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  • What to Expect From CES 2026, the Annual Show of All Things Tech?

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    LAS VEGAS (AP) — With the start of the New Year squarely behind us, it’s once again time for the annual CES trade show to shine a spotlight on the latest tech companies plan on offering in 2026.

    The multi-day event, organized by the Consumer Technology Association, kicks off this week in Las Vegas, where advances across industries like robotics, healthcare, vehicles, wearables, gaming and more are set to be on display.

    Artificial intelligence will be anchored in nearly everything, again, as the tech industry explores offerings consumers will want to buy. AI industry heavyweight Jensen Huang will be taking the stage to showcase Nvidia’s latest productivity solutions, and AMD CEO Lisa Su will keynote to “share her vision for delivering future AI solutions.” Expect AI to come up in other keynotes, like from Lenovo’s CEO, Yuanqing Yang.

    The AI industry is out in full force tackling issues in healthcare, with a particular emphasis on changing individual health habits to treat conditions — such as Beyond Medicine’s prescription app focused on a particular jaw disorder — or addressing data shortages in subjects such as breast milk production.

    Expect more unveils around domestic robots too. Korean tech giant LG already has announced it will show off a helper bot named “ CLOiD,” which allegedly will handle a range of household tasks. Hyundai also is announcing a major push on robotics and manufacturing advancements. Extended reality, basically a virtual training ground for robots and other physical AI, is also in the buzz around CES.

    In 2025, more than 141,000 attendees from over 150 countries, regions, and territories attended the CES. Organizers expect around the same numbers for this year’s show, with more than 3,500 exhibitors across the floor space this week.

    The AP spoke with CTA Executive Chair and CEO Gary Shapiro about what to expect for CES 2026. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.


    What are the main themes we can expect this week?

    Well, we have a lot at this year’s show.

    Obviously, using AI in a way that makes sense for people. We’re seeing a lot in robotics. More robots and humanoid-looking robots than we’ve ever had before.

    We also see longevity in health, there’s a lot of focus on that. All sorts of wearable devices for almost every part of the body. Technology is answering healthcare’s gaps very quickly and that’s great for everyone.

    Mobility is big with not only self-driving vehicles but also with boats and drones and all sorts of other ways of getting around. That’s very important.

    And of course, content creation is always very big.


    Is 2026 the year we finally see humanoid robots in people’s homes?

    You are seeing humanoid robots right now. It sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t.

    But yes, there are more and more humanoid robots. And when we talk about CES 5, 10, 15, 20 years now, we’re going to see an even larger range of humanoid robots.

    Obviously, last year we saw a great interest in them. The number one product of the show was a little robotic dog that seems so life-like and fun, and affectionate for people that need that type of affection.

    But of course, the humanoid robots are just one aspect of that industry. There’s a lot of specialization in robot creation, depending on what you want the robot to do. And robots can do many things that humans can’t.


    Will we start seeing more innovative use of AI tools in entertainment?

    AI is the future of creativity.

    Certainly AI itself may be arguably creative, but the human mind is so unique that you definitely get new ideas that way. So I think the future is more of a hybrid approach, where content creators are working with AI to craft variations on a theme or to better monetize what they have to a broader audience.


    Any interesting AI-powered devices or services that consumers will want to buy?

    We’re seeing all sorts of different devices that are implementing AI. But we have a special focus at this show, for the first time, on the disability community. Verizon set this whole stage up where we have all different ways of taking this technology and having it help people with disabilities and older people.


    Are you concerned about a potential AI bubble?

    Well, there’s definitely no bubble when it comes to what AI can do. And what AI can do is perform miracles and solve fundamental human problems in food production and clean air and clean water. Obviously in healthcare, it’s gonna be overwhelming.

    But this was like the internet itself. There was a lot of talk about a bubble, and there actually was a bubble. The difference is that in late 1990s there were basically were no revenue models. Companies were raising a lot of money with no plans for revenue.

    These AI companies have significant revenues today, and companies are investing in it.

    What I’m more concerned about, honestly, is not Wall Street and a bubble. Others can be concerned about that. I’m concerned about getting enough energy to process all that AI. And at this show, for the first time, we have a Korean company showing the first ever small-scale nuclear-powered energy creation device. We expect more and more of these people rushing to fill this gap because we need the energy, we need it clean and we need a kind of all-of-the-above solution.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Tesla Loses Title as World’s Biggest Electric Vehicle Maker as Sales Fall for Second Year in a Row

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla lost its crown as the world’s bestselling electric vehicle maker on Friday as a customer revolt over Elon Musk’s right-wing politics and stiff overseas competition pushed sales down for a second year in a row.

    Tesla said that it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down 9% from a year earlier.

    Chinese rival BYD, which sold 2.26 vehicles last year, is now the biggest EV maker.

    For the fourth quarter, sales totaled 418,227, falling short of the 440,000 that analysts polled by FactSet expected. The sales total may likely have been impacted by the expiration of a $7,500 tax credit that was phased out by the Trump administration at the end of September.

    Even with multiple issues buffeting the company, the stock finished 2025 with a gain of approximately 11%, as investors hope Tesla CEO Musk can deliver on his ambitions to make Tesla a leader in robotaxi service and get consumers to embrace humanoid robots that can perform basic tasks in homes and offices.

    Shares of Tesla rose almost 2% before the opening bell Friday.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Shares Are Higher in Asia in an Upbeat Start to the New Year

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    BANGKOK (AP) — Asian markets began the new year Friday with gains, while U.S. futures and oil prices also advanced.

    Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.2% to 26,189.79 on a strong rally in tech shares.

    E-commerce giant Alibaba climbed 3.2% and search engine and technology company Baidu jumped 7.5% after it said it plans to spin off its artificial intelligence computer chip unit Kunlunxin, which would list shares in Hong Kong early 2027. The plan is subject to regulatory approvals.

    Markets were still closed in Tokyo, Shanghai, Thailand and New Zealand.

    South Korea’s Kospi picked up 1.5% to 4,277.94, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia edged 0.2% higher, to 8,727.30.

    Taiwan’s Taiex was up 1.1% and the Sensex in India added 0.1%.

    Asian shares have been supported by expectations that growth in the use of artificial intelligence will spur demand for computer chips and other items needed to build out data centers and other infrastructure.

    Recent manufacturing data for much of the region has been relatively weak, though trade has remained resilient.

