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Major blue state hospital pulls plug on controversial child transgender treatments after DOJ intervention

New York City hospital will also allocate $2M to cover care for patients facing harmful consequences of the procedures

September 8, 2026 2:32pm EDT / Fox News

By Elaine Mallon

The Trump administration ends federal funding for youth gender transition treatments as CMS Chief Dr. Mehmet Oz warns of serious long-term health risks. Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Ira Savetsky joins Ainsley Earhardt to applaud the move, citing a lack of clinical evidence for irreversible surgeries performed on thousands of minors.

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One of the largest hospitals in New York City will stop providing sex reassignment procedures to minors after entering an agreement with the Trump administration.

Mount Sinai has provided sex reassignment services, which included hormonal therapy and surgeries, to thousands of transgender patients. In 2025, Mount Sinai’s Institute for Advanced Medicine reported that its providers saw 4,931 transgender and gender-diverse patients, but the exact number of minors receiving sex reassignment procedures has not been publicly disclosed, according to the hospital’s report.

“The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable medical providers that violate federal law and endanger children through so-called gender-affirming care,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This agreement puts an end to these practices at Mount Sinai and provides meaningful relief for individuals who have already suffered harm.”

LARGEST CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL IN US TO OPEN ‘DETRANSITION CLINIC’ AFTER $10M SETTLEMENT WITH TRUMP DOJ, STATE

President Donald Trump, speaking during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on Sept. 2, 2026, is shown in a split image with the entrance of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada.(Kevin Dietsch, Roberto Machado Noa/Getty Images, LightRocket)

The agreement includes a monetary penalty and requires Mount Sinai to dedicate $2 million to free medical care for people suffering harmful consequences from transgender treatments they received as children. The agreement comes as part of an ongoing Justice Department investigation into hospitals providing such procedures to minors.

“A growing number of hospitals, like Mount Sinai, have recognized the medical scandal of sex-rejecting procedures,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Civil Division said in a statement. “While we are grateful when we secure resolutions to end this discredited practice and protect children, we must not and will not rest in our pursuit of justice for the victims it has left behind.”

Curbing sex reassignment procedures for minors has been a top priority under the Trump administration.

JD VANCE CALLS ON DOJ TO PROSECUTE ALLEGED FRAUD IN TEEN TRANSGENDER TREATMENT

The Department of Health and Human Services announced sweeping regulatory proposals to end government-funding of transgender procedures for youths.(Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Just a week after being sworn into office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” seeking to defund federal funding for gender reassignment procedures and directing the Justice Department to enforce the nation’s female genital mutilation laws and investigate drug-safety violations and potential parental rights violations.

The Justice Department’s investigation examines potential violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the False Claims Act and other federal health care laws, including alleged fraudulent billing practices such as the use of false diagnosis codes to obtain payment from federal health care programs and private insurers, according to the department.

The executive order also directed federal agencies to rescind or amend policies that rely on guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).

WPATH, a professional association that develops standards of care for transgender and gender-diverse patients, is being sued by the Federal Trade Commission and several states, which allege the group made false and unsubstantiated claims about the safety, effectiveness and medical necessity of pediatric medical-transition services. The case is pending.

COLORADO SUPREME COURT ORDERS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL TO RESUME GENDER TRANSITION TREATMENTS FOR MINORS

A demonstrator holds a sign outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13, as the justices revisit issues surrounding transgender rights and student athletes.(Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

WPATH’s medical guidelines served as the bedrock for Mount Sinai’s medical guidelines for transgender procedures, and Dr. Joshua Safer, executive director of the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, has co-authored WPATH guidelines.

The Justice Department did not release the details of the agreement with Mount Sinai but acknowledged that the hospital “remained cooperative, proactive, and solution-driven” at all times of the investigation.

“The settlement is complex, but at its core reflects Mount Sinai’s commitment to safeguarding our patients’ confidential information and protecting our clinicians,” Mount Sinai said in a statement to the New York Times.

Mount Sinai’s settlement is just the latest the Justice Department has reached with major hospitals providing transgender procedures. Texas Children’s Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Connecticut Children’s Hospital have agreed to halt youth transgender procedures in the past couple of months.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Mount Sinai for comment.

Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.

Some on the right cry ‘socialism’ over new Trump proposal

2026-09-08T17:52:21.730Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/08/politics/trump-socialism-gop-midterms

The Republican-controlled House last week adopted a resolution denouncing socialism “in all its forms.”

But now the Trump administration is attempting something that even many on the right say sounds a lot like one of those forms of socialism.

And it’s merely the latest example.

Indeed, Trump wants to make socialism the GOP’s big boogeyman in the 2026 midterm elections. But he and his administration have repeatedly compromised that message by doing things that are getting more difficult for their allies to play off as anything other than, well, pretty socialist.

The initiative, championed by Vice President JD Vance, would allow stay-at-home parents to collect childcare subsidies by taking the money from a program that assists working parents, according to The New York Times. So basically, the government would pay parents about $9,000 per child per year to stay home and raise their children. CNN has reached out to the White House and Department of Health and Human Services about the draft rule, which would still need to be finalized.

The proposal got a decidedly mixed reception Monday morning on Fox News’ morning show, “Fox and Friends.”

Co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy (who is married to Trump’s transportation secretary) called it her “favorite policy, like ever, that President Trump has brought.” But fellow co-host Lawrence Jones strongly disagreed.

“I see what the president is doing, but I think it’s a terrible idea. It’s socialism,” Jones said. He added on X that “if we are going to defeat socialism, we need to nip it entirely in the bud.”

