Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter dead at 96
Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter died with her family by her side at her home in Plains, Georgia on Sunday, according to a statement by The Carter Center. She was 96. The wife of the 39th President of the United States died after she was admitted to hospice care on Friday. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” President Carter said. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.” She is survived by her husband, her four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. ROSALYNN CARTER CELEBRATES 96TH BIRTHDAY WITH HUSBAND JIMMY CARTER, PEANUT BUTTER ICE CREAM AND BUTTERFLIES Born Eleanor Rosalynn Smith on Aug. 18, 1927, in Plains, Georgia, she was the oldest of four children in the family of Allethea Murray Smith and Wilburn Edgar Smith. When she was 13, her father died and her mother became a dressmaker to help support her family. Carter worked alongside her mother and helped take care of her young siblings. After completing high school, she enrolled in Georgia Southwestern College at Americus. In 1945, after her freshman year, she first dated Jimmy Carter, who was home from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. “She’s the girl I want to marry,” President Carter reportedly told his mother after his first date with Rosalynn Smith, who had grown up as a friend and neighbor of the Carter family in Plains. The couple married in July 1946. JIMMY CARTER HAD ONE OF THE ‘GREATEST SECOND ACTS’ IN AMERICAN HISTORY, CONSERVATIVE HISTORIAN SAYS A biography of Carter credited to the White House Historical Association describes her “quiet, friendly manner” which made her “an effective campaigner” for her husband. As first lady of Georgia and later the United States, Carter worked tirelessly to create what she called “a more caring society,” a biography by The Carter Center, a nonprofit she and Jimmy Carter co-founded in 1982, notes. JIMMY CARTER, LONGEST LIVING US PRESIDENT, TURNS 99 “An activist first lady with her own bold agenda, she created a distinct East Wing office from which she set about helping disadvantaged people. Her efforts challenged age discrimination for older adults, encouraged opportunities for people with developmental disabilities, and advanced women’s equality,” the Center states. “Above all, she devoted herself to improving treatment and services for those coping with mental health conditions, a cause she adopted when her husband was governor and that remained her priority for the rest of her life,” the Center says. Her family announced that Carter was diagnosed with dementia in May 2023. She spent her final days with her husband and family.
Texas Gov. Abbott endorses Trump for 2024 GOP presidential bid
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, announced in a social media post on Sunday that he is “proud to endorse” former President Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination. “Today, I am proud to endorse Donald J. Trump for President,” Abbott said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Now more than ever, America needs a President who will secure the border and prioritize national security. President Trump is the clear choice to get the job done.” The former president joined the governor in Edinburg, Texas on Sunday for Abbott’s annual pre-Thanksgiving tradition of serving tamales to Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and Texas National Guardsmen deployed along the southern border under the governor’s Operation Lone Star program. TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT TO ENDORSE TRUMP FOR 2024 GOP NOMINATION WHEN THEY TEAM UP SUNDAY NEAR US-MEXICO BORDER The visit is intended to spotlight the combustible issue of illegal immigration and border security. The border has been a major issue for Republican voters and GOP leaders and politicians for two and a half years, leading to harsh criticism of President Biden’s administration’s handling of the crisis and a surge in border crossings by migrants. Trump pledged to launch the largest mass deportation effort in American history if he is re-elected and would reinstate travel bans and his 2019 “Remain in Mexico” program, which forced non-Mexican asylum seekers aiming to enter the U.S. at the southern border to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their cases. GAME ON IN IOWA AS DESANTIS AND HALEY BATTLE FOR SECOND PLACE BEHIND TRUMP In 2021, Trump endorsed Abbott as the conservative governor who was seeking re-election and faced multiple primary challenges from the right. He overwhelmingly won the renomination in March 2022 before defeating his Democratic