Judge overseeing opioid suits seeks steps to address crisis

CLEVELAND (AP) — The federal judge overseeing more than 600 lawsuits filed by government entities collectively seeking billions of dollars to address the nation's opioid crisis said Thursday he will continue to push for solutions to the problem while lawyers continue their settlement talks.

U.S. District Judge Dan Polster held an open-court session in Cleveland on Thursday before meeting separately with attorneys for the government entities and those representing drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacy companies blamed in lawsuits for helping create a crisis that killed 42,000 Americans...