Barbara Kingsolver wins Women's Prize for Fiction for second time
Barbara Kingsolver has made history after becoming the first author to be awarded the Women's Prize for Fiction for a second time.The American author, 68, scooped the prestigious literary prize for her tenth novel Demon Copperhead after previously winning in 2010 with The Lacuna.Set in the Appalachian mountains in Virginia, her latest work is a modern retelling of Charles Dickens' classic David Copperfield.
Scandal-plagued Sackler name axed from Oxford University over role in opioid crisis
The University of Oxford will remove the Sackler name from its buildings and staff posts following a review into its ties with the family.It comes after a number of institutions have ended their relationships with the Sackler family in recent years over its association with the US opioid crisis.The Sackler Library in Oxford, as well as a number of galleries and staff posts at the Ashmolean Museum in the city, will be renamed following the review.
Oxford University drops Sackler name from buildings and staff posts after review
The University of Oxford will remove the Sackler name from its buildings and staff posts following a review into its ties with the family.It comes after a number of institutions have ended their relationships with the Sackler family in recent years over its association with the US opioid crisis.The Sackler Library in Oxford, as well as a number of galleries and staff posts at the Ashmolean Museum in the city, will be renamed following the review.
Two class-conscious novels named as winners of 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction
Two class-conscious novels have been announced as joint winners of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead and Hernan Diaz's Trust were both awarded the prestigious literary prize on Monday.Kingsolver's novel is a modern recasting of Charles Dickens' classic David Copperfield following a similar narrative structure.
Addiction drug maker will pay more than $102 million fine for stifling competition
The settlement deal with Indivior, which makes an addiction treatment medication called Suboxone, ends a legal battle with 41 states and the District of Columbia.Spencer Platt/Getty Images The maker of an important addiction treatment medication has agreed to pay $102 million dollars to settle claims it stifled competition.
FDA makes it easier for harm reduction groups to purchase lifesaving naloxone
Harm reduction programs will soon be able to more easily bulk buy medication that can treat opioid overdoses, thanks to new guidance from the Food and Drug Administration.
May was worst month for fentanyl deaths in San Francisco since 2020 despite crackdown
(Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)
Despite a state crackdown to seize fentanyl and arrest its traffickers and dealers in San Francisco, more of the city's residents fatally overdosed on the synthetic opioid in May than in any month since at least 2020, according to city and county data.The California Highway Patrol has seized more than eight pounds of fentanyl in the city's Tenderloin district and its surrounding areas since May, following the governor's announcement of a task force with state and local authorities targeting traffickers and dealers.
Plan To Turn Los Angeles Gas Plant To Hydrogen Not Without Critics | KQED
This year, the city of Los Angeles decided to turn one of its methane gas plants into a hydrogen plant.It's part of the city's ambitious goal to run on 100% renewable energy by 2035.It might sound great, but it's actually a controversial move.Reporter: Caleigh Wells, KCRW Committee Holds First Meeting On Opioid Crisis A new state legislative committee focused on fentanyl and opioid addiction is holding its first meeting Wednesday in Sacramento.
Walgreens reaches $230m settlement with San Francisco over opioids crisis
San Francisco has reached a $230m settlement with Walgreens over the corporation's role in the city's unprecedented opioid crisis.The settlement is the largest ever awarded to a local government amid years of continuing, nationwide opioid-centered litigation, according to San Francisco's city attorney.
County conducts mass prescription drug take-back event - Austin Monitor
Thursday, October 27, 2022 by Seth Smalley Saturday is prescription drug take-back day across the United States.On Tuesday, county commissioners unanimously passed a proclamation recognizing the day across Travis County.Local constables are teaming up with the Drug Enforcement Administration to carry out the event.
Rhode Island is opening the nation's overdose prevention center. Could Massachusetts be next?
Rhode Island will open the country's first state-regulated overdose prevention center this summer.
The center will provide supervised drug use, overdose prevention, and support services.
Overdose prevention centers are controversial and illegal on a federal level, but Rhode Island's center will have a two-year pilot funded by opioid settlement funds.
Gov. Hochul needs to declare state emergency over NY opioid deaths: Staten Island pols
A bipartisan task force in Staten Island is urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a public health emergency to address the opioid crisis in New York.
The task force issued a report with recommendations including stiffening penalties for drug peddlers, tightening bail laws, and increasing funding for harm reduction, education, and addiction prevention.
The report compares the opioid crisis to the challenge of the Marshall Plan and highlights the increasing presence of fentanyl in overdose deaths.
Louisiana asks people to report teachers & librarians who "sexualize children" with books
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) has launched an online form encouraging state residents to report the "taxpayer-subsided sexualization of children" by librarians, their supervisors, teachers, school board members, and district superintendents."Librarians and teachers are neither empowering nor liberating our children by connecting them with books that contain extremely graphic sexual content that is far from age appropriate for young audiences," the form, entitled "Protect Minors," reads.
At Core of Purdue Pharma Case: Who Can Get Immunity in Settlements?
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments on whether a settlement involving Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family is a violation of federal law, with potential implications for other organizations using bankruptcy court to resolve mass injury claims.
