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日本熊本7级强震至少13死 半导体业受创

2026年7月29日 23:22 / 联合早报 新明日报

日本制纸株式会社位于熊本县八代市的工厂在星期二（7月28日）的地震中严重受损，造成五人死亡，另有四人下落不明。 （路透社）

日本九州地区发生强烈地震，截至星期三（7月29日）已造成至少13人死亡。震中熊本县作为日本半导体产业重镇，灾情影响备受关注，当局已展开产业损失评估。

发生于星期二（28日）下午的地震，是九州地区继2016年熊本地震后，十年来首次录得最大震度7的强震。这属于日本地震烈度分级中的最高级别。截至29日，熊本县政府公布的死伤人数增至82人，其中13人确认死亡、六人心肺功能停止，另有八人伤势危急。

地震重创当地基础设施，并造成大范围停电。在录得震度7的熊本县冰川町，市政厅也停电，避难中心无法正常开放。当局已陆续向灾区运送食品、饮用水、空调以及发电机等救灾物资。

日本首相高市早苗星期三召开地震应对会议时说：“地震造成广泛破坏，包括人员伤亡、建筑物倒塌、火灾和道路受损。仍有许多人等待救援，时间至关重要，我们将调动一切资源，全力拯救生命。”

日本熊本县周二的大地震造成广泛破坏和大范围停电断水，许多居民被迫到避难所避难。（新华社）

地震发生约一个半小时后，位于熊本市郊、九州地区最大的商业设施之一“永旺梦乐城熊本”（AEON Mall Kumamoto）发生爆炸。一名政府高级官员透露，爆炸可能由液化石油气泄漏引起。地震发生后，多人受困商场内。商场内部视频显示，建筑物大范围坍塌，天花板破开大洞，墙体碎片和大量瓦砾散落一地。警方、消防员和自卫队彻夜展开搜救。

熊本县政府指出，现场散落大量钢梁和混凝土碎块，增加了搜救工作的难度。

一名事发时身处购物中心的顾客回忆，爆炸发生前，员工曾引导顾客紧急撤离。她说：“地震发生后，工作人员不断引导顾客离开。我还看到一些人折返大楼，可能是要确认其他人的安全，他们很可能后来成了爆炸事故的受害者。”

居住在九州地区的日本妇女荻野清说，这次地震的震动甚至比10年前熊本地震更猛烈。

“地震发生时，根本无法站稳，厨房里的碗碟和物品全都掉落，窗户和门也被震开。附近一些民宅地面还冒出浑浊泥水，我认为这些情况都与地震有关。”此后，她还经历多次余震。

熊本县是日本重要的半导体制造基地，这次地震已导致多家制造商暂停生产。《日本经济新闻》指出，这可能影响电子产品及汽车等依赖半导体供应链的产业。

据报道，在当地设厂的全球最大半导体代工企业台积电，在地震发生后立即疏散位于菊阳町工厂的员工，并确认全员安全。在完成建筑安全检查后，员工已陆续返回工厂。索尼集团位于菊阳町的半导体生产基地平时全天候运作，目前已暂停生产。

本田位于大津町的摩托车工厂则因地震导致自动喷淋系统启动，厂房内出现漏水和积水，也已暂时停产。

此次震中位于九州中部的日奈久断裂带附近，断裂带为一条活跃断层，与2016年熊本地震的震源同属一脉。日本地震专家认为，本次地震是由断层残余断裂段移位所引发。鉴于这一地区过去曾在强震后发生多次巨大余震的风险，日本气象厅呼吁民众继续保持警惕，防范未来可能出现的更强地震。

Blanche nomination in peril as key GOP senator rails on DOJ over controversial fund

2026-07-29T15:51:52.402Z / CNN

By Ellis Kim, Manu Raju, Hannah Rabinowitz, Alison Main

PUBLISHED Jul 29, 2026, 11:51 AM ET

Sen. John Cornyn speaks with reporters after a meeting with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, nominee for attorney general, was canceled on Wednesday, July 29.

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images

Todd Blanche’s nomination to be President Donald Trump’s attorney general is hanging in the balance with a key GOP senator saying the Justice Department has not done enough to assure him a controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund won’t move forward.

The pushback from Texas Sen. John Cornyn comes as the Senate Judiciary Committee has been planning to advance Blanche’s nomination on Thursday – but without Cornyn’s support, the vote will fail.

Cornyn said Wednesday that a planned meeting with Blanche to discuss his demands for DOJ to formally kill the fund had been canceled. The Texas Republican told CNN he still has not received the written commitment he has been demanding from Blanche and the Justice Department to formally kill the fund. As a result, he told reporters, he is not prepared to vote yes.

