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Karen Bass ripped after viral video lays out taxpayer-funded match of campaign donations

Los Angeles’ super match program has been in effect since 1990, and the 6-to-1 ratio took effect in 2019

August 19, 2026 2:24pm EDT / Fox News

By Peter D’Abrosca, Louis Casiano

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing scrutiny after a viral campaign video shows her peddling 6-to-1 taxpayer cash match of donations to her reelection campaign. (Credit: KarenBassLA via X)

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Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing scrutiny after an online ad revealed that campaign contributions from supporters of her re-election bid would be matched by taxpayer dollars.

“Your donation to our campaign right now is more critical than ever before,” said Bass, speaking into a lapel microphone with upbeat music playing in the background of the ad, which was posted to her campaign’s X account.

“Let me explain,” she continued. “Thanks to LA’s super match program, every qualified donation from Los Angeles residents is matched 6-to-1 by the city. But after the primary, we had to start over from scratch, so we need you to rush your matching donation right now to help fuel this campaign.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attends the Women for Bass phone bank event in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles, Calif., June 1, 2026.(Louise Barnsley/Splash for Fox News Digital)

CALIFORNIA ELECTION RESULTS STILL UNDECIDED AS LOS ANGELES BEGINS COUNTING BALLOTS

Bass noted that chipping in $5 would equate to a $35 total donation, while $25 would become $175.

The explanation immediately raised eyebrows for those concerned that taxpayer dollars are being used as campaign contributions.

“It’s a system they set up to enrich themselves and their friends and get themselves elected,” Roxanne Hoge, chairwoman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, told Fox News Digital in response to Bass’ video.

“It’s like when you’re a kid, and the kid with the fancy ball gets to make all the rules of the game you’re about to play. That’s what this is.”

But the system is perfectly legal.

“It’s much like when people complain about election fraud in California. It’s not fraud. Everything is codified just the way they like it,” said Hoge.

A view of Los Angeles(Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)

“Almost none of the money that Los Angeles takes in is used for things that make sense,” she continued. “Money goes to homelessness and it increases homelessness. Basically, nothing makes sense here, and this is another thing that doesn’t make sense.”

Bass’ campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Still, critics raged online about a program that has been in use for mayoral candidates since the 1990s.

“This is grotesque,” author and University of Austin professor Michael Shellenberger said in response to the video of Bass.

“Outrageous,” quipped Richard Grenell, a Trump administration official.

“Hold your horses… The current Mayor of the City of LA, who is running for reelection, is allowed to take money from the city to fund her campaign at a 6 to 1 payout???” former Ronald Reagan official David McIntosh asked incredulously.

Vice President Kamala Harris congratulated Karen Bass after she was sworn in as mayor during her inauguration at LA Live in Los Angeles Dec. 11, 2022.(Frederic J. Brown/AFP)

“That’s so innovative, I’m sure this totally legit and not communist at all,” Los Angeles activist Tony Moon said sarcastically.

SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN LIMIT ON PARTY CAMPAIGN SPENDING IN COORDINATION WITH CANDIDATES

The matching program has been in effect for qualified mayoral candidates since 1990.

Slowly over time, the match limit has increased, and, in 2019, the current 6-to-1 match took effect and has been in use since then.

Qualified candidates can choose to participate in the matching program and must fill out a statement of acceptance of matching funds, according to city campaign rules.

LA MAYORAL RACE HEADS TO NOVEMBER RUNOFF AS KAREN BASS FACES MAMDANI-STYLE SOCIALIST

A CHP vehicle burns beneath the Main Street overpass in downtown Los Angeles during anti-ICE riots June 8, 2025, after rioters targeted officers below, according to federal prosecutors.(The United States Department of Justice)

To qualify, a candidate must have already raised 300 times the maximum matchable amount per contributor — $257 — have at least 100 donors who have contributed $5 or more and live in Los Angeles, have an opponent and hold at least one public town hall or debate.

All matched donations must come from Angelenos.

FAR-LEFT POLITICIANS STILL USING ACTBLUE AS 88-YEAR-OLD DISPUTES DONATING NEARLY $150,000 TO FUNDRAISING GIANT

The maximum allowable qualifying donation is $257, which, after the taxpayer-funded 6-to-1 match becomes $1,799. The total cap on matched donations is just over $1.5 million in the general election.

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

Who is Angie Nixon? Bullhorn-wielding socialist upsets establishment favorite in Sunshine State stunner

August 19, 2026 12:33pm EDT / Fox News

The Florida progressive known for her bullhorn protest against DeSantis-backed redistricting won with roughly $1M

By Peter Pinedo Fox News

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Another Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member just toppled the party establishment’s preferred candidate, this time in Florida.

Florida state lawmaker Angie Nixon, who recently disrupted a vote in the Florida Legislature with a bullhorn protest inside the state Capitol, defeated establishment-backed candidate Alexander Vindman. Nixon, a progressive activist and DSA member, defeated the retired Air Force officer by more than 10 percentage points despite Vindman’s $16.3 million campaign war chest, compared with Nixon’s roughly $1 million.

