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Trump administration charges in some high-profile cases falter

2026-09-10T18:10:59.388Z / Reuters

Attorney General Letitia James speaks during an announcement on the Standing Up to ICE outreach program at the governor’s office in New York City, U.S., August 12, 2026. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

WASHINGTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration has brought a number of high-profile cases, some of which have been dropped, dismissed or blocked by judges or juries.

Here are some of the cases.

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REFLECTING POOL

The Justice Department dropped its case against former U.S. Olympian David Hearn, who was accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting ​Pool, part of Trump’s efforts to remake Washington. In a July 31 court filing, federal prosecutors said evidence pointed to a flawed installation, ‌not vandalism, as causing the liner of the newly renovated pool to peel.

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Trump, facing criticism over the $14.7 million renovation, had repeatedly blamed the problems on vandals he alleged had sabotaged the project.

Hearn, 67, pleaded not guilty to felony destruction of property. He had acknowledged reaching into the pool to touch a section of already detached liner, but denied ever ​removing a piece. Lawyers for the former Olympic canoeist accused the Trump administration of using the case to provide “political cover” for mismanagement of ​the project.

SANDWICH THROWER, OTHER ASSAULTS ON FEDERAL OFFICERS

Christian Garcia was charged with assaulting a federal officer in June 2025 immigration ⁠protests in Santa Ana, California. He admitted to throwing a plastic water bottle toward officers but said the wind blew it back onto him.

Garcia, 32 ​at the time, was arrested and held for three days, then lost both his jobs after his bosses told him they had been called by investigators.

Federal ​prosecutors dropped the case in January with no explanation.

The Trump administration has brought criminal charges against at least 851 people accused of attacking or impeding federal officers, only to abandon them at an unusually high rate.

A Reuters review of federal court records completed in July found that 31% of completed cases had ended in dismissal. That compares to 8% of ​all federal criminal cases, according to Federal Judicial Center data.

Separately, former Justice Department staffer Sean Dunn, who hurled a sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection ​agent in fury over Trump’s law enforcement surge in Washington, was cleared of misdemeanor assault charges in November 2025 after a three-day trial.

Prosecutors initially sought felony charges against Dunn, ‌but downgraded ⁠the case to a misdemeanor after a grand jury declined to return an indictment, one of several cases in which grand juries refused to indict.

LETITIA JAMES

New York Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime Trump critic, was charged in October 2025 with lying on a mortgage application. A federal judge dismissedthe criminal charges the following month, saying the Trump-picked U.S. attorney who brought the case was unlawfully appointed.

In December, a federal grand jury in Virginia refused to indict James on allegations of mortgage fraud ​for the second time, according to ​sources familiar with the matter.

James, an ⁠elected Democrat, characterized the case as an abuse of the criminal justice system designed to punish her for her criticism of Trump and a lawsuit she led against Trump and his family real estate business.

JAMES COMEY

Former FBI Director James ​Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017 as the bureau investigated possible collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia, ​became a harsh critic ⁠and frequent target of the president.

The Justice Department

against Comey in September 2025 alleging false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation over Comey’s 2020 testimony when he addressed Republican criticism of the Russia investigation.

In November, a federal judge dismissed charges against Comey, saying the U.S. attorney who brought the case was unlawfully appointed.

In ⁠April, the ​Justice Department charged him with threatening Trump by posting a 2025 photo of seashells arranged on ​a North Carolina beach to show the numbers “86 47.”

In U.S. parlance, the number 86 can be used as a verb meaning to throw somebody out of a bar, while 47 could be ​seen as code for Trump, the 47th president. Comey’s lawyers said the case was a vindictive prosecution.

Reporting by Doina Chiacu; editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman

Trump administration proposes ending 60-day grace period after job loss for H-1B, other visa holders

Foreign workers would have to immediately leave the US upon losing employment tied to their visa status

September 10, 2026 2:36pm EDT / Fox News

By Robert McGreevy Fox News

A federal judge in Boston ruled against the Trump administration’s $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, deeming it an unauthorized tax. The fee, which was significantly increased from a typical $2,000 to $5,000, aimed to prioritize U.S. citizens in the workforce. The administration is appealing the decision.

