By Michael Martina
WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. is preparing to tell dozens of countries they must pick sides in the artificial intelligence race with China, warning they will be excluded from a U.S.-led AI coalition if they also sign up for Beijing's competing framework, ‌according to a U.S. official and an internal draft reviewed by Reuters.
Washington last year launched the Pax Silica initiative aimed at securing supply chains ‌for AI models, semiconductors and critical minerals, amid a fierce technology rivalry with Beijing.
About two dozen countries have joined, including Kazakhstan, a key potential source of critical minerals that has also joined China's coalition, as well as close U.S. allies such as ****** an, Australia and South Korea.
The draft letter, prepared by the State Department, is addressed to the 35 signatories of a U.S. "AI Opportunity Statement" signed in June, which includes members of the non-binding Pax Silica framework and other countries that have expressed a desire to align cooperation on AI with Washington.

#coalition #critical #minerals

By Alasdair Pal and Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Thursday he was open to a referendum on whether to change the country's electoral system, ‌opening another split in his centre-right coalition months ahead of a general election.
New Zealand adopted the German-style ‌Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system in 1996 after an inquiry found smaller parties were being shut out of parliament under the previous first-past-the-post system.
Luxon said in an interview with radio station Newstalk ZB that a referendum is "something we should consider", and could be held as early as 2027 if he returns to power following a general election scheduled for November 7.
"I think I would because I actually think that it is quite right to check in constitutionally and say, is this the system, New ‌Zealand, you still want?" he said.

#lucy

Last week, David Ellison's Paramount Skydance agreed to delay the closing of its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery until June 2027 as it confronts a legal challenge from a coalition of 12 state attorneys general. The delay gives the companies more time to defend the transaction in court. It also gives almost everything that threatens the transaction more time to get worse.
Paramount already faces an imposing collection of headwinds: shifting legal counsel, declining cable subscriptions, a fragile architecture of financing and an impending "ticking fee" that will increase the cost of delay. But the company's greatest challenge in the year ahead may be time itself. As Vince Lombardi reportedly said after a close loss: "We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time." Hollywood has seen this movie before, and only a decade ago.
AT&T announced its agreement to acquire Time Warner in October 2016. The Justice Department sued to block the transaction in November 2017, forcing the companies into a lengthy legal battle before AT&T finally completed the acquisition in June 2018.
While AT&T and Time Warner fought in court and then struggled to integrate their operations, an emboldened Disney moved with greater strategic clarity. Disney announced its agreement to acquire most of 21st Century Fox in December 2017, completed the acquisition in March 2019 and launched Disney+ that November. HBO Max did not launch until May 2020.
The significance was not merely that Disney's service arrived six months earlier. Disney had used the Fox acquisition to strengthen its content library, ******* ume control of Hulu and build a clear consumer proposition around Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.

#time #acquisition

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., one of Congress' most outspoken progressives and a member of the "Squad," won the 12th Congressional District's Democratic primary Tuesday evening, teeing up her re-election for a fifth term.
Tlaib's primary victory against Michigan state lawmaker Shanelle Jackson and Inkster Mayor Byron Nolen continues a string of victories for progressives as the Democratic Party's far-left wing enjoys ***** ounced primary election success that has strengthened the hand of its coalition. It has also widened the range of positions held by their candidates.
When Tlaib and fellow Squad members joined the House of Representatives in 2019, their campaigns stood out for their far-left views. Tlaib and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in particular, stood out because of their membership in the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
Eight years later, the DSA has backed Tlaib again.
Bernie Sanders, Dsa Reveal Demands For Dem Party After Socialists Sweep New York Elections

#democratic #primary #election #left

WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday said the Trump administration improperly terminated billions of dollars in funds to boost clean energy projects, handing a win to a coalition of nonprofits picked to run the Biden-era effort.
Climate United Fund and other nonprofits won't have access to their funds immediately as the decision will be put on hold for several days giving the Environmental Protection Agency time to ask the Supreme Court to step in.
The judgement by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is a loss for the Trump administration in one of its earliest efforts to dismantle President Joe Biden's campaign to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gases. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, commonly referred to as a "green bank," is a $20 billion congressionally authorized program that provided money to nonprofits that would then make loans and invest in small energy projects, energy-efficient buildings and transportation.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin accused Climate United Fund and other nonprofits picked to run the green bank of mismanagement and potential fraud. He froze billions that had been placed in a Citibank account for the program and then terminated their grants. The groups disputed any wrongdoing and sued, arguing the Trump administration broke the law and violated the Constitution by not spending money authorized by Congress.
"Despite efforts to harm the awardees with false allegations and misinformation, there remains no legal basis for terminating our grant award and clawing back funds that were already disbursed in our bank accounts," Climate United said in a statement.

