Planet America: Weekend Edition (Friday 13/6/2025)
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Coming to you from the Situation Room, John Barron and Chas Licciardello cut through the spin as they discuss the people, policies and politics from the week in Donald Trump's second term in the White House.
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9 News
30 minutes ago
- 9 News
Trump announces Coca-Cola will change its recipe at his request
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here President Donald Trump said Coca-Cola has agreed to use real cane sugar in its flagship soft drink in the US at his suggestion — though the company didn't confirm such a move. Any switch from high-fructose corn syrup in Coke sold in the US would put Coca-Cola more in line with its practice in other countries, including Mexico and Australia. But it wouldn't affect Trump's drink of choice, Diet Coke, which uses aspartame as a calorie-free beverage. "I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so," Trump wrote on his social media site. Donald Trump has announced Coca-Cola is changing its recipe at his request. (AP) "I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You'll see. It's just better!" A spokesperson for Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. said in a statement that the company appreciated Trump's enthusiasm and promised that more details on new offerings within its products would be shared soon. Coca-Cola didn't elaborate. But the company has long indulged US fans of cane sugar by importing glass bottles of Mexican Coke to the US since 2005. Returning to sugar in US production, meanwhile, might affect the nation's corn farmers, whose yields are used in artificial sweeteners. "Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar doesn't make sense," Corn Refiners Association President and CEO John Bode said in a statement. "President Trump stands for American manufacturing jobs, American farmers, and reducing the trade deficit. Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income, and boost imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit." Coca-Cola is made with corn syrup in the US instead of cane sugar. (Adobe Stock) Trump himself is such a fan of Diet Coke that he had a red button installed on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office that he can press to have a White House butler bring one in for him. Despite his fondness for Diet Coke, his relationship with the company hasn't always been sweet. In a series of posts in 2012, Trump suggested diet soda might be connected to weight gain before eventually writing, "The Coca Cola company is not happy with me — that's okay, I'll still keep drinking that garbage." A bottle of Diet Coke could be seen sitting next to his chair years later, at a G20 summit in 2017. And The New York Times reported in 2018 that he was drinking a dozen Diet Cokes daily. Donald Trump USA US POLITICS World CONTACT US
Perth Now
30 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Cut privacy red tape to boost innovation: tech giants
Meta has told Australia its privacy reform is "out of step" with international norms and risks discouraging industry investment in AI. The social media giant's warning to the Productivity Commission comes as chief Mark Zuckerberg and other executives are being sued by shareholders in a $8 billion Facebook privacy case. The commission is looking at rule changes that seek to boost public confidence in data and technology to make it easier for Australians to benefit from AI, which has been labelled by experts as a danger to society. In its submission to the inquiry, Meta said it supported attempts to streamline privacy rules and regulations, both in line with domestic and international regulatory frameworks, to reduce compliance costs and increase global competitiveness. "We are concerned that recent developments are moving Australia's privacy regime to be out of step with international norms, impose obligations on industry that conflict with broader digital policy objectives to promote age appropriate and safe experiences online, and disincentivise industry investment in AI in Australia or in pro-consumer outcomes," it reads. Australia's proposed social media ban for children under the age of 16 has emerged as a key issue with US tech giants as the Albanese government tries to manage President Donald Trump's deepening trade war. The "world-leading" laws will come into effect from December, and will capture online platforms including Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. For Australia to harness the productivity potential of technology and avoid "unintended consequences" any reform to the Privacy Act should give proper attention to policy alignment in areas such as online safety and AI, Meta said. The giant urged the nation to incorporate "innovation and economic interests" as objectives of privacy rules. Google said Australia might be left behind other nations in the Indo-Pacific, given governments such as Japan and Singapore have implemented "innovation-friendly" policy to lift their economic competitiveness. "Businesses, especially those operating at the cutting edge of AI development, may hesitate to commit significant resources if the precise interpretation and application of the rules in Australia remain unclear (and) are overly restrictive," the submissions reads.
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
The real thing, Trump says Coca-Cola to use cane sugar
Donald Trump says Coca-Cola has agreed to use cane sugar in its beverages in the US, after his discussions with the company. "I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so. I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola," Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday. The president's home state of Florida is the nation's top sugarcane producer. A spokesperson for Coca-Cola said the Atlanta-based company would share details on new offerings soon, and that it appreciated Trump's enthusiasm for its product. Coca-Cola produced for the US market is typically sweetened with corn syrup, while the company uses cane sugar in some other countries. The Trump administration's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, named for the social movement aligned with Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, has pushed food companies to alter their formulations to remove ingredients like artificial dyes. Kennedy has also been critical of the amount of sugar consumed in the American diet and has said that updated dietary guidelines released this summer will advise Americans to eat "whole food". A May report by the MAHA Commission, a panel convened by Trump and tasked with identifying the root causes of chronic disease, said substantial consumption of high-fructose corn syrup could play a role in childhood obesity and other conditions. Medical experts recommend limiting added sugar in diets, but have not identified significant differences between cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. Corn producers concentrated in the US Midwest have long wielded considerable influence over lawmakers in Washington. "Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar doesn't make sense," said Corn Refiners Association President and CEO John Bode. "Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income, and boost imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
