MAGA mom’s dire warning over tech guardrails as Trump puts pedal to the metal on race with China
A conservative political activist who has been deeply entrenched in right-wing politics for decades is calling on the government to implement safety guardrails on artificial intelligence (AI), especially when it comes to protecting children and ensuring that the booming technology doesn’t displace American workers en masse. “If something happens with one of these companies, whether it’s a child taking their own life due to suicide by manipulation with a chatbot, these companies are not required to report it to the federal government,” Amy Kremer told Fox News Digital. Kremer is the chairwoman of Humans First, a gorup that advocates for government safeguards on the technology and says it gives the American people a voice in the AI conversation, rather than leaving all the power in the hands of what it calls “Big AI globalists” who have little concern for ordinary Americans. MIKE JOHNSON REJECTS AI MORATORIUM OVER CHINA THREAT AS CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST DEMANDS GUARDRAILS “We are a grassroots organization focused on putting guardrails and safety mechanisms in place around AI technology in order to protect the American people, our children, jobs and so forth, and also to put those guardrails in place to to make sure that the people have a seat at the table and a voice in the conversation about what goes into their community,” Kremer said. Kremer, who is known by the political right for her time as a Tea Party advocate and ferocious fighter for President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, mentioned the 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University, which claimed the lives of two people and injured six others, as an instance of AI gone wrong. Court documents in that case claim that the alleged shooter, Phoenix Ikner, used ChatGPT to plan aspects of the shooting. The company was sued by the wife of one of the deceased victims, and the state of Florida took the rare step of opening a criminal investigation into the company. “If a chatbot is used in planning a school shooting like what happened at Florida State University in April of 2025, they’re not required to report that to the federal government,” said Kremer. “The only reason we know about a number of these things that have happened is because of lawsuits that have been filed by the victims and/or their families.” She argued that as a former flight attendant, she had to report every issue on an airliner to the government. And just as hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and hordes of other industries are regulated under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Kremer believes that AI companies should face similar scrutiny. FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS QUESTION WHETHER AI’S PROMISE OUTWEIGHS ITS RISKS AI is a hotly-contested issue ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with some Democrats looking to reign in the technology while the Trump administration hoping to keep competition and innovation flowing in the effort to win the AI race with China. But Kremer is far from a Democrat, and she wants also wants the United States to crush China in the race for technological dominance. “I want America to win this AI race, I absolutely I do. I’m America first, always have been, and we’ve led the world on innovation and ingenuity,” she said. “But again … I go back to, you don’t have to forego safety to have innovation and ingenuity.” “I’m not siding with the Democrats,” Kremer said. “I am not a tech person. I’m not anti-AI. I’m not anti-technology. I’m not anti-data center.” “I am a mom with common sense and I’m a conservative, and it only makes sense that guardrails are put in place,” she added. After all, Kremer said, AI companies aren’t partisan actors. TRUMP’S AI RACE WITH CHINA COULD BECOME THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF OUR TIME “They don’t care about Republicans, they don’t care about Democrats, they don’t care about Americans. At the end of the day, I think they care about their own companies and their technology, and that’s what, what drives them,” she said. “And so, everything with these guys I think is contractual, you know, it’s not, ‘these are my friends, these are the people, I have the same ideology.’ It’s contractual, it’s what benefits them and I think that’s why they’ve cozied up to President Trump and Republicans in this administration and Congress.” In a high-stakes summit in Washington, D.C., last week, AI was a hot topic of discussing between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump, though what exactly was discussed remains under wraps. “The Trump administration’s priority is to ensure there is a booming economy so that workers have many opportunities and experience limited volatility from any short-term disruptions,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. “The goal is for workers to continue to have access to high paying jobs and that workers can easily adapt to new technologies and processes.” OBAMA CRITICIZES TRUMP ON APPROACH TO AI, ESCALATES WARNING FOR STRONGER REGULATION As for children’s safety, the official pointed Fox News Digital to its National Policy Framework on Artificial Intelligence. That framework calls on Congress to implement a number of AI child safety measures, including empowering parents with tools to control their children’s content exposure, privacy settings, content exposure and account controls. It also asks the lawmaking body to “establish commercially reasonable, privacy protective, age assurance requirements (such as parental attestation) for AI platforms and services likely to be accessed by minors,” and ensure that AI platforms implement safeguards against child sexual exploitation and self-harm.
