[BBC] Justices reject plan to shield Sacklers in Purdue opioid deal.
The US Supreme Court has struck down a part of the bankruptcy deal for Purdue Pharma that would have shielded members of the Sackler family from future lawsuits over their role in fuelling the opioid crisis.
The Sacklers, who owned and operated the Oxycontin-maker for decades, had agreed to pay $6bn (£4.7bn) towards a wider settlement in exchange for sweeping protections against civil claims related to the addictive opioid.
But the nation's top court ruled that granting such protections to the Sacklers, who did not themselves declare bankruptcy was not authorised under law.
Sackler family members said they would continue to push for a settlement, warning that the alternative was "costly and chaotic legal proceedings in courtrooms across the country".
The ruling is a victory for the US government and others who had challenged the deal, arguing that releasing the Sacklers was a misuse of the system.
But it raises major questions about the future of the agreement, which had won significant, if mixed, support from many who sued the company and saw it as the only practical way to reach the family's billions for drug treatment and other uses.
Ellen Isaacs, whose son Patrick Ryan Wroblewski died of an overdose in 2018 at the age of 33, was one of the family members who had opposed the shield for the Sacklers.
She said she was not sure what came next, but was hopeful that justice would be done.
"I'd like to see them held fully accountable," she said. "I'm just so grateful to the Supreme Court right now I can't get beyond that."
Purdue became a household name in the US as the maker and promoter of OxyContin - a prescription painkiller it promoted as safe, despite being aware it was both highly addictive and widely abused.
The company declared bankruptcy in 2019, after it was hit by thousands of lawsuits brought by states, cities and families. It later pleaded guilty to criminal charges, including defrauding health agencies and making illegal payments to doctors.
The kind of shield granted to the Sacklers in this deal has been a critical feature of other high-profile settlements, including those involving Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Church.
But courts have been divided as to whether such "releases" from liability for third parties like the Sacklers are actually permitted.
In asking the Supreme Court to take up the issue, lawyers for the US government said letting it stand "would leave in place a roadmap for wealthy corporations and individuals to misuse the bankruptcy system" and escape accountability.
Writing for the 5-4 majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch echoed those concerns.
"The Sacklers have not agreed to place anything approaching their full assets on the table for opioid victims, " he wrote. "Yet they seek a judicial order that would extinguish virtually all claims against them for fraud, willful injury, and even wrongful death, all without the consent of those who have brought and seek to bring such claims."
The court noted that the Sacklers, who have long denied wrongdoing, "seek to pay less than the code ordinarily requires and receive more than it normally permits".
Oxycontin, often an entryway into harder drugs, such as heroin, has been blamed for driving the opioid crisis.
Since 1999, a few years after the drug became available, deaths from opioid overdoses have surged eightfold to more than 80,000 annually.
Court filings allege the Sackler family was long aware of the legal risks, and withdrew some $11bn from the company in the decade before its bankruptcy. They stashed much of the money overseas, making recovery difficult.
When the Supreme Court heard arguments last year, dozens of protesters opposing the deal showed up, holding signs such as "my dead son does not release the Sacklers".
But many others had backed the deal, willing to accept the terms if the result was billions of dollars for treatment, as well as $750m that would go directly to opioid victims, estimated at $3,500-$48,000 each.
In his dissent, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the settlement had been a "shining example" of the bankruptcy system at work.
"Today’s decision is wrong on the law and devastating for more than 100,000 opioid victims and their families," he wrote, warning that it would restrict the ability of bankruptcy courts to "fashion fair and equitable relief".
Purdue called Thursday's decision "heart crushing" and said that it would immediately reach back out to restart negotiations.
Abbe Gluck, a professor at Yale Law School, said the justices had been under a "lot of pressure not to stop this money from flowing to victims".
But she said the dispute had served as a "test case" for wider legal issues, as more firms look to bankruptcy courts - which have unusual power to centralise lawsuits and compel settlement- to resolve claims of mass wrongs.
She said the decision was a warning against that trend.
"The court is sending a signal of caution I think that should have an impact on other pending cases," she said, adding that the ruling did leave open the possibility that bankruptcy courts could grant legal protections to third parties like the Sacklers, if consent were achieved.
Cheryl Juaire, the mother of two sons who died of opioid overdoses, who had helped negotiate the agreement as a member of the creditors' committee, said the prospect of further negotiations was "a complete nightmare".
"There's no win-win here. If the Sacklers go to jail, that would be justice for a lot of people but it wouldn't save lives," Ms Juaire said.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Surveillance footage outside a downtown Dallas bar caught the shocking moment a random man smacked a patron over the back of his head with a large stick before fleeing.
