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US Ambassador Huckabee slams extreme group of Israeli settlers for seizing Palestinian homes on West Bank

August 14, 2026 6:52am EDT / Fox News

In a post on X, Huckabee calls group of violent settlers ‘terrorists’

By Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News

‘Fox News @ Night’ panelists Jessica Millan Patterson and Elizabeth Pipko discuss Rep. Ro Khanna’s, D-Calif., claims that Israeli settlers detained him during his West Bank visit.

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JERUSALEM: In a rare statement of anger and criticism directed at a small group of extremist Jewish settlers in the West Bank, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned their attacks against a home being built by a Palestinian American from Ohio.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) managed to evict the lawbreakers who seized the house and arrested one person. But the group, mostly young, disaffected youths, who have set up unauthorized outposts and engaged in violence targeting Palestinians and their homes in the West Bank are becoming a growing problem for Israeli authorities who are being criticized for not doing enough to stop their violent actions.

Ambassador Huckabee posted on X in response to criticism that his team had not done enough, “The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has been VERY involved & the IDF & Israel Police have gone at our request to remove the Israeli terrorists doing this. The actions of those doing this to this family’s home is criminal. The WH hasn’t “intervened” because we have kept DC apprised of the situation already. Actions by those who carried out this horrific act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting. No excuse for such thuggish behavior.”

HOUSE DEMOCRAT RO KHANNA SAYS HE WAS DETAINED BY ARMED ISRAELI SETTLERS IN WEST BANK

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee speaks to Fox News Digital during an interview at the American embassy in Jerusalem, Israel.(Yoav Dudkevitch/ TPS-IL for Fox News)

According to the Associated Press, Israeli settlers have besieged three homes in the occupied West Bank for several days, including one owned by Palestinian American Loui Ridi. The seizure of Ridi’s home took place in Qusra, in the northern West Bank.

A senior Israeli official from the prime minister’s office said, “Israel doesn’t accept vigilantes or any form of violence by juvenile delinquents. We are investing a lot of efforts to curb such sporadic violence. The IDF sent an additional battalion to Judea and Samaria to address the issue. We don’t take violence lightly. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, there were over 350 investigations opened, leading to 35 arrests. Putting things in perspective, Jews are attacked almost daily by Palestinian terrorists. There were over 300 Palestinian terrorist attacks against Jews in May of 2026 alone. The attempt to draw a false symmetry between sporadic violence and Palestinian terror is hypocritical.”

The official added, “We do not accept vigilantes. Judea and Samaria is our ancestral homeland. It’s where Jews came from and have a right to live. The Jewish community in Judea & Samaria is a law-abiding community. We are addressing the juvenile delinquents.”

HOLY LAND BATTLE: SOLOMON’S POOLS BECOME FLASHPOINT IN FIGHT OVER ISRAEL’S BIBLICAL HERITAGE

Israeli settlers run as they are chased by an Israeli military vehicle around Palestinian houses in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, on Aug. 13, 2026.(Zain Jaafar / AFP via Getty Images)

Nadav Eyal, a prominent Israeli columnist for the large Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth, told Fox News Digital, “There is an extending consensus in the Israeli political sphere, stretching from the left to the right, that some of the actions we are seeing in the West Bank, in Judea and Samaria, are, in actuality, Jewish terrorism. It is more widespread than it was ever before. It is considered by Israeli defense apparatus to be a serious problem.”

In another post on X, Huckabee stated,”Settlers” are not the problem in Judea/Samaria. “Unsettlers” are. Very small minority who do great damage to Palestinian families & to Israel.”

With over 500,000 Israelis living in Judea and Samaria, more commonly known as the West Bank, leaders of the settlement movements slammed the violence. The Jerusalem Post reported that the head of the Yesha Council, Yisrael Ganz, said, “There is no place for privately deciding to establish a hilltop outpost in the yard of a house, even when it is an illegal house or there is an attempt to take control of the area,” he said. “There is absolutely no justification for violence against uninvolved people or against the security forces.”

The newspaper also quoted Beit El Council head Shai Alon, who said they were causing “irreversible damage” to Israel and to the settlement movement, and described those responsible for attacks on innocent Palestinians as criminals.

Israeli settlers gather in front of Palestinian houses in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, in the West Bank, on August 13, 2026.(Zain Jaafar / AFP via Getty Images)

Wafa, the Palestinian News & Info Agency, reported on Thursday that the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates “condemned the escalation of Israeli colonist terrorism and attacks against the town of Qusra.” According to the Ministry’s statement, the “crimes were part of systematic policies aimed at displacing Palestinians and uprooting them from their land while imposing a reality that serves plans to annex the West Bank.”