‘Activist judge’ rules Congress cannot bar noncitizens from voting in federal elections
A Biden-appointed judge is being labeled an “activist judge” by conservative critics after ruling that the federal government’s application of a law barring noncitizens from voting in elections violates the Constitution in a federal criminal case. In a 31-page ruling, U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz of the Southern District of Florida dismissed federal charges against Chelsea Cox, a woman originally from Jamaica who voted in the 2020 presidential election, despite not being a U.S. citizen. The ruling comes as the Trump administration has intensified efforts to prevent noncitizens from voting, including through federal prosecutions and attempts to verify citizenship on state voter rolls, sparking legal battles with Democratic-led states and voting-rights groups. President Donald Trump’s election integrity efforts have been driven in large part by his and his allies’ belief that the 2020 election was “stolen” — an unproven claim he continues to maintain. Leibowitz ruled that the Constitution gives states — not Congress — the authority to determine who qualifies to vote in elections, effectively ruling that a provision of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) criminalizing noncitizen voting in federal elections is unconstitutional as applied to Cox. “The Constitution commits to the States, and the States alone, the general power to set voter qualifications in federal elections,” Leibowitz wrote in his ruling. “This is clear from both the text of the document and the debates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.” WATCH: MIKE LEE EXPLODES ON VOTING ERROR THAT ‘KEEPS HAPPENING’ AS HUGE NUMBER OF NONCITIZENS FOUND ON ROLLS The ruling garnered sharp blowback from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who is co-author of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which is currently being stalled in the Senate and unlikely to be passed before the midterm elections. “This insane ruling will certainly be overturned,” Lee wrote on X. “But it gives the game away: Democrats pretend we don’t need the SAVE Act because non-citizen voting is already illegal… while activist judges try to destroy laws banning non-citizens from voting!” Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow with Advancing American Freedom, agreed that Leibowitz’s ruling will most likely be “squashed” by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. “Judge David Leibowitz’s opinion that the federal law barring aliens from voting is unconstitutional is patently wrong,” Spakovsky told Fox News Digital. “It is true that states have the constitutional authority to set the qualifications of citizens who are eligible as voters in federal elections. But he ignores the fact that in Article I, Section 8, Congress is given 100% authority over naturalization.” Spakovsky said the Constitution gives Congress authority to decide how noncitizens enter the country and what activities they may engage in once here. “That gives the federal government the authority to ban aliens from voting or otherwise in any way participating in the democratic process,” Spakovsky said. STATE DEPARTMENT CONSIDERS SHARING PASSPORT RECORDS FOR VOTER CITIZENSHIP CHECKS Spakovsky pointed to Bluman v. FEC , a 2011 decision written by then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh and later summarily affirmed by the Supreme Court, which upheld restrictions on foreign nationals’ campaign spending. The opinion said the government may exclude noncitizens from activities tied to democratic self-government. “The Supreme Court has long held that the government (federal, state, local) may exclude foreign citizens from activities that are part of the democratic self-regulation in the United States,” Kavanaugh wrote. “For example, the Supreme Court has ruled that the government may bar aliens from voting, serving as jurors, working as police or probation officers, or teaching at public schools.” However, Bluman v. FEC involved campaign contributions and expenditures, not a federal criminal prosecution for voting. Anhishek Kambil, a partner at Holtzman Vogel Law Firm, said he’d be “surprised” if the federal government did not prevail in its appeal. Kambil pointed to Oregon v. Mitchell, in which the Supreme Court ruled the the government had the authority to set voting age in federal elections, which would be a voter qualifier. “So the Supreme Court has held, in an instance, that there is federal government authority to regulate in certain instances some types of qualifications of voters, but the way that this judge read it kind of made everything a mess,” Kambil told Fox News Digital. Leibowitz rejected the federal government’s argument that the Constitution grants Congress total authority over regulating immigration and noncitizens. DHS APPROVES PLAN TO VERIFY VOTER CITIZENSHIP, MONITOR MAIL BALLOTS AS TRUMP PUSH INTENSIFIES While he acknowledged that Congress has “broad, undoubted power” over immigration and noncitizens; he said those powers are not “a series of blank checks” and cannot override the Constitution’s “foundational constitutional constraints” assigning voter-qualification authority to the states. The judge also rejected the federal government’s reliance on the Elections Clause, which allows Congress to regulate how states conduct federal elections, including by passing laws to combat voter fraud. Leibowitz said the statute at issue was not designed to regulate election procedures or prevent fraud but instead created a federal voter qualification by determining who could vote. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER While Leibowitz ruled that the federal government cannot continue prosecuting Chelsea Cox, Florida would still have the authority to bring state charges. President Joe Biden nominated Leibowitz to the federal bench in 2024. The Senate confirmed him, 64-33, in a bipartisan vote, with then-Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., voting in favor. Thursday’s ruling is his most politically consequential decision from the bench to date.
