Surgeon General Calls For Cancer Warnings On Alcohol
Plus, new details on the January 1 attacks & lawmakers vote to certify election
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Good morning,
Millions of kids are likely happily waking up to snow day announcements today! ❄️ A major winter storm hit the Plains across portions of the Ohio Valley with blizzard conditions, ice, and below-freezing temperatures. It’s forecast to spread east to the Mid-Atlantic today.
About 86 million people are under a winter storm warning or advisory as of Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
If you have any wild snow day pictures, send them to us at info@mo.news or our Instagram.
Stay safe!
Mosheh, Jill, Sari, & Lauren
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📌 NEW DETAILS ON MOTIVES BEHIND THE NEW YEAR’S DAY ATTACKS & THE MILITARY’S LARGER MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS
President Biden will travel to New Orleans today to “grieve with the families and communities” affected by the New Year’s Day attack there that killed 14 and injured dozens more people.
Meanwhile, more details have emerged about the two men responsible for the attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas on January 1. While similarities in the suspects’ backgrounds have raised questions of a potentially coordinated effort, their different motives have led investigators to believe the timing was a tragic coincidence.
INSIDE THEIR MOTIVES
Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, the man who rammed a truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street, was a U.S. Army veteran; while Matthew Livelsberger, who detonated a Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump’s Las Vegas hotel, was currently serving as a master sergeant in the Army. Both men served in Afghanistan in 2009, spent time at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), and rented electric vehicles used in the attacks on the car rental app Turo. But it does not appear the men knew one another.
Investigators say Jabbar was inspired by ISIS propaganda, posting about his allegiance to the terrorist group hours before the attack. The FBI has learned that Jabbar visited New Orleans in October and November, apparently scouting where he could attack and recording video of Bourbon Street with Meta smart glasses.
New details from video recordings, interviews, and public records trace Jabbar’s growing discontent with American society and his shift toward radicalization.
In the past year, Jabbar began growing a beard, and expressing disgust over what he saw as inappropriate behavior. His half brother said Jabbar “didn’t approve of drinking or partying,” and warned that music was luring people “into the things that God had made forbidden to us.” Jabbar also apparently talked about the end times in recent recordings.
Livelsberger also faced family troubles. His ex-girlfriend – an Army nurse – said he showed symptoms of a traumatic brain injury.
Notes recovered from his charred phone detail his struggles with both the mental and physical toll of serving. He described needing to "cleanse" his mind "of the brothers I've lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took," and called U.S. government leadership “weak.” He also was increasingly paranoid that the government was tracking him, and had conspiracy theories about the drones recently seen over New Jersey.
THE MILITARY’S LARGER PROBLEM
Experts warn that Islamist extremism online and domestic political divisions have created “a perfect storm” for radicalization in America — and veterans can be targets just like anyone else. The difference, however, is their access to and knowledge about weapons and other means of destruction.
We had a robust discussion about the state of the military on Mo News Premium Instagram this weekend. One service member in the Mo News community shared experiences of the Army tolerating an officer’s concerning behavior, including social media posts supporting white supremacy.
Others noted that enlisted soldiers may already be vulnerable — some joining the Army out of financial desperation or because of a troubled home life.
However, another veteran pushed back on that perspective, calling it elitist and noting that the military's hierarchy can reinforce those perceptions. They argued that the military reflects the same societal issues seen in the general population.
Then there’s the larger issue of PTSD. A Mo News community member whose two brothers served in the Army said the stigma around therapy and medication still lingers. “He stays grounded through family and spiritual relationships but understands that those who don’t have that may turn to extremist groups,” they shared.
Suicide rates among U.S. service members remain alarmingly high. Compared to the general population, the suicide rate among Veterans was 57% higher in 2020.
📌 SHOULD ALCOHOL COME WITH A CANCER WARNING? THE U.S. SURGEON GENERAL THINKS SO.
About 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 deaths per year are linked to drinking alcohol, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in a new advisory. That would make it the third leading preventable cause of cancer behind smoking and obesity.
Murthy wants alcoholic beverages to include a warning label about those cancer risks — like cigarette packages — a move that could shake up how Americans view drinking.
A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
Only about 45% of Americans believe alcohol is bad for their health. Yet the surgeon general and other scientists warn that it’s not just binge drinking that’s harmful — it’s almost any amount of alcohol.
17% of the 20,000 alcohol-related cancer deaths per year occurred in people who consumed the U.S. Dietary Guidelines’ limit of two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women.