And he’s not the only one.

“Agree with LJ!” conservative Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen posted on X.

“If only we offered a contrast to Democratic Socialists rather than an echo,” Marc Short, an adviser to Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence, added.

“I am old enough to remember a time when Republicans were against government entitlement programs,” said Meghan McCain.

“This is welfare,” conservative commentator Dana Loesch said. “We tried this socialist program many times, and it failed. It utterly and completely failed when Viktor Orban tried something similar in Hungary, too.”

(Orbán, the former Hungarian prime minister, attempted similar policies to raise his country’s flagging birth rates, but the project ultimately failed and he lost reelection this year.)

Former GOP Rep. Bob Good of Virginia called Vance a socialist. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas warned the administration to “Stay out” of the issue. And the GOP’s nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, Bo French, agreed.

The proposal does have its defenders.

But tellingly, rather than argue that it’s good small-government conservative policy, they’ve largely argued that it’s a better way to administer an existing welfare program.

“The principle here is simple: Government should not put its thumb on the scale against parents raising their own children,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri.

Conservative commentator Michael Knowles said the choice was between reforming the program and leaving it alone, because abolishing the welfare state is a goal “no one even pretends to think is possible.”

And in perhaps the most telling response, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts — whose organization once carried the torch for Reagan-style, small-government conservatism — said Republicans should do what they can to use the money for what he cast as conservative purposes.

“The welfare state already exists. The subsidies already exist. And conservatives do not have the votes to dismantle either,” Roberts said. “Until that changes, taxpayer dollars should reward family formation, not subsidize its decline. That is the conservative option.”

Trump’s socialistic policies and ideas

Defenses like this are so telling because they betray a conservative movement that has largely set aside its ideals in favor of using big government to further its purposes.

Over and over again, Trump has pursued ideas and policies that a recent former version of the party — i.e. the tea party version — would surely reject. But because Trump has so dominated his base, the internal criticism has been muted.

Some of the more prominent examples:

• The Trump administration has had the federal government take ownership stakes in 30 private companies like Intel, Nvidia and Nippon Steel, according to a compilation from the libertarian Cato Institute.
• Trump has sought to create a federal sovereign wealth fund.
• He considered bailing out and nationalizing Spirit Airlines.
• He bailed out farmers in his first term and gave them bridge payments in his second.
• He has sought what critics have labeled as “price controls” for prescription drugs.
• He has offered “Trump Accounts” savings accounts for children seeded with $1,000.
• He has moved to cap credit card interest rates, which earned praise from democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders.
• He has regularly sought to use the government to crack down on disfavored speech and media coverage he doesn’t like.
• He has recently sought to compel oil companies to lower prices by saying they have made too much money during the Iran war and urging them to produce more diesel.

There was an instructive scene about all this last week at a House Rules Committee hearing.

While debating the House GOP’s anti-socialism resolution, Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado asked House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil whether it would be socialism for the government to take equity stakes in grocery stores.

“That’d be a form of socialism, yeah,” the Wisconsin Republican said.

But then Neguse asked whether it would be socialism if Trump took a 20% equity stake in the grocer Kroger, and Steil was less firm.

“I’d want to see the details,” he said.

This was a hypothetical example, but explaining away things Trump does — or outright ignoring them — has become a survival mechanism in a GOP where Trump has proven so successful at targeting his critics.

The problem is that with each provocation that his small-government-conservative allies give him a pass on, he moves the ball. They repeatedly give him a few inches, and then he takes a mile.

That’s the position the GOP finds itself in. The fact that even the Heritage Foundation is defending a policy like this says it all.

And as the gloss has fallen off of Trump — and his excesses have jeopardized the GOP’s midterm hopes — it seems some conservatives are coming to the belated realization that Trump isn’t exactly the great conqueror of socialism, but arguably a participant in it.

Lonnie Bunch, Smithsonian leader, announces retirement after months of Trump administration criticism

September 8, 2026 / 1:22 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington— Historian Lonnie Bunch will leave his position as secretary of the Smithsonian at the end of the year, he announced Tuesday, after months of escalating criticism of the institution from the Trump administration.

“It is with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude that I announce my retirement from the Smithsonian,” Bunch said in a statement. “I have spent nearly half of my life working at and being part of the Smithsonian family, and what a privilege it has been.”

Bunch, who has worked for the Smithsonian for 38 years, said he leaves the position “with pride and sadness, gratitude and joy, and with enormous confidence in the people who will carry this remarkable institution forward.”

Bunch told The New York Times in an interview that his upcoming retirement wasn’t due to the fights with the administration, saying simply that “now’s the time.”

“I have to be honest, it has been stressful,” he said. “And at a certain point, I’d like to wake up in the morning and not look at my cellphone.”

Lonnie Bunch poses for a portrait in May 2026 in Washington, D.C. Al Drago/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Bunch, 73, co-founded the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016. He served as executive director of the museum until he became secretary of the Smithsonian in 2019. He was the first African American to hold the role in its 173-year history.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who serves as chancellor of the Smithsonian and sits on its Board of Regents, said in a statement that Bunch “has pursued excellence in the telling of our nation’s story.”

“The Regents, and the Smithsonian, have benefited greatly from his wisdom, vision and leadership,” Roberts said. “We look forward to working with him in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition for his successor.”

Since President Trump’s second term began in 2025, he has stepped up criticism of the institution. The administration launched an internal review of some of the Smithsonian’s best-known museums, and the president signed an executive order in March 2025 pushing for changes at the institution, including the removal of “improper ideology.”

