Trump confirms Pentagon plans for 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks, disputes report on Ground Zero absence
President Donald Trump said Friday that he’s going to be at the Pentagon to mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A reporter on Friday asked the president why he was not planning to be in New York for the somber occasion. “Because I’m going to the Pentagon,” Trump shouted to the press at Joint Base Andrews. On Thursday, The New York Times reported that Trump was not planning to attend the ceremony at Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers came down, because he wouldn’t be allowed to give a speech. The annual event has banned politicians from speaking since 2012. I LOST MY WIFE ON 9/11. PLEASE LET THIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY BELONG TO THE FAMILIES When asked about the Times report, a White House spokeswoman called Trump a “proud New Yorker.” “President Trump has spoken about his own experiences watching the horrific events of September 11, 2001. On the 25th anniversary of this tragic day, the President will remember those who were killed at the hands of evil terrorists, honor their loved ones, and pay tribute to the brave first responders who put their lives on the line to rescue their fellow Americans,” White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to Fox News. “The vice president is still traveling to NYC and all three sites will be represented with administration officials in attendance,” a White House official said, referring to the three Sept. 11 attack sites in Manhattan, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed. After TMZ posted on X that Trump was “snubbing” the Ground Zero ceremony, White House communications director Steven Cheung fired back. “FAKE NEWS,” Cheung wrote. Trump lambasted the reporter behind in the Times article, writing on Truth Social Friday that she “made up a story that on September 11th, I’m not going to the World Trade Center, in New York City, because they won’t let me make a speech, and I’m going to the Pentagon in D.C., because I’m a featured speaker.” “This is more Corrupt News, I’ve been to New York many times over the years, and no one ever speaks, it’s a ‘solemn ceremony!’” Trump wrote in part. Trump said, “I would love not to speak, because I’m speaking all the time, and this is a day to remember the victims, and their beautiful family members.” Last year, Trump also chose to speak at the Pentagon for the 24th anniversary of 9/11, though he traveled to New York City later in the day to attend a Yankees game. JUDGE THROWS OUT KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED’S 9/11 CONFESSION IN ALREADY LONG WAIT FOR TRIAL The last time he attended the Ground Zero ceremony was in 2024, when he was the Republican presidential nominee. He was there alongside then-President Joe Biden and his election rival, then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump also did not attend the Ground Zero ceremony during his first term. He spoke at the Pentagon in 2017, then alternated in subsequent years between commemorations there and at the site in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda hijackers crashed three commercial airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Hijackers also seized United Airlines Flight 93, but passengers fought back before the plane crashed in Pennsylvania. The 9/11 attacks, which remain the deadliest in the nation’s history, prompted the invasion of Afghanistan and helped usher in the broader War on Terror, which later included the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Fox News’ Patrick Ward contributed to this report.
Pop star-turned-Dem candidate’s defense of graphic murder video resurfaces in key House race
In a 2016 interview, Latin Grammy Award-winning artist and Democratic congressional candidate Bobby Pulido defended a fellow singer against criticism for a graphic music video that depicted acts of sexual violence and murder. In the video production of “Fuiste Mía” or “You were mine” by Gerardo Ortiz, a singer walks in on his girlfriend cheating on him. After shooting her lover, he then handcuffs her to a pole, blindfolds her, and gropes her before putting her in the trunk of his car and setting it on fire. In response to backlash, Pulido defended Ortiz, calling the video a matter of artistic direction. “I’ve made videos with suggestive images; some have stayed, others have been edited, and still others were never used. That’s the decision of the artist and their team,” Pulido said in response to public backlash against the production. Pulido’s resurfaced response to the music video is the latest in a series of controversies he has tried to downplay as he pursues a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas’ 15th Congressional District — one of the country’s most competitive seats. FORMER DISNEY TEEN STAR EXPOSES CHILLING WARNING SIGNS OF PREDATORY BEHAVIOR IN HOLLYWOOD Pulido is best known for Tejano, or Mexican–Spanish folk-style, songs like “Desvelado” and “Se Murió de Amor,” and received five nominations for a Latin Grammy Awards, winning Best Tejano Album in 2025 and 2022. He filed to run for Congress in Texas’ 15th District, challenging Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas. A two-term incumbent, she last won election to the district in 2024 in a 57.1% to 42.9% victory over Democratic nominee Michelle Vallejo. Along the way, Pulido has drawn scrutiny for a resurfaced history of posting links to explicit websites on his personal X account — as well as for a social media post of what appeared to be him urinating on President Donald Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star. Pulido has shrugged off criticism for both, stating in 2024 that it’s “it’s impossible to have Twitter and not watch porn,” and that he had only poured water on Trump’s star as a joke. More notably, Pulido has also had to fend off criticisms of bringing a registered sex offender to a Texas middle school benefit concert in 2018. DEM TIED TO CARTEL OPERATIVE SAYS ‘WHITE NATIONALISTS’ JOINING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT TO ‘HUNT DOWN PEOPLE’ In that case, Pulido denied knowledge of his associate’s status at the time and has dismissed coverage of it as a “nothing story,” according to Axios. Similarly, in his defense of Ortiz, Pulido downplayed the music video, arguing that viewers had become accustomed