    “Exports from most countries have surged in recent months, and we think the near-term outlook for Asia’s export-oriented manufacturing sectors remains favorable,” Shivaan Tandon of Capital Economics said in a report.

    The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.5% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%.

    On Wednesday, U.S. stocks finished 2025 with a fourth day of losses, despite strong gains for the year.

    The S&P 500 gave up 0.7% to 6,845.50 and the Dow fell 0.6% to 48,063.29. The Nasdaq composite closed 0.8% lower at 23,241.99.

    The S&P 500 set 39 record highs in 2025 and closed 16.4% higher for the year. The Nasdaq gained 20.4% and the Dow finished 13% higher.

    Wall Street’s 2025 gains came as investors embraced the optimism surrounding artificial intelligence and its potential for boosting profits across almost all sectors. But the market had no shortage of turbulence along the way amid

    President Donald Trump eventually put his on-again, off-again tariffs on imported goods worldwide on pause while negotiating trade deals, helping to calm frayed nerves.

    Wall Street is betting that the Fed will hold interest rates steady at its next meeting in January.

    All of the sectors in the S&P 500 closed in the red Wednesday, with technology stocks the biggest drag on the market. Western Digital fell 2.2% and Micron Technology lost 2.5%. Both were among the biggest gainers in the S&P 500 this year.

    In other dealings early Friday, silver gained 3.5% after giving back 9.4% on Wednesday. It gained more than 140% in 2025.

    Gold picked up 1.1%. It closed out the year with a 63.7% gain.

    U.S. benchmark crude gained 35 cents to $57.77 per barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, was up 35 cents at $61.20 per barrel.

    The U.S. dollar rose to 156.80 Japanese yen from 156.75 yen. The euro climbed to $1.1760 from $1.1746.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Protesting Students in Serbia Urge Support for Early Election They Hope Will Oust Vucic

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    BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s protesting university students on Sunday collected signatures throughout the country for their request for an early parliamentary election that they hope would oust the autocratic government of President Aleksandar Vucic from office.

    Braving freezing weather, the students set up nearly 500 stands in dozens of cities, towns and villages in the Balkan country for residents to sign the election demand, which isn’t a formal petition. Students have said that Sunday’s action was meant to put further pressure on Vucic and as a test of support.

    Young protesters have been at the forefront of a nationwide movement against Vucic’s populist rule in Serbia. More than a year of street protests first started in November 2024 after a train station disaster that killed 16 people.

    The concrete canopy collapse in the northern city of Novi Sad was widely blamed on alleged rampant corruption and disregard of construction and safety rules during renovation work at the station. No one has been held responsible for the tragedy.

    Vucic has refused to schedule an immediate early vote, but has suggested that it could be held sometime next year. Both parliamentary and presidential elections are otherwise due in 2027.

    “We have stands that serve to connect with the citizens,” said Igor Dojnov, a student manning one of the points in central Belgrade.

    While street protests have subsided, discontent with Vucic’s government is believed to be widespread.

    Milca Cankovic Kadijevic, a resident of Belgrade, said that she supported the students, because “I have a desire to live decently — me, my children and my grandchildren.”

    Vucic has formally promised to take Serbia into the European Union, but he has maintained close links with Russia and China, while facing accusations of clamping down on democratic freedoms and allowing corruption and organized crime to flourish.

    He has denied this, and accused the protesters of attempting to orchestrate a “color revolution” under unspecified orders from the West. The term “color revolution” has been used to describe a series of mass protests at the beginning of the 21st century that sometimes led to the toppling of governments in the former Soviet Union states, the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and Asia.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • US Regulators Approve Wegovy Pill for Weight Loss

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    U.S. regulators on Monday gave the green light to a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval handed drugmaker Novo Nordisk an edge over rival Eli Lilly in the race to market an obesity pill. Lilly’s oral drug, orforglipron, is still under review.

    Both pills are GLP-1 drugs that work like widely used injectables to mimic a natural hormone that controls appetite and feelings of fullness.

    In recent years, Novo Nordisk’s injectable Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound have revolutionized obesity treatment globally and in the U.S., where 100 million people have the chronic disease.

    The Wegovy pills are expected to be available within weeks, company officials said. Availability of oral pills to treat obesity could expand the booming market for obesity treatments by broadening access and reducing costs, experts said.

    About 1 in 8 Americans have used injectable GLP-1 drugs, according to a survey from KFF, a nonprofit health policy research group. But many more have trouble affording the costly shots.

    “There’s an entire demographic that can benefit from the pills,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, a Massachusetts General Hospital obesity expert. “For me, it’s not just about who gets it across the finish line first. It’s about having these options available to patients.”

    The Novo Nordisk obesity pill contains 25 milligrams of semaglutide. That’s the same ingredient in injectables Wegovy and Ozempic and in Rybelsus, a lower-dose pill approved to treat diabetes in 2019.

    In a clinical trial, participants who took oral Wegovy lost 13.6% of their total body weight on average over about 15 months, compared with a 2.2% loss if they took a placebo, or dummy pill. That’s nearly the same as injectable Wegovy, with an average weight loss of about 15%.

    Chris Mertens, 35, a pediatric lung doctor in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, joined the Novo Nordisk trial in 2022 and lost about 40 pounds using the Wegovy pill. The daily medication worked to decrease his appetite and invasive thoughts of food, he said.

    “If there were days where I missed a meal, I almost didn’t realize it,” Mertens said.

    Participants in a clinical trial who took the highest dose of Lilly’s orforglipron lost 11.2% of their total body weight on average over nearly 17 months, compared with a 2.1% loss in those who took a placebo.

    Both pills resulted in less weight loss than the average achieved with Lilly’s Zepbound, or tirzepatide, which targets two gut hormones, GLP-1 and GIP, and led to a 21% average weight loss.

    All the GLP-1 drugs, oral or injectable, have similar side effects, including nausea and diarrhea.

    Both daily pills promise convenience, but the Wegovy pill must be taken with a sip of water in the morning on an empty stomach, with a 30-minute break before eating or drinking.

    That’s because Novo Nordisk had to design the pill in a way that prevented the drug from being broken down in the stomach before it could be absorbed by the bloodstream. The drugmaker added an ingredient that protects the medication for about 30 minutes in the gut and makes it easier to take effect.

    By contrast, Lilly’s orforglipron has no dosing restrictions. That drug is being considered under the FDA’s new priority voucher program aimed at cutting drug approval times. A decision is expected by spring.

