Biden hosts high-stakes NATO summit in Washington | The Excerpt
On Tuesday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: Paste BN White House Correspondent Francesca Chambers breaks down this week's NATO summit and why it's so pivotal for President Joe Biden. A Republican convention committee signs off on a Donald Trump RNC platform - including abortion. Mishandled bodies and mixed-up remains prompt tougher funeral home regulations. Paste BN Health Reporter Karen Weintraub looks at a study's findings with a clear winner between weight loss drugs Mounjaro and Ozempic. The Euros and Copa America move to the semifinals.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Tuesday, July 9th, 2024. This is The Excerpt.
Today, a NATO summit kicks off in a crucial week for Biden. Plus, what a Republican platform says about the party's stance on abortion rights. And a study finds a winner between two major weight loss drugs.
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With his reelection campaign in crisis, President Joe Biden is hosting a pivotal NATO Summit beginning today in Washington, and the meetings have become all the more significant after Russia blasted a children's hospital in Kyiv yesterday and sent missiles in other cities across Ukraine, killing at least 41 civilians. I caught up with Paste BN White House correspondent Francesca Chambers for more. Hello, Francesca.
Francesca Chambers:
Hi. Thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
Thanks for hopping on. So let's just start with this. What is this week's NATO Summit? Can you put it in context for us?
Francesca Chambers:
Well, this Washington Summit will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NATO Alliance, and it was founded in Washington, DC. So it's fitting that it's back in Washington, DC this year. And they're facing some really challenging questions as an alliance about what they want the future of NATO to look like.
Taylor Wilson:
Yeah, NATO members are meeting the same week that Russia struck a children's hospital in Kyiv killing dozens of people. How do we expect leaders at this summit to address Russia's renewed offensive in that part of Ukraine?
Francesca Chambers:
The Speaker of Ukraine's parliament told Paste BN in an interview on Monday that this was a premeditated and targeted attack on the children's hospital. And he said that if they had had better air defenses, then this may not have happened. And that is one of the key things that the Ukrainians are asking NATO allies for this week, more air defense capabilities as well as ammunition.
Another thing that they're hoping to get out of allies is language that puts them closer to membership in NATO. Now, that is something that the US says cannot happen until the war with Russia ends. And the US also has concerns about anti-corruption measures that they would like to see Ukraine take. That said, allies were in final negotiations over language that would say that it is irreversible, that Ukraine eventually becomes a member of NATO, provided that they make the necessary reforms.
Taylor Wilson:
Yeah. So Francesca, are there any other major NATO issues outside Ukraine that are being addressed this week?
Francesca Chambers:
Well, Ukraine will be the major focus of the NATO alliance, but they'll also address questions about the Indo-Pacific and China's aggression in the South China Sea and whether or not they believe that NATO has a role to play in that theater.
Taylor Wilson:
And Francesca, following his debate disaster last month, Biden is under major pressure this week to really show some level of competence and coherence as he meets with NATO allies. How crucial is this aspect of the meetings for him?
Francesca Chambers:
Well, it absolutely is for the American public, but the experts we talked to pointed out that this has been an arena where Biden typically does well. That being said, those same experts pointed out that since his remarks will largely take place behind closed doors or when they're public, they'll be scripted, this is not an area where you would expect him to falter. He will have a press conference on Thursday afternoon, though, where he will take questions from reporters.
Taylor Wilson:
So Francesca, what's next for Biden the rest of this week as he juggles not just these NATO meetings, but also those with democratic leaders and donors worried about his status in the presidential race?
Francesca Chambers:
Well, on Monday morning he sent a letter to congressional Democrats saying that he would not be dropping out of the race, Taylor, as he tried to battle the perception that he was politically weakened and couldn't beat former President Donald Trump. In the middle of the week, he'll be meeting with national Union leaders at the AFL-CIO in Washington, DC and then he'll have to turn around and go to the NATO summit, welcome leaders and host a dinner that evening. Then on Friday, he'll turn around and go to Detroit, Michigan for a campaign event. So in addition to hosting the leaders of more than 31 nations in Washington, DC, he has to keep an eye on his political concerns as well.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. Francesca Chambers covers the White House for Paste BN. Thanks as always, Francesca.
Francesca Chambers:
Thanks so much.
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Taylor Wilson:
A Republican convention committee endorsed a party platform yesterday that includes a deflection on the issue of abortion rights. While some Republicans wanted to retain language supporting a nationwide ban on abortion, the proposed platform echoes what Donald Trump has said on the campaign trail that states should decide the issue on their own terms. Democrats said the platform and Trump still want to ban abortion by whatever means are available. The platform gives Trump credit for the Supreme Court decision overturning the Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling, but also reflects the former president's concern that the issue could hurt him and other Republican candidates at the ballot box this fall. The proposed platform reads, "After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the states and to a vote of the people. We will oppose late term abortion while supporting mothers and policies that advance prenatal care, access to birth control, and IVF." You can read more with a link in today's show notes.
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Amid nationwide workforce challenges, some states have looked to make it easier to work in funeral homes and crematoriums. But after some grizzly incidents, lawmakers in Colorado, Illinois, and Michigan have pushed to tighten control over the industry. One Michigan lawmaker is trying to change state regulations to ensure bodies are refrigerated as they await burial or cremation. The effort follows discoveries of unrefrigerated bodies decomposing in a flint funeral home's garage at a Detroit funeral home storing more than 50 infant and fetal remains without family's permission.