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are preparing to propose a rule that would eliminate an existing grace period for visa holders who can’t find a job, according to an unpublished document posted to the Federal Register.

Under current immigration laws, holders of certain visas, particularly H-1B visas, which are non-immigration visas that allow employers to sponsor skilled workers with Bachelor’s degrees or higher, get a 60-day grace period to find a new job if they lose the employment tied to their visa.

The new rule proposal would eliminate that grace period, according to the document.

FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN TRUMP’S $100K H-1B VISA FEE, RULING IT AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL TAX

“This proposal restores a direct relationship between an alien’s nonimmigrant status and the specific employment or activity that formed the basis of his or her admission or grant of status in the United States and reduces administrative burden,” the document reads.

People wait inside a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office. The Trump administration is preparing to propose a new rule rescinding the 60-day grace period allotted to non-immigrant visa holders with visas tied to employment if they no longer work at the place of employment tied to their visa.(John Moore/Getty Images)

A noncitizen would have to immediately leave the U.S. if no longer working for an employer linked to a visa status if the rule were to be implemented.

US STATE DEPARTMENT HAS YANKED MORE THAN 175K VISAS UNDER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SO FAR

“DHS believes that restoring the expectation that aliens depart the United States upon cessation of the employment or activity upon which the alien’s status was based, would better promote program integrity and be more consistent with statutory purpose,” the rule proposal reads.

The agency also claimed that eliminating the grace period would greatly reduce administrative burden “as the process of determining when the up to [60-day grace period] may apply, reviewing the information submitted, and determining whether to shorten or eliminate the grace period may be time consuming and complex for the agency and confusing or unpredictable for the petitioner, alien and the alien’s dependents.”

AMERICA’S BROKEN LEGAL IMMIGRATION SYSTEM IS REPLACING US WORKERS BY DESIGN

Before 2017, the document states, there was no 60-day grace period. But in 2016, DHS established the grace period in a rule that came into effec Jan. 17, 2017, three days before President Donald Trump first took office.

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders Sept. 19, 2025, establishing the Trump Gold Card and introducing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas. The Trump Gold Card is a visa program that allows foreign nationals permanent residency and a pathway to U.S. citizenship for a $1 million investment in the United States.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

DHS also wrote that the rule’s elimination would favor U.S. workers because employers who previously filled jobs with foreign workers would have less foreign-born labor to choose from.

“DHS assumes that almost all these entities would offer the same jobs to equally qualified U.S. workers, go through the [I-129 petition process] to sponsor nonimmigrant workers, or reassign the work to other current employees. DHS acknowledges that some of these petitioners may incur a temporary loss of productivity due to labor turnover,” the rule proposal reads.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin speaks during a news conference at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building July 17, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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The unpublished rule is scheduled to publish Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, according to the Federal Register. It will then be subject to a two-month period of public comment before becoming law.

Fox News Digital contacted DHS and the White House for further comment.

Explainer: Is Trump’s $5,000 ‘dividend’ legal and how would it work?

2026-09-10T17:34:30.537Z / Reuters

Sept 10 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Wednesday proposed a $5,000 “Trump dividend” payment to U.S. adults if his Republicans retain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the November 3 midterm elections.

Here is what we know about Trump’s pledge:

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WHO WOULD GET THE MONEY AND WHERE WOULD IT COME FROM?

Trump said the checks would go to all adult U.S. ​citizens — about 240 million people, according to the U.S. Census. That would cost a total of $1.2 trillion.

Vice President JD Vance suggested on Fox News after Trump’s speech that ‌the U.S. government could draw on tariff revenue, which has been juiced by Trump’s trade wars. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the government has taken in $167 billion so far in the fiscal year that ends September 30 — not nearly enough to cover the cost of Trump’s proposed giveaway.

The payments would instead widen the government’s budget gap, which is already at a level that alarms budget watchdogs.

CBO estimates the government will spend $2.1 trillion more than it collects in revenue in the ​current fiscal year and projects that figure will grow in the years to come as the population ages.

WOULD THE PAYMENTS BE LEGAL?

Candidates regularly promise benefits in return for votes.

During the ​2024 presidential campaign, Trump promised tax breaks for seniors, tipped workers and other targeted groups —and delivered them in his “One Big Beautiful Bill” the following year.