#fund #administration #energy

A clean energy super PAC bankrolled by a left-wing billionaire is pouring millions into an effort to unseat Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., as he wages a bid for re-election in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District.
The Invest in Tomorrow Coalition super PAC had spent roughly $1.3 million on opposing Ogles and supporting his Republican challenger, Charlie Hatcher, Tennessee's former commissioner of agriculture, and recently bought another $700,000 worth of ads.
The group has raised $6.7 million this year, making Ogles a sizable portion of their spending this cycle. A Fox News Digital review of FEC filings discovered that the super PAC is bankrolled by Chris Larsen, the California-based billionaire chairman of Ripple, which is described on its website as the "leading financial technology company that offers crypto solutions for businesses."
Larsen has donated $6 million to the super PAC since Feb. 2026. His latest $5 million donation to Invest in Tomorrow Coalition PAC is his second-largest single donation after donating $5,444,975 to Future Forward PAC in 2024 to support Kamala Harris's failed presidential campaign.
Trump-backed Firebrand Wins Arizona Gop Governor Primary, Setting Up High-stakes Showdown

#donation

Several immigrant business owners are preparing to sue New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his plan for city-owned grocery stores, Fox News Digital confirmed on Wednesday.
The New York Post first reported on Tuesday that the Multicultural Business Coalition's (MBC) board voted to file a lawsuit against the city over Mamdani's plan to open five taxpayer-funded grocery stores that will sell food at prices up to 30% below traditional retailers.
According to MBC Chairman Frank Garcia, the MBC is now planning to send a letter to Mamdani's office in the coming days detailing its upcoming legal plans to protect competing stores, bodegas and other small businesses. If Mamdani does not respond or meet with the organization within the next three weeks, the group plans to take further legal action.
Mamdani Confronted On Failed City-run Grocery Store Attempt In Kansas City, Claims His Plan Will Work
The Multicultural Business Coalition announced efforts to take legal action against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's taxpayer-funded grocery stores.

#mamdani #business #zohran

By Georgina McCartney
July 30 (Reuters) - Oil fell on Thursday in volatile trade as investors considered proposed plans for a Saudi Arabia-led maritime coalition to boost defence cooperation around the Red Sea, reversing a rise in prices earlier in the session after Washington and Tehran traded strikes on each ‌other's military targets again.
Brent futures were down $1.26, or 1.39%, at $89.48 a barrel at 12:41 p.m. EDT after touching a high of $93.31.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ‌futures were down 53 cents, or 0.63%, at $83.93, after hitting a high of $85.94.
Saudi Arabia is seeking to lead a coalition with other countries to boost defence cooperation in the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Saudi defence ministry said 14 states including Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti have issued a joint statement in support of the proposed multinational maritime defence coalition.

#defence #maritime

Circle (NYSE: CRCL) issues USD Coin (CRYPTO: USDC), the world's second-largest stablecoin and the most widely used stablecoin in the United States. USD Coin is backed by Circle's own U.S. dollars and Treasuries, and the company generates most of its revenue from the interest earned on those deposits (known as its reserve income). Circle recently won a U.S. bank charter, and its firm compliance with U.S. regulations makes it an appealing choice for institutional investors.
Circle's revenue will keep rising as long as it continues to mint more USDC tokens for investors who want a faster, more digitally flexible alternative to real U.S. dollars. In a recent CNBC interview, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire claimed the entire stablecoin market could grow from about $1 trillion today to tens of trillions of dollars over the coming years. But does that mean Circle's stock will grow at the same rate as the broader stablecoin market?
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Circle's U.S. bank charter and its tight compliance with U.S. regulators might make it seem like an obvious way to profit from the stablecoin market's growth. However, Circle's entire future is pegged to USDC -- and that leading token will face a major new competitor later this year.
That challenger is Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin backed by a coalition of over 140 financial, tech, and retail giants. One of OUSD's most prominent backers is Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), a founding partner of USDC. Coinbase retains USDC's reserve income on its own exchange, and that crucial partnership will automatically renew on Aug. 18.

