Trump’s U.N. Address Was Full of Threats and Promises; How Perimenopausal Women Can Take Back Their Life

0:00And this likely could create more opportunities down the line for these bigger news organizations, these bigger media companies, to say, look at this$110 billion merger that faced all of these hurdles, all of this pushback. It worked for them. Why not for us? They were able to get through. Hi, everybody, and welcome to Here's the Scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vasugian. Yes, in fact, we are talking about the Paramount Skydance Warner Brothers merger. So Paramount has now settled with the state of California, amongst other states, suing to block this potential merger. So what does this mean now that the path has been cleared for Hollywood?

0:37And what does it mean for the media industry as a whole and potential mergers in the future as well? Plus, it is World Perimenopause Day, and I'm speaking to Dr. Mary Claire Haver, and we're getting some key questions answered. So how do you know you are in perimenopause? How do you treat it? And then how do you support your partners, your friends who are actually going through it?

1:05Up first, though, President Trump delivered his address to the United Nations General Assembly today in New York. And in just over half an hour, he touted what he considers his domestic wins, including crime and the economy, before taking through a long list of his administration's foreign involvements, including, by the way, the war with Iran, a new deal with Greenland, and the Russia-Ukraine war. Oh, and he renamed AI. Here and after officially called superintelligence, changing the name, and that the use of the word artificial makes intelligence fake. It makes it sound fake, and it is not fake.

1:42It's actually amazing, but we have to be careful. So with all of that, I want to bring in NBC News senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez, who is at the U.N. today. Hi, Gabe. Hi, Yasmin. It's so good to be here in person. I know. It is great to have you in person. We're always talking to you from some foreign place or outside the White House, of course. So I want to talk a little bit about how the president began this. He talked first about what was happening domestically, right, as if he was addressing a domestic audience and kind of, you know, painted a positive picture at the very top of the speech.

2:18But the American media is not covering this the way in which they normally do, because, of course, the White House TV pool has suspended coverage after President Trump banned CNN, along with MS Now and Politico. Is that affecting the way the president's message is reaching the audiences in which he wants to be reached? Well, yes, but you will have to see how the day plays out, because there has been some coverage, and if our listeners are wondering, well, then how could we hear the speech at all? It's UNTV typically broadcasts the speech on any given United Nations General Assembly. So that part didn't change.

2:54And there are instances throughout the day where we call unilateral cameras are allowed. Those are specific media outlets. But what's different this time around is that the TV pool, which are those five major TV networks of which NBC is a part of, has suspended coverage at this point so far because of the president expelling one of the members of that pool, CNN, on Friday, in addition to the other outlets, MSNOW and Politico. It has been a decision not to cover the president at this point. And there are real questions about how we move forward from here. It is a really interesting time for this to be happening, especially with the U.N.

3:31General Assembly, the president making this type of speech in front of an international audience, as well meeting with these world leaders. The president talked about Iran in this speech, which we expected. I want to play a little bit of what he said. But I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? Maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world. Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? So first question is, was Iran in the room?

4:18Was the mission in the room during that speech? The delegation wasn't. They were. The delegation was in the room. You know, we have heard this from the president, something like this from the president before, right? I could do this. I could annihilate the country. Yeah, two points on that. One, the delegation was in the room and was granted visas to be in the United States, by the way. But you're absolutely right, Yasmin. The president has said some version of that before on social media. It is an entirely different forum to say this with the world watching in that room with those delegations from all across the planet choosing his words very carefully and using the word annihilate.

4:55It was a remarkable moment. Did you hear anything different with regards to Iran than what we have heard before? He has acknowledged before that he thought the war could drag on until right after the midterm elections. In this particular speech, he did reference that he thought Iran may be dragging its feet on coming to any sort of deal because he suggested that it could be for political reasons, that they could be waiting until the midterm elections in order to influence the outcome of those midterm elections. To potentially harm him in the midterm elections. Exactly. And, you know, he's raising the specter of, you know, what would happen if Democrats were in charge.

