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2/28(月)の放送の英文記事と英単語：訴訟、原告、敷居

Companies Finalize $26 Billion Deal With States and Cities to End Opioid Lawsuits

pharmaceutical 製薬の、薬学の
addiction　中毒、熱中すること
platoon　小隊
milestone　マイル標、(歴史・人生の)画期的な事件
litigation　訴訟、起訴
plaintiff　原告、告訴人
allegation　(十分な証拠のない)申し立て、主張
threshold　敷居、入口、初め、発端
eligible　適格で、望ましくて

著者：Jan Hoffman
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company

The nation’s three largest drug distributors and a major pharmaceutical manufacturer announced Friday that a supermajority of states and localities had accepted the terms of their $26 billion offer to settle thousands of civil claims related to the deadly opioid crisis. The first checks are expected to go out in early April.

Through its pharmaceutical division, Janssen, Johnson & Johnson will pay $5 billion, broken into annual payments over nine years. McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, the distributors, will pay a combined $21 billion over 18 years. At least 85% of the payments will be dedicated to addiction treatment and prevention services.

By signing onto the deal, thousands of local governments as well as states have agreed to drop their opioid lawsuits against the companies and also pledge not to bring any future action.

In its sweep and bottom line, the deal is second only to the Big Tobacco settlement of the late 1990s as a multistate agreement. The total amount includes almost $2 billion that will cover fees and costs for the platoons of lawyers nationwide.

There are no separate funds to compensate families and individual victims.

The announcement is a milestone in the nationwide litigation, which began in 2014 with a few cities and counties filing lawsuits against five drug manufacturers. But as thousands of governmental plaintiffs eventually filed claims, the cases reached across the pharmaceutical industry, to distributors and retailers as well.

The distributors and Johnson & Johnson released statements noting that the deal is not an admission of wrongdoing and that they dispute the allegations. The distributors said in a joint statement that they believed that “the implementation of this settlement is a key milestone toward achieving broad resolution of governmental opioid claims and delivering meaningful relief to communities across the United States that have been impacted by the epidemic.”

When Johnson & Johnson, the distributors and a smaller group of states announced their proposed settlement in July, the companies said they required an unspecified majority of plaintiffs to sign on, to guarantee an end to litigation. The announcement Friday morning signals that a sufficient threshold has been reached, or at least 90% of those governments eligible to participate. Courts in each state will now have to sign off on the agreements, a process that is expected to go relatively smoothly and swiftly.

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3/1(火)の放送の英文記事と英単語：唖然とする、分離主義の、報道機関

Putin’s War Ushers in Crisis for Russia

usher in　(事件や時代が）…の到来を告げる
news outlet　報道機関
wrought by…　～によってもたらされた
obscure　…を覆い隠す
be stunned　唖然とする
wreak havoc　大被害を与える
separatist　分離主義の

著者：Anton Troianovski and Ivan Nechepurenko
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company

MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin has ushered in a crisis for his country — in its economy and identity.

The Kremlin is hiding the reality of the country’s attack on Ukraine from its own people, even cracking down on news outlets that call it a “war.”

But the economic carnage and societal turmoil wrought by Putin’s invasion is becoming increasingly difficult to obscure.

Airlines canceled once-ubiquitous flights to Europe. The central bank scrambled to deliver ruble bills as the demand for cash spiked 58-fold. Economists warned of more inflation, greater capital flight and slower growth; and the S&P credit rating agency downgraded Russia to “junk” status.

The emphasis on hiding the war’s true extent was a sign that the Kremlin fears that Russians would disapprove of a violent, full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a country where many millions of Russians have relatives and friends.

Russians have been stunned at how quickly the economic impact of the war was being felt. The ruble hit its lowest level against the dollar, which traded at about 84 rubles Saturday compared with 74 a few weeks ago. That sent prices for imports surging, while sanctions on Russia’s largest banks wreaked havoc in the financial markets and new export restrictions promised to scramble supply chains.

