Cheers More cancer, less death? New alcohol-risk reviews offer conflicting takeaways Two big, somewhat conflicting studies on alcohol risks will influence new guidelines. Beth Mole Jan 17, 2025 7:30 am | 27 Credit: Getty | Marina Cavusoglu Credit: Getty | Marina Cavusoglu Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreHeavy drinking is clearly bad for your health. But it's long been questioned whether moderate drinking is also riskyand, if so, how risky, exactly.Health researchers have consistently found links between alcohol consumption and several types of cancers (namely mouth, throat, colon, rectal, liver, and breast), as well as liver diseases, injuries, and traffic accidents. But nailing down the health risks from the lower levels of drinking has been tricky. For one, much of the data on moderate drinking are from observational studies in different countries, cultures, and populations. They cannot determine if alcohol is the direct cause of any given association, and they may be swayed by other lifestyle factors. The resulting data can be noisy and inconsistent.Moreover, many studies rely on people to self-report whether they drink and, if so, how much, which is problematic because people may not accurately assess and/or report how much they actually drink. A related problem is that studies in the past often compared drinkers to people who said they didn't drink. But, the trouble is, non-drinking groups are often some mix of people who are lifelong abstainers and people who used to drink but quit for some reasonmaybe because of health effects. This latter group has the potential to have lingering health effects from their drinking days, which could skew any comparisons looking for health differences.Then there's the larger, common problem with any research focused on food or beverages: some have been sponsored or somehow swayed by industry, casting suspicion on the findings, particularly the ones indicating benefits. This has been a clear problem for alcohol research. For instance, in 2018, the National Institutes of Health shut down a $100 million trial aimed at assessing the health effects (and potential benefits) of moderate drinking after it came to light that much of the funding was solicited from the alcohol industry. There was a lot of questionable communication between NIH scientists and alcohol industry representatives.With all of that in the background, there's been clamorous debate about how much risk, if any, people are swallowing with their evening cocktail, gameday beer, or wine with dinner.Currently, the US dietary guidance recommends that if adults drink, they should stick to drinking in moderation, defined as "alcohol intake to two drinks or fewer in a day for men and one drink or fewer in a day for women." But recently, health experts in the US and abroad have started calling for lower limits, noting that more data has poured in that fortify links to cancers and other risks. In 2023, for instance, Canada released recommendations that people limit their alcohol consumption totwo drinks or fewer per weekthat's down significantly from the previously recommended limit of 10 drinks per week for women and 15 drinks per week for men.Two reviewsNow, it's America's turn to decide if they'll also set the bar lower, too. This year, the US will update its dietary guidelines, which are carried out by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture every five years. The federal government has requested two big scientific reviews to assess the current knowledge of the health effects of alcohol, which will both inform any potential revisions to the alcohol guidelines. Now, both studies have been released and open for discussion.One is from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies), which was tasked by Congress to review the current evidence on alcohol with a focus on how moderate drinking potentially affects a specific set of health outcomes. The review compared health outcomes in moderate drinkers with those of lifelong abstainers. For the review, the National Academies set up a committee of 14 experts.The other report is from the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD), which set up a Technical Review Subcommittee on Alcohol Intake and Health. For its report, the subcommittee looked not just at moderate drinking but health outcomes of a range of alcohol consumption compared to lifelong abstainers.Based on top-line takeaways and tone, the two reports seem to have very different findings. While the National Academies review found a mix of benefits and harms from moderate drinking (one drink per day for women, and two per day for men), the ICCPUD review suggested that even the smallest amounts of alcohol (one drink per week) increased risk of death and various diseases. However, a closer look at the data shows they have some common ground.The National Academies reviewFirst, for the National Academies' review, experts found sufficient evidence to assess the effects of moderate drinking on all-cause mortality, certain cancers, and cardiovascular risks. On the other hand, the reviewers found insufficient evidence to assess moderate drinking's impact on weight changes, neurocognition, and lactation-related risks.For all-cause mortality, a meta-analysis of data from eight studies found that moderate drinkers had a 16 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality (death from any cause) compared with lifelong abstainers. A meta-analysis of three studies suggested the risk of all-cause mortality was 23 percent lower for females who drank moderately compared to never-drinking females. Data from four studies indicated that moderate drinking males had a 16 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality than never-drinking males. Additional analyses found that the risk of all-cause mortality was 20 percent lower for moderate drinkers less than age 60 and 18 percent lower for moderate drinkers aged 60 and up."Based on data from the eight eligible studies from 2019 to 2023, the committee concludes that compared with never consuming alcohol, moderate alcohol consumption is associated with lower all-cause mortality," the review states. The reviewers rated the conclusion as having "moderate certainty."Cancer and cardiovascular diseaseFor a look at cancer risks, a meta-analysis of four studies on breast cancer found that moderate drinkers had an overall 10 percent higher risk than non-drinkers. An additional analysis of seven studies found that for every 10 to 14 grams of alcohol (0.7 to one standard drink) consumed per day, there was a 5 percent higher risk of breast cancer. The data indicated that people who drank higher amounts of alcohol within the moderate range had higher risks than those who drank lower amounts in the moderate range (for instance, one drink a day versus 0.5 drinks a day).For context, the average lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in non-drinking females is about 11 to 12 percent. A 10 percent relative increase in risk would raise a person's absolute risk to around 12 to 13 percent. The average lifetime risk of any female dying of breast cancer is 2.5 percent.Overall, the reviewers concluded that "consuming a moderate amount of alcohol was associated