分类： 未分类

Five things to watch in Tuesday’s US primaries

2026-08-04T10:06:24.762Z / Reuters

WASHINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) – The Democratic Party’s ideological divide faces its biggest test of the 2026 primary season on Tuesday, with progressive Abdul El-Sayed looking to win Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate nomination over center-left U.S. Representative Haley Stevens.

Michigan is one of five states holding primaries along with Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state. Democrats need ​to net four seats to retake the Senate, making Michigan — a state Donald Trump won in 2024 — central to those hopes.

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

Here are five things we’re watching:

DEMOCRATS FIGHT THEIR CIVIL WAR IN ‌MICHIGAN

Progressives and democratic socialists have jolted the establishment with primary victories in battleground congressional districts and safe Democratic seats from New York to California.

But the biggest prize — and greatest risk — is Michigan, where El-Sayed, a former unsuccessful candidate for governor, is running against Stevens, a moderate congresswoman who flipped a Republican-held seat in 2018.

Stevens is backed by the Democratic establishment, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and has been the beneficiary of tens of millions of dollars in outside spending by a pro-Israel super PAC.

Progressives, including Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth ​Warren, have rallied around El-Sayed, whose victory would test the narrative that progressives can’t win in general election battleground districts or states.

Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority. And while Democrats are largely on offense ​in battleground states, they’re defending two seats in states Trump won: Michigan and Georgia. A loss in either state would make a Democratic Senate majority significantly more ⁠challenging.

Recent primary polls show El-Sayed leading Stevens by double digits, but surveys show Stevens is a stronger general election opponent.

Former U.S. Representative Mike Rogers, the 2024 Republican Senate nominee who is running unopposed, will enter the general ​election with $4.5 million in his war chest, according to his most recent campaign finance disclosure. He lost the 2024 race by less than a percentage point to Democrat Elissa Slotkin.

DIVIDED MODERATES COULD GET CONQUERED

While Michigan’s Senate race is the state’s ​marquee matchup, the moderate-progressive divide will also play out in a Lansing-area battleground district represented by Republican Tom Barrett.

The three-way Democratic primary features two moderates — former U.S. Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink — and progressive climate activist William Lawrence.

Establishment Democrats would rather see Maasdam or Brink face Barrett in the general election, but there’s concern they could split the center-left primary vote and give Lawrence a path to victory.

Trump won Barrett’s district by 1.3 percentage points in 2024, when Barrett ​won the Democratic-held open seat by nearly 4 percentage points. Democrats need to net three seats in November to win a majority in the House of Representatives.

CORI BUSH’S COMEBACK BID

Former members of Congress have had a mixed ​record this year on comeback attempts, with only four so far advancing in primaries. Several others either suspended their campaigns or lost their primaries.

Next up is Cori Bush, a progressive Missouri Democrat seeking to unseat U.S. Representative Wesley Bell in a ‌rematch of 2024.

A ⁠pro-Israel super PAC spent $8 million to help unseat Bush, a vocal critic of Israel, last cycle. That same super PAC, United Democracy Project, has spent more than $3 million this cycle to keep Bush out of Congress.

The winner is heavily favored to win in November, as the St. Louis-area district is safely Democratic.

CAN THANEDAR WIN A TWO-MAN RACE?

U.S. Representative Shri Thanedar, a wealthy Indian American, was elected to his Detroit-area district in 2022 after prevailing in a crowded open-seat primary. He defeated two Black women in a 2024 primary but has a single opponent this time: Donavan McKinney, a Black state representative backed by several progressive lawmakers, including Sanders and U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.

Black ​Michiganders comprise about 45% of the district’s population. Democratic congressional ​leaders — including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who ⁠is Black — have endorsed Thanedar’s reelection. McKinney is backed by many members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including former CBC Chair Steven Horsford of Nevada.

McKinney has raised more than $1.3 million, but Thanedar has millions of dollars from his personal wealth to spend. An opinion poll last month sponsored by the progressive group Justice Democrats found Thanedar narrowly ​leading, though respondents favored McKinney by a wider margin after being shown biographies of both candidates.

The winner is expected to win in November.

KANSAS CONSIDERS SUPREME COURT ​REFORM

Voters in Kansas will consider a ⁠referendum that critics warn could lead to the overturning of abortion rights in the state.

