WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
LA wildfires, a possible No.10 U-turn, and the 'wonder drug' for alcoholism

 
today's international story

Five die as Los Angeles wildfires intensify

What happened
Five people have been killed and more than 1,000 buildings have burned down as growing wildfires tear through several neighbourhoods in Los Angeles.

Who said what
"Last night was one of the most devastating and terrifying nights that we've seen in any part of our city, at any part of our history," said LA City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson.

More than 70,000 people have been ordered to evacuate. In some parts of the city "the evacuation effort has been frenzied", said The Guardian, as residents have rushed to exit via a handful of roads leading out of the danger areas.

The crisis has "highlighted the stark difference between the incoming and outgoing presidents", said the Los Angeles Times. Joe Biden stood with California's Governor Gavin Newsom at a fire station in Santa Monica and pledged to provide full federal support to the state. Hours earlier Donald Trump had blamed "Newscum and his Los Angeles crew" for the disaster by failing to secure adequate water supplies. Presidents "have wide discretion when it comes to disaster aid" and support for LA "could be in jeopardy" under Trump, added the newspaper.

What next?
The LA County Fire Department said "extreme fire behaviour" could continue today. The National Weather Service is warning of "extremely critical fire weather" along parts of the southern California coast, with wind gusts of up to 80mph.

 
 
today's politics story

No.10 hints at U-turn on grooming gangs inquiry

What happened
Keir Starmer is open to a U-turn on his refusal to hold an inquiry into grooming gangs, Downing Street has said, despite ordering his MPs to vote against initiating one.

Last night the Conservatives tried to vote down the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill by tabling an amendment that would force a grooming gangs inquiry. The Tory amendment was "largely symbolic", said the BBC, as the size of Labour's majority meant it was never likely to pass.

Who said what
Starmer may have "appeared to soften his opposition" to a public inquiry into Britain’s grooming scandal, said The Times, but the issue remains a "political storm" after Elon Musk launched a "barrage of attacks" on Starmer and Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister.

What next?
The sparring looks set to continue. Speaking during Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, Kemi Badenoch asked the PM whether he "cannot see that by resisting this (inquiry), people will start to worry about a cover-up?" Starmer countered that the Conservative leader was spreading "lies and misinformation, and slinging mud".

 
 
Today's health story

Coffee in the morning offers health boost

What happened
Coffee "significantly" lowers your risk of dying – but only if you drink it in the morning, a decade-long study of 40,000 US adults has concluded.

Those who had their coffee only in the morning were 16% less likely to die earlier of any cause and 31% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those who drank no coffee. But there was no difference in mortality rates between people who drank coffee all day and those who drank none.

Who said what
"A possible explanation is that consuming coffee in the afternoon or evening may disrupt circadian rhythms and levels of hormones such as melatonin," said study author Lu Qi of Tulane University. This can increase "cardiovascular risk factors".

There is "substantial evidence" that coffee in the morning is "likely to be healthy", said Thomas Lüscher of the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals.

What next?
Further studies are needed to validate the findings.

 
 

It's not all bad

Kent-based toy maker Hornby reported a 7% sales increase in its critical "golden quarter" of last year, driven by Black Friday and Christmas demand. December revenue surged 23%, with profits rising 38%. First-time buyers and the burgeoning “kidult” market fuelled growth. After years of losses, CEO Olly Raeburn credited cost reductions and brand focus for the turnaround. Hornby’s shares rose 4% on the news, defying broader retail declines as UK shoppers have tended to prioritise essentials over festive spending.

 
 
under the radar

Naltrexone: the wonder drug for alcoholism

Although it's been used since the 1980s, naltrexone remains a relatively unknown treatment for alcohol dependency.

Costing about £3 a pill, the drug blocks the "euphoric and sedative effects" of alcohol, helping "reduce cravings" and cutting down consumption, according to London's The Standard. Naltrexone reportedly has a claimed 80% success rate in clinical trials and can be prescribed by the NHS, but is more commonly accessed privately.

But some argue that the drug should also be used to treat heavy drinkers who do not meet the "criteria for alcohol addiction", to help stop them "mindlessly" drinking, which can lead to dependency, said Esther Walker in The Times.

In a first-person account of using naltrexone in The Telegraph, Annabel Fenwick Elliott said it had been "game-changing" and "severed" the "neurological bond" that she had with alcohol.

Why, then, is it not more readily available to people wanting to reduce alcohol intake? The answer is "tangled up in red tape". The drug is "out of patent" and therefore there is "no real money to be made by Big Pharma", while in the UK it is "tricky for GPs to prescribe thanks to licensing" issues.

There is also a sense that the government doesn't want to "prioritise alcohol reduction", added Walker. At the same time, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines advise prescribing naltrexone only "alongside a programme of abstinence" that will not "sever the link in the mind between the alcohol and the dopamine reward".

 
 
on this day

9 January 2001

Apple announced its digital media library and player iTunes. Along with the iPod, which debuted that same year, the platform revolutionised how people consumed music. In 2019 Apple phased out iTunes in favour of three apps, Music, TV and Podcasts. Apple Music now rivals Spotify as the pre-eminent streaming platform.

 
 
Today's newspapers

The Treasury has stepped in to "halt market mayhem" says The Telegraph amid "growing concern" over a "surge in borrowing costs". Donald Trump's incoming director of counter-terrorism tells The Times that the UK must bring back British members of Islamic State held in Syrian prison camps. Meanwhile, says the Daily Star, readers should not eat their Christmas trees following advice from Belgium, which it describes as "the most boring country in the whole world".

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Cutting a cheque

A British man has received £5,000 in compensation after cutting himself while shaving. Nick Silverthorn, 48, from London, has suffered from "trauma" and "recurring nightmares" ever since he used the faulty product. Silverthorn said the razor, manufactured by Wilkinson Sword, had a detached blade. “When I saw the blade hanging out I thought: ‘That could have done some real damage'. It wasn’t just an everyday nick or cut I had been given; it had sliced into my skin. I had been shaving for 30 years and never had cuts like this.” After the company sent the razor for tests "it came back with an offer to settle his claim for £5,000 with no admission of liability", said The Times.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Harriet Marsden, Ross Couzens, Richard Windsor, Jamie Timson and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Apu Gomes / Getty Images; Wiktor Szymanowicz / Future Publishing / Getty Images; Olena Malik / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images.