作者： root

Baby in surrogate dispute now in custody of parents and getting medical care, lawyer says

2026-08-13 3:15 PM EDT / CBS News

By

The baby at the center of a dispute between a surrogate and the parents is now in his parents’ custody and receiving care, their lawyer said Thursday.

The baby, born Wednesday morning in Texas, has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare heart defect that requires a series of surgeries, the first typically happening in the first weeks of life.

When they learned of the diagnosis months ago, the parents, identified in court documents as Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed of California, requested that the surrogate, McKenna West of Alaska, get an abortion, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who intervened in the case this week.

West refused and went to Texas before the baby was born, prompting Paxton to secure a court order saying the baby must receive lifesaving medical care after birth. The court also ruled that Gilkar and Ahmed, not West, are responsible for medical decisions within the requirements of the court order.

“Our clients’ son was born yesterday morning and he is now in their physical custody while he receives expert medical care at a tertiary care center,” attorney Lee Budner, who represents Gilkar and Ahmed, said in a statement. “Thankfully, McKenna West’s baseless attempt to interfere with his medical care has been soundly rejected by the courts. Right now, our clients are continuing to place their baby’s health and well-being first, following the advice of the baby’s medical team, as they always have and just as any loving parent would.”

“As if the heartbreak of his condition were not enough, they are devastated to see their family tragedy transformed into political theater by the Texas Attorney General’s office and McKenna West,” Budner’s statement continued. “Our clients’ only focus at this time is ensuring that their baby receives the medical care that he vitally needs and that they, as his parents, are able to spend every precious moment they can with their beautiful newborn son.”

Due to the court orders, West was not allowed any contact with the child after his birth, her attorney, Lincoln Davis Wilson, told CBS News Wednesday. Wilson said West intended to continue efforts to gain custody of the child.

“We are working on challenging those orders of parentage because we think that Texas law makes a woman who gives birth to a child, the mother of the child,” he said.

Wilson also said that aside from the known heart condition, signs were positive for the baby, whom he referred to as Gabriel. Wilson could not comment on where the child was being treated, but said he was receiving care “at a facility that has an excellent track record of success in performing it.”

Jason Allen and Kerry Breen contributed to this report.

Stalled Alaska LNG pipeline bill sends ‘negative signal,’ governor says

2026-08-13T18:18:18.086Z / Reuters

Alaska Governor, Mike Dunleavy speaks during CERAWeek in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary
• Companies

• Dunleavy says Alaska faces worsening shortages of affordable, reliable natural gas
• Trump administration backs project as strengthening security and trade with allies including Japan
• Glenfarne targets final investment decisions this year and ​next, with LNG exports starting in 2031

WASHINGTON, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Alaska ‌Governor Mike Dunleavy said he was “deeply disappointed” that a bill to advance a pipeline for the Alaska LNG project to export natural gas to Asia stalled in the state legislature.

Dunleavy said in a post on X ​late on Wednesday that the legislature’s decision not to reconvene this session to vote ​on a tax change needed to advance the $50 billion pipeline and terminal project ⁠would send a “negative signal” to investors and potential partners. Legislators cited insufficient support for the bill, ​local news station KTUU reported.

The project would also increase access to gas for domestic use.

“Alaska is ​running out of affordable, reliable natural gas,” Dunleavy said. “This is a long-standing issue that has grown more urgent over decades of inaction. Delaying action only increases risk, raises costs, and limits future options.”

KTUU reported Dunleavy was now ​urging lawmakers to reconvene on August 20 to vote.

The Trump administration has promoted the Alaska LNG ​project as a way to boost national security and trade with partners and allies, including Japan.

The White House ‌and ⁠the Department of Energy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Glenfarne, the lead developer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The war in the Middle East is spurring interest in Asia for gas from Alaska LNG, Glenfarne executives said in March. They said at the time ​the company aimed to make ​final investment decisions ⁠this year and next, and start shipping liquefied natural gas in 2031.

Japan’s two biggest LNG importers, JERA and Tokyo Gas

(9531.T), opens new tab
, have signed preliminary deals ​to buy a combined 2 million metric tons a year from Alaska ​LNG.

Final approvals ⁠for the project’s pipeline and export terminal are delayed as Glenfarne has yet to reach its target of signing binding offtake deals for 80% of the planned export capacity of 20 million tons ⁠a year ​of LNG.

In March, Glenfarne executives said they had lined up ​commitments for 13 million tons a year. It needed agreements for another 3 million tons, and to make all commitments ​binding to line up financing, they said.

