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An ER That Treats Opioids Like an Emergency

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, New York Times

An ER That Treats Opioids Like an Emergency

Highland Hospital in Oakland, California, is among a small group of institutions that have started initiating opioid addiction treatment in the ER. Their aim is to plug a hole in a medical system that consistently fails to provide treatment on demand even as more than 2 million Americans suffer from opioid addiction. By providing buprenorphine around the clock to people in crisis these ERs are doing their best to ensure an opportunity isn’t lost. It usually takes many more steps to get someone started on addiction medicine. Buprenorphine works by easing withdrawal symptoms and cravings.

Trump Accuses Social Media Firms of Discrimination Against Conservatives

President Donald Trump said Saturday that conservative voices were being unfairly censored on social media, hinting that he might intervene if his allies’ accounts continued to be shut down. “Social Media is totally discriminating against Republican/Conservative voices,” Trump wrote on Twitter, saying that “censorship is a very dangerous thing.” Social media companies, facing pressure from lawmakers and users over their role in the rise of misinformation and partisan division, have promised to step up their enforcement practices. They have banned a number of pages and accounts in recent weeks for being involved in activity intended to disrupt the midterm elections.

New York Sergeant Under Investigation in Off-Duty Shooting of Unarmed Man Is Fired

A police sergeant who was under investigation in connection with the off-duty shooting of an unarmed man in the face in Brooklyn was fired Friday, a police official said. Moments after the shooting on Aug. 2 in the East New York neighborhood, video surveillance footage captured the sergeant, Ritchard Blake, patting down the man, Thavone Santana, as if looking for a weapon. The sergeant then pulled a sheath knife out of his back pocket and dropped it out of its covering beside Santana. After briefly pacing, Blake picked it back up, the video shows. Santana, 21, survived the shooting.

Some Are ‘Crazy Rich,’ But Asians’ Inequality Is Widest in the U.S.

The leads of the new romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians” are precisely what you might expect, based on the title: picture-perfect images of the immigrant success story. But that is not a full picture of the Asian-American experience. They are now the most economically divided racial or ethnic group in the country, displacing African-Americans, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data that shows income inequality among Asian-Americans has nearly doubled from 1970 to 2016. This trend mirrors that of other racial groups, though income inequality has accelerated fastest among Asians.

As States Rush to Curb Prescription Costs, Drug Companies Fight Back

States around the country are clamping down on pharmaceutical companies, forcing them to disclose and justify price increases, but drug manufacturers are fighting back, challenging state laws as a violation of their constitutional rights. Even more states are trying to regulate middlemen who play a crucial role by managing drug benefits for employers and insurers, while taking payments from drug companies in return for giving preferential treatment to their drugs. Twenty-four states have passed 37 bills this year to curb rising prescription drug costs, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy, a nonpartisan forum of policymakers.

Stop Saying ‘Mormon,’ Church Leader Says

The word “Mormon” is out, says the president of the Utah-based church. In an announcement Thursday, President Russell Nelson insisted that Mormons and non-Mormons alike stick to the term “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Nelson, 93, said that the policy change came to him in a revelation from God and that members of the church must work to adjust their vernacular. The only exceptions listed are for the Book of Mormon, the church’s sacred text, and historical names like the Mormon Trail. The church’s updated style guide specifies that “Mormon Church,” “Mormons” and “Mormonism” are no longer acceptable.

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