Top Republican moves to restrict AI exports amid concerns over Chinese tech
FIRST ON FOX: A top House Republican is moving to make it harder for China to procure advanced U.S. technology amid longstanding concerns about intellectual property theft by Beijing. “My proposed legislation will establish safeguards to prevent future shocks like China’s development of DeepSeek using American technology. In addition to the chips China reportedly stockpiled, it appears China used chips under the current export control threshold to achieve this AI breakthrough,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital. “This scenario should be a wakeup call — if you give the CCP an inch, it will take a mile. The CCP’s craftiness is coupled with a total disregard for legal and security considerations. We already know that the CCP uses technology to oppress its own citizens and to commit acts of espionage and sabotage against the United States, including major cyberattacks.” SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN DeepSeek is an artificial intelligence (AI) software company based in Hangzhou, China. Its AI chatbot is known to be similar to ChatGPT, which was made by California-based OpenAI. DeepSeek’s release of the new high-profile AI model that costs less to run than existing models like those of Meta and OpenAI sent a chill through U.S. markets. BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS Its popularity in U.S. app stores has also renewed concerns about Chinese companies collecting American data, as well as the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) censorship practices. The surprise DeepSeek release also displayed how China’s economic competitiveness has far outpaced the ability of U.S. business leaders and lawmakers to agree on what to do about it. The U.S. Commerce Department is now looking into whether DeepSeek used chips that were banned from entering China via sanctions, Reuters reported. Green’s bill would put export controls on certain national interest technology and intellectual property to China. It would also call for sanctions against foreign actors who sell or purchase such items to and from China, as well as Chinese entities who knowingly use items covered by the export controls.
House passes bill blocking future presidents from banning oil drilling without Congress’ approval
The Republican-led House passed legislation to block future administrations from enacting bans on oil and gas drilling without congressional approval. In a vote on Friday, lawmakers passed the “Protecting American Energy Production Act” to prohibit the president from “declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium.” There were 118 Democrats who voted against the legislation, while Republican House members unanimously voted in favor of its passage. The bill comes after former President Joe Biden enacted several regulations on oil and gas during his term, including banning future oil and gas drilling along 625 million acres of coastal and offshore waters just weeks before he left office. HOUSE PASSES BILL TO PERMANENTLY CLASSIFY FENTANYL AS SCHEDULE 1 DRUG Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, the Republican who introduced the bill, said concerns over potential fracking bans during the Biden administration was what prompted the legislation. ENERGY SEC. WRIGHT ISSUES DAY-1 ORDERS TARGETING OIL RESERVES, APPLIANCE RULES, ‘NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE’ “When President Biden took office, his administration took a ‘whole of government’ approach to wage war on American energy production, pandering to woke environmental extremists and crippling this thriving industry,” Pfluger said in a statement following the bill’s passage. “My legislation that passed today is a necessary first step in reversing Biden’s war on energy by preventing the federal government from banning the use of hydraulic fracturing,” he said. Since the campaign trail, President Donald Trump has vowed to unleash American-made energy as part of his “drill, baby, drill” agenda. The legislation, if signed by the president into law, would prevent future administrations from banning the drilling method. On Monday, Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum stripped the energy sector of “coercive” climate policies and oil lease bans enacted under the Biden administration, launching internal investigations into agency actions that “burden” energy development.
