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- [00:05]
Cecilia Le
Good morning. Trump calls on allies to support him in the Middle east, but gets the diplomatic cold shoulder.
- [00:12]
Donald Trump
We have a situation which we did not provoke, which we don't cause at all.
- [00:17]
Cecilia Le
This war started without any consultations before the Fed grapples with attacks at home and economic uncertainty abroad. The Wall Street Journal unpacks its upcoming interest rate decision. And the Washington Post explains how cash only market for weight loss drugs exploded. It's Tuesday, March 17th. I'm Cecilia Le and this is Apple News Today, As the global energy crisis deepens, President Trump on Monday called on other countries to send military support in an effort to reopen one of the world's most important routes for. For oil shipping.
- [01:03]
Donald Trump
We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on the Strait far more than ours. You know, we get less than 1% of our oil from this rate and some countries get much more. Japan gets 95%, China gets 90%. Many of the Europeans get quite a. Quite a bit. South Korea gets 35%. So we want them to come and help us with the.
- [01:30]
Cecilia Le
But few were persuaded by Trump's argument. The British Prime Minister and the German Defence Minister delivered similar messages to their citizens, the majority of whom are skeptical of the war.
- [01:42]
Nick Timirose
While taking the necessary action to defend
- [01:44]
Cecilia Le
ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider war. There will be no military participation and we can't be at every place to support a war which we didn't start. Australia, Japan and Italy have also been unwilling to send warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz. Some European countries, though, have agreed that oil needs to get moving again. And France in particular has offered indirect military support, which wouldn't put them into open conflict with Iran. But for the most part, the reluctance to be drawn into the war was clear. And Trump appeared frustrated by his NATO allies in particular.
- [02:25]
Donald Trump
But I always said, when in need, they won't protect us. Now this isn't need. Need would be one of the big boys. But I will say that we built the greatest military in the world and we protect people. And if we need their mine boats or if we need anything, any piece of apparatus that they may have because of a situation that they have, they should be jumping to help us because we've helped them for years.
- [02:54]
Cecilia Le
The German leader Friedrich Mears said that NATO was a defensive alliance, not an interventionist one. The cool reception follows months of tensions, threats and tariffs, and reflects a mutual suspicion between the White House and traditional allies of the us. But the rest of the world can't escape the consequences of the strait's closure. European nations are feeling the pain of higher gas prices more than Americans, and governments across the continent are under pressure to provide massive subsidies to offset rising bills. Speaking to Bloomberg, Finland's president Alexander Stubb, who has a strong rapport with Trump, offered a much more conciliatory tone when asked how NATO members should respond to Trump's call.
- [03:37]
Christopher Rowland
We obviously have to take everything that the president of the United States says seriously. I think those countries that have the
- [03:45]
Cecilia Le
capacity and the will to help the
- [03:46]
Christopher Rowland
United States will do that and should do that.
- [03:50]
Cecilia Le
Another major player in all this is China. Trump has been pushing for their support with little success and on Monday postponed this month's major summit between him and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping. China is Iran's biggest buyer of oil, which you might think would make Xi just as keen to get the strait open. But Bloomberg reports that Beijing's strategic forward planning and substantial oil stockpiles have softened the blow, at least for now. Meanwhile, there were more attacks from both sides of the war. Iran fired a new wave of missiles into Israel and the US Embassy in Baghdad while US Israeli strikes targeted electrical infrastructure in Tehran. Tomorrow, the Federal Reserve will conclude a two day meeting and deliver its interest rate decision. Amid ongoing global economic uncertainty, the agency appeared likely to hold steady and keep interest rates unchanged. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has become something of an expert in driving in the fog, as he once put it. This week is no exception. His committee must decide interest rates without knowing how. The war in the Middle east could push gas prices higher, which would make their main job of keeping inflation under control much harder. It's Powell's second to last interest rate decision before his term ends in May, and after almost eight years as Fed chair, he might be ready for a break. This past year, President Trump has exerted extraordinary pressure on Powell to cut interest rates in a way that has jeopardized the independence of the Federal Reserve. The Department of Justice had subpoenaed the agency in an unprecedented probe over a testimony that Powell gave to Congress about his headquarters renovation costs.
- [05:41]
Nick Timirose
The Fed went to court and successfully quashed these subpoenas.
- [05:46]
Cecilia Le
Nick Timirose is the chief economic correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and has been closely following the behind the scenes fight against the subpoenas.
- [05:55]
Nick Timirose
That whole process plays out under seal, out of the public view, but the Fed won a motion recently not only to kill the subpoenas but to have court proceedings unsealed so that we could actually know that this had happened.
- [06:11]
Cecilia Le
Timorous said that U.S. district Judge James Boasberg seemed to agree with Powell's assertions about the White House's motivations behind the investigation.
- [06:20]
Nick Timirose
The US District judge who ruled that the subpoenas were improper said that there was abundant evidence that the main role of all of this, if not the only purpose, was to, quote, harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the president or to resign and and make way for a Fed chair who will. What was so interesting about what he wrote was that it synced up very closely with what Jay Powell, the Fed chair, had said in January when he released a rather extraordinary video disclosing the existence of these subpoenas.
- [06:58]
Jerome Powell
I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one, certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve, is above the law. But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president.
