North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, its first missile launch in two months. North Korea media claims the successfully tested missile topped with a “super-large heavy warhead,” is capable of striking the US mainland. The country’s state media made the announcement hours after leader Kim Jong Un ordered the 3 a.m. launch of the Hwasong-15 missile, which reached the highest altitude ever recorded by a North Korean missile.
North Korea news agencies called its new missile “the most powerful ICBM” and said it “meets the goal of the completion of the rocket weaponry system development. After the launch, Kim said North Korea had “finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force.” North Korea has been working on its’ missile “re-entry” technology to one day have a warhead able to survive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. This ICBM would be able to hit any city within the U.S. if a warhead is able to survive re-entry.
The missile reached an altitude of 2,800 miles, before landing in the Sea of Japan. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said it was the furthest missile launch by North Korea to date and demonstrates that North Korea has the ability to hit “everywhere in the world.” Defense Secretary Mattis added “North Korea is continuing to build missiles that can threaten everywhere in the world as it continues to endanger world peace, regional peace and certainly the United States.”
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry said “With each launch, North Korean officials are advancing their capability and they are making it clear that they can hold the entire U.S. at risk. They are steadily moving on and we’re not responding in kind.” He added, “It is incredibly serious partly because Kim Jong Un is very serious about what he says and what he says is that he wants to hold the entire United States at risk with his missiles, with nuclear weapons, and we have seen him actually deliver on what he says he wants to do.”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and ambassadors from Japan and South Korea, requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. security council following the launch. Haley said if war comes as a result of further acts of “aggression” like the latest launch “make no mistake the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed”. Haley says the Trump administration warned North Korea that its future is in the hands of its leaders and the choice was theirs. With Tuesday’s launch, she said, Kim’s regime made a choice “and with this choice comes a critical choice for the rest of the world”. She called on all countries to cut all ties to North Korea.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said that US President Trump was briefed on the launch while it was still in the air. President Trump told reporters that the missile launch “is a situation that we will handle,” and added the U.S. will “take care of it.” Trump later said in a tweet that he had spoken with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, about “the provocative actions of North Korea”, and promised: “Additional major sanctions will be imposed on North Korea today. This situation will be handled!”
As nuclear tensions between the U.S. and North Korea continue to escalate, Hawaii is preparing to test its early warning system aimed at warning residents about a nuclear attack. The test, slated for Friday, will be the first time Hawaii has deployed the warning system since the 1990s, after the Cold War ended.
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Dr. Larry Nassar, the acclaimed osteopathic physician accused of molesting over 100 young athletes and children while working for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University pled guilty to multiple charges of sexual assault. Nassar, the 53-year-old father of three appeared in an Ingham County courtroom on seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving girls who were 15 years old or younger. He remains in custody while awaiting sentencing on those charges.
The charges relate to Nassar’s time as a faculty member at Michigan State University, from 1997 to 2016, when, the university said, he was fired after the allegations surfaced. Three of those charges applied to victims under 13, and three applied to victims 13 to 15 years old. Nassar had been charged with 22 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and 11 counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct at the state level but the other charges were dismissed or reduced as part of a plea agreement. Nassar also agreed to a minimum sentence of 25-40 years in prison.
As part of the plea agreement, the Michigan Attorney General’s office will no longer prosecute cases reported to MSUPD, which is a total of 115 cases. In exchange for Nassar’s admissions of guilt, U.S. attorneys in Michigan will not pursue charges related to “interstate/international travel with intent and engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places,” between 2006 and 2012 involving two other children. Prosecutors also agreed to not pursue allegations that Nassar assaulted two children in his family’s swimming pool in the summer of 2015.
Separately, Nassar is also awaiting sentencing on federal charges of receiving child pornography, possessing child pornography and a charge that he hid and destroyed evidence in the case. In that plea deal, Nassar has agreed to plead guilty to three federal charges related to possession of child pornography with each charge carrying a potential sentence of up to 20 years. In exchange, U.S. attorneys will recommend a combined prison sentence of about 22 to 27 years for all crimes. All 125 victims who reported assaults to Michigan State Police will be allowed to give victim impact statements at Nassar’s sentencing, according to the plea deal.