to increasingly graphic images. “What happens when there’s a [car] accident?” Pulido asked, comparing the music video to real-life instances of tragedy. “Traffic doesn’t flow because people slow down or even stop to see what happened; something similar happens with the regional Mexican genre when these kinds of incidents occur. Pulido in the 2016 interview also noted that he didn’t agree always with his fellow artists’ depictions of women but said he believes everyone is entitled to an opinion. When asked about the music video and Pulido’s response to it, his campaign framed it as a distraction from other elements in the race, including controversy on the Republican side of the aisle. “This is emblematic of national Republicans doing anything and everything to distract voters from what are very real — not based on a fictional video — child abuse accusations against Monica De La Cruz and her refusal to release the Epstein files after thousands of girls were trafficked and abused,” a Pulido campaign spokesperson said. De La Cruz’s former husband, Johnny Hernández, accused her of verbally abusing his 14-year-old daughter from a previous relationship in 2021 divorce proceedings. Authorities did not press charges or open an investigation into the allegations. “Monica De La Cruz knows she’s losing, so she’s deploying the RNC to do her dirty work and deliberately mischaracterized a decade-old Spanish-language interview, in which Bobby said he respects artists’ right to make their own music – a right that Republicans used to believe in but apparently don’t when it comes to their opponents,” the campaign added. DEM RIPPED FOR ‘DISGUSTING’ ABSENCE ON BILL TO PUNISH VIOLENT CRIMINALS AFTER GIRL STRANGLED IN GRISLY KILLING At least one Republican onlooker is left unconvinced by the defense of the music video — and defenses of other past behaviors. “Bobby Pulido has spent his entire adult life defending perverts and predators while lashing out at members of law enforcement who keep Texans safe. He is a truly sick individual who is morally rotten,” Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee (RNC), said in a statement to Fox News Digital. Having cleared their respective primaries, Pulido and De La Cruz will face off in the state’s general elections on Nov. 3.
One question about the Constitution puts liberals’ appetite for sweeping change to the test
Fox News Digital spoke with attendees and activists at Friday’s March on Washington who voiced support for systemic political change, from sweeping reforms to bringing socialist policies to their hometowns as DSA-backed candidates notch primary victories ahead of the midterms. “I would definitely advocate for that from ground, up, like abolishing [the Constitution], rewriting it, including people’s voices that haven’t been included on there as well,” Sravya, a Washington, D.C. told Fox News Digital. “I would probably also rewrite all the oppressive amendments that are in there targeting marginalized individuals.” “March on Washington 2026: Defend the Vote” was held Friday at the Lincoln Memorial held on the 63rd anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, organized by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network. Fox News Digital spoke with a handful of attendees, asking whether they would support abolishing and rewriting the Constitution and whether DSA policies are good for the direction of America — questions that drew support from some of those interviewed. SOCIALISTS LAUNCH RADICAL PLATFORM TO ABOLISH THE US SENATE IN BID TO FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM AMERICA Democratic leaders including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders took the stage to rally attendees around voting-rights and civil-rights protections. “I think so,” Sravya added when asked if the Senate should be abolished. “Or reconstructing it from ground up. I think that would be important because we have a lot of older leaders there currently that have been there for years. I think it needs a whole systemic reform.” SEN DEB FISCHER: THE LEFT’S WAR ON THE SENATE AND SUPREME COURT PUTS OUR REPUBLIC AT RISK “I’m in full support of abolition of the colonial structures that cause terror to all marginalized and oppressed people,” responded Darius from Maryland when asked the same question. Abolishing the Senate in one of the goals for the DSA platform, and several march attendees echoed the broader push for systemic change while also backing policies associated with Democratic Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. DSA-backed candidates have defeated incumbent or establishment-backed Democrats in primaries from Colorado and New York to Pennsylvania and Michigan. There was also an appetite for more Mamdani-style candidates and eager to bring his agenda to their own hometowns. MAMDANI CLAIMS DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS CAN WIN ‘ANYWHERE’ AS DEMOCRATS FEUD OVER PARTY’S FUTURE “Yeah. I would definitely like that,” Kassandra, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, said when asked whether she would like to see her state move in the direction of Mamdani’s New York. Kassandra, a former volunteer for Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, pointed to universal health care, unions and removing money from politics as priorities. BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS “I definitely do think we should probably get on board with some universal health care like I said my biggest thing money out of politics,” said Kassandra. “I feel like [El-Sayed] is very like [pro] union. He wants to get everyone together and like support all different religions all different races and I really value human rights as a therapist.” Kassandra said there have been policies that are aligned with socialism that have come from previous presidents that were beneficial. Asked to identify specific examples, she declined to answer. MAMDANI CLASHES WITH DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS’ PUSH TO ABOLISH POLICE AND PRISONS Esteban, a New Jersey resident who works in New York City, said he has seen a “huge shift” since Mamdani took office. “I feel like someone who’s lived through a lot of mayoral terms in many different cities, this is probably the most change I’ve seen so quickly,” he said. “So far what I’m seeing is good change.”
Viral Dearborn pastor delivers blunt warning on El-Sayed Senate bid: ‘Can you imagine?’
