The other crisis: Drug overdoses in the US rose almost 30% last year

7/15/21 7:00PM

The other crisis

‍Last year we charted about the tragic rise in drug overdose deaths in the United States. Sadly, the preliminary numbers for 2020 are even worse.

Drug overdose deaths in 2020 rose by almost 30% relative to 2019 — with 93,000 people losing their lives to drugs in the US last year. Almost 70,000 of those, or roughly 75% of the total, were related to overdoses in pain-relieving opioids.

‍Opioid overdoses

‍As pain management became more common in the 1980s and 1990s, painkillers were heavily marketed and — officials claim — often over-prescribed thanks to kickbacks and payments given to doctors for doing so, leading to addiction and overdoses.

A number of pharmaceutical companies have been successfully prosecuted for their roles in the opioid crisis. 3 weeks ago Johnson & Johnson reached a settlement to pay $230m towards treatment and prevention and Purdue Pharma — which made OxyContin painkillers — agreed to pay $8.3bn for its role in the crisis last year.

Those legal successes unfortunately feel like a hollow victory as the opioid crisis has never been worse in America.

J. Edward Moreno11/4/25

Starbucks sells control of China business for $4 billion

Starbucks disclosed on Monday evening in a regulatory filing that it will sell control of its ailing China business to Boyu Capital for about $4 billion.

Under the agreement, Boyu will own a 60% stake in the China segment, which will become a joint venture between Boyu and Starbucks. The coffee chain will retain a 40% interest in the entity and will continue to own and license the brand and intellectual property.

Bloomberg reported earlier this year that the company was looking to sell its China segment. The American coffee giant has struggled to succeed in China, its second-largest market after the US.

Tom Jones

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OPEC and others are boosting oil production as the race to catch up with the US goes on

This month’s 137,000-barrel-a-day boost is a little more modest than some expected.

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RED FLAG, GREEN FLAG

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China, the world’s largest carbon polluter, has pledged to cut emissions for the first time

President Xi Jinping has announced that China is aiming to slash carbon emissions by up to 10% in the next decade.

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Claire Yubin Oh9/19/25

John Wayne Airport in Orange County tops the list of North America’s favorite airports

Despite a record year of passenger numbers, flight cancellations, and delays, a new survey has revealed that flyers have been increasingly satisfied about their experiences in North American airports.

According to this year’s North America Airport Satisfaction Study from data analysts at J.D. Power, overall passenger satisfaction scores were up 10 points (on a 1,000-point scale), largely from “improvements in food, beverage and retail and ease of travel through the airport.” The annual survey measures overall traveler satisfaction across the region’s airports in seven categories (in order of importance): ease of travel, level of trust, terminal facilities, airport staff, airport departure experience, food and retail, and airport arrival experience.

Here are the region’s favorites:

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More than 40% of American adults now report being online “almost constantly”

While a new survey showed Japan has the greatest share of perpetually online people, there was a significant number reporting not using the internet at all.

The other crisis: Drug overdoses in the US rose almost 30% last year

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Starbucks sells control of China business for $4 billion

John Wayne Airport in Orange County tops the list of North America’s favorite airports

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