Senate Democrats are putting red states in play. That might not be good enough anymore

2026-08-03T08:00:25.637Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/03/politics/democrats-midterms-senate

The big hurdle for Democrats’ Senate majority hopes at the start of the 2026 election cycle seemed clear: The map was terrible for them.

They needed to win at least two states that President Donald Trump carried by double digits in 2024. It wasn’t even clear they could put that many red states in play.

Now, polls increasingly suggest they have put more than enough of those states in play. But other hurdles that complicate their majority math have cropped up — creating an incredibly complex and high-stakes battle to control the Senate come 2027.

The good news for Democrats: Recent, early high-quality polling suggests red states are competitive. The bad news for the party: That might not be sufficient.

In Texas, a Fox News poll Friday showed Democratic state Rep. James Talarico at 51% among registered voters to state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s 48%. It’s merely the latest to show the race close to even.

In Iowa, state Rep. Josh Turek led by 4 points among registered voters in a Fox poll in late June. And he was neck and neck with GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson — 46% to 48% among likely voters — in a New York Times-Siena poll, also in late June.

In Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown led by 8 points among registered voters in a Fox poll from early June. And he was running close with GOP Sen. Jon Husted — 47% to 50% among likely voters — in a Times-Siena poll from later that month.

And in Alaska, a Times-Siena poll showed Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola within 2 points of GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Polling at this stage can’t be interpreted to predict results, of course, but it suggests that these candidates are doing what they need to do to make those states competitive.

Specifically, the Fox polls show the three Democrats they tested carrying independents by wide margins — including by more than a 2-1 ratio in Talarico’s and Turek’s cases. And both Talarico and Turek were both also carrying at least 23% of non-MAGA Republicans. (The Ohio poll didn’t break out this group.)

Peltola also led 51%-37% among independents and took 8% of Republicans in the Times-Siena poll.

Whether Democrats can actually get over the hump in a state like Texas — where they’ve come close before, but haven’t won a statewide race in more than 30 years — is a big question. But they’ve pretty evidently given themselves a chance to pick off two of those states.

Democrats are suddenly dealing with complications in some friendlier states — namely, Maine and Michigan — and the new x-factor known as Sen. John Fetterman.

In Maine, Democrats were able to rid themselves of their Graham Platner problem. But it’s not yet clear how much better his replacement, former state Senate President Troy Jackson, will ultimately fare under the new spotlight.

A University of New Hampshire poll in mid-July put Jackson at 49% to GOP Sen. Susan Collins’ 46% among likely general election voters. But the same pollster once had Platner (prior to his bigger controversies) leading by between 9 and 11 points.

Michigan is Democrats’ more immediate concern, where they’re playing defense to hold onto a seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters. There are major concerns among some establishment Democrats that Sen. Bernie Sanders-backed Abdul El-Sayed, who’s facing Rep. Haley Stevens in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, might jeopardize a purple state that Democrats would reasonably expect to win in a favorable year for their party.

(A case in point: Recent polls show Democratic candidates comfortably ahead — by around 10 points — in similarly situated swing states like Georgia and North Carolina.)

But perhaps the most unwelcome variable in this majority math might be Fetterman. The Pennsylvania senator, who has demonstrated a penchant for siding with Republicans and giving his party fits in recent months, has also increasingly flirted with switching parties.

Back in May, Fetterman wrote that he had “no plans to leave” the Democratic Party. But a couple weeks ago, he amended that posture by saying he would leave it if it adopts an anti-Israel posture — a topic causing significant strife within the party.

Democrats have been trending more against Israel, reflecting the views of their base, though it isn’t an “official” position, as Fetterman laid out. Still, given huge pressure from that base, the real question is how stringent a litmus test this is for the Pennsylvania senator.

That means Democrats could go into the November general election not even knowing how many seats they need to win. Do they need to flip four seats, including two red ones that Trump carried by significant margins, as they’d previously thought? Or do they need to actually win five and three, respectively?

Democrats clearly have the fundamentals on their side, and it’s looking like the environment is conducive to them winning where they need to. Just like in the red states, polls show their candidates in Georgia and North Carolina have big leads among independents and are taking significant numbers of non-MAGA Republicans.

