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El-Sayed under fire online after taking aim at Usha Vance, female Trump aide in weekend social media posts

The Michigan Senate candidate’s post appeared to reference the second lady’s Indian ethnicity, drawing racism accusations

August 23, 2026 12:17pm EDT / Fox News

Vance singled out Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed while arguing the Democratic Party has abandoned working-class voters, pointing to El-Sayed’s past comments linking criticism of Sharia law to white supremacy.

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The internet is ablaze after controversial socialist Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan invoked second lady Usha Vance in taking a dig at Vice President JD Vance, leading some top voices to question how he would treat female staff should he win in November.

“El Sayed is now attacking Wives [sic] of US leaders? What a guy,” said former Florida state Rep. Ben Graber on X.

El-Sayed, running against Republican former Congressman Mike Rogers, launched the attack on Saturday after Vance slammed him for his stated adherence to Sharia law during a rally in Ohio, suggesting the practice would be completely alien to his grandfather, whom he calls his “Papaw.”

Abdul El-Sayed speaks to supporters at his Get Out to Vote rally in Detroit, Mich., on Aug. 3, 2026.(Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)

VANCE UNLOADS ON EL-SAYED OVER SHARIA REMARKS: ‘THAT’S NOT MY GRANDPA’S DEMOCRATIC PARTY’

“So do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no…” El-Sayed said, seemingly in reference to the second lady’s Indian ethnicity.

El-Sayed’s campaign did not return a comment request from Fox News Digital asking him to explain exactly what he was implying.

SWING-STATE DEM CANDIDATE’S ‘DISGUSTING’ COMMENTS ABOUT JD, USHA VANCE’S ‘BROWN CHILDREN’ SPARKS OUTRAGE

“Why does Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed just assume that all White midwestern grandparents are racist?” asked Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, in response to the post.

Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha with their children, including newborn baby boy Alec.(Second Lady Usha Vance @SLOTUS on X)

“If you’re a rural White American living in Michigan, just remember El-Sayed believes you’re a racist,” said commentator Ryan Girdusky.

MICHIGAN DEMOCRAT ACCUSES ABDUL EL-SAYED OF ‘DEEPLY SEXIST ATTACKS’ ON FEMALE POLITICAL RIVALS

“This is why there were ads in the primary correctly highlighting how sexist and misogynistic Abdul is,” said an X account run by Democrats supporting El-Sayed’s opponent Mike Rogers. “He has so much contempt for women. If you’re over the politics of division. Reject Abdul El-Sayed.”

Others accused El-Sayed of being racist himself.

WHITE HOUSE TEARS INTO OSSOFF WITH BRUTAL TAKEDOWN AFTER JAB AT KEY TRUMP AIDE: ‘LIGHTWEIGHT LOSER’

“You are a racist creep,” said journalist Emily Schrader in response to El-Sayed’s post.

Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, talks poolside with streamer Hasan Piker at a party for content creators supporting his campaign, Aug. 3, 2026, in Detroit.(Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)

Earlier in the day, El-Sayed also made a post directed toward Natalie Harp, an aide to President Donald Trump. Far-left media and Democrats online have spent the past two weeks implying that Harp and Trump have an improper relationship.

“Natalie, I think he’s had a little too much iPad for the week. He needs his rest,” El-Sayed said in response to Trump blasting him at a rally for campaigning with far-left socialist Hasan Piker, who has said that “America deserved 9/11.”

EL-SAYED DARES GOP RIVAL TO NO-PADS FOOTBALL SHOWDOWN AS SENATE FEUD TURNS PERSONAL

FILE – El-Sayed also made comments in reference to Trump aide Natalie Harp.(Sarah Rice/Getty Images)

“This is what I’m talking about,” said GOP strategist Matt Whitlock, posting screenshots of the posts directed at Harp and Usha Vance. “Just a bad campaign, bad candidate, bad instincts. Sitting at home on a Saturday morning tweeting bad takes that any normal campaign would shut down.”

“He goes after Usha. He goes after Natalie [Harp]. This coward picks on women who are not in his fight. Imagine how he would treat female staffers in the halls of Congress,” said Tudor Dixon, a Republican former gubernatorial candidate in Michigan.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the vice president’s office and a representative for Usha Vance, but did not immediately hear back.

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

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403829688112

Kushner, Jeffries discuss ways White House and Democrats can collaborate

2026-08-23 1:09 PM ET / CNN

By Alison Main, Julia Benbrook

Updated Aug 23, 2026, 1:10 PM ET
PUBLISHED Aug 23, 2026, 1:09 PM ET

Jared Kushner and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Getty Images

Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and close adviser, recently met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to discuss ways the White House can collaborate with Democrats on key issues, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN on Sunday.

