Federal Agent Shoots Two People in Portland

0:02Portland's police chief urges calm after two people were shot by federal agents. Plus, the House passes a bill to extend health care subsidies as 17 Republicans cross party lines. And we take a look at how America's new dietary guidelines are colliding with Wall Street. This is really going to force companies to speed up. So they are going to be looking at how can they simplify their recipes? How can they use cleaner ingredients? How can they take out additives? And a lot of these moves that they're going to have to make are going to make food more expensive, not less. It's Friday, January 9th.

0:40I'm Caitlin McCabe for The Wall Street Journal, and here's the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. We begin in Portland, Oregon, where a man and woman were shot yesterday by federal agents during a vehicle stop. They are now in the hospital where their conditions are unknown. The Department of Homeland Security said a U.S. Border Patrol agent fired his gun after a driver attempted to run over officers. The agency said the driver and passenger are affiliated with a Venezuelan gang involved in a recent shooting in the city. Portland Police Chief Bob Day urged the community to stay calm as officers and the FBI work to learn more about the situation.

1:23Speaking alongside him, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson condemned the shooting and called on ice to leave the city. Violence in our community is devastating. These are not statistics. These are human beings. Portland is not a training ground for militarized agents. When the administration talks about using full force, we are seeing what it means on our streets. The Oregon shooting comes just one day after a separate fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis by an ICE agent, which has sparked protests in cities across the U.S.

2:09Tensions between authorities in Minnesota and the federal government over her death have intensified, with local law enforcement officials saying yesterday that the FBI blocked them from participating in an investigation into the incident. Turning now to Capitol Hill, where the House has defied the Republican leadership and passed legislation to extend expired health care subsidies. It marks a win for Democrats, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries saying the vote will prevent dramatically higher insurance premiums. House Democrats, every single one of us, joined by 17 Republicans, have partnered in a bipartisan way to protect the health care of the American people.

2:54The vote underlines how some centrist Republicans are willing to break with their party ahead of the coming midterms, arguing that an extension could give the party more time to improve the program. The bill will now go to the Senate where pressure is building for a compromise.

3:12In corporate news, Elon Musk's XAI is under fire from child safety groups and regulators. after an update to its Grok chatbot in late December allowed users to create sexualized photos, including of children. In a post overnight, Grok said it had switched off its image creation function except for paying subscribers, making it unavailable for the vast majority of users. We are exclusively reporting that the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus is nearing a$1.25 billion bankruptcy deal to be announced within days. The Chapter 11 proceedings are being led by a group of bondholders, including Bracebridge Capital and Pentwater Capital.

3:53But PIMCO has also submitted a competing offer to finance the business with a$1.5 billion loan. And talks are underway to create the world's largest mining company with a market value of more than$200 billion. Rio Tinto is expected to buy copper miner Glencore and has until February 5th to confirm the deal under UK takeover rules. The deal comes as miners across the industry look to capitalize on a scramble for copper, which is used in data centers supporting AI and cloud computing. Coming up, we take a look at which food giants stand to win and lose under America's new dietary guidelines, plus why Saudi Arabia is quietly lifting its booze ban.

4:36Those stories after the break.

4:44Earlier this week, when Trump administration officials unveiled sweeping changes to federal nutrition guidelines, one thing was immediately clear. Investors weren't thrilled about what it means for food giants like Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, General Mills and PepsiCo. The new inverted food pyramid recommends that people avoid highly processed foods, dramatically increase protein intake, and skip added sugar. In his remarks, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested the American government's guidance in the past was aimed at protecting corporate profits. So what could the changes mean for the business of food in America?

5:23For more, our producer Daniel Bach spoke to Journal Food reporter Jesse Newman. Yeah, you know, I think it's pretty safe to say that the new updated dietary guidelines are bad news for most big food companies. I mean, the big food companies here in the U.S., their entire business model is really based on making processed food. And so, you know, any government guidance that takes a hard line against highly processed foods in particular, this is pretty bad news. And to be honest, you know, the big food companies, they have been thinking about this and trying to figure out what to do for months. I'm not sure that they all really have an answer for the dietary guidelines yet.

