Endo Pharmaceuticals agrees to pay Texas $63 million in latest opioid settlement

Texas also reached $26 billion settlement with distributors Cardinal, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson.

Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has agreed to pay Texas $63 million in a statewide opioid settlement, another in a string of settlements won this year by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

This summer, Paxton reached the largest opioid settlement in U.S history after years of negotiating with three of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical distributors.

Texas’ $26 billion Global Prescription Opioid Litigation Settlement Agreement was the first of its kind in the nation and will fund a range of programs to assist Texans struggling with opioid addiction. Opioids are a family of drugs that include prescription painkillers like hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine and illicit drugs like heroin.

Endo’s agreement follows the terms of the Global settlement although it wasn’t a party to the initial agreement. As part of the terms of its settlement agreement, Endo will pay $63 million to Texas’ Qualified Settlement Fund regardless of when the global settlement agreement is finalized, and without any rebates or reductions to the payment amount.

“This settlement is the result of my office aggressively working to hold opioid manufacturers accountable for their deceptive marketing of highly-addictive pain pills, which spurred an epidemic and left victims and families with unimaginable consequences,” Paxton said. “This settlement is a necessary step in the right direction, and we will continue to fight to heal our state from this devastating crisis.”

Texas’ $26 billion Global settlement was reached with the pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, and with pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, which manufactured and marketed the opioids.

All told, Texas is slated to receive $1.2 billion from Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen. The funds will largely go toward opioid abatement efforts statewide, involving the participation of cities, counties, and other political subdivisions.

In October, Paxton’s office reached a $297 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson and its U.S.-based Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies as part of the Global settlement agreement.

In February, Paxton’s office reached a $38.4 million settlement with McKinsey for its role in providing consulting services to opioid companies. It was accused of selling marketing plans, programs, and advisement to OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma for more than 15 years.

The agreements came after Texas sued Purdue Pharma in 2018 for allegedly violating state laws prohibiting deceptive trade practices. Purdue Pharma was accused of misrepresenting the risk of addiction to its painkillers, including OxyContin, to patients and doctors.

Paxton has described the settlements as “monumental,” saying they will “bring much-needed funding for Texans who have fallen victim to the irresponsible and deceptive marketing practices from opioid manufacturers that spurred” the opioid epidemic.

Texas saw a 33% increase in accidental drug overdose deaths this past year. According to a recent report published by the CDC, 4,751 Texans died from overdoses from May 2020 to May 2021, compared to 3,551 who died from drug overdoses over the same time period the previous year.

https://justthenews.com/nation/states/endo-pharmaceuticals-agrees-pay-texas-63-million-latest-opioid-settlement

Zelensky Opens The Way For Foreign Troops To Be Permanently And Legally Based In Ukraine

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Unicameral Parliament) adopted a law that allows foreign forces on its territory to participate in multinational exercises in 2022. The decision was made at a meeting on Tuesday and was supported by 318 parliamentarians (out of the 423 seats that are occupied), far surpassing the required minimum of 226 votes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the Rada to approve his decision on allowing foreign forces on Ukrainian territory to participate in military exercises in 2022. In particular, these are for the United Efforts multinational exercises, the Ukrainian-American Rapid Trident exercises, the Ukrainian-British Cossack Mace, the multinational Light Avalanche, the Ukrainian-Polish Silver Saber, the Ukrainian-American Sea Breeze, the Ukrainian-Romanian Riverine, the multinational Maple Arch exercise and the Viking multinational exercise.

According to Ukrainian legislation, the functioning of any military formation is not provided for by law and is therefore prohibited on the country’s territory. Also, the deployment of foreign military bases is not allowed in Ukraine, therefore, foreign troops are only allowed each time into the country by a special law.

The Ukrainian law change comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin held his 17th annual major press conference this week, where he highlighted that it is not Russia building military bases or placing missiles on the US’ border, but rather it is the US with their missiles that are “coming to our home, they’re on the doorstep of our home.” Putin also highlighted that NATO broke their 1990’s promise of not expanding the bloc eastwards towards Russia’s borders.

Even if Ukraine is not a NATO member, Kiev is certainly desperate to be accepted into the NATO Membership Action Plan and loyally enacts Washington’s interests in Eastern Europe. With this, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second CIS Department said that in 2021, seven joint military maneuvers between Kiev and NATO members took place on Ukrainian territory. Nine maneuvers will be carried out in 2022 and the number of military personnel participating in them will almost double compared to 2021 – to 64,000. The number of aircraft and helicopters will more than triple – to 361, and warships almost 4 times – to 256.

“The scale, territorial scope and duration of joint exercises between Ukraine and NATO countries are increasing… All exercises are linked by a single concept and have an anti-Russian orientation,” highlighted the Second CIS Department.

