When It Grains, It Pours
July 6, 2022
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“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Pharmed & Dangerous
Between 2017 and 2019, West Virginia’s attorney general settled with the ‘Big Three’ drug distributors – McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Cardinal – for $73 million for their role in the opioid crisis in that state. Two municipalities – Cabell County and its county seat, the City of Huntington – chose instead to go to trial hoping to be awarded a much larger amount in damages. Their federal lawsuit filed in 2017 alleged that between 2006 and 2014, the three companies distributed a combined total of 81 million doses of hydrocodone and oxycodone to their community of some 100,000 people. Damages of $1 billion were sought that would be used locally if plaintiffs prevailed in a bench trial in Charleston before U.S. District Judge David Faber. The case theory was that the companies had created a public nuisance with the ongoing opioid epidemic by failing to monitor, divert, and report suspicious orders under the Controlled Substances Act.
The trial began May 3, 2021. Cardinal Health and McKesson Corporation had no comment, but AmerisourceBergen said in a statement it had no role in working with the DEA to set quotas, nor did it interact with physicians or patients to recommend particular medications. The company said it looked forward to “sharing with the Court the facts about our role in the supply chain and our long-standing commitment to fulfilling our regulatory responsibilities…” All three companies planned to argue that W. Va. was heavily affected by illegal opioids like heroin and synthetic fentanyl that had nothing to do with their business.
On Monday, Faber ruled for the defendants. The judge said while he sympathized with the “considerable toll [the opioid crisis has taken] on the citizens of Cabell County and the City of Huntington,” the plaintiffs had “failed to show that the volume of prescription opioids distributed in Cabell/Huntington was because of unreasonable conduct on the part of defendants.” Furthermore, while the lawsuit alleged the distributors created a public nuisance, Faber found that W. Va.’s Supreme Court only applied public nuisance law in the context of conduct that interferes with public property or resources. To extend the law to cover the marketing and sale of opioids, the judge wrote, “is inconsistent with the history and traditional notions of nuisance.” (Huntington Herald-Dispatch, CNN, NPR)
A Drone To Pick
- Spanish police said Monday they’d seized three underwater drones being constructed for the purpose of transporting large quantities of drugs from Morocco to Spain. A gang of eight people was arrested who are suspected of manufacturing the so-called “drone submarines,” which are officially called unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).
- “These devices could allow drug traffickers to transport large quantities of narcotics remotely across the Strait of Gibraltar,” police said. The gang also manufactured aerial drones, and police seized several large UAVs with 12 motors each and a range of nearly 19 miles, more than enough to cross the nine-mile Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco.
- The gang also built false bottoms into vehicles to transport drugs, one of which was “intercepted … on its way to Denmark aboard a tow truck” while trying to avoid police checkpoints. Spain is a key entry point for drugs bound for Europe, thanks to its physical proximity to Morocco, a major hashish producer, and close ties to a major cocaine-producing region in Latin America. (CBS News)
When It Grains, It Pours
- Acting on a tip from Kyiv, Turkish customs authorities held up a Russian-flagged ship in the Black Sea port of Karasu; they’re investigating claims that its cargo of 7,000 tons of grain was stolen out of Russian-occupied Berdiansk, a port in southeast Ukraine. Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed the ship was Russian-flagged, then obfuscated by claiming it actually belonged to Kazakhstan, the cargo was being carried on a contract between Estonia and Turkey, and the Kremlin was ‘seeking clarity.’
- Kyiv has accused Russia of stealing grain from occupied Ukrainian territory to sell on international markets. Turkey was asked to “conduct an inspection of this sea vessel, seize samples of grain for forensic examination, [and] demand information on the location of such grain.” Even if the location is authenticated, Russian-appointed administrations in occupied territories have claimed they are working in partnership with local farmers to release grain into the global market. (Guardian)
Additional World News
- NATO nations sign accession protocols for Sweden, Finland (ABC)
- Denmark theaters closed in honor of mall shooting victims (WaPo, $)
- Uzbekistan says 18 killed, hundreds wounded in unrest (NBC)
- Dutch farmers block entrances to supermarket warehouses (AP)
- Canada: Final settlement reached on Indigenous child compensation (Al Jazeera)
- Spain and Portugal suffering driest climate for 1,200 years, research shows (Guardian)
- Sudan’s General al-Burhan says army stepping back from government (Al Jazeera)
- Vatican envoy in Hong Kong warns Catholic missions to prepare for China crackdown (Reuters)
Jury Up And Wait
- On Tuesday, the Fulton County special grand jury investigating potential criminal interference in Georgia’s 2020 elections subpoenaed key members of former President Donald Trump’s legal team, including his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesebro, and Jenna Ellis, all of whom advised the Trump campaign on strategies for overturning Democrat Joe Biden’s wins in Georgia and other swing states.
