Harris keeps 2028 door open as she hits midterm campaign trail, warns ‘28 won’t matter’ without 2026
Former Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday that she has not decided whether she will run for president again in 2028, telling voters in Detroit that the upcoming midterm elections must come first. Harris was directly asked during a fireside chat whether she had thought about running for president in 2028 and whether another White House campaign was “on your plate.” “I have not decided if I’m going to run again,” Harris said before turning the focus to the midterms. “I do, I do sincerely believe 28 won’t matter if we don’t get through 26.” GAVIN NEWSOM SAYS HE WON’T RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2028 IF KAMALA HARRIS RUNS Harris said she was focused on traveling the country and reminding voters of the power of their voices ahead of the 2026 elections. “And I’m a big believer that you can be. When you focus on the thing out there, you trip on the thing over here.” The exchange came during Harris’ second event Tuesday in Detroit, where she participated in a fireside chat moderated by Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch NAACP and pastor of Fellowship Chapel, and Rev. Dr. Genetta Y. Hatcher, pastor of The Room Church. Before asking Harris about a possible 2028 campaign, Anthony encouraged those in attendance to vote and referenced early and mail-in voting. Harris was later presented with “take your souls to the polls” merchandise. KAMALA HARRIS CLAIMS GOP ‘CHEATING’ AHEAD OF MIDTERMS, SAYS SHE’S FOCUSED ON STOPPING THE ‘MADNESS’ Earlier Tuesday, Harris campaigned alongside Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed at a roundtable focused on Black maternal health and healthcare costs. Harris used the event to criticize President Donald Trump’s healthcare policies and voice support for El-Sayed. Harris’ remarks came as she focuses on the 2026 midterms while leaving open the possibility of another presidential campaign. Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee in 2024 after then-President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign. She went on to lose the presidential election to Trump.
‘Big Sister’ warning resurfaces as Massachusetts expands home visits after Clancy trial
Twenty-seven years before Massachusetts proposed to dramatically expand a taxpayer-funded program sending nurses into the homes of families with newborns, legendary conservative firebrand and grassroots women’s leader Phyllis Schlafly posed a question that her daughter says now sounds remarkably familiar. “Are the American people willing to allow government agents to come into their homes to ‘advise’ them how to care for their babies?” Schlafly wrote in a March 1999 column titled, “Watch out for ‘Big Sister’ as Well as ‘Big Brother.’” The warning resurfaced as Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey seeks $2 million to expand the state’s Welcome Family program, which offers nurse visits following childbirth. The program serves approximately 3,000 births annually, and the expansion is intended to make visits available following roughly 68,000 births statewide per year. BLUE STATE GOV IGNITES ONLINE FIRESTORM WITH PLAN TO SEND GOV’T INTO HOMES OF NEWBORN BABIES: ‘LUNATIC LIBS’ The push comes in the aftermath of the Lindsay Clancy case, which put a searing spotlight on maternal mental illness. Clancy does not dispute that she killed her three young children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months — inside their Duxbury home in 2023. Clancy’s defense argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible, while prosecutors argued she knew her actions were wrong. The jury deadlocked, resulting in a mistrial. For Anne Schlafly, chairman of Eagle Forum and Phyllis Schlafly’s daughter, her mother’s warning has now taken on new resonance. “My mother was very prescient about the things that could happen if we let government intrude into our family lives,” Schlafly told Fox News Digital. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TARGETS HEAD START BUREAUCRACY IN MOVE ADVOCATES SAY PUTS PARENTS IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT “Her point was a government agent or an agent of the government has no business in your home, in your castle, snooping around and determining whether or not you’re raising the children the way the government wants you to raise the children,” she said. “After all, the home is our castle.” Phyllis Schlafly’s 1999 column focused on Healthy Families America and similar home-visiting initiatives, warning about programs that screened families for risk factors, connected parents with health and social services and offered parenting guidance inside the home. She also questioned whether programs officially described as “voluntary” would always operate that way in practice. Massachusetts today describes Welcome Family as voluntary. Nurses assess the health of the “parents and caregivers” and newborn, answer questions about newborn care, screen for postpartum mental health concerns and connect families with additional services. MICHIGAN LAWMAKER MOVES TO SHUT DOWN ‘GUARDRAIL-FREE’ CASH HANDOUT PROGRAM FOR NEW MOTHERS Notably, Massachusetts lists “ensuring that your home is safe” among the subjects Welcome Family nurses may advise parents about, though the program’s family information page does not specify particular home safety criteria. The state has called Welcome Family an “entry point into the system of care” for families with newborns. Healthy Families America, the program at the center of Schlafly’s 1999 column, is also among the models Massachusetts lists within its broader Home Visiting Initiative, though it is separate from Welcome Family. Healey