(NEW YORK) — Most weight loss drugs were linked to a lower likelihood of depression and anxiety diagnoses, according to research published by Epic Research.
The researchers looked at over three million diabetic patients and nearly one million non-diabetic patients taking GLP-1 medications, which is the class of drugs representing popular name brands such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, and Mounjaro in the study that was published Tuesday.
Semaglutide is the active ingredient found in Ozempic, which is used for type 2 diabetes, and Wegovy, which is used for weight loss.
Diabetic patients taking Semaglutide were 45% less likely to be diagnosed with depression and 44% less likely to be diagnosed with anxiety, according to the study.
Tirzepatide is the active ingredient found in Mounjaro, which is used for type 2 diabetes, and Zepbound, which is used for weight loss.
Diabetic patients taking Tirzepatide were 65% less likely to be diagnosed with depression and 60% less likely to be diagnosed with anxiety, according to the study.
The drugs approved to treat type 2 diabetes may be prescribed “off-label” for weight loss.
“These results show that these medications may serve a dual purpose for patients, but we do not understand them well enough yet to say these medications should be given as a treatment for anxiety or depression outside of diabetes or weight management,” researcher Kersten Bartelt told ABC News.
These results come weeks after a preliminary review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that found no evidence linking weight loss drugs to suicidal thoughts.
The study used electronic patient records, meaning patients needed to be diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression — which may exclude those that had symptoms of the mental conditions but never received a diagnosis.
It remains unclear if the lower diagnoses of depression and anxiety were a direct result of the medications, weight loss in general, or a potential combination of both.
An aerial view shows lava after volcano eruption northeast of Sylingarfell, near Grindavik, Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland early Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Iceland Civil Defense/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A volcano began erupting in southwestern Iceland early Thursday, sending lava jets as high as 80 meters, the country’s weather office said.
“At 5:30 this morning an intense seismic activity started north-east of mt. Sýlingarfell. Around 30 minutes later, a volcanic eruption started at the site,” the Icelandic Met Office said.
Images taken by an Icelandic Coast Guard’s surveillance flight appeared to show the eruption taking place at a location near the Dec. 18 eruption, official said.
Another eruption nearby on Jan. 14 sent lava flowing into Grindavik, a small town that had been evacuated prior to the eruption.
The latest eruption began at about 6 a.m. local time on Thursday, after a series of earthquakes rumbled the region for a half-hour, Met officials said.
The fissure was about 3 km long, stretching from Mount Sundhnúkur towards the eastern part of Mount Stóra-Skógfell, the office said.
“Lava flows mostly towards west at the moment and the flow seems to be slightly less than at the start of the 18th of December eruption,” the office said.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the town of Grindavik, where homes had been destroyed by the most recent eruption, was at risk from Tuesday’s fissure. But it appeared it may be spared, a local politician said.
“This time a bit further North than December eruption and further away from town of Grindavik,” Gisli Olafsson, an MP, said on social media.
The nearby geothermal spa Blue Lagoon had closed on Thursday, according to its website.
Photography by Keith Getter (all rights reserved)/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — A storm sweeping through southern California overnight unleashed damaging winds and even more rain on an already saturated area.
A possible tornado hit a neighborhood of Grover Beach, south of Los Angeles, on Wednesday night. There was some property damage as well as downed power lines and trees in the area, but no reports of injuries, according to Five Cities Fire Authority Chief Steve Lieberman, who said his crews would fully assess the damage on Thursday morning.
The same weather system, which came on the heels of two back-to-back atmospheric rivers within a week, produced severe thunderstorm winds of up to 82 miles per hour in Ventura County and 75 mph in Los Angeles County. There were reports of trees being knocked down by the gusts.
Additional rain fell in downtown Los Angeles overnight, with a cumulative total of 9.03 inches in the last five days. Other parts of southern California got nearly 14 inches of rain during that same period — almost a year’s worth.
Mudslides and rockslides will remain a threat for southern California over the coming days.
