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Fox News Power Rankings: As Democrats turn left, Black voters tap the brakes

2026-08-18T09:00:54-04:00 / Fox News

Two-thirds of young Americans and 71% of Hispanics disapprove of Trump, but Black voters haven’t fully returned

By Rémy Numa Fox News

Published August 18, 2026 9:00am EDT | Updated August 18, 2026 9:03am EDT

Senate battle heats up amid Texas, Michigan toss-ups

Fox News contributor Karl Rove joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss shifting voter demographics and the impact of Democratic socialist candidates on Senate races.

President Trump’s return to office was made possible in part because of increasing support from three traditionally Democratic groups: Hispanic voters (41% supported Trump, a 6-point improvement from 2020), young voters (46%, up 10 points) and Black voters (15%, up 7 points).

There isn’t much evidence that Democrats have figured out how to talk to these voters again, but for two of the three groups, Trump’s declining approval rating is doing the job for them.

In a recent Marquette survey, two-thirds of young Americans said they disapproved of Trump, and 56% said they would support the Democratic candidate in their district. Hispanics were also unhappy with the president: 71% disapproved of his performance and 56% said they’ll support a Democrat this November.

Black voters haven’t come all the way home yet. One in five Black Americans approves of Trump, but only 69% say they’ll support a Democrat in their district. That’s 21 points below Biden’s 2020 share of the Black vote, when he thanked those voters for delivering his victory.

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Fox News Power Rankings forecast on Black voters(Remy Numa/Fox News)

Democratic candidates in three battleground states are also staring at Black voter erosion, but they’ve found ways to stem the losses. In Georgia, Sen. Jon Ossoff is running 10 points behind Biden’s 2020 support among Black voters. In North Carolina, it’s 7 points. In Texas, State Rep. James Talarico is running about even with Black voters over that period.

Fox News Power Rankings forecast on Black voters.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

It’s a different story in Michigan. According to a new Fox News poll, 75% of Black voters support newly minted Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed. That’s down 18 points from their support for Biden.

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Fox News Power Rankings Black voters forecast(Fox News)

El-Sayed’s far-left platform is probably playing a role in Black voters’ skepticism. In the Marquette survey, just 36% of Black Americans said they had a favorable view of the Democratic Socialists of America.

(Bear in mind that because Black voters are a small group in most surveys, these results have large margins of error.)

You can also see it in the maps from three recent Democratic primaries: El-Sayed did poorly in Black-majority areas like Detroit, while Wisconsin democratic socialist Francesca Hong underperformed in Milwaukee, another city with a high Black population.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a card-carrying member of the DSA, also struggled with Black voters in New York City last year. That might explain why he’s been on a “Black media blitz” to defend some of his most controversial ideas.

It might be working: Mamdani’s favorability among New Yorkers sat at 69% in a Siena poll released last week.

Fox News Power Rankings forecast on Mamdani favorability(Remy Numa/Fox News)

In any case, the clock is ticking for the far-left. Michigan starts absentee voting on September 24. The state’s Senate race moves to toss-up in this edition of the Fox News Power Rankings, along with another big-name state. Three gubernatorial races also just got more competitive.

Senate: Two more states become toss-ups, giving both parties a chance at a landslide

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Fox News Power Rankings Senate forecast.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

The latest Senate forecast includes six states where neither Democrats nor Republicans have an edge. That could make for an extraordinary election night. In one scenario, the Democrats not only flip the Senate, but end up with 53 seats. In another, Republicans hold on to the Senate with no net loss of seats.

Fox News Power Rankings Senate forecast.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

The GOP has a better chance at flipping Michigan than it did a week ago. In last week’s Fox survey, former Rep. Mike Rogers had the support of 51% of voters to El-Sayed’s 47%, within the margin of error.

Republicans are united in their support for Rogers, a strong and seasoned campaigner. With a quarter of Black voters not backing El-Sayed, his coalition isn’t complete. The fundamentals still favor the Democrats, but in what is certain to be a high-turnout election, El-Sayed will need every Democrat to show up. This race is now a toss-up.

FOX NEWS POLL: A SENATE BATTLE LOOMS IN MICHIGAN

Fox News Power Rankings Senate forecast.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

At the same time, the national environment hasn’t changed. Trump’s overall approval rating is stuck in the 30s; his ratings on the economy and Iran are often lower. Gas prices have proven even tougher to sell: only 21% of Americans recently said they approved of Trump when asked specifically about that issue.

Fox News Power Rankings Texas Senate forecast.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

That has benefited Talarico, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Texas, who has enjoyed some robust polling results this summer. He’s averaging 48% in three recent polls, hitting 51% in Fox’s survey, while his opponent, Ken Paxton, averages 46%.