In 2022, nearly 60% of voters rejected a constitutional amendment to restrict access to abortion. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the state’s constitution protected Kansans’ decision of whether to continue a pregnancy. The court reaffirmed that right in 2024.

The new referendum would change how state Supreme Court justices are chosen, if successful. Justices are currently selected by a process in which the governor ⁠chooses among three ​finalists selected by a nine-member commission.

The referendum would allow voters to elect justices to six-year terms, with three seats up in 2028, ​two seats up in 2030 and the final two seats up in 2032. Vacancies would be filled by special elections.

Kris Kobach, now the state’s Republican attorney general, said in 2022 that electing justices by popular vote was the next best way to overturn the court’s abortion decision ​after the referendum failed. Kobach said Supreme Court elections would allow the state to “slowly and quietly” put anti-abortion justices on the bench to eventually restrict abortion access.

Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill; Editing by Michael Learmonth and Howard Goller

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Trump lashes out as political losses pile up

2026-08-04T08:00:25.734Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/04/politics/donald-trump-reflecting-pool-save-act-losses

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.

President Donald Trump lashed out at oil companies and his own US attorney in the gilded Oval Office on Monday as his spin ran into the real world.

It was more evidence that Trump 2.0 is losing some of its juice.

Oil executives are capitalizing on Trump’s war against Iran and “making too much money,” the president said. He singled out Chevron and warned it to make gasoline cheaper even though, he said, he’s a “big free enterprise guy — nobody bigger.”

Jeanine Pirro, his handpicked US attorney for Washington, DC, “choked,” Trump said, when she about-faced in court papers and admitted it was a botched rehab by the Interior Department and not vandalism that caused setbacks in the renovation of the Reflecting Pool, which Trump has taken on as a pet project. It was he, he said Monday, who had the idea of applying material meant for swimming pools to the 100-plus-year-old landmark.

“She folded like an umbrella,” Trump added of his longtime ally.

CNN reported Monday that he is now considering removing the former Fox News personality from her position.

Pirro’s transgression, in Trump’s eyes, is that she was forced to admit that the narrative he’s pushed in public is not one that can be prosecuted in court.

Trump’s victory to open the week is winning enough support for Todd Blanche, his former personal attorney, to be confirmed as attorney general.

But there’s a loss in the fine print of that deal. Blanche, currently acting attorney general, had to officially and permanently squelch the $1.8 billion fund widely seen as a way to pay Trump’s political supporters.

In Trump’s world, the fund — part of a settlement between him and his own Department of Justice — was a way to right wrongs against his allies. Other people saw it as an ethical minefield that would put taxpayer money in the pockets of people Trump previously pardoned.

Blanche’s promise not to pursue the fund wasn’t enough for Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Thillis, who wanted it rescinded in writing.

While CNN reported Monday that the White House was deeply involved in the decision to rescind the settlement, CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig noted that Trump and his lawyers have not signed the document clawing back the agreement. That means Trump or his attorneys could, in theory, sue to have it reinstated.

“For all the drama around this written document from Todd Blanche, it really accomplishes essentially nothing as a legal matter,” he said Monday on CNN’s “The Situation Room.”

Those same two Republicans who insisted on having Blanche kill the settlement in writing have also been vocal in arguing the GOP should move on, for now, from Trump’s voting restrictions bill, which would impose new proof-of-citizenship requirements in addition to voter ID conducted in the states.

For months, Trump has argued the bill is required to address the threat of mass voter fraud. There’s no evidence for that kind of fraud in the real world, as CNN’s Daniel Dale has repeatedly documented, but it remains an animating principle of Trump’s presidency. None of the political pressure from Trump or from the MAGA side of the GOP has created momentum to get enough votes for the legislation. And there wouldn’t be enough time to implement it before the midterm elections.

Neither Tillis nor Cornyn will be on the ballot in November. Tillis, a longtime but selective Trump critic, is not running for reelection. His North Carolina seat is considered a strong pickup opportunity for Democrats by political handicappers.

Cornyn lost a primary election runoff against a more MAGA opponent who won Trump’s late endorsement. Democrats are salivating over the prospect of making Texas competitive this year.

A pause on handing more power to Trump’s political appointees

Another Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, slipped language into a spending bill unveiled by Republican leaders to block, for now, a rule proposed by Trump’s Office of Management and Budget that would give political appointees, rather than subject experts, more power over federal grants. Collins, the only Republican running for reelection in a state Trump won in 2024, is locked in a tight reelection battle.