challenger, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke last November to secure a third term as governor. Abbott was grateful for Trump’s early endorsement last cycle, according to those in the governor’s political orbit, and he’s now apparently returning the favor. WITH CLOCK TICKING TOWARDS FIRST VOTES IN THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE, THIS CANDIDATE REMAINS IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT Trump is making his third straight White House run and is currently the commanding front-runner for the Republican 2024 nomination, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley currently vying for a distant second place in the polls. Trump’s lead expanded over the spring and summer as he made history as the first former or current president in American history to be indicted for a crime. Trump’s four indictments – including in federal court in Washington D.C. and in Fulton County court in Georgia on charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss – have fueled his support among Republican voters. Paul Steinhauser of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
NSC leader claims US ‘closer’ than ever to hostage deal despite ongoing Hamas standoff
The U.S. is “closer than we have been in quite some time” to broker a deal with Israel and Hamas to release hostages being held in Gaza, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said Sunday. “I believe we are closer than we have been in quite some time, maybe closer than we have been since the beginning of this process, to getting this deal done. And we are following this minute by minute, hour by hour, and have been for a number of weeks,” Finer said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Finer was responding to questions regarding Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani telling reporters Sunday that negotiations for hostage releases have improved, and only “very minor” logistical hurdles stood in the way. FAMILIES OF ISRAELI HOSTAGES MARCH TOWARDS JERUSALEM DEMANDING ACTION FROM GOVERNMENT “The deal is going through ups and downs from time to time throughout the last few weeks,” the Qatari leader said. “But I think that you know I’m now more confident that we are close enough to reach a deal that can bring the people safely back to their home.” UN SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR EXTENDED PAUSE IN ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR AS IDF STRIKES HAMAS LEADER Finer explained that he would not go into more details on the negotiations until they are finalized. ISRAELI FORCES STRIKE ISLAMIC JIHAD STRONGHOLD IN GAZA, KILL HAMAS TERRORISTS IN SCHOOL “Sensitive negotiations like this can fall apart at the last minute. So we’re not going to outline all the details of what is still being discussed. We believe that this needs to get done, that people are being held in unconscionable conditions inside Gaza, including a number of Americans. And that they need to be allowed to come home,” the Biden administration official said. The Washington Post reported Saturday that Hamas was close to agreeing to release at least 50 hostages in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting. Soon after the report, the White House highlighted that no deal had yet been reached. There are an estimated 240 hostages being held in Gaza. Finer would not detail how many hostages could be released under a potential deal. “I’m not going to give a lot more detail, other than to say we are talking about considerably more than 12 [hostages]. But beyond that, I want to see where this goes and don’t want to say anything that would jeopardize the actual completion of the deal,” he said.
Christie insists antisemitism in US not a ‘rise’ but ‘unmasking’: ‘It’s been there’
GOP presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie insisted on Sunday that antisemitism in the United States is not on the rise, arguing that it has been there all along. Christie, appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” responded to the controversy surrounding X owner Elon Musk and antisemitism espoused on TikTok and by American college professors since Hamas terrorists launched their October 7 attack against civilians, killing about 1,200 people and dragging some 240 more into Gaza as hostages. “I think that what we’re seeing in this country, Kristen, and with Iran, with the incredible unmasking of antisemitism, I don’t want to say it’s a rise. I think it’s been there,” Christie told host Kristen Welker. “And I think what we’re seeing now, due to what’s happening in Israel at the moment, is that unmasking of that, we’re seeing it all over college campuses.” DEM