Midterms, Trump’s inflation nation and Netanyahu skepticism

2026-09-09 3:51 PM EDT / CNN

By Toby Mananzan, CNN

Midterms, Trump’s inflation nation and Netanyahu skepticism

CNN Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten runs the numbers, from confidence in Trump and Netanyahu’s leadership to the current state of US midterms.

15:00 • Source: CNN

Humans are “close to being outsmarted” by superintelligence, AI expert says

2026-09-09T15:32:39-0400 / CBS News

By

September 9, 2026 / 3:32 PM EDT / CBS News

A troubling warning from a former researcher at AI company Anthropic is drawing attention to “superintelligence” — technology that could outperform humans at every cognitive task.

In a Sept. 8 social media thread announcing his resignation, the researcher Jacob Coxon accused Anthropic and rival OpenAI of “gambling with our lives” by pursuing superintelligence. In a related post on X, Anthropic lead researcher Evan Hubinger said there was more than a 10% chance that AI “could kill all humans” within the next decade.

The warnings raise questions about what superintelligence is, how close companies are to developing such technological capabilities, and why some experts believe it could threaten jobs, national security and even humanity itself.

Superintelligence refers to artificial intelligence that “can significantly outperform all humans on essentially all cognitive tasks,” according to a petition to halt superintelligence development from the nonprofit Future of Life Institute, which has garnered signatures from the likes of noted computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, who is known as the “Godfather of AI.”

“Imagine, for example, some AI or massive cluster of AIs that together are smarter than all of humanity together, than all 8 billion of us,” Max Tegmark, a professor at MIT who specializes in AI research, told CBS News. “That would certainly count.”

Researchers also express concern that superintelligent AIs would be controlled by only a few companies, giving them enormous power and amplifying the risks of misuse.

“We’re getting so close to being outsmarted”

To be sure, the idea that AI could eventually match or exceed human intelligence isn’t new — and it remains hypothetical. For example, British mathematician I.J. Good wrote about the creation of an “ultraintelligent machine” in the 1960s, defining it as something that can “surpass all the intellectual activities of any man, however clever.”

AI company executives have also openly acknowledged the risks surrounding the technology, including the danger AI could pose to humanity as a whole, as Coxon and Hubinger warned.

“What’s new is the fact that we’re getting so close to being outsmarted,” Tegmark said.

Although superintelligence hasn’t been achieved, AI agents today are already proving capable of operating autonomously and collaboratively. That includes acting in ways that appear designed to evade detection, as shown by the recent incident in which an OpenAI-tested AI model went rogue and hacked the AI company Hugging Face.

Fear of losing control

The fundamental threat posed by superintelligent AI is that the tools become increasingly difficult for people to control, experts told CBS News.

“They can’t even align or control their AIs today, and the AIs of the future will be much smarter and harder to understand,” wrote Daniel Kokotajlo, a former OpenAI researcher who now leads the AI Futures Project, in a Sept. 8 social media post. “Even if they succeed, they will then have created the most intense concentration of power in human history — a new artificial species of superintelligences obedient to the commands and values of a tiny handful of people.”

He added, “This situation is insane and must not be allowed to continue.”

With AI development moving at warp speed, Tegmark agreed that humans could lose their grip on the technology.

“If we just allow a completely unfettered race to build billions of superintelligent robots, then I think the probability is way above 50% that we’re going to lose control of this in the next few decades,” he told CBS News.

When could superintelligence emerge?

It’s a moving target and depends on who you ask. But the AI Futures Project estimates that superintelligent tech could emerge within the next 1 to 10 years, the group wrote in a scenario examining the development of AI.

“The industry has convinced itself that controlling superintelligent AI can be figured out on the fly, and thus has no remotely adequate plan,” the group wrote.

Others think the development of superintelligence remains many years in the future.

“AI systems of today are nowhere near matching or exceeding the general capabilities of humans,” said Melanie Mitchell, a professor at the Santa Fe Institute.

Darrell West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who focuses on technology and AI, said it will take years, if not decades, before AI can comprehensively match human-level skills. AI is improving, but people still have the upper hand in skills like multitasking, he said.

