We're deeply concerned by the opioid crisis that has impacted families in every corner of the United States. We started by thinking about how to bring Google’s technical expertise to help families combat the epidemic.

Research by the federal government has shown that prescription drug abuse is a large driver of opioid addiction, and that the majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family or friends, often from a home medicine cabinet. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has found that one way that Americans can help prevent drug abuse and addiction is to properly dispose of unneeded or expired prescription drugs. Yet many people aren’t aware of, or can’t easily find, prescription drug disposal programs in their communities.

Using Google Maps API, our team worked with the DEA to create a locator tool for the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day this Saturday, April 28. The locator tool can help anyone find a place near them to safely dispose of leftover prescription medications. Click on the image below to access the locator, and enter an address or zip code to find nearby Take Back Day events this Saturday and help fight the opioid epidemic.

Longer term, we’re working with the DEA and state governments like Iowa, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Michigan to gather data on year-round take back options for future Google Maps integration.

In addition to making it easier to find take back locations, we’re also proud to support non-profit organizations on the frontlines of this crisis. We’ve worked with the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids since 2015 to help parents searching online for support connect to the Partnership’s  Parent Helpline. This service provides free counseling and advice to parents who need help addressing the many challenges of a child’s substance use. Today, we’re announcing $750,000 in matching grants from Google.org to help expand the Parent Helpline and get even more families the support and help they need. 

We’re also committed to ensuring that the public understands the danger of opioid abuse and the resources available for those who need help, by making useful information about opioid addiction and prescription drugs available in Google Search.

There are no easy answers to a challenge as large as the opioid crisis, but we’re committed to doing our part to ensure that people in every corner of the country have access to the resources they need to address this urgent public health emergency.

A chubby French Bulldog keeps watch in front of a vintage-looking tailor shop in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood. Meet Bruno, the face of Village Tailor and Cleaners. Vince, the shop’s owner, immigrated to the U.S. from Italy when he was just 18 years old, establishing Village Tailor in 1977. Today, his family-run business has grown into three locations and is best known for its skilled leather and suede alterations. Inside the shop, a wall covered in autographed photos of celebrity customers—Celine Dion, Marc Anthony, Elton John, and others—is a testament to the iconic quality of Vince's work.

While Bruno had been doing a wonderful job bringing in passersby, Vince knew he needed a way to stand out from the many tailoring shops in SoHo and reach more customers.

Vince noticed that most of his customers were walking in with a bag of clothes in one hand, and researching local businesses on their cell phone with the other. So, he decided to get his business online. He saw it as similar to Bruno sitting out front: their online presence could spark curiosity, help them stand out, and invite in new customers.

He set up Village Tailor's Google listing, so that he could edit how his business appears when people find it on Google Search and Maps. He added photos to his listing, posted updates about his skilled alterations, and used Google website builder to create a free high-quality website from his phone in less than 10 minutes. Now, when he asks new customers how they found his shop, they often mention Google.

Today, Vince’s son Vincent Jr. manages Vince's Village Cobbler, the shoe repair shop next door. Building on the family business’s tradition of excellent craftsmanship in shoes and leather goods, he continues to develop Village Cobbler's online presence with an e-commerce website that offers shipping all over the U.S. He also plans to find new customers with Google My Business and Google AdWords, just like his father has, to keep the family business growing. 

In times of crisis, access to timely, actionable information is crucial. Working alongside trained responders and volunteers on the ground, technology plays a vital role in providing information to help keep you and loved ones safe and informed. SOS alerts is a new set of features in Google Search and Maps to help you quickly understand what’s going on and decide what to do during a crisis.

How SOS Alerts Work

If you’re outside of the affected area, you may still want information about the crisis. Searches for relevant terms (like the name of the event or the location) will also show an SOS Alert that provides a timely overview of the situation, in addition to features such as donation opportunities.

Google Maps on mobile can also show SOS Alerts. In Maps, you’ll see a specific icon on the map and a tappable card with more information about the crisis, such as helpful phone numbers and websites. The map will also include real-time updates, like road closures and traffic and transit updates.

