Transcript

8.2.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of the Washington Post for Saturday,
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August the second of twenty twenty five. Your reader is
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Alis Daina, with the reminder that RADIOI as a service
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for those blind with difficulties in holding or reading printed material.
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So I'll start off with the front page of the
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Washington Post today, and the top one quarter of the
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paper is a picture of pedestrians wielding umbrellas traversing puddles
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Friday morning while crossing Fourteenth Street in Washington. The city
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was given a respite from heat and tumidity as a
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month of August began on a cooler and wetter note.
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And these folks are walking across a crosswalk with backpacks
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and pocketbooks and the background of Fourteenth Street, and I
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don't think gets very close to the Fourteenth Street bridge,
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which I took across to work every day for quite
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a few years. And to the right of that, Trump
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fires job dot a chief raising alarm move follows dim
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summer hiring report notes, deepen about labor picture agency autonomy
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by Andrew Ackerman and Jacob Bogags below the picture of
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the people walking in the ring. President rides high on tariffs,
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but for how long? By David Lynch and to the
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right of that underneath the firing Fed governor says she
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plans to retire early. On the far left, China advances
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real world uses of AI. Beijing Hole looks to practical
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applications as a way to take the lead on the
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tech by Katrina Northrop. A weight loss test for Medicare
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and Medicaid by Page Winfield Cunningham in proposed experiment programs
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to cover GLP DASH one drugs like ozimpet, and the
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bottom right hand side below the weight loss a mid
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doubt sown by Whitehouse one Pharmacies reprieve days after a
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post story, USDA expedited his aid for summer help from
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Latin America funds that Trump had frozen by John woodrow
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Cox and Sarah Blankie. I'll start with Trump fires labor
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statistics chief after a large revision to jobs report. Erica Macintarfer,
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the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was oasted
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after revised data showed higher unemployment in May and June.
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Andrew Ackerman and Jacob Bogage. President Donald Trump on Friday
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said he ordered the dismissal of the official in charge
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of compiling basic statistics about the US economy after the
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release of a soft jobs report that showed lackluster July
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employment growth and revealed large downward revisions for hiring in
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May and June. Erica Macintarfer, the Commissioner of the Bureau
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of Labor Statistics, was appointed to that role in twenty
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twenty four by President Joe Biden. Commissioners serve four year
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terms that often overlap with multiple presidential administrations. The commissioner
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before Macintarfer, the conservative economists William Beach, served in both
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the Biden and first Trump administrations. Trump, who announced Macintarfer's
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oosto on social media, criticized her as a Biden appointee
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overseeing what he falsely called faked jobs numbers. He said
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he would replace Macintarfer with someone more competent and qualified.
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Without evidence, He alleged the jobs numbers have been manipulated
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for political purposes. In my opinion, today's job numbers were
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rigged in order to make the Republicans and me look bad,
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he posted on his Truth social site shortly after announcing
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that he would fire Macintarfer. The firing came just hours
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after the BLS the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that
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the job market was far weaker than previously believed. Large
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cuts to earlier job council raised two hundred and fifty
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eight thousand positions originally reported for May and June, marking
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the deepest two month downward revision on record outside the pandemic.
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July figures were also below expectations, highlighting an economy struggling
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under new tariffs and aggressive immigration restrictions. Labor Secretary Laura
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Chavez Dirima said in a social media post that a
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recent string of major revisions have come to light and
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raised concerns about decisions being made by mac and Tarfer,
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whom she described as the Biden appointed Labor Commissioner. Deputy
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Labor Statistics Commissioner William Watrowski will serve as acting Commissioner
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during a search to permanently fill the position. Chavez Durima
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said Wadrokowsky Watrowski served as the acting commissioner twice before.
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Neither mcintarfer nor Abels representative immediately responded to requests for comment.
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The President is just shooting the messenger. It's not more
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complicated than that, said Doug Holtz Eiken president of the
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right leaning American Action Forum and a former director of
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the Congressional Budget Office, continuing, the data that were released
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today conformed in every way to the standards of past
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employment reports. Revisions to job reports are common, economists said
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the recent outsize changes from previous months were less about
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individual failings and more of reflection of how the government
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gathers its data. Early versions of the Job's Report rely
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on larger firms that respond quickly, while responses from smaller businesses,
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often more affected by economic headwinds, filter in later as
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their data is added. Job totals have been steadily revised downward,
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painting a grimar picture of the labor market than earlier
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reports suggested. In June, much of the revision was linked
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to state and local education jobs, whose numbers dropped dramatically
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after updated data came in. A big revision in one
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Job's report is not a sign of the declining accuracy
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of federal statistics, especially when there is so much uncertainty
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and good reasons job numbers are likely to be revised,
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said Jed cold Coode, a senior fellow with the Peterson
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Institute for International Economics. These extraordinary revisions and the sudden
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removal of a BLS chief could inject more uncertainty into
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an already volatilely but landscape. The episode underscores questions about
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the state of the US job market and also about
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the independence and stability of the federal agency tasked with
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reporting the nation's most critical economic data. Staffing shortages at
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the Bureau are already fueling questions about the agency's ability
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to accurately tabulate data on consumer prices. The President is
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risking material economic harm through his politicization of the BLS
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and of official government data, said Michael Strain, an economist
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at the conservative American Enterprise Institute who worked with mcintarfur
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in the early twenty tens at the US Census Bureau.