Democratic ⁠candidates, including President-elect Joe Biden, promised a third round of COVID-19 relief checks in a Georgia special election in 2021 and delivered when they won control of Congress.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that ​a comparable promise is legal. In a unanimous 1982 decision, the high court overturned a lower-court ruling that had invalidated the election of a Kentucky official who had promised to save taxpayer money by ​lowering county commissioners’ salaries.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, offered voters a chance to win $1 million in 2024 if they signed a petition to support the Constitution. That drew legal challenges, still unresolved, from voters who said they had no real chance to win because Musk was seeking people to support his political action committee, which backed Republican candidates.

It would be difficult to challenge Trump’s dividend in court, as voters might have trouble showing that they had been directly ​harmed.

WOULD THIS HAVE TO PASS CONGRESS?

Yes. Congress has authority over spending under the U.S. Constitution.

[1/3]U.S. President Donald Trump arrives on stage at the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas, U.S., September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Trump’s Republicans control both the House and the Senate by narrow margins, and several members of his party have already ​reacted favorably to the idea.

Democrats would be sure to oppose any legislation and could block passage in the Senate, where a supermajority of 60 votes is needed to advance most legislation.

Republicans could invoke a complex budget process to ‌bypass Democrats ⁠and approve the bill along party lines. They have successfully used this approach twice since Trump’s January 2025 return to office, but have struggled to advance a third such package.

They have little time to act before the November 3 elections, as the House is scheduled to be in session for only one week before then. Congress could also try to act in a “lame-duck” session after the election.

HAS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT GIVEN MONEY DIRECTLY TO CITIZENS BEFORE?

Yes. Congress approved three separate direct payments in March 2020, December 2020 and March 2021 as part of sweeping relief packages to help people weather the economic disruption from ​the COVID-19 pandemic. Those payments — up to $1,200, $600 and $1,400 ​per adult, respectively — were phased out for ⁠higher-income people. That amounted to 476 million payments totaling $814 billion, according to a congressional oversight committee. Investigators found numerous logistical problems, including fraud and $1.4 billion sent to dead people.

HOW WOULD THIS AFFECT THE ECONOMY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS?

Economic studies have shown that the pandemic-era stimulus checks contributed to the subsequent rise in ​inflation by substantially boosting consumer demand.

Those payments also boosted the stock market, with a measurable spike in retail trading volumes following each wave of ​stimulus deposits.

But Trump’s proposed dividend ⁠could upend bond markets if the government funded it through borrowing. The massive influx of new Treasury debt, combined with revived inflation fears, could drive bond prices sharply lower and send yields soaring.

That could push government borrowing costs higher, further pressuring the U.S. budget at a time when interest payments already exceed military spending.

Yields on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds ticked up to 4.91% on Thursday as investors assessed Trump’s proposal.

HAS TRUMP MADE ⁠SIMILAR PROMISES IN ​THE PAST?

Trump promised a similar $2,000 dividend in November 2025 tied to tariff revenue and said it would not apply to ​wealthy people, though no follow-up action was taken.

Trump successfully sent a one-time “warrior dividend” payment of $1,776 to roughly 1.45 million military members in December 2025, drawing on money already approved by Congress.

On Thursday, Trump’s White House said nearly 1 million Americans will get $500 payments ​to account for what it describes as excess fees charged for Affordable Care Act health insurance.

Reporting by Andy Sullivan; additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Saqib Ahmed; editing by Colleen Jenkins and Nick Zieminski

House Democrat urges US action over sleeping Tesla drivers

2026-09-10 4:49 PM UTC / Reuters

By David Shepardson

September 10, 2026 4:49 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago

Item 1 of 2 A Tesla Model 3 using autopilot FSD is shown driving on the highway in Palm Springs, California, U.S., October 12, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

[1/2]A Tesla Model 3 using autopilot FSD is shown driving on the highway in Palm Springs, California, U.S., October 12, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

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WASHINGTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) – A Democratic lawmaker called on a U.S. auto safety agency on Thursday to take action to ​address misuse of Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems, citing dozens of videos that ‌appear to show drivers asleep or disengaged from driving.

