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MAGA begins to crack as 2026 GOP roster backs away from Trump's tech vision
With a slew of polls showing that most Americans oppose the construction in their communities of new data centers to power AI, a growing number of Republicans running in this year's elections are putting daylight between themselves and President Donald Trump.
Trump, a strong proponent of data center development, took to social media Monday to argue that if communities "want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign."
But with GOP strategists warning that data centers have become politically radioactive, some Republicans on the midterm ballot are reversing course, which is a stark shift in a party that previously had fully embraced the burgeoning AI industry.
Seventy percent of voters questioned in a recent Fox News poll said they wanted to hit the brakes on building data centers in their area to support artificial intelligence, with only 30% in favor. Only 40% of Republicans, and 46% of MAGA Republicans supported new data center construction.
CRUCIAL SENATE RACE ERUPTS OVER AI'S MASSIVE ENERGY APPETITE
Fueling the opposition are concerns over rising electricity costs and energy and water consumption.
"I think we need to take a pause, probably, and make sure that we're answering all the questions that people have on them," former Rep. Mike Rogers, the GOP Senate nominee in battleground Michigan, said two weeks ago when asked about data center construction.
Rogers, who previously welcomed data center expansion in Michigan, later outlined a one-year moratorium, arguing that "Michigan needs stronger guardrails to protect community control, prevent utility price hikes, protect our water, and stop pay-to-play schemes."
DEMOCRAT FETTERMAN ALIGNS WITH TRUMP ON AI ARGUMENT
He's far from alone.
In Ohio's crucial Senate race between appointed GOP Sen. Jon Husted and his Democratic challenger, former longtime Sen. Sherrod Brown, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) warned that the issue could help the Democrats flip the seat. Brown and allied groups have shelled out millions of dollars to run ads calling Husted "the face of data centers in Ohio."
"More than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck," the NRSC memo emphasized.
Husted has introduced a Senate bill to stop average Americans from paying for data center energy costs.
BERNIE SANDERS: 'WE MUST HIT THE PAUSE ON AI BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE'
The political pushback stretches well beyond Michigan and Ohio.
Texas Attorney General and U.S. Senate nominee Ken Paxton last month unveiled a four-point plan to curb rapid data center growth and address public concerns over resource strain.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican running for a fourth term steering the Lone Star State, halted new data center connections to the state's power grid pending a comprehensive regulatory audit.
Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy pledged to issue a first-day-in-office executive order halting approval of all new data center projects until his proposed safeguards are enacted.
Rep. Tom Tiffany, the GOP nominee for governor in swing state Wisconsin, has highlighted that he opposes new data centers unless strict conditions are met. Tiffany has made data centers a centerpiece of his gubernatorial campaign, slamming his Democratic rival, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, as "Data Center David Crowley."
Pennsylvania Treasurer and Republican gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity has called for a temporary pause on new and uncontracted major data center developments in her battleground state.
Other Republicans are stopping short of moratoriums. Rep. Byron Donalds, the GOP gubernatorial nominee who opposes bans or moratoriums and whose primary campaign received significant backing from the AI industry, introduced legislation this summer that would require large AI data centers to generate their own power and water rather than draw from public utilities.
COOL YOUR SERVERS: CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL ON AI DATA CENTERS
Trump is standing firm.
The president recently called Abbott's decision to pump the brakes on data center development a "mistake."
And Trump, on Monday said, "If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame."
The president, who has made data centers a key ingredient in winning the AI race with China, argued: "China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement."
But Trump, at least for now, seems to be giving Republicans some wiggle room.
"If a Republican’s against a data center, that’s OK with me," Trump said.
Veteran Republican strategist Matt Gorman told Fox News Digital that "Trump is smartly taking the long view of this."
Gorman said "Republicans on the ballot this year are being responsive to the very real concerns people have," adding that "these companies and their champions have to do more to make the case."
DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB
The AI industry is responding to the political backlash.
Build American AI, an industry-aligned group powered by top AI leaders, this week launched a multi-million-dollar public engagement campaign to build support for "clear, strong, and commonsense policies governing the development of the data centers and energy infrastructure."
It highlighted that the "policies should protect residential ratepayers, safeguard the environment and water resources, require developers to pay their fair share, and preserve the right of every community to decide whether it wants to welcome data center investment."
"We can protect ratepayers, safeguard our natural resources, respect the right of communities to decide whether they want to welcome this investment, and still build the infrastructure America needs to lead the world in artificial intelligence," Build American AI added.