Results from 26 studies found that there was a 40% increase in mouth cancer risk for people who had one drink daily, compared to those who did not drink at all.
Throat, voice box, esophagus, breast, liver, and colorectal cancer risks also jumped from alcohol consumption.
A 2023 Gallup survey found that two-thirds of Americans drink alcohol. Warning labels currently exist about the risk of drinking alcohol while pregnant and its impact on driving, but an updated warning label would require Congressional approval.
WHAT THE DOC ORDERS
The World Health Organization says no amount of alcohol consumption is safe. Research shows it can damage DNA and proteins, alter hormone levels, and make it easier for the body to absorb other carcinogens.
Meanwhile, the American Heart Association claims that light to moderate drinking has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease.
Let’s meet in the middle? Murthy cautions that while “there may not be a zero-risk level, there are lower risks and there are higher risks.” So, one or two drinks (proportioned correctly) a week is better than that same amount per day.
📌 119TH CONGRESS TO CERTIFY ELECTION RESULTS TODAY
If all goes as expected, President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election will be certified by a Senate vote this afternoon.
Notably, Vice President Kamala Harris will preside over the certification. The last VP who lost the presidential election and had to certify the victory for their opponent was Al Gore in 2001.
Harris said she will ensure a peaceful and straightforward transfer of power.
It comes as Republican voters now have much more confidence in election integrity — a dramatic shift from when Trump and his allies peddled that the 2020 election was stolen.
REWIND TO FRIDAY
Today’s certification is only possible because of a swift and successful vote for Speaker of the House on Friday, which Mike Johnson (R-LA) won.
He managed to quash a potential conservative rebellion, working behind the scenes to convince far-right members of his party that he would stand firm against Democrats.
Trump’s backing was crucial. In fact, GOP House leaders dialed in the president-elect on a cellphone mid-vote to directly urge two of the three Republican holdouts to change their votes (in the middle of the vote) to support the speaker. Johnson could only afford to lose one Republican to get to the 218 votes needed.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the only GOP “no” vote, and couldn’t be convinced to flip.
What’s next for Speaker Johnson? He told his Republican colleagues over the weekend that Trump’s campaign platform to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, increase energy/oil production, and push tax cuts could be compiled into one large bill.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 President Biden awarded the Medal of Freedom to 19 people, including Bono, Hillary Clinton, Magic Johnson, Michael J. Fox and Anna Wintour, among others (MO NEWS)
📌 Trump invites House Republicans to Mar-a-Lago ahead of inauguration (NBC)
📌 Senate panel quietly seeking more info on Pete Hegseth ahead of Defense Secretary confirmation hearings (ABC)
📌 $9 to enter Manhattan: Congestion pricing begins in NYC in a high stakes test for the model's U.S. viability (NPR)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Hamas releases proof-of-life video of Israeli hostage Liri Albag (i24) Hamas approves Israeli list of hostages for potential exchange (CNN)
📌 Greenland’s leader wants independence from Denmark as Trump expresses interest in buying island (POLITICO)
📌 Half a million suspected Nazi collaborators are named as the Netherlands reckons with WWII past (NBC)
📌 Ukraine doubles down on Kursk with new offensive into Russia (POLITICO)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Elon Musk’s Starlink to launch on United Airlines flights by spring (CNN)
📌 One year after Boeing's door plug crisis, a 'fundamental cultural shift at Boeing' is needed, FAA Administrator says (FOX)
📌 Flu emergency room visits now "very high" nationwide, CDC says (CBS)
📌 HMPV virus is on the rise among kids in China — what is it? (LIVE SCIENCE)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Filmmaker and husband to Aubrey Plaza, Jeff Baena, dies by suicide (KTLA)
📌 A Melania Trump documentary from director Brett Ratner will be released by Amazon (AP)
📌 Golden Globes 2025 winners and losers (NBC)
📌 ‘Mufasa’ nears $500M global as ‘Moana 2’ sets course for $1B (DEADLINE)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: JANUARY 6
1838: Samuel Morse demonstrated his telegraph system for the first time.
1941: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his State of the Union address, introduced the Four Freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
1974: The U.S. adopted year-round Daylight Saving Time as an energy-saving measure in response to the OPEC oil embargo. However, the experiment lasted only ten months before Congress repealed the law due to public discontent.
President-elect Trump has proposed ending Daylight Saving Time and keeping U.S. clocks on Standard Time, which we are currently in.
1975: "Wheel of Fortune" premiered on NBC.