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Senior aides to U.K.’s Nigel Farage step down in donation scandal where reporter posed as wealthy American’s son

September 4, 2026 / 5:26 PM EDT / CBS News

By

Kamal Afzali

Two senior aides to Nigel Farage, the firebrand leader of the U.K.’s populist Reform party, have stepped down after the party was accused of breaking British electoral law concerning foreign funding in the wake of an investigative news report where a journalist posed as a wealthy American’s son who wanted to donate to the party.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the party said it was launching an internal probe after the report aired on Britain’s Channel 4 news late Thursday. Two Reform party officials, James Orr and Dan Jukes, have left their positions pending the outcome of that investigation, the spokesperson said.

“The party believes it is important that the investigation is allowed to proceed independently and without prejudice. No further comment will be made while the investigation is ongoing,” the spokesperson said.

Jukes is widely regarded as Farage’s right-hand man, with an “innate sense of his boss’ instinct,” according to CBS News’ partner network BBC News. Orr, an influential figure in the British national conservative movement, served as Reform’s head of policy until his resignation. He is a theologian and associate professor of the philosophy of religion at the University of Cambridge. Both men denied any wrongdoing.

In an interview with a London radio station early Friday, Farage insisted the party had broken no laws.

“The party has not taken any dodgy money or anything like that whatsoever,” Farage told LBC Radio. “However, it is a clear case of entrapment, and they worked at it for a very long time, and they got a couple of our contractors to say things that perhaps should not have been said. And as a result of that, they have been removed this morning and yeah, you know, I’m not happy about it.”

Dan Jukes speaks to Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage in Clacton-on-Sea, Britain, July 2, 2024. Reuters/Hollie Adams

Channel 4 stood by the report, with a spokesperson telling BBC News the investigation “has been rigorously verified to ensure accuracy. We would encourage people to watch the investigation in full.”

The allegations pile further pressure on Farage just as his party’s annual conference was getting underway. It also unfolds against the backdrop of scrutiny over donations linked to the party, including an ongoing parliamentary investigation over a multimillion-pound donation from cryptobillionaire Christopher Harborne in 2024. Farage denies any wrongdoing.

Speaking to CBS News at the party’s conference, Zia Yusuf, a spokesperson for domestic affairs, downplayed any immediate blowback the allegations would have on the party’s internal operations.

“Look, Reform has had many great people who have helped get us to where we are. And I have no doubt, given the talent pipeline that I do have visibility of, both at parliamentary level, potentially, and beyond it, we will withstand this, and ultimately, ultimately will come out strong on the other side,” Yusuf said.

On Thursday night, Channel 4 aired the investigation that it said was carried out by an undercover team of journalists from a group called Verbatim, which was founded by journalists from the Centre for Climate Reporting.

The investigation follows one journalist who poses as the British-educated son of a wealthy American businessman from Wyoming, who both appeared eager to support the party, which shares aspects of ideology and policy positions with elements of the MAGA movement, as well as other right-leaning populist movements around the world.

British law regards a permissible donor to a U.K. political party as either a U.K.-registered voter or a company. In the scenario that unfolds in the undercover investigation, the son is a permissible donor, and the father is not.

Secretly filmed footage purports to show the two party aides arranging donations from the undercover journalist to fund the commissioning of a number of political polls. According to Channel 4, the donations added up to 32,500 British pounds, which is about $44,000.

Some of those polls later appeared in news articles for British newspapers such as The Telegraph and the Times of London. The articles, which reflect favorably on the party on issues such as its fortunes in local elections and support among labor union members, do not mention how Reform allegedly commissioned the polls.

Jukes is heard telling the undercover journalist that the donation made a “huge impact” for the party while not “showing up anywhere in public records.”

Orr denied Reform’s involvement in the polling, saying in a video posted to social media an “independent person had paid an independent pollster.” “No money reached Reform UK at all, no donation reached Reform UK at all — whether it was in cash or in kind,” he said.