“Those who shout that Putin is great and bravo to him are no longer shouting as loud,” said Lalya Sadykova, owner of a chain of beauty salons in St. Petersburg. “They’re in shock from what is happening, from how quickly prices are changing and how suppliers are stopping deliveries.”

The Kremlin rushed to maintain its narrative. The government’s communications regulator slowed down access to Facebook and warned 10 Russian news outlets that their websites could be blocked. The outlets’ declared offense was publishing articles “in which the operation that is being carried out is called an attack, an invasion or a declaration of war.”

A hint of the potential opposition came Saturday when Mikhail Matveyev, a Communist lawmaker who had voted to endorse Putin’s recognition of the Russian-backed separatist territories, wrote on Twitter that he had been tricked.

“I was voting for peace, and not for war,” he wrote, “and not for Kyiv to be bombed.”

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3/2(水)の放送の英文記事と英単語：後任、候補者、昇進する

Biden Chooses Ketanji Brown Jackson for Supreme Court

Supreme court　最高裁判所
bench　ベンチ、判事席、法廷
successor　後任、後継者
nominee　指名された人、候補者
elevation　登用する、昇進する

著者：Katie Rogers
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, elevating a well-regarded federal appeals court judge who if confirmed would make history by becoming the first Black woman to serve as a justice.

Biden’s decision, made after a monthlong search, fulfilled a campaign vow to nominate a Black woman to the bench and set into motion a confirmation battle that will play out in an evenly divided Senate.

“For too long our government, our courts haven’t looked like America,” Biden said. “I believe it is time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation.”

In Jackson, 51, Biden selected a liberal-leaning jurist who earned a measure of Republican support when he nominated her to a federal appeals court last summer. If confirmed by the Senate, she would replace Justice Stephen Breyer, the senior member of the court’s three-member liberal wing, who announced last month that he would retire at the end of the current court term this summer if his successor was in place.

While her confirmation would not change the court’s ideological balance — conservatives appointed by Republicans would retain their 6-3 majority — it would achieve another first: all three justices appointed by Democratic presidents would be women.

“If I’m fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,” Jackson said, “I could only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded, will inspire future generations of Americans.”

Jackson’s nomination was praised by Democrats, but few Republicans are expected to support her as a nominee. Shortly after the White House announced Biden’s decision, conservative lawmakers and interest groups criticized her Ivy League background and characterized her past rulings as too liberal.

Jackson was born in Washington and grew up in Miami, and graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She went on to clerk for Breyer during the 1999-2000 Supreme Court term.

She has been twice confirmed as a judge by the Senate, including last year, when three Republicans voted to approve her elevation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

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3/3(木)の放送の英文記事と英単語：切迫、叱責する、締め出す

Russia Faces Global Sports Crackdown After Invasion of Ukraine

Ukraine / Ukrainian ウクライナ / ウクライナの
Belarus / Belarusian ベラルーシ / ベラルーシの
troop 軍隊、群れ
bar from 除外する、締め出す
loophole 抜け穴、逃げ道
rebuke 非難する、叱責する
with a heavy heart 泣く泣く、重苦しい気分で
imminence 切迫

著者：Alan Blinder and Tariq Panja
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company

An article of faith in global sports — that athletes should not be punished for the actions of their governments — crumbled Monday when executives worldwide moved to banish Russians from competitions and deepen the country’s isolation for its invasion of Ukraine.

The International Olympic Committee recommended that athletes from Russia and Belarus, which has allowed Russian troops to use its territory, be barred from events. FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, effectively blocked Russia from qualifying for this year’s men’s World Cup. The International Ice Hockey Federation said Russian and Belarusian teams would be forbidden at its competitions, including this year’s world championships, and the National Hockey League suspended its business dealings in Russia.

Although there were loopholes and scattered uncertainties, the penalties amounted to a bracing rebuke of Russia and Belarus by a sports world that has long labored furiously, if sometimes unconvincingly, to depict competition as separate from politics.

The International Paralympic Committee will decide Wednesday whether to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the Paralympic Games, which are scheduled to open in Beijing on Friday.

