House panel warns Singham-linked nonprofits: Comply with subpoenas or face Congress

2026-10-18T07:01:13-04:00 / Fox News

The People’s Forum, Breakthrough News and Tricontinental face a Tuesday deadline to comply with congressional subpoenas

By Michael Dorgan Fox News

Published October 18, 2026 7:01am EDT | Updated October 18, 2026 7:02am EDT

Subpoenaed pro-China media outlet blasts House Singham probe on Democracy Now!

BreakThrough News presenter Rania Khalek appeared on Democracy Now! days after House Republicans subpoenaed the pro-China outlet, denouncing the investigation as a McCarthy-style attack on journalism. (Credit: Democracy Now!)

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Lawmakers have escalated their probe of three nonprofits linked to Marxist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham’s funding network, warning that their leaders — and even Singham himself — could be hauled before Congress to answer questions under oath unless they comply with subpoenas by Tuesday.

In new letters announced this week, the Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee renewed its demands for financial records and other documents as lawmakers investigate whether millions of dollars flowing through Singham’s network of tax-exempt nonprofits are being used to advance Chinese Communist Party interests in the United States.

Singham himself is among 21 individuals identified by the committee for potential questioning under oath, according to Fox News Digital sources. The list includes nonprofit executives, activists and journalists associated with the three organizations.

PROBE INTO ‘SUBVERSIVE’ ANTI-AI SINGHAM NETWORK IS ‘ENORMOUS,’ FORMER TREASURY ADVISOR SAYS

The U.S. Capitol, left, and tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, right. Singham is among 21 individuals identified by the House Ways and Means Committee for potential questioning under oath as lawmakers investigate alleged foreign influence involving his nonprofit funding network.(CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images; Steve Jennings/Getty Images)

DOJ LAUNCHES GRAND JURY PROBE INTO MARXIST MOGUL NEVILLE ROY SINGHAM’S FUNDING OF LEFTIST GROUPS

The letters were sent to The People’s Forum Inc., a New York City-based activist hub; BreakThrough News, a left-wing nonprofit media outlet that shares a Manhattan address with The People’s Forum; and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, a Massachusetts-based Marxist think tank.

“Shanghai Singham has poured millions of dollars into these groups to take advantage of America’s nonprofit sector and promote Chinese Communist Party propaganda. That much is public. What these groups are fighting to keep hidden is even more concerning,” Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., said in a statement.

“Either these organizations turn over the documents, or their leaders will answer the Committee’s questions under oath.”

The threatened depositions mark another escalation in a dispute that began with requests for financial records in 2025 and intensified when the committee subpoenaed the three nonprofits in July.

The organizations have challenged the investigation, arguing lawmakers are targeting their political views and First Amendment-protected activities.

Who could face questioning?

The potential deposition targets include eight individuals at The People’s Forum, seven at BreakThrough News and six at Tricontinental.

Among those named are The People’s Forum executive director Manolo De Los Santos, education director Layan Fuleihan and organizing director David Chung; BreakThrough News editor-in-chief Ben Becker, news director Zoe Alexandra and chief correspondent Rania Khalek; and Tricontinental executive director Vijay Prashad and Singham, who is listed as chairman of its international advisory board.

The committee has not publicly announced that deposition subpoenas have been issued to any of the individuals.

SUBPOENAED PRO-CHINA OUTLET DEFENDS ITSELF ON DEMOCRACY NOW!, WHICH PAID SINGHAM-FOUNDED COMPANY MILLIONS

People’s Forum executive director Manolo De Los Santos, left, and education director Layan Fuleihan, right, attend an anti-Netanyahu protest at Bryant Park in New York City on Sept. 24, 2026. Both have been identified by the House Ways and Means Committee as potential deposition targets.(Asra Q. Nomani/Fox News Digital)

Singham network

The panel alleges that Singham channeled money through shell companies and donor-advised funds before it reached the three tax-exempt groups. Such arrangements, the committee said, can allow foreign-linked funding to pass through intermediaries that “by design, obscure the original source of the contribution.”

Singham is an American-born technology tycoon and longtime Marxist activist who sold his software company, ThoughtWorks, for an estimated $785 million in 2017 and now lives in Shanghai.

Fox News Digital previously traced at least $278 million from Singham into six core U.S. nonprofits that served as funding hubs within a broader international network of activist groups, media organizations and think tanks promoting socialist, communist and pro-China causes.