Nixon’s viral moment came in April when she took a bullhorn to a legislative fight, walking down the aisle and disrupting proceedings on the Florida House floor during final passage of a redistricting bill backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Dressed in a pink jumpsuit and carrying a pink megaphone, Nixon approached the House speaker’s dais and shouted to fellow Florida representatives as the final vote was called. She shouted, “This is a violation of the Constitution! It is!”

SOCIALISTS CAPTURE MAJOR FLORIDA VICTORY ON HIT-OR-MISS NIGHT FOR TRUMP-ENDORSED PRIMARY CANDIDATES

Reps. Tray McCurdy, D-Orlando, Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville and Felicia Robinson, D-Miami Gardens, sit on the Florida Seal in protest as debate stops on Senate Bill 2-C: Establishing the Congressional Districts of the State in the House of Representatives on April 21, 2022.(AP Photo/Phil Sears)

Nixon continued shouting into the bullhorn for the entirety of the vote. She insisted, “What y’all are doing is illegal!” and “I will not allow you to destroy our democracy!” As she shouted, several colleagues could be seen filming her on their phones.

The protest did not stop the vote. While she continued shouting, “You are out of order!” and “This is a violation of the Constitution,” the Florida House granted final approval of the redistricting bill in an 83-28 vote.

A month later, WUSF reported that Nixon was arrested after she refused to leave DeSantis’ office while protesting the redistricting measure. She was released shortly afterward.

WUSF previously reported that Nixon self-identified as a member of the DSA.

SHOCKING PERCENTAGE OF DEMOCRATS IDENTIFY AS ‘DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS’ ACCORDING TO NEW POLL: ‘TOXIC POLICIES’

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon participates in a worship service during a visit to Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Hallandale Beach, Fla., on Aug. 17, 2026. Nixon, who previously protested on the floor of the state House with a bullhorn after Republicans redrew district lines, vies with retired Lt. Col. Alex Vindman in the Aug. 18 primary. The winner is likely to face incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody in the November general election.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Nixon also publicly objected to resolutions honoring the late Charlie Kirk. In a September social media post, Nixon called it “BEYOND disrespectful” to honor Kirk because, as she wrote, “that man said some of the most hateful about Black People and cloaked it in scripture.”

Nixon claimed that if someone supported honoring Kirk, “you are a tool of white supremacy.” After his assassination, Nixon also claimed that Kirk was “homophobic, antisemitic, [and] misogynistic.”

On her campaign website, Nixon vows to fight for what she calls a “working families guarantee,” which she says includes Medicare for all, free childcare, a national rent freeze, a moratorium on evictions and a universal jobs program with inflation-adjusted wages. Her website says the government could pay for the programs by taxing billionaires “so that everyone pays their fair share” and by prioritizing “the needs of everyday Americans instead of spending trillions on war and violence overseas.”

Nixon also advocates for “abolishing ICE and rebuilding immigration enforcement from scratch.” Nixon has said, “I don’t believe any person is illegal, and I don’t believe human beings should be treated as commodities in a system built to punish rather than to heal.”

On policing, Nixon has called for “demilitarizing policing and investing in community-based public safety, violence prevention and crisis response.”

SOCIALISTS LAUNCH RADICAL PLATFORM TO ABOLISH THE US SENATE IN BID TO FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM AMERICA

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Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville breaks up a debate on Senate Bill 2-C: Establishing the Congressional Districts of the State in the House of Representatives on Thursday, April 21, 2022.(AP Photo/Phil Sears)

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Nixon has also claimed that the U.S. has “fueled the genocide in Palestine.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Nixon and the DSA for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

‘Stripper’ Venmo ‘scandal’ makes Dems the punchline as Trump candidate flips script on viral DNC post

2026-08-19T13:10:44-04:00 / Fox News

The Wisconsin congressional candidate and Sean Duffy’s son-in-law asked supporters for $5 donations after joke payments went viral

By Ashley J. DiMella Fox News

Published August 19, 2026 1:10pm EDT

Video

CNN uses quote from fake X account about Mitch McConnell’s health

Lydia Moynihan and Brian Kilmeade expose CNN’s left-wing bias as the network aired a quote from a fake X account regarding Sen. Mitch McConnell’s health. Moynihan explains the account was a complete parody, even referencing a non-existent congressional district, highlighting CNN’s lack of fact-checking and media moments that matter.

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Conservatives mocked criticism of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s son-in-law, Republican congressional candidate Michael Alfonso, over old Venmo payments with suggestive captions, arguing the notes were being taken too literally as Alfonso called the criticism “wildly dishonest” and turned it into a fundraising pitch.

A post from the DNC’s social media account, FactPost, went viral this week after highlighting Venmo payments Alfonso made with notes reading “The strippers” and “High supplies.” Alfonso responded by sharing screenshots of the payments and saying the captions were jokes.

“It’s wildly dishonest to leave out the part where the ‘strippers’ were $5 because—brace yourself—they obviously weren’t actual strippers. You can write literally anything in a Venmo note. This is called a joke—something the humorless left is incapable of comprehending,” he wrote.