Meanwhile, Trump’s approval rating is dipping to record lows — about one-third of Americans approved of his job as president in a CNN Poll conducted by SSRS and released last week. The last time a US president drew approval that low was at the tail end of Trump’s first term, after the storming of the Capitol by his supporters in January 2021.

Two major drags on his popularity have been his handling of the economy and the war he launched on Iran. In Trump’s telling, the war would last at most a couple of months and the US would have more control over worldwide oil markets as a result.

Things have not worked out that way. Instead, despite Trump’s repeated claims that Iran wants badly to negotiate an end to the war, the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed, and the status of talks is unclear.

Disruptions to oil from the Middle East, paired with the opening of markets in Venezuela thanks to Trump’s order to snatch then-President Nicolás Maduro from his bed, have created a situation where US oil companies are benefiting more than they have since the 2022 inflation crisis.

For those who need their memories jogged, the Biden administration’s refusal or inability to acknowledge the economic pain Americans were feeling then sapped much of the juice from Joe Biden’s presidency.

波音737 MAX 7历时近10年终获美国监管机构认证

2026年8月4日 18:27 / 联合早报

一架阿拉斯加航空波音737 MAX 9客机星期一（8月3日）飞抵美国洛杉矶国际机场。同日，美国联邦航空管理局正式批准波音737 MAX 7，推动波音股价大幅上涨。 （法新社）

（纽约/华盛顿综合电）美国联邦航空管理局星期一（8月3日）正式批准波音737 MAX 7，为这款首飞逾八年的客机投入商业运营扫清最后监管障碍。

MAX 7是737 MAX系列中最小的机型，也是波音自2018年和2019年两起致命空难，以及2024年阿拉斯加航空客机舱门塞脱落事故以来，首款获得认证的新机型。事故促使美国收紧认证要求，也使审批一再延误。

联邦航空管理局（FAA）说，这项认证历经近10年审查。波音须更新飞行控制软件、机组警报系统，并重新设计发动机防冰系统。为了取得认证，波音完成441次试飞，累计飞行686小时。

波音原计划于2019年开始交付MAX 7，目前正为首批交付做准备。作为启动客户，西南航空预计将在未来几个月让这款飞机投入运营。

黑海两艘船遭无人机袭击 土耳其促俄乌保障航行安全

2026年8月4日 18:31 / 联合早报

土耳其外交部星期二（8月4日）称，两艘船只于星期一（3日）晚间离开俄罗斯新罗西斯克港后遭到袭击，多人受伤。 （路透社）

土耳其官员说，两艘民用船只在黑海遭到无人机袭击，造成船员受伤。

法新社报道，土耳其外交部星期二（8月4日）称，这两艘船只于星期一（3日）晚间离开俄罗斯新罗西斯克港后遭到袭击，多人受伤，“他们的状况正受到密切关注”。

外交部说：“我们对俄乌在黑海不断升级的冲突深表关切，尽管我们已多次发出警告，但冲突仍在影响民用航运。”

土耳其外交部呼吁，各方“紧急采取具体措施，确保黑海航行安全”，并警告称食品供应可能受到影响。

据监测网站MarineTraffic显示，这两艘被土耳其外交部确认为“亚沙尔号”和“娜杰日达号”的船只分别悬挂巴拿马国旗和喀麦隆国旗，但都属于土耳其公司所有。

俄罗斯和乌克兰已连续数周加大对货船的袭击力度。

6月下旬，一艘土耳其渔船在克里米亚海岸附近的黑海海域遭到袭击，造成一人死亡，四人受伤。

5月底，土耳其曾警告称，在一艘土耳其货船遭到无人机袭击后，黑海地区局势可能出现“失控升级”。乌克兰海军则声称，发动袭击的是一架俄罗斯无人机。

Michigan Democrats choose between Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens, and more races to watch today

2026-08-04T06:00:00-0400 / CBS News

Voters are going to the polls in five states, including Michigan, where Democrats are watching the expensive and contentious Senate primary contest between populist Abdul El-Sayed and moderate Rep. Haley Stevens.

They’re running for retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters’ seat, which is among a handful that Democrats must hold in order to have any chance of winning control of the Senate. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is backing Stevens, while Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are campaigning for El-Sayed. Former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, who lost to Sen. Elissa Slotkin by less than a point in 2024, is running unopposed in the Republican primary.