Of that funding, the investigation found $22.44 million flowed to The People’s Forum, $16.76 million to Tricontinental and $1.098 million to BreakThrough BT Media Inc., the parent organization of BreakThrough News. Together, the three received approximately $40.3 million, according to the investigation, which the committee cited in its earlier correspondence.

The committee says it is examining whether existing tax laws adequately protect against foreign influence in the nonprofit sector and whether Congress should strengthen those laws.

Separately, Singham is under federal grand jury investigation in the Southern District of New York over alleged financial crimes involving his nonprofit funding network, as previously reported by Fox News Digital. The investigation is examining possible wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and other financial offenses. No criminal charges against Singham have been announced.

WATCH: House subcommittee chair explains Neville Roy Singham’s connection to US agitator network

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6405104831112

BreakThrough Newspushes back

BreakThrough News condemned the latest demands in an Oct. 9 statement on its website, accusing the committee of targeting its journalists because of their political views. The outlet said it receives no outside editorial direction and that its major donations come from U.S. organizations.

During an episode of its BT Live program, hosts Alexandra and Khalek, both named among those facing potential depositions, denounced the committee’s demands.

“Unless BT gives up its legal rights, including our First Amendment protections, he’ll subpoena each of us individually and drag us to Washington for depositions,” Alexandra said.

Khalek accused lawmakers of targeting journalists personally after the outlet challenged earlier demands.

“They will come after us individually if we don’t comply with their unconstitutional demands,” she said.

BreakThrough News also urged supporters to sign a petition opposing the investigation and donate to help cover its legal expenses.

Fox News Digital contacted all three organizations and their attorneys for comment on the latest demands but had not received a response as of publication.

The investigation has also drawn accusations of McCarthyism from prominent left-wing figures, including Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who called the July subpoenas “the McCarthy trials” and warned, “They will come for you,” and CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin, who described them as a “terrible attack on independent journalism.”

‘MCCARTHY TRIALS’: HASAN PIKER, FAR-LEFT FIGURES ERUPT OVER SUBPOENAS IN $39M SINGHAM PROBE

David Chung, organizing director at the People’s Forum Inc., sets up in Union Square to protest the war with Iran in New York, N.Y., on Saturday, March 7, 2026. He carries signs with the website domain for the Party for Socialism and Liberation.(Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

Congressional showdown

The committee first sought records from The People’s Forum in September 2025 and expanded its investigation to BreakThrough News and Tricontinental in February 2026. After the organizations challenged the requests, lawmakers narrowed their demands in May before issuing subpoenas in July.

The committee sought records involving foreign-linked funding, financial arrangements, communications with Singham and other foreign interests, and information about donors and overseas grants.

Attorneys for BreakThrough News and The People’s Forum formally objected in August, arguing the subpoenas violated First Amendment protections and demanded information beyond the committee’s legitimate legislative authority.

“A witch-hunt is not a valid legislative purpose,” the attorneys wrote in their Aug. 7 responses, comparing the investigation to the House Un-American Activities Committee’s investigations of suspected communist influence during the 1940s and 1950s.

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The organizations also accused lawmakers of repeatedly changing the stated purpose of the investigation as they challenged earlier requests. Both left open the possibility of responding if the committee narrowed or revised its demands.

The committee rejected those arguments, maintaining that its investigation concerns the organizations’ finances and structure rather than their political views or journalism.

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.

How JB Pritzker’s midterm investments could pay off in a 2028 White House bid

2026-10-18T10:30:45.535Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/18/politics/jb-pritzker-midterm-elections-donations-2028

As potential 2028 presidential candidates crisscross the country to campaign in the midterms, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is wielding an advantage that none of the others can match: his massive personal wealth.

The billionaire has funneled nearly $40 million to Democratic candidates and groups in the midterms, donating to everything from the party’s biggest super PACs to state legislative campaigns. And in the closing weeks of the election, he’s funding a $20 million effort to help Democrats push deeper into red territory in their bid to capture the House majority, a particularly ambitious play.

“This is it,” Pritzker said in an interview. “As far as I’m concerned, focusing on anything other than this election is folly for anybody in politics right now. We must win, we Democrats.”

Pritzker has long been a top donor to the Democratic Party, but his midterm giving has unfolded as he considers joining what is expected to be a crowded 2028 presidential primary — and is serving multiple political purposes.

He’s boosting Democratic campaigns in the first states on the party’s revamped 2028 primary calendar. He’s working to patch up bruised relationships inside the party that he would need for a presidential bid, particularly with the Congressional Black Caucus. And he’s become a unique force in Texas, including by giving more than $1 million to the Democratic nominee for governor, Gina Hinojosa, as her Latino allies plead for more national investment.

