Tyson Pulls Back From the Beleaguered Beef Business

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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Luke Vargas (0:34)

President Trump turns to tariffs to try and reshore drone production. Plus, China's deep-sea raises prices for its best AI model.

And India has a huge working population, but has the country squandered its economic potential.

Tripti Lahiri (0:50)

A lot of young people with tech degrees are worried. If you study software, coding, or programming, chances are you are going to face competition from some kind of AI.

Luke Vargas (1:00)

It's Friday, August 14th. I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal, and here is the AM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today.

President Trump has announced new tariffs on drones and drone parts in a bid to reshore their production to the US and reduce dependence on China. Our Fabiana Negrin-Ochoa has more.

Fabiana Negrin-Ochoa (1:27)

So the proclamation announced by Trump is based on a report from the US. Commerce Secretary that concluded that the U.S.'s reliance on foreign drones and their components posed a national security threat. So the aim is to correct both of those issues.

Now they announced the duties in a sort of tiered program. So, bigger drones that have capabilities seen as more militarily sensitive, such as thermal imaging, will be subject to 100% tariffs. Whereas smaller drones that don't have those sorts of capacities that have security implications will be subject to a 25% rate.

Luke Vargas (2:11)

US allies will also see lower tariff rates compared to significantly higher ones targeting drones and components from China. The tariffs will take effect in about three weeks.

Meanwhile, Trump is directing the US. Navy to tear out a complex system used to launch jet fighters from aircraft carriers and replace them with steam catapults. Trump has talked about the steam systems for almost a decade after hearing a sailor praise them while visiting a ship during his first term. However, for years, Navy officials have fought against going back to steam, a move that's likely to cost billions of dollars given the complexity of removing more modern electromagnetic catapults. General Atomics, which makes those electromagnetic systems, said the decision to refer to steam warrants careful consideration.

Turning overseas, Britain's Nigel Farage is returning to Parliament. The right-wing populist and leader of the anti-immigration Reform UK party had given up his seat amid revelations that he had accepted millions of dollars in donations from a Thailand-based crypto-billionaire. Farage denied that he had an obligation to disclose the donation, but with Parliament starting to probe him, he decided to step down and promptly run again for his seat.

Nigel Farage (3:25)

No, I've decided that the people of Clapton should be the judges of my actions. This will be a people versus the establishment by election.

Luke Vargas (3:36)

Britain's mainstream political parties boycotted yesterday's election, but not Count Binface, a persona created by comedian John Harvey, who received more than one in four votes.

SPEAKER_6 (3:48)

My name is Count Binface, intergalactic space warrior, leader of the recyclones from planet Sigma 9, and part-time democratic politician on earth.

Luke Vargas (3:58)

Despite the election win, Farage's political woes are unlikely to end. Investigations by a parliamentary watchdog and the police over those donations await. The outcome of which could force him to contest his seat yet again. And Romania has shut down its only nuclear power station because of extremely low water levels in the Danube River amid a severe drought in Europe. The plant produces about 20 percent of Romania's electricity and isn't expected to be restarted within the next 10 days. And while hot and dry conditions are expected to continue in Europe, several people have died in Japan following unprecedented rainfall near Tokyo. A series of storms have swept through Japan and neighboring countries this week in what's been forecast to be an unusually active typhoon season.

Facing fierce competition, China's DeepSeek is quadrupling the price that it charges for peak hour use of its flagship AI model. Even after the increase, though, DeepSeek still charges far less than US AI players and its Chinese peers. The Journal previously reported that DeepSeek is planning an IPO in Shanghai as early as the second quarter of next year.

European oil major BP and Abu Dhabi oil investor XRG are partnering on a potential Venezuelan offshore gas development. Adam Whitaker covers energy and mining companies for the Journal and says the deal has huge potential.