James Orr attends a Reform UK press conference on Aug. 6, 2026, in London. Leon Neal/Getty Images

The investigation also includes a discussion between Jukes and the journalist on how to circumvent electoral law to secure a separate foreign donation to the party of 500,000 British pounds, or about $675,000. Channel 4 says that donation was never made.

The investigation culminates in a four-way lunch between the journalist posing as the son of the American businessman, an actor playing the businessman, Jukes and Farage.

During that meeting, Farage appears to have knowledge that the funding for the polls came from the businessman, and does not appear to be concerned when the son proposes the method by which the 500,000-pound foreign donation could reach the party, saying, “Thank you. Well, both of you. Thank you.”

Jukes released a statement to BBC News calling the report “entrapment over a prolonged period of nearly a year by foreign-funded climate change activists.”

“I totally deny any wrongdoing but have stepped back from politics in order to clear my name,” Jukes said.

In a statement to Sky News, Orr said, “I have agreed to step down from my current role at Reform UK pending the outcome of the party’s internal investigation into the conduct of the program, with which I will cooperate fully.”

At least two of Reform’s opponents, the ruling Labour Party and the centrist Liberal Democrats, have written to the Metropolitan Police, alleging breaches of electoral law.

In a statement to CBS News, the police said it was aware of reporting “involving political party donations” and alleged breaches of British law relating to polling.

The police have not launched an investigation so far, saying it would “assess the matter and any information provided to us.”

The U.K.’s Electoral Commission, which regulates party and election finance, confirmed it was in contact with the police.

“The law requires political parties to report all permissible donations they accept with a value over £11,180 and all impermissible donations over £500,” the commission said. “Information about any potential attempt to evade the controls on donations is for the police to consider.”

Are mortgage rates heading back above 7%? Here’s what experts think.

September 4, 2026 / 4:35 PM EDT / CBS News
By Mary Cunningham

Mortgage rates have confounded house hunters this year by steadily ticking higher. That trend is likely to continue, according to economists, with some predicting rates will climb back above 7%.

“We’re effectively there,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told CBS News. “And rates could easily go over.”

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose this week to 6.71%, according to Freddie Mac, the highest in 13 months and up from below 6% in late February. Rates last reached the 7% mark in January 2025.

Why are mortgage rates rising?

Experts say the main reason mortgage rates are rising is because of turmoil in the bond market. Heightened inflation concerns due to rising energy prices and swelling U.S. government debt have sparked a global bond sell-off, pushing up borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards.

Mortgage rates closely track the 10-year Treasury yield, which has jumped from 4.08% to 4.77% over the last six months. That’s because investors are demanding higher returns to compensate for what they see as elevated risk associated with long-duration bonds. Those higher bond yields are putting upward pressure on mortgage rates.

With inflation still stuck well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% annual target, traders now think the central bank is likely to hike its benchmark rate later this month for the first time since July 2023, according to CME FedWatch, which tracks the probability of rate moves.

A key piece of data will come next week, when the Labor Department releases its Consumer Price Index data for August.

“It’s a very fragile time in the bond market — not just in the U.S. but globally,” Zandi said, adding that with bond investors on edge, rates could easily “rise further and push mortgage rates above 7%.”

The housing market is “going to remain under a glacier until rates come back in, which could be a while,” he added.

Some borrowers may already be facing 7% mortgage rates, said Kate Wood, a lending expert at NerdWallet. Roughly half of the sample quotes from lenders she’s seen are already north of that threshold, she told CBS News.

Higher for longer?

“In terms of what borrowers are seeing right now, if they’re out there getting quotes from lenders, [they’ve] probably been seeing sevens for a little while now,” she said.

Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com, thinks mortgage costs are likely to remain elevated for a while.

“I don’t know if we’ll get to 7%, but we bet that things are going to go up sooner than they’re going to go down,” he said.

Although higher mortgage rates can greatly increase the cost of buying a home, Wood said it could also present an opportunity.

“It’s not helping you money-wise with the interest rate, but it might actually be helping you money-wise on the home price because there is going to be substantially less competition,” she said, noting that lower rates would invite buyers to come off the sidelines.

