博客

Hasan Piker event cancellation sparks intervention from top House progressive

August 13, 2026 3:30pm EDT / Fox News

Jayapal says she is personally communicating with the University of Washington over free speech concerns

By Elizabeth Elkind, Fox News

A top House Democrat is speaking out against a university’s decision to cancel an appearance by controversial far-left activist Hasan Piker on its campus.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the former Congressional Progressive Caucus chair, publicly called on students at the University of Washington to “work with the university to ensure” that Piker was able to speak.

Jayapal also said in a statement posted to X on Thursday that she was personally working with the university on the issue.

DEMOCRATIC INFIGHTING GROWS AS CONGRESSWOMAN EXPOSES ‘DISRESPECTFUL’ WELCOME OF SOCIALISTS INTO ‘BIG TENT’

Rep. Pramila Jayapal is speaking out against the University of Washington’s decision to cancel Hasan Piker’s speaking engagement.(Noushad Variyattiyakkal/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“As a Member of the Judiciary Committee, I have been absolutely clear that free speech is a constitutional right that we must all stand up and protect. I have been communicating my concerns about the cancellation of the Hasan Piker event directly to the University, and they have informed me that they are doing an internal review to ensure this never happens again,” Jayapal wrote.

Piker posted on X earlier this week that the event was canceled due to his criticism of Israel.

“i wish the dems were smarter & didn’t let the right-wing groups be the only people who speak out against this clear violation of the First Amendment but unfortunately my position as a prominent critic of israel stops them from using this moment to show gop as arch cancel culture warriors,” Piker wrote.

The University of Washington faced bipartisan criticism for canceling Piker’s appearance.(Karen Ducey/Getty Images)

The University of Washington said in a statement that Piker’s event was canceled because it “was determined that the process for organizing this event did not meet the necessary level of rigor for University-hosted events.”

The decision also prompted backlash from the right.

“Let the radical Mao loving communist Hasan Piker speak, so long as he can resist the urge to call for the death of his political opponents. Universities do this to TPUSA often and blame some admin error etc.,” Turning Point USA’s Andrew Kolvet posted on X. “It’s wrong. Let him speak. Let conservatives speak. Peacefully.”

Piker, a streamer, has long made headlines for controversial and far-left statements.

In 2019, he said “America deserved 9/11” over its foreign policy decisions, though he later walked it back on “The Young Turks,” stating, “Every part of what I advocate for is against violence” and insisting his statement was misconstrued.

HASAN PIKER’S DEFENSE OF HAMAS HAVING ‘RIGHT TO RESIST MILITARILY’ DRAWS CONDEMNATION FROM HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS

Piker said at a Yale University event in April 2026 that “the fall of the USSR was one of the greatest catastrophes of the 20th century.”

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

He also drew backlash from the Anti-Defamation League for calling terror group Hamas a “lesser evil” compared to Israel.

The far-left activist and his past statements have been back in the national conversation in recent weeks as he campaigns with socialist-aligned candidates across the country. That includes Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and failed Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to Piker for comment on Jayapal’s and Kolvet’s defense of his speaking engagement.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/a3b63a98-43ca-4904-9785-3ee0e83e6104

Becky G reflects on advocacy in new music, rise to fame and “settling into” herself

August 13, 2026 12:11 PM EDT / CBS News

By Kelsie Hoffman, Alicia Alford, Gisela Perez

Multi-platinum singer Becky G’s mission goes beyond music with her latest album.

The global star said in an exclusive interview with “CBS Mornings” that visuals for her new music are where her advocacy and art “really came together.”

“It was emotional for me,” she told “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King while reflecting on the music video for her track “EPA,” where she’s seen breaking a block of ice in response to recent immigration raids.

“I feel like, for a lot of us in our communities, you know, with the discrimination and the oppression that we have felt for decades, it’s one of those things where you can’t rain on our parade. We are the people who dance in the rain, you know?”

Rise to fame

From Inglewood, California, Becky G, born Rebbecca Marie Gomez, began her singing career when she was just 9 years old.

The oldest of four children, she grew up in a Mexican household with her parents, grandparents and siblings.

As a teen, the superstar’s viral cover songs would eventually lead to a record deal – making Becky G the primary provider for her family. She revealed she used to “carry resentment” as a child, feeling the pressure to be the family’s breadwinner.

“We had to do a lot of work as a family to get to a place where I could heal from that and also be seen in that way and also have my family show up differently in that.”

But today she feels “a lot different” from when she was younger.