Asked by CNN if he would block the nomination if the hearing proceeds, Cornyn answered, “I’m not prepared to vote yes. Let me put it that way.”

With Cornyn and fellow Judiciary committee Republican Sen. Thom Tillis still unhappy that the DOJ hasn’t provided a written assurance to kill the fund, it’s unclear whether the committee will proceed with Thursday’s vote. Cornyn said the panel’s chair, Chuck Grassley, will determine around 4 p.m. on Wednesday whether to proceed with Thursday’s session.

“So, we still got a little time, and hopefully, they now recognize the seriousness of this, and will be responsive,” Cornyn said, referring to Blanche’s team.

A DOJ official told CNN the department, “provided a written proposal to Senator Cornyn’s staff yesterday following ongoing discussion with both the Committee and the Senator’s office. We look forward to further discussion around any outstanding concerns.”

However, Cornyn told reporters Wednesday that he hasn’t “seen a single piece of writing that is responsive to what I’ve requested.”

Blanche has insisted that the “anti-weaponization” fund — a controversial pool of money set aside to award people who claim to have been wronged by the Justice Department, including possibly January 6, 2021, rioters — is no longer happening. The administration had also previously asserted in a court filing that it had abandoned the “anti-weaponization” fund.

When asked if the committee will still vote on Thursday, Grassley said, “You’ll have to ask Tillis and Cornyn about that.”

Some in the Justice Department were surprised by Cornyn’s social media post Tuesday, which made clear he was still not prepared to vote in favor of Blanche. He posted to X that “there is no ‘deal’ on Blanche nom. They know what they have to do.”

The acting attorney general’s office had been confident that Blanche’s nomination would pass the committee vote. Sources within the Justice Department said there was still some confusion about what exactly would satisfy Cornyn’s push against the “anti-weaponization” fund.

CNN’s Morgan Rimmer and Sarah Ferris contributed to this report.

日本熊本7级强震至少13死 半导体业受创

2026年7月29日 23:22 / 联合早报 符祝慧 东京特派员

日本制纸株式会社位于熊本县八代市的工厂在星期二（7月28日）的地震中严重受损，造成五人死亡，另有四人下落不明。 （路透社）

日本九州地区发生强烈地震，截至星期三（7月29日）已造成至少13人死亡。震中熊本县作为日本半导体产业重镇，灾情影响备受关注，当局已展开产业损失评估。

发生于星期二（28日）下午的地震，是九州地区继2016年熊本地震后，十年来首次录得最大震度7的强震。这属于日本地震烈度分级中的最高级别。截至29日，熊本县政府公布的死伤人数增至82人，其中13人确认死亡、六人心肺功能停止，另有八人伤势危急。

地震重创当地基础设施，并造成大范围停电。在录得震度7的熊本县冰川町，市政厅也停电，避难中心无法正常开放。当局已陆续向灾区运送食品、饮用水、空调以及发电机等救灾物资。

日本首相高市早苗星期三召开地震应对会议时说：“地震造成广泛破坏，包括人员伤亡、建筑物倒塌、火灾和道路受损。仍有许多人等待救援，时间至关重要，我们将调动一切资源，全力拯救生命。”

日本熊本县周二的大地震造成广泛破坏和大范围停电断水，许多居民被迫到避难所避难。（新华社）

地震发生约一个半小时后，位于熊本市郊、九州地区最大的商业设施之一“永旺梦乐城熊本”（AEON Mall Kumamoto）发生爆炸。一名政府高级官员透露，爆炸可能由液化石油气泄漏引起。地震发生后，多人受困商场内。商场内部视频显示，建筑物大范围坍塌，天花板破开大洞，墙体碎片和大量瓦砾散落一地。警方、消防员和自卫队彻夜展开搜救。

熊本县政府指出，现场散落大量钢梁和混凝土碎块，增加了搜救工作的难度。

一名事发时身处购物中心的顾客回忆，爆炸发生前，员工曾引导顾客紧急撤离。她说：“地震发生后，工作人员不断引导顾客离开。我还看到一些人折返大楼，可能是要确认其他人的安全，他们很可能后来成了爆炸事故的受害者。”

居住在九州地区的日本妇女荻野清说，这次地震的震动甚至比10年前熊本地震更猛烈。

“地震发生时，根本无法站稳，厨房里的碗碟和物品全都掉落，窗户和门也被震开。附近一些民宅地面还冒出浑浊泥水，我认为这些情况都与地震有关。”此后，她还经历多次余震。

熊本县是日本重要的半导体制造基地，这次地震已导致多家制造商暂停生产。《日本经济新闻》指出，这可能影响电子产品及汽车等依赖半导体供应链的产业。

据报道，在当地设厂的全球最大半导体代工企业台积电，在地震发生后立即疏散位于菊阳町工厂的员工，并确认全员安全。在完成建筑安全检查后，员工已陆续返回工厂。索尼集团位于菊阳町的半导体生产基地平时全天候运作，目前已暂停生产。