DETROIT — A Black Christian pastor who went viral online for clashing with the city council in the nearby majority-Arab city of Dearborn issued a stark warning about Michigan senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. “Can you imagine him being in the Senate, being able to recommend federal judges to presidents?” Pastor Lorenzo Sewell of 180 Church said during an interview with Fox News Digital. “That’s his goal. His goal is to be able to recommend federal judge to presidents for appointments, and then we’re going to find ourselves in Sharia law all over this land.” The Democratic nominee for Senate in the Wolverine State said in a 2009 New York Times interview that he was following Sharia law when he took out a special type of loan for an Ann Arbor condo. Sharia Law typically prevents interest on loans, and in some cases, Sharia-compliant Muslims can obtain loans wherein the amount of interest that would be paid over time is instead added to the purchase price of the home. VANCE UNLOADS ON EL-SAYED OVER SHARIA REMARKS: ‘THAT’S NOT MY GRANDPA’S DEMOCRATIC PARTY’ “Ultimately, the question is, when I die and I stand before God and go through everything I did in my life, I don’t want to say I did it the easy way instead of the Shariah-compliant way,” El-Sayed told the Times. El-Sayed’s spokeswoman Roxie Richner told the Washington Free Beacon when the report resurfaced earlier this month that, “While he lives by the rules of his faith, as many Americans of various faiths do, Abdul opposes any effort by any religious community to write their faith laws into the laws of our country.” In a response to Fox News Digital, Richner characterized Sewell’s comments as “cheap attacks and hateful rhetoric” from an ally of El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, Mike Rogers. EL-SAYED’S AGENDA PUTS ‘PERMANENTLY’ CHANGED AMERICA ON THE LINE IN MICHIGAN SENATE RACE, GOP FIREBRAND WARNS As referenced by Sewell, members of the Senate often recommend political appointees to presidents, and ultimately, in the case of federal courts, the Senate confirms them. He called El-Sayed a ‘fake doctor,’ referencing criticism of how El-Sayed has described his medical credentials. El-Sayed earned an M.D. from Columbia University but did not complete a residency and has not held a medical license in Michigan or New York. Sewell also accused prominent Muslim politicians including, El-Sayed, of resisting assimilation into American culture. “This is the type of conquering religion whereby people like Abdul El-Sayed, people like [Rep.] Rashida Tlaib, you have [Rep. Ilhan] Omar over there in Minnesota — you look at these people that have a desire, not to assimilate to our culture, but to take over our culture,” said Sewell. “They will wave flags to say ‘free Palestine.’ They will say ‘to the river, to the sea,’ all on American soil. I mean, these are the type of people that are not looking to assimilate. They’re looking to conquer.” He added that if Christian ministers and “patriots” didn’t step up to combat Sharia law, he would be, “preaching out the Quran” and his “church would become a mosque.” The pastor, who was born and raised on the east side of Detroit and says he was a “student of the streets” and “mentored by murderers,” is no stranger to media attention. TRUMP INAUGURATION PASTOR SAYS DEARBORN CHRISTIANS ‘AFRAID’ TO SPEAK OUT IN MUSLIM-MAJORITY CITY Just last week, he was the subject of a viral video from a Dearborn, Michigan, city council meeting. “We are not a nation of Muslims, we are nation of Christians!” he said in an impassioned speech directed towards the councilors. “America, we have lost this city. This is a city that is no longer up under American laws; we are up under Sharia law. We will not have it anymore.” DEMOCRATS’ CIVIL WAR HEADS TO MICHIGAN WHERE PROGRESSIVES FACE BIGGEST TEST YET IN HIGH-STAKES SENATE SHOWDOWN He also hosted then-candidate Donald Trump at his church during Trump’s 2024 campaign, rallying Black voters. He spoke at the RNC that year, too. Throughout the interview with Fox News Digital, Sewell expressed disdain for Democratic Party politicians, who he says have long oppressed African Americans. Sewell isn’t a fan of the company El-Sayed keeps, either. He slammed El-Sayed for campaigning with socialist streamer Hasan Piker, who said in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11.” Piker has also praised Mao Zedong and Communist China, and said capitalists should be murdered in the streets and spewed a litany of antisemitic comments. “I believe that there’s treason for you to say those type of words, that America deserves 9/11,” said Sewell. He described Piker, who last week mocked the death of Charlie Kirk by singing a viral internet song in front of a crowd of socialists, as the “demonic” version of Kirk. HASAN PIKER CALLS HAMAS ‘FAR MORE MODERATE,’ DISMISSES TERROR GROUP’S BRUTAL RULE IN GAZA El-Sayed further distanced himself from Piker Monday after Piker argued on his Twitch show that rhetoric linking American Jews closely to Israel could ultimately provoke attacks against American Jews — comments critics condemned as antisemitic victim-blaming. EL-SAYED DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM HASAN PIKER AFTER DISTURBING REMARKS ABOUT JEWISH AMERICANS “If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews,” Piker said on the stream. El-Sayed said all Americans should be able to advocate for their beliefs without fear of violence, affirmed his commitment to Jewish safety and called antisemitism a “scourge” that must be addressed “in all its forms.” He added that nobody speaks for his campaign except him and his campaign spokespeople. Sewell concluded that Biblical values are American values. “This is one nation under the God of the Bible. The reason why America is great — it’s because God is great,” he said. “God gave us victory, [in the] Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, [the] Civil
