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Virginia data center boom pushes Dominion deeper into costly power market

2026-08-11 / Reuters

A car drives past a building of the Digital Realty Data Center in Ashburn, Virginia, U.S., March 17, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary
• Companies

• Fuel costs could lift average monthly bill as much as 13% to $195 from $173
• Virginia Electric expects 23% of energy supply from PJM wholesale market, up from 14% in 2021
• Dominion says offshore wind project would save customers about $5 billion over first 10 years

Aug 11 (Reuters) – Dominion’s ​fuel costs in Virginia have risen nearly 90% in five years as data-center-driven demand leaves the utility increasingly exposed ​to volatile wholesale electricity prices.

The surge in fuel costs in Virginia, the world’s largest data center market, is casting further doubt on claims that AI-driven electricity demand is not saddling residential customers with higher power bills.

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Fuel costs are the expenses Dominion pays to buy the coal, natural gas and nuclear fuel to generate ​electricity. Nuclear fuel, for example, is expected to average less than a penny per kilowatt hour, compared with purchasing electricity on ​the wholesale market for 6.28 cents per kilowatt hour, according to Dominion estimates.

Rapid growth in data centers is ⁠becoming a political headache in states like Virginia, where Governor Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, said last week she would intervene in the regulatory ​review of NextEra Energy’s

NEE.N
proposed $66.8 billion merger with Dominion, to press for commitments on power bill affordability, job protections and clean energy investments.

Virginia ​Electric and Power Company, a unit of Dominion Energy

D.N
, forecasts fuel expense of $4.35 billion through the end of June 2027, averaging 3.95 cents per kilowatt hour. That cost is 88% higher than 2021, when the electric utility’s system fuel expense was $2.31 billion, or an average of 2.59 cents per kilowatt hour, according to ​recent filings with Virginia regulators.

The surge comes as Virginia Electric expects to buy 23% of its energy supply from the wholesale electricity market ​operated by grid manager PJM Interconnection, which serves 67 million people in a territory that stretches from Washington, D.C., to Chicago. That’s up from 14% in ‌2021.

Scott Gaskill, ⁠vice president of regulatory affairs for Virginia Electric, said the utility’s own generation portfolio is the best hedge against PJM market prices. The planned merger with NextEra is expected to accelerate Dominion’s buildout of power plants and renewable energy, reducing its reliance on PJM market purchases.

“Every megawatt-hour generated by company-owned resources reduces the need to purchase energy from the PJM market,” Gaskill said in his July 28 testimony filed with Virginia ​regulators.

Virginia Electric serves 2.7 million ​homes and businesses in Virginia. Fuel ⁠costs could drive up the average monthly bill by as much as 13% to $195 from $173, according to Virginia regulatory filings. The increase would only be about 5% if Dominion can issue bonds to defer ​some fuel cost recovery from customers into future years, the filings said.

Staff at utility regulator Virginia State ​Corporation Commission said ⁠significant load growth from data centers increasingly exposes Dominion to a wholesale electricity market where spot prices can skyrocket to several thousand dollars per megawatt hour during heatwaves and extended cold snaps.

As a result, regulators, consumer advocates and many lawmakers increasingly argue that data-center-driven load growth is creating costs ⁠that are ​still being spread too broadly across residential customers.

Dominion and the data center industry argue ​that data centers are paying their costs and are not responsible for recent residential bill increases.

Meanwhile, Dominion executives say its $11.7 billion Virginia offshore wind project will generate fuel ​savings of about $5 billion for customers during the project’s first 10 years of operation.

Reporting By Tim McLaughlin; editing by Timothy Gardner and Aurora Ellis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

DOJ legal office says Trump’s outside advisers can be shielded by executive privilege

August 11, 2026 / 12:56 PM EDT / CBS News

President Trump’s outside advisers — individuals who are not employed by the federal government — may now be protected from future congressional and legal investigations, according to a new opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.

In a 21-page opinion published Monday evening, the Office of Legal Counsel told the White House that the president can move to extend executive privilege, the right of the president to contain confidential communications within the executive branch, to advisers who do not work for the White House, but who provide him with direct advice.

The new opinion says that executive privilege can apply to private advisers of the president if the communications “relate to official presidential decisionmaking,” are confidential, and involve conversations between the president and his direct team of advisers.