Pritzker, who is expected to cruise to victory in his own reelection race next month, said he understands why political observers would try to view his midterm donations as hints at his 2028 plans. But he said that would be “inaccurate” and noted his long history of political giving, estimating he has given to “virtually every state party in the country” throughout his adult life.

“This is not my first rodeo,” he said.

Other potential White House hopefuls are pouring money into the midterms. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are among those with their own nationally focused PACs. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York tapped her huge campaign war chest on Friday to send $1 million to Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.

Other potential 2028 candidates, especially Buttigieg, have sought to show their broad appeal by making regular trips to Republican-leaning areas to campaign directly alongside candidates. Pritzker has not done as many of those trips, opting instead for large party gatherings and private fundraisers. And in some races where he has donated to Democrats, their Republicans have sought to turn him into a boogeyman, portraying him as a liberal out-of-state elite.

But Pritzker, who has an estimated net worth of $4.2 billion, is in a financial league of his own.

Democrats whom Pritzker has supported say his money has made a difference in tangible and targeted ways.

In Michigan, a $500,000 donation from Pritzker to the state Democratic Party has helped fund an expansion of organizing statewide that includes 25 offices and 80 people, according to the party’s chairman, Curtis Hertel.

Hertel said he tells potential presidential candidates, “I gotta win in 2026 before I worry about 2028.” The state has a slew of hotly contested statewide races that will determine whether Democrats can remain in charge heading into another presidential election.

“If you care about ’28 and the presidency, investing in Michigan is your best option,” Hertel said.

Some of Pritzker’s giving could be especially helpful in states that will vote early in the 2028 Democratic nomination process. Pritzker gave $100,000 to a super PAC that supported Stefany Shaheen in the September primary for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District. She prevailed and is poised to be heavily courted in 2028 with New Hampshire going third among early voting states.

And in a somewhat unusual move, Pritzker’s Ready for the Fight PAC recently took over $2.8 million in ad reservations supporting New Mexico Rep. Gabe Vasquez in his competitive reelection race, freeing up money for the House Majority PAC as it tries to play more offense. Like Michigan, New Mexico is a new addition to the early-state window, slated to hold its primary a week after New Hampshire in February 2028.

Democrats who have benefited from Pritzker’s money say he and his aides are rigorous about the investments. One said he is “not just throwing money” at Democratic causes.

“His team looks under the hood, looks for a competent staff, [asks], ‘Can he make a difference?’” the Democrat said.

In Michigan, Hertel said he met with Pritzker shortly after he became chair last year and “walked him through the organizing work that we were doing and what the impact of his dollars could be.” Hertel said they talk “on a regular basis” and he speaks with Pritzker’s staff “a lot.”

In Nevada, Pritzker aides join in on weekly strategy sessions to pass a ballot measure to create a state constitutional right to abortion. Pritzker has donated $650,000 to the campaign for the ballot measure.

“We rely on them,” said Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All. “The check is important, but having staff capacity — that’s great too.”

Pritzker’s money is also helping repair his relationship with the Congressional Black Caucus after he went against one of their members, Rep. Robin Kelly, in the Illinois Senate primary earlier this year. Pritzker instead backed his lieutenant governor — Juliana Stratton, who is also Black — and spent $10 million winning her the nomination.

After the primary, Pritzker met with CBC members, “locked hands” and promised to generally help them grow their ranks in the midterms, according to a source familiar with his interactions with the caucus.

“He’s followed through on that commitment in areas that really matter to the caucus,” the source said, pointing to how Pritzker’s Ready for the Fight PAC is spending for Chris Jones in Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District, Shomari Figures in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District and Justin Pearson in Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District.

Yet the source cautioned that Pritzker is just one of many potential presidential candidates who are already courting the caucus ahead of 2028.

Asked about Pritzker’s midterm donations, Rep. Joyce Beatty, a CBC member from Ohio who previously chaired the caucus, echoed a sentiment she shared after the Illinois primary.

“The Democratic candidate for president that prevails has to go through the CBC,” she said, calling the group “very strategic.”

Pritzker said he and his staff remain in touch with CBC leaders, as well as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the major party committees. He said he was trying to use Ready for the Fight PAC to “to make sure that we’re kind of broadening the battlefield, forcing Republicans to pull resources away from those mainline races.”

“We might turn this into a 30- or 35- or 40-seat win in the House, and that’s not to mention this could be 52 or 53 seats for Democratic senators,” Pritzker said. “And then we’ve got to do everything we can to support Black candidates, particularly post-the terrible voting rights decision that was made by the Supreme Court.”