Israel’s Channel 12 News analyst, Amit Segal wrote on X that “”Settler violence is a sensitive issue in Israel. Only a vanishingly small share of the settler population supports or takes part in such acts, but because the problem is exaggerated and used to obscure Palestinian violence against them, they bristle at hearing about it — even from Israel’s greatest friends.”

Israeli soldiers patrol a street as they are deployed during an operation in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Aug. 13, 2026. Israeli forces moved against rogue settlers laying siege to Palestinians amid unusually strong U.S. criticism.(Zain Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images)

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Segal said that “The most damning verdict of the event comes from Israel’s most faithful friend, Mike Huckabee. The most pro-settlement ambassador in the history of the post, a man who will not so much as use the word ‘settler’— called the men at Qusra ‘Israeli terrorists.’”

He added that “For four days, the most capable military in the Middle East could not clear a path for a family to reach its own front door. The family lives on the outskirts of Qusra, south of Nablus. On Sunday, settlers from the encampments seeded by the Tel Talpiot outpost sealed the entrance to their home and would not let them in or out.”

Fox News Digital sent a press query to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal, and email him at benjamin.weinthal@fox.com

Trump to tout drop in US crime rates with an eye on midterms

August 14, 2026 10:04 AM UTC / Reuters

By Humeyra Pamuk

Item 1 of 2 U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media after disembarking Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., August 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

[1/2]U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media after disembarking Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., August 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Trump to hold rally with police to tout falling crime rates
• Speech comes as Republicans seek to shift focus away from the economy
• FBI director, attorney general expected to attend

WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump is ​set to showcase falling violent crime rates on Friday as evidence that his law-and-order agenda is ‌working, seeking to shift attention away from economic concerns that have dented his approval ratings ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Trump will visit the Nassau County Police Academy in New York to unveil 2025 data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation that a White House ​official says will show the largest year-to-year decline in violent crime on record.

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FBI Director Kash Patel and ​newly sworn-in Attorney General Todd Blanche are expected to join the president at the ⁠event with police.

The appearance comes as Republicans look for issues that resonate with swing voters amid concerns about inflation ​and the economic fallout from the war with Iran, while casting Democrats as out of step on public safety.

“President Trump ​promised to make America safe again and the data proves he has done just that,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said.

According to excerpts from the FBI report shared by the White House before its publication, murder and non-negligent manslaughter decreased an estimated 18.1% in ​2025 while robberies fell an estimated 18.5%.

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Some violent crimes, including homicides, surged at the end of the first ​Trump administration during the COVID pandemic to the highest levels in decades. But the data shows that the subsequent fall predates Trump’s ‌return ⁠to office, with homicide rates plummeting in 2023 and 2024 to pre-pandemic lows.

The decline has occurred in cities big and small, in places with officials touting both aggressive policing and progressive police reform and with both a high density and low density of police officers, suggesting no single policy explains the nationwide trend.

Trump has long complained of a “crime ​epidemic,” particularly in Democratic-run ​cities, and used that message ⁠to justify aggressive federal intervention, including last year’s deployment of federal agents and National Guard troops to Washington.

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Trump’s touting of the crime decline comes as he has also ​sought in recent months to make socialism and communism a defining theme in the ​midterms. He has ⁠recently intensified attacks on self-described democratic socialist New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other progressive candidates.

Democrats say Republicans are overstating the role of federal policy in a crime decline that began before Trump returned to office, and progressives have largely ⁠backed ​away from supporting the “defund the police” movement that emerged after George Floyd’s ​murder in 2020.

They now say policing should be reformed while arguing that immigration officers, who have killed two U.S. citizens, have made communities less ​safe.

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Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Brad Heath; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Stephen Coates

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American missionary kidnapped in Niger in October is freed, his organization says

2026-08-14T05:05:00-0400 / CBS/AP

Niamey, Niger— An American missionary who was kidnapped in the West African nation of Niger in October has been released, his organization said Friday.

Kevin Rideout “is in good health in the care of U.S. officials,” the South Carolina-based SIM International said in a statement.

He “will soon be reunited with Krista, his children, and his extended family,” the statement from the Christian group said. “Krista and the rest of Kevin’s family are profoundly grateful for the prayers offered on their behalf by people around the world throughout his captivity, and in particular for the deep level of prayer and support offered by our SIM family.”

There was no initial word on what led to his release.

CBS News has reached out to the State Department, White House and Pentagon for comment.

File photo of a a street in Niamey, Niger, in June 2026. AP photo

SIM International said Rideout was abducted from outside his home. He was seized in Niger’s capital, Niamey, on Oct. 21 by three armed individuals and was probably driven out of town, according to information provided by a security official at the time.