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It is imperative that businesses, households, and investors believe that
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the official government data are accurate and do not reflect
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any political bias. Fortunately, that is true the data, but
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by sowing doubt, President Trump is undermining the integrity of
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the information that businesses, investors, and households rely on. Strain
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said Beach, who served as mcintarfi's predecessor during Trump's first
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term and into the Biden administration, called the firing totally groundles.
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He warned it set a dangerous precedent and risked undermining
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the agency statistical mission. Early or Friday, the Bureau said
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an educational issue may have been the biggest driver of
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the most recent revisions. For June alone, the Department downwardly
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revised non farm payrolls by one hundred and thirty three
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thirds thousand on a seasonally adjusted basis, largely the result
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of routine in corporation of additional slash corrected sample that
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came in after the initial release, a department spokeswoman said
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in a written statement. The revision, she added, was concentrated
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within state and local government education, contributing to a forty
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percent of the total downward shift. June's report initially showed
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a gain of sixty three thousan five hundred jobs in
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that sector, but updated figures release Friday slashed that number
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to just seventy five hundred, a sign the earlier spit
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may have reflected seasonal quirks tied to the school calendar.
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The department spokeswoman said. Monthly revisions typically have offsetting movements
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among major industries, meaning some industries see figures revised up
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while others seat downward revisions, but in June most of
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the industry revisions were negative. She added. Lawmakers expressed alarm
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over the decision. Asked whether she could trust the federal
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government's job statistics. After Macintarfer's firing, Senator Lisa Murkowski, were
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Republican of Alaska, a Trump foil, exclaimed, No, that's the problem,
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and when you fire people, it makes people trust them
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even less. Kowski added. Senator Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont,
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called Macintarfa's dismissal very dangerous and another step in Trump's
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moving this country toward authitarianism. Sanders said, I think what
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Trump is doing is destroying the credibility in the United
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States government in terms of informing the American people about
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the realities of what's going on in our society. If
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you fire the people, the objective people who try to
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come up with the best information possible and replace them
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with political hacks who will tell the president what he
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wants to hear, then nobody will trust that information, and
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in the long run, it makes it harder for us
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to go forward because we don't really know what's going on.
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One BLS employee who spoke on the condition of anonymnity
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because they fear retaliation for speaking to the media. Said
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that mcintarfer is well liked, good at her job, and
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widely viewed as nonpartisan among agency staffers. I have not
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met anyone that dislikes her, the staffer said, adding she's
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straight up with the fact that this is an a
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political agency that we produce data, we don't produce politics.
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Following mcintarfer's firing Friday, staff has received an email from
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Billl's s leaders saying that they had no further information
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about the matter. There is very blatant shock across the bureau,
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the staff added. Also, there is a fear that they're
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going to appoint someone that will tell us that we
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can't do Eric jobs. Riley Began, Liz Goodwin, and Lauren
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Corey Gurley contributed to this report. Next article, Fed governor
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to resign early, handing Trump immediate opening on board. Adriana
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Kugler's successor could ultimately replace Powell as Federal Reserve chair
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next year. By Andrew Ackerman, Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler
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is stepping down early from the Central Bank's powerful Board
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of Governors, creating an immediate vacancy that will give President
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Donald Trump an early opportunity to shape the Fed's leadership
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as he continues to push for lower interest rates. Kugler,
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a fifty five year old labor economist, was nominated by
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President Joe Biden and her term was set to expire
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in January. Her unexpected resignation opens a slot on the
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FED that could help shift the balance of the Central
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Bank's policymaking, which Trump has been seeking for months. Whoever
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Trump nominates to succeed Cougler may ultimately replace Jerome H.
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Powell as chair of the seven member FED Board. Trump
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said late Friday before boarding Marine, I we just found
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out that I have an open slot on the Federal
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Reserve Board. I'm very happy about that. Trump has repeatedly
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attacked Powell for not moving to immediately slash the Fed's
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short term interest rates, saying lower rates are needed to
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duce the economy. On Friday, he renewed those attacks, saying
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in a social media post that Powell should be put
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out to pasture. In an earlier post, he referred to
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the FED chief as a stubborn moron and said the
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FED Board should assume control if Powell refuses to produce
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the cost of borrowing. Pall has generally declined to comment
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on the president's attacks. Trump's influence on interest rates will
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now be felt earlier and more strongly because Kugler's replacement
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adds another governor who may side against Powell on policy,
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said Derek Dang, an economist at L. H. Meyer, an
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economic consulting firm. The Federal Reserve is structured to be
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insulated from day to day political pressure, meaning it operates
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independently from the White House and isn't subject to the
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annual congressional appropriations process, but the President appoints each of
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its seven go governess and also designates one of the
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governors to serve as chair to a four year term.
