News
The U.S. Surgeon General wants cancer warnings on alcohol. Here's why
Bottles of alcohol sit on shelves at a bar in Houston on June 23, 2020.
David J. Phillip/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
David J. Phillip/AP
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is calling on Congress to require health warning labels that inform consumers about the link between alcohol consumption and the risk of cancer.
Murthy released a new advisory detailing how drinking alcohol increases the risk of developing seven types of cancer.
“Alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of cancer behind tobacco and obesity,” Murthy, who will leave office later this month, told NPR. “Just to put this in perspective, alcohol is responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer in the United States each year and 20,000 cancer deaths.”
He told Morning Edition‘s Steve Inskeep that the seven cancers linked to alcohol consumption are breast, colorectal, esophagus, liver, mouth, throat and voice box (larynx).
“Most people don’t know about this link. And that’s the key reason why I’m putting out this advisory today,” Murthy said.

Murthy spoke with Morning Edition about the risk of alcohol consumption and the incoming surgeon general, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Inskeep: Is the science more definite than a few years ago? Do we know more about this link?
Murthy: We do. The science has been building for years, creating greater and greater certainty about more and more types of cancer. But what is clear is that while people know, for example, about the link between tobacco and cancer and other health risks and cancer, less than half of people in America know that alcohol is, in fact, connected to cancer risk.
Inskeep: Does it matter if you drink a lot or in moderation?
Murthy: It turns out it does. It turns out that more consumption of alcohol increases your risk of cancer. So we see significantly lower risk at lower levels of consumption.
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy speaks during an event on the White House in April. The nation’s top doctor has issued an advisory about the public health risks of widespread gun violence.
Susan Walsh/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Susan Walsh/AP
Inskeep: I’m thinking about how to measure this risk. It sounds pretty bad, but there are so many risks with alcohol. In fact, there are already warnings about drinking during pregnancy, drinking while driving, obviously operating machinery, various other health problems. Is cancer even the main thing to worry about here?
Murthy: Well, it’s interesting that you mention those other risks, because on alcohol-containing bottles, there is, in fact, a surgeon general’s warning that mentions these two risks: drinking during pregnancy and drinking while operating a car or heavy machinery.
What I have called for in this advisory is that the surgeon general’s warning label be updated by Congress to include a third risk here, which is the risk of cancer. You know, we’ve seen in the first two cases that when people were warned about these risks, they became part of our common knowledge. They sort of just shape our behavior.
What I want people to know here is that, while we don’t have data to give a precise level at which every person can drink and minimize their risk of cancer, the exact level that’s right for each individual does depend on their own risk of cancer based on their genetics, their family history, environmental exposures.
The two critical things that the data does tell us are that, one, there is a significant increase in risk of cancer going from, you know, even at the current levels, that are within the guidelines. So that’s one drink a day for women, two drinks a day for men. But second, that the patterns we see suggest lower consumption is equated with lower risk.
So the bottom line is, if you drink regularly, keep in mind that less is better when it comes to reducing your cancer risk.
Inskeep: I want to note for people you’re heading out of office Jan. 20. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated a replacement, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, who’s a Fox News contributor, also a doctor in urgent care. Have you had many conversations with her as she prepares to take over, assuming she’s confirmed?
Murthy: I have not, but I’m looking forward to connecting with her. And, you know, to her or to whomever is confirmed as the next surgeon general. I think something people may not know is that those of us who have served in this role have a strong fellowship. We are friends with each other across Republican and Democratic administrations. We help each other out and support each other. And if she is to serve as the next surgeon general, if she’s confirmed by the Senate, and certainly she’ll be a part of that group as well.

Inskeep: One other thing is on my mind, because you’ve issued a number of warnings during your time in office, I think sometimes about the famous 1964 surgeon general’s warning on smoking. My parents heard that and actually just quit smoking. They still had their old lighters when I was growing up, but they did not smoke at all. People listened to the surgeon general. Do you think people listen to the surgeon general the same way today?
Murthy: I think people still do listen to the office, but I’m certainly aware that there are many types of pathways to which people get their information these days. Many more than back in 1964 when the tobacco report came out from our office. But back then, when that report did come out, the very next year, Congress passed legislation for a warning label. And we started to see a big national effort come together where parents, community leaders, schools all came together to build campaigns to reduce tobacco use.
That, in my mind, has been the power of this office in history. – During this term as well, we’ve seen the issues we have raised around youth mental health, loneliness and isolation, social media, have driven national conversation and behavior change. My hope with this advisory on alcohol and cancer risk is that we can contribute to change as well, and help people ultimately be healthier.
This article was edited by Obed Manuel.