No armed group claimed responsibility for the abduction.

Multiple security sources told CBS News after the kidnapping that it took place only about 100 yards from the presidential palace in Niamey, where ousted President Mohamed Bazoum had been held since he was toppled by a coup in July 2023. The coup brought General Abdourahamane Tiani to power, with his military junta vowing to restore security.

Niger has long faced attacks from armed groups including jihadis linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS.

The U.S. Embassy in Niamey issued a security alert a day after Rideout’s kidnapping, warning that American citizens “remain at a heightened risk of kidnapping throughout Niger, including in the capital city.”

A map shows the nations and major cities in northern and western Africa. bogdanserban/Getty

Under its military junta, Niger’s leaders ousted Western partners including the United States, which had soldiers in Niger, and forged a new security and diplomatic alliance with Russia.

In June, more than 30 people were killed when gunmen attacked the main airport in Niamey. It was the second attack this year at the airport, a strategic hub that serves as the ruling military’s command, hosting its air force base and most of its drones and aircraft. It’s also the headquarters of the regional alliance that brings together troops from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

The violence is the latest sign of armed groups increasingly targeting cities and urban centers in Africa’s Sahel region.

The New York Times, which first reported Rideout’s release, said the 50-year-old had worked as a missionary in Niger for 19 years and was a pilot for SIM International.

The group describes itself as “an evangelical mission agency, working with churches around the world” with teams in more than 70 countries.

特朗普政府对进口无人机征收关税 最高税率达100%

2026年8月14日 19:28 / 联合早报

中国是无人机最大生产国，截至2025年，总部在深圳的大疆创新（图）占有美国商业无人机市场约70%的份额。 （法新社档案照片）

（华盛顿综合电）美国总统特朗普签发公告，对进口的无人机和零部件征收高达100%的关税，以减少美国对入口无人机的依赖，并推动国内无人机的生产。

白宫星期四（8月13日）发声明说，根据总统公告，基于国安考虑而列为高度敏感的特定重量或具备特定功能的进口无人机将面对100%的从价关税，重量较小的无人机的关税是25%。

不过，从欧盟、日本、列支敦士登、韩国、瑞士和台湾进口的无人机和零部件，关税最高为15%，英国的无人机则是10%；这些关税将于21天后生效。至于敏感度较低的无人机零部件，新关税将在180天后生效。

特朗普在公告中说，商务部长卢特尼克调查后发现，外地生产的无人机进口渗透率很高，而且美国在无人机和零部件方面过度依赖海外来源。调查确认，来自某些国家的实体无人机和相关零部件“构成安全风险”，而且美国本土的产量不足以应对安全需求。

彭博社的报道指出，特朗普政府这项关税措施或对中国无人机市场产生显著影响，目的是在中美元首即将在下月举行峰会之前加大施压。

中国目前是无人机的最大生产国。截至去年，总部在深圳的大疆创新占据了美国商业无人机市场约70%的份额。

美国之前已针对中国在先进技术领域的主导地位采取抑制行动，包括由联邦通信委员会限制进口包括大疆新款机型在内的外产无人机，近期也针对部分外产机器人和逆变器颁布禁令。这些举措招致中国商务部反制。

美法院：特朗普政府可征收小额包裹关税

另一方面，美国国际贸易法院星期四裁定，特朗普政府可继续对800美元（约1023新元）以下的小额包裹征收关税，推翻了美国商家的上诉。

法院认同，关税豁免属于“优惠”，撤销豁免在紧急权力法下是允许的。

特朗普随后在个人的社交媒体Truth Social发文称，这项裁决是一项“重大胜利”，有关豁免已成了被“关税欺诈者”和其他不法分子利用的巨大漏洞。

特朗普去年取消小额包裹关税豁免，理由是要防止小额包裹被利用来逃避关税和走私。这引发小商家担忧它们无法像大型电商那样有能力承受关税的冲击，因而提出上诉。

特朗普政府当时援引紧急权力法中的条款，指出这个法令赋予总统权力，可“废止、撤销、阻止或禁止”行使与财产相关的特权；这为特朗普叫停有关豁免措施提供了法律依据。

特朗普政府对进口无人机征收关税 最高税率达100%

2026年8月14日 19:28 / 联合早报

中国是无人机最大生产国，截至2025年，总部在深圳的大疆创新（图）占有美国商业无人机市场约70%的份额。 （法新社档案照片）

（华盛顿综合电）美国总统特朗普签发公告，对进口的无人机和零部件征收高达100%的关税，以减少美国对入口无人机的依赖，并推动国内无人机的生产。

白宫星期四（8月13日）发声明说，根据总统公告，基于国安考虑而列为高度敏感的特定重量或具备特定功能的进口无人机将面对100%的从价关税，重量较小的无人机的关税是25%。