Fentanyl’s financial grip on US skyrocketed to $2.7T at height of Biden admin: study
FIRST ON FOX: The opioid crisis under the Biden administration cost the U.S. $2.7 trillion in 2023 alone, a new study exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital shows. The Council of Economic Advisers, an agency within the executive office that advises the president on economic policy, released a study on Friday, detailing that the opioid epidemic cost the U.S. $2.7 trillion in 2023 when considering costs related to loss of life, loss of quality of life, loss of labor force productivity, crime and costs to the health care system. The opioid epidemic has raged for years, primarily inflamed by the use of fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid that chiefly originates in China and comes to the U.S. over the Mexico border. President Donald Trump is in the midst of leveraging tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China to bolster border security and stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., which has sparked condemnation from critics that the tariffs will lead to higher costs for U.S. consumers purchasing goods originating from those three nations. The study, however, argues that the costs of the opioid epidemic “dwarfs even pessimistic estimates of the effects of tariffs.” TRUMP IMPOSES TARIFFS ON IMPORTS FROM CANADA, MEXICO AND CHINA: ‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY’ “Ever since his first entry into politics back in 2015, President Trump has been committed to tackling the opioid epidemic that is destroying American lives, families, and communities,” White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai told Fox News Digital on Friday. “While Democrats cry foul and drum up hysteria over his use of tariff powers to save American lives from the scourge of illicit drugs like fentanyl, President Trump isn’t going to waver from using every lever of executive and legislative power to put Americans and America First — the costs of standing idly by in this drug war clearly far outweigh the exaggerated costs of fighting for American lives,” he said. The Council of Economic Advisers study used a 2017 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that researchers adjusted to account for inflation trends, and opioid deaths and dependency, since its release. The loss of life in 2023, for example, cost the U.S. $1.11 trillion, with the study explaining that researchers multiplied the 74,702 opioid deaths that year “by value of statistical life in the United States and then adding productivity and healthcare costs that arise due to opioid fatalities.” TRUMP’S TARIFFS ON MEXICO AND CANADA WILL INCREASE PRICES FOR CONSUMERS; EXPERTS OFFER DETAILS “We inflation-adjusted the $10.1 million value of a statistical life number provided by NIH (2017) to 2025 dollars ($13.0 million per life),” the study explained. Another $1.34 trillion of the $2.7 trillion total accounts for loss of quality of life for those in the midst of opioid addiction compared to Americans who are healthy and not addicted. WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH TRUMP’S TARIFFS ON CHINA, CANADA AND MEXICO? “The measure shows that life with OUD [opioid use disorder] has about 60 percent (0.626) of the quality of life of those in full health,” the study found. “Second is a measure of how much Americans value a year of life in full health. Adjusted for inflation, this value is estimated at $624,410 per person per year. Together these values imply that the lost quality of life costs $234,478 per year for each person living with OUD. We then multiply this value by the prevalence of OUD, estimated to be 5.7 million in 2023.” The opiod crisis cost the U.S. health care system an estimated $107 billion in 2023, the study found, when accounting for treatment of individuals with opioid use disorder, relative to the average annual cost of treating patients who do not have an opioid addiction. “This amounts to $19,000 additional dollars per year per person with OUD,” the study detailed. “These costs were primarily borne by private insurers, Medicaid, and hospitals providing uncompensated care. Ultimately, these costs are passed on to all Americans through higher insurance premiums, taxes, and healthcare expenses.” Loss of labor productivity due to the opioid crisis cost the U.S. an estimated $107 billion, the study found. Researchers determined that figure by multiplying the number of productive work hours lost due to opioid-related deaths, addiction and incarceration by the average hourly wages and benefits for U.S. employees. Crime was the final component in the study. The report found that police protection, court proceedings, correctional facility use and property loss stemming from opioid-related crime cost the U.S. $63 billion. ‘MAKING AMERICA EXPENSIVE AGAIN’: DEMOCRATS FIND A TAX THEY DON’T LIKE IN TRUMP TARIFFS “The enormous economic cost of the illicit opioid epidemic to Americans, estimated at $2.7 trillion in 2023 alone, underscores the urgent need to control the flow of lethal drugs pouring in from foreign countries. The human suffering and financial burden inflicted by this epidemic are unsustainable,” the conclusion of the study found. Trump and his administration are in the midst of a border security blitz, with law enforcement agencies stretching from the Department of Homeland Security to U.S. Marshals conducting raids across the nation to deport illegal immigrants and prevent the flow of other illegal migrants entering the nation. As part of the immigration plan, Trump announced tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China at the end of January, which included a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada were set to have a lower tariff, at 10%. The executive order that authorized the tariffs, which Trump signed Saturday, said they were created in light of “extraordinary” threats stemming from “illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl.” “This challenge threatens the fabric of our society,” the executive order states. “Gang members, smugglers, human traffickers, and illicit drugs of all kinds have poured across our borders and into our communities. TRUMP AGREES TO PAUSE TARIFFS ON CANADA IN EXCHANGE FOR MORE BORDER ENFORCEMENT “Canada has played a central role in these challenges, including by failing to devote sufficient attention and
Harris dodges questions about political future, possible run for California governor