The pair gathered privately in New York to discuss such key issues as immigration, housing and the cost of living, the source said. Kushner and Jeffries had previously worked together on The Step Act, a law passed with bipartisan support in 2018 that sought to reduce the federal prison population by, among other things, easing mandatory minimum sentencing requirements for certain violations.

During their meeting, which occurred several weeks ago and was first reported by The New York Times on Sunday, Kushner suggested that Jeffries should also meet with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment on the meeting.

Jeffries has emerged as the front-runner to become House speaker if Democrats win the majority in the midterms. The party is bullish on that possibility, due to President Donald Trump’s sinking approval ratings amid the Iran war and economic concerns underscored by the escalating national debt, which recently reached $40 trillion.

“The American people want bold change and that’s what House Democrats will deliver,” Jeffries said in a statement provided to CNN. “In every conversation that we have with the Trump administration, we will continue to make it explicitly clear that the affordability crisis is not a hoax and nothing short of transformational policy change is acceptable.”

GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday downplayed the notion that the meeting signaled an acknowledgement by Trump that he might have to work with a Democratic majority during the next two years.

“I’m telling you, we’re going to defy history and hold this majority,” Johnson said on Fox News, explaining that Republicans see a path toward keeping their razor thin margin over Democrats.

Kushner, he said, “is a smart guy and he hedges his bets.” But, the GOP leader added, the president’s son-in-law is not involved in “day-to-day” White House operations.

Jeffries has emerged as a vocal opponent of Trump in his second term, frequently bashing the president in television interviews and press conferences. He has not ruled out potentially impeaching Trump if House Democrats hold the majority next year, though he has repeatedly insisted the party is focused on lowering costs for Americans that he argues have been driven up by the president’s policies.

Dr. Oz says MMR is “not a lethal vaccine” despite Trump’s comments

2026-08-23T14:46:00-0400 / CBS News

Washington — Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said Sunday that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, known as MMR, is “not a lethal vaccine,” despite President Trump’s claims in recent days.

“No, the MMR vaccine is not a lethal vaccine,” Oz said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.

While the Trump administration has been encouraging parents to vaccinate their children against measles as cases have risen to their highest levels in 35 years, an executive order signed by Mr. Trump earlier this month suggested that the MMR vaccine should be given as three separate shots. During the executive order signing, Mr. Trump claimed without evidence that the MMR vaccine, if not separated, could be “lethal.” The vaccines are not currently on the market in the U.S. as separate shots.

“Together there could be a possibility they are quite lethal,” Mr. Trump said. “Separately it looks like they are not at all lethal, but just very effective.”

Oz stressed on Sunday that the president wants Americans “to get vaccinated as their doctors recommend, as long as they have a choice in the matter.”

“We want patients to get the treatments that their doctors are recommending to them, but we also want parents to have the autonomy to decide what their kids receive,” Oz said.

Oz added that “the challenge we’re running into is that many states have not clarified that, and actually, it’s harder for parents to ask these difficult questions,” he claimed.

The CMS administrator said the MMR vaccine is offered separately in other countries. And he argued that the discussion “comes back to a much more fundamental issue” of whether parents “have the right to ask questions.”

“The request of the president is to make sure that states offer parents either eligibility because of religious beliefs or other reasons why they may not want to have their kids take all the vaccines in order,” he said.

The comments come after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new figures last week that show 92.4% of the nation’s kindergarteners were vaccinated against measles during the 2025-2026 school year, down from 95.2% during the 2019–2020 school year. The most recent figures fall below the 95% herd immunity threshold.

Pence: Ukraine is ‘going to be deeply vulnerable’ without more US air defenses

2026-08-23T17:01:35.895Z / CNN

By Dana Bash, CNN

Updated 1:07 PM EDT, Sun August 23, 2026

Pence: Ukraine is ‘going to be deeply vulnerable’ without more US air defenses

Dana Bash speaks with former Vice President Mike Pence about the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the renewed threat of a trade war between the U.S. and Canada, and his reaction to his former CIA briefer – a trans woman – stating that he treated her with “great dignity.”

