The Headlines - How Gen Z Protests Overturned a Government, and a Crackdown on TV Drug Ads

Episode Date: September 10, 2025

Plus, 7-Eleven’s new master plan.On Today’s Episode:Israel Attempts to Kill Hamas Leadership in Airstrike on Qatar, a Gaza War Mediator, by Adam Rasgon, Vivian Nereim and Ronen BergmanJudge Rules Fed Governor Can Remain in Role, for Now, by Colby Smith and Tony RommTrump Administration Halts I.R.S. Crackdown on Major Tax Shelters, by Jesse Drucker6 Takeaways From Kennedy’s Childhood Health Report, by Dani Blum, Maggie Astor, Christina Caron, Teddy Rosenbluth and Alice CallahanTrump Moves to Crack Down on Drug Advertising, by Rebecca Robbins, Christina Jewett and Dani BlumThe Forces Behind Nepal’s Explosive Gen Z Protests, by Bhadra Sharma and Alex TravelliIs America Ready for Japanese-Style 7-Elevens?, by River Akira DavisTune in every weekend morning, and tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Also, for more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Wednesday, September 10th. Here's what we're covering. At noon today, I convened the heads of Israel's security organizations and authorized a surgical precision strike on the terrorist chiefs of Hamas. In a sharp escalation of its war in the Middle East, Israel launched an air strike yesterday in Qatar, the country that's played a key role in trying to mediate an end to the

conflict. For years, Hamas officials have worked out of Qatar, which was considered to be neutral ground. The strike hit a building in the capital city of Doha, where a number of the group's politicians lived. Hamas said their officials were meeting to discuss a ceasefire proposal when the attack occurred. It said five Hamas members were killed, but none were senior officials. Qatar said a member of its security forces was also killed, and several civilians were injured. The country's prime minister said it was weighing what to do next, saying, quote, we have reached a decisive moment where there must be a response from the entire region to such barbaric actions. Israel, for its part, defended the operation.

At the beginning of the war, I promised that Israel would reach those who perpetrated this horror. And today, Israel and I have kept that promise. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was following through on his vow to eliminate Hamas completely. Nass office also said that the Doha strike was spurred in part by a Hamas attack at a bus station earlier this week near Jerusalem that killed at least six people. Meanwhile, I was very unhappy about it, very unhappy about every aspect. And we've got to get the hostages back. but I was very unhappy about the way that went down. Israel seems to have left its strongest ally, President Trump,

in the dark about its plans. That put Trump in a fraught position. Not only is Qatar a close U.S. partner in the Middle East, but the U.S. has also been actively trying to mediate the ceasefire talks happening there between Israel and Hamas. Now, a few other updates on the Trump administration. Last night, a federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump's efforts to oust Lisa Cook, one of the governors of the Federal Reserve. Lawyers for Cook have argued that Trump moved to fire her for political reasons, as he's pressured the Fed to lower interest rates. Trump has claimed that she falsified documents related to her mortgages and needs to go. The judge rejected that argument, saying in part that because the alleged fraud happened before, Before Cook was appointed to the Fed and didn't involve her professional conduct, she's able to stay in her role for now while she continues to fight her dismissal.

Also, the Times has learned that the administration has been quietly dismantling efforts at the IRS to crack down on some of the methods that the wealthiest Americans and biggest companies use to pay less in taxes. Under the Biden administration, the IRS had begun an effort to root out. and push for more transparency around some specific tax shelters. The effort was projected to bring in more than $100 billion for the federal government. But the Trump administration has been rolling that back under pressure from Republican lawmakers, industry groups, and right-wing activists. Some of those activists have accused IRS officials involved in the anti-tax shelter efforts of being members of the so-called deep state.

In response to questions from the Times, a Treasury official, said the department was reversing Biden-era guidance because it would have imposed enormous burdens on many, quote, honest taxpayers. And on Tuesday. A lot of these 128 recommendations are things that I've been dreaming about my whole life. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., rolled out a new report

from his Make America Healthy Again Commission to tackle what he has framed as a health crisis among American children. In it, Kennedy doubled down on some of his most controversial views, like questioning fluoride in water and the safety of vaccines. But he also took on some topics that have gotten broader support, including warning about the dangers of pesticides and ultra-processed foods. My colleague Alice Callahan covers nutrition and health for the times. Yesterday, I called up food policy experts and asked what they thought of the report. They said there are some good ideas here, like greater oversight of food additives.

healthier foods in schools and hospitals, more nutrition research. But they said the report really lacked regulatory muscle. One expert called the report All Promises and No Teeth. And they said they'll be watching to see if the administration actually funds and implements many of the ideas in the report and ultimately if they take bigger steps to regulate food companies. Meanwhile, the White House did take action yesterday on one of the mob. Raja reports recommendations. President Trump directed the administration to sharply crack down on TV ads for prescription drugs.

