U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Fall to Near Prepandemic Levels

WSJ Minute Briefing

The Wall Street Journal

Business News, News

4.1 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2026

⏱️ 4 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Plus: Vice President JD Vance threatens states’ Medicaid funding if they don’t address fraud. McDonald’s strikes its first naming-rights deal for a professional sports venue in the U.S. And SoftBank’s bet on OpenAI earned it $25 billion in its most recent quarter. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees, but I don't really need it.
0:05.0	Infliction is killing me!
0:08.0	But who cares? Big retailers are making record profits!
0:12.0	That's why we support the Durban Marshall Credit Card Bill!
0:15.0	See? Banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll.
0:18.0	This bill would cut the vital resources they need.
0:27.3	While increasing megastore profits, they deserve it. Don't they? Tell Congress, stop the Durban Marshall money grab for corporate megastores. Paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition.
0:34.4	Here's your midday brief for Wednesday, May 13th. I'm Alex O'Sullough for the Wall Street Journal.
0:40.5	Data out today from the CDC show that the number of people who died from drug overdoses dropped in 2025.
0:47.4	Overdose deaths have dropped for three years in a row. There's been a big decline in deaths involving synthetic opioids, largely fentanyl.
1:00.8	Deaths from drug overdoses are now close to their level from before the pandemic, when the national fentanyl crisis drove up deaths.
1:04.3	The number of deaths is still higher than it was decades ago, however.
1:09.3	And even though nationally deaths have dropped, some states are actually seeing an increase.
1:12.2	We're exclusively reporting that Vice President J.D. Vance is delivering an ultimatum to all 50 states, comply with anti-fraud laws or risk losing
1:18.4	federal Medicaid funding. The Trump administration is launching nationwide audits of state watchdogs
1:24.0	to ensure they are vigorously pursuing wrongdoing. The Department of Health
1:27.9	and Human Services warns that failing to cooperate could put a state's entire Medicaid budget in
1:32.7	jeopardy. The administration froze millions in Medicaid funding to Minnesota earlier this year,
1:38.0	following allegations that federal services were being wrongfully exploited by that state's
1:42.3	Somali population.
1:49.2	McDonald's is doubling down on its Chicago roots by striking a deal to name the city's new professional soccer stadium, McDonald's Park.
1:52.0	It's the Burger Giants' first naming rights deal for a professional sports venue in the U.S.
	...

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