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The Senate confirms the nominees. In a statement announcing her
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resignation Friday, the FED said Coogler would return to teaching
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at Georgetown University in the fall. She had missed this
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week's policy meeting, where the Fed left interest rates unchanged,
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citing personal reasons. Her resignation is effective August eighth. For
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a period this past frame spring, Trump appeared to be
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leaning toward trying to fire Powe, but close advisers convinced
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him not to, for fear of disrupting financial markets from
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an all battle with the FED. Whomever Trump taps to
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lead the central Bank faces a complex balancing act managing
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the monetary policy goals of an institution designed to operate
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independently while also navigating the demands of a president unafraid
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to publicly pressure the FED for lower interest rates. The
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next chair would be likely to come under intense scrutiny
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from financial markets and within the FED itself, as officials
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gauge whether the political loyalty might come at the expense
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of the central Bank's credibility in fighting inflation. If investors
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come to believe the next FED chair will act as
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an extension of Trump's political will rather than as an
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independent steward of monetary policy, they could demand higher yields
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on US government debt to compensate for the expectations of
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higher inflation that could push up longer term borrowing costs
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across the economy, even if the Fed vows took pressure
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from the White House to cut its short term benchmark rate.
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So far, the list of contenders for the top job
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include National Economics Council Director Kevin Hassett, former FRED Governor
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Kevin Walsh and FED Governor Christopher Walla, each with distinct strengths.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bissett is also seen as a potential contender,
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though Trump has made it clear he likes Basset in
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his current position. Trump and top administration officials have also
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criticized Powell for cost overruns on an expansive two point
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five billion renovation of two office buildings along the National
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Ball Trump even took the unusual step of visiting the
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Central Bank in person last week, something as sitting president
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hasn't done in nearly twenty years. Instead of fireworks, what
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unfolded was a surprisingly cordial, if sometimes awkward meeting. Trump,
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wearing a white hard hat alongside Powell, refrained from criticizing
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the FED chair, telling reporters he didn't want to make
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the meeting personal. He later said he wouldn't fire the
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FED chair and signaled he wanted the project to proceed,
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but scrutiny of the Fed's facilities in spending may intensify
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as congressional Republicans press ahead with probes of the matter.
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During his first term, Trump repeatedly criticized Powell, whom he
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appointed his chair berating him on social media and imploring
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the Fed to lower rates. By late twenty eighteen, Trump
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started asking advisers whether he could fire Pale after markets
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dipped on fears of the president's escalating trade war with China.
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His advisers told him he lacked the authority publicly, Powell
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did not respond to the attacks, and while the Fed
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ultimately cut interest rates in twenty nineteen, it did so
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to address a slow down in the US economy caused
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by the US China trade war. It was an easier
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call for the Federal Reserve because wasn't a concern at
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the time, unlike the present circumstance. Though governors are appointed
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to staggered fourteen year terms, it's common for them to
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leave early. Still, the timing of Krugler's departure hands Trump
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the chance to install a new voice about six months
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before he might otherwise have been able to. Pal's tenure
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as chair expires in May, although he can remain on
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the bed as a governor until early twenty twenty eight,
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Trump's selection for Coogler's seat would be in position to
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step into the top job. Trump is remaking the global
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trade system, even as some see trouble ahead, the President
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and his allies see a historic trade overhaul moving forward
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as promised. This is by David J. Lynch. And there
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is a flat global map with colors of blue, yellow,
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and green on it. And the blue where tariff targets
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set as of August the first, and there are Canada, Brazil,
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parts of Europe, Tunisia or Africa, Tunisia, South Africa and
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that area India and Kazakhstan. The green are those in
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primary deals, which is all of the European Union, area
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of France, Spain, in Sweden, et cetera. And in negotiations
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are Mexico, which has been extended his paused higher rates
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for another ninety days, and China, whose rates are on
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paws until at least August the twelfth, under a trade
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truce between the two countries. After a rough dart, President
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Donald Trump's campaign to reshape global trade suddenly seems to
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be advancing from strength to strength. Little more than six
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months into his unlikely second term, Trump has rewritten the
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rules governing more than three trillion dollars in crossboader commerce
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against all mainstream economic advice. He has scrapped decades of
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American leadership in lowering trade barriers and raised the average
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tariff confronting US importers to its highest points since Monsieur's
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smoot and holy ran US trade policy in the nineteen thirties.
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Through tariffs, the president's favored all purpose policy tool, new
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arrangements have been reached to open foreign markets to American products.
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Economists who warned this past spring that Trump was courting
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renewed inflation, recession and collapsing supply chains looked like false profits.
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For the moment, the president is riding high, growing that
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tariffs are making America great and rich again, and to
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basking in the glow of an economy that grew at
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a muscular three percent annual rate in the second quarter.
