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      Trump news at a glance: president on tariff blitz ahead of August deadline

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      Donald Trump’s administration has imposed sanctions against the judge overseeing the prosecution of his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro and hit Brazil with huge tariffs amid accusations from the country’s president that Trump has launched “a direct attack on Brazilian democracy”.The US president has partly attributed his 50% tariff to his outrage at the supposed political “witch-hunt” against Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president, who is on trial over an alleged coup attempt after the 2022 election.Amid a blitz of tariff announcements, Trump also hit India with a 25% levy and an extra “penalty” because it buys arms and energy from Russia, while imposing a 15% rate on South Korea as part of a trade deal that avoids even higher levies.Domestically, experts say they have “enormous concerns” with a Trump administration initiative for millions of Americans to upload personal health data and medical records on new apps and systems run by private tech companies.Here are the key stories.Trump accused of attack on Brazil’s democracy over Bolsonaro judge sanctionsAllies of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva have accused Donald Trump of launching “a direct attack on Brazilian democracy” after the US treasury slapped sanctions on Alexandre de Moraes, the supreme court judge widely credited with helping save Brazilian democracy from a 2022 rightwing coup.The controversial US move was announced on Wednesday by the secretary of the treasury, Scott Bessent, shortly before Trump followed through on a threat to hit Brazilian imports with 50% tariffs by signing an executive order “to deal with the recent policies, practices and actions by the government of Brazil”.Read the full storyBrazilian president hits back as US tariffs threaten trade showdownLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva has said he does not fear getting on the wrong side of Donald Trump as South America’s largest economy braces for the introduction of 50% tariffs.Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order confirming the US would impose the rate on Brazil from next week.Read the full storyDivided Fed holds interest rates in face of Trump pressureThe US Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday despite intense pressure from Trump to lower rates. Amid an onslaught of attacks from the White House against the Fed, officials at the central bank said economic “uncertainty” remained too high to lower rates.Read the full storyUS to impose 15% tariffs on South Korea as part of trade deal, Trump saysThe president has said the US will charge a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea as part of an agreement with the key Asian trading partner and ally that avoids even higher levies.The arrangement – announced shortly after Trump met with Korean officials at the White House – came during a blizzard of trade policy announcements ahead of a self-imposed 1 August deadline, when the president has promised higher tariffs will kick in on US imports from a range of countries.Read the full storyTrump administration launching health tracking system with big tech’s helpThe US government is pushing an initiative for millions of Americans to upload personal health data and medical records on new apps and systems run by private tech companies, promising easier to access health records and wellness monitoring.“There are enormous ethical and legal concerns,” said Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University law professor who specialises in public health. “Patients across America should be very worried that their medical records are going to be used in ways that harm them and their families.”Read the full storyEx-CIA agent hits out at Gabbard for going after Obama A former CIA officer who helped lead the intelligence assessments over alleged Russia interference in the 2016 presidential election has said Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, is ignorant of the practices of espionage after she accused Barack Obama and his national security team of “treasonous conspiracy” against Donald Trump.Read the full storyKamala Harris won’t run for California governor Donald Trump’s former rival for the presidency, Kamala Harris, has announced she is not running for California governor, as had been widely expected.The former vice-president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee announced on Wednesday that she would not run, in a decision that leaves the contest to lead the country’s largest blue state wide open.Read the full storyTrump backs Israel and rebukes Starmer over Palestinian state recognitionDonald Trump has doubled down on his backing for Israel after having appeared to give a green light to the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, to recognise a Palestinian state.Amid signs of mounting opposition among his Maga base to Israel’s military operation in Gaza, Trump criticized Starmer’s plan to grant recognition as “rewarding Hamas”, even after having not taken issue with it when the pair met in Scotland this week. The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, later announced his country also planned to formally recognise Palestine in September.Read the full storyUS placed on rights watch list under TrumpA group of global civil society organisations has placed the US on a watchlist for urgent concern over the health of its civic society, alongside Turkey, Serbia, El Salvador, Indonesia and Kenya.Read the full storyWhat else happened today:

      The US is suspending a “de minimis” exemption that allowed low-value commercial shipments to be shipped into the country without facing tariffs, the White House said. Under Trump’s order, parcels valued at or under $800 sent outside of the international postal network will face “all applicable duties”.