#signal #Coinbase

By Jody Godoy
July 23 (Reuters) - Paramount Skydance must pause its $110 billion acquisition of ‌Warner Bros. Discovery through August 17, a ‌federal judge ruled on Thursday.
The move gives Paramount Skydance more time to argue against a potential months-long pause while the case plays out. The company has said such a prolonged delay ‌would plunge the ⁠deal into uncertainty and could cost it more than $1 billion.
A California-led coalition ⁠of states have sued to block the deal, saying it would harm competition in film and television, hurting theaters and cable companies. The ‌Writers Guild of America has filed a separate lawsuit alleging the deal would decrease demand for screenwriting work.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in Oakland, California, previously paused the deal through ‌August 3, when she would have held a hearing on whether to postpone the deal's closing for ‌longer.

#deal #paramount #pause #billion

EXCLUSIVE - Far-left Democratic congressional candidate Oliver Larkin of Florida says he supports abolishing the U.S. Senate, agrees with socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested during his upcoming trip to the U.S., and refers to Israel's ruling coalition as a "religious supremacist regime."
Larkin, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz in next month's Florida primary, is one of just four congressional candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
The 33-year-old Larkin, a veteran of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 Democratic presidential campaign, is also the only DSA-endorsed House candidate running in one of the roughly two dozen key swing districts that will determine if Republicans hold onto their razor-thin majority in the midterm elections.
Moskowitz, who is running for re-election in Florida's newly redrawn 25th Congressional District, a Broward County-anchored seat in the southeastern corner of the red-leaning state, is heavily supported by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). He currently holds a polling and fundraising lead over Larkin.
Midterm Battle For The House: Check Out The Fox News Power Rankings

#midterm

Los Angeles mayoral hopeful and former reality TV star Spencer Pratt released a lengthy, artificial-intelligence-assisted screed taking down the lawsuit filed by 12 state attorneys general against Paramount over its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. In a TikTok video, he shouts that Hollywood is kaput if the suit succeeds.
On July 20, a coalition of 12 states led by California filed a suit against Paramount to block its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The coalition includes New York and Colorado, among others. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order pausing the merger earlier this week.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal Blessed by European Union Regulators
After German Broadcaster Yanks "Antifascist" Song, Musicians Give Guerrilla YouTube Concert

#warner

Earlier this year, the streaming and entertainment industry witnessed one of its most high-stakes megadeals ever, stunning industry observers. Not only is it historic in its size, but it is also predicted to disrupt Hollywood and the media business as we know it.
After years of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) struggling under the weight of billions of dollars in debt, compounded by declining cable viewership and fierce competition from streaming platforms, the company has been considering major strategic changes, including selling its entertainment **** ets to one of its rivals.
Several major players saw the potential in acquiring the media giant, and in December, Netflix announced it would acquire WBD's studios and streaming for $82.7 billion.
But in a surprise eleventh-hour move in late February, the David Ellison-run Paramount became the winner of this bidding war, offering $111 billion to acquire all of WBD's **** ets, including its studios, HBO, streaming platforms, games, and TV networks such as CNN and HGTV. Paramount was recently acquired by Ellison with significant support from his father, Larry Ellison — the Oracle chairman, world's sixth-richest person, and major Trump donor.
Paramount's offer was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in June. However, a federal judge just paused the deal after a lawsuit was filed on July 13 by a coalition of 12 state attorneys general.

#Streaming

The House passed its $1.15 trillion annual defense policy bill Wednesday after a bipartisan revolt over a provision expanding U.S.-Israel defense technology cooperation.
The fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act passed 216-212, with Republicans largely supporting and Democrats mostly opposing the measure.
The annual bill, which sets Pentagon policy and typically draws broad bipartisan support, received only six Democratic votes as much of the caucus objected to Section 219 and Republican-backed amendments restricting transgender care and easing access to personal guns on military bases.
House Democrats Fracture Badly Over Massie Amendment To Cut $3.3B In U.s. Aid To Israel
Opposition came from a coalition of progressive Democrats and Republican skeptics of U.S. support for Israel, who accused congressional leaders of shielding the provision from scrutiny after lawmakers were denied a separate vote to remove it.