In the footage, an unidentified man could be seen stopping in front of an outdoor section of City Tavern just before 2am on Saturday and raising a large stick like a baseball bat.
He then slammed it into the back of a man's head, causing the victim to topple over.
The victim, later identified as Adam Mercado, could then be seen grabbing his head and rolling over in a fetal position.
Mercado's girlfriend, Taylor Monnet, immediately rushes over to check on him - then runs back into the bar to call for help, as the assailant punched a City Tavern employee in the face and makes his escape.
Dallas police are now searching for the suspect, but say they only have the security footage to work with, according to WFAA.
He has said he and Monnet went out to City Tavern to meet up with friends for last call on Saturday morning, when he first spotted the suspect.
'I noticed a man standing off to the side of the entrance, watching the patrons on the patio, holding a tree branch that had been whittled into a spear at one end,' he wrote in an online fundraiser for his medical bills.
He said he immediately knew something was wrong.
'Initially, my senses were going crazy, my intuition was going crazy, so I said, "You know what, let's go inside and get a drink,"' he told NBC DFW.
The couple eventually decided to head home just before 2am - and when they stepped out onto the patio, 'That's when I felt it,' Mercado said.
'I let my guard down for about 10 seconds and that's all it took - just a WHACK.'
'The sound was loud enough to almost be a gunshot,' he noted. 'That's what scared me.'
[FoxNews] Texas police are searching for a homicide suspect after two people were reportedly killed in a Chick-fil-A restaurant on Wednesday afternoon.
Irving Police Department announced that Bernardo Mendoza Argueta, 37, is suspected of shooting at least two people in the 5300 block of North MacArthur Blvd in Irving, Texas. According to FOX 4 Dallas, the location was a Chick-fil-A restaurant.
Authorities confirmed the shooting in a statement to Fox News Digital. In a statement, an Irving Police Department spokesperson explained that officers were alerted to the situation at around 3:50 p.m. on Wednesday.
"When officers arrived on the scene, they found two individuals with gunshot wounds," the spokesperson said. "Both individuals were pronounced deceased at the scene by Irving Fire medics."
"The suspect fled before the officers' arrival," the official added.
At this stage in the investigation, police believe the shooting was targeted.
The suspect has been identified as Bernardo Mendoza Argueta, 37.
Locals are being asked to look out for a silver 1997 Honda vehicle with a Texas license plate reading GVH6205. Police warn that the suspect may still be armed, and residents are asked to contact 911 immediately if they see him.
#8
^ Illegal The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has placed a detainer on Argueta, requesting custody of him if he is released from Irving Police Department custody at any time. It is unclear how or when Argueta first arrived in the United States from El Salvador.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/27/2024 18:17 Comments ||
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[NYPOST] The accused mass shooter who is charged with gunning down seven people during the 2022 Highland Park Fourth of July parade rejected a plea deal on Wednesday in front of shocked survivors and family members.
Robert Crimo III, 23, had initially agreed to plead guilty to seven murder counts and 48 other charges in exchange for life in prison.
However,
some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... at the last minute, Crimo abruptly backed out of the deal, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The 23-year-old, appeared in a wheel chair, sporting a "47" facial tattoo, which experts previously speculated could be the date of the mass shooting (7/4) in reverse.
Crimo, who was indicted on more than 100 felony counts after opening fire on a crowd of parade goers in the upscale reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown ...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel... suburb, was silent in court after deputies brought him in on a wheelchair.
When he was asked about the plea deal, Crimo remained quiet, with his attorneys asking for a recess to discuss the deal.
After Crimo and his defense team returned, the suspected mass murderer simply said, "No," to the plea deal, with the judge setting his trial for February 25, 2025.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A woman who was reprimanded by NYPD cops for allegedly fare evasion and vaping at a subway stop was seen throwing an epic tantrum when police asked for her ID.
The irate passenger was filmed screaming at the officers and even appeared to attempt to slap one of their hands away during the tense standoff.
The clip begins midway through the confrontation, with the woman staring open mouthed as police try to talk to her at what is believed to be a stop in Brooklyn.
'I don't have ID,' she tells them, while clutching what appears to be a $2,000 Goyard bag.
As the officer continues talking to her, she begins raising her voice and getting more worked up. Stamping her tiny feet
#2
Haven't have any issues with my 2018, except for strange shift patterns going uphill in towing mode. So I turned off towing mode.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
06/27/2024 7:49 Comments ||
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#3
This is a 'Blanket' recall and doesn't affect all the vehicles produced. They just expanded the original 2011-2013 to the 2014 model year for the recall issued in 2016 for the transmission solenoid valve assembly. Only affects certain assembly dates from two plants.