9:54 • Source: CNN

总理英语演讲：拥抱AI与自驾未来 警惕社媒侵蚀童年

2026年8月23日 23:29 / 联合早报

目前，Grab和康福德高分别在榜鹅经营11辆和五辆自驾车。自去年底投入试行以来，当局便尽可能让更多公众试乘，以建立公众对自驾车的信心。 （档案照片）

保持切合所需，意味着适应变化。

新加坡在历次重大的科技变革中都做到了这一点。工业化时期，我们做到了。接着，电脑和互联网出现了。每一次，我们都掌握新科技，吸引领先企业来新加坡，建立自身能力，并让新加坡人掌握新技能。

我们就是这样为国人创造更好的工作和新的机会。

今天，我们正处于另一场科技革命之中。

去年，我谈到人工智能（AI）的迅速进步。短短一年间，这项科技的发展速度已超出许多人的预期。起初，AI只能回答问题。如今，我们已有能代表我们执行任务的AI代理。

这项科技会带来重大改变，尤其是对小型企业而言。AI让它们获得过去只有规模大得多的企业才具备的能力。

善用AI优化企业营运 助中小企业提效扩容

以企业家云菲（Gisele Woon）为例。她创办MagicPainters，起初为儿童提供脸部彩绘服务。渐渐地，她将业务发展成一家为家庭举办活动的公司。这仍是一项小型业务，主要由云菲和她的丈夫经营。

如今，他们可使用AI代理处理从营销到营运的日常工作。这让他们有更多时间专注于拓展业务，而且，重要的是，有更多时间陪女儿。

这就是AI的力量——它能让中小企业想得更大、跑得更快，并以更少资源取得更多成果。

科技也能以直接的方式改善我们的生活。

以医疗保健为例。我们许多人都知道自己应该多运动。但我们不一定知道该从何开始，或如何坚持下去。因此，我们通过健康SG，运用AI为新加坡人制定个性化运动计划。

曾志远就是其中一名受惠者。他快50岁了，感觉年纪开始大了。他与家庭医生一同制定健康目标。AI工具为他建议具体运动，并制定量身定制的训练计划。

如今，曾志远的体能越来越好，很快地就能跟上儿子的步伐！曾志远，继续加油！

AI也协助我们更准确地检测疾病。其中一项应用是乳腺癌筛查。

判读乳房X光造影检查结果并不总是那么直接。致密的乳腺组织和肿瘤看起来可能相似，它们在影像上都呈白色，因此要发现肿瘤并不容易。但漏掉这类情况，可能给患者带来影响一生的后果。

这正是AI能发挥作用的地方。它可成为放射科医生另一双训练有素的眼睛。这能减轻他们的工作量，协助他们更快、更准确地发现癌症。

我们在基因组学方面也取得良好进展。

我们的基因组就像一份生物蓝图，包含塑造我们许多特征的信息，包括我们患上某些疾病的风险。

20年前，为一个人进行基因组测序要花费数千万美元，如今只需数百美元便可完成。这能改变我们预防和治疗疾病的方式。基因检测可协助医生识别遗传性患病风险较高的病人，包括癌症和高胆固醇。

如果我们能更早了解这些风险，就能更早采取行动。有些情况下，我们甚至可以彻底预防严重疾病。

王乙康告诉我，保健卫生部已经启动数个试点项目。未来几年，我们计划开展更多项目。这些都是令人振奋的进展，我们希望充分利用。

但科技变革也可能影响就业和生计。我们以前也见过这种情况。

10多年前，私召车应用进入新加坡。一些城市尝试阻止这些应用进入市场，而我们采取了不同的做法。我们欢迎这项创新。

与此同时，我们制定规则，确保公平竞争，并在过渡期间支持司机。德士行业很快便适应了。如今，通勤者享有更大的便利，司机则有更灵活的安排和新的谋生方式。

这段经验让我们有信心迈入另一项变革：自动驾驶车辆，或自驾车。我们目前正在榜鹅试行自驾车，反应十分令人鼓舞。

正如大家在播放的视频中所见，居民希望有更多路线、更多上车点，甚至全天24小时服务，以便出门吃印度煎饼！

我们也希望能做更多，但我们必须循序渐进。因为我们必须建立对这项技术的信心，而安全始终是我们的首要考量。

一旦这项技术获得验证，我们计划扩大规模。因为我们需要新的方案，以满足不断增长的交通需求。

招聘巴士车长现在越来越难。而德士司机队伍正在老龄化——三分之二的德士司机已年满60岁。

自驾车可帮助缓解这些人力局限，满足不断增长的交通需求，并维持服务的可靠性。

与此同时，我们知道自驾车令许多德士和私召车司机深感担忧。对他们而言，开车就是生计。因此，即使我们扩大自驾车的规模，也会循序渐进地进行。

我们采用自驾车的步伐，不会超越我们重新培训和支持受影响司机、协助他们转入新工作的能力。

这是我们管理科技变革对就业影响的方式。我们不会仅仅因为新技术带来冲击，就阻碍其发展。但我们也不会让受影响的员工孤立无援。

我们会在过渡期给员工支持。

我们将确保每一名员工都能分享新加坡进步的成果。

就业问题并非唯一的担忧。随着科技日益强大，我们也必须防范更难预测的风险。我们已经在AI发展方面看到这种迹象。

最近，OpenAI测试并训练了一款智能体。这个AI代理获分配一些需要完成的任务，但它超出测试环境，进入更广泛的互联网，并侵入另一家公司的系统。没有人指示AI代理攻击这家公司，但它在试图完成任务时，做了开发员没要它做的事。