本田位于大津町的摩托车工厂则因地震导致自动喷淋系统启动，厂房内出现漏水和积水，也已暂时停产。

此次震中位于九州中部的日奈久断裂带附近，断裂带为一条活跃断层，与2016年熊本地震的震源同属一脉。日本地震专家认为，本次地震是由断层残余断裂段移位所引发。鉴于这一地区过去曾在强震后发生多次巨大余震的风险，日本气象厅呼吁民众继续保持警惕，防范未来可能出现的更强地震。

US Democratic lawmakers press SEC to probe Trump Media’s fast feed

2026-07-29T13:04:00.766Z / Reuters

Workers straighten the Truth Social booth at the Great American State Fair celebrating the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 2, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary
• Companies

• Senators Warren and Schiff press regulator to probe whether TMTG plan breaks US laws
• TMTG has discussed charging as much as $100,000 for faster access to Trump posts
• Senators say plan could harm retail investors, undermine market integrity

NEW YORK, July 29 (Reuters) – Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff have asked the U.S. securities regulator to probe whether Truth ‌Social parent Trump Media’s

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plan to sell early access to President Donald Trump’s social media posts breaks the law, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters.

Trump Media, or TMTG, unveiled a paid, licensed data feed this month that will give trading firms “the fastest” access to posts from the 10 most influential Truth Social accounts, including Trump’s. ​The letter, sent on Tuesday, ramps up pressure on the product, as well as any Wall Street firms that may have ​bought the feed, potentially increasing what some industry sources said they believed to be legal, political and regulatory ⁠risks.

Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.

“This appears to be an outrageous abuse of the President’s office for his personal benefit that undermines everyday investors and the integrity of ​our markets, while enriching Wall Street and other wealthy insiders,” Warren and Schiff said in the July 28 letter to Securities and Exchange Commission ​Chairman Paul Atkins.

A spokesperson for the SEC and Atkins, a free-market Republican appointed to the role by Trump who has generally taken a softer stance on enforcement, confirmed receiving the letter but declined to comment further.

“Senate Democrats continue to mischaracterize Truth API either out of ideological opposition to free markets or a failure ​to grasp the distinction between public and nonpublic information — or, quite possibly, both,” said a spokesperson for TMTG in an emailed statement.

The White ​House referred requests for comment to the company.

EARLY DATA ACCESS, FOR A PRICE

Trump Media has discussed charging as much as $100,000 a month for the Truth API ‌product, Reuters and ⁠other media outlets have reported. Trump’s social media posts have in the past moved markets, and the profits of many top trading firms, hedge funds and financial services firms depend heavily on the speed at which they can trade off such news.

Trump, who owns about 41% of Trump Media through a trust his children oversee, stands to profit from the paid access model. The company said it has already signed up customers ​ahead of the August 1 launch, ​but did not identify them.

Truth ⁠API is the latest example of the president mixing his personal business with presidential affairs, raising ethical issues, Warren of Massachusetts and Schiff from California said. Trump reported last month, for example, that he received more ​than $1.4 billion last year from his family’s crypto projects.

While tech platforms are generally allowed to offer clients ​early data access, ⁠even if it disadvantages some market participants, according to lawyers, some ethics experts have said the Truth API product is different because Trump’s posts are government information and he has an obligation to disseminate it publicly.

Warren and Schiff also noted Trump has in the past used Truth Social to ⁠endorse specific ​stocks including Citigroup

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, Intel

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and Palantir

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, which they said raises the risk of insider ​trading and of undermining investor confidence that the market is operating on a level playing field.

In the statement, the TMTG spokesperson said: “The Senators must have invented a new theory ​of ‘insider trading’ based on publicly available information.”

Reporting by Chris Prentice in New York; Editing by Michelle Price, Matthew Lewis, Deepa Babington and Bill Berkrot

Sen. Paul vows contempt vote after Fauci repeatedly invokes Fifth Amendment in Covid hearing

2026-07-29T12:56:04.824Z / CNN

Republican Sen. Rand Paul declared that there will be a vote next week on holding Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after the scientist who led the US government response to the Covid-19 pandemic invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times during a contentious congressional hearing.

Appearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee under a subpoena from Paul, Fauci declared in his opening statement he would not be answering questions, citing what he characterized as the chairman’s “obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution.”

