TimeMagazine

Purdue Pharma reached a nationwide settlement Thursday over its role in the opioid crisis, with the Sackler family members who own the company boosting their cash contribution to as much as $6 billion in a deal intended to staunch a flood of lawsuits facing the maker of OxyContin. The deal follows an earlier settlement that … Read more

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine is all too familiar with the harrowing effects of Long COVID. And on Wednesday, the Virginia Democrat introduced legislation to help other Americans struggling with the same mysterious illness. Kaine was diagnosed with COVID-19 nearly two years ago, but still suffers from moderate symptoms. And he’s not alone. Thousands, potentially millions, … Read more

(Washington D.C.) — President Joe Biden’s new plan to expand mental health and drug abuse treatment would pour hundreds of millions of dollars into suicide prevention, mental health services for youth, and community clinics providing 24/7 access to people in crisis. Unveiled as part of his State of the Union speech, Biden’s plan seeks to … Read more

Dr. Paul Farmer, who died unexpectedly on Feb. 21 at the age of 62 in Rwanda, was one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known. As co-founder of the global health and social-justice organization Partners in Health, Paul spent more than 30 years fundamentally changing the way health care is delivered in the most impoverished places … Read more

Ukraine was struggling to control the COVID-19 pandemic even before Russian troops advanced on the country. It was slower to launch its COVID-19 vaccination campaigns than other European countries, and while the government encouraged citizens to get immunized, most people struggled to find a way to get the shot, didn’t feel the need to get … Read more

(Washington D.C.) — President Joe Biden declared Tuesday that “it’s time for Americans to get back to work” as he announced new efforts to allow people to return to normal activities safely after two years of pandemic disruptions. Biden used his State of the Union address to announce that his administration was launching a “test-to-treat” … Read more

The Broad Institute was the first to invent CRISPR-Cas9 technology for use in animal cells, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said, siding against two Nobel laureates in a long-running dispute that affects the licensing agreements of some hotly watched biotech companies. The Monday ruling determined Nobel winners Jennifer Doudna from the University of California … Read more

Euphoria—the most tweeted-about TV show of the decade in the U.S.—has thrust teenage drug use into the cultural spotlight. The HBO show follows 17-year-old Rue Bennett, a sweet but troubled teen played by Zendaya, as she navigates a deepening drug use disorder. It’s not pretty. Rue takes the powerful opioid fentanyl, injects morphine, and drags … Read more

WASHINGTON — Nearly half of the 500 million free COVID-19 tests the Biden administration recently made available to the public still have not been claimed as virus cases plummet and people feel less urgency to test. Wild demand swings have been a subplot in the pandemic, from vaccines to hand sanitizer, along with tests. On … Read more

For more than a year, a mask has been as essential at the airport as a boarding pass: you can’t fly without one. But the federal mask mandate for planes, trains, buses, and transit stations including airports is set to expire on March 18, and so far, the government has not announced plans to extend … Read more