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FDA allows labeling nicotine pouches ‘lower risk’ than cigarettes : NPR

The flavors include “Cool Mint,” Smooth” and “Chill.” The Ferrari F1 racecar has it. It’s also addictive.
The pouch is a paperclip size, filled with white fibers and crystals of nicotine. It’s placed between your lip and the gum and leeches the nicotine into the bloodstream.
The Food and Drug Administration gave a recent boost to Zyn, one of the world’s most popular nicotine pouches. FDA approved the following advertisement: “Using Zyn as an alternative to cigarettes lowers your risk of developing mouth cancer, heart diseases, lung cancers, strokes, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.”
Bret Koplow said, in a release, that this decision was “designed to provide adults with clear and science-based information regarding the relative harms associated with tobacco products so that they can make an informed choice.”
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Zyn, according to some public health experts, is an alternative that’s safer than cigarettes. It can also help reduce the more than 480,000 deaths in America each year due to tobacco. Others say that it is a gateway drug to more dangerous nicotine habits, such as smoking.
Case of Zyn
Nicotine comes from tobacco plants, but some manufacturers use nicotine made in laboratories.
Nicotine pouches are marketed as safer than cigarettes or other tobacco products. Mitch Zeller is a Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine professor and former Director of the FDA Center for Tobacco Products. He says that the nicotine pouches “are demonstrably less harmful than inhaling tobacco smoke and burning tobacco leaves.”
When it comes to smokers trying to stop, he says switching to nicotine patches is a no-brainer.
Zyn emphasized this idea in a recent interview with NPR. Brian Erkkila is the director of Philip Morris International’s external affairs, and also head of scientific engagement. He says Zyn has helped him stop smoking and wonders whether it would have been able to help his father, who passed away from lung cancer, had it existed.
Erkkila insists that “nicotine can be addictive and has risks.”
Bonnie Halpern, a Stanford University professor of pediatrics and a proponent of nicotine pouches for smokers in the present, believes they can be a “meaningful tool” to reduce harm. Her list of possible risks includes heart problems, neurological or psychiatric disorders and dental issues. The risk of developing oral cancer from nicotine pouches is still unknown.
She says that we don’t fully know the negative effects of the newer nicotine oral products. It took more than 50 years for us to understand how harmful cigarettes are. Zyn has been available in the U.S. for about 10 years.
Robert Jackler, a Stanford University Professor Emeritus and leader of a tobacco advertising research group, is an emeritus professor who has been in the field for over 30 years. Zyn, and other nicotine patches or gums, are not approved tools for smoking cessation. Zyn, with its high nicotine products, flavors and aggressive marketing is also not in favor of cessation.
Jackler says that flavors like “cool,” smooth” and chill” help promote Zyn as a “lifestyle enhancer.” Jackler says Zyn uses advertisements featuring active people, such as mountain climbers. He also compares Zyn with coffee and alcohol to portray it “as safe and healthy.”
Erkkila responded by telling NPR Philip Morris International was committed to responsible advertising and only targeted advertisements at adults. Erkkila says that a Zyn 3mg delivers “a similar amount” of Nicotine to one cigarette, and does not consider Zyn 11mg — the highest dosage offered by Zyn — as a high dose.
Erkkila claims that the FDA 2025 authorization was specifically crediting flavors for helping smokers switch from cigarettes to Zyn. “You can’t change to another product until you’ve tried it,” he says.
Mary Hrywna is a Professor at Rutgers School of Public Health. She agreed that flavorings may encourage adult smokers to switch over to nicotine patches. Hrywna, and the other experts with whom we spoke said that it is not recommended for children.
Zeller warns that “if children start using this product, the risks could outweigh its benefits.” He notes that the FDA could withdraw authorization if this happens.
He says, “That is not harm reduction.” This is only increasing the harm. It doesn’t matter how little the pouches are compared to cigarettes.
Zyn in adolescents
According to the Monitoring the Future Study, conducted by the University of Michigan, the lifetime usage of nicotine pouches among 12th graders increased from 6,8% in 2024 to 10,0% in 2025. In 2025, the same study revealed that 4.4% of 12-graders had used nicotine pouches in the last 30 days.
Experts are concerned about the number of teenagers who have tried nicotine pouches.
Emily Hilliard is a senior Press Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services. She told NPR that “[the] FDA continues to be committed to prevent youth access and use of tobacco and continue to enforce the federal age of 21 to purchase all tobacco products.” She reiterated “there’s no such thing as a safe tobacco product.”
HalpernFelsher said that schools often find evidence of students using nicotine pouches as litter. They are also easy to hide and difficult for the school to monitor. Her lab has published a curriculum on oral tobacco, and other drugs for teenagers. Halpern-Felsher works with many school systems and encourages parents of children to discuss Zyn.
Hrywna states that nicotine “has an impact on the brain development”. She also stresses that there are “no compelling reasons” to use nicotine by adolescents.
Jackler has seen a lot of patients who have complications due to nicotine. “Don’t begin. Do not get addicted to this. It’s just not worth it. “The suffering is too much.”

