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Reporter’s Notebook: Lawmakers wrestle over whether AI can make the grade in America’s classrooms

June 25, 2026 2:53pm EDT / Fox News

Educators warn that a previous rush to add technology to the classroom failed to improve learning outcomes

By Chad Pergram Fox News

A recent Fox News poll highlights changing perceptions as 52% of voters now consider Big Tech a greater threat to the U.S. future compared to Big Government’s 47%. A Senate panel also discusses the rise of artificial intelligence in classrooms, debating its impact on student learning, privacy concerns, and potential effects on the American workforce. Lawmakers are working on an AI regulation framework.

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Reading. Writing. And AI algorithms.

The Senate is now wrestling with how students — and teachers — might use Artificial Intelligence in the classroom.

It’s inevitable.

“The question is not whether AI is going to impact education. The real question is whether we will shape its use thoughtfully. Responsibly,” said Delaware Secretary of Education Cindy Marten during a recent Senate hearing.

Lawmakers are focusing not just on what AI teaches students. But how.

“What do we know when it comes to long term cognitive impact of the use of this technology?” asked Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., at the hearing.

SCHOOLS TURN TO HANDWRITTEN EXAMS AS AI CHEATING SURGES

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., speaks to reporters as he returns to his office at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 10, 2026 in Washington, D.C.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“We have no causal studies on long term impact on social or cognitive development,” replied Erin Mote, who, as CEO of InnovateEDU and the EDSAFE AI Alliance, works on technological innovation in the classroom.

Pushing students onto screens, iPads and Chromebooks in the classroom was all the rage about 12 years ago. But since that rush to technology, the percentage of high school seniors performing at grade level in math and reading is down four points from 2009, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP), sometimes known as the report card of the nation.

“The students did not learn the content better and their social and emotional health has suffered greatly. We need to ensure as we move forward teaching about and with AI that we do not become overly tech reliant and that critical thinking skills remain imperative” said David Slykhuis of Valdosta State University at a House hearing earlier this year.

That’s why lawmakers are skeptical that AI can boost classroom performance.

“Kids have outsourced critical thinking. Have outsourced friendship. Have even outsourced moral advice to AI,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.

95% OF FACULTY SAY AI MAKING STUDENTS DANGEROUSLY DEPENDENT ON TECHNOLOGY FOR LEARNING: SURVEY

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., speaks to a reporter after a vote in the U.S. Capitol on July 23, 2025.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

There are also privacy concerns. AI can glean what each student learns and knows.

AI could harvest what lessons they’ve covered. How fast students picked up different concepts. AI or data brokers could then track that for decades as students head to college or even enter the workforce.

“These tools are getting more access to more information about our students that we may not even be aware of,” warned Marten.

Teachers are already leaning on AI to develop lesson plans and grade papers. Elementary teachers can certainly deploy AI to grade simple multiplication tables and spelling. But it could spell trouble if teachers or professors use an AI rubric to grade subjective assignments such as creative writing or a term paper.

“For those that start using AI, there’s a tendency to trust everything that it spits out that can create serious problems,” said Joshua Jones at the Senate hearing. He’s CEO of QuantHub, an education AI literacy firm.

Some lawmakers doubt that AI can do everything. And some aspects of education are hard to copy.

“The foundational relationship between a child and a teacher is not something that AI is going to recreate. It’s not something that I will substitute for,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

WHY A CLASSICAL EDUCATION MAY BE THE KEY TO HUMANITY’S FUTURE IN THE AI ERA

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks to reporters outside the Senate Democrats caucus lunch meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 6, 2025.(Bill Clark/Getty Images)

Educators want to know how AI may shift their roles. And if the concept of a “teacher” or a “professor,” tomorrow is the same as what we think of today.

“The idea of pulling that away is probably really scary to teachers who think this is what teaching looks like. But we know that it’s not an effective way for teaching or for learning. And so it’s going to require some real ecosystem shifts,” said educator Emily Cherkin, who has written about AI.

Graduating college seniors showered several tech CEOs with a chorus of boos at commencement exercises around the country this spring. The reason? These students may have earned a diploma. But they wonder if that’s sufficient for gainful employment in the age of AI.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently met with a host of bipartisan lawmakers at the Capitol about their hopes and fears about AI.

“I understand that college students have a lot of anxiety about the future,” said Altman. “I think there will be a lot of jobs in the future. I think that the impact on jobs has been less than many people in our field expected. And it doesn’t mean that it will always stay that way in the future.”

Moreover, students may question the value of an education if they can’t get work due to artificial intelligence.