Paxton’s history of legal and personal issues is likely playing a role in that latter figure, and while Talarico must defend a history of “woke” comments, voters say they’re less worried about those. They could make the difference in an election year that’s already favorable to Democrats. Texas is also a toss-up.

Fox News Power Rankings Senate forecast(Remy Numa/Fox News)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer raised some eyebrows last week when he said Democrats were expanding the Senate map to include Kansas (Trump +16 in 2024) and Mississippi (Trump +23).

The comment came shortly after El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan, and with parts of the party establishment balking at that win, Schumer may just be giving donors options.

Fox News Power Rankings Senate forecast.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

Still, Kansas wouldn’t be out of reach on an outstanding night for Democrats. Megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton is already a well-funded Democratic challenger; he faces incumbent GOP Sen. Roger Marshall. This race moves to Likely R.

Governor: Texas, Alaska, and Minnesota are all in play

Based on polls alone, Texas’ gubernatorial race looks remarkably similar to the Senate. In the same three polls this summer, incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott has the support of 49% of voters, with Democrat Gina Hinojosa sitting at 46%.

Fox News Power Rankings gubernatorial forecast.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

There’s more to the story than that. When Republican voters show up in Texas, they easily outnumber Democrats, and while Paxton appears not to be helping this ticket, Abbott’s fundraising prowess and experience in close races should keep the candidates apart when the votes are tallied.

Fox News Power Rankings Texas gubernatorial forecast(Remy Numa/Fox News)

Even as Republicans maintain a lead, though, this race is clearly competitive. It moves from Solid R to Likely R.

Alaska voters will head to the polls tonight for their top-four primaries, which will narrow the field but won’t tell us a whole lot more. This year’s gubernatorial election features 17 candidates, none of whom is an incumbent, but one might seem that way: Tom Begich, a former Democratic legislator with three relatives who have served in the U.S. House or Senate.

Fox News Power Rankings gubernatorial forecast.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

It’s a difficult race to predict, but between former Rep. Mary Peltola’s Senate push and Begich’s name on the ballot, it’s going to be competitive. It moves from Likely R to Lean R.

Finally, the Republican establishment had a good week in Minnesota, where popular former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya won the party’s nomination for Senate, and state House Speaker Lisa Demuth became the party’s gubernatorial nominee.

Fox News Power Rankings gubernatorial forecast.(Remy Numa/Fox News)

Demuth will face Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar this November, a formidable opponent who has criticized the state’s handling of fraud involving government programs.

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But that issue gives the GOP a rare opening in this blue-leaning state, and with this slate of candidates, the party is likely to invest here. Minnesota’s gubernatorial race moves from Solid D to Likely D.

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

OpenAI推青少年版ChatGPT 设防自残限制等保护

2026年8月18日 21:23 / 联合早报

OpenAI推出的ChatGPT新版本名为“ChatGPT for Teens”，修改后的参数会自动应用于任何注册年龄在13岁至17岁之间的用户，或公司通过用户使用模式或账户信息检测到的未成年用户。 （路透社档案照片）

OpenAI推出专为青少年设计的ChatGPT新版本，以加强安全保障和监控。

法新社报道，OpenAI星期二（8月18日）推出的ChatGPT新版本名为“ChatGPT for Teens”，修改后的参数会自动应用于任何注册年龄在13岁至17岁之间的用户，或公司通过用户使用模式或账户信息检测到的未成年用户。

新版本中使用的大部分安全保障措施，此前已应用于ChatGPT的未成年人账户，例如限制用户访问与自残、暴力、饮食失调和露骨性内容相关的信息。

该程序也提供更频繁的休息提醒、静音“时段”和学习模式。

OpenAI说，学习模式会向用户提出引导问题，而不是直接给出答案，“以帮助青少年理解学习内容”。

ChatGPT青少年版的其他限制包括：禁止聊天机器人暗示对用户有个人感情或拥有独立意识，并禁用语音模式等部分功能。

家长可以选择将账号与孩子的账号相连。如果系统检测到青少年讨论自残或自杀等高风险情况，家长可以收到提醒。

家长收到的安全提醒会由人工审核员审核，同时会删除聊天记录中的具体细节，以保护用户隐私。

新的青少年模式是在法律和监管压力日益增加的情况下推出的。

OpenAI目前面临多起过失致死诉讼，包括16岁少年雷恩（Adam Raine）的父母提起的诉讼。据称，雷恩使用ChatGPT建议的方法自杀。

美国联邦贸易委员会也已对作为数码伴侣的AI聊天机器人展开调查，重点关注对儿童和青少年的潜在风险。

与社交媒体公司一样，AI巨头正面临越来越大的监管压力。美国国会已提出多项监管聊天机器人的议案，而加州则要求向用户提供陪伴或倾诉功能的AI助手采取安全防护措施。

其他AI公司也因未成年人使用相关产品所引发的问题受到抨击，如竞争对手Anthropic已选择将模型的使用范围限制为成年人。

U.S. envoy in Turkey chastises Israel for “unnecessary escalation” with strikes on Syrian air base

August 18, 2026 / 10:45 AM EDT / CBS News

The U.S. Ambassador to Turkey chastised Israel Tuesday for carrying out airstrikes on an air base in Syria’s northern Idlib region that he called an “unnecessary escalation.”

