Israel-Hamas hostage deal may come this week — this is what we all know

A deal between Israel and the militant group Hamas to release some hostages could be reached in the coming days, though no terms have been finalized yet, according to several U.S. officials.

“We think that we are closer than we have been, perhaps at any point since these negotiations began weeks ago,” U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Officials have been tight-lipped when speaking publicly on the hostage negotiations, due to the sensitive and malleable nature of the talks. They have made it clear, however, that nothing has been decidedly settled.

For example, White House officials rejected the premise of a Washington Post story reported on Saturday stating that a “tentative deal” had been reached. The Post, citing people familiar with the negotiations, said that Israel and Hamas had come to an agreement to release roughly 50 of Hamas’ hostages and in return, Israel would temporarily pause its combat operations for five days.

After the story published, White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson posted on X, formerly Twitter, to clarify that no such deal had been officially reached. The Post did not issue a correction but eventually changed the headline of the story to state that the deal was “close” rather than tentatively complete.

Hamas is currently holding roughly 240 hostages. Many of the hostages are believed to be from foreign countries, including about a dozen Americans. Hamas released four hostages after earlier negotiations arbitrated by Qatar.

As the current deal appears to inch closer to a final version, here are some lingering questions and what we know so far.

When might a deal be reached?

The timeline for the deal appears to have become a matter of hours and days, not weeks.

Israeli ambassador Michael Herzog said on ABC’s “This Week” that “a significant number of hostages” could be free “in the coming days.”

Deputy National Security Advisor Finer nodded to that timeframe in his CNN interview, noting that the U.S. is working intensely “over the course of the coming hours and days” to get a deal done.

Reaching a deal this week is not certain — a variety of factors could disrupt and prolong the negotiations. But Herzog and Finer on Sunday expressed optimism that the talks were nearing fruition.

“The less we go into the details, the better the chances of such a deal, but they are very serious efforts,” Herzog said.

What is the holdup?

The negotiations are reportedly in their final phase and are now focused on working out more minor details.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said at a Sunday press conference that many of the major points of contention have been worked through in the hostage deal and all that is left is to settle logistical terms.

Negotiations have been stalled at different points over the past few weeks. For example, in late October, the discussions broke down after Hamas refused to cooperate until Israel allowed fuel to come into Gaza.

The more major sticking points have been settled, according to Finer: “There are areas of difference in disagreement that have been narrowed, if not closed out entirely.”

How many hostages would be released?

Finer said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that the deal would “certainly” lead to the release of “more than dozens” of hostages.

Would a deal lead to a cease-fire?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that Israel will not begin to consider a cease-fire until all of Hamas’ hostages have been released.

With the current work-in-progress deal, Israel is only considering a temporary pause in attacks that would allow for the safe passage of the released hostages, not a wholesale cease-fire.

“We’re talking about pausing the fighting for a few days so we can get the hostages out. So it’s not a cease-fire,” said Herzog.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have gathered around the world in the weeks since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas demanding a cease-fire. As the death tolls in Gaza push higher, some government officials have joined the choir of those demands. But Israeli officials including Netanyahu and Herzog have rebuffed those calls, claiming that a cease-fire would allow Hamas to regroup and restore their resources to launch another attack against Israel.

OpenAI traders push to convey Altman again as CEO day after ouster

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the OpenAI DevDay event on November 06, 2023 in San Francisco, California. 

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

OpenAI investors are pushing to bring back Sam Altman as CEO one day after he was ousted by the board, according to people familiar with the matter.

Microsoft, Tiger Global and venture firm Thrive Capital are among several of OpenAI’s top backers that are part of an effort to reinstate Altman, said a source, who asked not to be named because discussions are confidential.

Sequoia Capital has also been in contact with Altman, a person familiar with knowledge of the matter told CNBC. Sequoia supports Altman and former OpenAI president Greg Brockman in whatever they choose to do next, whether it’s returning to OpenAI or creating a new startup, the person said. Sequoia also informed Microsoft that it would back efforts to bring back Altman and Brockman, the person said.

The Verge first reported on the talks to bring back Altman. The publication, citing a source, said Altman is “ambivalent” about returning and would demand governance changes. Altman didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. Nor did Thrive. Microsoft declined to comment.