TRUMP-BACKED MICHAEL ALFONSO WINS CROWDED GOP PRIMARY FOR HIS FATHER-IN-LAW’S FORMER WISCONSIN SEAT

First lady Melania Trump, Michael Alfonso, President Donald Trump and Evita Duffy-Alfonso are seen in this photo. On Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, Alfonso won the Republican nomination in the race for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.(Alfonso for Wisconsin)

“Patriots: I would be very grateful for $5 or any amount you can contribute to my campaign. None of the proceeds go to strippers or high supplies—only toward defeating the radical left in November,” he wrote.

The exchange sparked a broader discussion about Venmo payment captions and the joking or unserious descriptions users may attach to payments, with conservatives arguing that Alfonso’s critics were reading too much into the notes.

“I have no idea if there is anything here. I do know that literally not one of my male friends has ever—ever—sent me a Venmo payment with a description that wasn’t a joke,” said National Review editor Charles C.W. Cooke.

“People thinking the Venmo comment line is an actual audit trail,” wrote Wisconsin State Representative Calvin Callahan.

YOUNG CONSERVATIVES REVEAL WHAT’S TOP OF MIND AS GOP, DEMOCRATS BATTLE FOR ‘HOPELESS’ GEN Z VOTERS

Michael Alfonso, Republican U.S. congressional candidate for Wisconsin, attends a roundtable with President Donald Trump at Custer Farms Inc. in Chippewa Falls, Wis., on Friday, June 5, 2026.(Steven Garcia/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Yeah, because people who pay strippers totally put that truthfully in Venmo,” said one user.

“BREAKING: boomers have discovered the Venmo comment section exists,” said New York Post correspondent Lydia Moynihan.

“This is such a Gen Z ‘scandal’ I’m dying Buckle up, because every incoming member of Congress under 30 is going to have something like ‘heroin — $1’ in their Venmo history,” Alfonso’s wife, Evita Duffy-Alfonso, wrote.

“The Left can’t meme, can’t take a joke, and then wonders why it keeps losing young men at the ballot box,” she added.

TWO HOUSE RACES TAKE CENTER STAGE AS CONSERVATIVE PAC LAUNCHES MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR BIG TECH PUSH

Sean Duffy, U.S. secretary of transportation, left, and Michael Alfonso.(Ryan Collerd/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Olivier Touron / AFP via Getty Images)

“One time my wife Venmoed a bunch of our friends for their share of an Airbnb with risqué captions, got banned from the app, and had to call customer service to explain it was just a joke. Unlike the media, Venmo understood and let it go,” shared Daily Wire bureau chief Tim Rice.

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The 26-year-old congressional candidate advanced Aug. 11 in a crowded GOP primary and is set to face Democrat Fred Clark in November.

Fox News Digital reached out to Alfonso for comment.

Ashley J. DiMella reports on politics for Fox News Digital.

Scandals, socialists and Trump roil primaries, send incumbents packing at near-record pace

2026-08-19 2:13pm EDT / Fox News

Trump-backed challengers, far-left insurgents and generational change all contributed to the historic number of ousters

By Paul Steinhauser Fox News

Published August 19, 2026 2:13pm EDT | Updated August 19, 2026 2:16pm EDT

Democratic strategist Michael LaRosa breaks down 2026 primary election upsets as younger progressives defeat a number of older incumbents.

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Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida, facing a pair of controversies, is the latest in a growing list of congressional incumbents sent packing in party primaries this year.

Twelve House members and two senators have been ousted in the 2026 midterms as they bid for renomination, according to the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

“It’s one of the highest numbers in decades in a non-national redistricting year,” Center for Politics Communications Director Kyle Kondik told Fox News Digital.

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Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida was defeated Tuesday as he bid for renomination in the state’s 7th Congressional District.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Kondik noted that “the years that the number was higher are years that end in the number two, which are full national redistricting years. This was a partial redistricting year, but it’s a very high number historically.”

While the rare but not unheard of redistricting push over the past year contributed to some of the losses by incumbents, there were plenty of other factors. Those include incumbents wounded by scandals, President Donald Trump’s moves to oust some GOP lawmakers, the increasing push by Democrats for generational change and the successful movement by the far left to target more moderate, establishment-backed Democrats in nomination showdowns.

Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar of Michigan was defeated earlier this month by a left-wing challenger, state Rep. Donavan McKinney, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York was ousted in the state’s June primary by progressive challenger Brad Lander, a former New York City comptroller who was backed by socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

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Congressional candidate Claire Valdez, congressional candidate Brad Lander, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier raise their hands during a Get Out the Vote rally at King’s Theatre June 18, 2026, in New York City.(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York, a Democrat who serves as Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair, was defeated by community organizer and activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, a DSA member who was also supported by Mamdani. Age was also a factor in the race, as the 32-year-old Chevalier ousted the 71-year-old Espaillat.

Ideology and age were also key ingredients in DSA member Melat Kiros’ victory over more moderate Democratic Rep. Diana Degette of Colorado, who has served in the House for nearly three decades.