Reporting by Curtis Williams and Timothy Gardner Editing by Rod Nickel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Cruz sounds alarm over $400M Hamas-era provision in Board of Peace plan — issues blunt warning

August 13, 2026 1:38pm EDT / Fox News

Board officials insist no funds are committed and every dollar would be rigorously vetted before any payment is made

By Efrat Lachter Fox News

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6402521624112
Jack Keane: Trump’s Gaza peace deal is a ‘huge step forward’

Ret. Four-Star Gen. Jack Keane breaks down the next phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace deal on ‘Fox & Friends.’ Keane explains how the historic agreement mandates the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups, leading to the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the transition of power to a new Palestinian government.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

U.S. officials have for years warned that Hamas has exploited ostensibly civilian and humanitarian funding streams to support its terrorist infrastructure, fueling concerns over whether money entering Gaza can be kept out of the terror group’s hands as a new U.S.-backed governing structure prepares to take control.

The Treasury Department has repeatedly targeted what it describes as Hamas financing networks, including a secret investment portfolio, sham charities and organizations that raised money under the guise of humanitarian work while supporting Hamas’ military wing.

Those concerns resurfaced this week after Israel’s Kan News reported that a provision in the Board of Peace’s Gaza roadmap could allow up to $400 million to address unpaid obligations accumulated during Hamas’ rule, including money owed to public-sector workers, suppliers and contractors.

The dispute is over whether a successor government can settle legitimate obligations inherited from nearly two decades of Hamas rule without indirectly benefiting the terrorist group. Critics warn that doing so could relieve financial burdens associated with Hamas’ rule or create opportunities for the group to siphon off resources while it retains influence on the ground. Board officials argue the mechanism is instead designed to allow a successor government to preserve essential services and relationships with legitimate workers and suppliers — with each claim individually vetted and any payment that could benefit Hamas rejected.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROBES UNRWA OVER ALLEGED EMPLOYMENT OF 1,500 TERRORISTS

U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a charter announcement for his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, alongside the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2026.(Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, sharply rejected the characterization that the provision amounted to a financial agreement with Hamas.

“The claims that there is a financial agreement between the Board of Peace and Hamas are false,” Mladenov wrote in Hebrew on X Wednesday, adding that no such proposal had been “discussed, negotiated, or considered.” He said the Board’s objective remained the complete disarmament of Hamas and the establishment of civilian governance backed by an international security presence.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital that he remained alarmed by the provision.

“I’m deeply concerned about these reports. Terrorists use money as fungible and they build credibility by having international donors finance their debts, which is why Congress long ago banned money from going to Palestinian governments in the West Bank,” Cruz said.

“We also know that international donors paid for Hamas to build terrorist infrastructure across the Gaza Strip in the first place, and shouldn’t be trusted to direct reimbursement money,” Cruz continued. “Hamas should be utterly eradicated before new resources flow into Gaza.”

HAMAS AGREES TO COMPLETE DISARMAMENT UNDER ‘HISTORIC’ GAZA AGREEMENT: TRUMP

Palestinian Hamas terrorists stand guard on the day of the handover of hostages held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025.(Hatem Khaled/File Photo/Reuters)

A senior Board of Peace official, speaking to Fox News Digital on background Thursday, pushed back on the premise that the roadmap commits $400 million to paying Hamas’ debts.

“There’s really just a commitment to analyze when we get the data. There’s no commitment to fund anything. We don’t have an obligation to even do $400 million,” the official said.

The official described the provision as a three-year review process, capped at $400 million, under which the successor Gaza administration could determine whether particular unpaid obligations need to be resolved in order to maintain essential services and relationships with legitimate suppliers.

HILLARY CLINTON BREAKS WITH DEMOCRATIC CRITICS BY BACKING TRUMP’S GAZA PLAN AS THE ‘ONLY GAME IN TOWN’

Palestinians shop at a crowded Eid al-Adha market in Gaza hours after Israel announced the killing of Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed head of Hamas’ military wing, in an airstrike in Gaza.(Credit: Jusoor News)

“This notion that there’s, like, a $400 million payoff vehicle, Hamas kind of has a commitment for it — none of that is true,” the official said. “If anybody’s gonna start running with a narrative that a $400 million committed tab is beginning now … that would just be incorrect reporting. That’s not the deal.”

“No one’s picking up a tab right now,” the official added, saying any review would take place only after the new Gaza administration gains access to financial records allowing it to determine who the creditors are, what services they provided and whether those relationships are needed going forward.

“Even the first dollar of the $400 million, we’re going to evaluate that first dollar,” the official said. “It’s not going to be a blank check handed to Hamas. It’s going to be evaluated, rigorously analyzed.”

