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President Biden signs stopgap funding bill into law, narrowly averting shutdown

President Biden signs stopgap funding bill into law, narrowly averting shutdown

The White House has announced that President Biden signed a stopgap funding bill into law on Saturday, extending government funding into March and avoiding a shutdown. The bill includes $100 billion in disaster aid and a one-year farm bill. The Senate worked into early Saturday morning to pass the bill 85-11, just after the deadline following a chaotic week on Capitol Hill.  President Biden has not yet publicly commented on the passage of the legislation.  “H.R. 10545, the ‘American Relief Act, 2025,’ which provides fiscal year 2025 appropriations to Federal agencies through March 14, 2025, for continuing projects and activities of the Federal Government; provides disaster relief appropriations and economic assistance to farmers; extends the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018; and extends several expiring authorities,” a White House statement reads.  This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Potential Vance Senate replacement travels to Mar-a-Lago as speculation on filling seat intensifies

Potential Vance Senate replacement travels to Mar-a-Lago as speculation on filling seat intensifies

One of the leading candidates to fill Vice President-elect JD Vance‘s Ohio Senate seat recently traveled to President-elect Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence as a decision from the state’s governor draws closer. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine traveled to Trump’s Florida home with fellow Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who is believed to be a top candidate to replace Vance, in recent days, although the specifics of any conversation are unclear, News 5 Cleveland first reported, and Fox News Digital has confirmed. State law dictates that DeWine will select a Republican to take Vance’s spot in the Senate until a special election is held in November 2026 to determine who will serve the rest of Vance’s term, which ends in 2028. The winner of that special election could then run again in 2028 in order to start a new six-year term.  Multiple sources told Fox News Digital that a final decision on the Senate appointment is expected in the next few weeks as the new Congress will be sworn in on Jan. 3.  JD VANCE CRITICIZES NY TIMES READER FOR ‘WHINING’ ABOUT ELDERLY NEIGHBOR’S PRAYERS: ‘STOP BEING A WEIRDO’ DeWine’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.  The Governor’s spokesperson, Dan Tierney, told Fox News Digital last month that DeWine will be looking for a “workhorse” who is “qualified and ready to earn the trust of Ohio voters for another term.” VANCE WILL LIKELY BE 2028 FRONT-RUNNER, BUT RNC CHAIR ‘EXCITED ABOUT THE BENCH THAT WE HAVE’ Fox News Digital previously reported that DeWine is considering, along with Husted, several candidates for Senate, including attorney Mehek Cooke, Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken, Rep. Mike Carey and others. “Governor DeWine has a crucial decision ahead in selecting Ohio’s next Senator,” Cooke told Fox News Digital on Friday night. “If Jon is the workhorse he picks, he is the right choice.” “He’s battle-tested, with decades of experience fighting for Ohioans and securing a stronger future for our state. If Jon is the pick, I’m 100% behind him—there’s too much at stake, and we need someone who will put Ohio first. It was an honor to interview with the Governor, and he knows my commitment is to always put Ohio’s interests first.” An endorsement from Trump and Vance will be critical for any DeWine appointment, given that both are popular in the Buckeye State, where their ticket won by 11 points in November.  Husted, who is believed to be the only Senate candidate to travel to Trump’s home, has served as Ohio’s lieutenant governor since 2019 after serving eight years as Secretary of State and a member of both the state Senate and Ohio House of Representatives before that. Husted has widely been expected to run for governor to replace DeWine, and his team has recently taken steps to allocate resources to that race. Sources tell Fox News Digital that former presidential candidate Vivek Ramawamy’s interest in running for governor has caused some potential gubernatorial candidates to re-evaluate their options, given Ramaswamy’s deep pockets. Husted has remained tight-lipped about the potential Senate appointment other than to say, “I will continue serving this state as long as the people of Ohio will have me. As for the future, I intend to make my plans known early next year.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

New report warns of growing national security threat to U.S. as China builds AI: ‘Significant and concerning’

New report warns of growing national security threat to U.S. as China builds AI: ‘Significant and concerning’