OpenAI’s announcement late Friday that the company was firing Altman and replacing him on an interim basis with technology chief Mira Murati sent shockwaves across Silicon Valley. OpenAI has emerged as the hottest startup on the planet since launching its ChatGPT chatbot last year and spurring a rush of investment generative artificial intelligence market. The company had reportedly been in talks as recently as last month to sell employee shares at a valuation of $86 billion.

Microsoft, which has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and has a close technology partnership with the company, was surprised by the announcement. In addition to ousting Altman, the company removed Brockman, the chairman, from his board leadership position but said he would remain as president. Brockman said later in the day that he quit.

WATCH: The OpenAI shakeup will not have a major impact on Microsoft, says analyst

Dolly Parton Reveals Why Husband Carl Dean Does not Attend Occasions

And although the Grammy winner went ahead and recorded the tune, she didn’t garner Carl’s stamp of approval.

Dolly remembered: “I played it for him and he said, ‘It’s okay.’ He said, ‘Are you sure that’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ or ‘Stairwell to Hell?””

But that isn’t to say the country star doesn’t have other tricks up her sleeve to keep her decades-long marriage intact.

Back in October, Dolly revealed the beauty hack she’s been doing for years to look her best while spending time with her husband.

“When I arrived in L.A. in the ’80s,” Dolly wrote in her book Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, per Insider, “I started sleeping with my makeup on, partly because of the earthquakes. I thought, ‘I’m not heading out on the streets without makeup in case there are cameras out there! I’m going to be ready to go!'”

It’s a rule that folded over into her marriage. As she put it: “I don’t want to go to bed looking like a hag with Carl.”

And to see Dolly’s best looks over the rockin’ years, keep scrolling…

Pfizer enters weight reduction drug market with Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly

CFOTO | Future Publishing | Getty Images

As its Covid gains evaporate, Pfizer wants a chunk of the budding weight loss drug market. 

Analysts say upcoming data on Pfizer’s experimental obesity pill, danuglipron, will be crucial in determining how competitive the company can be against the space’s dominant players Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.

Those companies helped spark the weight loss drug industry gold rush over the last year with their weekly obesity and diabetes injections, such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro. They are now racing to develop their own pills for obesity and diabetes. 

Investors are waiting for Pfizer to release phase two trial data on its twice-daily pill, in obese patients without diabetes, by the end of the year. They want to see the drug cause a similar level of weight loss as a once-daily pill from Eli Lilly. Investors are also eager for Pfizer to release trial data early next year on a once-daily version of danuglipron, which is seen as the more competitive form of the drug.

Pfizer sees a major opportunity in the segment, as it looks to rebound from plummeting demand for its Covid products and reverse a roughly 40% share price drop this year.

CEO Albert Bourla said in January that the market for GLP-1s – a class of obesity and diabetes drugs that mimic a gut hormone to suppress a person’s appetite – could eventually grow to $90 billion, and the company wants to capture $10 billion of that segment with an oral treatment. 

Investors have become more pessimistic about Pfizer’s potential in the weight loss drug industry since the company scrapped its experimental once-daily pill in June, citing elevated liver enzymes in people who took it. That left Pfizer with the twice-daily danuglipron, which Wall Street is less excited about because it would be less convenient than a once-a-day treatment. 

Encouraging results from the trials may trigger the same enthusiasm for Pfizer that has boosted the share prices of Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly this year.

“If Pfizer’s data is positive, then I think people might be able to look beyond all this Covid overhang,” Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Louise Chen told CNBC. 

A weight loss pill could be a boon for all three companies. Oral drugs are typically easier to manufacture than injections, and more convenient for doctors to prescribe and patients to take. Pills could also potentially help alleviate the supply constraints plaguing many of their injectable counterparts as demand for the drugs soars. 

Eli Lilly’s pill sets the bar for efficacy 

Ahead of the phase two trial data, several analysts have said Pfizer’s twice-daily pill has to be about as effective as Eli Lilly’s once-a-day pill to be competitive. That means at least a 14% to 15% weight loss, Chen told CNBC.

Leerink Securities analyst David Risinger wrote in October that Pfizer’s danuglipron needs to show weight reduction in the “mid-teens” percentages to be considered competitive with Eli Lilly’s pill, which is called orforglipron. 

Obese or overweight patients who took 45 milligrams of Eli Lilly’s pill once a day lost up to 14.7% of their body weight, or 34 pounds, after 36 weeks, according to the company’s phase two trial results. 

Those results appear consistent with the weight reduction caused by a high-dose oral version of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide – the active ingredient used in Ozempic and Wegovy – but came over a shorter trial period.