      Republicans have unveiled a new congressional map in Texas that would allow the party to pick up as many as five additional congressional seats, an aggressive manoeuvre that has already met decisive outcry from Democrats and comes as the GOP tries to stave off losses in next year’s midterm elections.

      Arizona congressman Greg Stanton says the US government violated federal law when it refused to allow him to visit a local restaurant owner held in an immigration detention facility last week.

      Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has said the country is demanding the repatriation of at least 30 of its citizens currently being held in the controversial Florida immigration detention centre known as “Alligator Alcatraz”.
      Catching up? Here’s what happened 29 July 2025. More

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      Brown University reaches deal with Trump administration to restore $50m in funds

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      Brown University has reached an agreement with the Trump administration that will reinstate nearly $50m in research funding and close several federal investigations into the institution, university president Christina Paxson announced in a campus-wide email on Wednesday.The settlement follows the Trump administration’s threat in April to freeze $510m in federal support to Brown. This makes Brown the third Ivy League school to reach a resolution with the federal government this month.Under the terms of the agreement, Brown will commit to nondiscrimination in both admissions and campus programs, and will grant federal officials access to its admissions data. The arrangement brings to an end investigations led by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education and Justice.A statement from the institution said that the “voluntary agreement will reinstate payments for active research grants and restore Brown’s ability to compete for new federal grants and contracts, while also meeting the core imperative of preserving the ability for our students and scholars – both domestic and international – to teach and learn without government intrusion”.The agreement between Brown and Trump does not require the university to admit any wrongdoing. And unlike Columbia University, which agreed to pay a $200m settlement, Brown’s deal does not involve any financial penalty. The email stated that “the government does not have the authority to dictate teaching, learning and academic speech”.The education secretary, Linda McMahon, had previously described the Columbia settlement as a “roadmap”, predicting it would “ripple across the higher education sector and change the course of campus culture for years to come”.In addition to a pledge to “reaffirm compliance with nondiscrimination laws” in admissions and programs, the deal also prevents Brown from administering gender-affirming surgeries to minors or prescribing puberty blockers.The university has also agreed to implement the Trump administration’s definitions of male and female (as outlined in a January executive order) for women’s athletics, student programs, campus facilities and housing. More

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      Texas Republicans unveil congressional map that could gift them five seats