News
Trump Says Israel and Lebanon Agree to Extend Cease-Fire by Three Weeks
President Trump announced a three-week extension of a cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon that had been set to expire in a few days, after hosting a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese diplomats at the White House on Thursday.
Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group that has been attacking Israel from southern Lebanon, did not have representatives at the meeting and did not immediately comment on the announcement. The prime minister of Israel and the president of Lebanon also did not comment.
A successful peace agreement would hinge upon Hezbollah halting attacks, which Lebanon’s government has little power to enforce because it does not control the militia. Lebanon’s military has mostly stayed out of the fighting and is not at war with Israel.
The cease-fire, which was scheduled to end on April 26, would last until May 17 if it takes effect as Mr. Trump described it. Before the cease-fire was brokered last week, nearly 2,300 people were killed in Lebanon and 13 in Israel. Since then, the number of Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah attacks have been dramatically reduced, though the two sides have continued exchanging fire.
The Lebanese Ambassador to the United States, Nada Hamadeh, credited Mr. Trump for extending the cease-fire, saying that “with your help and support, we can make Lebanon great again.” Mr. Trump replied, “I like that phrase, it’s a good phrase.”
Asked about the potential of a lasting peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon, Mr. Trump said that “I think there’s a great chance. They are friends about the same things and they are enemies on the same things.”
But Lebanon and Israel have periodically been at war since Israel’s founding in 1948. Israel has invaded Lebanon for the fifth time since 1978, incursions that have destabilized the country and the delicate balance of power between Muslim, Christian and Druze communities.
In the hours before the president’s announcement on social media, Israel and Hezbollah were trading attacks in southern Lebanon, testing the existing cease-fire.
Mr. Trump said the meeting at the White House had been attended by high-ranking U.S. officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the U.S. ambassadors to Israel and Lebanon.
Earlier on Thursday, an Israeli strike near the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh killed three people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Hezbollah claimed three separate attacks on Israeli troops who are occupying southern Lebanon, though none were wounded or killed.
Hezbollah set off the latest round of fighting last month by attacking Israel soon after the start of the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran. Israel responded to Hezbollah’s attacks by launching airstrikes across Lebanon and widening a ground invasion of the country’s south.
News
U.S. soldier charged with suspected Polymarket insider trading over Maduro raid
Smoke rises from Port of La Guaira in Venezuela on Jan. 3, 2026 after U.S. forces seized the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
Jesus Vargas/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Jesus Vargas/Getty Images
Federal prosecutors on Thursday unsealed an indictment against a U.S. Army soldier, accusing him of using his insider knowledge of the clandestine military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January to reap more than $400,000 in profits on the popular prediction market site Polymarket.
The Justice Department says Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, who was stationed at Fort Bragg, in North Carolina, was part of the team that planned and carried out the predawn raid in Caracas earlier this year that resulted in the apprehension of Maduro.
The Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed the actions against Van Dyke, the first time U.S. officials have leveled criminal charges against someone over prediction market wagers.
According to the indictment, Van Dyke now faces counts of wire fraud, commodities fraud, misusing non-public government information and other charges.
Trading under numerous usernames including “Burdensome-Mix,” Van Dyke allegedly traded about $32,000 on the arrest of Maduro, resulting in profits exceeding $400,000.
“Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. “Those entrusted to safeguard our nation’s secrets have a duty to protect them and our armed service members, and not to use that information for personal financial gain.”
Van Dyke’s defense lawyer is not yet publicly known. Polymarket did not return a request for comment.
The charges against Van Dyke come at a sensitive time for the prediction market industry, which has been growing exponentially, despite calls in Washington and among state leaders for the sites to be reined in.
Van Dyke is the first to be charged in the U.S. for suspected Polymarket insider trading, but Israeli authorities in February arrested several people and charged two on suspicion of using classified information to place bets about military operations in Iran on Polymarket.
News
Senate Adopts GOP Budget, Laying the Groundwork to Fund ICE and Reopen DHS
The Senate early Thursday morning adopted a Republican budget blueprint that would pave the way for a $70 billion increase for immigration enforcement and the eventual reopening of the Department of Homeland Security.
Republicans pushed through the plan on a nearly party-line vote of 50 to 48. It came after an overnight marathon of rapid-fire votes, known as a vote-a-rama, in which the G.O.P. beat back a series of Democratic proposals aimed at addressing the high cost of health care, housing, food and energy. The debate put the two parties’ dueling messages on vivid display six months before the midterm elections.
Republicans, who are using the budget plan to lay the groundwork to eventually push through a filibuster-proof bill providing a multiyear funding stream for President Trump’s immigration crackdown, used the all-night session to highlight their hard-line stance on border security, seeking to portray Democrats as unwilling to safeguard the country.