这类发展令人不安。AI代理正迅速变得更强大。它们将能在较少人工监督下，代替我们完成更多工作。这带来巨大的可能性，但一旦出了问题，后果可能非常严重。

在理想情况下，各国应携手制定共同的规则和保护措施。遗憾的是，这正变得越来越困难。这是因为大国希望加快步伐，取得竞争对手没有的优势。

不过，我们必须继续努力寻找共识。 新加坡将尽一份力，我们将把各国和企业汇聚起来，并围绕切实可行的保护措施建立联盟。

我们也会在国内采取行动。我们不会盲目拥抱新科技。我们将预判风险，并实施适当的保护措施。我们也将始终确保人类掌握控制权。

严防青少年沉迷社媒 强制平台落实保护机制

我们在社交媒体方面的经验，说明了这为何是重要的。

社交媒体刚出现时，我们看到了它的潜力。它创造了新机遇，也把家人和朋友连系起来。但它的其中一些弊端，随着时间推移才逐渐显现。

如今，新加坡每六名10岁至24岁的年轻人中，就有一人出现过度或不当使用社交媒体的问题。其中一些人的情况可能很严重，他们每天花六七个小时使用社交媒体，有时甚至通宵在网上。

儿童和青少年尤其容易受到影响。他们的大脑仍在发育，更容易受到社会压力影响，也更容易沉迷于专门设计来让他们上瘾的平台功能。

事实上，按照规定，大多数社交媒体平台已设定13岁为最低使用年龄。但条例的执行工作很大程度上由平台自行负责。它们目前大多依赖用户自行申报年龄。

我们知道这种做法的效果并不好。当我走访小学时，发现许多小孩已活跃于社交媒体，让我感到震惊。

我们因此将要求平台负起更大责任，仅靠用户自行申报是远远不足的。平台必须落实严格可靠的核查机制，以确保妥善设定和执行最低年龄限制，让我们的孩子真正受到保护。

社交媒体把家人和朋友连系起来，却也存在弊端。儿童和青少年尤其容易受到社媒影响，沉迷上瘾，所以政府将要求平台落实严格可靠的年龄核查机制，更好地保护儿童和青少年。（叶振忠）

即使是13岁及以上的青少年，社交媒体也可能对他们造成负面影响。我们的当务之急是通过设计，从源头让社交媒体能更安全。

许多社交媒体平台在设计时，加入了让用户无休止地滑动、点击，并不断回头获取更多内容的功能。这些功能连成年人都难以抗拒，对青少年而言，风险更大。

我们因此将要求平台为年轻用户设置更强有力的保护措施。若平台希望为新加坡的年轻用户提供服务，就必须符合这些要求。如果保护措施仍然不足，我们将考虑实施额外限制，包括将使用平台的最低年龄从13岁往上提高。

商业、医疗保健、交通、社交媒体，这些领域截然不同。但我们应对科技变化的方针是相同的。我们将把握机遇，妥善应对冲击。一旦科技变化对国人和社会构成实质风险，我们就会落实保护措施。

这一种做法是基于我们自身的经验。我们经历每一次重大的科技变革，都以自己的方式拥抱改变，并建设新能力，从而变得更强大。我们以前做到了，今后还能再次做到。

总理英语演讲：误判或导致更大规模冲突

2026年8月23日 23:30 / 联合早报

新加坡是重要的再出口和转运中心，途经我国的货物来自世界各地，黄循财总理强调，我们不可能追溯和核实每一项途经我国的产品背后的整个供应链。图为我国巴西班让港口。 （唐家鸿摄）

综合这些因素，误判和局势升级的风险在增高。一场区域冲突可迅速演变成更大规模的冲突，一方采取行动，另一方作出回应。双方都认为是在自卫，但冲突可能一步步扩大，以至远远超出任何一方的最初意图。

没有人希望再发生一场世界大战，但历史提醒我们：大型战争很少是在预先策划后爆发，大战爆发是因为事态急剧失控。

我们都希望有生之年永远不会看到一场全球性冲突，但我们不能忽视不断加剧的风险。

我们也看到开战临界点之下的压力正累积。经济胁迫、外来干预、虚假信息活动，以及针对关键基础设施的网络攻击，人们称这些为灰色地带战术。你或许不会看见军队跨越国境，但它们造成的破坏可以同样真实。