Former Vice President Kamala Harris is not giving any hints about her political future, despite speculation of a possible California gubernatorial bid in 2026. Harris has mostly kept quiet since leaving Washington, D.C., last month after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, aside from a Jan. 20 visit to Altadena, California, to tour the Eaton wildfire damage. On Thursday, the former vice president toured areas damaged by the Palisades Fire and spoke with displaced residents at a Red Cross shelter. When addressing reporters that same day, Harris made it clear that she is not ready to announce her next move just yet. “I have been home for two weeks and three days,” Harris said. “My plans are to be in touch with my community, to be in touch with the leaders and figure out what I can do to support them.” MAJOR CALIFORNIA DEMOCRAT PREDICTS KAMALA HARRIS WOULD BE ‘FIELD-CLEARING’ IF FORMER VP RUNS FOR GOVERNOR When pressed by Fox 11 LA about her political future, Harris said she “would be here no matter what office I hold because it is the right thing to do.” While the former vice president has not commented on President Donald Trump‘s response to the California wildfires, a Harris advisor told Fox 11 that the two former rivals have spoken multiple times behind the scenes. After the Pacific Palisades visit, Harris and former second gentleman Doug Emhoff were spotted at the Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors NBA game at LA’s Crypto.com Arena on Thursday. Political insiders and Americans alike have speculated on Harris’ next moves after her crushing loss to Trump in November. During a desk drawer signing ceremony — a decadeslong tradition — Harris told staff that she would not “go quietly into the night,” and that their “work is not done.” Late last month, New York Magazine reported that Harris was seeking advice from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who also lost to Trump during her own White House bid. CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR? ANOTHER WHITE HOUSE RUN? KAMALA HARRIS UNSURE OF NEXT STEPS AFTER LOSING ELECTION: REPORT Prior to her time as vice president, Harris represented California in the U.S. Senate and served as the state’s attorney general. Her political experience in the state has led many to believe that she may seek the top spot. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s time in office will end in 2026, and due to the state’s term limits, he is ineligible to run again. Amid speculation about a possible gubernatorial run, there are also those who wonder if Harris will try for the White House again. In 2019, Harris launched her first presidential bid, which ended with her in the number two slot alongside Biden. Harris’ second presidential bid had an unusual start after Biden ended his re-election campaign in July 2024 and immediately endorsed his vice president. Harris’ campaign ended in a crushing defeat, as Trump won both the Electoral College and popular votes.
“Dehumanisation of Palestinians is so normalised,” Poet Mohammed El Kurd
Marc Lamont Hill discusses the dehumanisation of Palestinians with author and poet Mohammed El-Kurd. “Death is so quotidian that journalists report it as though they’re reporting the weather” wrote Palestinian poet and author Mohammed El-Kurd amid Israel’s war on Gaza. And with a ceasefire in place, the fate of Palestinians remains uncertain. So what role does the Western gaze play in perpetuating a narrative that dehumanizes Palestinians and how does it shape our understanding of their struggle for justice and liberation? This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill discusses with author and poet Mohammed El-Kurd the resistance and dehumanisation of Palestinians. Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli army demolishes homes in Jenin, continues raids across West Bank
Israeli forces demolish houses in Jenin refugee camp, local sources report, as assault continues for third week. The Israeli army has demolished several Palestinian homes in the Jenin refugee camp as it continues the deadly raids across the occupied West Bank that it launched on January 21. Explosions echoed throughout the camp overnight as Israeli forces demolished the civilian homes, Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, reported on Friday. Witnesses said Israeli forces reinforced their presence around the camp and conducted intensive drone surveillance. The army also continues to besiege Jenin Governmental Hospital, having bulldozed the main entrance and the main road leading to it earlier in its raids. Earlier this week, it carried out the demolition of residential blocks in Jenin for the first time since 2002, as reported by Jenin Governor Kamal Abu al-Rub. The Israeli military offensive, which launched two days after a ceasefire was agreed in Gaza, has targeted Jenin city, its refugee camp and surrounding towns, killing 25 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Advertisement Nearly 90 percent of the camp’s population has been forcibly displaced with many seeking refuge in 39 villages and towns across Jenin governorate. Israeli forces also stormed several areas in the Ramallah governorate and assaulted and detained two Palestinians in the Old City of Hebron as they were distributing bread. In Beita, south of Nablus, Israeli forces assaulted ambulance crews during a raid, wounding a paramedic, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Israeli soldiers fired stun grenades directly at the ambulance, damaging the vehicle as it was responding to an emergency, it said. Military assault on Tulkarem For the 12th consecutive day, Israeli forces also continued their wide-scale military assault on Tulkarem city and its refugee camp in the western West Bank, causing extensive damage to infrastructure and civilian property. Over the past few days, the Israeli army has arrested dozens of Palestinians, forced hundreds of families to flee their homes and killed four Palestinians, including a child and a journalist. Israeli forces have also turned Palestinian homes in Tulkarem and its camp into military outposts after evicting their residents. Witnesses told Turkiye’s Anadolu news agency that the Israeli army carried out mass arrests in eastern Tulkarem city. Wafa reported that the Israeli army continues to besiege Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital. It is also occupying the adjacent al-Adawiya commercial complex, having converted it into a military base and surveillance post. Advertisement Tulkarem Governor Abdullah Kamil confirmed in a statement that 85 percent of the camp’s population had been displaced due to the Israeli military assault. Offensive in Tubas In the northern West Bank for the sixth consecutive day, the Israeli army continued its offensive in Tammun and the Far’a refugee camp in Tubas governorate. Israeli forces have been conducting house-to-house searches in Tammun under the cover of air strikes with drone attacks targeting various locations in the town. While no casualties have been reported, residents are suffering from a severe shortage of supplies and a near-total power outage. The Israeli army has also made many arrests and conducted interrogations of Palestinians in the area. In the Far’a camp, sources reported that Israeli forces targeted infrastructure, cutting off electricity and water supplies to most residents. Adblock test (Why?)