Jones’ race has become especially exciting to Black Democrats as he gains momentum against GOP Rep. French Hill, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, in a solidly red district in Arkansas. Jones has also been endorsed by other potential 2028 candidates, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and Buttigieg.

A Democrat working on some of the House races that Ready for the Fight PAC is targeting said they all have “huge minority populations” that are important for Democrats to figure out how to turn out more reliably in off-year elections. “All of these are winnable with additional resources,” the Democrat said.

In some House races, Republican candidates have sought to make Pritzker’s financial backing a political liability. After Ready for the Fight PAC began spending in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, the Republican candidate, Greg Cunningham, released a statement saying that the “liberal billionaire governor of Illinois is coming to Gabe Vasquez’s rescue because they share the same far left values.”

Pritzker has been especially focused on Texas, where he has built a unique relationship with state Democratic lawmakers after hosting them in Illinois during a quorum break last year. He has made four trips to the state this cycle, most recently leading a news conference responding to the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas.

The delegate-rich state is not part of the early voting window but usually holds its primary days later in early March.

The chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, Kendall Scudder, said Pritzker’s $100,000 donation to the party is helping fund its voter protection program. But Scudder said he was most grateful for the “time and effort” that Pritkzer has taken to getting to know Texas Democrats, who’ve long fashioned themselves as scrappy red-state underdogs.

“You’ve got to throw down and fight back and not play it safe. He gets that,” Scudder said.

Pritzker’s money has been especially closely watched in the Texas governor’s race.

Pritzker first donated $200,000 to Hinojosa’s gubernatorial campaign on September 18, about two weeks after dozens of Latino leaders sent Beshear, the Democratic Governors Association chairman, a letter asking him to invest $10 million in the race. While Beshear has resisted that larger sum, he spoke with Hinojosa on September 29 and told her the DGA would commit $1 million to the race, according to two sources familiar with the conversation. Pritzker has since announced donating another $1 million to Hinojosa.

“Once [Pritzker] showed he believed in us, it helped open the door for a lot of other people to believe in us,” said Rebecca Katz, a Democratic strategist working for Hinojosa.

Pritzker downplayed any tensions with Beshear over the contest.

“Let’s not overlook this race is all I would say,” he said. “It’s not about the DGA. It’s about Democratic givers broadly recognizing the opportunity here.”

Olympic canoeist at center of Reflecting Pool scandal becomes a Trump foil

2026-10-18T10:30:45.198Z / CNN

Nearly five decades before David Hearn faced up to 10 years in prison over allegations from the Trump administration that he intentionally damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, he did something that would be considered unthinkable today.

The then-18-year-old dropped an oblong yellow canoe into the shallow water and, with a handful of friends in their boats, paddled down the pool’s length.

The sanctioned stunt in the summer of 1977 was part of a sendoff for Hearn and a few of the others before they flew to Austria to compete in their first Canoe Slalom World Championship. For Hearn, it also marked the start of a long and complicated relationship with the 2,000-foot-long landmark that lies at the center of President Donald Trump’s effort to remake the nation’s capital in his image.

Hearn, 67, has become a lightning rod for the continuing troubles of the Reflecting Pool, which remains fenced off to the public after, according to federal prosecutors, a $14 million renovation project was “botched.” To some, including Trump, Hearn is a vandal who sought to destroy one of the president’s prized beautification projects out of malice. To Trump’s critics, the soft-spoken native Marylander is a scapegoat who was caught in the white glare of the president’s ire before a federal judge recently dismissed the case brought against him with prejudice.

Along the way, the three-time Olympic canoeist has joined a list of local Trump foils who’ve been catapulted into celebrity, including a DC man who became a symbol of the resistance to Trump’s takeover of Washington, DC last year when he threw a Subway sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection officer, and a woman who went on to become a Loudoun County board member after she was fired from her government contractor job for flipping off Trump’s motorcade in 2017.

“Davey! Davey! Davey!” a group of people chanted as they recently circled around Hearn at DC’s East Potomac Park public golf course — the site of another controversial Trump renovation project that the canoeist has recently championed.

“I’ve been used to representing my country over many years in the canoe kayak arena and three Olympics, and yet this has been an experience that surpassed that in many ways,” Hearn said to the crowd, marveling over his newfound celebrity as they protested the administration’s plans to convert the park that offers stunning views of the Potomac into a championship-caliber golf course.

Hearn got hooked on canoeing as a teen-aged boy paddling along the Potomac River with friends after school.