Johnson downplays GOP's midterm woes as Democrats eye House takeover: 'I am very bullish'
With two months to go until Election Day, and early voting kicking off later this month in half a dozen states, Democrats are increasingly optimistic they can recapture congressional majorities.
With the final stretch towards the midterms underway, Democrats see an unexpectedly favorable political environment despite their own weak national brand, while Republicans insist structural advantages and the Democrats' shift to the left will allow them to defy midterm history.
Senate Republicans control their chamber by a 53-47 margin, and the majority is even more fragile in the House. And the latest forecasts from the leading nonpartisan political handicappers keep leaning towards the Democrats.
But a defiant House Speaker Mike Johnson not only predicts the GOP will hold control of the chamber, but tells Fox News Digital, "We're going to grow the majority."
SPEAKER JOHNSON'S MIDTERM PREDICTION TO BUCK HISTORY
Republicans — as the party currently in power — were already up against traditional political headwinds that have historically led to a loss of congressional seats during midterm election years. Add to that the challenging climate fueled by persistent inflation Americans see daily at the grocery store, high gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and President Donald Trump's well underwater approval ratings.
"We are going to take back the Senate. Republicans thought they had the Senate locked down, but now Democrats, we are on the path to victory. We've blown the map wide open," longtime Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York told reporters two weeks ago.
But Democrats have problems of their own as they try to win back control of congressional majorities in the midterms, including a party brand that public opinion polling indicates is extremely unpopular. And high-profile victories this spring and summer by left-wing and socialist candidates over establishment rivals in Democratic primaries are giving Republicans extra ammunition to portray all Democrats as extremists.
THESE 12 MIDTERM RACES WILL DECIDE WHICH PARTY CONTROLS THE SENATE
"It's a contrast election, and people are making a contrast between common-sense solutions and candidates, and really crazy, which is represented by the other side," Johnson claimed, during a Fox News Digital interview on the campaign trail in Maine. "I am very bullish about the outcome on election night."
In the battle for the House, the mid-decade redistricting push by Trump and GOP leaders is giving Republicans a boost, with a potential net gain of up to a dozen newly drawn right-tilting districts across the country.
But in a sign of the rough landscape facing the GOP, House Democrats last month expanded their midterm target list to 58 Republican-held districts, including 12 seats in territory Trump carried in 2024.
The victories by Trump and Republicans two years ago were fueled by Americans fed up with the high cost of living. Two years later, inflation is the Republicans' biggest liability.
DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB
Three out of four voters questioned in the most recent Fox News national poll said inflation had caused financial hardship, while 54% expected the economy to worsen.
The Fox News poll and other recent surveys also indicate Democrats holding an enthusiasm advantage over Republicans, and continuing to lead on the generic ballot question, which asks if a respondent would vote for the Democrat or Republican in their congressional district without offering specific names.
"Donald Trump started a war that no one wanted, and now Americans are paying the price. Gas prices are soaring and families who were already struggling in Trump’s economy are forced to stretch their budgets even further while footing the bill for this war," Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a statement.
Republicans hold a campaign cash edge over Democrats, and remain optimistic about the midterms.
"We have a chance to defy history and win the midterms," Republican National Committee Chair (RNC) Joe Gruters told Fox News Digital this summer.
Gruters and other GOP leaders are spotlighting the major tax cuts on tips, overtime, and Social Security, that congressional Republicans passed and Trump signed into law last year.
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But Republicans are facing a low-propensity problem: MAGA voters who don't always go to the polls when Trump's name isn't on the ballot.
Gruters called Trump the "best showman that's ever existed in politics, bar none... He knows how to deliver these low-propensity voters. He knows how to get people up, motivated, excited about the midterms, and that's what we're going to need."
And he pointed to next week's first ever GOP midterm convention and said, "It gives us a chance to highlight all the wonderful things this president has done in our effort on this great American comeback."
But Democrats are touting their own get-out-the-vote efforts.
"This year, the DNC organizing team launched Local Listeners, a first-of-its-kind program that talked to nearly 10,000 people who voted in 2020, but not 2024," the DNC's Martin said. "What we found could change the game for the midterms this year."
MORNING GLORY: 'Blue Blight' is spreading fast and only voters can stop it
"Blue blight" is spreading across northeastern and west coast America, with scattered outbreaks in the interior of the country like Illinois and Colorado. It is up to voters to stop its spread.