- The grand jury also subpoenaed Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Trump’s top allies, along with attorney and podcast host Jacki Pick Deason. The 23-person special grand jury has heard testimony in recent weeks from a parade of witnesses, including some who had direct contact with Trump and his associates in late 2020 and early 2021. But Tuesday’s subpoenas are the closest jurors have gotten to the Trump campaign or the inner circle of the former president. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
That’s All She Vote
- The Justice Department has filed suit against Arizona challenging its recently enacted voting law that requires proof of citizenship in order to vote in presidential elections. The lawsuit contends that certain restrictions in Arizona’s House Bill 2492 directly violate Section 6 of the National Voter Registration Act and Section 101 of the Civil Rights Act.
- In 2013, the Supreme Court rejected an effort by Arizona to require its residents to provide proof of citizenship in order to participate in federal elections. But after President Biden’s victory against Donald Trump in 2020, the state quickly sought to implement a similar mandate in passing House Bill 2492, which Republican Governor Doug Ducey signed into law on March 30.
- Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke announced the lawsuit in a statement Tuesday that read in part: “Arizona has passed a law that turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from the registration rolls for certain federal elections.” (ABC)
Additional USA News
- In light of EPA court ruling, new focus on states’ power (WaPo, $)
- Alabama is using the case that ended Roe to argue it can ban gender-affirming care (NPR)
- ‘I’m terrified I might be here forever’: Brittney Griner pens handwritten letter to Biden (CNN)
- Despite rebukes, Trump’s legal brigade is thriving (Politico)
- Akron, Ohio, sets downtown curfew, cancels fireworks in wake of Jayland Walker protests (NBC)
- Climate change, abortion rights lead DC-area July Fourth protests (WaPo, $)
- Rihanna is now worth $1.4 billion–making her America’s youngest self-made billionaire woman (CNBC)
An Oil Painting
- Just Stop Oil (JSO) is a climate activist group in the U.K. that uses civil resistance in an effort to ensure the government commits to stopping new fossil fuel licensing and production. The group was formed by Roger Hallam, the mastermind behind Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain, which brought motorways and roads to a standstill 19 times between September and November 2021. JSO launched on February 4 and has been using its “oil terminal disruptions” across England since April 1. On Sunday, five JSO group members wearing orange T-shirts disrupted Formula 1’s British Grand Prix by marching in and sitting on the Silverstone racetrack.
- The next day, two climate activists glued themselves to a 200-year-old masterpiece at London’s National Gallery. The pair covered John Constable’s famous landscape painting “The Hay Wain” with a modified version of the image before sticking their hands to its frame. “The Hay Wain,” completed in 1821, is among Britain’s best-known artworks and is considered to be one of Constable’s quintessential paintings. It depicts the Stour River, which divides the English counties of Suffolk and Essex. In the protesters’ modified version, the river was replaced with a paved road, factory smokestacks in the background, and airplanes flying overhead. A video of the incident was posted to JSO’s Twitter account, and a voice can be heard telling onlookers that the “reimagined” version of the painting “shows the destructive nature of our addiction to oil.”
- Last week, JSO members glued themselves to the frames of paintings in London, Glasgow, and Manchester. One of them was Vincent van Gogh’s famous “Peach Trees in Blossom.” A JSO member had something to say about the group going around gluing. “Ultimately, new fossil fuels are a death project by our government,” he said, then added: “So yes, there is glue on the frame of this painting but there is blood on the hands of our government.” (The Times, CNN)
Additional Reads
- 2 women killed in shark attacks in Egypt’s Red Sea, officials say (ABC)
- Fields Medals in Mathematics Won by Four Under Age 40 (NYT, $)
- After 40 years of extinction, rhinos return to Mozambique (Reuters)
- Eiffel Tower riddled with rust and in need of repair, leaked reports say (Guardian)
- Scientists discover a new giant waterlily that was hiding in plain sight for 177 years (NBC)
- Shark attacks Long Island lifeguard playing role of a victim during training exercise (USA Today)