Overweight or obese patients who took 50 milligrams of Novo Nordisk’s drug once a day saw an average weight loss of 15.1% after 68 weeks, according to phase three clinical trial results released in June. 

Notably, Novo Nordisk already markets a low-dose oral version of semaglutide under the name Rybelsus for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.

Pfizer’s upcoming phase two trial data will provide a glimpse of twice-daily danuglipron’s effects over a longer time period than the company’s previous studies of the drug. The study examined the weight loss effect of the treatment in more than 600 adults with obesity after 26 or 32 weeks at different dosage amounts.

In an earlier midstage trial, patients with Type 2 diabetes who took a 120-milligram version of danuglipron twice a day lost around 10 pounds on average after 16 weeks.

Another midstage trial found that diabetic patients who took a 200-milligram version of danuglipron twice a day lost nearly 12 pounds, or 5.8% of their weight, on average after 12 weeks. 

Investors still want to see a once-daily version 

Even if Pfizer’s upcoming data is encouraging, many investors will still be eager to see the efficacy and safety profile of a once-daily version next year. 

Physicians generally prefer once-daily pills over twice-daily drugs, Wells Fargo analyst Mohit Bansal said in a research note in June. 

Health experts also previously told CNBC that patients often forget to take a medication if they need to do it twice, the experts said. 

A once-daily danuglipron dose also could quell concerns about the potentially higher level of gastrointestinal side effects – such as nausea and vomiting –  associated with the twice-daily version. 

More CNBC health coverage

Leerink Partners’ Risinger wrote in an October note that the proportion of patients who discontinue treatment with Pfizer’s twice-daily danuglipron in the phase two trial will likely be higher than those who stopped taking Eli Lilly’s orforglipron. He said that’s partly because danuglipron’s total daily dose is far higher, which may cause more adverse effects.

Analysts said Pfizer appears to believe a once-daily version of the drug could lessen gastrointestinal side effects.

They pointed to Pfizer’s second-quarter earnings call, when the company’s chief scientific officer, Mikael Dolsten, suggested that a once-daily version may improve a patient’s tolerability of the drug, which could lessen the gastrointestinal side effects “that have been seen as limiting” danuglipron.

The bigger question is whether a once-daily version of the pill will be ready for a phase three trial in 2024, which is seen as the next big step toward potential Food and Drug Administration approval.

Pfizer thinks it’s possible. During the company’s third-quarter earnings call, Dolsten said a pivotal late-stage trial for the once-a-day version is “within our reach” next year.

Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO:

Cassie sues Sean Combs for rape, intercourse trafficking

Cassie Ventura and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs attend the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City.

John Shearer | Getty Images | The Hollywood Reporter | Getty Images

Hip hop music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was hit Thursday with a civil lawsuit accusing him of raping and sex trafficking the singer Cassie, his former romantic partner, over the course of a decade.

“After years in silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story, and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships,” Cassie said in a statement about her bombshell suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

“With the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act fast approaching, it became clear that this was an opportunity to speak up about the trauma I have experienced and that I will be recovering from for the rest of my life,” said Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura.

The Adult Survivor’s Act since last November allows accusers to file civil claims of sexual abuse during a one-year window that otherwise would be barred by the statute of limitations.

Combs “vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” his lawyer Ben Brafman said in a statement.

“Ms. Ventura’s demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail,” Brafman said.

“Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’ reputation, and seeking a pay day.”

Cassie’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, shot back: “Comb’s offered Ms. Ventura eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit.  She rejected his efforts and decided to give a voice to all woman who suffer in silence.”

“Ms. Ventura should be applauded for her bravery,” Wigdor added. “No human should have to endure what Ms. Ventura has endured.”

Cassie’s suit says that in 2005, when she was just 19 years old, the then-37-year-old Combs lured the singer into a professional relationship by signing her to his label, Bad Boy Records.

Within several years he induced her into a sexual relationship, and introduced her “to a lifestyle of excessive alcohol and substance abuse and required her to procure illicit prescriptions to satisfy his own addictions,” the suit alleges.

The suit claims that Combs raped Cassie in her home after she tried to leave him, “blew up” another man’s car after learning of his romantic interest in the singer, and often beat and kicked her.

Sean “Diddy” Combs announces his alliance with Diageo, the world’s leading spirits, wine and beer company, at a press conference at Stone Rose on October 24, 2007 in New York City.

