A decade of drug overdose deaths

Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY
·4 min read

A decade of drug overdose deaths has left hundreds of thousands of kids without a parent. More bad weather is on the radar after a slew of powerful tornadoes in Michigan. And the Biden administration has paused a weapons shipment to Israel.

👋Howdy, friends! Laura Davis here. Ready for Wednesday’s news? Let’s get to it.

But first: He's a president-predicting machine! 🔮 Professor Allan Lichtman has an unusual knack for forecasting who might win the White House. Here's how he does it.

📚🍎 Shout out to your favorite teacher! It's Teacher Appreciation Week, and we want to know about the teachers in your life. Did you have a favorite? Know a special one? Tell us about them! (It's quick, promise.)

Study: 321K kids lost a parent over a decade of overdoses

In just one decade, more than 321,000 children lost a parent to a drug overdose – a daunting blow that reflects the impact of the nation's addiction crisis on a generation of kids. Between 2011 and 2021, the rate of children who lost a parent more than doubled, according to a study published Wednesday.

What's going on? The nation's overdose deaths spiked last decade because of opioids and heroin. In recent years, deaths have accelerated even further with the widespread availability of cheap, illicit fentanyl. 🔎 Take a closer look at the study.

Tornadoes ravage Michigan

A string of powerful storms unleashed tornadoes from southern Michigan to Arkansas Tuesday night, injuring over a dozen people and causing widespread damage as much of the central and eastern U.S. remains at risk of severe weather. In Kalamazoo, Michigan, officials said around 176 properties were damaged and up to 20 people were hospitalized after a tornado ripped through a mobile home community. Damage and tornadoes were also reported in Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia.

Millions more under threat: Meteorologists expect a slew of storms to wallop the central U.S. with torrential rain, hail and possible tornadoes beginning Wednesday afternoon and continuing through the night. 🌩️ A look at the damage + what's in the forecast.

Tornado damage at Pavilion Estates mobile home community in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Wednesday.
Tornado damage at Pavilion Estates mobile home community in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Wednesday.

📸 See photos: Damage after tornadoes, severe storms.

Real quick

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Appeals court to consider removing Willis from Trump case

The Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday agreed to hear the appeal of former President Donald Trump as to whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from his election fraud case for improper conduct. The presiding judge in the case, Scott McAfee, previously ruled that Willis could stay on the case despite admitting to having an affair with a private lawyer she hired to oversee the investigation, Nathan Wade, as long as she forced him off the prosecution team. The appeal could significantly delay the trial, possibly until after Election Day. 👉 What to know.

Biden pauses bombs shipment to Israel over humanitarian concerns

President Joe Biden's administration confirmed Wednesday that it had paused the shipment of 3,500 bombs to Israel over concerns they could be used in a major military operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million refugees have been sheltering. As Biden grapples with a pledge to support Israel militarily no matter what – in the face of concerns that Israel is not doing enough to protect civilian lives in Gaza – the administration began a review of weapons transfers last month. Last week, a shipment of bombs was also held back as Israel ramped up plans for a ground invasion of Rafah. 📍 What we know now.

👉 Live updates: Israel sees no breakthrough in talks; no ‘safe zones' for Rafah. 

Palestinians help evacuate a woman from the area where a residential building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Rafah on Tuesday.
Palestinians help evacuate a woman from the area where a residential building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Rafah on Tuesday.

A break from the news

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Say hi: laura@usatoday.com. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tornado damage, Fani Willis, Gaza protests, overdose deaths: Wednesday's news

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