FIRST ON FOX: A pro-tech advocacy group has released a new report warning of the growing threat posed by China’s artificial intelligence technology and its open-source approach that could threaten the national and economic security of the United States. The report, published by American Edge Project, states that “China is rapidly advancing its own open-source ecosystem as an alternative to American technology and using it as a Trojan horse to implant its CCP values into global infrastructure.” “Their progress is both significant and concerning: Chinese-developed open-source AI tools are already outperforming Western models on key benchmarks, while operating at dramatically lower costs, accelerating global adoption. Through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which spans more than 155 countries on four continents, and its Digital Silk Road (DSR), China is exporting its technology worldwide, fostering increased global dependence, undermining democratic norms, and threatening U.S. leadership and global security.” The report outlines how Chinese AI models censor historical events that could paint China in a bad light, deny or minimize human rights abuses, and filter criticism of Chinese political leaders. CATE BLANCHETT WORRIES AI COULD ‘TOTALLY REPLACE ANYONE’ “China is executing an ambitious $1.4 trillion plan to dominate global technology by 2030, with open-source systems as the cornerstone of its AI strategy,” the report states. “While many Western companies focus on paid, proprietary AI models, China is aggressively promoting free and low-cost alternatives to drive rapid global adoption.” The report continues, “By making much of its AI technology freely accessible, Beijing aims to ensure its systems and standards become embedded in the world’s financial, manufacturing and communications backbone. Through coordinated action between government and industry, China is working to reshape the global technology landscape while programming CCP values and control mechanisms into critical systems worldwide.” CHINA’S SCI-FI SPHERICAL DEATH STAR-LIKE ROBOT COP USES AI, FACIAL RECOGNITION TO TRACK CRIMINALS The report explains that China is “racing” to deploy AI while the United States is bogged down on prioritizing AI regulation. “While American and European governments focus on regulating AI, China is aggressively pushing its AI systems into global markets,” the report states, adding that, “This playbook mirrors China’s successful strategy with 5G technology, where Huawei gained dominant market share through aggressive pricing and rapid deployment before Western nations could respond effectively. Now in AI, one Chinese firm alone, Alibaba Cloud, has released over 100 open-source models in 29 different languages, flooding global markets while Western companies must navigate increasingly complex regulatory requirements.” The report lays out the differences between China and U.S. AI model responses and provides policy recommendations to “preserve U.S. AI leadership,” which includes seizing the “historic opportunity to secure lasting American AI leadership” and avoiding “unilateral restrictions on exporting and access to U.S. AI systems. “If America loses the global race to dominate both open-source and closed-source AI technology, authoritarian Chinese systems will write the future, and Washington policymakers can’t let that happen,” Doug Kelly, CEO of the American Edge Project, told Fox News Digital.  The report concludes that “the implications of Chinese leadership in global AI development are profound.” “A world of unchecked, Beijing-built AI ecosystems would be a major blow to the U.S. and to humanity writ large,” the Center for New American Security says in the report. “If Chinese AI goes global, so too will brazen non-compliance with international agreements on the technology.”

Pakistan jails 25 Imran Khan supporters over attacks on military sites

Pakistan jails 25 Imran Khan supporters over attacks on military sites

Military court convicts civilians involved in 2023 unrest, with rights groups slamming ruling as ‘intimidation tactic’. Pakistan has jailed 25 civilians over attacks on military facilities that followed the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2023. The military’s public relations wing confirmed the ruling on Saturday, stating that a military court had handed down sentences of between two and 10 years of “rigorous imprisonment”, with 14 facing a decade behind bars. The statement did not specify the charges, but referred to acts committed by Khan’s supporters, who stormed military premises and torched a general’s house during the unrest in May 2023, as “political terrorism”. It said the ruling was “a stark reminder … to never take law in [one’s] own hands”. The military said others charged over the violence, which killed at least eight people, were being tried in anti-terrorism courts and justice would only be fully served when the “mastermind and planners” were punished. Amnesty International called the ruling “an intimidation tactic, designed to crack down on dissent”. Politically motivated Former cricket star Khan served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, when he was removed by parliament in a no-confidence vote, blaming the then-head of the powerful military establishment for his downfall. Advertisement The 72-year-old was imprisoned for days in May 2023, then again three months later and has remained in jail since, facing a parade of court cases he claims are politically motivated. Meanwhile, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was hit by a sweeping crackdown, with thousands of grassroots supporters and senior officials arrested. Khan was barred from running in elections in February of this year, which were marred by rigging allegations. PTI defied the crackdown to win more seats than any other party but was shut out of power by a coalition of parties considered more amenable to military influence. Last month, protests and unrest gripped the capital Islamabad again as thousands of PTI supporters attempted to occupy a public square on the doorstep of parliament. Saturday’s ruling came days after Khan was indicted by an anti-terrorism court on charges of inciting attacks against the military. Adblock test (Why?)