The official compared the process to a corporate restructuring, arguing that while Hamas is being permanently removed from government, the successor administration cannot necessarily walk away from every legitimate obligation accumulated during the previous government’s rule.

HAMAS SAYS IT WILL DISSOLVE GAZA GOVERNMENT, BUT ISRAEL WARNS GROUP STILL SEEKS HEZBOLLAH-STYLE CONTROL

Displaced Palestinians gather with pots and containers to receive hot meals distributed by charities ahead of Iftar in Khan Yunis, Gaza Families, including children, wait in line amid difficult living conditions.(Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images)

He offered the example of a European pharmaceutical company that supplied medicine to Gaza hospitals but was never paid. If the new administration needs that company to continue supplying medicine, he said, resolving some of its unpaid invoices could be necessary to maintain the relationship.

“The theme here, really, is continuity of services,” the official said.

Disarmament could precede payments area by area

The official did not say that Hamas would have to be fully disarmed across the entire Gaza Strip before the first claim could potentially be paid.

“The reality is that this is going to be community by community,” the official said, explaining that the successor administration is expected to move into individual areas as Hamas disarms there.

IRAN REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR HAMAS AS TRUMP PUSHES TO DISARM TERROR GROUP

Al-Hayya, Hamas’ longtime chief negotiator in indirect ceasefire and hostage talks with Israel, will now lead its political bureau.(LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

Asked whether Hamas would have to be completely removed from Gaza before the new administration could resolve an outstanding liability — for example, involving a hospital in Rafah — the official said a payment could occur even if Hamas had not yet been fully removed elsewhere in the Strip.

“The idea is that where those decisions are made, Hamas is not gonna be there,” he said.

When Fox News Digital asked specifically whether it was accurate to say money would not be transferred into areas where Hamas remained in control, the official said: “It’s accurate to say.”

The official acknowledged that more complicated cases could arise if the same supplier operates in both Hamas-free and Hamas-controlled portions of Gaza. Officials might then have to determine whether to reimburse only the portion associated with the area controlled by the successor government or negotiate some other arrangement necessary to maintain the service.

US URGES DONORS TO ABANDON UNRWA FUNDING AS UN DEFENDS AGENCY’S MISSION

Hamas terrorists stand guard on the day of the handover of hostages held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023, attack, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025.(Hatem Khaled/Reuters)

Board pushes back on fungibility concern

Cruz’s central criticism is that money is fungible: if international donors satisfy obligations accumulated under Hamas rule, resources that might otherwise have been needed to cover those liabilities could theoretically be used elsewhere.

The Board official rejected that argument, saying Hamas is insolvent and was never going to pay many of the outstanding creditors in the first place.

“It’s not as though we’re alleviating them from, like, their budget that they actually were gonna actually go pay that $100 and now they get to save it,” the official said.

“They were never paying it in the first place,” he continued. “We’re making a decision separate and apart from Hamas, whether this fits into our budget and our relationships.”

HAMAS TAPS ‘ULTIMATE INSTITUTIONAL SURVIVOR’ AS TERROR CHIEF, SENDING MESSAGE TO ISRAEL: EXPERT

Hamas terrorists take security measures as preparations are completed at Nasser Hospital to welcome Gazans to be released under the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on October 13, 2025.(Doaa Albaz/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The official described Hamas as “dead insolvent right now” and “financially, completely, completely in shambles.”

Fox News Digital also pressed the official on a separate concern: even if money is never transferred directly to Hamas, could the group extract taxes, payments or other benefits from suppliers or employees receiving funds while it remains armed elsewhere?

“If there’s a risk that some of the money is going to still end up in the hands of Hamas, then we’re gonna shut it down,” the official said.

He said officials would examine each recipient, the services provided and where the money ultimately would go.

“If Hamas is not fully disarmed … can it end up in their hands? If the answer to that question is yes, then they’re not gonna get money,” he said. “Like, that is crystal clear.”

The official also disclosed that the Board intends to try to recover assets it believes Hamas stole and use those assets, where possible, to satisfy legitimate obligations.

“We are going to make a real effort to go and try to recover those assets and use some of those assets, where we have found theft … to satisfy some of these obligations,” he said.

If recovered assets are insufficient, the official said outside funding would come from countries in the region rather than Washington.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Palestinians inspect the site of an overnight Israeli strike on a medicine warehouse, according to medics, next to tents sheltering displaced Palestinians, in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, August 1, 2026. Residents had been pre-warned by the Israeli military to evacuate.(Mahmoud Issa/Reuters)

“This is coming from regional partners. This is not coming from the United States,” he said.