Edited by Alain Sherter

How AI is reshaping the U.S. Open for players and fans

2026-09-04 5:40 PM EDT / CBS News

By

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

Read Full Bio

Seeing fans with their phones out during a tennis match would’ve been a strange sight even a decade ago. But at the U.S. Open this year, the digital world has become intertwined with the game as live AI insights reshape the tournament experience.

On Tuesday night, when Coco Gauff faced off against Zeynep Sönmez of Turkey, AI-generated analysis trickled in through the U.S. Open app, tracking key moments, each player’s likelihood to win and a new metric called “serve quality.”

Cameras around the perimeter of Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York, collect data on players’ limb movement. Lauren Fichten

Cameras lining the perimeter of Arthur Ashe Stadium track the ball, racket and players’ limbs, collecting data points like elbow and knee flexion and wrist flex velocity. Then, IBM’s agentic software development platform, Watsonx, processes the data from the court to measure the efficiency, accuracy and consistency of a player’s serve, a number out of 100 that can be seen in the U.S. Open app postmatch.

Gauff’s winning serves had a “controlled racket preparation and deep knee bend during her setup,” according to the serve quality summary.

There will be over a billion data points produced by the end of the tournament, said Tyler Sidell, IBM’s technical program director for sports and entertainment partnerships.

The data-driven experiences, he said, are meant to be a conversation starter for fans.

“There’s so much unpredictability in sports — you could take a look at all the data, but anything can happen out there on the court,” he said. “That’s the fun about it. We want to provide an insight, but still, let’s watch the matches play out.”

AI insights are not just about the fans who can access them in the app (about 14 million of them, according to IBM). The features have also become a tool for players.

Jessica Pegula, who advanced to the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Friday, uses AI to identify patterns in her opponents’ serves before facing them in a match.

“Tennis is a lot of problem solving on the court, so it’s a lot of patterns, and I think serve is a really big one,” she told CBS News. “It’s the one controllable shot we have in tennis.”

Although the game can turn around at any moment, for Pegula, the data remains useful.

The IBM Data Operations center processes data throughout the duration of a match. Lauren Fichten

“You can get a lot of analytics, but sometimes things change during the match, sometimes someone changes their strategy, or they maybe go against the grain of what you thought they were going to do, and you still have to really trust your instinct,” she said. “But I think mentally it just gives you that feeling of being prepared before you go into a match.”

The “likelihood to win” feature has been a staple of the U.S. Open digital experience for about six years, Sidell said, but this is the second year fans can track the fluctuating likelihoods in real time as a match plays out. The feature is built on trusted media sources and recent performances, which are aggregated to generate a player’s odds of winning.

Gauff was predicted to win Tuesday by 72%, a number that rose as she built momentum in the first set. Another AI-powered feature, “key moments,” provides brief blurbs of analysis as a game unfolds. “Gauff has three opportunities to win the match, with Sonmez needing a heroic response,” said a key moment in the second set of the match.

A dramatic fluctuation in likelihood to win prediction came later that evening when the men’s No. 1 seed, Alexander Zverev of Germany, played a nail-biting match against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego that dragged into the early morning. Zverev had an 87% likelihood of winning before the match. But toward the end of the fourth set, Sonego had a 93% chance of winning. It flipped again when Zverev made a comeback.

Match Chat, an AI-powered assistant in the app, also can answer questions about players, matches and the venue.

When asked where one could get a Honey Deuce, the signature cocktail of the U.S. Open, it swiftly sent the locations of the bars and asked, “Do you want the nearest Honey Deuce bar to your gate?”

Supreme Court sides with Republicans in fight over broadcast ad rates

2026-09-04T16:32:00-0400 / CBS News

By

Updated on: September 4, 2026 / 6:44 PM EDT / CBS News

The Supreme Court on Friday granted Republicans’ request to halt a lower court decision that prevented political party committees from receiving more favorable broadcast advertising rates, giving the GOP a win weeks before the November elections.