6:05So, you know, we know that many of them have task forces that were set up to sort of deal with Maha. So they are going to be looking at how can they simplify their recipes? How can they use cleaner ingredients? How can they take out additives? essentially they're just trying to figure out how to make their food, you know, appear less processed. And yet this is a pretty tough task because we're also in a moment where prices, food prices and affordability are really top of mind for consumers. And a lot of these moves that they're going to have to make are going to make food more expensive, not less.

6:40Okay. So there is some downside for consumers and evidently for big food businesses, but Are there companies and parts of the agricultural industry that stand to benefit from these changes? I'm thinking about this huge conversation amongst Americans about eating more protein. And now we see that reflected in the guidelines. Yeah, protein is obviously a huge trend. You know, I just can't underscore here in the U.S. how, you know, pick your word, craze, obsession. It seems to be a protein bonanza. It's everywhere. In fact, there was a General Mills Investor Day where there was a Wall Street analyst who said, you know, it sort of seems like food companies are sprinkling protein over everything.

7:20And then you walk the aisles of a grocery store and it's very true. You know, protein is being added to cereal and to snack bars and to just about every category. And that is a real tailwind for the dairy industry, for the meat and poultry industries. They are all feeling pretty good this morning. We're seeing definite interest in products from consumers, also from private equity for goods that are high in protein. On Thursday, we saw a private equity firm take a majority stake in a small cottage cheese brand, Good Culture. So whether you are a high-protein yogurt or you're cottage cheese or you're a cattle rancher, the emphasis on protein is just really good news.

8:08So good news for the dairy industry that has suffered from really low prices for a long time. How important will this be for farmers and producers? You know, I would say that this is a win for dairy overall in the sense that, you know, it really promotes dairy products, in particular promotes full fat dairy products. The one place I would say, you know, it's just not a it's not a total slam dunk. There is a lot of high sugar dairy out there. So if you think about the yogurt aisle, you've got your whole milk, plain yogurt, but then you also have plenty of yogurts with added sugar. Or if they don't have added sugar, sometimes they'll have other types of alternative sweeteners.

8:52And so dairy manufacturers are going to be looking at their product lineups to see what will be a fit, because there's plenty of yogurt with granola, chocolate granola crumbles on top that would still fall into the processed food category. with a lot of added sugar, and those are less in favor by the administration. Jesse Newman is a food reporter for The Journal. Jesse, thanks for your time. Thanks for having me. And in another major change, Saudi Arabia has begun allowing select residents to buy alcohol. It's part of the kingdom's push to attract expats. But as Middle East correspondent Omar Abdel-Baki explains, the process of actually buying booze at the only known liquor store in the country's capital, Riyadh, remains a bit unusual.

9:40I spoke to an expat who did buy alcohol from the store, and basically he only knew it existed through word of mouth. It's attached to a grocery store, sort of unmarked and discreet. It's accessible to either diplomats or people with that premium residency card. And premium residency is status given to high-income earners or high-skilled workers, expatriates, and they verified that he was not Muslim and that he qualified to purchase alcohol through his residency status. And when they verified that he was, they put his phone in a bag so he wouldn't take pictures and he was able to peruse the liquor store.

10:17Well, it might not sound like a big deal, but for a conservative kingdom that has banned alcohol since the 1950s, it's quite a big deal. According to analysts and people familiar with the Saudi rulers thinking, more changes could be in store, including allowing alcohol at new resorts popping up along the Red Sea. And that's it for What's News for this Friday morning. Today's show is produced by Hattie Moyer and Daniel Bach. Our supervising producer was Sondra Kilhoff. And I'm Caitlin McCabe for The Wall Street Journal. We'll be back tonight with a new show. Until then, have a nice weekend and thanks for listening.

11:00Thank you.