    Producing pills is generally cheaper than making drugs delivered via injections, so the cost for the new oral medications could be lower. The Trump administration earlier this year said officials had worked with drugmakers to negotiate lower prices for the GLP-1 drugs, which can cost upwards of $1,000 a month.

    The company said the starting dose would be available for $149 per month from some providers. Additional information on cost will be available in January.

    It’s not clear whether daily pills or weekly injections will be preferred by patients. Although some patients dislike needles, others don’t seem to mind the weekly injections, obesity experts said. Mertens turned to injectable Zepbound when he regained weight after the end of the Wegovy pill clinical trial.

    He said he liked the discipline of the daily pill.

    “It was a little bit of an intentional routine and a reminder of today I’m taking this so that I know my choices are going to be affected for the day,” he said.

    Dr. Angela Fitch, an obesity expert and chief medical officer of knownwell, a health care company, said whatever the format, the biggest benefit will be in making weight-loss medications more widely accessible and affordable.

    “It’s all about the price,” she said. “Just give me a drug at $100 a month that is relatively effective.”

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • China to Impose up to 42.7% Provisional Tariffs on EU Dairy Products

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    HONG KONG (AP) — China will impose up to 42.7% of provisional tariffs on dairy products including milk and cheese imported from the European Union, its Commerce Ministry said Monday.

    The elevated duties, which take effect Tuesday, were based on preliminary results from an investigation opened by China’s Commerce Ministry in August 2024 as tensions between Beijing and Brussels flared. Beijing reviewed subsidies provided by EU countries for their dairy and other farm products.

    Beijing’s probe was launched as part of tit-for-tat measures as the EU investigated Chinese subsidies on electric vehicles, and later imposed tariffs as high as 45.3% on China-made EVs.

    China had initiated other probes into European brandy and pork imports as counter measures for the EU’s tariffs on Chinese EVs. It had also urged the EU to scrap its EV tariffs.

    The temporary duties on EU dairy imports will range from 21.9% to 42.7%, according to the Commerce Ministry, and will cover a basket of dairy products, including fresh and processed cheese, blue cheese, milk, and cream with a fat content exceeding 10% by weight.

    The ministry said preliminary findings from its investigation determined that subsidies provided by the EU and EU member states for their dairy products had damaged China’s dairy industry.

    Beijing’s probe into EU dairy products covered subsidies given under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy and subsidies offered to farmers by EU countries including Italy, Ireland and Finland, the Commerce Ministry said in August 2024.

    China’s relationship with the EU is fractious, with the Chinese trade surplus with the EU recently coming into the spotlight. The EU runs a significant trade deficit with China, at more than 300 billion euros ($352 billion) last year.

    Last week, Beijing announced it was imposing up to 19.8% tariffs on EU pork imports — significantly lower than preliminary tariffs of up to 62.4%.

    It accused the EU of dumping pork and pig by-products in the country, selling them at cheap prices which in turn harmed its domestic pork industry.

    In July, Beijing also announced up to 34.9% tariffs on brandy imported from the EU — including cognac from France — although several major brandy brands had received exemptions.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • WSJ’s Parent Firm on Trial in Hong Kong, Accused of Dismissing Reporter Over Union Role

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    HONG KONG (AP) — A former Hong Kong reporter at the Wall Street Journal began testifying Monday against the newspaper she accused of terminating her due to her union activities in a trial — a closely watched case that has raised concerns about press freedom in the city.

    Former WSJ reporter Selina Cheng, also chairperson of the trade union Hong Kong Journalists Association, launched a private prosecution against her ex-employer, Dow Jones Publishing Co. (Asia) Inc., the parent company of the Journal, after losing her job in July 2024.

    At that time, Cheng said she believed that the termination was linked to her refusal to comply with her former supervisor’s request to withdraw from the election for the union role, instead of the news outlet’s restructuring, as she was told.

    Dow Jones faces two charges under the city’s Employment Ordinance. The company pleaded not guilty to both charges, each of which carries a maximum fine of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $12,850).


    Two charges faced by newspaper

    The first charge alleges the company had prevented or deterred an employee from exercising union participation rights. The second alleges the company had terminated employment, penalized, or discriminated against an employee for exercising those rights.

    Before Cheng’s testimony, Dow Jones representative Benson Tsoi last week accused her of abusing the criminal process and acting in bad faith when seeking to get the court to admit certain email exchanges. Tsoi highlighted emails showing Cheng had demanded 3 million Hong Kong dollars ($385,500) as settlement or reinstatement with a formal apology.

    Tsoi said while Cheng had told the Labor Tribunal she didn’t intend to settle out of court, the emails showed she had pressed for mediation with the company.

    Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 after some 150 years under British control, was once considered a bastion of press freedom in Asia. Yet despite the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution which guarantees its Western-style civil liberties to be kept intact under a “one country, two systems” approach, the ability of the media to operate there has seen drastic changes.


    Media environment in Hong Kong has faltered

    Lai was convicted under the security law last Monday, facing up to life in prison. While the government insists his case has nothing to do with press freedom, rights groups expressed concerns. Amnesty International said the conviction “feels like the death knell for press freedom in Hong Kong.”

    Two former editors at Stand News were also convicted in August 2024, the first journalists found guilty of sedition under a separate law since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule.

    Cheng’s termination alarmed many journalists who are already operating in an increasingly restricted media environment in the city, where foreign outlets have traditionally faced less pressure than local news outlets.

    Hong Kong ranked 140th out of 180 countries and territories in Reporters Without Borders’ latest World Press Freedom Index, down from 80 in 2021.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • San Francisco Outages Leaves 130,000 Without Power

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    A massive outage knocked out power to 130,000 homes and businesses in San Francisco on Saturday, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said.

    The power failure left a large swath of the northern part of the city in the dark, beginning with the Richmond and Presidio neighborhoods and areas around Golden Gate Park in the early afternoon and growing in size.

    PG&E did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the cause of the blackouts. The outage represents roughly one-third of the utility company’s customers in the city.

    Social media posts and local media reported mass closures of restaurants and shops and darkened street lights and Christmas decorations.

    The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management said on X there were “significant transit disruptions” happening citywide and urged residents to avoid nonessential travel and treat down traffic signals as four-way stops.

    The city’s transportation agencies said they were bypassing some Muni bus and BART train stations because of the power outages.

    At least some of the blackouts were caused by a fire that broke out inside a PG&E substation at 8th and Mission streets, fire officials posted on X at about 3:15 p.m.