CHAMPIONS POSSIBLE ISRAEL-HAMAS HOSTAGE DEAL AHEAD OF THANKSGIVING, BUT STAUNCHLY REJECTS CEASE-FIRE CALLS “We’re seeing it on social media sites like X and TikTok and other social media sites. And it is horrific,” he said. “I think the president, United States needs to be much stronger than he’s been in speaking out against antisemitism in this country. This is an outrageous, outrageous type of hate that’s being expressed. And we need to be speaking out against it no matter who does it, whether it’s Elon Musk, whether it’s professors on our college campuses or students that they are misleading or whether it’s individuals who are speaking out in an antisemitic way on the streets of our cities. This is unacceptable. And the president has not been strong enough in this view and in this point.” Musk was accused of endorsing a post on X in which another user appeared to have espoused the antisemitic trope of claiming Jewish people hate White people. Musk later issued a clarification, claiming he was only addressing left-wing organizations, not Jews in general, and said that anyone advocating for the genocide of any group of people on X would be suspended from the platform. Christie, the first Republican presidential candidate to visit Israel since the war began, called on the Israeli and United States governments to work on a deal to bring hostages home. NETANYAHU WAR CABINET STIFLES REVOLT FROM FAR RIGHT OVER SENDING GAZANS FUEL WITHOUT HOSTAGE DEAL: REPORT “I would support a deal that – that was fair and equitable and one that gets these people home now,” Christie said. “I absolutely do think Israel is following international law,” Christie added, rejecting allegations from the United Nations human rights chief who accused Israel of war crimes in Gaza. “Unlike a lot of other people who are expressing opinions about this, I was there and spoke to the leaders in Israel, spoke to the president of Israel. I spoke to members of the Israeli Defense Forces. I was 600 yards from the Gaza border. I went everywhere in Israel to see what’s going on. And they are doing everything they can to avoid civilian casualties,” Christie told Welker. “The problem is that Hamas is forcing these civilians to stay in places where Israel is warning them out of dropping thousands of leaflets, sending hundreds of thousands of text messages to warn people away from areas before they’re attacked,” he said. “It is Hamas that’s doing this. And let us not forget, for those who are advocating for a ceasefire, there was a ceasefire on October 6 and it was Hamas that broke it on October 7.”
DeSantis says Trump is ‘high risk,’ ‘low reward’ GOP presidential nominee
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said former President Donald Trump would be a risky 2024 GOP nominee, saying he has a “small” chance of beating President Biden, and would have a tough time attracting the necessary talent to “get the job done” should he win. DeSantis, who is locked in a heated battle for second place in the Republican primary race with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, was asked about his thoughts on the frontrunner Trump on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Donald Trump is a high-risk proposition as a nominee because I think the chance of him getting elected is small, but it’s a low reward because he’s going to be a lame duck on day one – that even if he could get elected, he would not be able to attract the type of talent to work in his administration and he’d be saddled with all these distractions that it’d be virtually impossible to get the job done,” DeSantis said. DeSantis also likened Trump to Biden in terms of age, saying the position of commander in chief is “not a job for an 80-year-old.” STATE OF THE RACE: GAME ON IN IOWA AS HALEY BATTLES DESANTIS FOR SECOND PLACE BEHIND TRUMP Biden, 80, is roughly three and a half years older than Trump, 77. Should Trump win the presidency, he will be 79 years old when taking office. DeSantis is 44. “Father time is undefeated,” the governor said. “Donald Trump is not exempt from any of that. I think with somebody like me, you go in, you know, I’m in the prime of my life. I go in day one, I’ll serve two terms, deliver big results and get the country moving again. That’s what Republican voters want to see.” HALEY RISES BUT TRUMP REMAINS DOMINANT IN EARLY GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY STATE: POLL DeSantis claimed that the Trump running today “not the same guy” who would “barnstorm” debate stages in 2016 and was “really going to shake things up.” Now Trump is “wedded to the teleprompter,” unwilling to debate and is running on many of the same issues he failed to deliver on in 2016, the governor said, citing the construction of the border wall and “draining the swamp” in Washington, D.C., among the former president’s failures. Meanwhile, Trump continued to attack both DeSantis and Haley during his appearance Saturday in Iowa, urging those in attendance to turn out on caucus day to “make sure we have a big victory” that would signal to other candidates that they should drop out. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Dem champions possible Israel-Hamas hostage deal ahead of Thanksgiving, but staunchly rejects cease-fire calls