Efrat (Effie) Lachter is a reporter for Fox News Digital with more than 15 years of experience covering conflict, global affairs, human rights and political accountability.She has directed and produced more than 200 documentary segments across more than 40 countries, documenting conflicts, humanitarian crises, corruption, human trafficking, gender-based violence and the human stories behind major world events.

Lachter’s reporting has taken her into conflict zones and crisis areas across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa. Her work has included uncovering human trafficking networks, revealing an ISIS underground torture prison in Syria, documenting the war in Ukraine and interviewing senior political figures and world leaders. She was also among the Western journalists who entered Russia after the war began to bring testimonies from Putin’s opposition. Lachter is the recipient of the 2022 Peres Center for Peace Award and was a 2023–2024 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan. She also won two Rockower Awards for Excellence in Reporting. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in political science.

Trump’s Iran headaches are mounting

2026-08-13T19:02:42.935Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/13/politics/trump-iran-war-developments

The Iran war hasn’t gone well for President Donald Trump since, well, shortly after it began.

Despite extensive US military attacks and economic pressure, Iran hasn’t felt the need to capitulate to Trump’s demands. And even when there have been ceasefires with favorable terms for Iran, Tehran still didn’t abide by them.

But Trump’s headaches with the war are mounting. And many of them extend beyond the battlefield and the negotiating table.

Some of the recent developments:

• Trump’s newly reported secret plane switch in Turkey due to a potential Iranian threat is raising major questions about the administration using staff and media as decoys. The revelation is also undercutting the administration’s claims about Iran’s diminished capabilities and leading to mockery of Trump, including by Iranian state media.
• The United States’ munitions shortfall problem — which Trump was warned about before the war began — appears to be coming to a head.
• There are increasing signs of Trump administration officials and allies growing weary of the war and looking for or urging an off-ramp.
• There are now also increasing reports of declining living conditions and mental health aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln amid an extraordinarily long deployment to support the war effort. CNN reported Thursday that one sailor went overboard wearing a life vest, with a US official saying the Navy viewed the event as a “mental health” incident.

And through it all, Iran only appears to be growing bolder and upping its demands — perhaps believing that its leverage is increasing.

All of the above threatens Trump’s ability to keep prosecuting the war. And these developments add to the costs of a war — now in its sixth month — whose purpose Americans have never been convinced of in the first place. The president insists he’s not feeling the time pressure, but some in his party would beg to differ with the midterms looming.

The plane switch in particular threatens to add a layer of scandal over the already unpopular war. And as much as anything, it undercuts the administration’s claims to have decimated Iran militarily.

This week we learned that the Trump administration feared a threat from Iran was serious enough that it warranted sneaking the president off Air Force One for his departure from Turkey last month. (CNN reported Wednesday that the threat involved a shoulder-fired missile.)

The munitions supply has long been a sleeping giant. CNN has reported that Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and other military leaders warned Trump before the war began that the stockpiles could be an issue in a protracted conflict.

Trump seemed to anticipate a much shorter war, lasting four to six weeks or so. But that’s not what he’s gotten. And increasing reports, including from CNN, suggest Caine’s warnings were well-founded and that key munitions are significantly depleted. The US military has exhausted nearly 80% of its interceptors for a key missile defense system, known as THAAD.

The Trump administration has claimed it has plenty of munitions to finish the job in Iran. But that doesn’t address whether the war might cause the US to be so short of critical munitions — which take time to replenish — that it leaves the country exposed or might embolden an adversary like China to try and invade Taiwan.

That’s increasingly a cost-benefit analysis that administration officials will need to consider. But it’s already a dynamic that threatens Trump’s ability to apply pressure on Iran.

A major question, of course, is whether military or administration officials could even prevail upon Trump if they regard the munitions issue as being dire. But there are increasing signs that key figures are growing weary of the war and sending signals that it might be time to ramp it up.

CNN reported last week that Caine has privately made clear to other top Trump advisers that the administration needs to find an off-ramp from the war because the military options on the table to escalate the conflict could backfire, and airpower alone is unlikely to achieve Trump’s objectives.

There are also signs that loyal Trump allies are increasingly concerned about the war costing Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections. House Speaker Mike Johnson said recently that “we’ve got to wrap it up,” and Fox News host Laura Ingraham has said the “clock is ticking.” (Indeed, the Guardian recently reported that more Iran war skepticism is seeping in on the normally rah-rah airwaves of Fox.) Even cheerleaders for Trump and his war effort like right-wing influencer Benny Johnson have signaled it’s time to move on.

“Foreign wars with no end in sight are always unpopular. They will always be political cancer,” Johnson posted on X two weeks ago. He added: “End the war. Be done. Refocus on America. Gas, grocery, home prices and immigration. Thats how we win.”