5:34But there are questions about whether, you know, what decision is he going to make? He said very publicly that he has a decision to make in a bilateral meeting with the leader of the U.K. just a short time ago after that speech. He suggested that the Iranians and U.S. officials were actually talking and perhaps they could come to some sort of deal. So it's really unclear how this is going to play out. He did also mention the other issues in which the United States has gotten involved in in his time in the White House so far. We have acted with decisiveness and speed to reshape the world stage and solve problems that have plagued us for far too long.

6:12He talked about reshaping Gaza. And he alluded to potential actions on the ground in Cuba in which the Cuban delegation that subsequently walked out. Right. He seemed to be projecting what he sees as American power around the world. And it's very interesting for a president who repeatedly, especially in his second term, has sought to brand himself as a peacemaker. And despite that, the wars are still raging in Iran. The war is still raging in Ukraine. There is still a lot of instability in Gaza, even though his administration will tout the release of the hostages. But he did bring up those other points, the situation in Venezuela, which they have been touting as an economic success.

6:57It was a war, but it's perhaps the biggest deal ever made. To the victor belong the spoils. You've all heard that. And then the question surrounding what is the path forward in Cuba. Now, the president suggested that the U.S. will continue to ramp up its economic pressure against Havana and that the Cuban regime will fall, the president said today, which is echoing a message that he and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has said before. But the Cuban delegation wasn't happy to hear it, obviously, and they walked out of the room. So lastly, I want to talk about AI. There has been this idea of potential global regulation.

7:41And all this is interesting, obviously, because the president is also meeting with President Xi of China on Thursday, I believe, right? Well, the president in this speech shot this idea of global regulation down and went even further. The United States also totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control for the artificial intelligence being spoken of so much now, here and after officially called super intelligence, changing the name. So as we are anticipating looking ahead to his meeting, his sit down with Xi, how does that set the tone? Well, certainly he is the brander in chief.

8:20At least that's how he likes to see himself. And in this particular case, he didn't like the word, doesn't like the word artificial. What President Trump, the way he looks at this, and he said this publicly increasingly over the last several days when there has been this global outcry to try and slow down AI, he views as whoever wins the AI race wins. And there have been increasing calls for the U.S. to perhaps enter into some sort of agreement with China, the other major country in potentially regulating this industry, and to try and come to sort of an agreement. But the president doesn't see it that way.

8:56He views American dominance as having to – he views regulation as stifling that. And in his speech today, which was surprising to some, rebranding artificial intelligence as super intelligence. and really pouring cold water on the idea that the U.S. will want to partner with China to regulate AI. And AI is, you know, certain to come up. It is a topic that is looming large over the U.N. General Assembly and will continue to even after President Trump leaves later on tonight. But it is a hot topic of conversation. But the president, he views it as, you know, he's called the idea that, you know, AI will take over the world and kill off humanity.

9:43He's referred to it as a hoax. And he views it in the same way that there were other doomsday scenarios. Even he and other top administration officials view it as, you know, climate change in their view was not as dire as some people warned it would be. And he likens it to that. Gib Gutierrez, thank you. You bet. Good to be here. All right. We're going to take a very quick break. And when we are back, we're taking a turn. We are marking World Perimenopause Day with Dr. Mary Claire Haver, the answers everyone needs to know from the Internet's favorite OBGYN. And also, while you're waiting, why don't you just jot down some of your favorite things about this podcast and then leave them in a comment or a review?

10:30And by the way, maybe I will read them on the air. All right, I'll see you on the other side.

10:41I love that my SanDisk USB-C flash drive makes it easy to share our work without an adapter, internet, or the cloud. So we can make our presentation about...