- [07:26]
Cecilia Le
Trump's U.S. attorney for D.C. jeanine Perot, vowed to appeal, calling Boasberg an activist judge. The ongoing investigation poses problems for Trump's pick to succeed Powell. Kevin Warsh was announced as the choice earlier this year, but Trump only recently sent the nomination to the Senate. But senators on the Banking Committee, including Republican Thom Tillis, have raised concerns about confirming anyone while Powell is still under investigation.
- [07:54]
Nick Timirose
In particular, Thom Tillis, a retiring Republican of North Carolina, repeated his view after the subpoenas were thrown out that he would not advance any Fed nomination, including Warsh, who he had recently met with until the Justice Department ended this whole thing.
- [08:12]
Cecilia Le
Appealing the decision could only prolong the standoff over the next few weeks.
- [08:17]
Nick Timirose
Somebody is going to have to back down or Kevin Warsh may not be confirmed when Powell's term expires on May 15.
- [08:35]
Cecilia Le
The popularity of the weight loss drugs known as GLP1s has created an unexpected side effect. Not something medical, but rather a marketplace side effect. Millions of Americans who hunt for cheaper alternatives to name brands like Wegovy and Zepbound, are discovering a shopping experience that feels more like finding a good deal online than it does a traditional doctor's visit.
- [08:59]
Christopher Rowland
A cash market has developed because insurance really does not cover these drugs very adequately for weight loss.
- [09:07]
Cecilia Le
Christopher Rowland is a healthcare reporter for the Washington Post. He explained that insurance often covers parts of the drug's costs if they are prescribed for diabetes or heart issues. But they've been reluctant to cover them for weight loss, in part because of their popularity and the need for long
- [09:25]
Christopher Rowland
term use that has created a few things. One is competition to catch those dollars from consumers who are shopping on the Internet with their cash. It's also a transparent market, so you can actually shop around and see actual prices, which is not normal in the insurance space.
- [09:43]
Cecilia Le
Major manufacturers have responded to the changing marketplace. They've offered their drugs at cash prices lower than the list prices which are used to negotiate with insurance companies. They've also signed onto the White House's direct to consumer drug website called TrumpRx, which allows patients to search and buy drugs with cash or at discounted rates. One such shopper is Ashley Hardin, a grandmother living in rural Louisiana who pays $177 in cash each month for her GLP1.
- [10:14]
Christopher Rowland
She doesn't have insurance, but yet she wants to access the health benefits of using a weight loss drug. And so she took to the Internet and searched. What she found was a drug that's a copy of WeGovy, and it's made by a compounding pharmacy.
- [10:31]
Cecilia Le
A compounding pharmacy is a producer that mixes drug ingredients to make personalized and copycat medications at much lower prices. Compounders have proliferated in the weight loss craze, and they've partnered with telehealth companies like Hims and Hers, which markets through social media ads and TV commercials. From 2022 to early 2025, GLP1 drugs were in such high demand that compounding pharmacies were allowed to sell versions of them under FDA rules for drugs in short supply.
- [11:03]
Christopher Rowland
Well, now the shortage is over and the FDA is now telling these compounders they need to dial back their marketing of compounded weight loss drugs. But it's a little bit about the genies out of the bottle.
- [11:18]
Cecilia Le
Recently, the FDA sent letters to telehealth companies asking them not to market compounded drugs in a way that misrepresents them as being the same as branded versions. But already Roland says that this has been a novel and massive disruption because
- [11:33]
Christopher Rowland
of the cash pricing, because of the competition, because the manufacturers of the brand name drugs can't keep up with demand. It's really been very disruptive and it's creating a very consumer oriented marketplace, which is highly unusual for the pharmaceutical industry.
- [11:49]
Cecilia Le
Just last week, Hims and Hers unveiled a new partnership with Novo Nordisk. In response to concerns from the FDA, the company said it would no longer advertise compounded GLP1s. And finally, a few other stories were following. Cuba's national power grid collapsed on Monday, leaving 10 million people without electricity. Trump had cut off Cuba's main oil supply from Venezuela, a move that came shortly after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. He had also threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sells oil to the island nation. As a result, Cuba has only received two shipments of oil this year. The entire country is dependent on oil imports from other countries, but officials say they are in talks with the US On a deal to ease the crisis. A federal judge has halted several of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. S efforts to remake the nation's vaccine policy. For now, the ruling reverses all decisions made by Kennedy's vaccine advisory panel. In its decision, the judge said the vaccine committee usually makes decisions based on scientific evidence, but that the administration had disregarded those methods and undermined the integrity of its actions. The ruling is expected to be appealed, and a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said they look forward to the decision being overturned. The ruling comes after six medical organizations sued, accusing Kennedy and his appointees of making arbitrary changes to the childhood vaccine schedule. The suit also alleges some members of the board are unqualified to serve putting lives at risk. Government lawyers argued the changes amounted to a reasonable disagreement about health policy and that states should ultimately decide which vaccines are required and finally, we're just a couple of months out from this summer's FIFA Men's World cup and ahead of hosting the opening match. Mexico City has set a world record to mark the occasion. Muchas felicidades. That's the sound of the largest soccer class ever. After 9,500 people showed up to the city's main square for an open air event, people participated in drills, exercises and other activities in an effort to promote soccer and community engagement. The opening match between Mexico and South Africa is on June 11th at the legendary Estadio Azteca, which over the years has hosted all time greats like Brazil's Pele and Argentina's Diego Maradona. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Esquire reports on a man who treated chronically ill children with medical marijuana until one child died and law enforcement stepped in. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Narrated to find that story and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.