Lawmaker’s stunned face and other viral moments cap rough week for political class
Politicians from both parties had a rough week as slip-ups and unpopular messaging sent floods of unwanted attention their way. Chief among this week’s gaffes was Republican Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt’s botched attempt to accuse former special counsel Jack Smith of perjury during Tuesday’s Senate testimony — a basketball mix-up that unraveled as cameras captured the stunned reaction of Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt seated beside him. Britt was seated beside Schmitt as he pressed Smith over whether he attended an Atlanta Hawks game on Feb. 3, 2024, pointing to text messages he said showed Smith had been there. When Smith denied attending the NBA game, Schmitt accused him of lying under oath. Schmitt had apparently mistaken references to the Iowa Hawkeyes for the Atlanta Hawks, overlooking that Smith had attended the Iowa-Maryland women’s college basketball game that night rather than the NBA game in Atlanta. As the situation unfolded, and Schmitt’s mistake became apparent, a pool camera zoomed in on Britt’s face, revealing her shocked expression. JACK SMITH’S TRUMP PROBE SWEPT UP FOX NEWS, OTHER MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS AS INVESTIGATION WENT BEYOND LAWMAKERS “Sen. Katie Britt — a former congressional staffer herself — knew she was watching a mythical staff f*ck up,” one MSNOW reporter wrote. “The type of f*ck up that interns will hear about as a cautionary tale on their first day of work on June 1, 2047.” “[Britt] opposes abortion and yet Schmitt just aborted his 2028 VP odds on live TV,” a liberal YouTuber quipped. Schmitt’s exchange quickly became one of the most viral moments of the Smith hearing, drowning out much of the rest of the day’s events. KLOBUCHAR’S NFL POST BACKFIRES WHEN INTERNET NOTICES GLARING PROBLEM WITH HER OUTFIT CHOICE: ‘FRAUD RUNS DEEP’ The Missouri senator attempted to defuse tensions with a tongue-in-cheek response to the controversy. “Who knew Jack Smith was a Caitlin Clark fan?” Schmitt posted to X shortly after the hearing wrapped, referencing the fact that Clark was playing for Iowa in the game Smith attended. His post drew another wave of negative responses. “Any person who had a modicum of decency would apologize, immediately, and then impose some basic accountability for some remarkably negligent staff work,” New York Times columnist David French wrote. “He was trying to set up a perjury trap with fake information. Pitiful.” “When I talk about how the quality of congressional staff used to be so much higher I feel 70 years old…but this is a good example,” one former congressional staffer posted. “No one who worked for any number of Republican senators in 2015 would have ever in a million years allowed this.” SCHMITT GOES IN-DEPTH ON DIVING CATCH & CHANGES TO COLLEGE ATHLETICS ON ‘RUTHLESS’ Schmitt wasn’t the only politico to draw the ire of the internet this week. Troy Jackson, the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, caught heat from figures on the left after posting a video of himself sipping boba tea and criticizing the wealthy interests backing his Republican opponent. JIM JORDAN SAYS HOUSE WEIGHING CRIMINAL REFERRAL OF JACK SMITH FOR ALLEGEDLY LYING TO CONGRESS “The same people that ran Mallory McMorrow’s campaign into the ground are telling you to do this goofy s—,” left-wing podcaster Kyle Kulinski posted on X. “Just get out there and tell the truth and speak from the heart for economic justice and against war and stop with all this bulls—. C’mon man. You’re smarter than this.” “Troy Jackson needs to win but videos like this are unhelpful and cringey,” liberal influencer Harry Sisson posted on X. “Please change it up! No boba tea!” In another gaffe earlier this week, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., accidentally referred to himself as a ‘lifelong Republican’ before immediately correcting himself. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, meanwhile, upset some conservatives with an ad portraying a fictional young White male Medicaid recipient named “Brad” as a gamer who chooses not to work. Some critics accused Sanders of choosing a White male character to avoid depicting demographic groups they said receive government assistance at higher rates.”
Top investigator in Biden-era election probe wanted to tear key constitutional right away from lawmakers
Newly uncovered documents reveal that one of former special counsel Jack Smith’s top deputies advocated for repealing a key constitutional protection for lawmakers. “I’m an advocate for repealing the clause but absent that, we’re stuck with it and the way it’s been interpreted,” JP Cooney, who served as Smith’s principal deputy prosecutor, wrote in a 2021 exchange first obtained by the Washington Examiner. He was speaking with Molly Gaston, another prosecutor who would go on to join Smith, about the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause. The Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution protects members of Congress from civil or criminal prosecution stemming from their legislative actions or speech. In theory, it shields the legislative branch from being coerced by the executive branch under threat of prosecution. “Records provided to my office revealed that Jack Smith’s right-hand man, J.P. Cooney, flaunted his disdain for the Speech or Debate Clause, which protects the separation of powers. Later, Cooney and Smith violated this constitutional safeguard by secretly obtaining toll records and text messages from dozens of members of Congress,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital. JACK SMITH THRUST BACK INTO SPOTLIGHT AT BLANCHE HEARING OVER EXPOSED SENATORS’ MESSAGES “Jack Smith and his team disgracefully tore up the Constitution throughout his partisan investigation. That’s what happens when runaway Democrat government is in power,” Grassley added. Smith and his staff were responsible for investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Cooney’s position on the Speech or Debate Clause was a point of contention during Smith’s Tuesday hearing on Capitol Hill. “When you became Special Counsel, what direction did you give your staff to handle Speech or Debate and Attorney-Client material? Did you issue any directives? If so, to whom? Please explain,” Grassley asked Smith, citing Cooney’s support for repealing the clause. “So, with respect to the Speech or Debate Clause, first, we took our obligations seriously under the Speech or Debate Clause. It’s, in my view, an important part of the separation of powers,” Smith responded. “I had members of my staff who were very familiar with the clause, having worked in the public integrity section for years. We also, when it was appropriate or required, consulted with the public integrity section regarding application of that clause.” Grassley dismissed Smith’s defense by arguing that the behavior of his staff contradicted his statement. BIDEN SPECIAL COUNSEL’S ‘RUNAWAY TRAIN’ SCOOPED UP SENSITIVE LAWMAKER INFO: ‘ABUSE OF POWER’ Republicans have argued Cooney’s views foreshadowed Smith’s later use of subpoenas for lawmakers’ communication records. Smith’s team obtained and reviewed communications involving dozens of lawmakers, while separate subpoenas sought telephone records associated with a smaller group of members of Congress. Among the lawmakers whose messages with White House personnel were obtained and reviewed were Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Ron Johnson, R-Wis., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Cory Booker, D-N.J., and the late Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “In 2023, Cooney, Gaston, Windom and Ray Hulser were given warnings that subpoenaing congressional information could violate the Speech or Debate clause,” Grassley previously said. EXPLOSIVE NEW REPORT PUTS JACK SMITH BACK IN HOT SEAT AS JIM JORDAN ALLEGES HE TRIED TO ‘SWAY’ 2024 ELECTION Cooney complained about statutory restrictions surrounding efforts to obtain lawmakers’ telephone records during a separate 2021 investigation, at one point calling the language “ridiculous,” according to previously released messages. When asked about Cooney’s position on the Speech or Debate Clause, Democracy Forward – the advocacy organization where he now works – referred Fox News Digital to a press release announcing its hiring of both him and Gaston. Cooney and Gaston said in the release that they had spent years “holding the most powerful accountable for public corruption and civil rights abuses” and said they joined Democracy Forward amid what they characterized as the Trump administration’s “de-prioritization” of public corruption enforcement. While Republicans have characterized Smith’s investigation as a political witch hunt, he maintains that he acted impartially and in the best interests of the United States. Proponents argue that Smith’s investigation was necessary because the allegations involved conduct at the core of constitutional government, including efforts to overturn the 2020 election and obstruct the lawful transfer of power, as well as the retention and alleged concealment of highly classified documents on part of President Donald Trump. Fox News Digital reached Gaston & Cooney PLLC on Wednesday.