Meanwhile, the mountains of southern California got up to 42 inches of snow, or 3.5 feet, in the last five days. The storm system will continue to move out of California, dumping even more snow on the southern Rocky Mountains on Thursday and Friday.
Drier weather is expected to settle into the Golden State by Friday, with just a few widely scattered and light rain showers in the forecast
The National Weather Service has issued storm alerts for 12 states, mostly for mountain snowfall and avalanche danger. Five states from Idaho to New Mexico are on alert for avalanches.
(NEW YORK) — At least six to eight people are still unaccounted for after a massive housefire engulfed a Pennsylvania residence where authorities were responding to an emergency call, officials said Wednesday.
While responding to the home Wednesday afternoon, officers were “immediately met by gunfire,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told reporters during a press briefing Wednesday.
During the incident, the house became engulfed in flames while shots were still being fired from the home, Stollsteimer said.
There is a family that lives in the home, including children, according to authorities.
Police will search for bodies and evidence Thursday morning since the house was still burning Wednesday evening, Stollsteimer said.
The two male officers, who were with the East Lansdowne and Lansdowne police departments, each sustained a single gunshot wound, Stollsteimer said. They were pulled from the scene to safety by responding officers from the Upper Darby Police Department, he said.
The injured officers are in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Stollsteimer.
A 911 caller reported that an 11-year-old girl had been shot at the residence in East Lansdowne, according to Stollsteimer.
Authorities have been unable to enter the residence to determine if the shooter is still alive or if there were any other occupants, Stollsteimer said. It is also unclear if an 11-year-old had been shot, he said.
“We are still actively investigating the scene,” Stollsteimer said.
No shots had been fired since and the fire has “largely burned out the house,” Stollsteimer told ABC Philadelphia station WPVI-TV.
A neighbor, John White, told reporters at the scene he heard gunfire and sometime later, “13 or 15 more shots.” He said he “got low” during the incident, and SWAT members later evacuated him from his home.
(NEW YORK) — The parents of a newborn who had been decapitated during birth held a press conference on Wednesday after the Clayton County, Georgia Medical Examiner’s Office declared the baby’s death a homicide.
Dr. Roderick Edmond, one of the family’s attorneys and a medical doctor, pointed particularly to the hospital staff’s alleged attempt to hide the decapitation from the parents.
“It’s diabolical in my mind,” Edmond said. “That they tried to basically force her to get the baby cremated to basically spoil the evidence. That they lied to them saying, ‘You can’t get a free autopsy at the expense of Clayton County.'”
The medical examiner’s office ruled the cause of death as a homicide, with the immediate cause of death listed as a fracture-dislocation with complete transection of the upper cervical spine and spinal cord.
Homicide, in this case, means the death was caused by the actions of another person, and not to be confused as a criminal charge, according to the coroner’s office.
Jessica Ross, 20, the mother of the baby, Treveon Taylor, Jr., was quiet during the entire press conference. When asked by her lawyers if she had any words, Ross burst into tears and was escorted to another room.
“We just want justice for our son,” Treveon Taylor, Sr, the infant’s father, said. “They lied to us. They ain’t let us touch him. We don’t like it. We just want justice for our son.”
Ross and Treveon Taylor, Sr., were in Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Georgia, on July 9, 2023 for the birth of their son, according to a statement from their lawyers. The baby’s shoulders got stuck in the vaginal canal during the attempted vaginal delivery, a fetal emergency known as shoulder dystocia. Ross pushed for three hours without delivery, according to a lawsuit filed by the parents against the hospital in August 2023. An obstetrician and other hospital staff were present during the birth, according to the lawsuit.
“When there’s a shoulder dystocia there’s certain tried and true things that must be done,” Edmond said. “Things that must be done by the nurses – putting fundal pressure … and there should be an alert made to all people in the hospital so that other people can come get fresh eyes on the situation … we alleged that this was not done.”
The obstetrician applied excessive force to the infant’s head and neck during the attempted vaginal delivery and the nurses did not adhere to the hospital’s procedures resulting in the baby’s death, according to the complaint.
