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Trump Administration Backs Down on an Opioid Ban After Kratom Industry Lobbying

Health officials will now allow some levels of a powerful substance to remain in products marketed as natural. The change could help a G.O.P. donor facing wrongful death lawsuits.

© Nick Oxford for The New York Times

Banners promoting the sale of kratom products outside a smoke shop in Tulsa, Okla., earlier this year.
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U.S. Defends Military Campaign Against Cartels as Leaders Gather in Caribbean

A regional coalition convened as part of a U.S. military effort to disrupt and combat drug traffickers that officials have compared to the campaign against the Islamic State and Al Qaeda.

© Enea Lebrun/Reuters

A multinational military exercise near Panama City in August. Regional military leaders at a gathering on Tuesday reviewed a wide-ranging U.S. military plan to combat drug smugglers.
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Justice Dept. Steps Up Moves on Comey and Others as Midterm Elections Near

In some cases, court paperwork bears unmistakable signs of urgency — typos, unorthodox tactics and the signatures of the department’s senior political leadership.

© Steve Helber/Associated Press

Attorney General Todd Blanche announcing the indictment of L. Louise Lucas, a prominent Virginia Democrat, on drug-trafficking charges last week in Norfolk, Va.
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