Trump’s tougher round-two birthright citizenship strategy hinges on key legal distinction, experts say
Conservative legal experts say President Donald Trump’s latest attempts to narrow birthright citizenship and crack down on birth tourism may have stronger legal footing than his first effort. After the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in June that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth under the 14th Amendment, Trump issued two new executive orders taking narrower approaches to citizenship and birth tourism. The first, signed Aug. 6, directs federal agencies to withhold documents recognizing citizenship from certain children born when neither parent is a U.S. citizen, including some whose parents are members of designated foreign terrorist organizations, foreign-government employees or participants in transactions or fraud intended to obtain birthright citizenship. Experts from the Manhattan Institute, America First Legal and the America First Policy Institute, all right-of-center organizations, argued that Trump’s new order is narrower than his first and is built around longstanding exceptions to birthright citizenship that they believe could apply here. TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS TARGETING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP, BIRTH TOURISM AFTER SUPREME COURT SETBACK “The Supreme Court has long recognized that there are exceptions to the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship clause for the aliens who are considered children of invading armies or the children of ambassadors,” America First Policy Institute senior fellow Chad Mizelle, who previously served as the Justice Department’s chief of staff, told Fox News Digital. “So in a situation where you have a terrorist here contrary to the laws of the United States … who is looking to do harm … That has long been recognized by the Supreme Court, and basically going back to the history of our country, as recognized exceptions to any sort of claim of birthright citizenship.” United States v. Wong Kim Ark, decided by the Supreme Court in 1898, recognized exceptions to birthright citizenship for children of diplomats and children of alien enemies born during a hostile occupation. Trump’s order argues that members of foreign terrorist organizations can fall within that enemy exception. TRUMP BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP FIGHT COMES ROARING BACK WITH ‘INVADERS’ PLAY AFTER KAVANAUGH ROADMAP “The Supreme Court ruled that you can’t restrict birthright citizenship to kids of people in the country temporarily or illegally,” Manhattan Institute director of constitutional studies Ilya Shapiro told Fox News Digital. “But what the new executive order does is it goes to one of the classic exceptions to birthrights citizenship, two of the classic exceptions, those who owe an allegiance to a foreign government, meaning employed by a foreign governing diplomats otherwise, and those who are invaders of foreign armies and terrorists, members of foreign organizations hostile to America, certainly qualify in that category.” David Bier, the director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, however, argued that the president’s attempt to redefine what constitutes an alien enemy without going through Congress puts the administration on legally shaky ground. “Congress ultimately establishes what it means to be subject to U.S. jurisdiction,” Bier told Fox News Digital. “There’s this very limited exception for accredited diplomats and everyone else in the United States is subject to U.S. laws so the idea that the president himself on his own authority can decide who is subject U. S. jurisdiction and U.S. laws is really a radical expansion and assertion of executive power and really would be unprecedented in the history of the United States.” JACKSON ACCUSES THOMAS OF ECHOING INFAMOUSLY RACIST COURT DECISION IN BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP CLASH “I really do think this case is testing a different proposition from the earlier case,” Bier added, explaining that the issue at hand has more to do with executive power than birthright citizenship. “And I think it’s a lot more questionable as well.” Amanda Frost, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, pointed out that United States v. Wong Kim Ark specifies that only children of enemies “occupying” some portion of the country are barred from citizenship at birth, meaning that Trump’s order would not apply to terrorists simply residing within the country. She said the Trump administration could potentially expand who is legally defined as a diplomat to preclude more people from birthright citizenship, but explained such a move would make it difficult to prosecute individuals for criminal offenses, a concern shared by Bier. Frost and Bier both believe the new executive order should be ruled unconstitutional. Some have floated the issue of standing as a potential problem for those looking to challenge Trump’s order. Legal standing requires plaintiffs to show they suffered or imminently face a concrete injury caused by the defendant that a court can remedy. “It’s going to be interesting to see who actually does have standing to challenge this order,” America First Legal co-founder and president Gene Hamilton told Fox News Digital. “Is there somebody who thinks that they’re going to swept up in the definition of a foreign terrorist organization? And if so, it would be kind of fun to see them try to sue the government or have someone sue on their behalf.” Trump’s new order is already facing legal resistance. TRUMP TO ASK SUPREME COURT TO REHEAR BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP CASE AFTER ‘INSANE DECISION’ The same groups who challenged his initial order are now arguing that his new one unlawfully creates exceptions to birthright citizenship that conflict with the Supreme Court’s June ruling. The order remains on the books but is not scheduled to take effect until Sept. 6, with a Maryland judge scheduled to hear an injunction request Aug. 28 and a related motion still pending in New Hampshire. Issued on the same day as the first new executive order, the second order directed the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to deny travel visas to or pursue removal actions against individuals believed to be in the country for the purposes of birth tourism. Birth tourism is a process through which noncitizens enter the United States while pregnant and give birth in order to secure citizenship for their child. Hamilton described this second order as