From Democratic insider to party exile: Lindy Li isn’t ruling out another run for Congress
Before raising millions of campaign dollars for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris or breaking ranks with the Democratic Party to publish a tell-all political memoir, Lindy Li was trying to build a political career from the candidate’s podium. “I just knew,” Li said. “I knew that I was supposed to run for Congress. But I didn’t know I was supposed to do it at twenty-four years old.” In the lead-up to the 2024 election, that ambition crashed headlong into lifelong convictions about loyalty and stretched them to a breaking point. Li’s status as a top Democratic fundraiser would soon crumble as she switched her party affiliation over unheeded warning signs about President Joe Biden’s decline in the 2024 election. That break has left her uncertain about her future, but hasn’t stopped her from thinking about what could come next. EX-DEM INSIDER REVEALS SHE WILL EXPOSE DEMOCRATS WHO COVERED UP BIDEN’S COGNITIVE DECLINE IN NEW BOOK. “President Rubio calls me in two years, four years, then there’s an open seat in Pennsylvania for whatever reason,” Li said, ruminating about her future. “You know, I could solidify my hand on a hundred million dollars. I think few people could do a better job, and I’m sorry if that sounds conceited. And I’m not saying I want it; I’m just saying if it falls into my lap, then sure, but who knows?” Li’s family initially came to the United States from China, fleeing persecution from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which Li said had killed her great-grandfather. After growing up briefly in Sheffield, England, Li joined her parents in New England at the age of five. She recounted how her family moved from Boston to New Haven to Pennsylvania as her father worked as a doctor. From her parents, Li said she inherited a sense of work ethic that enabled her to fuel her sense of political destiny. At Princeton, Li used that work ethic to become the only woman class president to hold the office for four consecutive years. “I used to go around with candy and just be like, ‘Can you please vote for me? This is what I intend to do. I want to expand late meals and offer sushi,’ whatever the platform was. I was tenacious; nobody could outwork me,” Li said. EX-DEM INSIDER BLOWS LID OFF FUNDRAISING ‘GIMMICKS’ DURING 2024 ELECTION: ‘PYRAMID SCHEME’ The “plan,” Li said, was to become a senator. But that wasn’t supposed to happen for another ten years when, in 2012, a school shooter attacked Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing 20 children. Li recalled how the attack accelerated her convictions to enter public life and prompted her to leave a budding career in finance. “I just felt it in my heart that I was supposed to help do whatever I could to save those kids,” Li said. Despite conservative leanings, Li ran twice as a Democrat, never advancing past the primary stage. But her fundraising caught the attention of Democratic strategists. In 2016, she raised nearly $515,000 and in 2018 another $168,000. “I didn’t intend to become a fundraiser,” Li recalled. “It’s a lot of salesmanship, and I hated it. I hate it. And I also know I’m very good at it. This is not me bragging; I just know.” “They came to my home. I remember. The executive director showed up to my home to recruit me for this. It was like Scientology. He noticed— I mean, everybody noticed that as a kid I basically raised $700,000. I just caught the eye of party leadership.” Alongside her aspirations, Li said she also cultivated a sense of loyalty, a quality she said has been a key part of her character since she can remember. “Like if somebody’s kind to me, I will go to the ends of the earth for them. And it always surprises me and I shouldn’t be surprised when someone doesn’t reciprocate because that’s just how I operate. You have to give me a reason to walk away from you. If you have my loyalty, there’s very little I wouldn’t do for you,” Li said. That loyalty, combined with her fundraising prowess, led Li to climb swiftly, rubbing shoulders with some of the party’s top operatives. During the Biden and Harris campaigns, Li communicated with figures like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., — many of whom she built personal relationships with. But that loyalty reached a tipping point in 2024 when, as a fundraiser, Li saw the party selling donors and voters on the idea that President Joe Biden could serve effectively as president for another four years despite mounting concerns about his cognitive abilities. In recent months, Li has published a book, Unbroken, documenting the party’s internal deliberations around Biden’s age and how, according to her, many of them knowingly understood the political liabilities that came with his age. EX-DEM INSIDER REVEALS WHY BIDEN’S DAUGHTER THREATENED TO SUE HER: ‘BORDERED ON PARODY’ That book and the warpath to writing it have severed virtually all of her relationships from when she was a Democrat. As she documented in her book, it even cost her a personal romantic relationship of eight years. To an extent, Li understood the price tag that came with her decision to go public with her insider knowledge. She suspects some of the people she left behind understand that price, too. “If Josh Shapiro ever walks into the room, I know we’re gonna understand each other, I know. Like despite everything that’s happened. I think he’s going to understand. I understand why he needed to throw me, you know, to the wolves.” “I never would have done that to him, though,” she added. Li still holds fast to the idea of loyalty as a matter of personal conviction. But regardless of where her ambitions take her next, she believes she will have to temper them with honesty that makes few allowances for party narratives. “I think I would describe my worldview as realpolitik
How foreign hackers could ‘crumble’ America by targeting one essential utility