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      Republicans have unveiled a new congressional map in Texas that would allow the party to pick up as many as five additional congressional seats, an aggressive maneuver that has already met decisive outcry from Democrats and comes as the GOP tries to stave off losses in next year’s midterm elections.Republicans already hold 25 of Texas’s 38 congressional seats. But at the urging of Donald Trump, Texas’s governor, Greg Abbott, called a special session this month to redraw the state’s congressional districts. After contentious hearings across the state, Republicans unveiled their proposed map on Wednesday.“We expected them to be greedy,” said Sam Gostomski, executive director of the Texas Democratic party. “The bottom line is, they are going to turn Texas into almost certainly the most gerrymandered state in the country.”Had the map been in place for the 2024 election, Trump would have carried 30 of the districts, while Kamala Harris would have carried just eight, according to data from Dave’s Redistricting App, an online tool that allows for analysis of voting districts.On first glance at the maps, “it was more packing and more trying to divide people,” said state representative Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, a Democrat from San Antonio and a member of the Texas house’s redistricting committee. “We’re trying to digest it and look at it and look at the numbers and see how it all plays out.”Republican legislators held three hearings to hear from voters about redistricting. But the proposed maps were not presented at the meetings, rendering the legally required hearings into a pro forma exercise.“How do people even know what to comment on if the maps aren’t published?” she said. “I call it a sneak attack to put the maps out after the hearing.”The map unveiled on Wednesday represents the most aggressive effort for Republicans. While analysts said Republicans could target three Democratic seats easily, trying to claim more risked spreading GOP voters too thin.One of the proposed changes in the maps would consolidate two Democratic seats in Austin, currently held by Representatives Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett. Other changes include shifting boundaries of districts in south Texas, where Republicans have made inroads among Hispanic voters.“Merging the 35th and the 37th districts is illegal voter suppression of Black and Latino Central Texans,” Casar said in a statement. “If Trump is allowed to rip the Voting Rights Act to shreds here in Central Texas, his ploy will spread like wildfire across the country. Everyone who cares about our democracy must mobilize against this illegal map.”The map also radically redraws district lines in Houston, eliminating one majority people of color seat held by Democrats.“The map is extreme invidious discrimination and accomplishes what the President has demanded of the governor and more,” said Al Green, a member of the US Congress. “The DoJ demanded that the race card be played, and the governor dealt the people of Texas a racist hand.”Green pledged to run for re-election, despite the changes in district boundaries.Democrats narrowly won two seats in south Texas where a majority of voters also chose Trump. The redistricting widens the margin a Republican congressional candidate might expect to win, given the 2024 result.Democrats have already denounced the Republican efforts as a naked partisan power grab and have contemplated redrawing maps in states where they hold the power to do so. A Super Pac supporting House Democrats has pledged to donate upwards of $20m to target Republicans.The redistricting process in states typically occurs at the start of each new decade, when new census data is available.“This proposed map is a racially discriminatory, brazen power grab. It is an insult to all Texans, who have demonstrated overwhelming, bipartisan opposition to President Trump’s order to draw a mid-decade gerrymander. Texans deserve better than this, and if the legislature and the governor follow through with enacting this egregious gerrymander, it will face fierce legal challenges,” said Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Redistricting Foundation, which has opposed the Texas effort.Democrats have few options to fight the redistricting. While a court challenge will be filed almost immediately, federal judges in the conservative fifth judicial circuit may not resolve the dispute before the 2026 election, and may not resolve it in their favor.The Texas house select committee on redistricting has scheduled a public hearing on the proposed maps for Friday. The Texas AFL-CIO put out a call on Wednesday afternoon to pack the capitol in Austin and testify.Democratic legislators may leave the state in order to deny Republicans a legislative quorum and prevent them from passing law. Doing so presents practical and legal costs for those who do, but may be the last remaining bargaining chip they have before the issue enters the courts.“I can tell you that our members are going to fight it for as long as it takes,” Gostomski said, “but at the end of the day, the only real legal mechanism in place is, at some point, the GOP leadership has to decide if they are more interested in representing their constituents than protecting Donald Trump’s power.” More

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      Kamala Harris announces she will not run for governor of California

