QUICK HITS

1 Hong Kong reopens beaches:

Hong Kong reopened beaches and pools and relaxed other pandemic restrictions Thursday, a day after China’s capital, Beijing, announced it would ease its tough quarantine rules for arrivals from overseas. Hong Kong is emerging from by far its deadliest wave, which killed 9,000 people.

Justice Department boosts 2 focus on environmental cases that harm poor:

The Justice Department is ramping up enforcement of environmental cases that officials say disproportionately harm poor and marginalized communities, creating an office to help coordinate investigations and expanding the breadth of litigation against firms and local or state governments that appear to violate federal laws or commit civil infractions.

Walgreens settles Florida opioid sales suit:

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Walgreens Boots Alliance reached a $683 million settlement with the state of Florida over claims that the company contributed to the opioid crisis by improperly marketing the painkillers.

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5 North Korea lifts lockdowns:

North Korea on Thursday lifted a temporary lockdown it had imposed a day earlier after reports from across the country of cases of fevers of unknown origins, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing multiple South Korean government officials.

NASA climate research scientist wins World Food Prize:

A NASA climate research scientist who has spent much of her career explaining how global food production must adapt to a changing climate was awarded the World Food Prize on Thursday. Cynthia Rosenzweig, an agronomist and climatologist, was awarded the $250,000 prize in recognition of her innovative modeling of the impact of climate change on food production.