A massive surge in cyberattacks on Americans’ water supply in recent years has exposed a shift in hackers’ focus from financially motivated ransomeware to attacks designed to disrupt one of the most essential pieces of civilian infrastructure, senior Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials told Fox News Digital. “Everyday life completely crumbles” when drinking water and wastewater systems are impacted, warned EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Jess Kramer. “There is definitely been an increase, several fold on attacks recently,” Kramer added in an interview with Fox News Digital. “You’re seeing everything from failure to change password, leading to cyberattacks all the way to … system specifics being available online.” Asked why the water sector has become such an attractive target, Kramer said the answer begins with how deeply embedded it is in Americans’ daily lives. AN AI CYBERATTACK COULD TURN OFF AMERICA’S LIGHTS BEFORE WASHINGTON EVEN UNDERSTANDS WHY “Our everyday life completely crumbles without access to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure,” she said. “Everything from hospitals to daycares, everything that we care about and need on an everyday basis can be impacted” if one of those cyberattacks succeeds. EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Jeff Hall said water utilities have also become appealing targets because many continue to operate aging infrastructure while lacking the resources to modernize their cybersecurity. “We will see water systems left vulnerable to cyberattacks where there have not been significant amounts of investment in cybersecurity protocols,” Hall said, pointing to basic protections such as virtual private networks and firewalls that are still missing at some utilities. Hall explained how hackers have “moved from ransomware attacks designed to extort payments from critical infrastructure generally to more specific attacks designed to disrupt critical infrastructure and particularly water and wastewater systems.” Attackers, he said, are increasingly “manipulating the human-machine interface to change critical settings which disrupts the service and also puts people at risk.” FOREIGN HACKERS BREACH TWO MORE US WATER UTILITIES, THREATEN SAFETY OF COLORADO RESIDENTS The warning comes as cyber threats targeting U.S. water infrastructure have drawn heightened attention from federal and state officials. In July, a coordinated cyberattack targeted more than 30 community water systems across Minnesota, disrupting technology used to remotely monitor and control equipment. More recently, Colorado officials disclosed that foreign actors breached two small water utilities and manipulated equipment used to control drinking water systems. Officials said drinking water remained safe in both cases, but the incidents highlighted growing concern over cyber threats to critical infrastructure that millions of Americans rely on every day. WATER CYBERATTACK HITS AT LEAST 7 STATES Unlike data breaches that primarily expose personal information or ransomware attacks intended to extract payment, successful cyber intrusions into water systems have the potential to interfere with services that underpin nearly every aspect of daily life — from hospitals and schools to manufacturing, emergency services and businesses — raising concerns among national security officials about the vulnerability of critical civilian infrastructure. Kramer added that workforce shortages have compounded the challenge, making it harder for many utilities to recruit and retain employees with the expertise needed to defend increasingly complex networks. The officials said many of the vulnerabilities EPA continues to identify are surprisingly basic. Since 2025, the agency has identified more than 900 cybersecurity vulnerabilities at water systems across the country. Kramer said the most common include “failure to change passwords, lack of multi-factor authentication” and critical system information that is “easily accessible” online. Hall said EPA and its law enforcement partners have also issued advisories about vulnerabilities involving programmable logic controllers, or PLCs, and other industrial control systems that operate pumps, valves and other critical equipment inside water facilities. “There are aging infrastructure that is embedded in these drinking water systems,” Hall said. “It’s often left open to the open internet and not protected by any specific firewalls or virtual private networks that would ensure that cyber attackers cannot easily manipulate those.” Hall said the agency remains concerned about a range of adversaries, including state-affiliated actors, hacktivist networks and insider threats. CHINA-LINKED HACKERS INFILTRATED US GOVERNMENT NETWORKS BEFORE FBI TAKEDOWN “There are certainly state affiliated actors targeting water and wastewater systems,” Hall said, adding that investigators are increasingly concerned about the sophistication and intent behind those attacks. Despite the growing threat, both officials said utilities are making progress by addressing many of the most common weaknesses. Kramer acknowledged it is difficult to measure national progress because EPA does not have authority to require every water system to report cyber incidents. Still, she said the agency has observed clear evidence that attackers are becoming more sophisticated as utilities work to improve their defenses. Hall said EPA inspectors review cybersecurity planning at larger drinking water systems, while the agency’s Office of Water provides technical assistance, training and one-on-one support to help utilities identify and remediate vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. “We are seeing an increase in the number of systems that are addressing their basic vulnerabilities,” Hall said. “But … there are real concerns that cyber attackers are going up to the next level and that there are still a lot of vulnerabilities out there that we will have to be addressing.”