“I feel really thankful that my parents have actually been able to just be my mom and dad, especially in this, it’s never too late, you know, in that sense.”

New music and major collaborations

Today, Becky G’s music has 28.3 billion streams worldwide as she collaborates with global powerhouses like Selena Gomez, Bad Bunny and Karol G, who she’s currently on tour with as a special guest.

“I wake up every day like I haven’t done anything the day before and in Spanish we say, like … I have the desire to eat the world,” she said. “Like, literally, like, the entire world. I just want to, like, devour it and just take over.”

But she hasn’t forgotten one of her first hits. “Shower” came out 12 years ago and recently made a comeback on social media, reaching over 1 billion streams on Spotify.

“I love it,” Becky G said about the song. “I have so much gratitude for that song. I think it was such a blessing for me to kind of get a crash course experience in what it is to have a song that almost goes No. 1.”

Her new album is “Baraja Bendita,” which loosely translates to “a blessed deck of cards.”

“We all know that quote of we can’t necessarily control the cards that we were dealt – but what we can control is how we play them,” she said.

“I feel like throughout my years of, of doing what I do, personally and professionally, I’ve gotten really good at playing the game and I think that that’s something that especially as women, as we’ve become more empowered, we’re almost taught to feel more shameful about that and I think I’m just owning it.”

One of the biggest names in Latin music, she said the album reflects every part of her.

“I feel like this album really marries the Rebbecca side of me … the sensual, more vulnerable side of me, the intimate side of me, and then also, you know, who I am,” she said. “The boss in the boardroom and the boss on the stage.”

Navigating relationships and her future

The singer has also had to navigate dating in the public eye. She’s been in a relationship with professional soccer player Sebastian Lletget for nearly a decade.

The couple called off their engagement in 2023. Becky G has been open about infidelity in the relationship, but now says “it’s a new relationship” and that they’re both happy.

“We’ve done the work and we continue to do the work, and I think that’s the most important part of it, is that it’s work, relationships are work,” she said.

“I think at the end of the day, what I would want for anybody that I love is to not make decisions based off of what’s happening in the comment section, but more based off of their life experience and what they know to be true to them and what they feel is right for themselves.”

The 29-year-old said she’s “really settling into” herself and caring more about what and who she wants “to become and less about anything else outside of that.”

Poland arrests Russian allegedly hired to kill Ukrainian-American who was ‘inconvenient to the Putin regime’

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the suspect was recruited by Russian intelligence services to target a man in Warsaw

August 13, 2026 2:26pm EDT / Fox News

By Greg Norman-Diamond

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/1c5d8b56-1578-441b-a967-cd523bf87d9d

Listen to this article

2 min

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk revealed Thursday that his country arrested a Russian man hired by Moscow to kill a Ukrainian-American citizen who was “inconvenient to the Putin regime.”

Tusk said the suspect was taken into custody Friday, with the alleged target being a man in Poland’s capital of Warsaw, according to a report from Reuters.

“Thanks to the truly brilliant action of our services … we detained a Russian citizen recruited by Russian intelligence services,” Tusk was quoted saying, adding that the target held both Ukrainian ‌and ⁠U.S. passports. “At the last minute, thanks to the action of the Internal Security Agency and the police, we managed to ⁠prevent this execution, this attack.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for comment.

MOSCOW, KYIV ASSASSINS HUNT WEAPONS BOSSES AS UKRAINE WAR SPILLS BEYOND THE BATTLEFIELD

FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting aboard the missile cruiser Varyag in Russia’s far eastern Sakhalin region on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. Putin previously said Russia is not waging a sabotage campaign against Europe.(Reuters)

Tusk also said Thursday that it was the first time that “someone on the order of Russia” sought to attack an American citizen on the territory of another NATO country, The Associated Press reported.

The operation was carried out in cooperation with U.S. services, Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister overseeing intelligence services, told the AP.

The news agency reported that it has mapped about 200 acts of sabotage, arson and other disruption across Europe since the start of the Ukraine war that officials have linked to Russia. President Vladimir Putin claimed to the AP in May that Russia is not waging a sabotage campaign against Europe.