Age and the push for fresh faces fueled a victory by 38-year-old Democratic Rep. Christian Menefee, who won a special congressional election earlier this year, over Rep. Al Green, a fellow Democrat who turns 79 next month. The two incumbents faced off for a House seat redrawn through a Texas Republican redistricting push.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE MIDTERM RACES

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, joins Texas House Democrats for a press conference at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union hall Aug. 4, 2025, in Warrenville, Ill.(Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Redistricting in Texas also forced Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson into a showdown in the state’s 33rd Congressional District against her predecessor, former Rep. Colin Allred, which Allred won in a runoff election.

Generational change was the key factor as 47-year-old former Mayor Luke Bronin of Hartford, Connecticut, scored a victory in the Democratic primary over nearly 30-year congressional veteran Rep. John Larson, who is 78.

Trump played a key role in the ouster of Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana earlier this year. Cassidy was one of a handful of Republicans who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial five years ago.

Meanwhile, longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn was defeated in the Texas GOP Senate nomination runoff election in late May by state Attorney General Ken Paxton, a MAGA firebrand and major supporter of the president. Trump stayed neutral during the year-long bitter battle but endorsed Paxton at the last minute ahead of the runoff.

10 HOUSE INCUMBENT LAWMAKERS WHO SAW THEIR 2026 RE-ELECTION BIDS END IN PRIMARY DEFEAT

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is interviewed by Fox News Digital May 18, 2026, in Mason County, Ky.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a vocal Republican Trump critic, lost his renomination bid to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, who was backed by the president.

Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas went down in defeat to a more conservative challenger, state Rep. Steve Toth, who cast the incumbent as anti-Trump. While the president remained neutral in the race, Toth was supported by conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz.

Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee lost in his bid for renomination despite having Trump’s endorsement.

Ogles, saddled by controversial comments and social media posts in recent years, was defeated by former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, who was backed by Gov. Bill Lee, former Gov. Bill Haslam and other prominent Republicans including former Trump Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Feb. 25, 2025.(Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In Florida, Mills was topped by Ryan Elijah, a former local television news and sports reporter, in a four-way GOP primary in the right-leaning 7th Congressional District.

Elijah repeatedly targeted Mills over a House Ethics Committee investigation into the congressman and the restraining order placed against Mills by a judge last year after a former girlfriend said the two-term lawmaker threatened to release sexually explicit videos of her.

Mills, an Army veteran and former military contractor, denied the allegations but faced bipartisan calls to resign. An endorsement earlier this year from President Donald Trump wasn’t enough to save him in Tuesday’s primary.

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Earlier this year, GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, who had advanced to a runoff election, quit his race after admitting to an affair with a former staffer who died by suicide.

Facing heavy pressure from House leaders, he resigned from Congress entirely weeks later.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Paul Steinhauser covers the national campaign trail from coast to coast for Fox News

Israeli military orders criminal investigations into killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and 15 others in Gaza

August 19, 2026 / 2:36 PM EDT / CBS News

The Israeli military has ordered a criminal investigation into the killing by its forces of 5-year-old Hind Rajab, a Palestinian girl whose death in Gaza sparked international outrage after a recording of her final, heart-wrenching moments speaking to paramedics was heard around the world.

In a statement Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces acknowledged for the first time that troops opened fire on the vehicle carrying Rajab’s family in January 2024, having previously said no forces were in the area at the time.

“Following review of the findings and due to alleged failures in the coordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance, it has been decided to initiate a criminal investigation of the incident,” the IDF said.

Hind Rajab is shown in this photo shared by the Palestinian Red Crescent. Palestinian Red Crescent

The military said it was also ordering a criminal investigation into the March 2025 killing of 15 Gazans, including rescue workers.

The investigations will be conducted by Israeli military police.

Rajab, whose story was made into the award-winning 2025 docudrama “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” was in a car with six family members when it came under Israeli fire in Gaza City.

Only Rajab and her cousin Layan survived the initial attack. Audio from her cousin’s phone call to the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service captured 15-year-old Layan describing the chaotic scene around her, amid the sound of gunfire and screaming, before the call dropped.

Rajab answered a return call, which lasted hours, telling the emergency operator at one point: “The tank is next to me,” in Arabic. “I’m so scared. Please come.”

Rajab’s desperate pleas for rescue as night fell, telling the operator she was afraid of the dark, were cut off as gunfire again rang out and the call abruptly ended.

Twelve days later, her body was recovered, along with those of two paramedics who had been sent to rescue her. The IDF said it would grant the ambulance safe passage, before forces at the scene opened fire, killing those inside, according to the military’s statement on Wednesday.

A few weeks after the incident, CBS’ 60 Minutes spoke with Palestinian Red Crescent workers at the emergency call center in Ramallah, 50 miles away, which handled the calls with Rajab and her cousin.

“The story of Hind is not the only story. It’s absolutely dozens of calls we’re getting since the beginning of the war in Gaza, where we feel helpless,” spokesperson Nebal Farsakh said.

Haunted “by the sound of gunfire”

As well as the Rajab case, the IDF also said it was opening a criminal probe into the killing of Palestinian medics, including a U.N. staffer, in Tel al-Sultan, Gaza, in March 2025.