这就是当今的世界——竞争更激烈、更不稳定，也比过去更危险。

这些都非一时的干扰，而是新加坡未来许多年必须承受并设法挺过去的新常态。我们的应对之道不能是退缩和向内退守。

我们之所以成功，是因为我们与世界接轨，并为世界创造价值。我们在全球供应链中扮演关键角色。我们是重要的商业和金融枢纽。我们汇集市场、资本、人才和创意。

所有这些优势都立基于一点：信任。各国信任我们，企业信任我们，投资者信任我们。

他们知道，新加坡是个法治彰显、制度健全、合同与承诺都会兑现的地方。新加坡如果作出承诺，就必定履行。

在一个信任日益难求的世界里，这会继续是我们最大的优势之一。我们会在这份信任的基础上，深化与世界的联系。当各国渐行渐远时，我们建立起的联系会更多，而不是变少。我们会接触更多伙伴，让自己发挥更大价值，并为新加坡人创造更多机会。

明年，新加坡将担任亚细安轮值主席。我们将尽一切努力加强亚细安的中心地位和团结，深化区域一体化，并促使亚细安成为更有效的单一市场。我们也将加强区域以外的伙伴关系，汇聚多元伙伴、建立共识，并确保对话与合作的渠道保持畅通。

不过，尽管我们与各方合作，我们不能假设当我们遇到困难时，他人会伸出援手。说到底，我们必须能够自立自强，把自己照顾好。

因此，当中东危机爆发时，我们迅速行动。我们将滞留当地的新加坡人接回来。我们采取行动确保必需物资供应不断。我们已推出两个援助配套，支持工友、家庭和企业。

我们的当务之急，是稳住局势，协助新加坡人渡过这段动荡时期。但我们还必须更进一步，为即将到来的更深层变化做好准备。

今晚，我要分享我们将如何做到这一点。

我们将善用新科技的力量，但会按照我们的方式来做。我们会给予家庭更多支持，对未来注入信心。我们将保持开放和联通，同时维护社会凝聚力和团结。我们也将继续规划与建设长远未来。

这些并非互不相关的议程，而都是同一个更宏大使命的一部分：让新加坡继续受到信赖、切合时宜并具备韧性，为前路上的一切准备就绪。

NYC taxpayers could pay twice under Mamdani’s city-owned grocery store plan

2026-08-23T08:58:34-04:00 / Fox News

Grants for independent grocers may come on top of $70M already committed to five municipal stores

By Amanda Macias Fox News

Published August 23, 2026 8:58am EDT

[‘It’s a wasteful distraction:’ Experts slam Mamdani’s taxpayer-funded grocery stores]

Experts warn NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open several city-backed grocery stores could hurt bodegas, drain taxpayer dollars and undercut private businesses.

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New York City officials are looking at ways to ease costs for independent grocers as taxpayers foot the bill for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s city-owned grocery store plan.

The administration is eyeing tax breaks, incentives and zoning benefits to help private grocers manage costs as the city moves ahead with taxpayer-subsidized stores that will receive low- or no-cost real estate, city-funded buildouts and other subsidies.

That could put taxpayers in a position of paying twice, once for the city-run stores and again for incentives that could be used to ease costs for private grocers operating alongside them.

Those city-run stores, meanwhile, are expected to sell groceries at prices 30% below comparable retailers, according to Mamdani’s administration.

NYC GROCERS SOUND ALARM ON MAMDANI’S SUPERMARKET PLAN: ‘WE’LL LOSE CUSTOMERS’

Groceries sit behind Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, during an announcement on municipal grocery stores at a Campaign for Hunger community food distribution center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Monday, July 27, 2026.(Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Adam Lehodey, a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute, said the arrangement masks the true cost of the discounts.

“The 30% savings that Mamdani announced on his government-owned stores are an illusion,” Lehodey previously told Fox News Digital. “Taxpayers will foot the bill for millions of dollars in subsidies, and they will operate on government-owned land with rents waived. New Yorkers will still be paying the full price, just indirectly,” he added.

Lehodey also warned that pricing groceries well below market rates could create unintended consequences for consumers and business alike.

“Pricing goods significantly below market price creates an additional problem of people purchasing them to resell elsewhere,” he said. “Shortages are also likely as people buy more than they otherwise would due to artificially low prices.”