But the day’s events left little doubt that Russia and Belarus, which had already drawn scrutiny for doping violations and oppression, would become further separated from the wider athletic world.

The most potentially far-reaching effort Monday came from the IOC, which cited “the integrity of global sports competitions” and “the safety of all the participants” when it recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes be blocked from competitions.

“While athletes from Russia and Belarus would be able to continue to participate in sports events, many athletes from Ukraine are prevented from doing so because of the attack on their country,” the IOC said in a statement, which noted that it issued its recommendation “with a heavy heart.”

It will fall to event organizers and the federations that administer individual sports to decide how, or if, to adopt the IOC’s recommendation, which the committee suggested might not be enforced “on short notice for organizational or legal reasons.”

That qualifier appeared to be a nod to the imminence of the Paralympic Games, which have been expected to draw more than 70 athletes from Russia and about a dozen from Belarus.

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3/4(金)の放送の英文記事と英単語：内燃、心に描く、強化する

Ford Splits Into Electric and Gas Divisions to Speed Up Transition

Ramp Up 強化する
Clash ぶつかる
Hinder じゃまする
Pickup Truck ピックアップトラック
Internal Combustion 内燃
Envision 心に描く

著者：Neal E. Boudette
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company

Ford Motor Co. has decided the best way to make the transition to electric vehicles is to transform itself first.

On Wednesday, the automaker said it had reorganized its auto operations into two distinct businesses — one that makes its gasoline-powered vehicles and focuses on maximizing profits and another that develops and ramps up production of electric models and aims for rapid growth.

Ford CEO Jim Farley said in an interview that the two businesses required different skills and mindsets that would clash and hinder each area if they remained parts of one organization.

“You can’t be successful and beat Tesla that way,” he said.

Farley said Ford would spend $50 billion on electric vehicles between 2022 and 2026.

This spring, Ford is supposed to start full production of an electric version of its F-150 pickup truck and has taken reservations for more than 150,000 of them. It is also building two battery plants in Kentucky, and a third battery plant and an electric truck factory in Tennessee.

In making gas-powered vehicles, Ford must focus on reducing costs and generating the profits it needs to fund its EV plans. Over the next four years, Ford aims to trim costs for its internal-combustion models by $3 billion, with some cuts coming through job reductions, Farley said.

The electric business, in contrast, will have to spend heavily to develop software and technologies and to ramp up production quickly to achieve economies of scale. Ford aims to produce 2 million electric vehicles a year by 2026.

The EV group will be known as Ford Model e. Farley will serve as its president. Doug Field, a former Apple and Tesla executive hired by Ford in September, will lead its vehicle, software and digital systems development.

The internal-combustion business, known as Ford Blue, will be led by Kumar Galhotra, who was president of Ford’s North American operations.

Ford plans to begin breaking out the profits and losses of the two groups in 2023 and expects the electric business to become profitable within four years.

Farley said he envisioned the two groups working closely together. Ford Model e will use body engineering, stamping, and components like seats and steering systems that the internal-combustion group develops. The EV unit will produce software and digital components that will be incorporated into traditional gasoline vehicles made by Ford Blue.

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3/5(土)の放送の英文記事と英単語：停戦区域、統治権、差し迫った

Behind Sandbags, Ukraine’s Leader Meets the Media

haggard 　ほおや目もとが落ちくぼんだ、やつれた
fortified 　防御工事を施した、要塞化した（された）
animated 　生気のある、生き生きした、活気に富んだ、アニメの、動画の
dire 　恐ろしい、ものすごい、悲惨な、差し迫った
bore 　くぐり抜けて・押し分けて進む
cease-fire corridors　停戦区域
Sovereignty　主権、統治権、独立権

著者：Andrew E. Kramer
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company

KYIV, Ukraine — Unshaven and wearing a military T-shirt, a haggard President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine on Thursday hosted his first news conference since the war began, inviting journalists into his office building, now fortified with sandbags.