While experts disagree on the timeline for developing superintelligence, they generally agree that a key breakthrough will come when AI can improve on its own without human intervention — a concept AI researchers call “recursive self-improvement.”

“AI that can learn independently and then act on that new knowledge — that’s what people should be paying attention to,” West said.

Upsides to superintelligence?

The future of AI isn’t necessarily bleak, AI experts emphasize. Mitchell noted that there are clear upsides to developing highly capable AI.

“You know we’ve already seen that with scientific breakthroughs… new approaches to weather forecasting using AI, new approaches to drug design,” she told CBS News.

However, the way AI companies train their models isn’t necessarily aligned with goals that could benefit humanity, Mitchell said.

The focus has been on creating multi-agent systems that communicate together, she said, adding, “It’s not clear that that’s the kind of thing that we’re going to really need for the kinds of applications that we want.”

Some lawmakers are expressing concern about the risks posed by AI, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, and Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat from Texas, saying earlier this month they plan to introduce the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act.

“The leaders of the major AI companies publicly acknowledge that they do not fully understand the technology and that it is escaping their control,” Sanders said in a Sept. 3 statement. “It is irresponsible for society to allow them to move forward and make these products even more advanced.”

Edited by Alain Sherter

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/ex-anthropic-researcher-says-he-believes-out-of-control-ai-development-could-kill-us-all/

US appeals court skeptical of bid to curtail abortion pill access

2026-09-09T18:30:06.974Z / Reuters

Boxes of Mifepristone, the first pill in a medical abortion, are seen at Alamo Women’s Clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, U.S., April 9, 2024. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Judges question whether Louisiana has legal standing to challenge FDA rule
• Lawyer for FDA says review of mifepristone safety remains ongoing
• Louisiana claims about 1,000 abortions a month stem from mailed mifepristone

Sept 9 (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday appeared skeptical of a bid by the Republican-led state of Louisiana to curtail access to the abortion drug ​mifepristone by blocking a 2023 rule that has allowed the medication to be prescribed via telemedicine and dispensed by mail nationwide.

Louisiana Solicitor General Ben ‌Aguinaga urged a three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to strike down the rule, arguing it undermines abortion bans implemented by his state and others after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022

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to the procedure.

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“There’s no dispute that Louisiana is experiencing 1,000 abortions a month due to mifepristone mailed into the state,” Aguinaga said.

Louisiana sued the U.S. Food and ​Drug Administration last year, arguing the agency ignored the risks of serious adverse events associated with mifepristone, including sepsis and hemorrhaging, when it adopted the 2023 ​rule during former Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration and removed a requirement that the drug be dispensed in person at a medical ⁠facility.

BACK BEFORE THE 5TH CIRCUIT

That argument previously swayed another 5th Circuit panel earlier this year to temporarily block the rule. But the Supreme Court in May lifted that order, allowing ​the drug to continue to be prescribed through telemedicine and dispensed by mail, a fact that U.S. Circuit Judge Stephen Higginson noted repeatedly.

The judge noted that his court, one of ​the most conservative in the nation, had previously also been reversed by the Supreme Court in 2024 when it unanimously rejected a different bid by anti-abortion groups and doctors to roll back FDA regulations that had eased access to the drug.

Both he and U.S. Circuit Judge Dana Douglas, a fellow appointee of a Democratic president, questioned whether Louisiana even had legal standing to sue over the FDA’s action, ​saying it could not establish that the abortions occurring in the state were because of the 2023 rule as opposed to other factors.

“There are too many independent actors to ​say that actually the government’s assessment of safety is what’s causing your 1,000 abortions a month,” Higginson said.

Should the panel rule against Louisiana, the state could either appeal to the Supreme Court ‌or ask ⁠the full 5th Circuit, which has a supermajority of Republican appointees, to reconsider the case, one of several pending challenging the regulation.

Restricting access to mifepristone, including its availability through telehealth appointments with out-of-state providers, has been a top priority for Republican-led states that implemented abortion bans.

