Demonstrators plant cardboard tombstones outside a New York courthouse to call attention to Purdue Pharma’s role in deaths from the opioid painkiller Oxycontin

The artist says the coronavirus health crisis “has made life even more difficult" for drug users and recovering addicts

We look back at the biggest stories of the year

Demonstrators at the White Plains courthouse kept up the pressure to hold Sackler family accountable in opioid crisis, as a $10bn settlement hangs in the balance

But state attorneys general predict an imminent bankruptcy filing as settlement talks break down

Artist says the reported deal is a cynical attempt to avoid significant restitution

Proposed settlement calls for family's company Purdue Pharma to file for bankruptcy and become a public trust distributing profits

The museum cites recent lawsuits tied to the US opioid crisis in its decision to decline future donations from the family

The move follows a mutual decision by the National Portrait Gallery and the Sackler Trust to not proceed with a £1m grant

Mutual decision comes amid controversy over trust's connection to Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, a prescription painkiller linked to the opioid crisis

In the first part of a new series, Adrian Ellis looks at the increased public scrutiny of museum boards in the social media age