George Napolitano | Filmmagic | Getty Images

And it says Combs, who has seven children, “forced Ms. Ventura to engage in sex acts with male sex workers while masturbating and filming the encounters.”

“Throughout their relationship Mr. Combs was prone to uncontrollable rage, and frequently beat Ms. Ventura savagely,” the suit alleges.

“These beatings were witnessed by Mr. Combs’ staff and employees of Bad Boy Entertainment and Mr. Combs’s related businesses, but no one dared to speak up against their frightening and ferocious boss.”

In addition to Combs, the suit names Bad Boy Records, Bad Boy Entertainment, Epic Records, and Combs Enterprises as defendants.

 Combs, one of the most influential and successful executives in music, founded hip hop label Bad Boy in the early 1990s. He also launched a clothing label, Sean John, and helped develop the Ciroc vodka brand. As recently as last year, Forbes estimated his net worth at $1 billion.

Combs also was a close friend the rapper Notorious B.I.G., known as Biggie. He was in Biggie’s entourage it in a separate SUV, when the rapper was fatally shot in 1997.

Earlier this year, Combs sued Ciroc owner Diageo for alleged racial discrimination, saying they neglected Ciroc and his tequila brand, DeLeon. The company ended their relationship in June after about 16 years.

— Additional reporting by Stefan Sykes and Mike Calia

Home Oversight Democrats Demand James Comer Subpoena Rudy Giuliani

Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) appears to be subpoenaing everyone who ever met Joe Biden, but Democrats on the committee want him to subpoena Rudy Giuliani.

Oversight Committee Democrats said in a statement:

NEW: A spokesperson for Oversight Committee Democrats issued the following statement on Committee Republicans’ latest interview request in their sham investigation into President Biden. https://t.co/Vov23weAqA pic.twitter.com/sikvoIEtY7

— Oversight Committee Democrats (@OversightDems) November 15, 2023

Earlier, Lev Parnas, Rudy Giuliani’s right-hand man in the effort to pressure Ukraine to dig up dirt on Biden, provided a letter to the Oversight Committee debunking the Burisma Russia misinformation that is the backbone of Comer’s investigation.

Rudy Giuliani is the mule that the Russians used to get the Burisma false information into the Republican Party.

Comer has refused to acknowledge the ample evidence that President Biden did nothing wrong. Republicans on the Oversight Committee will only mention Giuliani’s name to falsely claim that their investigation has nothing to do with Trump’s former lawyer.

Republicans can’t escape the Giuliani stench surrounding their sham investigation, and Democrats are not about to allow them to get off the hook.

James Comer is trying to invent a Joe Biden scandal, but all roads continue to lead back to former president Donald Trump and his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

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We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we only answer to our readers, and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value.

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

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U.S.-China relations at the moment are extra about disaster prevention

U.S. President Joe Biden shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they meet on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in Bali, Indonesia, November 14, 2022.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

BEIJING — After another rocky year of U.S.-China tensions, the two countries’ presidents are set to meet this week in person for the second time since Joe Biden took office.

It will be a rare summit before the U.S. presidential election cycle kicks off in earnest. Taking a tough stance on China, the second-largest economy in the world, has become one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement. Biden plans to run for reelection.

“The focus will be on expanding dialogue in order to low[er] tail risks in the relationship and prevent a crisis that neither leader is looking for,” said Michael Hirson, head of China Research at 22V Research.

“Flashpoints such as Taiwan and the South China Sea need to be managed carefully,” he said. “For that reason the meeting is still important, especially ahead of a politically charged 2024 that will begin with an important presidential election in Taiwan in January and end with the U.S. presidential election.”

U.S.-China tensions have escalated over the last several years, beginning with tariffs under the Trump administration and spilling over into broader tech restrictions under the Biden administration.

Controversy in early February over an alleged Chinese spy balloon flying in U.S. airspace revealed how fragile relations have become — the incident pushed the two countries to suspend already limited high-level talks.

In April, during that period of estrangement, Washington, D.C.-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies published a report that described U.S.-China relations as seemingly “caught in a worsening vicious cycle.”

“This translates into a stalemate—and, in fact, spiraling tensions—that go even further than the typical ‘security dilemma,’ in which each side takes steps to defend itself which in turn generate insecurity for the other, who then responds in kind,” the report said.

