Wednesday, October 1st, 2025 - Hegseth fat shames top brass; Gov’t shuts down; Trump to “debar” Harvard; TrumpRx; AI actor shopped
Description
Today’s Headlines: Trump and his War Secretary Pete Hegseth dragged 800 generals from around the world to Quantico for what was basically a “threatening pep rally.” Hegseth banned beards, long hair, and “Nordic pagan” vibes. Trump then called U.S. cities like San Francisco and Chicago “war zones” that should be used as military training grounds, and even ranted about ugly stealth ships. Meanwhile, the government officially shut down at midnight. Around 750,000 federal workers are now unpaid or furloughed (with Trump hinting some might be permanently cut) and — conveniently — there’s no vote on releasing the Epstein files. In other news, the administration is moving to “debar” Harvard, potentially banning it from federal funds and grants after already threatening its tax status and student visas. Trump also struck a flashy Oval Office deal with Pfizer to sell Medicaid and cash-paying consumers cheaper drugs via a new website called “Trump Rx” while Pfizer invests $70 billion in U.S. manufacturing. Other pharma companies are being told to play ball or face tariffs. And on the tech front, OpenAI announced a new TikTok-style video app while a startup called Xicoia is shopping an AI-generated “actor” to Hollywood — so apparently we’re replacing performers before agents now.
Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:
AP News: Trump calls for using US cities as a 'training ground' for military in unusual speech to generals
NYT: Government Shutdown Hours Away as Senate Spending Votes Fail
WSJ: Trump Administration Opens New Front to Strip Harvard of Federal Funding
WSJ: White House Unveils ‘TrumpRx’ Drug-Buying Site and a Pfizer Pricing Deal
WSJ: OpenAI Launches Video Generator App to Rival TikTok and YouTube
AP News: 'AI actor' Tilly Norwood stirs outrage in Hollywood
Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
United States