The review focused on eight museums, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture— which was highlighted in Mr. Trump’s executive order for allegedly featuring “divisive, race-centered ideology” — as well as the Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of American History and the National Portrait Gallery, among others. The administration said in a letter that reviewers would be looking at content for exhibits, plans for future exhibitions, collections and internal processes used by the museum’s curators.

In July of this year, Mr. Trump ordered federal officials to install signs outside the National Museum of American History to correct what he said was “inaccurate” information presented about American history.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum sent a letter to the Smithsonian last month accusing its leadership of having “sanctioned a radical institutional ideology to permeate” the American history museum.

“The ultimate effect of this radical ideology is to weaken our shared American identity. erase our heritage and condition the public to accept these attempts to weaponize our national institutions and traditions in support of a radical political agenda,” Burgum wrote.

The Smithsonian Institution includes 21 museums, 20 libraries, numerous research centers, and the National Zoo in Washington. Bunch first joined the Smithsonian in 1978 at the National Air and Space Museum, and then served in several curatorial and leadership positions at the National Museum of American History through 2000. He left the intitution in 2000 before returning five years later to oversee the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

In an interview with CBS “Sunday Morning” in 2019, Bunch said that the Smithsonian is “part of the glue that holds the country together.”

“Culture is so important. Culture is something that sometimes is seen as dividing people, but in my mind, culture holds us together — the common cultures we have, the opportunity to find common ground,” he said.

Smithsonian head Lonnie Bunch to retire amid Trump administration effort to reshape institution

2026-09-08T16:17:31.875Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/08/politics/lonnie-bunch-smithsonian

Lonnie Bunch III said he will retire as the head of the Smithsonian Institution, a role that placed him at the center of President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the world’s largest museum organization.

“It is with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude that I announce my retirement from the Smithsonian,” Bunch said in a statement on Tuesday, adding, “I leave with pride and sadness, gratitude and joy, and with enormous confidence in the people who will carry this remarkable institution forward.”

Bunch, 73, said in multiple interviews that his retirement was not related to pressure from the Trump administration to make changes to the institution.

It still comes as the Trump administration has increased pressure on the institution, including saying in an August 28 letter that federal agencies may stop working with the Smithsonian if its leadership does not change. The letter cited an earlier report that accused the Smithsonian of moving “toward an extreme political activism that seeks to transform our country.”

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

“Secretary Bunch has pursued excellence in the telling of our nation’s story,” Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who is also chancellor of the Smithsonian, said in a statement, adding, “We look forward to working with him in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition for his successor.”

Bunch, who has been in the role since 2019, had defended the organization’s independence amid the administration’s intense scrutiny and efforts to assert control over the 180-year-old institution’s content. However, he has also tread a fine political line, complying with the White House’s request to hand over extensive documents about museum exhibitions.

In a July interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Bunch said, “It’s our job to tell an accurate, complex and truthful history.”

However, Trump has taken issue with the Smithsonian’s telling of the past, describing it as “woke” and tasking aides with rooting out what he considers a rewriting of American history at the museums. For example, in a July executive order, the president directed the National Park Service to install temporary signage near the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, warning of “inaccurate information.”

Greg Werkheiser, an attorney involved in multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration over the president’s changes to Washington, said in a statement that Bunch’s departure should raise concerns.

“Whatever words are used to describe his departure, it comes after an extraordinary campaign of political pressure on the Smithsonian and its leadership,” Werkheiser said. “The loss here is bigger than one extraordinary public servant. Americans should be deeply concerned whenever political power is used to make the people entrusted with telling our nation’s history fear for their jobs if they tell that history honestly.”

The Smithsonian Board of Regents will choose the next secretary. In addition to Roberts, the board’s members include Vice President JD Vance and Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Some members of the public are also part of the board, and Trump signed an executive order last year directing Vance to seek the appointment of public members who are aligned with his priorities for the institution.

Two of nine public regents’ terms have expired and two other spots will open up by the beginning of October, according to a term chart on the Smithsonian website. This could give Trump a chance to try to expand his influence on the board before the November midterm elections shake up Congress. New board members are appointed via congressional joint resolutions that the president must sign into law.

Before becoming secretary, Bunch served as the director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture for nearly 14 years, leading the site from when it was just a concept to its opening in 2016.

He served at multiple museums within the institution since he first joined in 1978. He departed the organization for a few years to serve as the president of the Chicago Historical Society.

Bunch has been widely recognized for his work at the Smithsonian, including by receiving multiple awards for his contributions to American culture and history.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s René Marsh, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Brian Todd, Michael Williams, Betsy Klein and Kit Maher contributed to this report.

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow use of database to check voters’ citizenship

September 8, 2026 1:58 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington— The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to intervene in a lawsuit and allow the use of a controversial data system to review state voter rolls heading into the midterm elections.

In June, a federal judge ruled the Trump administration acted unlawfully when it created a centralized database, known as “Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements,” or SAVE, that contains Americans’ private information. U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan said the database was used by some states to incorrectly remove U.S. citizens from their voter rolls.

The system was part of President Trump’s government-wide push to find proof of widespread instances of noncitizens voting in federal elections, which have largely been debunked and shown to be very rare.

Sooknanan said in her ruling that the “federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote,” by attempting to implement the SAVE system. Sooknanan found that the administration violated three different federal laws by attempting to implement the SAVE system.

Over the weekend, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied the Trump administration’s request to stay the district court’s block on the SAVE database.