The order from the high court restores guidance from the Federal Communications Commission that allows political parties and committees access to cheaper rates for political ads in the run-up to the midterms. The decision could be a boon for national Republican groups, which have amassed bigger war chests than their Democratic counterparts and can flood the airwaves with more ads in support of GOP candidates.

The National Republican Congressional Committee has reserved $10.8 million in television ads for 23 House races this month, according to the group and AdImpact.

The move by the NRCC, which aims to expand Republicans’ ranks in the House, comes after the Supreme Court in June struck down federal limits on the amount of money political committees can spend in coordination with federal candidates.

In an unsigned decision, the Supreme Court said the appeals court likely did not have jurisdiction to address the challenge to the FCC’s policy that was brought by a group of Democratic candidates for the House and Senate. Those candidates are Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet of Michigan, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Roy Cooper of North Carolina. Ossoff and McDonald Rivet are seeking reelection, and Brown and Cooper are both running for the Senate in their respective states.

The high court also said the GOP party committees are likely to be harmed by the 4th Circuit’s decision, since they said broadcasters are already withdrawing favorable rates in light of the lower court’s ruling.

“Current and future recissions will require the party committees to pay more for advertising space, thereby hampering their efforts to reach the electorate in the critical weeks leading up to the midterms,” the Supreme Court said. “That injury, which implicates their First Amendment rights to speak and coordinate their political activities freely, cannot be remedied after the fact through refunds or reimbursements.”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.

Cooper, who is running for Senate in North Carolina against Republican Michael Whatley, castigated the Supreme Court’s ruling,

“The Supreme Court has just ignored the clear language of the law and given a massive TV ad discount to billionaires and other big money donors, further eroding the power of everyday people,” said Jeff Allen, Cooper for North Carolina campaign manager. “Former RNC Chair Michael Whatley will be first in line to benefit from the RNC’s $130 million warchest to bail out his flailing campaign.”

The dispute involves the rates that broadcasters charge for political ads in the run-up to federal elections. Under federal law, stations must give candidates and their campaign committees favorable rates during election season. These lesser rates are known as the “lowest unit charge” rates and take effect 60 days before a general election, which for the upcoming midterms is Friday.

In March, a component of the Federal Communications Commission issued a public notice on the rules for political ad buys that directed broadcasters to offer discounted rates to joint fundraising committees and political parties spending in coordination with candidates.

Soon after that guidance was issued, the four Democratic candidates asked the FCC to review the policy. After the FCC took no immediate action on the Democrats’ request, they turned to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit and argued the policy is unlawful. In a divided decision last month, the 4th Circuit agreed to set aside the public notice.

In its 2-1 ruling, the 4th Circuit said that the FCC’s guidance is unlawful because neither political parties nor joint fundraising committees are entitled to the discounted rates. The two judges in the majority said that the more favorable rates are only for candidates for public office in connection with his campaign.

Writing in dissent, Judge Harvie Wilkinson said that the 4th Circuit got involved too soon, since the FCC has not yet issued a final order in response to the Democrats’ application for review.

In their request for emergency relief to the Supreme Court, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and NRCC said they have budgeted “tens of millions of dollars” in ad buys at the cheaper rates. But it said broadcast stations are rescinding those rates because of the 4th Circuit’s ruling.

They argued that the 4th Circuit did not review final action by the FCC, but rather a “staff-level guidance document,” so the court should not have gotten involved at that stage.

“In the midst of election season, a divided Fourth Circuit panel just rewrote longstanding rules about preferential broadcast rates for political ads,” the Republicans wrote, adding that the Democrats were seeking to “upend the status quo” by limiting access to favorable ad rates to candidates.

The Trump administration, including the FCC, backed the GOP committees. In a brief to the Supreme Court, Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued the Democratic candidates did not have the legal right to sue, and the 4th Circuit did not have jurisdiction to review the public notice.

Sauer also asserted that the FCC’s guidance applies equally to candidates of both political parties.

“The notice does not grant favored treatment to one side or the other; instead, the notice’s interpretation offers the same benefit to all sides, including the challengers themselves and the committees and parties supporting them,” he said.