The length of the war also appears to be contributing to another problem for the administration’s ability to keep prosecuting it: fatigue, poor living conditions and declining mental health among the service members tasked with supporting the war effort.

News outlets Stars and Stripes and the Navy Times have reported multiple attempts by crew members aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln to jump overboard. A sailor recently went overboard, CNN reported, before being rescued.

And around 200 family members of Lincoln crew members voiced concerns about the situation — including lack of supplies, food shortages and water contamination — at town halls last week in San Diego. The Lincoln has been deployed since November and hasn’t made a port call in more than 200 days, which Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said is a modern-day record for consecutive days at sea.

The US Navy said it takes “every service member’s well-being seriously and have religious, medical and mental health professionals available to assess and address concerns as they arise.”

But the emerging story epitomizes Trump’s problems.

He seems to regard continuing the war and keeping up the economic pressure on Iran as largely a cost-free endeavor. The US doesn’t have boots on the ground and there aren’t constant stories about troop deaths. Rising gas prices have been the war’s biggest political problem.

But as the situation stretches months beyond when the administration signaled it would end, other problems are seeping in. Some of them make continuing the war more difficult on a practical level, while others suggest the stalemate will keep giving the administration political problems that it — and its allies — have to reckon with.

And given the war was already looking like an albatross and a quagmire – with the midterms less than three months away — these are pretty inauspicious developments.

The Democratic establishment might have avoided disaster — but it’s still in danger

2026-08-13T18:56:08.345Z / CNN

The political season some have christened as “hot DSA summer” is lurching to an awfully eventful close.

Just a week after a momentous but surprisingly tight primary victory for Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (who doesn’t actually identify as a democratic socialist but shares the movement’s sensibilities), democratic socialist Francesca Hong narrowly lost in the Wisconsin governor’s primary Tuesday in a bit of a shocker.

The latter result is being greeted with a sigh of relief from the Democratic establishment, which feared Hong torpedoing their chances in an important state.

But that doesn’t mean the party is out of the woods or that this dynamic is going anywhere.

The totality of the results this summer suggests democratic socialists remain ascendant and could still cause the party problems as it seeks to flip the House and Senate this year. But Democratic voters have shown an ability to recognize and respond to that potential danger.

Let’s recap what we’ve learned.

It’s possible to oversell just how ascendant and significant this wing of the party is. But it’s clearly gaining steam.

A year after Zohran Mamdani’s big win in the New York City mayor’s race, we’ve seen:

• Democratic socialists defeat three incumbent House members – in New York, Colorado and last week in Michigan.
• They also won a handful of other primaries, meaning the DSA contingent in the next Congress, while still in the single digits, will likely be bigger than ever.
• They’re on course to add Washington, DC, and possibly Los Angeles to their mayorships in New York City and Seattle.
• El-Sayed’s nomination and former DSA member William Lawrence’s primary win in Michigan’s battleground 7th Congressional District give this wing of the Democratic Party a rare proving ground outside of deep-blue urban areas.

Oh, and don’t forget that some democratic socialist lawmakers appear to be among the party’s bright shining stars. Mamdani’s stock is pretty high right now, Bernie Sanders remains quite popular nationally, and everyone is waiting for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s next big political move – whether that be running for Senate or even for president.

Plenty of people have asked why El-Sayed and Hong – both of whom were considered favorites in their primaries – wound up in nail-biters.

One likely contributing factor: Democratic voters are more pragmatic and strategic than people give them credit for. It’s quite possible that the national party’s worries about nominating El-Sayed and Hong registered with voters late in the race.

There would seem to be a reason, after all, that the party hasn’t previously nominated candidates like El-Sayed in swing races.

Republicans have nominated a bunch of extreme and problematic Senate and gubernatorial candidates that cost them in recent years – think: Doug Mastriano, Todd Akin, Richard Mourdock, Sharron Angle, Mark Robinson – but Democrats really haven’t had those kinds of problems.

In fact, they seemed to balk at Elizabeth Warren early in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries after polling showed her performing worse against President Donald Trump than other Democrats.

The tightness of the race in Wisconsin, meanwhile, suggested that supporters of non-Hong candidates coalesced behind the more-moderate Milwaukee County executive David Crowley at the very end.

So maybe these kinds of candidates have a better chance today than they used to,but Democratic voters still value electability.

Just because Hong lost doesn’t mean the danger is behind Democrats. She might have been a more problematic nominee than El-Sayed, but we still don’t know how a candidate like El-Sayed will play in a battleground state.

And voters could start out skeptical.