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      Kamala Harris, the former vice-president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, announced on Wednesday that she will not run for governor of California – a highly anticipated decision that leaves the contest to lead the country’s largest blue state wide open.“For now, my leadership – and public service – will not be in elected office,” Harris said in a statement, ending months of speculation about her political future after losing the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump.“I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans,” she added.Harris, 60, who previously served as California’s attorney general and US senator, had been exploring a run for the state’s top job since leaving the White House in January. But, she said in the statement, “after deep reflection, I’ve decided that I will not run for governor in this election”. The decision does not rule out a future run for public office, including a third bid for the White House, after unsuccessful campaigns in 2020 and 2024.Among the other possibilities Harris is exploring is starting a non-profit or leading a policy thinktank, said a personal familiar with her thinking. Allies said she would be a sought-after surrogate and fundraiser ahead of the 2026 midterms.“I think we can expect her to continue to invigorate the younger generation who really vibed off of her energy, her authenticity, and, you know, her willingness to talk about things that you don’t normally talk about when you’re on the campaign trail,” said the California congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, one of the Democrats Harris spoke with in recent months as she weighed a run for governor.Harris’s looming decision had in effect paralyzed the race to replace Gavin Newsom, the term-limited Democratic governor, with early polling suggesting she was Californians’ top choice. The Harris-less race to lead California will now take place in a political landscape dramatically reshaped by her loss to Trump in November, which plunged the party into a period of paralysis and soul-searching.In the months since, the Democratic base has grown increasingly furious with its old guard, demanding fresh leadership and a more combative approach to what they view as Trump’s increasingly authoritarian agenda.In a nod to the discontent roiling her party, and the country, Harris said: “We must recognize that our politics, our government, and our institutions have too often failed the American people, culminating in this moment of crisis. As we look ahead, we must be willing to pursue change through new methods and fresh thinking – committed to our same values and principles, but not bound by the same playbook.”While the decision was disappointing to supporters eager to see Harris square off again with Trump during the final years of his term, Harris had given few signals that she was deeply excited by the prospect of leading the state from the governor’s perch in Sacramento. The months-long slog to next year’s contest would have forced Harris to grapple with her role in Democrats’ losses in November, which has already drawn criticism from corners of the party eager for leaders to step aside and make space for a new generation of candidates.The crowded field of Democrats running for governor in California is so far made up of long-serving or well-known political leaders, including Xavier Becerra, the former attorney general of California who served with Harris in Biden’s cabinet as the secretary of health and human services; Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Democratic mayor of Los Angeles; the state’s lieutenant governor, Eleni Kounalakis, who is close friends with Harris; and the former representative Katie Porter.The most prominent Republicans in the race are Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside county, and Steve Hilton, the former Fox host and former adviser to then UK prime minister David Cameron. Ric Grenell, a longtime Trump ally, has also toyed with the idea of running.In a statement, Villaraigosa commended Harris’s leadership and said that her decision “reflects her continued commitment to serving at the highest levels of government”.Becerra described Harris’s decision as an “important turning point for her and our state” that would reshape the “race for governor, but not the stakes”.“California needs a governor who will treat the cost of living crisis like the emergency it is, and who will stand up to the chaos and corruption of the Trump White House,” he said in a statement.Meanwhile, Newsom, who came up in San Francisco politics with Harris, also praised the former vice-president. “Kamala Harris has courageously served our state and country for her entire career,” he said.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“Whether it be as a prosecutor, attorney general, senator, or vice-president she has always kept a simple pledge at the heart of every decision she’s made: For the People. Grateful for her service and friendship – and looking forward to continuing the fight in whatever the future might hold for her.”Republicans – some of whom had been eager to elevate Harris as the face of the Democratic party – nevertheless touted her decision as a political victory for the president.“Kamala Harris’s political career is over thanks to President Trump,” said Kollin Crompton, a spokesperson for the Republican Governors Association, adding, perhaps prematurely: “Americans across the country can sigh in relief that they won’t have to see or hear from Kamala Harris any longer.”Harris had maintained a relatively low profile since she returned home to Los Angeles, offering few clues about her political future. She remained mostly out of view as protests erupted in response to the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Los Angeles earlier this summer. In a statement issued after Trump ordered national guard troops deployed Los Angeles, she said that protest was “a powerful tool” and said she supported the “millions of Americans who are standing up to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms”.She has been selective about when to weigh in against the Trump administration’s actions. Earlier this year, Harris delivered a sharp speech in which she warned that the US was witnessing a “wholesale abandonment of America’s highest ideals” by the US president.On Wednesday, Harris vowed to remain politically engaged.“We, the People must use our power to fight for freedom, opportunity, fairness, and the dignity of all,” she said. “I will remain in that fight.”Dani Anguiano contributed to this report More

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      Kamala Harris says she won’t run for California governor, saying ‘for now’ she won’t be in elected office – US politics live