Total number of vehicles affected for 2014 will run around 5,000.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
06/27/2024 8:23 Comments ||
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#4
Same people who frantically screech Boeing Boeing Boeing don't want to hear that a lot of people think Ford = junk.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/27/2024 8:41 Comments ||
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#5
..yes, but when the trunk conks out it doesn't drop 24,000 feet.
#7
Seeking Cure For Ignorance the first truck I owned was a 1951 Ford F1 with the flathead V-8. I bought it in 1976. Great truck. I've owned Chevrolets and Fords since then and currently own a 1996 Dodge 2500 that I bought new. It still runs great. I've found as long as they are maintained they generally work very well.
#8
Our 2013 F-150 CrewCab already had the trans recall work done, no issues since. Somehow I think the Burg Hard Hit note is accurate.
In our neck of the woods, rural Carson Valley Nevada, my sense is more than half the locals have either a Pick-Up truck or SUV or both like us, a fit for the horses and cattle throughout most of the valley.
[AFRICANEWS] Nigeria is one of the world’s top plastic polluters, generating over 2.5 million tons of plastic waste annually.
The need for a more comprehensive waste collection system and limited recycling facilities means that over 70 per cent of it ends up in the sea or in landfills.
Now, Nigeria has become the latest African country to join the fight against the global plastic crisis by banning single-use plastics, notably straws, cutlery, plastic bottles, and water sachets.
Research this year by the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... Environment Programme (UNEP) found that an estimated 50-60 million used water sachets are thrown onto the street every day in Lagos alone.
Initially the ban will be implemented in all national ministries, departments, and agencies — with the environment ministry stressing the need to lead by example - but it is due to be rolled out nationwide from January next year.
Most single-use plastics and packaging are produced from fossil fuels and the production process emits vast amounts of greenhouse gases that drive climate change.
However,
ars longa, vita brevis... despite the environmental benefits, the ban is drawing criticism in Nigeria which is hugely dependent on plastics.
The government is also drafting a new plastic use policy that will target a phased approach to eliminating plastic waste.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/27/2024 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11129 views]
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#1
Great! Now Nigeria is turning into Washington State. Next thing you know, they will take perfectly good boats out of service to convert to electric power.
[Hill] Bolivian President Luis Arce survived a coup attempt Wednesday after a group of army soldiers withdrew from La Paz’s main square, which they had occupied for about three hours.
Bolivian TV showed Arce waving to cheering crowds in Plaza Murillo after the troops, led by General Juan José Zúñiga, retreated from the area.
Arce was prepared to address the crowd, but the megaphone he was handed malfunctioned; he moved to a balcony overlooking the square to deliver his speech with a different public address system.
The coup attempt began Wednesday afternoon, as Zúñiga led a contingent of soldiers to the square, ramming the doors of Palacio Quemado, the country’s former seat of government, with an armored vehicle.
Zúñiga and some troops entered the building momentarily but later withdrew, though soldiers remained in control of the square.
Arce was presumably in a neighboring building, Casa Grande del Pueblo, the current seat of executive power.
Hours later, Arce gave his first TV address from Casa Grande, confirming the coup attempt.
Foreign leaders, including Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Luis Almagro, sent Arce messages of support during the coup.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla called the reports "very worrying" and expressed his solidarity with Arce; Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro denounced the coup in a TV address.
Soldiers briefly used riot gas to confront the protesters, but no casualties have been reported.
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales, who led the country from 2006 to 2019, took to X to warn of military movements shortly before the coup attempt, calling the deployments "suspicious."
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/27/2024 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11134 views]
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#1
The CIA again. Gosh, if the Bolivians want socialism let them have it good and hard. They can serve as a warning to the whole region.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Bolivian military launched an assault to take control of the building of the Bolivian Government Palace in La Paz, Telesur TV channel reported on June 26.
According to journalists, the soldiers managed to enter the building. They also drove an armored vehicle into the territory of the presidential palace.
The former commander of the national army, General Juan José Zúñiga, issued a statement to “take back” Bolivia.
As Regnum reported, in October 2019, protests broke out in Bolivia, which ended in a coup. After this, the former president of the republic, Evo Morales, was forced to leave the country. The new Bolivian government that came to power began criminal prosecution of the politician.
However, a year later, Luis Arce, a party ally of Morales, was elected as the new president of Bolivia. In March 2021, the country's authorities arrested Jeanine Áñez, who served as the acting president of the republic after the coup. In June 2022, she was sentenced to ten years in prison for failure to perform the duties of a senator and “making decisions contrary to the constitution.