    At about 4 p.m., PG&E posted on X that it had stabilized the power grid and was not expecting additional customer outages. The company said it was unable to confirm if power would be restored by later Saturday.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • South Dakota Hotel Owner Found Liable for Discrimination Against Native Americans

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    SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The owner of a South Dakota hotel who said Native Americans were banned from the establishment was found liable for discrimination against Native Americans on Friday.

    A federal jury decided the owner of the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City will pay tens of thousands of dollars in damages to various plaintiffs who were denied service at the hotel. The jury awarded $1 to the NDN Collective, the Indigenous advocacy group that filed the lawsuit.

    The group brought the class-action civil rights lawsuit against Retsel Corporation, the company that owns the hotel, in 2022. The case was delayed when the company filed for bankruptcy in September 2024. The head of the company, Connie Uhre, passed away this September.

    “This was never about money. We sued for one dollar,” said Wizipan Garriott, president of NDN Collective and an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. “It was about being on record for the discrimination that happened, and using this as an opportunity to be able to really call out racism.”

    Uhre posted on social media in March 2022 that she would ban Native Americans from the property after a fatal shooting at the hotel involving two teenagers whom police identified as Native American. She wrote in a Facebook post that she cannot “allow a Native American to enter our business including Cheers,” the hotel’s bar and casino.

    When Native American members of the NDN Collective tried to book a room at the hotel after her social media posts, they were turned away. The incident drew protests in Rapid City and condemnation from the mayor as well as tribes in the state.

    In Friday’s decision, the jury also ruled in Retsel’s countersuit against NDN Collective that the group had acted as a nuisance in its protests against the hotel, awarding $812 to the company.

    The Associated Press reached out to the defense attorneys for comment.

    Rapid City, a gateway to Mount Rushmore, has long seen racial tensions. At least 8% of the city’s population of about 80,000 identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native, according to census data.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Asian Shares Slip After Wall Street Logs Its Worst Day in 3 Weeks

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    BANGKOK (AP) — Shares fell Monday in Asia as China reported investment fell in November in the latest signal that demand in the world’s second largest economy remains weak. The retreat followed a dismal end to last week, when declines for superstar artificial-intelligence stocks knocked Wall Street off its record heights

    Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index shed 1.5% to 50,092.10, as investors wait to see if the Bank of Japan will raise its benchmark interest rate as expected this week.

    The BOJ’s quarterly “tankan” survey of big manufacturers, released Monday, showed a slight improvement in sentiment among such businesses. The measure of those expressing optimism rose to 15 from 14 in the last quarter, the highest level in four years, the central bank said.

    The index shows the percentage of companies reporting positive conditions minus the percentage reporting unfavorable ones. While the overall survey showed improvement, forecasts for the next quarter were less positive.

    Japan’s economy contracted at a 2.3% annual pace in the July-September quarter, the first such decline in six quarters. An agreement between Japan and the U.S. over the level of President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs, limiting baseline import duties to 15%, has helped to reduce uncertainty for big automakers and electronics companies.

    Analysts said the stronger results may sway the BOJ toward pressing ahead with a 0.25 percentage point rate hike that will take the key rate to 0.75%.

    The Kospi in South Korea dropped 1.2%, to 4,117.68.

    In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng declined 0.7% to 25,786.45. The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher, however, to 3,892.45.

    China reported Monday that investment in fixed assets such as factory equipment and other infrastructure fell 2.6% in November from a year earlier, implying that such investments dropped 11.1% year-on-year in the first 11 months of the year.

    Retail sales rose 4% in January-November from a year earlier, while factory output climbed 4.8%, the government said.

    The latest data followed a high-level meeting of China’s Communist Party leadership last week that yielded no major policy shifts, and a pledge to continue to try to boost consumer spending and investment needed to drive higher domestic demand.

    “Policy support should help drive a partial recovery in the coming months, but this probably won’t prevent China’s growth from remaining weak across 2026 as a whole,” Zichun Huang of Capital Economics said in a commentary.

    Elsewhere in the region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.7% to 8,640.60 and Taiwan’s benchmark lost 1.1%.

    The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3%.

    On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 1.1% from its all-time high for its worst day in three weeks, closing at 6,827.41. The weakness for tech stocks yanked the Nasdaq composite down by a market-leading 1.7%, to 23,195.17.

    The Dow gave back 0.5% to 48,458.05.

    AI heavyweight Broadcom dragged the market lower and tumbled 11.4% even though the chip company reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Analysts called the performance solid, and CEO Hock Tan said strong 74% growth in AI semiconductor revenue helped lead the way.

    The drop added to worries about the AI boom that flared a day before, when Oracle plunged nearly 11% despite likewise reporting a bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

    Chip maker Nvidia fell 3.3%, while Oracle fell another 4.5%.

    Stocks of companies that depend on spending by U.S. consumers were relatively strong Friday, as two out of every five stocks within the S&P 500 rose. Oil prices eased this week, which could help ease people’s bills, and

    In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 30 cents to $57.74 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 29 cents to $61.41 per barrel.

    The U.S. dollar slipped to 155.37 Japanese yen from 155.75 yen late Friday. The euro was unchanged at $1.1739.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Reddit Challenges Australia’s World-First Law Banning Children Under 16 From Social Media

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    MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Global online forum Reddit on Friday filed a court challenge to Australia’s world-first law that bans Australian children younger than 16 from holding accounts on the world’s most popular social media platforms.

    California-based Reddit Inc.’s suit filed in the High Court follows a case filed last month by Sydney-based rights group Digital Freedom Project.

    Both suits claim the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on Australia’s implied freedom of political communication.

    “We believe there are more effective ways for the Australian government to accomplish our shared goal of protecting youth, and the SMMA (Social Media Minimum Age) law carries some serious privacy and political expression issues for everyone on the internet,” Reddit said in a statement.

    “While we agree with the importance of protecting people under 16, this law has the unfortunate effect of forcing intrusive and potentially insecure verification processes on adults as well as minors, isolating teens from the ability to engage in age-appropriate community experiences (including political discussions), and creating an illogical patchwork of which platforms are included and which aren’t,” Reddit added.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government declined to comment on the merits of Reddit’s challenge.

    “The Albanese government is on the side of Australian parents and kids, not platforms,” a government statement said.

    “We will stand firm to protect young Australians from experiencing harm on social media. The matter is before the courts so it is not appropriate to comment further,” the statement added.

    Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32.9 million) from Wednesday if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove the accounts of Australian children younger than 16.

    Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, the law’s enforcer, sent compulsory information notices to the 10 age-restricted platforms on Thursday demanding data on how many accounts of young children they had deactivated since the law took effect on Wednesday.

    Inman Grant had predicted that some platforms might have been waiting to receive their first notice or their first fine for noncompliance before mounting a legal challenge.

    ESafety will send six monthly notices to gauge how effectively the platforms are complying.

    Despite the court challenge, Reddit said it would comply with the law and would continue to engage with eSafety.

    The platforms’ age-verification options were to ask for copies of identification documents, use a third party to apply age-estimation technology to analyze an account holder’s face, or make inferences from data already available, such has how long an account has been held.

    The government hasn’t told the platforms how to check ages, but has said requesting all account holders verify their ages would be unnecessarily intrusive, given the tech giants already have sufficient personal data on most people to perform that task.

    For privacy reasons, the platforms also cannot compel users to provide government-issued identification.

    Documents filed with the court registry show Reddit will ask the seven High Court judges to rule the law is invalid.

    Alternatively, the company wants the court to prevent the government from listing Reddit among the age-restricted platforms.

    The High Court will hold a preliminary hearing in late February to set a date for Digital Freedom Project’s challenge on behalf of two 15-year-olds. It is not yet clear whether the two challenges would be heard together.

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  • Crypto Mogul Do Kwon to Be Sentenced for Misleading Investors Who Lost Billions in Stablecoin Crash

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for misleading investors who lost billions when his company’s crypto ecosystem collapsed in 2022.

    Kwon, known by some as “the cryptocurrency king,” pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court in August to fraud charges stemming from Terraform Labs’ $40 billion crash.

    The company had touted its TerraUSD as a reliable “stablecoin” — a kind of currency typically pegged to stable assets to prevent drastic fluctuations in prices. But prosecutors say it was all an illusion that came crumbling down, devastating investors and triggering “a cascade of crises that swept through cryptocurrency markets.”

    Kwon, who hails from South Korea, has agreed to forfeit over $19 million as part of the plea deal.

    While federal sentencing guidelines would recommend a prison term of about 25 years, prosecutors have asked the court to sentence Kwon to 12 years. They cited his guilty plea, the fact that he faces further prosecution in Korea and that he has already served time in Montenegro while awaiting extradition.

    “Kwon’s fraud was colossal in scope, permeating virtually every facet of Terraform’s purported business,” prosecutors wrote in a recent memo to the judge. “His rampant lies left a trail of financial destruction in their wake.”

    Kwon’s attorneys asked that the sentence not exceed five years, arguing in their own memo that his conduct stemmed not from greed, but hubris and desperation.

    In a letter to the judge, Kwon wrote, “I alone am responsible for everyone’s pain. The community looked to me to know the path, and I in my hubris led them astray,” while adding, “I made misrepresentations that came from a brashness that is now a source of deep regret.”

    Authorities said investors worldwide lost money in the downfall of the Singapore crypto firm, which Kwon co-founded in 2018. Around $40 billion in market value was erased for the holders of TerraUSD and its floating sister currency, Luna, after the stablecoin plunged far below its $1 peg.

    Kwon was extradited to the U.S. from Montenegro after his March 23, 2023, arrest while traveling on a false passport in Europe.

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  • Coca-Cola Names a Company Veteran as Its New CEO

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    Coca-Cola said Wednesday that its chief operating officer will become its next CEO in the first quarter of 2026.

    The Atlanta beverage giant said its board elected Henrique Braun as CEO effective March 31. James Quincey, Coke’s current chairman and CEO, will transition to executive chairman of the company.

    Braun, 57, has worked at Coca-Cola for three decades. Prior to assuming the COO role earlier this year, he led operations in Brazil, Latin America, Greater China and South Korea. He has held positions overseeing Coke’s supply chain, new business development, marketing, innovation, general management and bottling operations.

    Braun was born in California and raised in Brazil. He holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University Federal of Rio de Janeiro, a master of science degree from Michigan State University and an MBA from Georgia State University.

    David Weinberg, Coca-Cola’s lead independent director, called Quincey, 60, a “transformative leader” who will continue to remain active in the business.

    During Quincey’s nine years as CEO, Coke added more than 10 additional billion-dollar brands, including BodyArmor and Fairlife. He also brought Coke into the alcoholic drink market with Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, which went on sale in 2021.

    In 2020, Quincey led a restructuring that reduced Coke’s brands by half and laid off thousands of employees. Quincey said Coke wanted to streamline its structure and focus its investments on fast-growing products like its Simply and Minute Maid juices.

    But as Quincey steps down as CEO, Coke is facing numerous challenges, including tepid demand for its products in the U.S. and Europe and increasing customer scrutiny of its ingredients. This summer, after a nudge from President Donald Trump, Coke said it would release a version of its trademark Cola with cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup.

    Weinberg said the board is confident that Braun will build on the company’s strengths and seek out growth opportunities globally.

    Coke shares were flat in after-market trading.

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  • Trump Says Venezuela’s Airspace Should Be Viewed as Closed. It’s Not Clear What That Means

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    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday said that the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela should be considered as “closed in its entirety,” an assertion that raised more questions about the U.S. pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

    The White House did not respond to questions about what Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, and it was unclear whether he was announcing a new policy or simply reinforcing the messaging around his campaign against Maduro, which has involved multiple strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean on small boats accused of ferrying drugs as well as a buildup of naval forces in the region. More than 80 people have been killed in such strikes since early September.

    The Republican president addressed his call for an aerial blockade to “Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” rather than to Maduro. International airlines last week began to cancel flights to Venezuela after the Federal Aviation Administration told pilots to be cautious flying around the country because of heightened military activity.

    The FAA’s jurisdiction is generally limited to the United States and its territories. The agency does routinely warn pilots about the dangers of flying over areas with ongoing conflicts or military activity around the globe, as it did earlier this month with Venezuela. The FAA works with other countries and the International Civil Aviation Organization on international issues. The FAA and ICAO did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday.

    Trump’s administration has sought to ratchet up pressure on Maduro. The U.S. government does not view Maduro as the legitimate leader of the oil-rich but increasingly impoverished South American nation and he faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S.

    U.S. forces have conducted bomber flights near Venezuela and the USS Gerald R. Ford, America’s most advanced aircraft carrier, was sent to the area. The Ford rounds off the largest buildup of U.S. firepower in the region in generations. With its arrival, the “Operation Southern Spear” mission includes nearly a dozen Navy ships and about 12,000 sailors and Marines.