In an animated briefing, Zelenskyy, whose defiance has made him a symbol of Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion, laid out the state of negotiations with Russia, voiced pride in his people, pleaded for a no-fly zone and spoke frankly about fear of dying.

Beyond the answers Zelenskyy provided to questions, pulling a chair close to attending journalists, the news conference seemed intended to signal that his battered government is at least still functioning a week into the war, despite increasingly dire conditions in Kyiv.

Zelenskyy said he was particularly proud of ordinary Ukrainians’ resistance to the Russian attack, a seething, angry uprising by much of society even as Russian tanks bore down on major cities and the capital.

“That is why I am so strong and so decisive,” he said. “We have a special people, an extraordinary people.” He said that no senior officials had fled the country, and several top aides turned up at the news conference.

Zelenskyy said he had appealed to Western leaders for additional military support, including asking President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, an unlikely proposition, while also pursuing negotiations with the Russian leadership. The second of two rounds of talks with Russia in recent days took place Thursday.

“We are ready to speak on all topics,” he said. Zelenskyy’s negotiator at the talks, Mykhailo Podolyak, said later Thursday negotiations wrapped up with an agreement on cease-fire corridors for civilians to escape heavy combat, but no progress on a settlement.

“The Russian side has long ago formed the answers to their questions,” Zelenskyy said. “What is the point of posing questions if you long ago have the answers? For now, this is the difficulty of this dialogue.”

He said he was ready to compromise on some points, but he did not specify which, and said he would not bend on conditions threatening Ukrainian sovereignty.

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3/6(日)の放送の英文記事と英単語：生態系、どよめき、基礎的要素

Disney+ Will Introduce a Cheaper, Ad-Supported Version This Year

Ecosystem　生態系
Clamor　どよめき・喧噪 ／ 叫ぶ・騒ぎ立てる
Tiered　層をなす
Nickelodeon　ニコロデオン (子供向け動画配給会社)
Building Block　建築用のブロック、基礎的要素

著者：Brooks Barnes
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company

Disney+ will soon be available at a reduced price, but you’ll have to sit through commercials.

The Walt Disney Co. said Friday that it would introduce an ad-supported version of its Disney+ streaming service in the United States late this year, with plans to roll it out overseas in 2023. The move reflects the hot streaming ad market, the pressure on Disney to keep its streaming business growing and a broader trend among media companies to try to rebuild the traditional television ecosystem online.

But a lower-priced Disney+ carries risks, including potentially speeding the decline of some of Disney’s cable networks.

Disney has not yet set a price for subscriptions. The no-ads version, which was introduced in 2019, costs $8 a month. Although the streaming marketplace is changing rapidly, competing services charge 30% to 40% less for their ad-supported options. (For instance, Paramount+ charges $5 a month for “limited commercial interruptions” and $9 a month for no ads. HBO Max with ads runs $10 a month, and HBO Max without is $15 a month.)

The Information, a technology and media news site, on Thursday reported that Disney was discussing an ad-supported option.

“Since its launch, advertisers have been clamoring for the opportunity to be part of Disney+ and not just because there’s a growing demand for more streaming inventory,” Rita Ferro, president of advertising sales at Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, said in a statement.

In offering an ad-supported version of Disney+, Disney joins rivals like WarnerMedia, Paramount Global and NBCUniversal, all of which offer tiered subscription pricing based on how many ads are fed to viewers. (The major exceptions are Apple TV+ and Netflix, which has repeatedly said that it has no plans to move into advertising.) Disney’s own Hulu carries ads.

But advertising is a unique risk for Disney+ because of the company’s dominance in children’s television. For decades, Disney Channel, the company’s flagship cable network, marketed itself to parents as a safe space. It does not carry any advertising, even in programming aimed at older children (unlike Nickelodeon).

Disney said the offering was “a building block” in the company’s promise to Wall Street that Disney+ will have 230 million to 260 million paid subscribers by 2024. Disney+ added 11.8 million subscribers worldwide in its most recent quarter to reach 129.8 million.

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