Israel has not acknowledged carrying out the strikes, but Syrian officials and state media said at least four strikes hit the Abu al-Duhur Airbase Monday night and Tuesday morning, causing damage but no casualties.

In a post on X, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said Tuesday that the U.S. was “deeply concerned that the confirmed Israeli airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur Airbase” — which was used by the Syrian air force — “constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”

A file image shows an aerial view of the Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase following armed groups opposing the Bashar al-Assad regime capturing the facility in southeastern Idlib, Syria, Dec. 4, 2024. Getty

In a statement published Tuesday, Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the airstrikes an “unjustified act of aggression, a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty, and a dangerous escalation.”

Syria’s post-Bashar al-Assad government “has neither adopted a predatory posture nor maintained proxy forces,” Barrack wrote. “It has, in fact, repeatedly indicated a preference for de-escalation with Israel.”

“The United States continues to believe that restraint and engagement offer the more constructive course,” he added. “We encourage all parties to prioritize logical discourse over further military incidents.”

British war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said foreign fighters once used the base, which has long been out of service, but they were recently asked to leave. It added that Turkey — a supporter of Syria’s new government — has been working to rehabilitate the base.

blob:https://www.cbsnews.com/103f772d-8891-49ca-932b-0c8cdc0676b9

Israel has carried out raids and strikes on Syrian territory since al-Assad, Syria’s longtime dictator, was ousted in December 2024. As the regime crumbled, Israel sent troops into a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian soldiers in the Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Israeli forces have also pummelled Syria with hundreds of airstrikes in recent years, predominantly targeting Syrian army assets to render the facilities unusable by the new government, which is run by former jihadist Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Israeli drone strikes on Damascus last year killed eight soldiers and wounded several others, and also drew a warning from the Trump administration to Israel.

美机构：中国将数据视为战略资产 AI竞赛或占优势

2026年8月18日 21:36 / 联合早报

AI摘要

• 中国将数据视为核心生产要素，系统性收集非公开企业及实体世界数据，用于训练AI模型。
• 美中经济与安全审查委员会称，此举或助中国在具身AI及机器人领域领先美国。
• 报告指美国AI企业已近耗尽公开网络数据，而中国通过国家数据局推动数据标准化与交易。
• 在华美企面临中国严格数据监管，须本地化处理客户数据，部分获有限豁免。

本摘要由AI辅助生成，仅供参考

美国和中国一直推动人工智能和数据产业发展，美中经济与安全审查委员会认为，中国正将数据作为一种战略国家资产进行商业化和货币化。 （路透社档案照片）

美国国会一个咨询机构说，中国正将数据作为一种战略国家资产进行商业化和货币化，以推动人工智能（AI）及科技发展，这可能让中国在AI竞赛中取得领先于美国的优势。

路透社报道，美中经济与安全审查委员会（USCC）在星期二（8月18日）发布的一份报告中说，北京正“调动数据以提高生产力……（并）提升情报收集及军事能力”。

报告指出，美国主要AI企业已基本耗尽公开互联网数据，用于训练语言模型；相比之下，中国正系统性收集国内“无法通过网络抓取的企业、运营及实体世界数据”。

这些数据对于训练用于商业应用、自动驾驶汽车及人形机器人的AI工具至关重要，而人形机器人也是北京推动自上而下创新的重要象征。

报告以中国先进制造业和工业机器人生态系统为例指出，这些产业能够提供大量高质量数据，用于具身人工智能（embodied AI）应用，即能够在现实物理环境中运行的AI系统，例如机器人。这可能让中国在开发用于商业及军事用途的机器人软件方面取得领先于美国的优势。

委员会副主席奎肯（Mike Kuiken）在接受采访时说：“过去五年，中国一直能够整合数据、寻找方法对数据进行标注和完善，同时不断获取新数据，并确保这些数据能够迅速提供给相关机构。”

他说：“这有助于推动他们的创新生态系统，同时也有助于加强（中国共产党）对社会的控制。”

他也说：“我们的首要建议是，希望美国国会考虑制定一项国家数据战略，并思考美国政府如何将数据视为一种经济资产。”

