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Today’s Big Story

The Return of the Cig

Young people are romanticizing cigarettes while seeing more celebrities smoke on social media

Smoke ‘em, if you got ‘em. Or should you? We know it’s a bad habit … but they look so cool, right? Apparently, after previous generations gave up the habit, more and more young people are witnessing more celebrities smoke on social media—and Bloomberg says adults aren’t paying close enough attention.

They say celebs are being bold about their smoking online these days. In fact, there were so many that it inspired Canadian social media manager Jared Oviatt to launch his “Cigfluencers” Instagram account. He says it served as a way for him to capture what he saw as a cultural shift after saving a pic of Dua Lipa puffing away.

“I was a little shocked to see this beautiful pop star smoking. I hate to say she normalized it—that goes too far,” recalls Oviatt, who smokes Camel Blues. “But there she was, social proof that you could smoke and not be ridiculed for it.”

Regardless of how those images make it to the internet—they might be posted by the celebrities themselves or by outlets—the photos shape what’s cool and aspirational for stars’ impressionable teen and 20-something fans. Perhaps that’s why college students around the country are noticing smoke wafting around their campuses. A cigarette renaissance may be underway.

Santa Clara University’s student newspaper recently ran a story about the return of smoking among the college set. “Whether it’s a new aesthetic, students who have just come back from a semester abroad or merely a comeback of a nearly-eradicated trend, we all seem to know someone who smokes.”

While quantifying the impact that social media has on tobacco or nicotine use is challenging, studies consistently show that adolescents and young adults who view tobacco-related content are more likely to start using those products down the road, says Erin Vogel, a University of Oklahoma social psychologist who studies youth nicotine use. Of course, part of cigarettes’ draw has always been their aesthetic. There’s a reason why Old Hollywood used them to imbue a scene with mystery or sensuality and old school print ads presented smoking as a symbol of style. The changing times haven’t completely dulled that allure.

Senate Clears Key Hurdle Toward Ending Shutdown

Bloc of Democrats helps Republicans advance spending measure but more steps remain

This seems promising. Late Sunday, the Senate cleared a critical procedural hurdle in its drive to end the record-long government shutdown, after Democrats provided enough votes to advance a measure designed to end the more than monthlong impasse. The vote was 60-40 on a measure to take up House-passed spending legislation (which required 60 votes under the Senate’s filibuster procedures). Eight members of the Democratic caucus joined almost all Republicans in voting in favor, allowing the bill to move forward after more than a dozen failed votes since September.

According to NPR, the agreement would fund the government through Jan. 30 and include full-year funding for a trio of appropriations bills, including full funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, through Sept. 30, 2026, or the end of the fiscal year. However, the legislation still needs to pass the House before the shutdown would end, enabling air traffic controllers and other federal workers to get paid and federal food benefits to resume, among other things. Most rank-and-file Democrats still oppose the deal, because it would not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, which Democrats have warned will cause health insurance premiums to skyrocket for millions of Americans.

The Senate adjourned until 11 a.m. today, when it will continue considering legislation to reopen the government after the breakthrough. House Democratic leadership, meanwhile, alerted members that votes are expected later this week. Lawmakers will receive 36 hours of notice before any votes are called.

Trump Suggests $2,000 Payouts to Americans

The president again is promising to pay tariff dividends as SCOTUS decision looms

We’ve heard about this before, but no American will refuse a stimulus check arriving in their mailbox, right? This weekend, President Donald Trump once again floated directly paying Americans for their health care costs and giving out $2,000 dividends from tariff revenue, ideas that administration officials later said were not formal proposals being sent to the Senate.

In one Truth Social post, the president wrote, “I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over. In other words, take from the BIG, BAD Insurance Companies, give it to the people, and terminate, per Dollar spent, the worst Healthcare anywhere in the World, ObamaCare. Unrelated, we must still terminate the Filibuster!” Trump wants to send checks to all Americans except for “high-income people,” saying the country is now wealthy as a result of his tariff policies. However, in an interview on ABC News on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that he had not spoken with Trump about the proposed dividend.

The Supreme Court heard arguments on whether most of Trump's tariffs were legally imposed, with justices sounding skeptical of his authority. They appeared concerned that tariffs effectively acted as a revenue-raising tax, as opposed to a mechanism to solve any emergency caused by a trade imbalance. Now, there are questions about whether the government could end up having to refund more than $100 billion to importers if the high court rules the tariffs weren't legal.

An Arctic Blast Is Bringing Frigid Temps

Temperatures 10 to 20 degrees below normal are expected to reach as deep as the South

Is fall ending early? Because an “arctic blast” dumping snow on the Midwest on Sunday is expected to eventually cover two-thirds of the nation and bring record cold to the South. The extreme cold front—heading south from Canada—is forecast to send daytime temperatures plummeting into the 30s and 40s for a large swath of the Northern Plains, Midwest and Northeast.

According to CNN, Chicago is facing a dangerous lake-effect snow event today. A narrow, but extremely intense band could dump snow at a rate of three or more inches per hour—so fast it overwhelms the ability to keep roads clear. If the band pivots and stalls, the city could be looking at double-digit snowfall before midday. Meanwhile, blustery wind gusts could make conditions feel even colder, with chills possibly in the single digits throughout Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas

A list of National Weather Service bulletins Sunday showed more than 105 million people are the subject of advisories, watches and warnings. The blast is forecast to spread across the eastern two-thirds of the nation, and it could bring freezing temperatures to much of the South by Tuesday while setting low temperature records. Snow will fall from the Great Lakes to New England and northern New York state down to the mountains of eastern North Carolina by Monday and Tuesday. Storm totals of 12 to 18 inches of snow are possible in parts of Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and West Virginia.

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