RUSSIA LINKED TO ARSON ATTACKS ON PROPERTIES CONNECTED TO UK PM KEIR STARMER, POLICE SAY

FILE – Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks to the media at the site where an unidentified flying object, believed to be a Russian missile, fell after violating Polish airspace in a field near Tarnawa Kolonia, near Lublin, Poland, on July 30, 2026.(Jakub Orzechowski/Agencja Wyborcza.pl/Reuters)

In June, a Russian artist who was critical of Putin was shot and killed at close range near his home in eastern Poland. Tusk said at the time that the killing had the hallmarks of a political assassination. He suggested it was possible Russia was behind it, but Polish officials have not yet attributed it to Moscow.

Last year, French officials disrupted a plot which they believe was aimed at killing Vladimir Osechkin, a Russian exile who lives under police protection and works to help military defectors flee Putin’s war.

Lithuanian officials also disrupted a plot last year to kill a Lithuanian supporter of Ukraine and another against a Russian activist.

FILE – Tusk said the alleged target was a citizen in Warsaw, Poland.(dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Officials in Germany have similarly broken up two plots: one to target the head of a German weapons company supplying Ukraine, the other against a Ukrainian military official.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

“CBS Sunday Morning” launches new series of live events at the 92nd Street Y in NYC, debuting with Sylvester Stallone

Updated on: August 13, 2026 / 3:31 PM EDT / CBS News

“CBS Sunday Morning” and the 92nd Street Y in New York City are presenting a new series of conversations featuring the biggest newsmakers in the arts, politics and more before a live audience. “CBS Sunday Morning at 92NY” will kick off on Monday, Sept. 28, at 6 p.m. with correspondent Tracy Smith talking with three-time Academy Award nominee Sylvester Stallone.

CBS News

Smith will talk with Stallone (star of “Tulsa King” on Paramount+) about his career, the creation of “Rocky,” his life, and his new memoir, “The Steps.” She will preview the event and profile Stallone on the Sept. 27 edition of “Sunday Morning.”

“CBS Sunday Morning at 92NY” is the first in an ongoing series of conversations that “Sunday Morning” will present in collaboration with 92NY. It also marks an exciting brand extension for America’s #1 Sunday morning news program, which has been best-in-class for 23 seasons and counting.

“Our viewers are passionate about our show and always ask for more,” said Rand Morrison, executive producer of “Sunday Morning.” “This is a way to bring what makes ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ special – fascinating, deep conversations with interesting newsmakers – to more people on additional platforms.”

William Morrow

“For over 150 years, the 92nd Street Y has been a world-class beacon for culture, deep conversation, and intellectual curiosity,” said 92NY CEO Seth Pinsky. “We are honored to work with ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ on this incredible new programming series. By bringing two great American institutions together, we are creating the kind of deeply engaging experiences our communities crave and expect.”

“CBS Sunday Morning at 92NY” will stream live online at www.92ny.org and be featured later on CBSSundayMorning.com, YouTube and Paramount+. Highlights will be featured across “CBS Sunday Morning”‘s social media feeds. Additionally, “CBS Sunday Morning” will preview the interviews on the broadcast leading up to every “CBS Sunday Morning at 92NY” event.

Tickets for the first “CBS Sunday Morning at 92NY” are on sale today, Aug. 13, at www.92ny.org.

“CBS Sunday Morning” is broadcast Sundays (9:00-10:30 a.m. ET) on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+. Rand Morrison is the executive producer.

Follow “CBS Sunday Morning” on X, Facebook, Instagram and at CBSNews.com. Listen to “CBS Sunday Morning” podcasts here and on all podcast platforms. Stream “CBS Sunday Morning” on Paramount+.

Colombia earthquake survivors are reliving a nightmare from 1999: “You feel a sense of powerlessness”

2026-08-13T12:46:00-0400 / CBS News

By Luis Giraldo

Updated on: August 13, 2026 / 3:01 PM EDT / CBS News

Jahir Rodríguez knew what was happening when he saw thick, dark clouds forming near his home in western Colombia on Monday morning. Parts of his dear Pereira were crumbling.

The urban planner and former professor also knows what happens next after a powerful earthquake devastates whole communities. He sprang into action after a deadly 1999 quake in Armenia, about 30 miles away from his current home, that killed around 1,200 people. He did so again three days ago when a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the same region, killing at least 265 people and trapping hundreds under debris across several states.

“You feel a sense of powerlessness,” Rodríguez said as he recalled seeing glass shattering and water seeping through the cracked and fallen walls of shaken buildings.

“You will be here for years”

Rodríguez, who is 68 and retired, learned how to respond to earthquakes after the disaster in Colombia’s coffee region at the turn of the century. He gained valuable insights from a delegation of Japanese responders who had faced a deadly quake in Osaka in 1995.