11:00SanDisk USB-C flash drive. Share work easily across USB-C devices. Terms and conditions apply. Visit SanDisk.com for more information. I'm Livvy Dunn, All-American gymnast and Viore athlete. When you travel and train as much as I do, you find happiness where you are. On the mat or on the sand, movement and comfort are essential. That's why I live in Performance Joggers by Viore. Made from DreamNet fabric that's made of 89 % recycled materials. effortlessly soft and made to move as much as I do. My happiness starts here in the softest joggers on the planet. Get 20 % off your first purchase at viori.com slash Libby.

11:40That's V-U-O-R-I dot com slash L-I-V-V-Y. Exclusions apply. Not only will you receive 20 % off your first purchase, but enjoy free shipping on U.S. orders over$75 and free returns. Go to viori.com slash Libby and discover the full versatility of Viore clothing. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions.

12:04And we are back with Here's the Scoop from NBC News. So over the past couple of years, right, menopause has been having a moment. Hot flashes, brain fog, weight gain, and a lot more. Everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Emma Thompson to Halle Berry to Michelle Obama, and of course, a lot of influencers, they have started speaking up about menopause, how to deal with it, right? protein, weighted vests, hormone replacement therapy. Well, move over menopause because today is actually World Perimenopause Day, her younger not-quite-there-yet-sister. So perimenopause impacts about 2 billion women around the world, and every year about 2 million women in the U.S.

12:43are joining in on it, but many of them don't even know that they are going through it yet. And even those that think they might be in the club are having a hard time getting one of the key treatments, hormone replacement therapy. So HRT was basically off the table for years after a 2002 Women's Health Initiative study indicated it could increase the risk of breast cancer. It took almost two decades for those studies to be reevaluated, and the FDA only removed the black box warnings from many HRT products last year. So what is perimenopause? How should we be treating it? And if you aren't dealing with it, why should you care?

13:22So for that, I want to bring in Dr. Mary Claire Haver, an OBGYN, a certified menopause practitioner and author of three separate books, The New Menopause, The New Perimenopause, and The Galveston Diet. There's nobody better to talk to about what we are about to talk about than you, considering the titles of those books. And I cannot tell you how long I've been following you and how excited I am to have you in studio. Welcome. So happy to be here. So let's talk about perimenopause for a moment. What are like the symptoms of perimenopause? And I know you laugh because it's like everybody's is different.

13:56Yeah. Right? But if you're someone who's in their 30s or 40s, because that is at times when perimenopause tends to show up, what are the potential symptoms you're looking at? Sure. Or feeling? So let's go to before menopause enters any chat, right? So we are premenopausal. You are a healthy woman ovulating regularly if you're lucky enough to do so. So that's 90 % of the population. where you have a normal, predictable menstrual cycle. Perimenopause begins when we reach a critical egg threshold level. And a lot of your listeners may not realize that human females, human mammals are born with their entire egg supply.

14:35And it starts deteriorating before we're even born. And by the time we're born, we have about one to two million eggs from the original supply. By the time we're 30, we're down to about 10 % of that egg supply that we were born with. Oh, my gosh. By the time you're 40, you're down to 3%. Wow. So we ovulate from the brain, right? So the hypothalamus pituitary glands produce these chemicals, hormones, that talk to the ovary and say ovulate each month, okay? When you reach a low egg threshold level, the signals from the brain become resistant to the ovaries. The ovaries are like there's just not enough eggs left to be able to respond and get that feedback cycle.

15:12So the chaos comes from the brain has to work extra hard to force this ovulation to happen from these few remaining eggs. And so it makes irregular ovulations. The hormone levels bounce all over the place. Of course, cycles become irregular, but that's not till the end. Your brain responds first. Brain fog really is how the brain is having to utilize glucose. And that goes cattywampus in perimenopause. It goes what? What did you say? Cattywampus. I'm Cajun. I, you know, lived 20 years in Texas. And cattywampas is cuckoo. Toxy-turvy. Okay. Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. Yes. Okay. And so, sorry. No, I love it.