#policy #bill

Sloane Stephens (left), WTA tennis star and investor in Project B, and Alana Beard (right), Project B Co-Founder, Chief Basketball Officer, and former WNBA champion.
Women's basketball is attracting record audiences and global attention, billion-dollar valuations, and unprecedented investment. Yet, one of the industry' most consequential stories isn't about what is happening on the court, but what is happening around the boardroom.
In an industry where Black women have historically generated labor and cultural value in women's basketball without receiving proportional economic ownership, Project B is challenging and changing that pattern.
Behind the venture is a coalition of women investors and advisors bringing not only capital, but decades of leadership, strategic influence, and industry expertise in business, finance, media, and entrepreneurship.
Their investment isn't simply backing another basketball venture, it reflects an intentional and broader shift in who creates wealth, who influences strategy, and who participates in the next chapter of the sport economy.

#project #industry

(Corrects which administration extended TPS for three countries in paragraph 10)
By Nate Raymond
BOSTON, July 21 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's administration from stripping tens of thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants who have ‌Temporary Protected Status of their ability to work in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston sided with ‌a coalition of immigrant rights groups and labor unions that sued to block U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from moving forward with a series of policies designed to implement new immigration-related restrictions enacted by Congress last year.
Gorton's order will be in place until he decides whether to issue a longer-term pause of the Trump administration's policy. The judge said he would rule on that by August 5. USCIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

#boston

By Nayera Abdallah, Eman Abouhassira and Timour Azhari
DUBAI/RIYADH, July 20 (Reuters) - Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, opening a potential new front against the United States in its war with Iran and raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.
The escalation comes after one of the deadliest periods in the war for U.S. troops. The ‌Pentagon on Monday identified two U.S. soldiers who were killed when Iran attacked an American base in Jordan on Friday, while they also said they had found unidentified remains that could be those of a third soldier ‌reported as missing in action. Separately, a fourth service member was killed in northern Iraq during the "controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone."
After the Houthis announced their blockade, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said in a statement that it would respond to them with force, and also that it began implementing protection measures for its ships moving through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key export route for Saudi oil after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis made their announcement despite signs that Tehran and Washington want to resume diplomacy to halt a worsening cycle of attacks that has all but wrecked a fragile interim agreement signed last month. Iran's Foreign Ministry said mediators had presented "proposals" to Tehran, signalling that diplomatic contacts remain active, but gave no details.

By Nayera Abdallah and Timour Azhari
DUBAI, July 20 (Reuters) - Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi ‌Arabia, drawing a warning from the Saudi-led coalition that it would respond "firmly", ‌in a move that threatens to disrupt global energy supplies beyond the Gulf.
The Houthis' armed forces in a statement said they were declaring "a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of 'an eye for an eye', effective immediately".
They said the decision was in response to what they called "an unjust and oppressive siege" imposed on Yemen by the Saudis. ‌A full closure of the ⁠Bab el-Mandeb strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea, would halt Saudi oil exports to Asia and could reduce global ⁠oil supply by 7%.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen vowed to respond to the threat to its commercial ships with firmness.

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The U.S. aviation sector is reportedly pushing lawmakers to approve a funding package worth $20 billion to modernize the country's aging air traffic control (ATC) systems, as well as curb flight disruptions.
According to a Reuters report on Wednesday, a coalition of airlines, airplane manufacturers, airports, unions and others said that the funds would replace hundreds of aging ATC facilities, as well as help deploy next-generation tech for controllers to improve safety.
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WARSAW, July 17 (Reuters) - Poland's president vetoed two bills on Friday that would have introduced "cohabitation contracts" for couples living together, dealing a blow to same-sex couples in one of the ‌few European Union countries with limited rights for LGBT people.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk took office in ‌2023 pledging to deliver reforms on abortion and LGBT rights, but divisions within his broad pro-European coalition as well as nationalist President Karol Nawrocki's veto powers mean he has struggled to do so.
The bills on the "status of the closest person in a relationship and the cohabitation agreement" would have allowed two adults to enter into an agreement regulating issues such as joint property rights, access to medical information and matters concerning burial.
The bills had secured support from ‌across the governing coalition, including from the ⁠conservative PSL party which had refused to support earlier proposals which they feared would undermine the institution of marriage.
However, Nawrocki, an ally of the nationalist opposition party Law ⁠and Justice (PiS), said the bills still went too far.