Seven former Team USA gymnasts and dozens of other women have accused Nassar of sexual assault. Nassar served as a volunteer physician for USA Gymnastics, the organization that trains and selects Team USA gymnasts, for nearly 30 years, and treated gymnasts at four Summer Olympics. Nassar also worked full-time in the school of osteopathic medicine at Michigan State, where he treated the Spartans’ gymnasts and other college athletes. The majority of the more than 100 women who have sued Nassar and Michigan State have alleged assault in connection with his employment at the university.
Officials at USA Gymnastics have received heavy criticism over their handling of the situation. Once they were aware of allegations, they investigated on their own for five weeks before reporting him to the FBI.USA Gymnastics ended its relationship with Nassar in July 2015, but did not publicize the separation. In that time, Nassar continued to work at Michigan State, and treat athletes and children at a university clinic, until last August, when a woman filed a criminal complaint with the university police.
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The White House requested Congress approve $44 billion in disaster relief in what would be the largest single round of disaster aid to address the widespread damage inflicted by hurricanes and wildfires over the last three months. It is the third request since hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria slammed the Gulf Coast and Caribbean. The new request would add another $24 billion to the disaster relief this fall and bring the total close to $100 billion. It would also establish a new $12 billion grant program for flood risk mitigation projects. Smaller amounts would go to small business loans and to aid farmers suffering crop losses.
The White House is proposing the increased funding be offset by cuts to federal programs in hopes to deter members from Congress who might not vote for a disaster assistance package that adds to the deficit. Two previous disaster relief bills totaling nearly $51.8 billion that Congress approved earlier this year had no such offsets.
And that’s before most of the money to rebuild Puerto Rico’s devastated housing stock and electric grid is added in. Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rosselló has asked the federal government for $94.3 billion in disaster relief funds to help repair critical infrastructure and rebuild housing following Hurricane Maria. He said the sum will help the U.S. territory adequately recover from Hurricane Maria. Over half of Puerto Rico is still without power almost two months after Hurricane Maria made landfall. More than 10 percent of the island is still without running water.
The largest chunk of Rosselló’s request, $31 billion, goes to housing assistance with $17.7 billion to rebuild the island’s power grid and $14.9 billion for health care. “This is a critical step forward in the rebuilding of Puerto Rico where we’re not only looking to rebuild as was before but we want to make it much stronger and much more resilient and make Puerto Rico a model for the rest of the Caribbean,” Rosselló said. Ricardo Rosello also urged Congress to adopt a tax overhaul plan that addresses the territory’s specific needs to avoid an exodus of the companies that currently generate 42% of the island’s gross domestic product.
The relief request is over $30 billion more than a $61 billion relief request from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott after Hurricane Harvey flooded parts of metro Houston and East Texas. The Florida congressional delegation has asked for $27 billion. It is likely that Congress will pare down the amount as they did after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
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A total of 210,000 gallons of oil leaked Thursday from the Keystone Pipeline in South Dakota, the pipeline’s operator, TransCanada, said. Crews shut down the pipeline within minutes of discovering an irregularity and officials are investigating the cause of the leak, which occurred about three miles southeast of the town of Amherst. The spill has been controlled, the company said, with no further environmental impacts observed and no threat to public safety.
Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the state’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources said “ This is the largest Keystone oil spill to date in South Dakota. In April 2016, there was a 400-barrel release — or 16,800 gallons — with the majority of the oil cleanup completed in two months, Walsh said. About 5,000 barrels of oil spilled Thursday. “It is a below-ground pipeline, but some oil has surfaced above ground to the grass,” Walsh said. “It will be a few days until they can excavate and get in borings to see if there is groundwater contamination.” “There were no initial reports of the oil spill affecting waterways, water systems or wildlife” he said.
According to the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ website, this is the third pipeline spill in the state this year. Another 84 gallons of crude oil leaked from the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline in Spink County in April. That pipeline, which runs through both Dakotas and two other states, drew fierce resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota, the tribe’s allies and environmentalists.
The leak comes just days before Nebraska officials announce a decision on whether the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, a sister project, can move forward. The Keystone Pipeline system stretches more than 2,600 miles, from Hardisty, Alberta, east into Manitoba and then south to Texas, according to TransCanada. The pipeline transports crude oil from Canada. The sections of pipeline affected stretch from Hardisty to Cushing, Oklahoma, and to Wood River, Illinois.
The proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, which would stretch from Hardisty to Steele City, Nebraska, would complete the proposed system by cutting through Montana and South Dakota. TransCanada said it was working with state and federal agencies. “The safety of the public and environment are our top priorities and we will continue to provide updates as they become available,” the company said. Environmental activist group Greenpeace said the spill shows the new pipeline in Nebraska should not be approved.
In March, the Trump administration officially issued a permit that approved construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The approval followed years of intense debate over the pipeline amid hefty opposition from environmental groups, who argued the pipeline supports the extraction of crude oil from oil sands, which pumps about 17% more greenhouse gases than standard crude oil extraction. Tar sands oil is also much thicker and stickier than traditional oil, significantly complicating cleanup efforts. Since it’s thicker, it needs to be combined with other hazardous materials to allow it to be transported in pipelines.
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Authorities say a shooting rampage in California that left 5 people dead and injuring at least 10 others could have been much worse. The gunman, Kevin Janson Neal, 43, shot randomly at people and homes as he drove toward Rancho Tehama School in the town of Corning, 130 miles north of Sacramento. Teachers heard gunfire and ordered a lockdown shortly before the gunman rammed a fence with a pickup truck and entered the grounds with a semi-automatic rifle. He roamed the grounds for about 6 minutes and shot out windows but left, apparently frustrated, after he was unable to access classrooms. Police say he fired shots in at least seven locations before he was killed by police.
Police believe the motive was a bizarre revenge plot against his neighbors following a dispute in January. At a news conference, Tehama County, California, Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said Neal’s wife had been found dead in their home on Tuesday night. Authorities suspect she was fatally shot on Monday, after which Neal hid her body under the floor. Police had been at the home earlier that day in response to a domestic violence call.
The shooting spree began on Tuesday at about 8 a.m. in Neal’s neighborhood. Both neighbors who filed charges against him —a man and a woman—were killed at the start of Tuesday’s rampage. Police say after Neal shot his neighbors, he stole the unidentified male neighbor’s white pickup truck and drove it through town, doing several random drive-by shootings of residences in the community of about 1,500 people. Authorities say a 6-year-old boy was shot in the chest and foot at the school and is in stable condition. Other students were injured by glass from the windows but no students or teachers were killed because of the quick thinking staff at the school.
Rancho Tehama resident Salvador Tello, who was taking his three children to school, described seeing the gunman open fire, killing a woman. Tello said he saw bullets strike the truck in front of him and he put his children down to protect them and put his truck in reverse to get away. As he left, he saw a woman lying dead in the street and her wounded husband next to her. At one point, the shooter crashed the truck and carjacked a driver for his small sedan. The suspect then drove past a woman taking her children to school and fired gunshots ‘without provocation’ into their truck. The woman and her son were injured and both are recovering.
Neal was being prosecuted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon that occurred in January. Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen said “Neal had a long-running dispute with his neighbors and during the January incident, he allegedly shot through a wooden fence at two female neighbors as they walked along the fence. Neal then jumped the fence, confronted the women, stabbed one and took a cellphone from the other.” Neal was also involved in an assault on a male neighbor in February.
Neal’s mother says she posted his $160,000 bail after the January assault charge. She said her son was a marijuana farmer and was in a dispute with neighbors he believed were cooking methamphetamine. She says when she spoke to him Monday and he said he felt like he was on a “cliff” and people were trying to “execute” him. She says he told her “Mom, it’s all over now. I have done everything I could do and I am fighting against everyone who lives in this area.” Neal’s sister described him as becoming extremely paranoid, spending hours on the phone with his mother who try to calm him down.
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The Department of Defense (DOD) is planning to send 3,000 more troops to its Afghanistan operations in early 2018. The NATO contribution would boost the training mission, called Resolute Support, to around 16,000 US troops. About half of the additional troops would come from the United States and the rest from NATO allies and partner countries. The additional personnel will not have a combat role but the alliance hopes more soldiers can train the Afghan army and air force.
