美国有线新闻 CNN 四家药企与美国地方政府达成2.6亿美元和解协议（在线收听）

Up next, a settlement worth hundreds of millions of dollars related to America's opioid epidemic. A trial was set to begin this week. The plaintiffs were two counties in Ohio, and the defendants were four pharmaceutical companies. The counties accused the drug distributors of not doing enough to make sure that the orders they filled were going to people that needed them and not to the black market. The companies were also accused of ignoring signs there was a problem concerning opioids in northeastern Ohio. Hours before the trial began, the four companies agreed to a settlement worth $260 million.

They said they strongly disputed the counties accusations' but that they believed settling the trial would be an important step toward quote, "achieving a global resolution and delivering meaningful relief". They also said they expected the settlement money would be used to fight the opioid epidemic by treating and rehabilitating people who abuse the drugs. This was one legal case concerning the opioid epidemic. There are more than 2,700 others like it awaiting trial. The problem is widespread across America. Between 1999 and 2017, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says almost 400,000 people died from overdosing on opioids. That includes both prescription and illegal drugs.