After the Virginia Supreme Court struck down Democrats’ voter-approved plan to redraw the congressional districts to net up to four more districts, Virginians will be using the maps drafted by a nonpartisan commission in 2021. Democrats are still targeting several districts in their fight for control of the House.

In Missouri, ongoing redistricting legal battles may yet affect congressional races, where longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s district has been redrawn to favor the GOP and five Republicans are vying for the chance to take him on in November. In the only reliably Democratic district in the state, the 1st, Democratic Rep. Wesley Bell is being challenged by former Rep. Cori Bush, whom he defeated two years ago.

In Kansas, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s tenure will be ended by term limits, opening up the governor’s race in the reliably GOP state.

There are also primaries in Washington, where the top-two vote getters, regardless of party, will advance to the general election. Four Democrats and three Republicans are vying to take on two-term Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who is a frontrunner to make the ballot in the 3rd District this fall. And in the Seattle area, longtime Rep. Adam Smith is being challenged by former Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant, a socialist, along with several others.

Here are the major races to watch today:

Michigan Senate race

Progressives and moderate party leaders have been clashing for months over who’s best positioned in the race, and who is more broadly representative of Michigan’s voters. Stevens, 43, was recruited by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, has represented Michigan in the House since 2019 and has the support of national Democrats. El-Sayed, a 41-year-old former health official, has picked up the backing of prominent progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders.

File: Democratic Senate candidates: Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens and former Michigan health official Abdul El-Sayed Campaigns of Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed

El-Sayed spoke with CBS News senior White House and political correspondent Ed O’Keefe on the eve of the primary and suggested the Democratic Party has been losing sight of what Americans really need.

“Sometimes, when the Democratic Party talks about a big tent, we push everybody into the corner and then go talk and pander to the corner,” he told O’Keefe. “I’m just trying to bring everybody to the tent pole in the middle to talk about what we really need. We need good housing. We need good schools. We need healthcare.”

Stevens, who also talked with O’Keefe, accused El-Sayed of using the Senate race as stepping stone to the presidency.

“This is six years of hard, unglamorous work that I’m signing up for. I’m Michigan’s workhorse. That’s what I want to be,” Stevens said. “My opponent, he’s already got his website for president.”

El-Sayed, has run on progressive policies like Medicare for All, and he’s been an outspoken critic of Israel’s government and the war in Gaza. And for Michigan, which is home to the largest concentration of Arabs in the U.S., the issue has been central to the campaign.

While Stevens is a proponent of a two-state solution, she’s received an influx of funding from a pro-Israel groups, which El-Sayed seized on during their debate earlier this month. But Stevens has emphasized her priorities in The Great Lakes State, including affordability issues, health care and housing.

A third high-profile candidate, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, dropped out earlier this month without offering a reason for her departure from the race.

Michigan’s governor’s race

Whitmer is also facing term limits, setting up an open contest. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson faces Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson in the Democratic primary, with Benson holding a 60-point lead, according to a July poll from The Detroit News and WDIV-TV.

On the Republican side, former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox dropped out of the race in July, citing Mr. Trump’s endorsement of Rep. John James in the race. Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt suspended his campaign a month earlier for the same reason. Both candidates then backed James. James still has one opponent, businessman Perry Johnson. Polls show James with a significant lead.

Michigan House races

With Stevens running for Senate, the race for her suburban Detroit district is wide open. Although Stevens flipped the Republican seat in 2018, she won the seat by nearly 20 points in 2024 and the district is considered a solidly Democratic seat. Four Democrats are competing on Tuesday, with Whitmer backing state Sen. Jeremy Moss. Troy Mayor Ethan Baker is running unopposed for the Republican nomination.

There is also an open primary in Michigan’s 10th District, since James is running for governor. The nonpartisan Sabato Crystal Ball at UVA Center for Politics ranks the seat as a toss-up and it has nearly 50-50 partisan split, according to the Michigan Legislative Consultants.

Republican Robert Lulgjuraj dropped out of the race in July, leaving three Republicans still in the running — Army Capt. Michael Bouchard, Justin Kirk and Steffan Demetropoulos. Three Democrats are running, attorney Eric Chung, former Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel and prosecutor Christina Hines.