described her vision for the expansion in broader terms during an interview on Boston Public Radio. “Everybody in the state, when you have a baby, you’re going to have a home visit within days, weeks, and that will be an opportunity for a healthcare provider to make an assessment to see if you need some additional support and resources,” Healey said. FIERY VIEWS ON LINDSAY CLANCY AT WORK COULD GET YOU FIRED — AND BE PERFECTLY LEGAL, EMPLOYMENT LAWYER WARNS Anne Schlafly questioned what meaningful consent looks like shortly after childbirth. “Is it really voluntary if you don’t have true informed consent?” Schlafly said. “If you have just given birth, you’ve been in labor, you’ve been under sedation, can you really recognize what you were signing up for supposedly on a voluntary basis? “I think mothers need to have the full disclosure that this would be a government agent in the home.” The scale of the proposed expansion also concerns Schlafly. “If government is going to expand their reach and hire a whole bunch of more people and use taxpayer money to send out all these agents to the families, I mean, that’s quite an expansion,” she said. “This idea of coming in to inspect and see what’s going on in your home smacks of Big Sister and Big Brother both.” Massachusetts does not characterize the visits as inspections but as voluntary health and support services. State officials point to results from the existing program. In 2025, Welcome Family offered 1,620 postpartum depression screenings, with 208 positive screenings. The state says every person who screened positively received a referral for services. Schlafly said she does not object to families choosing to accept that help. “If people want to have this help from Governor Healey, then they can avail themselves of it,” she said. Her dividing line, she said, is whether parents retain the ability to refuse. “I think any time you make it compulsory, the line has been crossed,” Schlafly said. “I would say the only way that this Massachusetts program could be acceptable is if the parents could opt out at any time.” Massachusetts’ published materials describe participation as voluntary. Fox News Digital reached out to Healey’s office for comment and clarification about parents’ ability to decline visits, information collected during visits and whether information may be shared with other state agencies. Nearly three decades after her mother warned about “Big Sister” entering the family home, Schlafly said she believes she knows what her mother would tell Massachusetts parents today. “There’s no doubt that Phyllis Schlafly would advise parents to reject busybodies who want to inspect their home,” she said. “The home is a sacred and private area, and Governor Healey has no business in the homes of Massachusetts parents. “Let’s leave her to the state house and not the kitchen table.”
Kamala Harris says ‘attack on DEI is an attack on maternal care’ in appearance with El-Sayed
Former Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday declared that an attack on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is an attack on maternal care as she joined Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit to rally support ahead of the November midterm elections. Harris made the remarks during a campaign roundtable with El-Sayed and several healthcare advocates focused on Black maternal health and healthcare costs. “An attack on DEI, to recognize diversity, equity and inclusion, is an attack by definition on maternal care, including the need to protect Black women in connection with their pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care,” Harris said. She noted that maternal mortality rates are disproportionately higher among minority groups, with the risk of death increasing up to four times for Black women and three times for Native women. MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE ABDUL EL-SAYED SAYS LEADERS MUST ADDRESS ‘UNPAID DEBTS’ TO BLACK COMMUNITIES “One in 12 women in America currently lives in a maternal care desert with limited or no access to maternal care,” she added. Harris then took aim at political leaders who tout “family values,” arguing that efforts to end DEI programs strip away protections aimed at supporting certain communities during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care. BIDEN-ERA DIRECTIVE FOR DIPLOMATS TO PEDDLE DEI ON FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS SCRAPPED BY STATE DEPARTMENT “As one of the most — some would say the most financially strong economies in the world — we have the distinction of also having one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world,” she said. “So, it raises the issue of disparities and also hypocrisy when there are leaders who otherwise walk around every day talking about their family values.” Harris also turned her criticism toward President Donald Trump’s health care legislation, which she referred to as the “Big Bad Bill,” arguing that it cut Medicaid spending with the support of former Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee facing El-Sayed. DR. OZ UNVEILS MEDICAID OVERHAUL, CLAMPS DOWN ON $2B FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND MANDATES WORK FOR ABLE-BODIED “Medicaid is the largest funder for maternity care in America,” she said. “Donald Trump cut Medicaid funding by a trillion dollars. These are the facts Mike Rogers supported that cut through that ‘Big Bad Bill.’” Harris closed by reaffirming her support for El-Sayed in the Senate race, pointing to his position on maternal health and saying she believes he would be a “champion” on the issue. “I’m here to support Doctor El Sayed, because, on this subject, I know he will be a champion,” she said. “And I have a right to say that.”
