State-level AI rules survive — for now — as Senate sinks moratorium despite White House pressure
The Senate is quietly winning the battle over states’ abilities to craft their own artificial intelligence (AI) regulations, but there is still a desire to chart out a rough framework at the federal level. The issue of a blanket AI moratorium, which would have halted states from crafting their own AI regulations, was thought to have been put to bed over the summer. But the push was again revived by House Republicans, who were considering dropping it into the annual National Defense Authorization Act. However, Republicans in the lower chamber have pulled back from that push, even as the White House has pressed Congress to create a federal framework that would make regulations more cohesive across the country. LAWMAKERS UNVEIL BIPARTISAN GUARD ACT AFTER PARENTS BLAME AI CHATBOTS FOR TEEN SUICIDES, VIOLENCE A trio of Senate Republicans, Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who banded together to block the original proposal, cheered the provision’s apparent rise from the grave. Hawley told Fox News Digital that it was good news that the provision would not be included in the defense authorization bill, but warned that “vigilance is needed, and Congress needs to act.” “I mean, for everybody out there saying, ‘Well, Congress needs to act and create one standard,’ I agree with that,” he said. “And we can start by banning chat bots for minors.” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who chairs the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee, initially pushed for a moratorium to be included in Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill. His position on the issue has been to unchain AI to give the U.S. a competitive edge against foreign adversaries like China. But that attempt was nearly unanimously defeated over the summer and stripped from the bill. And Cruz hasn’t given up. “The discussions are ongoing, but it is the White House that is driving,” Cruz told Fox News Digital. PROTECTING KIDS FROM AI CHATBOTS: WHAT THE GUARD ACT MEANS Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged that getting the moratorium into the defense authorization bill would be difficult earlier in the week. “That’s controversial, as you know,” Thune said. “So, I mean, I think the White House is working with senators and House members for that matter to try and come up with something that works but preserves states’ rights.” Trump declared last month that the U.S. “MUST have one Federal Standard instead of a patchwork of 50 State Regulatory Regimes,” and argued that over regulation at the state level was threatening the investment, and expected growth, of AI. The White House reportedly drafted an executive order that would have blocked states from regulating AI that would have withheld certain streams of federal funding from states that didn’t comply with the order, and enlisted the Department of Justice to sue states that crafted their own regulations. So far, Trump has not taken action on the order. AI COULD DRIVE US UNEMPLOYMENT TO 20%, SENATORS WARN AS NEW BILL TARGETS JOB TRACKING Blackburn, who was the leading player in thwarting Cruz’s previous attempt to assert an AI moratorium into Trump’s marquee tax bill, also wants some kind of federal framework, but one that is designed to “protect children, consumers, creators, and conservatives,” a spokesperson for Blackburn told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Senator Blackburn will continue her decade-long effort to work with her colleagues in both the House and Senate to pass federal standards to govern the virtual space and rein in Big Tech companies who are preying on children to turn a profit,” the spokesperson said. And Johnson, another key figure in blocking the moratorium earlier this year, argued to Fox News Digital that it was an “enormously complex problem. It’s my definition of a problem.” But unlike his counterparts, he was more skeptical about Congress producing a framework that he would be comfortable with. “I’m not a real fan of this place,” Johnson said. “And I think we’d be far better off if we passed a lot fewer laws. I’m not sure how often we get it right. Look at healthcare, look at how that’s been completely botched.” “What are we gonna do with AI? Hard to say, but we just don’t go through the problem-solving process,” he continued. “And again, I’m concerned, the real experts on this have got vested interests. Whatever they’re advising is, can you really trust them?”
