Idaho officers on Friday introduced a $119 million settlement with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and three main distributors over their position within the opioid habit disaster.
Republican Gov. Brad Little and Republican Lawyer Common Lawrence Wasden stated it is the second-largest client settlement in state historical past, trailing solely the 1998 nationwide tobacco settlement of $712 million.
An Ada County choose on Wednesday accredited the settlement that Little and Wasden had agreed to in August. The state’s participation made it eligible for at least $64 million. It additionally opened the best way for native authorities entities to participate, and all these eligible did so by the top of December, boosting the quantity to $119 million.
The cash will handle harm wrought by opioids, which the federal authorities declared a public well being emergency in 2017. Johnson & Johnson and the three distributors finalized a nationwide $26 billion settlement in February.
Advertisement
“Idaho has made vital strides lately in combatting the opioid disaster, and the end result of our authorized motion towards opioid producers – led by Lawyer Common Wasden and his group – now affords further sources,” Little stated in a press release. “Altogether, our investments and actions will flip the tide on the opioid disaster.”
Darin Oswald / Idaho Statesman by way of AP
/
Idaho Statesman by way of AP
Idaho Lawyer Common Lawrence Wasden in Boise, Idaho in 2017.
Wasden is continuous authorized motion towards different opioid makers in addition to the Sackler household, homeowners of Purdue Pharma.
Advertisement
“This settlement holds a few of these most chargeable for the opioid disaster accountable and offers vital funding for remedy, restoration and prevention in Idaho,” Wasden stated. “These funds shall be an enormous asset to our state because it continues its restoration from the opioid disaster.”
By signing onto the nationwide settlement, authorities entities conform to forego lawsuits of their very own towards Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Well being and McKesson.
For Idaho, the Johnson & Johnson cost of about $21 million could be unfold over 9 years. The roughly $98 million cost from the drug distributors could be unfold over 18 years.
In response to the settlement, 40% of the cash would go to collaborating counties and cities, with one other 20% going to regional public well being districts.
The remaining 40% would go to the state-directed opioid settlement fund, created by lawmakers final 12 months and signed into regulation by Little. The Idaho Legislature would acceptable cash from the fund primarily based on suggestions by the Idaho Behavioral Well being Council, which is a part of the Idaho Division of Well being and Welfare.
Advertisement
The settlement agreements, in addition to the funds, embrace elevated accountability and oversight for the drug corporations, modifications in how prescriptions are distributed and offered, impartial monitoring, a nationwide database to assist cease deliveries of opioids to pharmacies the place misuse is happening, and a ban on Johnson & Johnson from promoting or selling opioids.
Alabama, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Washington and West Virginia didn’t be a part of within the settlement and have sought their very own offers or taken authorized motion.
Washington would have acquired $418 million had it joined the settlement. Earlier this month state officers agreed to a $518 million settlement with AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Well being and McKesson. The settlement nonetheless requires approval from a choose and from dozens of Washington cities that pursued their very own circumstances. Washington’s lawsuit towards Johnson & Johnson is scheduled to go to trial in September.
West Virginia in April settled with Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary Janssen Prescription drugs Inc. for $99 million. State Lawyer Common Patrick Morrisey stated he believed West Virginia’s settlement was the biggest within the nation per capita with Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen.
Additionally final month, Alabama reached a $276 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson, McKesson and Endo Worldwide.
Advertisement
Idaho’s portion within the 1998, $206 billon nationwide tobacco settlement was $712 million over the primary 25 years of the deal.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see extra, go to https://www.npr.org.
IDAHO COUNTY, Idaho – A 41-year-old man is dead after the truck in which he was a passenger veered off the road early Saturday morning.
According to Idaho State Police, the crash took place at around 3 a.m. near Elk City Summit Road and Newsome Creek Road in Idaho County.
A 57-year-old man was driving his truck when the vehicle lost the ability to break, causing the truck to go off the road and up an embankment before flipping over.