But in an unusual move, Republican Senators proceeded with the hearing anyway, peppering him with inquiries about National Institutes of Health-funded research and the origins of Covid-19. It forced Fauci to repeat, over and over, that he was invoking his constitutional right.

When the hearing was near its end, Paul said he would have a contempt vote next week – which could initiate a process that would result in the Justice Department considering whether to charge Fauci with a crime.

Throughout the hearing that ran well over two hours, Fauci mostly stared straight ahead. But at times, frustration appeared to flash across his face.

And in a particularly dramatic moment, Paul had Fauci’s attorney escorted out as the lawyer repeatedly tried to interject and invoke Fauci’s Fifth Amendment rights.

In a written statement submitted before the hearing, the lawyer said that the circumstances surrounding Fauci’s appearance “regrettably made his continued cooperation (with Congress) impossible,” adding that Paul had a “public crusade” against his client.

Republican critics might not have gotten meaningful exchanges to relitigate the scientist’s alleged mishandling of the Covid-19 response and conspiracies about the origins of the virus. But they did get hours of images of Fauci refusing to answer after GOP lawmakers delivered lengthy monologues questioning his conduct – a political boon in their long-running bid to undercut him.

“Let the record record that the witness has refused to answer whether there’s a folder in front of him based on his Fifth Amendment right,” Paul said at one point.

Fauci, though, noted in his opening statement that GOP lawmakers had made clear they wanted to use the hearing to get him prosecuted, saying “the sole reason (Sen. Paul) is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars.’”

Democrats on the committee, meanwhile, used their time to voice frustration that Paul subpoenaed Fauci rather than focusing on budget cuts to health care agencies.

“It is unfortunate that you have been put in the position that you are in today, and it must be enormously frustrating to know that this hearing is designed to entrap you,” Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire said to Fauci.

Fauci, the face of American infectious disease research dating back to the HIV/AIDs crisis, has appeared more than 250 times before Congress, and this is the first time that he’s invoked the Fifth Amendment.

The 85-year-old former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has previously appeared before lawmakers to deny, under oath, allegations brought by Paul of obscuring the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic and controversial infectious disease research.

Pressure from Paul and others led President Joe Biden to preemptively pardon Fauci during his last days in office, shielding Fauci from charges pertaining to any comments made in previous years.

But he faced a new threat after Paul became chairman of a major Senate committee: that Republican senators and others, including US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., would endeavor to find new ways to pursue perjury charges against him.

“A pardon that protects a person from criminal prosecution doesn’t rewrite history. It does not erase documents. It does not convert a misleading statement to a truthful one, and it does not prevent Congress from establishing what happened,” Paul said in his opening remarks, referencing his allegations that Fauci had misrepresented the pandemic’s origins and deleted internal correspondence.

Paul and Kennedy made clear ahead of the hearing that they hoped Fauci, who retired in 2022, would perjure himself in comments about the origins of Covid-19, shutdown measures and scientific research funded by NIAID.

“There are many things that (Fauci) said that we know are lies, and Rand Paul presumably is going to ask him about those things, and if he lies again, then he could be subject to perjury prosecution,” Kennedy told Fox News on Monday night.

President Donald Trump also weighed in ahead of the hearing on Wednesday, saying in a social media post that Fauci “made too many bad calls.” The president added that he “didn’t let (Fauci) shut the Country down” during the pandemic.

Fauci’s refusal to answer questions comes days after another House Republican referred former special counsel Jack Smith to the Justice Department for possible prosecution, suggesting he’d made false statements in his own committee testimony, which took place behind closed doors. Like Fauci, Smith has also come under intense scrutiny by Trump allies, who were angered by his investigation into the president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Paul contends that the NIH funded viral research in Wuhan, China, that made more virulent and contagious strains of coronavirus. Known as gain-of-function research, these types of studies are often used to better understand how viruses spread and how to treat them.

Fauci has denied through the years that the NIH ever funded studies related to the coronavirus that created the 2020 pandemic. Federal reviews of the outbreak have been inconclusive about its source, but there is no evidence the virus was engineered and leaked from a virology lab.

Yet Fauci and Paul have regularly sparred in congressional hearings about whether NIH funded gain-of-function research in China. Fauci maintains that by the government definition of the gain-of-function research, the agency did not fund such studies overseas.

It has remained a critical point for Paul, and a fiery debate between the two in multiple congressional hearings.

“The NIH and NIAID categorically has not funded gain-of-function research to be conducted in the Wuhan Institute,” Fauci told Paul in a tense hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in May 2021.

Asked again that July by Paul about gain-of-function research, Fauci said: “If anybody is lying here, senator, it is you.”

Ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, Paul released 1,100 pages of Fauci’s diary as NIAID director, spanning from late 2019, when Covid-19 began spreading in China, to his retirement in in December 2022. The diary entries show his growing concern about the pandemic, internal conflicts with administration officials and his documentation of his rising fame.

Kennedy revealed in a Fox interview Monday night that he had handed those files to Paul after an eight-month search.

Fauci referenced the release of his diary as further evidence of Paul’s crusade against him, calling it a move “aimed at embarrassing and intimidating me.”

He concluded his opening remarks saying:“Although it pains me to do so because of the respect that I have for the legislative branch of government and my decades long record of cooperating with Congress, under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the 5th Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions.”

The committee’s highest ranking Democrat, Sen. Gary Peters from Michigan, lamented that Paul was focusing on Fauci at the cost of the committee’s other priorities.

“Instead of focusing on the national security challenges that we are facing in our country right now, today’s hearing looks backwards, revisiting questions this committee has already examined,” Peters said in his remarks prior to Fauci invoking the 5th amendment. “Rather than building on that work to strengthen our preparedness against future disasters, we are instead relitigating the past.”

CNN’s Alison Main contributed to this report.

This story and headline have been updated with additional information.

新血液检测可预测失智风险 专家：不宜单作诊断

2026年7月29日 23:32 / 联合早报

随着临床规范逐步完善，p-tau217血液检测未来可能用于评估个人患阿尔茨海默病及其他失智症的风险。 （示意图/Pixabay）

一项新研究显示，血液中磷酸化tau蛋白217（p-tau217）水平偏高，可能意味着年长者日后出现认知障碍的风险较高。不过专家提醒，这项检测不能单独作为诊断依据。

美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）报道，在认知功能正常的年长者中，如果p-tau217水平较高，未来五年出现早期失智迹象的风险估计高出38%；未来十年的风险则高出78%，但关于十年风险的证据相对较弱。

p-tau217与大脑内β淀粉样蛋白积聚关系密切。淀粉样蛋白可能在记忆力下降前几十年就开始累积，并推动tau蛋白在脑细胞内形成缠结，最终损害神经元。不过，相关蛋白水平偏高并不代表一定会患上失智症。

这项研究重新分析了澳大利亚、北美和日本的六项试验数据，涉及近2700名没有认知衰退症状的年长者，最长追踪时间达21年。

结果显示，p-tau217水平越高，之后出现认知障碍的风险越大。即使把脑部扫描结果和APOE4等遗传风险因素纳入考量，这种关联仍然存在。

专家目前不建议认知功能正常的人主动接受这项检测。感冒、肾功能异常等因素都可能影响检测结果，造成假阳性。医生应结合认知测试、脑部扫描、遗传风险和其他健康状况作出综合判断。

研究人员说，相关结果还需要在规模更大、背景更多元的人群中进一步验证。不过，随着临床规范逐步完善，p-tau217血液检测未来可能用于评估个人患阿尔茨海默病及其他失智症的风险。

新血液检测可预测失智风险 专家：不宜单作诊断

2026年7月29日 23:32 / 联合早报

随着临床规范逐步完善，p-tau217血液检测未来可能用于评估个人患阿尔茨海默病及其他失智症的风险。 （示意图/Pixabay）

一项新研究显示，血液中磷酸化tau蛋白217（p-tau217）水平偏高，可能意味着年长者日后出现认知障碍的风险较高。不过专家提醒，这项检测不能单独作为诊断依据。

美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）报道，在认知功能正常的年长者中，如果p-tau217水平较高，未来五年出现早期失智迹象的风险估计高出38%；未来十年的风险则高出78%，但关于十年风险的证据相对较弱。

p-tau217与大脑内β淀粉样蛋白积聚关系密切。淀粉样蛋白可能在记忆力下降前几十年就开始累积，并推动tau蛋白在脑细胞内形成缠结，最终损害神经元。不过，相关蛋白水平偏高并不代表一定会患上失智症。

这项研究重新分析了澳大利亚、北美和日本的六项试验数据，涉及近2700名没有认知衰退症状的年长者，最长追踪时间达21年。

结果显示，p-tau217水平越高，之后出现认知障碍的风险越大。即使把脑部扫描结果和APOE4等遗传风险因素纳入考量，这种关联仍然存在。

专家目前不建议认知功能正常的人主动接受这项检测。感冒、肾功能异常等因素都可能影响检测结果，造成假阳性。医生应结合认知测试、脑部扫描、遗传风险和其他健康状况作出综合判断。

研究人员说，相关结果还需要在规模更大、背景更多元的人群中进一步验证。不过，随着临床规范逐步完善，p-tau217血液检测未来可能用于评估个人患阿尔茨海默病及其他失智症的风险。

‘They fed him his own ears’: Top Republican shares horrifying stories of gang rule in Haiti

July 29, 2026 7:00am EDT / Fox News

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast says he led the first congressional delegation to Port-au-Prince in a decade

By Elizabeth Elkind Fox News

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Bill Hemmer and Chad Wolf analyze ICE plans to surge arrests of Haitian migrants, focusing on temporary protected status.