Nearly half of U.S. states have banned or severely restricted abortion since the Supreme Court’s ruling, leading to a surge in medication abortion, a two-drug regimen consisting of mifepristone followed by misoprostol.

Medication abortion accounts for more than 60% of U.S. abortions, according to data from ​the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy group.

U.S. ​District Judge David Joseph in April ⁠paused the case pending a review by President Donald Trump’s administration of the safety of mifepristone.

Abortion rights advocates have said the Trump administration’s review is politically motivated and unnecessary. The FDA, which approved mifepristone in 2000, calls the drug that has been used by millions of ​American women safe and effective, saying its periodic reviews have not identified any new safety concerns.

FDA REVIEW ONGOING

U.S. Department of Justice ​attorney Daniel Winik said ⁠that review remains ongoing. He said he had “no idea” what action the FDA may ultimately take but that the matter should be left to the agency to decide.

“The whole point of our position in this case is that it’s the FDA’s job in the ongoing consideration of mifepristone to address all of these issues,” he said.

The 5th Circuit panel’s only Republican appointee, ⁠U.S. Circuit Judge ​Priscilla Richman, asked repeatedly about the extent to which women were being admitted to emergency rooms more ​frequently and “how many of those complications would not have occurred had the woman seen a physician in person.”

But lawyers for the drugmakers GenBioPro and Danco Laboratories, which manufacture mifepristone, called the drug safe and argued the ​FDA in 2023 adequately assessed the drug’s risks.

“The FDA’s decision was richly supported,” GenBioPro lawyer John Elwood said.

Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot

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Nate Raymond reports on the federal judiciary and litigation. He can be reached at nate.raymond@thomsonreuters.com.

Bipartisan duo launches congressional caucus to confront antisemitism at colleges

September 9, 2026 1:29pm EDT / Fox News

Rep Josh Gottheimer, a Jewish Democrat, is joining forces with Rep Elise Stefanik, a Catholic Republican

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., are launching a congressional coalition to target antisemitism at institutions of higher education.

The Combating Antisemitism on College Campuses Caucus will provide a bipartisan avenue for lawmakers to “coordinate oversight of how” schools of higher learning react to antisemitism, according to press releases issued by the lawmakers’ offices.

The caucus will “press institutions to protect Jewish students, faculty, and staff, and to enforce their own anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies,” “advance and track federal legislation targeting campus antisemitism and BDS-driven discrimination,” and “spotlight schools that are getting it right and share best practices across campuses nationwide,” the releases note.

CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM EXTENDS BEYOND STUDENT PROTESTS AND INTO CLASSROOMS, ADL WARNS

Rep. Elise Stefanik and Rep. Josh Gottheimer.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

While Gottheimer is a Jewish Democrat and Stefanik is a Catholic Republican, both lawmakers are concerned about the problem of antisemitism.

“Since October 7th, Jewish students on too many campuses have been harassed, intimidated, and made to feel like strangers in their own school,” Gottheimer said, referring to the 2023 attack by Hamas terrorists in Israel.

TRUMP INDICATES SUPPORT FOR CHRISTIAN-BACKED PLAN TO HELP CANADIAN JEWS ESCAPE ANTISEMITISM

Rep. Elise Stefanik speaks at Faith and Freedom Coalitionâs Road to Majority Conference in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2026.(Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“That’s why Elise and I are teaming up to launch this caucus to hold universities accountable, back up the schools getting it right, like Vanderbilt, and make sure every Jewish kid can have a college experience without fear of discrimination or violence,” he noted.

Stefanik, the author of the book “Poisoned Ivies,” noted that she has “been proud to be the leader in Congress on combatting antisemitism and anti-Americanism at our colleges and universities.”

PIERS MORGAN EVISCERATES IVY LEAGUE STUDENT WHO REFUSED TO WORK ‘FOR A JEW’ AS ‘BRAZENLY’ ANTISEMITIC

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6402433141112

Gottheimer “has been a leading partner and legislator with whom I have worked on this critical issue,” Stefanik noted. “We are committed to saving American higher education for the next generation.”

