement, Assange says that the website published the documents as a warning about the risk of the proliferation of “cyber weapons.” In 2024, Joshua Schulte, a former CIA employee, is sentenced to 40 years in prison for leaking the documents.
April 20, 2017 – Authorities tell CNN that they are taking steps to seek the arrest of Assange, preparing criminal charges against the WikiLeaks founder. The investigation of Assange and WikiLeaks dates back to 2010 but prosecutors struggled with the question of whether the First Amendment protected Assange. Now, they reportedly have found a way to proceed but offered no details on the nature of the charges they plan to file.
May 3, 2017 – During a Senate hearing, FBI Director James Comey refers to WikiLeaks as “intelligence porn,” declaring that the site’s disclosures are intended to damage the United States rather than educate the public.
May 17, 2017 – Manning is released from prison.
September 15, 2017 – Harvard Kennedy School withdraws an invitation to Manning to be a visiting fellow.
October 2017- CNN reports that in 2016 a Cambridge Analytica executive reached out to WikiLeaks requesting access to Clinton emails. Assange confirmed the exchange in a tweet, saying “I can confirm an approach by Cambridge Analytica [prior to November last year] and can confirm that it was rejected by WikiLeaks.”
May 31, 2018 – The US Army Court of Criminal Appeals upholds Manning’s 2013 court-martial conviction. Although Manning’s sentence was commuted, her conviction under the Espionage Act, still stands.
September 26, 2018 – WikiLeaks appoints Kristinn Hrafnsson as its new editor-in-chief, replacing Assange, who has been unable to communicate for months while taking refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Assange will stay on as publisher.
March 5, 2019 – A federal judge denies Manning’s effort to quash a subpoena and avoid testifying before a grand jury in Virginia. It is not publicly known what the grand jury in Virginia is investigating and what prosecutors’ interest in Manning is.
March 8-May 9, 2019 – Manning spends 62 days in federal custody for refusing to testify about her disclosures to WikiLeaks. A group of Manning supporters called Chelsea Resists issues a statement claiming Manning is being kept in her cell for 22 hours a day, which they say constitutes solitary confinement and surmounts to “torture.”
April 11, 2019 – Assange is arrested by the Metropolitan Police in London on an extradition warrant from the US Justice Department. He is charged with conspiracy to attempt to hack a computer in connection with the 2010 release of classified military info obtained via Manning. Assange’s attorney says the indictment is troubling because of its implications for freedom of the press.
May 16, 2019 – Manning is again found in contempt for refusing to testify before a grand jury and returns to jail.
March 11, 2020 – Manning is hospitalized after attempting suicide. The next day, Federal District Court judge Anthony Trenga orders Manning to be released from jail after being held for 10 months.
January 4, 2021 – A British judge rejects a US request to extradite Assange, but the decision is overturned in December. On March 14, 2022, the UK Supreme Court denies Assange’s appeal against the extradition decision. A formal extradition order is issued on April 20. On June 17, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel signs off on the order.
October 18, 2022 – Manning’s book “README.txt: A Memoir” is published.
by tyler | Feb 13, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at the life of Joseph Lieberman, former United States senator from Connecticut.
Birth date: February 24, 1942
Birth place: Stamford, Connecticut
Birth name: Joseph Isadore Lieberman
Father: Henry Lieberman, package-store owner
Mother: Marcia (Manger) Lieberman
Marriages: Hadassah (Freilich) Lieberman (1983-present); Elizabeth Haas (1965-1981, divorced)
Children: with Hadassah Lieberman: Hani and Ethan (stepson); with Betty Haas: Rebecca and Matthew
Education: Yale University, B.A., 1964, Yale Law School, L.L.B, 1967
Religion: Jewish
Lieberman was Al Gore’s running mate in the 2000 presidential campaign. He is the first Jewish person to be nominated by a major party.
When Lieberman ran for state senate in 1970, one of the volunteers who worked on his campaign was future President Bill Clinton.
At Yale, his nickname was “Senator.”
He has said that he took time off from college in 1963 to spend a few weeks in Mississippi doing civil rights work.
1967-1969 – Works with the private law firm Wiggin and Dana.
1968 – Runs the Connecticut presidential campaign of Democrat Robert F. Kennedy.
1970 – Is elected to the Connecticut Senate, representing New Haven.
1972-1983 – Partner in the law firm Lieberman, Segaloff and Wolfson.
1975-1981 – Majority leader of the Connecticut Senate.
1980 – Runs unsuccessfully for a seat in Congress.
1983-1988 – Attorney general of Connecticut.
November 8, 1988 – Becomes the first Orthodox Jew to be elected to the US Senate.
1989-2013 – US senator from Connecticut.
