Plus: Trump Admin Moves To Limit Gender-Affirming Care For Kids

Good evening,

Able-bodied passengers are requesting wheelchairs so they can cut the line at airports. 🤦‍♂️

Freewheeling and freeloading: People on TikTok have been posting videos of able-bodied people claiming fake handicaps to get benefits like early boarding on flights or extra overhead space. A healthcare worker from Florida told The Wall Street Journal about a flight to L.A. where around 15 people needed a wheelchair to board, but only five of them used one after landing.
Cracks in the system: Airlines typically don’t ask for proof of a disability — usually, passengers just need to claim a handicap on a form and fly away. An estimated 5.5 million Americans use a wheelchair, according to the Department of Transportation.

Witnesses are calling this con the “Jetway Jesus,” referring to people being magically “healed” on the other side of the flight. We just call it “cringey,” and hope it doesn’t take away support or accommodations for people who actually need it.

Sam,
Associate Producer

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Police Identify Person Of Interest In Brown Shooting, Investigating Link To MIT Professor’s Killing

vestigators appear to have made progress in the search for the Brown University shooter on Thursday, on day six of the investigation. Police say they’ve identified a person of interest and a warrant for their arrest — which you need to show probable cause to obtain.

As of Thursday evening, authorities have not released the person’s name or any additional details, but said they are actively seeking the person of interest.

The development comes as investigators examine a possible link between Saturday’s Brown shooting, which killed two students and injured nine others, and the fatal shooting of an MIT professor days later. The professor was found Monday at his Massachusetts home, about 50 miles away.

THE LATEST
Authorities believe a rented vehicle linked to the person of interest in the Brown case may match the make and model of a car connected to the shooting of the MIT professor in Brookline, Massachusetts. Nuno Loureiro, 47, a professor in the department of nuclear science and engineering, died in the hospital Tuesday morning.

Providence authorities were scheduled to hold a press conference with updates Thursday afternoon, but postponed it as new developments emerged. Outlets are reporting that a press conference could happen “soon,” but not specifying when.

As of Thursday afternoon, the six remaining hospitalized victims from the Brown shooting are all in stable condition.

BROWN UNDER SCRUTINY
The Brown shooting triggered a massive response, with about 400 officers going door to door on campus and through nearby neighborhoods in search of information. The lack of surveillance video — at a school with a $7 billion endowment and more than 1,200 cameras installed in campus buildings — has sparked fierce criticism, as the grainy images of the person of interest appear to come from home security cameras, not the university’s own system.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said the shooting occurred in an older section of a campus building with fewer security cameras, while newer parts of the building do have cameras. Footage from those newer areas captured students fleeing after the gunfire.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said the “building is on the literal edge of the campus, and the person of interest walked out the door (and) as soon as he stepped onto the sidewalk, was no longer on campus.”

One of the most common winter questions we get: do wool sweaters always need a trip to the dry cleaner?

Downy laundry scientist Sammy reveals that many sweaters can actually be washed at home — as long as the care label allows it. Put the sweater in a mesh bag and run the washing machine on a delicate or hand-wash cycle with cold water.

Skip the dryer and lay it flat to dry to help it keep its shape. Catch more tips on The Laundry Lowdown series on the Mo News podcast, where Sammy answers your questions about everyday laundry challenges.

🚨 ONE THING THAT COULD CHANGE

RFK Jr Announces New Rules To Limit Gender-Affirming Care For Kids

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moved Thursday to block Medicare or Medicaid funding from hospitals that provide puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and certain surgeries to patients under 18.

Kennedy also signed a declaration stating that such procedures do not meet professional medical standards. HHS data shows nearly 14,000 minors received such treatments between 2019 and 2023.
- By the numbers: Across all ages, nearly three million people in the U.S. identify as transgender. That includes less than 1% of adults, but roughly 3.3% of teens ages 13 to 17.

The policies aim to ban gender-affirming medical care — what Kennedy calls ‘sex-rejecting procedures’ — for minors, including in the 23 states where it remains legal. HHS also moved to reverse a Biden-era policy that treated gender dysphoria as a disability under federal law.