“(High school seniors) were saying that they can’t find jobs. Saying that 30 to 40 percent of them are unemployed and they blame AI for this,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. “We’ve got to make some choices about AI to make sure it actually is good for the American workforce. And I think a lot college grads don’t think it is.”

AI RISKS TO KIDS, WORKERS RISING FASTER THAN REGULATION, NEW GROUP WARNS

FILE – U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) arrives to a closed door briefing with senators at the U.S. Capitol on January 7, 2026 in Washington, DC.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Hawley believes Congress should take action on AI. But not in the ways you might think.

“We ought to pass legislation right now that would require these tech companies to turn over the data on how many jobs they’re creating or how many they’re destroying,” said Hawley.

Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., is one of the leading voices in Congress on AI. He recently helped draft a bipartisan framework for legislation to regulate AI. Obernolte says he hears what college students are saying.

“It’s an indication that we collectively have done a terrible job at articulating to the American public the optimistic case for AI deployment,” said Obernolte. “AI will probably be the most powerful tool for enhancing human productivity that we have ever invented. And that will not only have positive economic consequences for our country and our world, but could create this rising wave of prosperity that literally lifts all the boats.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wants to pass an AI regulation bill by the end of the year. But the Congressional calendar is especially clogged. The House skipped out of town a day early this week. Even next week’s schedule may be in jeopardy thanks to a dispute over the SAVE America Act. That’s the GOP bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote.

But it’s unclear how a bill may address the specifics of AI in the classroom.

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That means AI may continue unbridled in primary, secondary and even collegiate education.

And unless lawmakers move fast, AI may school us all.

Chad Pergram currently serves as Chief Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.

Trump’s latest declaration of an emergency leaves GOP allies scrambling again

June 25, 2026 at 1:43 p.m. EDT / The Washington Post

House Speaker Mike Johnson heads to the White House a day after the president canceled a signing ceremony for a housing bill, using it as leverage for elections legislation he deems urgent.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) arrives at the White House ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 event on June 14. (Alex Brandon/AP)

By Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Theodoric Meyer

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has scheduled a rush visit to the White House on Thursday afternoon to try to unsnarl the knot created when President Donald Trump abruptly canceled a signing ceremony for a bipartisan affordable housing bill.

Trump’s obsession with SAVE America Act drives Congress into a standoff

2026-06-25T15:17:00-0400 / CBS News

By Caitlin Yilek Politics Reporter
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.

Read Full Bio

Updated on: June 25, 2026 / 3:20 PM EDT / CBS News

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Washington — President Trump and House conservatives are holding Congress hostage over Senate Republicans’ inability to pass a voting regulations bill known as the SAVE America Act.

Mr. Trump abruptly canceled a signing ceremony Wednesday for a landmark housing affordability bill that has overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers, seeking once again to use unrelated legislation as political leverage in his push to get Congress to adopt controversial voting requirements, such as showing proof of citizenship and restrictions on mail-in ballots.

The House has passed earlier versions of the bill that aren’t as sweeping, with support from a handful of Democrats. But the president has since requested to add other Republican priorities, like bans on mail-in voting and transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports. Senate Republican leaders have repeatedly said the bill does not have the support to reach the 60-vote threshold to advance in the upper chamber.

That hasn’t stopped the president from trying. He threatened earlier this year not to sign most other bills until Congress passed the SAVE America Act. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump refused to reauthorize a warrantless surveillance authority that is the source of the bulk of the intelligence in his daily security briefing unless the election bill was attached. It still has not been reauthorized.

And on Wednesday, hours before he was set to sign a bill that marked the first comprehensive housing affordability legislation in decades — a bill that came as the issue is top of mind for many Americans — the president again demanded that the SAVE America Act be prioritized. He said he would not sign the housing legislation into law until lawmakers pass his political pet project.

Backed by conservatives, Mr. Trump has demanded that Senate Majority Leader John Thune find the votes to pass the legislation, or change the Senate’s rules to make it happen. But Thune, a South Dakota Republican, has made it clear that Senate Republicans won’t support that option either. Still, GOP leaders have tried to address interest from conservatives, including by allowing a marathon floor debate on the measure earlier this year aimed at giving members a chance to make their case.

“We’ve made the point a number of times, as you know, that we don’t have the votes. But that’s not a conclusion obviously he would like to see us draw,” Thune said Wednesday.

GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska reiterated the point and argued the president’s insistence is only obstructing his own agenda.

“If he chooses to hold up his own agenda because he wants action on the SAVE Act, that’s, I guess, his call. It is not helpful to him,” she said Wednesday. “It’s not moving the needle. If you don’t have the votes, sir, you don’t have the votes.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson was meeting with Mr. Trump at the White House on Thursday afternoon about the path forward. Before leaving the U.S. Capitol, the Louisiana Republican said he expected a “productive” meeting about “how to get the agenda moving again.”