with a higher risk of breast cancer," and the conclusion was rated as having moderate certainty.A meta-analysis on colorectal cancer risks found a "statistically nonsignificant higher risk" in moderate drinkers compared to non-drinkers. However, studies looking at alcohol consumption at the highest levels of moderate drinking for males (e.g., two drinks per day) suggested a higher risk compared to males who drank lower amounts of alcohol in the moderate range (one drink per day).The review concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support a link between moderate drinking and oral cavity, pharyngeal, esophageal, and laryngeal cancers.Finally, for cardiovascular risks, meta-analyses found moderate drinking was associated with a 22 percent lower risk of heart attacks and an 11 percent lower risk of stroke (driven by lower risk of ischemic stroke, specifically). The reviewers rated these associations as low certainty, though, after noting that there was some concern for risk of bias in the studies.For cardiovascular disease mortality, meta-analyses of four studies found an 18 percent lower risk of death among moderate drinkers compared with non-drinkers. Broken down, there was a 23 percent lower risk in female drinkers and 18 percent lower risk in male drinkers. The lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality was rated as moderate certainty.The ICCPUD reviewThe ICCPUD subcommittee's report offered a darker outlook on moderate drinking, concluding that "Alcohol use is associated with increased mortality for seven types of cancer (colorectal, female breast, liver, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus [squamous cell type])," and "Increased risk for these cancers begins with any alcohol use and increases with higher levels of use."The review modeled lifetime risks of cancer and death and relative risks for a long list of problems, including infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and injuries. Also, it didn't just focus on non- drinkers versus moderate drinkers, but it assessed the relative risk of six levels of drinking: one drink a week; two drinks a week; three drinks a week; seven drinks a week (one a day); 14 drinks a week (two a day) and 21 drinks a week (three a day).Overall, the analysis is very much a rough draft. There are some places where information is missing, and some of the figures are mislabeled and difficult to read. There are two figures labeled Figure 6, for instance and Figure 7 (which may be Figure 8), is a graph that doesn't have a Y-axis, making it difficult to interpret. The study also doesn't discuss the level of potential bias of individual studies in its analyses. It also doesn't make note of statistically insignificant results, nor comment on the certainty of any of its findings.For instance, the top-line summary states that "In the United States, males and females have a 1 in 1,000 risk of dying from alcohol use if they consume more than 7 drinks per week. This risk increases to 1 in 100 if they consume more than 9 drinks per week." But a look at the modeling behind these estimates indicates the cutoffs of when drinkers would reach a 0.1 percent or 1 percent risk of dying from alcohol use are broad. For males, a 0.1 percent lifetime risk of an alcohol-attributed death is reached at 6.5 standard drinks, with a 95 percent confidence interval spanning less than one drink per week and 13.5 drinks per week. "This lifetime risk rose to 1 in 100 people above 8.5 drinks per week," the text reads, but the confidence interval is again between one and 14 drinks per week. So, basically, anywhere between about one and 14 drinks a week, a male's lifetime risk of dying from alcohol may be either 0.1 or 1 percent, according to this modeling.Death risksRegarding risk of death, the study did not look at all-cause mortality, like the National Academies review. Instead, it focused on deaths from causes specifically linked to alcohol. For both males and females, modeling indicated that the total lifetime risk of any alcohol-attributed death for people who consumed one, two, three, or seven drinks per week was statistically non-significant (the confidence intervals for each calculation spanned zero). Among those who have 14 drinks per week, the total lifetime risk of death was about 4 in 100 from all causes, with unintentional injuries being the biggest contributor for males and liver diseases being the biggest contributor for females. Among those who have 21 drinks per week, the risk of death was about 7 in 100 for males and 8 in 100 for females. Unintentional injuries and liver diseases were again the biggest contributors to the risk.Some experts have speculated that the lower risk of all-cause mortality found in the National Academies' analysis (which has been seen in previous studies) may be due to healthy lifestyle patterns among people who drink moderately rather than the protective effects of alcohol. The line of thinking would suggest that healthy lifestyle choices, like regular exercise and a healthy diet, can negate certain risks, including the potential risks of alcohol. However, the ICCPUD emphasizes the reverse argument, noting that poor health choices would likely exacerbate the risks of alcohol. "[A]lcohol would have a greater impact on the health of people who smoke, have poor diets, engage in low physical activity, are obese, have hepatitis infection, or have a family history of specific diseases than it would other individuals."Relative risksIn terms of relative risk of the range of conditions, generally, the ICCPUD study found small, if any, increases in risk at the three lowest levels of drinking, with risks rising with higher levels. The study's finding of breast cancer risk was in line with the National Academies' review. ICCPUD found that pre-menopausal females who drink moderately (one drink per day) had a 6 percent higher risk of breast cancer than non-drinkers, while post-menopausal moderate drinkers had a 17 percent higher risk. (You can see the complete set of relative risk estimates in Table A6 beginning on page 70 of the report.)For some cancers, moderate drinking raised the risk substantially. For instance, males who have two drinks per day see their risk of esophageal cancer more than double. But, it's important to note that the absolute risk for many of these cancers is small to begin with. The average risk of esophageal cancer in men is 0.8 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. With the increased risk from moderate drinking, it would be below 2 percent. Still, alcohol consumption increased the risks of nearly all the cancers examined, with the higher levels of alcohol consumption having the highest risk.As for cardiovascular risks, ICCPUD's review found low risk in several of the categories. The risk of ischemic heart disease was lower than that of nondrinkers at all six drinking levels. The risk of ischemic stroke was lower among drinkers who had one, two, three, or seven drinks per week compared to non-drinkers. At 14 and 21 drinks per week, the risk of ischemic stroke rose by 8 percent.Beth MoleSenior Health ReporterBeth MoleSenior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technicas Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 27 Comments