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., championed news of a possible deal to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas ahead of Thanksgiving, but rejected calls for a cease-fire in Gaza. Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made clear that there is a difference a cease-fire in Gaza and humanitarian pauses. “Well, let’s draw a distinction here,” Coons told “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream, “between a cease-fire – some folks are calling for a cease-fire and protests across Europe and in our country, by which they mean Israel should stop fighting Hamas, should end their campaign in Gaza – or a pause that has been negotiated between Israel and Hamas to allow the release of hostages, Israeli and American and other nationality hostages, and allow them food and fuel and medicine to get into Gaza. A negotiated brief pause in the fighting, I think would be a good thing, and I would strongly support. A cease-fire, meaning an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas. I don’t support and neither does the president.” DEMOCRATIC SENATOR CONFRONTED BY LEFT-WING REPORTER ON AMTRAK: ‘YOU ARE BOTHERING ME’ “News of a potential hostage deal, Shannon, is great news just before Thanksgiving for the 10 American families whose loved ones are being held hostage and the more than 230 others. I’ve met with those families, Shannon, in Tel Aviv, and in Washington, and it’s heartbreaking to be with parents who don’t know how their children are doing and who believe they are being held in tunnels… beneath Gaza,” he said. “This is a good development today.” The Washington Post first reported Saturday that the United States, Israel and Hamas had reached a tentative agreement to release an initial 50 or more hostages in smaller groups every 24 hours. The release could begin within the next several days, according to reports. In an op-ed in The Post published on Saturday, President Biden vowed that at the time of his writing, “my team and I are working hour by hour, doing everything we can to get the hostages released.” In the piece, titled, “The U.S. won’t back down from the challenge of Putin and Hamas,” Biden also declared, “Every innocent Palestinian life lost is a tragedy that rips apart families and communities,” and vowed, “Gaza must never again be used as a platform for terrorism.” NETANYAHU WAR CABINET STIFLES REVOLT FROM FAR RIGHT OVER SENDING GAZANS FUEL WITHOUT HOSTAGE DEAL: REPORT “As long as Hamas clings to its ideology of destruction, a cease-fire is not peace,” Biden wrote. “To Hamas’ members, every cease-fire is time they exploit to rebuild their stockpile of rockets, reposition fighters and restart the killing by attacking innocents again. An outcome that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza would once more perpetuate its hate and deny Palestinian civilians the chance to build something better for themselves.” The U.S. is providing weapons and intelligence support to Israel as it mounts an offensive into Gaza with the goal of rooting out Hamas following the Oct. 7 attack, which killed more than 1,200 people. Biden has spoken repeatedly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and says he is working for the release of Hamas-held hostages, which include Americans. At least 11,400 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Demonstrators calling for a cease-fire in Gaza have staged protests around the country, including clashing this week with police outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. Coons himself was confronted on camera while riding on a train by an activist demanding the senator agree to a cease-fire. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Voting begins in Argentina’s presidential runoff, may send Trump-admiring populist Milei into presidency