Fox News’ Kelly Phares contributed to this report.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

‘I’m still advocating for cooler heads to prevail’: Vulnerable Michigan GOP congressman hopes for thaw in Canada trade war

2026-09-09 1:29 PM EDT / CNN Politics

Kasie Hunt

By Kasie Hunt, CNN

Published 1:29 PM EDT, Wed September 10, 2026

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‘I’m still advocating for cooler heads to prevail’: Vulnerable Michigan GOP congressman hopes for thaw in Canada trade war

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GOP Rep. Tom Barrett is running for reelection in a purple district in one of the states whose economy is most intertwined with Canada. Still, he thinks there are some positives to President Trump’s escalating trade war with Canada even if he hopes a little give on either side could thaw the freeze between the two sides. “I want to see us get to a point where we can have mutually beneficial trade arrangements with Canada. I’m still hopeful that we can get there, but that has been my advocacy both publicly and behind the scenes,” Barrett said.

Emergency slide deploys on Qatari-gifted Air Force One before Trump departs for GOP convention

2026-09-09 2:55 PM ET / CNN

By Alejandra Jaramillo

PUBLISHED Sep 9, 2026, 2:55 PM ET

Donald Trump Air travel safety Aviation news

The emergency slide of Air Force One is seen deployed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday.

Evan Vucci/Reuters

An apparent issue with a new presidential aircraft delayed President Donald Trump’s departure for his GOP convention in Dallas on Wednesday, after an emergency slide deployed on the far side of the plane.

Talking to reporters on the tarmac, Trump suggested the deployment of the slide was intentional.

“They were doing a check on the slide, you know, in the emergency. So, I think it takes about 15 minutes,” Trump told reporters before boarding the Qatari-gifted jet.

Trump landed at Joint Base Andrews aboard Marine One at 2:02 pm ET. Around the same time, the emergency slide was seen extended from the new plane that the president has often touted as being superior to the old presidential plane.

Trump remained aboard Marine One for more than 20 minutes as the situation unfolded on the tarmac. The older Air Force One with a light blue paint job soon pulled up and parked behind the new aircraft, and crews were told the older plane was serving as Wednesday’s backup.

At 2:24 p.m., the stairs of Marine One were extended, and the president stepped off to board the new jet.

Asked whether he knew the reason for the inspection and whether there was a security concern, Trump said, “I guess they’ve already put it up. They want to make sure everything works perfectly.”

When asked if he was confident that it was safe to fly, Trump responded, “Yeah, I am, or I wouldn’t be on it.”

A White House spokesperson referred to Trump’s comments when asked for more information about what caused the issue.

Maine and Michigan Senate races are neck and neck, CNN polls find

2026-09-09T16:00:29.391Z / CNN

The critical Senate contests in both Maine and Michigan feature tight races with no clear leader, according to new CNN polls conducted by SSRS. But voters in the two states see their choices through two very different lenses.

In Maine, the race centers more on likely voters’ broadly negative views of incumbent Sen. Susan Collins and President Donald Trump than on their impressions of the late-breaking Democratic nominee, Troy Jackson. Many voters are still getting to know Jackson after he replaced Graham Platner following allegations of sexual assault that Platner has denied.

Michigan voters are more focused on the candidates’ issue positions amid an open-seat campaign featuring one of the most progressive Democratic candidates of this cycle in Abdul El-Sayed against former GOP congressman Mike Rogers.

Fifty percent of voters say El-Sayed’s positions are too liberal, compared with 42% who say that Rogers is too conservative. Roughly two-thirds – including broad majorities of both candidates’ supporters – think El-Sayed would try to change things a lot in Washington, while just 20% say the same of Rogers.

But both Collins and Rogers face political headwinds driven by economic concerns and negativity toward Trump. The people most likely to vote in each state say that they would prefer to see Democrats win control of the Senate after this fall’s midterm elections.

Trump is deeply unpopular in both Maine and Michigan, with about two-thirds of voters in each state disapproving of his performance as president. The share of voters who say they are dissatisfied or angry with the way things are going in the country far outpaces the share who are satisfied or enthusiastic.