In a news conference Thursday morning, members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus railed against the Senate for recessing until July 13, instead of staying in Washington to find a path forward on one of Mr. Trump’s top legislative priorities. The Senate was previously scheduled to be off the next two weeks and left a day early for the break.

“The Senate sucks,” said GOP Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida.

GOP Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania demanded that the Senate return to work, saying they would stay in town “and do whatever it takes” to get the legislation to Mr. Trump’s desk.

“We have done our job, but if there’s more to do, God bless it, we will stay and suffer through it,” he said.

Shortly after the remarks, House GOP leadership canceled Friday votes and announced just one vote Thursday afternoon. The House is currently scheduled to be in session for most of next week and then on break from July 3 until July 13.

But conservatives, led by GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, have effectively shut down legislative action on the House floor until the SAVE America Act passes the Senate. With their narrow majority, House GOP leaders need nearly all of their members to stick together in party-line procedural votes to advance their legislation.

“From my standpoint, I don’t want to vote on anything else until this is passed,” GOP Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina said Thursday. “I’m not voting for anything.”

“The fact that they’re trying to say that we can put the SAVE America Act in reconciliation — it cannot be done,” Luna said.

Republicans have used the budget reconciliation process twice in this Congress to approve party-line legislation. The process allows the party in the majority to approve legislation with direct budgetary consequences without support from across the aisle, lowering the Senate’s typical 60-vote threshold to a simple majority to advance. But the process has strict requirements, and a number of Republicans have cast doubt on the ability to use the maneuver to approve the elections legislation.

Luna has urged Johnson instead to attach the voting regulations bill to the National Defense Authorization Act or an extension of a key spy authority known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which Mr. Trump previously suggested.

Johnson said he believes the best path forward for the SAVE America Act is attaching it to a third budget reconciliation bill. On Wednesday, he pitched the creation of a “grant program” tied to reconciliation that states could draw from to implement elections provisions.

GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said he’s not interested in “a watered-down version” and was doubtful that the elections measure would see a different outcome than its current fortune if attached to a party-line spending bill.

“We need the entirety of the SAVE America Act passed,” Roy said.

And the president also seemed to dismiss the idea. Asked Wednesday whether he would be open to provisions of the SAVE America Act in a reconciliation measure, Mr. Trump responded, “Not really, no.”

Ibrahim Aksoy contributed to this report.

Trump administration identifies more than 500 migrant children for removal from the US, senator says

2026-06-25T16:00:25.510Z / CNN

The Trump administration has identified more than 500 unaccompanied migrant children in US government custody to be potentially removed from the country, according to Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden.

The move marks the latest escalation of the Trump administration’s effort to focus on migrant children who arrived at the US southern border alone and are in custody awaiting to be placed with a sponsor, typically a parent or relative, in the United States.

The administration previously tried to repatriate Guatemalan children in government custody who arrived in the United States alone and didn’t have a parent in the country, but that was stopped by a federal judge.

A similar effort appears to be underway now – this time, focusing on children who have been in custody for at least six months and don’t have a relative or guardian in the United States.

“This is a severe institutional failure that places hundreds of vulnerable children in immediate jeopardy, effectively erasing them from the protection of U.S. oversight and thrusting them back into danger,” Wyden said in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“To weaponize the very agency charged with their protection is an unacceptable escalation of executive overreach that undermines our nation’s commitment to due process,” he added. It’s unclear whether all the identified children will be swiftly removed.

The Oregon senator, who serves as ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee which has oversight over the Office of Refugee Resettlement, demanded the immediate suspension of “any screening initiative and planned removal action,” as well as additional information on the effort.

In a statement, an HHS spokesperson said: “Despite this irresponsible fearmongering, there are no plans to target these children. The Biden administration rushed the release of these children without adequate sponsor vetting, leaving thousands vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, and trafficking. The Trump Administration is working to identify the parents or legal guardians of unaccompanied alien children in our care because ensuring every child is placed with a properly vetted sponsor is our top priority.”

ORR, which is housed within HHS, is charged with the care of migrant children who arrive at the US southern border alone. Those children, who are typically fleeing dangerous conditions at home, are often trying to reunite or be placed with a parent, relative or guardian already in the United States.

The children on the list described by Wyden are categorized as having no sponsor in the US and were “mainly placed in long-term foster care with ORR providers” nationwide. They’ve all been in custody for at least 180 days.