In a new filing Tuesday, Solicitor General D. John Sauer called Sooknanan’s ruling “indefensible” and said it “threatens the integrity of upcoming elections.” He also said the judge exceeded her authority and that the voting rights groups that brought the initial lawsuit did not have proper legal standing to sue. Sauer asked the justices to lift Sooknanan’s stay and allow the use of the SAVE system.

“SAVE does not disqualify any voter; instead, it merely notifies the States whether the federal government can confirm citizenship,” Sauer wrote. “Thus, any voter injury is caused by the States, not by the federal government, and would not be redressed by the relief the court entered against the federal government.”

The new request comes after the Trump administration again asked the Supreme Court to reinstate new Postal Service rules for mail voting in the upcoming midterms.

The SAVE database was created by several federal agencies in response to an executive order signed by Mr. Trump last year that sought to impose a new proof-of-citizenship requirement for those registering to vote. The order directed the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to create a database that would effectively allow state and local officials to verify citizenship or immigration status of individuals trying to register to vote.

The executive order drew several legal challenges, and key provisions have been blocked.

Still, the directive triggered the overhaul of the existing SAVE system. It was modified to include the records of natural-born citizens; to access records from the SSA, including Social Security numbers; and to permit bulk searches of records by entities that use the database.

Fox News Power Rankings: What’s in an economy?

2026-09-08T09:00:07-04:00 / Fox News

Voters disapprove of Trump on cost of living and inflation, but polls show they’re no happier with the Democratic alternative

By Rémy Numa Fox News

Published September 8, 2026 9:00am EDT

‘America’s Newsroom’ co-anchor Bill Hemmer breaks down the latest Fox News Power Rankings ahead of the midterms as former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove joins to analyze party strategy in key House and Senate toss-up races.

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Eight weeks from today, millions of Americans will choose their next congressperson. Poll after poll tells us that the state of the economy will shape their choice: it’s the top issue for voters by a wide margin and most Americans are in a sour mood about it.

That’s not the end of the story.

We’ve learned from previous elections that voters consider a wide range of issues when they vote. The “economy” has different meanings to voters. Optimism doesn’t win over voters on pocketbook issues. And this year, while voters aren’t happy with President Donald Trump’s economy, that hasn’t yet made them enthusiastic about the Democratic alternative.

These are the four rules to think about as we inch closer to the midterms.

Meantime, Democrats inch closer to victory as the Power Rankings takes a fresh look at congressional races in Missouri and Ohio.

1. The economy is central to elections, but watch for related issues

The importance of the economy to elections has been a golden rule since the early ’90s, when Democratic strategist James Carville famously cited “the economy, stupid” as the most important focus for a campaign.

Did you know it was only one of three orders he gave to candidates that cycle?

The economy has been a top-three issue throughout the Trump era, including the last two midterm elections, where it was the most important issue for 47% of voters (2022) and 18% of voters (2018).

If that 2018 figure feels low, it’s because healthcare (26%) and immigration (23%) finished ahead. That year, Republicans lost 42 seats.

No wonder another of Carville’s three rules for candidates was “don’t forget health care.” (The third was “change vs more of the same.”)

HAKEEM JEFFRIES REJECTS MEDICARE FOR ALL, DSA AGENDA AS RO KHANNA CALLS HEALTH PLAN ‘MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITY’

Fox News Power Rankings on President Donald Trump’s economy.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

The state of the economy bleeds into other major concerns, including healthcare. But even a strong economy wasn’t enough to get the GOP out of that election unscathed. And healthcare looms as another important issue this year: it’s ranked close behind the economy in most surveys this year.

2. The economy means different things to voters

When pollsters ask about voters’ views on the economy, they usually ask how important “the economy” or “the state of the economy” is, or whether they’re satisfied with Trump’s performance on that issue.

In some important ways, Trump has a strong economic record. Just last week, the U.S. added 162,000 jobs, about triple what economists had expected. The unemployment rate was steady at 4.1%. The stock market also continues to grow, even as Iran and tariffs drive volatility.

These have helped keep Trump’s overall economic approval rating in the low-to-mid 30s in multiple polls this summer.

When pollsters ask only about Americans’ personal economic situation, things look tougher.

TRUMP’S APPROVAL RATING PLUMMETS TO NEW LOW AHEAD OF CRITICAL MIDTERMS: ‘MORE WORK TO DO’

Fox News Power Rankings on President Donald Trump’s handling of issues.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week, 32% of voters said they approved of Trump on the economy. But only a quarter approved of his performance on cost of living and 24% approved of him on inflation and prices.

The costs of gas, food and other basic goods are the major factors driving this discrepancy. If Democrats deliver a strong result in November, it will come down to a presidential approval rating in the mid-20s on these issues.

3. Voters see through economic optimism

In 2022, President Joe Biden faced similar headwinds: the economy was rebounding, especially if you looked at unemployment, but inflation hovered around the 8% mark all year. Gas prices came in around $3.75.

The Biden administration kept selling the positives. First, inflation was “transitory.” Then the president argued that “zero percent inflation” from one month to another was a win, despite the high annualized rate. Senior officials took victory laps on the unemployment rate.

Fox News Power Rankings on the economy in 2022 under former President Joe Biden.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

Voters rejected this messaging at the ballot box, delivering the House to the GOP after a net loss of nine Democratic seats and handing Biden a net approval rating of -23 points on the economy.

Today, headline inflation is less than half that at 3.4%, while gas prices are a little higher at $4.15. Trump’s net approval on the economy currently sits at -33 points.