The opinion, which is not binding, comes months before a contentious midterm election that could result in Democrats winning one or both houses in Congress. If that were to happen, a barrage of investigations could follow and may expand the number of individuals potentially protected from future testimony or investigation.

Executive privilege is often asserted by the president in conversations with executive branch staff, like lawyers who work for the White House, but the new step could protect Mr. Trump’s outside legal counsel and other advisers from divulging information in future congressional investigations or legal proceedings.

“At bottom, the purpose of executive privilege is to protect the government’s decisionmaking processes,” the opinion said. It was signed by Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser, who leads the Office of Legal Counsel.

“The need for presidential confidentiality applies to communications with private advisers just as it does with government officials. A President might determine that a private adviser has unique insight or experience, and that full knowledge about a contemplated decision cannot be obtained through consultation with only government employees,” the opinion continued.

This is not the first OLC opinion by Mr. Trump’s Justice Department that has broken with historical precedent.

In April, Gaiser authored an opinion that said the federal law enacted in the wake of the Watergate scandal that requires the president to preserve certain documents and turn them over to the National Archives at the end of his administration is unconstitutional, and that Mr. Trump does not need to comply with it.

Weeks after the opinion was published, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. ordered White House staff and President Trump’s top advisers to comply with the law after a government oversight group and the American Historical Association sued to invalidate the opinion.

The opinion could also shield outside Trump adviser and lawyer Boris Epshteyn, who was recently subpoenaed by the American Bar Association in a lawsuit filed last year related to the White House’s alleged “intimidation policy” against major law firms that resulted in executive orders targeting four firms and deals made with several others.

The American Bar Association is seeking communications between Epshteyn and the White House, and the DOJ has moved to quash the subpoena, arguing Epshteyn “provided the President with privileged and confidential advice in connection with the Executive Orders at issue.”

Civil rights groups ask judge to block Trump’s new birthright citizenship order

2026-08-11T18:21:47.613Z / CNN

By Devan Cole

PUBLISHED Aug 11, 2026, 2:21 PM ET

US President Donald Trump, left, and Howard Lutnick, US commerce secretary, during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, August 6.

Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s latest effort to curb birthright citizenship is facing fresh skepticism in court, with immigrants who successfully fought his earlier bid to end the right asking a federal judge to stop the president’s new gambit.

The Supreme Court ruled in June that an executive order Trump issued after returning to office last year was unconstitutional because it directly conflicted with the Constitution’s guarantee of citizenship for nearly all babies born on US soil.

In response to that decision, Trump signed a new executive order last week that appeared to largely tighten laws already in place and narrow recognized exceptions. Among other things, the order said federal agencies would not recognize the citizenship of children whose parents are not citizens if either parent is “an alien enemy,” “a foreign government employee,” or engaged in so-called birth tourism.

The new order, lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups told a federal judge in New Hampshire on Tuesday, “purports to strip birthright citizenship” from immigrants belonging to a class they represent “despite the Supreme Court’s recent decision.”

“To avoid any doubt in this regard, the court should underscore that the government may not strip away class members’ citizenship through any executive orders or other similarly flawed assertions of Executive power over birthright citizenship,” the attorneys wrote.

The request from the groups to US District Judge Joseph LaPlante is the first direct challenge to the new executive order. In at least one other case, lawyers who previously challenged Trump’s 2025 executive order have asked a judge in Maryland to assess whether the president’s new effort could impermissibly deny citizenship to their clients.

LaPlante, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, had ruled last July that Trump’s first order was unconstitutional and barred officials from being able to enforce it against anyone who may have been impacted by it. That case went up to the Supreme Court, which upheld his ruling.

The high court has long recognized some exceptions to the rule that anyone born in the US has a right to citizenship, and it did so again in its blockbuster decision this summer. But those are limited to children born to diplomats and “enemies” during a “hostile occupation.”

https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/11/politics/civil-rights-groups-challenge-trumps-new-birthright-citizenship-order

Atty: ‘It will not stand’: Trump targets birthright citizenship again after Supreme Court snub

Atty: ‘It will not stand’: Trump targets birthright citizenship again after Supreme Court snub

1:57

In court papers submitted Tuesday to LaPlante, the ACLU said that Trump’s attempt to broaden the exceptions was patently unlawful.

“The Supreme Court has been clear that the exceptions to the Citizenship Clause come from the Clause and the Court – not from the President,” they wrote, referring to the provision of the 14th Amendment that deals with citizenship.