But it’s also looking like it might not be red states that ultimately decide the fate of the Senate.

美日联手干预扶持日元 特朗普指因两国关系良好

2026年8月3日 19:14 / 联合早报

日本财长片山皋月星期一（8月3日）在东京对媒体说，日美的联合行动遏制了日元近几个月来，出现的过度波动和无序走势，并表示两国将毫不犹豫地，采取进一步的联合干预措施。 （彭博社）

（华盛顿／东京综合电）美国总统特朗普星期天（8月2日）证实，美国已采取干预措施扶持日元，并指此举是出于两国友好情谊，对全球经济也有帮助。日美星期一说，两国准备必要时再次联手干预。

blob:https://www.zaobao.com.sg/0cfe9920-da52-4c78-a9ab-2faec1770535

特朗普在总统专机空军一号上，被问到美国为何与日本联手扶持日元时回答：“我们始终支持日本。我们与日本关系良好。”

特朗普认为，华盛顿将从这一举措中获得经济利益，但“归根结底，这更是一种友谊的象征”。

日本财长片山皋月也证实了此次联合干预行动，指日本财政部上周五与美国财政部协同买入日元。

她说：“这是自1998年以来日美首次采取协同干预措施买入日元，两国自然是各自进行了评估，认定此类干预确有必要，这才采取了联合行动”。

片山皋月星期一发声明指出，日美的联合行动遏制了日元近几个月来，出现的过度波动和无序走势。她对记者说：“我们将毫不犹豫地，采取进一步的联合干预措施”。

美国财长贝森特星期天也在社交媒体平台X发文说，上周五协调一致的外汇干预措施，遏制了日元的无序波动。他指美国将毫不犹豫地参与进一步的联合干预。

贝森特说：“我们大力支持日本采取果断的市场和货币措施，纠正日元被大幅低估的状况”。他说，经济安全和美日同盟是促成这一行动的部分原因。

日美联合干预后，日元兑美元汇率升超过1％，至155.20兑一美元，创下今年5月初以来的最高位。至于新元，周一下午4时，122.27日元兑一新元。

今年以来，日元汇率持续走弱。上个月日元对美元汇率，一度逼近1美元兑164日元的40年低点。交易员正密切留意接下来可能出现更多日美联手干预的情况。

日本一直难以遏制日元汇率不断下跌，东京在4、5月进行的单方面干预，只是让日元短暂反弹。日本央行在6月将利率上调至1％，也未能给疲软的日元带来持久的提振。

日元贬值推高进口价格并加剧通货膨胀，不仅加重家庭的经济负担，也拉低首相高市早苗的民意支持率。

摩根大通的策略师认为，美国财政部的干预能力有限，因为外汇稳定基金（ESF）资源有限，如要追加资金还需要经过国会批准。

分析质疑美日最新一轮行动能否扭转导致日元走软的结构性因素，比如中东冲突引发的燃料成本上升，以及日美之间依然巨大的利差。

日生基础研究所（NLI Research Institute）高级经济师上野刚志说，日美联合干预所产生的公告效应，远大于日本单独采取行动的效果。“然而，导致日元疲软的基本面因素并未改变，因此这次干预不太可能带来日元单边升值”。

三菱日联摩根士丹利证券投资研究部首席经济师六车治美认为，近期日元走弱主要反映市场对日本财政扩张和日本央行货币政策反应滞后的担忧。

汇市干预属于短期应对措施，要稳定日元走势，仍需要从财政和货币政策调整等方面入手。

RFK Jr., Oz claim fraud crackdown drove ACA enrollment drop, but analysts cite rising costs

2026-08-03T05:00:00-0400 / CBS News

The Trump administration credits its fraud control efforts for the disappearance of millions of people from Obamacare rolls rather than a sharp rise in premiums — a claim disputed by policy experts that glosses over the reality that many more Americans now find themselves without health insurance.

Enrollment in Affordable Care Act plans fell by nearly 3 million this year to about 19.2 million, following steep premium increases by insurers and the Republican-led Congress’ unwillingness to extend more generous premium subsidies. On average, ACA customers pay $178 a month in premium payments this year, a 58% increase from 2025, according to KFF, while their deductibles — the amount consumers must pay annually before insurers pick up their share — have climbed 37% to nearly $3,800 a year.

