News Wrap: Consulting firm to pay $650 million for helping Purdue Pharma sell opioids

Read the Full Transcript

• Amna Nawaz:

  In the day's other headlines: The consulting firm McKinsey & Company will pay $650 million to settle a federal investigation into its work for the opioids maker Purdue Pharma.

  McKinsey consultants worked with Purdue to improve sales, including a 2013 plan to — quote — "turbocharge" sales of the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin. In a statement, the company apologized, saying that — quote — "Our past work for opioid manufacturers will always be a source of profound regret for our firm."

  The U.S. attorney said the settlement should deter other consulting companies from contributing to such conduct.

  Christopher Kavanaugh, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia: This was not hypothetical. This was not just marketing. It was a strategy. It was executed. And it worked. McKinsey's strategy resulted in prescriptions for OxyContin that were unsafe, medically unnecessary and lacked a legitimate purpose and were often diverted.

• Amna Nawaz:

  In addition to the payment, McKinsey has agreed to implement a compliance program to identify high-risk clients, and the company won't do any work on the sale, marketing, or promotion of controlled substances for a period of five years.

  The state of Texas is suing a doctor in New York for mailing abortion pills to a patient in the Dallas area. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges that the doctor violated state law by prescribing abortion-inducing drugs without being able to practice in Texas. The lawsuit seeks thousands of dollars in damages, though no criminal charges are involved.

  It marks one of the first challenges to so-called shield laws in states like New York designed to protect physicians who provide such prescriptions online or over the phone. The number of abortions in the U.S. has increased slightly since state ban started taking effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. That's in part because of out-of-state telemedicine.

  The U.S. military has brought an American who was imprisoned in Syria out of the country. Two U.S. officials tell the Associated Press that Travis Timmerman has been flown to Jordan on a military helicopter. He and other prisoners were freed earlier this week after rebel groups ousted the country's President Bashar al-Assad and began opening the country's infamous prisons.

  The 29-year-old was detained seven months ago after crossing into Syria while on a Christian pilgrimage. It's unclear at this stage where Timmerman may go next.

  President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Russia launched a barrage today of 200 drones and nearly 100 cruise and ballistic missiles all across Ukraine. He described it as one of the heaviest bombardments of the war, and the target was the country's energy sector. Ukrainian defenses shot down most of the missiles, but others struck homes and apartment complexes.

  In the capital city of Kyiv, people took refuge underground to escape the strikes, which have grown more frequent as Russia tries to cripple Ukraine's electrical grid as winter sets in. Elsewhere, Russian forces have drawn even closer to the vital eastern hub of Pokrovsk. The city lies in ruins and residents have been forced to flee, some with only the clothes on their backs.

• Sergiy, Municipal Worker (through interpreter):

  How would one live here? No power, no heating, no gas, no water, nothing good. We will leave tomorrow while cargo taxis are still running. The Russians have already positioned themselves behind our house in the forest.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Pokrovsk is an important transportation and supply route for Ukraine's army. Losing it to Russia would be the biggest military setback for Kyiv in months.

  In France, President Emmanuel Macron has selected centrist ally Francois Bayrou as the country's new prime minister. The 73-year-old has been tasked with forming a new government after a no-confidence vote in Parliament led to the resignation of the former prime minister last week. That was prompted by fierce budget disputes and left France without a functioning government.

  Bayrou has been in French politics for decades and was cleared of embezzlement charges over European Parliament funds earlier this year.

  The drinkware brand Stanley has recalled some 2.5 million travel mugs sold in the U.S. after dozens of reports that their lids pose a burn hazard. The recall includes the popular Switchback and Trigger Action models purchased in the last eight years. The company says parts of their lids can shrink when exposed to heat, causing them to come off during use; 38 people worldwide reported burn injuries; 11 of them required medical attention.

  Stanley advised customers to stop using the mugs immediately and to contact them for a free replacement lid.

  On Wall Street today, stocks ended mixed to close out a sluggish week. The Dow Jones industrial average slid for a seventh straight session. That's its longest losing streak since 2020. The Nasdaq managed to eke out a small gain, adding about 20 points. The S&P 500 ended the day flat.

  And the ancient artifact revered by many Christians as Jesus Christ's crown of thorns was returned to the Notre Dame Cathedral today. It had been saved from the flames that nearly destroyed the cathedral in 2019. The twisted band of branches is encased in a gilded golden tube. And though its authenticity has never been proven with certainty, the crown has been a treasured artifact in France since King Louis IX brought it to Paris in the year 1239.

  The public can view the crown again starting on January 10.