“It is a mistake to think that you will be here for days or months,” Rodríguez said they told him. “You will be here for years.”

Rodríguez, who also assisted after a major earthquake in Talca, Chile, in 2010, is referring to the encampments forming in parks across the city, a common sight after people lose their homes to natural disasters.

In Colombia, the new government, which took over just days before the quake, is helping set up the encampments, Rodríguez said. But that tactic may be shortsighted, he said, since people will remain displaced for years and need permanent living quarters now. He also says the primary concern right now is more dire.

“The first is to count people, the second is to organize them where they will be placed, and the third is the reconstruction plans,” he said.

Getting people to leave their uninhabitable homes is hard, Rodríguez said. He spent the day after Monday’s earthquake visiting with a friend and fellow urban planner whose apartment building toppled onto others. When he arrived, Rodríguez said, his friend would not move from the site out of fear that vandals would enter the building — something that was more prevalent after the 1999 quake.

Toppled residential buildings in Pereira, Colombia, where Jahir Rodríguez assisted a day after the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that rocked the coffee region. Jahir Rodríguez

“People are here in front of the sidewalk, watching their house,” Rodríguez said with immense sadness.

He’s seeing people making meals on the side of the road, and says it’s hardest to think about what will come next for them.

“Days and days and days, nights and nights and nights, months and months and months in a shelter waiting to be helped,” he said.

A blueprint for earthquake recovery

Everardo Murillo created a blueprint for long-term recovery efforts following the 1999 earthquake. Colombia’s then-president, Andrés Pastrana, tasked him with creating the fund and organization to allocate money for people who lost their homes and businesses.

Since then, he’s been consulting for other governments at the behest of organizations such as the World Bank, and he recently visited Venezuela after back-to-back earthquakes devastated parts of the country. In La Guaira, the hardest-hit city, he met with the governor and other local heads, businesspeople and members of the community to help with their recovery.

All those groups are vital to solve what Murillo calls the “social engineering” issue after disasters.

“People lose the route of their life. It’s the hardest thing for a human being,” he said. “How do I help that family who lost everything, whose home collapsed, who lost children, and also lost their belongings inside and is now on the street?”

Murillo said in the first phase of a disaster, responders must act fast. They need food, shelter and quick monetary help, along with temporary schooling for children. Then comes longer-term assistance like government handouts and loans.

He likes to hire those affected directly to work on recovery efforts.

“The first thing that emerges from within a disaster victim when something like that happens is a new kind of leadership,” Murillo said. “Natural leaders emerge — people who step up.”

Murillo said solidarity is something that can’t be explained and helps responders learn from victims. He likes to pair up those who are feeling stuck and depressed about the catastrophe with those who are invigorated.

Lessons learned in a disaster’s aftermath

Much of the response depends on how the governments react. Murillo, who also consulted in Haiti after its deadly 2010 earthquake, says Colombia benefits from established models and response systems.

He says that in Haiti, local leaders and victims didn’t understand some things he took for granted — like the need for an ID card, documentation for their home or other basic information.

“There are a number of problems in the social realms that one only discovers by going there and seeing for oneself,” Murillo said.

Murillo said Colombia got out of this disaster more easily than others. He compares the dozens of fallen buildings this week to the hundreds that toppled in Venezuela.

Many structures in the area where the earthquake struck this week were built to withstand the seismic rocking that destroyed entire neighborhoods in 1999.

But even those whose homes remain are going to be affected, Murillo said. Some people may have lost businesses and don’t have the resources to bring them back, and communities may lack the infrastructure to recover.

That’s part of the challenge for responders. There is a mix of people and problems to address all at once.

Jahir Rodríguez’s sister, 65-year-old Liliana Rodríguez, lost her apartment in Monday’s earthquake. Looking into her eyes, he said he sees hopelessness, pain and uncertainty, a look he knows well.

“They are just recovering from the earthquake,” Rodríguez said. “They have not yet thought about tomorrow’s story.”

He’s worried about what survivors will face next, like living in cramped shelters and navigating the financial logistics of finding a new home or job — all while grieving what they lost.

El-Sayed may be ‘full-blown communist’ despite socialist denial: top Republican

August 13, 2026 2:38pm EDT / Fox News

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain predicted Abdul El-Sayed’s candidacy will lower Democrats’ turnout

By Elizabeth Elkind Fox News

Top Michigander in House slams Abdul El-Sayed: ‘Communist’

House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain spoke with Fox News Digital about the midterm match-ups in her home state of Michigan.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/2a2ed4c9-9eb2-4b37-9033-c0112330db3d

Listen to this article

4 min

Michigan’s highest-ranking House Republican is crying foul on Abdul El-Sayed’s claim that he is not a socialist.