In the Maryland case, lawyers representing immigrants who challenged Trump’s first executive order told the court that the Justice Department conveyed to them that the new action “operates only prospectively and is not effective until guidance is issued.” The department provided no other information about last week’s order, the lawyers said in a filing.

CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and John Fritze contributed to this report.

https://www.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/cnn-this-morning/episodes/c149d9b4-b53c-11f0-aeee-ab62e9ecf5fd

White House asked DOJ about new Reflecting Pool case against David Hearn

August 11, 2026 / 3:54 PM EDT / CBS News

Jacob Rosen
Justice Department Reporter

White House officials have asked the Justice Department to weigh whether it is possible to bring a new criminal case against David Hearn, the former Olympian who was accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool, after federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the indictment against him earlier this month, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, had charged Hearn with felony destruction of government property, accusing him of causing more than $1,000 in damage to the sealant that was recently installed at the bottom of the Reflecting Pool. The project to renovate the pool was championed by President Trump.

The discussions between the Justice Department and the White House were reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

Earlier this month, however, federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the indictment without prejudice, meaning the case could be brought again, citing new information that the damage was caused by a “botched installation” by a contractor, not vandalism.

President Trump criticized the decision, writing on Truth Social that there “may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”

“I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool,” Mr. Trump wrote. “I don’t know what she was thinking?”

After a weekend of criticism from Mr. Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Pirro was spotted visiting the White House carrying a box full of evidence. Sources said the boxes contained all of the evidence collected from the Interior Department that exculpated Hearn and several others from criminal vandalism.

Last week, a D.C. Superior Court judge formally dismissed the case, but punted on the question of whether or not to dismiss with or without prejudice, which could impact whether the current felony case could be revived. There is further briefing scheduled in the case for late this summer and early fall.

The conversation between the White House and the Criminal Division occurred last week, one source said, and the discussions were focused on whether there was a way to bring the case potentially as a misdemeanor, which would not require using a grand jury. The conversations were exploratory, and no decision was made, the source added.

After deciding to drop Hearn’s charges, prosecutors in Washington moved to drop charges against three other defendants who were charged with misdemeanors for allegedly damaging the pool. The three were accused of destroying property of value less than $1,000.

Michael Bromwich, an attorney representing Hearn, said in a statement to CBS News that it was “truly difficult to understand the enormous effort apparently being spent on reviving a case that was dead on arrival.”

“The case was dismissed because there was no evidence to support charging Mr. Hearn. That won’t change with more people spending more time to figure out a way to salvage it. At some point DOJ should simply cut its losses and pursue actual criminal activity rather than continue to harass Mr. Hearn,” Bromwich said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/jeanine-pirro-trump-reflection-pool-washington-dc/

Why Trump’s secret Air Force One switcheroo is problematic

2026-08-11T16:25:01.281Z / CNN

On its surface, the news that President Donald Trump secretly switched planes before departing Turkey last month because of a security threat from Iran might seem non-controversial — and even kind of cool, in a cloak-and-dagger sort of way.

But the story — which was broken by the Washington Post late Monday and later confirmed by CNN and others — does raise some very real issues and questions.

First, let’s recap the basics of the reporting.

It was already reported last month that, due to security concerns, the White House had scrapped a return flight on the new Qatari-gifted plane that Trump uses as Air Force One in favor of the older plane. (Trump had initially claimed it was so US service members could tour the new plane.) The old plane has better security features than the retrofitted, new plane. And given Turkey borders Iran, that precaution would make sense.

It’s now clear that Trump boarded the legacy plane, then was secretly transferred via a catering truck to a smaller Air Force C-32A. He flew that to UK, where he kept up the ruse by covertly re-boarding the old Air Force One, deplaning for cameras and then got on the Qatari-gifted plane for the return flight home.

That brings up the first issue.

Trump and the White House lied — even after the threat had ostensibly passed

It’s legitimate — and not-unheard-of — for these kinds of measures to be taken to protect a president. But it’s notable that Trump and the White House kept lying about it even after the apparent danger had passed.

Then-President Bill Clinton used a decoy plane for a trip to Pakistan in 2000, arriving in an unmarked C-20 after a more conspicuously American-branded C-20 had landed. (US officials feared Clinton’s plane might be shot down by terrorists like Osama bin Laden.)