"Blue blight" isn’t a term-of-art yet. But, it will be.
Consider that Dutch Elm Disease wasn’t a term familiar to Americans in the 1920s either. The devastating fungus arrived in the United States in the early 1930s, and notably impacted a handful of Elm trees in Cleveland, Ohio. By the end of the 1970s, the Elms that had defined the Courthouse Square of my hometown of Warren as well as my own street, and, indeed, all of northeast Ohio were almost all gone. The fungus spread far and wide beyond Ohio, leaving a trail of felled tree stumps in its wake. To this day it remains a threat to the remaining Elm population in the United States, even after it killed 3 out of 4 Elms across the country, and almost all of them in some places like northeastern Ohio.
CALIFORNIA CONTROLLER CANDIDATE SLAMS MASSIVE EDUCATION SPENDING DESPITE WORSE STUDENT RESULTS
The impacts of "blue blight" are becoming as visible as that of Dutch Elm Disease. Those impacts are most noticeable, to cite just two examples, in decreases in the quality of public education and declines in manufacturing jobs, even as state and local taxes rise. The second order impacts are now being felt across universities and colleges in states that are considered "blue."
Kudos to the Wall Street Journal’s Douglas Belkin and Roshan Fernandez for their August 29 article titled "Why Syracuse Can’t Attract the Students It Needs to Pay the Bills."
Kudos as well to Mary Katharine Ham and Vic Matus of the "Getting Hammered" podcast for some interesting speculation, prompted by the work of Belkin and Fernandez, on how the smaller number of college students — just the demographics of the decade ahead — are going to be looking beyond their choice of college to the job market and cost-of-living in the area surrounding their future campus and factoring those variables into their enrollment decision. Ham and Matus commented that perhaps students are going to tilt south to states like Florida rather than north to New York if they are looking at life choices ahead.
Life choices as in "here are the jobs" and "what’s it cost to live in that state long term?"
THE REAL REASON AMERICANS ARE FLEEING BLUE STATES FOR FLORIDA AND TEXAS
I checked the numbers that are available against their thesis and, indeed, the available stats back them up.
Using the data available from the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics for the years 2017-2022 (the latest available) "blue states" — those that voted for then Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 — experienced substantially faster enrollment decline in higher ed than red states.
Of the six states that saw enrollments rise in their colleges and universities, five are "red": Georgia, Kentucky, Arizona, Indiana and Utah. Some deep red states did poorly (Alaska and Iowa) but the overall trend is there.
Another factor to check on: manufacturing jobs.
CEO SAYS DOING BUSINESS IN STATE ‘SUCKS’ AS COMPANY HEADS TO TEXAS AMID CALIFORNIA EXODUS
When I first moved to California in 1978, its population was about 22 million souls and the state was home to close to 2 million manufacturing jobs. The Golden State’s population is today a half million shy of 40 million, but its total of manufacturing jobs has not simply failed to keep up with the population growth, the number of manufacturing jobs has actually plummeted to 1.2 million.
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How does that happen? "Blue blight."
Another data point. California had 23 refineries in 2000. It is home to 11 today. Over 40 years the refining output in the state has dropped by a million barrels a day. California motorists are paying about far more per gallon than red state residents. The cost in Indiana is several dollars a gallon cheaper. "Blue blight" claims victims in many ways but nowhere more than among those who consume energy.
Voters get the laws and regulations they vote for, and they can change or stay the course their home states are on. No doubt some citizens prefer the blue abyss ahead for high tax/high regulation states. But all voters get to choose. And they get to change their minds if the spread of "blue blight" alarms them.
Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor and host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show" heard weekday afternoons from 3 PM to 6 PM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives Americans home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable, hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.
The cure for socialism is giving more Americans a stake in capitalism
With each passing election, the socialist surge is rising. Bernie Sanders-backed Abdul El-Sayed won the Michigan Democratic Senate primary, defeating a well-funded establishment candidate. In Wisconsin, Francesca Hong — a democratic socialist who once called for canceling Thanksgiving — came within 3,000 votes of winning her state's gubernatorial primary. The DSA darling Zohran Mamdani is already the mayor of America’s largest city.
Some argue that socialism has hit its high-water mark and is losing momentum. Count me skeptical. Socialism is gaining ground because, for too many, capitalism has become a spectator sport. The biggest reason more voters support state ownership is that fewer people are owners themselves.