His father, Carter Hearn, was a whitewater paddler, as was his older sister Cathy Hearn. They lived near the constant flow of rushing water at the foot of Great Falls Park, a local mecca for whitewater paddlers. After competing in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics, Hearn became a hero in that community who coached others how to canoe.

“There was not a whitewater canoer or kayaker in the DC region or nationally or internationally that didn’t know or revere Davey Hearn,” said Adam Van Grack, one of Hearn’s students.

Hearn’s entire life was canoeing, even taking off from college every other Spring to train canoe slalom ahead of the biennial World Championships. His expansive career would take him to dozens of countries, where he collected gold, silver and bronze medals.

Hearn also entered the public eye in other ways. In 1996, just before his second Olympics appearance, he was arrested one rainy day for riding his canoe in the roaring waters of the Potomac, ignoring a sign that prohibited such dangerous activity. Hearn faced the possibility of an up to $5,000 fine and six months in jail for bypassing the closure notice, but the charges were dismissed, according to The Washington Post.

Four months later, while Hearn and his sister, Cathy, trained near Little Falls Dam, a group of fishermen became stranded in the choppy currents of the Potomac. Hearn helped authorities rescue the fishermen who were in danger of drowning, ferrying them back to shore on his boat.

“They were kind of stranded out there,” Hearn told the Washington Post. “They could’ve stayed there indefinitely, but I’m not sure how they would’ve gotten back.”

Reveling in the temperate weather of a breezy June afternoon earlier this year, Hearn left his house in Bethesda and embarked on a 52-mile bike ride across Washington, DC. The lengthy route was part of his training for a new challenge, the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships for cyclists set in Japan.

As he cycled past the Kennedy Center and other parts of the National Mall area, Hearn later said, his mind wandered to the Reflecting Pool where he often stopped by on his way back. He had heard about the problems with the pool’s peeling synthetic liner and decided to end his bike ride there, indulging his curiosity about the material because he has worked with synthetics at his business building canoes.

“I was curious about why it’s peeling,” he said in an interview the day after his arrest.

Hearn slipped off his biking glove and dipped his bare hand into the water that had become green with algae, brushing past a flap of the blue sealant, he said. Before he could inspect further, a National Park Service official posted there ordered Hearn to stop touching the water. He waited a beat, then returned to his bike where the official told him a Park Police officer wanted to talk to him. Hearn said in an interview that he blundered into the situation and was the one to suggest they walk over to the police officer together. Within seconds, his hands were placed behind his back and he was in handcuffs, Hearn said.

Still wearing his grey and neon green cycling jersey, Hearn sat in a roughly six-by-eight-inch cell for almost five hours, what he described at the time as a respite after a pleasant bike ride. But political storm clouds were already gathering around him.

Trump had by then seized on the idea that the Reflecting Pool’s problems were due to vandalism and not poor workmanship. In a series of social media posts, the president warned anyone caught tampering with the memorial could face serious criminal charges that could result in lengthy prison sentences.

Hearn sat idly in his cell unaware of what lay in store for him.

“He was worried about it. He was stressed by it, and he told me through the whole thing that he lost a lot of sleep over it,” said Bill Endicott, Hearn’s coach and neighbor. “We didn’t joke about it at all. I mean, in retrospect, the whole thing is so farcical.”

Less than two weeks later, Hearn was indicted by a grand jury in Washington, DC, Superior Court, for allegedly damaging the Reflecting Pool.

In a press conference on July 2, US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro described Hearn as “violently” ripping up about two square feet of the massive pool and being belligerent and rude toward federal officers guarding it.

As Hearn pleaded not guilty, supporters gathered outside the courthouse, some of them holding signs.

“Free Davey Hearn! Free Davey Hearn! Free Davey Hearn!” a group chanted.

Pirro cited “tremendous evidence” for why she was choosing to charge Hearn with a felony. But in a court filing just weeks later, her office sharply contradicted the evidence of vandalism, saying that the rush to complete Trump’s renovation of the Reflecting Pool led to “hasty and botched work.”

Hearn’s case was tossed out following the court filing and by October, a federal judge dismissed charges against Hearn, with prejudice.

“In securing the Indictment against Mr. Hearn, the government shot first and asked questions later,” DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman wrote.

Trump doubled down on his claims that vandals ruined the Reflecting Pool and extended little grace to Pirro who he blasted for choking under the judge’s pressure. Meanwhile, Hearn’s notoriety continued.

Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, who represents Hearn’s district in Congress, called Hearn “an everyman” who people could rally around.