近年来，中国加强了对跨境数据传输的监管，导致在华运营的外国跨国企业普遍面临合规问题。

为了遵守中国的跨境数据规定，这些企业必须进一步推动在华业务本地化，并将中国客户的数据与全球业务分开。不过，北京后来也针对部分企业推出了有限的豁免措施。

报告说，在中国运营的美国企业“面临违反中国严格的数据及网络治理制度的风险”。

中国已将数据提升为与土地、劳动力、资本和技术并列的核心“生产要素”。2023年，中国成立国家数据局，负责全国数据的标准化和分类，并致力于建立统一的全国数据交易市场。

与此同时，北京也推动数据在数字经济中的商业化及应用，并进一步推动AI在各个行业的部署。

中国计划在制造、交通、金融和医疗等关键行业推动数据资产标准化；同时，中国企业已开始将自有数据集挂牌于上海、深圳和北京等城市的区域数据交易所。

Ukraine targets Moscow with huge drone strike as Russia warns U.K. will pay price for supplying attack drones

August 18, 2026 / 11:55 AM EDT / CBS News

Kyiv – Ukraine launched more than 600 drones at Moscow overnight, the Russian capital’s mayor said Tuesday, calling it one of the largest long-range Ukrainian assaults on the Moscow region since the war began more than four and a half years ago.

In an attack beginning Tuesday evening and continuing into Wednesday morning, 637 Ukrainian drones were launched at Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Russian officials said at least 180 were shot down in the Moscow region, while more than 150 were intercepted elsewhere across the country.

A high-rise building and a warehouse owned by Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, caught fire in the Moscow region. Ukraine has intensified attacks on Wildberries’ warehouses and factories over the last month, knocking out seven of the company’s 10 largest logistics facilities, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense.

People walk in front of a burning Wildberries warehouse following a Ukrainian drone attack in in Koledino, Moscow Region, Russia, Aug. 16, 2026. Stringer/REUTERS

There were no confirmed fatalities from the Ukrainian strikes, but authorities said some people were wounded.

Russia, meanwhile, launched an attack overnight on the city of Pechenhy in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, killing 10 people, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“We will definitely respond to this Russian strike,” Zelenskyy wrote onX. “And it is equally important that our partners also complement our just kinetic responses with their own actions to put pressure on Russia and support Ukraine.”

Paramedics inspect the bodies of residents killed by Russian drone strikes in the town of Pechenihy, after an attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Aug. 18, 2026. Sofiia Gatilova/REUTERS

Russian officials also threatened consequences over the use of British drones in Ukraine’s deep strikes. Ukraine manufactures the vast majority of its own attack drones, but Russian officials said Tuesday that debris found in the country showed British-made drones had been shot down recently.

“Reports that the Kiev regime is using British drones to carry out strikes deep inside Russian territory confirm that London is deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis, while hypocritically professing a desire for peace,” the Russian embassy in London said in a statement. “The deeper its involvement in the conflict and the greater its support for Kiev’s terrorist machinery, the higher the price it will pay.”

In April, the U.K.announced its largest ever drone package for Ukraine, pledging to supply 120,000 drones this year. The package included long-range strike drones, intelligence and reconnaissance drones and logistics drones, according to the U.K.’s Ministry of Defense, which said the deliveries began in April.

“Britain stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and we are committed to providing the equipment Ukraine needs to defend itself against Putin’s illegal invasion, a U.K. Ministry of Defense spokesperson told CBS News. “Russia should be in no doubt about the resolve of this Government to stand against Russian aggression, in Ukraine and against the UK and our allies.”

“This is the UK doing what it has long said it would do, which is to support Ukraine 100% against this illegal war led by Vladimir Putin,” British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Sky News on Tuesday. “We are providing support so that Ukraine can defend itself – and that’s been the British position all the way through this conflict.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/ukraine-could-use-own-ballistic-missile-against-russia-within-months-former-defense-minister-says/

特朗普将霍尔木兹海峡列为美国新领土

2026-08-18 21:54 / 联合早报

AI摘要

• 特朗普在Truth Social发布地图，宣称霍尔木兹海峡为美国新领土，并重申掌控该航道。
• 他明确表示无意与伊朗谈判，拒绝延长60天美伊停火备忘录期限，要求伊朗“投降”。
• 伊朗称除非美方解除封锁、制裁并解冻资产，否则将继续关闭霍尔木兹海峡。
• 阿曼正与伊朗谈判海峡管理问题，特朗普虽批评阿曼“表现不好”，但否认失去耐心。
• 分析指特朗普威胁轰炸阿曼反映其在美伊问题上选项枯竭，专家建议可重启谈判或交由海湾盟友处理。