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Administration officials say Trump's trade wins will deliver the golden
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age that he promised. We are right in the middle
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of the transformation not only of US trade policy, but
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also of the global economy. I think we are definitely
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headed in the right direction, said Orn Cass, chief economist
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of American Compass, which shares the president's trade goals. The
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White House is celebrating the success of Trump's high risk
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trade strategy, which used the size of the US market
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to squeeze concessions from foreign leaders while discouraging them from
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Retalian against American products. Wall Street is applauding too. The
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S and P five hundred index is up almost twenty
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eight percent from its early April loan. The President barrel
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toward his self imposed August first deadline for inking deals
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or raising tariffs at a place that left observers panting,
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with his truth social account serving as a running ticker
24:26
for those trying to follow the action. Before Trump, trade
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deals took years of negotiations involving diplomats from more than
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one hundred company countries, but he prefers to barter with
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one country at a time, maximizing US leverage while risking
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resentment on the part of those whose arms are twisted.
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Deals are sketched out in days or weeks of frenzied
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and sometimes confused bargaining. If the non stop activity can
24:56
be disorienting, one thing is clear. The seventh president has
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left an enduring mark on US trade. The average tariff
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confronting US importers is eighteen point four percent, up from
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around two point two percent in January and the highest
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mark since nineteen thirty three. According to the Yale Budget
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lab Then there is a chart of US tariff rates
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on the top fifteen trading partners, and the twenty twenty
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four numbers are estimated effective tariff rates. August numbers are
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new announced tariffs, so I'll give you some of them
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in yellow. Mexico the type in negotiations a higher rate
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pause extended for ninety days. The twenty twenty four rate
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twenty five percent August rate twenty five percent, Canada Blue,
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which was targeted in July zero point one one percent
26:01
to thirty five percent. China also in yellow negotiations trade
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trus twenty twenty four rate twenty percent August rate one
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hundred and forty five percent. Germany Japan are both at
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almost a little above one percent, both going to fifteen percent.
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Switzerland is going from point sixty percent down to thirty
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nine percent, and also in Green Islands at Korea, Vietnam,
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UK are all going up to fifteen to twenty percent.
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India targeted in July two point forty percent to twenty
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five percent. Netherlands, France and Italy are going from zero
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point seventy one point to two point two all to
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fifteen percent. Still Trump's achievements may prove ephemeral. The tariffs
27:05
that are the core of his trade strategy face a
27:08
legal challenge that could end at the Supreme Court. None
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of the trade deals that the president has announced represent
27:16
legally binding commitments, and discrepancy have emerged between the administration's
27:22
description of their terms and what foreign governments have acknowledged publicly.
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Unlike with traditional accords, including the United States Mexico Canada
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Agreement that Trump signed during his first term, no formal
27:38
text have been made public, and additional haggling will be
27:42
needed to cement the bargains. Economic pressures from the president's
27:47
import taxes are accumulating and threatening to crest as the
27:51
twenty twenty six congressional election year begins. Through the first
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half of twenty twenty five, the economy grew at a
27:59
one point two percent and your rate half as fast
28:03
as it ended twenty twenty four. David Kelly, chief global
28:08
strategist for JP Morgan Asset Management, told clients last week
28:12
that growth in the second half of this year will
28:15
be close to zero. Tariffs and continued uncertainty about the
28:21
president's objectives of sapping the country's economy's vigor. According to
28:26
Greg Daco, chief economists for e Y Parthenon, consumer spending
28:31
grew by just one point four percent in the second quarter,
28:36
a notable slowdown from last year's pace. It's not a
28:40
cliff type of scenario. This is more of a gradual
28:45
erosion of economic momentum, he said. Administration officials insist that
28:51
businesses here and abroad are eating the tariff costs. Treasury
28:56
Secretary Scott percent in mid July wrote on the social
29:00
media site x that the inflation propagandist had been proven wrong,
29:07
but the latest economic data contradicts him. On Thursday, the
29:11
government said that the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure wrote
29:15
at a two point eight percent annual rate in June,
29:19
which is above the Central Banks price stability target. Would
29:24
be surprised if it doesn't end the year above three percent.
29:28
Once upon a time, three percent inflation was viewed as
29:32
way past where it should be, said economist Jason Furman
29:36
of Harvard University, who advised President Barack Obama. Indeed, Proctor
29:43
and Gambled, the maker of Pampers, tied and Gellette products,
29:48
said this week that it will raise prices on about
29:51
one quarter of its offerings to compensate for tariffs. The
29:55
consumer goods manufacturer joined companies such as Nike and Hasbro
30:00
in warning of terror related price increases. On Wednesday, Trumpernan's
30:06
new fifty percent taxes on Brazilian goods and imported copper products,
30:11
along with a twenty five percent levee on merchandise from India.