Appeals court delivers unsettling ruling — and says Supreme Court left it no choice
A federal appeals court says decades-old Supreme Court precedent forced it to protect the in-home possession of AI-generated child sexual abuse material, as judges warned that rapidly advancing technology has complicated legal lines drawn nearly 25 years ago. The ruling exposes a widening gap between Supreme Court precedent and rapidly advancing artificial intelligence. The Seventh Circuit said it was bound by a 2002 Supreme Court decision that rejected restrictions on sexually explicit depictions of fictional children when no actual child was involved in their creation. But two judges warned that modern AI can now generate images virtually indistinguishable from material depicting the abuse of real children. “Indeed, in Free Speech Coalition, the Supreme Court addressed the scope of First Amendment protections for virtual CSAM, but that was nearly twenty-five years ago, and the image-generation technology available today was likely unimaginable back then,” Judge John Lee wrote. “Given the relentless advancement in artificial intelligence models, we have some concerns about the lines these cases draw, but we are not free to redraw them ourselves.” WORKER AT SWANKY COUNTRY CLUB ACCUSED OF USING AI TO CREATE EXPLICIT PHOTOS OF TEEN: POLICE The Seventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of one of four charges against Steven Anderegg, who investigators said had hundreds of AI-generated sexually explicit images depicting children on devices seized from his Wisconsin home. Anderegg was charged with producing and distributing the AI-generated material, transferring it to a minor under 16, and possessing it. A federal district court dismissed only the possession charge on First Amendment grounds, leaving the other three charges intact. The Justice Department appealed that dismissal, arguing that the government should be permitted to prohibit possession of obscene virtual child sexual abuse material even when no actual child was involved in its creation. But the Seventh Circuit sided with the lower court. The government generally cannot criminalize the private possession of obscene material inside someone’s home, but it can prohibit possession of child sexual abuse material involving real children because its creation exploits actual victims. However, the Supreme Court complicated that distinction in 2002 when it struck down restrictions covering sexually explicit images of fictional children created without using actual minors. The justices reasoned that the government’s overriding interest in protecting children from exploitation did not apply in the same way when no real child was involved. AOC OFFERS RARE PRAISE TO LATE SEN GRAHAM FOR BACKING AI PORN BILL NOW STALLED IN HOUSE Hans von Spakovsky, a senior fellow with Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital that the appeals court “had no choice but to uphold the dismissal under the First Amendment” because of the Supreme Court’s ruling. But von Spakovsky agreed with the concurrence by Lee and Judge Joshua Kolar, who warned the Supreme Court that the rapid growth of AI technology could require the justices to revisit precedent. “Unforunately, AI-generated images are now virtualy indistinguishable from the real thing and some of these images be created based on real child sexual abuse material,” von Spavosky said. “Technology may have overtaken and overwhelmed the reasoning used in those prior decisions.” NEW YORK MAKES HISTORY WITH FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND LAW REGULATING AI-POWERED COMMERCIALS The Supreme Court previously ruled in Free Speech Coalition that taking images of real children and “morphing” them into sexually explicit poses would not be protected under its ruling on the possession of child sexual abuse material depicting fictional children because the practice involves the interests of real children. Justice Department lawyers have warned that the rise of AI-generated child sexual abuse material could bog down investigators trying to identify real victims, as increasingly realistic artificial images become harder to distinguish from depictions of actual abuse. HAWLEY CHAMPIONS GUARD ACT AS HEARTBROKEN FAMILIES SAY AI CHATBOTS ALLEGEDLY PUSHED TEENS TO SELF-HARM Judges Lee and Kolar raised another concern in their concurrence, citing research that found hundreds of child sexual abuse material images in a major dataset used to train image-generating AI. The judges suggested that could create a link between AI-generated material and the exploitation of real children, though they stressed that the government did not raise the issue in this case and that the record was insufficient to resolve it. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Justice Clarence Thomas anticipated the dilemma more than two decades ago, warning in the Supreme Court’s 2002 ruling that advancing technology could eventually make virtual depictions indistinguishable from child sexual abuse material involving real victims. “If technological advances thwart prosecution of ‘unlawful speech,’ the Government may well have a compelling interest in barring or otherwise regulating some narrow category of ‘lawful speech’” to enforce laws against material produced through the abuse of real children, Thomas wrote.