A recent poll shows Americans viewed DSA unfavorably by a 36%-18% margin. Another showed just 38% of Americans preferred more socialism. And yet another showed 50% of voters said they would be less likely to vote for a self-described democratic socialist, while just 32% would be more likely.

Again, El-Sayed doesn’t label himself a democratic socialist. But he’s left-wing enough that these numbers are instructive.

How he performs in November will say a lot about how comfortable Democratic voters will be with nominating candidates like him in competitive races moving forward.

If he wins, it’s a big moment for the left. If he loses, it could be an even bigger setback for the movement – and cost Democrats the Senate majority.

(Indeed, some on the far-left appeared wary of nominating Hong for fear of how her performance might ultimately reflect on them. Very few high-profile left-wingers publicly supported her.)

Regardless of who won Tuesday, it shouldn’t escape notice that nearly 800,000 voters participated in the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary.

That’s about 100,000 more than turned out for the GOP gubernatorial primary in 2022, and it’s about 250,000 more than turned out for the last competitive Democratic gubernatorial primary, in 2018.

The 310,000-plus votes that Hong got was a lot for a democratic socialist candidate; indeed, it would have won pretty much any competitive primary for that office. But the current political environment is also turning out huge numbers of more mainstream Democratic voters.

And it’s not just Wisconsin. A CNN analysis last month showed Democratic primary turnout surging far beyond the last two midterms and far surpassing GOP turnout. Minnesota just set a primary turnout record, and it was overwhelmingly on the Democratic side – with about 700,000 votes in that primary, compared to about 400,000 on the GOP side, even as both featured competitive contests.

The key for Democrats now is in keeping both sides of the party mobilized, even if there might be hard feelings about who made it to the general election.

Justice Dept. leaves in place ruling that deregulates silencers, shotguns and certain rifles

August 13, 2026 / 12:24 PM EDT / CBS News

Some Americans can now possess short-barreled rifles, shotguns and silencers without registering them with the federal government, after the Trump administration declined to pause a Texas judge’s ruling issued earlier this month that deregulated those weapons.

The Aug. 5 ruling by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas gave the Justice Department a one-week deadline to request a stay before his ruling went into effect.

That deadline expired at midnight on Thursday.

“Today, our government is failing us,” said Kris Brown, the president of the gun-control group Brady. “At midnight, uniquely lethal weapons and devices — including silencers, short-barreled rifles, and shotguns — were deregulated for the first time in nearly a century.”

The Justice Department still has time to appeal the ruling, however.

“The Department respects Americans’ Second Amendment rights and is currently assessing the impact of the court’s ruling,” a department spokesperson told CBS News in a statement.

The National Firearms Act is the primary law that regulates the purchase and sale of certain specialized firearms and related equipment, including short-barreled rifles and silencers. Enacted in 1934, it imposes taxes on these firearms, and created a regulatory regime that requires people to register them with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

That regulatory structure also helps federal ATF agents trace the chain of firearm ownership when they are investigating gun-related crimes.

In 2025, Congress included a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that no longer requires a $200 tax to be collected when a regulated firearm is transferred or made.

With that tax eliminated, Hendrix determined that the NFA’s regulatory scheme for silencers, shotguns and short-barreled rifles is unconstitutional.

“By zeroing out the transfer and making taxes on “any firearm” except for “a machinegun or a destructive device,” the One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated the constitutional basis for the NFA’s regulation of those firearms,” he wrote.

“The Department of Justice’s decision is a failure to defend public safety,” said Emma Brown, the executive director for the gun-control group Giffords.

“Congress put these safeguards in place nearly 100 years ago. As a result, silencers, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns are rarely used in crimes today. But now, silencers and dangerous, easily concealable weapons can now easily get into the wrong hands and be used to harm innocent people,” she added.

The lawsuit in Texas represents a consolidation of two separate cases.

One was brought by B&T USA, Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Gun Owners Foundation, Gun Owners of America, Palmetto State Armory, Silencerco Weapons Research, Silencer Shop Foundation, 15 Republican-controlled states and several individuals.

The other was brought by the Texas State Rifle Association (NRA’s Texas affiliate), Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, FPC Action Foundation, Hot Shots Custom, and several others.

The injunction by the judge only applies to the parties in the two cases, which could include anyone who is a member of the Gun Owners of America.

The Gun Owners of America and Silencer Shop celebrated the Justice Department’s decision not to seek a stay of the ruling on Thursday by announcing that two of its members had “lawfully acquired suppressors without complying with the currently enjoined registration requirements of the National Firearms Act of 1934.”