Consider the numbers. The national homeownership rate sits at 65% — down from a peak of 69.2% in 2004 and below the 25-year average. Among Americans under 35, it has fallen to just 35.2%, down more than a percentage point from a year ago. The generational gap is stark: Just 57% of Americans in their mid-30s own homes today compared to 64% of their parents' generation at the same age. With the 30-year mortgage rate recently climbing 6.69%, the homeownership rate is not about to improve anytime soon.
BILLIONS SPENT BY KEY FEDERAL AGENCY HASN'T MADE AMERICAN DREAM OF HOMEOWNERSHIP ANY EASIER: REPORT
The picture is similar in financial markets. Sixty-two percent of Americans own stock — but that number conceals the real story. Only 28% of households earning under $50,000 own any stock at all, for those with only a high school education or less, it's 42%, and for those 18 to 29, it’s 44%.
Declining ownership rates create a perfect opportunity for the far left. People with property don’t like the government taking it. People without ownership see government-sponsored theft as more acceptable. Because it’s not state ownership that invigorates voters, but the promise that they too can share in the wealth of society.
THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE. YOUNG AMERICANS ARE FALLING IN LOVE … WITH SOCIALISM
This puts into perspective policies like Mamdani’s rent freeze — a false antidote to the difficulty of owning a home in New York. Rent freezes promise that people can stay in their apartments and the market cannot move them out. Likewise, when Sanders touts legislation to give the government a 50% stake in AI companies, it makes people feel like they have a stake in America’s biggest companies even if they don’t actually own a single stock.
Yet these policies attempt to address symptoms while worsening the disease. A rent freeze may let you stay in an apartment owned by somebody else, but it proactively prevents actual ownership by reducing supply, degrading building quality, and making conditions worse. And a government stake in AI companies may well flood the coffers of the IRS. But that does nothing to give actual people a stake in the success of high-growth companies.
EL-SAYED REVEALS HE WOULD GO ‘STEP FURTHER’ THAN SANDERS ON SOCIALIST PLAN FOR MAJOR US INDUSTRY
Still, however true these arguments are, they aren’t persuading voters. The most effective answer to Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America is not to point out the problems with socialism — it’s to give people an actual stake in society by increasing the number of homeowners and shareholders who have an interest in America’s success.
Founders and employees with skin in the game think longer term. They protect customers, watch costs, solve problems, and weather downturns differently because the outcome is partly theirs. They certainly don’t appreciate heavy-handed government.
And while not everyone is called to be a business owner, nearly everyone can be a homeowner. Business coalitions should be pushing cities to permit more housing, shorten approval times, and clear the regulatory barriers that make construction expensive. Companies can complement those efforts with matched savings programs, closing-cost assistance, and financial coaching for first-time buyers.
As AI threatens corporate headcounts, empowers small business development, and accelerates the pandemic-induced emptying of downtown office buildings, we can also convert surplus commercial space into residential units. Adaptive reuse avoids the embodied carbon of demolition and new construction — and buildings account for nearly 37% of total U.S. energy consumption. Bringing underutilized commercial space back to productive residential use is one of the most practical emissions reductions available in the built environment, delivering a housing win and a climate win simultaneously.
AMERICA’S BROKEN PERMITTING SYSTEM IS QUIETLY RAISING YOUR COST OF LIVING
The path to stock ownership needs to be widened too. Broad-based equity compensation — stock grants, profit-sharing, employee stock ownership plans — can turn workers into partners in growth. Automatic retirement enrollment, meaningful employer matching, and access to low-cost diversified investments can give workers a stake in American prosperity even before they can afford a home, especially if those investments are tied to high-growth fields like artificial intelligence or clean energy.
None of this requires turning companies into charities. It is capitalism with aligned incentives — workers who accumulate assets, communities that keep their employers, and a free-enterprise system defended by people protecting something they actually own.
The DSA sells government control because too many Americans believe the private economy has no place for them. The strongest defense of capitalism is opening a credible path for people to not only find their place, but to own it.
Pessimists say the economy is weak. The good news is, they are wrong
The pessimists are wrong, and the numbers prove it.
While a chorus of commentators insists the American economy is faltering, businesses are seeing strong returns — and investing those dollars to grow. From record-breaking tax refunds this spring to surging business investment across every sector, the evidence of economic strength is overwhelming for anyone willing to look past the headlines.
American businesses aren't just investing — they're going on offense. Companies are purchasing equipment, upgrading technology, modernizing facilities and hiring people. They're planning for growth, not bracing for decline. And thanks to the Trump administration's tax reforms, they finally have the certainty and the incentives to put capital to work right now.
WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIST PROJECTS GDP GROWTH COULD TOP 5% AMID CAPITAL SPENDING BOOM
The One Big Beautiful Bill fundamentally changed the game. For entrepreneurs still sitting on the sidelines, the message couldn't be clearer: stop waiting. This is the year to invest. Every month you delay is a month your competitors are pulling ahead, taking advantage of provisions designed to reward exactly the kind of bold investment that builds lasting success.
Consider what's happened. The permanent restoration of 100% bonus depreciation lets businesses recover the full cost of qualifying investments immediately — not over years. That means a manufacturer can purchase new machinery, a restaurant can renovate its kitchen or a tech startup can upgrade its servers, and every one of them can deduct the full cost in the same tax year.
TRUMP'S TAX CUTS HAND REPUBLICANS A KILLER ARGUMENT FOR THE MIDTERMS
Section 179 has been expanded, letting small businesses deduct even more upfront. The IRS has even issued guidance to make the path clearer and give owners the confidence to move forward without hesitation.
Now look at what happened this spring. A Government Accountability Office report released Aug. 10 shows the IRS issued $296 billion in refunds during the 2026 filing season — a 17% jump from the previous year. That's $43 billion more flowing back into Americans' pockets.
REPUBLICANS BET HIGHER TAX REFUNDS WILL BOOST MIDTERM CHANCES AS BLUE STATES RESIST RELIEF
The average refund rose by $333, and the IRS processed more than 8 million additional refunds. The GAO attributed this surge, in part, to millions claiming new deductions created by the law — including provisions for qualified tips and overtime pay.
Let that sink in. Working Americans — waitresses, factory workers, overtime earners — are keeping more of what they earn because this tax code finally rewards work instead of punishing it. That's not a talking point. That's real money in real people's bank accounts. Money that gets spent at local restaurants, invested in home improvements, saved for college tuition and plowed back into the communities where these families live and work.
TRUMP HITS KEY BATTLEGROUNDS TO SELL TAX CUTS, BOOST GOP AHEAD OF MIDTERMS
The critics who keep telling you the economy is weak need to explain why businesses keep expanding. Why entrepreneurs keep taking risks. Why companies keep investing in productivity, hiring and growth. The answer is simple: they see opportunity. They see an economy gaining momentum, not losing it. While the doomsayers scroll through bad headlines, business owners are reading their balance sheets — and what they see is encouraging enough to act.
The Trump administration delivered tax policies that reward investment, protect working families and let Americans keep more of what they earn. When business owners know they can recover investment costs immediately, they act. When workers see bigger refunds because the tax code now values their tips and overtime, they spend, save and reinvest in their own futures and in their local economies.
LIZ PEEK: THE TRUMP ECONOMY IS DOING BETTER THAN THE MEDIA WANT TO ADMIT
Tax relief doesn't just sound good on paper. It translates directly into growth. The proof is in every business owner putting capital on the line right now — and in the billions returned to American taxpayers this year. When a company buys new equipment, expands a facility, hires another worker or opens another location, that's not speculation. That's commitment. That's confidence made visible.
The law also strengthens incentives for domestic innovation by allowing qualifying research and development expenditures to be deducted immediately. That means companies aren't just investing in what they already do — they're investing in what comes next. Favorable treatment for qualified production property gives manufacturers another reason to build here, expand here and hire here. America is open for business, and the tax code now reflects that reality.
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The businesses I work with aren't retreating. They're expanding. They're hiring. They're investing for the long term. That's not what a weak economy looks like. That's what an economy preparing to roar looks like.
Anyone still calling this economy weak isn’t paying attention to the right indicators.
DOJ threatens to cut billions in welfare funding from states for failing to report illegal migrants
The Justice Department warned states they could lose billions of dollars in welfare funding if they do not report known illegal migrants to the federal government, according to a legal opinion released Wednesday.
The DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel said tates participating in two key welfare programs must require all state agencies to report individuals known to be unlawfully present to the Department of Homeland Security, a significant shift that the administration says will help enforce President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. The opinion reverses a 1998 Office of Legal Counsel interpretation that limited the reporting requirement to agencies administering the programs.
Previously, only the state agencies that administered the funding for the welfare programs were required to report illegal migrants, while other state agencies that might be aware of these individuals, including colleges and departments of motor vehicles, were not subject to this mandate.