But Clinton soon got off the unmarked plane, effectively disclosing the ruse to the public. And the Washington Post reported Tuesday that the Clinton White House briefed the head of the White House Correspondents’ Association, off the record, ahead of time.

In contrast, Trump and the White House went on pretending like he had actually flown on the legacy Air Force One.

During a gaggle on the later leg from the UK back to the United States (when Trump was on the new plane), the president spoke broadly about the possibility that the plane could have faced security concerns. But he flatly denied there was a specific one.

“You’re saying there wasn’t a security concern?” a reporter asked.

“No. No. Why would there be?” Trump responded.

Asked if there were “any other issue,” he said: “No.”

When reporters kept pressing on whether there was a specific threat, Trump repeatedly deflected.

“Well, I have a threat all the time,” Trump said. “I’m number one on their list before you. But if I go, you go.”

A Democratic national security aide said Tuesday that the Gang of Eight, a group of congressional leaders, was not briefed on the episode, but noted that presidential movements are not something Congress gets deeply involved in managing. But, the aide added, “Congress should have been briefed on the threat if not the episode.”

A Republican aide to a member of the Gang of Eight said they could not comment on actions of the group.

The plan used reporters and staff as decoys — and seemingly put them in danger

And that gets at another dicey piece of this. While it’s understandable to take extensive measures to protect the president, this plan left many people — including reporters and administration staffers — on the legacy Air Force One as unwitting and unknowing decoys very much in the line of fire.

The questions from there are: Was there any alternative to that, such as allowing everyone else to fly out on other airplanes? Why were reporters not informed? (Sometimes such information can be shared on an embargoed basis, in which reporters have the information but can’t publish it. Of course, the Trump administration doesn’t trust the press.) And lastly, what precautions were taken to protect the legacy plane?

“There’s going to be questions now with respect to what security was provided for each of the other two 747s, where people were still flying on that plane representing the United States press, White House staff,” former Secret Service agent Robert McDonald said on CNN’s “The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday ignored a question from CNN about whether the administration put reporters and staff at risk.

While there’s still a lot that’s not publicly known about the specific threat from Iran, the fact that it was apparently credible enough for this switcheroo sharply undercuts Trump’s claims that Iran’s military capabilities have been decimated.

Trump has not only claimed this, but he and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have specifically cited Iran’s purported inability to shoot down aircraft.

Hegseth said back in March that the United States and Israel would soon have “complete control of Iranian skies” and “uncontested airspace.”

“We literally have planes flying over Tehran and other parts of their country; they can’t do a thing about it,” Trump added March 24.

Trump also said that Iran had “no navy,” “no military,” “no air force” and “no anti-aircraft systems.”

Of course, shortly after all of these comments, Iran in early April managed to shoot down two US jets. But the idea that it could plausibly take down Air Force One even more sharply undercuts Trump’s claims.

“If they needed to take such extraordinary steps to protect the president because the threat level was so high, the American people deserved to know that the threat level was that high in this particular case,” former Obama White House adviser David Axelrod said Monday on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins.”

It prompts more questions about Air Force One and the controversial reporter subpoenas

On a broader level, this development thickens the plot on an already confusing saga involving Air Force One, security concerns and the White House’s efforts to tamp down that story — including by issuing controversial subpoenas to New York Times reporters.

There were already valid questions about the initial decision to not let Trump fly his Qatari-gifted plane back from Turkey. If the plane wasn’t as safe as the legacy plane, why was Trump flying it at all, particularly in foreign airspace? It suggested Trump’s desire to get the coveted new plane in the air might have led to cut corners (which is a theme with him).

Then the administration took the extraordinary step of subpoenaing the Times journalists who had reported that that Qatari-gifted jet was swapped out for security concerns. It claimed the situation involved someone “threatening national security by leaking classified information.” But the administration withdrew the subpoenas two weeks later, after a judge made clear he was skeptical about its argument.

CNN has also reported that there has been a sprawling internal investigation inside the administration, with some officials being asked to turn over their phones.

The story surely involves national security issues. But how much of this effort to root out leakers is also about avoiding embarrassment associated with Trump’s hasty and potentially dangerous decision to insist on flying his Qatari-gifted airplane? Or, potentially, about avoiding disclosing having used staffers and reporters as decoys?

Or maybe Trump just didn’t want to admit Iran had such capabilities.

CNN’s Ted Barrett contributed.