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      Kamala Harris, the former vice-president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, announced on Wednesday that she will not run for governor of California – a highly anticipated decision that leaves the contest to lead the country’s largest blue state wide open.In a statement Harris said:
      For now, my leadership – and public service – will not be in elected office. I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans.
      Brown University announced on Wednesday it “reached a voluntary agreement with the federal government to restore funding for the University’s federally sponsored medical and health sciences research and resolve three open reviews assessing Brown’s compliance with federal nondiscrimination obligations.”As part of the agreement, signed by Brown president Christina H. Paxson, attorney general Pam Bondi, education secretary Linda McMahon and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, Brown will pay $50 million “to state workforce development organizations operating in compliance with anti-discrimination laws” over the next 10 years.One provision of the agreement stipulates that “Brown shall not maintain programs that promote unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes, quotas, diversity targets, or similar efforts.” Defining the effort to bring diversity to campuses as a form of illegal discrimination against white students is a core element of the Trump administration’s ideological war on higher education.“Accordingly,” the agreement adds, “Brown will provide a timely report to the United States summarizing its compliance with this obligation, including an assurance that Brown has acted responsibly to ensure its programs do not promote unlawful DEI goals.”Another provision, which might seem to be at odds with the ban on promoting diversity, is a commitment from the university to combat anti-semitism by taking actions “to support a thriving Jewish community, research and education about Israel, and a robust Program in Judaic Studies, through outreach to Jewish Day School students to provide information about applying to Brown, resources for religiously observant Jewish community members, renewed partnerships with Israeli academics and national Jewish organizations, support for enhanced security at the Brown-RISD Hillel, and a convening of alumni, students, and faculty to celebrate 130 years of Jewish life at Brown”.The education secretary called the agreement as evidence that the Trump administration “is successfully reversing the decades-long woke-capture of our nation’s higher education institutions.”At the start of his remarks, before touting what he called the supposed benefits of helping Americans to access their medical records on their phones, health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr took a moment to praise the way Donald Trump has changed the White House since January.As Kennedy recalled visiting the Oval office when his uncle, John F Kennedy, was president, he said that the White House had become, over time, drab. He then thanked Trump for making it now “the opposite of drab”, a compliment that brought a massive smile to the face of the president.Donald Trump just spoke at the start of what’s billed as a Making Health Technology Great Again event at the White House, to unveil a new private health tracking system that asks Americans to share their personal health data and medical records with private tech companies.While privacy advocates have raised alarms about the plan, Trump announced that what he called “the CMS Digital Health Tech Ecosystem” would “give healthcare providers, insurers and software companies the tools they need to empower Americans with a 21st Century experience on health.”Before inviting his health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, to speak, Trump also recited a series of boasts about how well things are going under his leadership that have become a regular part of his remarks in all settings.One of them was his claim that “the king of Saudi Arabia” told him on a recent visit to the Middle East that “one year ago, your country was dead, and today yo have the hottest country anywhere in the world.”As we noted last week when Trump recited this story at an AI summit, Trump was not hosted on his trip by King Salman of Saudi Arabia, the 89-year-old monarch who has largely retreated from public life and took no part in the lavish ceremonies and meetings Trump attended in Riyadh.Instead, Trump met with crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, who approved the 2018 murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to a US intelligence report made public three weeks after the end of Trump’s first term.Here are some of the latest developments we’re tracking in our continuing live coverage of the second Trump administration on Wednesday:

      The US Federal Reserve elected to hold its benchmark interest rate steady at between 4.25 and 4.5%, a rate it has maintained since the end of 2024. Two Trump-appointed officials on the central bank dissented.

      Kamala Harris, the former vice-president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, announced on Wednesday that she will not run for governor of California, or any elected office, “For now” – fueling speculation that she could run for the 2028 Democratic nomination.

      Donald Trump signed an executive order which adds a further 40% tariff to Brazilian imports – bringing the total to 50%. The order exempts hundreds of products that form a large share of Brazilian goods imported by the US, but not coffee.

      Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer outlined a new attempt to force attorney general Pam Bondi to release the files related to the federal investigations of Jeffrey Epstein.

      The treasury department announced sanctions against Alexandre de Moraes – the Brazil supreme court judge leading the prosecution of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, for allegedly attempting to launch a coup after losing the 2022 Brazilian election.
      The executive order issued by Donald Trump on Wednesday, imposing 50% tariffs on goods imported from Brazil – to punish the South American nation for supposedly “persecuting” its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, for attempting to stay in power despite losing an election – exempts hundreds of products, including certain metals, aircraft parts, wood pulp, energy and energy products, and fertilizers.The long list of exemptions included in an annex to the order on the White House website does not, however, include coffee, one of the main items American companies import from Brazil.The Jeffrey Epstein files weren’t the only business of the day on Capitol Hill today. Legislation sponsored by Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri gained approval from a key committee today.The bill was initially named the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act, which would bar elected members of Congress from buying, owning or selling individual stocks.The bill’s original name takes a pointed jab at Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi – who has been criticised for her stock holdings. Democrats have since negotiated for the legislation to be renamed as the “Honest Act”.In a statement today, Pelosi said:
      I welcome any serious effort to raise ethical standards in public service. The HONEST Act, as amended, rightly applies its stock trading ban not only to Members of Congress, but now to the President and Vice President as well. I strongly support this legislation and look forward to voting for it on the Floor of the House.
      However, since the legislation stipulates that the law doesn’t start until an elected official’s new term in office, it exempts Donald Trump and JD Vance.Donald Trump signed an executive order which adds a further 40% tariff to Brazilian imports – bringing the total to 50%.The White House says that the tariffs are a penalty for the Government of Brazil’s politically motivated persecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters. The administration maintains that these punitive tariffs are part of the President’s plans to protect “the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States from a foreign threat.”This comes after the earlier move from the Treasury Department to issue sanctions against the high court judge overseeing Bolsonaro’s attempted coup trial.Kamala Harris, the former vice-president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, announced on Wednesday that she will not run for governor of California – a highly anticipated decision that leaves the contest to lead the country’s largest blue state wide open.In a statement Harris said:
      For now, my leadership – and public service – will not be in elected office. I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans.
      Powell adds that today’s Federal Reserve meeting was “quite good” but there were two dissenters at the meeting.And on the impact of tariffs, Powell says there has been “substantial amount of tariff revenue collected” each month. But he adds that the process with “probably be slower than expected at the beginning, but we never expected it to be fast, and we think we have a long way to go.”Powell underscores the Fed’s reasoning:
      The labor market looks solid. Inflation is above target. And even if you look through the tariff effects we think it’s still a bit above target.
      Jerome Powell said that while the interest rate will remain steady today, there will be two rounds of jobs and inflation data by the time of the next meeting in September.He did add, however, that they have made “no decisions about September,” but they will be taking that interim information into consideration ahead of the next decision.Jerome Powell is outlining the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep the interest rate steady.“Our obligation is to keep longer term inflation’s inflation expectations well anchored, and to prevent a one time increase in the price level from becoming an ongoing inflation problem,” he said. More

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      Trump administration launching health tracking system with big tech’s help