不过，从欧盟、日本、列支敦士登、韩国、瑞士和台湾进口的无人机和零部件，关税最高为15%，英国的无人机则是10%；这些关税将于21天后生效。至于敏感度较低的无人机零部件，新关税将在180天后生效。

特朗普在公告中说，商务部长卢特尼克调查后发现，外地生产的无人机进口渗透率很高，而且美国在无人机和零部件方面过度依赖海外来源。调查确认，来自某些国家的实体无人机和相关零部件“构成安全风险”，而且美国本土的产量不足以应对安全需求。

彭博社的报道指出，特朗普政府这项关税措施或对中国无人机市场产生显著影响，目的是在中美元首即将在下月举行峰会之前加大施压。

中国目前是无人机的最大生产国。截至去年，总部在深圳的大疆创新占据了美国商业无人机市场约70%的份额。

美国之前已针对中国在先进技术领域的主导地位采取抑制行动，包括由联邦通信委员会限制进口包括大疆新款机型在内的外产无人机，近期也针对部分外产机器人和逆变器颁布禁令。这些举措招致中国商务部反制。

美法院：特朗普政府可征收小额包裹关税

另一方面，美国国际贸易法院星期四裁定，特朗普政府可继续对800美元（约1023新元）以下的小额包裹征收关税，推翻了美国商家的上诉。

法院认同，关税豁免属于“优惠”，撤销豁免在紧急权力法下是允许的。

特朗普随后在个人的社交媒体Truth Social发文称，这项裁决是一项“重大胜利”，有关豁免已成了被“关税欺诈者”和其他不法分子利用的巨大漏洞。

特朗普去年取消小额包裹关税豁免，理由是要防止小额包裹被利用来逃避关税和走私。这引发小商家担忧它们无法像大型电商那样有能力承受关税的冲击，因而提出上诉。

特朗普政府当时援引紧急权力法中的条款，指出这个法令赋予总统权力，可“废止、撤销、阻止或禁止”行使与财产相关的特权；这为特朗普叫停有关豁免措施提供了法律依据。

Trump’s overhaul of the federal workforce isn’t quite over

2026-08-14T10:00:31.220Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/14/politics/usda-staffers-federal-workforce-vis

When Laura Dodson received a notice in late June that her job as an agricultural economist was being relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, she knew what it would mean for herself and dozens of her coworkers in the same situation and for the services they provide to farmers, researchers and the public.

During the first Trump administration, in 2019, the US Department of Agriculture reassigned many employees in her agency, the Economic Research Service (ERS), and in another small institute to Kansas City, saying it would save taxpayers money and shift workers closer to “stakeholders.”

However, many people refused to move, which resulted in the two agencies losing more than half their staff, producing fewer reports and journal articles, and processing grants more slowly for the next few years, according to a federal watchdog report.

Those who remained were demoralized and had to contend with a chaotic work environment, said Dodson, who serves as vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403.

Now, Dodson fears that as many as 80% of her ERS colleagues who received relocation notices will choose to leave. Only 6% of those surveyed by Local 3403 said they would move. Another 25% said they were unsure.

“The USDA knows what happened; they know the results,” said Dodson, who received a work-related exemption that gives her until January to move hundreds of miles, though she is also actively looking for other jobs, including in the private sector. “They ran the experiment in 2019.”

Prompting staffers to leave is the main goal behind the USDA’s reorganization, according to Dodson and multiple other union members interviewed by CNN. Many call it a RIF, or reduction in force, disguised as a relocation — a view echoed in a lawsuit filed last month by the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward on behalf of a coalition of unions, municipalities and nonprofit organizations seeking to stop the effort.

When the USDA announced in July 2025 that it would reorganize its workforce, it said it was “refocusing its core operations to better align with its founding mission of supporting American farming, ranching and forestry.” But the department also said the initiative was another step in reducing its workforce to “make certain USDA can afford” it, noting that its headcount had grown in recent years.

In a statement to CNN, the department reiterated that the reorganization is “about aligning people, service delivery, and financial resources.”

“All current employees have a future with the Department if they so choose,” a USDA spokesperson said in the statement, noting that the USDA has said it will reimburse relocation expenses for those required to move.

The reorganization comes amid a deep downsizing at the department since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, with tens of thousands of staffers quitting, retiring and taking incentive programs to leave.

