Daily News Lesson

SHOW ALL

May 11, 2022, 9:44 p.m.

Overdose deaths in the U.S. reached record levels in 2021 — and other news for May 12, 2022

Summary

New CDC data released Wednesday indicates that deaths from drug overdoses in the U.S. reached a record-high last year. More than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, the highest annual death toll ever recorded. Deaths from fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine rose sharply. Dr. Nora Volkow, the National Institute On Drug Abuse director, joins Geoff Bennett to discuss. Directions : To watch the feature story, click the video above. Or skim the segments from the latest NewsHour by clicking on the image below, and choose the story that works best for your class. Then answer the questions below.

Five Facts

Discussion questions using the Journalist’s Five Ws plus an H:

  • Who are some of the individuals or groups of people mentioned in the news summary?
  • What stories are covered?
  • Where do some of the stories take place?
  • When did those stories occur?
  • Why did the event(s) take place?
  • How do you think the NewsHour’s producers decided which stories made it into the news summary?

Media literacy: Who else do you think should have been interviewed in the story you watched?

Focus Questions

See, Think, Wonder : What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What story would you want to find out more about? Where would you go to learn more?

For More

Trial begins in West Virginia lawsuit against opioid manufacturers

FILE PHOTO: Bottles of prescription painkiller OxyContin made by Purdue Pharma LP sit on a shelf at a local pharmacy in Provo
FILE PHOTO: Bottles of prescription painkiller OxyContin made by Purdue Pharma LP sit on a shelf at a local pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S. April 25, 2017. REUTERS/George Frey/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Bottles of prescription painkiller OxyContin made by Purdue Pharma LP sit on a shelf at a local pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S. April 25, 2017. REUTERS/George Frey/File Photo

Fill out this form to share your thoughts on Classroom’s resources. Sign up for NewsHour Classroom’s ready-to-go Daily News Lessons delivered to your inbox each morning.

Links

TRANSCRIPT

SUPPORTED BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY:

Copyright © 2025 NewsHour Production LLC. All Rights Reserved

Illustrations by Annamaria Ward