But lawyers for the Democrats said the 4th Circuit’s decision was “well-grounded,” since federal law allows cheaper ad rates only for a “legally qualified candidate” for public office.

“That covers advertisements purchased by the candidate or their principal campaign committee on their behalf, but not advertisements that are purchased by party committees or JFCs who are not … acting on behalf of candidates when purchasing the ads in question,” they wrote in a Supreme Court filing.

The Democrats argued that if the lower rates were extended to political parties and joint fundraising committees, their access to them would be unlawfully diluted. As a result, the candidates”would face a higher volume of opposing advertising, and in their competition with other advertisers for scarce television inventory.”

“In each case, the unlawful dilution requires them to raise and spend more money in response,” they said.

Fin Daniel Gómez and Zak Hudak contributed to this report.

陈婧：中国企业被“告洋状”冤不冤？

2026年9月5日 05:00 / 联合早报

从劳动纠纷演变为跨国供应链合规审视，中企出海正面临治理模式重构。当内部决策触发外部连锁反应，全球化规则将如何重塑企业行为边界？

位于江苏常州的星宇股份是中国车灯制造业龙头。 （互联网）

围绕中国车灯龙头星宇股份裁员的风波似乎已经落幕，但舆论争议并没有就此打住。

综合中国媒体报道，位于江苏常州的星宇股份，今年共招录440名应届毕业生。这批毕业生今年7月入职，仅一个多月后就被公司要求“二选一”：要么主动离职，获得半个月工资补偿；要么从研发岗位调往生产线，薪资重新核定。根据官方说法，最终有107人解除劳动合同。

面对不平等合约，这群年轻人没有忍气吞声，而是搜集证据，向当地劳动监管部门、香港交易所，乃至奔驰（新加坡称马赛地）、大众等星宇的海外大客户举报。

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黄循财总理：情报局须更早看清风险 助国家掌握战略优势

2026年9月5日 05:00 / 联合早报

• 黄循财总理出席情报局成立六十周年闭门纪念活动并致辞，向历届和现任情报人员致敬，肯定其贡献。 – 黄总理指出国际局势复杂难测，情报局须看清他国未公开意图及经济科技手段，助政府更早预判风险。 – 他强调安全与经济科技界线模糊，经济依赖或成战略弱点，情报局须强化能力以掌握局势变化影响。 – 黄总理称人才是情报局成功根本，须吸引思维敏锐且具使命感者，协助小国新加坡获取重要战略优势。

黄总理星期五（9月4日）以主宾身份出席安全与情报局成立60周年闭门纪念活动致辞时说，情报局不仅须了解各国在政治上的言行，也要掌握它们如何运用经济和科技手段推进利益，及早发现变化并评估对新加坡的影响。 （国防部提供）

国际局势日益复杂难测，新加坡情报人员须发现别人可能忽略的脉络、看清各国没有公开表明的意图，并预判下一步发展，让政府更早做好准备和应对。

黄循财总理指出，我国如今不能只关注各国在政治层面的言行，也得了解它们如何运用经济和科技等手段推进自身利益。安全与情报局因此须不断提升能力，及早掌握这些变化对新加坡的影响。

隶属国防部的安全与情报局（Security & Intelligence Division，简称情报局）今年迎来成立60周年，星期五（9月4日）举行闭门纪念活动，向历届和现任人员致敬。黄总理以主宾身份出席活动并致辞。

情报局是我国对外情报机构，负责向决策者提供及时、准确的情报与分析，研判可能影响新加坡安全与国家利益的全球局势，为政府应对潜在威胁提供预警。

根据国防部的文告，黄总理致辞时说，世界正变得更不安全，国际竞争加剧，各国之间更加分化，局势也更难预测，我国面对的威胁日趋多元。

他指出，过去，外部环境中的许多基本前提相对稳定；如今，我国却须更密切留意各方面变化，包括国际关系如何转变、哪些领域的对外依赖正在加深、新限制措施可能带来什么影响，以及接下来可能出现哪些新弱点。

