Today’s Headlines: Trump and his War Secretary Pete Hegseth dragged 800 generals from around the world to Quantico for what was basically a “threatening pep rally.” Hegseth banned beards, long hair, and “Nordic pagan” vibes. Trump then called U.S. cities like San Francisco and Chicago “war zones” that should be used as military training grounds, and even ranted about ugly stealth ships. Meanwhile, the government officially shut down at midnight. Around 750,000 federal workers are now unpaid or furloughed (with Trump hinting some might be permanently cut) and — conveniently — there’s no vote on releasing the Epstein files. In other news, the administration is moving to “debar” Harvard, potentially banning it from federal funds and grants after already threatening its tax status and student visas. Trump also struck a flashy Oval Office deal with Pfizer to sell Medicaid and cash-paying consumers cheaper drugs via a new website called “Trump Rx” while Pfizer invests $70 billion in U.S. manufacturing. Other pharma companies are being told to play ball or face tariffs. And on the tech front, OpenAI announced a new TikTok-style video app while a startup called Xicoia is shopping an AI-generated “actor” to Hollywood — so apparently we’re replacing performers before agents now.

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:

AP News: Trump calls for using US cities as a 'training ground' for military in unusual speech to generals

NYT: Government Shutdown Hours Away as Senate Spending Votes Fail

WSJ: Trump Administration Opens New Front to Strip Harvard of Federal Funding

WSJ: White House Unveils ‘TrumpRx’ Drug-Buying Site and a Pfizer Pricing Deal

WSJ: OpenAI Launches Video Generator App to Rival TikTok and YouTube

AP News: 'AI actor' Tilly Norwood stirs outrage in Hollywood

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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