As of May, there was an average of 1,816 unaccompanied children in ORR custody, according to federal data. The majority are from Central America.

It’s unclear how old the children are and what immigration process the administration plans to use to remove the children. Trump administration officials had previously described the attempt to remove Guatemalan children as repatriations, citing coordination and requests from the Guatemalan government.

“The attempt is to have children back with their families and parents, not to be put into the United States with unverified sponsors or sponsors who are not lawfully present,” a former senior HHS official told CNN, referring to family in their home countries.

Over recent months, ORR has been identifying minors in custody who could be potentially removed from the United States, unless they are seeking certain protections, according to the former senior HHS official.

Immigrant advocates and attorneys who work with migrant children have raised alarm over kids being sent back to the very conditions they were fleeing. They argue that returning kids to their home country is not always in their best interest.

Unaccompanied migrant children go through immigration proceedings to determine whether they have relief available to them in the US, given conditions at home. According to Wyden, a majority of the more than 500 identified minors have legal counsel in their immigration proceedings.

“This administration has repeatedly proven that it does not have the best interests of children in mind. While we don’t yet know precisely what they plan to do, we do know that they are willing to act callously and lawlessly when it comes to this deeply vulnerable population of children,” said Neha Desai, managing director of Children’s Human Rights & Dignity at the National Center for Youth Law, in a statement.

Last year, the administration’s attempt to send Guatemalan children in custody back to their home country prompted a scramble among attorneys who said kids were woken up in the middle of the night. At the time, 76 children were prepared for repatriation, placed on planes for departure then abruptly returned to US custody after a federal judge’s order temporarily blocked their removals.

The administration argued that it had coordinated with the Guatemalan government and that the children had been requested to return by their parents or legal guardians. Court declarations filed in the case revealed that some of the parents had not requested their return and had been provided last-minute notice.

“The new information I obtained leads me to believe that the Department is laying the groundwork for another lawless deportation effort, this time on a greater scale, across more countries of origin,” Wyden said.

Mamdani-backed socialist primary winner founded group whose goal is to ‘eradicate’ Western civilization

June 25, 2026 9:50am EDT / Fox News

Darializa Avila Chevalier helped launch Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which said it wants to end the West

By Peter D’Abrosca Fox News

Fox News’ Bryan Llenas reports on Democratic socialists winning congressional primaries in New York advocating for radical policies. Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, warn against this leftward shift, labeling the candidates ‘Marxist.’ Voters approved platforms including Medicare-for-all and abolishing ICE, prompting concerns about the Democratic Party’s future.

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The socialist backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani who won Tuesday night’s primary election in New York’s 13th Congressional District founded a group in college that called for the total destruction of the West.

Darializa Avila Chevalier, 32, a Democratic nominee for U.S. Congress who made career out of “community organizing,” wrote in her biography for an opinion piece in independent news outlet The Electronic Intifada that she “helped launch the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign Columbia University Apartheid Divest.”

“We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization,” the group said in a now-deleted 2024 Instagram post.

In May 2024, eight years after she graduated from Columbia, Chevalier was back on campus advocating alongside the group she founded, known as CUAD, wearing a keffiyeh and a t-shirt emblazoned with the group’s name.

Darializa Avila Chevalier, Democratic candidate for Congress in New York’s 13th Congressional District, speaks with a voter in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan on June 14, 2026, in New York, N.Y.(Shuran Huang/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Avila Chevalier was interviewed by the Associated Press at the school’s infamous encampment against Israel that year, which was later broken up by police.

MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALIST WITH HISTORY OF ANTI-AMERICAN RHETORIC WINS VICIOUS DEM PRIMARY RACE

Only months after that, CUAD, caused a firestorm when it reportedly posted its goal of eradicating Western Civilization.

“We stand in full solidarity with every movement for liberation in the Global South,” the post continued. “Our Intifada is an internationalist one — we are fighting for nothing less than the liberation of all people.”

“We reject every genocidal, eugenicist regime that seeks to undermine the personhood of the colonized,” the group added.

HASAN PIKER CELEBRATES AMERICA BEING ‘CLOSER THAN EVER’ TO SOCIALISM AS HE BACKS NYC CANDIDATES

Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier speaks during a Get Out the Vote rally at King’s Theater in New York City on June 18, 2026. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Mayor Zohran Mamdani campaigned alongside her and other candidates ahead of the Democratic primary and early voting.(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Columbia University has roundly denounced CUAD, and says it is not affiliated in any way with the school.

Avila Chevalier was born in Florida to Dominican immigrants. She converted to Islam in recent years.

