(ATLANTA) — A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found a significant increase in opioid overdose death rates among Black and American Indian/Alaskan Natives people in the US.
Experts from the CDC said that a lack of education about lethal drugs, as well as limited access to treatment and treatment biases have exacerbated racial and ethnic disparities in drug overdoses.
The latest report found 91,799 recorded opioid overdoses in 2020, which was a 30% increase from 2019.
According to the report, Black Americans saw a 44% increase and American Indian/Alaskan Natives had a 39% increase from 2019 to 2020.
Comparatively, white Americans saw an increase of 22% from 2019 to 2020.
The largest increase was seen among Black individuals aged 15 to 24, whose overdose death rates jumped 86% from 2019 to 2020.
For Black males aged 65 years and older, overdoses were nearly seven times that of non-Hispanic white males aged 65 years and older.
For American Indian/Alaskan Native women aged 25 to 44, overdose death rates were nearly twice of white women in the same age group, the CDC said.
Debra E. Houry, acting principal deputy director of the CDC, said in a Tuesday press conference that the disproportionate increase in overdose death rates within these two groups may be contributed to health inequities, such as unequal access to substance abuse treatment and treatment biases.
The report found that drug overdose death rates increased with higher county-level income inequality, particularly among Black people.
The CDC data showed the rate of overdose deaths to be more than twice as high in areas with the highest income inequality than in areas with the lowest income inequality.
According to the report, increased stigmatization, criminalization and lack of access to evidence-based treatments among minorities with substance use disorder have been “well-documented.”
Houry said by addressing systemic factors, such as a lack of awareness of lethal drugs and the limited access to treatment, recovery services and harm reduction actions that are “known to work,” could help end disparities in drug overdose deaths across the country.
“Health disparities can be prevented and all of society benefits,” Houry said at Tuesday’s conference.
Priyanka Chopra loves spending time with her husband, Nick Jonas, but there is one place she will never follow him into — a recording studio.
Speaking with Variety, the White Tiger star made it clear she and Nick will never sing a song together. “I love working with Nick so you’ll see things happen as the years unfold,” she hinted. “But I’ll never sing with him.”
When reminded of her own musical abilities, as she is also an award-winning singer, Priyanka maintained, “Not like him! No chance. He’s a musical prodigy.”
While fans’ hopes of a romantic duet have been dashed — at least for now — the actress said that doesn’t mean she isn’t open to having Nick as her co-star one day.
“We’re definitely developing a bunch of TV and film stuff together,” she offered.
Other than singing and acting, the couple has just partnered with the luxury fashion line, Perfect Moment, which specializes in surfing and skiing sportswear.
The Quantico actress credits her husband for getting her hooked on skiing, saying she “never tried” it until they met. The Jonas Brothers singer, she says, is “an avid snowboarder.”
“I came to the quick conclusion that I’m more an après-ski girl, rather than skiing. I gave up on the bunny slope. My husband did buy me a snowmobile so I could keep up with him,” she laughed. That exposed her to clothing made by Perfect Moment. When she and Nick met the owners, they signed on as partners.
As for what she and Nick plan to do with their Perfect Moment partnership, Priyanka floated the idea of the two “doing a capsule collection or something,” saying they have already “discussed” the possibility.
Christopher & Toni Cornell; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Toni Cornell, the daughter of the late Chris Cornell, has shared home video footage to celebrate what would’ve been her father’s 58th birthday.
The clip, which was posted to Toni’s Instagram, shows the Soundgarden frontman singing Eminem‘s“Not Afraid” and “Love the Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna along with Toni and her younger brother, Christopher.
In a caption accompanying the video, Toni and Christopher write a message to their father, reading, “You were always playing music for us, singing with us, dancing with us.”
“Losing you was one of the hardest things we had to go through,” the Cornell children write. “They say it gets easier with time, but as the days and years go by, and since we last saw you, we are missing you even more.”
They add, “Happy Birthday to the greatest dad and most incredible human whose life continues to leave an incredible mark on everyone he touches.”
Chris Cornell died by suicide on May 18, 2017 at age 52. Eerily, Linkin Park‘s Chester Bennington, who had become friends with Cornell, also died by suicide on July 20, 2017, which would’ve been Chris’ 53rd birthday.
If you are in crisis or know someone in crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or by visiting 988lifeline.org. You can also contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
The Smile has premiered the video for “Pana-Vision,” a track off the Radiohead side project’s debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention.