“This marks the first time since the NFA was enacted on June 26, 1934, that Americans can lawfully acquire suppressors without complying with the federal registration scheme. Our victory went into effect at 12:01 A.M. CT and we notified ATF and DOJ that we intended to conduct the first unregistered suppressor transfer in 92 years,” the group added.

It is unclear whether the Justice Department will ultimately appeal the court’s order.

Attorney General Todd Blanche, in his written responses to questions from senators ahead of his confirmation, addressed several questions about his personal beliefs on firearms regulations.

In one response to the questions, he wrote: “I defer to the measured judgment of Congress on whether the NFA should be repealed or weakened. The Department’s duty is to defend the constitutionality of the laws passed by this body.”

Hegseth says reports about poor conditions aboard carrier are misrepresented

2026-08-13T16:01:39.616Z / Reuters

By Phil Stewart

August 13, 2026 4:01 PM UTC Updated 2 hours ago

[1/5]The U.S. Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln sails in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 3, 2026. U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS

PANAMA CITY, Aug 13 (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that reports about poor conditions aboard aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln ​in the Middle East were “completely misrepresented.”

Two military-focused outlets, Navy Times and Stars and ‌Stripes, reported suicide attempts and declining morale on the 5,000-person ship, which has been at sea since November 2025.

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The carrier has been in the Middle East since January, supporting the U.S. war with Iran.

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“We ​make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide ​them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than others, and ⁠I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in ​those high seas in those austere conditions with less port calls — it’s incredible,” Hegseth told reporters ​during a visit to Panama.

Typically naval deployments are for between six and nine months, but during times of conflict, that can be extended.

Extended deployments can pose enormous strain on crews’ mental health, particularly in wartime, ​and have always been a challenge for the U.S. Navy. Sailors must maintain a heightened ​state of alert and readiness, especially with the threat of drone and missile attack from Iran.

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A U.S. ‌official, ⁠speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the George Washington aircraft carrier is heading to the region with the intention of replacing the Lincoln carrier. That move was pre-planned, the official said.

Democratic lawmakers are unhappy about the extended deployment of the Lincoln carrier and the conditions on the ship.

“There ​have been widespread reports ​of shortages of ⁠basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns, and disruptions in the mail system, which have caused many care ​packages in route to the ship to be lost in transit ​for months,” ⁠U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote to Hegseth and the Navy secretary this week.

When asked about reports of poor conditions on the Abraham Lincoln, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said President Donald Trump ⁠and ​Hegseth were committed to ensuring the U.S. military was “equipped ​with the resources necessary to counter any threat to the United States”.

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Reporting by Phil Stewart, additional reporting by Idrees ​Ali and Steve Holland; writing by Michelle Nichols; Editing by David Ljunggren, Andy Sullivan and Nia Williams

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Rep. Mike Lawler defends $10,000 campaign donation from colleague Max Miller’s PAC, who’s accused of abuse

2026-08-13T17:29:39.645Z / CNN Politics

By Dana Bash, CNN

Published 1:29 PM EDT, Thu August 13, 2026

Rep. Mike Lawler defends $10,000 campaign donation from colleague Max Miller’s PAC, who’s accused of abuse

Inside Politics

Dana Bash asks Republican Rep. Mike Lawler about campaign donations coming from his colleague Rep. Max Miller’s political action committee. Miller has been accused of domestic abuse and denies the allegations. Lawler tells Bash, “It is tragic, and obviously I don’t condone any level of abuse. But ultimately, there’s been nothing that has been corroborated here.”

https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/13/politics/video/ny-rep-mike-lawler-max-miller-ip

Warren’s ancestry saga roars back after Dem ally touts Native Senate first: ‘Arrows fired’

2026-08-13 12:17pm EDT / Fox News

Peggy Flanagan, an Ojibwe member of the White Earth Nation, made the claim in a fundraising email for her campaign

By Robert Schmad, Fox News

Published August 13, 2026 12:17pm EDT

Elizabeth Warren makes Election Day push for Peggy Flanagan

Warren is urging Minnesota voters to back Peggy Flanagan for U.S. Senate, calling her “the fighter we need in Washington.” (Credit: @ewarren via X)

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Minnesota Democratic Senate nominee Peggy Flanagan is pitching donors on the prospect of becoming the first Native American woman to serve in the U.S. Senate — drawing attention to one of her prominent endorsers, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whose past claims of Native American identity became a yearslong political controversy.

“In almost 250 years, there’s never been a Native woman serving in the US Senate. It’s time to change that,” the email reads. “I am Ojibwe and a proud member of the White Earth Nation. My family is the Wolf Clan. The mission of my clan is to never leave anyone behind — and that’s been my guiding principle … Right now, there are no Native voices in the US Senate. If I win this race, we can change that.”

