The Sackler family will pay out $6 billion to fight the ongoing opioid epidemic and also give up control of their company, Purdue Pharma in exchange for protection from current and future civil lawsuits against its opioid business, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled on May 30.

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, and its owners, the Sackler family, are facing hundreds of lawsuits across the country for the company’s alleged role in the opioid epidemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans over the past 20 years. Purdue created and sold the highly addictive painkiller beginning in the 1990s. Purdue and the family have been accused of knowingly misleading consumers about the drug’s addictive properties.

As part of the current settlement, Purdue will be restructured into Knoa Pharma, which will be overseen by a public board and manufacture medications for addiction reversal and treatment, as well as continue to produce drugs, including OxyContin. The company’s profits — in addition to the $6 billion — will go toward fighting the opioid crisis.

Robert Bowers, the gunman who killed 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, was convicted by a federal jury of all 63 charges against him. Bowers now faces the possibility of the death sentence at the hands of the same jury for the deadliest attack ever on Jewish people in the U.S.

Bowers was convicted of 11 capital counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death, and 11 capital accounts of use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence, among other charges, including 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death.

The penalty phase is scheduled to begin on June 26.

Published this month and appearing on the Amazon website is Diner of Lost Souls, the second book in the series penned by shul members Graham Diamond and Hedy Campeas.

The mystery thriller features sleuth Cora Drakos, who owns the renowned Athena diner, from which she initiates an investigation into a death — a murder? — where the facts are elusive and the danger escalating. Multiple suspects present a trail of deception that put Cora’s own life in danger.

The first book in the series introduced Cora Drakos and left readers eager for more from this writing duo and their dynamics-from-the-diner concept.

Diner of Lost Souls, books 1 and 2, are available on Amazon, Amazon Kindle, and from local bookstores.

The Covenant Foundation, a Jewish education-focused group, awarded its annual prizes this week to three educators: Rabbi Tamara R. Cohen, Allison Cook and Nicole Nash. Each of the prize recipients will receive $50,000; the institutions where they work will receive $10,000.

Rabbi Cohen is chief program officer at the Moving Traditions Jewish youth group, based in Philadelphia. Allison Cook is the founder and co-director of the Pedagogy of Partnership in Cambridge, MA. Nicole Nash is head of the Hannah Senesh Community Day School in Brooklyn.

The awards honor “three exemplary Jewish educators who are each meeting a complex moment in Jewish communal history with a powerful blend of courage, commitment, and compassion,” according to the foundation, which is a program of the Crown Family Philanthropies. The foundation “elevates the work of Jewish educators and highlights their invaluable contributions to the community and the field,” the foundation said in a statement.

Barbra Streisand, actor, director, entertainer, writer and activist, will receive the 10th anniversary Genesis Prize in a ceremony in Los Angeles in October. The Genesis Prize honors Jewish people who have distinguished themselves in their chosen fields and for the benefit of Jewish causes and the State of Israel.

Stan Polovets, founder and chairman of the Genesis Prize Foundation, cited Ms. Streisand as “one of the world’s most beloved and admired performers.” She has delighted audiences for the past six decades with an amazing talent, and also has dedicated her time, resources and passion to important causes, speaking out wherever and whenever she saw injustice. Her sense of responsibility to heal the world grows out of her Jewish values and her Jewish identity, he said.

Ms. Streisand has asked the Genesis Prize Foundation to direct her $1 million prize money to nonprofit organizations working to protect the environment, promote women’s health, combat disinformation in the media, and aid Ukraine.

Three Jewish candidates have announced runs for the U.S. House of Representatives seat currently held by Rep. George Santos, the Republican congressman arrested on 13 federal criminal charges connected to accusations that he misled donors and misrepresented his finances to the public and to government agencies. Santos, who represents New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers parts of Queens and Long Island, also falsely claimed to be Jewish, and spread a series of other falsehoods about his background.

Anna Kaplan, an Iranian-American is a former Democratic state senator who has long championed Holocaust education. Josh Lafazan is a Nassau County legislator. Zak Malamed is the founder of a Democratic fundraising group. Also running for the seat are Democratic attorney Will Murphy, and Republican Kellen Curry, a former J.P. Morgan executive.

Santos appeared in court on May 10, pleaded not guilty, and was released on $500,000 bail. His next court appearance is June 30.