The clip stars actor Cillian Murphy as his character Tommy Shelby from the British TV crime drama Peaky Blinders. “Pana-Vision” was previously featured in the Peaky Blinders series finale, which aired earlier this year.
You can watch the “Pana-Vision” video streaming now on YouTube.
The Smile features Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood as well as drummer Tom Skinner of the band Sons of Kemet. The trio released A Light for Attracting Attention in May and will launch their first U.S. tour in November.
(UVALDE, Texas) — The Uvalde, Texas, school board will meet in a special session Saturday to consider the recommendation to fire Police Chief Pete Arredondo for cause following widespread criticism of how he handled the response to the May school shooting.
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District has recommended Arredondo be fired.
Arredondo is currently on leave while an investigation into the conduct of law enforcement at the shooting on May 24 takes place. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
The discussion will occur in a closed session, but, legally, a determination to fire him would have to be publicly announced.
Despite the Uvalde school district’s active shooter plan calling for its police chief to assume command in the event of a shooting, Arredondo allegedly failed to take on the role of incident commander or transfer the responsibility to another officer on scene during the May 24 attack, according to a report issued this week by a joint committee of the Texas Legislature.
“The Uvalde CISD’s written active shooter plan directed its police chief to assume command and control the response to an active shooter,” according to the report.
Last month, Arredondo told The Texas Tribune he did not consider himself the commanding officer on the scene.
He also said that no one told him about the 911 calls that came in from students who were still alive in the classrooms during the 77 minutes before law enforcement breached a classroom door and killed the 18-year-old gunman.
“We responded to the information that we had and had to adjust to whatever we faced,” Arredondo said. “Our objective was to save as many lives as we could, and the extraction of the students from the classrooms by all that were involved saved over 500 of our Uvalde students and teachers before we gained access to the shooter and eliminated the threat.”
At an open forum hosted by the Uvalde school board Monday, parents and community members called on officials to fire Arredondo immediately, with some also calling for the firing of other members of Uvalde’s school district police force who were present during the shooting.
Denzel Washingtonpaid tribute to the late Jackie Robinson, the former Brooklyn Dodger who broke baseball’s color line, during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at LA’s Dodger Stadium Tuesday night. This year marks 75 years since Robinson joined the Dodgers in 1947 and became the first Black player in Major League history.
“When Jackie Robinson stepped onto a Major League Baseball field for the first time, armed with supreme talent and unshakable character and wearing a Dodgers uniform, he changed the game of baseball and so much more,” Washington told the sold-out crowd.
Denzel wore Jackie’s iconic number 42, which was retired for all Major League Baseball teams in 1997, becoming the first jersey in professional sports to receive that honor.
“Beyond the field, Jackie Robinson challenged us to become better versions of ourselves,” Washington continued. “Business leader, family man, activist, Hall of Famer. He said that life is not a spectator sport, and he lived that motto to the fullest. Number 42 blazed a trail that would light the way for people from every walk of life and every color and to this very day…that profound impact looms just as large today as it did 75 years ago.”
Robinson was a seven-time All-Star, Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, batting champion and World Series champion. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984.
Tuesday also marked the 100th birthday of his widow, Rachel Robinson. Dodgers All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts led the crowd in wishing her a “Happy Birthday.”
The American League won 3-2 in the All-Star Game, and New York Yankee Giancarlo Stanton won the MVP Award.
(WASHINGTON) — Steve Bannon, who served as former President Donald Trump’s chief strategist before departing the White House in August 2017, is on trial for defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Bannon was subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 panel for records and testimony in September of last year, with the committee telling him it had “reason to believe that you have information relevant to understanding activities that led to and informed the events at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
After the House of Representatives voted to hold him in contempt for defying the subpoena, the Justice Department in November charged Bannon with two counts of criminal contempt of Congress, setting up this week’s trial.
Here is how the news is developing. All times are Eastern:
Jul 20, 11:17 AM EDT
Jan. 6 staffer says panel ‘rejected the basis’ for Bannon’s privilege claim
Kristin Amerling, a senior staffer on the House Jan. 6 committee, returned to the stand to continue her testimony from Tuesday. She testified that Bannon was clearly informed that any claims of privilege were rejected by the committee, and that his non-compliance “would force” the committee to refer the matter to the Justice Department for prosecution.
She said the subpoena issued to Bannon indicated he was “required to produce” records encompassing 17 specific categories, including records related to the Jan. 6 rally near the White House, his communications with Trump allies and several right-wing groups, his communications with Republican lawmakers, and information related to his “War Room” podcast.