    Trump’s team has weighed both military and nonmilitary options with Venezuela, including covert action by the CIA.

    Trump has publicly floated the idea of talking to Maduro. The New York Times reported Friday that Trump and Maduro had spoken. The White House declined to answer questions about the conversation.

    Associated Press writer Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.

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  • Santa Fe Tackles Rental Rates With First-In-US Minimum Wage Approach

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    SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Santa Fe has long referred to itself as “The City Different” for its distinct atmosphere and a blending of cultures that stretches back centuries. Now, it’s trying something different — something officials hope will prevent a cultural erosion as residents are priced out of their homes.

    It’s the first city in the United States to directly link wages to housing affordability, aiming to counter high rents by tying minimum wage increases to consumer prices as well as fair market rental prices.

    Many see the new ordinance as a big step forward for workers, but Mayor Alan Webber also sees it as an important tool for addressing an affordability crisis that threatens the very fabric of Santa Fe.

    “The purpose is to make a serious difference in assuring that people who work here can live here,” he said. “Santa Fe’s history and culture is really reflected in the diversity of our people. It’s that diversity that we’re trying to preserve.”

    Santa Fe’s minimum wage will increase to $17.50 starting in 2027. The annual increase historically has been tied to consumer prices, but going forward a new blended formula will be used to calculate the annual increase, with the Consumer Price Index making up one half and fair market rent data making up the other.

    There’s a 5% cap in case costs skyrocket, and if consumer prices or rents tank in any particular year, the minimum wage will not be reduced.

    Santa Fe first adopted a living wage in 2002. The ordinance has been expanded over the years and the mission this time was to deal with median housing prices and rental costs that were far above any other major market in New Mexico.

    University of New Mexico finance professor Reilly White presented the city with 25 years of data that showed changes in fair market rents and consumer prices. He said people earning minimum wage were falling behind.

    “It became clear that any index that was made had to be duly weighted in favor of some of this real estate side and some of the cost of living side,” White said.

    Crafting the ordinance was like threading a needle, the mayor said, explaining that the aim was to benefit workers while not overly burdening the mom-and-pop shops that are the backbone of Santa Fe’s economy.

    About 9,000 workers will see a bump in wages once the ordinance kicks in. That’s about 20% of the city’s workforce.

    Diego Ortiz will be among them. The 42-year-old father has called Santa Fe home for nearly three decades, working construction jobs to support his family.

    Choosing between paying rent, buying groceries and helping his children is a constant worry. He also talked about wanting his children to be able to focus on their studies. His son is having to delay school so he can work and save money, he said.

    “If there’s economic stability where we can get a good wage with the sweat of our brow, then we’re going to be able to pay our rent, pay our bills, or get a house,” he said. “Our families will be better and that will be a big change.”

    According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the lowest income renters are disproportionately Black, Native American and Latino.

    “Raising the minimum wage is an important thing to do in terms of affordability. Certainly part of the problem is an income problem,” said Dan Emmanuel, a senior researcher with the coalition. But he also warned that raising wages wouldn’t address affordability for seniors or those with disabilities who are not part of the workforce but make up a large share of low-income renters.

    Providing an income boost to a subset of the population also won’t necessarily resolve the underlying shortage of housing that’s driving up prices overall, said Issi Romem, an economist and fellow at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California-Berkeley.

    That’s why Santa Fe officials say they’re working to permit more homes and apartment units.

    On the edge of town, leasing flags whipped in the wind Wednesday as construction crews were busy building new complexes with adjacent swaths of dirt cleared for more. Mayor Webber said the uptick in permitting already is paying off — rental prices grew by just 0.5% this year.

    Santa Fe also is counting on revenue from a so-called mansion tax, which targets home sales over $1 million, to fuel a trust fund for affordable housing projects.

    Webber said the stakes are high and the city must tackle affordability from every angle.

    “Can the people who work here afford to live here?” he asked. “Can we keep Santa Fe diverse? Can we continue to be ‘The City Different’ in spite of the economic pressures that are at work?”

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  • Black Friday: What Time Do Stores Open?

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    Black Friday has become something of an anachronism in the e-commerce era. The day after Thanksgiving marks the official start of the holiday shopping season, but retailers already have spent weeks flooding their websites and customers’ email inboxes with early Black Friday offers.

    While sales trends have been shifting, the best bargains may still be from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. That may be especially true for big ticket items, seasonal merchandise and the latest trendy products.

    Consumer advocates note, however, that deep discounts are not a once-a-year opportunity. They advise shoppers to comparison shop, research price histories and to read the fine print to make sure they are buying what they really wanted at a good price.

    That said, some people enjoy stepping out from behind a computer or phone screen to take in the holiday atmosphere and music at a local mall or shopping area. Some retailers are offering exclusives to get them through the door. A number of stores that were closed on Thanksgiving reopen early Friday as retailers work to kick the holiday shopping season into high gear.

    Here are the Black Friday store hours for some prominent national chains.

    Best Buy stores will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

    Costco stores will open at 9 a.m.

    Dick’s Sporting Goods stores lists its hours as 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for Black Friday, but says on its website that hours may vary by location and to check with your local store for specific hours.

    Home Depot stores will open at 6 a.m. and close at the store’s regular hours. Specific closing hours may vary by store.

    JCPenney stores will open at 5 a.m.

    Most Kohl’s stores will open at 5 a.m.

    Lowe’s will open at 6 a.m.

    Macy’s stores will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Hours vary by location.

    Sam’s Club stores will be open during their regular hours.

    Target stores will open at 6 a.m. and close at their regular time.

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  • How Trading Wild Turkeys for Other Animals Became a Conservation Success Story

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    CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — No one wants a weasel on their Thanksgiving table, but swapping turkeys for other animals was once surprisingly common.

    Trading turkeys – for wildlife management, not dinner – was a key part of one of North America’s biggest conservation success stories. After dwindling to a few thousand birds in the late 1880s, the wild turkey population has grown to about 7 million birds in 49 states, plus more in Canada and Mexico, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation.

    In many cases, restoration relied on trades. The exchange rates varied, but Oklahoma once swapped walleye and prairie chickens for turkeys from Arkansas and Missouri. Colorado traded mountain goats for turkeys from Idaho. The Canadian province of Ontario ended up with 274 turkeys from New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Michigan, Missouri and Iowa in exchange for moose, river otters, and partridge.

