Trump Seeks $1.5 Trillion Defense Budget as Geopolitical Risks Mount

Source：UPI

Jan 9, 2026 -- Today’s top stories: Trump Seeks $1.5 Trillion Defense Budget as Geopolitical Risks Mount, OpenAI Rolls Out ChatGPT Health to Link Medical Records and Wellness Apps, and VinFast Emerges as Vietnam’s Auto Champion With Global EV Push.

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By CommonWealth Magazine
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2026-01-09

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Trump says he will seek $1.5T defense budget for 2027

US President Donald Trump has proposed a $1.5Tn defense budget for 2027, up from the $901Bn provisioned for 2026, citing "troubled and dangerous times".

Trump called for the massive surge in spending days after he ordered a us military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and spirit him out of the country to face drug trafficking charges in the United States.

The 2026 military budget is set at $901Bn.

In recent days, Trump has also called for taking over the Danish territory of Greenland for national security reasons and has suggested he's open to carrying out military operations in Colombia.

Trump's plans to request an increase in the US military budget is giving a fresh boost to defense stocks around the world, with those in Europe having a particularly strong start to a year that looks set to be dominated by geopolitics.

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OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health to connect medical records, wellness apps

OpenAI has launched a new feature in its AI Chatbot, ChatGPT health, which will allow users to analyze medical test results, prepare for doctors appointments and seek guidance on diets and workout routines.

The feature is intended to provide useful health and fitness information but stops short of making formal diagnoses.

The new feature can connect with people's electronic medical records, wearable devices and wellness apps, such as Apple Health and Myfitnesspal.

Initially, OpenAI will let users sign up for a waitlist to try out the product.

The company plans to expand access more widely in the coming weeks.

OpenAI said ChatGPT health has its own dedicated space within the Chatbot, so all of those files, conversations and connected Apps are stored separately from other Chats.

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VinFast Makes 2025 Vietnam’s Car Moment, From Hai Phong to the Middle East

Vinfast, Vietnam's first and only global carmaker, has led Vietnam's car market for over a year, outselling brands that once defined what success on four wheels looked like.

Vinfast vehicles are now part of daily traffic as commuter cars, family haulers, and long-distance companions, judged and praised with the same standards buyers apply to Japanese, Korean, or German imports.

Vinfast also revealed a far more technical project: the LAC Hong 900 Lx, an armored electric vehicle certified to meet the Vpam Vr7 ballistic protection standard.

Vinfast has pushed into North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East over the past two years. notably, in 2025, three new plants came Online, one in Vietnam and two more in India and Indonesia.

The Indian factory in Tamil Nadu entered a market famous for thin margins and even thinner patience. By December, just months after starting sales, Vinfast had risen to become India's fourth largest EV brand, prompting one Indian outlet to note that its market entry "proved to be a huge success."

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