Throughout her career, Warren identified herself as a Native American, writing “American Indian” on her Texas bar-registration card and describing herself as a minority in the Association of American Law Schools directory. Since 2019, Warren has walked back her indigenous identity, clarifying that she is not a person of color nor a citizen of a tribe, and stating that she should not have identified herself as an American Indian.

TAFOYA MAKES ‘COMMON SENSE’ PITCH TO DISAFFECTED DEMOCRATS AS SHE VOWS TO FIGHT MINNESOTA’S ‘SOCIALIST LURCH’

FILE – Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was briefly heckled during a campaign rally in Georgia over her Native American ancestry claims.(AP Photo/John Locher, File)

“Wow, arrows fired,” podcast host Michael Duncan wrote of the email.

Warren supported Flanagan in Minnesota’s Democratic Senate primary.

“The Democrat nominee for Senate in Minnesota, Peggy Flanagan , just sent out a fundraising email on the DNC list that admits that Elizabeth Warren is NOT Native American,” conservative commentator Steve Guest posted to X, adding, “tough break for Fauxcahontas.”

“Has anybody checked on Elizabeth Warren?” the Republican Party quipped on X.

“Elizabeth Warren just took her peace pipe and went home to throw a tantrum,” another user replied.

WARREN PUSHED ‘FREE AND EASY’ IRS FILING SYSTEM, BUT DOCS REVEAL WHAT SHE USED INSTEAD

(Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)(Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump famously lampooned Warren’s claimed ancestry by labeling her “Pocahontas.” The feud between the two culminated in Warren taking a genetic test in 2018, which found she was between 0.1% and 1.6% Native American.

“Excuse me? How dare she disrespect Elizabeth Warren like that?” libertarian commentator Brad Polumbo wrote, ironically.

ELIZABETH WARREN CONFRONTED ON CALLING CONTROVERSIAL SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER HER ‘KIND OF MAN’

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Ranking member Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., questions Kevin Warsh, nominee to chairman of the Federal Reserve, during his Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Multiple X users posted AI-generated images of Warren in Native American garb looking dejected or angry in response to the fundraising email.

“Elizabeth Warren is doing a land acknowledgement on Flanagan’s head,” New York Post columnist Kirsten Fleming quipped.

“I can say this because I am part of the Cherokee Nation, but these two should powwow over this,” podcaster Dave Van de Walle joked.

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The Flanagan campaign and Warren’s office did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Trump administration’s antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard dismissed by federal judge

2026-08-13T13:43:00-0400 / CBS News

By Jacob Rosen Justice Department Reporter
Jake Rosen is a reporter covering the Department of Justice. He was previously a campaign digital reporter covering President Trump’s 2024 campaign and also served as an associate producer for “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

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Updated on: August 13, 2026 / 2:05 PM EDT / CBS News

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A federal judge in Massachusetts on Thursday dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit against Harvard University that accused the school of failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students, finding the instances of alleged discrimination cited by the government were “too isolated and episodic” to support federal civil rights violations.

U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Massachusetts issued a four-page order granting Harvard’s motion to dismiss the suit.

“Without diminishing any concern arising from these occurrences, the court finds them, singly and collectively, to be too isolated and episodic to support a plausible inference that any institutionalized noncompliance with Title VI persists at Harvard to this day,” Stearns wrote.

Stearns wrote that the government’s complaint was “devoid of any factual allegations” that occurred after the Trump administration notified Harvard that it believed it had failed to comply with federal civil rights law, as is required before any legal action can be taken, and the other three instances in the complaint occurred between 2023 and 2024.

In March, the Justice Department filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the university, alleging that it violated the law by failing to protect the students after the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack by Hamas, claiming Harvard’s “intentional conduct and its deliberate indifference to discriminatory harassment of Jewish and Israeli students and creation of a hostile educational environment.” The administration sought to recover billions of dollars in taxpayer money that Harvard has received from federal agencies.

In its lawsuit, the Justice Department alleged that Harvard defied federal law by discriminating against the students “without remorse” and the students were subjected to “severe, pervasive and objectively offensive harassment” on campus, including during protests against Israel, because of their race or national origin. The government alleged that Harvard knew about the harassment against the Jewish and Israeli students but did not stop it.

The lawsuit was one of many steps against the university that the Trump administration has taken since President Trump’s return to office, in addition to attempting to cancel billions of dollars in federal funding.

The Justice Department responded in a statement saying it “disagreed with the ruling and are assessing the next steps.” The statement also pointed to an ongoing antisemitism investigation by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

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

Melissa Quinn contributed reporting.

Melissa Quinn contributed to this report.