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How the fentanyl crisis has impacted New Hampshire voters
As voters head to the polls in New Hampshire for the first presidential primary of 2024, one of the most important issues in the state is the fentanyl crisis.
Jess Carter is out on the streets five days a week with the nonprofit Revive, helping people dealing with active drug addiction. She told CBS News accidental poisonings from fentanyl are something she sees all the time.
“We don’t want to continue losing our friends, our family, our community members,” she said. “Especially when there’s a simple answer to reversing it right here.”
That answer, according to Carter, is something called harm reduction. She said the method is effective because it meets drug users “where they are.” Her view is shaped by her own experience as a former college athlete who struggled with addiction herself.
Revive, one of the longest-running recovery programs in New Hampshire, hands out things like clean syringes, fentanyl testing strips and other supplies to help keep those dealing with addiction alive and to help prevent infectious diseases.
“We are allowing people to make a better choice for themselves,” Carter said when asked how she responds to critics who say these actions help people continue to abuse drugs. “We’re allowing people to believe in themselves when others might not believe in them. It’s that first step that people can take.”
For people like Shawn, who said his drug problems began when he got divorced, the work Carter does with Revive can be lifesaving.
“I took this little tiny piece of what I thought was crack cocaine and I inhaled it and I, I went down,” Shawn said. “It took six Narcans for, uh, to get revived.”
“I feel that I could have that chance to die every single day,” Shawn added. “I could have died last week and I’m afraid for other people too.”
Nearly 110,000 people died from drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2022, with roughly one-third of those deaths being attributed to fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The epidemic of overdoses is a topic presidential candidates have brought up in New Hampshire, with former President Trump taking aim at Mexican drug cartels while former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley pointed the finger at China.
While Carter agrees the flow of drugs needs to be stopped, she said the heart of the issue is trauma and mental health.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.