Shane Snider, Senior Writer, InformationWeekJanuary 17, 20254 Min ReadTithi Luadthong via Alamy StockApocalyptic scenes from greater Los Angeles, Californias continuing wildfire devastation raise serious questions about ITs growing need for a resource in short supply: water. The explosion of power-hungry AI models is a growing strain on water resources, even as the industry makes strides in mitigation efforts.Many factors -- from water shortages due to an ongoing drought, to infrastructure restraints -- led to a shortage of water and water pressure in fire hydrants throughout Los Angeles County. The shortages fueled partisan finger-pointing over blame. Water is increasingly becoming a major stress point for governments as IT needs increase.Three Democratic California lawmakers introduced four separate bills last week aimed at slowing AI and data center water consumption. One of the bills authors, Assemblymember Dian Papan, told Politico, Waters a limited resource. Im trying to make it so we are prepared and ahead of the curve as we pursue new technology.Providing a snapshot of increasing data center water use needs, the US Department of Energys report on the countrys data center energy use pegs total 2023 water use at 66 billion liters, up from 21.2 billion liters in 2014. And thats just for direct consumption to cool data centers themselves -- water needed to cool power plants supplying electricity to data centers, also adds to the total.Related:But transparency on water use is an issue. About 50% of organizations do not collect water usage data for data center operations, according to Statista.Data Center Map counts 286 data centers in California, including 69 in Los Angeles.AI Proliferation Driving Increased Water NeedsArtificial intelligence drove about 20% of new data center demand over the last year, according to a report from global commercial real estate firm JLL. The market for colocation data centers, which soak up some of the highest water use rates, doubled in size over the past 4 years, according to the report. Data creation is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 32% through 2030.The arms race to develop AI tools in the enterprise has driven excitement and fear about the emerging technology.Much of the hype around AI ethics has revolved around potential existential threats. Energy consumption and water use may not be a topic quite as scintillating as impending robot doomsday scenarios, but experts say the environmental impacts may pose the most immediate threat.Its heartbreaking to witness the aftermath of the LA fires and how theyve exposed critical water infrastructure challenges, says Manoj Saxena, CEO and founder of Responsible AI Institute and InformationWeek Insight Circle member. While we often debate the existential threats of AI, the immediate reality is its growing environmental impact -- particularly on carbon emissions and water consumption.Related:Pointing to statistics from the World Economic Forum, Saxena says global AI demand could push water usage to an astonishing 1.7 trillion gallons of annual water use. The fact that 20% of these servers already rely on water from stressed watersheds is a wake-up call.Water Saving Strategies: Can We Keep Up?There are many water saving techniques data centers are deploying, including immersion cooling (submerging servers in liquid), free cooling (using outside air in colder climates), direct-to-chip cooling, and more.But as more sustainable techniques come online, the need for much more powerful data center servers could cancel out those efforts. Older data centers cannot keep up with the computing needs of new AI systems. And upgrades mean more strain on water resources, so experts are pushing for initiatives to keep up with increasing demand.Companies are racing to adopt more sustainable data center plans. Microsoft, for example, is moving forward with new data center designs that use chip-level cooling to consume no water. This design will avoid the need for more than 125 million liters of water per year per datacenter, Steve Solomon, Microsofts vice president for datacenter infrastructure engineering, said in a blog post.Related:Considering Microsoft reported its cloud data centers had soaked up 6.4 million cubic meters of water in 2022 (a 34% increase from the year prior), canceling out water use would be a big win. But overall, tech companies have struggled to meet previously set sustainability goals as generative AI unexpectedly took off with the release of ChatGPT.But RAIs Saxena says more needs to be done -- and quickly.We need to act now to ensure AIs growth doesnt come at the cost of our planet, Saxena says. This means adopting water-efficient cooling technologies, capping water use in drought-prone regions, promoting closed-loop cooling systems, incentivizing renewable-powered AI operations, and fostering public-private partnerships to set sustainable infrastructure policies.About the AuthorShane SniderSenior Writer, InformationWeekShane Snider is a veteran journalist with more than 20 years of industry experience. He started his career as a general assignment reporter and has covered government, business, education, technology and much more. He was a reporter for the Triangle Business Journal, Raleigh News and Observer and most recently a tech reporter for CRN. He was also a top wedding photographer for many years, traveling across the country and around the world. He lives in Raleigh with his wife and two children.See more from Shane SniderNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

A robotic exoskeleton can train people to move their fingers more quicklyShinichi FuruyaA robotic hand exoskeleton can help expert pianists learn to play even faster by moving their fingers for them.Robotic exoskeletons have long been used to rehabilitate people who can no longer use their hands due to an injury or medical condition, but using them to improve the abilities of able-bodied people has been less well explored. AdvertisementNow, Shinichi Furuya at Sony Computer Science Laboratories in Tokyo and his colleagues have found that a robotic exoskeleton can improve the finger speed of trained pianists after a single 30-minute training session.Im a pianist, but I [injured] my hand because of overpractising, says Furuya. I was suffering from this dilemma, between overpractising and the prevention of the injury, so then I thought, I have to think about some way to improve my skills without practising. The latest science news delivered to your inbox, every day.Sign up to newsletterFuruya remembered that his teachers used to show him how to play certain pieces by placing their hands over his. I understood haptically, or more intuitively, without using any words, he says. This made him wonder whether a robot might be able to replicate this effect.The robotic exoskeleton can raise and lower each finger individually, up to four times a second, using a separate motor attached to the base of each finger.To test the device, the researchers recruited 118 expert pianists who had all played since before they had turned 8 years old and for at least 10,000 hours, and asked them to practise a piece for two weeks until they couldnt improve.Then, the