News

According to Politico, President Trump's promise to make expensive new weight-loss drugs widely available to low-income Americans has not been fulfilled. Last year, Trump promised that states participating in his government's direct-to-consumer pricing program would soon have access to GLP-1 drugs, such as Wegovy and Zepbound, for obese Medicaid patients. However, nine months later, access to these drugs for Medicaid patients has been reduced. Currently, only Indiana has publicly expressed support for the program. Some states have stopped reimbursing Medicaid patients needing to lose weight for these drugs, while others are considering terminating the program. Most states interviewed indicated they would not participate. States that opted out, including Maine, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, cited budgetary pressures and concerns about the long-term financial sustainability of Trump's model. Meanwhile, they have also seen other states spending hundreds of millions of dollars more on these drugs than expected.

[5.9-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan; No Abnormalities Found at Nearby Nuclear Facilities] A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck southern Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, early on the morning of the 23rd. No abnormalities have been detected at several nuclear facilities near the epicenter. NHK, citing power company sources, reported that no abnormalities have been detected at the Fukushima Daiichi, Tokai, and Tokai Daini nuclear power plants, all located near the epicenter, and radiation monitoring readings around the plants have not shown significant changes.

Several U.S. AI firms have cut usage prices for large models. OpenAI said on the 21st it will lower the benchmark price for its developer-facing flagship model GPT-5.6 Sol by more than 20%, with the discounted rate valid for three months. At the end of last month OpenAI also cut prices on other models—mid-tier models down 20%, low-cost models down 80%. Alphabet’s Google launched GEMINI 3.7 Flash and trimmed pricing to roughly half the prior version. U.S. media say price competition is intensifying, driven in part by open-source and pricing strategies from some Chinese AI firms.

The statement indicates that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney held a video conference with provincial and territorial leaders to discuss suspending trade negotiations with the United States. Carney outlined next steps to protect Canadian interests, including retaliatory tariffs that will take effect on Tuesday after Labour Day.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Rezaei: Iran will strike at the interests of countries that assist the United States in waging economic war against Iran.

French Presidential Palace: Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 is being aligned with France's investment plan; the Mecca Agreement is reshaping the alliance structure in light of regional developments.

The US envoy suggested that Israel's airstrikes against Syria might be a deliberate attempt to provoke conflict between Syria and Türkiye.

U.S. President Trump disclosed more than 1,000 financial trades executed in June in a disclosure filed Aug. 22, signaling a broad portfolio rebalancing. The filing reports aggregate transaction value in ranges between $78.1m and $263.1m and discloses per-trade value ranges rather than exact amounts. Total purchases exceeded $49m and total sales were at least $28.5m. On June 18 he sold $1–5m stakes in Meta and Motorola and on the same day purchased equal-dollar positions in Berkshire Hathaway, Cintas, Visa and Mastercard.

A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, at approximately 2:00 AM local time on the 23rd, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The earthquake was felt at a seismic intensity of 5-5, with a focal depth of 70 kilometers. The tremor was felt strongly in Tokyo. The Japan Meteorological Agency sets earthquake intensity on a scale of 0-4, 5-5, 5-5, 6-6, 6-7, for a total of 10 levels.

A Ukrainian drone strike on a warehouse belonging to Russian online retailer Ozon has killed at least 10 people.

Canadian Prime Minister Carney: The government is prepared to provide financial support to affected industries under the new 50% tariff.

Canadian Prime Minister Carney: Canada will provide tariff protection for certain industries.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney: There is "no good news" about the future of the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement).

Canadian Prime Minister Carney: The United States wants to maintain high tariffs on medium and heavy-duty trucks.

Canadian Prime Minister Carney: (Regarding the U.S.'s temporary change of heart) The U.S. has taken steps to limit Canada's ability to reach other trade agreements.

Canadian Prime Minister Carney: The United States is asking for too much and giving too little in return.

Canadian Prime Minister Carney: Retaliatory tariffs were imposed out of necessity.

Canadian Prime Minister Carney: The U.S. demands reveal the limitations of their commitment to economic partnerships.

Canadian Prime Minister Carney: The differences between Canada and the United States remain "too great" in the near term.

Canadian Prime Minister Carney: Canada’s tariff measures against the United States will take effect on September 8.