“If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck,” House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., told Fox News Digital. “So maybe he’s not a socialist. Maybe he’s a full-blown communist.”

El-Sayed, a former public health official, scored an upset victory for Democrats’ leftmost flank in Michigan’s Senate primary earlier this month. He defeated Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a House lawmaker who was heavily favored by the Democratic establishment, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

It was part of a larger wave of victories by candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), several of whom have toppled sitting House Democratic lawmakers in primaries in New York and Colorado in addition to Michigan.

2026 MIDTERMS STATE OF PLAY: KEY RACES UNFOLD AS STEVENS, EL-SAYED BATTLE IN MICHIGAN

House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain accused Dr. Abdul El-Sayed of having communist ideals.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images; Finn Gomez/Getty Images)

And while El-Sayed himself is not a DSA member, some of the biggest names to campaign alongside him — including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. — are self-proclaimed democratic socialists.

El-Sayed told CBS News in an interview posted to YouTube last week that he was working on building a broad coalition that included supporters of President Donald Trump as well as DSA members, even though he is neither.

“Folks who come here, like, with two weeks left in the election, really, really want to label me a socialist. I don’t know why, except for maybe it fits into a nice telling of a broader national story. But I’m a scientist, right? And I like solutions that solve problems,” El-Sayed said. “I don’t do ideology. I’d rather think of myself as a capitalist who actually read about capitalism, in the sense that the biggest risk to capitalism was always going to be corporate consolidation and monopoly, rather than government regulation.”

McClain, meanwhile, argued that El-Sayed’s platform is inherently socialist.

“He wants to take money out of your pockets. He wants free everything. Well, at the end of the day, if everything is free, someone has to pay for it,” McClain said. “Are the farmers not gonna get paid? Are the teachers not going to get paid? He wants higher taxes, and he wants to take money out of your pockets so you can pay for your neighbors. To me, that’s socialism. That’s borderline communism.”

MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE ABDUL EL-SAYED DODGES QUESTION ON WHETHER HE STILL SUPPORTS DEFUNDING THE POLICE

El-Sayed’s policy platform includes promises to fight for Medicare for all, raising taxes on millionaires and billionaires, using “wage insurance and basic income” programs to counter artificial intelligence automating industries, and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to his website.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., join hands following a campaign rally on July 18, 2026, in Detroit.(Jose Juarez/AP Photo)

Republicans have argued that the majority of policies supported by the progressive and socialist left will amount to higher taxes for everyday Americans. But Democrats have insisted that their plans will lead to more affordable living for working- and middle-class people.

Traditionally, the party in power in the White House tends to lose seats in Congress during the midterms. That, combined with low approval numbers for President Donald Trump, means Republicans have an uphill battle to buck past political trends to keep control of the House and Senate.

But McClain pointed out that El-Sayed failed to clinch an outright majority in Michigan Democrats’ Senate primary and predicted it would mean Republicans running up and down the ballot in the Wolverine State will see big gains with the far-left progressive at the top of the ticket.

BIDEN-WORLD VETERAN ISSUES STARK WARNING ABOUT ABDUL EL-SAYED AS HE CROSSES PARTY LINES

“I think it’s gonna help us tremendously, right? Because if you look at El-Sayed’s numbers, 50%, over 50% — the majority didn’t vote for him. So what are those voters gonna do?” McClain posed. “How is El-Sayed and his crazy progressive, socialist, communist party going to bring those Democratic voters over to the Democratic side of the ticket? I don’t think they are. I think those voters are going to look for a common-sense candidate, and I think those voters are either going to one, stay home or two, vote for Mike Rogers.”

Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers speaks before then-Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives during a campaign rally at FIM Capitol Theatre, Nov. 4, 2024, in Flint, Mich.(Paul Sancya/AP Photo)

Mike Rogers, a former House Republican and FBI agent, is the Republican nominee in Michigan.

He made an appeal to Democrats days after the matchup became official, stating in a video, “If you’re among the majority of Democratic voters that woke up on Wednesday feeling, well, hopeless, because the person who won does not represent your values, well, just know, there is still hope.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign for comment.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com

Russian plot to kill American citizen thwarted by Poland, prime minister says: “First situation of its kind”

August 13, 2026 / 12:52 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A Russian plot to kill a Ukrainian-American citizen in Warsaw was thwarted by Poland before it could be carried out, the Polish prime minister said Thursday, marking the first time in decades that a Western leader has publicly accused Moscow of plotting to kill a U.S. citizen.