In a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois cited an NBC News report that identified 43 videos appearing to show individuals asleep in ​the driver’s seat of moving Teslas, including 17 this year.

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Krishnamoorthi said the National Highway ​Traffic Safety Administration “must ensure that manufacturers have adequate safeguards to prevent foreseeable misuse ⁠and that drivers are not encouraged to place dangerous levels of reliance on systems
that still ​require their full attention.”

Many Tesla drivers say the systems allow them to take their hands off the ​wheel for extended periods and some have posted videos suggesting they can perform other tasks while behind the wheel.

Tesla, the DOT and NHTSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“Is NHTSA aware of the growing body ​of publicly available videos showing Tesla drivers apparently asleep or otherwise disengaged from the driving task ​while Autopilot or FSD is operating?” Krishnamoorthi asked.

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He said he wants to know if NHTSA has evaluated Tesla ‌safeguards when ⁠the cabin camera is obstructed, visibility impaired, or drivers use sunglasses or hats to interfere with detection.

In 2023, Tesla recalled about 2 million vehicles, nearly all of its electric vehicles on U.S. roads, to better ensure that drivers pay attention when using Autopilot.

Tesla has said Autopilot enables vehicles ​to steer, accelerate and brake ​within their lanes, ⁠while Full Self-Driving vehicles can obey traffic signals and change lanes. The automaker has also said both technologies require “fully attentive” drivers whose hands are on ​the wheel.

In March, the NHTSA escalated its probe into 3.2 million Teslas ​equipped with ⁠Full Self-Driving, concerned the system may fail to detect issues or warn drivers in poor visibility.

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In October, NHTSA opened a separate probe into 2.9 million Tesla vehicles equipped with its FSD system over more ⁠than ​50 reports of traffic-safety violations and a series of crashes. ​The auto safety agency said FSD — an assistance system that requires drivers to pay attention and intervene if needed — has “induced ​vehicle behavior that violated traffic safety laws.”

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Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Outgoing Rep Chip Roy says the GOP has already ‘delivered significantly,’ but must ‘finish the job’

September 10, 2026 1:57pm EDT / Fox News

‘I think freedom, non-dependence, independence is what makes America great,’ Roy told Fox News Digital

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas — who lost the Lone Star State GOP attorney general primary runoff in May and will depart the U.S. House of Representatives when his current term expires — said Republicans have “delivered significantly” but “need to finish the job.”

“Well, we’ve done so much that frankly, it kinda gets lost in a lot of the noise,” Roy told Fox News Digital during an interview on Wednesday, pointing to issues such as tax provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Donald Trump last year.

The Texan pointed to the nation’s border as the “biggest example” of Republicans’ achievements, saying that “we’ve literally shut down the flow across the border” through enforcing the law.

He also pointed to the passage of the “Laken Riley Act,” a measure named after the 22-year-old woman murdered in 2024 by Jose Ibarra, a man who, according to a 2024 statement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), had previously been “arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)” after illegally entering the U.S., but was “paroled and released for further processing.”

Roy said Republicans “need to unite with a singular vision about where we wanna take the country if we wanna be… rewarded in November… and then frankly looking ahead to 2028.”

TEXAS MAGA BATTLE ENDS WITH MIDDLETON VICTORY AS CHIP ROY FALLS SHORT IN AG RACE

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, talks with reporters outside the U.S. Capitol after the last votes of the week on July 16, 2026.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Have we done everything we should do? No,” Roy said, claiming that “Congress has fallen short” regarding some of what they “should do.”

But he still believes the GOP could potentially retain their majorities in both congressional chambers during the midterms.

“I think right now [Republicans] are staring at barely holding onto the Senate and slightly losing the House, but I still think we can win the House,” he said.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6404882456112

The House is now only scheduled to work for several days next week before a lengthy break until after the Nov. 3 elections. Roy indicated that Republicans should get back to work after the midterms “to do our part to finish the job.”

“Obviously I’m not campaigning. So I’m thinking a lot about what we could do with another reconciliation package or what we might be able to do in the lame duck or in January, when I’m not in office,” he noted.