本摘要由AI辅助生成，仅供参考

美国总统特朗普周一（8月17日）说，伊朗不会达成他认为结束美伊战争必须达致的协议。 （彭博社）

（华盛顿综合电）美国总统特朗普周二（8月18日）在他的社交媒体平台Truth Social发布一张地图，将霍尔木兹海峡标示为美国新领土，以此重申他掌控这条国际重要航道。

特朗普上周五首次提出要将霍尔木兹海峡纳入美国版图的想法，当时他表示，很快就会宣布海峡为美国领土。周一他在白宫对记者发表评论时，再次提及这一想法。

特朗普周二也另外发帖说，没有与伊朗谈判的计划，坚称会继续封锁伊朗的港口。

他说：“目前没有与伊朗进行任何谈判或对话，也没有这样的计划。针对伊朗的各种封锁措施依然全面有效。霍尔木兹海峡仍开放并正常通行。所有水雷都已被清除或引爆。”

特朗普周一在白宫向记者确定，美国不会延长跟伊朗的停火备忘录。特朗普说，美国与伊朗的谈判陷入僵局，伊朗不会达成他认为结束美伊战争必须达致的协议，他认为伊朗应选择投降。

特朗普说：“他们（伊朗）不会同意我认为必须达成的那种协议。我们介入（中东）的理由只有一个，即伊朗绝不能拥有核武器。”

美伊在6月17日签署谅解备忘录，规定两国在60天的期限内，就伊朗核计划等一系列议题达致协议。这个期限在周一到期。记者询问特朗普是否会延长期限，特朗普答说：“不会。”

阿曼正就霍尔木兹海峡的管理问题与伊朗进行谈判，但美国未参与其中。

媒体周一询问特朗普是否已对阿曼失去耐心，特朗普否认这一点。他称：“虽然阿曼表现不好，但他们很容易应付，就像我们处理其他事情一样。”

伊朗首席谈判代表、议会议长卡利巴夫周二在官媒发表评论说，在伊朗开出的条件获得满足之前，霍尔木兹海峡将继续保持关闭。即美国必须解除海上封锁、取消经济制裁、解冻伊朗资产等，才会开放海峡。

分析：特朗普威胁轰炸阿曼 反映他已没有好选项

《华尔街日报》报道，阿曼与伊朗针对重开霍尔木兹海峡的谈判取得进展，但特朗普政府担心，阿曼可能帮助伊朗达成一个对伊方更有利的核协议，因此触怒了特朗普。

美国智库对外关系委员会的高级研究员库克指出，伊朗向阿曼施压，要求阿曼加入联合计划，从而为这一项目披上合法的外衣。

“特朗普的威胁只会助长伊朗的气焰，因为他们从中察觉到对方更多的弱点。不仅不会完全开放海峡，海峡反而会处于大部分封闭的状态。”

《纽约时报》则说，特朗普放话要轰炸阿曼，反映特朗普在美伊问题上已经没有好的选项，因此感到挫败。

华盛顿智库大西洋理事会的伊朗问题专家斯旺森认为，特朗普还有几种途径可以尝试结束这场战争。他接下来可选择继续经济施压，也可在弹药储备日益减少的情况下，加大对伊朗的军事打击。

斯旺森说，特朗普也可以选择回到谈判桌，争取达成双方之前已经放弃的协议。此外，他也可以抛下未解的战争，将问题留给波斯湾盟友，让他们参与霍尔木兹海峡的谈判。

Longtime GOP aide defects to Dem rising star as Texas Senate battle for Cornyn’s seat heats up

Fox News poll shows Democrat James Talarico holding a slight 51%-48% edge over Ken Paxton among voters in Texas

August 18, 2026 11:29am EDT / Fox News

Ken Paxton addresses James Talarico’s lead in critical Texas Senate race

Republican Senate candidate and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton addresses his Democratic opponent’s current lead in the race and his plan to get his message to voters.

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Following his bombshell primary defeat in May, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is facing another blow as his longtime aide is crossing the political aisle to work for the Democrat candidate running to replace him in the upper chamber.

Former Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, backed by President Donald Trump, is running against Democrat state Rep. James Talarico in a crucial midterm election race that will decide the future of Cornyn’s seat and could determine control of the Senate.

Jacob Smith, who worked for Cornyn for five years as a deputy legislative director and policy advisor, signed up to work on the Senate campaign for Talarico. The news was first reported by NOTUS and confirmed by Fox News Digital.

WHAT OUR LATEST FOX NEWS POLL IN THE TEXAS SENATE SHOWDOWN REVEALS

Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico speaks during a press conference at the Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, on July 22, 2026.(Getty Images)

Cornyn lost his reelection bid in an expensive and bitter prumary runoff against Paxton earlier this year. The clash between the two Texas titans shaped up as a fight between the Republican establishment versus Trump’s MAGA and America First supporters.