The Trump administration is running a familiar playbook. Vice President JD Vance said last week that gas prices could be worse if not for the Trump administration. As Fox’s Gillian Turner noted on “Special Report,” there are similarities between a comment like that and the statements Biden officials made four years earlier.

These optimistic visions are likely to remain a tough sell to voters.

4. Economic dissatisfaction doesn’t make voters any happier about the alternative

It’s easy to look at all this and think the Democrats are in for a big night in November. That’s certainly a possibility.

But polls keep showing that voters are just as discouraged by the left’s economic messaging.

FOX NEWS POLL: MOST RATE THE ECONOMY NEGATIVELY, INCLUDING HALF OF REPUBLICANS

Fox News Power Rankings on which party voters trust more to handle the economy.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

Right now, Democrats are offering voters competing economic visions. Some, like Abdul El-Sayed and Troy Jackson, want a revolution that starts with “Medicare-for-all” and higher taxes on the wealthy. Others say they want to undo Trump’s agenda while keeping the core of America’s economic system in place.

It’s not yet clear whether these visions are unappealing to voters or whether the contrast between them is the problem.

Either way, in the Reuters/Ipsos survey, 36% of voters say Republicans are the better party to handle the economy, while 37% prefer the Democrats. The poll has a ±3.3pt margin of error.

That’s not encouraging for Team Blue.

If the Republicans hold relatively steady in November – also a possibility in this forecast – those results will explain why.

House: Democrats remain in the lead as two seats fall away from the GOP

Fox News Power Rankings forecast on the House of Representatives.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

Democrats are still the favorites to take the House this November, with 212 seats in their columns to the GOP’s 206. There are 17 seats that are so close they could go either way.

Fox News Power Rankings forecast on the House of Representatives.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

Those seats tend to swing in one direction as votes get counted. On a good night for Democrats, that means 229 seats, while a good night for the GOP would still see them hold onto their current House majority.

(A “great” night for either party would mean winning some of the seats that lean toward the opponent in this forecast. The Power Rankings puts seats in the “lean” category when they’re highly competitive, but one party has an edge.)

The changes in this forecast, which see two seats fall out of the GOP’s columns, all come from Missouri and Ohio.

Missouri: redistricting ruling flips one seat back to the Democrats and keeps another in contention

Republicans picked up redistricting wins across the southeast after the Supreme Court’s ruling narrowing the scope of the Voting Rights Act this year.

That includes Missouri, where Republican lawmakers redrew the Kansas City-based 5th District, currently held by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, who won re-election there by 24 points, to include more White, rural areas.

That put the district into the Solid R column in the initial Power Rankings this year.

Last Thursday, the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously blocked the new districts from being used unless voters approve them in a referendum. The order restores the state’s existing map, flipping Cleaver’s district back to Solid D.

MISSOURI AG FILES PETITION ASKING SUPREME COURT TO REVIVE TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING MAP

Fox News Power Rankings forecast on the House of Representatives.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

(It also makes Missouri’s 2nd District more competitive. The rankings already had that district at Likely R; we’re keeping it there for now.)

Missouri has appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which could rule on the state ruling quickly. For now, Cleaver holds on to the 5th District.

Ohio: Sherrod and scandal make the state more competitive

Three races in Ohio are heading leftward.

First, Ohio’s 7th District, held by Republican Max Miller. The congressman’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, has accused Miller of physically abusing both her and their young daughter. Miller denies the allegations and has suggested Moreno has mental health issues.

Moreno is the daughter of Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, who Miller says is trying to take down his political career.

The 7th District was already close for the ‘likely’ column, and after these headlines and some prodding from Republicans to drop out, it’s become highly competitive. It moves from Likely R to Toss Up.

Fox News Power Rankings forecast on the House of Representatives.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

Meanwhile, in the southwest of the state, watch the 10th and 15th Districts, held by Republicans Mike Turner and Mike Carey, respectively.

These shouldn’t be part of the Democratic playbook in a regular election year: they’re predominantly White and middle-class.

Turner’s 10th District contains Dayton and some suburban areas; Carey’s 15th includes some suburban and exurban parts around Columbus and stretches to the rural south.

Fox News Power Rankings forecast on the House of Representatives.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

As the Fox News Poll has shown twice now, Democrat Sherrod Brown is running a strong race for Senate; up eight points at 53% in May and August. That kind of performance could create a closer race than Republicans would like.

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The “Mikes” have the clear advantage, but victory isn’t a sure thing. The 10th and 15th Districts move from Solid R to Likely R.

Rémy Numa is the lead political affairs specialist for Fox News Channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @remynuma.

Dem city bashed for policy ‘encouraging criminal illegal aliens’ as rap sheets revealed: ‘Lives on the line’

2026-09-08T11:21:50-04:00 / Fox News

The Democrat-dominated council voted 18-2 to allow non-citizen immigrants and DACA recipients to serve as police officers

By Peter Pinedo Fox News

Published September 8, 2026 11:21am EDT

Candace Fay blasts Danbury’s decision to allow non-citizens to apply for police force

Danbury City Council Member Candace Fay discusses the Connecticut city council’s decision to allow non-citizens to apply for police officer roles. Fay raises concerns regarding background checks and immigration enforcement during ‘Fox & Friends First.’

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A Democrat-dominated city council in Danbury, Connecticut, is facing backlash over new police guidance that the Department of Homeland Security says is “encouraging criminal illegal aliens.”

The city council voted 18-2 last week to approve non-citizen legal immigrants and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program recipients serving as police officers. One city council member, Democrat Joe Britton, remarked that the vote was “timely” considering recent ICE operations in the area and “sends a message to our immigrant community at large that you are welcome in Danbury.”