pianists received a 30-minute training session with the exoskeleton, which moved the fingers of their right hand in different combinations of simple and complex patterns, either slowly or quickly, so that Furuya and his colleagues could pinpoint what movement type caused improvement.The pianists who experienced the fast and complex training could better coordinate their right hand movements and move the fingers of either hand faster, both immediately after training and a day later. This, together with evidence from brain scans, indicates that the training changed the pianists sensory cortices to better control finger movements in general, says Furuya.This is the first time Ive seen somebody use [robotic exoskeletons] to go beyond normal capabilities of dexterity, to push your learning past what you could do naturally, says Nathan Lepora at the University of Bristol, UK. Its a bit counterintuitive why it worked, because you would have thought that actually performing the movements yourself voluntarily would be the way to learn, but it seems passive movements do work.Journal reference:Science Robotics DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adn3802Topics:

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. We need to protect the protocol that runs Bluesky Eli Pariser & Deepti Doshi Last week, when Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta would be ending third-party fact-checking, it was a shocking pivot, but not exactly surprising. Its just the latest example of a billionaire flip-flop affecting our social lives on the internet. Zuckerberg isnt the only social media CEO careening all over the road: Elon Musk, since buying Twitter in 2022 and touting free speech as the bedrock of a functioning democracy, has suspended journalists, restored tens of thousands of banned users, brought back political advertising, and weakened verification and harassment policies. Unfortunately, these capricious billionaires can do whatever they want because of an ownership model that privileges singular, centralized control in exchange for shareholder returns. The internet doesnt need to be like this. But as luck would have it, a new way is emerging just in time. Read the full story. Deciding the fate of leftover embryos Over the past few months, Ive been working on a piece about IVF embryos. The goal of in vitro fertilization is to create babies via a bit of lab work: Trigger the release of lots of eggs, introduce them to sperm in a lab, transfer one of the resulting embryos into a persons uterus, and cross your fingers for a healthy pregnancy. Sometimes it doesnt work. But often it does. For the article, I explored what happens to the healthy embryos that are left over. These days, responsible IVF clinics will always talk to people about the possibility of having leftover embryos before they begin treatment. But it can be really difficult to make these decisions before youve even started treatment, and some people cant imagine having any left overor how they might feel about them. Read the full story.Jessica Hamzelou This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Reviews weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here. MIT Technology Review Narrated: Palmer Luckey on the Pentagons future of mixed reality Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus VR, has set his sights on a new mixed-reality headset customer: the Pentagon. If designed well, his company Andurils headset will automatically sort through countless pieces of information and flag the most important ones to soldiers in real time. But thats a big if. This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which were publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as its released.The must-reads Ive combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The Biden administration wont force through a TikTok ban But TikTok could choose to shut itself down on Sunday to prove a point. (ABC News)+ A Supreme Court decision is expected later today. (NYT $)+ Every platform has a touch of TikTok about it these days. (The Atlantic $) 2 Apple is pausing its AI news feature Because it cant be trusted to meld news stories together without hallucinating. (BBC)+ The company is working on a fix to roll out in a future software update. (WP $)3 Meta is preparing for Donald Trumps mass deportations By relaxing speech policies around immigration, Meta is poised to shape public opinion towards accepting Trumps plans to tear families apart. (404 Media)4 An uncrewed SpaceX rocket exploded during a test flight Elon Musk says it was probably caused by a leak. (WSJ $)5 The FBI believes that hackers accessed its agents call logs The data could link investigators to their secret sources. (Bloomberg $)6 What its like fighting fire with waterDumping water on LAs wildfires may be inelegant, but it is effective. (NY Mag $) + How investigators are attempting to trace the fires origins. (BBC)7 The road to adapting Teslas charges for other EVs is far from smooth But it is happening, slowly but surely. (IEEE Spectrum)+ Donald Trump isnt a fan of EVs, but the market is undoubtedly growing. (Vox)+ Why EV charging needs more than Tesla. (MIT Technology Review)8 Bionic hands are getting far more sensitive FT $) + These prosthetics break the mold with third thumbs, spikes, and superhero skins. (MIT Technology Review)9 Gen Z cant get enough of astrology apps Stargazing is firmly back e\in vogue among the younger generations. (Economist $) 10 Nintendo has finally unveiled its long-awaited Switch 2 console Only for it to look a whole lot like its predecessor. (WSJ $)+ But itll probably sell a shedload of units anyway. (Wired $)Quote of the day Going viral is like winning the lotterynearly impossible to replicate. Sarah Schauer, a former star on defunct video app Vine, offers creators left nervous by TikToks uncertain future in the US some advice, the Washington Post reports. The big story After 25 years of hype, embryonic stem cells are still waiting for their moment August 2023 In 1998, researchers isolated powerful stem cells from human embryos. It was a breakthrough, since these cells are the starting point for human bodies and have the capacity to turn into any other type of cellheart cells, neurons, you name it. National Geographic would later summarize the incredible promise: "the dream is to launch a medical revolution in which ailing organs and tissues might be repaired with living replacements. It was the dawn of a new era. A holy grail. Pick your favorite clichthey all got airtime. Yet today, more than two decades later, there are no treatments on the market based on these cells. Not one. Our biotech editor Antonio Regalado set out to investigate why, and when that might change. Heres what he discovered. We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet 'em at me.) + If you're planning on catching up with a friend this weekendstop! You should be hanging out instead.+ David Lynch was a true visionary; an innovative artist and master of the truly weird. The world is a duller place without him.+ The very best instant noodles, ranked ($)+ Congratulations to the highly exclusive Cambridge University Tiddlywinks Club, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary.