‘PARTY OF ZOHRAN’: MAMDANI EMERGES AS DEMOCRATIC KINGMAKER AFTER SOCIALIST ALLIES SWEEP NYC PRIMARIES

The surfacing of her affiliation with the group has sparked intense online backlash, including from elected Democrats.

“Anti-Israel. Anti-America. Anti-Western Civilization. Why am I the only Democrat in the U.S. Senate that refuses to excuse this or defend any of those self-identified communists?” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said on X Wednesday evening.

Darializa Avila Chevalier, Democratic candidate for Congress in New York’s 13th Congressional District, speaks with voter Maria Rodriguez in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan on June 14, 2026.(Shuran Huang/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Avila Chevalier also infamously expressed anti-white women and anti-American sentiments in deleted social media posts, one time calling her home country “a f—ing disgrace.”

LETITIA JAMES FUMES AS MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK PRIMARIES

“I forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me,” she said in another deleted post.

“This lady founded an organization with a stated goal of Eradicating Western civilization, & a bunch of rich white progressives who know she means them, said ‘please do,’” X personality Sean Fitzgerald said.

Congressional candidates Claire Valdez, left, Brad Lander, second from left, and Darializa Avila Chevalier, right, raise their hands with Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a Get Out the Vote rally in New York City on June 18, 2026.(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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“The real ‘country over party’ test isn’t going to be about Trump,” said RealClearInvestigations writer Mark Hemingway. “It’s going to be over communist Congress members who literally say they want to eradicate Western civilization.”

In a deeply blue district, Avila Chevalier is likely to waltz her way into Congress in November.

Fox News Digital reached out to Avila Chevalier’s campaign.

Peter D’Abrosca is a politics reporter at Fox News Digital.

冒充政府官员指示受害者贷款 五人损失逾25万元

2026年6月25日 22:43 / 新明日报

骗子会声称自己来自律政部或新加坡金融管理局，并指控受害者涉及犯罪活动。为了配合所谓的“调查”，骗子会指示受害者向持牌放贷人贷款。 （示意图／王彦燕摄）

冒充政府官员诈骗案出现新手法，骗子不仅骗走受害者积蓄，还指示他们向持牌放贷人借钱，导致受害者背上债务。自6月1日以来，警方已接获至少五起相关报案，损失总额至少25万2000元。

新加坡警察部队星期四（6月25日）发文告提醒公众，这类冒充政府官员诈骗案令人关注，因为受害者往往不只是损失积蓄，还可能因听信骗子指示而贷款负债。

警方说，在这些案件中，受害者会接到自称是电信公司人员的来电，声称受害者曾签购服务合约、登记电话卡，或购买新手机。随后，受害者的通话会被转接给另一名冒充政府官员的骗子。

这些骗子会声称自己来自律政部或新加坡金融管理局，并指控受害者涉及犯罪活动。为了配合所谓的“调查”，骗子会指示受害者向持牌放贷人贷款。

受害者取得贷款后，会被要求通过银行转账，或到自动提款机存入现金，把钱转到所谓的“安全户头”。受害者通常是在骗子失联，或向相关政府机构查证时，才发现自己上当。

警方提醒公众，切勿把金钱或贵重物品交给陌生人，或身份未经核实的人；也不要把钱或贵重物品放在指定地点，供他人领取。公众也不应根据陌生人或身份未经核实者的建议，向持牌放贷人贷款。

警方强调，新加坡政府官员，包括律政部和金管局官员，绝不会要求公众转账或交出现金、名表、黄金或加密货币，更不会要求公众向持牌放贷人贷款、透露银行登录资料，或从非官方应用商店安装手机应用。

政府官员不会把公众的通话转接给警方或其他政府官员。

公众若发现任何诈骗交易，应立即通知银行。若有疑问，可拨打24小时ScamShield热线1799查询。

美再促州政府企业深化对台合作 指大陆阻挠并曲解对台政策

2026年6月25日 23:03 / 联合早报 吕爱丽 台北特派员

美国国务院、农业部及商务部近日联合致函各州州长及企业领袖，鼓励扩大与台湾在贸易、教育与防灾等方面的交流合作，并重申相关交流符合《台湾关系法》下的美国政策。信中也提醒，中国大陆驻美使领馆曾试图阻挠相关合作，并曲解美国对台政策。

台湾外交部回应《联合早报》询问时指出，这是美国行政部门第四度发出类似信函，前三次分别于2019年、2023年和2024年发出。

美国国务院、商务部与农业部于6月16日联名致函全美各州州长及企业领袖，美国在台协会（AIT）则于星期三（24日）在脸书公布相关内容。

根据AIT的贴文，致州长的信函鼓励各州政府进一步扩大与台湾在贸易、投资、教育、观光及灾害防备等领域的交流，并强调州政府与地方政府在深化双边关系中所扮演的重要角色，包括推动防灾及关键基础设施韧性方面的合作。