In response, a spokesperson for DHS fired back that the city council “should be thanking our law enforcement for removing these dangerous criminals from Connecticut—NOT vilifying law enforcement.”

“An oath of office is a commitment to upholding the law, not encouraging criminal illegal aliens to break it,” the spokesperson added, saying that “while these people smear ICE, law enforcement is arresting criminals and saving countless American lives.”

NON-CITIZEN POLICE OFFICERS APPROVED AFTER DEM SAYS ICE ‘INVASION’ ‘SENDS A MESSAGE’

With protesters in the crowd calling for more direct action to combat ICE raids, Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves joined Governor Ned Lamont, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, and Senator Chris Murphy at Kennedy Park in Danbury, Conn. on August 26, 2026 to condemn the actions of the agency, which has been detaining dozens of people Monday and Tuesday. Everyone has constitutional rights in this country, regardless of immigration status, he said, encouraging activists to record officers from a safe distance.(Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public via Getty Images)

Britton denied these claims, telling Fox News Digital that “DHS is attacking an argument I never made” and “I have no objection to arresting violent criminals.”

August ICE operations in Connecticut resulted in more than 65 arrests, according to an ICE news release. The arrests prompted public outrage in the community, including from city officials such as Britton, who called the raids “frightening” and a “federal invasion of immigration officials in Danbury.”

DHS, however, told Fox News Digital that ICE arrested illegal immigrants with criminal convictions including assault, sexual assault, false imprisonment and molestation of a minor.

One arrestee, Eddy Ruano, from Guatemala, was convicted of molestation of a minor, according to DHS. Another Guatemalan national, Ericko Valenuela-Chua, was arrested in Connecticut after being convicted of sex assault-carnal abuse, sex assault and assault.

BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN FIRES BACK AFTER DEMOCRAT CHRIS MURPHY CLAIMS ICE IS ‘TERRORIZING LITTLE KIDS’

Left to right: Eddy Ruano, Ericko Valenuela-Chua, Elvin Caceres-Martinez and Frank Guaman. Background: Demonstrators seen holding a sign during a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations outside the Danbury Public Library.(Roy De La Cruz/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

A Nicaraguan national, Elvin Caceres-Martinez, was also arrested during the operation and was convicted of assault, weapon offense, aggravated assault with a gun, aggravated assault of a non-family with strongarm and carrying a prohibited weapon.

Meanwhile, Ecuadorian national Frank Guaman, convicted of sex assault and false imprisonment, was also arrested in the operation.

The DHS spokesperson stressed that “the vilification of ICE must stop” as “America’s brave ICE agents put their lives on the line every day to enforce U.S. law and arrest criminal illegal aliens—including gang members, rapists, and murderers.”

Regarding Britton’s critiques of ICE in the area, the spokesperson said that “this type of rhetoric is contributing to a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line.”

WHITE HOUSE BRINGS RECEIPTS AFTER MEDIA CLAIMS NONCRIMINAL ICE ARRESTS ‘SOARING’: ‘FALSE NARRATIVES’

A protest against the recent spike of I.C.E. operations in the area surrounding Danbury, Connecticut.(Roy De La Cruz/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital also reached out to the office of Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves for comment.

Britton told Fox News Digital that “DHS is attacking an argument I never made.”

“I have no objection to arresting violent criminals,” said Britton. “What I object to is using a handful of serious criminal cases to justify fear-driven enforcement tactics that make entire immigrant communities feel targeted.”

He said that “Danbury is safer when residents trust local government and law enforcement, not when innocent families are afraid that simply going to work, school, or church could put them in the middle of an immigration raid and subject themselves to detention or arrest.”

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Britton added that “supporting law enforcement does not require remaining silent when federal enforcement creates unnecessary fear in our community.”

Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

奋战不敌张本美和 曾尖止步WTT澳门赛32强放眼亚运会

2026年9月8日 23:15 / 联合早报

• 新加坡头号女单曾尖以0比3不敌赛会头号种子张本美和，止步2026年WTT澳门冠军赛32强，无缘16强。 – 曾尖前两局曾有机会，第二局更拿到局点但遭逆转。她赛后坦言相持球时心态着急，未能把握关键分。 – 张本美和赛后表示比赛并不轻松，认为双方较去年多哈世锦赛交手都有成长，自己仅在关键几分处理更好。 – 曾尖将返日本与新加坡队会合备战亚运会，她将参加女单、混双和女团三个项目，力争发挥全部水平。

硬碰头号种子张本美和，曾尖（图）无法把握第二局局点的机会，最后0比3败阵。 （澳门冠军赛组委会提供）

新加坡乒乓球头号女单曾尖星期二（9月8日）以0比3不敌日本超级新星兼赛会头号种子张本美和，无缘晋级2026年世界乒乓球职业大联盟（WTT）澳门冠军赛16强。

下来，她将在星期三（9日）从澳门返回日本与新加坡队会合，继续在当地备战即将揭幕的爱知—名古屋亚运会。

尽管是一场完败，但比赛中前两局曾尖都有机会，她在第二局更以10比9拿到一个局点，但最终功亏一篑。赛后在复盘比赛时，曾尖对《联合早报》说：“这场比赛没有去年多哈世锦赛与美和交手时那样处于下风，这是我这次做得好一点的地方。但打到后面相持球时总想着赶紧赢下来，还是自己心态有点着急。”