“These are real people who are now forced to make impossible choices,” said Annalyse Keller, a spokesperson for Keep Americans Covered, a large coalition of lobby organizations for the healthcare industry, including insurers and patient advocacy groups.

But a Department of Health and Human Services report released in June, written mostly by President Trump’s political appointees and allies, asserts that 5.6 million people were fraudulently enrolled in ACA plans in 2025, and that the Trump administration removed 2.9 million of them — the same number as the 2026 drop in enrollment.

There’s little dispute that the ACA suffers from some fraud, as do most government programs. The administration said it has taken actions to tighten the enrollment process to thwart brokers who fraudulently enroll people without their knowledge.

For example, the administration in August 2025 halted a Biden-era initiative that allowed low-income people to sign up for coverage year-round. Regulators also have removed 1.5 million people since 2025 for reasons such as not meeting a requirement to file their taxes over two years or being concurrently enrolled in another health program, such as Medicaid, which is not allowed.

But health policy experts say that the administration is overstating the extent of ACA fraud and that the HHS report relies on debatable assumptions, such as that all sign-ups under the year-round enrollment program for low-income people were potentially fraudulent. ACA enrollment fell off a cliff because of escalating prices for insurance plans, policy analysts say, which the administration’s done nothing to stem.

“The top-level claim” that all the decline in enrollment since 2025 is because of improper or fraudulent enrollees leaving the market “is not remotely credible,” said Matthew Fiedler, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “We know that lots of people have seen higher premiums, and there’s really good evidence that when premiums go up, people drop coverage.”

Healthcare costs are a big concern for voters ahead of November’s midterm elections, and both Democrats and Republicans are trying to spin the issue to their advantage. Democrats argue more needs to be done to make insurance less expensive for consumers, while Republicans are trying to focus on the need to save taxpayer dollars from fraud.

A recent KFF poll found that voters trust Democrats over Republicans to address healthcare costs (37% vs. 26%). The poll also found, though, that 55% of Republican voters consider it extremely important for candidates to address healthcare fraud, more than any other issue, showing that the White House’s effort to shift focus from costs has had some success with its own supporters.

But Jonathan Oberlander, a professor of health policy and management at the University of North Carolina, questioned whether the fraud narrative will hold up as voters continue to struggle with rising costs.

“It will be cold comfort to the very real persons who could no longer afford coverage and dropped their plans,” he said in an email to KFF Health News.

How we got here

Under President Joe Biden, Congress passed a law that included more generous tax subsidies for people enrolled in Obamacare, starting in 2021. Those enhanced subsidies lowered premium payments, with millions qualifying for a large enough tax credit to reduce their monthly payment to zero. The Biden-era law also allowed wealthier households to get assistance.

ACA coverage essentially doubled, from just over 11 million Americans in 2021 to more than 22 million in 2025, according to the HHS report.

Republicans and conservative groups argue that the growth wasn’t driven only by people newly enrolling because of lower premiums. Instead, they say, the enhanced subsidies, along with other Biden-era policies — including easing income verification requirements for some enrollees — invited fraud. Unscrupulous, commission-seeking insurance brokers found it easier to sign people up for coverage, often without their knowledge, while ordinary consumers could more easily fudge their income and qualify for the largest subsidy possible.

The conservative Paragon Health Institute’s president, Brian Blase, wrote in a recent webpost that the HHS report’s conclusion on the scope of improper enrollment is likely an undercount. He remains unconvinced by the arguments that rising premiums are to blame for the sharp drop in ACA enrollment, saying subsidies remain generous for many people.

The administration’s current targets

The debate will continue as more enrollment data emerges from the federal marketplace and the exchanges run by states. Some policy experts — including the consulting group Wakely — expect the year to end with the number of ACA policyholders down by as much as 26% from last year.

Trump’s regulators will likely connect further drops with anti-fraud efforts. The HHS report alleges there are potentially millions more who remain improperly enrolled. The report’s authors noted that some of the administration’s anti-fraud proposals have been blocked by court rulings.