Jewish AG’s convention boycott exposes deepening Israel fault line among Michigan Democrats
LANSING, MI – Michigan Democrats gather Saturday in the battleground state’s capital city to hold their 2026 state nominating convention amid controversy over recent antisemitic harassment and open hostility within the party over U.S. support for Israel. Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, recently announced she wouldn’t attend the confab due to security concerns, after anti-Israel party activists shouted down pro-Israel speakers, including Rep. Haley Stevens, at a prior convention in April. This weekend’s convention comes as a growing number of Democrats push for cutting military aid to Israel, amidst the Israeli government’s ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The convention is also being held just a few weeks after Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal critic of Israel who describes their military actions as “genocide,” narrowly edged Stevens to win the Democratic Senate nomination for a crucial seat the Democrats must hold in the midterm elections. DEMOCRATIC MICHIGAN AG ACCUSES HER PARTY OF ‘ABSOLUTELY NOT’ DOING ENOUGH TO COUNTER ANTISEMITISM “I don’t feel safe going. I feel like my presence isn’t going to be welcome. I don’t want to get chased around. I don’t want to get harassed. I don’t want to get yelled and screamed at. I don’t want to get booed off the stage, irrespective of what I’m saying,” Nessel said during a roundtable discussion last month. “I believe that if I go, that is what will happen because it’s been happening to me.” Responding, the Michigan Democratic Party said it is “committed to ensuring party-hosted events are safe and secure environments for all attendees.” “We reject antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hateful conduct. We are working diligently with stakeholders, elected officials, and party membership to prepare for our August convention and look forward to welcoming Michigan Democrats to the Lansing Center on August 29,” state party spokesperson Derrick Honeyman said in a statement. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL IN MICHIGAN’S BLOCKBUSTER SENATE RACE Joan Lowenstein, endorsement chair of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus, told Fox News Digital she hasn’t “talked to anybody who thinks they will be unsafe at this convention.” But Lowenstein, who also sits on the Michigan Democratic Party Central Committee, added, “Some people think it will be unpleasant and why should they bother.” But other Jewish Democrats in Michigan are very concerned. “People are traumatized from the previous convention. Many people I talked to, many super progressive people, are really traumatized by the way they were treated, and the way Haley Stevens was booed, and the way other candidates were treated,” Rabbi Asher Lopatin told Fox News Digital last week. Lopatin, who was interviewed after joining Republican Senate nominee former Rep. Mike Rogers at a campaign event to unveil Democrats supporting Rogers, referred to Nessel’s decision not to attend the convention and said “it just shows how terrible these extremists are that they’re intimidating even the attorney general of our state.” WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE MIDTERM RACES SHOW But Lopatin emphasized, “We got to be strong. We got to be proud. We got to be courageous. The Jewish community cannot cower.” Stacy Gittleman, a lifelong Democrat who is supportive of Israel, attended the April convention. “I saw more Palestinian flags than American flags on the floor,” Gittleman, a writer who published her observations at the convention on substack, told Fox News Digital this week. Gittleman said the jeers and what she highlighted as a “lack of decorum and disrespect” were signs to her of “how far left our party is drifting.” The convention is being held as some Jewish leaders in Michigan are circulating an open letter urging Jewish Democrats and independents in the state to sign their names in support of Rogers. The news was first reported last week by the Jewish Insider and confirmed by Fox News Digital. “This is sort of a do-or-die moment,” a person involved with the letter who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely told Fox News Digital. “There are many lifelong Democrats who are feeling homeless. … It’s not just a leftward drift but has turned into an anti-Jewish drift as well.” DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Lowenstein, who doesn’t support the petition, said those behind the letter “feel it’s an existential issue, and I think that represents a lot of people. And, so, they have to do what they have to do.” “It’s sort of 50/50,” she added. “Half the people I talk to say, ‘I could never vote for Abdul El-Sayed because of things he’s said about Israel and, consequentially, the Jewish community. And the other 50% say ‘it is so important for Jews as Americans to have an Democratic Senate that I could never vote for Mike Rogers.’” Rogers and El-Sayed are running to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. The race is among a dozen that will determine if the Democrats win back the Senate majority from the GOP. Rogers, in an interview last week with Fox News Digital, reiterated that he’s not asking Democratic voters to become Republicans. And he highlighted concerns he’s heard from Democratic Jewish voters in Michigan. THESE 12 MIDTERM RACES WILL DECIDE WHICH PARTY CONTROLS THE SENATE “I’ve talked to two young women who were at University of Michigan who were afraid to walk to class. They couldn’t display their Star of David. To say that they’re afraid is probably an understatement,” he said. Rogers said “the violent rhetoric … is going to make a difference” in the general election. El-Sayed is a former Wayne County Health Department director who, if elected in November, would make history as the nation’s first Muslim senator. The epidemiologist who unsuccessfully ran for governor as an insurgent candidate in 2018 has made support for Medicare for all a major component of his campaign and has also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). But it’s El-Sayed’s stance and comments on Israel that have angered some Jewish people in Michigan, a
Crackdown on critical tech could open Americans to a new national security threat