这是双方第三次交手，曾尖此前遭遇两连败，无论技术还是心理都处于劣势。但尽管本届比赛首轮就对阵张本美和，曾尖抱着的是一种积极的心态去面对。

她说：“自己特别投入，很珍惜亚运会前的最后一个比赛。在与顶尖选手比赛中不管输赢，都要打出一些东西再去好好总结，使自己在亚运会上能有更好的发挥。”

比赛开始后，曾尖很快进入状态与张本美和展开对攻，以4比2领先。随后被对手追平比分双方战至7平，最终以8比11失利。

张本美和（图）只有18岁但已经身经百战，在世界前二的中国名将孙颖莎和王曼昱没有参加这次比赛的情况下，被列为头号种子。（澳门冠军赛组委会提供）

易边再战，曾尖从0比3追成4比3反超，之后双方交替领先。但从7平后都是曾尖领先一分，直到10比9，不过当时手握发球权的她却浪费了一个局点，最后被张本美和以12比10逆转。决胜局，曾尖被头号种子完全打垮，后者将比赛带入自己节奏，她以3比11告负。

曾尖：接发球比去年交手时更好

与张本美和这种世界顶尖高手过招，心态是否起很大的作用？曾尖说：“我觉得应该是全方位的，包括技战术的丰富、心态的稳定和能力的厚度等，甚至技战术在场上的变化和运用，都是非常的关键，可能会影响到每一分的结果。”

去年在多哈世锦赛输给了张本美和后，曾尖说自己在接发球环节做得不够，对于这次是否有改进，她说：“今天接发球还不错，前三板上也没有那么下风。最终没能拿下一局，我觉得还是少了一口气，第三局节奏上有点咬不住，心气下来了。

“这场比赛有很多好的地方值得总结，值得继续保持。但也有一些不够完善的地方，要从平时的训练中去加强，包括后续能力和技术能力的提升。”

曾尖表现获对手和教练肯定

虽然3比0获胜，但张本美和并不认为打得很轻松，对手还是给自己制造了一些麻烦。她对《联合早报》说：“比起去年多哈世锦赛交手，我们都有成长。曾尖确实也很厉害，我只是在最后关键几分做得比她好一点，不然也可能是我以0比2落后。”

教练郝安林也对曾尖前两局的发挥给予肯定。他说：“前两局比分打得有点胶着，曾尖第二局落后下把比分追回来打到10比9时没把握住，从实力上讲美和确实比曾尖强，关键比分处理更果断。曾尖与高手打得还是不够多，通过这场比赛可以从技术上总结到一些东西，为接下来的亚运会做好准备。”

谈到亚运会，曾尖说：“这是我第二次亚运会之旅，参加女单、混双、女团三个项目的比赛。我想把自己全部的水平都发挥出来，不留遗憾。不管对手是谁，我都要全力以赴去拼。不光要做好自己，还要带领几位小队友打好团体比赛。”

银行与电信等服务供应商助警打击诈骗 免担刑事民事责任

2026年9月8日 23:21 / 新明日报

• 吴培铭在国会为《诈骗（应对措施）和其他事务法案》提出二读，授权警方对银行与电信公司下达账户屏蔽令和披露令。 – 服务供应商若本着诚信遵从指令冻结账户或提供资料，将免于承担刑事和民事责任，以消除其对法律责任的担忧。 – 法案拟修订《网络犯罪危害法令》，不遵守业务守则的平台最高罚金将从100万元大幅提高至1000万元。 – 买卖或出借社交媒体账号将被列为刑事罪，初犯者最高可被罚款1万元、监禁三年或两者兼施，也可能面对最多12下鞭刑。

内政部提呈《诈骗（应对措施）和其他事务法案》，旨在更有效防止诈骗案发生。图为地铁站月台的反诈骗广告。 （曾坤顺摄）

银行与电信公司等服务供应商在配合警方打击诈骗案时冻结指定账户，以及提供与特定账户有关的资料，将免于承担刑事和民事责任。

内政部兼社会及家庭发展部高级政务部长吴培铭星期二（9月8日）在国会为《诈骗（应对措施）和其他事务法案》（Scams (Countermeasures) and Other Matters Bill）提出二读时，指出法案包括服务供应商的免责条款。

法案授权新加坡警察部队对银行与电信公司等服务供应商，下达账户屏蔽令（Account Disabling Order）和披露令（Disclosure Order）。

账户屏蔽令要求服务供应商冻结已经用于诈骗，或将被用于准备或进行诈骗的账户。账户最长可被停用30天，并可延长多30天。

披露令则要求服务供应商提供与特定账户有关的资料。只要警方认为有关资料有助于预防诈骗，供应商就须配合。

有服务供应商对上述要求表示担忧，因为自愿提供资料可能导致它们承担额外的法律责任，例如违反保密协议可能引发民事诉讼。

对此，吴培铭表明法案为服务供应商提供免责保护。只要服务供应商本着诚信与合理的谨慎态度遵从账户屏蔽令和披露令，所采取的行动或未作出的行为，将免于承担刑事和民事责任。

根据法案第11节条文，尽管受到《个人资料保护法令》（Personal Data Protection Act）和《银行法令》等保密义务的约束，服务供应商可向指定官员或公共部门机构自愿提供资料。

同一节条文也为防止诈骗而自愿冻结账户长达30天的服务供应商，提供民事责任保护。

吴培铭指出，服务供应商必须落实通过附属立法规定的保障措施，保护分享给当局的资料。第七节条文规定，未经授权披露或使用通过账户屏蔽令或披露令取得的资料，属于罪行。

《诈骗（应对措施）和其他事务法案》的内容广泛，包括拟修订《网络犯罪危害法令》（Online Criminal Harms Act，简称OCHA）。不遵守法令下业务守则（codes of practice）或实施指令（implementation directive）的平台，面对的最高罚金将大幅提高，从目前的100万元增至1000万元。