From Austin to New York, pro-China network fuels week of anti-US protests as Xi meets Trump
As President Donald Trump readies for high-stakes negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a network of pro-China organizations funded by pro-communist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham is taking to the streets from New York City to Austin, creating the image of rolling street unrest that lawmakers warn China can exploit to project a perception of chaos in the United States. Yesterday, Singham’s wife, Jodie Evans, wore a trademark fuchsia straw hat and protested across the street from the United Nations on E. 47th Street, between First and Second Avenue, under an arch at Katharine Hepburn Garden, smiling widely next to agitators from the far-left CodePink nonprofit she co-founded and her American-born husband helped fund from his base in Shanghai. As part of their elaborate weeklong calendar, the activists railed against the U.S. military and its “all-out climate and environmental devastation.” and then they marched to the offices of Open AI to demonstrate against data centers they allege “drive war” and “economic degradation.” The week’s protests reflect a pattern of rapid mobilization around breaking news and political flashpoints. The sequencing of events — combined with messaging sharply critical of the United States and silent about China’s human-rights, environmental and civil-liberties record — raises questions lawmakers debated last week about whether some activists function as “Trojan horses” for foreign adversaries such as China. Recently, Evans posted a video lauding China for building an economy that helps citizens “grow and thrive.” Last year, Singham delivered a speech in China supporting the Chinese Communist Party and Xi’s “new world order.” SOCIALIST, COMMUNIST GROUPS COORDINATE, PROMOTE ‘SPONTANEOUS’ ANTI-ICE PROTESTS IN AUSTIN Lawmakers have warned that the cumulative visibility of such actions shape public perceptions, project an image of instability and give foreign adversaries a potential messaging – and negotiating – advantage as Trump prepares for high-stakes talks with Xi this week. “The American people need to know that this is not just an organic movement,” Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, told Fox News Digital. “There has to be more transparency across all areas with these kinds of activities.” Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the House Select Committee on China, told Fox News Digital the network’s grassroots image belies the serious funding infrastructure behind these groups. “In these situations where you have groups that portray themselves as grassroots, it’s really more Astroturf, very fake,” he said. He said the protests “raises serious concerns” about malign foreign influence in the U.S., especially “when you see them actively speaking out against American interests.” The protests are publicly framed as separate events involving immigration, climate change, artificial intelligence, militarism and Israel. But their shared sponsorships show how organizations within the broader Singham network move quickly from one issue to another, using national organizations, local chapters, social-media promotion and shared venues to create a cumulative impression of coordinated street activism. Moolenaar called for “clarification and transparency” regarding the organizations’ finances and questioned whether they should continue receiving tax-exempt status, adding that their political involvement may violate “campaign rules and political rules here in the United States.” LAWMAKERS RAISE ALARM OVER NEVILLE ROY SINGHAM’S $278M NETWORK SPREADING CCP PROPAGANDA IN THE U.S. HASAN PIKER DEFENDS PRO-COMMUNIST, ANTI-ICE SINGHAM NETWORK ACTIVISTS AS ‘WONDERFUL PEOPLE’ The significance of the week’s activity is heightened by the scale of Singham’s financial support for the network. A Fox News Digital investigation has documented how Singham has pumped $285 million through a donor-advised fund and shell companies into a broader network of six major nonprofits, media outlets and activist organizations that have promoted anti-American and pro-China messaging. In that network, Singham has given CodePink $1.33 million, while doling out $22.44 million to the People’s Forum, a hub for the protest activity this week, and $1.098 million to BreakThrough BT Media, a media arm of the network that is flooding social media with images and videos from the coordinated protests this week. As Fox News Digital reported exclusively, the Justice Department’s Southern District of New York has convened a federal grand jury investigation into Singham’s financial network, sources say. Prosecutors are examining whether Singham, the organizations he funded or their leaders engaged in alleged wire fraud, bank fraud or money laundering, according to sources. Singham hasn’t been charged with a crime, and the investigation doesn’t establish that he personally directed each protest. Singham, the People’s Forum, CodePink and BreakThrough News haven’t responded to repeated requests for comment. The sequence began Sunday night in Austin, where socialist and communist organizations rapidly promoted an anti-ICE protest after the shooting of Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez. The Democratic Socialists of America, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Party for Socialism and Liberation amplified calls for demonstrators to gather at 8121 Research Blvd. in Austin. Although media accounts described the protest as organic, the mobilization moved through an existing national activist infrastructure. The Singham network’s Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization circulated video and protest messaging, while Democratic Socialists of America promoted the gathering as “spontaneous” and called supporters to the streets. The protest later spread beyond Austin, with activists in Pearsall, Tex., pledging to put “boots on the ground.” In response to Fox News Digital’s reporting on the protests, the Party for Socialism and Liberation published a video with an activist “rejecting” criticism of its Austin protests as a “nefarious” coordinated event and called the protests the result of “righteous anger.” The Party for Socialism and Liberation, Democratic Socialists of America and Freedom Road Socialist Organization didn’t respond to requests for comment. CHINESE PROPAGANDA, SINGHAM NETWORK, FOREIGN DARK MONEY LINKED TO CAMPAIGNS AGAINST DATA CENTERS On Monday, the network’s actions moved to New York City, where Singham’s wife, Evans, and her cadre of CodePink activists began a week of demonstrations tied to Climate Week and the United Nations. CodePink co-founder Susan Medea Benjamin has led previous protests, including demonstrations supporting China. After the environmental activism led by Evans outside the UN, CodePink agitators joined an “Unplug OpenAI”
El-Sayed mocked for ‘word salad’ answer when pressed by conservative on voting for him: ‘Worse than Kamala’s’
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed sparked mockery online over his “word salad” response in which he referred to a pregnant woman as “an adult” or “juvenile human” after a pro-life student asked why he should vote for a progressive candidate like him. El-Sayed, a vocal supporter of codifying Roe v. Wade into law and funding Planned Parenthood, was speaking to students and prospective voters during a “Students vs. Billionaires” town hall at Western Michigan University on Monday. “I respect your position insofar as it’s founded in the idea that you want to protect and empower life,” El-Sayed said to the student. “The question we have to ask ourselves is, what’s the best way to do that? And whose life gets destroyed in that process? “Because too often when government says that you cannot have reproductive care, you are creating a circumstance in which an adult, or sometimes even a juvenile human, is being reduced into simply a carrying vehicle for a fetus that has not ever breathed air,” El-Sayed continued. MICHIGAN GOP LAWMAKER CASTS DOUBT ON EL-SAYED’S SOCIALIST DENIAL AS POLICIES TELL ANOTHER STORY: ‘SHARP ODDS’ He went on to further emphasize that “the currently existing life of the mother” turns “that person simply into a carrying vehicle for a fetus” when abortion access is taken away. Conservative critics on social media also quickly weighed in on El-Sayed’s comments, accusing him of using dehumanizing language. EL-SAYED TORCHED ONLINE AFTER UNEASY UNION MEMBER STRUGGLES THROUGH CAMPAIGN EVENT In a post on X, RNC Research, an account managed by the Republican National Committee, wrote, “Abdul El-Sayed won’t even say the word woman while talking about pregnancy.” “Abdul El-Sayed just said abortion restrictions turn an ‘adult or juvenile human’ into ‘simply a carrying vehicle for a fetus that has not ever breathed air in the world,’” Mark Levin Show producer Rich Sementa also posted on X. “He won’t even say WOMAN. The baby hasn’t ‘breathed air’ so it’s just cargo. This is the Democrat Party in 2026.” “This might be worse than Kamala’s word salad,” Great Lakes HQ, an account run by the super PAC Great Lakes Conservatives Fund, posted on X. “So much euphemism and jargon in here that it’s hard to keep track, all in the cause of avoiding saying that women should be able to abort their babies with no restriction,” National Review’s Rich Lowry posted on X. “Nobody talks like that in real life,” Grabien Media founder Tom Elliott posted on X. MICHIGAN DEMOCRAT AWKWARDLY PIVOTS TO CIRCUMCISION DURING HEATED FOX NEWS DEBATE ON CHILD SEX CHANGES “And we’re supposed to believe that this guy is a doctor,” Amy Curtis, a writer at Townhall, posted on X. In a statement to Fox News Digital, former GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon accused El-Sayed of trying to change the way people think about motherhood and having children. “Radicals like Abdul El-Sayed use language that removes the gentle, loving relationship between mothers and their children to achieve their goal of destroying the American family,” Dixon said. Ahead of the high-stakes November race that could determine control of the Senate, El-Sayed’s positions on abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and gender-affirming care for minors have been thrust into the spotlight. He has also repeatedly rejected the socialist label, describing himself as a capitalist. El-Sayed will face Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign for comment.