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Kalshi ordered to stop most operations in WA

A King County Judge ordered that Kalshi must cease most of its operations in Washington before the middle next week. The judge found that Kalshi is operating a gambling business that violates state law.
In March, Attorney General Nick Brown sued Kalshi, accusing it of breaking Washington’s anti-gambling law. He used the advertising for the company, which boasted about allowing people to bet “on everything”.
In his ruling on Thursday, King County Superior Court judge John McHale stated that “Kalshi is an online gambling platform.” He also noted that it was likely the company violated multiple state laws.
McHale had ruled previously that the company probably violates Washington laws, but had yet to specify when or how long it should cease its operations.
In March after Brown’s lawsuit, Kalshi spokeswoman Elisabeth Diana stated that “other courts have recognized Kalshi as a nationwide, regulated exchange for actual events and is under exclusive federal jurisdiction.” It’s completely different than what sportsbooks or casinos regulated by state law offer to their customers. “We are confident of our legal arguments.”
Kalshi says that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is responsible for overseeing it. Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, the CFTC has taken a favorable stance towards the company, and Polymarket its biggest competitor. The CFTC is suing nine states for their attempts to regulate these companies.
Last spring, CFTC Chairman Mike Selig warned states that they would be seen in court if they tried to regulate companies.
Prediction markets are a growing phenomenon that will benefit the Trump family. Donald Trump Jr. serves as a strategist for both Kalshi, Inc. and Polymarket. His venture capital fund invested in Polymarket prior to its planned U.S. launch.
Kalshi didn’t immediately reply to an inquiry for comment on Thursday.
McHale announced on Thursday that the company would no longer accept bets in Washington, Washington, DC, Washington, D.C., or Washington, D.C., related to anything related sports, election, politics, entertainment and culture, technology, science, tech, or any other subject. McHale stated that the company may accept bets and contracts in Washington on topics such as economics, finance climate, commodities, or elections.
McHale instructed Kalshi to install geofencing to its website to prevent IP addresses from Washington placing bets on or purchasing contracts. The company was ordered to implement geofencing by August 19 and more advanced geofencing by September 2 otherwise they would be fined $120,000 per day until the work is completed. The company was also told to cease all marketing and advertising in Washington.
Brown stated in a press release that Kalshi made a fortune by promoting bets on events such as sports, election results, natural disasters and the Iran War. As this case progresses, we will enforce Washington laws and hold Kalshi responsible for misleading consumers.
McHale stated that the company should continue to allow Washington residents to close their accounts or withdraw money.
The story is still developing. Updates will be posted.