15:53Cattywampas. Cattywampas. And so, sleep disruption directly related to progesterone levels. We see some vasomotor hot flashes, which may interrupt your sleep as well. We see brain fog, and we see mental health changes. So we see a 40 % increase in mental health disorders across the menopause transition. Like what? Like depression, anxiety? Anxiety and depression. And like ding, ding, ding is going off in your listeners' ears right now. So those are the big things. A change in your mental health, a change in your sleep, and a change in your cognition like brain fog. So then at what point do you say, okay, I need to get treatment?

16:29Anytime it's disrupting your life. Anytime you're not able to do your normal daily activities or fulfill, you know, live the life that you built. So this is what I was seeing in my patients in perimenopause. They were on top of the world premenopause. They had these busy schedules, working moms, you know, wherever they chose to work, in the home, outside of the home, whatever. They had this incredible life, but it was very, very complicated, right? And then all of a sudden, no one died, no marital issues, you know. They have lost the resilience to manage the normal day-to-day stress in the life that they built.

17:07Now we're going to add on an aging parent. Now we're going to add on teenagers. Now we're going to add on the things that are really stressful at this time of our lives. And they are like, I'm not functioning. I'm not able, you know, to be able to give someone their life back and the ability to manage the life they built is everything to me. That's a game changer. So part of HRT or hormone replacement therapy is the estrogen patch. Very popular. Very popular. And according to MidiHealth, around half of women have reported having difficulties getting a hold of their estrogen patches now. So, I mean, there is, if we're talking anecdotal, a shortage when it comes to the estrogen patch, which I have experienced myself.

17:48Why is this happening? Supply and demand. Supply dramatically increased because of increased awareness for all of us on social media doing our jobs. So we're getting more education, awareness, knowledge. Women asking, doctors feeling more comfortable prescribing. These telemedicine platforms are prescribing in bulk. And supply never picked up. Still hasn't picked up. Is it the most effective, the patch? No. No. It's not. No, it's not any more effective than the spray or the gel. You know, those are all FDA tested. But we don't have generics for those yet. So they aren't covered on the top tier of plans for most insurances.

18:24So the patch out of pocket, we can get it for$25,$35. So it was a really nice, affordable option for patients. And what else is estrogen actually helping in women? Oh, good question. It is FDA approved for the prevention of osteoporosis. And if your listeners take nothing away from this, it is FDA approved for the prevention of osteoporosis. So if you're not having a hot flash, you still deserve that conversation. It is also FDA approved for premature menopause, meaning before the age of 40, or even early menopause before the age of 45. they're at a unique risk category for heart disease, for diabetes, for dementia.

19:00And so estrogen therapy for them is not only about treating a symptomatic hot flash, but about prolonging the quality of their life. You know, I think the other tough thing in this stage of life is your partners that are having to deal with the women that are going through it, right? And then also, as women, having to explain to our partners what exactly we are going through. So one of the— Like, have some mercy on us, right? We have The Man's Guide to Menopause. It's like a free download on our website because we recognize this. And it's one of the top downloads we have. But it's a woman taking it, downloading it, and giving it to her partner to try to help explain.

19:37Having to actually do that. Like, read this. So then what is your, like, one big piece of advice for the partners of women that are going through this right now? If you want to stay partnered, you're going to have to figure this out. Because she is going through a change that she can't help. She is going through something that is going to change the way she thinks, change the way she prioritizes. And if you want to stay a part of that priority, it is probably really important that you learn about this and figure out how to support her through this because it's happening. What are two of the weirdest symptoms of perimenopause that are often not talked about?

20:11Itchy ears, I think is one. Itchy ears. Where in the ear? Like in the ear canal where you're like, you know, and there's a combination of things happening there. Your ceramides are decreasing. So it's like dry in there. And then our nerves become more stimulated. And then like ants crawling on your skin. And they're related. And then restless legs is another one that we see. I feel like I've experienced that. What are the best and worst things about perimenopause? One, that you don't see it coming, that we're not educating people and that you're kind of blindsided by the symptoms. The best thing.