Hearn, Raskin said, “took his lumps and decided to fight it every step of the way, and became a hero for his poise and equanimity.”

On a rainy October morning a few miles away from the Reflecting Pool, flocks of people gathered in the greenways of the East Potomac Park golf course. A loud brass band ushered cyclists into the raucous scene at the edge of the peninsula where friends and neighbors exchanged greetings. David Hearn, officially clear of his problems with the Reflecting Pool, was among them, ready to embrace another problem.

David Hearn speaks at a protest in Hains Point
https://www.cnn.com/

David Hearn speaks at a protest in Hains Point

0:41

The Trump administration is targeting the golf course for renovation, another beautification project that, like the Reflecting Pool, has become the subject of litigation.

The president’s plan to transform the site into a professional course, which could cost between $20 million and $49 million, would eliminate a cherished affordable place to play golf for many DC area residents.

Part of the renovation plan is to cut down as many as 730 trees, an effort that has already begun and that Trump administration officials say is mostly routine maintenance meant to eliminate potential hazards.

Preservationists see the tree cutting and the likely elimination of a popular bike path at the site as one more sign of the Trump administration’s attempt to force the president’s will on the nation’s capital.

“I’m appalled at the disrespect by the NPS for our generators of oxygen and sources of shade which help keep the city cooler,” Hearn said in a recent text message about the fact that, so far, at least 430 trees have been cut down so far.

Asked if he planned to continue as an activist, Hearn said: “I will continue to defend democracy as best I can. Stay tuned.”

At the rally, Hearn blended into the crowd of cyclists, only identifiable by his Team USA uniform and navy blazer.

Then, it was time for him to speak to the crowd.

“This is our house,” Hearn declared to the cheering crowd, where some held up their phones to capture the moment. “We will defend our house.”

After his speech, Hearn folded back into the crowd of people donning rain jackets and helmets. “Thank you,” said one woman leaning into Hearn as she squeezed his arm tightly before walking away.

A line of other people waited to thank him too and take pictures with the Olympian who now represented more to them.

Softly smiling, Hearn nodded along with their conversations, taking it all in.

美国疾病控制与预防中心最新数据显示，美国今年共记录4392起麻疹病例，另有18起病例涉及国际旅行。 （路透社档案照片）

美国疾病控制与预防中心最新数据显示，美国今年已累计4410起麻疹确诊病例，接近去年全年2289起的一倍，创1991年以来年度最高纪录。

数据显示，截至星期四（10月15日），美国47个州和地区共记录4392起麻疹病例，另有18起病例涉及国际旅行。

其中，5岁至19岁年龄段最多人染病，共1856起，占确诊病例总数的约42%。

目前，已有451名麻疹患者住院治疗，占确诊病例总数的约10%。另外，约96%的确诊病例未接种麻疹疫苗或接种情况不明。

近期，宾夕法尼亚州麻疹病例持续增加。宾州卫生部门星期五（16日）公布的数据显示，当地今年累计1260起麻疹病例，其中238人住院治疗，另有五起死亡病例。

麻疹是一种由麻疹病毒引起的急性出疹性呼吸道传染病，主要经呼吸道飞沫传播和气溶胶传播。感染者在接触病毒后一到两周内会出现高烧、咳嗽、流涕、流泪、皮疹等症状，病情严重时可引发肺炎等并发症，甚至导致死亡。

美疾控中心强调，预防麻疹的最佳方法是接种麻疹、腮腺炎、风疹三联疫苗。当社区人群疫苗接种率超过95%时，大多数人可以通过群体免疫获得保护。

美国国务卿鲁比奥：乌克兰从未获得星盾使用权

2026年10月18日 15:42 / 联合早报

去年4月，乌克兰武装部队军人在顿涅茨克州前线城镇波克罗夫斯克附近架设星链卫星互联网设备。 （路透社档案照片）

美国国务卿鲁比奥星期六说，乌克兰从未获得星链（Starlink）卫星通信系统的军事化版本星盾（Starshield）系统使用权。他同时否认美方曾下令对乌克兰使用星链系统进行限速。

新华社报道，乌克兰总统泽连斯基日前称，美国星链卫星通信系统的使用限制影响乌军拦截俄罗斯无人机的能力。

对此，鲁比奥星期六（10月17日）在马里兰州安德鲁斯联合基地对媒体说：“我不知道泽连斯基说了什么，也不确定他是否清楚自己在说什么，但这并非蓄意而为。我们与此事无关，美方没有人下令降低星链的速度。”