Man City name Ballon d’Or winner Rodri in squad for Champions League run in
Manchester City include Rodri in their Champions League squad as hopes rise of return from injury this season. Manchester City showed faith in Rodri’s potential return to action this season by registering the injured Ballon d’Or winner in its Champions League squad for the knockout phase. UEFA set a midnight Thursday deadline to submit updated squad lists for European competitions. With a limit of three new signings in the midseason transfer window allowed, City left teenage defender Vitor Reis – who joined from Palmeiras last month – out of their squad for the knockout stages of Europe’s premier club competition was revealed on Friday. It was initially feared that Rodri’s season was over, but the Spanish international has set a target of about April – “six to seven months” after tearing the ACL in his right knee against Arsenal on September 22 – to return to play. The Champions League quarterfinals start April 8. The English champions have a daunting task to stay in the competition until then without star midfielder Rodri, who scored the winning goal in the 2023 final against Inter Milan. Manchester City’s Rodri lays on the pitch after a collision during the English Premier League match at Arsenal [Dave Thompson/AP] City face Real Madrid in a two-leg knockout playoff, next Tuesday and on February 19. The winner will play either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16. Advertisement Speaking to reporters on Friday in advance of City’s FA Cup clash at Leyton Orient on Saturday, City manager Pep Guardiola said: “After the game [at Orient] we will come back early to Manchester and after we have time to start to talk [about Real Madrid]. “Of course I have an eye to Madrid but Leyton Orient deserve my attention; always it has been like that. Otherwise we would not get the amount of semi-finals and finals of the FA Cup that we had in the last five, six years.” New signings who are also included in coach Pep Guardiola’s squad for the Champions League are midfielder Nico Gonzalez — who can stand in for Rodri — forward Omar Marmoush, and defender Abdukodir Khusanov. Guardiola said that 23-year-old Gonzalez, who signed on transfer deadline day on Monday, is “really important”. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager added: “It’s a position where we were weak after the absence from Rodri. “I know him from the Barcelona academy and his father was working here. I’m really pleased from the effort of the club to bring him here for the next years.” Adblock test (Why?)
Can Kejriwal win prestige battle? What are the key factors that dominated Delhi assembly polls 2025?
With barely a day left for the results of Delhi assembly elections, discussions and speculations over who is going to assume the reins of the government are ongoing.
FBI agents’ association ‘optimistic’ about AG Bondi despite early controversy with Trump administration
FIRST ON FOX: The head of the FBI Agents Association (FBIAA) is cautiously optimistic that newly minted U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi will steady the ship at the Department of Justice (DOJ) after turbulent weeks since President Donald Trump took office. FBIAA president and CEO Nicole Campa told Fox News Digital in an interview this week that she is eager to see if Bondi will make good on her pledge to end political weaponization at the FBI and the Justice Department. This new leadership could reduce some of the heat agents have felt in recent weeks, she said, citing firings and forced departures of some personnel – as well as a questionnaire requiring agents to detail their roles in the Jan. 6 investigation. Campa pointed specifically to Bondi’s vows to not go after Trump opponents or chase down any so-called “enemies lists,” two promises Bondi cited repeatedly last month during her confirmation hearing. BONDI SWORN IN AS ATTORNEY GENERAL WITH MISSION TO END ‘WEAPONIZATION’ OF JUSTICE DEPARTMENT “I’m optimistic about her statements moving forward, in that she has stated that people would not be targeted for simply doing their job,” Campa said. “So I think we are optimistic in moving forward.” Even so, she added, “there are still real concerns about compiling lists when looking at this stuff and being able to potentially release agents’ names.” FBIAA, a voluntary professional association, represents more than 14,000 active and retired FBI special agents. The agency joined nine anonymous FBI employees earlier this week in suing the Justice Department to block access to records of agents involved in the Jan. 6 investigation, citing fears of internal punishment or retaliation, as well as threats to the agents or the agents’ families should their names be made public. The judge in the case, U.S. Judge Jia Cobb, is expected to rule on their request for emergency injunctive relief early Friday afternoon. DEMS DELAY PATEL COMMITTEE VOTE, DERIDE TRUMP FBI PICK AS DANGER TO US SECURITY The interview comes as rank-and-file DOJ and FBI employees have been roiled by recent firings at DOJ, forced resignations or retirements of FBI personnel and a detailed questionnaire sent to thousands of FBI agents asking them to detail their involvement in the Jan. 