30:16
Even some experts who share the President's goal of revitalizing
30:20
domestic manufacturing find fault with his free fire approach. It's
30:27
a bunch of nominal deals and proclamations about tariffs, but
30:31
there's no strategy. It's not clear there would be any
30:35
particular outcome, said Beth Baltson, who served as a senior
30:41
trade advisor in the Bond and Biden administration, adding this
30:46
isn't helping workers in America. The president spid to re
30:51
shape trade flows using the most popular comprehensive tariffs since
30:58
the Great Depression is not popular. Voters disapproved of the
31:04
way Trump is handling tariffs by sixty two percent to
31:08
thirty six percent in a Fox News poll taken July
31:11
eighteen through twenty one. Trade policy's potential impact on prices
31:17
represents a political risk for the White House. In recent polls,
31:22
Americans identified inflation in rising prices as their chief's concerns
31:27
and said they were not satisfied with Trump's performance. Asked
31:31
who is hurt the most by higher tariffs, fifty four
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percent of adults surveyed replied to American consumers, twenty two
31:40
percent said foreign manufacturers, and according to an economist slash
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y you gov poll taken July twenty five through twenty eight,
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the market access gains from the president's trade deals are real,
31:55
but modest. American ranchers can now sell up to thirteen
31:59
thousand metric tons of beef each year to customers in Britain,
32:03
up from the previous one thousand ton limit, thanks to
32:07
a trade deal the White House announced in May. Australia
32:12
separately has agreed to accept US beef after years of
32:16
restricted shipments based on mad cow disease worries. The expected
32:23
increase in sales in those nations, however, pales alongside the
32:28
largest US export markets. Last year, the US sold more
32:32
than two hundred and fifteen thousand metric tons of beef
32:36
to each of four countries Japan, South Korea, Mexico and China.
32:43
Thirteen thousand is small, but it's a good starting place,
32:47
said Kent bacha's executive director for Government Affairs at the
32:52
National Cattleman's Beef Association. We have a lot of work
32:56
to do as an industry to build out that market
32:59
and consumer demand. The outlook for increased automobile exports also
33:06
is clothing. Trump's deal with Japan cause for Tokyo to
33:11
lift long standing restrictions on US cars and trucks and
33:17
recognize US safety standards as qualifying those vehicles for sale
33:21
in its market, But even before the deal, Japan had
33:25
no tariffs on imported vehicles. Given that low US car
33:31
sales in Japan stem more from consumer preferences than regulatory barriers,
33:37
the practical impact is likely to be minimal. Analyst at
33:42
the Tenneo, New York based advisory firm told clients some
33:48
business groups are hopeful about the market access promised in
33:52
deals with the European Union, Japan, and Indonesia. The National
33:57
Foreign Trade Council NFTC, for example, cheered Indonesia's decision to
34:03
eliminate tariffs on intangible products such as Clode and other
34:08
digital services, but some of the potential gains would be marginal.
34:14
The EU for example, agreed to drop to zero its
34:17
tariffs on US industrial products, but those are already low,
34:22
averaging around two point five percent. Any increase in foreign
34:27
autos must be balanced against the higher costs that US
34:31
manufacturers will pay because of Trump's tariffs. Steel and aluminum
34:37
prices have jumped following the President's imposition of a fifty
34:40
percent import tax on industrial metals. Companies importing components from
34:46
Vietnam face a new twenty percent tariff, Indonesian goods are
34:51
hit with a nineteen percent tax, and items from South
34:55
Korea bear a fifteen percent customs charge. By the time
35:01
we recognize that the path we're on is headed in
35:04
the wrong direction, we're going to lose their global competitiveness
35:09
thanks to the tariffs, said Jake Covin, president of the NFTC,
35:15
which represents large corporations such as Caterpillar, Eton and Ford.
35:21
Kip Ideberg, senior vice president for Government and industry Relations
35:27
at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, called the President's trade
35:32
deals a big win for our industry, but he acknowledged
35:37
that tariffs mean that the cost of making the final
35:41
product is going to go up and customers will pay
35:45
a little bit more, his members want the administration to
35:50
provide financial help to offset the tariff cost. He said
35:55
there are doubts about whether trading partners such as the
35:58
EU and Japan will follow through with promised investments in
36:02
the US and purchases of American goods. Trump has said
36:06
Japan agreed to find a new five hundred and fifty
36:09
billion investment vehicle that would rebuild and expand core American
36:15
industries with specific projects directed by him and profit split
36:20
ninety slash ten in favor of the US government. But
36:25
Rosio Akawaza or Akazawa, Japan's trade negotiator, has said Tokyo
36:34
will contribute only one to two percent of that amount
36:38
in cash, with the rest coming from loans or financial
36:41
guarantees by state linked banks. While Trump said his EU
36:47
deal would mean six hundred billion dollars in new investment
36:51
in the US, the EU readate of the deal said
36:55
only that its companies have expressed interest in such plans.
37:00
The administration's claim of seven hundred and fifty billion in
37:04
European purchases of American energy products is also not guaranteed,
37:11
according to the European Commission, the EUS Executive arm Trump's
37:17
reconstruction of US trade policy remains at work in progress.
37:22
Perhaps the biggest challenge still lies ahead reaching a deal
37:27
with China. Medicare Medicaid plan to experiment with covering weight
37:35
loss drugs. The Trump administration is planning an experiment to
37:40
cover weight loss drugs under Medicare and Medicaid, potentially benefiting
37:45
millions of Americas struggling with obesity. And there is a
37:50
huge picture of Ozimpic, a semiglutide injection for single patient
37:56
use only. The Zimpic needle is in a blue plastic
38:03
round cylinder and the boxes with red and white and
38:09
blue writing on the white part. The move is a
38:12
strong signal that the administration is open to more broadly
38:15
covering GLP DASH one drugs such as ozimpic. This is
38:20
about Page Wingfield Cunningham. Some obese Americans on Medicare and
38:27
Medicaid could get access to expensive weight loss drugs under
38:32
a five year experiment being planned by the Trump administration.