EXPERTS SCORCH MAMDANI’S GROCERY PLAN AS AN ‘ILLUSION’ THAT WILL HAVE TAXPAYERS FOOTING THE BILL

Grocery prices have continued to strain household budgets, keeping the cost of everyday staples at the center of affordability concerns.(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, also questioned whether the city’s pricing model is financially sustainable, arguing that grocery stores already operate on razor-thin profit margins.

“A 30% discount at stores with a 2% profit margin is simply a loss for taxpayers who will have to make up the difference,” Antoni told Fox News Digital. “These artificially low prices will also harm small businesses which will lose sales to taxpayer-subsidized grocery stores.”

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), tasked with overseeing the rollout of the program, disputed the suggestion that the municipal stores would hurt neighborhood grocers. The agency said the administration expects the stores to generate additional foot traffic and ultimately benefit nearby businesses.

MAMDANI’S AFFORDABILITY REVOLUTION STUMBLED AS RENT COSTS SOAR TO RECORD HIGHS

Shopping with a list and avoiding the produce aisle as the first stop at the grocery store are ways to be financially savvy, said an expert.(iStock)

The agency also walked back an official’s public suggestion Thursday that the city was considering grants for existing grocers. EDC told Fox News Digital that the administration is not currently considering any grant programs for existing grocers.

Waverly Neer, the lead official for NYC Groceries at EDC, told NY1 that the agency was exploring “complementary policies and programs, grants, incentives” to support local independent businesses alongside the city-run stores.

“We’re, as an agency, looking at a number of different complementary policies and programs, grants, incentives that can come alongside these grocery stores to support other local independent businesses that in the neighborhoods,” Neer said.

EDC subsequently told Fox News Digital that the city’s Grocery Task Force is “not currently considering any grant programs for existing grocers.”

“However, we are looking at the potential for tax abatement, incentives, and zoning benefits through existing City programs to ensure that the City is doing everything in our power to alleviate cost pressures for small businesses across the city.”

GROCERY BOSS WARNS MAMDANI’S CITY-RUN STORES PIT GOVERNMENT AGAINST ‘ITS OWN CITIZENS’

Video

Asked what specific assistance was under consideration, EDC pointed to the city’s longstanding FRESH program, which offers tax incentives and zoning benefits to qualifying grocery stores.

The agency also cited Mamdani’s recently announced OPEN for Small Business initiative, a package of more than 50 reforms aimed at reducing fines, fees and bureaucracy for small businesses.

Meanwhile, Mamdani has committed $70 million to open five municipal grocery stores. The first is expected to open in Hunts Point in the Bronx by the end of 2027, with additional locations planned for East Harlem, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.

Under the proposal, private grocery operators will manage the stores’ day-to-day operations, including staffing, merchandising and product sourcing, while the city sets pricing requirements and operating standards, provides the locations and absorbs major occupancy costs.

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani during an announcement on municipal grocery stores at a Campaign for Hunger community food distribution center in the Brooklyn on July 27, 2026.(Adam Gray / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Mamdani has pitched that model as a way to slash grocery bills by eliminating costs such as rent and profit margins.

Whether those savings can be sustained and at what ultimate cost to taxpayers and the city’s existing grocers is likely to remain a central test as the first municipal store moves toward its planned 2027 opening.

Mamdani’s office referred Fox News Digital’s request for comment to the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Amanda Macias covers the intersection of business, economics and politics, with a focus on how policy decisions shape markets, businesses and American workers.

总理英语演讲：大国博弈升温 我国务实应对新常态

2026年8月23日 23:30 / 联合早报

新加坡今年3月中出动空军A330多用途添油运输机，到沙特阿拉伯首都利雅得和第二大城市吉达，将滞留中东的我国公民接回国。 （国防部提供）

各位同胞：

今晚让我先从我们周遭的世界谈起——它已经改变，而且还在迅速变化。在全球范围内，过去几十年来支撑稳定与繁荣的规则和规范，正被颠覆。

一个关键原因是，世界力量平衡正在转移。美国仍是世界领先强国。但中国已经迅速崛起，如今已成为在许多领域拥有深厚实力、可与美国匹敌的竞争对手。双方都无法压倒对方，但也离不开对方。因此，它们正学习适应一个新现实：在激烈竞争的同时，努力避免对抗和公开冲突。

然而，世界并非仅由美国和中国塑造。欧洲依然是一股重要力量，印度正在迅速崛起，许多中等强国正更积极地维护自身利益。

因此，力量正变得分散。不同力量中心正争夺影响力，为市场、技术和资源而竞争，并且日益争夺由谁来制定游戏规则。

从疫情到地缘冲突 凸显供应链脆弱性

我们可从全球贸易体系清楚看到这一点。数十年来，各国降低壁垒、对外开放经济、关税税率下降、供应链跨越国界延伸。这一切都以世贸组织和其他全球机构所构建的共同规则框架为基础。企业假设，若某个供应商无法供货，其他供应商会轻易补上。那是我们所熟悉的世界，如今，这一切都在改变。

