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Headless, handless body found on New York road 56 years ago identified through DNA; killer remains unknown
The headless, handless body of a man found on the side of a lonely road in New York’s Allegany County 56 years ago has been identified through DNA advancements, officials announced this week.
Still, his killer hasn’t been caught.
The body of Clyde A. Coppage, 35, was discovered along a road in Andover in upstate New York in March 1970.
STAR MURDAUGH TRIAL WITNESS PROBES MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF BUSTER'S FORMER CLASSMATE
"Over the course of nearly 56 years, investigating members of the New York State Police continued to track down every lead, but the identity of the male remained unknown," New York State Police said in a news release Thursday.
Coppage was originally from Pennsylvania and hadn’t been reported missing.
He didn’t have any clothes on or any other way to identify him, Trooper James O’Callaghan said Friday, according to the Albany Times Union.
O’Callaghan said the evidence suggested Coppage was killed and dismembered somewhere else before his body was left on the rural Davis Hill Road in Andover.
In June 2022, his body was exhumed for a DNA profile, and, with the help of the FBI, he was finally identified.
State police said the Bureau of Criminal Investigation out of NYSP Amity is asking for the public’s help for any information about Coppage or his killer.
The investigation into his death remains active, police said.
Speech to US baseball team by Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden prompts liberal backlash
Former Navy SEAL Robert J. O'Neill, who was part of the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, delivered a pregame speech to Team USA players ahead of their World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against Canada Friday.
Team USA beat Canada 5-3 to advance to the semifinals after O'Neill's pep talk. But the speech also received criticism from left-wing social media users within and beyond the U.S.
Many who criticized the speech condemned its pro-war messaging and association of war with American values.
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Other Americans praised the speech and fired back at the critics.
"It’s unfathomable that the comment section is filled with people upset about an American hero telling a team representing America about a heroic story about a mission his team accomplished. We went from a patriotic country post 9/11 to a country full of terrorist sympathizers," one X user wrote.
Another user wrote, "Epic! Well played by @USABaseball. American hero and legend in the clubhouse."
TEAM USA BASEBALL MANAGER MARK DEROSA RESPONDS TO CRITICISM AMID MOUNTING CONTROVERSY
The U.S. will play the Dominican Republic in a WBC semifinal Sunday.
The win over Canada marked the third time in less than a month that Americans have crushed Canadian sports dreams on the world stage after dramatic victories over Canada in both the men’s and women’s Olympic hockey gold medal games last month.
O'Neill wasn't the only one to hype up Team USA before the game.
Team USA manager Mark DeRosa revealed that USA hockey hero Jack Hughes, who scored the winning goal in the gold medal game against Canada at the Olympics, reached out to the American baseball players before Friday's game.
"Jack Hughes sent the boys a nice little fire-up message that I put out on their group chat," DeRosa said during a press conference Thursday ahead of the game.
"I know there are some talks about some hockey jerseys being sent in tomorrow for the guys to wear during BP or out and about in the clubhouse."
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Late Colts owner Jim Irsay’s memorabilia collection brings record prices at auction
Jim Irsay collected several pieces of iconic sports memorabilia during his lifetime.
The late Indianapolis Colts owner’s collection was offered in a live online auction at Christie’s, an art and luxury auction house. From Thursday through Saturday, the collection generated more than $93 million at auction, far exceeding its pre-auction $40 million estimate.
Aside from the coveted music pieces, the sports-themed items in Irsay’s collection sold at auction included Secretariat’s 1973 Triple Crown saddle, Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers jersey he wore when he scored his NHL record 500th goal and one of Jackie Robinson’s bats from the 1953 season.
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The saddle commanded a horse racing item record price of $1.524 million, the Oilers’ jersey drew $952,500 and Robinson’s bat brought in $406,400.
"The Irsay sale did justice to the brilliance of the collector and of the monumental pieces he brought together, iconic objects that tell the story of our culture and our times," Julien Pradels, president of Christie's Americas, said in a statement.
PEYTON MANNING, PAT MCAFEE, OTHER SPORTS STARS MOURN COLTS OWNER JIM IRSAY AFTER DEATH AT 65
"The Irsay collection is singular, but Christie's will have other amazing sales in the space moving forward."
The auction of Irsay’s memorabilia set 23 world records, including a Pink Floyd guitar becoming the most expensive ever sold at auction. Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour played the black Fender Stratocaster on six of the band's albums.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Irsay’s collection will be donated to the philanthropic causes the late NFL owner championed during his lifetime, according to Christie’s.
