Daily Briefing: Did Hannah Kobayashi go missing on purpose?

The Los Angeles Police Department said missing woman Hannah Kobayashi was voluntarily at large. The e-cigarette industry has charged the FDA with unfairly blocking the marketing of most flavored products. Extremely cold Northeast waters are causing turtles to suffer.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. It's Giving Tuesday! Here's how to maximize your donations.

Hawaii woman is 'voluntarily' missing

Hannah Kobayashi, the Hawaii woman believed to be missing in Los Angeles, was seen on surveillance footage crossing the border into Mexico after she vanished last month, authorities said Monday.

The background: Kobayashi, 30, was reported missing after her family said she did not board a connecting flight from Maui to New York City at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Nov. 8. Surveillance videos have shown her at a mall and train station in Los Angeles, and odd messages and online payments since then have only added to the mystery behind her disappearance.

• A search ensued. Then a death. Family members and friends flew to Los Angeles to form a search party, with volunteers joining the effort as the case garnered national attention. On Nov. 24, her father, who had been trying to find his daughter, was found dead near LAX by apparent suicide, police said.

• Did Kobayashi disappear on purpose?  Investigators revealed Kobayashi "knowingly" left LAX with her bag on Nov. 11, according to LAPD. She then traveled to Los Angeles Union Station where she used her passport to buy a bus ticket for a destination near the California-Mexico border.

• LAPD has now classified Kobayashi as a "voluntarily missing person." Surveillance footage from U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed Kobayashi crossing into Mexico on foot. Authorities will not continue their investigation into Mexico.

Other presidents have pardoned relatives (including Trump)

President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted of federal gun charges and tax evasion, earned him criticism from Republican lawmakers and President-elect Donald Trump. But Biden isn’t the only president to use a pardon to erase a family member's federal conviction. He joins a short list of others who have taken similar actions - including Trump himself. Trump during his first term pardoned Charles Kushner, father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Read more

More news to know now

• The Coast Guard suspended the search for five people missing in the Gulf of Alaska.

• Shocking snow totals pile up in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

• Trump will be in Paris for the Notre-Dame cathedral reopening in a first trip abroad as president-elect.

• Protests exploded in the nation of Georgia when its bid for EU membership was paused.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

A chance to greenlight 'Suicide Bunny Mother's Milk and Cookies'?

Makers of e-cigarettes tried to persuade the Supreme Court on Monday to order a new evaluation of their vaping products in hopes the incoming Trump administration will reverse restrictions on flavors like “Suicide Bunny Mother's Milk and Cookies.” Under the Biden administration, the Food and Drug Administration has rejected more than a million products flavored to taste like fruit, candy or desserts. In a recent social media post, Trump said he “saved” flavored vaping during his first administration and will do it again after he returns to the White House in January. Read more

Why your co-pay for weight loss drugs just went through the roof

The drug some Americans get for $25 per month could skyrocket to $713 per month. Even as weight loss drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound explode in popularity, many working-age Americans struggle to afford the medications. Some face escalating out-of-pocket costs with higher co-pays or other cost-shifting from their insurance plans. Others are denied coverage, forcing them to pay out of pocket, scour for coupons, or secure the medication from compounding pharmacies that supply off-brand, discounted and potentially risky versions. USA TODAY asked patients how they're coping.

Today's talkers

• Update your Spotify app to get the full Wrapped experience.

• Here's why you've heard so much about "brain rot."

• "Nightbitch" puts motherhood into perspective for Amy Adams.

• The Gotham Awards honored cutting edge film and television (and Josh O'Connor's silky tie).

• Connecticut is out of USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll.

These turtles need some warmth

The frigid Northeast temperatures of the last several days have accelerated the arrival of sea turtles afflicted with life-threatening hypothermia at Cape Cod beaches, requiring more than 250 of them to be rescued so far. The stranding of hundreds of hypothermic turtles has become a regular phenomenon in fall and early winter because a rapid change in water temperatures and wind patterns keeps them from leaving Cape Cod Bay, where they become sick and unable to feed. Read more

Photo of the day: Rihanna takes London town

Fashion's birds of a feather assembled in London Monday night for the British Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall. Rihanna joined the industry's top makers and models in London with boyfriend A$AP Rocky, who won the Cultural Innovator award. See more photos.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hannah Kobayashi, Hunter Biden pardon, Trump, FDA, vaping, weight loss, climate change, Rihanna: Daily Briefing