The immediate aftermath of the [Biden-Xi] meeting is likely to mark a cyclical high point for bilateral relations

Sentiment began to improve over the summer after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken finally made a high-stakes visit to Beijing in June, followed by visits from several other senior officials.

In early October, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and five other U.S. senators representing both the Republican and Democratic parties had an 80-minute meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

But both sides are still waiting for more action.

“The current trend in China-U.S. relations is one of easing,” said Shen Yamei, director of the department for American Studies and an associate research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies.

“This easing is a relaxation of the atmosphere,” she said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. “No actual changes have occurred.”

Export controls

During this week’s meeting, Shen expects the Chinese side to bring up U.S. export controls and investment restrictions.

The Biden administration has restricted U.S. companies from selling high-end tech, primarily in semiconductors, to Chinese companies and sought to curb U.S. investments in such Chinese tech.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in a trip in August had “said no” to China’s requests to reduce the controls and called the them “matters of national security.”

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng also raised the issues during preparatory meetings with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in San Francisco on Nov. 10, according to state media.

“Aside from Taiwan, export controls are Beijing’s top concern, but there is no political space in Washington roll back existing controls,” Gabriel Wildau, managing director at consulting firm Teneo, said in a note.

“The immediate aftermath of the [Biden-Xi] meeting is likely to mark a cyclical high point for bilateral relations,” he said. “The key question is whether this high point extends into a plateau or whether political pressures trigger a new cycle of deterioration,” he said. “As previously discussed, the period since June has offered a window of opportunity to stabilize relations; following the meeting, this window may close.”

Taiwan is set to hold its presidential election in January, and a more pro-independence winner could stir more of Beijing’s ire.

Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory, with no right to independently conduct diplomatic relations. The U.S. recognizes Beijing as the sole government of China but maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan, a democratically self-governed island.

While speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in August 2021, Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 25 years. The trip prompted Beijing to suspend talks on climate with the U.S., one of the few areas of potential cooperation.

Areas of cooperation

The Biden administration has said the U.S. is in competition with China, while looking to ensure that it “does not veer into conflict.”

“The Biden-Xi meeting might include a pledge to cooperate or establish a new formal bilateral working group on safe use of artificial intelligence,” Teneo’s Wildau said.

He added that “the two leaders may pledge to cooperate and coordinate on providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, ensure smooth passage of grain through the Black Sea, and support postwar reconstruction in Gaza and Ukraine.”

The U.S. remains China’s largest trading partner on a single-country basis.

However, Shen pointed out that trust between the U.S. and China is still quite low.

“No one believes what [the other] says now,” she said.

Paving the way

Goodwill efforts have increased in the weeks leading up to the planned summit on Wednesday local time between Biden and Xi in San Francisco, alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.

For example, more direct flights between the U.S. and China are resuming from a low base.

Chinese commodity importers in October signed the first agreements since 2017 to buy U.S. agricultural products in bulk, according to a release from the U.S. embassy in Beijing.

China’s Ministry of Commerce last week announced it was gathering information in an effort to address unequal treatment of foreign businesses in China versus domestic ones — a longstanding business complaint.

However, on the cultural front, the three remaining giant pandas in the U.S. on loan from Beijing returned to China last week due to an expiring contract. China has lent pandas to countries around the world as a diplomatic tool.

Read more about China from CNBC Pro

There’s a ‘game of thrones’ in AI, but these China tech giants offer real value, tech veteran says

And in a rather dramatic buildup to this week’s high-level meeting, China only confirmed Xi’s forthcoming travel plans on Friday night — just as the Philadelphia Orchestra was wrapping up a performance in Beijing to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its concert in the country in 1973.

That was a period during which the U.S. started to formalize its relationship with Communist-run Beijing. The two normalized relations in 1979.

Biden and Xi both sent letters for the 50th anniversary concert, which were read ahead of the performance.

“Despite all the ups and downs, the Philadelphia Orchestra continues to come to China,” Matias Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra, told reporters after the concert on Friday.

“Even in the worst of times the Philadelphia Orchestra came and in the best of times the Philadelphia Orchestra came,” Tarnopolsky said. He said the orchestra plans to return to China in 2024, and in the years following.

Weight reduction drug Wegovy slashes threat of great coronary heart problems

Still life of Wegovy an injectable prescription weight loss medicine that has helped people with obesity. It should be used with a weight loss plan and physical activity. 