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      The Trump administration is pushing an initiative for millions of Americans to upload personal health data and medical records on new apps and systems run by private tech companies, promising easier to access health records and wellness monitoring.Donald Trump is expected to deliver remarks on the initiative Wednesday afternoon in the East Room. The event is expected to involve leaders from more than 60 companies, including major tech companies such as Google and Amazon, as well as prominent hospital systems like the Cleveland clinic.The new system will focus on diabetes and weight management, conversational artificial intelligence that helps patients, and digital tools such as QR codes and apps that register patients for check-ins or track medications.The initiative, spearheaded by an administration that has already freely shared highly personal data about Americans in ways that have tested legal bounds, could put patients’ desires for more convenience at their doctor’s office on a collision course with their expectations that their medical information be kept private.“There are enormous ethical and legal concerns,” said Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University law professor who specializes in public health. “Patients across America should be very worried that their medical records are going to be used in ways that harm them and their families.”Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who will be in charge of maintaining the system, have said patients will need to opt in for the sharing of their medical records and data, which will be kept secure.Those officials said patients will benefit from a system that lets them quickly call up their own records without the hallmark difficulties, such as requiring the use of fax machines to share documents, that have prevented them from doing so in the past.“We have the tools and information available now to empower patients to improve their outcomes and their healthcare experience,” Dr Mehmet Oz, the administrator for CMS, said in a statement Wednesday. CMS already has troves of information on more than 140 million Americans who enroll in Medicare and Medicaid.Popular weight loss and fitness subscription service Noom, which has signed on to the initiative, will be able to pull medical records after the system’s expected launch early next year.That might include labs or medical tests that the app could use to develop an AI-driven analysis of what might help users lose weight, the CEO, Geoff Cook, told the Associated Press. Apps and health systems will also have access to their competitors’ information, too. Noom would be able to access a person’s data from Apple Health, for example.“Right now you have a lot of siloed data,” Cook said.Patients who travel across the country for treatment at the Cleveland clinic often have a hard time obtaining all their medical records from various providers, said the hospital system’s CEO, Tomislav Mihaljevic. He said the new system would eliminate that barrier, which sometimes delays treatment or prevents doctors from making an accurate diagnosis because they do not have a full view of a patient’s medical history.Having seamless access to health app data, such as what patients are eating or how much they are exercising, will also help doctors manage obesity and other chronic diseases, Mihaljevic said.“These apps give us insight about what’s happening with the patient’s health outside of the physician’s office,” he said.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionCMS will also recommend a list of apps on Medicare.gov that are designed to help people manage chronic diseases, as well as help them select healthcare providers and insurance plans.Digital privacy advocates are skeptical that patients will be able to count on their data being stored securely.The federal government, however, has done little to regulate health apps or telehealth programs, said Jeffrey Chester at the Center for Digital Democracy.The new initiative would deepen the pool of information on patients for the federal government and tech companies. Medical records typically contain far more sensitive information, such as doctors’ notes about conversations with patients and substance abuse or mental health history.“This scheme is an open door for the further use and monetization of sensitive and personal health information,” Chester said.The health and human services secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and those within his circle have likewise pushed for more technology in healthcare, advocating for wearable devices that monitor wellness and telehealth.Kennedy also sought to collect more data from Americans’ medical records, which he has previously said he wants to use to study autism and vaccine safety. Kennedy has filled the agency with staffers who have a history of working at or running health technology startups and businesses. More

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      White House to end US tariff exemption for all low-value overseas packages

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      The United States is suspending a “de minimis” exemption that allowed low-value commercial shipments to be shipped to the United States without facing tariffs, the White House said on Wednesday.Under an executive order signed by Donald Trump on Wednesday, packages valued at or under $800 sent to the US outside of the international postal network will now face “all applicable duties” starting on 29 August, the White House said.The US president earlier targeted packages from China and Hong Kong, and the White House said the recently signed tax and spending bill repealed the legal basis for the de minimis exemption worldwide starting on 1 July 2027.“Trump is acting more quickly to suspend the de minimis exemption than the OBBBA requires, to deal with national emergencies and save American lives and businesses now,” the White House said in a fact sheet, referring to the bill known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.Goods shipped through the postal system will face one of two tariffs: either an “ad valorem duty” equal to the effective tariff rate of the package’s country of origin or, for six months, a specific tariff of $80 to $200 depending on the country of origin’s tariff rate. More

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      Trump backs Israel and rebukes Starmer over Palestinian state recognition