特朗普制裁国际刑事法院 四人权组织起诉他违宪

2026年8月11日 23:18 / 联合早报

美国总统特朗普去年签署一项行政命令，授权对与国际刑事法院合作的检察官、法官和其他人员实施制裁，原因是他们起诉了来自美国及盟友以色列的官员。 （路透社档案照片）

美国总统特朗普去年签行政令对国际刑事法院人员实施制裁，四家美国主要人权组织如今对特朗普提起诉讼，指控他违宪。

路透社报道，人权观察、开放社会研究所、美国朋友服务委员会和宪法权利中心星期二（8月11日）在纽约提起诉讼，指特朗普下令的制裁措施阻碍他们与国际刑事法院合作，为世界各地涉及种族灭绝、战争罪和反人类罪的案件寻求正义。

特朗普去年签署行政令，授权制裁与国际刑事法院合作的检察官、法官和其他人员，原因是他们起诉了来自美国及美国盟友以色列的官员。美国和以色列都不是国际刑事法院成员国。

代表上述人权组织的首席律师洛温斯坦发表声明说，他们希望终止这套制裁制度，认为行政令超越总统权限，并违反国际法和美国法律，包括言论自由和宗教自由。

此前，一些致力于巴勒斯坦人权的倡导团体上个月也提起类似的诉讼。

美国国务院回应说，这些团体试图“助长国际刑事法院的权力滥用”，并称国际刑事法院威胁美国主权。

三名国际刑事法院法官已就制裁问题分别起诉特朗普政府。

特朗普反对国际刑事法院的立场可追溯至他的第一任期。2020年，特朗普曾签署类似行政令，但被一名法官驳回。法官认为，这项行政令可能违反美国宪法第一修正案。前总统拜登政府随后于2021年撤销这项行政令。

国务卿鲁比奥上个月说，美国政府将加大力度削弱位于海牙的国际刑事法院，包括发起一场旨在说服其他国家退出法院的外交行动。

鲁比奥辩称，法院对执行特朗普强硬移民政策，或打击被控运载毒品船只的美国人员和其他美国军人构成威胁。

7月31日，特朗普在内阁会议上回应鲁比奥的最新情况时说，这场运动旨在捍卫以色列总理内坦亚胡和其他人，而不是捍卫特朗普本人。

哥伦比亚7.4级强震死亡人数升至224 全国进入紧急状态

2026年8月11日 23:24 / 联合早报

哥伦比亚星期一（8月10日）发生7.4级地震，导致165栋建筑倒塌，救援人员在重灾区佩雷拉市寻找生还者。 （法新社）

（波哥大综合电）哥伦比亚西部地区发生多年来最强烈的7.4级地震，上百栋建筑倒塌，至少224人死、668人受伤。新任总统德拉埃斯普列亚宣布全国进入紧急状态。

地震星期一（8月10日）早上7时34分（本地时间晚间8时34分）发生，震中位于哥伦比亚乔科省（Choco）圣何塞德尔帕尔马镇附近，震源深度约110公里。这次地震可能由纳斯卡板块内部深层断层活动引发。

强烈震感传至数百公里外的首都波哥大，邻国厄瓜多尔和巴拿马部分地区也有震感。

灾情最严重的地区包括西南部城市卡利（Cali）、咖啡产区城市佩雷拉（Pereira）和马尼萨莱斯（Manizales），以及乔科省首府基布多（Quibdo）。

哥伦比亚当局星期二（11日）说，地震已造成至少224人死亡。首都城市协会最新统计显示受伤人数也已升至668人。然而同天较迟时候，几个重灾城市的市长发布联合声明，指已有1300多人受伤。

据估计，超过5000栋房屋受损，165栋建筑倒塌，仍有人受困废墟，死伤人数恐会进一步上升。

哥伦比亚时间2026年8月11日凌晨，在重灾区卡利市，搜救人员从废墟中救出一名35岁男子。（路透社第三方视频截图）

地震发生当天下午约1时左右，上周才刚宣誓就职的哥伦比亚总统德拉埃斯普列亚（Abelardo de la Espriella）向全国人民发表讲话，强调“政府必动员一切能力资源，保护生命、援助受影响社区，为任何有需要的地方提供支援。”他也宣布全国进入紧急状态，并将倾注全力展开救援。