Voters in Argentina were heading to the polls Sunday in a presidential runoff election that will determine whether South America’s second-largest economy will take a rightward shift. Populist Javier Milei, an upstart candidate who got his start as a television talking head, has frequently been compared to former U.S. President Donald Trump. He faces Economy Minister Sergio Massa of the Peronist party, which has been a leading force in Argentine politics for decades. On Massa’s watch, inflation has soared to more than 140% and poverty has increased. Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist, proposes to slash the size of the state and rein in inflation, while Massa has warned people about the negative impacts of such policies. The highly polarizing election is forcing many to decide which of the two they consider to be the least bad option. ARGENTINA’S JAVIER MILEI COPIES TRUMP’S PLAYBOOK TO BECOME COUNTRY’S BIGGEST PRIMARY ELECTION VOTE-GETTER “Whatever happens in this election will be incredible,” said Lucas Romero, director of local political consultancy Synopsis. “It would be incredible for Massa to win in this economic context or for Milei to win facing a candidate as professional as Massa.” Voting stations opened at 8 a.m. (1100 GMT) and close 10 hours later. Voting is conducted with paper ballots, making the count unpredictable, but initial results were expected around three hours after polls close. Milei went from blasting the country’s “political caste” on TV to winning a lawmaker seat two years ago. The economist’s screeds resonated widely with Argentines angered by their struggle to make ends meet, particularly young men. “Money covers less and less each day. I’m a qualified individual, and my salary isn’t enough for anything,” Esteban Medina, a 26-year-old physical therapist from Ezeiza, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a Milei rally earlier this week. Massa, as one of the most prominent figures in a deeply unpopular administration, was once seen as having little chance of victory. But he managed to mobilize the networks of his Peronist party and clinched a decisive first-place finish in the first round of voting. His campaign has cautioned Argentines that his libertarian opponent’s plan to eliminate key ministries and otherwise sharply curtail the state would threaten public services, including health and education, and welfare programs many rely on. Massa has also drawn attention to his opponent’s often aggressive rhetoric and has openly questioned his mental acuity; ahead of the first round, Milei sometimes carried a revving chainsaw at rallies. FORMER ROCKER NICKNAMED ‘ARGENTINE TRUMP’ GAINS ELECTION STEAM WITH ANTI-SOCIALIST MESSAGE Massa’s “only chance to win this election when people want change … is to make this election a referendum on whether Milei is fit to be president or not,” said Ana Iparraguirre, partner at pollster GBAO Strategies. Milei has accused Massa and his allies of running a “campaign of fear” and he has walked back some of his most controversial proposals, such as loosening gun control. In his final campaign ad, Milei looks at the camera and assures voters he has no plans to privatize education or health care. Most pre-election polls, which have been notoriously wrong at every step of this year’s campaign, show a statistical tie between the two candidates. Voters for first-round candidates who didn’t make the runoff will be key. Patricia Bullrich, who placed third, has endorsed Milei. Javier Rojas, a 36-year-old pediatrician who voted for Bullrich in October, told The Associated Press he’s leaning toward Milei, then added: “Well, to be honest, it’s more of a vote against the other side than anything else.” Underscoring the bitter division this campaign has brought to the fore, Milei received both jeers and cheers on Friday night at the legendary Colón Theater in Buenos Aires. The vote takes place amid Milei’s allegations of possible electoral fraud, reminiscent of those from Trump and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Without providing evidence, Milei claimed that the first round of the presidential election was plagued by irregularities that affected the result. Experts say such irregularities cannot swing an election, and that his assertions are partly aimed at firing up his base and motivating his supporters to become monitors of voting stations. Such claims spread widely on social media and, at Milei’s rally in Ezeiza earlier this week, all those interviewed told the AP they were concerned about the integrity of the vote. “You don’t need to show statistically significant errors,” Fernanda Buril, of the Washington-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems, said in an e-mail. “If you draw enough attention to one problem in one polling station which likely doesn’t affect the results in any meaningful way, people are likely to overestimate the frequency and impact of that and other problems in the elections more generally.”
