“These are all preventable deaths.”
 THE BIG STORY
More people than ever died of drug overdoses in the US in 2020
At the start of the pandemic, the CDC expressed worry about vulnerable populations, among them drug users. A public health crisis that forced people to be away from each other was a worrying sign.
The worst case has come to pass. In 2020, drug overdoses took a savage turn for the worse, killing more than 93,000 people, according to preliminary CDC estimates released Wednesday. It's a shocking 29.4% jump from the 71,000 deaths of 2019 — which itself was a new record at the time.
The spike in deaths was driven by the increased presence of the dangerous opioid fentanyl into the illicit drug market in the US, along with increased isolation among people who use drugs and overwhelmed public health agencies during the pandemic.
The US is in the middle of a long-running epidemic of overdose deaths steadily rising over the last half-century, with more than half a million people dying as a result of drug overdoses in the last decade alone.
One expert told us, "These are all preventable deaths. This is really a tragedy."  BuzzFeed News /CDC STAYING ON TOP OF THIS
Britney Spears will be allowed to choose her own lawyer in her conservatorship
In a pivotal moment in Britney's fight to gain control of her life again, a judge ruled that the pop star will be allowed to personally choose a lawyer to represent her interests in her conservatorship.
The ruling follows Britney's explosive testimony last month, where she explained that she'd like to be able to choose who represents her in the court-mandated arrangement, which has controlled almost every aspect of her life for the last 13 years.
Champions of the #FreeBritney movement hailed the judge's decision as a huge victory. SNAPSHOTS
Joe Exotic of Tiger King will be resentenced in his murder-for-hire case. A federal appeals court determined there was an error in how Exotic's sentence was calculated. Even though Exotic will get a revised prison sentence, he will still face a significant amount of time behind bars.
Olivia Rodrigo went to the White House to talk about vaccinations. Hospitals are seeing a surge in young people sick and dying from COVID-19. Currently only 34.8% of teens (ages 12 to 17) have received at least one vaccination jab, as have just 46% of young people between 18 and 24, according to CDC data. Rodrigo's visit was part of a campaign encouraging young people to get vaccinated.
Thank the gay gods for Kathy Hilton. The new season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills brought us Kathy Hilton, introduced to the audience as a "friend" of the Housewives. As Shannon Keating writes, Hilton doesn't need RHOBH — and that's precisely what makes her a delight to watch. "THIS IS AN ATROCIOUS POLICY"
These asylum seekers were turned away by Trump after fleeing deadly violence. Now they have a second chance.
The Trump era was marked by numerous policy attempts to deter immigrants from El Salvador and Honduras from seeking asylum. To do so, former president Trump convinced Guatemala to take in asylum-seekers. The move was then quickly overshadowed by other restrictions the administration implemented.
The "safe third country" plan led to hundreds of immigrants being sent to Guatemala, a country also racked by poverty, violence, and instability. Meanwhile, Guatemala's own citizens made up a sizable portion of those apprehended at the US–Mexico border.
In recent weeks, the Biden administration has taken steps to help some of those affected by the deal with Guatemala, known as an Asylum Cooperative Agreement. In May, US officials agreed to allow six plaintiffs who sued over the safe third country plan to return to the US and seek asylum protections.
Immigrant advocates believe more should be done for the hundreds of other immigrants sent to Guatemala. WE GOT YOUR BACK Here are BuzzFeed's picks for best books of July 2021
I love reading, but I'm regularly overwhelmed about what to read. That's why I'm grateful for the team over at BuzzFeed Books — every month, it feels like they have my back, and yours too. From mysteries to sci-fi/fantasy to romance to literary fiction and young adult, here are their favorite reads this month! Find time in your day for some tenderness toward yourself, Elamin 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.
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