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      Donald Trump has doubled down on his backing for Israel after having appeared to give a green light to the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, to recognize a Palestinian state.Amid signs of mounting opposition among his Maga base to Israel’s military operation in Gaza, Trump criticized Starmer’s plan to grant recognition as “rewarding Hamas” even after having not taken issue with it when the pair met in Scotland this week.Talking to journalists onboard Air Force One on his return to Washington, Trump said the US was “not in that camp”, referring to Starmer’s pledge, which followed a similar declaration by Emmanuel Macron, the French president, days earlier that France would formally recognize Palestinian statehood.“We never did discuss it,” Trump said, in reference to Starmer’s announcement. He added: “You’re rewarding Hamas if you do that. I don’t think they should be rewarded.”His comments were in line with the US state department, whose spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, called the recognition decision “a slap in the face” to victims of Hamas’s deadly 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the current war.But they contrasted with his restrained stance when he and Starmer met at Turnberry in Scotland on Monday, after the UK prime minister said Britain would give recognition by September unless Israel met certain conditions, including allowing for a ceasefire in Gaza and allowing UN food aid to enter the territory to feed its population.“I’m not going to take a position, I don’t mind him taking a position,” Trump told reporters when asked if he objected to Starmer’s move.The US president’s response to Starmer seemed markedly softer than his riposte after Macron’s statehood announcement last week, which angered Israel and its supporters.“What he says doesn’t matter,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He’s a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight.”The initial softer public posture toward Starmer came as Trump publicly contradicted Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, over conditions in Gaza, which numerous international aid agencies have described as famine.Netanyahu had said that, in contrast to the aid group assessments and searing images of hungry children, no one was starving in Gaza.Asked if he agreed, Trump said: “Based on television, I would say ‘not particularly’, because those children look pretty hungry to me. There’s real starvation, you can’t fake that.”Some of Trump’s most prominent supporters have become increasingly vocal in their criticism of Israel’s conduct, amid polling evidence that Americans generally are losing sympathy for a country that has traditionally been viewed as one of the US’s closest allies.Steve Bannon, Trump’s former adviser and still one of his leading cheerleaders with his War Room podcast, told Politico that the president’s condemnation of the food situation in Gaza would hasten Israel’s loss of support among his base.“It seems that for the under-30-year-old Maga base, Israel has almost no support, and Netanyahu’s attempt to save himself politically by dragging America in deeper to another Middle East war has turned off a large swath of older Maga diehards,” Bannon said. “Now President Trump’s public repudiation of one of the central tenets of [Netanyahu’s] Gaza strategy – ‘starving’ Palestinians – will only hasten a collapse of support.”Another Trump supporter, the far-right Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, became the latest – and perhaps most surprising – public figure to label Israel’s actions in Gaza “genocide”.“It’s the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,” she posted on X.The comments came as a new Gallup poll showed support among Americans for Israel’s actions in Gaza down to 32%, the lowest since the organization began asking the question in November 2023 – a month after the murderous Hamas raid that killed almost 1,200 mostly Israeli civilians and led to another 250 to be taken hostage.Israel’s military response has led to about 60,000 Palestinians being killed, according to the Gaza health ministry.While Gallup’s poll showed support for Israel’s offensive still high, at 71%, among Republicans, Thom Tillis, a GOP senator for North Carolina who plans to step down at the next election, said Gaza could be a political problem for Trump, the Hill reported.“I think that the American people at the end of the day are a kind people. They don’t like seeing suffering, nor do I think the president does,” Tillis said. “If you see starvation, you try to fix it.”Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, told Fox News that Trump’s backing for Netanyahu remained unshaken. “Let me assure you that there is no break between the prime minister of Israel and the president,” he told Fox News. “Their relationship, I think, [is] stronger than it’s ever been, and I think the relationship between the US and Israel is as strong as it’s ever been.”Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is due to visit Israel on Thursday, where he will meet with officials “to discuss next steps in addressing the situation in Gaza”, a US official told AFP. More