The committee was seeking to understand “the relationships or potential relationships between different individuals and organizations that played a role in Jan. 6,” Amerling said. “We wanted to ask him what he knew.”
Asked by prosecutor Amanda Vaughn if Bannon provided any records to the committee by the deadline of 10 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2021, Amerling replied, “He did not.”
“Did the committee get anything more than radio silence by 10 a.m. on Oct. 7?” Vaughn asked.
“No,” said Amerling.
Amerling said that in a correspondence she received that day at about 5 p.m. — after the deadline had passed — Bannon’s attorney at the time, Robert Costello, claimed that Trump had “announced his intention to assert” executive privilege, which Costello said at the time rendered Bannon “unable to respond” to the subpoena “until these issues are resolved.”
But the next day, Amerling recalled on the stand, she sent Costello a letter from Jan. 6 committee chairman Bennie Thompson, “explaining that the committee rejected the basis that he had offered for refusing to comply.”
“Did the letter also tell the defendant he still had to comply?” Vaughn asked Amerling.
“Yes, it did.” Amerling said.
“Did the letter warn the defendant what might happen if he failed to comply with the subpoena?” Vaughn asked.
“Yes, it did,” said Amerling.
The letter was “establishing a clear record of the committee’s views, making sure the defendant was aware of that,” Amerling testified.
Jul 20, 10:06 AM EDT
Judge won’t let trial become ‘political circus,’ he says
Federal prosecutors in Steve Bannon’s contempt trial raised concerns with the judge that Bannon’s team has been suggesting to the jury that this is a “politically motivated prosecution” before the second day of testimony got underway Wednesday morning.
Before the jury was brought in, prosecutor Amanda Vaughn asked U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols to make sure the jury “doesn’t hear one more word about this case being” politically motivated, after she said the defense’s opening statement Tuesday had “clear implications” that the defense was making that claim.
Nichols had barred such arguments from the trial.
In response, defense attorney Evan Corcoran defended his opening statement, saying it “was clearly on the line.”
Nichols then made it clear that during trial, the defense team may ask witnesses questions about whether they themselves may be biased — “but may not ask questions about whether someone else was biased in an action they took outside this courtroom.”
“I do not intend for this to become a political case, a political circus,” Nichols said.
Speaking to reporters after the first full day in court, Bannon blasted members of the Jan. 6 committee and House Democrats for not showing up as witnesses in his trial.
“Where is Bennie Thompson?” asked Bannon regarding the Jan. 6 committee chairman. “He’s made it a crime, not a civil charge … have the guts and the courage to show up here and say exactly why it’s a crime.”
“I will promise you one thing when the Republicans that are sweeping to victory on Nov. 8 — starting in January, you’re going to get a real committee,” Bannon said. “We’re going to get a real committee with a ranking member who will be a Democrat … and this will be run
appropriately and the American people will get the full story.”
The first witness for the prosecution, Kristin Amerling of the Jan. 6 committee, testified that a subpoena is not voluntary.
Amerling, the Jan. 6 panel’s deputy staff director and chief counsel, read aloud the congressional resolution creating the committee and explained that the committee’s role is to recommend “corrective measures” to prevent future attacks like the one on Jan. 6.
“Is a subpoena voluntary in any way?” asked prosecutor Amanda Vaughn.
“No,” Amerling replied.
Amerling also discussed how important it is to get information in a timely manner because the committee’s authority runs out at the end of the year. “There is an urgency to the focus of the Select Committee’s work … we have a limited amount of time in which to gather information,” she said.
Amerling noted that Bannon was subpoenaed pretty early on in the committee’s investigation.
She said the committee subpoenaed Bannon in particular because public accounts indicated that Bannon tried to persuade the public that the 2020 election was “illegitimate”; that on his podcast the day before Jan. 6 he made statements “including that all hell was going to break loose, that suggested he might have some advance knowledge of the events of Jan. 6”; that he was involved in discussions with White House officials, including Trump himself, relating to “strategies surrounding the events of Jan. 6”; and that he had been involved in discussions in the days leading up to Jan. 6 with “private parties who had gathered in the Willard hotel in Washington, D.C., reportedly to discuss strategies around efforts to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power or overturning the election results.”
“Is that something that would have been relevant to the committee’s investigation?” Vaughn asked.
“Yes, because the Select Committee was tasked with trying to understand what happened on Jan. 6, and why,” Amerling replied.
Amerling will be back on the stand Wednesday morning when the trial resumes.