鲁比奥也指，星链和星盾是两个不同的系统，星链是商业产品；星盾则属于国防产品，由美国军方使用，乌克兰军方从未获得星盾服务。

他说，乌克兰曾提出申请，希望能使用星盾对俄罗斯境内进行纵深打击，但目前乌方还没有获得该系统的使用权。

路透社日前援引匿名消息人士的话报道说，美国国防部领导层收到消息，要求对美国太空探索技术公司向乌军提供的星盾服务实施限速，并称命令来自白宫内部。

美国总统特朗普星期五（16日）对记者说，他没有限制乌克兰使用星链服务，他也不认为美国太空探索技术公司首席执行官马斯克对此负有责任。

星盾是太空探索技术公司面向美国政府和军方开发的卫星通信系统，与主要提供商业服务的星链有所区别，但两者使用部分相同的卫星技术和基础设施。

西班牙警方逮捕两名涉恐嫌犯

2026年10月18日 15:47 / 联合早报

西班牙北部巴斯克地区有两人因涉嫌恐怖主义罪行被捕，他们将在稍后出庭，接受西班牙国家法院审理。 （示意图）

西班牙警方星期天（10月18日）说，北部巴斯克地区（Basque）有两人因涉嫌恐怖主义罪行被捕。

路透社报道，巴斯克自治区警方发表声明说，两名嫌犯分别为34岁男子和22岁女子，均为西班牙公民，身份尚未公布。

警方于9月26日展开搜查，起获的物品包括安全部队的相关资料，以及一处可能藏有武器和爆炸物的地点信息。

警方未透露两名嫌犯目前是否仍被拘留。他们将在稍后出庭，接受西班牙国家法院审理。

沙特一架直升机因技术故障坠毁 两人死亡

2026-10-18 12:29 / 联合早报

沙特阿拉伯纳季兰国际机场日前遭到袭击。随着联军与胡塞武装之间的战斗升级，纳季兰西南部地区近期频频遭到胡塞武装的袭击。 （路透社）

一架AH-6i侦察直升机因技术故障在沙特阿拉伯纳季兰地区坠毁，机上两名机组人员全部遇难。

路透社报道，沙特阿拉伯领导的联军发言人马利基星期天（10月18日）发声明称，直升机坠毁在沙特国民警卫队管辖区域内。

马利基星期天回应胡塞武装发言人萨里的贴文，并附上一张多架阿帕奇直升机列队的照片，写道：“你声称击落了它，但它很快就会投入战场。”

萨里星期六在社媒发文称，该组织在纳季兰附近击落一架沙特阿帕奇直升机，当时这架直升机正在执行针对胡塞武装在边境地区阵地的敌对行动。

近几周来，随着联军与胡塞武装之间的战斗升级，纳季兰西南部地区频频遭到胡塞武装的袭击。也门冲突已成为美国领导的伊朗战争的又一战场。

周日，马利基在萨里发布的帖子下评论了一张几架阿帕奇直升机排成一列的照片，并说道：“你声称已经击落了它，但它很快就会进入战场。”