Western officials have previously warned that Russia has stepped up a campaign of targeted killings since President Vladimir Putin launched the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, saying they have disrupted several plots across Europe. But Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said this incident was unprecedented.

Tusk told journalists the suspect, who was allegedly recruited by Russia’s secret services, had been arrested last Friday, Aug. 7.

“He was inconvenient from the point of view of the Putin regime, and at the last moment… we managed to prevent this execution,” he added.

“This is the first situation of its kind in which someone, acting on Russian orders, decided to carry out an attack against an American citizen on the territory of another NATO country,” he added.

It was the first time that “someone on the order of Russia” sought to attack an American citizen on the territory of another NATO country, Tusk said Thursday.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk Wojtek RADWANSKI /AFP via Getty Images

The American Ukrainian citizen “was uncomfortable for the Putin regime,” Tusk said in a news conference. “We have to accept the assumption that the Putin regime will try to eliminate people who are inconvenient for various reasons.”

The operation to disrupt the plot was carried out in cooperation with U.S. services, said Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s minister overseeing intelligence services. He said the targeted victim was a U.S. citizen “of Ukrainian origin.” Officials did not immediately provide further details.

The Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russia accused of trying to undermine Ukraine’s allies

Russia has long been accused of targeting its enemies abroad, including by using rare poisons. But intelligence officials previously told The Associated Press that Russia’s security services are now more brazen in their choice of targets, going after Russian activists and foreign supporters of Ukraine as well as military defectors.

Western officials see the campaign as connected to Russia’s broader efforts to undermine European countries that support Ukraine. The AP has mapped about 200 acts of sabotage, arson and other disruption across Europe since the start of the war that officials have linked to Russia. Putin said in May that Russia is not waging a sabotage campaign against Europe.

British authorities accused Russia of being behind the killing of former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 with radioactive polonium and of attempting to kill former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018 with the nerve agent Novichok.

German authorities also said Russia organized the 2019 killing of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen rebel commander who was shot in a Berlin park by Vadim Krasikov, a hitman who was later greeted by Putin after he was exchanged in a spy swap.

In June, a Russian artist who was critical of Putin was shot and killed at close range near his home in eastern Poland. Robert Kuzovkov, known by the pseudonym Semyon Skrepetsky was critical of Putin and Tusk said at the time that the killing had the hallmarks of a political assassination. He suggested it was possible Russia was behind it but Polish officials have not yet attributed it to Moscow.

Last year French officials disrupted a plot which they believe was aimed at killing Vladimir Osechkin, a Russian exile who lives under police protection and works to help military defectors flee Putin’s war. Lithuanian officials also disrupted a plot last year to kill a Lithuanian supporter of Ukraine and another against a Russian activist. Officials in Germany have similarly broken up two plots: one to target the head of a German weapons company supplying Ukraine, the other against a Ukrainian military official.

Polish authorities arrested a man in 2024 in what they said was a plot to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And that same year, a Russian helicopter pilot who defected was killed in Spain – with Russian operatives the prime suspects.

“This campaign is not by accident or chance,” a senior European intelligence official previously told the AP. “There is political authorization.”

contributed to this report.

Kennedy Center votes to put Trump’s name back on building and close for renovations

2026-08-13T17:13:31.094Z / CNN

By Sunlen Serfaty

Updated 1 hr 55 min ago

Updated Aug 13, 2026, 2:13 PM ET

PUBLISHED Aug 13, 2026, 1:13 PM ET

People stop to watch workers erect scaffolding at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on Friday, June 12, 2026.

Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg/Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s handpicked board of the Kennedy Center has voted a second time to close the performing arts institution for renovations, according to two people who were briefed on the decision.

The board also voted to add an inscription below the Kennedy Center’s sign, saying the arts complex was “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump,” the sources said.

As part of the renovation plan, the board voted to keep open part of the complex separate from the main building, called the REACH, which will host smaller scale shows, they added.

The historic arts center has been in legal limbo and faced drama for much of the year as the Kennedy Center’s abrupt decision to close for a two-year renovation drew scrutiny and after the president attempted to rename the institution after himself.

