NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-04-2025 3AM EST

Episode Date: January 4, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Businesses in the French Quarter of New Orleans are hoping tourists don't stay away after the deadly New Year's Day attack this week. As NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports, it was a crucial time for some shops. At NOLA Gifts to Go on Bourbon Street, Cindy Dacula says the store stocked up on colorful bead necklaces for the teams in this week's Sugar Bowl. This is only the time that we making money because we always run out of the beads. But this time we stuck. Stuck with a lot of unsold beads she says.

A few blocks up an iconic restaurant had no line for its normally in demand lunch. One woman who sells tour tickets worries people will just go someplace else for a while. Many say the attack should not be a bad mark for the city. It could have happened anywhere and they hope crowds return soon for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. Jennifer Lutten, NPR News, New Orleans. Federal agencies and local police will be on alert over the next few weeks in the nation's capital as that city prepares for two major events.

The certification of the presidential electoral vote and that city prepares for two major events, the certification of the presidential electoral vote and the state funeral for former president Jimmy Carter. Dave Sundberg is the assistant director in charge of the FBI field office in Washington. He says that alert is prudent. At this time, we are not tracking any credible or specific threats associated with these events. That being said, we are certainly operating in a heightened threat environment, especially given the incidents in both New Orleans and in Las Vegas on January 1st.

At this time, we have no information indicating a local threat associated with either of those incidents. The National Guard will also be providing support for both the vote counting and for Carter's state funeral. Alcohol consumption is a leading preventable cause of cancer. It's linked to about 20,000 cancer deaths each year, according to a new warning from the U.S. Surgeon General. As NPR's Allison Aubrey reports, the warning comes as scientists weigh changes to the current guidelines.

More than two-thirds of adults in the U.S. report having at least one drink or more per week. But Surgeon General Vivek Morthy says what many don't realize is that alcohol can increase the risk of breast and colorectal cancer, as well as cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus and liver. The science has been building for years, creating greater and greater certainty about more and more types of cancer. The precise amount of alcohol that may increase a person's risk is not clear.

It's linked to a range of factors, including genetics and family history. Current U.S. guidelines recommend no more than one drink a day for women, two for men. A review of the evidence underway now could lead to revisions later this year. Allison Aubrey, NPR News. I'm Dale Willman and you're listening to NPR News. Assistance programs that give money directly to the poor can have a huge impact on their health. That's according to a new study published Friday in Nature Medicine. MPR's Gabriela Emanuel reports.

Researchers looked at 54 million people in Brazil living in poverty. About half of them got monthly payments from the government if they sent their kids to school and got them regular health checks. Among the extremely poor who got the money, cases and deaths from tuberculosis dropped by more than 50%. That's really remarkable. Aaron Richterman is at the University of Pennsylvania and was not part of the study. TB kills more than a million people each year. It's highly linked to malnutrition, for example, so those payouts help people get better food. Giving the needy cash has lots of known health benefits.

It reduces HIV and child mortality. Gabriela Emanuel, NPR News. LeBron James has broken Michael Jordan's NBA record for 30-point games. He reached 30 points on Friday night during the Los Angeles Lakers win over Atlanta. That gave him his 563rd 30-point game in his career. Jordan set the record in 2003 and he did it over fewer games and seven less seasons than James. The two college football playoff semifinal games will not swap dates and kickoff times. A request for the switch was made in order for Notre Dame to have as much time to prepare as Penn State, which will be playing the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame's game this week was postponed a day because of the terror attack in the host city of New Orleans. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.