This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.Happy Friday! Not a great way to start the weekend, but important nonetheless: A new report detailed the alarming rise in cancer among women under 65. While breast cancer remains the biggest risk, lung cancer cases are on the rise.In today's big story, time is running out for TikTok as its sell-or-ban deadline is just days away.What's on deckMarkets: When it comes to your 2025 investing strategy, size shouldn't matter.Tech: Meta's aggressive approach to underperformers is a nod to Amazon's playbook.Business: Streamlining. Rightsizing. Reduction of force. Companies are using confusing language to disguise job cuts.But first, we can't keep swiping.If this was forwarded to you, The big storyTick tock for TikTok Gearstd/iStock, Tyler Le/BI TikTok's For You Page might soon be for no one.The social media platform is days away from a shutdown in the US thanks to a divest-or-ban law passed back in April.Or is it?To quickly recap: A law requires ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to sell its US operations to a non-Chinese owner by Sunday.However, anything beyond the above statement is unclear, as Business Insider's Peter Kafka explains.There is some murkiness and conflicting reports on everything from how the law will be enforced to what will happen to TikTok if it isn't sold and the app's potential workarounds. Peter broke down all the possible scenarios.Two central figures in the TikTok saga are the Supreme Court and President-elect Donald Trump.With the former, TikTok argued the law violates the First Amendment. (Give me mindless day-in-the-life videos, or give me death.) However, legal experts told BI the app's argument might not have been good enough to get the highest court in the land to step in.Then there's Trump. Despite having once backed a TikTok ban, the incoming president has done a 180.He's now much more supportive of the app, even inviting CEO Shou Chew to attend his inauguration. Some Democratic lawmakers are cheering Trump on regarding his TikTok efforts.But as Peter points out, there are still questions about what Trump could do, even as president, to prevent the ban. fotograzia/Getty, Richard Drury/Getty, Imgorthand/Getty, Tyler Le/BI In the meantime, the world keeps swiping. One way or another.Americans are proving stubborn, resourceful, or a combination of both as they look to scratch their social-media itch.RedNote, which is basically China's version of Instagram, is surging in popularity in the US. The irony is Americans are essentially thumbing their nose at the US government by jumping to another Chinese-owned app, writes BI's Katie Notopoulos.RedNote has become so popular that Duolingo told BI it's seen 216% growth in new Mandarin learners in the US.If TikTok truly is gone for good starting Sunday, there could be more US winners as users continue to look for a new home. And wherever the self-anointed "TikTok refugees" land, the ad dollars could follow.Some familiar names could just gobble back up more business, according to Wall Street analysts, but emerging platforms like Reddit and Trade Desk might also stand to benefit, writes BI's Kelly Cloonan.As for content creators who have built businesses on TikTok, it's another lesson in the importance of diversification.News briefTop headlinesA huge fire broke out at one of the world's largest battery storage plants.David Lynch, director of 'Twin Peaks' and 'Blue Velvet,' dead at 78.Six key takeaways from Justin Baldoni's new lawsuit against Blake Lively, including an apparent nod to Taylor Swift.Israeli cabinet set to vote on Hamas cease-fire deal after delay over 'last-minute crisis.'Amazon cuts jobs in its Fashion and Fitness group, according to internal messages.Trump's attorney general pick owned at least $3.9 million in Truth Social stock and made $1 million as a lobbyist last year.3 things in markets Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng 1. America's economic exceptionalism isn't going anywhere. If you're wondering whether US market dominance peaked in 2024 when US GDP neared $30 trillion and dwarfed both the Eurozone and China the answer is no. JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs both urged investors to bet on the red, white, and blue this year.2. Dutch Bros, Tempur-Sealy, and Mattel make the cut. UBS made its case for small and mid caps, with analysts pointing out how smaller firms outdid their larger peers by 2% per year in the long term. Interest-rate cuts aren't on the forecast after last month's knockout jobs report, but UBS still had some top picks for smaller stocks to buy.3. Six shocks that could shake up markets in 2025. It's hard to predict surprises, but that doesn't stop some strategists from trying. From a global internet outage to another year of 20% stock gains, here are the curveballs Bank of America thinks could rattle investors.3 things in tech Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. John Raoux/AP 1. The Musk-Bezos space race. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin successfully sent its New Glenn rocket into orbit on Thursday. Its competitor SpaceX ran its seventh Starship launch later that day, but the mega-rocket unexpectedly dropped out of communications and exploded after liftoff. Pressure is mounting on both Bezos and Musk, as they prepare for Trump's White House return.2. Amazon's RTO headaches. The company's five-day return-to-office mandate is off to a bumpy start thanks to a shortage of office space. Some employees told BI the rollout was riddled with issues like a lack of desks and meeting rooms, and workplace theft. Plus, they're still on video chats.3. The times, they are a-changin' and Big Tech workers pay the price. Meta and Microsoft are embracing Amazon's brutal management style, prioritizing lean, high-performing teams over employee retention. "The overarching trend is that corporations feel they have more power over their employees," one former Googler told BI.3 things in business Meta is among the companies using corporate jargon to describe job cuts. Alex Wong/Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI 1. Nonregrettable attrition (noun): a euphemistic term for layoffs. Many companies go out of their way to avoid calling job cuts what they are. But whether it's "rightsizing," "streamlining," or Meta's recent buzzphrase "nonregrettable attrition," the corporate lingo of job cuts doesn't soften the blow to employees.2. Justin Baldoni sues Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, claiming $400 million in damages. The "It Ends With Us" director filed a 179-page suit on Thursday, accusing his costar of hijacking the movie and destroying his reputation. Lively previously accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and of trying to smear her in the press, claims that Baldoni has denied.3. All the lonely (young) people. Gen Z adults are the loneliest and least optimistic generation, a new survey found. It's not just about young Americans having fewer social connections. More time alone and young people getting married later are also factors. Boomers, on the other hand, are on a different wavelength.In other newsKPMG closes in on setting up a US law firm a first for the Big Four.Some creators say they won't pay their taxes if TikTok gets banned in the US.A population time bomb threatens to make young people work longer hours, be more productive, and delay retirement, McKinsey finds.Private firefighters breakdown how they spend most of their time and it's not protecting mansions.The 10 safest states to live in the US, ranked.What's happening nowIMF World Economic Outlook Update launches.Senate committee hearing on Kristi Noem, Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security.China releases quarterly GDP data.The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