The FBI launched a probe into the circumstances of Irsay’s death, including a possible connection to his relationship with Dr. Harry Haroutunian, an addiction specialist based in California who reportedly prescribed him pain pills and ketamine.
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American flag raised, flies over US Embassy building in Venezuela for first time in 7 years
The American flag flew again over the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela Saturday for the first time in the South American country in seven years.
The embassy compound in Caracas is still undergoing renovations, and officials have not announced when the building will fully reopen, The Associated Press reported.
The flag’s return comes months after former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces in January.
FROM PALACE TO PRISON: VENEZUELAN STRONGMAN MADURO LOCKED IN TROUBLED BROOKLYN JAIL
The U.S. Embassy highlighted the moment in a social media post, calling it the start of a new chapter in relations between Washington and Caracas.
"A new era for U.S.-Venezuela relations has begun," the U.S. Embassy wrote on X.
Some residents expressed hope that the flag signals improved ties with the international community.
Caracas resident Alessandro Di Benedetto said the atmosphere among onlookers was optimistic, according to The Associated Press.
TRUMP BACKS MADURO LOYALIST OVER VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER IN POST-CAPTURE TRANSITION
"I found several people here surprised and happy because today they raised the U.S. flag at the embassy," he said. "This is positive; this is another step."
The embassy had been closed since March 12, 2019, when the U.S. and Venezuela cut diplomatic relations, according to the website for the U.S. Department of State.
Maduro was captured during a U.S. military operation in Caracas Jan. 3 and flown to New York, where he is being held in a federal jail.
He faces multiple charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess those weapons.
Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, is also facing federal charges related to drug trafficking and weapons offenses.
Both pleaded not guilty during a federal court appearance in New York Jan. 5.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sharon Osbourne tells Hollywood elites to save politics 'for your platform' when accepting awards
Sharon Osbourne is sharing how she feels about artists who choose to give politically motivated speeches at award shows.
During a conversation with her son, Jack Osbourne, on a recent episode of "The Osbournes Podcast," Sharon said that while she "understand[s] [that] everybody needs their platform," she also understands that "everybody needs relief from what's going on in the world."
"Everybody needs that escape," she said. "And the thing is, it's like I understand that people get really emotional about things politically.
"So, when they are on TV knowing that there's 15 [to] 16 million people in this country alone watching, they want to use that platform to show everybody how emotional they personally are about a situation.
"And I get it, but they've also got to get that Joe Public needs a f---ing break."
She said that while they may have that "huge platform" when accepting whatever award they have just won, they need to understand, "it's not always about you" and that those watching at home are already living in "fear."
The former "X Factor UK" judge added that those artists should "save it for your own little platform."
Sharon's daughter, Kelly Osbourne, recently sparked concern over her weight after attending the Brit Awards in February. Kelly took to Instagram earlier this month to call out the body shamers.
"There is a special kind of cruelty in harming someone who is clearly going through something," she wrote on her Instagram story. "Kicking me while I'm down, doubting my pain, spreading my struggles as gossip, and turning your back when I need support and love most."
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She added that the comments about her weight show "a profound absence of compassion and character" as she is "going through the hardest time in my life."
This isn't the first time she had to defend herself against people making comments about her weight. She previously shared she can't "believe how disgusting some human beings truly are" after someone left a comment saying she "looks like a dead body" and that they think "she's going to see her dad soon."
Her dad, legendary rock musician and Black Sabbath lead singer, Ozzy Osbourne, died in July 2025, just weeks after performing his final concert with the band in Birmingham, England.
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Kelly previously spoke about what it was like for her to grow up in the spotlight, telling the crowd at the Inaugural Beacher Vitality Happy & Healthy Summit in May 2025, "We live in a fat-phobic world," according to People magazine.
"I have been a drug addict, an alcoholic. … I’ve been a complete mess, disrespectful to people, horrible — but I got more s--- for being fat than I did for anything else. It’s insane.
"People [would] say, ‘You’re so pretty. Why don’t you just lose a little bit of weight, and then you’ll be the total package?’"
Son of British couple detained in Iran 'let down' by Starmer's leadership on parent's imprisonment amid war
The son of a British couple who have remained jailed in Iran for more than a year is appealing to President Donald Trump as the war in Iran complicates the situation.