The 41-year-old man was pronounced dead on scene, while another passenger was transported to the hospital and the driver sustained no injuries.
Birthrates in the United States have reached a historic low, with women having an average of 1.6 children in their lifetime. However, while some states have seen significant reductions in population growth, others are seeing their populations boom.
Since 2020, one of the fastest growing states in the U.S. has been Idaho, increasing by 6.2 percent between 2020 and 2023, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This represents a rise from 1,849,339 in July 2020 to 1,964,726 in July 2023. However, this growth has not been even across the state.
The map below shows which Idaho counties are growing the fastest:
The fastest population growth was seen in Camas County, with a 14 percent increase between 2020 and 2023. This was followed by Boundary County at 12 percent. Tied for third place was Adams County, Boise County, Bonner County, and Canyon County, with an 11 percent growth rate.
Advertisement
So, what might be driving these increases?
According to researchers at the University of Idaho, more than a quarter of the state’s growing population are new to the state. By analyzing vehicle registration and license surrender data from the Idaho Transportation Department between 2011 and 2021, the team found that nearly half a million Idaho residents had moved to the state in the last decade.
“We’re not in the middle of nowhere anymore,” Jaap Vos, a professor in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho who focuses on planning, said in a statement on the university’s website in 2022. “We’re actually in the middle of all the action. If you look at the numbers, you can see we are getting new people coming in constantly.”
Map shows Idaho counties with the fastest growing population. Map shows Idaho counties with the fastest growing population. rarrarorro / iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty
According to the Idaho Department of Labor in March 2023, net migration into the state accounted for 88 percent of Idaho’s population growth between 2021 and 2022, the majority of which were U.S. citizens moving in from other states. The remaining 12 percent was from natural change when birth rates overweigh deaths.
While Idaho is seeing this influx of new people, many longstanding Idaho residents have been increasingly moving elsewhere, resulting in a significant reshaping of Idaho’s demographics.
According to a January interview with Matthew Hurt, an economist at the Idaho Division of Financial Management, with the Idaho Statesman, two thirds of Idaho’s predicted revenue growth through the 2028 fiscal year will be added through migration, with as many as one third of migration in Southwest Idaho coming from California.
Advertisement
For every Idaho family that moves to California, Idaho gets three back, Hurt added.
“California totally dominates the net migration story, and it really is because Californians come to Idaho,” he said. “Idahoans don’t really go to California.”
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the U.S. population? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — — Kobe Tracy passed for 425 yards and three touchdowns, Jeff Weimer has 12 receptions for 236 yards and a TD and Gabe Panikowski kicked a 24-yard field goal as time expired Saturday night to help Idaho State beat Cal Poly 41-38.
Christian Fredericksen caught nine passes for 120 yards and a touchdown for Idaho State (3-3, 1-1 Big Sky Conference) and Dason Brooks scored on a 3-yard run that gave the Bengals a three-point lead with 11:16 to play. Cal Poly (2-3, 1-1) responded with a 10-play, 57-yard drive that stalled out at the 8 and the Mustangs settled for a 26-yard field goal by Noah Serna to make it 38-all.
Weimer fumbled on the Idaho State’s ensuing possession but Cal Poly failed to convert on a fourth-and-1 from the Bengals 23 with about 3 minutes to play. Idaho State used a 30-yard pass from Tracy to Fredericksen to set up Panikowski’s winning field goal.
Watts finished with 18 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns for Cal Poly. Michael Briscoe caught a 19-yard pass from Tracy to open the scoring and added a 19-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Advertisement
Tracy and Weimer connected on a 84-yard throw-and-catch for a touchdown that gave Idaho State a 17-7 lead going into the second quarter.
Jake East returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown that gave Cal Poly a 21-17 with about 4 minutes left in the first half.
——
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25439572/VRG_TEC_Textless.jpg "Charter will offer Peacock for free with some cable subscriptions next year")