    “Wildlife biologists don’t suffer from a lack of creativity,” said Patt Dorsey, director of conservation for the National Wild Turkey Federation’s western region.

    West Virginia in particular appears to have had an abundance of turkeys to share. In 1969, it sent 26 turkeys to New Hampshire in exchange for 25 fishers, a member of the weasel family once prized for its pelt. Later trades involved otters and bobwhite quail.

    “They were like our currency for all our wildlife that we restored,” said Holly Morris, furbearer and small game project leader at the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. “It’s just a way to help out other agencies. We’re all in the same mission.”

    Wild turkeys were abundant across the U.S. until the mid-1800s, when the clearing of forestland and unregulated hunting led the population to plummet. Early restoration efforts in the 1940s and 50s involved raising turkeys on farms, but that didn’t work well, Dorsey said.

    “Turkeys that had been raised in a pen didn’t do very well in the wild,” she said. “That’s when we started capturing them out of the wild and moving them around to other places to restore their population, and they really took off.”

    In New Hampshire, wild turkeys hadn’t been seen for more than 100 years when the state got the West Virginia flock. Though those birds quickly succumbed to a harsh winter, another flock sent from New York in 1975 fared better. With careful management that included moving birds around the state dozens of times over the ensuing decades, the population has grown to roughly 40,000 birds, said Dan Ellingwood, a biologist with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. That’s likely well beyond the expectations at the time of reintroduction, he said.

    “Turkeys are incredibly adaptive,” he said. “Winter severity has changed, the landscape has changed, and yet the population really took off.”

    Turkeys play an important role in a healthy ecosystem as both predator and prey, he said, and are a popular draw for hunters. But the restoration effort also is important just for the sake of ensuring native species continue to persist, he said.

    Dorsey, at the National Wild Turkey Federation agreed, noting that turkey restoration projects also helped states revive their populations of other species.

    “A lot of good work gets done on the back of the wild turkey,” she said.

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  • Trump Administration Says Lower Prices for 15 Medicare Drugs Will Save Taxpayers Billions

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Pharmaceutical companies have agreed to slash the Medicare prices for 15 prescription drugs after months of negotiations, reductions that are expected to produce billions in savings for taxpayers and older adults, the Trump administration said.

    But the net prices it unveiled for a 30-day supply of each drug are not what Medicare recipients will pay at their pharmacy counters, since those final amounts will depend on each individual’s plan and how much they spend on prescriptions in a given year.

    Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted the deals as part of the administration’s efforts to address affordability concerns among Americans. The Medicare drug negotiation program that made them possible is mandated by law and began under President Joe Biden’s administration.

    “President Trump directed us to stop at nothing to lower health care costs for the American people,” Kennedy said in a statement Tuesday evening. “As we work to Make America Healthy Again, we will use every tool at our disposal to deliver affordable health care to seniors.”

    The announcement marks the completion of a second round of negotiations under a 2022 law that allows Medicare to haggle over the price it pays on the most popular and expensive prescription drugs used by older Americans, bringing the total number of negotiated drug prices to 25. The new round of negotiated prices will go into effect in 2027. Reduced prices for the inaugural round of 10 drugs negotiated by the Biden administration last year will go into effect in January.


    Price negotiations apply to drugs treating diabetes, asthma, cancers and more

    The latest negotiated prices apply to some of the prescription medications on which Medicare spends the most money, including the massively popular GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy. Some of the other drugs involved in the negotiations include Trelegy Ellipta, which treats asthma; Otezla, a psoriatic arthritis drug; and various drugs that treat diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome and different forms of cancer.

    Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, said the administration delivered “substantially better outcomes for taxpayers and seniors in the Medicare Part D program” than the previous year’s deals.

    Under the first round of Medicare price negotiations, the Biden administration said the program would have saved about $6 billion on net covered prescription drug costs, or about 22%, if it had been in effect the previous year. The Trump administration said its latest round would have saved the government about $8.5 billion in net spending, or 36%, if it had been in effect last year.

    It’s unclear exactly how much money the newly announced deals could save Medicare beneficiaries when they are buying prescription drugs at the pharmacy because those costs are determined by various individual factors.

    A new rule that kicked off this year also caps out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000, giving some relief to older adults affected by high-cost prescriptions. The administration said estimated out-of-pocket savings for Medicare beneficiaries with drug plans is about $685 million.

    Spencer Perlman, director of health care research at Veda Partners, said the Trump administration’s improved outcomes probably resulted from the mix of drugs being negotiated and lessons learned from the first year of negotiations.

    Net drug prices are proprietary, he said, but “if we take the administration at their word, I think it demonstrates that they have secured meaningful price concessions for seniors, meaning the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program is working as intended.”


    Medicare recipients can’t get GLP-1 drugs for obesity, but the administration is making changes

    The GLP-1 weight-loss drugs that were part of the negotiations have been especially scrutinized for their high out-of-pocket costs. Yet it’s still unclear to what extent Medicare beneficiaries who want to use the drugs to treat obesity will be able to do so.

    Medicare has long been prohibited from paying for weight-loss treatments, but a separate deal recently announced between the Trump administration and two pharmaceutical companies included plans for a pilot program that will expand coverage for the drugs to additional high-risk obese and overweight people.

    The Trump administration this year has also negotiated several unrelated deals with drug companies to lower the cost of their products for the wider population.

    Pharmaceutical companies, meanwhile, have sued over the Medicare drug negotiations enabled by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and remain opposed to them.

    “Whether it is the IRA or MFN, government price setting for medicines is the wrong policy for America,” Alex Schriver, senior vice president of public affairs at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, said in a statement. “These flawed policies also threaten future medical innovation by siphoning $300 billion from biopharmaceutical research, undermining the American economy and our ability to compete globally.”

    Next year, Medicare will negotiate prices for another round of 15 drugs, including physician-administered drugs for the first time.

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  • Bangkok Court Issues an Arrest Warrant for Thai Co-Owner of Miss Universe Pageant

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    BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Thailand said Wednesday that it has issued an arrest warrant for a co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization in connection with a fraud case.

    Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip was charged with fraud then released on bail in 2023. She failed to appear as required in a Bangkok court on Tuesday. Since she did not notify the court about her absence, she was deemed to be a flight risk, according to a statement from the Bangkok South District Court.

    The court rescheduled the hearing for Dec. 26.