In a videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM9UF1mdcrQ HHS released June 27, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pats Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, on the back for the number of canceled ACA plans so far. Oz threatens potential ACA hucksters: “Don’t walk away from us, run! Because we are going to find you.”

In an email responding to KFF Health News’ questions, CMS spokesperson Christopher Krepich said his agency this summer will block ACA applications made by brokers that lack a Social Security number. By open enrollment this fall, CMS plans to require more identify-proofing when brokers enroll people and will limit a broker’s access to accounts until that person “has been authorized by the consumer to work on their behalf.”

How some suspicious enrollments will be removed is spelled out in emails sent in June to insurance carriers and obtained by KFF Health News.

CMS told insurers that the agency will send them files for ACA accounts it believes are potentially unauthorized. Each flagged consumer account will have used a sales broker to enroll, be in a zero-premium plan, and lack a Social Security or an immigration documentation number — which Kennedy said in the video is a glaring sign of fraud.

Insurers must try to contact the enrollees to verify that they signed up for coverage. After 60 days, insurers must report policies they were unable to verify to CMS, which will cancel them.

Krepich wrote that carriers are cooperating with efforts to investigate accounts with missing or unverified information.

Policy experts, including Fiedler, note that the absence of a Social Security number doesn’t automatically prove fraud. While it could indicate a fake enrollee, a missing Social Security number might also be a simple oversight by the consumer or their broker, for example, or a newborn added to a parent’s account at birth, before they’ve received a number.

“That the administration put it in a report and did not summarily terminate these enrollments suggests they believe there is some mix of different circumstances,” Fiedler said.

The administration report singles out another segment of enrollments as suspicious: very low-income, subsidy-eligible people who shifted to plans that carry no monthly premium, suggesting “fraudulent agents and brokers are moving them to keep gaining commissions and avoid detection.” The report also cites ACA enrollees who file no medical claims as suspicious.

Policy experts question the assumptions behind those concerns.

Younger or lower-income people use healthcare less often, for example, which can explain why they may make no claims — particularly when they must first spend thousands of dollars out-of-pocket to meet high deductibles.

And very low-income people may switch to plans with higher deductibles in exchange for making no premium payment because they struggle to come up with the $50 or $80 monthly share that other plans might require.

“People are hurting for money,” said Florida insurance agent Jason Fine. “I literally have people who can’t afford to pay $15. I would not immediately assume that a person who went from a silver plan to a bronze plan, that it’s fraud,” referring to two types of ACA plans.

Fine said the administration needs to focus on better enforcement of existing rules, saying he has reported to regulators dozens of unscrupulous agents who have switched clients without authorization, yet none were barred from selling ACA policies.

He and other agents continue to push for adding multifactor identification, as banks and other financial institutions use, to the federal ACA marketplace. Some states that run their own exchanges have two-factor authentication or other types of ID verification and have not reported problems with unauthorized switching.

CMS — under both Biden and Trump — has not added two-factor authentication to the federal marketplace, healthcare.gov.

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) introduced legislation to require it in June, but its prospects are murky.

“It will help reduce fraud,” said Ronnell Nolan, who leads Health Agents for America, a lobbying group that has long urged CMS to add the feature. Grothman’s legislation, she said, might “encourage CMS to do it themselves.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

Which midterm candidates is the crypto industry backing?

2026-08-03T10:07:53.657Z / Reuters

August 3 (Reuters) – The crypto industry has poured close to $200 million into the November midterm elections, underscoring the sector’s muscle in Congress, where it is pushing lawmakers to pass legislation that will reshape federal oversight of digital assets. This week is crunch time for that bill, before the Senate departs for August recess.

The industry’s spending spree builds on the $170 million it spent supporting congressional candidates during the 2024 elections, many of ​whom won their races. That helped the industry score a victory last year when Congress passed the Genius Act, which created rules for dollar-backed crypto tokens called stablecoins, potentially boosting ‌their adoption.

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The sector is also pushing Congress to pass the more sweeping Clarity Act that some proponents say would encourage broader crypto adoption by putting the industry on a stronger legal footing. That bill, working its way through the Senate, has a narrow window to become law before the August recess.

The industry has spent $189 million on this year’s elections, according to a June report by watchdog group Public Citizen. Much of that has been directed through Fairshake, a major super political action committee created to support pro-crypto ​candidates.

