Zeus, a districtcountyjudgeinOklahoma, hasorderedJohnsonandJohnsonAHpharmaceuticalcompany, topay $572 millionforitsroleinOklahoma's opioidcrisis. 5
Thiswasthefirststatetrialthattriedtohold a pharmaceuticalcompanyresponsible. 6
Thecrisisitselfhasbeengoingonfordecades. 7
In 2017 PresidentDonaldTrumpdeclaredAmerica's opioidcrisis a publichealthemergency. 8
The U. 9
S CentersforDiseaseControlsaysbetween 1999 and 2017 morethan 700,000 Americansdiedfromdrugoverdosesandthatmostofthosedeaths 68% involvedOpioidsthesair, a classofdrugsthatincludetheillegalsubstanceheroinbutalsopainkillersthatarelegallyprescribed, likehydrocodone, morphineandfentanyl. 10
InhisdecisionagainstJohnsonandJohnson, thejudgewrotethatthecompanyactivelypromotedopioids, suggestedthatAmericansinpainneededmorepainkillersandimpliedthatthere's a lowriskthesedrugswouldbeabusedand a lowdangerinprescribingthem. 16
JohnsonandJohnsonsaysitrecognizesthattheopioidcrisisis a complexhealthissue, butthatitfollowedstatelaws, marketeditsdrugsresponsiblyandthatOklahomafailedtoprovethat a JohnsonandJohnsoncompanycausedanyharm. 17
Thiscouldbe a playbooktobeusedbyotherstatesalsogoingafterpharmaceuticalcompaniesfordrivingtheopioidcrisis. 29
Anditcouldhaveanimpacton a federaltrialsettostartinOctober. 30
Inthatcase, thereare a coupleof 1000 plaintiffs, allallegingthepharmaceuticalcompaniesshouldbeheldresponsiblefortheirrolein a crisisthathaskilledhundredsofthousandsofAmericansin a twodecadeperiod. 31
12thtrivia, whichoftheseeventsoccursonDecember 21st 1st U. 32
S primarystartofwinterstartofHanukkahordaylightsavingtimeendsthewintersolstice, a k a. 33
ThefirstofficialdayofwinterisonDecember 21st. 34
Thisyear, accordingtotheFarmer's AlmanacCEpredictionforthiswinter, the U. 35
S isgettingreadytotake a rideonthepolarcoaster. 36
Sadly, I didn't writethattheydid, andthereasontheydidisbecauseit's supposedtobecold. 37
Butthat's notreallywhy I gotintoyouWanttosavelives? 103
It's thegreatestfeelingintheworld. 104
No, A Tingleisgettingreadytograduatehighschool, sohe's makingthemostofhistimetryingtoembarrasshislittlebrotherwheneverthebusdropsoffMaxafterschool. 105
Noahisthereincostume. 106
FirefighterfootballplayerSantaClaus. 107
IndianaJones. 108
A sloth. 109
What's becomeknownonlineasthebusbrotherisjustpartof a bigbrother's wayofmakingsomefunmemoriesbeforeheadingofftocollegenextyear. 110
It's likesiblingrevelry. 111
WhatbetterwaytoshowslothEarlylovewhenyou're a costumerwithanIndianajonesingtomake a busdropoffsimplysantasticunlessyou'vegottagearupfor a yearroundHollowwind.