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NTSB says broken engine part shattered the Ryanair flight window that a man’s head got sucked into

Investigators in the United States said that shattered engine parts caused a broken window to break on a Ryanair flight shortly after it took off in Greece. The man’s face was then sucked down into the hole of the fuselage, before fellow passengers pulled the passenger to safety.
In its report, the National Transportation Safety Board stated that the parts which flew from the engine when a blade of a fan broke the glass and caused damage to the fuselage at several places.
The accident occurred shortly after Thessaloniki, a northern Greek city in the north of Greece took off on 10 July. According to the NTSB, it discovered bird remains in the engine. This suggests that the plane could have hit birds when it took off.
A 61-year old man was almost sucked from the Boeing 737. He suffered friction burns and injuries to his neck, shoulders and back before a fellow passenger was able to pull him inside.
The man who was rescued by panicked passengers after his window had broken
Flight attendants reported to investigators hearing and feeling a loud, continuous vibration in the cabin and seeing smoke or fog before oxygen masks were dropped.
A flight attendant noticed that some passengers were standing and asking for assistance because the passenger in row 11, window seat, was partly lodged into a broken window. Other passengers were able to get him into the cabin.
A passenger, who was a physician at the time, attended to the injured passenger in row 12. Flight attendants gave other passengers a metal box to use to cover the window.
Radio Thessaloniki shared a series of videos taken from the inside of the aircraft that showed people wearing masks when the cabin pressure dropped. One video appeared to show a blown out window with a nearby man wearing an oxygen mask. Third video was filmed, it appears, after the plane landed. It showed emergency workers working on the aisle.
In May, the engine fan blades underwent an inspection.
In a press release last month, Ryanair stated that “a passenger window came loose in flight and the plane returned to Thessaloniki soon after taking off.”
In this case, the NTSB and Greece participated in an investigation that was conducted by Greece’s Hellenic Air and Rail Safety Investigation Authority.
Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, was reprimanded by the NTSB after telling investors that last month the investigation focused only on damage caused by foreign objects and did not consider the age or history of maintenance. According to the NTSB, investigators had not ruled out anything and O’Leary was not authorized to speak about it.
The maintenance records indicate that in November 2025 and May 2026, the blades of the engine on the right that failed were subjected to ultrasonic checks without damage. The NTSB stated that the crews had reported four bird strikes on the same engine in the last year. After two of these suspected bird strikes, the NTSB found remains from birds.
The Associated Press emailed Ryanair, Boeing, and CFM International (the engine maker) to ask for their comments on the NTSB findings.
At least two incidents have occurred where CFM engine parts failed, allowing the cabin to be breached. A woman died in 2018 after being partially pulled out of a cracked window on a Southwest Airlines Flight. In 2016, another Southwest Jet suffered an engine failure caused by a blade.
Minutes after take-off, damage occurs
Flightradar24, a flight tracking site, reports that the narrow-body aircraft with 189 seats was first delivered to Ryanair by 2008.
Flightradar24 reported that flight records showed the plane climbed to 15,000 feet (4570 meters) six minutes after takeoff, then descended immediately to 6,000 feet (1830 meters), “to burn off fuel for thirty minutes,” before returning to Thessaloniki an hour later.
Malta Air operated the flight, which is a subsidary of Ryanair, Europe’s biggest budget airline.
The passengers were able to return safely to the terminal after landing. The airline stated that one passenger received medical attention on the ground at Thessaloniki.

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Workday shares post best day in 10 years on Silver Lake takeover report

The Workday stock rose nearly 18%, its best day since 2016. This was due to a report that Silver Lake Private Equity is in discussions with the company about acquiring their human resource software.
Reuters reported that the shares were halted several times during late afternoon trading, and the market value of the company closed at $51 billion.
Reuters, citing people familiar with the issue, reported that discussions had been going on for months.
CNBC’s requests for comments to Workday and Silver Lake were not responded to immediately.
Workday shares have been affected by concerns that AI tools could disrupt the software business model in recent months. A recent acquisition could indicate renewed interest in software despite the fears.
Stocks have recovered from recent selling, but are still down by 7% over the past year.
Aneel Bhushri, the co-founder of the company who was named CEO in March after Carl Eschenbach retired. Bhusri held various roles in the company including as co-CEO and CEO.
Aneel [Bhusri], the CEO of Silver Lake, and Egon Durban from Silver Lake are well acquainted through their many connections. Brent Thill, CNBC’s “Power Lunch” analyst said: “We think that this makes sense and it goes back to the bad impact software has had.”
The company reported better than expected results in May and increased its AI forecast.