On Thursday, a senior US official felt the need to reiterate that the Biden administration would issue “massive sanctions” on Russia if it were to invaded Ukraine, something that Moscow continually repeats that it has no plans of doing. However, even more provocatively, the official stressed the increase in defensive aid to Kiev and NATO allies in central and Eastern Europe. “We and our allies are prepared to impose severe damage to Russia’s economy, and bring about exactly what it says it does not want: more NATO capabilities, not less, and closer [geographically] to Russia, not further away.”

Effectively, the US announced that it has no plans on scaling back escalations with Russia in Eastern Europe, and rather plans to continue provocations and tensions by promising more pressure on the borders of the Eurasian Giant.

Germany’s Welt newspaper quoted an unnamed senior NATO source as saying that NATO has strengthened its Response Force’s combat readiness because of Russia’s supposed actions.

“Before the Russian military increased near the border with Ukraine, NATO responded with the first concrete military measure and increased readiness for 40,000 rapid response forces,” the source said.

In this way, Putin’s claim that it is NATO encroaching on the borders of Russia and not vice versa is shamelessly not even denied by the Biden administration and NATO, but rather is highlighted with a sense of pride. The increase in combat readiness of NATO rapid response forces and Ukraine welcoming foreign troops on its territory near Russia’s borders is part of the ongoing hybrid war against Moscow.

NATO is attempting to pressure Moscow before the upcoming scheduled Putin-Biden meeting in an attempt to influence the negotiation process between the two leaders. It is also likely that Biden will weaponize this Ukrainian law change to place more US troops right on the border with Russia to continue its campaign of pressure that aims to limit Russian influence and compete for its traditional sphere of influence.

https://southfront.org/zelensky-opens-the-way-for-foreign-troops-to-be-permanently-and-legally-based-in-ukraine/

Welsh Führer Mark Drakeford’s Son is a Convicted Rapist and Paedophile

The First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, has announced his Government will be enforcing absurd restrictions in response to the common cold (Omicron) spreading from person to person in the middle of Winter. But are you aware that the Welsh Labour leader’s son is a convicted rapist and paedophile?

The Government Drakeford leads insists on inflicting upon the Welsh more drastic measures against Covid than the rest of the country, even Scotland.

The Welsh Führer has made it unlawful to go to work “without a reasonable excuse” on pain of an on-the-spot fine, but it is OK to go to the pub where a rule of six is to apply once more with social distancing and masks. A limit of 30 is being introduced on numbers in a private home.

The £60 work charge will be imposed from Monday December 27th, with companies hit with penalties of £1,000 every time they break the rule. The fine will apply to employees who travel into England to work even though it is not unlawful over the border.

But with the UK Health Security Agency confirming that people infected with the Omicron variant are between 50 and 70 per cent less likely to be admitted to hospital than with the Delta variant, even the triple vaccinated are beginning to view Mark Drakeford as a tinpot dictator who is hungry for power and imposing restrictions for political reasons, purely because the UK Government has so far refused to do so.

But there may be another reason why Mark Drakeford is so keen to restrict the freedoms of the people in the country that he surprisingly leads, and that could be because he’s so used to seeing his own flesh and blood spend life without freedom.

The son of Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford was sentenced to more than eight and a half years behind bars in 2018 after being found guilty of rape and assault.

Jonathan Drakeford brutally assaulted a woman in her early 20s with a leather spanking paddle before raping her, with prosecutors telling a shocked jury how he had “humiliated” his victim by forcing her to stand in a corner gagged with her own underwear.

https://dailyexpose.uk/2021/12/24/fuhrer-drakefords-son-is-a-convicted-rapist-and-paedo/

Missouri boarding school doctor accused of child sex crimes

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — The doctor for a private Christian boarding school that has been the focus of an abuse investigation in Missouri was charged with child sex crimes.

An arrest warrant was issued Thursday for David Earl Smock, 57, the longtime physician for Agape Boarding School, the Kansas City Star reported. Smock is charged with second-degree statutory sodomy, third-degree child molestation of a child less than 14 years of age and enticement or attempted enticement of a child less than 15 years of age, court records show.

Smock was not in custody as of Friday, according to the jail website in Greene County, where the case was filed. The probable cause statement was not immediately available Friday because the court was closed for the holiday.

Agape remains under scrutiny after five staffers were charged in September with assaulting students. One of the defendants is Smock’s son-in-law.

Smock, who runs a walk-in clinic in Cedar County and volunteers at a Springfield ministry for the homeless, has other ties to the school. One of his sons is married to the late Agape founder’s granddaughter. And he is featured prominently on Agape’s website, supporting the school’s model and encouraging parents to send their troubled boys there. Smock has said on the site that he works with the school to wean boys off medications for behavioral issues.