The economy and cost of living is far and away the top issue in each state, and by a better than two-to-one margin, likely voters say they are worse off rather than better off compared with two years ago. Most also view the increased tariffs on Canadian goods with skepticism: less than 15% think the tariffs are a good thing and about two-thirds in each state – both of which border Canada – view the tariffs negatively.

Even among likely voters, Democrats in both states are far more motivated to vote than their Republican counterparts, mirroring a trend seen nationwide in this year’s midterm polling. Among the most motivated voters, Democrats lead handily in both states.

In Michigan, likely voters split about evenly between El-Sayed at 47% and Rogers at 44%, a margin that lands within the poll’s margin of sampling error. Rogers has broadly unified Republican likely voters in the state: 97% back him. Among Democrats, 90% support El-Sayed, while just 3% say they back Rogers. Independents break toward El-Sayed, 48% to 32%, with about one in five not supporting either candidate.

About a quarter of Michigan likely voters overall haven’t yet firmly decided who they will support in the race for Senate. That number hits 40% among Black voters and voters younger than 35, and it stands at 36% among independents who are likely to vote.

Most voters who have picked a side say their vote is more in favor of their chosen candidate than against his opponent, but there is more negative sentiment among Rogers’ backers. About 4 in 10 who support Rogers say their vote is against El-Sayed while 31% backing El-Sayed say their vote is an anti-Rogers one.

Nearly half of Michigan likely voters say that the candidate’s positions on the issues are their top factor in deciding whom to support, while fewer, 31%, say that partisan control of the Senate is their top consideration and 22% cite the candidates’ character and experience.

Although El-Sayed’s positions on Israel were a point of contention in the Democratic primary, a scant 3% of likely voters statewide say US policy toward Israel is the top issue in deciding their vote. Most, 54%, say the US is doing too much to help Israel.

El-Sayed’s backing is strongest among younger voters. He carries a majority of likely voters younger than 45 while trailing among those 45 and older. He holds a 9-point lead among women while men split more evenly, 48% for Rogers to 44% for El-Sayed. White voters in the state break narrowly in Rogers’ favor, while Black voters broadly back El-Sayed, 77% to 10%, with about 14% opting for neither.

El-Sayed’s primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, performed strongest in the August primary in counties with significant Black populations. The new poll suggests many Black voters haven’t yet formed opinions on El-Sayed: 66% say they have a favorable view, 2% an unfavorable one, and 32% aren’t sure yet.

Roughly one in five say they don’t have an opinion of each candidate. El-Sayed’s favorability is an even split, 40% on each side. Views of Rogers break negative, 42% unfavorable to 35% favorable.

In the race to replace Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, current Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson leads the Republican Rep. John James 50% to 41%.

National politics shape the Maine Senate race

In Maine, 48% of likely voters are currently backing Jackson with 45% supporting Collins. That’s inside the survey’s margin of sampling error and a considerably tighter race than the state’s gubernatorial contest, where Democrat Hannah Pingree leads Republican Bobby Charles, 52% to 39%.

Roughly 18% of likely voters say they could change their mind about whom they support for Senate, or that they haven’t yet picked a candidate.

Jackson’s supporters stand out from other voters in either state polled for their close focus on the national implications of the race. A 53% majority say that party control of the Senate is the top consideration in their vote, and nearly half cite the state of US democracy as their top issue.

Roughly 7 in 10 of Jackson’s backers say they’d be casting their ballot more out of opposition to Collins than support for him, while only a quarter of Collins backers are motivated by their opposition to Jackson.

That may in part reflect Collins’ status as a better-known quantity. While likely voters’ impressions of both candidates are negative on balance, nearly a quarter don’t yet have an opinion of Jackson, while just 8% haven’t formed an opinion on Collins.

And while Maine voters in both parties largely say they’re satisfied with their choice of candidates in the race, nearly 4 in 10 Democratic-aligned voters, compared with about a quarter of those who side with the GOP, say they’re unhappy.

