Courts/Rulings & Lawsuits | | |
Erik and Lyle Menendez are now eligible for parole after judge resentences them
A California judge on Tuesday resentenced Erik and Lyle Menendez, making the siblings eligible for parole in the shotgun killings of their parents more than three decades ago. The ruling from Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic came after months of delays, opposition from Los Angeles County's new top prosecutor and a series of witnesses who testified during a sometimes emotional hearing Tuesday that Erik, 54, and Lyle, 57, had changed for the better and are now "different men," as a cousin, Anamaria Baralt, put it.
NBC News
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Ninth Circuit reverses course in Second Amendment case
An en banc panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Friday that the application of a federal law criminalizing the possession of a firearm by a felon to a man with no violent criminal history does not run afoul of the Constitution under the analytical framework to be applied for Second Amendment cases following U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, drawing dissent.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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US appeals court upholds federal ban on felons owning guns
A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld a federal law preventing felons from possessing firearms, rejecting a challenge by a California man who said the ban should not apply to non-violent felons like himself. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California said the government showed the "permanent and categorical disarmament" of felons was consistent with the country's historical tradition of firearms regulation, and with the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Reuters
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Fired Montebello police chief files whistleblower retaliation suit
A former Montebello police chief has filed a whistleblower retaliation suit against the city, alleging the city manager fired him earlier this year for refusing to pressure the police union to accept a contract offered by the administration in the southeast Los Angeles County community. Former Chief Paul Espinosa's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for his alleged physical, mental and emotional injuries as well as damage to emotional distress.
City News Service
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Deputy due summary judgment in fatal shooting of mother
The Third District Court of Appeal held yesterday that a trial judge erred in denying summary judgment to a Nevada County sheriff’s deputy - who deployed his taser against a knife-wielding mother in the presence of her children - in an action filed by the minors after the woman was fatally shot by another officer at the scene, finding the defendant acted reasonably as a matter of law.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Stalking restraining order may cover threatened parent
Div. Eight of this district’s Court of Appeal held yesterday that a trial court judge did not err in including the father of a stalking victim as a protected person in a postconviction restraining order, issued based on a Penal Code section authorizing decrees prohibiting a convict from having “any contact with the victim,” even though the jury found the defendant not guilty of charges accusing him of threatening the named parent.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Federal appeals court skeptical over NASCAR antitrust case
Although Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing team and Front Row Motorsports won a preliminary injunction in their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR last December, it might not stand up to scrutiny on appeal. The case went before a panel of three judges in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday in Richmond, Va. The judges appeared to lean toward NASCAR's argument that the basis of the injunction was flawed.
Reuters
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Trump administration appeals order blocking federal workforce reductions
The Trump administration is appealing a district judge's order that temporarily blocked plans to reduce the federal workforce and reorganize 21 departments and agencies. Late Friday, attorneys asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to review Judge Susan Illston's temporary restraining order earlier in the day. Illston, who serves in California, was appointed by President Bill Clinton.
UPI
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Suspect charged with murder for man's death after break-in at Valley Village apartment complex
A man has been arrested in connection with a homicide at a Valley Village apartment complex that has had neighbors on edge for more than a week. The victim was found on April 26 at the complex located in the 12600 block of Riverside Drive, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. It was there that officers found 53-year-old Menashe Hidra, known to others as Manny, dead.
KCAL News
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New US attorney offers plea deal to LA deputy caught on camera slamming woman to the ground
The new interim U.S. attorney in Los Angeles is offering a plea deal to a sheriff's deputy caught on camera slamming a woman to the ground who was the suspect in a robbery. In February, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Trevor James Kirk was found guilty of using excessive force during the shoplifting investigation outside of a supermarket in Lancaster.
ABC7
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Encino insurance adjuster tried to scam Eaton fire victims and others, state alleges
An Encino-based public insurance adjuster and a series of related companies allegedly submitted false claims, stole insurance funds and failed to complete repairs for more than a dozen clients, including two Eaton fire victims, according to a newly filed class-action lawsuit and a complaint from the state Department of Insurance. The Department of Insurance is now moving to fine and revoke the licenses of Aleksandr Guldshtadt and his company, Nationwide Insurance Claims Advocates (NICA), and to reject a license application from his wife, Evghenia Gaiju, as result of its investigation, documents showed.
Pasadena Star News
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Author and wife of Weezer bassist pleads not guilty to charges from LAPD shooting
Los Angeles County prosecutors filed criminal charges Tuesday against Jillian Lauren Shriner, a bestselling author who is married to Weezer bassist Scott Shriner, after an incident last month in which she was wounded by police after allegedly shooting at them from her backyard. The author, who publishes under the last name Lauren, appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courthouse, pleading not guilty to felony charges for willful discharge of a firearm in a gross negligent manner and assault of a person with a semiautomatic firearm.