The coalition argues in the lawsuit that the USDA doesn’t have the authority to carry out the reorganization and that Congress did not approve the Trump administration’s request to overhaul the department.

The USDA counters that it has “broad statutory authority to reorganize its internal structure,” according to court documents. And the department said it has notified Congress of its reorganization plans.

CNN has reached out to the USDA for comment.

Some USDA employees have already received their relocation notices, while others are still waiting for official word — leaving them in limbo.

One worker who believes they would have to move hundreds of miles away has already decided that’s not going to happen. Their partner has a good job where they live now and they take care of a seriously ill family member nearby. Plus, mortgage rates are too high to allow them to buy a home in a different city. So they are ramping up their search for new employment.

“I planned to spend my career here and advance within the agency,” the staffer, who asked for anonymity to protect their job, told CNN. “Now I realize it’s just a matter of time before I’m effectively laid off.”

Another USDA employee said she had to stop thinking about the reorganization, which would also force her to move hundreds of miles away from where she lives now, or it would “consume me. It would make it impossible to work.”

Still, “It’s always in the back of my head — what if the next email is my relocation notice?” said the staffer, who did not want her name used to protect her employment.

Chearice Vaughn, president of the American Federation of State, County and MunicipalEmployees Local 3870, is among the 45 union employees in USDA’s Rural Development agency who were told in June that they will have to relocate from Washington, DC, to Dallas. But they weren’t given a timeline, so they are now in a stressful holding pattern, she said.

About two-thirds of those who answered a union survey said it is unlikely that they will move because it would be a hardship. One has a son with autism whose doctors are in the area. Others have custody arrangements where they can’t take their children out of state. And still others are caring for elderly parents.

While Vaughn doesn’t have immediate family in the Washington, DC, area, she isn’t eager to uproot her life either. She’s waiting for more details about the relocation before she makes any decisions. But she has called some friends and family in Dallas asking about different neighborhoods and has started cleaning out her garage in case she has to rent or sell her home in coming months.

“I’m not going to let someone force me out of a 30-year career on their timeline,” she told CNN.

For some longtime USDA staffers, the reorganization is the last straw – even if they aren’t being forced to relocate.

One supervisor in the Forest Service was told that she will have essentially the same job in the same location. But the chaos and feeling of disrespect that she’s endured since Trump took office has left her so burned out that she applied to take an incentive her agency is offering for employees to leave by the end of October.

Doing so will entail major financial sacrifices, including possibly cashing out her retirement fund or selling her home. There aren’t a lot of high-paying jobs in the rural area where she and her child live. But staying with USDA isn’t worth the toll on her physical and mental health, said the supervisor, who requested her name not be used to protect her job.

“The last year was the most stressful of all my years,” she said. “It’s not what I signed up to do.”

Initially, the USDA estimated the relocations would result in sweeping departures — close to half of the staff in several agencies. Its Agency RIF and Reorganization Plan, which was filed with two White House offices in the spring of 2025 but only made public in recent court documents, expected the headcount to shrink by 23% from its January 2025 level of roughly 103,000 personnel.

“USDA is anticipating that a significant number of employees will decline geographic reassignments out of the NCR (National Capital Region) or existing regional or state offices to the five target hub locations,” the plan says.

But the department now says that last year’s plan does not reflect its current strategy, according to a court filing. The latest plan calls for hiring roughly 16,000 employees, though that figure includes internal shifts and promotions of current workers. The USDA does not intend to conduct a reduction in force, and it does not expect staff attrition rates to be as high as they were in past relocations, in part because the Washington, DC, job market is weaker now, according to the filing.

Still, the USDA is moving forward with the reorganization effort, which will involve reassigning employees to other offices. And the coalition of unions and other plaintiffs is arguing in court that USDA’s updated plans for its agencies, which the department has shared with Congress, “mirror” last year’s plan with only “insubstantial” adjustments.

At the Food and Nutrition Administration, for instance, the latest plan calls for shifting from seven regional offices to five hubs, according to documents on an agency reorganization website that was last updated on July 30. Hubs in three new cities will join existing offices in Denver and Dallas. Multiple regional offices will be closed, according to a court filing.

Last year’s plan forecasted that the agency would lose about 46% of employees as a result of the reorganization.

On the reorganization website, the agency calls the accusation that it is trying to get rid of employees a “myth.” The effort does not include any layoffs, it noted.

Meanwhile, the two agencies that relocated many employees to Kansas City in 2019 — ERS and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) – will once again reassign certain staffers there, according to the agencies’ reorganization websites. In last year’s plan, the moves were forecasted to reduce staff by 43% and 39%, respectively.