致企业领袖的信函则聚焦美台商业合作机会，并鼓励企业善用美国政府资源获取正确资讯。

两封信函都强调美台伙伴关系的重要性，指出台湾是美国第四大贸易伙伴及第七大农产品出口市场，也是全球先进制造与数码经济的领头羊，双方长期在贸易、投资及民间交流维持密切合作。

信函也提到，中国大陆驻美大使馆及领事馆近期曾联系各州政府办公室与私营企业，试图阻挠与台湾的交流，并曲解美国对台政策，例如错误宣称华盛顿已接受北京对台湾的特定立场。信函呼吁州政府、地方官员及企业若遭遇类似施压，可直接与国务院联系寻求协助。

台湾外交部星期四（25日）发新闻稿，表示欢迎美国联邦政府第四度共同致函支持深化台美关系，并再次重申深化与台合作符合《台湾关系法》下的美国政策。外交部长林佳龙说，尽管北京持续打压台湾并施压国际企业，美国政府明确展现与台湾深化合作的意愿，“充分彰显台美伙伴关系的重要性与坚实基础”。

中国大陆外交部发言人郭嘉昆星期四则在例行记者会上重申，北京一贯坚决反对美台展开任何形式官方往来，包括美国联邦和地方政府；仅与台湾保持非官方关系是美国在中美建交公报中作出的明确承诺。

他敦促美国恪守一个中国原则和中美三个联合公报，兑现美国总统特朗普涉台表态和承诺，慎重处理台湾问题，“不以任何借口开展美台官方往来，不向‘台独’分裂势力发出任何错误信号”。

成功大学政治学系教授王宏仁接受《联合早报》采访时指出，中国大陆过去主要在华府展开游说工作，并密切关注台美官员往来，如今相关影响力运作已进一步延伸至美国州政府层级。他认为，美国行政部门在信函中使用“regularly”（经常）一词，显示大陆驻美使领馆阻挠台美交流合作已持续一段时间。

今年6月中旬举行的第十八届海峡论坛上，中国大陆宣布采购台湾四县市农产品，而美国在同一时间致函各州州长及企业领袖，鼓励扩大与台湾交流合作。王宏仁认为，这样的时间点不免让人觉得“有点巧合”。

他分析，大陆运用经济资源向台湾农民发动“魅力攻势”，美国行政部门则向50个州政府“开绿灯”，并向台湾企业与农民发出明确信息，即台湾不必过度依赖大陆市场。

他也指出，除了美国鼓励深化与台湾交流合作外，英国、法国与德国驻台机构星期三发表联合声明，就大陆海警船近期在台湾东部海域的行动表达关切，并警告相关举措恐威胁区域稳定与航行自由。欧美国家近期接连就台海议题“一波接一波”表态，共同反对任何片面改变现状的行动，让台湾在面对中国大陆压力时“更有一些底气”。

US proposes to drop brake pedal requirements for self-driving vehicles

2026-06-25 1:15 PM UTC / Reuters

By David Shepardson

June 25, 2026 1:15 PM UTC Updated 2 mins ago

A Tesla Model 3 vehicle is shown using the Full Self Driving Beta software (FSD) while navigating a city road in Encinitas, California, U.S., February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Blake Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed on Thursday to end a government requirement for manual brake pedals ​in self-driving vehicles, a move that would make it easier to deploy ‌such vehicles on U.S. roads.

The proposal would not apply to vehicles with human driver controls and NHTSA said it would not drop braking performance requirements, including strict stopping distance standards for ​self-driving vehicles.

Stay up to date with the latest news, trends and innovations that are driving the global automotive industry with the Reuters Auto File newsletter. Sign up here.

It is one of a number of changes proposed by ​the agency to facilitate the roll-out of self-driving vehicles. NHTSA is in the ⁠process of developing safety performance tests for self-driving vehicles as part of ​a separate standard.

Automakers have previously expressed frustration with the agency’s slow review of ​autonomous vehicles.

Under the law, fully self-driving vehicles do not need NHTSA approval if they have required human controls, like steering wheels, brake pedals or mirrors.

NHTSA has authority to grant petitions to ​allow up to 2,500 vehicles per manufacturer yearly to operate on U.S. ​roads without required human controls, but the agency has spent years reviewing several exemption petitions ‌without ⁠taking action.

Last year, NHTSA said it was streamlining reviews of those exemption requests.

