• Republican candidate in key Pennsylvania Senate race backs using military to fight fentanyl

    Republican candidate in key Pennsylvania Senate race backs using military to fight fentanyl

    Oct 02, 2024 11:00 PM EDT

    The vast majority of fentanyl seized is brought into the United States by American citizens at the southern border, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. McCormick and other Republicans compare fentanyl deaths to combat losses in the Vietnam War: Roughly 110,000 drug overdose deaths each of ...

  • One of two doctors who helped supply Matthew Perry ketamine pleads guilty to drug charge

    One of two doctors who helped supply Matthew Perry ketamine pleads guilty to drug charge

    Oct 02, 2024 10:14 PM EDT

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — A San Diego doctor became the third person to plead guilty in the case of Matthew Perry ’s fatal drug overdose, as prosecutors collect cooperators in an attempt to convict two bigger targets they say are responsible for the death of the “Friends” star. Dr. Mark Chavez ...

  • Fact-checking the VP debate between Vance and Walz on abortion, immigration and Iran

    Fact-checking the VP debate between Vance and Walz on abortion, immigration and Iran

    Oct 02, 2024 04:24 PM EDT

    The U.S. had an estimated 107,543 drug overdose deaths in 2023 — a 3 percent decrease from the 111,029 deaths estimated in 2022. This is the first annual decrease in overall drug overdose deaths since 2018. Nevertheless, the opioid death toll remains much higher than just a few ...

  • Kris Kristofferson, prolific songwriter and superstar actor, dies at 88

    Kris Kristofferson, prolific songwriter and superstar actor, dies at 88

    Sep 30, 2024 02:43 PM EDT

    ... with Kristofferson, changed the lyrics to make Bobby McGee a man and cut her version just days before she died in 1970 from a drug overdose. The recording became a posthumous No. 1 hit for Joplin. Hits that Kristofferson recorded include "Watch Closely Now," "Desperados Waiting for a Train," "A ...

  • From panic buttons to bulletproof glass, U.S. election officials are preparing for threats

    From panic buttons to bulletproof glass, U.S. election officials are preparing for threats

    Sep 17, 2024 08:13 PM EDT

    ... with badges. Election workers across the country also will have new procedures for handling mail, including kits of Narcan, the nasal spray used for accidental overdoses. In Durham County, a central feature of the new office will be a mail processing room with a separate exhaust system to contain potentially ...

  • How social media became a storefront for deadly fake pills laced with fentanyl

    How social media became a storefront for deadly fake pills laced with fentanyl

    Sep 12, 2024 07:04 PM EDT

    ... accountable for their part in facilitating illicit drug sales,” Shaheen said. But for parents like Arnold, Brown and others who already lost their children to overdoses, it is too late. “Social media companies have the ability to make their platforms drug-free zones,” DelPonte said. “Instead, they keep evading the ...

  • Oregon law rolling back drug decriminalization takes effect, making possession a crime again

    Oregon law rolling back drug decriminalization takes effect, making possession a crime again

    Sep 01, 2024 07:32 PM EDT

    ... addiction services, but the money was slow to get out the door at a time when the fentanyl crisis was causing a spike in deadly overdoses and health officials — grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic — were struggling to stand up the new treatment system, state auditors found. The new law ...

  • How the U.S. insurance system makes finding mental health care difficult

    How the U.S. insurance system makes finding mental health care difficult

    Aug 30, 2024 10:45 PM EDT

    ... then the insurer will only improve coverage for a less intensive treatment first. Such limitation means patients can risk bodily harm or even death through overdose or suicide. Stephanie Sy: What do insurance companies tell you by way of explaining these reimbursement and care issues? Annie Waldman: Yes, we reached ...

  • One of two doctors charged over Matthew Perry's death appears in court after making plea deal

    One of two doctors charged over Matthew Perry's death appears in court after making plea deal

    Aug 30, 2024 02:03 PM EDT

    ... was incredibly universally loved by all. It’s a shame at what happened." Chavez would be the third person to plead guilty in the aftermath of the “Friends” star’s fatal overdose last year. WATCH: 3 ways to lend or find support after a loved one dies of an overdose

  • News Wrap: Zelenskyy says Ukraine captured Russian town of Sudzha

    News Wrap: Zelenskyy says Ukraine captured Russian town of Sudzha

    Aug 15, 2024 10:45 PM EDT

    Federal law enforcement officials have charged five people in connection with the death of actor Matthew Perry. They include two doctors and Perry's own assistant. The "Friends" star suffered an accidental ketamine overdose last year. At a news conference today in Los Angeles, officials said they'd uncovered a ...