AIDS conspiracies to antisemitism: Inside Bin Laden’s deranged letter picking up new support online
Usama bin Laden, the Islamic jihadist who organized the 9/11 attacks against Americans over 20 years ago, has been back in the headlines this week after his “Letter to America” picked up attention on social media. But those promoting it appear to be glossing over the deranged conspiracy theories and threats that the terror honcho pushes in the diatribe. The two-decades-old piece of jihadist propaganda was wiped from The Guardian’s website earlier this week due to a surge in attention — “without full context” — it was getting after some influencers on TikTok began talking about it. Some users said it changed their worldviews. Others went as far as to say they realized bin Laden “was right.” Part of bin Laden’s letter blamed America for supporting the “Israeli oppression of the Palestinians” and “the occupation” in the Holy Land. GOP LAWMAKERS RENEW CALLS TO BAN TIKTOK AFTER USAMA BIN LADEN’S ‘LETTER TO AMERICA’ WENT VIRAL After the trend gained some traction on TikTok, with 274 videos posted under the hashtag from Tuesday to Wednesday, a compilation of videos was uploaded again to X and gained over 35 million views, surpassing the 1.85 million views originally gained on TikTok. TikTok said the number of videos promoting the content is small and “reports of it trending on our platform are inaccurate.” The company said it was proactively and aggressively removing content and investigating how it got onto the platform. But the letter, unsurprisingly for something penned by a terrorist mastermind, is packed with extremist rhetoric, threats of violence, antisemitism and other language that would typically fall afoul of left-leaning online communities. In the rambling tirade, bin Laden justifies al-Qaeda’s attacks against the U.S. because “you attacked us” and “You attacked us in Palestine.” “The blood pouring out of Palestine must be equally revenged,” he threatens, before accusing the U.S. of occupying “our countries” and starving Muslims. Asking rhetorically “what do we want from you?” he answers: “The first thing that we are calling you to is Islam” before excoriating America for not being an Islamic theocracy. “You are the nation who, rather than ruling by the Shariah of Allah in its Constitution and Laws, choose to invent your own laws as you will and desire. You separate religion from your policies, contradicting the pure nature which affirms Absolute Authority to the Lord and your Creator.” “It is the religion of Jihad in the way of Allah so that Allah’s Word and religion reign Supreme,” he claims. He also calls for the end of “immortality and debauchery.” “We call you…to reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling’s [sic], and trading with interest.” The now-deceased terrorist dives headfirst into antisemitic conspiracy theories, alleging that “the Jews” control “your policies, media and economy.” USAMA BIN LADEN’S INFAMOUS ‘LETTER TO AMERICA’ AFTER 9/11 PROMOTED BY TIKTOK INFLUENCERS, GOES VIRAL “As a result of this, in all its different forms and guises, the Jews have taken control of your economy, through which they have then taken control of your media, and now control all aspects of your life making you their servants and achieving their aims at your expense,” he says. Soon after, he accuses the U.S. of trading “sex in all its forms” before tapping into fringe conspiracy theories about HIV/AIDS: “Go ahead and boast to the nations of man, that you brought them AIDS as a Satanic American Invention.” He issues an exhaustive list of demands in terms of global policies and reducing the American footprint abroad, before threatening the U.S. in no uncertain terms. “If you fail to respond to all these conditions, then prepare for fight [sic] with the Islamic Nation,” he said. Bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6 in May 2011. While the online influencers calling on Americans to “read” the letter have expressed how it changed the way they view the world, few if any have addressed the actual content of the terrorist propaganda they are urging people to read. Charles Cooke, a senior editor at National Review, was one of many who were critical of the revisionism Bin Laden’s work is being given — saying that “one would have thought that at least some of it ought to have been reflexively, presumptively, self-evidently abhorrent to the nobody-purer-than-me TikTok crowd.” CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “What is it about those ideas being expressed by someone foreign — someone who can plausibly (albeit stupidly) be cast as a victim — that causes otherwise exquisitely sensitive people to completely gloss over them?” he asked. “In quotidian American politics, the most inconsequential of sentiments are routinely cast as being a part of the ‘white, male, cisgendered hegemony.’ But Osama bin Laden starts talking about the evils of homosexuality and fornication, about the fusing of church and state, and about ‘complete submission to His Law,’ and it’s just…ignored,” he said. Fox News’ Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.