"Conditions have intensified over the last couple of weeks, to say the least, as you might imagine with the complexity of war," Joe Bennett told Fox News Saturday.
He said the notorious Evin Prison, where his parents are being held in Tehran, was already at capacity, and a recent surge of protesters has created severely crowded conditions.
"Food is scarce," he added. "We’re worried about the replenishment of their stocks of food. I mean, it’s unsanitary conditions. It has been described as ‘hell on Earth’ by them.
FREED IRANIAN PRISONER SAYS ‘IN TRUMP, THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC HAS MET ITS MATCH’
"With the bombs that are dropping and the activity that’s happening there at the moment, the anxiety is heightened for us and for them as well."
Craig and Lindsay Foreman were arrested in January 2025 by Iranian authorities while on a global motorcycling trip and were later sentenced to 10 years in prison on suspicion of spying.
Bennett spoke in Washington, D.C., Thursday at the McCain Institute’s US-UK Transatlantic Conference on Hostage-Taking and Arbitrary Detention, criticizing British leaders' — namely Prime Minister Keir Starmer — "non-existent" advocacy for his parents, BBC News reported.
AMERICANS STRANDED IN DUBAI FACE REPEATED FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS AMID IRAN ESCALATION
"The clear message to the U.K. government and Starmer is to stop hiding behind this as a consular case," Bennett told Fox News. "I think that was put out the window when they were sentenced to 10 years for espionage, accused of being spies for the Israeli Mossad and the U.K. government.
"What we haven’t seen is leadership qualities from Keir Starmer. We haven’t seen him advocate since their sentencing to, as you say, condemn this sham process and the treatment of U.K. nationals."
Starmer's silence has left Bennett's family feeling "let down," he said. "We feel there’s an opportunity to do so and there still is."
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Bennett stressed that his parents’ detention and sentencing "is hostage taking."
"It affects not just the U.K., the U.S. as well and Western civilization," Bennett added.
"Innocent people are being targeted for leverage as political pawns."
He also urged Trump to be "concise" with Iranian strikes and not to forget that Brits and Americans are in that prison.
"Two things I’d like to say to Mr. Trump is, firstly, that safety is important," Bennett told Fox News. "Missiles have hit Evin in June of last year but also were very close.
"So, I think the target — I just want him to be concise that, you know, so that Evin isn’t a part of that, and, secondly, is to not forget that they are there."
He noted that, along with his parents, U.S. nationals are also imprisoned at Evin.
"And as a humanitarian plea, from a son for his mother’s release is what I’m asking for," he said.
Caitlin Clark rejects Angel Reese high-five at FIBA World Cup qualifiers
The rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese got some new fuels Friday.
A clip is making the rounds of Clark ignoring Reese's gesture for a high-five during a game for the FIBA World Cup qualifiers. As Reese held her hand out for her Team USA teammate, Clark walked in the other direction.
The U.S. won the game 91-48 over Puerto Rico.
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There has been suspected tension between Clark and Reese dating back to their meeting in the 2023 NCAA women's basketball championship game.
Reese taunted Clark by pointing to her ring finger during the game, prompting outrage and sparking an ongoing feud between fans.
Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes got revenge on Reese's LSU Tigers a year later in the Elite Eight, but the tension hit a whole new level when the players reached the pros for their rookie WNBA seasons.
CAITLIN CLARK SELECTS FEVER TEAMMATES, PASSES ON ANGEL REESE IN WNBA ALL-STAR DRAFT
In their first WNBA season in 2024, Clark took a series of questionable fouls from Reese's Sky throughout the 2024 season, including one from Reese June 16.
In 2025, the two had a heated exchange after Reese pushed Fever forward Natasha Howard in the back as she grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss by teammate Rebecca Allen. Reese brought the ball low, and Clark fouled her before she went up for a shot. Reese fell to the ground.
Reese got up from the floor and got into the face of Clark.
Referees reviewed the play and determined Clark used her left hand to shove Reese to the floor. They upgraded the personal foul on Clark to a flagrant foul. And Reese and Aliyah Boston of the Fever were issued technical fouls.
"Nothing malicious about it, just a good take foul," Clark told ESPN's Holly Rowe.
Now, the two stars are teammates for the U.S. as they try to make the FIBA World Cup, but fans can probably still sense an awkward dynamic between them.
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Brittany Aldean shows off green bikini in spring break beach photos with family
Brittany Aldean is sharing some "spring break snaps" on Instagram.