20:43The best thing is that you develop this ability to put yourself first. Yeah. And if you don't, you know this. If you don't, you're not going to be okay. And so I love women coming in feeling like, we have to fix this. Because I love my life. I love what I've built and I don't want to lose it. And so they're suddenly able to just cut the fat, trim the mess away, like get people out of their lives that don't deserve to be there, that are just takers and not givers. Yeah. You know, so like really seeing women put themselves first and prioritize and then have a positive outcome from that is amazing to me.

21:18Dr. Mary Claire Hever, thank you. You're so welcome. All right, coming up. A group of states have cleared the way for a deal that puts Batman, Harry Potter, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Captain Kirk all under one roof. What the Paramount Warner Brothers news means for the media industry. That's after a very quick break.

21:40I'm Livy Dunn, All-American gymnast and Viore athlete. When you travel and train as much as I do, you find happiness where you are. On the mat or on the sand, movement and comfort are essential. That's why I live in Performance Joggers by Biore. Made from DreamNet fabric that's made of 89 % recycled materials. Effortlessly soft and made to move as much as I do. My happiness starts here, in the softest joggers on the planet. Get 20 % off your first purchase at biore.com slash libby. That's V-U-O-R-I dot com slash L-I-V-V-Y. Exclusions apply. Not only will you receive 20 % off your first purchase, but enjoy free shipping on U.S.

22:19orders over$75 and free returns. Go to viore.com slash Libby and discover the full versatility of Viore clothing. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions. If your workday happens in two languages, this one's for you. Whisperflow is a voice-to-text app. You talk, it types, and any app in more than 100 languages. the email in English, the text to your mom in Spanish, the client note in Portuguese, and it switches languages as you do with the ums and typos gone four times faster than typing. Whisperflow is free. Get it at whisperflow.ai. That's W-I-S-P-R flow dot A-I. It's the early mornings, the long shifts, packing two days into one, helping your kids with homework and finishing your own before bed.

23:08Where others see obstacles, you see opportunity. Collecting wins even when no one's watching. This is what hustle looks like. Capella University keeps up with the way you move, letting you do work and life and learn in between. So go chase that degree and let your hustle make it happen. Capella University. What can't you do? Visit capella.edu to learn more.

23:33And we are back with Here's the Scoop from NBC News. So the biggest merger in Hollywood history, Paramount Skydance's attempt to buy Warner Brothers, is one step closer to reality. We have talked on the show about this. Twelve states, led by California, were trying to block the deal on antitrust grounds. But yesterday, they agreed to settle their lawsuit. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he's focusing on the wins. We got a strong antitrust outcome. More production, more choice and guardrails that keep this industry competitive. I don't think these two companies should merge. But that's not something that we are focused on with our resolution here.

24:22But the thing is, Paramount didn't even have to give up that much other than what they had already agreed to before the settlement. So why did California and the rest of the states actually cave? For this, I want to bring the NBC News business reporter, Ali Canal, who is twinning with me, by the way, because we're both wearing glasses today. I love it. I love twinning with you, Yasmin. Let's talk about this deal because I actually thought it was interesting that Bonta said it's not something that I think should happen, but that's not the resolution we're seeking here, right? He said, and I quote, more production, more choice, more guardrails to keep the industry competitive.

24:56How does this deal do that? Yeah, very interesting messaging here from Bonta. It seems like himself, along with the other state AGs, they felt there were enough enforceable concessions at the heart of this antitrust case that it was better to settle than take this to trial, where trial can be very lengthy, it's very expensive, and the outcome is unknown. So when it comes to what Paramount agreed to, they agreed to spend$1.5 billion more on domestic production over the next five years. That includes in the state of California. At one point, Paramount was threatening to leave California. Looks like that's not happening anymore.