Michael Siluk | UCG | Getty Images

Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy cut the risk of serious cardiovascular complications in people with obesity and heart disease in a closely watched trial, demonstrating a particularly large effect on heart attacks, a promising new frontier for the drug.

The roughly 17,500-person Select study tested Wegovy in people with obesity and heart disease but who did not have diabetes. Weekly injections of Wegovy slashed the overall risk of heart attack, stroke and death from cardiovascular causes by 20%, according to detailed results from the trial presented Saturday at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Novo Nordisk disclosed topline data from the study in August. 

The findings could expand insurance coverage of Wegovy, a major barrier thus far for the drug and similar GLP-1 agonists, and spur broader use of the anti-obesity drug.

“This is the first time that medication approved for chronic obesity management can be considered life saving,” said Dr. Robert Kushner, a professor of medicine in endocrinology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine who was involved with the study.

The new data could also help the Danish pharmaceutical company maintain its lead over Eli Lilly, whose competing weight-loss drug Zepbound was approved in the U.S. earlier this week. Zepbound has been shown to help people lose more weight, but it hasn’t yet demonstrated an effect on cardiovascular outcomes. 

“If you look at where the insurance companies are going to be obliged to go, they’re going to be obliged to go with the drug that reduces cardiovascular events,” said Dr. Howard Weintraub, clinical director of the Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at NYU Langone Heart who was involved with the study.

Trial results

Wegovy reduced the risk of non-fatal heart attack by 28% in the five-year trial. It produced a smaller 7% reduction in the occurrence of non-fatal stroke, though few strokes were seen in the trial overall.

What’s more, Wegovy started to show a reduction in overall cardiovascular events within months of participants starting the drug, with the difference between the drug and placebo widening as the study continued. Researchers observed that effect even before people lost significant weight, a “fascinating” finding that suggests both weight loss and the drug itself could be playing a role in heart health, said Dr. Ania Jastreboff, director of the Yale Obesity Research Center.

“I think it’s all additive, and I don’t think we can parse out one from the other,” Jastreboff, who was not involved in the study, said at a press briefing.

About two-thirds of participants had blood sugar levels that put them in the range of prediabetes. Wegovy decreased progression to diabetes by 73%, suggesting the drug could be used as an early treatment. Novo’s Ozempic, which uses the same active ingredient as Wegovy, is approved for diabetes. 

The study enrolled both patients whose body-mass index met the threshold for overweight or obesity, though most of the patients were considered obese.

Side effects and limitations

Almost 17% of people receiving Wegovy in the trial stopped taking the drug, mainly because of gastrointestinal issues like vomiting and diarrhea, double the rate of people who discontinued the placebo. But more people in the control group experienced serious adverse events such as cardiac disorders and medical procedures. 

The discontinuations may reflect less familiarity with Wegovy among doctors involved in the study, said Kushner, who specializes in caring for patients who are overweight or have obesity. Adjusting the dosage or tweaking diet can help people navigate unpleasant side effects.

Participants also lost less weight in this study than previous ones examining Wegovy, though this study didn’t incorporate lifestyle changes and it enrolled people with different characteristics. 

One limitation of the study was its lack of diversity. Nearly three-quarters of the participants were male, and even more were white. Just about 4% of participants were Black.

Regardless, doctors expect the results to increase the number of people who take Wegovy. 

Seeing a diabetes drug producing positive cardiovascular and metabolic effects “opens a new door to treat obese patients with cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. George Dangas, director of cardiovascular innovation for Mount Sinai Hospital. But it could take time and energy to incorporate it into clinical practice.

“Those are good problems to have,” Dangas said. “We have something good for the patient, that’s great.” 

— CNBC’s Patrick Manning contributed to this report.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct the title of Dr. George Dangas, director of cardiovascular innovation for Mount Sinai Hospital.

Jidenna Admits Feeling Disgrace In “Manipulative” Previous With Ladies

‘Classic Man’ rapper-singer Jidenna is opening up about his past treatment of women in romantic situations. He’s admitted to acting “manipulative” and feeling ashamed of it.

Jidenna made the comments during a guest appearance on the “What’s Underneath: Masculinity” podcast by Man Enough. The outlet published the 23-minute episode on Nov. 9. It highlights Jidenna’s career and personal life, including patterns he’s worked to break.

