A colleague at the newspaper told me the other day that the fentanyl problem at the borders of Canada and Mexico is over stated.

So I decided to look up the numbers for myself.

Here’s what I found, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

The opioid epidemic cost the U.S. $2.7 trillion in 2023 when considering costs related to loss of life, loss of quality of life, loss of labor force productivity, crime and costs to the health care system.

In 2019 there were 49,860 deaths nationwide from overdosing on fentanyl.

That number jumped to 112,586 in 2022 and remained in that range at 111,644 in 2023.

The figure dropped to 89,740 in 2024 but still ahead of the 2019 number.

It’s an absolute shame.

jdm

The liberal New York Magazine’s most recent issue ran a cover photo of a young Republican inauguration party but cropped out all the Black people attending the event, calling it an all White event.

The reporter didn’t even interview the organizer of the event, CJ Pearson, the national co-chair of the Republican National Committee’s Youth Advisory Council.

He’s Black.

The reporter also didn’t mention the headliner entertainer.

“The headline performer was a Black man, Waka Flocka Flame.

“It doesn’t get more Black than that,” Pearson said.

New York Magazine writer Brock Colyar warned that a new generation of “casually cruel Trumpers” are “conquering Washington” in a cover story headlined, “The Cruel Kids’ Table.” The glossy feature has since come under fire for cropping Black attendees out of the cover image while quoting an attendee who complained “the entire room is White.”

“This was a jubilant celebration celebrating the fact that we are back and that we finally have someone who’s coherent, someone who actually cares about the American people in the White House,” Pearson said. “I think the New York Magazine was very clear in the body of their piece that they wanted to, you know, describe this and depict this as an all-White exclusive affair.”

Pearson feels it’s time to “usher in a new era of accountability in media,” and feels President Trump has set the tone. His comments come on the heels of ABC News’ $15 million settlement and Meta’s $25 million settlement with Trump, along with reports that CBS News’ parent company Paramount is reportedly mulling its own settlement to end the network’s high-stakes legal battle against Trump.