Purdue Pharma ‘offers up to $12bn’ to settle opioid cases – BBC News

On By peanutgallerynhIn Addiction,, Domestic Affairs,, Drugs & Drink,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Purdue Pharma, the opioid drug-maker owned by the billionaire Sackler family, is reported to be offering between $10bn and $12bn to settle thousands of lawsuits against it.

The firm is facing over 2,000 lawsuits linked to its painkiller OxyContin.

…Purdue is one of 22 opioid makers, distributors and pharmacies named in over 2,000 cases which are due to go to trial in October.

The cases, which have been brought by states, cities and counties, allege the company used deceptive practices to sell opioids and is responsible for fuelling an opioid addiction crisis in the US.

Purdue Pharma ‘offers up to $12bn’ to settle opioid cases – BBC News

hmmm

Mississippi raids: ICE still detaining breastfeeding, single parents

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Modern Parenting,, Race,Leave a comment

For the first three days, Elizabeth refused, wailing each time as she pushed him away. On the fourth day, when hunger overwhelmed her, she finally accepted the bottle. 

“I didn’t know what to do,” Ramirez said. “She kept crying and crying. She was so hungry but she wouldn’t take the bottle. I thought she was going to die.”

Her mother, Norma Cardona Ramirez, was among the 680 people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Aug. 7 during raids at food processing plants in central Mississippi.

…ICE denied that the woman had been breastfeeding. The agency claimed the woman had responded “no” when she was asked if she was breastfeeding. The agency said it had a nurse examine the mother after the story was published – 12 days after her arrest – and that the exam showed she was not lactating.

The woman’s attorneys and her husband maintained that the woman was lactating and had not been asked by agents whether she was. 

Ramirez says his wife also was not asked whether she had children or was breastfeeding.

Ramirez said his wife told him during a phone call that when she was first apprehended in Canton, she was only asked for her full name, her date of birth, her country of origin and her parent’s names. As she continued to be transferred, officials again only asked her those four questions, Ramirez said. At no point was she asked whether she had a child that she was breastfeeding, and she repeatedly tried to tell the agents.

…The day after the raids, Hurst’s office announced about 300 suspected undocumented immigrants were released on “humanitarian grounds.”

If immigration officials encountered two alleged undocumented immigrants with minor children at home, they released one of the parents and returned the individual to the place from which they were arrested, said a news release from Hurst’s office. They did the same thing for single parents with minor children at home, the release said.

At least one woman says that’s a lie.

Mississippi raids: ICE still detaining breastfeeding, single parents

hmmmm

Evelyn Hernandez, El Salvador rape victim, at center of controversial abortion trial acquitted

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, The Americas,Leave a comment

In April 2016, Hernández was found on the floor of her bathroom drenched in blood. She was taken to a local emergency room in her hometown of El Carmen, roughly 40 kilometers (about 25 miles) east of the capital by her mother and a neighbor.

Doctors who examined her saw signs of a delivery but no baby and reported her to the authorities. When local officials arrived at her home five hours later, they found the newborn dead in a septic tank.

..”It seems the judicial system is starting to understand that stillbirths are not crimes, they are obstetric emergencies,” Guillen told CNN. “People in El Salvador now understand that the law, as it stands right now, criminalizes women in poverty.”

…Most of the women who have faced criminal charges for abortions in El Salvador come from poor rural backgrounds, and many suffered miscarriages or had obstetric complications because they weren’t able to get regular checkups due to lack of resources.

…Prosecution witnesses presented evidence that suggested that the baby died from complications during the delivery.

…Prosecutors had asked for the longer sentence during her retrial, even after evidence of a stillbirth was presented by their witnesses.

Evelyn Hernandez, El Salvador rape victim, at center of controversial abortion trial acquitted – CNN

hmmmm

Proud Boys Leader Admits Their Rallies Are For Fighting And Wasting Money

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

The Proud Boys for years have helped organize street fights in Portland, Oregon ― gatherings thinly veiled as political freedom rallies in order to secure permits or police escorts from the city.

This week, that veil was lifted, as the group’s leader admitted the ugly and obvious truth: The events are staged with the intention of spurring fights, wasting city resources and winning a game of optics against their anti-fascist nemeses.

…On this day, nobody would be earning their “fourth degree” ― a rank given to those Proud Boys who assault anti-fascists.

“This is a pure optics operation,” Tarrio said in front of a group of Proud Boys. “If you’re looking for fourth degrees this is not the event to do it.”

“The gathering was never about bringing carnage or violence to the city of Portland, it was about financially crippling the progressive hotbed until they take action against antifa,” the gang said in a press release.

Proud Boys Leader Admits Their Rallies Are For Fighting And Wasting Money

sigh…..