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David Heitz

A dangerous drug that is being mixed into fentanyl is causing those who inject it to develop a rash of sores that resembles a case of flesh-eating bacteria. People experiencing homelessness around Denver can sometimes be seen with these bloody, weeping wounds. I recently mentioned this phenomenon to a fentanyl user who told me about the xylazine connection.

Denver homeless people suffer sores as xylazine enters fentanyl supply

Chicago, IL

Writers represent independent, third-party users who have joined our contributor program and self-verified their accounts. Writers are expected, like all users, to adhere to our Community Standards.

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Foodie in Chicago

Shortly before 3 AM, people in the Chicago area may have felt their houses shake as a 3.4-magnitude earthquake occurred about 60 miles west of the city. (CHICAGO) The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported a 3.4-magnitude earthquake around Somonauk, IL. Somonauk is in DeKalb and LaSalle Counties, 64 miles west of Chicago.

Did You Feel the Earthquake?

Florida State

Uncovering Florida

Most people are guilty of doing it at least once in their lives, many people do it by accident, some do it because they find it fun, and others do it for reasons like honoring loved ones. Regardless of the situation, just about everyone has released a balloon. The difference is that intentionally releasing balloons is now illegal by House Bill 321’s standards.

Law Signed By DeSantis Makes It Illegal To Release Balloons In Florida

Colorado State

A bill quietly introduced this spring in the Colorado legislature to decriminalize the possession of drug paraphernalia obtained by harm reductionists has become law. As low-key as the legislation was introduced, the bill was signed into law without fanfare June 6. It garnered little to no media attention.

Colorado legalizes needles, pipes for meth and crack if obtained by harm reduction group

Kentucky State

Northern Kentucky Tribune

Kentucky’s Community Actions Partnerships have announced the starts date for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Summer Subsidy, aimed at helping Kentucky households offset summer cooling costs.

LIHEAP Summer Subsidy program to help with summer cooling costs to begin enrollment July 16

The Current GA

Since 2020, the condition known as long COVID-19 has become a widespread disability affecting the health and quality of life of millions of people across the globe and costing economies billions of dollars in reduced productivity of employees and an overall drop in the work force .

Expert: Long COVID puzzle pieces are falling into place – picture is unsettling

Arizona State

Arizona Luminaria

Arizona’s abortion rights initiative is one step away from being considered by voters in the fall, after the campaign behind it turned in more than double the number of signatures necessary to qualify for the ballot.

Abortion rights measure files more than double the signatures to appear on the November ballot

In addition to collecting more than 8,000 used needles in the past year from Denver drug users, the Harm Reduction Action Center passed out 10,000 meth pipes and “snort kits,” according to a newsletter sent to its supporters Thursday. They also connected about 1,700 people to medical, mental health and substance abuse treatment.

Denver group hands out 10K meth pipes, ‘snort kits,’ connects 1,700 to treatment annually

Gov. Andy Beshear sent a letter to Anne Milgram, administrator for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Wednesday, expressing his support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ recommendation that the DEA ease restrictions on marijuana.

Gov. Andy Beshear pens letter to DEA in support of easing federal restrictions on marijuana

Community Voices represent independent, third-party users who have joined our contributor program but not yet verified their accounts. Community Voices are expected, like all users, to adhere to our Community Standards.

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Sam Westreich, PhD

It’s not humans. How a survivor of a super-extinction repopulated our planet. There are more than 8 billion humans alive at this moment on Earth (unless something has gone horribly wrong). But humans aren’t the only dominant mammals.

For Millions of Years, Earth Was Dominated by a Single Vertebrate Genus

South Carolina State

Explore Beaufort SC

The mantis shrimp is one tough customer. Beautiful and deadly are two words you don’t typically use to describe shrimp, but the mantis shrimp is definitely in a class of its own; earning a reputation as the ‘savage boxer of the sea’ and one of the most fearsome creatures in the ocean. And, they're right at home here in South Carolina.