Virginia House races

Although Democrats did not succeed in enacting the congressional map that favored them in 10 out of 11 districts, the party is still trying to flip several seats. The state appears to have become more Democratic, and last year the state was severely affected by federal government layoffs. Democrats swept the 2025 statewide elections, and the redistricting referendum passed earlier this year before being struck down by the courts.

Four Democrats, including former Rep. Elaine Luria, are running to take on Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans in the Virginia Beach-area district. Kiggans defeated Luria in 2024, but the Democrats’ campaign arm has thrown its weight behind Luria again this time.

Democrats are also targeting the 1st District, currently represented by Republican Rep. Rob Wittmann. Seven Democrats are vying for the chance to take on Wittmann to represent the Williamsburg and western Richmond suburban district. The Democrats’ campaign arm is supporting Shannon Taylor, a prosecutor who in 2011 was the first Democrat in 40 years to win the Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the UVA Center for Politics ranks the race as Lean Republican.

Another closely-watched race is in Virginia’s 5th District, currently represented by Republican Rep. John McGuire. In 2024, McGuire defeated two-term GOP Rep. Bob Goode in the Republican primary by less than 500 votes, and then went on to win the central Virginia district by 15 points in the general election. Although Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the UVA Center for Politics ranks the race as Likely Republican, three Democrats are vying for the chance to take on McGuire in November.

Republicans, meanwhile, are focused on Virginia’s competitive 7th District, Democratic Rep. Eugene Vindman is one of the most vulnerable Democrats this cycle. Vindman, an Army colonel who was a whistleblower during Mr. Trump’s first impeachment trial, won in 2024 by 2 points after Abigail Spanberger decided to run for governor. Vindman is running unopposed, but three Republicans are on the ballot to face him in November.

Missouri House races

In 2024, Rep. Wesley Bell successfully challenged former Rep. Cori Bush, a Black Lives Matter organizer who was aligned with the progressive members known as “The Squad,” in a Democratic stronghold district in St. Louis. Bush is now challenging Bell again for the seat.

Nearly 80% of the district’s constituents voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, so the winner of Tuesday’s primary is expected to win again in November. Bush is campaigning that she will fight both Mr. Trump as well as Democratic leadership, while Bell is running as a more pragmatic candidate.

Last year, Missouri lawmakers undertook redistricting to edge out the state’s other Democratic representative, Cleaver, who has represented Kansas City in Congress since 2004. The new district now stretches from Kansas City through the suburbs into the more rural parts of the state, and Cleaver is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Six Republicans are vying Tuesday to take on Cleaver in November, but a Kansas City Star investigation in July found that only one lives in the new district’s boundaries.

Although the new congressional boundaries have been signed into law, the map’s legal status is still in question after an ambiguous ruling from the Missouri Supreme Court. At the heart of the case is a referendum with more than 305,000 signatures that called for a statewide vote on the map. Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins has until Tuesday to verify the signatures and certify the referendum. If he certifies it, the new map would be paused. The legal fight is bound to continue, whatever Hoskins decides.

Washington’s 3rd Congressional District

Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is running against eight other candidates to advance to the general election in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District.

Washington has nonpartisan primaries, with the top two candidates with the most votes appearing on the November ballot.

The race is one of the closest-watched House contests this cycle and will help decide who controls the lower chamber as of early next year. It was one of 13 districts that voted for President Trump in 2024 while also electing a Democrat to the House.

Among her challengers is Trump-backed Republican state Sen. John Braun, who has disagreed with the president on tariffs and whether he lost the 2020 election.

Kansas governor’s race

Kelly, first elected in 2018, prevailed in 2022 despite Kansas’ deep-red leanings and Mr. Trump went on to win Kansas in 2024 by 16 points. Three Democrats are vying Tuesday to replace Kelly, while seven Republicans are on the ballot.

Mr. Trump has endorsed Republican Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, while Kelly has backed state Sen. Ethan Corson of Fairway for the Democratic nomination.

Blanche set to clear nomination hurdle after deal wins senators’ vote

2026-08-04T10:10:11.34Z / Reuters

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche walks through the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 29, 2026. REUTERS/Anna Rose Layden/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Blanche is expected to take step closer to attorney general nomination
• Full Senate confirmation vote could take place later this week
• Vote comes after Blanche narrowed tax audit immunity for Trump and ordered ‘weaponization fund’ dead

WASHINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Todd Blanche is expected to clear a hurdle on Tuesday on his path to nomination ​for U.S. attorney general, but questions persist about a deal he said would end President Donald Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund and narrow an agreement ‌giving Trump immunity from audits of past tax returns.

Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer and the current acting attorney general, agreed on Sunday to amend the terms of the fund and the tax immunity deal in order to win the backing of two holdout Republican senators, although critics say the amendments do not go far enough.

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

He issued orders that he said ended ​the fund, and directed that the related tax immunity agreement only barred audits on past tax returns of Trump, his son and their ​family business. The agreement, though, allows for tax audits on future tax returns.

The holdout senators, John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, ⁠said on Monday they were pleased with the agreement and would vote to advance Blanche’s nomination through the Judiciary Committee. Approval by the committee, which is ​expected, would clear the way for a Senate confirmation vote later this week.

Critics called the deal Blanche struck a “farce,” arguing it does not prevent Trump from resurrecting ​the fund later and does not resolve the ethics of Trump’s administration shielding him from tax scrutiny. Some called on Republicans to pass legislation that would explicitly bar the fund from being revived and end Trump’s tax protections.

“The Judiciary Committee and its members should not settle for less than the Acting Attorney General following through on his promise of helping to ​write this into statute,” Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who sits on the committee, said in a statement.

The dispute over Trump’s tax immunity and the $1.8 billion weaponization ​fund stems from a settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.

The fund is meant to support people who claim they have been unfairly prosecuted for their political activities, ‌and could ⁠benefit Trump allies who have said they were targeted by the federal government for their involvement in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“REAL COMMITMENTS”

Critics have called it a Republican slush fund and noted that Trump’s personal lawyers did not sign off on Blanche’s order to end it, even though the original settlement requires approval from all parties to make any changes. Trump’s lawyers have not publicly commented on the matter.

The Justice Department and Blanche have refused in court ​to say the weaponization fund could never ​be resurrected, and Trump has ⁠repeatedly said how much he loves the idea of the payouts.

The Judiciary Committee postponed its confirmation vote last week after Cornyn and Tillis demanded written proof that the fund was dead and the tax immunity deal would be scaled back.

The ​demands from Cornyn and Tillis, who said they represented views held by fellow Republican senators, were among the highest-profile ​Republican revolts against the ⁠president in his second term, when he has called for complete loyalty from his party.

Democracy Forward, an advocacy group which is suing over the fund,

sent a letter Monday, opens new tab
asking the DOJ to declare the program permanently canceled.

“They ask members of the United States Senate to believe the Anti-Weaponization Fund is dead while they seek to preserve ⁠favor with ​the president through refusing to make real commitments backed up in court regarding the operation and ​future of the fund,” said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward.

Under Blanche’s leadership, the Justice Department has prosecuted Trump’s perceived enemies while upending long-standing norms of the department’s independence. Blanche also oversaw the ​release of files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He has also touted declining crime numbers.

Reporting by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff; editing by Andy Sullivan and Stephen Coates

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

El-Sayed touts endorsement from pastor who praised notorious antisemite infamous for calling Jews ‘termites’

El-Sayed’s campaign paid $75,000 in consulting fees to a nonprofit run by pastor with links to Louis Farrakhan.

August 4, 2026 6:00am EDT / Fox News

By Robert Schmad, Cameron Cawthorne

Michigan Democratic Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed campaigns with left-wing influencer Hasan Piker despite his history of offensive comments on 9/11 and antisemitism. Piker, known for calling America deserving of 9/11 and showing no patriotism, has a significant online following. Some Democrats fear this controversial alliance could jeopardize their chances in the crucial Michigan Senate race during the midterms, alienating swing voters.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is enthusiastically touting the endorsement of Horace Sheffield III, an influential Detroit pastor and radio host who once heaped praise on Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan.

Sheffield endorsed El-Sayed on air in November 2025, with the Senate hopeful issuing a press release to commemorate the occasion and saying that he was “deeply honored” to have his support. In May 2013, Sheffield gave a speech introducing Farrakhan to a gathering of religious leaders where he praised the controversial cleric for his leadership and accused outside forces of slandering him.

“We need someone to give us direction. I believe we have a leader here that can organize us,” Sheffield said, referring to Farrakhan, according to a media outlet founded by Farrakhan.

Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, at a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan on August 2, 2026.