By Bianca Flowers
CHICAGO, July 14 (Chicago) - Civil rights leaders announced plans on Tuesday for a Washington march to defend voting rights, saying recent court decisions have ‌weakened key federal protections against racial discrimination in voting.
The coalition — led by Rev. ‌Al Sharpton's National Action Network and joined by Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, and labor and civil rights groups — will host the "March on Washington 2026: Defend the Vote" march on August 28. That will mark the 63rd anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
Organizers said they hope to use the event to ‌pressure lawmakers and rally a response ⁠to the erosion of voting protections.
The campaign centers on the Supreme Court's April ruling weakening Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a key ⁠provision used to challenge voting laws and electoral maps that discriminate on the basis of race or dilute minority voting power. Organizers said the decision has intensified a long-running fight over Black political representation.

CAIRO (AP) — The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia's Abha International Airport on Monday in response to airstrikes they blamed on Saudi Arabia that struck Sanaa International Airport earlier in the day.
No casualties were reported, but the attacks marked an escalation not seen since a Saudi-led coalition struck Houthi-controlled areas several years ago. Saudi Arabian officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the airstrikes in Yemen.
Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, in a video statement on Telegram, warned airlines against flying through Saudi airspace, saying these warnings should be taken "seriously until the blockade on Sanaa International Airport is lifted."
The internationally recognized government in Yemen said earlier that the strikes that hit Sanaa International Airport were meant to prevent an Iranian plane from landing.
The Houthis vowed to retaliate for the strike, which marked the first major escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia following a period of relative calm.

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan is facing calls for a Senate Judiciary Committee investigation after a coalition of conservative legal organizations accused her of failing to recuse herself from a major climate change case expected to be argued before the high court next term, alleging she publicly endorsed legal theories central to the dispute.
In a letter sent Monday to Senate Judiciary Committee leaders, the coalition urged lawmakers to investigate whether Kagan violated federal ethics rules by participating in Suncor Energy v. Boulder County.
The coalition argued that Kagan compromised her impartiality by writing the foreword to the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, which included a climate science chapter that was later criticized by Congress and Republican attorneys general as biased and was eventually removed.
Suncor Energy v. Boulder County asks whether Colorado local governments can use state law to hold oil and gas companies financially liable for their alleged contributions to climate change.
In her foreword, Kagan wrote that judges would increasingly confront lawsuits involving "climate science" and encouraged them to use the manual as a resource for evaluating scientific evidence.

PARIS (AP) — Ukraine and nine other countries announced Monday they were forming a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles, utilizing Kyiv's experience in fighting Russia's full-scale invasion for over four years.
"Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for Europe," the 10 nations said in a statement in Paris at talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He was asking two dozen leaders for help in developing measures against Russia's missile attacks that have pummeled his country and made the rest of Europe wary of Moscow's wider ambitions on the continent.
Zelenskyy and the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said they recognized "the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles," which are harder to stop than cruise missiles or drones.
"We believe that protecting Europe requires a comprehensive solution, in the form of an integrated missile defense architecture, to deter and neutralize future missile threats," the statement said. "We recognize Ukraine's unique experience, gained through its defense against the war of aggression waged by Russia."

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) is one of the 15 Best NASDAQ 100 Stocks to Buy Other Than ***** eX.
On July 7, 2026, Morgan Stanley lowered the firm's price target on CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) to $172 from $172.50 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares.
On July 8, Benchmark raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) to $230 from $195 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. Benchmark said CrowdStrike's stock split and recent management discussions support a more constructive view of its AI security opportunity, citing AIDR, Project QuiltWorks, Falcon Flex, identity protection, and SIEM as positioning the company as a key platform for enterprise AI adoption.
Image by drobotdean on Freepik
On June 18, CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) announced that it is expanding Project QuiltWorks with Amazon Web Services (AMZN). The company said the expansion extends the coalition from technology, services, and financial protection to the attack surface where vulnerabilities are found and exploited, as frontier AI shortens the window between vulnerability and exploitation.