The general election face-off in red-leaning Texas between Talarico and Paxton is one of roughly a dozen that will likely decide if Republicans hold the Senate majority or if Democrats win back control of the chamber.

Instead of Smith opting to join the replacement Republican for Cornyn, he defected to back the Democrat running for the seat.

“I’ve worked for Republicans like Senator Cornyn my entire career, but this year I’m proud to be joining James Talarico’s campaign,” Smith wrote in a statement. “Instead of playing partisan politics, Talarico speaks to the needs of everyday people who day in and day out work too hard for too little.”

Democrats haven’t won a Senate election in Texas in nearly four decades, but they view Paxton as vulnerable, because of the slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered him over the past decade. And Paxton is dealing with a messy divorce, with his wife citing “biblical grounds” based on “recent discoveries” in filing last year to end their marriage.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE MIDTERM RACES

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas speaks after losing the Republican Senate runoff, on May 26, 2026 in Austin, Texas(Fox News Digital/Peter Pinedo)

And Smith took aim at Paxton in his decision to bolster Talarico’s campaign, charging that the former AG “is the most corrupt, self-dealing politician in Texas who would sell their futures to the highest contributor just to hold onto power.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Paxton campaign for comment, but didn’t receive a response at time of publication.

Cornyn has repeatedly noted since his runoff defeat that he would support the party’s nominee, saying “I’ve always supported the Republican ticket, and I intend to do so again in this general election.”

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the GOP nominee in the U.S. Senate showdown in the Lone Star State, is facing off against Democratic nominee state Rep. James Talarico.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

The cross-party switch by Smith is considered rare, and his addition on Talarico’s team may potentially help the Democratic nominee as he reaches out to Republicans who may not be thrilled with Paxton as their party’s nominee.

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The most recent Fox News poll in the Texas Senate showdown, conducted late last month, indicated Talarico holding a slight 51%-48% edge over Paxton among registered voters.

The survey suggested that Paxton had yet to fully unite Republicans. While virtually all Democrats supported Talarico (98%), fewer Republicans were unified behind Paxton (89%).

Meanwhile, the latest Fox News Power Rankings, released on Tuesday, shifted the Senate race in Texas from Lean Republican to toss-up.

Paul Steinhauser covers the national campaign trail from coast to coast for Fox News

Discord suspends livestreams in Brazil amid backlash over girl’s suicide

August 18, 2026 / 8:22 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Rio de Janeiro — Discord, the popular platform for gamers to communicate online, said Monday that it had suspended livestreams in Brazil after criticism that it failed to protect children and adolescents. The move came in the wake of a suicide case.

Brazil’s government, under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the country’s Supreme Court have tried to regulate the use of the internet by minors, with mixed results so far, at a moment when countries, including Australia, Canada and Indonesia, are undertaking similar efforts.

The decision came after Brazil’s national agency of data protection ordered the suspension last week. The U.S.-based company added that it was in conversations “to seek a solution that allows us to reestablish those resources for our users in Brazil.”

Someone holds a smartphone in front of a screen displaying the logo of the U.S. tech company Discord, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 12, 2026. MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP/Getty

“We remain committed to working with public policymakers in Brazil to help create an online experience that is safer for all, on Discord and across the internet,” said the platform.

In July, an underage girl in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul was allegedly coerced by other users into committing suicide during a livestream on the platform, putting the company under increased scrutiny.

Brazil’s first lady Rosângela Lula da Silva, known as Janja, said on Aug. 6 that the platform should be taken offline, citing the case.

“I can’t accept seeing a 13-year-old girl self-harming live on the internet, on Discord, hanging herself and dying,” said Janja at a ceremony in the capital, Brasilia, during which Lula signed a law that increases the punishment for those who commit sexual violence against children and adolescents.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president, center left, speaks alongside his wife, Janja Lula da Silva, during the Workers’ Party (PT) convention in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Aug. 2, 2026. Maira Erlich/Bloomberg/Getty

Five teenagers were arrested in connection with the death, according to an Aug. 4 statement by Brazil’s justice ministry.

“Livestreams have been repeatedly used to facilitate violence, harassment and the incitement of self-harm and suicide,” the country’s data protection agency said in a statement Wednesday.

The agency cited robust evidence that the company had not sufficiently prevented risks of exposure to content that “represent serious violations of the rights of children and adolescents within its service, especially inducement, incitement, instigation, or assistance to violence, self-harm, and suicide,” it said.

Discord has more than 90 million active daily users worldwide, according to its website.

In a statement to The Associated Press Wednesday, Discord said groups or individuals who promote or encourage violence have no place on the platform. It denied that the July case was shown live.

The platform said it was committed to user safety and has dedicated teams working “to disrupt violent groups, remove violative content and take action against bad actors on our platform.”

