 Bottles of OxyContin made by Purdue Pharma LP The $4.5B Purdue Pharmaceuticals settlement, which shielded the Sackler family from any personal litigation over the U.S. opioid epidemic, has been overturned by a federal judge. The pharmaceutical company is undergoing a bankruptcy reorganization that would restructure it into a public benefit corporation. The Sackler family had insisted on non-debtor releases, which protect individuals who have not personally filed for bankruptcy, and would not have accepted the settlement offer without them. More: - The company is known for manufacturing the opioid-based pain medication OxyContin, which was also found to be highly addictive.
- Purdue filed for bankruptcy in September 2019 after being hit with 3,000 lawsuits claiming the Sackler family and Purdue were complicit in the epidemic, which has claimed the lives of half a million people since 1999.
- OxyContin addiction and overdose risks were downplayed by Purdue while marketing the drug.
- Purdue pleaded guilty to criminal charges as part of a 2020 deal with the U.S. Department of Justice that included the waiver of $8.3 billion in penalties and forfeitures in exchange for utilizing the settlement funds to combat the epidemic.
- Under the terms of the settlement, $750M was allocated for distribution to the affected families with individual settlements ranging between $3,500 and $48,000.
- The settlement was granted by a New York bankruptcy court, but U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon said the bankruptcy court lacks the authority to offer Sacklers legal protection.
- Although over 95% of the creditors, predominantly plaintiffs, agreed to the reorganization settlement, over 2,600 personal injury claimants and eight states have voted against it.
- The appeal will now proceed to the New York-based U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Indianapolis will invest $45M over the next three years in a grass-roots homicide prevention program. The city is one of at least 12 in the U.S. to face record homicide rates. Increased crime rates were likely to be caused by pandemic-related mental and financial distress. More: - By early December, Indianapolis had 250 homicide cases as compared to 215 in all of 2020, which was itself a record high. The city also has seen 700 nonfatal shootings.
- The city administration has provided monetary assistance to 30 community groups and plans to use federal COVID-19 relief funds to boost the allocation up from $3M to $15M annually.
- Indianapolis will spend $150M on public safety out of the $419M it received from the federal American Rescue Plan, as well as hiring 100 more police officers.
- In one prominent example, the Prescription for Hope program at Eskenazi Health, a local hospital and clinic network, assists victims and perpetrators of gunshot wounds ages 15 to 30 in breaking the cycle of violence.
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 QVC distribution center fire Fire damaged three-quarters of the 1.2 million-square-foot QVC distribution center in Rocky Mount, N.C. There were 300 employees in the building when the fire started, and while authorities believe everyone made it out safely, one is still missing. More: - The factory is situated 60 miles east of Raleigh and employs over 2,000 people.
- 45 fire departments across six counties responded to the emergency and spent over 12 hours dousing the flames.
- The fire was reported at 2 a.m., and the cause is currently unknown.
- The company's first priority is the health and safety of all of its employees, it said in a statement, following which it will examine product damage and its impact on current orders.
- The Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce estimates that the fire will affect 2,500 families.
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 Neal Moore Good news: Neal Moore canoed 22,000 miles from the Columbia River in Oregon to New York Harbor. It took him 22 months through 22 states and 22 rivers to complete this coast-to-coast journey. More: - Moore paddled ~20 miles each day in his 16-foot red Old Town Penobscot canoe.
- The canoe was also loaded with a tent, freeze-dried meals, navigation charts, a marine radio, and a laptop computer stored in a waterproof bag to aid his journey.
- Neal set out on Feb. 9, 2020, from Oregon and Washington up the Columbia River, before taking the Snake River to Idaho and Montana. After crossing the Continental Divide on foot with a set of wheels for the canoe, he then joined the Missouri River to the Gulf Coast, then back north to Ohio and New York.
- He stuck with cheap meals, which helped him reduce his expenses to $1,100 per month.
- A dozen kayakers paddled along with him during the last leg of the journey to the Statue of Liberty.
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The Netherlands has implemented a severe lockdown over the holidays to curb the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron strain. Officials anticipate it to be the dominant variant by year-end. All non-essential shops and public venues are to remain closed until Jan. 14 and schools until Jan. 9. More: - All residents have been urged to stay at home to the maximum extent possible.
- Only two guests will be allowed at people’s homes, with four guests being permitted on Christmas and New Year’s.
- Non-essential shops and restaurants can offer delivery and takeaway services.
- The Netherlands has reported over 20,000 deaths and 2.9 million coronavirus cases so far.
- Although 85% of all adults have been vaccinated, less than 9% have taken their booster shots.
Zoom out: - France and Germany have banned tourists from the U.K., which has reported 20,000 Omicron cases so far, from entering their respective nations.
- Europe has seen 1.5 million COVID-19 related deaths from 89 million cases so far.
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Daimler Truck, Traton Group, and Volvo Group are forming a joint venture to install and operate a high-performance heavy-duty vehicle charging network across Europe. The three trucking businesses will each own an equal share of the venture, which is expected to start operations in 2022, subject to regulatory approval. More: - The three partners are expected to invest a total of $562M into the venture, presumed to be headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- This venture solidifies their commitment to accelerate the transition to EV and contribute to climate-neutral transport in Europe by 2050.
- The automotive group aims to establish a network of 1,700 high-performance charging points across critical logistic hubs within five years of establishment.
- The group expects to grow that number as more partners or public financing come in.
- Charging networks will adhere to the mandatory 45-minute rest period for long-distance transports and also provide overnight charging services.
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- 21,000 people have been rescued and evacuated to relief centers by Malaysian emergency services and volunteers as the nation faced torrential rain and flooding in seven states.
- Construction crews in Richmond, Virginia, are working to extract a time capsule embedded in a 2,000-pound granite block that formerly supported a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, which was taken down in September.
- Apple is seeking dismissal of its antitrust case in India, which alleges that the company is abusing market power in the app market and forcing app developers to use its proprietary system with a 30% commission on in-app purchases.
- Typhoon Rai has claimed 112 lives in the Philippines while over 300,000 residents have been evacuated from their homes. President Rodrigo Duterte pledged $40M in assistance.
- U.K. Brexit Minister David Frost tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and stepped down immediately.
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Visualization of the day 
The world’s biggest companies in 2021.
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 |  | Karan Chafekar is a Management Consultant, Business enthusiast, Formula 1 lover, and a Licensed Pilot. He is also a part-time automobile and aviation fanatic, and a full-time introvert. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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