"Failure to comply may lead to serious consequences, including loss of program funding," Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Craddock said in a statement.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has taken an aggressive approach targeting both illegal and legal immigration.
The president's crackdown on illegal immigration has included deploying federal agents into cities across the country to conduct raids on migrant communities and increasingly partnering with state and local law enforcement and outside companies to locate suspected illegal migrants.
The administration has repeatedly attempted to pressure Democrat-led states that have refused cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, including by threatening federal funding.
The shift could face legal challenges. Democrat-led states have already sued to block DHS from collecting personal details of people receiving funds under one of the programs, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
Courts have also limited some administration efforts to require the sharing of information on migrants with DHS. But in some cases, judges allowed federal immigration authorities to collect certain information, including Medicaid data.
All 50 states and Washington, D.C., participate in the reporting requirements tied to the two programs: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Security Income.
Federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grants exceed $16.5 billion annually, and Supplemental Security Income federal benefits exceed $60 billion annually.
Illegal migrants are not eligible for either program.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Pentagon orders mandatory testosterone tests for male troops 30 and older
The Pentagon on Wednesday issued clinical guidelines establishing a new mandatory testosterone deficiency screening policy for active-duty and reserve service members ages 30 and up.
This comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in July that he was authorizing the screening program for troops to ensure "you have the right testosterone levels to operate at your absolute best."
"Taking care of your long-term health means ensuring you remain strong, resilient and capable — not just for your next deployment, but for the rest of your life, so you can thrive long after you take off the uniform," he said at the time.
THE REAL REASON BEHIND HEGSETH'S VIRAL MILITARY TESTOSTERONE SCREENING ORDER
According to the new guidance, which is effective immediately, men ages 30 and older will undergo mandatory testosterone blood tests, while younger men will be tested only if requested or if clinicians identify warning signs.
Men found to have low testosterone levels may undergo further evaluation and, if clinically appropriate, may be offered voluntary hormone replacement therapy.
Levels of testosterone naturally increase during puberty. The hormone helps boys develop muscle strength and body hair as well as make sperm. Between ages 30 and 40, testosterone levels in men naturally start to decline.
Women will not be required to take routine testosterone blood tests under the new guidance, but they will be subject to screening for fatigue and disrupted menstrual cycles that can be associated with hormonal dysregulation and conditions called low-energy availability and relative energy deficiency in sport.
Guidelines were put into place for when it is appropriate to prescribe off-label testosterone in women, particularly for postmenopausal women with unusually low sexual desire.
Testosterone use for non-medical purposes, including performance enhancement without a doctor's prescription, remains prohibited in the military.
ARMY UNVEILS COMBAT FIELD TEST WITH NEW FITNESS ASSESSMENT: 'A CRITICAL STEP FORWARD'
The Pentagon said the standardized screening and treatment pathways for men and women seek to boost military readiness by identifying and managing hormonal and energy-availability issues.
Some endocrinologists and other medical experts have raised concerns that broad testosterone testing could lead to unnecessary or potentially harmful treatment, saying there is a lack of evidence to support the claim that universal screening for low testosterone among service members would improve military readiness.
The Food and Drug Administration intends to hold a meeting later this month with experts to discuss the medical use of testosterone.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Social media is Lindsay Clancy wild card that could tilt potential retrial to the defense, retired judge says
If Lindsay Clancy's murder trial ends in a mistrial, her defense could hold an unusual advantage in a retrial, a retired Massachusetts Superior Court judge says, as jurors reported for a second time Wednesday that they remain deadlocked.
Clancy, 36, faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children — Cora, Dawson and Callan, all under age 6 — who were found strangled at the family's home in January 2023.
Judge William Sullivan gave jurors a Tuey-Rodriguez charge Wednesday afternoon after they reported for a second time that they were deadlocked, having first signaled they were stuck earlier in the week. The charge is given to a deadlocked jury to encourage they continue deliberations, but also to remind them to listen to one another without sacrificing their honestly held opinions.
WHAT IS A TUEY-RODRIGUEZ CHARGE? JUDGE GIVES INSTRUCTION TO DEADLOCKED LINDSAY CLANCY JURY
Sullivan declined to give the instruction earlier in the week when jurors first reported difficulty agreeing, opting instead to simply send them back.
The jurors deliberating in Clancy's murder trial are discussing several options, which include first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility (insanity) or not guilty.
