Local woman, 2 others plead guilty to cross-state drug trafficking ring participation
A local Pennsylvania woman and two others from Ohio and New Jersey pleaded guilty in federal court for their alleged connection to a cross-state drug trafficking ring.
A U.S. Attorney's Office spokesperson says Melissa Frain, 36, of Indiana, entered a guilty plea on May 30 to charges of violating federal narcotics laws.
Also pleading were Robert Hurst, 46, of North Royalton, Ohio, and Kevin Thomas, 48, of Newark, N.J.
Officials say the three are among 27 people charged in March 2023 for their alleged participation in a cross-state narcotics conspiracy involving large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, crack and heroin.
Between about September 2021 and January 2022, Frain is said to have conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute quantities of mixtures of cocaine, fentanyl and crack.
The defendants will be sentenced on Sept. 17. They could face up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $5 million or both.
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CNN
an hour ago
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New Jersey's primaries for governor focus on a part-time resident: Donald Trump
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For Democrats, Tuesday's primary presents a key test of the party's direction in its first months out of power against Trump. The six-candidate field covers the moderate and progressive lanes, and Tuesday's winner could face a tough test in November. Trump lost New Jersey last year by only 6 points to former Vice President Kamala Harris, four years after former President Joe Biden won the state by 16 points. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is term limited, won reelection in 2021 by just 3 points against Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who is running again this year. 'Whatever we do in New Jersey is going to send ripples in my mind, around the country, in terms of what people believe, what Americans want and a direction that we should be going in in terms of fights,' Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, one of the six Democratic candidates, said in an interview. 'Do we lay down or do we go moderate? Do we acquiesce to Donald Trump? 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Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Supreme Court rules unanimously in favor of straight Ohio woman who claimed discrimination
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of an Ohio woman who claimed she was discriminated against for job promotions in favor of gay candidates on Thursday. The ruling, Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, finds that members of majority groups in protected classes do not need to meet a higher standard of evidence in order to establish discrimination. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote the opinion of the court in the 9-0 decision. "The Sixth Circuit has implemented a rule that requires certain Title VII plaintiffs—those who are members of majority groups—to satisfy a heightened evidentiary standard," Jackson wrote. "We conclude that Title VII does not impose such a heightened standard on majority group plaintiffs. Therefore, the judgment below is vacated." The woman in the case, Marlean Ames, is a heterosexual woman who had worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services since 2004. She argued she was discriminated against on the basis of her sexual orientation after she was passed over for a promotion in 2019 in favor of a lesbian woman, and was then later replaced in her own role by a gay man. "Ames was qualified, had been denied a promotion in favor of a gay candidate, and was later demoted in favor of another gay candidate—evidence that would ordinarily satisfy her prima facie burden—before it specifically faulted Ames for failing to make the 'requisite showing of "background circumstances."'" Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Thursday's ruling strikes down the Sixth Circuit Court's "background circumstances" rule, which had required majority groups in protected classes to show special evidence of discrimination. Thursday's order does not fully resolve the case in Ames' favor, however. The court notes that Ohio had "alternative arguments" for why the Ohio government's treatment of Ames was justified. The justices said they are not weighing in on those alternative arguments, merely striking down the "background circumstances" rule. "We granted review to consider the validity of the "background circumstances" rule, and we reject that rule for the reasons set forth above. We leave it to the courts below to address any of Ohio's remaining arguments on remand," Jackson wrote. Ames' case was supported by the Justice Department, the American First Legal Foundation and the libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation. The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund was among the major groups backing Ohio in the case.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Youth overdoses from synthetic opioids like fentanyl continue to rise. What should parents do?