Democrats reveal whether they believe US citizens or drug boat traffickers are more important
As scrutiny mounts on the Trump administration’s use of force in its targeting of suspected cartel members in the Caribbean, lawmakers on Capitol Hill were asked whether they believe U.S. citizen victims or drug traffickers are more important. Republicans, such as Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., said the answer is easy. “I can’t speak for anybody else, but my top concern is American citizens, their lives, their health. So, for me, it’s an easy choice. Kill drug dealers, save Americans,” said Sheehy. Democrats, however, had less black and white opinions on the strikes. “Look, I fully support doing whatever we can within the legal means to make sure that we’re stopping drug trafficking,” said Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., adding, “We should absolutely be concerned about the victims of drug trafficking and people who have lost their lives to drug violence.” SENATE REPUBLICANS BLOCK BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO HALT MILITARY ACTION, DRUG BOAT STRIKES IN THE CARIBBEAN “We support all efforts to [interdict], arrest, hold people accountable who are trying to smuggle drugs into this country. However, we have a rule of law, and we have rules of engagement for a reason. And so, we need to make sure that we have full transparency in terms of how these strikes are happening,” Olszewski went on. He added that “if the reporting is true, it’s very likely” that the administration’s drug boat strikes are “in violation of our laws and may in fact be a war crime.” “So, it merits full investigation; it merits the details being released. And you know, again, I fully support doing all that we can to stop drug trafficking, but that means that we have to make sure that we’re doing it within the rule of law and the rules that we have in this country.” Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., pushed back on the question, asking, “Is this going to do anything to truly help them?” “Cocaine’s still flowing, the demand is still there,” Smith said, adding, “You see a drug dealer on the street, that’s a bad person. That person is selling drugs. Let’s say they’re selling actual fentanyl, not the cocaine that we’re hitting here. Would you support allowing anyone to execute that person who wants to on the spot? … You want to be tough on drug dealers. Drug dealers are bad people. Why do we need due process? Why do you need probable cause?” COMMANDER OF SEPTEMBER ATTACK BELIEVED SURVIVORS WERE CONTINUING DRUG RUN, REPORT SAYS “Don’t give me this crap about how this proves you don’t care about [selling drugs],” he said. “I care about selling drugs. I don’t want a fascist regime that gets to decide who they can kill when they want to kill them without any check on that power. That simply doesn’t make sense in the United States of America, or at least not the United States of America that I want us to have.” Meanwhile, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., answered, “We have to do our best to disrupt drug distribution. Also, we have to invest in drug health care and drug education, et cetera. We have to do all the things. The real question is, how do you do it right?” Pressed on whether the government should be prioritizing drug victims above the traffickers, Reed responded, “I’ve commented and thank you for asking,” before walking away. SCHUMER ACCUSES TRUMP OF PUSHING US TOWARD ‘FOREIGN WAR’ WITH VENEZUELA Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., simply answered, “Congress has to do its job: oversight,” and walked away. Republicans, meanwhile, were much more unilateral in their responses. “If it disrupts the flow of one drug coming into West Virginia, I’m all for it,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. “I come from a state that has historically had enormous drug problems. A lot of deaths from fentanyl, from overdoses,” said Capito. “So, I’m supportive of whatever the president can do to end the flow of fentanyl. And [with] the narco-terrorism, the intelligence around these strikes, from my understanding, is pretty solid.” “For too long, politicians have been satisfied to have a hundred thousand Americans die every year of drug overdoses. Finally, President Trump has stepped up to the plate and said, ‘No more,’” said Rep. Glenn Grothman. “If you’re going to attack our country, and these people know full well Americans are dying because of what they’re doing. If you’re going to attack our country, we’re going to fight back, about time,” Grothman added.
Biden says ‘we’re the United States of Amerigotit’ in latest gaffe at DC conference
Former President Joe Biden said, “We’re the United States of Amerigotit” in his latest gaffe during a speech on Friday at the International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. Biden was urging elected officials, leaders and advocates to “continue the fight” for equality when he slurred his words. “We just have to get up. As long as we keep the faith … and remember who the hell we are. We’re the United States of Amerigotit, that’s who we are! We’re the U.S.!” Biden said. ‘THIS GUY’: SLURRING BIDEN TAKES SHOT AT TRUMP, THOSE TRYING TO ‘ERASE OUR HISTORY’ AT JUNETEENTH CHURCH EVENT Biden continued to affirm that it is time to “fight back” and protect the Constitution in the face of the Trump administration’s policies and actions. “All of us are dismayed by the present state of the union,” he added. “This is no time to give up. It’s time to get up. Get up and fight back. Get up. Continue to fight. And what’s the fight all about? … it’s about protecting the Constitution. It’s about protecting the Constitution.” TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON VOIDING BIDEN AUTOPEN ACTIONS, INCLUDING PARDONS AND COMMUTATIONS The former president accused President Donald Trump and his loyalists of attempting to “distort and derail our fight for equality” and “further divide the country.” He continued, “They’re trying to turn it into something scary, something sinister. But folks, it’s really not about anything that’s all that complicated. At its core, it’s about making every American given the opportunity to be treated with basic decency, dignity, and respect they all deserve. That’s what every single American deserves, every American.” Biden was awarded the Chris Abele Impact Award during the event for his role in advancing LGBTQ+ rights during his administration. The award was named after LGBTQ+ Victory Action board member Chris Abele. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,381