[DW] Germany's population grew slightly less rapidly between 2011 and 2022 than previously assumed. While it did increase, a census found the country had fewer people than had been assumed.
Germany's population was 82.7 million in a census published on Tuesday, with 1.4 million fewer residents than previously assumed.
The shortfall was particularly marked when it came to the foreign population, the country's Federal Statistical Office announced.
WOMEN OUTNUMBER MEN
The figures reveal that the population grew by around 2.5 million between the 2011 census and the 2022 census — less than had been expected.
The census determines the population figures of all 10,786 municipalities in Germany. In 56% of those, there were at least one percent fewer people living when the census took place on May 15, 2022.
The deviation was particularly marked for Cologne ...the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth populated city in Germany.... , where 5.6% fewer people than assumed were living when the census took place.
According to the 2022 census, there are significantly more women (42.05 million) than men (40.72 million) living in Germany.
Meanwhile the census suggests 43.1 million apartments are available to people — with an average of 94.4 square meters.
The basic rent is €7.28 (roughly $7.8) per square meter; with people living cheapest in Saxony-Anhalt at €5.38 and most expensive in Hamburg at €9.16.
FEWER FOREIGNERS THAN EXPECTED
The statistics counted 71.8 million citizens with German citizenship and 10.9 million foreigners. Meanwhile,
...back at the precinct house, Sergeant Maloney wasn't buying it. It was just too pat. The whole thing smelled phony, kind of like a dead mackeral but without the scales... 18.14 million people in Germany had a migration history.
The foreign population is about a million fewer than previously reported.
The President of the Bavarian State Office for Statistics, Thomas Gössl, said one theory for the shortfall was that some foreigners may not have deregistered in Germany before moving back abroad to spend their retirement. He also cited a high level of mobility in refugee movements.
The cut-off date for the new census data is shortly after Russia's attack on Ukraine, which triggered a large refugee movement.
#4
There were a lot of Russians and Ukrainians who went to Germany after the 2014 Russian takeover of Crimea and parts of other provinces.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
06/27/2024 13:56 Comments ||
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#5
some foreigners may not have deregistered in Germany before moving back abroad to spend their retirement. He also cited a high level of mobility in refugee movements.
My dear DW - that sounds like islamophobic hate speech. Please do not leave your location, state officials are in route, and your site will be reviewed for deplatforming.
[Gateway] In a stunning 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Biden Administration’s policy of deleting, suppressing, and deplatforming specific people, topics, and ideas is immune from suit, leaving no one able to challenge it in court.
The ruling, written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, came down with the following key decision: "Neither the individual nor the state plaintiffs have established Article III standing to seek an injunction against any defendant."
In sum, the court rules that the two different types of parties, states, and individuals harmed by these government policies, do not have ’standing’ to sue. This case procedurally related to the request for a preliminary injunction for the government to stop the censorship regime while the case was going on.
This decision will make the trial court action in this case more difficult but, insiders say, not impossible. "It’s a horrible decision, but the underlying case at the lower court marches forward. The Gateway Pundit is dedicated to fighting the government for the free speech rights of everyone, we are committed to ultimate victory," said John Burns, General Counsel for the Gateway Pundit.
#4
Procop, the simple (simplistic?) answer is the one that goes something like...
"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
If the legal protections of the Constitution are inadequate, the fall back is the Declaration of Independence
I blame MAGA republicans...
[Regnum] The attaché of the US embassy in Ukraine was found dead in Kiev. His body was found in the Kiev Hilton Hotel. This was reported by the publication "Strana.ua" with reference to sources in law enforcement agencies.
The interlocutor clarified that the body of the American diplomat was found around 23:00 (which coincides with Moscow time) on June 25. It is noted that law enforcement officers did not find any signs of violence on the body.
According to the publication's source, the man arrived in Ukraine on June 15. According to medical records provided by the US Embassy, he suffered from high cholesterol.
The interlocutor did not provide any other details. The name of the attaché is also not indicated.
As Regnum reported, on June 26, the French Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Jean-François Pactet, was found dead at his residence in Colombo. The cause of death of the 53-year-old diplomat was not specified. This will be determined by the examination. He is believed to have died due to cardiac arrest.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[NYPOST] The accused mass shooter who is charged with gunning down seven people during the 2022 
...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel...
[Hill] Bolivian President Luis Arce survived a coup attempt Wednesday after a group of army soldiers withdrew from La Paz’s main square, which they had occupied for about three hours.
...the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth populated city in Germany....
[Gateway] In a stunning 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Biden Administration’s policy of deleting, suppressing, and deplatforming specific people, topics, and ideas is immune from suit, leaving no one able to challenge it in court.