38:36
Under the proposed plan, state Medicaid programs and Medicaid Part
38:41
D insurance plans, we'd be able to voluntaryly choose to
38:45
cover Ozimpic, Wigavi, Manjaro, and zip bound for patients for
38:51
weight management purposes. According to centers from Medicare and Medicaid
38:56
Services documents obtained by The Washington Post, it's a strong
39:01
signal that the administration is open to more broadly covering
39:04
glph one drugs lauded by many as a miracle solution
39:09
to americans long standing struggle with weight Through government insurance programs,
39:16
Medicare covers the drug mainly for patients with type two diabetes,
39:21
even as some private insurance plans cover them for patients
39:24
with obesity. The experiment is expected to start in April
39:29
twenty twenty six for Medicaid and January twenty twenty seven
39:33
for Medicare plans. According to the documents, it will be
39:37
conducted through a testing lab called the Center for Medicare
39:40
and Medicaid Innovation see MMAI, which tries new ways of
39:46
paying for health care with the goal of lowering cost
39:50
and improving CHAO. The project is in an alternative way
39:55
to get anti obesity drugs to Medicare and Medicaid patients.
40:00
The administration said in April that neither program would cover
40:04
glp dash ones for weight loss. In doing so, it
40:09
scrapped a twenty twenty four Biden administration proposal for the
40:13
programs to start covering GLP ones for patients with obesity.
40:20
Jaquita Brooks Lacheur, who led CMS during the Biden administration,
40:26
said the experiment would be a game changer if it
40:30
led to expanded coverage for treatments for obesity, increased coverage
40:37
of anti OBESD medications in Medicare and Medicaid. Coverage was
40:41
a priority during my tenure because scientists and celinicians increasingly
40:46
believed that obesity is a serious health condition that should
40:50
be treated accordingly. She said. The proposal isn't final and
40:56
could but doesn't have to go through a formal product
41:00
in which the administration solicits public feedback before finalizing it.
41:06
Trump administration officials have offered mixed messages about GLP ones
41:11
and whether they should be relied upon for weight loss
41:15
by obese and overweight Americans. CMS administrator opmed Oz called
41:21
them a big help on his Instagram page and in
41:25
twenty nineteen promoted them for weight loss on his television show,
41:30
But Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
41:34
Has raised concerns about their steep costs and stressed that
41:38
they shouldn't take the place of diet and exercise. Asked
41:43
about the experiment, as CMS spokeswoman said all drug coverages
41:48
undergo a cost benefit review. CMS does not comment on
41:53
potential models or coverage. Congress's official scorekeeper has estimated that
42:00
covering the drugs for obesity would couse Medicare about thirty
42:04
five billion dollars from twenty twenty six to twenty thirty four.
42:08
Ozimbic and Wgavi are among fifteen drugs for which Medicare
42:13
is negotiating lower prices for twenty twenty seven. Top influences
42:19
in the Make America Healthy Again movements are also skeptical
42:24
of golp ones for weight loss. Jillian Michaels and Mark
42:28
Hyman have suggested that the drugs change patients' metabolisms in
42:33
a manner that causes people to regain the weight they
42:36
lost or make it more difficult to lose weight again
42:39
if they stop taking the drug. Such concerns are echoed
42:43
by researchers trying to find ways to prevent weight regain
42:48
after people stop using GLP medications. GLP one medications GLP
42:55
one injections cut cravings for food, slow digestion, and keep
43:00
people feeling full for longer periods of time, as the
43:03
drugs mimic a hormone the body produces to regulate hunger
43:08
and blood sugar. David Wrend, chief medical officer for the
43:13
Institute from Clinical and Economic Review, which has studied the
43:18
cost effectiveness of glp ones, set the drug surprised reasonably
43:23
for the enormous health benefits they delivered individuals. A typical
43:27
treatment plan costs between five thousand and seven thousand per year.
43:33
The problem lies with the sheer number of obese Americans
43:36
around one hundred million people who would probably need to
43:41
take golp ones for their lifetime to see continuing benefits.
43:45
He said. In the aggregate, this is terrifying. I just
43:50
don't know how our nation is going to pay for this.
43:52
Wren said it's unclear how many states and drug plans
43:57
might choose to participate in the experiment. Insurers heavily pressured
44:02
the Trump administration to walk back the Biden era plans
44:05
to cover the drugs under Medicare and Medicaid, citing steep costs.
44:11
Thirteen state medicaid programs have chosen to cover gop ones
44:16
for obesity, but many states are deeply concerned about an
44:20
unexpected loss of federal medicaid funds stemming from the tax
44:25
overhaul bill that President Donald Trump signed on July fourth.