25:36They're also pledging to release 30 films per year in the first two years. That's about double the number of films that Paramount's releasing now. Theatrical releases. This is theatrical releases. And then on the news side, remember, we're now going to have CBS News and CNN officially under one roof. The Paramount board will select an independent editorial board to oversee editorial standards. Now, that has faced some pushback due to the limitations of that board. They don't have any control over hiring, over executive power. And like I said, David Ellison, who will soon be the CEO of this newly combined company, will have a say in selecting this independent editorial board.

26:15So there are concessions, but there is still a lot of pushback, especially within Hollywood. Okay, so let's drill down on some of the things you just mentioned. And first and foremost, it's the 30 theatrical releases, right? That was an issue I think that a lot of people were concerned about as to whether or not they were actually going to be able to meet that quota, right? For those people that don't know, why is it important for them to increase their theatrical releases to meet this quota? These are huge companies that we're talking about. They didn't want the combination of that to lead to fewer jobs, fewer writers, fewer actors.

26:47We've heard from several actors. Mark Ruffalo, for example, has been very anti this deal. We even heard from the Writers' Union that also chose to settle with Paramount, although they came out with a statement and said, we still don't approve this. But without the state AG's support here, there's nothing that we can do. So a lot of this from the Hollywood creative side revolves around jobs. And then you also have the competition concerns about how this could potentially raise prices for consumers because you now have these two streaming companies coming together. There's some projections that say— Is it going to be a monopoly kind of thing?

27:21Exactly. There could be 240 million subscribers. Now, that's still below Netflix, which does have a really strong global foothold. But it still creates this huge library of content and likely creates more wiggle room to raise pricing. I want to drill down a little bit on the CNN and CBS of it all. You mentioned this independent editorial board. Ellison, though, is still choosing who is a part of that editorial board. Is that correct? Yeah. So Paramount's board will be selecting this editorial board. So, yes, Ellison will still have some influence here. And there are also limits on the board structure.

27:56So they cannot grant any power over executive leadership. They don't have a say in hiring decisions within these respective news organizations. And that's where we're seeing a lot of pushback when it comes to, okay, how can you avoid political interference? You know, the Ellisons have a close relationship with President Trump. Already, you know, even today, we are seeing a lot of political interference in news organizations. So that's an overarching question. Also, the question around layoffs, I think, will be really important as we continue to watch this play out. Because typically when you see major M &A, you'll probably hear, you know, structural remedies.

28:34At the news organizations, potentially. Right, at the news organizations and structural remedies. Yes, and streamlining operations. All those little business-y buzzwords means that people will lose their jobs and get laid off. You mentioned kind of the behemoth, right, that Paramount Skydance Warner will become, right, with this merger. It's movie studios. It's two streaming services. It's two huge news organizations. But they're going up against also the company that you mentioned, Netflix, right? They're going up against the YouTube of it all. Will this be, will the Paramount, the WB kind of merger, will they be real competitors to Netflix and YouTube?

29:15And that was Paramount's whole argument here that this had to happen in order to compete with the YouTubes of the world, in order to compete with social media, with streaming in general, because the legacy media industry has changed so drastically. even over the past five, 10 years. M &A, media divestitures, this has been part of the conversation over the past five years, even within our own parent company. And this likely could create more opportunities down the line for these bigger news organizations, these bigger media companies to say, look at this$110 billion merger that faced all of these hurdles, all of this pushback.

29:52It worked for them. Why not for us? They were able to get through. So I do think this maybe sets a precedent for other types of big companies to think to themselves, this could be a possibility for us down the line. Allie Cannell, thank you. Of course. All right. That is going to do it for us at Here's the Scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vasugan. We'll be back tomorrow with whatever the day may bring. And if you like what you heard, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And you can also subscribe to our daily newsletter, The Inside Scoop. It is a deeper dive on the main stories of the day that comes out every weeknight straight to your inbox.

30:29You can sign up for the Inside Scoop is from our paid subscription at NBCNews.com. We'll see you tomorrow. Thank you.

31:04you do with the ums and typos gone four times faster than typing whisper flow is free get it whisper flow.ai that's w-i-s-p-r flow.ai