Here are today’s headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world:
DOH debunks claims of alleged international health concern
Marcos removes VP, past presidents from National Security Council
South Korean presidential guards prevent arrest of impeached Yoon after tense stand-off
Texas man who backed Islamic State acted alone in New Orleans attack, FBI says
'Beautiful goodbye': Barbie Forteza confirms breakup with Jak Roberto
‘Giant feat’: Carlos Yulo hailed 2024 PSA Athlete of the Year
https://www.rappler.com/video/daily-wrap/january-3-2025/
DOH debunks claims of alleged international health concern
Marcos removes VP, past presidents from National Security Council
South Korean presidential guards prevent arrest of impeached Yoon after tense stand-off
Texas man who backed Islamic State acted alone in New Orleans attack, FBI says
'Beautiful goodbye': Barbie Forteza confirms breakup with Jak Roberto
‘Giant feat’: Carlos Yulo hailed 2024 PSA Athlete of the Year
https://www.rappler.com/video/daily-wrap/january-3-2025/
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NewsTranscript
00:00Today on Rappler
00:12The Philippine Health Department debunks claims of an alleged international health concern.
00:17President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. removes the Vice President and other former Philippine
00:21presidents from the National Security Council.
00:24South Korea's presidential guards and military troops prevent the arrest of impeached President
00:28Yun Suk-yol.
00:29The FBI says the man who drove a truck into a New Orleans crowd acted alone.
00:35Actress Barbie Forteza confirms breakup with longtime boyfriend actor Jack Roberto.
00:40And Carlos Yulo is the 2024 Athlete of the Year named by the Philippine Sportswriters
00:44Association.
00:47The Philippine Health Department says there is no truth to claims circulating on social
00:52media posts about an alleged international health concern.
00:55The department declines to tell the media the specific illness it was referring to.
01:00It just notes, neither the cited country nor the World Health Organization has confirmed
01:05what is allegedly spreading online.
01:07The DOH is actively verifying all information and will keep the Filipino public updated.
01:14The department said it is active in the network following the international health regulations
01:18of the WHO, which is a system that allows member states to update each other about ongoing
01:23international health concerns.
01:25The last public health emergency of international health concern the Philippines acted upon
01:29is the alert on MPOCs.
01:31In 2024, the Philippines detected a total of 52 new MPOCs cases.
01:36None of the reported cases were epidemiologically linked and majority recovered as of December.
01:44President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. removes the vice president and other former Philippine
01:48presidents from the National Security Council.
01:50An executive order was issued on December 30, made public only on Friday, reorganizing
01:55the primary body for national security plans and policies.
01:59The order emphasizes the need to adapt the NSC to evolving national and international
02:03security challenges.
02:05The EO also added the need for NSC members to uphold national security and sovereignty,
02:10promoting effective governance and stability.
02:13Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin explains that, at present, the vice president is not
02:18considered relevant to the NSC's responsibilities.
02:21Vice President Sara Duterte and former President Rodrigo Duterte are no longer part of the
02:26NSC under the Marcos administration.
02:28Two other former presidents who are still living, Joseph Erap Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
02:33were also removed.
02:35The EO-81 also states that three deputy speakers designated by the speaker are now included,
02:41instead of regional deputy speakers.
02:43The vice president is also excluded from the NSC's executive committee.
02:47The executive committee is now composed of the following.
02:54South Korea's presidential guards and military troops prevent the arrest of impeached President
02:59Yoon Suk-yol on Friday, January 3, in a tense six-hour standoff at his compound in Seoul.
03:05The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, or CIO, says that executing the
03:09arrest warrant was impossible due to the standoff.
03:12CIO officials attempt to execute the warrant, but were met with resistance from hundreds
03:17of Yoon supporters.
03:19Some of them chant, President Yoon Suk-yol will be protected by the people.
03:23The CIO and police were outnumbered by large groups of Presidential Security Service, or
03:27PSS, personnel and military troops assigned to presidential security.
03:31Due to safety concerns and obstruction, the CIO suspends the arrest attempt by 1.30pm
03:37and would consider the next steps.
03:39Yoon's legal team argues that the CIO lacked the authority to investigate insurrection
03:43and criticized the attempt to execute an arrest in a sensitive security area.
03:49The FBI confirms on Thursday, January 2, that the U.S. Army veteran Shamsuddin Jabbar, who
03:55drove a truck into New Orleans' crowd, declaring support for ISIS, only acted alone.
04:00The attack in the New Orleans crowd on New Year's Eve killed at least 14 people.
04:05The FBI says on the morning of the attack, between 1.29am and 3.02am, Jabbar posted five
04:11videos on Facebook expressing his support for ISIS.
04:14The FBI describes the act as terrorism, noting that Jabbar was premeditated in his actions
04:19and inspired by ISIS.
04:21FBI's Counterterrorism Division Assistant Director David Scott informs the U.S. lawmakers
04:27that Jabbar was not on the government watchlist.
04:30The bureau also found no evidence he was guided by any foreign individual or group.
04:35They also say there seemed to be no connection between the New Orleans attack and the explosion
04:39incident of a Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas on the same day.
04:45Actress Barbie Fortezza confirms her breakup with her longtime boyfriend, actor Jack Roberto,
04:50on Thursday night, January 2.
04:52In an Instagram post, Fortezza looks back on the seven years she and Roberto spent as
04:57a couple.
04:58She bids him a beautiful goodbye.
05:00She writes,
05:01Having you in my life was the happiest I had ever been.
05:04Seven wonderful years.
05:05A lot of laughs, a lot of ramen, and so much love.
05:09Her love was exceptional.
05:11Fortezza's last social media post with Roberto was in December 2024, when she wrote a birthday
05:15message for the actor, reflecting on his accomplishments.
05:19Fortezza and Roberto met on the set of Meant to Be in 2017.
05:23Rumors of their relationship first sparked in July 2017, when Fortezza posted a series
05:28of photos of her on a date with a mystery individual, who was later revealed to be Roberto.
05:33The ex-couple appeared in several other teleserias together, such as Caramea and The Half-Sisters.
05:40Gymnastics superstar Carlos Yulo is given the 2024 Athlete of the Year honor by the
05:45Philippine Sports Writers Association or PSA.
05:48PSA president Nelson Beltran, sports editor of the Philippine Star, says,
05:53From a great Olympic performance to an even greater Olympic show, and from one big breakthrough
05:58to an even bigger breakthrough, thanks to Carlos Yulo, whose giant feet we will celebrate
06:02in handing him our highest accolades.
06:05He is the first gymnast, since young Pia Adel-Reyes in 1997, to be recognized as Athlete
06:11of the Year by the country's oldest media organization.
06:14Yulo scored the rare double gold by topping the men's floor exercise and vault in the
06:18Paris Olympics.
06:20This is seen as a fitting exploit in celebrating the Philippines' 100 years of participation
06:25in the Summer Games.
06:27His win is a fitting follow-up to weightlifter Haidyln Diaz, who bagged the country's first
06:31Olympic gold during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
06:36And that's today's wrap.
06:37I'm Michelle Abad, thank you for watching.
06:40Click the link below for the full story.
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