FENTANYL DEATHS COULD NOW COST DRUG DEALERS THEIR LIVES UNDER NEW GOP PROPOSAL

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6404689188112

In a Sunday post on X, Roy wrote, “Government does not fund anything. It takes money from people under force of law and distributes it to other people very inefficiently and usually tyrannically. Child care is unaffordable because government (& corporate cronyism) has made life unaffordable. Stay out.”

The New York Times reported last week that the Trump administration is moving to enable some married people with a stay-at-home parent situation to receive a childcare subsidy from a federal program that was meant to help parents who work.

The proposal “creates the option for a new category of care, parent-based child care, that will allow one married parent to receive C.C.D.F. [Child Care and Development Fund] assistance to care for their own child, while a spouse works at least 35 hours per week,” the outlet reported, citing a draft document.

Roy said during the interview on Wednesday, “I just don’t believe that it’s good for the human soul to have the government coming in with a grant and making you dependent on government. I just don’t philosophically think that that’s freedom. I think freedom, non-dependence, independence is what makes America great.”

A White House official said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Thursday that the Trump administration “has not announced any such proposal. Until and unless it does, any discussion about potential policies is baseless speculation.”

CHIP ROY FIELDS PROPOSAL TO BLOCK PAY AND POWER FOR LONGTIME LAWMAKERS

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6404831792112

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As for whether he has any interest in running for office again, Roy said the matter is “up to God” and to Texans, adding that he has “a calling for service” and his current focus is on attempting to “solve the big problems for” Americans.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

Trump administration offers rare muted response on new sanctions against Israel

2026-09-10T18:00:19.235Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/10/politics/trump-netanyahu-israel-sanctions-response

President Donald Trump and his top foreign policy aide, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have not condemned the United Kingdom, France, Canada and others for their planned sanctions on settlements in the occupied West Bank – a notable development from the self-described “most pro-Israel” administration in history.

Their ultimate position on the new sanctions remains unclear, current and former US officials told CNN. Still, the lack of condemnation thus far is notable, particularly given the administration’s past policies towards Israel and the Palestinian territories – such as the removal of sanctions on violent West Bank settlers – and the warnings from the top US diplomat in Israel.

On Wednesday, asked about the sanctions, Trump took an uncharacteristically reserved tone, saying that he would be “speaking to Israel.”

“I understand exactly what’s going on, but I want to find out why all of a sudden does that happen?” he told reporters. The UK briefed the US, including in a call from Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Trump, ahead of the Tuesday announcement, sources said.

The sources suggested Trump and Rubio’s reaction may indicate discomfort with Israeli policies in the West Bank. Despite Trump saying that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, Israel has only entrenched its control of the territory, expanding settlements and seizing territory.

Though the Trump administration is highly unlikely to levy sanctions against Israel, the lack of condemnation from the top of the administration in the days since the sanctions were announced is piquing interest from US diplomats and US allies alike, said sources, who wonder if Trump may land in favor of taking some action. Even the smallest measures against settlements would mark a major rift between Israel and its key ally, the United States, as it faces growing isolation from the international community.

Backing the sanctions, or even a continued lack of condemnation, may signal Trump’s mounting frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who faces an election next month.

However, sources say a response ultimately boils down to how Trump wants to respond – and it may be strategic, as the administration navigates a continued backing of Israel externally with growing internal discontent about the situation in the West Bank.

Rubio, who also declined to comment or condemn the new sanctions, nodded to that frustration on Tuesday.

“We don’t want to see anything destabilizing going on right now in the West Bank with so much going on in the region. We think it has implications as well on our ability to make progress with regards to Gaza and the 20-point plan and Board of Peace that we’re very committed to,” he told reporters.

“Obviously, we’re not going to do what the UK did,” Rubio said, but added, “We were made aware that they were going to make this decision. We heard their arguments as to why.”

When asked for commment the White House referred CNN to Trump’s Wednesday comments.

Former US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro said the lack of initial condemnation “represents at least some degree of recognition on the part of the administration that the violence by Israeli extremists at the West Bank, and the statements and actions of the extremist ministers in the Israeli government are becoming problematic.”

The brief comments from Trump and Rubio stand in contrast to those from Amb. Mike Huckabee, who accused the British government of “Jew hate” – despite the foreign secretary being Jewish – and warned ahead of the UK’s announcement that it could have a “huge impact on British businesses.”