44:30
The goal of the administration's experiment is to improve the
44:34
metabolic health of patients by covering gop ones and providing
44:40
a healthy lifestyle support system. According to the CMS documents,
44:45
to participate, Medicare plans and state Medicaid programs would also
44:50
need to provide patients with diet and exercise coaching. Participating
44:55
Part D plans would have to offer the drugs to
44:58
all eligible enroly. The model aims for broad national participation
45:05
to maximize impact. The documents say the GLP one agonist
45:13
or for dmprom prone would also be included if it's
45:19
approved in twenty twenty six. According to documents, Although thousands
45:24
of people have been laid off from the Department of
45:26
Health and Human Services amid widespread government staffing cost the
45:31
administration has singled signaled that it wants to boost the CMMI,
45:36
which is running the experiment on funding GLP one medications.
45:41
That center was largely spared from staff cuts this year
45:45
and is now hiring about one hundred new workers. According
45:48
to Politico asked to comment on the CMMI experiment, A
45:54
spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, which makes so Zimpic and Wagabi,
45:59
said we believe that comprehensive coverage through government and commercial
46:05
insurance plans is critical to afford healthcare and treatment options.
46:11
ELI Lilly, which makes Munjauo and zip Bound, did not
46:15
respond to a request for comment. China is betting on
46:21
a real world use of AI to challenge US control
46:27
buying to control the future of artificial intelligence. Beijing is
46:31
pushing the application of AI while the US focuses on
46:36
developing cutting edge models by Katrina Northrop of Shanghai. As
46:44
the United States in China buy for control over the
46:48
future of artificial intelligence, Beijing has embarked on an all
46:53
drive to transform the technology from a remote concept to
46:57
a new, fragled reality with applications on factory flaws and
47:02
in hospitals and in government offices. China does not have
47:07
access to the most advanced chips required to power cutting
47:11
edge models due to restrictions from Washington, and is still
47:15
largely playing catch up with Silicon Valley giants like Open AI,
47:20
but expert se Beijing is pursuing an alternative play book
47:25
in an attempt to bridge the gap, aggressively pushing for
47:29
the adoption of AI across the government and private sector.
47:34
In parentheses, The Washington Post has a content partnership with
47:38
Open Ai in parentheses. In China, there's definitely stronger government
47:45
support for applications and a clear mandate from the central
47:49
government to diffuse the technology through society, said Scott Singer,
47:55
an expert on China's AI sector at the Carnegie Endowment
47:58
for International By contrast, the US has been well focused
48:03
on developing the most advanced AI models, while the application
48:08
layer has been totally ignored, he said. China's push was
48:14
on full display in Shanghai at its World Artificial Intelligence Conference,
48:19
which ran until Tuesday. Themed Global Solidarity in the AI
48:24
Area Era, the expo is one part of Beijing's bid
48:29
to establish itself as a responsible AI leader for the
48:32
international community. This pitch was bolstered by the presence of
48:38
international heavyweights like Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, and
48:43
Jeffrey Hinton, a renowned AI researcher often called the godfather
48:48
of AI. During the event, Beijing announced an international organization
48:54
for AI regulation and a thirteen point action plan aimed
48:58
at fostering global coup operation to ensure the technology's beneficial
49:03
and responsible development. China attaches great importance to global AI governance,
49:11
Lee Kwang, Chinese Premier, China's premier, said at the opening
49:16
ceremony on Saturday, it is willing to share its AI
49:22
development experience and technological products to help countries around the world,
49:27
especially those in the Global South, he said, according to
49:31
an official redo. Just last week, President Donald Trump anounced
49:36
a competing plan in a bid to boost American AI
49:39
competitiveness by reducing regulation and promoting global exports of US
49:45
AI technology. Washington has moved in recent years to restrict
49:50
China's access to chips necessary for AI development, in part
49:55
due to concerns about potential military application of such models.