Expert tears apart Talarico’s viral claim his agenda is based on Jesus’s teachings: ‘Butchering the Bible’
Texas Senate nominee James Talarico once proclaimed the Bible gives him a moral reason to fight for his progressive policies, but one expert is now accusing Talarico of spreading a “perverted version” of Christianity to justify his agenda. Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, set off a wave of criticism this week after saying his support for universal healthcare and rejection of “this corrupt system” are rooted in “biblical grounds.” He pointed to the actions of Jesus and the Hebrew prophets as the rationale. “When Jesus healed the sick, he didn’t ask for a deductible. So when I fight for universal healthcare, I’m doing it on biblical grounds,” he wrote in an X post viewed over 2 million times. “When he fed the hungry, he didn’t price gouge for a profit. When the Hebrew prophets saw corruption, they spoke truth to power. When I take on this corrupt system, I’m doing it on biblical grounds.” Just Facts president and co-founder Jim Agresti told Fox News Digital Talarico publicly opposes Christian nationalism while “imposing his own version, a perverted version, of Christian morals on the public.” DETROIT PASTOR SAYS PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATES ARE TRYING TO ‘VIRTUE-SIGNAL’ TO CHRISTIAN VOTERS “Talarico bills himself as a Christian. He talks about how he’s a seminarian,” Just Facts President and co-founder Agresti told Fox News Digital. “He frequently quotes the words or misquotes the words of Jesus. And he tries to also, at the same time, say, ‘I hate Christian nationalism,’ while he’s imposing his own version, a perverted version, of Christian morals on the public.” Agresti, who also preaches monthly at his church in Texas and wrote a book about the veracity of the Bible, said the first time he heard Talarico’s comments, he immediately believed Talarico was not only “butchering the Bible” but also misrepresenting the Constitution. “He’s perverting the words of Jesus, and he’s also flouting the U.S. Constitution,” he said. Agresti said he found more than 50 Bible passages about giving to people in need, none of which described government handouts. “In every single instance, it’s about self-sacrificing generosity,” he said. TEXAS DEM NOMINEE JAMES TALARICO INVOKES FAITH TO DEFEND ABORTION RIGHTS, ‘THE BIBLE IS SILENT ON ABORTION’ He said Talarico’s interpretation conflicts with the parable of the Good Samaritan, a story that teaches individuals to voluntarily help those in need. “It was about an individual who saw someone in desperate need and sacrificed their own time and their own money to help that person,” he said. “There was no role for government.” For that reason, Agresti said Talarico’s public support for taxpayer-funded universal health care is fundamentally at odds with the Bible. “He’s not even offering to give away his own money,” he said. “He’s offering to take money from others and then give it to other people.” But Agresti said his concerns go beyond the Bible. He argued both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are rooted in biblical principles, with the Declaration saying government exists to secure God-given rights and the Constitution limiting the government’s role. “These are not things that the Democrats are typically pushing,” he said, adding that government welfare programs have contributed to a large national debt, leaving less money for other priorities. UNEARTHED INTERVIEW EXPOSES WHAT TALARICO THOUGHT ABOUT ‘TOUGH-ON-CRIME’ TACTICS Agresti highlighted how both Talarico and the left overlook the government’s biblical responsibility to “stop crime, stop murder, stop theft.” “These are the things that people on the left are often very soft about,” he said. Agresti argued history offers a similar example, comparing Talarico to Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Agresti said Hamilton similarly “misled the public” by pushing for a larger role for the government after the Constitution was ratified. “He was clear upon that, but then flipped after the Constitution was enacted,” he said. “In other words, he misled the public about what his true agenda was.” But this is not the first time Talarico has faced controversy over his religious remarks. Talarico previously said “God is non-binary” on the Texas House floor in 2021 while objecting to a bill that would ban transgender athletes from women’s sports, called Jesus was a “radical feminist,” and described the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 was “unchristian.” With the pivotal general election approaching, Talarico is set to face Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a high-stakes Senate race in November. Agresti cited Jesus’ warning about “false prophets” when speaking about Talarico, saying “they’re dressed like sheep, but inwardly they’re ferocious wolves.” “I don’t know what’s in his heart,” he said. “He might be deluded. I just don’t know. That’s for God to determine.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, Talarico campaign spokesperson JT Ennis said, “James is a Christian seminarian who’s dedicated his life to the teachings of Jesus Christ — fighting corruption when he sees it because there’s nothing Christ-like about powerful people using scripture to justify hate and greed and score political points. While billionaire-bought politicians like Ken Paxton attack James for his faith — he will continue encouraging Texans to come together by loving their neighbors as themselves.”