After about three hours of the attempted vaginal delivery, the obstetrician moved Ross to an operating room to attempt a Cesarean section, according to the lawsuit. The infant’s body was delivered through Cesarean section, the head was delivered vaginally and the baby was already deceased due to the excessive force applied by the obstetrician when she attempted to deliver the baby vaginally, according to the complaint.
Though Ross and Traveon Taylor Sr. knew their son did not make it, Edmond claims the hospital staff did not inform the parents that their baby was decapitated. Medical staff allegedly tried to convince them to cremate the body to destroy evidence, and told them that a free autopsy was not available through the county, and only allowed them to see their child through a looking glass, as he was wrapped in a blanket with his head propped on top of his body to allegedly hide the decapitation, according to Edmond.
The parents didn’t find out about the decapitation until three days after the delivery when a funeral home in possession of the baby’s body notified the county medical examiner’s office, according to Cory Lynch, one of the family’s lawyers.
The hospital did not immediately reply to ABC News’ request for a statement. Southern Regional Medical Center Spokesperson Kimberly Golden-Benner told USA TODAY in August that they could not respond to matters concerning pending litigation but “denies the allegations” against it.
“Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event,” the hospital released in a statement. “Our prayers also remain with the dedicated team of physicians, nurses and staff at Southern Regional Medical Center who cared for this patient.”
The Clayton County Police Department opened their own independent investigation, according to a statement sent to ABC News by the medical examiner’s office. The Clayton County District Attorney’s Office told ABC News in a statement that it is awaiting an investigative file and charges to be forwarded to their office. The police department did not immediately get back to ABC News’ request for a statement.
(NEW YORK) — Homeland Security Investigations is cracking down on counterfeit goods before Super Bowl LVIII, a top HSI official told ABC News.
“We’re looking at folks, criminal organizations who are taking advantage of large-scale sporting events,” Jim Mancuso, head of the Homeland Security Investigations National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination (IPR) Center said. “And they’re trying to make a quick buck and they’re selling counterfeit merchandise.”
He said the IPR Center works with brands, associations and academia to better crack down on counterfeit merchandise.
Homeland Security Investigations runs “Operation Team Player,” which is focused specifically on fake sports merchandise.
Over the past year, HSI has seized $28.1 million in counterfeit goods, according to the agency. That includes 94,000 pieces of counterfeit sports merchandise.
“The Super Bowl is a great opportunity for the IPR center and team player to really educate the consumers to say, listen, there are scams out there,” Mancuso said. He doesn’t want Americans to spend their hard earned money on “substandard, inferior products.”
China is the number one exporter of fake goods, Mancuso said.
“The number one location for counterfeit merchandise, not just sporting equipment, but all types of merchandise, the number one location is China,” he said. “Hong Kong is the number two. And that’s where we’re seeing these these items come in from.”
Entering bank or credit card information into websites that sell fake goods could also expose consumers to fraud.
“So as a consumer, if I’m on a shady website, it’s not an authentic website from a true brick and mortar store [or ] it’s a known website that’s reputable, then I’m taking my chances,” he said. “If I’m giving my credit card details, I’ve now just exposed all that personal identifiable information.”
The counterfeiting enterprise is a trillion-dollar business, Mancuso said.
“What that’s doing is that’s robbing American innovation, creativity and all the proprietary stuff that makes the United States great in terms of what we give the world,” he said. “It’s being ripped off, sold at low cost, inferior quality products, and sometimes they can pose an inherent health and safety risk to the American people.”
(WASHINGTON) — The head of a top unit at the Department of Homeland Security says in a new interview that “sensitive” materials are showing up overseas — in Iranian weapons — in the latest warning about how U.S. adversaries are believed to be trying to steal American technology.
“The Iranian drones that are being recovered on the battlefield in Ukraine, that are being recovered on the battlefield throughout the Middle East, they do have sensitive U.S. communications systems and they have sensitive microelectronics,” Jim Mancuso, the assistant director of the Global Trade Division at Homeland Security Investigations, told ABC News.
Iran, China and Russia are all “attempting to illegally acquire” U.S. technology, Mancuso said.