Trump had announced plans earlier in the year to close the center, which he said was “in bad condition” as he has made reshaping the Washington institution a priority in his second term. In December, the board of trustees voted to rename it the Trump Kennedy Center.

In May, however, a federal judge blocked the center’s planned two-year closure, demanding the board consider maintaining some programming during renovations to carry out its congressionally mandated activities.

US District Judge Casey Cooper in Washington, DC, also said the center’s board violated the law when it added Trump’s name to the performing arts venue.

The law establishing the center “makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so,” wrote Cooper, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama.

The institution has also faced slumping ticket sales, artist withdrawals, political controversies and a diminished staff, which have made it challenging to restart a full-scale programming schedule, multiple sources familiar with the matter previously told CNN.

Trump’s name was removed from the facade of the Kennedy Center in June after the court order. The institution name remains hidden by large tarps.

One of the sources briefed on the Thursday vote said that the idea is that Trump’s name now being included below the sign is not a move to “rename” the center. Another source said it would serve as a “permanent reminder” of his undermining of the institution.

CNN has reached out to the Kennedy Center for comment.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.

10 House incumbent lawmakers who saw their 2026 re-election bids end in primary defeat

2026-08-13T13:23:56-04:00 / Fox News

Three of the 10 losing incumbents were Republicans, while seven were Democrats

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News

Published August 13, 2026 1:23pm EDT | Updated August 13, 2026 1:24pm EDT

Fox News Highlights – August 12, 2026

Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Greg Gutfeld bring Fox News viewers their fresh takes on the top news of the day.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

blob:https://www.foxnews.com/bb70207b-a179-4d5f-a1dd-8c4c4184da2f

Listen to this article

4 min

So far during the 2026 election season, 10 incumbent House lawmakers have lost primaries, including three Republicans and seven Democrats.

The three Republican incumbents who fell short include Dan Crenshaw of Texas, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Andy Ogles of Tennessee.

The seven incumbent House Democrats who lost include Al Green of Texas, Julie Johnson of Texas, Dan Goldman of New York, Adriano Espaillat of New York, Diana DeGette of Colorado, Shri Thanedar of Michigan, and John Larson of Connecticut.

The failed Texas and Tennessee U.S. House incumbents grappled with redistricting in their states that applied to this cycle.

1. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, arrives to a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, January 10, 2024(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Crenshaw, the only U.S. House Republican incumbent seeking re-election in Texas who did not get President Donald Trump’s endorsement, lost the GOP primary for Texas’ 2nd Congressional District to state Rep. Steve Toth.

While Trump did not endorse either of the men ahead of the primary, he has since endorsed Toth.

Crenshaw has served in the House since 2019.

2. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the last votes of the week on Thursday, June 25, 2026.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

MTG SAYS GOP’S FUTURE ‘DESTROYED’ AFTER TRUMP-BACKED PRIMARY CHALLENGER DEFEATS THOMAS MASSIE

Massie lost the Republican primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL.

The race made history as the most expensive U.S. House primary contest ever, reports indicate.

Massie has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since late 2012.

3. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025.(Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Despite having Trump’s endorsement, Ogles lost the GOP primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District to former state Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher.

Ogles has served in the House since 2023.

Trump backed Hatcher last week after he defeated Ogles in the primary.

“Last night was another good night for Endorsements, 8-1, and the 1 was a person who I remained loyal to even though he had virtually no chance of winning, and was running against a Great ‘Trump’ Candidate, and former Agricultural Commissioner of Tennessee, named Charlie Hatcher. Good luck Charlie! Run tough and hard. You have my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Trump declared in a Truth Social post.

4. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich.

Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., arrives for the vote on the budget resolution in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, April 10, 2025.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

DSA-BACKED CANDIDATE TOPPLES MILLIONAIRE DEM INCUMBENT

Thanedar, who has served as a lawmaker in the lower congressional chamber since 2023, lost the Democratic U.S. House primary in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District this year to state Rep. Donavan McKinney, a Democratic socialist.

Thanedar declared in October 2023 that he was renouncing Democratic Socialists of America membership, though then-Detroit DSA co-chair Mikal Goodman declared at the time in a post on X that Thanedar “was expelled as a member on September 17th, by 91% of vote the general membership. He no longer had a membership to renounce.”

5. Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., during a canvass launch on the final weekend of early voting ahead of a primary election at Brooklyn Borough Hall in the Brooklyn borough of New York, on Saturday, June 20, 2026.(Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Goldman, who took office in 2023, lost the Democratic U.S. House primary in New York’s 10th Congressional District to former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.