Wildfires are on the mind here in California. Its still not clear exactly to what degree the devastating Los Angeles fires were the product of gross mismanagement by the city and state governments, with lots of new details still emerging about the steps they could have taken and didnt. Its abundantly clear that the city and state screwed up. State insurance price controls forced homeowners off good private insurance and onto the last-resort state insurance program, which is about to go catastrophically bankrupt, passing on its liabilities to every homeowner in the state. Reservoirs that should have been full were empty. The city government had plenty of reason to believe that risk was catastrophically elevated this week, but the mayor took an international trip and the fire department seems to have been caught flat-footed. But what has truly been infuriating, at least in the California policy circles I run in, has been not the mistakes in the lead-up to the disaster, but the response in the aftermath. The governor and mayor have not responded by reconsidering any of Californias bad forest management policy. They dont have a plan to secure fire insurance for homeowners in other at-risk areas, and they definitely dont have a plan to manage the cascading problems that will be caused by the bankruptcy of the state insurance program.Instead, theyve mostly responded to a problem that was substantially caused by price controls with more price controls banning insurance companies from not renewing policies and banning all offers to buy the destroyed homes for one cent less than theyd have sold for before they burned down. Newsom passed an executive order waiving some environmental review and permit requirements for the homes to be rebuilt exactly as they were.That prompted a few questions, such as wait, he can do that? and if he has that power, why is he using it to rebuild in wildfire-prone, at-risk areas and not to expedite building in safe parts of a state buckling under a housing scarcity crisis? And with all of those, theres a deeper question that feels existential for the state of California: Is there any leadership at all? Is anyone thinking about the big picture in Americas biggest state, and do they have a plan to avoid making tragedies like this one an annual ritual?There are no grown-upsOne thing that catastrophe often makes clear is that there isnt anyone behind the scenes who steps in once things get really bad. Its just the people who were there all along, with the foibles they had all along. Covid was a stark illustration of this. I think many people had I certainly did a romantic view of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the hero pandemic scientists who would swoop in with advanced tools and pull out their meticulously planned pandemic roadmaps as soon as things looked tough. America was rated the highest readiness in the world for pandemic preparedness, after all. And then the CDC whiffed. Its tests didnt work; it put in place unhelpful barriers to using the tests that did. Its messaging was confusing masks were bad, but also we needed to save them for healthcare workers. No, wait, never mind, masks were mandatory. There were plenty of individuals who did plenty of heroics to try to see what was coming and do something about it, but there werent any institutions waiting behind the scenes to save the day. When we got vaccines, it was a bunch of well-meaning private actors organized on Discord who did much of the legwork to make them accessible to the public, often by systematically calling every pharmacy to put in a spreadsheet whether they had availability. A lot of the disillusionment Ive been seeing from Californians in the last few days has this specific flavor of disillusionment the realization that no, no matter how bad things get, the real grown-ups cant be called in to save the day because they dont exist. There is no crisis severe enough to make Newsom serious about systematic statewide efforts to get caught up on forest management, let private insurers offer insurance at prices that wont bankrupt them, fireproof our communities, or encourage building in safe parts of the state instead of the urban fringes where wildfire risk is often at its worst. And there is no one to step in when Newsom fails to do that, though Ive seen a lot of people wistfully wishing that the federal government would condition aid on the state government stepping up.Californias real state of emergencyThe reason Newsom has the authority for an executive order waiving environmental review and permits so that people can quickly rebuild homes that burned down is that he declared a state of emergency surrounding the fires, and in a state of emergency the governor has expanded powers. (How expanded? Its mostly a question of whether anyone wants to challenge this executive order in court.) Theres no question, of course, that the catastrophic LA fires are an emergency. But it was predictable that wed face exactly such an emergency. Across California, its often all but illegal to build housing in the parts of the state that are safest from disaster risk. That pushes housing to the fringes, where its likelier to burn. This isnt a secret. It was widely discussed after the catastrophic fires that destroyed the city of Paradise and other exurban California communities in 2019. It is our choice, as a society, that we govern reactively rather than proactively, that we treat the awful policies that encourage building in fire-prone areas as not an emergency and only the resultant fires as one, that we do not treat the states huge homelessness crisis as an emergency.But if we dont like living in a perpetual state of emergency, its the wrong choice.California is in a state of emergency, and not from the Los Angeles fires. One of the most prosperous, populous, beautiful corners of the world has been mismanaged and misgoverned into a state of extreme fragility that is damaging the hopes and aspirations of its people and burning trillions of dollars of its potential. Its not too late to fix it, and many of the fixes are maddeningly straightforward. But I hope its clear by now that there are no responsible adults waiting behind the scenes to get them done.A version of this story originally appeared in the Future Perfect newsletter. Sign up here!Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More: Future Perfect