Homeland Security Investigations is the Department of Homeland Security’s law enforcement arm.
U.S. leaders have already warned about China trying to cause harm to the country through cyber means — as well as stealing the United States’ intellectual property.
Mancuso said adversaries of America are using a “very extensive network” to get U.S. technology out of the country, in violation of export laws.
Specialized “procurement networks” are repacking the goods and routing them through China in order to get to places like Iran, Mancuso said.
Some of the technology that is being exported can be found in common household items like radios, he said.
“They’re going to go to China, and then from China, they’re going to be loaded on an Iranian aircraft and they’re going to be flown to Iran,” he said, giving an example of how an adversary could gain access to microchips and other tech.
A similar pattern has been seen with Russia, Mancuso said.
“We’re looking at these Russian networks that are operating in this country, and we know that they’re repackaging sensitive U.S. equipment and is going onward to further the Russian war effort [in Ukraine],” he explained.
Mancuso said authorities are targeting the “procurement networks” and HSI investigations begin when U.S. materials are found where they shouldn’t be.
“We’re always trying to stay one step ahead,” he said.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., prepares to address the media about Tuesday’s failed impeachment vote of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday addressed two defeats for the Republican Party that unfolded on the House floor Tuesday evening, prompting criticism of his leadership and the GOP’s ability to govern.
“Last night was a setback, but democracy is messy,” Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill, seeking to soften the losses. “We live in a time of divided government. We have a razor-thin margin here, and every vote counts.”
House Republicans, in back-to-back votes, failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and to push through a stand-alone bill to provide aid to Israel amid its conflict with Hamas.
“What would you say to Americans concerned that Congress isn’t able to do basic functions?” Johnson was asked by ABC News’ Jay O’Brien.
Johnson replied, “It’s just simply not true. We’re governing here. Sometimes it’s messy.”
“The framers anticipated that you would have a system where people with very different philosophical viewpoints, that come from different parts of the country and different constituencies would have different ideas on how to resolve their problems,” he continued. “But what they also anticipated is that we’d be able to get in the room and arm wrestle over public policy and come to consensus to move the ball forward for the most people.”
The Mayorkas vote came down to the wire, with Johnson choosing to forge ahead despite indications that some within his conference planned to vote against it. An unexpected appearance from one Democrat and three Republican defections tanked the resolution in a 216 to 214 vote.
Johnson said Wednesday that he will bring the impeachment articles up for a vote again and projected confidence it will pass. He didn’t elaborate on when that vote may take place.
“Mayorkas needs to be held accountable and the Biden administration needs to be held accountable, and we will pass the articles of impeachment,” he said. “We’ll do it on next round.”
Speaking on the Israel aid bill, Johnson laid blame on Democrats for opposing the measure. That bill failed 250-180, mostly along party lines though 14 Republicans opposed it and more than 40 Democrats supported it.
President Joe Biden has expressed opposition to the bill, citing House Republicans’ opposition to a bipartisan supplemental package that includes aid to Israel aid Ukraine as well as significant immigration reforms.
Both Biden and Johnson are accusing the other of playing politics on the issue.
“I think they did it to their detriment,” Johnson said of Democratic opposition to the stand-alone Israel bill. “And it’s a very shameful thing at a time when our ally Israel needs the help desperately.”
(WASHINGTON) — Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel looks increasingly likely to leave her leadership role in the party amid frustration from some committee members and very public prodding from former President Donald Trump.
Multiple sources familiar with a conversation between her and Trump have told ABC News that they discussed the possibility of her resigning from her position after the South Carolina primary, on Feb. 24.
And while the talks remain fluid, Michael Whatley, who serves as the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, has emerged as a prominent contender to serve as McDaniel’s replacement. (“Nothing has changed. This will be decided after South Carolina,” an RNC spokesperson said in a statement.)
The uncertainty over McDaniel’s role and the RNC’s direction in general — also given its poor fundraising last year — is playing out as Trump gears up for a likely general election battle against President Joe Biden.
What does the RNC chair do?
While the chair of the RNC ostensibly has a big title, leading the main party organ, the job is not quite as significant as it sounds.