It added that it had investigated a private server where individuals involved in criminal activity are believed to have encouraged self-harm, and shut it down before the recent death of the 13-year-old.

In recent years, Discord has been cited in investigations and reports worldwide involving extreme violence, including threats or planning related to school attacks, the distribution of abusive material, grooming and coercion of minors, and the encouragement of self-harm and suicide.

The number of complaints involving Discord between January and July increased by 54% compared to the same period last year, according to data from Safernet Brazil, a nonprofit that defends human rights on the internet.

The case of the 13-year-old girl “is not an isolated episode, but the tragic outcome of a pattern that we have documented and denounced for years,” Thiago Tavares, the organization’s president, said in a statement on Aug. 11.

Tavares added that Brazil’s digital law imposed “clear duties of prevention, risk mitigation, age verification and cooperation with the authorities” and that non-compliance must generate accountability.

But Thiago Ayub, director of technology at Sage Networks, a company specializing in network engineering, criticized the agency’s decision, which he attributed largely to Janja’s comment.

“The most immediate consequence is the migration of users that inappropriately and even criminally use the platform to another one which isn’t under the spotlight,” Ayub said. “In this way, the protection of children and adolescents diminishes instead of increasing.

Authorities say Philippines school shooting was livestreamed

Discord is not unique among the big American tech companies in facing scrutiny over violence and incitement to violence on its platforms.

Authorities in the Philippines said Tuesday that a student livestreamed himself on social media as he shot a classmate dead and then turned the gun on himself at a private Catholic high school in the western Mindanao region.

Military personnel and law enforcement officers are seen at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University High School, following a shooting incident on the campus, in Zamboanga City, Philippines, Aug. 18, 2026. Zamboanga Government PIO/Anadolu/Getty

Interior secretary Victor Remulla confirmed the ninth-grade suspect had livestreamed the incident on social media, and the alleged shooter’s Facebook account was later disabled.

The video, circulated by local media, shows the barrel of a gun moving down a hallway, in the style of a first-person shooter video game, before being pointed into a classroom and fired, according to the French news agency AFP. Children in school uniforms are then seen screaming and rushing for an exit.

“What we know so far is that (the shooter) went to the classroom of our known victim. He shot the victim, and after doing that, he went up to the fifth floor and shot himself,” AFP cited regional police spokeswoman Shella Chang as saying.

Wider efforts to protect minors online

Brazil rolled out a law seeking to boost protection of minors online earlier this year. The law requires that minors under 16 link their social media accounts to a legal guardian to ensure supervision.

Digital services must also implement an effective age verification mechanism that goes beyond self-declaration that the user is over 18 to protect them from accessing inappropriate or prohibited material.

In February, Discord postponed its controversial age verification policy after receiving backlash from users with concerns about their privacy. It later said in a statement that it was nonetheless rolling out age assurance measures to comply with Brazilian law.

The Trump administration has accused Brazil of targeting American social-media companies and cited the issue among the reasons for imposing tariffs on Brazilian imports. The White House has also been critical of governments in Europe and elsewhere for implementing restrictions on social media firms.

Earlier this summer, the U.K. became the latest country to announce plans to ban children under 16 from using social media. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. would go even further than other nations, by also blocking children from accessing “harmful functions,” including livestreaming and the ability to communicate with strangers, and by extending the restrictions to gaming sites.

He said the ban would protect children from content that is “designed to be addictive.”

Australia banned under-16s from social media in December 2025 — the first country to impose such a measure. But around 70% of parents polled by Australia’s internet regulator in March said their children remained on the platforms, having found ways to bypass age-gating systems.

In 2024, Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered the shutdown of X until the network owned by Elon Musk complied with orders to remove accounts spreading disinformation.

Trump’s affordability plan faces conservative pushback as pocketbook issues loom over midterms

August 18, 2026 10:34am EDT / Fox News

Advancing American Freedom’s 10-point affordability plan calls for shifting tariff authority back to Congress

By Kiera McDonald, Amanda Macias

New report lays out plan to tackle America’s affordability crisis

Richard Stern, vice president of the Plymouth Institute for Free Enterprise, spoke to Fox News Digital about a new report from Advancing American Freedom focused on improving affordability for Americans.

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FIRST ON FOX: As Americans grapple with soaring housing, food and energy costs, both parties are racing to convince voters they have the answer to the affordability crunch ahead of the high-stakes midterm elections.

A new report from the conservative group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence lays out 10 proposals aimed at lowering costs by cutting red tape and expanding production across the economy.

“Yes, there’s an unaffordability crisis and it’s the government’s fault,” Richard Stern, vice president of the Plymouth Institute for Free Enterprise at Advancing American Freedom (AAF), told Fox News Digital.