印度连续两天发生意外 踩踏和卡车冲撞人群共致32人死

2026年10月18日 13:52 / 联合早报

印度加尔各答市为杜尔迦女神节搭建的临时凉亭星期六（10月17日）晚上发生踩踏事件，导致19人死亡，25人受伤。 （路透社）

印度东部一场印度教宗教集会因突降暴雨引发踩踏事件，造成至少19人死亡和25人受伤。

法新社报道，这起事件发生在星期六（10月17日）晚上7时40分左右（新加坡时间4时30分），加尔各答市为杜尔迦女神节搭建的临时凉亭发生踩踏事件。

当局目前已确认六具遗体，包括一名七岁女童。另有25人受伤。

报道称，当时数千人聚集在凉亭内，突如其来的暴雨导致外面的人们涌入凉亭避雨，引发了踩踏事件。

据《印度快报》报道，踩踏事故发生前拍摄的视频显示，大批民众在活动场地外排队等候入场。事发区域巷道狭窄，一次只能容纳少数人通行。

印度总理莫迪在脸书发文说，这起踩踏事件令人悲痛。他也向遇难者家属给予慰问，并祝愿伤者早日康复。

报道称，警方已调取闭路电视录像，将对未能履行人群控制职责的人员采取行动。

据印度报业托拉斯（PTI）引述一名高级警官报道称，包括活动组织者在内的七人已被逮捕，可能还会有更多人被捕。

每年，加尔各答都会搭建数千个临时凉亭来庆祝为期10天的节日，这个节日往往吸引数百万游客前来参加。

由于人群管理不善及安全措施存在漏洞，印度宗教节庆等大型集会经常发生致命的踩踏事故。

一辆载满稻谷的卡车星期天（10月18日）失控，冲撞人群，导致13人死亡。（路透社）

卡车冲撞人群致13死

一辆超速行驶的卡车冲入庆祝印度教节日的人群，造成13人死亡，另约30人受伤。

法新社报道，这辆满载货物的卡车星期天（18日）凌晨失控，撞向聚集在中部邦瓜廖尔一座寺庙的信徒。

据悉，肇事卡车装载的是稻谷。一名高级警官说，司机失控后，撞上警方设置的路障，接着冲入一群正走向寺庙的信徒，最终撞上寺庙围墙后才停了下来。

总统穆尔穆称，这起死亡事件“令人心碎”，他也向遇难者家属致以最深切的慰问。

据印度道路交通部统计，拥有14亿人口的印度，去年有超过18万3000人死于道路交通事故，相当于每天超过500人。

官方数据显示，许多交通事故与道路基础设施不足、车辆维护不善以及驾驶员疲劳驾驶有关。

美国今年麻疹病例数量 已接近去年一倍

2026年10月18日 15:18 / 联合早报

美国疾病控制与预防中心最新数据显示，美国今年共记录4392起麻疹病例，另有18起病例涉及国际旅行。 （路透社档案照片）

美国疾病控制与预防中心最新数据显示，美国今年已累计4410起麻疹确诊病例，接近去年全年2289起的一倍，创1991年以来年度最高纪录。

数据显示，截至星期四（10月15日），美国47个州和地区共记录4392起麻疹病例，另有18起病例涉及国际旅行。

其中，5岁至19岁年龄段最多人染病，共1856起，占确诊病例总数的约42%。

目前，已有451名麻疹患者住院治疗，占确诊病例总数的约10%。另外，约96%的确诊病例未接种麻疹疫苗或接种情况不明。

近期，宾夕法尼亚州麻疹病例持续增加。宾州卫生部门星期五（16日）公布的数据显示，当地今年累计1260起麻疹病例，其中238人住院治疗，另有五起死亡病例。

麻疹是一种由麻疹病毒引起的急性出疹性呼吸道传染病，主要经呼吸道飞沫传播和气溶胶传播。感染者在接触病毒后一到两周内会出现高烧、咳嗽、流涕、流泪、皮疹等症状，病情严重时可引发肺炎等并发症，甚至导致死亡。

美疾控中心强调，预防麻疹的最佳方法是接种麻疹、腮腺炎、风疹三联疫苗。当社区人群疫苗接种率超过95%时，大多数人可以通过群体免疫获得保护。

美国国务卿鲁比奥：乌克兰从未获得星盾使用权

2026-10-18 15:42 / 联合早报

去年4月，乌克兰武装部队军人在顿涅茨克州前线城镇波克罗夫斯克附近架设星链卫星互联网设备。 （路透社档案照片）

美国国务卿鲁比奥星期六说，乌克兰从未获得星链（Starlink）卫星通信系统的军事化版本星盾（Starshield）系统使用权。他同时否认美方曾下令对乌克兰使用星链系统进行限速。

新华社报道，乌克兰总统泽连斯基日前称，美国星链卫星通信系统的使用限制影响乌军拦截俄罗斯无人机的能力。

对此，鲁比奥星期六（10月17日）在马里兰州安德鲁斯联合基地对媒体说：“我不知道泽连斯基说了什么，也不确定他是否清楚自己在说什么，但这并非蓄意而为。我们与此事无关，美方没有人下令降低星链的速度。”

鲁比奥也指，星链和星盾是两个不同的系统，星链是商业产品；星盾则属于国防产品，由美国军方使用，乌克兰军方从未获得星盾服务。

他说，乌克兰曾提出申请，希望能使用星盾对俄罗斯境内进行纵深打击，但目前乌方还没有获得该系统的使用权。

路透社日前援引匿名消息人士的话报道说，美国国防部领导层收到消息，要求对美国太空探索技术公司向乌军提供的星盾服务实施限速，并称命令来自白宫内部。

美国总统特朗普星期五（16日）对记者说，他没有限制乌克兰使用星链服务，他也不认为美国太空探索技术公司首席执行官马斯克对此负有责任。

星盾是太空探索技术公司面向美国政府和军方开发的卫星通信系统，与主要提供商业服务的星链有所区别，但两者使用部分相同的卫星技术和基础设施。