Those remarks had not been coordinated with the White House or the State Department, a White House official said.

A former senior US official told CNN that Huckabee’s “reaction was consistent with his own views, as expressed for decades, about Israel and about settlements and about the West Bank.”

“It’s probably what he expected, because many people would have expected that that would have been the administration’s initial response, based on their history and the views they’ve previously expressed,” they noted.

In the early days of Trump’s second term, the administration lifted sanctions imposed under the Biden administration on violent Israeli settlers. The US, unlike international partners, has not publicly condemned Israel’s plans to advance the E1 settlement project, which effectively divides the West Bank into north and south, making a contiguous Palestinian state virtually impossible. E1 also splits East Jerusalem – the envisioned capital of a future Palestinian state – from the rest of the territory.

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has explicitly championed the expansion of settlement as a way to “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state. “The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,” Smotrich said when E1 received its final approval. Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 war. Both are considered occupied territories under international law, and Israeli settlements there are widely regarded as illegal.

Shapiro, now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said that when it comes to the violence in the West Bank, “that’s something that Trump has leverage to force Netanyahu’s hand with a fairly limited action because of the election.”

Netanyahu “badly wants Trump’s support, explicit if possible, implicit if not, and certainly doesn’t want him to make some expression that suggests Trump thinks things would be better with a different government,” he told CNN. “I think Trump’s got a lot of leverage, but I don’t think he’s really used it yet.”

Another former senior US official expressed doubt that Netanyahu would rein in the settlers in before the election.

This former official called the planned sanctions “a warning shot.” Another US official questioned whether they will be effective.

“These sanctions coming now are rallying people around Israel and somewhat around Netanyahu, giving credence to his argument that the world is against us now,” they said.

Anthropic says it disrupted scientists using Claude AI for possible biological weapons development

September 10, 2026 3:49 PM EDT / CBS News

By Lauren Fichten

Lauren Fichten is a journalist at CBS News covering artificial intelligence, digital safety and online extremism. She joined CBS News after graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill and was previously an associate producer at the CBS News National Desk.

Read Full Bio

Anthropic said Thursday it blocked scientists who used its Claude AI models “in ways that could support biological weapons development.”

The revelation was shared in a lengthy report that also divulged other harmful activity involving surveillance, scams, conventional weapons development and propaganda. The cases in the report are examples of “the most notable and novel threat activity” identified by Anthropic so far, the company said. Threat actors included criminals, suspected state-sponsored groups, spyware vendors and state propaganda institutions, the report said.

Anthropic shared five cases involving activity that had the potential to support the development of biological weapons. It called biological misuse “one of the most serious risks of frontier AI models.”

The company said the cases identified “provide evidence of capability” of the AI models, but “cannot concretely demonstrate that such capability would ever be used to develop biological weapons in the real world.”

The people involved in these cases are working scientists, whom Anthropic chose not to identify. The company said it can’t “assert that they intended harm.”

“When we detected and investigated these cases, we banned the users’ accounts and incorporated our investigative findings into our frontier model safeguards, enforcement, and threat intelligence processes to better prevent, detect, and disrupt these activities in the future,” the report says.

Recent, more advanced models like Claude Fable 5 contain stronger safeguards than earlier models and restrict access to “a wide range of dual-use biological research queries,” the report says, noting that the biological capabilities of AI can be used both for beneficial and harmful purposes.

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“The same information that can be used to develop a biological weapon could also be used to develop, for example, a vaccine or a cure for a disease,” the company said.

Propaganda and surveillance

Anthropic also said that it identified and removed accounts using Claude for influence operations campaigns to shape public opinion, including three Iranian state-aligned accounts.

In these cases, each operation was run by an actor working within or on behalf of an Iranian state propaganda institution, the company said. Claude was used to build content, make posts seem like they were from independent news sources and to proliferate content across social media platforms like X, Instagram and TikTok.

One Iran-nexus threat actor used Claude to develop targeting recommendations against U.S. naval forces in the region, Anthropic said. The same account designed software for a domestic mass-surveillance platform for Iranian state systems.

Claude was also used to build and run surveillance operations by actors in China and West Africa, and in some cases, to identify targets. Anthropic said it identified cases where AI was being used in place of an engineering workforce.