In March, NHTSA said it was seeking public comment on Amazon’s self-driving unit Zoox to deploy up to 2,500 purpose-built, steering-wheel-free robotaxis without human controls.

In 2018, GM petitioned ​NHTSA to deploy up ​to 2,500 ⁠cars without steering wheels or brake pedals on U.S. roads, before withdrawing the petition in 2020. The Detroit automaker ​sought NHTSA approval to deploy vehicles without human controls again ​in 2022 ⁠but that petition was withdrawn in October 2024.

Separately, NHTSA on Thursday withdrew a Biden-era proposal to adopt a voluntary national framework for the evaluation and oversight ⁠of ​self-driving vehicles.

The agency said automakers expressed concern the ​requirements were too stringent, while some safety advocates said it would not provide NHTSA with sufficient oversight to ​ensure an appropriate level of safety.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nia Williams

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

指王室干政 柔佛州前议长退出巫统

2026年6月25日 23:26 / 联合早报 苏俊翔

柔佛看守州务大臣翁哈菲兹（左）到王宫会见柔佛摄政王依斯迈。翁哈菲兹否认王室成员干预柔佛州政府或政党运作。 （取自翁哈菲兹脸书）

马来西亚柔佛州选举在即，州议会前议长莫哈末卜艾却突然宣布，因不满柔州巫统决策受到王室影响，即时退出巫统。马国政治观察员认为，柔佛民众早已普遍了解王室在当地的影响力，估计此事对国阵的选情冲击有限。

卜艾星期四（6月25日）在脸书发文说，他退出巫统的主因是柔佛巫统的决策受王室控制。他指柔佛看守州务大臣翁哈菲兹6月21日与他会面时亲口提及，6月1日解散州议会是基于王室谕令。

“还有许多其他的例子，足以证明翁哈菲兹只是个‘应声虫’（pak turut）。这导致柔佛巫统成了一个被束缚的傀儡。我必须展现‘政治勇气’，在情况恶化前揭露这项恶行。”

也是国阵及巫统柔州主席的翁哈菲兹随即否认卜艾的说法。他说，他是根据柔州宪法向摄政王依斯迈建议解散州议会，并获得依斯迈御准，一切完全符合州宪法规定。

巫统总秘书阿斯拉夫星期四在脸书贴发文，指卜艾此时发难，是因为巫统没有安排卜艾的儿子参加柔州选举。

“他（卜艾）曾给我写了一封长信表明，如果巫统不考虑让他的儿子成为峇株巴辖龙引州选区候选人，他就会退出巫统并炮轰巫统。”卜艾是原任龙引区州议员。

卜艾的说法触及敏感王室课题，朝野政治人物纷纷向警方投报。

柔佛州总警长拉哈曼星期四发文告说，警方从星期四上午约11时至下午3时，已接获153起投报，报警者包括翁哈菲兹的政治秘书。

拉哈曼透露，警方已经立案，并援引《煽动法令》《刑事法典》诽谤条文，以及《1998年通讯及多媒体法令》不当使用网络设施或服务等条文调查此案。

观察员：卜艾发难或与党内内部斗争有关

新加坡国际事务学会（研究所）高级研究员胡逸山向《联合早报》分析，此事再次显示柔佛王室对当地政治的影响力。“长期以来，柔佛王室对柔州政治、经济与社会拥有强大影响力，是众所周知的。”

他举例，2022年3月柔州选举国阵大胜后，国阵原本希望原任大臣哈斯尼继续任职，但柔佛王室当时坚持由翁哈菲兹出任大臣，国阵对此无能为力，只能听从。

胡逸山研判，卜艾此时退党，应该与柔佛巫统内部斗争有关。

马来西亚理科大学社会科学院政治学助理教授阿兹米尔（Azmil Mohd Tayeb）认为，此事将对国阵的柔州选情影响有限。国阵能否取得佳绩，并非取决于与王室的关系，而是能否提出切实可行的方案，解决民众面临的各项难题。“例如生活费上涨、工资升幅停滞，以及青年失业或就业不足等问题。”

澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚大学亚洲研究院院长詹运豪指出，卜艾此时出手，一方面是不满王室干预，另一方面是不满巫统没让他儿子成为候选人。

至于此事对选情的影响，詹运豪说：“我认为对选情应该影响不大。柔佛王室对柔州政治的影响已是众所周知，卜艾并非率先揭露什么隐晦之事，所以不会冲击马来选民的政治心理。”

詹运豪也说，柔州巫统并不想在选举期间牵扯王室课题，但如今别无选择，必须回应卜艾，否则将面对来自柔佛王室与民众的强大压力。

NY socialist surge could push Dem voters to defect, GOP governor candidate predicts

GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Blakeman pointed to NY Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rise as evidence of the far-left shift

June 25, 2026 9:01am EDT / Fox News

By Amanda Macias

They’ve lost control’: NY GOP gubernatorial candidate says Democratic establishment can’t stop socialist wing

New York Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Blakeman says the Democratic establishment has surrendered to its socialist wing and warns voters are growing frustrated with the party’s direction.