As we’ve developed our crisis response products, we’ve worked closely with organizations and government agencies that are on the front lines of relief efforts, including the Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration and many others. "Radio and television were once the only channels to quickly provide information in an emergency, but the internet and mobile phones have become increasingly important,” said Robert Glenn, Director at FEMA.

In addition to SOS Alerts and other crisis response features—including Google Person Finder, Google Crisis Map and Google Public Alerts—our philanthropic arm Google.org provides grants and volunteers for communities impacted by crises. We hope you never need to use crisis response features, but if you do, they’re designed to help keep you, and those you love, safe and informed.

Warning: This post is dark and full of spoilers.

Ned Stark always warned, “winter is coming.” The white raven confirmed that it’s finally here, and so is the season seven premiere of “Game of Thrones.” Fans have been waiting a year for the new season, but our watch hasn’t ended—the Street View team has been assembling a collection of “Game of Thrones” filming locations longer than Arya Stark’s kill list. As you prepare for the episodes to come, you can go back to the iconic places and scenes with the most famous families in the Seven Kingdoms: the Starks, Lannisters and Targaryens.

We promised the Views, and a Googler always pays her debts:

The Starks and friends

• Winterfell, home of the Stark family, is shot at Doune Castle in the Stirling district of central Scotland and at Castle Ward in Northern Ireland. Perhaps the dual Irish/Scottish influence is the reason for the Starks’ confusing accent?

• One man’s best friend is another man’s House sigil. In the forest near Winterfell—shot in Tollymore Forest Park in Northern Ireland’s Mourne Mountains—Ned Stark discovers a pack of six direwolves, each gifted to a Stark child. And as the saying goes, all dogs—or at least four of the Stark direwolves—go to heaven.

• In the Frostfang Mountains—filmed in Höfðabrekka, Iceland—Qhorin Halfhand, Jon Snow and the Night’s Watch expedition take Ygritte as their prisoner. And then we’ll wonder “will-they-won’t-they” about Jon and Ygritte for the next eight episodes.

• ... Until the cave, shot at the Grjótagjá cave in Iceland. Here Jon breaks his Night's Watch vows and Ygritte wants to stay in the cave forever.

• Braavos is home to the Iron Bank—which is filmed at St. Jacob Cathedral in Sibenik, Croatia—as well as the House of Black and White, the temple dedicated to the Many-Faced God where Arya trains with Jaqen H'ghar. Hard to say how his team of face-shifters would cope in Street View's world of Blurry Men.

• Where the tall people come to fight. When Brienne and Podrick miraculously find Arya, Brienne can finally fulfill her promise to Catelyn Stark and bring Arya to safety—if she’s not out-foxed by the Hound. Three minutes of bloody battle were filmed over three days in Thingvellir National Park in Iceland.

• In one of Bran Stark’s visions, Ned goes to the Tower of Joy in the Red Mountains—filmed at The Castle of Zafra in Guadalajara, Spain—to rescue his sister Lyanna. Here we learn the truth about Jon Snow’s parentage (and that Ned has been rocking the same hairdo for 17 years).

• Watch out, Westeros. Samwell Tarly—killer of White Walkers and best friend of the King in the North—is carrying a sword made of Valyrian steel and he’s training to become a maester at the Citadel Grand Library (filmed at the Monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants in Girona, Spain).

The Lannisters and their enemies

• King's Landing is the capital city of Westeros, home of the Iron Throne. The Targaryens had it, Jamie Lannister stabbed King Aerys in the back for it, and now everyone in the Seven Kingdoms is fighting for it. King’s Landing is filmed in Dubrovnik, a medieval walled city in Croatia.

• The Kingsroad stretches from the Wall down south to King's Landing. We first heard of the Kingsroad when King Robert Baratheon traveled to Winterfell to ask Ned to be his Hand (before Cersei took Ned’s head). In one stretch of the Kingsroad—filmed at the “Dark Hedges” in Northern Ireland—Arya, disguised as a boy bound for the Night’s Watch, escapes from King's Landing.