These are the key developments from day 1,381 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Published On 6 Dec 20256 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Here’s where things stand on Saturday, December 6: Fighting A Russian drone attack killed two men, aged 52 and 67, in the Ukrainian city of Izyum as they were unloading firewood from a truck, according to local officials. Russian forces also killed a 12-year-old boy in an attack on the Vasylkivska community in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, and wounded more than a dozen Ukrainians in attacks on the Kherson, Donetsk and Sumy regions, local officials said. Ukraine’s national grid operator, Ukrenergo, announced that electricity restrictions would be in place nationwide from Saturday due to “previous Russian massive missile and drone attacks on energy facilities”, in a post on Telegram. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said that a Ukrainian drone hit and damaged a building in Grozny, the capital of Russia’s southern Chechnya region, and promised to retaliate. The attack caused no casualties, he said. A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Belgorod region wounded the mayor of the village of Berezovka, according to officials, while Ukrainian assaults on energy facilities in Russian-occupied Luhansk caused electricity outages. Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence agency claimed attacks on military targets in Russian-occupied Crimea, including a Su-24 tactical bomber, while the Ukrainian military said it launched drone assaults on Russia’s Temryuk seaport in Krasnodar Krai and the Syzran Oil Refinery in Samara region overnight on Friday. The Russian Ministry of Defence said it downed 41 Ukrainian drones overnight on Friday, according to the TASS news agency. Russian investigators charged a Ukrainian Armed Forces commander with terrorism, in absentia, over the death of journalist and Russian Channel One military correspondent Anna Prokofieva in March this year, TASS reported. Politics and diplomacy Advertisement United States President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff held “productive” talks with Ukraine’s senior negotiator Rustem Umerov in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, a White House official said on Friday. “Progress was made,” the White House official said, according to the Reuters news agency. “They will reconvene later today after briefing their respective leaders.” The meetings in Florida came after Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this week, in what Yury Ushakov, the Kremlin’s top foreign policy adviser, described on Friday as “truly friendly” discussions. Ushakov also said that Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is working “frantically” to resolve the war between Russia and Ukraine in his role as a US negotiator, TASS reported. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they held “very constructive” talks with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever on Friday over a European Union plan to use Russian frozen assets to fund Ukraine, which Belgium has so far refused to endorse. The Save Ukraine NGO said it has returned 18 Ukrainian children, aged two to 17, from Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine’s Kherson region over the last week. International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors said on Friday that arrest warrants for Putin and five other Russians accused of war crimes in Ukraine will stay in place even if a blanket amnesty is approved during US-led peace talks. Putin said that Moscow is ready to provide “uninterrupted shipments” of fuel to India, as he met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday, despite US sanctions. Bulgaria’s maritime authorities, border police and navy are attempting to recover sanctioned Russian tanker Kairos, which was hit in the Black Sea last week by a Ukrainian drone in Turkiye’s exclusive economic zone, leading to its crew being rescued after it caught fire. Adblock test (Why?)
Afghan, Pakistani forces exchange heavy fire as tensions flare
Relations have soured between former allies Afghanistan and Pakistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. By News Agencies Published On 6 Dec 20256 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Afghanistan and Pakistan’s forces have exchanged heavy fire along their border as tensions between the South Asian neighbours escalate after peace talks in Saudi Arabia failed to produce a breakthrough. Officials from both sides said the skirmishes broke out late on Friday night, with the two countries accusing one another of opening fire first. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list In a post on X, the spokesman for Afghanistan’s Taliban government, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Pakistani forces had “launched attacks towards” the Spin Boldak district in the Kandahar province, prompting Afghan forces to respond. A spokesman for Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said it was the Afghan forces who carried out “unprovoked firing” along the Chaman border. “Pakistan remains fully alert and committed to ensuring its territorial integrity and the safety of our citizens,” spokesman Mosharraf Zaidi said in a statement. Unfortunately, this evening the Pakistani side once again launched attacks towards Afghanistan in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar, prompting the Islamic Emirate forces to respond. — Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) December 5, 2025 Residents on the Afghan side of the border told the AFP news agency that the exchange of fire broke out around 10:30pm local time (18:00 GMT) and lasted about two hours. Ali Mohammad Haqmal, head of Kandahar’s information department, told AFP that Pakistan forces attacked with “light and heavy artillery” and that mortar fire had struck civilian homes. “The clashes have ended, both sides agreed to stop,” he added. Advertisement There were no immediate reports of casualties from either side. Strained ties Relations have soured between Afghanistan and Pakistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, largely due to Islamabad’s accusations that Kabul is providing sanctuary to several armed groups, including the Pakistan Taliban (TTP). The TTP has waged a sustained campaign against the Pakistani state since 2007 and is often described as the ideological twin of the Afghan Taliban. Most recently, on Wednesday, a roadside bombing in Pakistan near the Afghan border claimed by the TTP killed three Pakistani police officers. Pakistan also accuses Afghanistan of sheltering the Balochistan Liberation Army and a local ISIL/ISIS affiliate known as the ISKP – even though the ISKP is a sworn enemy of the Afghan Taliban. The Afghan Taliban denies the charges, saying it cannot be held responsible for security inside Pakistan, and has accused Islamabad of intentionally spreading misinformation and provoking border tensions. A week of deadly fighting on their shared border erupted in October, triggered after Islamabad demanded that Kabul rein in the fighters stepping up attacks in Pakistan. About 70 people were killed on both sides of the border and hundreds more wounded before Afghan and Pakistani officials signed a ceasefire agreement in Qatar’s capital Doha on October 19. That agreement, however, has been followed by a series of unsuccessful talks hosted by Qatar, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia aimed at cementing a longer-term truce. The latest round of talks, held in Saudi Arabia last weekend, failed to produce a breakthrough, although both sides agreed to continue their fragile ceasefire. Despite the truce, Kabul has accused its neighbour of carrying out repeated air strikes in Afghanistan’s eastern provinces over recent weeks. One attack reportedly carried out by the Pakistani military on a house in Afghanistan’s southeastern Khost province in late November reportedly killed nine children and a woman. Pakistan denied that it carried out any such attack. Adblock test (Why?)