I started playing the Pokmon Trading Card Game (TCG) around 10 years ago, when Iwas seven. My older brother, Marco, had already been playing with my dad for years. At first, the three of us just played at home. For me, Pokmon TCG is a family activity it keeps us close. Ithink thats important, especially nowadays when everyone is on their phone.Im from Iquique, a city in the north of Chile. We have a strong Pokmon community here, and several local shops host tournaments. The game is two-player, and involves each person preparing a deck of 60 cards each card represents one Pokmon, with different abilities and powers. You then battle your opponent with your cards; whoever has the more powerful combination of cards is the winner.Across Chile, Japanese culture has become ingrained in our own anime, Pokmon and manga are very popular here. There were a lot of Japanese shows on TV when I was growing up. Iwatched Naruto, Dragon Ball and, ofcourse, Pokmon.I hadnt really prepared a good deck, so never expected to win. But my opponent made a mistake, I gave it my best shot, and it workedI travelled to Santiago for my first tournament when I was 10. I got to the final. Before I started playing Pokmon TCG, Id not travelled much; now, Ivebeen to tournaments in So Paulo, New Orleans, Buenos Aires and, most recently, Hawaii, where the 2024 world championships took place.We began saving up for Hawaii a year before the competition. My brother came first in a tournament in Brazil andwon some money, and as one of thetop players in Latin America, he wasalso awarded funds to go to the world championships.My dad, Marco and I set off to Hawaii in August last year its the furthest weve ever travelled. On the first day, we had to wait three hours to check in to the tournament, then we queued again at the Pokmon centre, which sells merchandise. Igot some plushies, including a scuba-diving Pikachu exclusive to Hawaii. Then we concentrated on watching games and strategising against our opponents.Marco is a better player than I am hes one of the best in the world. But the game also involves luck. I didnt feel overly emotional during the three-day championships I was just having so much fun. My dad taught me not to worry about winning or losing, but instead to concentrate on playing well and sharing great experiences with my opponents.I took part in 15 games throughout the competition each can last up to 50 minutes. In the final, I hadnt really prepared a good deck, so never expected to win. But my opponent made a mistake, I gave it my best shot, and it worked. My dad would say Im being too humble.We didnt have time to celebrate my victory as I had a flight to catch I was just given the trophy and then rushed to the airport. But when I got back to Chile, we arranged a barbecue and had about 30 friends over of course, we played some Pokmon. A few weeks later, we received an invitation to the presidential palace. Athletes get invited to meet the president even ones who play niche sports!I wasnt too interested in going, but saw it as an opportunity to encourage younger kids to play. I was the first Chilean to win the Pokmon championships. We dont win many things as we are such a small country.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Inside SaturdayFree weekly newsletterThe only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend.Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionWhen my dad and I got to the palace, we were told Chiles president, Gabriel Boric, had to attend an emergency meeting and couldnt make it. Instead, we chatted to the secretary general, the foreign affairs minister and the ambassador of Japan, who were interested in the social impact of the game.Suddenly the door opened and Boric walked in, and said: Hey cabros (guys), how are you? He asked to see some of my cards, and suggested we take a few selfies. It didnt feel as if I was talking to a president, but just hanging out with another card player he plays the Magic the Gathering card game, which is similar in format to Pokemon TCG.I dont care about defending my title no one has ever won it consecutively. I just play to have fun. Anyone with a bit of luck can win. If you have a good deck, and its your day, whos to say you cant become the next Pokmon champion?Do you have an experience to share? Email experience@theguardian.com

Tech'Forget Switch 2 as this new powerful handheld AI PC is available for preorder now'MSI is looking to bounce back from the first Claw model with an AI-powered new model, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ here's why it could be worth a look as a Switch alternativedailystarBookmarkShareTechByLloyd CoombesGaming Editor11:50, 17 JAN 2025BookmarkCould the MSI Claw 8 AI rival the Switch 2?In case you missed it yesterday, Nintendo has finally revealed the Nintendo Switch 2 with a video focusing on the hardware. While we've previously waxed lyrical about the Steam Deck OLED, the handheld PC movement has gathered plenty of momentum in recent years which means the Switch 2 is launching into a very different space than its predecessor. One of the offerings coming for the crown is the MSI Claw 8 AI+. While it may have one of the least sexy names in tech, it could be a genuine contender to the handheld PC throne thanks to fantastic performance and access to PC and Android games. You can preorder this Switch 2 rival now The Claw 8 is MSI's latest effort in the handheld gaming PC space Let's get the awkward part out of the way first the first MSI Claw was profoundly disappointing. The console was priced too high, and had worse performance than some of its cheaper rivals. MSI has gone back to the drawing board, however, and might have struck gold. The console will pack the latest Lunar Lake chip from Intel, and has 32GB of RAM and a 120Hz screen. It's probably overkill for playing your Steam library's indie game collection, but something you can't play on Steam Deck like, say, Destiny 2, it could really find an audience. It's a huge system, but wants to be just as useful as a PC as it is a games console. To that end, there are a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, and better cooling. Could you use it as a mini PC? Maybe! It also has Microsoft's Copilot+ AI features, and MSI says it has a 113% higher peak FPS and an average 20% higher FPS under identical power conditions. That means to be seen, but with Windows 11 running natively and support for Android games too, it could be a 'one-stop-shop' for PC gamers on the go. UK gamers can preorder it from Currys now for 899, and it launches on February 11. For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.More On