Virginia school district faces probe over 9/11 teaching guide telling teachers not to ‘center the extremists’
EXCLUSIVE: America First Legal (AFL) has launched an investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in Virginia after Fox News Digital first exposed controversial guidance for teaching the 9/11 terrorist attacks, seeking to determine who was responsible for developing instructions that tell teachers not to “center the extremists or the acts of the extremists.” The conservative legal group announced the investigation after Fox News Digital first reported on the FCPS guide ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks. The district’s guidance tells teachers not to “associate the 9/11 attacks with Islam or Muslims” or “center the extremists or the acts of the extremists.” LIBERAL VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICT: DON’T LINK 9/11 TERROR ATTACKS TO ‘ISLAM or MUSLIMS’ “We wanna know where this comes from. We wanna know who the school is working with to develop these guidances,” America First Legal senior counsel Ian Prior told Fox News Digital. Prior said AFL is seeking to examine how FCPS arrived at the guidance and whether any outside organizations participated in its development, but acknowledged AFL has not yet determined whether that occurred. “We’re still seeking to determine how far this goes,” Prior said. “That’s why we’re investigating so that we can get to the bottom of it.” The investigation was directly prompted by Fox News Digital’s reporting, Prior said. CBC RELEASES POLICY CHANGE AFTER CONTROVERSY ABOUT REFUSING TO REFER TO 9/11 AS ‘TERRORIST ATTACKS’ “The reason why we’re investigating now is because this was just reported,” he said, adding that AFL saw the report “just like everybody else” and wanted to determine who FCPS was working with when the guidance was developed. In announcing its investigation, AFL is accusing the school district of attempting to “sanitize history” and calling for “full transparency regarding who is responsible” for the guidance. The group’s announcement directs readers to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, though the two-page release itself does not detail the records sought. The six-page FCPS guide, titled “25th Anniversary and Commemoration of 9/11,” was published Aug. 27 and edited Aug. 31. It directs teachers who choose to commemorate the attacks to carefully follow the district’s guidance and use only instructional resources available through the district’s Atlas site. FCPS tells educators that lessons about the attacks can unintentionally stigmatize Muslim and Middle Eastern students and instructs teachers to prepare for anti-Muslim rhetoric, create “safe spaces” for Muslim and Middle Eastern students and challenge expressions of bias. A GENERATION CANNOT REMEMBER 9/11. WE HAVE A DUTY TO MAKE SURE THEY LEARN Fairfax County Public Schools did not directly answer Fox News Digital’s questions about who authored and approved the guidance, whether outside organizations were involved in its development or whether the district has made or considered changes to the document. The district referred Fox News Digital to a statement published on Sept. 11. In that statement, Superintendent Michelle Reid said FCPS “unequivocally condemn[s]” the 9/11 terrorist attacks and emphasized the district’s connection to the Pentagon, military families, first responders and survivors. The statement also said FCPS was “reviewing our materials” in response to community feedback, while maintaining that “the actions of terrorists should not define the entirety of any faith, culture, or community.” FCPS’s Sept. 11 statement provides some information about how the materials were reviewed, but does not identify who authored the six-page guide or who approved its final language. Prior argued that schools can teach students about the ideology that motivated the Sept. 11 terrorists without assigning collective responsibility to Muslims. BROOKLYN TEACHERS WHO WITNESSED 9/11 AS CHILDREN REVEAL WHAT THEY WANT THE NEXT GENERATION TO REMEMBER The district’s guidance similarly states that teachers should make clear that al Qaeda carried out the attacks, while drawing a distinction between the terrorist organization and Muslims as a whole. “When discussing this topic with students, please make clear that the September 11 attacks were carried out by Al-Qaeda, a terrorist extremist organization,” the guide states. “Al-Qaeda’s ideology and actions should not be attributed to Islam or to Muslims as a religious community.” The dispute centers in part on how much emphasis teachers should place on the terrorists and their ideology when commemorating the attacks. FCPS tells teachers that “the commemoration of 9/11 focuses on those whose lives were lost and those who sacrificed to help others — not those who attacked the United States.” The guide encourages teachers to emphasize stories of “resilience, support, and resistance” and use age-appropriate details about the violence. CBC CAVES ON 9/11 ‘TERRORISM’ GUIDANCE AS US, CANADIAN OFFICIALS UNLEASH CROSS-BORDER BACKLASH For elementary students, the district suggests teachers could open by saying, “Twenty-five years ago today, there was an attack on the United States,” before allowing students’ questions to determine what additional information is shared at the teacher’s professional discretion. Its suggested language for older students is considerably more specific, stating that “members of the extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four planes in a coordinated terrorist attack on the United States” before recounting the 2,977 people killed, including civilians, military personnel at the Pentagon and emergency workers. The guidance also highlights the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who fought back against the hijackers. FCPS said in the guide that its approach reflects the varied experiences of families in the Northern Virginia district, where some were personally affected by the attacks and the ensuing War on Terror. “Many families of military personnel and first responders experienced loss and hardship,” the document states, while also saying Muslim families worry about harassment and hate crimes surrounding the anniversary. AFL argues the district’s approach goes too far. “Fairfax County Public Schools is attempting to sanitize history and erase the radical Islamic terrorism that struck our nation on September 11, 2001,” AFL counsel Will Scolinos said in announcing the investigation. “Parents and the public must have full transparency regarding who is responsible for stripping truth from our children’s classrooms.” Prior said AFL has not determined what action could ultimately follow its investigation and that the group’s next steps will depend on what