He told the outlet he “used to lie for sport just cause it was fun,” adding that he didn’t realize he “just enjoyed manipulation.” The artist admitted to formerly being “an excellent manipulator” and not understanding “how to relate to women in a way that wasn’t explorative.”

“You know, I remember different quotes I said. Just like really manipulative things to say like, ‘No one’s going to love you the way I do.’ My god, how could I do that to Black women? I’m ashamed of it, and that’s what makes me angry when I see my brothers do that. I understand it, but I can’t have that anymore. We can’t do that to the women that have done so much for us to even exist.”

He went on to say he mastered how to manipulate women, including one instance where he pretended to cry to see a woman’s reaction.

“I robbed some women of their baby-making years. Dragging them along. They build me up. Look at me now, and look at them. If you were a creative, I folded you into my artwork. If you were in my artwork, I gave you a job,” Jidenna said, describing past behavior. “I mastered your life, I gave you a house, food. Everything you needed. I protected and provided for you. I did what men are supposed to do.”

Jidenna Talks Breaking His “Manipulative” Behaviors With Women

He hit “rock bottom” and had a coming-to-the-truth moment while in a polyamorous relationship. At the time, he felt like he “made it.” After the relationship ended, he says he felt multiple heartbreaks, and it made him feel unworthy of love.

“And I saw myself for the first time. All the things I’m saying now, whew, horror!”

Jidenna says that heartbreak also influenced him to change his outlook on masculinity. The person he is today is a result of re-invention, he said.

“Bit by bit, I stripped myself of my former self. And I swore that the next relationship that I would get in, I would work as hard at love as I worked in my career.”

In May, Jidenna told Ebro Darden for Apple Music that he’s left the multi-women past behind. He’s in love with his current partner. He says they met on a beach, and it “was a wrap” the moment they did. Though they both had a past with polyamorous relationships, Jidenna said at the time that they were exclusive.

His new approach these days in his relationship involves lots of reflection and discussion — asking what he could do better often.

“I’m thinking about every moment, and I’m replaying it a lot,” he said. “I’m a little neurotic with it, and she tells me and reminds me. But that’s what you do in business, that’s what you do as an athlete. They have press conferences every day…so every night, I have my own little press conference, ‘What did you do today? Whatever ‘do better’ is, what does that look like tomorrow?”

He added that the “constant work” has allowed him to feel “a lot of joy in this relationship.”

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Moody’s cuts U.S. outlook to detrimental, citing deficits and political polarization

The White House is seen at dusk on September 30, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Samuel Corum | Getty Images

Moody’s Investors Service on Friday lowered its ratings outlook on the United States’ government to negative from stable, pointing to rising risks to the nation’s fiscal strength.

The ratings agency has affirmed the long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings of the U.S. at Aaa.

“In the context of higher interest rates, without effective fiscal policy measures to reduce government spending or increase revenues,” the agency said. “Moody’s expects that the US’ fiscal deficits will remain very large, significantly weakening debt affordability.”

Brinkmanship in Washington has also been a contributing factor, Moody’s said.

“Continued political polarization within US Congress raises the risk that successive governments will not be able to reach consensus on a fiscal plan to slow the decline in debt affordability,” the ratings agency said.

As far as keeping the nation’s ratings at Aaa, Moody’s said that it expects the U.S. to “retain its exceptional economic strength.” “Further positive growth surprises over the medium term could at least slow the deterioration in debt affordability,” the agency said.

“While the statement by Moody’s maintains the United States’ Aaa rating, we disagree with the shift to a negative outlook,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo in a statement. “The American economy remains strong, and Treasury securities are the world’s preeminent safe and liquid asset.”

Moody’s move to cut its outlook arrives as Congress faces the looming threat of a government shutdown once more. For now, the government is funded through Nov. 17, but lawmakers in Washington remain at loggerheads over a bill ahead of the deadline.

Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has indicated that he will release a Republican government funding plan on Saturday, a move that would permit members time to read it before an expected Tuesday vote on the measure.

But his plan to fund certain parts of the government through Dec. 7, and other parts through Jan. 19, known as a laddered continuing resolution, or CR, is dead on arrival in the White House and in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

“Moody’s decision to change the U.S. outlook is yet another consequence of Congressional Republican extremism and dysfunction,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Back in August, Fitch cut the U.S. long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to AA+ from AAA, citing “expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years,” as well as an erosion of governance and a growing debt burden.

Feuding in Washington was also an issue. “The repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management,” Fitch said at the time.