Medical examiner says a Hawaii crime boss died of a drug overdose while in federal detention

HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii crime boss who died in federal detention this month was killed by an opioid overdose, Honolulu’s medical examiner said Tuesday. Michael Miske, 50, died of “toxicity of fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl,” the medical examiner’s office said in a...

Fentanyl fuels record homeless deaths in Oregon's Multnomah County, home to Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Fentanyl fueled a record number of homeless deaths last year in Oregon's Multnomah County, home to Portland, according to an annual county report released Friday that officials described as showing the peak of the fentanyl crisis in the area. The report found...

DOJ files complaint against CVS for facilitating unlawful sale of prescription opioids

The Justice Department unsealed a civil complaint Wednesday alleging CVS Pharmacy Inc. and various subsidiaries filled “unlawful” prescriptions in violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act. The complaint also says CVS sought reimbursement from federal health care...

West Virginia's state health officer resigns but will continue opioid nonprofit work

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia's state health officer, who was recently reelected as a leader of the private nonprofit charged with distributing much of the state’s opioid settlement dollars, has resigned. Dr. Matt Christiansen' s final day with the state health...

McKinsey & Company agrees to pay $650M for helping Purdue Pharma boost opioid sales

BOSTON (AP) — McKinsey & Company consulting firm has agreed to pay $650 million to settle a federal investigation into its work to help opioids manufacturer Purdue Pharma boost the sales of the highly addictive drug OxyContin, according to court papers filed in Virginia on Friday. ...

McKinsey & Company agrees to pay $650 million to settle US investigation into opioids work, court papers say

Fewer US grandparents are taking care of grandchildren, according to new data

Fewer grandparents were living with and taking care of grandchildren, there was a decline in young children going to preschool and more people stayed put in their homes in the first part of the 2020s compared with the last part of the 2010s, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday,...

Rapper Quando Rondo sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to a federal drug charge

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Rapper Quando Rondo was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to a federal drug offense in Georgia. The rapper, whose given name is Tyquian Terrel Bowman, was sentenced to two years and nine months imprisonment by U.S. District Court...

Ohio Supreme Court sides with pharmacies in appeal of $650 million opioid judgment

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state's product liability law prohibits counties from bringing public nuisance claims against national pharmaceutical chains as they did as part of national opioid litigation, a decision that could overturn a $650 million...

How should the opioid settlements be spent? Those hit hardest often don’t have a say

People with substance use disorder across the country are not getting a formal say in how most of the approximately $50 billion in opioid lawsuit settlement money is being used to stem the crisis, a new analysis found. Some advocates say that is one factor in why portions of the...