Reuters World News - Trump critic cases dropped, Novo Nordisk and Obamacare

Episode Date: November 25, 2025

A judge has thrown out the criminal charges against ex FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trials of Novo Nordisk’s pill version of its semaglutide drug have failed to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s. And Americans relying on subsidies to afford Obamacare health insurance are delaying enrolling or not signing up at all as they face massive premium hikes.   Listen to the Morning Bid podcast here. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠here⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠here⁠. Find the Recommended Read 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

Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. It's Tuesday, November 25th, today. A judge throws out the criminal cases against James Comey and Letitia James, while the Pentagon threatens to prosecute a US senator. Novo Nordisk's OZempec pill fails in Alzheimer's trials, and Americans waiting for Obamacare subsidies delay or drop their health insurance. 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 grateful that the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence. Former FBI director James Comey responds to a judge's dismissal of his criminal charges.

The judge also dismissed charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that for both, the Trump-appointed prosecutor who brought the cases was unlawfully appointed. The ruling throws out two cases President Donald Trump had publicly called for as he pressured Justice Department leaders to move against his high-profile critics. The cases were dismissed without prejudice, meaning the Justice Department can refile them with a different prosecutor. Andrew Galswood covers the DOJ and says the judge found that Lindsay Halligan, a former personal lawyer of Trump, who had no prosecutorial experience,

wasn't actually allowed to be appointed as the U.S. interim attorney. There's a federal law that limits interim U.S. attorneys from only serving 120 days, and so to name Halligan as kind of a second in-term appointment, you know, violated that law and also the principle and the Constitution that these sorts of appointments have to be approved by the Senate. So the judge's findings that Halligan didn't have the lawful authority to bring these cases.

It's connected a bit to the overarching argument that James and Comey had been making, that these cases were motivated by Trump's animus and that there wasn't really legal grounds for them. Their argument was essentially that Lindsay Halligan was put into this role without proper authority kind of in a rushed way to get these cases against James and Comey out the door. The Pentagon is threatening to recall retired Navy captain and Senator Mark Kelly to active duty for potential prosecution. citing serious allegations of misconduct. Last week, Kelly joined other Democratic lawmakers in urging troops to refuse illegal orders

in a video that enraged President Trump. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt had this to say. And I think what Senator Mark Kelly was actually trying to do was intimidate the 1.3 million active duty service members who are currently serving in our United States Armed Forces with that video that he and his Democratic colleagues put out. Trump accused the group of lawmakers of seditious behaviour and said the crime was

punishable by death. The statement did not say what charges Kelly could face if it took such an extraordinary step. Kelly denies any wrongdoing and says in a statement that he will not be intimidated. Novo Nordisk has announced an old version of a weight loss drug it was testing in the hopes it would slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease has failed. The drug maker was hoping to open a. major new market for simiglutides or gLP1s, which are currently used to treat obesity and diabetes. Our healthcare reporter, Julie Steenheisen, has more.

So the idea was to test these treatments in people who had Alzheimer's disease to see if it could prevent their dementia from progressing. Lots of studies have been done in populations of people with diabetes who showed that people taking semi-glutide, taking GFP1 agonists, as they're called, were less likely to develop dementia than other diabetics in these trials. Novo released just what they call top-line results, but the trials failed to show a benefit. They did not reduce the progression of Alzheimer's disease in these people. Julie says there are some things to be learned from this trial. Yeah, I have been talking to a bunch of scientists who are saying, look, it's really hard to slow down the Alzheimer's process once it's

started. But what we would like to know is do these drugs show any benefit at preventing Alzheimer's from starting in the first place? So there are some people who are hoping for studies of these drugs in people who are at risk for developing Alzheimer's, but they don't have any cost. and it did decline yet. Shares in Novo Nordisk fell more than 12% on the news, which brings us to markets and to MorningBit. Yesterday, we told you all about the launch of our newest podcast, Reuters Morning Bid,

which brings you all your must-know markets and finance news in just five minutes, seven days a week. Amanda Cooper is hosting MorningBid today. Hey, Amanda, so what's in store? Thanks, Kim. Today, we're talking about how traders are ramping up their best, on a December rate cut. Plus, we're looking at how Alphabet is rattling towards that $4 trillion club,

along with Apple and Nvidia. And finally, we're taking a look at how Black Friday sales are shaping up and what those might tell us about the health of the American consumer. Thanks, Amanda. Now, just like you can for Reuters World News, you can also ask your smart speaker for Reuters morning bid or listen wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch both of us, if you're not already, on Spotify.

President Trump has spoken with leaders of China and Japan as tensions rise over Taiwan. Tokyo and Beijing are locked in their worst diplomatic spat in years, after Japan's Prime Minister, Sunai Takeichi, warned that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could spark military response. Chinese state media says Xi Jinping told Trump, Taiwan's return is central to Beijing's world order vision. Trump didn't mention Taiwan in his truth social post, only saying that he's accepted an April visit to Beijing. Takahichi says in their call, Trump called them close friends

and that she could reach out any time. Taiwan is democratically governed, but China claims it as its territory. In Kiev, at least six civilians were killed overnight after a Russian strike. The Ukrainian foreign minister, Andre Sapir, saying on X, Putin gave his terrorist-reepir, saying on X, Putin gave his terrorist-restered, response to the United States and President Trump's peace proposals with a barrage of missiles and drones against Ukraine. The latest effort by President Trump to broker an end to the war saw U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll hold talks with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Monday. That's

according to a U.S. official who said his talks would continue today, although it's unclear who would be in the Russian delegation. Driscoll is also expected to meet Ukrainian officials while in Abu Dhabi. And a week after Trump said he would intervene to end another war, this time in Sudan, one of the warring parties has announced a three-month pause in fighting.

General Mohamed Hamdam Degalou, the head of the rapid support forces, says his paramilitaries will pause their fight against Sudan's military for three months. The day before, Sudan's army chief rejected a proposal by Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the US for the same thing.

The cashiers at North Bergen-Walmart in New Jersey are busy, as people like Veronica Otero take advantage of early Black Friday sales. I would buy turkey, rice, beans, everything that are Hispanic, we're Hispanic, and we use everything is here. And while unprecedented numbers of Americans are expected to hit stores when Black Friday officially kicks off, with fewer benefits. bargains on offer from retailers impacted by tariffs, shoppers may spend less. Adobe's Eric Matasoff is predicting many will look to stretch their limited funds.

One big increase for growth this year that we're seeing is an increase in usage of buy now, pay later. Others are budgeting for the rising cost of necessities like health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. A new Reuters exclusive finds Americans who rely on the subsidies to afford Obamacare are hesitating to sign up for coverage in 26. Premiums could more than double when enhanced tax credits expire. Officials in seven states that sell directly to residents, including California and Maryland,

say sign-ups are lagging, with one state reporting enrollment down by a third. Some families are dropping coverage altogether or turning to short-term plans that don't cover essentials like maternity or mental health care. There is still time for enrolment to pick up. The next few weeks are crucial. A December vote in the Senate, if it happens, could offer an 11th hour rescue for subsidies. But experts warn other major changes for next year would be hard to implement. And for today's recommended read, to France and a prediction for the 2027 election.

Polster Odoxer shows for the first time that 30-year-old far-right leader Jordan Badala would win the next presidential election, regardless of who his opponents might be. There's a link to that story in the description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.