Americans’ sensitive information could increasingly be processed overseas if restrictions on artificial intelligence data centers slow construction in the U.S., a data privacy advocate and industry executive warned. The warning comes as states and local governments weigh new restrictions on the rapidly expanding data center industry amid concerns over electricity costs, grid reliability and other impacts on surrounding communities. Brittany Kaiser, CEO of Alpha Compute, said state moratoriums and restrictions on new data centers could push American companies to seek computing capacity in other countries as demand from AI continues to surge. “One of my top concerns as a top data protection and privacy advocate is that with data center moratoriums being passed in the United States that it will force Americans and American companies to send our data to be processed abroad in other countries,” Kaiser told Fox News Digital. “American companies are going to still run their AI,” she added. “They’re still going to be purchasing data center space in other countries, and it means our sensitive information will be sent abroad and shared with companies and organizations that might not have America’s best interests at heart.” FROM NETFLIX TO GPS: 10 WAYS THIS HIDDEN TECH INFRASTRUCTURE QUIETLY POWERS MODERN LIFE Data centers are large facilities filled with servers and computing equipment that process, store and transmit information behind many everyday technologies. They support everything from email, social media and internet searches to online banking, streaming services and AI platforms. As demand for AI grows, companies are building increasingly powerful data centers that require vast amounts of electricity, advanced chips and high-speed network connections. Kaiser said the facilities have become critical infrastructure for the digital economy, making decisions about where they are built and who controls the data they handle a matter of growing economic and national security concern. Artificial intelligence, however, requires significantly more computing power, fueling a rapid expansion of data center construction across the country. That growth has sparked pushback in some communities over concerns about electricity costs, water consumption, noise and environmental impacts. Kaiser acknowledged those concerns and said companies should be subject to “common sense regulation” designed to protect communities. “Not all companies are doing it [building data centers] in the same way,” she said. “Some are more responsible than others.” Kaiser said responsible developments can use closed-loop water cooling systems and generate power independently rather than increasing demand on the existing electrical grid. Alpha Compute, she said, is pursuing projects designed to operate “off-grid, behind the meter,” meaning the facilities would generate their own power rather than relying on electricity supplied through the local grid. Kaiser said that approach is intended to prevent the massive energy demands of data centers from straining existing infrastructure or contributing to higher electricity costs for nearby residents. ONE MONTHLY BILL AMERICANS CAN’T AVOID IS QUIETLY SURGING THANKS TO EMERGING INDUSTRY The company is developing a project in Pennsylvania, where Gov. Josh Shapiro recently imposed new requirements on large data center developments. Kaiser said Alpha Compute plans to comply with the regulations and welcomed provisions promoting cleaner energy. Pennsylvania is among a growing number of states confronting the rapid expansion of data centers. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has pushed data centers to provide more of their own power and shoulder infrastructure costs as development accelerates across the state. Other governors have gone further. Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul imposed a one-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers as states grapple with concerns over electricity costs, grid reliability and the pace of development. ONE OF AMERICA’S OLDEST MANUFACTURERS SAYS AI IS CREATING JOBS — NOT REPLACING THEM But she cautioned that policies that significantly restrict domestic development could have broader consequences for America’s position in the global AI race. “Compute power has now become nearly a utility,” Kaiser said, comparing the need for domestic computing infrastructure to energy independence. “We want to have the right to compute,” she said. “We want to be able to process data within our own borders as a national security priority, but also for our own intellectual property to make sure we’re not sending our data abroad.” Kaiser has launched a campaign called “Right to Compute,” advocating for domestic data center development alongside sustainability standards and regulation. “We should have the right to both energy independence as well as compute power,” she said, “so that Americans and American companies can process all of our sensitive data within our own borders.”
‘We have not slowed down’: Minnesota not out of the woods on massive fraud scandal, expert warns
Despite Minnesota’s fraud scandal exploding onto the national scene and costing taxpayers billions, there are growing concerns that the state has still not done what’s necessary to root out the problem. “We have not slowed down, there is no sense in which the fraud has been stopped in Minnesota,” Bill Glahn, a policy fellow at the Center of the American Experiment, told Fox News Digital. Glahn has been warning on social media that Minnesota’s rapid growth in provisional assisted-living licenses, most for small facilities, may be outpacing state oversight. In a recent article, Glahn explained the state’s licensing database showed 364 new facilities with provisional licenses popping up over the past year and called for a 90-day moratorium on new licenses while officials investigate. “We have something along the order of 2,500 of these licensed across the state, but about 20% of them, around three, 400 of them have just been started in the last year,” Glahn explained. FINAL WALZ FRAUD REPORT RIPS ‘CULTURE OF TOLERANCE’ AS MINNESOTA TAXPAYERS FACE BILLIONS IN ALLEGED LOSSES “I’m not sure if there’s a real underlying driver in the demographics or the demand for these facilities, but it’s odd that we have these assisted living facilities linked to Medicaid fraud, at the same time, the Minnesota Department of Health is approving more than one a day. More than one new facility gets approved every single day, 365 days a year. And I don’t think anybody is really giving any thought to, hey, maybe some of this is not on the up and up.” Glahn also pointed to a recent criminal complaint filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office against Salman Ahmed Elmi, who was charged Aug. 17 with eight felony theft offenses tied to alleged Medicaid billing fraud, as evidence that fraud is still taking place. The criminal complaint also details alleged ties among the Medicaid-funded businesses, properties previously used to provide commercial sex services and people investigators say were part of a sex-trafficking organization. FAILED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WINS DEM PRIMARY FOR MIDWEST GOVERNOR AMID FRAUD SCANDAL FALLOUT “This is two scandals in one,” Glahn said. “You have a commercial sex operation, actual brothels, housed in what were later licensed as assisted-living facilities under the Medicaid program.” Elmi previously received an award from the state for being an “Outstanding Refugee.” “Elmi’s case alone makes clear that this is not old news,” Glahn said. “This particular fraud was going on just a couple of months ago.” Glahn argued that the latest allegations point to a deeper problem within the state agencies responsible for vetting providers and monitoring taxpayer-funded programs which haven’t been properly addressed. “Personnel is policy,” Glahn said. “There isn’t a regulatory mindset under the Walz administration. There isn’t the mindset that we need to trust but verify.” While Minnesota officials and lawmakers