冠病疫情敲响了警钟。过去可依靠的供应商停止供货，所有人突然争相抢购口罩、医疗物资和疫苗。大家应该记得，甚至连厕纸等基本用品都被抢购！

俄罗斯入侵乌克兰暴露了另一项脆弱性——过度依赖单一供应方的风险。

俄罗斯切断天然气供应时，欧洲对此感受最深。如今，我们正应对中东的一场重大危机，穿行霍尔木兹海峡的航运受到干扰，这暴露了能源、粮食和其他关键物资供应的脆弱性。

各国从这些危机中汲取了教训，安全因素如今在各国的经济决策中占据更大比重，各地政府越来越多地利用贸易、科技和投资来推进自身的战略和安全目标。

看看关税方面发生了什么。去年，美国实施了它的“解放日”关税。

美国的法院后来裁定这些关税不合法，但美国政府找到另一种方法来重征关税——这次是以涉嫌使用强迫劳动为由。

我们现在都认同，强迫劳动不应该存在。这是一个全球问题，更好的应对方式是通过国际合作和共同标准，而不是关税。但美国如今要求各国采取国内措施，停止进口由强迫劳动生产的商品。

最近，美国也对中国商品经由其他国家，尤其是东南亚国家转运以规避关税表达关注。在这方面，原则同样明确。国际贸易已有既定的原产地规则，不允许借由通过另一国家转运货物，来掩饰实际来源地。

坚守合规与法治 不允许利用新加坡为非法贸易中转渠道

新加坡严肃看待这两个问题。我们有明确的条例和法规，也执行这些条例和法规，并且要求在本地运营的企业遵守。我们不会允许新加坡被利用为非法贸易的中转渠道，如果有可信的违法证据，我们将展开调查并采取行动。

但我们也必须务实看待新加坡凭借自身力量所能做到的事。我们是重要的再出口和转运中心，途经新加坡的货物来自世界各地，我们不可能追溯和核实每一项途经我国的产品背后的整个供应链。

因此，我们将继续与美国接触，并说明我们的立场。但我们应认清更大的现实。贸易已不再像过去那样自由，贸易已不再只是经济问题，它日益受到安全考量的影响。我们应预期会有更多这类变化出现。

关税只是其中一项表征，反映了全球更深层的紧张。大国竞争正在加剧，欧洲和中东爆发了重大冲突。这些冲突看似离我们很遥远，也互不相关，但冲突往往不会精准地局限于有限范围。

其他大国可能被卷入其中——因为彼此的联盟关系、它们自身利益，或仅仅因为事态迫使它们不得不介入。新科技也加剧了风险：廉价无人机如今即使面对更为强大的部队，也能造成严重破坏。

From the ashes arise origami koi

August 23, 2026 / 9:45 AM EDT / CBS News

Starting when he was six years old, Robert Lang has folded life out of paper. Now, at 65, Lang is recognized worldwide as one of today’s masters of origami, responsible for more than 800 origami designs.

Asked if he is comfortable being an origami rock star, Lang replied, “Yeah, I guess I’ve been that long enough that I’ve gotten used to it.”

Origami artist Robert Lang in 2008. Shaul Schwarz/Getty Images

Origami originated in Japan more than three centuries ago, but Lang led its renaissance in the 1990s.

He showed off some of his proudest patterns to “Sunday Morning” back in 2007 at his California home. By then, a physicist who once designed lasers for NASA had designed a full-time origami career combining math and art to create magic.

WATCH, FROM 2007: Origami artist Robert Lang (YouTube Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mCE8IiuvWU

From 2007: Origami artist Robert Lang by CBS Sunday Morning on YouTube

Is it still magical? “Absolutely,” he said, “creating something that seems impossible, then making it possible.”

But the unthinkable became possible at the start of 2025, when the Eaton Fires hit Altadena, Calif. Both the home Lang shared with his wife, Diane, and the studio that paper built, were destroyed.

He said, as he videotaped his studio going up in flames, he realized that his life was going to be completely different.

Gone: hundreds of pieces, that took hundreds of hours to create. “It’s weird to say, ‘I lost all my bugs,’ but all my insects and arthropods, which are some of my favorites, some of the most complex, and very hard to fold,” Lang said.

