opioids

A community overwhelmed by opioids

By Hari Sreenivasan, Jason Kane

At the epicenter of America's opioid epidemic, Huntington, West Virginia’s growing addiction problem has overwhelmed everyone from first responders to business owners to newborns. So far, the city's robust efforts to fight back haven't been enough to curb the overdoses.

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WATCH: McCaskill announces findings of opioid report

By Laura Santhanam

Sen. Claire McCaskill is expected to speak around 2:30 p.m. ET. Watch live here.

Sessions: Drug overdoses ‘the top lethal issue’ in the U.S.

By Ivan Moreno, Associated Press

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday called drug overdose deaths "the top lethal issue" in the U.S. and urged law enforcement and social workers to "create and foster a culture that's hostile to drug use."…

Heroin overdoses killed 3 times as many teens in 2015 than in 1999

By Synclaire Cruel

Drug overdose deaths among teenagers have ticked up after years of decline, according to a new report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why this West Virginia mayor says Trump should set aside party politics

By Laura Santhanam

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, the leader of the city where Trump held his rally, said “labels don’t matter.” What does matter is working together on issues like the opioid crisis, which has ravaged his city.

WATCH: Trump blasts Democrats, Russia investigations at campaign rally in Huntington, West Virginia

By Laura Santhanam

Democrats “can continue their obsession with the Russian hoax or they can serve the interests of the American people,” Trump said after Justice’s announcement. “Try winning at the voting booth.”…

Democrats want faster action from Trump on opioid epidemic

By Jill Colvin, Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s drug commission is drawing new criticism after it missed a second self-imposed deadline. Twenty Senate Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have written to the acting director of the Office of National Drug Control…

U.S. charges hundreds of people in health fraud schemes worth $1.3 billion

By Sadie Gurman, Associated Press

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the charges Thursday. Officials say those charged include more than 120 people involved in prescribing and distributing narcotics.

Prescription opioids tripled between 1999 and 2015, CDC says

By Laura Santhanam

The amount of opioids prescribed in 2015 was enough for every American to be medicated around the clock for three weeks, according to a new CDC report.