In August a new strategy in Afghanistan was unveiled which includes providing more troops, a stronger Afghan army, support from regional allies such as India and a harder line with Pakistan. The latest announcement of 3,000 more troops is in addition to the September announcement that another 6,000-plus ground troops from Fort Carson are slated for a future deployment to the country.
NATO allies have already promised almost $3 billion to help the United States fund the Afghan military until 2020, which is developing an air force to complement its ground forces. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference “We have decided to increase the number of troops to help the Afghans break the stalemate, to send a message to the Taliban, to the insurgents that they will not win on the battleground.” Stoltenberg said an attack on a television station in Kabul underlined the importance of fighting militants and supporting Afghan security forces. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the assault, without giving evidence.
Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander for Afghanistan, told reporters “My plan is to have U.S. forces focused on the things that only U.S. forces can do, so I would not like to have to divert U.S. forces to do things that allies could perform.” “We have made it very clear to the allies that we really need their help in filling these billets that we’ve identified.”
Hundreds of soldiers with the U.S. Army’s first security force assistance brigade are expected to deploy to Afghanistan in early 2018 as part of that ANDSF training mission. The Army intends to have a total of six brigades by 2022 with the primary mission is to train and advise foreign troops. In Afghanistan, the focus will be bolstering government forces, which have sustained heavy losses and huge swaths of territory to the Taliban since the U.S. combat mission ended in 2014.
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In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx gift card!
Congratulations – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!! Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, November 12th, 2017 was:
CHRIS BLYTHE
Boston, MASS
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card
Each day, fans who have “liked” either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION. The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex Gift. Card
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
11/6/17
Lauren Bradley
Jennifer Marie
Jill Nauyokas
Elena Davis
April Ashcraft
Chris Blythe
Isis Sample
Beth Embrey
Stephanie Beckwith
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Christian Mayle
Karen Goodwin Delaney
Lia Bonita
Tina Mimick
Eva Biggs
Melissa White
Brooke Scott
Katrina Worford
Jennifer Ramlet
Tonya Velazquez
Bethany Henry
Marilyn Wall
Wendi Black
11/7/17
Sunney Michelle Johnson
Amanda Saltsman
Jill Nauyokas
Jenifer Garza
Siobhain Perez
Maria Bouchard
Kristen Raia Bowman
Jennifer Saavedra
Phylicia Phillips
Kristina Harris
Tanya Mattox
Kimberly Snyder
Melissa White
Christina Montes
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Hayley Cordaro
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Sharon Swenson-Nelson
Tiffany Banks
Danyel Leigh Walentin
11/8/17
Sunney Michelle Johnson
Amanda Peters
Vickie Gipson
Jill Nauyokas
Deborah Farris
Misty Shallcross
Jenifer Garza
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Bea Patrick
Brittany Light
Jane Peterson
Chris Blythe
Jennifer Downing
Lori Capobianco
Kristina Harris
Lenis Abshire
Sheila Carvell
Eleazar Ruiz
Becca Dotsun
Joann Tompkins-Winborn
11/9/17
Tonya Velazquez
Karen Bondehagen
Cheryl Hall
Deborah Farris
Nancy Scharnhorst
Siobhain Perez
Samantha Brwn
Jill Nauyokas
Alysia Jackson
Amy Chavis
Chris Blythe
Lia Bonita
Hayley Cordaro
Tina Mimick
Lori Capobianco
Anggie Marie
Kelly PRestenbach
Christian Mayle
Elena Davis
Alicia Smith
11/10/17
Ashley Agner
Trish Musgrave
Kathi Taylor
Michelle Cervantes
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Alexandria Fields
Heather Victoria Graves
Lori Capobianco
Alysia Jackson
Tracy Shafer
Vickie Gipson
Tera Wardrip
Jenifer Garza
Len Nylanna
Eleazar Ruiz
Jennifer Kinner
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Stacy Mydlarz
Joann Tompkins-Winborn
Debbie Burke Garretson
11/11/17
Priscilla Shimp
Dawn Raasch
Rondi Clark-Conn
Beeg Reeb
Sheila Carvell
Paula Rivers
Teena Sierson
Melissa Turner Baker
Cheryl Hall
Brigette Oster
Kendra George
Eleazar Ruiz
Brandi K Chaney
Rebecca Fauteux
Nancy Scharnhorst
Jenn Hess
Mandi Smith
Fanny Wat
Kristina Rosson
Carla M. Williams
11/12/17
Sheila Carvell
Jill Nauyokas
Jennifer Kinner
Samantha Brwn
Chris Blythe
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Tera Wardrip
Susanne Killion
Christina Radcliff
LaKishia Wagers
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Becca Neuenschwander Long
Diane Hamric
Kellie Lace
Lenis Abshire
Kathleen Hickman
Tina Auth
Dawn Raasch
Mary Ann Cody
Bethany Henry
Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!!
Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better. Also note that a number of the posted answers each day are from contestants who have forgotten to “Like” one of our pages, so their names WILL NOT be entered at the end week drawing for the gift card, giving our fans a better chance!
You may also find that if you “Like” BOTH of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!
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Utah Nurse Alex Wubbels has won a $500,000 settlement after being violently arrested by police at The Utah University Hospital for refusing a police officer’s demand that she draw a blood sample from an unconscious car crash patient. Police body cam video shows an officer grab Wubbels, dragging her out of the hospital and into an unmarked car. The incident happened on July 26 but the story went viral when bodycam footage was released weeks later.
In the video, Salt Lake City Detective Jeff Payne is seen arguing with Utah nurse Alex Wubbels, the charge nurse working the night shift on the burn unit at Utah University Hospital. Wubbels was following hospital protocol and the law when she calmly refused to allow a blood draw on an unconscious patient without consent or a warrant. She presented the officers with a printout of hospital policy on drawing blood and said their request did not meet the criteria. Hospital policy specified police needed either a judge’s order or the patient’s consent, or the patient needed to be under arrest, before obtaining a blood sample.
The dispute ended with Payne handcuffing Wubbels and dragging her outside while she screamed that she’d done nothing wrong. She was detained for 20 minutes and later released without charge. Salt Lake City police detective Jeff Payne insisted on drawing the blood, maintaining in his report that he wanted the sample to protect the man rather than prosecute him. He was supported by his supervisor, Lt. James Tracy, who said the nurse could be arrested if she didn’t agree.
After the footage surfaced, the hospital said police would no longer be permitted in patient care areas, such as the burn unit where Wubbels was working that day. Payne had 20 years on the force at the time. He and a second officer, Lt. James Tracy, were put on full paid administrative leave by Salt Lake City police during an investigation involving the FBI. On Oct. 11th, the Salt Lake City Police Department announced that Payne had been fired and Lt. James Tracy was demoted over the incident.
The patient in question, William Gray, was a reserve police officer with the Rigby, Idaho police department. He worked as a truck driver and had been severely burned following a fiery head-on crash caused by a man in a pickup truck who was fleeing the Utah State Highway Patrol. He spent two months in the University of Utah burn center before he passed away on September 25th.
Karra Porter, Wubbels’ attorney said her client has met the five goals she set when this incident occurred. She wanted changes to policy, accountability from those who were involved in the incident, to start a public discussion about the urgent need for body cameras, to be compensated and to help other people who have a need for evidence obtained on body cam videos when these types of situations happen to them. Wubbels said she plans to use a portion of the settlement toward a new initiative to help others pay for access to police body camera video clips. “We all deserve to know the truth and the truth comes when you see the actual raw footage and that’s what happened in my case,” Wubbels said. “Any person in the State of Utah who wishes to obtain body cam footage of an incident involving them will be able to do so, no charge to them. Our law firm, Christensen & Jensen, will provide any legal services necessary to accomplish that,” Porter said. “Thanks to Alex, there will be more transparency.”
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In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, men across the world are continuing to resign, be fired or face intense criticism over a slew of allegations of sexual harassment and assault that have surfaced. Accusations against those in Hollywood, the media industry, universities, restaurants and the highest reaches of government have revealed inappropriate conduct from many notable men. The list of those accused of sexual harassment or misconduct continues to grow each day and is sweeping many industries. Let’s take a look at some of those recently accused.
Producer and director Brett Ratner was accused of sexually harassing six women, including actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge. Director James Toback was accused of sexually harassing over 300 women over several decades, including Julianne Moore, Selma Blaire and Rachel McAdams. Chris Savino, 46, an animator and writer best known for creating The Loud House, was fired from Nickelodeon after multiple women lodged complaints against him, the network confirmed in a statement.