Scams targeting older Americans, most using AI, caused over $1 billion in losses in 2022
Older Americans reportedly lost $1.1 billion to fraud in 2022, according to the annual Senate Committee on Aging report released this month, and most of the scams utilized AI technology to clone the voices of people they knew and other AI-generated ploys. During a Thursday committee hearing on AI scams, committee chairman Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., published the group’s annual fraud book highlighting the top scams last year. It found that from January 2020 to June 2021, the FBI found “individuals reportedly lost $13 million to grandparent and person-in-need scams.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, also a member of the committee, said the $1.1 billion figure in total losses is “almost surely an underestimate,” since it does not factor in the instances of victims who don’t report scams due to embarrassment. Casey said in a statement that “federal action” is needed to put up guardrails to protect consumers from AI-generated scams. There are currently very little regulations on AI capacities, which witnesses urged lawmakers to crack down on through legislation. WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)? “Any consumer, no matter their age, gender, or background, can fall victim to these ultra-convincing scams, and the stories we heard today from individuals across the country are heartbreaking,” he said. “As a parent and grandparent, I relate to the fear and concern these victims must feel.” The top 10 categories of scams reported in the fraud book were financial impersonation and fraud, robocalls, computer scams, catfishing on dating profiles, identity theft and others. The most prominent scams used AI technology to mimic people’s voices who then make calls to the victims, family members or loved ones, asking for money. Several testimonies from witnesses in the hearing said they received calls that sounded exactly like their loved one was in danger, was injured or was being held hostage. Tahir Ekin, PhD, director of the Texas State Center for Analytics and Data Science, who was present at the hearing, testified this deliberate strategy of impersonation catapults “their believability and emotional appeal.” US MILITARY NEEDS AI VEHICLES, WEAPON SYSTEMS TO BE ‘SUPERIOR’ GLOBAL FORCE: EXPERTS “Prioritizing the enhancement of data and AI literacy among older Americans, and actively involving them in prevention and detection efforts, stands as a cornerstone,” he said. One older couple, featured in a video testimony in the hearing, received a call from who they thought was their daughter. She sounded distressed and asked for help. “My daughter was, she was crying on the phone, profusely crying and saying, ‘mom, mom, mom,’ and of course my wife was saying, ‘LeAnn, LeAnn, what is the matter?’, and she repeated it again, ‘mom, mom, mom’ and it sounded exactly like her,” Terry Holtzapple, one of the victims, said. Gary Schildhorn, a Philadelphia-based attorney and another targeted victim of an AI voice clone scam, also testified at the hearing. He almost sent $9,000 to the scammer until he confirmed with his daughter-in-law it was an extortion attempt. The scammer, posing as an attorney, called Schildhorn requesting funds to bail his son out of jail for causing a car accident and failing a breathalyzer test. US, NOT CHINA, SHOULD TAKE LEAD ON AI “There was no doubt in my mind that it was his voice on the phone — it was the exact cadence with which he speaks,” he said. “I sat motionless in my car just trying to process these events. How did they get my son’s voice? The only conclusion I can come up with is that they used artificial intelligence, or AI, to clone his voice… it is manifestly apparent that this technology… provide[s] a riskless avenue for fraudsters to prey on us.” Since no money was sent, however, law enforcement told Schildhorn that no crime had been committed and no further action was taken. “With crypto and AI, law enforcement does not have a remedy,” Schildhorn said during the hearing. “There needs to be some legislation to allow these people to be identified… so that there’s a remedy for the harm that’s being caused. Currently, there’s no remedy,” he said. According to the Federal Trade Commission, elderly Americans are more likely to fall prey to online scams than younger people.