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FIRST ON FOX:Following a string of high-profile victories by socialist candidates, New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman warned the Democratic Party has veered too far left and predicted establishment Democrats will increasingly back Republicans.

Speaking exclusively to Fox News Digital in the wake of Tuesday’s wins, Blakeman said the results underscored the growing influence of the party’s progressive wing and exposed a widening divide within the Democratic coalition.

“The lunatic left has taken over the Democratic Party,” he said just hours after three socialists backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won their primaries in New York districts. “They’ve lost control of their party.”

The rise of socialist victories against traditional Democrats have intensified debate over the Party’s future and the growing influence of its far-left flank. Republicans have seized on those wins as evidence the party is moving away from moderate voters on issues such as taxes and public safety.

MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALIST CANDIDATE STORMS OUT OF LIVE INTERVIEW WHEN CONFRONTED WITH OLD SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

Socialist New York congressional nominees Darializa Avila Chevalier (L), Claire Valdez (C) and Brad Lander.(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Blakeman, who is running to unseat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, argued that socialists have effectively taken control of the Democratic Party, creating an opening for Republicans among moderate and working-class voters in the state.

“They’ve offered everybody free stuff,” Blakeman told Fox News Digital, adding that progressive candidates are making unrealistic promises to voters. “They’re never going to do what they say they’re going to,” he continued, warning that such proposals would ultimately prove impossible to deliver.

He argued voters are being sold an unrealistic vision in which “everything in New York could be free,” while longtime Democrats increasingly feel disconnected from the party’s recent direction.

“The traditional Democrats are going to vote for Republicans this year,” Blakeman predicted. “They know their party has gone off the deep end.”

The Republican hopeful pointed to Mamdani’s meteoric rise as evidence of what he described as the growing influence of socialists within the party. Blakeman acknowledges that proposals such as government-run grocery stores and other publicly funded programs may be politically popular but claims they would ultimately fail to deliver on their promises.

“Free grocery stores, I mean, that’s complete nonsense,” Blakeman said. “Government should not be competing with the private sector.”

FROM FREE BUSES TO CITY-OWNED GROCERY STORES, HERE ARE MAMDANI’S KEY ECONOMIC PROMISES

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani celebrates during an election night event at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Nov. 4, 2025.(Angelina Katsanis/AFP/Getty Images)

Blakeman said many of the policies being championed by progressive candidates could harm small businesses and accelerate the outflow of residents and employers from New York. Instead, he argued, the state should focus on lowering taxes, reducing utility costs and creating a more business-friendly environment.

During his interview with Fox News Digital the night after sweeping socialist victories in New York, Blakeman accused Hochul of being just as radical and failing to stand up to the Democratic Party’s left flank as progressive figures like Mamdani gain prominence.

“They’re in league together,” Blakeman said of Hochul and Mamdani. “I now call her Comrade Kathy.”

Though he ran uncontested, Blakeman’s campaign received a boost earlier this year when he secured President Donald Trump’s endorsement as he seeks to unseat Hochul in deep blue New York, the president’s longtime home state.

Asked about Trump’s support, Blakeman said it’s valuable but urged voters to focus on shared concerns such as affordability, public safety and lowering taxes.

Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County executive and Republican candidate for New York governor, received President Donald Trump’s endorsement earlier this year.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Blakeman argued that the Democratic Party’s growing embrace of socialist candidates could ultimately benefit Republicans, particularly among suburban and working-class voters who he believes feel increasingly disconnected from the party’s priorities.

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“Traditional Democrats see their party going off the deep end. They don’t like it,” Blakeman said. “They’re going to come on board with us because it’s the only way to stop their party from becoming an extinct party.”

Responding to Blakeman’s remarks, Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said, “New Yorkers know Bruce Blakeman is too busy catering to the far-right, embracing January 6 architects, and caving to Donald Trump to fight for them and their families. From enabling ICE’s abuses, to raising costs, to fighting to gut Medicaid, Blakeman’s proud of being ‘MAGA all the way,’ just like Trump labeled him.”

Mamdani’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Amanda Macias covers the intersection of business, economics and politics, with a focus on how policy decisions shape markets, businesses and American workers.