In China, three accounts aligned with the PRC municipal security service used Claude for surveillance and transnational repression, including a municipal bureau that profiles overseas activists and organizations.

Supreme Court blocks Missouri’s attempt to use new Republican-friendly congressional map for the midterms

2:19 PM EDT, Thu September 10, 2026 / CNN

By Blake McGill, CNN

Supreme Court blocks Missouri’s attempt to use new Republican-friendly congressional map for the midterms

The Supreme Court sided with opponents of a Republican-friendly congressional map in Missouri on Thursday, rejecting a plan that could have given the GOP an extra seat in the House of Representatives. The order, issued without explanation and no noted dissent, will almost certainly mean the state will use a previous map that included six — rather than seven — winnable seats for the GOP.

3:05 • Source: CNN

Zohran Mamdani urged to skip New York City’s 9/11 memorial: ‘Vile antisemite’

2026-09-10 12:25:51 EDT / Fox News

Rep Mike Lawler tells Fox News Digital ‘most New Yorkers agree’ Mamdani should skip event

By Elizabeth Elkind, Matthew Donnell Fox News

Published September 10, 2026 12:25pm EDT

GOP lawmakers urge Mamdani to skip NYC Sept. 11 memorial

Reps. Mike Lawler and August Pfluger spoke with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas.

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DALLAS – A House Republican representing the New York City suburbs is calling on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to skip the Sept. 11 memorial in downtown Manhattan.

“From my vantage point, I don’t think he should be there, and I think most New Yorkers agree that he should not be there,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Fox News and Fox News Digital. “Certainly, the 9/11 families and the first responders believe he should not be there.”

Political rancor is threatening to cast a long shadow over this year’s Sept. 11 remembrance events, marking 25 years since the tragedy that rocked the United States. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s past rhetoric and links to terror sympathizers are spurring intense backlash ahead of the city’s events memorializing the World Trade Center attacks, with Republicans and people whose lives were changed by the attacks demanding he not show his face.

MAMDANI FACES GROWING 9/11 BACKLASH AS OLD POST RESURFACES AHEAD OF GROUND ZERO CEREMONY: ‘IS THIS REAL?’

Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to the media regarding the attempted bombing at a right-wing protest in front of Gracie Mansion on March 8, 2026, in New York City.(Ryan Murphy/Getty Images)

“I think Mayor Mamdani has proven himself to be a vile antisemite. I think he has associated with people who believe America deserved 9/11, and it’s not just Hasan Piker. If you go look at many of the people that support his administration, they agree with that rhetoric. They agree with that philosophy,” Lawler said.

An online petition led by family members of people killed on Sept. 11 — signed by over 100,000 people — has called on Mamdani to skip the memorial.

9/11 FAMILIES PUSH TO BAN MAMDANI FROM 25TH ANNIVERSARY REMEMBRANCE OVER ‘HOSTILE’ RECORD

“Mr. Mamdani has praised Brooklyn Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who has been linked to radical Islam, was named as an alleged co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and served as a character witness for the ‘Blind Sheikh,’ who was convicted in 1995 of plotting terror attacks against the United States,” the petition said. “Mr. Mamdani has endorsed candidates such as Aber Kawas, who described 9/11 as an attack ‘a couple of people did in the context of U.S. capitalism, racism, white supremacy, and Islamophobia,’ and who also expressed sympathy for Ahmed Ferhani, who pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up a Manhattan synagogue.”

Mamdani and other socialist candidates’ association with far-left activist Hasan Piker has also seen intense scrutiny over Piker’s past comments that the United States “deserved” the attacks, remarks that he promptly walked back at the time but continue to haunt him and his political circle. Mamdani himself has also condemned the comment.

A firefighter walks through the rubble of the World Trade Center as an American flag hangs from a traffic light post on Sept. 11, 2001, in New York.(Doug Kanter/AFP via Getty Images)

Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital that Mamdani should not attend Sept. 11 memorial events “until he can… actually call out terror groups around the world for what they want to do to this country, and that includes Hamas.”

Hamas was not responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks, for which al Qaeda took credit, but Hamas has recently been front-and-center for perpetuating the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack in Israel.