That argument is at the heart of the report, “10 Ways to Improve Affordability Now Across 10 Levels of the Economy,” which calls affordability the “No. 1 issue facing the American people” and targets costs associated with housing, energy and business, among others.

THINK YOUR STATE IS EXPENSIVE? NEW DATA REVEALS WHERE AMERICANS FACE THE HIGHEST COST OF LIVING

Affordability concerns have put grocery prices at the center of the debate over Americans’ cost of living.(iStock)

The reports’s proposals range from easing zoning restrictions and expanding oil and gas access to overhauling Social Security and SNAP eligibility, echoing parts of President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda.

But the conservative blueprint breaks with Trump on two key pocketbook issues: tariffs and credit card interest rates.

On trade, the report argues Trump’s sweeping tariffs have come at a cost to American consumers and the broader economy by raising prices, straining U.S. alliances and resulting in nearly 900,000 fewer jobs than expected.

The authors at AAF call for shifting more tariff authority back to Congress.

TRUMP JUST EXPANDED HIS TARIFF PLAYBOOK WITH A POWERFUL TRADE WEAPON NO PRESIDENT HAS EVER USED

President Donald Trump has defended tariffs as a tool to protect American industries and boost domestic production.(Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

If nothing else, Trump’s tariffs proved to be a windfall for Washington.

In January alone, duties totaled $30.4 billion, that’s up about 242% from $8.9 billion a year earlier, according to Treasury data.

The report also opposes Trump’s proposed 10% cap on credit card interest rates, warning it could make lending to roughly 60% of Americans unprofitable. Stern framed the broader affordability debate as a question of whether Americans can still build a better future for their families as many see hopes of living the American dream slipping from their fingers.

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Housing and energy, he said, are two areas where rising costs have put “a sharper edge on this question of affordability.” Stern blamed zoning restrictions for pushing families farther from jobs and making homeownership harder for younger Americans.

Those costs can be substantial. The National Association of Home Builders estimates government regulations account for about 26% of the price of a new single-family home.

The report recommends limiting local zoning restrictions, streamlining approval for projects that meet existing rules and tying roughly $50 billion in annual federal housing aid to zoning reform.

THE SURPRISING HIDDEN COST QUIETLY ADDING NEARLY $132K TO NEW HOME PRICES REVEALED

Housing industry leaders say states that have prioritized homebuilding have been better positioned to accommodate population growth and economic expansion.(Joshua Lott/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

On energy, the proposal calls for more oil and gas leasing and rejecting state fracking bans. Stern argued greater domestic production could lower costs throughout the economy because energy touches “every good we move, every service provided.”

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Stern warned that economic frustration can turn Americans against one another, toward “viewing each other as the enemy, and that’s what socialism is.”

“I hope that people can take away from this, that it’s not businesses that are the problem,” he said. “It’s not entrepreneurs. It’s not other Americans. It’s government.”

Kiera McDonald is a Production Assistant for Fox News Digital.

Disney and ABC sue FCC over early license renewals, alleging “a retaliatory campaign”

August 18, 2026 / 10:57 AM EDT / CBS News

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The Walt Disney Company, ABC and their television stations sued the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, alleging the agency’s request to file for early license renewal violates their First Amendment rights and amounts to “a retaliatory campaign.”

The ABC licenses were originally scheduled for renewal between 2028 and 2031.

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Washington, D.C., seeks to halt the FCC’s early renewal request and stem the possibility of the agency intervening in or influencing ABC’s editorial decisions. The media companies allege that the agency’s regulatory actions are intended to punish ABC for “content and viewpoints the Administration dislikes” and threaten all broadcasters, not just ABC.

“Acting through the Federal Communications Commission, the Administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts,” ABC wrote in the 45-page complaint.

The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Speaking to Politico last month, FCC chairman Brendan Carr said he thinks “we are so much better off as a country having a respected national news media, and we’re not there right now.”

The lawsuit comes after the agency in April ordered an accelerated review of Disney’s ABC-owned television stations, which it said was related to an ongoing investigation into the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices. The announcement followed President Trump’s call for late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel to be fired over a joke he made about first lady Melania Trump.

Mr. Trump has also previously said ABC should lose its broadcast license over the network’s coverage decisions.

Experts previously told CBS News that the timing of the FCC’s order was “highly suspect” and likely related to the president’s call to fire Kimmel rather than the FCC’s DEI investigation.

Before its request to ABC, the FCC had not called for an early license renewal in over 50 years, according to Disney and ABC’s legal filing.

The agency has the authority to revoke broadcast licenses, but would face an extremely high legal bar according to experts. Another course of action would be to decline to renew ABC’s licenses, although that would likely lead to a protracted legal battle.

Disney declined to comment. The company owns eight TV stations, including WABC-TV in New York and KABC-TV in Los Angeles.

Edited by Aimee Picchi