Beyond killer robots: China’s real AI threat to America is already here, experts warn
While Americans brace for a futuristic AI war of killer robots and bioweapons, experts warn ahead of President Xi Jinping’s U.S. visit this week that Beijing is already actively undermining America’s global supremacy through AI without ever firing a shot. Experts who spoke with Fox News Digital outlined a stealthy, three-part playbook, which includes extracting the logic of American models, undercutting U.S. developers with free open-source software and ultimately weaponizing those systems for things like cognitive warfare. They laid out how China bypasses billions of dollars in U.S. research through labs that interrogate cutting-edge American AI and copy its capabilities, while simultaneously flooding the global market with free alternatives. “I think a ‘race’ is the wrong metaphor for this,” Leah Siskind, an AI research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. “I think it’s kind of like a multi-front war. And in some places, we’re winning, and some places we’re losing.” XI PREPARES CHINA ‘FOR BATTLE’ AS EXPERT WARNS OF GRAVE DANGER FACING US AHEAD OF DC SUMMIT While top American tech firms have poured billions into building ultra-expensive, proprietary systems, China has focused heavily on distributing free, open-source models across the globe. Siskind warned that because American tech is costly and the U.S. sector has largely neglected open-source investment, many Fortune 500 companies are making the financial choice to run their operations on Chinese models, unwittingly opening the door to potential CCP censorship, hidden backdoors and, ultimately, global dominance. “How can you compete with something that’s free when American tech is very, very expensive?” Siskind said. “How can we ensure that a Chinese open-source model would be truly clean, that it’d be truly free of CCP censorship? We can’t be — we just wouldn’t know. And that’s by design. We wouldn’t know what sort of trick backdoors might be implanted and how that could rear its head later on.” China expert Gordon Chang warned that Beijing is intentionally using these free models to repeat an economic tactic it previously deployed to corner a different industry. “This is a tactic that China used with solar panels,” Chang told Fox News Digital. “Beijing sees that one day it will drive out the American models on cost and availability, and they will then dominate global AI.” CHAD WOLF: CONGRESS HAS A CHANCE TO STOP CHINA FROM TURNING YOUR CAR INTO A CHINESE SPY But to flood the market with free software, Beijing first needs the underlying technology and a way to bypass America’s massive lead in computing power. Chang noted that the U.S. possesses a commanding lead in physical infrastructure, boasting over 5,400 data centers compared to China’s roughly 450, along with far superior microchips. To work around the staggering hardware and energy costs required to train artificial intelligence from scratch, Siskind warned that Chinese labs are closing the gap through a process known as “knowledge distillation,” a method where a smaller model essentially interrogates a larger, smarter American model to copy its logic. “They are able to leapfrog the process by kind of stealing this information,” Siskind said, pointing to the Chinese model DeepSeek as a prime example. “This is how they were able to release models like DeepSeek in 2025, which was seismic news because they were able to show that they were really competing with cutting-edge American models and had invested a fraction of the resources.” US ADVERSARY TURNS UP THE HEAT ON AMERICA’S AI LEAD WITH AN UNDERESTIMATED EDGE The threat is not theoretical. Just last week, the Department of Homeland Security issued a joint cybersecurity advisory warning that Chinese companies are conducting “industrial-scale knowledge distillation campaigns” to extract proprietary capabilities from U.S. frontier models. Beyond economic undercutting and software theft, the experts also warned Beijing is simultaneously deploying artificial intelligence into physical supply chains and public influence campaigns. Rather than sci-fi “killer robots,” Siskind emphasized that China’s immediate physical priority is “embodied AI,” embedding artificial intelligence into real-world infrastructure like factory automation, commercial drones and autonomous supply chains. Chang warned that AI-enhanced propaganda poses a direct threat to American decision-making and democratic sovereignty. “They’re very good at cognitive warfare, and they can enhance their capabilities with artificial intelligence,” Chang said. “We do not want our elections determined in China. We do not want our critical national security decisions being made in Beijing. And that’s not impossible.” CHINA EXPERT WARNS BEIJING WANTS AMERICANS — NOT THE CCP — TO SPREAD ITS MESSAGE As President Xi Jinping arrives in the U.S. this week, the experts who spoke to Fox News Digital said the White House must treat these non-cinematic threats with the same urgency as traditional military posturing. To protect America’s remaining edge, Siskind said Washington must tighten chip export loopholes, blacklist foreign labs engaging in deceptive distillation and incentivize U.S. open-source development, emphasizing that “it is very important that the most advanced systems are developed under democracy and represent democratic values, as opposed to authoritarian values.” CHINA-LINKED HACKERS INFILTRATED US GOVERNMENT NETWORKS BEFORE FBI TAKEDOWN For Chang, the stakes of that technological defense extend far beyond standard economic competition. “Xi Jinping throughout this century has been pushing the Chinese imperial-era notion of Tianxia, or ‘all under heaven’ that China’s rulers have a right to rule the world,” Chang warned. “That sounds ludicrous to us, but a Chinese regime powered by AI might actually be able to accomplish that. We certainly do not want our decisions being made in the Chinese capital.” Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Donald Trump reiterated Washington’s goal of outpacing China, declaring that U.S. government documents will now refer to AI as “superintelligence.” “The United States totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme to control the artificial intelligence being spoken of,” Trump told world leaders. “Whoever wins superintelligence wins. And we’re leading now over China by a lot and everyone else. And we’re going to keep it that way.”