The IDF initially said its forces opened fire because the vehicles were “advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals, but walked back that account after cellphone video surfaced of the attack, showing Red Crescent and Gazan Civil Defense teams driving slowly with their emergency lights flashing and logos visible as they pulled up to help an ambulance that had come under fire earlier.

In the clip, they do not appear to be acting in a threatening manner as three medics emerge and head toward the stricken ambulance. Their vehicles then come under a barrage of gunfire, which goes on for more than five minutes with brief pauses.

The person holding the phone who recorded the incident can be heard praying.

“Forgive me, mother. This is the path I chose, mother, to help people,” the person recording cries, his voice trembling.

Video showed the Israeli troops then bulldozing over the bodies, along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. The IDF said Wednesday that there were Hamas operatives among those killed, and that the forces had “decided to crush the vehicles and to cover the bodies with metal mesh.”

U.N. and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later to dig out the bodies.

After the video emerged, the IDF said the deaths were due to an “operational misunderstanding” among Israeli forces, and that a separate incident 15 minutes later, when Israeli soldiers shot at a Palestinian U.N. vehicle, was a breach of orders.

The Palestinian Red Crescent told The Guardian last June that Asaad al-Nasasra, one of the two medics who survived the mass killing, was haunted “by the sound of gunfire, the sight of his wounded colleagues, and their brutal killings.”

IDF investigations rarely lead to punishment or convictions. An investigation by Action on Armed Violence in August 2025 found that 88% of 52 publicly acknowledged Israeli military investigations into alleged war crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank stalled or closed without findings, with only one resulting in a prison sentence against the accused.

Wednesday’s IDF statement said there was no criminal misconduct involved in the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen employees in April 2024, or the IDF’s killing of two Doctors Without Borders (MSF) employees in Gaza’s Khan Younis in February 2024, or two further deaths of MSF employees in Gaza City in November 2023, which the IDF said could have been caused by “bullet ricochet or bullet splash” from “warning fire.”

Israel’s military actions have killed more than 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people, saw hundreds more taken hostage, and sparked the war in Gaza.

Bond market sell-off threatens higher borrowing costs. Here is what it means for your money.

August 19, 2026 / 12:20 PM EDT / CBS News

By

A bond sell-off driven by investor fears over inflation and rising government debt has rattled markets and threatened to raise borrowing costs for everyday Americans looking to purchase a home or car.

The yield on the 30-year Treasury reached 5.3% earlier this week, its highest level since 2007, while the 10-year Treasury yield, which influences mortgage rates, rose to 4.7%, up from 4.2% at the start of the year.

Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions, with higher yields reflecting investors’ desire for higher returns on their investments, often amid fears of economic or geopolitical instability.

“Bond markets are sending an equally loud signal,” Nigel Green, CEO of financial consultancy deVere Group, said in an email Wednesday.

“30-year yields at their highest since before the financial crisis are not a footnote to the equity story. They’re a warning about the true cost of government borrowing,” he added.

What caused the bond sell-off?

Green said the sell-off could reflect a shift in market sentiment as investors come to terms with several forces, including elevated borrowing costs and mounting government debt, which, according to Treasury Department data, is close to hitting $40 trillion.

Instability in the Middle East may have also contributed to the bond rout. Bond yields moved higher on Monday after a 60-day ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran came to an end, with no clear resolution in sight.

The conflict in the Middle East, now nearing its six-month mark, has sent oil prices higher, elevating inflation concerns. Inflation eased in June and July after hitting a three-year high, but it remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

Is the market stabilizing?

U.S. yields dropped on Wednesday after the Treasury Department announced it would double the size of its bond buybacks from $2 billion to “at least $4 billion,” a move aimed at stabilizing the bond market by injecting it with more liquidity.

The Treasury Department said it would focus its efforts on longer-term bonds, including those with maturities of 10 to 20 years and 20 to 30 years.

“While long-term government bond yields have dropped back a little today, their recent surge suggests investors are losing patience with fiscal profligacy,” Jonas Goltermann, a chief market economist at Capital Economics, said in a research note Wednesday.

Recent data on home sales and import prices also came in better than expected, Oxford Economics said in a report Wednesday, putting further downward pressure on bond yields and allowing the market to stabilize.

The economic advisory firm predicts Treasury yields will remain elevated before gradually declining next year.

What do rising yields mean for your money?

Bond yields act as a barometer for interest rates across the economy, influencing everything from auto loans to mortgage rates. When bond yields rise, borrowing costs for consumers increase.

That could present a challenge for Americans, who already report feeling financially strained amid elevated inflation.

While rising yields hurt borrowers, they present an opportunity for savers, said Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst at LendingTree.

They can be “great news for savers because yields on CDs, high-yield savings accounts and other products rise, too,” he said in an email.

Schulz encouraged borrowers to seek quotes from different lenders, as offers can vary widely.

“If you don’t take the time to shop around, you can end up paying thousands of dollars more than you need to over the life of the loan,” he said.