The USDA has already been bleeding staff since Trump took office. More than 28,000 people have left, including through the administration’s deferred resignation program, other incentive offers, retirements and resignations, according to the Office of Personnel Management. (Taking into account new hires, the department’s workforce is down nearly 16,000 people.)

The USDA’s reorganization is one of the more aggressive changes to the federal government under the second Trump administration. The president has vowed to overhaul federal departments and shrink the federal workforce, which he views as an obstacle to his implementing his policy objectives.

In addition to dismantling the US Agency for International Development and hobbling the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the Trump administration is shrinking the Department of Education by shifting many of its responsibilities to other departments. Other agencies, such as NASA and the Army Corps of Engineers, are ending leases or moving to other offices. And still others, such as the Department of Energy, are shrinking their footprint in the Washington, DC, metro area.

Notably, only a small share of USDA’s workers are located in the DC metro region — less than 7%.

Multiple USDA staffers that CNN interviewed said they feared that the resignations sparked by the reorganization will only harm the service that the department provides to low-income Americans, farmers, state and local agencies, and other stakeholders.

Vaughn and her colleagues underwrite and service loans and grants for rural water systems, electric co-ops, broadband networks and small businesses across the nation — the kind that private lenders typically don’t touch, she said. Their projects include funding for a Georgia hospital to build an emergency obstetrics care unit that’s open around the clock; a grant to connect Washington state residents to high-speed internet; and a loan to rebuild power lines in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina.

The reorganization will involve spending taxpayer dollars on relocation expenses, on severance for those who leave and on hiring or training replacements, Vaughn noted.

“All these additional costs don’t improve service, don’t make us closer to communities since we serve all states,” she said. “It just risks losing the people who know how to do the work.”

The potential departure of experienced staffers is a major concern for the National WIC Association, which represents the 12,000 state and local agencies that provide nutrition services for nearly 7 million pregnant women, new moms and young children in the WIC program. Funding is tight, and money is regularly reallocated among state agencies.

That means the providers must keep in close touch with USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration employees over funding and policy matters, said Ali Hard, public policy director at the association, which is a plaintiff in the coalition’s lawsuit. Already, the staff downsizing led to two states coming close to having to temporarily turn off benefits because of funding shortfalls last year, she said.

“If we don’t have really qualified, experienced folks in those regional offices who are that first line of communication with the states, we’re really worried that funding could end up not being in the right place at the right time,” Hard said. “We can see states really in trouble of just not being able to serve everyone.”

The USDA said in a court filing that the funding delays were not due to staffing, but to funding availability and standard fiscal processes.

In some cases, the reorganization will put more distance between USDA staffers and the states and people they support. For instance, the closing of the Northeast regional office in Boston means New England states will be served by the new hub in Raleigh, North Carolina, Hard noted.

One of the staffers CNN interviewed agreed, saying the reorganization will only make it more difficult and expensive for her and her colleagues to visit the state officials with whom they work and to attend in-person meetings at state agencies.

“I shouldn’t have to uproot my personal life to be farther away from the people that I serve,” the USDA worker told CNN.

数十年来首次 美国允许海军在国外造船

2026年8月14日 19:54 / 联合早报

特朗普也在备忘录中指示战争部长建造第五座海军造船厂，以提升潜艇和航空母舰的维修能力。图为在巴拿马城参与军演的美国海军导弹驱逐舰格里德利号。 （法新社）

（华盛顿综合电）根据美国法律，美国海军的主力舰艇必须在美国国内造船厂建造，这既是为了防止军事机密外泄，同时也意在惠及美国造船业。不过，特朗普星期四（8月13日）签署国家安全备忘录，数十年来首次允许获得美国海军订单的外国造船商在美国境外建造船舰。

根据备忘录，外国造船商若对美国造船业进行“显著及长期投资”，为美国创造工作岗位并培训美国劳动力，将可获得临时准证在其位于美国境外的母公司船厂为美方建造最多两艘船，以加速填补交付缺口。

备忘录指出，美国造船业产能不足、缺乏竞争力，导致美国海军六个主要造船项目积压大量订单。此外，美国造船工业基础萎缩，加上周边供应商群缩减，导致工期延误加剧、成本持续上升。

特朗普也在备忘录中指示战争部长建造第五座海军造船厂，以提升潜艇和航空母舰的维修能力。这将是美国80多年来第一次兴建海军船厂。

特朗普下令弃用新航母电磁飞机弹射系统

特朗普同时下令美国海军摒弃一个他称为“性能不佳且太复杂“的航母战机飞行启动系统，改用回传统的蒸汽弹射器。这意味着正在建造的第四艘福特级航母米勒号（USS Doris Miller）将放弃之前三艘航母所采用的电磁飞机弹射系统（Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System）。