Savage Boxer of the Sea: The Deadly Beauty of Mantis Shrimp

NewsNinja

In a deeply distressing event that has left the community of Padana village in Lahore reeling, a 15-year-old boy named Arsalan sadly ended his life by leaping from a water tank. The tragic incident is believed to have happened following Arsalan's receipt of poor grades in his final exams, a critical juncture in the educational structure of Pakistan.

Tragedy Strikes: Teenager Commits Suicide Over Exam Results in Lahore

Illinois State

Every year, new laws that were passed the prior year go into effect on July 1. In 2024, a number of new laws will begin this Monday. Among them include higher wages for tipped employees, a gas tax increase, and driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.

New Laws July 1: Driver's Licenses for Undocumented Migrants, Raises for Tipped Workers, and More

More dangerous substances are entering the Denver drug supply, Harm Reduction Action Center warned in a newsletter this week. “The Iron Law of Prohibition posits that as law enforcement becomes more intense, the potency of prohibited substances increases,” HRAC Executive Director Lisa Raville wrote in the newsletter. That is exactly what is happening, she said.

Dangerous substances entering Denver drug supply

New Jersey State

Morristown Minute

A new initiative aims to provide housing for vulnerable Medicaid members, enhancing community wellness and support. MORRIS COUNTY, N.J. - In a significant move to tackle housing instability among Medicaid recipients, New Jersey's Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman, along with Community Affairs Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez, today announced the availability of $95 million in funding for developers. This initiative, part of the Healthy Homes program, is designed to create affordable housing opportunities for NJ FamilyCare members who are either homeless, at risk of homelessness, or currently living in institutional settings.

$95 Million for Healthy Homes: Housing for Medicaid Members

Wyoming State

WyoFile

A Virginia man is demanding a political action committee stop using his photograph to promote a Wyoming legislative candidate of the same name — or face legal action. Make Liberty Win, a Virginia-based PAC , has been sending text messages and mailers to Wyoming voters, and knocking on doors in support of various legislative candidates, but has failed to provide accurate information. Many of the candidates the PAC is supporting are either members of, or ideologically aligned with, the hard-line Wyoming Freedom Caucus.

Cease and desist: Virginia man threatens legal action after group uses his photo to portray Wyoming candidate

Aurora, CO

Aurora’s pallet shelters for people experiencing homelessness, which only allow a maximum 30-day stay, have been cycling the same individuals in and out, city staff told council members Thursday. Many return to street encampments when their time in the pallet shelter runs out, Jessica Prosser, homeless services director for the city, said. Then, the city sweeps the encampment again, and they get to come back to the shelter for another 30 days, Prosser explained. This process can repeat multiple times.

Aurora pallet shelters a revolving door for homeless

Denver doesn’t look very “vibrant,” to use the mayor’s term, when bus stops are transformed into open-air drug dens. In fact, the people who smoke meth and fentanyl in homeless encampments, in front of businesses and walking down the street are tarnishing the reputation of Denver’s unhoused neighbors.

Opinion: Open-air drug use in Denver not so ‘vibrant’

Bucks County Beacon

Conservatives have done the United States a huge favor by explaining in detail what they’ll try to do if Donald Trump is reelected. Project 2025 , a “presidential transition project” of the Heritage Foundation, helpfully lays out how a group of former Trump officials would like to transform the country into a right-wing dystopia where the rich thrive and the rest of us die aspiring to be rich.

Project 2025’s Plan to Gut Medicare and Medicaid

The Denver City Council will vote Monday whether pump about $580,000 into its jail-based RISE, or Recovery in a Secure Environment program. The council will consider contracts for $389,434 and $193,475 through Sept. 30, 2025, with the Mile High Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and The Empowerment Program. Inmates enrolled in the RISE program spend much of their time out of their cells during the day engaging in therapeutic activities. There are group sessions and one on one treatment.

Jail-based drug, mental health recovery program costs Denver $580,000 for a year

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NewsBreak

UMich researchers to collaborate with Los Alamos National Laboratory

A $15 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory will allow a team of University of Michigan faculty and students to...

UMich researchers to collaborate with Los Alamos National Laboratory

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