2024 battle for Senate majority: These five seats held by Democrats are most likely to flip
It was the announcement Senate Democrats were dreading. When it came, it appeared to strike a major blow to their hopes of holding their razor-thin Senate majority in the 2024 elections. “I have made one of the toughest decisions of my life and decided that I will not be running for re-election to the United States Senate,” Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced earlier this month. Manchin, a moderate Democrat and former governor, won over 60% of the vote in his 2012 re-election, but his margin of victory fell to just three points in 2018. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 POWER RANKINGS The consensus was that Manchin was the only Democrat who could win in West Virginia next year after his state shifted dramatically to the right over the past decade. Former President Donald Trump carried West Virginia by nearly 40 points in the 2020 election. Democrats control the U.S. Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a favorable Senate map in 2024, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. Three of those seats are in red states that Trump carried in 2020 — West Virginia, Montana and Ohio. Five other blue-held seats are in key swing states narrowly carried by President Biden in 2020 — Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. WITH NINE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE FIRST VOTES, THIS CANDIDATE REMAINS THE COMMANDING FRONT-RUNNER IN THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE “Democrats have multiple pathways to protect and strengthen our Senate majority and are in a strong position to achieve this goal,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman David Bergstein argued in a statement after Manchin’s announcement. “In addition to defending our battle-tested incumbents, we’ve already expanded the battleground map to Texas and Florida,” Berstein added, pointing to what he called “unpopular Republican incumbents.” Texas and Florida, where incumbent senators Ted Cruz and Rick Scott are seeking re-election, appear to be the only potentially competitive GOP-held seats up for grabs next year. Here’s a look at the five seats most likely to flip in 2024. With Manchin not seeking re-election, National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chairman Sen. Steve Daines said, “We like our odds in West Virginia.” Right now, the main action is in the Republican Senate primary, where popular Democrat-turned-Republican Gov. Jim Justice has the backing of the NRSC and Trump. Justice has rasied more money than his main rival, conservative Rep. Alex Mooney, who enjoys the support of the fiscally conservative Club for Growth. The first Democrat to jump into the race following Manchin’s departure is 32-year-old Zachary Shrewsbury, a native West Virginian and Marine Corps veteran. Democrats breathed a sigh of relief when Sen. Jon Tester of Montana announced earlier this year that he would seek re-election in 2024 in a state that Trump carried by 16 points three years ago. The Democratic incumbent has hauled in a formidable $15 million in fundraising so far this year. Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and Purple Heart recipient who notched more than 200 missions in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere around the globe, launched a Republican Senate bid in late June. Sheehy, the CEO of Bridger Aerospace, a Montana-based aerial firefighting and wildfire surveillance services company, enjoys the NRSC’s backing. Rep. Matt Rosendale, a hard-right congressman, is seriously mulling a bid. Rosendale narrowly lost to Tester in the 2018 Senate election. Longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is the only member of his party to win a non-judicial, statewide election in Ohio in the past decade. As Brown runs in 2024 for a fourth six-year term representing Ohio, he will be heavily targeted by Republicans in a state that was once a premier general election battleground but has shifted red over the past six years. Trump carried Ohio by eight points in his 2016 presidential election victory and his 2020 re-election defeat. Last year, Trump’s handpicked Senate candidate in Ohio — Sen. JD Vance — topped longtime Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan by six points despite Ryan running what political experts considered a nearly flawless campaign. Brown, who has served as a congressman, state lawmaker and Ohio secretary of state during his nearly half century career in elective politics, is well known across the Buckeye State. The senator, known as a champion for populist causes, raked in $3.6 million in contributions during the first three months of this year. Two Republicans who ran unsuccessfully for the 2022 GOP Senate nomination in Ohio are already in the race to oust Brown. State Sen. Matt Dolan, a former top county prosecutor and Ohio assistant attorney general, launched his campaign in January. Dolan, whose family owns Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians, shelled out millions of his own money to run ads for his 2022 Senate bid. He surged near the end of the primary race, finishing third in a crowded field of Republican contenders, winning nearly a quarter of the vote. In April, Bernie Moreno, a successful Cleveland-based businessman and luxury auto dealership giant, declared his candidacy. Moreno, an immigrant who arrived in the U.S. legally from Colombia with his family as a 5-year-old boy, also shelled out millions of his own money to run TV commercials to try and boost his first Senate bid. But he suspended his campaign in February 2022 after requesting and holding a private meeting with Trump. In July, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose joined the race, launching a much-anticipated Senate campaign. With Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema appearing to gear up for a re-election campaign — even though she hasn’t officially announced a campaign — the Senate race in battleground Arizona could be the most complicated of the 2024 cycle. Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego is already running on the left and has raised more money than Sinema, although the incumbent enjoys a healthy cash-on-hand advantage. Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb recently became the first major GOP contender to launch a campaign. But 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake instantly became the Republican front-runner when she