1995-2001 – Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council.
August 8, 2000 – Vice President Gore selects Lieberman as his running mate in the presidential race.
January 7, 2003 – Publishes the book, “An Amazing Adventure: Joe and Hadassah’s Personal Notes on the 2000 Campaign,” along with his wife Hadassah Lieberman.
January 13, 2003 – Declares he will run for president in the 2004 election.
February 3, 2004 – Drops out of the race for president.
August 8, 2006 – Is defeated in Connecticut’s Democratic Senate primary by Ned Lamont. Lieberman then announces he will run in the election as an Independent.
November 7, 2006 – Wins reelection as an Independent.
December 17, 2007 – Endorses Republican Senator John McCain during the primary campaign for the presidential nomination. The endorsement stirs up controversy and after the election, the Senate Democratic Caucus strips him of his spot on the Environment and Public Works Committee. Lieberman is allowed to keep his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
January 19, 2011 – Announces that he will not run for reelection.
January 2013 – Retires from the Senate.
June 6, 2013 – Joins the law firm Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP.
January 2, 2014 – Announces he will serve as executive board chairman of Victory Park Capital, a private equity firm.
January 12, 2015 – After the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, Lieberman writes an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal and states that a global alliance is necessary to combat terrorists.
August 10, 2015 – United Against Nuclear Iran, an advocacy group that campaigns for sanctions against Iran, announces that Lieberman is its new chairman.
May 17, 2017 – White House Spokesman Sean Spicer says that Lieberman is a candidate to replace James Comey as director of the FBI.
May 25, 2017 – Withdraws his name from consideration for the position of FBI director.
September 9, 2019 – In an opinion piece for USA Today, Lieberman, representing UANI, writes that the 2020 democratic presidential candidates should support Trump’s Iran policy and not pledge to rejoin the 2015 nuclear agreement.
October 19, 2021 – Lieberman’s book, The Centrist Solution: How We Made Government Work and Can Make It Work Again, is published.
December 4, 2023 – Yeshiva University announces the establishment of the Senator Joseph Lieberman Center for Public Service and Advocacy.
by tyler | Feb 13, 2024 | CNN, health
Here’s a look at the opioid crisis.
Experts say the United States is in the throes of an opioid epidemic. An estimated 8.9 million Americans aged 12 and older misused opioids in 2022, including 8.5 million prescription pain reliever abusers and 1 million heroin users.
Opioids are drugs formulated to replicate the pain-reducing properties of opium. Prescription painkillers like morphine, oxycodone and hydrocodone are opioids. Illegal drugs like heroin and illicitly made fentanyl are also opioids. The word “opioid” is derived from the word “opium.”
Overdose deaths have been on the rise for years in the United States, but surged amid the Covid-19 pandemic: Annual deaths were nearly 50% higher in 2021 than in 2019, CDC data shows. Data on overdose deaths.
Prescription opioid volumes peaked in 2011, with the equivalent of 240 billion milligrams of morphine prescribed, according to the market research firm, IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science.
Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee had the highest opioid dispensing rates in 2020.
Opioids such as morphine and codeine are naturally derived from opium poppy plants more commonly grown in Asia, Central America and South America. Heroin is an illegal drug synthesized from morphine.
Hydrocodone and oxycodone are semi-synthetic opioids, manufactured in labs with natural and synthetic ingredients.
Fentanyl is a fully synthetic opioid, originally developed as a powerful anesthetic for surgery. It is also administered to alleviate severe pain associated with terminal illnesses like cancer. The drug is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine. Just a small dose can be deadly. Illicitly produced fentanyl has been a driving factor in the number of overdose deaths in recent years.
Methadone is another fully synthetic opioid. It is commonly dispensed to recovering heroin addicts to relieve the symptoms of withdrawal.
Opioids bind to receptors in the brain and spinal cord, disrupting pain signals. They also activate the reward areas of the brain by releasing the hormone dopamine, creating a feeling of euphoria or a “high.”
Opioid use disorder is the clinical term for opioid addiction or abuse.
People who become dependent on opioids may experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop using the medication. Dependence is often coupled with tolerance, meaning that users need to take increasingly larger doses for the same effect.
A drug called naloxone, available as an injection or a nasal spray, is used as a treatment for overdoses. It blocks or reverses the effects of opioids and is often carried by first responders.
Regulation and Funding
The 21st Century Cures Act, passed in 2016, allocated $1 billion over two years in opioid crisis grants to states, providing funding for expanded treatment and prevention programs. In April 2017, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price announced the distribution of the first round of $485 million in grants to all 50 states and US territories.