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Walls full of bullet holes and police in “full armor” were among the sights that greeted a group of U.S. House lawmakers who recently traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a city that has been ravaged by gang rule since the July 2021 assassination of its former president.

“The gangs will essentially block the streets with rubble, with debris, they’ll dig giant ditches in the road, and so these military and police units can’t traverse,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. “Some of these areas are like Afghanistan, and it is probably the poorest place I’ve ever been through in my life.”

Mast led a group of bipartisan members of Congress on a trip to Venezuela and Haiti recently, which he said was the first congressional delegation in either country in a decade.

In Haiti, they were hosted by the country’s prime minister, whose palace “a year ago, would have been a war zone,” Mast said. “They have been actively working to take back land across the breadth of Port-au-Prince.”

REPUBLICAN REP MARÍA ELVIRA SALAZAR DECLARES, ‘AFTER CUBA, NICARAGUA IS NEXT’

Police officers patrol a neighborhood amid gang-related violence in downtown Port-au-Prince on April 25, 2023.(Richard Pierrin/AFP via Getty Images)

But while he saw signs of slow improvement thanks to an international coalition of forces as well as a U.S. paramilitary group run by Erik Prince, Mast said the realities of gang violence were ever-present.

A video he was shown, for example, depicted Haitian gang torture of a heavy machinery operator helping police clear gang-made blockages in the city streets.

FIRST TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBER EXTRADITED TO US ON HISTORIC TERRORISM CHARGES APPEARS BEFORE HOUSTON JUDGE

“They took this guy who was this equipment operator, and for working with the police, they kidnapped his family. And then they told him they’ll trade his family for him. He turned himself over,” Mast said.

“They brutally killed him. I mean it’s all on video. They cut off his ears, fed him his own ears… Then they hacked at him for probably at least five minutes with machetes. His limbs looked like a Christmas tree afterwards, with just bone and skin and other things coming off of him, until ultimately they killed him. That is who these gangs are.”

And it’s not just adult allies of the local police forces suffering from gang violence, according to the Florida Republican. Another chilling incident Mast said he became aware of while in Haiti was the kidnapping of a 6-year-old U.S. citizen by a local gang who he said may have committed sexual crimes against her.

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2025.(Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

MIKE WALTZ, TIM TEBOW LAUNCH EFFORT TO COMBAT ONLINE CHILD EXPLOITATION: ‘IT’S HAPPENING IN THEIR BACKYARD’

“There was a 6-year-old American citizen girl. I don’t want to say that she was raped, but there were health issues that led to believe that she was also raped, as a 6-year-old girl, by these gangs,” Mast said. “It appears as though we were able to secure the release yesterday.”

He said there was ultimately an “agreement” on the ransom money the girl’s family would pay after she had been held hostage for at least 46 days.

“It appears as though we were able to get an exchange finally made yesterday. But again, it’s just another example of who these gangs are and the forces that are being brought to bear, to bring them to heel,” Mast said.

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans, and that it was aware of reports of an American child kidnapped for ransom in Haiti but would not provide further details out of respect for the family’s privacy.

Beyond the current level of assistance, however, Mast said he doubted there was more the U.S. could do to help the country as a whole.

“This started with political people starting gangs there for their own benefit. And most of the politicians there are beyond guilty of pillaging their own country instead of doing something good for their country. That’s how Haiti is in the state that it’s in,” he said.

Members of the U.S. Congressional Delegation (CODEL) were welcomed by Haitian officials during their assessment of the security situation in Haiti.(Courtesy of House Committee on Foreign Affairs)

It comes as thousands of Haitians in the U.S. are facing a potential return to their home country after the Trump administration ended their temporary protected status (TPS) that was first granted after an earthquake in 2010.

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Mast argued, however, that the return of those Haitians who did not get permanent residency in those 16 years could potentially help bolster security there.

“One of the big things would be to take the able-bodied males and put them into the police and military, which are actively recruiting, which were so decimated by the TPS taking place in the first place,” he said. “All of these people took the chance to say ‘Okay, I’m leaving,’ and it left their forces that are supposed to protect the country essentially with no forces, which is one of the other parts of how the gangs came to be.”