Los Angeles Times
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Federal prosecutors file 20 cases this year against alleged drug dealers who sold fentanyl that caused fatal drug overdoses
Law enforcement officials today announced the filing of 20 criminal cases so far this year targeting fentanyl dealers who are charged with selling fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills that directly resulted in the death of at least one victim. The cases being announced today are a result of the ongoing efforts of the OD Justice Task Force, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)-led project designed to investigate fatal fentanyl poisonings and identify the individuals who provided the fentanyl that directly caused the deaths.
U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California
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DoorDash driver helped cheat company out of $2.5 million using phantom deliveries
A Newport Beach man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiring to steal more than $2.5 million from the San Francisco-based food delivery company, officials from the U.S. attorney’s office announced. Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri, 30, admitted he worked with several others in a scheme to cause DoorDash to pay for deliveries that never occurred.
Los Angeles Times
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Feds charge Sinaloa Cartel leaders with narco-terrorism
The United States Justice Department on Tuesday charged leaders of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel with narco-terrorism and material support of terrorism in the first such indictment in connection with the massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin smuggled into the U.S. “The Sinaloa Cartel is a complex, dangerous terrorist organization and dismantling them demands a novel, powerful legal response,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
Courthouse News Service
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Prosecutor argues ex-San Diego deputy willfully killed fleeing unarmed man
A former San Diego County sheriff's deputy shocked fellow officers when he fatally shot an unarmed man outside San Diego’s downtown jail because the man he shot wasn’t a threat to anyone, an attorney for the federal government said during opening arguments in the officer’s criminal trial on Tuesday. On May 1, 2020, Nicholas Bils was hitting golf balls in San Diego’s Old Town State Park with his off-leash dog when he was approached by a California State Parks officer.
Courthouse News Service
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Antelope Valley man arrested on indictment alleging he and two others participated in two gang murders last year in Lancaster
A reputed member of the Pasadena Denver Lanes (PDL) Bloods street gang was arrested today on a four-count federal grand jury indictment alleging he and two other PDL members took part in a one-night shooting spree in Lancaster last year that claimed two lives and almost claimed a third. Jerry Wimbley III, a.k.a. “Baby Poppa Ckrab,” 20, of Lancaster, was arrested this morning and is expected to be arraigned and make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California
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No funding allocated for Proposition 36 in Newsom's $322B state budget, advocates push back
California state lawmakers will soon be tasked with approving their version of a spending plan after Gov. Gavin Newsom released his revised budget Wednesday. The May Revise aims to solve a $12 billion budget deficit. There is no funding allocated for Proposition 36 - the tough-on-crime ballot measure that voters passed in a landslide in the November 2024 general election, increasing penalties for certain drug and retail theft crimes.
CBS13
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Newsom wants cities to force homeless Californians to move camp every 3 days
Gov. Gavin Newsom has a new strategy to eliminate the large, long-standing homeless encampments that have been a thorn in his side throughout his administration: Push cities to make them illegal. The governor on Monday called on every local government in the state to adopt ordinances that restrict public camping “without delay.” He provided a hypothetical model ordinance that lays out exactly what he’d like to see banned: Camping in one place for more than three nights in a row, building semi-permanent structures such as make-shift shacks on public property, and blocking streets or sidewalks.
CalMatters
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California released 15,000 prisoners early during COVID. New data reveals what happened to many of them
Nearly one-third of California prisoners released early during the pandemic by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration ended up back in prison, according to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation data. The records, obtained and analyzed by CalMatters, offer the first glimpse into what happened to some of the former prisoners after state leaders chose to shrink a prison population imperiled by the spread of COVID in close quarters.
Cal Matters
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With L.A. in crisis, Mayor Karen Bass’ hiring goal for the LAPD slips further out of reach
Two years ago, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass laid out an ambitious and expensive goal for her first city budget: restore the size of the Los Angeles Police Department to 9,500 officers. Now, the mayor’s hiring goal looks even more out of reach. With the city battered by a budget crisis and homicides falling by double digits, some are wondering: just how low can, or should, LAPD staffing go?
Los Angeles Times
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Frustrated LA County oversight commission weighs subpoenaing future appearances of probation chief
The Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Commission is considering using its subpoena power to compel Probation Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa to show up at future meetings and stay long enough to answer questions. The commission’s hostile relationship with Viera Rosa hit a boiling point Thursday, May 8, when the chief - ordered by the Board of Supervisors to address the commission’s recommendations to depopulate the troubled Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall - arrived late for the meeting, went through about half of the seven recommendations and then left after about an hour for another appointment.
Pasadena Star News
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How a Mojave Desert footrace became a showcase for L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. turmoil
For Los Angeles law enforcement, the Baker to Vegas footrace is the premiere sporting event of the year - a sort of Super Bowl for the "thin blue line" crowd. Police departments and sheriff’s stations spend months raising the thousands of dollars it takes to send each 20-runner team to the dusty start just north of Baker and on to the glittering finish by the Las Vegas Strip 120 miles later.