MICHIGAN SENATE RACE: EL-SAYED’S TIES TO EXTREMIST FUEL ANTISEMITISM CONCERNS AMONG JEWISH VOTERS

Before Sheffield lauded the Nation of Islam leader, he had racked up an extensive record of controversial remarks slammed as anti-Semitic or as instances of anti-White racism.

In 1996, for instance, Farrakhan accused Jews of being “wicked deceivers of the American people” who have “sucked their blood.” A year later, he suggested that “people will never be free in this country” until they are liberated from the “tremendous amount of influence” Jews exert over the American government.

Shortly before Sheffield praised Farrakhan in May 2013, the Nation of Islam minister stated that “Jews are the most violent of people” in February 2012.

WIFE OF LOUIS FARRAKHAN DEAD AT 90

Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and The Nation of Islam, speaks onstage during Nipsey Hussle’s Celebration of Life at STAPLES Center on April 11, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.(Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images For All Money In Records and Atlantic Records)

Farrakhan also called White people “the skunk of the planet earth” and suggested that Europeans are not yet fully evolved human beings.

Following these controversial statements, Sheffield suggested during his 2013 introductory remarks that Farrakhan was a truth teller whom the establishment was trying to silence.

“They want to silence people who tell us the truth, and we know why this is happening and who is doing it, but we need some help with how to overcome it,” Sheffield said during his speech.

ABDUL EL-SAYED SAYS RALLYING WITH HASAN PIKER DOESN’T MEAN HE ENDORSES ‘AMERICA DESERVED 9/11’ REMARK

Louis Farrakhan and Abdul El-Sayed.(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images | Sarah Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

After the 2013 event, Farrakhan continued his habit of controversial remarks, calling Jews “termites” in 2018.

Despite Sheffield’s praise of a highly controversial cleric, El-Sayed’s campaign has worked with him to a considerable degree.

In June, Sheffield stopped by El-Sayed’s campaign office to record a promotional video for the candidate. More recently, the Washington Free Beacon reported that the El-Sayed campaign had paid a nonprofit run by Sheffield $75,000 for “consulting” fees between October 2025 and June of this year.

Sheffield’s previous radio station suspended him in 2018 after he endorsed Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar’s failed bid for Michigan governor after accepting tens of thousands of dollars in “consulting” fees from him, according to the Free Beacon.

While Sheffield’s controversial past associations could provide Republicans with ammunition to use against El-Sayed in the general election, especially given the accusations of antisemitism surrounding his campaign, the pastor’s endorsement could also help him win the support of Black Michiganders, a demographic he has so far failed to impress.

“I’m deeply honored to have Rev. Sheffield’s support. His lifelong commitment to justice, faith, and service embodies the very best of Detroit,” El-Sayed said following the endorsement. “We’re building a coalition that believes politics should be about people, and together we’ll fight to deliver dignity, opportunity, and equity for every Michigander.”

Representatives for El-Sayed and Sheffield did not return requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392761201112

黑海两艘船遭无人机袭击 土耳其促俄乌保障航行安全

2026年8月4日 18:31 / 联合早报

土耳其外交部星期二（8月4日）称，两艘船只于星期一（3日）晚间离开俄罗斯新罗西斯克港后遭到袭击，多人受伤。 （路透社）

土耳其官员说，两艘民用船只在黑海遭到无人机袭击，造成船员受伤。

法新社报道，土耳其外交部星期二（8月4日）称，这两艘船只于星期一（3日）晚间离开俄罗斯新罗西斯克港后遭到袭击，多人受伤，“他们的状况正受到密切关注”。

外交部说：“我们对俄乌在黑海不断升级的冲突深表关切，尽管我们已多次发出警告，但冲突仍在影响民用航运。”