与此同时，安全、经济和科技之间的界线日益模糊。贸易、投资、供应链和科技获取，越来越多被各国用作博弈手段。“经济依赖可能形成战略弱点，商业决定也可能带来国家安全后果。”

黄总理说，这使情报局的工作变得更复杂、更艰巨，也更加重要。情报局因此须继续适应变化、强化能力，协助政府及早掌握国际局势的变化，为可能发生的情况做好准备。

“情报局必须帮助政府看出别人可能忽略的脉络、了解没有公开表明的意图，并预判接下来可能发生什么事。”

黄总理指出，情报局无法预测一切，却能协助新加坡更早预判局势发展、加深了解并做好准备。对新加坡这样的小国而言，这都是重要的战略优势。

历经六十载风雨 关键时刻发挥不可替代作用

回顾过去60年，黄总理说，情报局曾在新加坡历史多个关键时刻发挥重要作用，“还有很多事情，可能永远不会公开，就算是在今天这样的闭门场合，我们也不会谈论”。

不过，正是这些工作，帮助历代新加坡领导人更清楚地看懂世界、及早发现威胁、了解他国意图，并更有把握地作出艰难决定。

黄总理强调，人才是情报局取得成功最根本的因素。情报局须继续吸引和留住思维敏锐、判断力强、专业知识深厚，并对新加坡有强烈使命感的人才。

“这份工作需要全心投入，也必须懂得保密。情报人员要有心理准备，自己的付出不会得到公开表扬。这样的人才从来不好找，但我们还是得继续努力。很高兴的是，情报局里有不少这样的人。”

国务资政兼国家安全统筹部长及内政部长尚穆根、公共服务统筹部长兼国防部长陈振声，以及总理公署高级顾问张志贤也出席纪念活动。

Trump says he’s followed the Lindsay Clancy case in first comments on trial: “She did a horrible, horrible thing”

September 4, 2026 / 4:54 PM EDT / CBS News

By Joe Walsh

Shortly after the judge overseeing Lindsay Clancy’s murder case declared a mistrial Friday due to a hung jury, President Trump called it a “terrible situation” and a “horrible tragedy” in his first public comments on a case that has drawn nationwide attention.

Asked by reporters if he is following the Massachusetts trial, the president said: “It’s on television so much, it’s hard not to follow it.”

Clancy has admitted to killing her three children at home in the suburban town of Duxbury in early 2023, and her lawyers say she then tried to take her own life.

Prosecutors accused Clancy of first-degree murder in the deaths of her three children in their home in the suburban town of Duxbury in early 2023. Clancy has admitted to killing them, but pleaded not guilty, arguing she should not be held criminally responsible because she was overmedicated and suffering from postpartum psychosis. The trial included testimony from a litany of psychologists and psychiatrists who weighed in on Clancy’s state of mind.

Mr. Trump did not offer a strong view on what the outcome of the polarizing case should be.

“Look, she did a horrible, horrible thing. Can’t be worse,” he said. “But you’ll find out what the price to pay is. There’ll be a price. It’s going to be mental institution or jail or something.”

He noted that another trial is possible, which he called “too bad.”

blob:https://www.cbsnews.com/809a008b-c2b9-48d7-8126-3d4b602d6267

The jury deliberated for 36 hours. If she had been found not guilty by reason of insanity, prosecutors could have asked a judge to commit her to a state hospital or mental health facility.

Jurors informed the judge several times that they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. After they remained deadlocked on Friday, the judge formally declared a mistrial. Local prosecutors have not said whether they will retry her.

The case was marked by an unusual bout of last-minute controversy. Clancy’s attorney asked the judge to dismiss a lone juror who he alleged was ignoring the court’s instructions, pointing to a note to the judge from the jury foreperson.

The judge rejected that request, but he held off on declaring a mistrial Friday so Clancy’s legal team could appeal the matter to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. When the state’s highest court declined to intervene, a mistrial was declared and jurors were dismissed.