Edited by Aimee Picchi

US ally on Putin’s doorstep braces for war as Russia tensions take ominous turn

August 19, 2026 12:09pm EDT / Fox News

Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk warned a large-scale Kremlin provocation could occur ‘within a few months’

Efrat Lachter
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Russia’s threat of “consequences” against Britain and a stark warning from a senior Polish defense official are intensifying concerns that Moscow could seek to test NATO directly as the war in Ukraine continues.

Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said his country is actively preparing for the possibility of conflict, telling Super Express in an interview published Aug. 17: “We are preparing for war, hoping that it never happens.”

The Polish Embassy in Washington told Fox News Digital that Warsaw’s accelerated defense preparations are intended to deter potential aggression rather than signal that conflict is inevitable.

RUSSIA PREPARING HYBRID ATTACKS ON NATO’S EASTERN FLANK, INTELLIGENCE WARNS

Polish soldiers stand watch near the Belarus border, where officials say migration pressure has evolved into a form of hybrid warfare targeting NATO’s eastern flank, May 16, 2026.(Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)

The embassy pointed to Poland’s defense spending of nearly 5% of GDP and invoked the Latin principle Si vis pacem, para bellum — “If you want peace, prepare for war” — saying that, given Russia’s war in Ukraine and what Poland views as Moscow’s imperial ambitions, strengthening deterrence is the country’s only sound strategy.

A European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, backed Tomczyk and said Poland sees a pattern of escalating Russian pressure on multiple fronts. “We are hurrying to be prepared for war since Russia is giving us and our neighbors constant signals that they want us back as their vassals, their colonial backyard,” the diplomat told Fox News Digital.

The diplomat pointed to what they described as Russian disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, sabotage efforts and repeated tests of Poland’s air defenses, as well as increasingly frequent nuclear rhetoric from Russian officials and propagandists.

“Altogether, it shows quite clearly that if Russia or Belarus saw any chance to attack Poland to destroy an obstacle to restoring the Soviet or Tsarist Russian empire in Eastern Europe, they would do it without hesitation,” the diplomat said.

The diplomat added that Tomczyk therefore had “quite solid bases to state his prediction,” while stressing that the concern was not rooted in hostility toward ordinary Russians.

“We want to have Russia as a good neighbor, business partner. We would like to host their tourists. We want to have a cultural exchange with them,” the diplomat said. “But they — at least the imperialists who are the foundation of the Putin administration — would like to turn Poland, the Baltics and, of course, Ukraine back into their colonial part of Europe.”

UKRAINE POUNDS BLACK SEA FLEET’S ‘LAST MAJOR STRONGHOLD’ WHILE PUTIN FLEXES NAVAL POWER IN PACIFIC

A soldier launches an RQ-35 Heidrun drone used for reconnaissance and artillery fire correction in the Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Feb. 22, 2026.(Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Retired Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, who commanded U.S. European Command and served as NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe from 2013 to 2016, told Fox News Digital that Poland’s warning reflects a concern shared by many former military leaders.

“It’s a problem that many of us are worried about,” Breedlove said. “They’re trying to test the alliance: Is Italy going to go to war? Is Spain going to go to war? There are several places where Russia could try to snatch something. Their goal is to divide and ultimately break up the alliance.”

Breedlove warned Moscow could attempt a provocation calibrated to create uncertainty over whether NATO should respond collectively.

“It is likely that Russia will try to initiate a provocation that is just enough to raise the question of a NATO response,” he said, arguing that Moscow’s objective would be to expose divisions among allies.

NATO’s Article 4 allows members to request consultations when an ally’s territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened. Article 5 provides for collective defense following an armed attack, although NATO says Article 4 consultations are not a prerequisite for action under Article 5.

The comments follow similar warnings from other eastern-flank governments. The Associated Press reported July 15 that Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said intelligence pointed to possible limited Russian attacks on critical infrastructure in the Baltics or Poland. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Warsaw was preparing “very intensively for various scenarios,” according to AP. Russia rejected the allegations.

RUSSIA LINKED TO ARSON ATTACKS ON PROPERTIES CONNECTED TO UK PM KEIR STARMER, POLICE SAY

F-16 fighter jets take part in the NATO Air Shielding exercise near the air base in Lask, central Poland, on Oct. 12, 2022.(Radoslaw Jozwiak/AFP via Getty Images)

The warnings came as tensions between Moscow and London escalated Tuesday. Russia’s embassy in Britain threatened unspecified “consequences” after The Times reported British-made drones had been used by Ukraine for long-range strikes inside Russia, according to Reuters on Aug. 18. Britain’s Ministry of Defense did not confirm whether British drones were used, Reuters reported.

“London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences for which it will have to answer,” the Russian Embassy said. The British defense ministry responded that Britain stood “shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine,” according to Reuters.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov escalated the rhetoric later Tuesday, saying Moscow had the right to regard direct British involvement in strikes on Russian territory as participation in the war, according to Reuters on Aug. 18.

Separately, Russian state television host Vladimir Solovyov called for using Russia’s Poseidon weapon against Britain, saying: “Give the British three days to learn to breathe underwater, then hit them with Poseidon,” The Times reported Aug. 18. Poseidon is a nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable underwater weapon that Russia said it successfully tested in October 2025, Reuters reported at the time.