Former USPS worker indicted after allegedly dumping 300-plus Utah mail-in ballots without delivering one
A former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) worker in Utah was indicted after allegedly setting aside more than 300 mail-in ballots at the start of his shift and dumping them without delivering a single one, Department of Justice (DOJ) officials said on charges related to the case Tuesday. Damon Matai Seei, 34, of Payson, Utah, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 16, on a charge related to the unlawful secretion, destruction and delay of mail. He was arrested Tuesday and made his initial appearance in federal court in Salt Lake City. Federal prosecutors allege Seei was working as a letter carrier on June 3, when he was entrusted with delivering mail to more than 300 people in Eagle Mountain, Utah, ahead of the state’s June 23 primary election. USPS WOULDN’T DELIVER BALLOTS IN STATES THAT REFUSE TO FORK OVER MAIL-IN VOTER INFO UNDER PROPOSED RULE The mail included advertisements and hundreds of mail-in ballots that were clearly marked as ballots, according to DOJ officials. Officials said Seei separated the ballots from other mail shortly after beginning his shift, did not deliver any of them and discarded them roughly 90 minutes later. Other mail was also discarded, officials said. Several voters later complained to the Utah County Clerk that they had not received their mail-in ballots, U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak for the District of Utah said Tuesday. POSTAL SERVICE THRUST INTO MAIL-IN BALLOT FIGHT AS TRUMP ORDER GETS TIED UP IN COURT Using county databases, the clerk determined that voter participation was unusually low in the area where the complaints originated, according to Holyoak. It remains unclear whether the affected voters ultimately received replacement ballots or were able to vote. Holyoak said federal officials are continuing to investigate and plan to contact affected voters to determine whether they were able to cast ballots. Seei has told investigators that he did not have a political motive, according to DOJ officials. The investigation remains ongoing. SEVEN NONCITIZENS CHARGED IN NORTH TEXAS ELECTION-INTEGRITY INVESTIGATION “When American voters lawfully cast their vote, they should feel confident that it is counted,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter. “Allegedly throwing away hundreds of ballots is a serious federal crime that undermines the integrity of our elections. Ballot integrity is not a partisan issue.” The case was investigated jointly by the USPS of Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Seei’s next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 30.
Fox News Poll: Voters question whether AI’s promise outweighs its risks
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly politicized ahead of the midterm elections, the latest Fox News national survey finds voters struggling to reconcile the technology’s promise with the economic and environmental costs of the data centers needed to power it. They are especially against allowing centers in their communities while favoring them in remote locations, creating a “Not In My Backyard” dynamic. A 71% majority opposes building AI data centers in their area, including 46% who strongly oppose them. Both of those numbers are up a touch since earlier this summer. However, the survey reveals a paradox: a 52% majority favors building them in remote locations (44% oppose). FOX NEWS POLL: SQUEEZED BY COSTS, FRUSTRATED VOTERS TURN TO THE DEMOCRATS The central contrast is seen across community types, as about 7 in 10 urban, suburban and rural voters oppose data centers in their backyards. That consensus fades regarding remote facilities. Half of urban voters (50%) and a majority of suburban voters (57%) favor building them there, while 51% of rural voters remain opposed. Women, White voters, those without a college degree and Democrats are more likely than men, non-White voters, college graduates and Republicans to oppose data centers, whether near their community or elsewhere. When presented with arguments for and against data centers, reactions are nuanced. By roughly 30 points, voters are less likely to support construction if told data centers could strain local water supplies (by 28 points), raise energy bills (29 points) or grow to an enormous size (29 points). FOX NEWS POLL: 71% THINK TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LACKS PLAN TO END IRAN WAR Opposition softens when voters see direct benefits to daily life or national interests. They are more likely to be supportive if told data centers are necessary for online activities such as streaming and banking (9 points), critical infrastructure like transportation and water systems (13 points) or to help maintain a competitive edge over countries like China (18 points). These reactions to additional information operate against a backdrop of AI pessimism. Majorities of voters are more likely to see AI as bad rather than good for the U.S. economy (54% bad vs. 36% good), mental health (54-34%), society (56-34%), the environment (60-30%) and jobs (63-29%). The lone exception is day-to-day life, where more voters say AI is a good thing by 4 points (47% good, 43% bad), down from an 11-point spread in November 2025 (50-39%). Overall, AI technology is viewed more negatively than positively by 23 points (37% favorable vs. 60% unfavorable), widening from an 11-point