have taken some fraud-prevention steps since the fraud scandal erupted onto the national scene, Glahn stressed that the reforms do not address what he sees as the central issue: a lack of accountability for those who failed to identify the schemes earlier “Walz has never cleaned house, he’s never fired anybody for not detecting the fraud or not prosecuting the fraud,” Glahn said. “It’s the same people doing the same thing, and that culture has never changed.” For Glahn, the messaging should start at the top. “They’re just operating as business as usual,” Glahn said. “We don’t have anybody who’s currently in office, currently in charge of state government, at least in the executive branch, who’s doing anything substantive to address the fraud. It’s just amazing how we see these reports every day, and we have Tim Walz traveling the country, traveling elsewhere. He’s a lame duck. He doesn’t seem to have any interest in closing out this chapter of his legacy with any kind of victory on the fraud front.” MILLION-DOLLAR SNAP FOOD STAMP FRAUD SCHEME IN WALZ’S BACKYARD SPARKS OUTRAGE: ‘CRUEL JOKE’ In addition to the perception that not enough accountability has been taken for the scandal, Walz’s Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is running for Senate while Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is running for governor despite both being in positions of power during the duration of time the fraud scandal festered. “Amy Klobuchar has come out with her multi-point plan of how she’s gonna fight fraud once she gets in office, if she gets elected in November,” Glahn explained. “I don’t know why we couldn’t implement this stuff today. She’s called for a top-to-bottom audit of state government. She’s got another few data points that perhaps were legislative proposals that didn’t get passed. Tim Walz could call a special session. We could be in session on Monday, passing an anti-fraud agenda, but there’s nothing. So I guess he just fundamentally doesn’t have an interest in the subject.” Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office, Klobuchar’s campaign and the Minnesota Department of Health for comment but did not receive a response. The Minnesota Department of Human Services told Fox News Digital in a statement that it has rolled out a series of anti-fraud reforms since the fall of 2024, including identifying 14 high-risk services and freezing the enrollment of new providers in those programs. The agency also said it discontinued the Housing Stabilization Services program, began auditing autism-service providers through onsite visits, instituted licensure requirements for autism centers and disenrolled inactive providers. DHS said it has also expanded pre-payment reviews for providers in 13 high-risk fee-for-service programs and completed revalidation determinations for high-risk providers by the end of May. Since the beginning of 2025, the department said it has stopped payments to 747 Medicaid providers over what it described as credible allegations of fraud and made 824 referrals to law enforcement.
Dem candidate erupts in profane defense of Hasan Piker as party figures distance themselves
The socialist Democrat primed to represent much of America’s birthplace in Congress profanely erupted Thursday at Democrats distancing themselves from far-left streamer Hasan Piker, who once suggested the U.S. deserved the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Northwest Philadelphia, is one of several democratic socialists running in November as some prominent Democrats condemn or distance themselves from Piker over his radical left-wing positions and controversial comments. “This is what the institutionalists are focusing their efforts on now: Disavowing Hasan Piker,” Rabb tweeted Friday. WHO IS HASAN PIKER? MEET THE FAR-LEFT STREAMER WHO IS STIRRING UP CONTROVERSY AND DIVIDING DEMOCRATS “Not White Christian nationalists? Not the broligarchs? Not the AI overlords? Nope, the guy encouraging young people to use their collective political power for good,” Rabb wrote. “F— that noise.” SOCIALIST HOUSE NOMINEE’S RADICAL LAW-AND-ORDER VISION: ‘WHAT ARE ILLEGALS?’ In a test of Philadelphia’s socialist-progressive versus establishment divide, Rabb won a four-way primary that included state Sen. Sharif Street, D-North Philadelphia, the son of a former mayor who was endorsed by several mainstream Democrats. Rabb had already embraced his association with Piker during the primary, appearing with the streamer at an event in West Philadelphia in April. He told Piker at the time that he would be “slammed for even talking to you” and called such criticism a “double standard because as a Black progressive, I can’t do this: I’m part of the problem or whatever,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Fox News Digital reached out to Rabb and Piker for comment. Rabb’s defense puts him at odds with a growing list of prominent Democrats who have condemned Piker. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called Piker’s comments about American Jews “dangerous and anti-Semitic.” ANTISEMITIC STREAMER FINALLY MAKES DEM LEADER SNAP WITH RARE REBUKE: ‘MALICIOUS’ When pressed by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, who is Jewish, Jeffries said, “I’ve just addressed Hasan Piker’s comments as it relates to the Jewish community as forcefully as I can, and I will continue to do that.” On Tuesday, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., called for a vote on a bipartisan resolution condemning Piker and conservative podcaster Candace Owens. ELISSA SLOTKIN CALLS OUT HASAN PIKER FOR BLAMING JEWISH AMERICANS TARGETED OVER THEIR ISRAEL VIEWS “Hatred is hatred, period. I said it months ago with Rep. Lawler, and Piker has proved it again,” Gottheimer said in a statement. “Telling millions of followers that Jewish Americans are bringing violence on themselves is blatantly antisemitic and one of the oldest tropes in the book,” Gottheimer added. EL-SAYED DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM HASAN PIKER AFTER DISTURBING REMARKS ABOUT JEWISH AMERICANS Gottheimer declared that anyone campaigning with Piker is “complicit” with him. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., also accused Piker this week of “victim-blaming” American Jews and reiterated his earlier description of the streamer as an “unapologetic antisemite.” Schneider warned Democrats risk losing credibility when they condemn controversial figures on the right while “platforming those who espouse hate of any kind” on their own side. Schneider also took a shot at another socialist-aligned candidate running for high office, saying Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed has “refused” to condemn Piker. El-Sayed appeared to distance himself from Piker, telling the Michigan Advance that “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople” as he faced criticism over his association with the Twitch streamer. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Rabb faces only independent Dennis Mahoney in November in Pennsylvania’s heavily Democratic 3rd Congressional District and is strongly favored to succeed retiring Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Pa.