Australia sanctions Afghan Taliban officials over women’s rights abuses
Canberra said the Taliban officials are guilty of oppressing women and girls, as well as ‘undermining good governance’. The Australian government has imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on four officials in Afghanistan’s Taliban government, citing the deteriorating human rights situation in the country, particularly for women and girls. Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement on Saturday that Canberra had established a “world-first” autonomous sanctions framework for Afghanistan, which would allow it to “directly impose its own sanctions and travel bans to increase pressure on the Taliban”. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The new framework also introduces an arms embargo, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said, as well as prohibitions on “providing related services and activities to Afghanistan”. The department named the sanctioned Taliban officials as Minister for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice Muhammad Khalid Hanafi; Minister of Higher Education Neda Mohammad Nadeem; Minister of Justice Abdul-Hakim Sharei; and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani. The Australian Government has established a world-first autonomous sanctions framework for Afghanistan, as part of our ongoing efforts to hold the Taliban to account. In effect from today, we have also announced the first listings under the new framework. — Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) December 5, 2025 Wong said the officials had been sanctioned due to their involvement “in the oppression of women and girls and in undermining good governance or the rule of law”. “This includes restricting access to education, employment, freedom of movement and the ability to participate in public life,” she said. Advertisement Canberra said its new framework “builds on” the 140 individuals and entities it already sanctions as part of the United Nations Security Council’s Taliban framework. Afghanistan’s Taliban government is yet to publicly respond to Canberra’s latest measures. In July, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Chief Justice Haqqani, alongside the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhunzada, for alleged crimes against humanity for persecuting women and girls. Announcing the sanctions, the ICC said the Taliban has “severely deprived” girls and women of the rights to education, privacy, family life and the freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion. Since returning to power following the withdrawal of United States and NATO troops – of which Australia was a part – from Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban has enacted severe restrictions on the rights and freedoms of women and girls, including the right to work and study. The Taliban has rejected accusations of violating women’s rights, claiming they are respected “within the framework of Islamic law”. In December 2022, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Higher Education banned female students from the country’s universities until further notice, in a move widely condemned by the international community. Last year, the UN said the Taliban government had “deliberately deprived” at least 1.4 million girls of their right to an education during its time in power, totally about 80 percent of school-age girls. Afghans have also been plunged further into poverty since the Taliban takeover, fuelled in part by the ban on female participation in the workplace, with vast swaths of the country’s population now heavily reliant on humanitarian aid to survive. In her statement, Wong said the Australian government “remains deeply concerned at the deteriorating situation” in the country, continuing that a “humanitarian permit” had been carved out in the new sanctions framework, allowing the continued provision of aid. “Our thoughts are with those suffering under the Taliban’s oppression, as well as the Afghan community in Australia,” she said. Adblock test (Why?)
India makes BIG move amid PM Modi-Putin meet, announces free 30-day e-visa facility for Russians
In a joint press statement with Russian President Vladimir Putin following their talks at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Friday, PM Modi stated that for decades, the people of both countries have shared deep affection and that several new steps have been taken to deepen these bonds.
IndiGo disruption: Centre orders high-level inquiry, anticipates normalcy within…; sets up 24X7 control room for monitoring
As thousands of passengers faced a harrowing time at airports across the country, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a statement that “we expect that flight schedules will begin to stabilise and return to normal by tomorrow.
Amid IndiGo disruption, revisiting 9 airlines that once dominated skies but collapsed
IndiGo’s recent struggles have sparked concerns about the airline’s future, with many recalling the downfall of other Indian carriers. The airlines’ current turbulence has reminded many of India’s aviation industry’s pattern over the past 25 years. Time and again, airlines have dominated during their glory years and eventually lost once they collapse. Here are nine airlines that have ceased operations, failed to adapt to changing market conditions and disappeared entirely.
Kavach 4.0 commissioned on 738 route km on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah lines, Railway Minister shares BIG update
Kavach 4.0 features higher location accuracy, improved yard signal information, OFC-based station interface and direct interface to electronic interlocking integration to enhance passenger safety.