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Evolving overdose crisis shakes previously effective treatments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:25 GMT

By Taylor Sisk, KFF Health NewsBURLINGTON, Vt. — “You can’t inject a horse tranquilizer and think nothing bad is gonna happen” to you, said Ty Sears, 33, a longtime drug user now in recovery.Sears was referring to xylazine, a sedative used for animal surgeries that has infiltrated the illicit drug supply across the country, contributing to a steady climb in overdose deaths.Sears divides his time between Burlington and Morrisville, a village an hour to the east. In Burlington, he visits clusters of drug users, offering water, food, and encouragement.He has been there, been down, done time, struggled to adhere to treatment regimens. But this, he said, is different: first, fentanyl — estimated to be 50 to 100 times as potent as morphine — and now xylazine, and the life-threatening wounds and sores it can cause.Sears implores those he encounters who suffer the effects of these drugs to look at what they’re doing to themselves. But to little avail.“They say they’re unable to get out of i...

US targets banks’ billions of dollars in overdraft fees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:25 GMT

By Evan Weinberger and Paige Smith, Bloomberg NewsA top US consumer watchdog is preparing to make it much harder for banks to charge clients overdraft fees — setting up a clash with financial firms over billions of dollars in annual revenue.Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officials have privately told industry executives that the regulator will likely unveil its long-awaited plan to crack down in December, according to people familiar with the discussions. The CFPB has been crafting the regulations for months, and most of the details remain secret.Washington has been clamping down on overdraft charges, which the Biden administration has dubbed “junk fees.” The CFPB, which declined to comment on the timing of its plans, has said banks got nearly $8.5 billion in 2021 from insufficient fund and certain low-balance fees.Wells Fargo & Co. reached a $3.7 billion settlement with federal regulators in December to settle allegations it illegally charged “surprise” overdraft fees, am...

Momentum builds for psychedelic therapies for troops, vets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:25 GMT

Mark Satter | CQ-Roll Call (TNS)In 2004, Mike Gemignani enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school. A forward observer, he directed artillery units and Apache attack helicopters to their targets during his two tours in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division.He eventually left the military, went to college and settled into a job. But a slow trickle of anxiety and depression soon followed.He sought help through the Department of Veterans Affairs, where counselors prescribed him “fistfuls” of medication, including opioids and more drugs to counter their side effects. The drugs didn’t help his depression, and for days at a time he would do nothing, immobilized by the illness.Gemignani’s story is not uncommon for those who served in the military. But now, after years of effort, momentum is building in Congress to explore a new path for servicemembers and veterans struggling with psychological illnesses: psychedelics.Current legislative proposals include studies of the effectiv...

Lawmakers can ‘vote their conscience’ on expelling Santos, House speaker says, but he has concerns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:25 GMT

By KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Mike Johnson expressed reservations Wednesday about expelling Rep. George Santos from the House this week, but said he and other GOP leaders will not push colleagues to oppose removing the New York Republican from office. “We’re going to allow people to vote their conscience,” Johnson said.Santos has survived two previous expulsion efforts in his first year in Congress and has said he will not seek reelection, but the hands-off approach this time could tip the scales against him. Support for ousting Santos has grown after a monthslong investigation by the House Ethics Committee found that Santos “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.”Johnson, R-La., said he has heard Republican lawmakers make forceful arguments on both sides. Some have argued that Santos should have his day in court before an expulsion vote occurs; that ...

Last planned release of hostages in Gaza begins, as mediators aim to extend Israel-Hamas truce

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:25 GMT

By WAFAA SHURAFA, JACK JEFFERY and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated PressDEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — International mediators on Wednesday worked to extend the truce in Gaza, encouraging Hamas to keep freeing hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further relief from Israel’s air and ground offensive. The cease-fire will otherwise end within a day.Two Russian-Israeli women freed by Hamas entered Israel Wednesday evening, the military said. The release was expected to be followed by the swap of 10 more hostages in Gaza for 30 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.Israel has welcomed the release of dozens of hostages in recent days and says it will maintain the truce if Hamas keeps freeing captives. Still, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscored on Wednesday that Israel will resume its campaign to eliminate Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for 16 years and orchestrated the deadly attack on Israel that triggered the war. Hamas has been designated as a terr...