Kratos is remaining offline-only (Sony Interactive Entertainment)Sony has cancelled two games at two of its biggest studios, as it dials back its live service plans even further.Following the abrupt death of Concord, Sony has been giving mixed messages about its commitment to more live service games.An earnings call in November suggested Sony was prioritising single-player games over its live service experiments, but recent comments from PlayStation Studios CEO Hermen Hulst indicated little has changed, despite Concords historic downfall.Sony once promised 12 live service games by 2026, but reports since suggested many have been cancelled. Now, we have confirmation that two projects at Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games have been officially scrapped.As confirmed by Bloomberg, a Sony company spokesperson said two games were cancelled following a recent review but that PlayStation will continue to make both single-player and online games.Bend and Bluepoint are highly accomplished teams who are valued members of the PlayStation Studios family, and we are working closely with each studio to determine what are the next projects, the spokesperson said.While Sony confirmed neither studio will be closed, the company didnt specify if these cancellations will lead to layoffs. In a memo to staff, obtained by the publication, Sony state it plans to do everything we can to ensure there is minimal business impact.Theres no official word on the games themselves, but Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier later posted on BlueSky that Bluepoint, who are known for the remakes of Shadow Of The Colossus and Demons Souls, were working on a live service God Of War game.PlayStation fans have speculated for years about Bluepoint's new projects since the well-received PS5 remake of Demon's Souls (2020).I can report that from 2020-2022 they were helping on God of War Ragnarok. Since then they've been on the live-service project that was canceled today. Now, unclear Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier.bsky.social) 2025-01-16T23:32:21.940ZIn a post about Bluepoint, Schreier wrote: I can report that from 2020-2022 they were helping on God Of War Ragnark. Since then theyve been on the live service project that was cancelled today. Now unclear. This is surprising news as while Bluepoint has not announced a new project since Demons Souls, they were believed to be working on a new IP. Whether they were doing that at the same time as the God Of War title is unclear but Schreiers comment gives no indication of them working on anything else.As for Bend Studio, images of a live service game leaked from the developer last month. The studio previously described its next title as a new IP with multiplayer which builds upon the open world systems of Days Gone, so its likely this is the shelved project.At one point Bend Studio were believed to be working on an Uncharted game but thats thought to have been cancelled or moved to a different developer. That means Bend has not announced a new game since Days Gone in 2019, which puts them in a precarious position if theyve produced nothing in the last five years and now have to figure out something new to start on.None of this is a great sign for Sonys software line-up for the near future either, with two of its bigger first party studios having done nothing for years and now having to start again from scratch with new projects.While these cancellations might suggest a retreat from live service titles, Sony still has several in development. Bungies reboot of Marathon is still in the works and Sony has given no indication that heist shooter Fairgame$ has been cancelled.Ironically, the game weve heard most about in recent months is one thats never been officially announced: a Horizon multiplayer spin-off by series creator Guerrilla Games.While Concord is the perfect illustration of everything that can go wrong with a live service game, Helldivers 2 is the opposite and its success seems to have dulled whatever impact the failure of Concord might have had.Nevertheless, the list of cancelled live service titles at Sony is now very long and includes The Last Of Us Online, a Twisted Metal reboot, Spider-Man: The Great Web from Insomniac Games, Payback from Bungie, and an unnamed fantasy title from the now defunct London Studio.More TrendingBut Sonys future slate remains thin in general, with the only currently announced single-player projects being Ghost Of Ytei, Marvels Wolverine, and Naughty Dogs Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet none of which have specific release dates. Concord couldnt have been a bigger failure (Sony Interactive Entertainment)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

New year, new phone? Amazon has the Google Pixel 8a as part of a limited time deal, knocking off 20% from its price. That brings it down from $499 to just $399saving you a whole $100. Its gone down to this price before in the past, but that is the lowest discount weve seen on it yetits a great time to upgrade to it if your considering.See at AmazonThe Google Pixel 8a has a comfortably-sized 6.1 inch screen making reading emails and watching videos easy. The display is bright and vivid, even in sunlight. The Pixel 8a comes in a variety of colors including obsidian, porcelain, aloe, and bay. Battery life is exceptional, lasting over 24 hours on a single charge. Put it in extreme battery save mode and you can make it last of up to 72 hours before needing to plug it in again.Versatile PhotographyThe Google Pixel 8a is capable of amazing photos. Magic Editor lets you make studio-like enhancements to any photo you take. You can improve the lighting and background or even move a subject with just a few taps. Photo Unblur can improve blurry photos, even ones taken with non-Pixel phones. Photos taken at night or in low light can be made vibrant with Night Sight and group photos can use Best Take to combine similar photos taken in succession into one picture where everyone looks their best.This smartphone is durable. Its got an IP67 rating to protect for water and dust, the display is scratch-resistant. Google touts it as the most durable A-Series design yet.The phones got built-in Gemini Googles proprietary Ai assistant because, well, I guess everything needs to have AI baked into it these days. It can be used to combine photos to make group shots easier, generate images, summarize unread emails, and more. Use Circle to Search to find what you need on Google faster. Literally just draw a circle around an image, text, or video to do a reverse image search on it.The phone is unlocked so you can set it up with a carrier and data plan of your choice, be it Google Fi, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, or any other major carrier.Right now, you can save yourself a solid $100 when purchasing the Google Pixel 8a Android smartphone. Thats a 20% discount, bringing the price down from $499 to just $399. This is the same price it was going for during Black Friday weekend, so you know its a good deal.See at Amazon