50:00
Integrating US tech leadership, The Trump Administration's approach to chip policy, however,
50:07
has been mixed. Earlier this month, the White House reversed
50:11
a previous span on specific AI chips made by US
50:15
tech giant in Nvidia being exported to China. This shift
50:20
occurred amid trade negotiations between the world's two largest economies,
50:25
which have been locked and in escalating tariff and Export
50:28
Control Wall. Since Trump returned to the Oval Office earlier
50:32
this year, there was nothing but excitement about AI in
50:37
the vast exposed center in Shanghai skyscraper rich Pudong District,
50:43
where crabs entered gates controlled by facial recognition. Inside, thousands
50:49
of attendees listened to panels stacked with Chinese government officials, entrepreneurs,
50:55
and international researchers, or watch demonstrations on using AI to
51:00
create video games, control robotic movements, and respond in real
51:05
time to conversations via smart glasses. Chinese giants like Huei
51:13
and al Baba and newer Chinese tech darlings like Uni
51:17
Tree Robotics were there. Deep Seek was not present, but
51:22
its name was spoken everywhere. The Hangzhau based upstart has
51:28
been at the forefront of Beijing's attempt to push the
51:31
government use of AI since it released a chatbot model
51:36
in January, prompting a global craze and driving home China's
51:41
rapid AI advances. Deep Seek has been put to work
51:46
over the past six months on a wide variety of
51:49
government tasks. Procurement documents show military hospitals in shangs and
51:56
Gangxi provinces specifically requesting deep Seek to build online consultation
52:03
in health record systems. Local government websites describe state organs
52:08
using deep Seek for things like diverting calls from the
52:12
public and streamlining police work. Deep Seak helps quickly discovers
52:19
case clues and predict crime trends, which greatly improves the
52:24
accuracy and timeliness of crime fighting. A city government in
52:29
China's in a Mongolia region, explained in a February social
52:33
media post. Anti corruption investigations long a priority for Chinese
52:41
leadershisien ping are another frequent deep Seek application in which
52:47
models are deployed to comb through dry spreadsheets to find
52:51
suspicious irregularities. In April, China's main anti graft agency even
52:57
included a book called Fish using deep Seek on its
53:02
official book recommendation list. China's new AI Action Plan underscores
53:10
this push, declaring that the public sector should take the
53:15
lead in deploying applications by embedding AI and education, transportation,
53:21
and healthcare. It also emphasizes a mandate to use AI
53:26
to empower the real economy and praises open source models,
53:31
which are more easily shared as in egalitarian method of
53:35
AI development. Alfred wu An expert on China's public governance
53:40
at the National University of Singapore, said Beijing has disseminated
53:45
a top down directive to local governments to use AI.
53:51
This is motivated, Wu said by a desire to improve
53:55
China's AI prowess amid a fierce rivalry with Washington, pudding
54:00
models access to vast doores of government data. But not
54:06
everyone is convinced that China has the winning hand even
54:10
as it attempts to push AI application nationwide. For one,
54:16
China's sluggish economy will affect the AI industry's ability to
54:20
grow and excess funding, said Singer, who is attending the conference.
54:25
Beijing has struggled to manage persistent deflation and a property crisis,
54:31
which has taken a toll on the finances of many
54:34
families across the country. So much of China's AI policy
54:39
is shaped by the state of the economy. The economy
54:42
has been struggling for a few years now, and applications
54:46
are one way of catalyzing much needed growth. The venture
54:52
capital ecosystem in AI in China has gone dry, Singer said.
54:59
Others point eight that local governments trumpeting their usage of
55:03
deep seek is more than about signaling than real technology.
55:07
Uptake Shenyang, a professor at Singhua University's School of Artificial Intelligence,
55:15
said deep seek is not being used at scale and
55:18
anti corruption work, for example, because the cases involved sensitive
55:22
information and deploying new tools in these investigations requires long
55:27
and complex approval processes. He also pointed out that AI
55:32
is still a developing technology with lots of kinks. AI
55:37
hallucinations still exist, he said, using a term for the
55:41
technologies generation of false or misleading information. If it's wrong,
55:47
who takes responsibility. These concerns, however, felt far away in
55:53
the exposed humming hallways. At one booth, Katahou, co founder
55:59
of Holiday, a smart glasses company, explained how the lenses
56:05
project a tiny black screen at the top of a
56:08
user's field division. The screen can provide translation, recordings and
56:14
summaries of any conversation, and even deploy proactive AI, which
56:20
anticipates questions based on a user's interactions and provides information preemptively.
56:28
For example, if you ask me a difficult question that
56:32
is fact related, Wos said, wearing the trendy black frames,
56:37
all I need to do is look at it and
56:40
use that information and pretend I'm a very knowledgeable person
56:46
asked about the events geopolitical backdrop, while said he was
56:50
eager to steer clear of diplomatic third rails. People talk
56:56
a lot about the differences between the United States and China,
57:00
he said, but I tried to stay to it as
57:03
much as possible, because all we want to do is
57:06
just to build good products for our customers. That's what
57:10
we think is most important. While said Kiki Lee, a
57:15
Shanghai resident who started an AI video company and attended
57:20
the conference on Sunday, seemed to agree with this goal.
57:24
She said that Chinese AI products are easier to use
57:28
than US products because companies here really know how to
57:33
create new applications and excel at catering to and learning
57:38
from the large pool of Chinese technology users. Robots, perhaps
57:45
the most obvious application of AI in the real world,
57:49
were everywhere at the conference on model factory floors and
57:54
inconvenience stores, retrieving soda cans, shaking disbelieving kids' hands, or
58:00
roaming the packed halls at the booth for Model Best,
58:04
another Beijing based AI startup, A young student from Shanghai's
58:09
prestigious swing Haw University who was interning at the company
58:13
demonstrated how a robot could engage with its surroundings and
58:17
charm its human interlaquers. Looking directly at the student, the
58:22
robot described his nondescript clothing. The outfit is both stylish
58:26
and elegant, the robot continued. You have a confident and
58:30
friendly demeanor, which makes you very attractive. And with that,
58:35
that is the end of the article in Today's Reading
58:37
for the Washington Post for August the second of twenty
58:40
twenty five. Please continued listening to programs on Radio I.
58:46
I'll be back next Thursday. Have a good weekend and
58:50
enjoy this wonderful weather. Bye.