Los Angeles Times
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Police Captain Rafael Quintero named new Police Chief of Burbank
Burbank City Manager Justin Hess announced the selection of Glendale Police Captain Rafael Quintero as the next Police Chief for the City of Burbank, effective this April. Quintero will replace outgoing Police Chief Michael Albanese, who is set to retire on February 28, 2025. In the interim, Deputy Chief Adam Cornils will oversee the department until Quintero officially steps into the role. Quintero joins Burbank from the City of Glendale, where he has been serving as a Police Captain.
City of Burbank Press Release
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Trump orders West Los Angeles VA campus to house thousands of veterans
President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the existing West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus to become a “National Center for Warrior Independence” that would house thousands of homeless veterans. The order, “Keeping Promises to Veterans and Establishing a National Center for Warrior Independence,” directs VA Secretary Doug Collins to create a plan within 120 days that would allow the West Los Angeles VA campus to house up to 6,000 veterans by Jan. 1, 2028.
Task & Purpose
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UCLA medical school accused in suit of using race as a factor in admissions
UCLA’s medical school is accused in a federal class action lawsuit of using race as a factor in admissions despite state and federal bans on affirmative action, the Los Angeles Times reported. According to the suit, the legal action was being taken to stop the medical school and UCLA officials from allegedly “engaging in intentional discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity in the admissions process.”
EdSource
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War on cars: 10,000 California drivers sent $300 citations for driving in bus lanes
AI-powered cameras mounted on Metro buses are now catching thousands of drivers illegally parked in bus lanes across Los Angeles, with nearly 10,000 citations issued in the program’s first two months, according to LAist. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) reports that the pilot program - launched in February after a trial warning period - targets key corridors including Wilshire Boulevard from downtown L.A. to Santa Monica (Route 720) and La Brea Avenue between Hawthorne and Hollywood (Route 212).
Golden Gate Media
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LA city officials told a court they were adding new beds for unhoused people. But auditors couldn’t verify over 1,400 of them
L.A. city officials say they’ve been complying with a federal court requirement to create 6,000 new beds for unhoused Angelenos. But there’s a problem. Court-appointed auditors were not able to verify that the city was actually following through on that commitment. Officials at the L.A. Homeless Services Authority - who Mayor Karen Bass oversees - failed to provide records to the auditors for any spending on more than 1,400 rental subsidies the city was taking credit for in compliance reports submitted to the court.
LAist
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2 found dead at problem homeless encampment in Los Angeles
A disturbing death investigation is unfolding in the Westlake District of Los Angeles, where two people were found dead at a problem homeless encampment, including one who neighbors say was found partially eaten by dogs. The grisly discovery was found at an encampment along Huntley Circle near downtown L.A.
KTLA
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Palm Springs Police Department launches largest radar-enabled drone responder program in the U.S.
The Palm Springs Police Department just launched the largest radar-enabled drone responder program in the U.S., covering 37 square miles without the need for human spotters. MatrixSpace is the sensor company behind the technology, and says the system speeds up emergency response times.
KESQ
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Authorities arrest protesting couple blocking ICE officers
Two South Los Angeles residents were arrested Wednesday for allegedly causing a car chase in which they blocked and followed immigration agents while they were performing their duties. Gustavo Torres, 28, and Kiara Jaime-Flores, 34, are each charged with one federal count of conspiracy to impede or injure officers, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
mynewsLA.com
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‘Sextortion’ scam linked to California teen’s suicide leads to 4 arrests in West Africa
Three years after a California teen killed himself as a result of being “sextorted” online, authorities have arrested four men in Ivory Coast for their roles in an international scheme that targeted thousands of victims around the globe, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The scheme targeted people, including minors, throughout the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy. Among the victims was Ryan Last, a 17-year-old high school senior from San Jose.
Los Angeles Times
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4 linked to California-based cargo theft ring tied to Mexico arrested
Several suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of more than $1.5 million in cargo from various locations across Southern California, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. Investigators believe the suspects are linked to thefts utilizing "fence" locations to store stolen cargo before being transported to Tijuana, Mexico.
FOX11
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Residents roiled over dangerous fireworks
Plum Canyon resident Lilly Chiang said Wednesday she’s filmed close to 100 incidents of illegal fireworks being set off over the past several years behind her backyard that overlooks Plum Canyon Park. But an April 28 fireball that lit up the sky and sparked nearby brush was the proverbial last straw for Chiang and a handful of her neighbors.