Actor Kevin Spacey has been accused of sexual harassment by actor Anthony Rapp, who claims he was 14 when Spacey made advances towards him in 1986. Spacey apologized to Rapp via Twitter. The actor also came out as gay in the statement which drew criticism as an attempt at distracting from disturbing claims against a child. Several other accusers have come forward against Spacey, including a former House of Cards crew member, filmmaker Tony Montana and actor Rob Cavazos. On Oct. 31, Netflix announced it would shut down production of the sixth and final season of Cards “until further notice.” In addition, the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences said it would no longer honor Spacey with the 2017 Emmy Founders Award.
In the media industry, Michael Oreskes, NPR’s senior vice president for news, has resigned after multiple women accused him of kissing them without their consent during meetings for possible employment. At least a dozen women have accused journalist Mark Halperin of sexually harassment or assault, with at least some of the incidents during his time as political director at ABC News. Lockhart Steele, the editorial director for Vox Media, was fired after engaging in several incidents of sexual misconduct. Roy Price, the head of Amazon Studios, quit five days after being put on leave after a producer accused him of sexual harassment.
Celebrity chef John Besh stepped down from the company he founded after about two dozen current and former female employees accused him and other male workers of sexual harassment in what they described as a hostile corporate culture where sexual harassment flourished. The New Republic’s publisher, Hamilton Fish, has been placed on leave, after a slew of allegations of sexual harassment when he was the president of The Nation Institute. The New Republic’s most prominent longtime editors, Leon Wieseltier, was also fired over sexual harassment allegations.
Meanwhile, two top staff members at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), have been ousted over sexual harassment allegations. National leader Kendall Fells has resigned and Detroit leader Mark Raleigh has been fired. Three Dartmouth professors, Todd Heatherton, Paul Whalen and William Kelley from the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences- have been put on paid leave amid a criminal investigation into accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct.
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President Trump has declared the opioid crisis- which killed 64,000 Americans last year- a public health emergency. The order will last 90 days and can be renewed every 90 days until the President believes it is no longer needed. President Donald Trump said “Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of unintentional death in the United States by far. More people are dying from drug overdoses today than from gun homicides and motor vehicles combined.”
The administration will work with Congress to fund the Public Health Emergency fund and to increase federal funding in year-end budget deals currently being negotiated in Congress. Trump has directed agency and department heads to use all appropriate emergency authorities to reduce the number of deaths caused by the opioid crisis. The administration will also launch an ad campaign so that young people can see the devastation that drugs cause on people and their lives.
The administration’s opioid plan will allow expanded access to telemedicine services, giving doctors the ability to prescribe medications to treat addiction to those in remote locations. It also speeds the hiring process for medical professionals working on opioids and allows funds in programs for dislocated workers and people with HIV/AIDS to be used to treat their addictions. The designation gives the administration access to the Public Health Emergency Fund, but that fund is nearly empty.
In August, Trump said that he would declare the opioid epidemic a national emergency but later said the White House had determined that declaring a public health emergency was more appropriate than a national emergency. Many have criticized the decision to declare a public health emergency rather than a national emergency as not enough. A commission created by the administration and headed by Gov. Chris Christie called on the president to declare a national emergency under either the Public Health Service Act or the Stafford Act. Doing so, the commission said, could free up funds for treatment, ensure wider access to the anti-overdose drug naloxone and improve monitoring of opioid prescriptions to prevent abuse.
Congress is currently spending $500 million a year on addiction treatment programs, but that money runs out next year. The administration says it will work with Congress in the budgeting process to find new money to fund addiction treatment programs. A group of senators introduced a bill that would provide more than $45 billion for opioid abuse prevention, surveillance and treatment.
From 2000 to 2015, more than 500,000 people died of drug overdoses, and opioids account for the majority of those. Recently released numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that around 64,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2016. More than 140 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly 80 percent of the world’s opioids are consumed in the US. A report published earlier this year found that 94 percent of heroin entering the United States came from Mexico. A large portion of the country’s fentanyl – a prescribed painkiller thought by many to be driving the opioid epidemic – derives from China and arrives in the States through US mail.
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