For example, the Republican chair is not in constant communication with congressional leaders guiding legislation on Capitol Hill — nor are they inside the White House every day or helping direct the choices of the party’s numerous elected state and local officials.
However, the RNC head does play a significant role in fundraising and organizing for state parties to help solidify infrastructure for the party’s candidates up and down the ballot. And on top of that, the chair serves as a significant megaphone to amplify whatever the GOP’s message is for that particular election cycle.
“Basically, the RNC’s job is to raise money to then do essentially two things: One, pump it directly back into targeted states to set up voter targeting operations; and the other is to build out a political structure in D.C. to aid those efforts. And yes, then there is some more kind of nationalized things like that, communications being an important part,” said Doug Heye, a former RNC communications director.
Does it matter that this is happening in an election year?
Such turmoil at the top of the RNC during an election year may seem like it could cause issues with the winning chances of the party’s 2024 nominee — but it’s unlikely to register in the polls in November, experts said.
The presumptive nominee typically has significant sway over how the RNC functions. And Trump, the current front-runner for the nomination, is not a typical presumptive nominee. He’s a former president who helped remake the GOP’s image and platform to match his own.
Party experts predicted that it’s possible Trump, given his influence, pushes McDaniel out entirely and replaces her with other allies. It’s also possible that McDaniel remains at the RNC in “more of a figurehead role,” while Trump-backers take on more of the party’s heavy lifting. But neither would be particularly unusual.
More broadly, the uncertainty may be drawing attention because of how loyal McDaniel has been to Trump.
“Whenever we have somebody become a nominee, they essentially take over the party. That’s what usually happens. That may be a new chair. That may be just bringing in your own people to actually run the thing while the current chair stays there in more of a figurehead role. It can be both,” Heye said.
“We’re paying more attention to it because Ronna Romney McDaniel has been very loyal to Donald Trump, and we see yet again that that that loyalty is misplaced,” Heye told ABC News.
“Part of it is the completely normal cycle of what happens in presidential years. The other part of it is the abnormal reality around Donald Trump,” he argued.
Who is Whatley?
Should McDaniel leave her role and Whatley be tapped to replace her, the North Carolinian would have to be elected by a majority of the 168 RNC members.
Such a victory is no sure thing, given that Whatley lost out to the current RNC co-chair, Drew McKissick, when the two ran for that role last year — but now, Whatley could be supported by the party’s presumptive nominee, who is given a particularly large amount of deference in a presidential year.
His elevation would mark the promotion of a bona fide election denier after Whatley vociferously endorsed Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud in 2020.
“There are gonna be a lot of overwrought things. ‘Election denier RNC chair!'” Heye said, mimicking reactions to Whatley’s hypothetical elevation. “What … do you expect? It’s Donald Trump.”
(WASHINGTON) — The federal government’s record-high national debt is set to get even bigger, reaching a massive $54 trillion by the year 2034.
That’s according to a new forecast released Wednesday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The CBO cited an aging population and rising federal health care costs as key reasons the national debt will soar over the next decade. U.S. national debt surpassed $34 trillion for the first time in January this year.
Higher interest rates — which have affected consumers’ finances with more expensive mortgages, auto loans and credit card rates — are also having a big impact on the government’s expenditures.
Starting next year, interest costs in relation to the overall economy will be bigger than at any point since 1940.
The CBO said it expects the Federal Reserve will start to lower interest rates in the middle of this year.
In positive news: the CBO said legislation enacted in the wake of the debt ceiling drama last year will result in a lower budget deficit than previously expected. The budget deficit refers to the difference between how much money the federal government brings in (mainly through taxes) versus how much it spends.
The CBO also said the budget deficit is smaller than expected because of a strong economy and jobs market. The agency singled out an additional 5.2 million workers who entered the labor force last year, many of them immigrants.
Still, the budget deficit is on track to grow to $1.6 trillion this year and $2.6 trillion over the next decade.
“Our debt is rising out of control, and it’s time for Congress to wake up,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement to ABC News.