LINDSAY CLANCY VERDICT: RETIRED JUDGE EXPLAINS WHAT HAPPENS IF INSANITY DEFENSE PREVAILS
Retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Jack Lu told Fox News Digital that a retrial after a mistrial has traditionally favored the prosecution, but that social media has upended that conventional wisdom.
"In the past, the conventional wisdom was that the prosecution is more likely to win on a retrial after a hung jury. Now it's different... The new conventional wisdom is question mark because of social media infected trials," Lu said.
Lu pointed to Karen Read's case, the Massachusetts woman who was tried twice in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend. Her case drew a massive amount of social media interest, which he said had a major impact on her trials. In 2024, jurors deadlocked in Read's trial, and she was acquitted at her retrial in 2025.
"In the Karen Read case, the social media abuse was at a slow boil in the first trial. At the second trial, it just all erupted," Lu said.
LINDSAY CLANCY JURORS VISIT CRIME SCENE IN KAREN READ-STYLE MOVE TO TEST TIMELINE: RETIRED JUDGE
Lu himself said he's no longer on social media because "it's too abusive an environment."
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While Reddington himself said he'd "absolutely" go to trial again if Sullivan declares a mistrial, he said Clancy couldn't emotionally handle another one.
"She had a flat affect, she’s sad," he said on Tuesday to reporters.
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A GoFundMe for Clancy's parents, the Musgrove family, has surpassed $830,000, though it's unclear who would fund her defense in a retrial, or whether Reddington would charge for it.
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Wednesday marks the second time the Clancy jury reported they've been unable to reach a unanimous decision.
In a note sent to Sullivan on Tuesday, jurors said that "after many hours of deliberation, we are unable to come to a unanimous decision." He directed them to resume their work.
WATCH: Lindsay Clancy case jurors instructed to resume deliberations for a sixth day
"I brought you back out because I know that this was a long trial. All right, I know there were over 80 witnesses. There were over 300 exhibits. Because of that, I'm going to ask you to go back out, keeping in mind all of the instructions that I gave you to go out and to continue your deliberations at this time. All right. And so, with that, I'm going to ask you to go back out. Like I said, keep in mind the instructions I gave you reviewing the evidence, and I'd ask you to resume your deliberations at this time," Sullivan said.
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If jurors return once more to say they are still deadlocked, Lu said, the case will likely end in a mistrial.
"I'm afraid so, with limited exceptions, it would end up being a mistrial, a true hung jury, deadlocked jury," Lu said.
Jurors will return Thursday to continue deliberations for a sixth day, having already spent more than 28 hours weighing a verdict.
US military boards, searches and sinks vessel allegedly supporting Los Choneros narco-terrorists
The U.S. military on Wednesday intercepted and sank a vessel in the Eastern Pacific that it said was supporting a "narco-terrorist" organization, according to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).
SOUTHCOM said the operation targeted a vessel tied to Los Choneros, which it described as a violent narco-terrorist organization.
"On Sept. 2, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, and in coordination and collaboration with the Government of Ecuador, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) successfully interdicted a vessel operating as a floating refueling station in support of illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations in international waters of the Eastern Pacific," SOUTHCOM said in a statement.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was operating in support of the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization," the military added.
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SOUTHCOM said U.S. Marines and sailors from the USS San Antonio "interdicted, boarded, searched, and cleared the vessel without incident."
The military said multiple individuals were removed from the vessel and transferred to Ecuadorian authorities.
Once the individuals were safely removed, U.S. forces sank the vessel, SOUTHCOM said.
In its statement, SOUTHCOM said the operation "cuts off a critical node" in the alleged drug traffickers' illicit activities. It did not disclose the specific location of the operation.
The action was taken in support of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C) and JTF-WHEM's mission to dismantle narco-terrorist networks in the region, according to SOUTHCOM.
"We are taking decisive action to dismantle and destroy sophisticated logistics networks used by narco-terrorists to traffic drugs and spread violence throughout the Western Hemisphere," Donovan said.
"This operation demonstrated the elite capabilities and precision of Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, which is on watch in the region to apply total systemic friction on these networks," he added.
Video of the operation released by SOUTHCOM shows military personnel intercepting the vessel before boarding it and ultimately sinking the craft.
SOUTHCOM also responded after Ecuador's Ministry of National Defense shared footage of the operation on social media.
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"The message is clear: the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition will continue to apply total systemic friction on narco-terrorists," SOUTHCOM wrote.
Wednesday's interdiction comes amid a monthslong campaign launched by the Trump administration aimed at dismantling cartel-linked trafficking networks.