The 37-year-old mom of two posted a series of pictures from her beach vacation with her family, including some of her posing on the beach in a green bikini.
In one of the photos, Aldean leans on a palm tree and looks off into the distance while wearing a green bikini. She paired the look with a yellow skirt, dangling earrings and a pair of brown sunglasses.
Another photo shows her posing in the same bikini, but looking into the camera rather than off in the distance. She posed in the same outfit in her hotel room, this time carrying a green and white beach bag and smiling at the camera.
BRITTANY ALDEAN ENJOYS GIRLS' TRIP IN BEACHSIDE BIKINI SNAPS
Her two kids, daughter Navy and son Memphis, smile at the camera while enjoying some smoothies in one photo, and her husband, country singer Jason Aldean, cuddles with their daughter in another.
"I know y’all are having a super time!!! I love the pictures!!!" one fan wrote, while another added, "Love these cutie spring breakers."
"Simple perfection!! Enjoy the beach and sunshine w the babes!!!" a third fan wrote.
She previously posted snaps from her family vacation, which featured her in a yellow bikini and her kids playing in a swimming pool.
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Brittany and Jason first met in 2012 when Jason was still married to his ex-wife, Jessica Ussery. Their relationship began in scandal when they were photographed kissing while he was still married, prompting him to file for divorce in April 2013.
They confirmed they were dating in March 2014, getting engaged in September 2014. The two tied the knot in March 2015.
After more than a decade together, the former "American Idol" contestant and her husband collaborated professionally for the first time, releasing their first duet, "Easier Gone," in January 2026.
"People have always asked if we were ever going to do anything, and I think we were kind of nonchalant about it for a long time. And I think Jason always said, ‘It would have to be the right song.’ Finally, one came along," Brittany said in a fan Q&A.
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While their marriage is going strong, the duet tells the story of a couple singing about the breakdown of their relationship after they decided to part ways:
"You were easier gone / You were easier out of this town / And I almost had this letting you go thing figured out / Yeah, it was easy to lie / To myself on a Friday night / When I wasn’t face to face / With how good you looked movin’ on / Yeah, you were easier gone."
With dogs, dance and uncovered hair, Iranians defy 'unholy alliance' of socialists, radicals: ‘Hypocrites!’
"You’re hypocrites!"
The shout cut across H Street NW last week as about 500 Iranian Americans supporting regime change in Iran marched toward a smaller group of pro-China socialists gathered two blocks away across from the White House, backing the radical clerics leading Iran.
"We are here for freedom of Iran," Jay Gorbani, an Iranian American, explained as he held his Labradoodle puppy, Bella, while other members of a fledgling group, the National Solidarity Group for Iran, marched by.
"We are against the religious mafia regime of Iran."
The far-left activists they confronted had assembled under bright green and yellow signs pulled out again this weekend that said, "STOP WAR IN IRAN." But the organizers aren’t simply "peace" activists, a Fox News Digital analysis of scores of pages of communications by protest organizers revealed.
Fox News Digital has identified at least 75 organizations that have protested in support of the regime in Iran since the war began, including 50 organizations that are far-left, Marxist, socialist or communist; 22 that are Muslim organizations that support Islamism, or political theocracy; and the remaining three that are socialist-Islamist adjacent.
They parrot the pro-regime messages that the Chinese Communist Party has expressed in recent days as China sends military equipment to Iran, according to national security experts.
Last weekend, they coordinated demonstrations in 63 cities across 29 states and Washington, D.C., using identical signs, chants and protest infrastructure, which are available now in a digital toolkit, and they are replicating the protests this weekend and in the coming days.
The main organizers are funded by an American-born tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, who is based in Shanghai, and lawmakers in the House Ways and Means Committee and House Oversight Committee have accused the network of promoting the interests of the People’s Republic of China.
Singham didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment.
The Singham-funded network includes the People’s Forum Inc., the ANSWER Coalition, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, CodePink Women for Peace and the Palestinian Youth Movement, which has helped organize these protests.
The Democratic Socialists of America, which helped elect Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, also co-sponsored the protests. The organizations didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The confrontation in the nation’s capital reflects a broader struggle unfolding not only in Iran but also in the West.
From Phoenix to Dallas, Indianapolis, Toronto and Manchester in the U.K., members of the diaspora are increasingly challenging far-left activists they accuse of amplifying propaganda that favors the clerical rulers Islamic Republic.