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of state financial officers said it uncovered roughly $225 million in alleged fraud across America's schools over the past six years, identifying nearly 90 cases involving embezzlement, fake invoices, inflated enrollment, bid-rigging and kickbacks.
In a new report obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) and Open the Books ***** yzed every Education Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) Semiannual Report to Congress issued between Oct. 1, 2019, and March 31, 2026, revealing alleged fraud across 24 states and Puerto Rico.
"All fraud is harmful, but defrauding education dollars meant to help kids learn and succeed is especially hideous," SFOF CEO OJ Oleka said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"The findings in this report should alarm every family, teacher, and civic leader, especially since they only scratch the surface of the problem. The state financial officers courageously tracking every school dollar abused historically have had a bloated federal education bureaucracy only make their job harder."
The War On Fraud Is Here, And Vice President Vance Is Leading It From The Front

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of state financial officers said it uncovered roughly $225 million in alleged fraud across America's schools over the past six years, identifying nearly 90 cases involving embezzlement, fake invoices, inflated enrollment, bid-rigging and kickbacks.
In a new report obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) and Open the Books **** yzed every Education Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) Semiannual Report to Congress issued between Oct. 1, 2019, and March 31, 2026, revealing alleged fraud across 24 states and Puerto Rico.
"All fraud is harmful, but defrauding education dollars meant to help kids learn and succeed is especially hideous," SFOF CEO OJ Oleka said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"The findings in this report should alarm every family, teacher, and civic leader, especially since they only scratch the surface of the problem. The state financial officers courageously tracking every school dollar abused historically have had a bloated federal education bureaucracy only make their job harder."
The War On Fraud Is Here, And Vice President Vance Is Leading It From The Front

Infleqtion Inc. (NYSE:INFQ) is one of the best new tech stocks to buy according to ****** ysts. On June 22, Infleqtion launched America's Quantum ****** e Initiative, partnering with Voyager Technologies, Armada, Monarch Quantum, and the University of Colorado Boulder. This collaboration aims to accelerate the development and deployment of quantum technologies, such as sensing, computing, and communications, for future ****** e infrastructure.
The initiative uses the combined expertise of industry and academic leaders to transition quantum innovations from laboratory demonstrations to operational ****** e applications. By connecting diverse stakeholders through a new Quantum ****** e Hub, the coalition plans to foster breakthroughs that enhance precision, resilience, and autonomy in critical ****** e systems.
This strategic effort seeks to solidify US leadership in next-generation technology by addressing complex challenges in deep-space exploration, mission optimization, and lunar infrastructure. Through ongoing research and public-private partnerships, the initiative will focus on establishing the foundational capabilities necessary to shape the future of the ****** e economy.
Infleqtion Inc. (NYSE:INFQ) develops and commercializes quantum technology products.
While we acknowledge the potential of INFQ as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

PHOENIX (AP) — For decades, all that separated the U.S. from Mexico was barbed wire.
Now, after a massive infusion of cash from Congress, President Donald Trump's administration is swiftly building what it has dubbed a "smart wall," a combination of 30-foot-tall (9-meter-tall) steel fencing and an array of sophisticated technology like sensors, cameras and towers allowing Border Patrol to surveil the territory.
The wall is under heavy scrutiny for the billions of dollars being dedicated to it when border crossings are at their lowest in decades. Critics say the U.S. is militarizing the border as it increasingly deploys sophisticated surveillance technology to the area, impacting local communities.
"We are seeing a massive expansion of surveillance and surveillance technology across the borderlands," said Ricky Garza, border policy counsel at the Southern Border Communities Coalition, an advocacy group. "The wall in all its forms is harmful to communities."
Officials say the technology is complementary to the physical wall and frees up agents for other tasks.

A US Air Force major was arrested on the steps of the US Capitol on Wednesday after delivering a speech calling for the impeachment and removal of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
The arrest of Jason Watson occurred after he spoke at a news conference organized by Removal Coalition, the grassroots, activist group said. During the news conference, Watson identified himself as an active-duty service member and wore a military uniform. Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas also attended the event.
US Capitol Police, which confirmed the arrest, said members of the public may not demonstrate on the steps of the House unless they are accompanied by a member of Congress.
Watson was "escorted" to the steps by a member of Congress, who "left the area," before police gave Watson "lawful orders to stop the illegal demonstration or he would be arrested," the police said in a statement.
"The man refused our lawful orders and was then arrested for 22-1307 Crowding, Obstructing, and Incommoding," US Capitol Police added, noting that there are other spots on the Capitol grounds where demonstrating is allowed.