Three college students face federal charges over alleged threats against Trump ahead of campus rally
Three University of South Alabama students were arrested Friday over alleged threats against President Donald Trump ahead of his evening rally on the Mobile campus, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News. The students were each charged with threatening the president over social media posts allegedly made in the days leading up to Trump’s visit, according to the Lagniappe Daily. The federal cases were unsealed Friday afternoon, just hours before Trump was scheduled to take the stage at the university’s Mitchell Center, the outlet reported. OHIO MAN CHARGED OVER GRAPHIC THREATS TO KILL TRUMP, BEHEAD GOP LAWMAKER Federal investigators discovered the posts while conducting social media intelligence searches ahead of the president’s visit and used emergency disclosure requests and information from University of South Alabama police to identify the individuals, according to FBI affidavits cited by Lagniappe. One student allegedly wrote a threatening remark toward Trump under a TikTok post about the president’s planned visit to the campus, according to an FBI affidavit cited by the outlet. Another student allegedly posted on X that people would “remember the University of South Alabama the same way they remember Utah Valley University,” according to the outlet’s account of the FBI affidavit. Investigators noted that Utah Valley University was where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot last year. CHARLIE KIRK’S FAMILY ALLEGES UVU KNEW OF ROOFTOP SECURITY RISK BEFORE HIS ASSASSINATION: LEGAL FILING A third student allegedly replied to a TikTok post about Trump’s appearance. Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said earlier in the week that his office was assisting federal authorities as they monitored social media activity related to the president’s upcoming appearance. The University of South Alabama said ahead of the event that the rally was not university-sponsored and that the Mitchell Center had been rented by the Republican National Committee (RNC). “The University of South Alabama unequivocally condemns any form of threats directed at elected officials or any individual with whom we disagree,” the university said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “We encourage open dialogue and active civic participation, and having a difference of opinion is a natural part of any vibrant community. “However, there is a clear line between exercising free expression and engaging in intimidation or unlawful conduct.” PROSECUTOR DROPS CASE AGAINST WOMAN ACCUSED OF THREATENING TRUMP ON TIKTOK Trump took the stage for the midterm campaign rally Friday evening as scheduled, returning to Mobile roughly 11 years after his 2015 rally in the city during the opening months of his first presidential campaign. “It sort of all began here,” Trump told the crowd Friday, recalling the 2015 event. He also recognized Burch and University of South Alabama President Jo Bonner from the stage. Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Justice, FBI, Secret Service and the University of South Alabama for additional information.
Blue state councilman mocked after claiming self-driving cars are ‘murdering’ pets: ‘Hide your cats’
One Minneapolis city council member prompted widespread mockery on social media after going to bat for “cat lovers,” claiming Waymo cars are killing cats and urging officials to require humans in the self-driving vehicles. “I will say cats have been killed and cats have been killed by these autonomous vehicles,” Jason Chavez told fellow council members. “I have a cat. I don’t want my cat getting killed because of these autonomous vehicles. “So, to those cat lovers out there, just know that these Waymo vehicles, these autonomous vehicles have killed cats and that’s unfair. “I just watched a video sitting here from the dais, and it was really hard to watch. Literally, cats being murdered by these vehicles.” WAYMO DRIVERLESS CARS OVERRUN ATLANTA NEIGHBORHOOD, CIRCLING CUL-DE-SACS AND ALARMING FAMILIES WITH KIDS The ordinance, which narrowly passed Thursday, would mandate a human operator and a special license for all autonomous vehicles. But its future remains uncertain. Mayor Jacob Frey announced he plans to veto the proposal in a statement to multiple Minnesota outlets, saying it “doesn’t make sense,” and the city will continue its efforts to embrace “innovative technology,” including transportation options. Despite acknowledging the safety concerns, Frey added he would not support a “backdoor ban” of the vehicles. As Waymo vehicles with rooftop sensors and empty seats become a more common sight, supporters argue requiring a human operator would effectively ban autonomous taxi services and result in higher fares, while opponents insist the technology poses safety risks and takes away jobs. Social media users were quick to pile on Chavez’s remarks about the potential threat to cats, accusing him of blowing the issue out of proportion and shifting focus from more pressing priorities in Minneapolis. “The Minneapolis City Council wants to require a human in driverless vehicles because cats are being ‘murdered’ by them,” Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X. “This guy’s salary is $110,000/year, by the way.” Grage took more swipes at Chavez in separate X posts, writing, “They’re calling it the cat genocide” and, “Hide your cats. The Waymos are coming.” In another post on X, conservative commentator Gunther Eagleman wrote, “LOL! MINNEAPOLIS HAS FOUND ITS REAL CRISIS, AND IT’S ROBOT CARS ‘MURDERING’ CATS.” JACOB FREY CRITICIZED FOR REMEMBERING GEORGE FLOYD ON MEMORIAL DAY, SIX YEARS AFTER DEATH SPARKED RIOTS Eagleman also argued the city should be addressing larger issues such as crime and fraud, describing the situation as a sign of failed leadership. “A council member in a city that let rioters burn down a police precinct and watched a $250 million fraud scheme happen under its nose now wants a human in every driverless car to protect the cats,” he wrote. “He’s pulling down $110,000 a year of taxpayer money to say this with a straight face. Minneapolis doesn’t have a driverless car problem. It has a leadership problem.” “They’re driving over the cats, they’re driving over the dogs!” Fox News Digital columnist David Marcus posted on X. “Why is a city council member making 110,000 when families and seniors are getting priced out of their homes in Minneapolis and taxes are sky rocking????? That’s absurd – where is the equality in that???” Three Rivers Park Commissioner Jennifer DeJournett posted on X. TERRIFIED PASSENGERS FILM WAYMO AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE DRIVING INTO LIVE FIREWORKS IN SAN FRANCISCO “Fwiw I’ve been in a self-driving Tesla that stopped for cats to cross the road and Waymo is a lot more advanced,” journalist Zaid Jilani posted on X. “My FSD Tesla avoids animals on the road. He is full of it,” Dealer Teamwork CEO and co-founder Sean Stapleton posted on X. Fox News Digital reached out to Chavez for comment.
