• Prince’s fentanyl overdose gives new urgency to opioid epidemic

    Prince’s fentanyl overdose gives new urgency to opioid epidemic

    Jun 02, 2016 11:17 PM EDT

    ... HARI SREENIVASAN: But first: the opioid epidemic and the problems of treatment. Law enforcement officials told the Associated Press and The Minneapolis Star-Tribune today that music legend Prince died from an accidental opioid overdose in April. The superstar, according to reports, self-administered fentanyl, a synthetic opioid painkiller ...

  • Prince died of an opioid overdose, autopsy reveals

    Prince died of an opioid overdose, autopsy reveals

    Jun 02, 2016 04:24 PM EDT

    An autopsy shows that singer and musician Prince died of an opioid overdose at his studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota, on April 21, the Associated Press reported. Minnesota health officials said the singer accidentally overdosed on fentanyl, a substance used in painkiller medications. The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office, based in ...

  • Deaths from drug overdoses reach record-high levels in 2014

    Deaths from drug overdoses reach record-high levels in 2014

    Dec 18, 2015 09:59 PM EDT

    Nearly 50,000 people died from drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2014, a new record driven by the deaths of heroin addicts and people misusing prescription painkillers, according to new federal statistics. Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 47,055 drug overdose deaths, more ...

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    U.S. heroin overdose deaths more than double in two years

    Oct 04, 2014 08:29 PM EDT

    Deaths caused by heroin overdoses more than doubled between 2010 to 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. In a report released Friday, a study conducted in 28 states across the U.S. showed heroin overdoses increasing from 1,779 in 2010 to 3,635 in 2012. The ...

  • FDA approves at-home heroin overdose treatment

    FDA approves at-home heroin overdose treatment

    Apr 03, 2014 03:49 PM EDT

    ... a device that automatically injects the right dose of the drug naloxone, a long-used antidote for opioid overdoses. Nalaxone has been a mainstay of overdose treatment for years, usually administered by syringe in ambulances or emergency rooms. But with the rise in drug overdose deaths, there has been a ...

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    VA's opiate overload feeds veterans' addictions, leading to overdose deaths

    Oct 03, 2013 09:30 PM EDT

    ... weekend with a cocktail of 19 prescription medications, including 12 tablets of highly addictive oxycodone. Three hours later, Waggoner, 32, was dead of a drug overdose, slumped in a heap in front of his room at the Sleep Inn motel. "As a parent, you'd want to know how this ...

  • WATCH: Jennifer Bos makes emotional opening statement about daughter's death in Blanche confirmation hearing

    WATCH: Jennifer Bos makes emotional opening statement about daughter's death in Blanche confirmation hearing

    Jul 16, 2026 05:06 PM EDT

    ... the backyard of an undocumented Mexican citizen, weeks after she was reported missing. An initial autopsy found that Megan may have died of a fentanyl overdose, but the final cause of death has not been confirmed. Prosecutors said the man, Jose Luis Mendoza-Gonzalez, did not notify authorities and concealed ...

  • U.S. strike on an alleged drug boat kills 2, leaves 6 survivors, in the Caribbean

    U.S. strike on an alleged drug boat kills 2, leaves 6 survivors, in the Caribbean

    Jun 22, 2026 08:38 PM EDT

    ... cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and fatal overdoses claiming American lives. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.” Critics of the strikes have questioned the ...

  • Staggering amounts of fentanyl hit streets as DEA watched and took no action, records show

    Staggering amounts of fentanyl hit streets as DEA watched and took no action, records show

    Jun 22, 2026 06:52 PM EDT

    ... trafficked. A whistleblower forced the debate into the open Howell became so unnerved by his agency’s failure to seize fentanyl that he began flagging overdose deaths that might have been caused by the very pills the DEA permitted to flow to dealers. One of those cases included a 15 ...

  • U.S. kills 3 in strike on alleged drug boat in Pacific Ocean

    U.S. kills 3 in strike on alleged drug boat in Pacific Ocean

    Jun 19, 2026 01:45 PM EDT

    ... cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and fatal overdoses claiming American lives. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JZm3ZdAUMQ ...