• If the Green Gardens of King’s Landing had ears, they’d know more about the goings-on in the Seven Kingdoms than Lord Varys and his little birds. Many secretive strolls and sinister conversations happen in this garden, filmed in a small village about 20 minutes away from Dubrovnik’s Old Town.

• Dragonstone Beach is lit. This is where Melisandre—the Lord-of-Light worshipping, Jon-Snow-reviving Red Woman—burns the Seven Idols of Westeros and Stannis Baratheon pulls a sword, Lightbringer, out of the flames (he’s ready for battle!). The scene is filmed at Downhill Strand, a beach in Northern Ireland.

• While Cersei frets about the wellbeing of her daughter—shipped off to Dorne by her Uncle Tyrion—Myrcella is actually frolicking through the gorgeous Water Gardens of Dorne with her one true love Prince Trystane Martell. The Water Gardens are filmed at the Real Alcázar in Seville, Spain.

• Shame, shame, shame. Just when you thought you’d never feel empathy for Cersei, she’s forced to serve her penance and walk naked through the street as people harass her, spit on her, and throw things at her. This iconic scene takes place on St. Dominic Street in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Daenerys Targaryen, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons

• Daenerys goes to the House of the Undying—filmed at Minčeta Tower in Dubrovnik, Croatia—to take back her dragons who were stolen by Pyat Pree. When he attempts to bind her in chains, Daenerys orders her dragons to breathe fire, killing Pyat Pree and setting them free.

• Varys and Tyrion explore The Long Bridge of Volantis on their way to Meereen. While in Volantis, Tyrion is captured by Jorah Mormont and taken to Daenerys, as Jorah’s last ditch effort to win her back. A bridge in Córdoba in Spain was used as a stand-in for the Long Bridge, but CGI was used to make the bridge look larger and to add buildings and markets atop it.

• Boy declares love for girl by killing for sport in front of thousands of people. Boy saves girl from assailant by throwing a spear into his heart. Girl flies away on dragon. Poor Jorah (so much for that last ditch effort). All this action at the Arena of Meereenwas filmed at the Bullring of Osuna in Seville, Spain.

• At the beginning of the sixth season, Daenerys crosses the Dothraki Sea—filmed in Bardenas Reales, a desert in Northern Spain—after she’s captured by the Dothraki. They’re pretty fired up to take the Queen of Dragons back to their camp … maybe a little too fired up.

The 104th edition of cycling’s most famous Grand Tour is well underway, with nearly 200 riders from around the world racing through 3,540 kilometers of the French countryside for the coveted yellow jersey. We’ve made a few tune-ups to Google Search to help you keep up with every stage of the Tour. And if the grueling mountain climbs inspire rather than intimidate you, hit the road on your own two wheels with Google Maps biking directions as your guide.

Now globally on the Google app for Android and iOS and the mobile web, when you search for Tour de France (or a similar query) on Google, you’ll see detailed information about the race and athletes as well as see the latest news stories. Most notably, you’ll also see the current standings of the race, which show jersey holders along with stage-by-stage results. As an added bonus, you’ll also have access to real-time update posts from the Tour de France directly in the search results.

Not everyone has the chance to make that triumphant roll down the Champs Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe. Lucky for us mere mortals, Google Maps makes it easy to find the best bike routes to let our inner cyclist shine—or just get from point A to point B.

To get bike directions on Google Maps, just enter your destination and tap on the bike icon. We give route suggestions based on the availability of dedicated bike trails in the area, and when possible we prioritize those routes. In case you’re not aiming to be “King of the Mountains,” we factor in variables like hills as well as size of the road, availability of bike lanes, and number of turns.

If you’re feeling adventurous and want to map out your own path, the bike layer will show color-coded routes according to their suitability for biking: dark green indicates a dedicated bike-only or multi-use trail; lighter green indicates a dedicated bike lane along a road; and a dotted green line indicates roads that don’t have bike lanes but tend to be more suitable for biking. To turn on the bike layer, tap the button above the compass icon and then tap the bike icon (on iOS) or open the main menu and then tap the bike icon (on Android).

Now grab your helmet, pump up your tires, and hit those hills!