In Colorado, one law passed in 2022 expands the state's ability to inspect funeral homes and cremator. Another one passed this year requires funeral directors, embalmers, and cremationists to be licensed by the state. They must obtain certain academic degrees or have enough professional experience or certain industry certifications. For nearly half a century, Colorado had some of the nation's most lenient rules for funeral homes. It was previously the only state where a professional license was not required to be a funeral director. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.
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The first large head-to-head comparison between next generation weight loss drugs has found a clear advantage to one. I spoke with Paste BN health reporter Karen Weintraub for more. Karen, good to hear from you as always.
Karen Weintraub:
Thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
So Karen, what did this study find about the difference in weight loss results between Mounjaro and Ozempic?
Karen Weintraub:
So this was the first kind of real world study, not a clinical trial. And it found that Mounjaro, which is the Lilly drug, was more effective at weight loss than Ozempic, which is the Novo Nordisk drug with an asterisk applied. And the asterisk is that they only looked at people who were taking it for a diabetes prescription. That didn't necessarily mean the person had diabetes, but it was for diabetes that they received the prescription.
So this was a real world study, which means that they studied people as they live their lives as opposed to a clinical trial, which a lot of studies are that are very controlled. Those clinical studies, they take certain people, they don't take people with depression for instance. Whereas almost a quarter of the people in this trial had depression. But this study also reflected people who were getting the drug in the real world who tended to be white and female and upper middle class. And so we didn't get as diverse a population as we might get in a clinical trial.
So it had both the pros and cons of being a real world trial. We see who's getting it in the real world, and we also see who's not getting it, I guess. The people who aren't getting it, as one of my sources pointed out, are in some ways the people who need it the most, the low income people, women of color who have the biggest problem with obesity and with diabetes. And it just shows another example of the disadvantage in this country with medical care.
Taylor Wilson:
Yeah. So what is the science behind this difference and why might these be the results?
Karen Weintraub:
So not everybody who took it for diabetes had diabetes. They all had overweight or obesity. And the difference is some people managed to get the prescription even if they didn't have the disease. And those tended to be people who had more advantages, access to doctors who would write prescriptions even if they didn't have the disease, maybe they had some indicators that they were getting sick or something like that. And also the amount of drug that you get is different if you have diabetes or you don't get diabetes for one drug but not the other. So let me explain.
If you're taking Ozempic, which again is the generic semaglutide and it's the Novo Nordisk drug, semaglutide has different doses for obesity or diabetes. It's a higher dose if you're taking it for weight loss than if you're taking it for diabetes. Tirzepatide, which is the Lilly Drug, Mounjaro or Zepbound now for weight loss is the same dose either way for diabetes or weight loss. So they used the dose that people get for diabetes for both drugs. But for the Novo Nordisk drug, you take a higher dose for weight loss. So in a way, they weren't completely comparing apples to apples. They were comparing the weight loss dose of one drug to the diabetes dose for the other.
Taylor Wilson:
That was a good explainer. So did the drug makers themselves respond to this study?
Karen Weintraub:
One of them did. One of them didn't. The one who was defensive about it did Novo Nordisk made that point that I just made, which is that the dosage wasn't quite an apples to apples comparison. Eli Lilly kept their mouth closed because they came out looking better.
Taylor Wilson:
So Karen, a lot of people started taking these medications over the past year, a lot of them then stopped taking them. Why might that be? Is this a question of side effects or are there other factors at play?
Karen Weintraub:
A number of reasons. One clearly is side effects. Both of the drugs have similar side effects. A lot of people feel really nauseous, vomit, have gastrointestinal problems on these drugs. Some people have said to me, "Look, that's a feature, not a bug. That's why it makes you lose weight, is because it upsets your stomach and you don't need as much." But it's also a factor of the medical oversight. If you have a doctor or caregiver who's keeping very close tabs on you who's really helping manage those side effects, they can be managed. But if somebody kind of writes you a prescription and says, "Here you go. Goodbye" and never pays any attention to you or ramps you up too quickly on these drugs, you really do need to ramp up slowly and carefully. It can lead to a lot of unpleasant side effects, and so people will stop because of that.
Also, access is a huge issue. These drugs have been in very, very short supply since they were approved. Novo Nordisk has somewhat solved the supply at the highest doses. So people who have started a long time ago who are already at the highest doses may be okay at this point. But starting a new now is very hard. And a Lilly drug, the Tirzepatide, is really very hard to get.
And then people with insurance, if you have insurance that pays for it and you don't have to pay out of pocket the thousand dollars or plus a month, that's great. Some people will have coverage if they have type 2 diabetes. They may be able to get coverage, but if it's solely for weight loss, they may not be able to get coverage. Or if their insurance changes, they might have coverage one month and not next. And the problem with these drugs is you really don't want to start them unless you're pretty sure you're going to be able to continue them. It's worse for your health to lose weight and then regain that weight, so called yo-yo dieting is actually more dangerous than being overweight or obese to begin with. So that's kind of a cautionary note for people.
Taylor Wilson:
All right, interesting stuff. Karen Weintraub covers health for Paste BN. Thanks, Karen.
Karen Weintraub:
Thank you.
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Taylor Wilson:
A big summer of soccer continues today as the Euros and Copa America move to the semifinals. First up, Spain will take on France this afternoon before England take on the Netherlands tomorrow to decide a spot in the final. And stateside in Copa America, Lionel, Messi, and Argentina will play Canada tonight before Columbia battle Uruguay tomorrow. You can follow along with Paste BN Sports.
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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your pods. And if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from Paste BN.