As the U.S. warns terrorists may try to use explosive-packed toothpaste tubes to target planes heading to the Olympics, people who already arrived in Sochi are finding problems that raise concerns about Russia's readiness for the games. Some of the issues include toilets unable to handle toilet paper, water too caustic for washing, and hotels that are just not finished. Ivan Watson has the latest from Sochi.
With the start of the Sochi Olympics less than a day away, the Department of HomelandSecurity is warning that terrorists may try to target flights heading to the Games. Evan Perez has the latest on this potential threat.
Anderson discusses the toothpaste terror threat with National Security Analysts Bob Baer and Peter Bergen.
They may not be the youngest or in the greatest shape, but that's not stopping East Texas community leaders from taking off their clothes to help rescue dogs. Controversy over the calendar lands on the RidicuList.
Click here to find out how to purchase your copy of the Taking it Off For the Dogs calendar.
A new report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office finds the Affordable Care Act will cost the U.S. economy two and a half million jobs. Some Republicans are pointing to this report, calling Obamacare a "job killer." AC360 is Keeping Them Honest.
Anderson discussed this with the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Ralph Reed and politicalcommentator Cornell Belcher.
For millions of Americans, this is the winter that just won't quit. Another storm dumped snow and freezing rain from the midwest to New England today. Forecasters predict the next storm could be just days away. The severe weather left a million homes without power, forced the cancelation of thousands of flights, and now New York is dealing with a shortage of road salt. Anderson takes a look at some of the hardest-hit areas.
Heroin use is on the rise and so are deaths from overdoses. Compared to prescription pain killers, heroin is cheaper these days and offers a similar high. Randi Kaye rode along with law enforcement to find out just how easy it is to find heroin for sale on the streets.
Editor’s Note: Join us for the latest developments in Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death investigation on AC360° at 8 p.m. ET.
Four people believed to be connected to the heroin found in actor Philip Seymour Hoffman’s apartment have been arrested in New York. The suspects range in age from 22 to 57. According to a law enforcement official, one of the suspects had Hoffman’s phone number stored on his cell phone. When Hoffman’s body was found on Sunday inside his fourth-floor Manhattan apartment, the 46-year-old actor was lying on a bathroom floor with a syringe in his arm, law enforcement sources said. Investigators found about 50 envelopes of what they believed was heroin, the sources added.
The number of heroin users is on the rise and abusers can pay a deadly price. Here’s the AC360 411 on heroin in America:
Heroin addicts in 2012: 467,000. A 56% increase in 10 years, according to a federal government study on drug use.
About 4.6 million people reported using heroin at some point in their lives that same 2012 survey.
The age of the average first-time heroin user: 23
Approximately 23% of people who use heroin become dependent on it.
Heroin is made from morphine, which naturally occurs in opium poppy plants.
Heroin can be injected, inhaled by snorting or sniffing, or smoked.
Medications for treating heroin addiction include buprenorphine and methadone.
Naloxone is sometimes used as an emergency treatment to counteract the effects of heroin overdose.
Street names for heroin include: Big H, Dead on arrival, Hell dust, Smack
Heroin is a “downer” or depressant that affects the brain’s pleasure systems and interferes with the brain’s ability to perceive pain.
Heroin is a white to dark brown powder or tar-like substance.
1895: Heinrich Dreser, working for the Bayer Company in Germany, synthesized heroin.
1898: Bayer began to marketing the drug, calling it a “wonder drug.”
One in 10 heroin overdoses ends in death.
Most people die from heroin overdoses when their bodies forget to breathe.
Heroin overdose can also cause your blood pressure to dip significantly and cause your heart to fail.
The price of one heroin capsule: $6, according to police in Delray Beach, Florida.
The price of a multiple-dose supply: $45 to $60, officials tell the Washington Times.