In August 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the launch of an Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit within the Department of Justice. The unit’s mission is to prosecute individuals who commit opioid-related health care fraud. The DOJ is also appointing US attorneys who will specialize in opioid health care fraud cases as part of a three-year pilot program in 12 jurisdictions nationwide.
On October 24, 2018, President Donald Trump signed opioid legislation into law. The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act includes provisions aimed at promoting research to find new drugs for pain management that will not be addictive. It also expands access to treatment for substance use disorders for Medicaid patients.
State legislatures have also introduced measures to regulate pain clinics and limit the quantity of opioids that doctors can dispense.
1861-1865 – During the Civil War, medics use morphine as a battlefield anesthetic. Many soldiers become dependent on the drug.
1898 – Heroin is first produced commercially by the Bayer Company. At the time, heroin is believed to be less habit-forming than morphine, so it is dispensed to individuals who are addicted to morphine.
1914 – Congress passes the Harrison Narcotics Act, which requires that doctors write prescriptions for narcotic drugs like opioids and cocaine. Importers, manufacturers and distributors of narcotics must register with the Treasury Department and pay taxes on products
1924 – The Anti-Heroin Act bans the production and sale of heroin in the United States.
1970 – The Controlled Substances Act becomes law. It creates groupings (or schedules) of drugs based on the potential for abuse. Heroin is a Schedule I drug while morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone (Percocet) and methadone are Schedule II. Hydrocodone (Vicodin) is originally a Schedule III medication. It is later recategorized as a Schedule II drug.
January 10, 1980 – A letter titled “Addiction Rare in Patients Treated with Narcotics” is published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It looks at incidences of painkiller addiction in a very specific population of hospitalized patients who were closely monitored. It becomes widely cited as proof that narcotics are a safe treatment for chronic pain.
1995 – OxyContin, a long-acting version of oxycodone that slowly releases the drug over 12 hours, is introduced and aggressively marketed as a safer pain pill by manufacturer, Purdue Pharma.
May 10, 2007 – Purdue Pharma pleads guilty for misleadingly advertising OxyContin as safer and less addictive than other opioids. The company and three executives are charged with “misleading and defrauding physicians and consumers.” Purdue and the executives agree to pay $634.5 million in criminal and civil fines.
2010 – FDA approves an “abuse-deterrent” formulation of OxyContin, to help curb abuse. However, people still find ways to abuse it.
May 20, 2015 – The DEA announces that it has arrested 280 people, including 22 doctors and pharmacists, after a 15-month sting operation centered on health care providers who dispense large amounts of opioids. The sting, dubbed Operation Pilluted, is the largest prescription drug bust in the history of the DEA.
March 18, 2016 – The CDC publishes guidelines for prescribing opioids for patients with chronic pain. Recommendations include prescribing over-the-counter pain relievers like acetaminophen and ibuprofen in lieu of opioids. Doctors are encouraged to promote exercise and behavioral treatments to help patients cope with pain.
March 29, 2017 – Trump signs an executive order calling for the establishment of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is selected as the chairman of the group, with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as an adviser.
July 31, 2017 – After a delay, the White House panel examining the nation’s opioid epidemic releases its interim report, asking Trump to declare a national public health emergency to combat the ongoing crisis
September 22, 2017 – The pharmacy chain CVS announces that it will implement new restrictions on filling prescriptions for opioids, dispensing a limited seven-day supply to patients who are new to pain therapy.
November 1, 2017 – The opioid commission releases its final report. Its 56 recommendations include a proposal to establish nationwide drug courts that would place opioid addicts in treatment facilities rather than prison.
February 9, 2018 – A budget agreement signed by Trump authorizes $6 billion for opioid programs, with $3 billion allocated for 2018 and $3 billion allocated for 2019.
February 27, 2018 – Sessions announces a new opioid initiative: The Prescription Interdiction & Litigation (PIL) Task Force. The mission of the task force is to support local jurisdictions that have filed lawsuits against prescription drugmakers and distributors.
March 19, 2018 – The Trump administration outlines an initiative to stop opioid abuse. The three areas of concentration are law enforcement and interdiction; prevention and education via an ad campaign; and job-seeking assistance for individuals fighting addiction.
April 9, 2018 – The US surgeon general issues an advisory recommending that Americans carry the opioid overdose-reversing drug, naloxone. A surgeon general advisory is a rarely used tool to convey an urgent message. The last advisory issued by the surgeon general, more than a decade ago, focused on drinking during pregnancy.
May 1, 2018 – The Journal of the American Medical Association publishes a study that finds synthetic opioids like fentanyl caused about 46% of opioid deaths in 2016. That’s a three-fold increase compared with 2010, when synthetic opioids were involved in about 14% of opioid overdose deaths. It’s the first time that synthetic opioids surpassed prescription opioids and heroin as the primary cause of overdose fatalities.