土耳其外交部呼吁，各方“紧急采取具体措施，确保黑海航行安全”，并警告称食品供应可能受到影响。

据监测网站MarineTraffic显示，这两艘被土耳其外交部确认为“亚沙尔号”和“娜杰日达号”的船只分别悬挂巴拿马国旗和喀麦隆国旗，但都属于土耳其公司所有。

俄罗斯和乌克兰已连续数周加大对货船的袭击力度。

6月下旬，一艘土耳其渔船在克里米亚海岸附近的黑海海域遭到袭击，造成一人死亡，四人受伤。

5月底，土耳其曾警告称，在一艘土耳其货船遭到无人机袭击后，黑海地区局势可能出现“失控升级”。乌克兰海军则声称，发动袭击的是一架俄罗斯无人机。

美媒：美军征集“创新且非常规”打击伊朗方案

2026-08-04 18:36 / 联合早报

一名知情人士透露，美军中央司令部情报部门一名官员上周向大批军方分析师发送电子邮件，内容是“我们正寻求创新且非常规的新方式施压和惩罚伊朗”。 （路透社档案照片）

美国媒体称，美军近期正在内部广泛征集“创新且非常规”的打击伊朗方案，原因是空袭等传统打击手段效果有限，难以实现美方对伊朗军事行动的全部目标。

美国有线电视新闻网星期一（8月3日）独家报道称，一名知情人士透露，美军中央司令部情报部门一名官员上周向大批军方分析师发送电子邮件，内容是“我们正寻求创新且非常规的新方式施压和惩罚伊朗”。

另一名知情人士证实此事，并称美军中央司令部承认需重新审视现有战略，目前正评估所有可能方案。

对此，美军中央司令部发言人发声明指出，美军中央司令部“长期以来以创新方式思考和开展工作……以达到最高水平的作战效能”。

报道称，美军通过电子邮件征集创意的做法“不同寻常”。美国总统特朗普一直考虑扩大对伊军事行动规模，包括重新对伊朗剩余核设施发起大规模打击，但空袭能否取得明显效果遭到质疑。

特朗普也在考虑发动类似“烟花表演式”的打击，“希望通过一次象征性的胜利来退出战事”，但这些行动不太可能解决当前战事的核心问题，即伊朗对霍尔木兹海峡的控制。

了解近期美军行动规划讨论情况的消息人士透露：“归根结底，特朗普希望达成协议，因此他不断寻找既能展示强硬态度、又能实现结束军事行动的办法……有时候我们需要创新思维，尤其是在传统选项用尽之时。”

报道称，近几个月，美军已向特朗普提交升级战事的多种方案，其中一项方案是对伊朗实施一至两周的大规模轰炸，摧毁导弹能力。与此同时，更多美国军事力量已部署到中东地区。不过，特朗普尚未作出采取进一步行动的决定，部分原因是美军当前防空拦截弹库存不足。

特朗普星期一在白宫对媒体称，美国与伊朗正在对话，但美军对伊朗的大规模打击计划仍未排除。伊朗外交部发言人巴加埃则否认与美国进行任何谈判。

路透：美国拟禁止进口中国新型数据中心设备

2026年8月4日 19:09 / 联合早报

知情人士透露，美国政府正起草一项禁令，拟禁止进口中国新型号的数据中心组件，以保护支撑人工智能（AI）发展的关键基础设施。 （路透社档案照片）

知情人士透露，美国政府正起草一项禁令，拟禁止进口中国新型号的数据中心组件，以保护支撑人工智能（AI）发展的关键基础设施。

路透社引述四名知情人士报道，负责监管美国电信行业的联邦通信委员会（FCC）正在制定相关措施，计划禁止进口中国新型号的光收发模块。光收发模块主要用于数据中心内部的高速光纤数据传输。

美国官员希望今年内公布并实施禁令，以防中国企业通过相关设备窃取数据、植入恶意软件或干扰数据中心运作。这些数据中心部署着用于训练和运行AI模型的晶片。

不过，知情人士称，FCC仍可能修改或搁置有关限制。

对此，中国驻美国大使馆回应称，北京敦促美国“倾听两国工商界客观、理性的声音”，停止抹黑中国企业并以制裁相威胁。使馆还说：“对于任何严重损害中方利益的行动，中国都将采取一切必要措施予以回应。”

若禁令落地，可能冲击全球主要光收发模块供应商中际旭创。中际旭创今年6月被美国国防部列入“中国军方支持企业”名单，被视为美国可能进一步收紧限制的信号。

禁令也可能推高亚马逊云计算服务等美国云服务企业的成本，迫使它们转向美国供应商Coherent和Lumentum。

Counterpoint Research的数据显示，中际旭创占全球数据中心光收发模块市场约27%，居行业领先地位。美国创新基金会的一份报告指出，Coherent和Lumentum虽拥有具竞争力的技术，但生产规模仍不足以取代中国供应商。报告还称，中际旭创约90%的营收来自中国境外。