An origami cuckoo clock from 1987 was the only finished figure of his that he saved. “Everything I had envisioned for the next stage of my life is going to be a completely different plan,” he said. “If I’d had more time, or if I’d given myself more time, there’s a lot more I wish I’d shoved, crammed into the back of the car somehow.”

Including his prized koi, which had exhibited in 15 museums over five years before they met their end. They had just come back from a show in Denmark.

The koi were created from paper handmade by Richard Alexander and Michael LaFosse of Origamido Studios in Haverhill, Mass. To have them make paper is like having Antonio Stradivari make a violin. So, when they’d heard the Langs lost everything to the fire, they were among the first to pitch in. “It is a family, so we were very glad to help,” Alexander said.

Origamido’s handmade paper, incorporating ash from Robert Lang’s burnt studio, would be used by Lang to recreate his origami masterpieces. CBS News

Lang told us, “It was almost embarrassing that there was such an outpouring of support. ‘Do you need paper? Do you need books?’ Which practically brought me to tears, because origami people are not rich. And that people were willing to help in all these different ways was really moving.”

With Lang’s help, Alexander and LaFosse made new paper using ashes collected from Lang’s studio, from exactly the spot where the koi exhibit was stored.

Fashioning koi. CBS News

And at his temporary home in Altadena, Lang began folding a new wall of koi – his work, and his studio, embedded into the paper.

“Vertical Pond III” made its first splash earlier this year at Descanso Gardens, near Altadena.

“I love to see them swimming around,” Lang said upon visiting the exhibit. “And it is the culmination of this vision of bringing origami, bringing a little bit of my studio, back to life.”

Earlier this year, Robert Lang’s origami koi were on view at California’s Descanso Gardens in an installation titled “Vertical Pond III: From the Ashes.” CBS News

The fish are swimming again in San Diego’s Mingei International Museum until November.

And in his makeshift workspace and temporary home, Lang and his wife, Diane, are finding beauty among the ruins of their lives. After all, origami teaches patience. And Robert Lang, who made fish rise from the ashes, will continue to rebuild, one crease at a time.

“Origami keeps my mind going, and it tickles a lot of the pleasure centers,” he said. “There’s just something really satisfying about solving a really hard problem, and that the solution results in something beautiful. I long to have that experience again.”

Robert Lang’s origami koi swim again. CBS News

For more info:

• Robert J. Lang Origami
• Exhibition: To Catch a Fish, at Mingei International Museum, San Diego (through Nov. 1)
• Origamido Studios, Haverhill, Mass.
• Descanso Gardens, La Cañada Flintridge, Calif.
• Origami USA

Story produced by Young Kim. Editor: Carol Ross.

非婚生公民孩子也可在SG养儿育女配套下受惠

2026年8月23日 23:44 / 联合早报

国家人口及人才署发言人指出，目前，所有支持儿童成长与发展的相关福利，惠及所有公民儿童，无论他们父母处于什么婚姻状况。 （档案照片）

新的“SG养儿育女配套”以孩子的需求为首要考量，所有公民孩童皆可受惠，包括非婚生孩子。

目前，未婚母亲所生的孩子无法获得婴儿花红计划的现金奖励。在新的“SG养儿育女配套”下，非婚生子女也可享有财务支持，与其他孩子划一。换句话说，他们也可获得配套的所有福利包括现金补助。

国家人口及人才署发言人回复《联合早报》询问时说，传统家庭单位仍是新加坡社会的主流规范。政府长期以来的立场是支持婚内生育。“这一立场保持不变，相关理念也没有转变。”

与此同时，政府意识到支持每一名公民孩童成长与发展的重要。发言人指出，目前，所有支持儿童成长与发展的相关福利，惠及所有公民儿童，无论他们父母处于什么婚姻状况。这包括教育和医疗保健补贴，以及政府通过儿童培育户头提供的援助。

发言人说，新的SG养儿育女配套同样以孩童的需求为首要考量，所有福利旨在支持儿童的成长，所有公民孩子无论出生顺序、家庭背景或父母婚姻状况皆可受益。

此外，在职未婚家长也可享有所有与育儿相关的假期。

至于住房，国家发展部和建屋发展局受询时指出，未婚家长被视为单身者，35岁及以上单身首次购屋者可在任何地段购买新二房式灵活组屋，或任何转售组屋（三代同堂组屋除外）。另外，只要符合相关津贴申请条件，未婚家长也可申请房屋贷款。至于未满35岁的未婚家长，若有住房需求，可向建屋局提出申请，当局会全面且酌情考量，包括在适当情况下确保他们的孩子能有稳定的成长环境。

另一方面，未婚家长目前仍无法享有家长缴税回扣、在职母亲子女估税扣税等税务优惠。