Families of American hostages in Gaza describe their anguish and call on US government for help

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The last Omer Neutra’s parents heard from him, he told them reassuringly that he anticipated a quiet weekend. But they checked the news anyway before getting ready for bed in New York, their nightly routine as parents of a tank commander in the Israeli military tasked with protecting small villages near the Gaza Strip. What they saw horrified them.“Of course, everything was wrong. Immediately, we understood that he’s right there,” his mother, Orna Neutra, said Wednesday of the brutal Oct. 7 rampage by Hamas that killed more than 1,200 civilians and soldiers and triggered a war in Gaza.They would later learn that their son, a dual Israeli-U.S. citizen, had been ambushed and pulled out of his tank. He was taken to Gaza, where he is believed to remain as a hostage more than 50 days later.The Neutras joined relatives of three other American hostages — including of newly freed 4-year-old Abigail Edan — in calling for the governments of Israel and the United ...

Arizona officials who refused to canvass election results indicted by grand jury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:25 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Officials in a rural Arizona county who delayed canvassing the 2022 general election results have been criminally charged, the state’s top prosecutor said Wednesday.A grand jury in Maricopa County Superior Court has indicted Cochise County supervisors Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby on one count each of conspiracy and interference of an election officer. “The repeated attempts to undermine our democracy are unacceptable,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement. “I took an oath to uphold the rule of law, and my office will continue to enforce Arizona’s elections laws and support our election officials as they carry out the duties and responsibilities of their offices.”Judd and Crosby did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In December 2022, Cochise County certified election results only after a judge ruled Crosby and Judd, both Republicans, were breaking the law by refusing to sign off on the vote count by the deadline. Crosby and Judd sai...

Thunder guard Josh Giddey being investigated by police on alleged relationship with underage girl

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:25 GMT

The Newport Beach, California, Police Department said Wednesday that its detectives are conducting an investigation into an accusation that Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey had an improper relationship with an underage girl.In a since-deleted post, an anonymous social media user last week said a girl who is seen with Giddey in videos and photographs was a high school junior at the time. The social media account has since been deactivated.Giddey, an Australian, turned 21 in October.The Newport Beach Police said in a news release that it is “actively seeking additional information related to these allegations and pursuing all leads and evidence to obtain the facts of the case.”The NBA said last week that it is investigating. Giddey has declined to comment, and coach Mark Daigneault had no comment before Tuesday’s game at Minnesota. The NBA and the Thunder did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.Giddey is averaging 12 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.5 a...

After concerns, Ottawa pauses work on $2-million contract for help on unmarked graves

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:25 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government has paused and plans to reworka $2-million contract with an international group hired to provide advice on identifying and locating the unmarked graves of children who attended residential schools. A spokesman for Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree says Ottawa has “heard the concerns raised by Indigenous partners” about the contract with the International Commission on Missing Persons. “We are working to determine a path forward,” said a written statement from Matthieu Perrotin. Ottawa signed a technical agreement with the Netherlands-based commission in February, in which it is slated to work with Indigenous communities.First Nations across Western Canada and parts of Ontario have used ground-penetrating radar technology to try locating possible graves at former residential schools.The searches began in earnest after Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation announced in May 2021 that the technology had helped t...

Sands casino family say they’ll buy majority of Mavs from Cuban. AP source says valuation is $3.5B

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:17:25 GMT

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has entered into an agreement to sell a majority stake in the NBA franchise to the family that runs the Las Vegas Sands casino company, it was announced Wednesday. The deal could be completed in the coming weeks.The agreement would be in the valuation range of $3.5 billion, according to a person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because that detail was not being made public. Cuban would retain control of basketball operations in the deal.The company controlled by Miriam Adelson, widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, announced earlier Tuesday it was selling $2 billion of her shares to buy an unspecified professional sports team. It revealed Wednesday that the team was the Mavericks.“The families are targeting a closing of the transaction by year-end, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and approval of the NBA Board of Governors,” said the statement released by the Adelson and Dumont families.Patric...