这一设计更动预计将花费数亿美元。备忘录要求五角大楼在60天内提交移除电磁弹射系统的计划。

第一艘福特级航母福特号（USS Gerald R. Ford）的电磁弹射系统几年前确实一再出问题，引起特朗普的关注。他多次批评电磁弹射系统比蒸汽弹射系统昂贵且效果不佳。

就在上个月，他还讲述一名军人抱怨电磁弹射系统难修，“还是蒸汽弹射系统较好，用锤子和喷灯就能修好”。

美国海军2009年选用电磁弹射系统，理由是它能降低全生命周期成本，维护需求低于蒸汽弹射器，且对舰载机产生的物理应力较小。

福特号一年的养护成本比使用蒸汽弹射系统的尼米兹级航母少1亿美元（约1亿2800万新元），船员少500人，因为不需要那么多技术人员来操作电磁弹射系统。

法国海军也采用电磁弹射系统，虽然初期曾遇到问题，但目前已成功完成数千次弹射作业。

对于米勒号将放弃使用电磁弹射系统，该系统制造商通用原子公司（General Atomics）说，由于制造过程已完成近50%，改变方向将带来显著的成本、脱期和整合风险。

数十年来首次 美国允许海军在国外造船

2026年8月14日 19:54 / 联合早报

特朗普也在备忘录中指示战争部长建造第五座海军造船厂，以提升潜艇和航空母舰的维修能力。图为在巴拿马城参与军演的美国海军导弹驱逐舰格里德利号。 （法新社）

（华盛顿综合电）根据美国法律，美国海军的主力舰艇必须在美国国内造船厂建造，这既是为了防止军事机密外泄，同时也意在惠及美国造船业。不过，特朗普星期四（8月13日）签署国家安全备忘录，数十年来首次允许获得美国海军订单的外国造船商在美国境外建造船舰。

根据备忘录，外国造船商若对美国造船业进行“显著及长期投资”，为美国创造工作岗位并培训美国劳动力，将可获得临时准证在其位于美国境外的母公司船厂为美方建造最多两艘船，以加速填补交付缺口。

备忘录指出，美国造船业产能不足、缺乏竞争力，导致美国海军六个主要造船项目积压大量订单。此外，美国造船工业基础萎缩，加上周边供应商群缩减，导致工期延误加剧、成本持续上升。

特朗普也在备忘录中指示战争部长建造第五座海军造船厂，以提升潜艇和航空母舰的维修能力。这将是美国80多年来第一次兴建海军船厂。

特朗普下令弃用新航母电磁飞机弹射系统

特朗普同时下令美国海军摒弃一个他称为“性能不佳且太复杂“的航母战机飞行启动系统，改用回传统的蒸汽弹射器。这意味着正在建造的第四艘福特级航母米勒号（USS Doris Miller）将放弃之前三艘航母所采用的电磁飞机弹射系统（Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System）。

这一设计更动预计将花费数亿美元。备忘录要求五角大楼在60天内提交移除电磁弹射系统的计划。

第一艘福特级航母福特号（USS Gerald R. Ford）的电磁弹射系统几年前确实一再出问题，引起特朗普的关注。他多次批评电磁弹射系统比蒸汽弹射系统昂贵且效果不佳。

就在上个月，他还讲述一名军人抱怨电磁弹射系统难修，“还是蒸汽弹射系统较好，用锤子和喷灯就能修好”。

美国海军2009年选用电磁弹射系统，理由是它能降低全生命周期成本，维护需求低于蒸汽弹射器，且对舰载机产生的物理应力较小。

福特号一年的养护成本比使用蒸汽弹射系统的尼米兹级航母少1亿美元（约1亿2800万新元），船员少500人，因为不需要那么多技术人员来操作电磁弹射系统。

法国海军也采用电磁弹射系统，虽然初期曾遇到问题，但目前已成功完成数千次弹射作业。

对于米勒号将放弃使用电磁弹射系统，该系统制造商通用原子公司（General Atomics）说，由于制造过程已完成近50%，改变方向将带来显著的成本、脱期和整合风险。

谢尔顿成功卫冕加拿大网球公开赛男单冠军

2026年8月14日 15:18 / 联合早报

美国名将谢尔顿直落两盘击败同袍中岛布兰登，连续两年夺得在蒙特利尔举行的加拿大网球公开赛男单冠军。 （法新社）

美国名将谢尔顿直落两盘击败同袍中岛布兰登，连续两年夺得在蒙特利尔举行的加拿大网球公开赛男单冠军。 （法新社）

（蒙特利尔路透电）美国名将谢尔顿（Ben Shelton）星期四（8月13日）在加拿大网球公开赛男单决赛中，以6比3、7比6（7比4）击败同胞中岛布兰登（Brandon Nakashima），连续第二年夺冠，收获个人第二个男子网球协会（ATP）1000级大师赛冠军和职业生涯第七个单打冠军。