西藏吉隆泥石流死亡增至31人

2026年9月5日 07:27 / 联合早报

尼泊尔与中国西藏接壤区泥石流灾害发生至今已超过10天，中国方面最新通报死亡人数增至31人。

据新华社报道，截至星期五（9月4日）傍晚6时，西藏吉隆泥石流灾害已致31人遇难，531人失联。

尼泊尔官方则通报有1259人死亡、5083人失踪。尼泊尔救援人员星期五从遭沙石掩埋的水电站隧道中，救出两名受困工人。

另据央视新闻报道，灾情发生后，西藏当地政府及时排查吉隆口岸区域地质灾害隐患点排查。

报道称，截至星期三（9月2日），针对G216国道救援通道开展专项排查，共发育地质灾害隐患58处，其中高风险七处，中风险39处，低风险12处。

特朗普称习近平将偕同妻子访美

2026-09-05 07:58 / 联合早报

美国总统特朗普星期五（9月4日）称，中国国家主席习近平将偕同妻子彭丽媛访问美国。

据彭博社报道，特朗普当天告诉记者，他将在9月24日设国宴款待到访的习近平。特朗普也淡化了美中国两国之间因伊朗课题而产生的摩擦。

特朗普说：“我们会搞一场国宴，而且我们要 —— 我们跟中国办大事，我们与中国之间的关系一直很好。”

特朗普形容习近平是了不起的绅士，并说：“我们相处得很好，我们有着非常好的贸易关系。你们知道，他们是竞争对手等等，但我们跟习主席的关系非常的好。”

特朗普也说，习近平会和“他美丽的妻子一起来，她是一位美丽的女士、一个伟大的女性，受到全世界的尊敬，他们会一起来”。

针对伊朗课题，特朗普在白宫椭圆形办公室告诉记者：“我对习主席说了‘请不要介入’ —— 我和他关系非常好 —— 所以他们其实没有掺和进来。”

US judge again blocks Postal Service’s mail-in voting restrictions

2026-09-04T21:56:45.95Z / Reuters

A United States Postal Service (USPS) mailbox is seen in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., May 9, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

BOSTON, Sept 4 (Reuters) – A federal judge in Boston extended on Friday a ban stopping President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing a new U.S. Postal Service rule that would tighten mail-in voting requirements ahead of the November congressional elections.

Boston-based U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued ​the injunction at the behest of Democratic-led states and voting rights groups, after the first state in the country sent ‌out mail ballots for the elections on Friday.

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Last week, Talwani, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, issued a 14-day temporary restraining order to prevent USPS’ rule from being enforced while she considered whether to issue a longer-term injunction.

The administration on Thursday had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and lift the ​restraining order so the rule could take effect. The court’s 6-3 conservative majority last week lifted a prior order Talwani issued preventing ​USPS from imposing such restrictions.

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

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

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

Voting rights advocates and several Democratic-led states convinced Talwani last week to temporarily block ​the rule, arguing it risked disenfranchising voters and was adopted in violation of the U.S. Constitution, which gives states the authority to administer ​elections.

Lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice countered that USPS had clear authority to implement what they called “modest” envelope design requirements. They said state election ‌officials would ⁠retain full control over who is permitted to vote by mail in their states if the rule went into effect.

All 50 states allow for some form of mail-in voting. Of those, 29 states allow voters to ask to cast ballots by mail without providing a reason, and eight conduct their elections entirely by mail. North Carolina on Friday became the first state to mail ballots for the November elections.

The rule, if ​allowed to take effect, could force ​state election officials to try ⁠to overhaul their systems with just weeks left until the elections to comply with a system that critics say USPS is not ready to implement.

Numerous state election offices already have their envelopes and ballots printed. A ​USPS official said in a court filing on Thursday, Sept. 3 that an online portal that ​states would use to ⁠upload their voter lists was not yet active. The official said it could be available for states that wish to use it at some point during the week of September 7.

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

The administration had asked a federal appeals court to set aside Talwani’s initial restraining order. But the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit ​Court of Appeals had not acted on that request before the judge issued her latest decision.

Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Rod Nickel

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