Fairshake funnels its money through two separate Democratic and Republican affiliate super PACs that in turn fund independent activities supporting the candidates, such as advertising, Federal Election Commission filings show. Super PACs do ​not contribute to candidates directly.

Fairshake has raised more than $136 million this election cycle. It did not respond to a request for comment. Below are the 10 congressional ⁠candidates on whom Fairshake has spent the most.

1. Barry Moore (R): $9.43 million

Representative Barry Moore, an Alabama Republican running for Senate, has voted to advance several crypto-friendly measures, including the Genius Act.

He also voted to pass the House ​of Representatives’ version of the Clarity Act last July. Moore introduced a bill to formally establish a strategic bitcoin reserve, as well as a digital asset stockpile within the Treasury Department.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to ​establish both last year, but analysts say it needs to be enshrined in law to endure beyond his administration.

1. Andy Barr (R): $7.17 million

Representative Andy Barr, a Republican running for Senate in Kentucky, voted to pass both the Genius and Clarity acts in the House last July. He has also backed crypto companies’ claims that banking regulators under former Democratic President Joe Biden targeted them and unfairly denied banking accounts. Banks and regulators have disputed the claims.

1. Christian Menefee (D): $6.47 million

Christian Menefee, a Democrat, has been a Texas ​Representative since February following a special election, and has not voted on any crypto-related legislation. Because of redistricting in Texas, Menefee ran in a primary against longtime Representative Al Green, who

has accused the crypto industry, opens new tab
of ​spending millions to “control Congress.”

Menefee won that primary and will compete for the redistricted seat in November.

1. Jasmine Clark (D): $4.21 million

A Democratic state representative in Georgia, Jasmine Clark is running to represent Georgia’s 13th congressional district. She voted to advance a bill ‌in March to ⁠provide a state regulatory and licensing framework for stablecoins in Georgia.

“As Congress considers similar legislation, they should remember that digital assets are the future and provide long-overdue financial tools for unbanked communities,” she said in a social media post in March.

1. Adrian Boafo (D): $3.29 million

Maryland State Delegate Adrian Boafo, a Democrat, is running for the House. In the Maryland General Assembly in March, he introduced a bill that would ban certain restrictions on digital assets by any state agencies. That bill has not passed.

In January, Boafo also introduced a bill in the Maryland General Assembly to establish a Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Task Force to make recommendations for crypto use in Maryland. ​Maryland Governor Wes Moore approved the bill.

1. Randy Fine (R): $1.67 ​million

Representative Randy Fine, a Republican, won a special ⁠election in Florida in 2025, and is running for reelection. Defend American Jobs — the Fairshake Republican affiliate — spent $1.67 million to support Fine during last year’s special election.

Fine voted to advance both the Genius and Clarity acts.

In a social media post in January 2025, he said “Floridians want crypto innovation” and pledged he would work to “keep innovation ​jobs in America.”

1. James Walkinshaw (D): $1.01 million

Representative James Walkinshaw, a Democrat, won a special election in Virginia last year to replace former Representative Gerry Connolly, and is ​running for reelection. Fairshake’s Democratic ⁠affiliate, Protect Progress, spent $1.01 million to support Walkinshaw during that special election.

Walkinshaw was not a member of Congress when the House considered the Genius and Clarity acts, but in June 2025 he

co-wrote an op-ed, opens new tab
in a local paper arguing that blockchain technology could diversify the economy in his district.

1. Jessica Hart Steinmann (R): $771,657

Jessica Hart Steinmann, a Republican who worked in the Justice Department during Trump’s first term, is running to represent a district in Texas.

Advocacy group Stand With Crypto — which ⁠is backed by ​crypto exchange Coinbase

(COIN.O), opens new tab
and tracks candidates’ and elected officials’ crypto positions — says Steinmann has indicated that she supports “clear legislative frameworks to regulate ​digital assets.”

1. Houston Gaines (R): $708,828

Houston Gaines, a Republican Georgia state representative, is running for Congress. According to Stand With Crypto, Gaines supports the Genius and Clarity acts.