Democrats tried and failed to add a series of changes aimed at addressing cost-of-living issues, seizing the opportunity to hammer Republicans as out of touch with and unwilling to act on the concerns of everyday Americans.
Here’s what to know about the budget plan and the nocturnal ritual senators engaged in before adopting it.
Republicans are seeking a way around a filibuster on D.H.S. funding.
The budget blueprint is a crucial piece of Republicans’ plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security and end a shutdown that has lasted for more than two months. After Democrats refused to fund immigration enforcement without new restrictions on agents’ tactics and conduct, the G.O.P. struck a deal with them to pass a spending bill that would fund everything but ICE and the Border Patrol. Republicans said they would fund those agencies through a special budget bill that Democrats could not block.
“We can fix this with Republican votes, and we will,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and the Budget Committee chairman. “Every Democrat has opposed money for the Border Patrol and ICE at a time of great peril.”
In resorting to a new budget blueprint, Republicans laid the groundwork to deny Democrats a chance to stop the immigration enforcement funding. But they also submitted themselves to a vote-a-rama, in which any senator can propose unlimited changes to such a measure before it is adopted.
The budget measure now goes to the House, which must adopt it before lawmakers in both chambers can draft the legislation funding immigration enforcement. That bill will provide yet another opportunity for a vote-a-rama even closer to the November election.
Democrats used the moment to hammer Republicans on affordability.
Democrats took to the floor to criticize Republicans for supercharging funding for federal immigration enforcement rather than moving legislation that would address Americans’ concerns over affordability.
“This is what Republicans are fighting for,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the Democratic leader. “To maintain two unchecked rogue agencies that are dreaded in all corners of this country instead of reducing your health care costs, your housing costs, your grocery costs, your gas costs.”
Democrats offered a host of amendments along those lines, all of which were defeated by Republicans — and that was the point. The proposals were meant to put the G.O.P. in a tough political spot, showcasing their opposition to helping Americans afford high living costs. Fewer than a handful of G.O.P. senators crossed party lines to support them.
Republicans blocked Democrats’ proposals to address high living costs.
The G.O.P. thwarted an effort by Mr. Schumer to require that the budget measure lower out-of-pocket health care costs for Americans. Two Republicans who are up for re-election this year, Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, voted with Democrats, but the proposal was still defeated.
Republicans also squelched a move by Senator Ben Ray Lujan, Democrat of New Mexico, to create a fund that would lower grocery costs and reverse cuts to food aid programs that Republicans enacted last year. Ms. Collins and Mr. Sullivan again joined Democrats.
Also defeated by the G.O.P.: a proposal by Senator John Hickenlooper, Democrat of Colorado, to address rising consumer prices brought on by Mr. Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran; one by Senator Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, to require the budget measure to address rising electricity prices, and another by Mr. Markey to create a fund to bring down housing costs.
Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat who is up for re-election in Georgia, also sought to add language requiring the budget plan to address health insurance companies denying or delaying access to care, but that, too was blocked by Republicans.
Republicans sought to amplify their hard-line messages on immigration, voter I.D. and transgender care.
While Republicans had fewer proposals for changes to their own budget plan, they also sought to offer measures that would underscore their aggressive stance on immigration enforcement and dare Democrats to vote against them.
Mr. Graham offered an amendment to allocate funds toward a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to the apprehension and deportation of adult immigrants convicted of rape, murder, or sexual abuse of a minor after illegally entering the United States. It passed unanimously.
Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, sought to bar Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion and other services, and criticized the organization for providing transgender care to minors. Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, also attempted to tack on the G.O.P. voter identification bill, known as the SAVE America Act. Both proposals were blocked when Democrats, joined by a few Republicans, voted to strike them as unrelated to the budget plan.
The Republicans who crossed party lines to oppose their own party’s proposals for new voting requirements were Ms. Collins along with Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Ms. Collins and Ms. Murkowski also opposed the effort to block payments to Planned Parenthood.
-
Finance6 seconds agoRising gas prices put more financial pressure on Latino households, study says
-
Fitness6 minutes ago
Jane Fonda was in her 40s when she changed the way we exercise
-
Movie Reviews18 minutes agoMovie Review: The Mortuary Assistant – HorrorFuel.com: Reviews, Ratings and Where to Watch the Best Horror Movies & TV Shows
-
World30 minutes ago
Meta slashes 8,000 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, as Microsoft offers buyouts
-
News36 minutes agoTrump Says Israel and Lebanon Agree to Extend Cease-Fire by Three Weeks
-
Politics42 minutes agoTrump Reposts Anti-Immigrant Tirade Calling China and India ‘Hellhole’ Places
-
Business48 minutes agoNike to Cut 1,400 Jobs as Part of Its Turnaround Plan
-
Science54 minutes agoNew Gene Therapy Enables Children With a Rare Form of Deafness to Hear