“This is not medicine, it is malpractice,” Kennedy Jr. said. “Sex-rejecting procedures rob children of their futures.”

LAWMAKERS WEIGH IN
Proposed rules will be finalized after a 60-day public comment period. They are expected to face legal challenges.

In Congress: House Republicans passed legislation Wednesday to criminalize gender-affirming care for minors, punishable by a fine or up to 10 years in prison for physicians – though the bill isn’t likely to pass in the Senate. Lawmakers passed another bill Thursday that would block Medicaid coverage for transition-related procedures for anyone under 18.

“Allowing the government to determine which patient groups deserve care sets a dangerous precedent, and children and families will bear the consequences,” Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in response to HHS’s new rules.

BIGGER PICTURE
Several Western countries — including New Zealand, Sweden, and the UK — have also moved to restrict or ban puberty blockers and some medical interventions for trans minors, citing limited evidence of their success and potential long-term risks.

Opponents of gender care for kids argue that the rising prevalence of gender dysphoria diagnoses is a sign that the issue may be driven in part by social factors.
- A report out of the UK last year found that the long-term scientific evidence on the benefits and risks of the treatment was “remarkably weak.”
Supporters of gender-affirming care for minors often cite small studies showing lower rates of depression and suicidal ideation among youth who receive such care. Popular medical associations also note that health care decisions should be made by physicians and patients, not the government.
- The ACLU notes that the Trump administration has focused on attacking “the rights of transgender youth” — from removing trans references from federal websites, halting health data collection, barring trans people from the U.S. military, and suing states over trans athlete participation in school sports.
According to Pew Research, the share of Americans who support policies banning minors from accessing medical care for a gender transition has increased by roughly 10% in recent years.

BIG PICTURE
Rosenberg’s article comes as attacks motivated by anti-Israel or antisemitic sentiment have spiked globally since the October 7th, 2023, Hamas attacks.

On Sunday, a gunmen opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, killing at least 15 people.
In the U.S., two Israeli embassy aides were shot and killed as they were exiting an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in May.
In June, an individual firebombed a peaceful demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, calling for the return of Israeli hostages. One person was killed and 15 injured.
According to the Anti-Defamation League’s State of Antisemitism in America 2024 report, one third of American Jews said they have personally been the victim of antisemitism, whether in-person or online, at least once over the past year.

⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

Trump signs executive order to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug (CBS)
Trump-appointed board renames Kennedy Center to Trump-Kennedy Center (MO NEWS)
Airplane linked to former NASCAR star Greg Biffle crashes in North Carolina (FOX)
Brian Walshe is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife, whose body was never found (AP)
U.S. admits fault in DC midair crash as families push for safer skies (NBC)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

Australian PM announces crackdown on hate speech after Bondi shooting (BBC)
Finland apologizes to Asian countries over beauty queen racism scandal (NBC)
Brazilian president vows to veto bill cutting Jair Bolsonaro’s prison term (GUARDIAN)
Doctor described as “star anesthetist” gets life sentence in France for poisoning 30 patients, killing 12 (CBS)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

US says price increases eased last month but data may be distorted and Americans aren’t feeling it (AP)
Chipotle chases the protein craze with new menu items — including meat in a cup (CNBC)
Tesla faces 30-day car sale ban for misleading use of ‘Autopilot’ branding, CA DMV warns (ABC)
Hacker busts startup running huge web of AI-Generated “influencers” on Instagram (FUTURISM)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Greg Peters visit Warner Bros. studio lot with David Zaslav (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)
William and Catherine release annual Christmas card portrait (BBC)
Texas singer Aiden Ross wins season 28 of ‘The Voice’ (KBTX)
Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua prepare for Netflix fight (AP)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… The woman from the viral Coldplay kiss cam scandal has broken her silence.

Kristin Cabot, 53, told The New York Times that she has been the victim of bullying, doxxing, and death threats since a viral video in July caught her allegedly having an affair with her boss on a Jumbotron at a concert.

“I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss,” she told the New York Times. “And I took accountability and I gave up my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay.”

Cabot’s husband previously shared that he and Cabot were “amicably separated” at the time.