谢尔顿在来到加拿大之前，经历了一段令人沮丧的低潮期。他先是在温布登锦标赛首轮出局，接着在法国公开赛止步第二轮，并且在本赛季此前参加的四站大师赛中，仅取得一场胜利。

不过，他在加拿大的硬地赛场重新找回了最佳状态，以一盘未失的强势表现实现卫冕。

对此，他说：“能够在这里打出这样的表现，并且在整个比赛过程中一盘未失，这证明了我过去所付出的努力，也体现了我的心理韧性。”

他补充说：“这个星期，我一直都能保持专注。今年对我来说，其实并不是一个特别顺利的赛季。

“现在的我正发挥出自己的最高水平，我无法用言语来形容我现在的感觉。”

凭借这个冠军，目前世界第10的谢尔顿将在最新一期的世界排名上升至第六位。

这场决赛是2003年罗迪克（Roddick）在辛辛那提大师赛击败马迪·费什（Mardy Fish）以来，首次由两名美国球员会师大师赛决赛。这也为美国男子网球在美国公开赛前注入了一剂强心针，因为自罗迪克在2003年夺得美网冠军后，美国至今仍未在这项大满贯赛事中诞生过新的男子单打冠军。

在本场决赛中，身为赛会五号种子的谢尔顿在首盘比赛双方战成3比3后，逐渐掌控局势。他不断攻击中岛的第二发球，并成功打破僵局。

谢尔顿随后利用一次精彩的正手接发球直接得分完成破发，以4比3领先。随着中岛的正手失误逐渐增多，谢尔顿在首盘最后一局再次完成破发，以6比3先下一城。

首次闯入大师赛决赛的中岛在第二盘顶住压力，将比赛拖入抢七局，但谢尔顿还是技高一筹，最终以一记精彩的正手制胜球，赢得了比赛。

谢尔顿也因此成为了自2016年的乔科维奇（Djokovic）后，首位在加拿大公开赛上一盘未失夺冠的球员。同时也是继2019年纳达尔（Nadal）以来，首位成功卫冕该项赛事男单冠军的球员。

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvynMKs124E

美国海岸防卫队赴台交流 台美海巡深化执法训练合作

2026年8月14日 15:24 / 联合早报

美国海岸防卫队派员赴台，与海巡署人员交流。图为美国海岸防卫队机动辅训团“小艇操作：团队部署与巡逻”训练，星期一（8月10日）于海巡署教育训练测考中心举行开训典礼，台美海巡人员在仪式上合影。 （台湾海巡署官网）

美国海岸防卫队赴台交流，台湾海巡署希望通过两周的联合演训，深化台美海巡执法训练合作。

据台湾海巡署官网消息，为持续深化台美海巡专业交流，提升海上执法及勤务应处能力，美国海岸防卫队机动辅训团赴台办理“小艇操作：团队部署与巡逻”训练，星期一（8月10日）于海洋委员会海巡署教育训练测考中心举行开训典礼。

海巡署介绍，这次训练课程涵盖船艇操作、航行规则、风险管理、船舶并靠技巧、紧急状况应处及人员落海救援等专业知识与技能，透过美方专业教官实务指导和训练，进一步强化台海巡人员小艇操作，以及在面对复杂海上勤务环境时的判断、应变及团队协同能力。

海巡署指出，美方机动辅训团教官这次训练旨在提升台湾海巡人员海上执法能力，进而增进海事执法与任务执行的整体效能；并期盼透过为期两周的联合训练，深化双方专业交流及伙伴关系，共同致力于促进海域安全与稳定。

除人员专业交流外，台海巡署近年也推动更新大型巡防舰艇，导入无人机、无人艇及水下无人载具等新兴科技装备，未来将持续汲取美国海岸防卫队在船艇操作、海上执法、风险管理及科技装备运用等领域的专业经验，使人员训练与装备建置相互结合，充分发挥整体勤务效能。

海巡署称，自签署设立海巡工作小组了解备忘录以来，台美持续在海上联合搜救、查缉走私犯罪、打击非法渔业、海洋环境保护及专业教育训练等领域深化交流合作，这次训练将培育具备传承能力的种子教官，让参训人员将交流成果带回各勤务单位，扩大训练效益并建立长期、常态性的专业交流基础。