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Ooh la la, Austin: Delta launches first-ever service to Paris

The service will be available daily throughout the summer, providing customers with a high-quality connection from Austin to one of Europe’s most prestigious gateways. Delta will offer its flagship international service aboard the Airbus A330neo. The aircraft features four seat options: Delta One (r), Delta Premium Select(r), Delta Comfort(r) or Delta Main.
Delta One offers fully lie-flat seating, luxurious bedding and privacy screens, along with chef-curated food and beverages. Delta Premium Select provides enhanced comfort, with larger seats and more legroom. Delta Comfort and Delta Main offer spacious seating with memory foam cushions and customized entertainment that includes over 1,000 hours. The aircraft also boasts an increased cargo capacity in order to keep up with the rising demand.
Customers in Austin can benefit from extensive connectivity outside of Europe through the joint venture between Delta and Air France-KLM/Virgin Atlantic. During peak summer months, Delta Air France KLM and Virgin Atlantic will work together to offer 10 nonstop weekly flights from Austin to Europe, including service to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Amsterdam.
Air France offers seamless connections from Paris to Europe, India, and Africa.

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Forbes editor out after reports quote him saying he ‘made a mistake’

Forbes’ top editor quit his position last month after he was fired for accepting 6 million dollars from a company that did business with Forbes.
The New York Times revealed this week that Randall Lane had been paid by RJ Shook whose firm, Shook research, has worked with Forbes to rank wealth advisors since 2016. Payment was made after Shook had sold the majority of its stake to private equity a year earlier.
The Associated Press reviewed an internal email dated 23 July that confirmed Lane’s departure. The email did not provide any other information about his departure. Lane worked at Forbes for almost 16 years, and has been its editor-in-chief since 2017.
According to a person working at Forbes who spoke under condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter, the Times article revealed the reasons for the dismissal. In an email that was sent this week, the company said it could not provide any further comment.
A former editor was quoted saying that he “made a mistake”
The Times reported that a source familiar with Lane’s thoughts said he viewed the payment as a gift for the advice Shook had received over the years.
In a written statement, Mr. Lane told The Times: “I admit that I made a bad mistake. It was an error of judgment that I failed to disclose the gift. “I deeply regret it, and as a result I lost my job and the team that I loved.”
Lane, as well as a representative of Forbes, did not reply to comment requests.
Why Shook paid Lane is unclear. The company had an apparent close relationship with Forbes. Shook Research, for instance, lists on its website 12 ranking of wealth advisors and management team in partnership with Forbes.
It is also unclear why Lane believed that disclosing this payment would solve any ethical concerns it might have raised. To avoid conflict of interest, traditional newsrooms usually prohibit journalists from taking payments from business partners or sources.
Forbes’ editorial standards and values statement states that “all staff and contributors are prohibited from accepting any compensation, benefits or favors” from the people, groups or companies featured in its coverage.
Any real or perceived conflict of interest (financial or professional, legal, personal, or other) or relationship must be avoided or discussed with the relevant managing editor. It reads: “If approved, the conflict must be disclosed explicitly in the article to maintain readers’ trust.” Any attempt to avoid or fail to fulfill these solemn obligations is a serious offence and will be reviewed and subject to swift disciplinary actions.
The public’s trust in the media has declined
The Times’ report is released at a time when public confidence in media has been low. According to Pew Research Centre analysis from February, 57% of Americans have little confidence that journalists will act in the interests of the people.
Forbes, founded in 1917, has evolved into an influential and biweekly corporate America account. Its covers feature Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett.
Lane seemed to be aware that trust was a problem in the media. He published in 2024 a piece titled “How Forbes Delivers journalism You Can Trust.”
Thomas Jefferson wrote that “we get the government which we deserve.” It’s also true for our media.
___
Hannah Schoenbaum, a journalist with Associated Press, contributed to the report.

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