The New York Times reports on a spike in shootings and homicides across US cities, and explores how the pandemic has hindered efforts to prevent violence. “The pandemic has frayed all kinds of institutions and infrastructure that hold communities together, that watch over streets, that mediate conflicts, that simply give young people something to do. Schools, libraries, recreation centers and public pools have closed. Nonprofits, churches and sports leagues have scaled back. Mentors, social workers and counselors have been hampered by social distancing. And programs devised to reduce gun violence — and that have proved effective in studies — have been upended by the pandemic. Summer jobs programs were cut this year. Violence intervention workers were barred from hospitals. Group behavioral therapy programs meant to be intimate and in-person have moved, often haltingly, online. “This work is a pat on the shoulder, a touch on the hand, a handshake,” said Del McFadden, the director of the office of neighborhood safety and engagement for the District of Columbia. “All of those things are different now.”
The Guardian reports that Purdue Pharma is “nearing an agreement to plead guilty to criminal charges as part of a broader deal to resolve US justice department investigations into its alleged role in fueling the nation’s opioid crisis… Purdue lawyers and federal prosecutors are brokering a plea deal that could be unveiled as soon as within the next two weeks and include billions of dollars of financial penalties, four of the people said. They stressed that talks are fluid and that some of the terms could change as discussions continue. In addition to the criminal case, US prosecutors are negotiating a settlement of civil claims also carrying a financial penalty that allege unlawful conduct in Purdue’s handling of prescription pain pills, they said. The Stamford, Connecticut-based company is expected to face penalties exceeding $8bn. They consist of a roughly $3.54bn criminal fine, $2bn criminal forfeiture and $2.8bn civil penalty, some of the people familiar with the negotiations said. They are unlikely to be paid in the near term as the criminal fine and civil penalty are expected to be considered alongside other claims in Purdue’s bankruptcy proceedings and the company lacks necessary funds to fully repay all creditors. The tentative agreement would draw a line under Purdue’s criminal exposure for what prosecutors and state attorneys general have described as aggressive marketing of a highly addictive painkiller that minimized the drug’s potential for abuse and overdosing.”
The New York Times reports on how the heavy death toll from the pandemic has threatened the culture of the Choctaw tribe. “Through last month, Neshoba County, where most of the tribe’s residents live, had the highest death rate per capita in Mississippi from the coronavirus, according to data tracked by The New York Times. And despite making up 18 percent of the county’s residents, tribal members have accounted for more than half of the county’s virus cases and about 64 percent of the deaths. “We aren’t just losing family members or an aunt or uncle, we are losing parts of our culture,” said Mary Harrison, interim health director for the Choctaw Health Center. “We’ve lost dressmakers, we’ve lost artists, elders who are very fluid in our language — so when you think about an individual we’ve lost, these are important people in our community.”
Axios reports on the “existential challenge” public transit systems in the face of funding cuts and plummeting ridership. “While the CARES Act included some federal dollars for urban transportation, experts say it wasn't enough and will run out imminently, sending, for instance, the Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to the brink as early as January. Puentes says that commuter rails that exist to bring white-collar workers into an urban core have seen ridership plummet as much as 97%, while the overall figure for rail systems is more like 90%. Municipal buses, which tend to carry essential workers and low-income people who don't have alternatives, have seen less of a drop — perhaps two-thirds.”