1. Carlos De La Cruz (R): $615,885

Carlos De La Cruz is running to represent a Texas congressional district. De La Cruz, a ​Republican, supports clear federal rules to foster innovation, according to Stand With Crypto.

Representatives for the candidates’ campaigns did not respond to requests for comment.

Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; Editing by Michelle Price and Rod Nickel

乌出版社指俄军空袭仓库 大火烧毁800万册图书

2026年8月3日 19:53 / 联合早报

俄罗斯8月1日的空袭导致乌克兰哈尔科夫一家图书仓库起火，大量书籍焚于火场。 （路透社）

一家出版社说，俄罗斯近日对乌克兰东北部一家仓库的空袭，毁了800万册图书，这是对乌克兰文化的攻击。

法新社报道，乌克兰拉诺克出版社（Ranok）星期一（8月3日）说，俄军在刚刚过去的周末对哈尔科夫仓库的空袭，造成乌克兰图书基础设施自2022年战争爆发以来的最大规模损失。

俄罗斯星期六（1日）早些时候对当地发动无人机和导弹袭击，法新社记者目睹消防员奋力扑救哈尔科夫受袭仓库的大火。

拉诺克出版社在社媒发文说：“超过800万册图书在火灾中被毁，其中包括儿童教科书。大火仍在燃烧，敌人企图摧毁我们的教育和文化。”

出版社社长克鲁格洛夫谴责这次袭击是“对乌克兰教育和文化的攻击”。

这并非俄罗斯首次袭击大型出版中心，基辅方面指责俄方蓄意为之。拉诺克出版社在乌克兰首都基辅附近的一家仓库，7月也曾遭到袭击，80万册图书被烧毁。

据报道，四年多战争期间，俄罗斯频繁袭击乌克兰的博物馆、美术馆、电影制片厂、教堂和其他文化场所。

Blanche scraps Trump’s $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization fund’

Published 5:34 AM EDT, Mon August 3, 2026 / CNN

Blanche scraps Trump’s $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization fund’

President Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Todd Blanche, said he is formally rescinding the controversial fund. It was created as part of an agreement to settle a lawsuit from Trump against the IRS and would have offered taxpayer money to people who claimed they were victims of weaponization by the federal government.

1:16 • Source: CNN

乌出版社指俄军空袭仓库 大火烧毁800万册图书

2026-08-03 19:53 / 联合早报

俄罗斯8月1日的空袭导致乌克兰哈尔科夫一家图书仓库起火，大量书籍焚于火场。 （路透社）

一家出版社说，俄罗斯近日对乌克兰东北部一家仓库的空袭，毁了800万册图书，这是对乌克兰文化的攻击。

法新社报道，乌克兰拉诺克出版社（Ranok）星期一（8月3日）说，俄军在刚刚过去的周末对哈尔科夫仓库的空袭，造成乌克兰图书基础设施自2022年战争爆发以来的最大规模损失。

俄罗斯星期六（1日）早些时候对当地发动无人机和导弹袭击，法新社记者目睹消防员奋力扑救哈尔科夫受袭仓库的大火。

拉诺克出版社在社媒发文说：“超过800万册图书在火灾中被毁，其中包括儿童教科书。大火仍在燃烧，敌人企图摧毁我们的教育和文化。”

出版社社长克鲁格洛夫谴责这次袭击是“对乌克兰教育和文化的攻击”。

这并非俄罗斯首次袭击大型出版中心，基辅方面指责俄方蓄意为之。拉诺克出版社在乌克兰首都基辅附近的一家仓库，7月也曾遭到袭击，80万册图书被烧毁。

据报道，四年多战争期间，俄罗斯频繁袭击乌克兰的博物馆、美术馆、电影制片厂、教堂和其他文化场所。

实龙岗中心垃圾车冒烟起火 长达一小时

2026年8月3日 15:45 / 新明日报

消防员在灭火一小时后，垃圾车依旧在冒烟。 （受访者提供）

垃圾车内起火引发火灾，冒出滚滚浓烟，持续长达一小时。

这起火灾发生在星期天（8月2日）早上9时15分，地点是实龙岗中心第419座。

热心读者洪先生（48岁，客服人员）向《新明日报》指出，他当时经过上述地点，准备前往附近的庙宇时，看到多辆消防车和警车。

他指出，他看到一辆停在垃圾槽前的垃圾车不断冒烟，消防员则不断喷水，试图把火扑灭。“根据现场公众透露，火势已持续大概一个小时，但似乎还是无法完全扑灭。”