Breedlove described the rhetoric as part of a broader Russian information campaign aimed at coercing Western governments.

US MILITARY BASES ARE ‘ILL-EQUIPPED’ TO STOP DRONE SWARMS, TOP COMMANDER REVEALS AFTER RUBIO’S UAP WARNING

NATO’s largest annual maritime drill, Exercise Dynamic Mariner/Flotex 25, takes place in the Gulf of Cadiz off southern Spain on March 28, 2025.(Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“Without question, Russia is fighting an information war and trying to achieve what practitioners call ‘reflexive control’ to try to force NATO capitulation,” Breedlove said.

He argued that Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy, logistics and defense-industrial targets are creating growing pressure on the Kremlin and said President Vladimir Putin may increasingly seek to portray NATO itself as the external enemy.

Breedlove said NATO is capable of facing Russia in a conventional war but warned that the alliance faces a different vulnerability exposed by the conflict in Ukraine.

“What NATO is not ready for — and what the U.S. is not ready for — is the new kind of drone warfare that Russia is waging against Ukraine,” Breedlove said. “Our air defense capabilities in the West are not even close to what is needed for the level of drone warfare that Russia is waging against Ukraine.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

An F-16 fighter jet takes part in the NATO Air Shielding exercise near the air base in Lask, central Poland, on Oct. 12, 2022.(Radoslaw Jozwiak/AFP via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to the Russian and British embassies for comment but did not receive responses in time for publication.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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

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

Fed policymakers’ inflation concerns increased at July meeting, minutes show

2026-08-19T18:04:30.599Z / Reuters

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh holds a press conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), as the Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady, at the Federal Reserve, in Washington, D.C., U.S. July 29, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

• Summary

• Fed kept policy rate unchanged in 3.50%-3.75% range at July 28-29 meeting
• Minutes of meeting show ‘many’ felt a rate hike would be needed if inflation did not decline
• Meeting was Warsh’s second as head of the Fed

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Concern about inflation deepened at the ​Federal Reserve’s meeting last month, with “several” policymakers ready to raise interest rates and “many” saying a hike in borrowing costs would be ‌needed if inflation does not decline to the U.S. central bank’s 2% target, the minutes of the session showed on Wednesday.

The policymakers who favored a rate increase at the meeting “remarked that price pressures appeared broad-based and judged that the (policy-setting) Committee should adopt a more restrictive policy stance to meet its commitment to achieving its price-stability and maximum employment goals on ​a sustained basis,” the minutes of the July 28-29 meeting said. Failure to do so, they argued, would risk “a steeper and potentially more ​costly sequence of tightening moves at a later stage.”

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The Fed voted at that meeting to hold its benchmark interest rate ⁠in the current 3.50%-3.75% range, but with three policymakers dissenting in favor of a quarter-percentage point hike.

A larger group of “many” participants “assessed that policy tightening would ​likely be necessary if inflation did not decline,” the minutes said.

The minutes, covering Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s second meeting as head of the central bank, showed ​central bankers already delving into some of the broader issues he wants to pursue as part of a possible overhaul of how the Fed operates.

Participants saw an upcoming task force review of how the Fed manages its balance sheet as an “opportunity for a comprehensive discussion,” though “many” participants at the meeting “reaffirmed that the primary means of adjusting the stance of ​monetary policy should be through changes in the target range for the federal funds rate,” not manipulating the Fed’s asset holdings.

Warsh also asked for “input from ​the Committee” on whether it would be better for the Fed to hold only six meetings a year rather than the current eight, allowing for a full two months ‌of data ⁠to accumulate each time. No decisions were made regarding this issue, the minutes said, and the 2026 schedule of meetings would not be altered.

The minutes drew little reaction in financial markets. An announcement earlier on Wednesday that the Treasury would double its buyback of longer-term U.S. government debt had eased upward pressure on yields and helped lift stocks after Tuesday’s rout.

Rate-futures markets continued to price better-than-even odds that the Fed will begin raising rates at its October 27-28 ​meeting and, failing that, a very high ​probability of a rate hike ⁠at its last meeting of the year in December.

POLICY DEBATE SHIFT

There was no mention in the minutes of support for a rate cut, a sign of how the Fed’s policy debate has shifted over the course of a year ​that began with an expectation that the central bank would be able to lower borrowing costs this year ​as inflation slowed.

Price pressures, ⁠however, have continued to build, particularly after the Trump administration joined Israel in a war with Iran. Shipments of oil and gas through the strategic Strait of Hormuz continue to be constrained almost six months after the start of the conflict.

The Fed is expected to hold its policy rate steady again at its September 15-16 ⁠meeting after recent ​data showed inflation easing slightly and firms unexpectedly shedding jobs in July. The data has left officials ​still divided over whether rate hikes will be needed to slow inflation further, but also more cautious about the strength of the labor market and the risks to their goal of maintaining ​full employment.

Warsh has been reluctant to talk about the path of monetary policy on his watch.

Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul Simao and Chizu Nomiyama

Moving pillowcase leads to discovery of venomous snakes, other reptiles hidden in car at border

August 19, 2026 / 1:10 PM EDT / CBS News

By Emily Mae Czachor News Editor

U.S. border agents found a collection of endangered reptiles when they noticed a pillowcase moving in a woman’s car after she was stopped at the border with Mexico due to an outstanding arrest warrant.

Georgina Bribiesca Chavez, 66, of Tijuana, Mexico, was arrested earlier this month on wildlife trafficking charges after allegedly participating in a yearslong reptile smuggling scheme. She is accused of bringing exotic reptiles into and out of the U.S. with her alleged trafficking partner, Salvador Pelayo, who was arrested in July on a federal charge similar to hers, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

Chavez was arrested while trying to cross the border from the U.S. into Mexico on Aug. 10, the office said. Realizing she had an outstanding arrest warrant related to a wildlife trafficking investigation, Customs and Border Protection officers took Chavez into custody and seized the vehicle.

As they searched the car the next day, officers discovered a hidden compartment behind one of its rear seats, which contained pillowcases that were tied and taped shut, according to the release. When one of the pillowcases appeared to move, the officers transferred them to the San Diego Zoo to be examined.

Staff at the zoo opened the pillowcases. Inside, they found 60 abronia lizards, four venomous yellow-blotched palm pit vipers, three caimans, one baby crocodile and one indigo snake. Several of those species are considered endangered or threatened, and are protected by international agreements.

Stolen exotic reptiles were found inside pillowcases in a car that was trying to cross the U.S. border into Mexico. U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California

The three caimans died before they could receive care at the San Diego Zoo, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

“Even after her arrest, Chavez never told CBP officers about the live animals in her car, leaving them abandoned for nearly 24 hours in the August heat in San Ysidro,” the news release said.

Officials said all of the other stolen reptiles were considered stable and under the care of the San Diego Zoo.

“These animals were not cargo — they were living creatures subjected to dangerous conditions for profit,” U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a statement.

During her first court appearance on the trafficking charges on Tuesday, Chavez pleaded not guilty, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. They said her alleged partner, 28-year-old Pelayo, has also pleaded not guilty.

Citing court documents, the office said Chavez and Pelayo started trafficking exotic reptiles into the U.S. in 2023 with the intent to sell them. Their activity prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to open an undercover investigation into the alleged scheme, which found that the two were involved in multiple undercover sales of protected turtles. They are accused of sending and receiving wildlife at shipping centers in the San Diego area.

Authorities have alleged that Chavez and Pelayo made tens of thousands of dollars from the sales of exotic animals.

Women are being left behind in high-paying AI jobs boom

August 19, 2026 3:39 PM EDT / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch

The artificial intelligence jobs boom is exacerbating the gender gap women already face in the technology industry, according to new research from the jobs and networking site LinkedIn, which shows that women are underrepresented among new hires for AI jobs.

In the U.S., women candidates accounted for just 26% of hires into jobs that require AI skills, which offer more lucrative salaries than non-AI roles, LinkedIn researchers found. That’s compared to 50% of women who were hired into non-AI positions.

Such jobs command a pay premium as corporations invest billions in the new tech, leading to a doubling in AI job postings on the site since 2023. The typical listing advertises a salary of about $177,000, compared to roughly $80,000 for a non-AI role, according to LinkedIn.

“AI is creating some of the fastest-growing, highest-paying, most consequential jobs in the global economy, but women are strikingly underrepresented in terms of who is getting hired, who benefits from the pay premium, and who is leading the development and deployment of this tech,” LinkedIn spokeswoman Sarah Steinberg told CBS News.

She said the tech industry’s gender gap is more pronounced in AI, with the field’s jobs boom “compounding barriers that women face.”

Broken ladder for women

The share of women in AI roles globally narrows as they move up the corporate ladder.

Across 27 countries, women hold just 13% of leadership roles at AI firms, whereas they account for 20% of job holders in the same roles in the broader tech industry. “It’s not great representation overall, but it’s worse when you look at AI specifically,” Steinberg added.

The trend is concerning for several reasons. First, research already shows that women are more likely to hold jobs that will be disrupted by AI, such as in customer service or administrative roles. For example, 86% of the 6.1 million workers, mostly in clerical and administrative roles that are vulnerable to AI takeover and have limited ability to adapt their skills, are women, according to The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization.

“We have a world in which women are more likely to have their jobs changed or disrupted by AI, and they are also not benefiting from AI pay premiums, or moving into jobs that are created by AI,” Steinberg said. “That’s what keeps me up at night when it comes to women’s place in the economy.”

Skills-based hiring could help

A shift toward skills-based rather than credential-based hiring could help funnel more women into the AI job pipeline, according to Steinberg. If employers recruit candidates not based on the degrees they’ve earned or previous jobs they’ve held, but instead focus on the applicable skills they possess, more women could be brought into the fold, she said.

That’s in part because it’s relatively easy for workers interested in acquiring AI skills to take online courses or training, or to gain experience by using publicly available AI tools.

“Someone can have AI skills without having a related diploma or having held a previous job in AI,” she said.

Edited by Aimee Picchi

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/ai-data-centers-creating-temporary-blue-collar-jobs-surge/