“These people are really a cancer to the freedoms that we fought for, and they do not represent the American values that our founders set up and that we have had for 250 years,” Pfluger said of Mamdani and his allies.

MAMDANI DROPS MASSIVE 9/11 RECORDS TROVE AS OLD CLAIMS ABOUT GROUND ZERO COME UNDER FIRE

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., speaks with local law enforcement about the rise of antisemitism in New York City during a campaign endorsement event at Haverstraw Elks Lodge No. 877 in Haverstraw, New York.(Kyle Mazza/CNP)

Both he and Lawler spoke with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the 2026 GOP midterm convention in Dallas.

Mamdani’s office recently launched an online portal allowing city residents to access roughly 170,000 pages of local government records on Sept. 11, which appear to show city officials misled the public about air quality following the attacks.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the New York City mayor’s office for comment.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com

US appeals court rejects Trump mail-in ballot restrictions as Supreme Court considers rule

2026-09-10 16:56:56 UTC / Reuters

By Nate Raymond

September 10, 2026 4:56 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

Supporters of mail-in voting gather outside the federal courthouse, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• US Postal Service cannot implement mail-in ballot rule at this time, court says
• DOJ has already asked the US Supreme Court to lift the block on USPS rule
• Appeals court cites risk of voter disenfranchisement in ruling

BOSTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) – A ​U.S. appeals court on Thursday declined to allow President Donald Trump’s administration to implement a new U.S. Postal Service rule that would ‌tighten mail-in voting requirements before November’s congressional elections, as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a similar request.

A three-judge panel of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined, opens new tab to put on hold an injunction that a lower-court judge issued last week that has prevented USPS from enforcing the new rule it adopted at the Republican president’s direction.

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The fate of that ​rule will be decided soon by the 6-3 conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court. In a rare step, the administration did not even wait ​for the 1st Circuit to issue a decision before asking the high court to lift the injunction on Sunday.

Boston-based U.S. District ⁠Judge Indira Talwani, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, had issued the injunction on Friday at the behest of voting rights groups and numerous Democratic-led ​states.

‘DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF MILLIONS OF VOTERS’

In asking the 1st Circuit to lift Talwani’s order, the U.S. Department of Justice argued the plaintiffs’ case appeared based on an ​unfounded premise that USPS intends to seize control of the administration of federal elections when it was instead adopting just a “modest” mail-related regulation.

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But the three-judge panel, comprised entirely of judges appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, said that argument focuses on the “trees while ignoring the forest.” The panel said that under the U.S. Constitution, states and Congress have the ​authority to regulate elections, not the executive branch.

The court said it saw no error in Talwani’s conclusion that allowing the rule to take effect “will likely ​result in the disenfranchisement of millions of voters across the country while providing minimal — if any — gains in combating voter fraud.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat who ‌helped lead ⁠the litigation, in a statement hailed the 1st Circuit’s ruling, saying it “rejected the Trump Administration’s latest attempt to disrupt mail voting.”

USPS and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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The appeal before the Supreme Court remains pending. It had previously lifted an earlier injunction Talwani issued that had blocked USPS from moving forward with the rule before it was finalized.

USPS issued the rule to implement an executive order the Republican president signed in March after years ​of Trump calling for tighter rules on ​voting by mail and pushing the ⁠false claim that his 2020 presidential election defeat to Biden was the result of widespread voter fraud.

All 50 states allow for some form of mail-in voting. Twenty-nine states allow voters to ask to cast ballots by mail without ​providing a reason and eight conduct their elections entirely by mail.

Under the rule, states must supply the USPS with ​lists of mail ⁠ballot recipients, and all outbound and return ballot envelopes must bear unique barcodes.

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The USPS, under the rule, may refuse to deliver ballots that do not comply with the new standards or are associated with voters who do not appear on the lists.

Talwani prevented the USPS rule from going into effect after concluding it risked disenfranchising ⁠voters, and ​was likely unlawful and adopted in violation of the U.S. Constitution, which gives states the ​authority to administer elections.

A whistleblower statement from an anonymous federal official that was released on September 1 by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, alleged that USPS was rushing to ​implement a hastily created new system that risked disrupting the delivery of mail ballots during the election.

Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Bill Berkrot

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