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

‘Tip of the iceberg’: NJ illegal voting scandal explodes with more key systems at risk

July 29, 2026 6:00am EDT / Fox News

GOP lawmakers demand bipartisan subpoena probe, calling Governor Sherrill’s internal investigation too limited in scope

By Charles Creitz Fox News

NJ Republican says motor voter scandal vindicates years of election integrity warnings, pushes for legislative probe

State Sen. Kristin Corrado argues officials dismissed concerns about New Jersey’s automatic voter registration system and is urging a comprehensive audit of the state’s voter rolls.

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The top Republican on New Jersey’s Judiciary Committee says she repeatedly warned state officials that automatic voter registration lacked adequate safeguards but was routinely dismissed, as thousands more noncitizens have now been found on sensitive systems.

Sen. Kristin Corrado, R-Totowa, told Fox News Digital that Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s motor voter controversy reinforced Republican demands for a bipartisan investigation with subpoena power, warning the administration’s review was too narrowly focused and likely failed to capture the full scope of the problem.

“We didn’t just reach out to the Motor Vehicle Commissioner. We reached out to secretary of state [at the time, Lt. Gov. Taheshia Way]. We were not satisfied with the answers that we got from the motor vehicle commissioner, which I can tell you were basically, ‘we have signs up, they’re put on notice… that if you’re not a citizen, you can’t register to vote’.”

“So people were on the honor system. We did not think that was acceptable or satisfactory or enough of a safeguard,” she said, adding that the common refrain was of an “honor system.”

RNC LEGAL VICTORY CLEARS NORTH CAROLINA VOTER ROLL PURGE OF NONCITIZENS THROUGH JURY RESPONSES

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill addresses a crowd in Middlesex County.(Michael Nagle/Getty Images)

Corrado and others, including Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco, are now demanding a bipartisan special investigation with subpoena power.

Asked if they had heard from Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-Linden, Corrado said his team indicated they wanted to wait for Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s own internal probe to finish.

“I have concerns about that because this independent investigation is very limited in scope. It is limited to what they’re calling the motor vehicle ‘glitch’,” she said, warning scrutiny should go far beyond the initial area of discovery.

Shortly after Corrado spoke to Fox News Digital, reports surfaced that roughly 75,000 noncitizens had been summoned for jury duty through state databases, according to multiple reports, broadening the controversy beyond the Motor Vehicle Commission and prompting additional Republican calls for a wider investigation.

Corrado pointed to her repeated requests over the years for clarity on the security of the voting systems and how she was rebuffed as proof the probe needs to be substantial.

Asked about the demand for a full-scale investigation, Scutari credited what the governor is already doing and said he would hold fire until her probe finishes.

“A healthy democracy depends on the security of our voter registration systems and the stewardship of the individuals entrusted with ensuring our elections are free, fair, and accessible. It also depends on public trust, and Governor Sherrill deserves credit for being transparent about these failures… [and] launch[ing] an independent investigation…,” Scutari said in part, confirming Corrado’s comment that he would wait for it to finish.

‘SHAME ON YOU’: SHERRILL KNEW VOTER-ROLL BOMBSHELL WAS COMING WHEN SHE CALLED TRUMP A LIAR, DOJ OFFICIAL SAYS

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6402270365112

Former Gov. Phil Murphy’s spokesman Mahen Gunaratna also told Fox News last week that his boss had “no knowledge” of the issues at the MVC.

“I find that hard to believe, but it’s incredibly troubling that the governor did not know what his cabinet members were doing or what was going on right underneath him,” Corrado responded.

“All [this] put our election integrity at risk, all questions that have to be answered. And the only way to answer those questions is through a bipartisan, legislative committee.”

State Joint Budget Committee ranking member Declan O’Scanlon agreed the scandal validated GOP concerns.

“The fact is that the people in charge for so long said this absolutely was impossible; Republicans were ‘conspiracy theorists’,” said O’Scanlon, R-Little Silver.

“There are some folks on the extreme on both sides, but those of us in the middle who have said there are real issues here, and they were ignored, and we were accused of being conspiracy theorists, only to find out that we were absolutely right; again.”

Gov. Mikie Sherrill and former Gov. Philip Murphy meet in the governor’s office in Trenton.(Reuters Connect Partner/Reuters)

O’Scanlon said he believed the motor-voter revelations were the “tip of the iceberg,” and was hours later proven true, as reports surfaced about the 75,000 noncitizens summoned for jury duty.

“This has the potential to be a real scandal,” he warned, agreeing that subpoena-powered hearings are a must.

“We need to get on this quickly because we have elections coming up that are critical, that could be slim margins. And also you want the people of New Jersey to believe in the integrity of their voter rolls and their elections,” he said.

“We shouldn’t dig this hole any deeper.”