Big Apple Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, had backed Lander ahead of the primary contest.

“He’ll bring principled leadership to Washington and make sure Congress works for the many, not just the few,” Mamdani wrote in part of a post on X.

6. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y.

U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y. walks through the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 10, 2026 in Washington, D.C.(Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALIST WITH HISTORY OF ANTI-AMERICAN RHETORIC WINS VICIOUS DEM PRIMARY RACE

Espaillat lost the Democratic U.S. House primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District to Democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier, who was also endorsed by Mamdani.

The congressman has served in the U.S. House chamber since 2017.

He is chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

7. Rep. Diana Degette, D-Colo.

Rep. Diana DeGette participated in a League of Women Voters Congressional District 1 candidate forum at Montview Presbyterian Church on May 28, 2026, in Denver, Colo.(RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

DeGette lost the Democratic U.S. House primary for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District to Democratic socialist Melat Kiros.

The congresswoman has served in the House for nearly two decades since taking office in 1997.

8. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, joins Texas House Democrats for a press conference at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union hall on Aug. 4, 2025 in Warrenville, Ill.(Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Green, who has served in the House since 2005, lost the Democratic U.S. House primary runoff for Texas’ 18th Congressional District to U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee.

9. Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas

Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol with the Democratic Women’s Caucus on Equal Pay Day to call for “equal pay for equal work,” on Thursday, March 26, 2026(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Johnson, who has only served in the House since last year, lost the Democratic U.S. House primary runoff for Texas’ 33rd Congressional District to former Rep. Colin Allred.

LONGTIME ANTI-TRUMP DEM OUSTED AFTER TOUGH PRIMARY FROM UPSTART PROGRESSIVE MAYOR

10. Rep. John Larson, D- Conn.

Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the last votes before August recess, on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Larson, who has served in the House since 1999, lost the Democratic U.S. House primary in Connecticut’s 1st Congressional District to former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

Can taking weight-loss drugs help you get hired? Yes, if you’re a woman.

2026-08-13T12:56:00-0400 / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

Read Full Bio

Updated on: August 13, 2026 / 1:59 PM EDT / CBS News

Add CBS News on Google

Taking weight-loss drugs could help unemployed women get a job, according to new research.

Unemployed women taking GLP-1 medications to lose weight saw a 27 percentage point increase in employment after 18 months of use, compared with women who want to use the drugs but haven’t done so, Harvard economist Rebecca Diamond said in a recent paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The data adds to an existing body of research documenting an “obesity penalty” disproportionately affecting heavier women, who tend to earn less and who are less likely to marry or live with a partner. Women who started taking the drugs saw their marriage and cohabitation rates rise by 29 percentage points after 18 months of using a GLP-1 treatment, Diamond also found.

Although such findings suggest that GLP-1 usage can affect economic or social outcomes for women, there’s no evidence that the drugs helped already employed women advance in their careers by earning a raise or promotion, noted Diamond, who didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The research also raises questions about who can access GLP-1 drugs, given that early adopters tend to be “disproportionately financially advantaged,” she wrote.

“If medical weight loss changes how women are treated in markets, then unequal access to the drugs may also shape who can avoid the social and economic penalties attached to body size,” Diamond wrote. “It is also unsettling to think about using medical treatment as a possible remedy for discrimination.”

What is the “female obesity penalty”?

Existing research shows that obese women face discrimination in the labor market. They tend to earn less money and receive fewer callbacks after first interviews than their lighter peers do.

GLP-1s can change that reality for heavier women, who are increasingly turning to the drugs expressly to slim down. By the end of 2024, 6% of U.S. women had started using a GLP-1 for the purpose of slimming down, according to Diamond, who notes that uptake is greater among women with a history of obesity, 9% of whom had turned to the drugs to lose weight.

Diamond used the Understanding America Study, a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults, to compare jobless women who start a GLP-1 regimen to lose weight with those who have not yet sought such treatment.

“Women not employed at baseline also move into work,” she said in the paper, noting that employment gains accumulate as job candidates shed weight. Workers who were unemployed and found jobs accounted for most of the employment gains, rather than people who returned from retirement or disability.

By contrast, already employed women who start taking GLP-1s don’t see a boost at work, with their career trajectories likely reflecting a number of other factors, the study found. In other words, the obesity penalty is strongest during the job interview process and less prevalent once someone is in the workplace.

Edited by Aimee Picchi

In:

• GLP-1