在重灾区卡利市，至少19栋建筑倒塌，95人遇难。救援人员和志愿者连夜展开搜救，有些人使用简易工具甚至徒手挖掘，尽一切所能寻找可能受困废墟的生还者。

救援人员与志愿者连夜展开搜救，有些人使用简易工具甚至徒手挖掘，尽一切所能寻找可能受困废墟的生还者。（路透社）

救援人员在夜晚的街灯下双手握拳高举半空，示意现场保持绝对寂静，以捕捉废墟底下发出的哪怕再微弱的生命气息。（路透社）

43岁的卡利居民加西亚也自愿参与搜救工作。她说，搜救队从一栋倒塌的建筑中救出七人，另有四人和一只狗仍然受困废墟。“刚才还听见抓挠声，现在却什么都听不见了……但我们相信那只狗还活着，也能把这些人救出……越多人来帮忙越好。”

由于卡利市有关当局接获报案指有人趁地震行窃，星期一晚实施宵禁。总统德拉埃斯普列亚派遣1000名安全部队人员前往当地协助维持秩序。

在里萨拉尔达省首府佩雷拉，至少72人身亡，有的住宅区变成一片废墟，并大范围断电。

地方官员里瓦斯则指，基布多市的公共服务和通信“几乎完全中断”。

基布多居民库埃斯塔说，地震发生时看见有人赤身裸体逃出屋外，也有人从自家二楼跳下避难。

哥伦比亚五座城市的医院星期一进入红色警戒；一切手术及门诊咨询暂停，以为急诊医疗护理调动现有的所有人员和资源。民航局则指全国至少六座机场暂停营运。

哥伦比亚佩雷拉灾区，废墟中的小闹钟外部看似完好无损，指针却从此停留在地震发生的致命时刻：7时34分。（路透社）

美国国务卿鲁比奥星期一说，美国正密切关注灾情，随时准备向哥伦比亚提供援助。美方随后宣布提供1550万美元（约1984万新元）的紧急救援资金。

欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩则说，欧盟已启动“哥白尼”卫星服务协助当地搜救行动。以色列、墨西哥、厄瓜多尔和法国也表明愿意提供援助。

1999年1月，哥伦比亚咖啡产区曾发生6.2级地震，亚美尼亚和佩雷拉等地受灾严重，共造成1000多人死亡。

马国14人沦毒骡 海外运毒落网

2026年8月11日 23:28 / 联合早报

马国武吉阿曼警察总部毒品罪案调查总监胡申（前排左三）等高级警官星期二（8月11日）向媒体展示警方破获的大麻花。 （马新社）

马来西亚警方透露，今年截至8月共有14名马国公民沦为“毒骡”，在运毒到国外时被捕。各地执法人员从他们身上起获73.17公斤各类毒品，市值约552万令吉（约173万新元）。

据《星洲日报》报道，武吉阿曼警察总部毒品罪案调查总监胡申星期二（8月11日）在雪兰莪警察总部召开记者会说，这14名“毒骡”包括11男三女，年龄介于19岁至55岁，其中七人是马来族、四人华族和三人印度族。

胡申说：“他们运毒到台湾、菲律宾、印度尼西亚、香港、澳门及马尔代夫等地时被捕。其中六人是在台湾被捕，三人在印尼，两人在菲律宾，香港、澳门及马尔代夫则各有一人被捕。

他说，各地执法人员从这些毒骡身上起获的毒品，包括超过33公斤的冰毒、超过26公斤的摇头丸，超过六公斤的大麻和海洛英，以及约一公斤的克他命。

此外，胡申也说，警方今年至今在吉隆坡国际机场侦破41起毒品案，逮捕51人，起获1268公斤、价值逾9600万令吉毒品。

他说，落网的51人包括36男15女，其中有12名马国人，其他还有14名英国人、八名新加坡人、五名法国人，印尼、香港及日本各两人。泰国、爱尔兰、斯洛伐克、印度、葡萄牙及乌干达各一人。

他透露，警方起获1268公斤毒品中，大麻花占98.18%或1244公斤，其他毒品还有约14公斤冰毒，约八公斤可卡因，以及超过一公斤的克他命。

建国一代基金缺口近8亿元 政府承诺注资延续保障

2026年8月11日 23:53 / 联合早报

建国一代基金余额不足以继续为约30万名在世的年长者提供终身援助，资金缺口约达7亿8500万元。政府会在必要时注资，以持续履行对建国一代年长者作出的承诺。

政府2014年拨款80亿元推出建国一代配套，为1949年或之前出生的新加坡人提供终身医疗援助。这批建国一代年长者今年已至少77岁，预计仍需要59亿5900万元，继续为在世的30万人提供援助。 （档案照片）