This weekend, Gorbani and other Iranian Americans took to the streets again. They argue their advocacy for a secular democracy — and rejection of Islamism, or theocracy — offers the strongest response to rising acts of extremism by Muslim ideologues.
In recent days, incidents of violence in Austin, Texas; New York; and Norfolk, Virginia, have been punctuated by shouts of "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great."
These tensions reflect a political dynamic with deep historical roots.
In 1965, Time magazine published an article, "Unholy Alliance," bluntly describing "the Communists and fanatical Moslems" working together to oppose Iranian leader Shah Reza Pahlavi’s efforts to "modernize and Westernize Iran" as a secular democracy.
Time quoted Pahlavi warning of "an unholy alliance between two extremist wings," communist revolutionaries that he called "unpatriotic, destructive Reds," and radical Muslims, many wearing black robes, turbans and headscarves.
"This is the very familiar, what we call, unholy alliance between the black and the red that is the communists and the very reactionary people or strata. We always see it because they are both against the progress and happiness of the country," Pahlavi said years later.
It's an alliance now called the "red-green alliance," with green symbolizing the color of Islam.
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Last weekend, an Iranian American woman with another nascent group, DCProtests4Iran, faced off against women in black robes from the Manassas Mosque in northern Virginia, where mosque leaders support the Iranian theocracy. Her hair loose in the wind, she flashed a "V" for victory and shouted, "Down with the Islamic regime!"
Staring down H Street NW at the socialists, Reza Rezavi, an engineer from Rockville, Maryland, and a volunteer with DCProtests4Iran, said his group supports Pahlavi’s son, Reza Pahlavi, as the leader of a new transitional government that would realize a "democratic Iran."
"Freedom for Iran!" screamed another Iranian American woman, holding her Lhasa Apso dog, Cocoa, rescued in 2019 from Tehran, where the regime has ruled dog walking illegal in many cities.
At protests from London to Washington, D.C., Iranian diaspora activists say they are confronting far-left groups they accuse of stealing democracy from them dating back to 1979, when they defended radical clerics who came to power in 1979, overthrowing Pahlavi.
"It’s cultural warfare," said Paul Mauro, an attorney, former New York Police Department counterterrorism inspector and a current Fox News contributor.
"Marxism is probably the most malevolent single idea ever devised," Mauro said. "And our culture has now become infected with a tolerance for Marxism that is being translated into a very dangerous political energy that is working with Islamists to undermine America as we know it."
LIke clockwork, members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the ANSWER Coalition and other socialist organizations had arrived at 2:28 p.m. last weekend at the corner of 16th and H Street NW. One woman sipped an iced coffee, while another pulled a red wagon piled with megaphones. A third pushed a grocery cart filled with a marching drum and fluorescent yellow signs that said, "STOP THE WAR ON IRAN!"
A young woman dragged a dozen or so signs, asking, "Would you like a sign? Sign? Anyone like a sign?"
Tourists looked away as far-left activists, including CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin and DC coordinator Olivia DiNucci arrived with a new protest banner. Ignoring the approaching crowd of Iranian Americans, Benjamin posed for a photo with Korean Americans who support China, Iran and North Korea’s communism.
Soon, the group broke into familiar anti-American chants heard at protests for years, but this time they were muffled by the chants of the Iranian protesters, chanting, "USA! USA!"
Asked about Singham’s funding of the protest's socialist sponsors, Benjamin said, "I’d rather not talk about it."
Minutes later, the Iranian American groups rounded the corner from L Street NW and stopped about 200 yards from the far-left activists on 16th Street NW. They blasted Iranian music and danced.
In defiance of strict interpretations of Islam, families walked pet dogs near Bella and Cocoa as women shouted with their hair in the wind, and men and women freely danced beside each other to Iranian pop music, acts mostly banned in Iran. The scene stood in defiance of the strict religious rules imposed by Iran’s clerics, who have barred pet dogs, forced women to cover their hair and suppressed music, dancing and dissent.
An Iranian American woman smiled and slowly raised her middle finger at the socialist activists, their chants of "Down, down with the USA," drowned out by music blaring in Farsi.
Across the police line, field marshals from the Party for Socialism and Liberation corralled elementary-aged girls swaddled in black headscarves to the microphone, filming them close up as the children stumbled over their words, reading chants from a phone as activists egged them on.
When a girl got in the shot, the field marshal filming the canned chanting tried to shoo her away.