Jul 19, 3:55 PM EDT
Defense tells jury ‘there was no ignoring the subpoena’
Bannon’s defense attorney Matt “Evan” Corcoran said in his opening statement that “no one ignored the subpoena” issued to Bannon, and that “there was direct engagement by Bob Costello,” Bannon’s attorney, with the House committee, specifically committee staffer Kristin Amerling.
He said Costello “immediately” communicated to the committee that there was an objection to the subpoena, “and that Steve Bannon could not appear and that he could not provide documents.”
“So there was no ignoring the subpoena,” Corcoran said. What followed was “a considerable back and forth” between Amerling and Costello — “they did what two lawyers do, they negotiated.”
Corcoran said, “the government wants you to believe … that Mr. Bannon committed a crime by not showing up to a congressional hearing room … but the evidence is going to be crystal clear no one, no one believed Mr. Bannon was going to appear on Oct. 14, 2021,” and the reasons he couldn’t appear had been articulated to the committee.
Corcoran told the jury that the government has to prove beyond a reasonable that Steve Bannon willfully defaulted when he didn’t appear for the deposition on Oct. 14, 2021 — “but you’ll find from the evidence that that date on the subpoena was the subject of ongoing discussions” and it was not “fixed.”
In addition, Corcoran told jurors, you will hear that “almost every single one” of the witnesses subpoenaed led to negotiations between committee staff and lawyers, and often the appearance would be at a later date than what was on the subpoena.
Corcoran also argued that the prosecution may have been infected by politics, telling the jury that with each document or each statement provided at trial, they should ask themselves: “Is this piece of evidence affected by politics?”
Jul 19, 3:31 PM EDT
Prosecutors say Bannon’s failure to comply was deliberate
Continuing her opening statement, federal prosecutor Amanda Vaughn told the jury that the subpoena to Bannon directed him to provide documents by the morning of Oct. 7, 2021, and to appear for a deposition the morning of Oct. 14, 2021 — but instead he had an attorney, Robert Costello, send a letter to the committee informing the committee that he would not comply “in any way,” she said.
“The excuse the defendant gave for not complying” was the claim that “a privilege” meant he didn’t have to turn over certain information, Vaughn said. “[But] it’s not up to the defendant or anyone else to decide if he can ignore the [request] based on a privilege, it’s up to the committee.”
And, said Vaughn, the committee clearly told Bannon that “your privilege does not get you out of this one, you have to provide documents, and you have to come to your deposition.” And importantly, she said, the committee told Bannon that “a refusal to comply” could result in criminal prosecution.
“You will see, the defendant’s failure to comply was deliberate here,” Vaughn told the jury. “The only verdict that is supported by the evidence here: that the defendant showed his contempt for the U.S. Congress, and that he’s guilty.”
Federal prosecutor Amanda Vaughn began opening statements by saying, “In September of last year, Congress needed information from the defendant, Steve Bannon. … Congress needed to know what the defendant knew about the events of Jan. 6, 2021. … Congress had gotten information that the defendant might have some details about the events leading up to that day and what occurred that day.”
So, Vaughn told the jury, Congress gave Bannon a subpoena “that mandated” he provide any information he might have.
“Congress was entitled to the information it sought, it wasn’t optional,” Vaughn said. “But as you will learn in this trial, the defendant refused to hand over the information he might have.”
Vaughn said Bannon ignored “multiple warnings” that he could face criminal prosecution for refusing to comply with the subpoena and for preventing the government from getting “important information.”
“The defendant decided he was above the law and decided he didn’t need to follow the government’s orders,” she said.
Jul 19, 2:51 PM EDT
Judge instructs jury of the burden of proof
Prior to opening statements, the judge made clear to the jury that the Justice Department has the burden to prove four distinct elements “beyond a reasonable doubt”:
(1) that Bannon was in fact subpoenaed for testimony and/or documents;
(2) that the testimony and/or documents were “pertinent” to the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation;
(3) that Bannon “failed to comply or refused to comply” with the subpoena;
(4) that the “failure or refusal to comply was willful.”
Jul 19, 2:44 PM EDT
Jury sworn in after judge denies continuance
A 14-member jury has been sworn in for the contempt trial of ex-Trump strategist Steve Bannon.
Of the 14 jurors, nine are men and five are women.
The swearing-in of the jury comes after U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols denied the defense’s request for a one-month delay of the trial, which attorneys for Bannon argued was necessary due to a “seismic shift in the understanding of the parties” of what the government’s evidence will be.