May 30, 2018 – The journal Medical Care publishes a study that estimates the cost of medical care and substance abuse treatment for opioid addiction was $78.5 billion in 2013.
June 7, 2018 – The White House announces a new multimillion dollar public awareness advertising campaign to combat opioid addiction. The first four ads of the campaign are all based on true stories illustrating the extreme lengths young adults have gone to obtain the powerful drugs.
December 12, 2018 – According to the National Center for Health Statistics, fentanyl is now the most commonly used drug involved in drug overdoses. The rate of drug overdoses involving the synthetic opioid skyrocketed by about 113% each year from 2013 through 2016.
January 14, 2019 – The National Safety Council finds that, for the first time on record, the odds of dying from an opioid overdose in the United States are now greater than those of dying in a vehicle crash.
March 26, 2019 – Purdue Pharma agrees to pay a $270 million settlement to settle a historic lawsuit brought by the Oklahoma attorney general. The settlement will be used to fund addiction research and help cities and counties with the opioid crisis.
July 17, 2019 – The CDC releases preliminary data showing a 5.1% decline in drug overdoses during 2018. If the preliminary number is accurate, it would mark the first annual drop in overdose deaths in more than two decades.
August 26, 2019 – Oklahoma wins its case against Johnson & Johnson in the first major opioid lawsuit trial to be held in the United States. Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman orders Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for its role in the state’s opioid crisis. The penalty is later reduced to $465 million, due to a mathematical error made when calculating the judgment. In November 2021, the Oklahoma Supreme Court reverses the decision.
September 15, 2019 – Purdue files for bankruptcy as part of a $10 billion agreement to settle opioid lawsuits. According to a statement from the chair of Purdue’s board of directors, the money will be allocated to communities nationwide struggling to address the crisis.
September 30, 2019 – The FDA and DEA announce that they sent warnings to four online networks, operating a total of 10 websites, which the agencies said are illegally marketing unapproved and misbranded versions of opioid medicines, including tramadol.
February 25, 2020 – Mallinckrodt, a large opioid manufacturer, reaches a settlement agreement in principle worth $1.6 billion. Mallinckrodt says the proposed deal will resolve all opioid-related claims against the company and its subsidiaries if it moves forward. Plaintiffs would receive payments over an eight-year period to cover the costs of opioid-addition treatments and other needs.
October 21, 2020 – The Justice Department announces that Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges for its role in creating the nation’s opioid crisis. They agree to pay more than $8 billion and close down the company. The money will go to opioid treatment and abatement programs. The Justice Department also reached a separate $225 million civil settlement with the former owners of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family. In November 2020, Purdue Pharma board chairman Steve Miller formally pleads guilty on behalf of the company.
March 15, 2021 – According to court documents, Purdue files a restructuring plan to dissolve itself and establish a new company dedicated to programs designed to combat the opioid crisis. As part of the proposed plan, the Sackler family agrees to pay an additional $4.2 billion over the next nine years to resolve various civil claims.
September 1, 2021 – In federal bankruptcy court, Judge Robert Drain rules that Purdue Pharma will be dissolved. The settlement agreement resolves all civil litigation against the Sackler family members, Purdue Pharma and other related parties and entities, and awards them broad legal protection against future civil litigation. The Sacklers will relinquish control of family foundations with over $175 million in assets to the trustees of a National Opioid Abatement Trust. On December 16, 2021, a federal judge overturns the settlement.
February 25, 2022 – Johnson & Johnson and the three largest US drug distributors – McKesson Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and AmerisourceBergen Corp – finalize a $26 billion nationwide opioid settlement.
March 3, 2022 – The Sackler families reaches a settlement with a group of states the first week of March, according to court filings. The settlement, ordered through court-ordered mediation that began in January, requires the Sacklers to pay out as much as $6 billion to states, individual claimants and opioid crisis abatement, if approved by a federal bankruptcy court judge.
November 2, 2022 – CVS and Walgreens agree to pay a combined $10 billion, over 10 and 15 years, to settle lawsuits brought by states and local governments alleging the retailers mishandled prescriptions of opioid painkillers.
November 15, 2022 – Walmart agrees to the framework of a $3.1 billion settlement, which resolves allegations from multiple states’ attorneys general that the company failed to regulate opioid prescriptions contributing to the nationwide opioid crisis.
August 10, 2023 – The US Supreme Court blocks Purdue Pharma from going forward with bankruptcy proceedings.
February 1, 2024 – New York Attorney General Letitia James announces that for the first time, an advertising company that worked on Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin account has settled a lawsuit accusing it of falsely marketing opioids as safe. Publicis, a French marketing company, has agreed to pay $350 million within the next two months and will not take on any more opioid clients.
