Reuters World News - CDC messaging, de minimis, Ukraine and Hurricane Katrina

Episode Date: August 29, 2025

The White House announces a new leader for the CDC as staffers lash out at vaccine messaging. The de minimis duty-free exemption for low-value import packages to the U.S. ends. We look at Trump's frantic dash for Ukraine peace. And New Orleans marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.  Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Find the Recommended Listen here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, a new pick to head the CDC as staffers lash out at vaccine messaging. The end of de minimis and what it will mean for small packages heading to the US. The land swap that wasn't. We get inside Trump's frantic dash for Ukraine peace. And New Orleans marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It's Friday, August 29th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines, in 10 minutes, seven days a week.

I'm Tara Oaks in Liverpool. Former CDC officials and the Trump administration are squaring off after the White House says it fired director Suzanne Monares. Three top officials followed her out of the door, cheered on by employees of the agency. Dr. Deborah Huri tells Reuters they had resigned over anti-vaccine policies and misinformation pushed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his team. by conversations with work groups

that many of them were deciding on what recommendations would be before actually having the data. And for us, that's problematic. A scientist who should never know in advance what you want the data to show. Kennedy and the White House are defending their decision to oust Monaras

and have suggested more CDC cuts could be coming soon. The CDC is an agency that is very troubled or a very long time. The White House has chosen Jim O'Neill, the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve as acting director. And Monaras has hired the lawyer representing Lisa Cook, a Fed governor Trump targeted earlier this week. Global Health Editor Michelle Gershberg says there's a long history of political debate around healthcare policies,

but this moment seems different. I think it's fair to say that it's not just the surprise of the exit of the CDC director, Susan Menares, that's capturing the attention. It's the concerted show of opposition to or resistance to the policies that have been put forward by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The other striking element of the story is that Kennedy has changed the people who make recommendations over the vaccines that should be used for the American public. He fired that advisory board. He replaced them with people that he had chosen, and they have began to make recommendations. Those recommendations, some of them have been called into question of whether or not

there is evidence to support them. We've seen just a kind of a rapid-fire series of changes to how vaccine policy is conducted in the country. And this seems to be a moment of taking stock of the degree to which that has changed the way we do things in the country. Abby Lowell is the lawyer representing both Susan Monares and Fed Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Cook has filed a lawsuit against the administration, saying that Trump doesn't have the power to remove her from office. The suit sets up a legal battle that raises concerns about the Fed's independence from the White House in setting monetary policy. The US tariff exemption for package shipments valued under $800 known as de minimis ends permanently today. The White House says the move closes a loophole that has enabled the flow of narcotics and other dangerous items to.

be shipped into the U.S. by a postal service. David Lauder has more. One of the main things that it's going to mean for consumers is likely some higher prices on the kinds of things that people buy from e-commerce vendors. These are things you buy on eBay or Etsy or even some of the larger marketplaces like Amazon. Sometimes you buy something and it comes from a vendor in China and it comes straight from China Post or Hong Kong Post right to your doorstep. And those kinds of things are going to be facing now

full tariff rates for whatever the country is coming from. And from Reuters reporting, there is evidence of some prices being raised already. A Thai court has sacked the Prime Minister for an ethics violation. After only a year in power, Pai Tongtan Shinawatra is, out. The court verdict says she violated ethics in a leaked phone call in which she appeared to kowtow to Cambodia's former leader when both countries were at the brink of an armed border

conflict. While Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have exchanged warm words since they met in Alaska earlier this month, the long-sought breakthrough that would end Russia's war with Ukraine hasn't materialized. A Reuters investigation into what prompted the flurry of events, reveals a diplomatic drive mired in confusion. Graham Slattery says the confusion can be traced back to an August 6th meeting in Moscow between U.S. special envoy Steve Wittkoff and the Russian president. It's still somewhat unclear what was said in that meeting. Both U.S. officials and European officials who were briefed on it

got contradictory information over time. That really led to a lot of people being in the dark, including senior U.S. officials. Some thought that Putin had communicated that he was willing to make significant concessions, but our reporting indicates that was likely a misunderstanding. Steve Whitkoff, close personal friend, New York real estate magnate, he's emerged as something of a top foreign policy advisor, despite not having any formal background in diplomacy or foreign policy, and he was sent over to Moscow to deal with a very complex matter.

They're talking about the future of Ukraine, particularly these regions, Donetska and Lohen, Zaporizia, and Kirsten, Kirsten, Khrin. Additionally, Putin, former KGB officer, he's a master of ambiguity and deception in the unsaid. And then it should be noted that our reporting indicated that Whitkoff didn't bring much staff over there. Just a translator, as far as we can tell, there was no note taker. So it's not as if there was a written record that U.S. officials could pour over. Britain, France, and Germany are moving to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran. The powers hope the move will push Tehran to commit to a nuclear deal.

They're accusing Iran of violating a previous agreement made in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. Iran says it won't bow to pressure and will retaliate if sanctions are reinstated. A government spokesperson says Rwanda has received seven migrants deported from the US earlier this month. This comes weeks after the two countries reached an agreement for the transfer of up to 250 people. Trump has pursued third country removal deals aimed at deporting millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally. And a large U.S. naval buildup in the Southern Caribbean has Venezuela on edge. The Venezuelan U.N. ambassador calling the move a policy of harassment.

The U.S. says seven warships and a faster-tax submarine are either in situ or expected soon. And the goal is to tackle threats from Latin American drug cartels. It's been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast, killing more than 1,500 people across four states. The Category 3 storm made a direct hit on New Orleans, Louisiana, flooding most of a city. Images and videos depicting this magnitude of destruction had never been seen before in an American city.

Desperate people wading through flooded, neighborhoods, bodies decomposing on city streets, and residents on rooftops pleading for help. Ah gosh, nothing we can do to help these people. Damages from a storm totaled more than $115 billion, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. Naomi Osaka has reached a U.S. Open third round for the first time since 2021. Her 6361 win over American Haley Baptiste took 70 minutes. In addition to her ferocious forehand, fans paid almost as much attention to a small Labubu charm on her crystal encrusted racket.

She calls it Arthur Flash, a nod to late tennis pioneer Arthur Robert Asher Jr. Honestly, I'm not a Laboo collector. This is kind of like a one-time thing for the tournament. And honestly, it kind of started as a joke, so I'm glad people are liking it. It's Friday. so time for a recommended listen. A new episode of our On Assignment podcast will drop tomorrow. We'll hear what life is like in the Ukrainian towns occupied by Russia

and the added risk when the town is home to the Zaporizia nuclear plant. For more on any of the stories from today, check out roosters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player. And if you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters, seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.