修法后，买卖、出借或帮助他人注册社交媒体及即时通讯账号也会被列为刑事罪。初犯者可被判处最高1万元罚款，或最长三年监禁，或两者兼施。犯人也可能面对最多12下鞭刑。此外，警方也将有权限制涉案者使用银行、电信和Singpass等服务长达三年。

有八名议员参与法案辩论。东海岸集选区议员陈舜娘提议，建立包括银行、电信公司和其他平台在内的实时跨平台示警系统，一旦发现可疑行为，就能实时向各方发出警报，阻止诈骗。她也认为法案应针对反应时间制定标准，规定平台在接获诈骗通报后，须在多短的时间内采取行动。

此外，银行也可对高风险账户实施预防性限制；这些账户或出现反复的可疑行为，但未达到可被冻结的程度。陈舜娘认为可实施临时限制或强制性的身份再验证，有助在警方调查期间避免金钱损失。

工人党阿裕尼集选区议员严燕松则建议，政府应建立明确的法定受害者赔偿框架，当金融机构、电信公司和数码平台的反诈骗措施未能保护客户时，就得负起责任。政府也应设立专门的独立调查机构，处理受害者根据共同责任框架（Shared Responsibility Framework）提出的索赔。

严燕松还建议设立专门的诈骗受害者补偿基金，资金可来自调查后没收的资产，让本地诈骗受害者能获得一部分追回的款项。“我承认这其中存在操作上的复杂性，但设立这样一个结构化的基金将切实展现对受害者的支持。他们目前可拿回的款项比例低。”

法案的辩论未结束，星期三（9日）继续辩论。

Mamdani to release documents on 9/11 health impacts before 25th anniversary

September 8, 2026 9:10am EDT / Fox News

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that his administration has created a publicly searchable database for 9/11 records

By James Cirrone, Fox News

Mamdani announces public portal to make 9/11 response records public

New York City has settled two lawsuits with 9/11 Health Watch, committing more than $34 million to build a public portal, which will share records on the city’s response to the terrorist attack, including details about air quality around Ground Zero.

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday that his administration will release more than 170,000 pages of documents shedding new light on the air quality around Ground Zero in the months following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In a press conference at the City Hall Rotunda, Mamdani said these documents would only be the first release of information that will reveal new details about “what the city knew about the toxic air around Ground Zero, when they knew it and how they acted to limit liability.”

Over the next year, hundreds of thousands of more documents will be released onto a public portal that will be freely accessible to every New Yorker, Mamdani said.

The creation of the portal came about after the city settled a lawsuit from 9/11 Health Watch, an advocacy organization that sued to obtain the documents now being released.

New York City Mayor Mamdani stands at press conference on Sept. 8, 2026, concerning the release of than 170,000 pages of previously unreleased records related to air quality in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, at City Hall in New York, NY.(REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)

9/11 FAMILIES URGE TRUMP TO DECLASSIFY RECORDS ON SAUDI ARABIA’S ALLEGED ROLE

The first tranche of documents being released Tuesday on the portal will involve the 68 boxes of Department of Environmental Protection files that were found “a few years ago,” Mamdani said.

Also included in the release will be the Harding memo, a letter that was sent to Bob Harding, a deputy mayor under Rudy Giuliani. It was sent to him after the attacks on the World Trade Center, and it outlined that there could be tens of thousands of legal claims filed against the city.

Jon Stewart, who has spent years advocating for 9/11 first responders, said at the press conference that the memo showed the city buried the truth about the toxic nature of the air for nearly 25 years.

“There was poison in the air and on the ground and in the window sills and in your air conditioners and covering your pets and your clothes. And it stayed there for months,” Stewart said.

Jon Stewart speaks at Sept. 8, 2026 press conference at City Hall in New York, NY.(REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)

TRUMP’S 9/11 TRIBUTE TO FEATURE MASSIVE PIECE OF GROUND ZERO HISTORY AT WHITE HOUSE

“Everyone knew. And now it’s very clear that the city knew as well. And rather than take the steps to ameliorate the damage that that would cause to its citizens and to the people that were down there, they instead covered it up to get back to business as usual,” Stewart added.

The document release comes days before the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. The majority of people died at the World Trade Center after two planes were flown into the Twin Towers by al-Qaeda terrorists.

In addition to the World Trade Center, hijackers struck the Pentagon, and a fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to retake control of the aircraft.

Officials repeatedly noted that 25 years later, more people have died from illnesses linked to the attacks than were killed on Sept. 11 itself.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., speaks at the press conference on Sept. 8, 2026.(REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)

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The documents, officials said, show that asbestos remained present in parts of Lower Manhattan for months after the attacks and that benzene levels continued to spike near Ground Zero.

“Now, we in the public know that City Hall, led by former Mayor Giuliani, predicted that thousands of responders and community members would face devastating long-term health consequences from these toxins,” U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. said at the Tuesday press conference.

The next release of documents that will be released to the portal will concern correspondence in Mayor Rudy Giulani’s office, who was leading the city at the time of the attacks, according to Steven Banks, the city’s top lawyer.

Banks said a third tranche will involve documents related to 7 World Trade Center, a skyscraper that was destroyed along with the Twin Towers and was subsequently rebuilt.

James Cirrone is a writer on the Breaking/Trending News team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to james.cirrone@fox.com.