Dems demanding Venezuela brief face State Department fury as senators leave town before meeting
The State Department is accusing Democrats of performative “grandstanding” by demanding a sweeping Venezuela oil deal briefing then postponing it so the Senate could leave town early. Four senior Senate Democrats demanded documents they already knew were coming, according to material reviewed by Fox News Digital. Then, the Senate rescheduled a congressional briefing on the agreement planned for Oct. 1, 2026, so it could break for fall recess. The group of lawmakers were seeking more information on the Pentagon’s involvement in an agreement with North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) that gives the Department of War a 35% stake in one of Venezuela’s largest oil producers. TRUMP TOUTS ACCESS TO 65 BILLION BARRELS OF VENEZUELAN OIL IN DEAL HE SAYS WILL SLASH GAS PRICES State says the lawmakers had known for weeks that administration officials planned to brief the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and provide documents on the deal on Thursday. The department went forward with delivering copies of the U.S. government’s strategic partnership agreement with NABEP to the committee, claiming it did so despite the briefing being pulled down “as a courtesy.” “Copies of the USG Strategic Partnership Agreement with NABEP for your Members are in the SFRC front office,” a senior State Department official wrote. “Each Member has a folder with their copy.” State Department Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson claimed Senate Democrats canceled the briefing so they could “skip town and go on vacation.” “This is pure grandstanding,” Johnson wrote on X. “When they sent this letter, they had known for weeks that we planned to brief them and provide the documents today, on October 1.” A congressional source familiar with the planned briefing disputed State’s characterization, telling Fox News Digital that lawmakers had not been told the written NABEP agreement would be provided before writing the letter and that the briefing was intended as a broader update on U.S. policy toward Venezuela, not specifically the oil deal. And emails reviewed by Fox News Digital show the briefing postponement request itself came from a Republican majority staffer on the Foreign Relations Committee, who told State early Oct. 1 that “the Senate has left town” and asked to move the briefing until November. A State Department official told Fox News Digital the staffer was acting on behalf of the full committee. The congressional source said Republican leadership had ended legislative business for the week, with senators on both sides of the aisle preparing to leave Washington ahead of next month’s midterm elections. The group of Democrat lawmakers demanding the briefing are challenging the legality and prudence of the Trump administration’s agreement with NABEP, which would give the Pentagon rights to a 35% stake in one of Venezuela’s largest oil producers. Under the arrangement, the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital would receive rights to the stake through so-called penny warrants, while the State Department would receive preferential rights to purchase 20% of the company’s production at cost. The unusual structure is part of the administration’s broader effort to revive Venezuelan oil production and expand U.S. economic influence after Nicolás Maduro’s ouster. Democrats argue the Pentagon may lack legal authority to take the stake and have raised questions about the administration’s vetting of NABEP and its leadership. The administration argues the structure could generate substantial returns for the U.S. without requiring taxpayers to buy the stake up front. The White House has said the government’s 35% position could ultimately be worth hundreds of billions of dollars in equity and dividends if NABEP succeeds in developing the fields. The deal could also give Washington a new source of relatively low-cost crude at a time when the administration is trying to increase global supply and bring down fuel prices. State would have the right to buy 20% of NABEP’s production at cost and the right of first refusal on the remaining output, which the administration says could help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and supply U.S. military and other sensitive needs. The White House also says millions of barrels of additional Venezuelan production could eventually flow through U.S. refineries and be developed using American drilling equipment and infrastructure, generating investment and jobs in the United States. NABEP produces roughly 220,000 barrels a day and has said it plans to more than double production to 500,000 barrels a day by late 2028. The administration is betting that private investment can revive fields that have suffered years of underinvestment and mismanagement. The agreement is part of a much broader U.S. effort to remake Venezuela’s economy after the dramatic removal of Nicolás Maduro earlier this year. On Jan. 3, U.S. forces carried out a military operation in Venezuela to capture Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transport them to the United States to face federal charges. The administration has characterized the operation as a law enforcement mission supported by the military and has since made rebuilding Venezuela’s oil sector a central part of its stabilization strategy. Interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president, has remained in power while cooperating with Washington, even as Venezuela’s political transition remains unsettled and opposition figures continue pressing for elections. The White House has described the NABEP agreement as part of a three-part strategy of stabilization, reconstruction and eventual democratic transition, arguing that restoring oil production is necessary to rebuild Venezuela’s economy and reduce the influence of China, Russia and other U.S. adversaries in its energy sector. TRUMP ‘SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING’ PLAN TO MAKE VENEZUELA AND ITS $40 TRILLION IN OIL PERMANENT PART OF USA Senators Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Jack Reed, D-R.I.; Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.; and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., challenged both the legality and prudence of the deal in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Among their central questions is whether the Pentagon office being used to structure the investment has the legal authority to acquire an equity position in a foreign oil company. The senators also demanded the agreement itself, details about how