The Signal
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Trump involved in discussions over suspending habeas corpus, sources say
President Donald Trump has been personally involved in discussions inside the administration over potentially suspending habeas corpus, a legal procedure that allows people to challenge their detention in court, two people familiar with the consideration told CNN. One of Trump’s top aides, Stephen Miller, confirmed publicly Friday that the administration was “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus, adding that it “depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.”
CNN
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FBI releases Officers Killed and Assaulted in the Line of Duty 2024 Special Report and Law Enforcement Employee Counts
On Monday, May 12, 2025, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program released the “Officers Killed and Assaulted in the Line of Duty, 2024 Special Report” and data from the Law Enforcement Employee Counts on the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer at cde.ucr.cjis.gov. “Officers Killed and Assaulted in the Line of Duty, 2024 Special Report”, provides preliminary counts of law enforcement officers killed and assaulted in 2024, as well as an in-depth analysis of law enforcement officers who were killed or assaulted from 2015 through 2024, based on the data voluntarily provided by law enforcement agencies to the FBI’s UCR Program.
WNEG
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17 family members of notorious cartel leader enter U.S. in deal with Trump administration, Mexico says
Mexico's security chief confirmed Tuesday that 17 family members of cartel leaders crossed into the U.S. last week as part of a deal between a son of the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Trump administration. Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed a report by independent journalist Luis Chaparro that family members of Ovidio Guzmán Lopez, who was extradited to the United States in 2023, had entered the U.S.
CBS News
| | Convictions/Pleas/Sentences | | |
Ojai Assistant City Manager Carl Alameda pleads not guilty to stealing nearly $200K from La Cañada Flintridge
Ojai Assistant City Manager Carl Alameda, 44, has been charged with stealing nearly $200,000 in proceeds from insurance claims meant for the city of La Cañada Flintridge, which were allegedly diverted to Alameda’s own personal bank account, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. Alameda was charged Thursday, May 15, with 11 felony counts of embezzlement and 23 counts of insurance fraud. If convicted, Alameda faces up to 33 years in state prison.
Ojai Valley News/Ventura County Sun
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Former state government employee and her ex-boyfriend sentenced to federal prison for fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 jobless relief
A former employee of the California Employment Development Department, which administers the state’s unemployment insurance program, and her former boyfriend were sentenced today to federal prison terms for fraudulently obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 pandemic-related jobless benefits. Phyllis Hope Stitt, 61, of Carson, was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison by United States District Judge André Birotte Jr., who also ordered her to pay $768,958 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California
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Retired IRS agent gets 12 years for scamming elderly California woman out of life savings
A retired IRS agent from Southern California has been sentenced to state prison after she was convicted of defrauding an elderly San Francisco Bay Area woman out of $1 million in life savings. According to the Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez's office, 81-year-old Elana Cohen-Roth of Marina Del Rey in Los Angeles County was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Friday. Last month, a jury convicted Cohen-Roth of 23 felony counts of financial fraud in relation to the scheme, which victimized a Sonoma County woman.
CBS News
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Man gets 25 years in prison for armed robbery spree at Rite Aid and Walgreens stores
A South Bay man was sentenced today to 25 years behind bars for committing a series of armed robberies of chain pharmacy stores around the Long Beach and Los Angeles areas two years ago. Makai Sanders, 23, of Hawthorne was also ordered to pay $48,490 in restitution to stores victimized in the 12 robberies, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
City News Service
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Ex-Palm Springs mayor admits accepting bribes from developers
Former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet pleaded guilty Wednesday to accepting bribes from at least one real estate developer to secure support for projects on the council’s agenda, but the man accused of furnishing the funds maintains his innocence, with testimony likely to begin in his trial before the end of the month.
mynewsLA.com
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Floods exposed weaknesses in California prisons’ emergency plans. They still aren’t ready
In 2023, amid record-breaking rain and snow, two prisons in the southern San Joaquin Valley faced a serious risk of flooding. But neither prison, California State Prison, Corcoran or the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility, had a robust evacuation plan on hand and ready for the looming disaster. Instead, the prisons developed a joint plan to transfer roughly 8,000 incarcerated people to other state prisons within 11 to 14 days - or longer.
CalMatters
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Court denies ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes' petition to have fraud conviction appeal reheard
In a four-sentence order issued Thursday afternoon, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously denied a petition by former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes seeking further hearings on her appeal. Holmes was convicted of four counts of wire fraud against investors in January 2022. The evidence at trial showed that Holmes told investors that Theranos technology could run dozens of medical tests based on a single drop of blood, using a device known as the Edison machine.
Bay City News
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US drug overdose deaths saw an unprecedented drop in 2024, but federal cuts could threaten momentum
Drug overdose deaths in the United States made an unprecedented drop to the lowest they’ve been in five years, according to a new federal government estimate released Wednesday. There were an estimated 80,391 overdose deaths in 2024, according to provisional data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – a 27% drop in one year, with about 30,000 fewer deaths than in 2023.
CNN
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