Prescription drugs Drugs in society ParentingFacebookTweetLink Follow EDITOR'S NOTE: If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, help is available. Dial or text 988 or visit for free and confidential support. The United States is facing an alarming increase in overdose deaths among young people due to synthetic opioids. The rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, which include fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, increased more than 20-fold between 2013 and 2022, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overdoses and drug poisonings are now the third leading cause of death in people under age 20, behind firearms and motor vehicle crashes. The overdose death counts among US youth ages 15 to 24 rose from 4,652 to 6,723 between 2018 and 2022, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics. (A slight decrease occurred between 2021 and 2022.) The largest increase was seen in deaths involving only synthetic opioids: Since 2020, fatal overdoses involving only these substances were higher than overdoses in which multiple substances were implicated. Overdose rates were nearly 2.5 times higher among male youths compared with female youths and more than two times higher among those ages 20 to 24 compared with those ages 15 to 19. As a parent, I wanted to know more about synthetic opioids and their uses. Why are they so dangerous, and how are overdoses treated? How can people tell if the drugs they are taking contain synthetic opioids? Crucially, what can parents and other family members do to help reduce the risk of overdose? To help us answer these questions, I spoke with CNN wellness expert Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and adjunct associate professor at the George Washington University. Previously, she served as Baltimore's health commissioner, where she oversaw the city's opioid prevention strategy. CNN: What are synthetic opioids? What are they used for? Dr. Leana Wen: Prescription opioids are medications used to treat severe pain. They must be used with caution, however, because if they are used in higher than prescribed doses or otherwise incorrectly, they can result in drowsiness, slowed and shallow breathing, and even death. Opioids can be classified by where they originate. So-called natural opioids are derived from the poppy plant and include drugs such as morphine and codeine. Semisynthetic opioids include oxycodone and hydrocodone. Synthetic opioids are made in the laboratory. The synthetic opioid most implicated in fatal overdoses is fentanyl, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. There are other synthetic opioids too, such as tramadol and methadone. Methadone is also used as a treatment for people with opioid use disorder. Notably, the CDC's statistics and the new study in Pediatrics do not include methadone in their calculation of fatal overdoses due to synthetic opioids. The majority of synthetic overdose deaths in the US involve fentanyl or fentanyl derivatives. CNN: Are there legitimate medical uses of fentanyl? Wen: Yes. Fentanyl is often used in emergency settings to treat acute pain. For instance, someone who was in a high-speed car accident and just broke their hip needs immediate pain relief. It is also given to patients who have chronic pain that is not relieved by other methods. Some cancer patients with intractable pain use a fentanyl patch or fentanyl lozenge, for example. The current trend of youth overdoses is probably not mostly due to fentanyl being diverted from legitimate medical purposes. In recent years, there has been a significant problem with fentanyl being made in illegal labs. Synthetic fentanyl is sold illegally as a powder dropped onto blotter paper, put in eyedroppers and nasal sprays or, perhaps most terrifyingly, as pills that resemble other prescription pills, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In addition, fentanyl is often mixed in with other drugs. People who think they are taking amphetamines, oxycodone, cocaine, heroin, MDMA (also known as ecstasy) or other 'party drugs' may be unknowingly taking fentanyl. Depending on the amount of fentanyl they are ingesting, they could overdose and die. CNN: What makes fentanyl especially dangerous? Wen: To begin, fentanyl is an extremely potent opioid. It is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. A small amount can lead to oversedation and death. People may not realize how dangerous fentanyl is or even that what they are taking has fentanyl in it. There have been numerous cases of high school and college-age students who have died after being given fentanyl-laced pills. CNN: How are overdoses treated? Wen: The treatment for opioid overdose is the medication naloxone, also sometimes referred to by its brand name Narcan. It is available as a nasal spray and as an intramuscular injection. The nasal spray is available over the counter for under $50. Some health insurance plans will cover naloxone, and some state and local health departments may give out this medication free of charge. If given immediately after someone loses consciousness, it could reverse the overdose and save someone's life. Individuals who come to after getting naloxone should still receive immediate medical care. They may need additional doses of naloxone, and they could need treatment for other potentially dangerous substances they have taken. CNN: How can people tell if the drugs they are taking contain synthetic opioids? Wen: This is an important question — the answer is that people can't easily tell if the drug they are taking contains fentanyl. Counterfeit medications can look exactly like the prescription form. If fentanyl is mixed in with cocaine or other illicit drugs, it's not possible to tell based on simply looking at the substance, as fentanyl is odorless and colorless. Fentanyl test strips can check for the presence of fentanyl in the drug supply. While the use of these strips can reduce overdose risk, know that just because one pill in the supply doesn't contain fentanyl doesn't mean that others all don't. Moreover, these strips don't test for other contaminants that can also be deadly. I want to share another key number: Of the fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills analyzed in 2022 by the US Drug Enforcement Administration Laboratory, 6 out of 10 contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl. This is a sobering statistic and should be reason enough for people never to use illicit prescription pills or other illegal substances. CNN: What can parents and other family members do to help reduce the risk of overdose? Wen: Parents should speak with their children about the danger of counterfeit and illicit drugs. It doesn't matter if parents used drugs when they were younger. Drugs today are so much more powerful and dangerous. People should never take medications that don't belong to them. They don't know where the medications came from, if the medications are really what they claim to be, and whether they have contaminants such as fentanyl in which even a small amount could be fatal. I think it's also good practice to have naloxone accessible. As I mentioned, this medication is now available over the counter. Everyone can learn to use it and have it in their medicine cabinet.