6 investigations. Justice Department acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove attempted to assuage FBI agents’ fears. He stressed in a recent email that the effort was simply to obtain and review what role agents played in the Jan. 6 investigation, and was not intended to be a precursor to a mass expulsion of employees. The lawsuit filed this week emphasized their intent to ensure their identities were not released to the public and that they were not retaliated against for doing their jobs. FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION Campa underscored these deep-running concerns to Fox News, noting that FBI employees and the agent association “didn’t have much clarification on what that list was going to be utilized for, besides a broad statement of just personnel actions,” when the DOJ issued its request. “So it raised a lot of concern within the bureau – mainly because we have seen over the past few weeks the associate U.S. attorneys on the investigation be terminated, and then our seventh floor leadership be presented with ultimatums to either retire or be terminated.” Other former department officials cited similar concerns in recent days, expressing fear that any mass purge of employees could compromise decades of agency experience across the bureau’s more than 52 field offices, who have deep knowledge of complex issue areas ranging from counterterrorism and violent crime to drug trafficking, cartel activity and more. “It takes a really long time to get an agent hired and through the process,” Campa told Fox News Digital, citing the lengthy background check and clearance process, as well as training at Quantico, Virginia. “We can’t just pick somebody up off the street tomorrow and make them an FBI agent,” she said. “So when we lose FBI agents – whether it be through retirement or some sort of ‘mass purge,’ to use a term that’s been thrown around in the media, it will take years and years and years, if not decades, to replace that experience.” “That’s scary for everyone at the bureau because we need to be able to have those people standing next to us to be able to get this work done.” Campa said the “best case scenario” is that the identities of the FBI agents are kept private and that the installation of permanent leadership at DOJ and FBI will resolve the controversy as DOJ commits to a process for looking at the Jan. 6 investigations. “I don’t know of an FBI agent who doesn’t stand by their work, so we welcome a review of the work,” she said. “But we are just concerned that it will be done in a thorough and fair manner.”
Conservative firebrand ‘considering all possibilities’ for two key races in Georgia next year
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, one of the most visibile and combustible members of Congress and a top supporter of President Donald Trump in the House, says she is not closing any doors when it comes to a run for the Senate or governor in her home state next year. “Of course, I’m considering all possibilities. No decisions have been made, but I would be telling a lie if I didn’t say I wasn’t considering it,” Greene said when asked during an interview Thursday evening with the Atlanta Journal Constitution about a possible Senate bid in 2026. Greene, who is now in her third term representing the heavily red northwest corner of the key southeastern battleground state, added that a bid for Georgia governor was also on the table. WILL THIS POPULAR REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR JUMP INTO A TOP 2026 SENATE RACE? The congresswoman, thanks to her regular in-your-face social media attacks on the left as well as some well-documented infighting with fellow Republicans in the House, has vastly expanded her national profile over the past couple of years. WHY SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE OFF TO A STRONG START IN 2026 BALLOT BOX BATTLE The Senate race in Georgia, where Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff is facing re-election in 2026, will likely be one of the most competitive, divisive and expensive showdowns of the cycle, as the GOP tries to hold and possibly expand its current 53-47 majority in the chamber. Georgia and national Republicans are courting popular conservative Republican Gov. Brian Kemp – who is term-limited and cannot seek re-election next year – to run for the Senate. “I think Gov. Kemp would be a very solid candidate,” Greene said. TRUMP-BACKED 2024 GOP SENATE NOMINEE IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE MOVING TOWARDS ANOTHER RUN IN 2026 Kemp has not weighed in publicly on whether he’ll run for the Senate. “We’ll see what happens down the road,” he told Fox News Digital late last year. When asked about his political future, the governor said “I try to keep all doors open in politics.” If Kemp does not run for the Senate, other Republicans besides Greene who may potentially launch a campaign include Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins, state insurance commissioner John King and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. In the Republican race to succeed Kemp as governor, Lt. Gov Burt Jones, a top Trump loyalist, and attorney general Chris Carr are expected to be the leading candidates.