"Those people are supporting terrorists," said one Iranian American with the reform-era Iranian flag draped over his shoulder like a cape that featured a lion emblem. "We are against them."
"We do not support the regime," said Siamak Aran, an organizer with the National Solidarity Group for Iran, as Iranian Americans marched behind him, chanting, "USA! USA!"
Fox News Digital's Azziana Solomon contributed to this report.
Cigarette smoking in America plummets to historic single-digit low, new study finds
The percentage of American adults who smoke cigarettes has dropped to the lowest level ever recorded, according to a new study.
About 9.9% of U.S. adults reported smoking cigarettes in 2024, a drop from 10.8% in 2023, according to an analysis of National Health Interview Survey data published Tuesday in the journal NEJM Evidence.
The findings mark the first time the adult smoking rate in the U.S. has fallen to the single digits, a milestone public health officials have pursued for decades.
The decline suggests the U.S. may be moving closer to the Healthy People 2030 goal — a national public health target — of reducing adult smoking to 6.1%.
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"If this decline continues, the target might be met or exceeded by 2030," the researchers, led by Israel Agaku, an Atlanta-based public health researcher and professor, wrote in the paper.
But the milestone does not mean tobacco use has disappeared. About 25.2 million adults still smoke cigarettes — the most commonly used tobacco product in the United States — while nearly 47.7 million adults, or 18.8% of the population, use at least one tobacco product, including cigarettes, cigars or e-cigarettes, according to the researchers.
The study analyzed responses from more than 29,500 adults in 2023 and 32,600 adults in 2024 who participated in the National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative household survey and the most recent national data available on adult tobacco use.
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The drop in cigarette smoking helped drive a decline in overall combustible tobacco use, which includes cigarettes and cigars. About 12.6% of adults used combustible tobacco in 2024, down from 13.5% the year prior, according to the study.
However, the prevalence of other tobacco products — including e-cigarettes and cigars — did not significantly change between 2023 and 2024, according to the study.
STUDY CHALLENGES NEGATIVE CANNABIS STEREOTYPES, CLAIMING LINK TO BRAIN BENEFITS
"The lack of change in cigar and e-cigarette use calls for intensified implementation of comprehensive tobacco control policies addressing all products," the researchers wrote.
The study also found that tobacco use was not evenly distributed across the population.
Men reported significantly higher tobacco use than women, with just over 24% of men using at least one tobacco product compared with nearly 14% of women, according to the study.
NEARLY 40% OF CANCERS CAN BE PREVENTED WITH 3 LIFESTYLE CHANGES, STUDY FINDS
Tobacco use was also higher among certain demographic and occupational groups, particularly adults in industries such as agriculture, construction and manufacturing.
The highest tobacco use was reported among people with a general educational development certificate at 42.8%, as well as rural residents, low-income individuals and people with disabilities.
Young adults were more likely to use e-cigarettes than traditional cigarettes. Nearly 15% of adults ages 18 to 24 reported using e-cigarettes, compared with 3.4% who smoked cigarettes, according to the study.
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Some experts note the findings reflect a shift in nicotine use rather than a disappearance of addiction.
John Puls, a psychotherapist and addiction specialist who runs Full Life Comprehensive Care in Boca Raton, Florida, said the trend away from cigarettes but continued use of tobacco and e-cigarettes mirrors what he sees with patients.
"Most of my patients use e-cigarettes and various vape products," Puls, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. "They’re easier to conceal, can be used almost anywhere and deliver a much more powerful nicotine dose."
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Cigarette smoking, on the other hand, is "more socially unacceptable than it has ever been," he added. "I work with many patients who are addicted to nicotine, and the vast majority have never smoked a cigarette."
Puls said this pattern is especially common among adolescents and young adults and is concerning because cigarettes typically deliver about 1 to 2 milligrams of nicotine, while some vape products can contain 20 to 60 milligrams.
"There’s also a perception that e-cigarettes are a safer form of smoking, which is contributing to the decline in cigarette smoking," Puls added.
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Health officials stress that no tobacco product is safe, including e-cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S. and is responsible for about one in three cancer deaths, the agency says.
Overall, sustained public health measures — including smoke-free laws, tobacco taxes and access to quitting support — remain critical to further reducing tobacco use, the researchers noted.
The study had several limitations, including changes to how smokeless tobacco has been defined over the survey years, reliance on self-reported data and less reliable estimates for some smaller subgroups.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Agaku for comment.