Right now, the U.S. is nearly the only wealthy country in the world where commercial breaks are flooded with them. That started happening in the 90s after the FDA relaxed rules that required drugmakers to list out a huge amount of information about possible side effects. The change made it easy for drug makers to start running quick ads because they could cut down any warnings to just that lightning fast, this product may cause dizziness, nausea, constipation, bloating, sudden death, et cetera. Now, Trump wants to put those restrictions back in place, though any policy change is expected to face an aggressive First Amendment challenge from the drug

industry, which spends billions of dollars each year advertising its products. So over the last few days, This eruption of public anger, the protests that spread like wildfire across Kathmandu, was the fastest and fiercest civilian uprising that I've seen anywhere in recent years. It's astonishing how big it got and how fierce. My colleague Alex Trevelli is covering the protests and the violent crackdown in Nepal, which have plunged the country into chaos. The uproar began after the government tried to block social media platforms,

including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Those apps had become a key platform for people to voice their anger about inequality in Nepal. The hashtag's Nepo Babies and Nepo Kids had recently become flashpoints there as people shared photos claiming to show the luxury lifestyles of the children of Nepal's political elite. A ban on the platforms set off a mass demonstration of young people

in what Alex says are being called the Gen Z protests. During the first day of the protests, when police or security forces opened fire into a crowd, taking the lives of, we think, at least 19 of the protesters, it became clear that this wasn't going to stop simply when the government reversed its ban. Indeed, the next day, Tuesday, things escalated. By then, there were probably hundreds of thousands of protesters on the streets burning all kinds of things, setting fire to the Parliament, the Supreme Court, the homes of former prime ministers, the sitting prime minister resigned and flew off in a helicopter,

other former prime ministers were rounded up and beaten, some of them on camera. And by the end of yesterday, pretty much the whole capital was in flames. And it was only about 10 p.m. last night that the army stepped in, said that it was taking responsibility for law and order. And on Wednesday now, we're expecting some kind of high-level meetings between the activist leaders and the army. The sort of issues they're talking about have nothing to do with social media. It's about corruption,

lack of opportunities for young people in the country, and the protesters, best I've been able to understand, are calling for a whole new government. What we've just seen happen at double pace in Nepal is quite a lot like these other youth-led protest movements that have toppled governments in South Asia in recent years. It was three years that Sri Lanka's entrenched ruling family fled the country in a jet after a mostly youth-led

movement. And just last year, the same thing happened in Bangladesh. So these sort of medium-sized countries of South Asia, they are quite unlike one another in a lot of ways. But one thing they all have in common is enormous youth populations. People who are extremely frustrated with the status quo in particular and seems to offer them no opportunities. So there are a lot of A lot of disempowered feeling teenagers and 20-something-year-olds who, in a way, have everything at stake and also feel they have nothing to lose. It creates a very powerful combination politically. And finally. I flew 14 hours all the way to Japan just to try 7-Eleven.

In Japan, 7-Eleven convenience stores have a die-hard, loyal, foodie following that is, something of a surprise when you think about American 7-Elevens and what they offer. Sometimes you need a 9 a.m. chili cheese dog just to shock your body back into routine. Japanese convenience stores are actually known for high-quality, fresh food. And now 7-Eleven's parent company is betting billions of dollars that it can expand its business in the U.S. using that same model, turning the stores into food mechas. 7-Eleven is the biggest convenience store chain in the U.S., but its parent-com. company has had a rough go recently in terms of stiff competition and a falling stock price.

It's hoping to revitalize and grow its U.S. market by adding a thousand in-store restaurants and providing more of its own branded, prepared food. The company's new chief executive told the times, whether it's hot food or cold food or any kind of food, we have to lean into how we improve the quality, saying that's what Japan does extraordinarily well. One speed bump to the whole plan could be location. In Japan, many of the stores get deliveries of fresh food multiple times a day. In the U.S., 7-Eleven's scattered locations at sometimes far-flung gas stations could make that a bit harder. Those are the headlines. Today on the Daily, a look at how Jeffrey Epstein leveraged his relationships with the rich and powerful to fund a years-long criminal

operation. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.