政府在2014年拨款80亿元推出建国一代配套，为1949年或之前出生的新加坡人提供终身援助，让他们晚年无须为医药费操心。

根据国会预算委员会（Estimates Committee）星期二（8月11日）向第15届国会提呈的首份报告，截至去年3月，建国一代基金余额约51亿7400万元。

在这11年期间，约45万名建国一代年长者受惠，平均每人获助约1万1800元。目前在世者约有30万人，若延续相关援助，预计需要59亿5900万元，资金缺口为7亿8500万元。

就此，财政部回复委员会询问时说：“由于建国一代基金属于长期基金，政府并不寻求每年都精确地达到收支平衡，而是会定期检讨基金的预估支出和使用趋势，确保资金充足。”

至于2019年推出的立国一代配套，以及2024年开始、惠及壮龄者（Young Seniors）的共同前进配套（Majulah Package），两项基金目前仍足以应付预估开支。

政府为立国一代配套拨款61亿元，截至去年3月，基金尚余55亿零400万元，惠及约50万人，平均每人获得2800元援助；对共同前进配套的拨款为83亿元，截至2024年12月，基金余额为50亿1000万元，让150万人受惠，平均每人获得约2600元。

国会预算委员会吁请政府继续关注这三个基金是否可持续，以及继续检讨各基金的津贴和支付水平，确保基金足以应对不断上涨的医疗费用。

委员会由先驱区议员郑德源领导，成员包括六名人民行动党议员和一名工人党议员。除了关注各项政府基金的运作情况，也审视我国能源转型所需资金，以及全国生产力基金（National Productivity Fund）的使用。

政府没有预设如何分配未来能源基金

我国计划逐步改变目前几乎全靠天然气发电的模式，推动能源结构多元化，以减少碳排放。为支持中长期基础设施建设，并资助提升能源供应安全的项目，政府在2024年拨款50亿元设立未来能源基金（Future Energy Fund），并于去年再注资50亿元。

针对这笔款项的分配和它预计可维持多久，目前都还没有定案。

报告引述财政部的回复说，由于我国未来的脱碳路径仍受地缘政治、商业和科技发展等诸多不确定因素影响，政府没有预设要如何分配这笔款项。

“据委员会了解，若新加坡最终决定部署核能，未来能源基金也可用于资助核能计划所需的基础设施。”

尽管未来能源基金至今尚未有任何支出，委员会仍希望政府建立定期汇报机制，公布基金的使用规划，同时设定明确的阶段性目标，以评估基金的运用是否有效，以及我国能源转型是否按计划推进。

美国解除限制 联邦政府设备可使用TikTok

2026年8月11日 23:30 / 联合早报

白宫管理和预算办公室正式撤销2023年的一项指令，当局曾禁止在政府设备上使用TikTok，原因是担心TikTok当时的中国所有权构成安全风险。 （路透社档案照片）

美国政府宣布，解除对联邦政府设备使用TikTok的限制。

彭博社报道，白宫管理和预算办公室星期一（8月10日）发布一份备忘录，撤销2023年的一项指令。指令曾禁止在政府设备上使用TikTok，原因是担心TikTok当时的中国所有权构成安全风险。

司法部上个月发布一份书面意见，认定TikTok不再符合2022年通过的一项法律中“受监管应用程序”的定义，曾禁止在联邦平台上使用TikTok。

TikTok的美国业务控制权已于今年1月完成转移，中国母公司字节跳动有限公司将控制权转让给由甲骨文公司和私募股权公司银湖资本牵头的美国企业财团。政府后来认定，TikTok业务转移至美国投资者后，这款热门社交媒体应用不再构成国家安全威胁。

在美国总统特朗普总统的主导下，这笔交易旨在使TikTok免受美国于2024年生效的法律所制裁。起因是担心TikTok及母公司字节跳动可能与中国当局共享美国用户的信息。

美国司法部的意见指出，目前版本的TikTok已独立于字节跳动运营，并由美国投资者控股。在新东家的领导下，这款应用已修改最初由字节跳动开发的内容推荐算法和网络安全程序，以保护联邦政府信息，避免受到当初引发禁令的安全风险影响。