The case revolves around whether a legal maneuver in the settlement agreement can grant the Sackler family full immunity from civil lawsuits related to the opioid crisis.
Representative David Trone, Democrat of Maryland, said he was set to launch a campaign for the Senate on Thursday, joining a race into which he is expected to pour tens of millions of dollars from his personal fortune in an effort to capitalize on a rare opportunity to seek an open seat in the deep-blue state.
Representative David Trone, Democrat of Maryland, said he was set to launch a campaign for the Senate on Thursday, joining a race into which he is expected to pour tens of millions of dollars from his personal fortune in an effort to capitalize on a rare opportunity to seek an open seat in the deep-blue state.
Drug-maker Mallinckrodt may renege on $1.7 billion opioid settlement
Mallinckrodt says it is considering its financial alternatives, including a second bankruptcy, and might not make a $200 million opioid payment next week.Whitney Curtis/AP The generic drug-maker Mallinckrodt says the company's board might not make a $200 million opioid settlement payment scheduled for later this week.
CVS agrees to pay $5 billion to settle opioid lawsuits
CVS Health said it has agreed to pay about $5 billion to state, local and Native American tribal governments to settle lawsuits over the toll of opioids.CVS is not admitting wrongdoing and the company would make the payments over a decade.(Gene J. Puskar/AP)CVS Health, one of the nation's largest retail pharmacies, has agreed to pay nearly $5 billion to states, cities and Native American tribes to settle all opioid lawsuits against it.
Opioid-related deaths dropped in Toronto in 2022, expert says more robust response to crisis needed | CBC News
Toronto saw a drop in opioid-related deaths in 2022 compared to the previous year, but one expert says there still needs to be a more robust response to the opioid crisis.There were 702 opioid-related deaths in the city in 2022, which marks 158 fewer than the 860 recorded in 2021, recently released figures from Ontario's Office of the Chief Coroner show.
Could a Narcan vending machine help stem opioid deaths among young people?
(Shae Hammond / Bay Area News Group)
A free vending machine that dispenses the overdose-reversal drug naloxone was unveiled this week at Santa Clara University, the first such campus resource in the Bay Area, school officials said.The machine at the school's Benson Memorial Center will dispense two-packs of Narcan, a nasal spray for delivering naloxone, with instructions on how to recognize signs of an overdose, how to administer the spray and to call 911, university officials said in a statement.
California moves to cap insulin cost at $30, start manufacturing naloxone
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Saturday that the state will cut insulin costs by 90% and that it will start manufacturing naloxone, a nasal spray used to reverse opioid overdoses.The lower insulin cost results from a collaboration between CalRx, a California Department of Health Care Services program, and the non-profit drug manufacturer Civica Rx, according to a news release from the governor's office.
Synthetic opioids threaten communities including the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Statistics don't really show the human cost of opioid addiction in this country.What does show that is the effect on one community, one family, one 9-year-old girl who our colleague Brian Mann met in the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma.BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Late afternoon, Mazzy Walker shows me around her family's farm near Tahlequah, Okla., capital of the Cherokee Nation.
Synthetic opioids threaten communities including the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma
National The fentanyl-opioid crisis is hitting young people hard and some of the highest death rates are in Native American communities.The Cherokee Nation is working to help families recover.Copyright 2023 NPR.All rights reserved.Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Offering addiction treatments in pharmacies could help combat the opioid crisis
A small study shows pharmacists could play a key role in getting addiction medication directly into the hands of more people who need it, but there are a lot of barriers to expanding the project.MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Medications can help people quit opioids, but fewer than 15% of patients who could benefit from those medications actually receive them.
Addiction treatments in pharmacies could help combat the opioid crisis
LEILA FADEL, HOST: Medications can help people quit opioids, but fewer than 15% of patients who could benefit from those medications actually receive them.Researchers based at Rhode Island Hospital tested one possible remedy - offering addiction treatment in pharmacies.From member station WBUR, Martha Bebinger reports.
Letters: Why the broad legalization of drugs makes sense
Having just read Steven Chapman's column "The fentanyl crisis confirms the folly of the never-ending war on drugs" (May 4), I am prompted to thank him for raising a controversial but well-reasoned opinion on dealing with the opioid crisis we face.I do not illegally use opioids, but I am prescribed them for an extremely painful condition and do not take them to get high.
Letters: How can the CTA and Metra avoid fare increases? Here's an idea.
Regarding "CTA, Metra seek solutions for budget cliff on horizon" (Dec.12): The CTA and Metra are concerned that fare increases and service cutbacks won't be sufficient to make up for the budget cliff associated with the end of COVID-19 funds.Here are some ideas.It's always a tricky question of how much fares should be raised so the increased revenue isn't diminished by fewer riders willing to pay the higher rates.
Polls now closed in DuPage County Board chairman's race
With the polls now closed, the two candidates vying to be the next DuPage County Board chairman, Republican Greg Hart and Democrat Deb Conroy, were locked in a race to see who will succeed longtime DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin, an Elmhurst Republican.At stake is who will be the chair of the 19-person board, which also is entirely up for reelection due to redistricting.