“We have a jury that is just about picked,” Nichols said in denying the request for a one-month continuance.
One of the jurors, a man who works for an appliance company, said Monday during jury selection that he watched the first Jan. 6 committee hearing and believes the committee is “trying to find the truth about what happened” on Jan. 6.
Another juror, a man who works as a maintenance manager for the Washington, D.C., Parks and Recreation department, said he believes what happened on Jan. 6 “doesn’t make sense.”
Another juror, a woman who works as a photographer for NASA, said “a lot” of her “photographer friends were at the Capitol” on Jan. 6, and she has watched some of the Jan. 6 hearings on the news.
Lady Whistledown is sharpening her quills as Bridgerton‘s third season is now underway. The cast of the hit Netflix show dropped the news in a video that shows Luke Newton, Jonathan Bailey, Nicola Coughlan, Golda Rosheuvel and other stars flashing a peace sign and then adding a finger to mark the number “three.”
The third season of the Netflix hit will focus on the love story between Coughlan’s Penelope Featherington and Newton’s Colin Bridgerton, so it’s appropriate they bring the teaser to a close.
Newton offered the viewer a ride in a carriage — with Coughlan revealed to already be inside.
She says to the camera, “Bridgerton season three has officially begun,” asking Newton, “You coming in?”
“Let’s go!” the sunglasses-wearing actor smiles before hopping in and shutting the carriage door.
(WASHINGTON) — Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska, highlighting the civilian victims of war in her country, implored Congress to provide additional weapons and air defense systems to Ukraine as Russia’s invasion heads into its sixth month.
“You help us and your help is very strong,” Zelenska said in a rare address by a first lady to U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday, via a translator. “While Russia kills, America saves, and you should know about it. But unfortunately, the war is not over.”
The Ukrainian first lady arrived at the Capitol Visitors Center Congressional Auditorium with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shortly after 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Pelosi introduced Zelenska, stating the Congress is “honored” to welcome her from the war zone.
Zelenska’s remarks came as Vladimir Putin’s forces ramp up attacks and missile strikes on Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions.
“Usually the wives of the president are exclusively engaged in peaceful affairs — education, human rights, equality, accessibility — and maybe you expected from me to speak on those topics,” she said. “But how can I talk about them when an unprovoked, invasive terrorist war is being waged against my country?”
“Russia is destroying our people,” she said.
The first lady spoke about the conflict’s toll on women and children. She has been separated from her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for much of the time since the war broke out in February.
She told lawmakers she wanted to address them not just as politicians but as mothers, fathers, sons and daughters as she displayed images of some of the children killed in the conflict — including a 4-year-old named Liza who was killed in a Russian missile strike in the city of Vinnytsia last week.
While the slideshow of war casualties played behind her, Zelenska told lawmakers: “Those are Russia’s ‘hunger games’ — hunting for peaceful people in peaceful cities of Ukraine.”
A photograph of Liza’s stroller on the ground after the attack was shown to lawmakers on the screen behind Zelenska.
“I’m asking for air defense systems in order for rockets not to kill children in their strollers, in order for rockets not to destroy children’s rooms and kill entire families,” she said.
Lawmakers in May passed a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine for military and economic assistance.
Zelenska made many stops in Washington this week, holding meetings with high-profile officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power.
On Tuesday, she met with U.S. first lady Jill Biden at the White House for a bilateral meeting.
President Zelesnkyy said on Tuesday he expects from his wife’s visit “significant results for Ukraine in cooperation with America. It is important right now.”
“I really believe that it will be heard by those on whom decision-making in the US depends,” Zelenskyy said of his wife’s address to Congress.
Zelenskyy addressed U.S. lawmakers himself virtually in March, receiving a standing ovation after invoking Pearl Harbor in his plea for additional military aid.
LoCash is keeping up the summertime vibes with an upcoming appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America, and they’re bringing Mike Love and Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys with them.
During their stop on the show, the acts will deliver the national television premiere of “Beach Boys,” LoCash’s new song, which tributes and features the legendary pop rockers. After performing the new single, they’ll stick around the studio for a performance of The Beach Boys’ 1988 classic “Kokomo.”
The Beach Boys have picked up some serious country cred since LoCash’s new single came out; Last month, they joined the country duo to make their Grand Ole Opry debut. While they were backstage, LoCash surprised Mike and Bruce with two pairs of snakeskin boots, officially welcoming them to the country music family.
LoCash and the Beach Boys’ GMA performance is set for August 2.