deficit in April and 9 points in July. The underlying demographic patterns mirror those for data centers. Democrats (67% unfavorable), White voters without a college degree (65%), women (64%) and independents (64%) are the most negative. The most favorable views come from non-White men (49% favorable), voters with graduate degrees (49%) and MAGA Republicans (46%). AI & The 2026 Midterms On the generic congressional ballot, the Democratic candidate is ahead of the Republican by 7 points overall. Republicans have a 21-point advantage among voters who support building data centers in their communities, narrowing to 9 points among those allowing construction only in remote areas. Democrats are ahead by at least 19 points among voters who oppose data centers in either location. Voters who view AI favorably back the Republican candidate in their district by 7 points, while those with unfavorable views back the Democrat by 17 points. “In this election, the bottom line is that technology is no longer just a tool. It’s a wedge issue,” said Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. “As infrastructure demands force AI into the physical world, campaigns that map tech anxiety onto their voter coalitions will shape the midterm narrative.” Voters think Democrats would better handle building AI data centers by a 14-point margin. That lead is especially strong among Black voters (D +51), voters under age 30 (D +35), Hispanic voters (D +29), and independents (D +26). It narrows among White voters (D +5) and rural voters (D +7), while White rural voters are one of the few groups to say Republicans would do better (R +4). Cross-party defections also advantage the Democrats: 15% of Republicans prefer Democrats on data centers, compared with just 4% of Democrats favoring Republicans. A few more things… Three-quarters of voters (76%) favor banning AI in kindergarten through eighth grade classrooms, with some of the strongest preference for the ban among moms (81%). CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE Support for banning cellphones in K-12 classrooms is also high: 72% favor the policy and 25% oppose it. In addition, a majority supports prohibiting police departments from using automated license plate readers, such as Flock Safety cameras (57% favor vs. 39% oppose). Age creates the biggest divide. Voters under 30 would ban license plate readers by 28 points, while those 65 and over support them by 7 points. Partisans show unusual agreement on banning the cameras, though by different margins: Democrats by 27 points, independents by 23 points and Republicans by 6 points. Conducted September 11-14, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,211 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (96) and cellphones (821) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (294). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.
Biden administration granted woman green card months before she illegally voted in 2024 election: DHS
A Biden-era noncitizen from the Philippines living in Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to illegally voting in the 2024 election after registering just weeks before Election Day, federal prosecutors said. Evelyn Miller, 37, of Emmaus, pleaded guilty Sept. 16, to illegally voting in the election. Miller is a lawful permanent resident but not a U.S. citizen, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said. Only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections. ICE ARRESTS PERUVIAN NATIONAL ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY VOTING IN 2024 ELECTION AS DHS CITES SIMILAR CASES Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began looking into Miller after receiving information that someone living in Lehigh County may have illegally registered to vote or cast a ballot, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Tuesday. DHS said Miller registered online on Oct. 9, 2024, less than a month before she voted in person in the Nov. 5 general election. HSI and FBI agents interviewed Miller at her home in July 2025. Miller told investigators she registered online before the election and then went to her polling place in Emmaus to vote on Election Day, according to DHS. SEVEN NONCITIZENS CHARGED IN NORTH TEXAS ELECTION-INTEGRITY INVESTIGATION Miller had received lawful permanent resident status July 19, 2024, during the Biden administration, DHS said. “This alien from the Philippines pleaded guilty to illegally voting in the 2024 election in Pennsylvania,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. “Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of HSI, as well as our partners at the Department of Justice, this alien will soon face justice for her efforts to subvert our elections. American elections are for Americans only.” HSI investigated the case with the FBI. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTED IN INDIANA FOR ALLEGEDLY VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTION: DHS Miller’s case comes as the Justice Department pursues a broader group of election-related cases stemming from the 2024 election. Federal prosecutors announced Sept. 18 that 16 people had been charged in separate cases involving illegal voting and related election crimes across several states. Miller is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 16. She faces up to one year in prison, one year of supervised release and a $100,000 fine, according to federal prosecutors.