opioids

Judge Colleen McMahon was expected to halt work on the controversial settlement that would give immunity from opioid lawsuits to the Sackler family. Instead she allowed work on the plan to go ahead.

Authorities said they recovered 1.8 million counterfeit pills laced with enough fentanyl to kill 700,000 Americans. "One pill can kill," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Thursday.

At least 270 people have died from overdoses so far this year in Jacksonville; 271 people had died from an overdose at the same point last year .

The DOJ is seeking to block implementation of any part of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy deal until legal challenges are settled. The deal granted Sackler family members immunity from opioid lawsuits.

Black communities face a growing share of overdoses, but addiction treatment resources and attention are still focused on white communities.

The money would be spread over a period of 18 years, starting next April.

The decision by a federal bankruptcy judge grants members of the family who own Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, sweeping protection from any liability for the opioid crisis.

Judge Robert Drain signaled he will approve the landmark bankruptcy for Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. But he called for new limits to legal protections for members of the Sackler family.

Attorney General Ashley Moody says the money will be spent on drug prevention measures as well as opioid treatment and recovery services.

Four big drug companies would pay out $26 billion to dozens of states over the next 17 years.