Fox News Digital reached out to NJCourts and to Sherrill’s office for comment.

Peter McAleer, a spokesman for the state court system, told Fox News Digital the jury system pulls from the MVC as well as taxation and elections department lists, with the taxation department legally being permitted to have noncitizens on its own rolls.

“Prospective jurors are asked about their citizenship and other qualifications when they complete the mandatory juror qualification questionnaire. Prospective jurors must certify that they understand that if they submit a knowingly false answer, they can be subject to punishment for contempt of court,” he said. “Approximately 75,000 individuals per year are disqualified from juror service based solely on lack of United States citizenship.”

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6402184548112

Corrado and Bucco also dropped a bill to eliminate motor-voter and implement voter-ID and regular audits of election data systems.

“New Jerseyans need more than just excuses and finger pointing, they deserve action, and there are commonsense steps we can take right now,” said Bucco, R-Morristown.

“Get the MVC out of the voter registration business.”

State Sen. Joe Pennacchio, R-Boonton, who recently requested additional scrutiny from Attorney General Todd Blanche himself, told Fox News Digital on Saturday the 75,000 figure is a red-flag that Trenton can’t police itself.

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“The disclosure that 75,000 noncitizens were summoned as potential members of juries screams for a thorough federal investigation,” Pennacchio said in a Monday statement.

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“The governor has blamed [French software firm] IDEMIA, the Murphy administration and, of course, President Donald Trump for their ever-increasing numbers,” he said, calling Sherrill’s investigatory effort a “whitewash.”

“As the scope of this problem grows daily and with the refusal of the Democratic Legislature to investigate, it is obvious the U.S. Attorney General’s office must take charge,” he said.

Born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, worked in both the New York and Washington bureaus for Fox News since 2013.

Battle to replace late House Dem goes to overtime after daughter failed to clinch seat

July 29, 2026 4:00am EDT / Fox News

The two Democrats will face off Aug 25 to fill the seat left vacant after the death of Rep David Scott

By Leo Briceno Fox News

Two Democratic candidates locked in a race to fill the seat left by the late Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., advanced to a runoff election on Tuesday evening after failing to capture 51% of the vote.

The winner of the election will add another Democratic seat in a narrowly divided House of Representatives where Republicans hold 218 seats and Democrats control 212. Adding even one more Democratic member puts increased pressure on Republicans to remain united on party-line legislation.

Marcye Scott, the daughter of the late David Scott, and Everton Blair, chair of the Gwinnett County School Board, will face off against each other in a runoff to represent the Peach State’s 13th Congressional District on Aug. 25.

DAUGHTER OF LATE HOUSE DEM FORCED INTO RUNOFF AFTER FALLING SHORT IN SPECIAL ELECTION

David Scott, a Democrat from Georgia, speaks during a Senate Agriculture Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, March 23, 2017.(Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A third candidate, Caesar Gonzales, a Republican, did not advance, receiving only 8.7% of the vote.

Georgia’s 13th Congressional District House seat became open when David Scott, 80, died in office in April. His office did not disclose a cause of death.

Shortly after his death, Marcye Scott announced her candidacy to fill his seat, pitching herself as the best candidate to continue her father’s legacy.

DEMOCRAT REP DAVID SCOTT DEAD AT 80

Marcye Scott, daughter of the late Rep. David Scott, campaigns with voters amid her bid to replace her father.(Marcye Scott for Congress)

“That would be what I definitely want to do, to make sure that his voters, his constituents, do not miss out on what he was offering,” Scott said.

Scott has made roads and infrastructure, public safety and transportation key priorities of her campaign, highlighting constituent outreach work she did for her father.

For his own part, Blair has pitched himself as a candidate looking to push back on President Donald Trump’s cuts to areas like the Department of Education.

“You can’t fix a system that’s being dismantled from the top. Right now, Donald Trump is getting rid of the Department of Education and cutting money from schools that already have the least. That doesn’t just hurt some office in Washington. It hurts the kid in the back of the classroom in this district,” Blair said during a campaign visit.

On his website, Blair lists Medicare-for-all, increasing the minimum wage and raising teacher pay among his top priorities.

STATE OF PLAY: DEMS BATTLE FOR SHOT AT CRUCIAL ARIZONA HOUSE SEAT AMID GOP’S RAZOR-THIN MAJORITY

Everton Blair, candidate for Congress in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District, is seen in a photo from his campaign website talking to voters on the campaign trail.(Everton Blair for Congress)

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Although the winner will have secured the seat in the special election, they must still win a general election in November to fill the seat for a full term.

David Scott last won re-election in 2024 with a 71.8% to 28.2% victory over his Republican challenger, Jonathan Chavez.

Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.

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