Maine voters are about equally likely to call Jackson too liberal and Collins too conservative – and most reject both characterizations. But Jackson is seen as relatively likely to shake things up in Washington, with 42% saying he’d try to change things a lot if elected, compared with just 14% who think Collins would do so if given another term.

This is the first time Collins has stood for reelection since the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, an outcome owing in part to her support for the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Four years later, almost two-thirds of Maine voters say they feel negatively about the 2022 Dobbs ruling, including about half saying it makes them feel angry. Those who remain angry are largely backing Jackson, while those who feel less strongly are largely behind Collins.

The CNN polls of Maine and Michigan likely voters were conducted online and by phone August 31-September 6, 2026. Registered voters were randomly sampled from both registered voter lists and a probability-based panel. Results among likely voters include all registered voters in the poll weighted for their predicted likelihood of voting in this year’s election. Results among 880 likely voters in Maine have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points; it is 4.1 points among the 843 likely voters in Michigan.

Republican lawmakers criticize Ford business ties to China

2026-09-09 16:54:51 UTC / Reuters

By David Shepardson

September 9, 2026 4:54 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

The blue Ford oval logo is displayed on the new Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S. November 16, 2025. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Republicans in Congress on Wednesday joined criticism of Ford Motor over its business ties to Chinese firms after Transportation Secretary Sean ​Duffy sharply criticized the No. 2 U.S. automaker.

Republican Senator Rick Scott praised Duffy for “sounding the ‌alarm about Ford’s risky ties to (Chinese Communist Party) companies.” The House Select Committee on China posted on X comments from the company and media reports about Ford’s business dealings with Chinese firms under the title: “This is what Ford says vs. ​what it does.”

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Duffy in a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley sent on Tuesday said ​the automaker’s dealings with Chinese battery maker CATL and Chinese automakers Geely and BYD ⁠raised “profound concern.”

He urged Ford to cut ties with major Chinese companies.

Duffy said the transportation department ​was “deeply alarmed” by Ford’s reliance on licensed technology from Chinese battery manufacturer CATL at its plant in Marshall, ​Michigan, and noted that CATL is on the Pentagon’s list of companies accused of ties to China’s military.

He also criticized Ford’s decision not to move production of the Lincoln Nautilus from China to the United States until 2030, as it ​leaves the company reliant on Chinese manufacturing for several more years.

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Republican Representative John Moolenaar, the China committee ​chair, praised Duffy “for calling out Ford’s growing reliance on Chinese companies, including CATL and Geely.” Moolenaar added: “Ford should work with our ‌nation’s ⁠allies, not our adversaries.”

Ford did not immediately comment Wednesday but in a statement Tuesday said Duffy’s “letter is a wrongheaded attempt to capture headlines.” The company added that “while others continue to import Chinese batteries, Ford is investing to build batteries here in America” and added that “Ford owns the plant, controls the operation and ​employs the workforce.”

President ​Donald Trump is set ⁠to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month. Duffy’s comments come as Congress is pushing to tighten a ban on Chinese vehicles in the ​United States.

blob:https://www.reuters.com/c41801de-145d-4c05-8b89-f1000d6a8a27

Duffy’s letter is the latest warning shot across China’s bow ahead ​of the Xi-Trump ⁠meeting. On Tuesday, U.S. officials accused Chinese AI companies of “aggressive, industrial-scale distillation activities.”

Ford shares were down 2% in midday trading to $13.69. Major automakers last week urged Congress to pass the ban before the end of ⁠the year.

​The Chinese embassy in Washington responded to Duffy’s letter saying, “Normal ​business cooperation between Chinese and American enterprises should not be politicized. We urge the U.S. side to respect the laws of the ​market economy and the principle of fair competition.”

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Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul and Andrea Ricci

Missouri Supreme Court threatens secretary of state with contempt amid intensifying redistricting battle

September 9, 2026 1:52pm EDT / Fox News

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins must appear Thursday to explain why he defied an injunction barring the 2025 map

By Louis Casiano, Fox News

Fox News correspondent Mark Meredith has the latest on the key storylines shaping the race to the 2026 midterm elections, including the political fallout from the Supreme Court’s Missouri redistricting decision, the battle for control of Congress, and the issues driving voters as both parties intensify their push toward November on ‘Special Report.’