根据他拍下的照片和视频，现场至少有两辆消防车。

“虽然后续没有火势，但垃圾车内还是陆续冒出白烟。”

洪先生指出，为了以防万一，警方也将停车场的出入口都封锁起来，避免其他车辆进入。据他所知，相信是垃圾车内的可循环物品突然起火。

新加坡民防部队受询时说，火势涉及垃圾车内的物品，消防员用一根水枪和消防水管将火扑灭，过程中无人受伤，起火原因在调查中。

摩洛哥：数万赴休达偷渡者是受网传信息误导

2026年8月3日 15:40 / 联合早报

西班牙称，绝大多数从摩洛哥偷渡涌入休达的移民已经回国。星期天（8月2日）的照片显示，一辆西班牙军车搭载着部分移民，准备将他们送回摩洛哥。 （路透社）

摩洛哥政府说，近期数万摩洛哥人偷渡进入西班牙北非飞地休达一事并非偶然事件，而是受到虚假信息和人口贩运等因素驱使。

约6万名非法移民上周四（7月30日）从摩洛哥北部海域冒险偷渡，大举涌入休达，马德里方面称，至少72人在涉海途中溺亡。这是西班牙近年来最严重的边境危机之一，并引起欧盟高度警惕。

摩洛哥国家通讯社星期天（8月2日）晚间报道称，摩洛哥内政部调查发现，这次大规模偷渡行动并非由“偶然或自发因素造成”，而是源于“恶意利用网络空间、传播误导信息、人口贩运团伙参与，以及对法律和行政数据的错误解读”。

摩洛哥方面通报记录到11人死亡，并正与西班牙合作，核实后者报告的死亡人数。

摩洛哥内政部发言人哈尔菲说，偷渡人数激增的部分原因是“对西班牙最高法院7月8日裁决的误解和误导性传播”。这项裁决限制对海上拦截的移民实施立即遣返，一些人因此试图游到休达，低估了风险。

他也强调，在与西班牙协调后，过境点已重新开放，允许移民自愿返回，这有助于局势逐步恢复正常。检察官已展开调查，彻底查明事件真相和责任人。

西班牙早前说，绝大多数移民已返回摩洛哥，但此事仍引发欧盟成员国保持戒备，声称如有必要会实施边境检查，甚至暂停西班牙的申根区资格。

哈尔菲还说，移民管理只能在基于共同责任、真正团结和分担负担的综合框架内进行；摩洛哥仍然是可靠的合作伙伴，致力于在打击非法移民和人口贩运方面开展国际合作，并愿意采取一切必要措施维护公共秩序和边境安全。

披萨店起火冒白烟 隔壁女员工助灭火

2026年8月3日 15:49 / 新明日报

马里士他路一家披萨店厨房起火，民防人员到场灭火。 （读者提供）

疑煤气管道受热融化，披萨店发生火患，隔壁饮料摊女员工持灭火器协助灭火。

这起事件发生于星期一（8月3日）早上约9时35分，地点是马里士他路321号的一家披萨店。

记者走访时，失火披萨店旁边的饮料摊员工潘女士（31岁）告诉记者，事发时，她发现店外冒出大量白烟。

“起初我以为店里有人烧了什么东西，后来看到烟是从隔壁飘出来的，才惊觉发生火患。”

她随即冲到披萨店协助灭火。她忆述，当时只见一名男员工站在炉子前不知所措，自己在门口发现灭火器，就立即拿起来，对准炉子喷射。

“虽然我当时也很紧张，但没有多想，只觉得情况很危险，也担心火势扩大，造成更严重的损失。”

披萨店员工告诉记者，事发时，店内只有一人在准备开店事宜，火患疑似由煤气管道受热融化引发。

新加坡民防部队受询时证实，火患涉及厨房内的物品。民防人员使用一支水枪将火扑灭，七人从受影响单位安全疏散。事件中无人受伤，起火原因仍在调查。