Why illicit drugs in the US are becoming more potent
 NOVEMBER 18, 2021 THE BIG STORY
Overdose deaths in the US rocketed by 28%, a new report finds  Over 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses from April 2020 to April 2021, according to a federal report released on Wednesday. That's more than double the number of such deaths in 2015, and it's a 28.5% increase from the same time period a year earlier.
Opioids are now responsible for three-quarters of drug overdose deaths. But deaths from methamphetamine and cocaine also increased, and experts are citing at least two reasons for the rise in overdoses.
One is COVID-19. Public health experts have long feared that the pandemic made drug overdose deaths more likely last year, with isolated people using drugs alone and more often amid nationwide reports of surging anxiety and depression.
The second reason involves an increasingly lethal drug supply. Methamphetamine sold in the US is stronger than it used to be; it's often made by cartel chemists in Mexico, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Fentanyl is some 30 to 40 times more potent by weight than heroin, and it has largely replaced that drug in many illicit markets. The outgrowth of lethal drugs, combined with a scarcity of accessible drug treatment programs, is taking the overdose crisis to deadly new extremes. STAYING ON TOP OF THIS
Rapper Young Dolph was killed in a shooting in Memphis  Young Dolph performing onstage Paul R. Giunta / AP Young Dolph, whose birth name is Adolph Robert Thornton Jr, was fatally shot on Wednesday at Makeda's Homemade Cookies in Memphis, Tennessee. The shop owner told Fox 13 that employees said Young Dolph came in to buy cookies when a shooter drove up and opened fire. No suspects have been detained or identified by police at this time.
SNAPSHOTS
The House censured Paul Gosar for posting an anime clip showing him killing AOC. This rarely used rebuke publicly condemns Gosar and strips him of his House committee seats. It was passed with the support of all Democrats and two Republicans.
The "QAnon shaman" who stormed the Capitol was sentenced to over three years in prison. Jacob Chansley wasn't charged with some of the most serious violent crimes of Jan. 6, but he put himself at the center of one of the most well-documented criminal events in US history and became a viral sensation.
THE LATEST IN THE ASTROWORLD AFTERMATH
Travis Scott is being sued for more than $750 million over the Astroworld tragedy  Like many other Astroworld lawsuits filed against Scott, the complaint details alleged past behavior by the rapper which they claimed "glorifies violence and other dangerous behaviors." Rick Kern / Getty Images Travis Scott has been named in a $750 million lawsuit filed on Tuesday on behalf of 125 Astroworld victims, including the family of one man who died at the Houston festival.
Ten people were killed and hundreds of others injured in a deadly crowd surge during Scott's performance on Nov. 5. Sources close to the rapper maintain that he didn't realize the severity of what was happening in the crowd as he continued to play on for a reported 37 minutes after the show had been declared a mass casualty incident.
Other defendants named in the suit include Drake, Apple Music, Epic Records, Scott's Cactus Jack Records, Tri Star Sports and Entertainment Group, and Live Nation — the company responsible for organizing the event.
Additionally, Nike announced that they have postponed the release of their latest sneaker collaboration with Scott, "out of respect for everyone impacted by the tragic events at the Astroworld Festival." W Magazine has also decided against digitally promoting an upcoming edition that features Scott, and his partner, Kylie Jenner, on the cover. SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA
John Krasinski revealed that he refused to shoot a Jim and Pam plotline on The Office because fans would "never come back"  They're not my favorite fictional couple, but they're not half bad. Danny Feld / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images According to a new book by Brian Baumgartner (an Office show writer who also played Kevin), a plot line for season eight involved Jim cheating on Pam with her maternity leave replacement Cathy Simms. Damn.
But actor John Krasinski wasn't having it. "That's the only time I remember putting my foot down," he claimed, stating that he went to series creator Greg Daniels with his concerns. "I remember saying things that I never thought I'd say before, like, 'I'm not going to shoot it.'"
Daniels eventually agreed to switch gears, but in the book he also explains why it seemed like the couple was on thin ice in those later seasons. "[The fans] were very comfortable with the show they were getting," he says, "and I needed to worry them that maybe I was going to give them a bad ending so they were happy when they got a good ending." What are you telling yourself right now? Is it kind? Alexa 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Alexa Lee and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.
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