    According to the court’s statement, Jakkaphong and her company, JKN Global Group Public Co. Ltd., were sued for allegedly defrauding Raweewat Maschamadol in selling him the company’s corporate bonds in 2023. Raweewat says the investment caused him to lose 30 million baht ($930,362).

    Financially troubled JKN defaulted on payments to investors beginning in 2023 and began debt rehabilitation procedures with the Central Bankruptcy Court in 2024. The company says it has debts totaling about 3 billion baht ($93 million).

    JKN acquired the rights to the Miss Universe pageant from IMG Worldwide LLC in 2022. In 2023, it sold 50% of its Miss Universe shares to Legacy Holding Group USA, which is owned by a Mexican businessman, Raúl Rocha Cantú.

    Jakkaphong, who is transgender, resigned from all of the company’s positions in June after being accused by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission of falsifying the company’s 2023 financial statements. She remains its largest shareholder.

    Her whereabouts remain unclear. She did not appear at the 74th Miss Universe competition, which was held in Bangkok earlier this month.

    This year’s competition was marred by various problems, including a sharp-tongued scolding by a Thai organizer of Fátima Bosch Fernández of Mexico, who was crowned Miss Universe 2025 on Nov. 19. Two judges reportedly dropped out, with one suggesting that there was an element of rigging to the contest. Separately, Thai police investigated allegations that publicity for the event included illegal promotion of online casinos.

    On Monday, JKN denied rumors that Jakkaphong had liquidated the company’s assets and fled the country, but there has been no immediate reaction regarding the arrest warrant. She could not be reached for comment.

    Jakkaphong is a well-known celebrity in Thailand who has starred in reality shows and is outspoken about her identity as a transgender woman.

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  • Exclusive-Trump Team Negotiating Trade Deal With Taiwan That Could Help Train US Workers, Sources Say

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    By Trevor Hunnicutt, Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee

    WASHINGTON/TAIPEI (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is negotiating a deal that could commit Taiwan to fresh investment and training of U.S. workers in semiconductor manufacturing and other advanced industries, according to five people familiar with the matter.

    Under the arrangement, Taiwanese companies including TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, would send new capital and workers to expand their U.S. operations and train U.S. workers.

    Taiwan’s exports to the United States are currently subject to a 20% tariff, and Taipei has been in talks to reduce that figure as part of an overarching deal with Washington. Semiconductors, vital for all kinds of high-tech products, are currently exempt from tariffs while the U.S builds domestic capacity.

    One of the people said the total U.S. investment to be pledged by Taiwan would be smaller than that of its main regional economic rivals, and would include support to help Washington build science park infrastructure drawing on Taiwanese know-how. The person and others spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

    South Korea and Japan have pledged a total of $350 billion and $550 billion in investment in the U.S., respectively, under deals to trim U.S. tariffs on most of their goods to 15% from 25%.

    It was unclear when the Taiwan deal would close or what specifics would make it into the final agreement, according to the people. They cautioned that any deal terms could change until they were finalized in negotiations. The workforce training aspect of the deal has not previously been reported.

    “Until announced by President Trump, reporting about potential trade deals is speculation,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai. The U.S. trade representative’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

    Trump has previously said some skilled foreign workers may be necessary to train Americans in state-of-the-art factories.

    TAIWAN LOOKS TO REPLICATE ITS MODEL

    TSMC, which declined to comment on the trade talks, has struggled to find the right workers for its U.S. projects.

    CEO and Chairman C.C. Wei said in January building the new factory in Arizona has taken at least twice as long as in Taiwan, citing a shortage of skilled workers and gaps in the supply chain. TSMC, for example, brought half of the construction workers from Texas to Arizona, increasing costs due to relocation and accommodation, he said.

    Taiwan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said in a statement that its team was continuing to discuss supply chain cooperation with the United States under a “Taiwan model.”

    Taiwan began developing its science parks, where the bulk of its semiconductor manufacturing takes place, in the 1980s, building up a whole supply chain for seamless production.

    Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Wednesday, Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai said the two sides are at the stage of exchanging documents to firm up certain details.

    “It is very difficult for other countries to do this kind of work, because only we have this concept, practice, and track record of service parks, which allows us to undertake this kind of initiative in the United States,” he added.

    Last month, Taiwan Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun, who is leading talks aimed at reducing Trump’s tariffs on Taiwanese exports, said she was hopeful both sides could reach a consensus on expanding investment in the United States.

    While Taipei has been keen to show its commitment to Trump’s call to boost U.S. manufacturing, it has also said the most advanced semiconductor technologies and research will remain on Taiwan.

    Last week, Trump acknowledged criticism of programs that welcome skilled foreign workers but said doing so was necessary to dominate in key industries. In a speech at a U.S.-Saudi investment forum, Trump referenced opening up “a big plant with your friend from Taiwan, where we’re going to have 40 or 50% of the computer chip business.”

    He added: “Our people have to be taught. This is something they’ve never done, and we’re not going to be successful if we don’t allow people that invest billions of dollars in plant and equipment to bring a lot of their people from their country to get that plant open, operating and working.”

    Young Liu, chairman of Taiwan’s Foxconn, Nvidia’s largest server maker, said last week the company was looking to work with the U.S. and other countries to build science parks, adding that he hoped this could help trade negotiations.

    RISING TRUMP TARIFFS PROMPTED TALKS

    Taiwan’s representative to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i, said this month that he and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had discussed supply chains and semiconductors during a meeting on the sidelines of the event in South Korea. 

    Lin said Bessent had been keen to hear about Taiwan’s experience in building up its semiconductor clusters.

    Trump said in August the U.S. would impose a tariff of about 100% on imports of semiconductors but exempted companies that are manufacturing in the U.S. or have committed to do so, which includes TSMC, though U.S. officials are privately saying that they might not levy them soon, Reuters reported this month.

    TSMC, whose business is surging on strong demand for artificial intelligence applications, is investing $165 billion to build chip factories in Arizona, though the bulk of its production will remain in Taiwan.

    Other Taiwanese companies have announced new plans for investment in the United States, including silicon wafer manufacturer GlobalWafers.

    Any agreement with Taiwan could rile Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping told Trump in a call on Monday that Taiwan’s “return to China” was an important matter for the country. The White House has not commented on that element of the call.

    The United States is Chinese-claimed Taiwan’s most important international backer and the ultimate guarantor of its security, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. 

    (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Jeanny Kao in Taipei and Andrea Shalal in Washington)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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