August 15

Biden Medicare drug negotiations produce historic price cuts 38-79% reductions on 10 drugs

HHS announces that Medicare has completed negotiations with pharmaceutical companies on the first 10 drugs selected under the Inflation Reduction Act's Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. The negotiated prices average 38-79% below current US list prices, far exceeding initial projections. The 10 drugs, including Eliquis (blood thinner), Jardiance (diabetes), Xarelto (blood thinner), Januvia (diabetes), Farxiga (diabetes), and Entresto (heart failure), are used by nearly 9 million Medicare beneficiaries who collectively spent $3.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2022. The negotiated prices take effect January 1, 2026 and will save taxpayers $6 billion annually. PhRMA had spent decades blocking Medicare drug negotiation authority.

Biden announces first 10 drugs selected for Medicare price negotiation

The Biden administration announces the first 10 prescription drugs selected for direct price negotiation under Medicare's new authority established by the Inflation Reduction Act, marking the first time in US history that the federal government can directly negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. The selected drugs include Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica, Stelara, and Fiasp/NovoLog insulin products. Together these drugs account for approximately $50 billion in annual Medicare spending. PhRMA and several drug companies immediately sue to block the program, arguing it amounts to unconstitutional price controls. The new prices are set to take effect in 2026.

CMS announces final negotiated prices for the first 10 Medicare drugs under the Inflation Reduction Act

CMS releases the final negotiated Maximum Fair Prices for the first 10 Medicare Part D drugs selected under the IRA negotiation program. The negotiated prices — ranging from 38% to 79% below 2023 list prices — take effect January 1, 2026. The 10 drugs covered 8.3 million Part D enrollees and accounted for $50.5 billion in annual Part D drug costs, roughly 20% of total Part D gross spending. Pharmaceutical manufacturers had challenged the program in court while simultaneously participating in negotiations; no court blocked implementation.

Indirect U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations resume through Oman as mediator

Following months of stalled talks, the United States and Iran resume indirect nuclear negotiations mediated by Oman. The talks focus on restoring the JCPOA framework without full U.S. re-entry, exploring limited agreements on sanctions relief and uranium enrichment caps. The Biden administration signals openness to a ''shorter, simpler'' deal that addresses mutual concerns without the full architecture of the original agreement. Iranian negotiators emphasize the need for concrete guarantees against future U.S. withdrawal and binding commitments to sanctions relief. The negotiations represent a tentative step toward de-escalation after years of confrontation, though fundamental disagreements remain on verification, regional activities, and the scope of sanctions removal.

Taliban seize Kabul as Biden defends chaotic US withdrawal after 20-year Afghanistan war

The Taliban take control of Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, within hours, weeks ahead of U.S. intelligence predictions, as Afghan government security forces collapse without resistance. U.S.-allied Afghan President Ashraf Ghani flees the country. Chaotic scenes unfold at Kabul's Hamid Karzai Airport as thousands of Afghans attempt to board evacuation flights. On August 26, a suicide bomber kills 13 U.S. service members and more than 170 Afghan civilians at the airport gate. The last U.S. troops leave on August 30, ending the longest U.S. war in history. Biden defends the withdrawal, saying the U.S. mission was never nation-building.

Taliban seize Kabul in nine days Afghan government collapses Biden defends withdrawal decision

The Taliban capture Kabul in just nine days of their final offensive, stunning US intelligence officials who had assessed the city would hold for weeks. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani flees the country without warning. The Taliban take control of the Presidential Palace within hours. Thousands of Afghans flood Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport, with videos of people clinging to departing US military planes going viral worldwide. Biden delivers a televised address from Camp David defending the withdrawal, saying he was not going to "pass this war on to a fifth president." He says no one predicted the Afghan forces would refuse to fight. Critics from both parties condemn the chaotic evacuation. Over the next 17 days, the US airlifts 124,000 people out of Afghanistan.

Biden Launches Operation Allies Welcome to Resettle 190,000 Afghan Refugees After U.S. Withdrawal

President Biden launched Operation Allies Welcome, a federal resettlement effort to process and resettle Afghans evacuated during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The operation eventually resettled approximately 76,000 Afghans in the U.S. through a network of military bases, federal agencies, and nonprofit resettlement organizations.

Trump says very fine people on both sides after Charlottesville neo-Nazi violence

At a Trump Tower press conference three days after neo-Nazis and white supremacists killed Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, Virginia, Trump reversed his August 14 condemnation and said: "You also had people that were very fine people, on both sides." James Alex Fields Jr., a self-identified white supremacist, had driven his car into a crowd of counterprotesters on August 12, killing Heyer and injuring 19 others. Trump also attacked the "alt-left" and defended Confederate statue protesters as "very fine people." Republican senators including Bob Corker and Lindsey Graham condemned the remarks. Trump created a moral equivalence between neo-Nazis and those opposing them — a position he later doubled down on.

Trump says very fine people on both sides at Charlottesville

Three days after a white supremacist drove a car into counter-protesters in Charlottesville, killing Heather Heyer, President Trump told reporters at Trump Tower that "you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides" of the Unite the Right rally. Trump blamed an "alt-left" for the violence. Business leaders including Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier resigned from White House advisory councils within hours.

White nationalist groups march in 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville

President Trump holds a press conference at Trump Tower on August 15, 2017 in which he says there were "very fine people on both sides" of the violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, that killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer on August 12. The August 11–12 Unite the Right rally is organized by white nationalists Jason Kessler and Richard Spencer and attended by David Duke, former KKK grand wizard. Marchers carry tiki torches and chant "Jews will not replace us." On August 12, attendee James Alex Fields Jr. deliberately drives his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heyer and injuring 19 others. Trump's initial statement on August 12 condemns violence "on many sides," omitting any mention of white supremacy. After bipartisan criticism, he reads a prepared condemnation of the KKK and neo-Nazis on August 14. On August 15, he reverts at the press conference, equating the neo-Nazi marchers with counter-protesters and praising some of the statue-defenders as "very fine people." House Speaker Paul Ryan calls the remarks "not right." FBI Director Christopher Wray has testified that racially motivated violent extremism — primarily white supremacy — represents the largest share of domestic terrorism.

Nixon imposes 10% import surcharge and closes gold window

President Nixon announced a package of emergency economic measures on August 15, 1971, including a 10% surcharge on all dutiable imports and the suspension of dollar convertibility to gold. Treasury Secretary John Connally designed the surcharge as a bargaining chip to force trading partners to revalue their currencies against the dollar. Nixon invoked authority under the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, which courts later upheld in United States v. Yoshida International. The surcharge was lifted four months later after the Smithsonian Agreement set new exchange rate parities.