SOUTHCOM has conducted dozens of strikes in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean targeting vessels it says are connected to "narco-terrorists."
Last week, the military said it carried out a strike in the Caribbean that killed four alleged "narco-terrorists."
Following that strike, the Trump administration's campaign targeting suspected cartel vessels has resulted in at least 227 deaths across 68 reported strikes over roughly one year.
Fox News Digital's Eric Mack contributed to this report.
15-year-old accused of firing into crowd during deadly Seattle mass shooting claims self-defense
A 15-year-old boy accused of opening fire during a deadly shootout at a crowded Seattle food festival claims he was shooting back in self-defense as authorities continue searching for other gunmen tied to the bloodshed.
The teen allegedly pulled a handgun from a pouch and fired after two unidentified suspects began shooting toward him and his friend at the Bite of Seattle on July 26, his attorney said in court documents obtained by KOMO News.
The gunfire sent festivalgoers scrambling outside the Seattle Center Armory near the Space Needle. Three people were killed, and four others were wounded, including a 2-year-old boy, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Police have described the bloodshed as a gang-related shootout that left innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. The dead included 19-year-old Niko-Semo, a 44-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman.
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More than a month later, the 15-year-old remains the only person charged in connection with the shooting.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office told Fox News Digital that police have not brought prosecutors any cases involving anyone else in the shooting.
"Seattle Police are handling the investigation," the office said. "No other cases from the Bite of Seattle shooting other than the charged case involving the 15-year-old have been referred by police investigators to the KCPAO."
Police have, however, identified two potential persons of interest after combing through roughly 450 hours of video, Interim Seattle Police Chief Andre Sayles told FOX 13 Seattle.
Sayles cautioned that police have not determined whether the two people opened fire.
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"I can say that we are looking at two potential persons of interest in this incident, not saying that they are the shooters or anything of that nature, but people that we have identified that we need to have a conversation with," Sayles said.
No additional arrests have been announced. Sayles said detectives are moving closer to interviews and could make arrests if the evidence supports them.
The teen, whose name has not been released because he is charged as a juvenile, insists he only opened fire after someone began shooting at him.
His public defender, Hong Tran, said several eyewitnesses backed up that version of events.
"Law enforcement has interviewed several eyewitnesses to the shooting who confirmed that [the teen] reached for a firearm after the shooting started," Tran wrote in an Aug. 28 memorandum, according to KOMO News.
Tran said the boy had gone to the festival to enjoy the food and was standing near Niko-Semo when the first shots rang out.
"After hearing shots fired, witnesses observed [the teen] pull a firearm from a pouch and shoot in the direction of the shots," Tran wrote.
Officers working the festival raced toward the gunfire and arrested the teen at the scene. Witness video obtained by KOMO News appears to show police taking him into custody.
"I was getting shot at," the teen told officers, according to the defense filing. He said he fired back in self-defense.
Prosecutors say the teen's actions were anything but defensive, accusing him of recklessly firing into an area packed with adults and children.
"There is no greater threat to the community than a person indiscriminately firing into a crowd of adults and children who only wanted to attend and enjoy Bite of Seattle," Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Logan Bryant wrote in a filing opposing the teen's release, according to KOMO News.
The teen faces first-degree assault with a deadly weapon and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm by a person under 18, King County Superior Court records show. Prosecutors also filed a firearm sentencing enhancement with the assault charge.
His shots were not responsible for any of the three deaths, according to court records cited by KOMO News.
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Prosecutors said the boy was carrying a Polymer80 "ghost gun" fitted with an extended magazine capable of holding more than 30 rounds. The privately assembled weapon did not have a standard serial number and allegedly carried a vanity plate reading "1 SHOT 1 KILL."
Investigators recovered at least four guns at the scene, including weapons allegedly tied to the teen and Niko-Semo, KOMO News reported. Police have been testing the firearms as they work to determine who else was involved in the deadly exchange.
The teen's attorney asked a judge to release him to electronic monitoring at his father's home. The judge rejected the request last week and ordered him to remain in custody.
The shooting also sparked scrutiny over the city's delayed public updates and decision not to use its emergency alert system.
Days later, Wilson accepted Barnes' resignation after he was asked to step down during a meeting with the mayor, five sources told FOX 13 Seattle. Barnes later defended his response and said he followed department protocol, KOMO News reported.
The teen is due back in juvenile court for a status hearing in October. Prosecutors will ask a judge in November to move the case to adult court.