Smock also owns an 11-bedroom mansion that a former Agape staff leader uses to operate another Christian boarding school, called Legacy Academy Adventures.

No attorney is listed for Smock in online court records. And he couldn’t be reached at his clinic, which was closed on Friday.

https://apnews.com/article/crime-education-arrests-missouri-springfield-82fb42da6ca67eab3a03238e14421ec3

'PM_Scomo' joins TikTok despite previous criticism of controversial Chinese-owned platform

He's been an accidental star of TikTok for months and now Scott Morrison has joined the controversial Chinese-owned social media platform, uploading a selfie video with family pet dog Buddy for his debut message.

Key points:

Last year, the PM criticised the platform, warning it connects back to China

Mr Morrison has uploaded two Christmas videos

Comments have been disabled on Mr Morrison's posts

Last year, the Prime Minister criticised the video-sharing app, which is wildly popular with younger audiences, warning Australians it "connects right back to China".

During 2020, the federal government directed intelligence agencies to investigate whether TikTok, which harvests vast amounts of data, posed a security threat to Australia.

Analysts have long warned that ByteDance, the Chinese company which owns TikTok, may be forced to share information it gathers on users with authorities in Beijing, and former president Donald Trump attempted to ban the platform.

"We'll obviously keep watching them, but there's no evidence to suggest to us today that [a ban] is a step that is necessary," Mr Morrison declared back in August last year.

In October, a TikTok executive appearing before a US congressional hearing declared the globally popular video-sharing app did not give information to the Chinese government and had sought to safeguard American data.

Last year, Scott Morrison also fired off an impassioned attack on TikTok after a man's videoed suicide was seen by children using the platform.

"Social media has become, like it or not, part of our modern life,'' Scott Morrison said in a September 2020 video message.

"It gives us a bit of a laugh, people doing silly dances. Sometimes, they are taking the mickey out of me.

"But there is a serious concern and a serious side with what happens with social media and we saw that with that disgraceful video that was uploaded onto TikTok."

@pm_scomo on Tiktok

Despite his previous criticisms, the Prime Minister opened his own official TikTok account on Christmas Eve with the handle "pm_scomo" and has so far uploaded two video messages for the festive season.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-26/scott-morrison-tiktok-pm-chinese-social-media/100725804

Former MI6 Chief: TikTok Gives CCP Backdoor Into Politicians’ Data via Kids’ Phones

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/08/11/former-mi6-chief-tiktok-gives-ccp-a-backdoor-into-politicians-data-through-their-kids-smartphone/

Did he just hand over to the CCP?

>>15253515

https://scanner.deepware.ai/

Marine veteran raises $100,000 to 'give back Christmas' to Kentucky kids whose homes were destroyed by deadly tornadoes

After a deadly tornado tore through Mayfield, Kentucky earlier this month, devastating the small town, one resident grew concerned that children in his community would be suffering this Christmas. So he decided to do something about it.

Shawn Triplett, a retired U.S. Marine Corps veteran who now volunteers at a local elementary school, told People Magazine he was spurred into action after witnessing a heartbreaking interaction between a mother and her young son while helping out at a church shelter.

"I saw a child, no older than 6 years old, crying in his mother's arms," Triplett, 38, recalled. "She was crying too, but you could tell she was doing her best to look strong. The boy told his mom, 'I've lost my Christmas.' It was at that moment that I broke down and had to walk outside."

The family had been displaced as part of the devastating impact of the massive storm, which has killed at least 88 people and displaced hundreds more across the South and Midwest. Triplett's hometown was one of the ones hit hardest. The Marine — who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan — said the destruction from the storm was the worst he'd ever seen.

"I've been deployed three times, I've seen war zones, I've seen absolute destruction, and nothing compared to it," he said in an interview with CNN. "I mean, the whole town was just leveled."

"It gut-punched me," Triplett went on to say about the young boy he saw crying. "I felt actual pain at that moment. I tried to sleep that night but I couldn't. The pain in that kid's voice broke me in half. I had to do something about it."

After thinking long and hard about what he could do, Triplett said he finally decided, "I was going to give them back their Christmas. That was my mission."

So Triplett, moved to compassion by the distress of others, decided to start raising money to make sure Mayfield children receive gifts this Christmas.

It started out as a $10,000 fundraising initiative put on by Triplett and his friends and family. But soon, after the message was spread around on social media, the movement grew. By Christmas Eve, nearly $100,000 had been raised after people from all across the country joined the effort.

"It's been unreal," he said of the support. "It started as just family and friends helping, to now donations coming in from all over the globe."

On a GoFundMe page that Triplett started, the Marine explained that he is simply raising funds to buy toys for Mayfield children who are currently living in shelters, temporary government housing, or staying with family and friends.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/marine-veteran-christmas-toy-drive-kentucky