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The Missouri Supreme Court signaled Tuesday that it was considering holding Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in contempt amid an escalating battle over proposed congressional maps.

Hoskins, a Republican, said Tuesday that he would keep using the congressional districts redrawn last year, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision that left standing a state Supreme Court order requiring Missouri to use its old districts instead.

“I look forward to my day in court,” Hoskins said in a post on X that cited the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution.

MISSOURI AG FILES PETITION ASKING SUPREME COURT TO REVIVE TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING MAP

Missouri’s high court blocked the new redistricting map and ordered a statewide vote in November on whether to keep it, amid efforts led by Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional map.(AP Photo/David A. Lieb)

Hoskins must appear in court Thursday to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt for instructing election officials to use the 2025 congressional map despite an injunction barring its use.

Last week, Missouri’s high court ruled that the map backed by President Donald Trump cannot be used because thousands of voters signed a petition demanding a statewide referendum on it.

SUPREME COURT DEALS BLOW TO VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS IN FIGHT OVER STATE COURT ELECTION MAP RULING

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh declined to grant an emergency stay requested by Hoskins, leaving in place the injunction ordered by the state Supreme Court.

However, shortly after Kavanaugh’s announcement, U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Missouri from using any map other than the new 2025 districts.

GEORGIA REDISTRICTING BATTLE REVIVED AFTER APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS FEDERAL COURT DECISION

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the state high court’s decision immediately.(AP Photo/David A. Lieb)

Opponents of the new redistricting plan quickly filed a notice to appeal Clark’s order to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“An individual federal judge cannot overrule the Missouri Supreme Court,” said attorney Chuck Hatfield, who represents People Not Politicians, the group that sponsored the referendum petition.

RNC AND NRCC FILE LAWSUIT DEFENDING MISSOURI’S NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP AGAINST DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGES

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said she was prepared to comply with Clark’s order, which she argued “binds the state to using” the new congressional districts.

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“We maintain that changing the congressional map in between the primary and general elections is simply not feasible and profoundly unjust to Missouri voters,” she wrote on X.

BLOCKBUSTER SUPREME COURT VOTING RIGHTS RULING IGNITES REDISTRICTING WAR ACROSS SOUTHERN STATES

The conflict is part of a broader, nationwide effort by Republicans to redraw congressional districts mid-decade to gain U.S. House seats.

Missouri currently has six Republicans and two Democrats in the U.S. House. The new redistricting plan would eliminate one Democratic seat, currently held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.

Trump says Iran war will end after the midterms and gas prices will fall

2026-09-09 3:00 PM ET / CNN

By Adam Cancryn

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he expects Iran will abandon its war effort after the US midterm elections – and he conceded American gas prices are unlikely to fall before then.

Speaking to reporters on his way to the GOP midterm convention in Dallas, Trump asserted that Iran would continue the war into November in an effort to damage him politically.

“I think it’s going to take a little bit longer than the midterm,” Trump said of gas prices coming down. “They’re desperate to try and affect the election so that we can get a nice weak group of people in there and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon.”

But he added that he believes Iran is near collapse and that it would seek an end to the conflict “immediately after the election,” prompting oil prices to tumble downward.

“They can’t hold out any longer,” he said.

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on September 9, 2026.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Trump’s remarks come as the global benchmark oil price has topped $100 a barrel once again, driven by stepped-up fighting in Iran in recent days that has further jeopardized the flow of crude through the Strait of Hormuz.

The surge in oil prices is likely to further increase fuel costs in the US, which have emerged as a key economic pain point ahead of the midterms.

Trump has repeatedly insisted that oil prices will fall precipitously once the war is over, dismissing concerns about the political impact by insisting that Americans are supportive of the broader offensive against Iran.

“I think it’s very easy to explain to America, all you have to do is say: ‘Will you let Iran have a nuclear weapon?’ And the answer is no,” Trump said.