Dreda Say Mitchell: I'm a massive historical romance fangirl'
My earliest reading memory I don't have an individual book; what I have is a whole building.I grew up on a council estate in the East End of London and one of my earliest memories of books was my mum sending me and my siblings off to Whitechapel Library.Any children's book I wanted!What an adventure!
CBC Toronto is in Jane and Finch, and we want to hear from you | CBC News
CBC Toronto is launching a community bureau in the Jane and Finch area this fall with the goal of reporting on affordable and dignified housing options and what opportunities, or lack thereof, there are for young people.
6 books compete for nonfiction 'winner of winners' prize
LONDON - Books that explore subjects from William Shakespeare and The Beatles to the lure of Mount Everest and life inside one of the world's most secretive states are competing to be named the best-ever winner of Britain's leading nonfiction book prize.Are you on Telegram?Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine.
Dangerous 'Tranq' Animal Tranquilizer Found in San Francisco Street Drug Supply
San Francisco, however, has only recently started to test for xylazine, and health officials called the recent identification "concerning.""These facts suggest that the drug may not yet be widespread, but SFDPH and its City and community partners are working to learn more, share information and prepare street response teams to recognize the impacts of xylazine and respond appropriately," officials said in a press release on Thursday.
California to receive $470 million from CVS in opioid settlement
California is expected to receive about $470 million from a multistate settlement with CVS over allegations that the pharmacy chain contributed to the country's opioid crisis, the state attorney general's office said Tuesday.Last year, CVS Health and Walgreens agreed to pay about $5 billion each to settle a raft of lawsuits brought by state and local governments accusing the chains of filling prescriptions that should have been flagged as inappropriate, helping to fuel an epidemic that has killed more than half a million Americans over the last 20 years.
California could receive more than $500 million from Walgreens opioid settlement
California could receive more than $500 million from a $5.7-billion multistate agreement to settle a raft of lawsuits filed against Walgreens over the pharmacy chain's role in the opioid crisis, officials said."The settlement will resolve allegations that the company failed to appropriately oversee the dispensing of opioids at its pharmacies," the California attorney general's office said Monday in a release.
CVS Health agrees to $5B settlement of opioid lawsuits
Health The Woonsocket, Rhode Island company would pay about $5 billion over 10 years under a deal that, if accepted, would be one of the largest settlements over the crisis.CVS Health has announced an agreement in principle that would make it the first major pharmacy chain to reach a nationwide settlement of lawsuits over how it handled prescriptions for powerful and addictive prescription opioid painkillers that are linked to an overdose epidemic.
Controversial ADHD prescription rule scrapped from Georgia bill
Georgia bill provision would have required new ADHD prescriptions every five days The bill was changed after outcry over the provision A provision of a Georgia Senate bill that would have required adults and children on ADHD medications to get new prescriptions every five days has been scrapped.
12 medical professionals charged with illegal opioid distribution in sweep through Appalachian region
Fourteen people, including 12 medical professionals, have been charged with helping fuel the opioid epidemic across the Appalachian region, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed' Review: Nan Goldin's Art and Activism
Among the thousands of items in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection is the 1980 Nan Goldin photograph titled Heart-Shaped Bruise, NYC.In it, a woman lies splayed across a messy bed wearing pulled-down stockings and a dress that's been hitched up just below her rear, exposing some bared leg imprinted with a bruise shaped like a heart.
Victims of the opioid crisis formally confront the Sackler family
Members of the Sackler family didn't respond as people confronted them during a court hearing about the harm caused by their company Purdue Pharma and its highly addictive pain medication OxyContin.
Good Morning, News: Dubious Lobbying Group With a Rhetorically Simple Name Complains About Portland, Massive Opioid Settlements, and OHSU Discovers the Clitoris
The Mercury provides news and fun every single day-but your help is essential.If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us.Thanks for your support!Could Portlanders become even more enraged, ahead of election day?
Victoria and Albert Museum Reverses Course and Removes Sackler Name
The museum's director had previously said he was not going to erase the name of the Sackler family, which founded Purdue Pharma, the creator of an addictive opioid painkiller.
British Museum to Remove Sackler Name From Its Walls
LONDON - The British Museum here is to remove the name of the Sackler family from its walls, becoming the latest major cultural institution to cut ties with the family over its role in the opioid crisis.
Review | 'Vengeance' is a startlingly good first film from B.J. Novak
The movie "Vengeance" - a black comedy about cultural arrogance, the opioid crisis, guns, storytelling and the need to, well, get even - marks the feature debut of writer-director-producer B.J. Novak (best known as a writer, director, producer and ensemble cast member of "The Office").
Never-ending costs: When resolved medical bills keep popping up
Suzanne and Jim Rybak, inside the craft room where their son, Jameson, would encourage Suzanne to make colorful beach bags, received a $4,928 medical bill months after it was supposedly resolved.
Charles Entenmann, Who Helped Propel New York Entenmann's Snack Cakes to Sweet Success, Dies at 92
Charles Entenmann, the man who helped take his family's New York bakery to national distribution at supermarkets throughout the country, died in Miami on February 24, the New York Post reports.