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Appeals court delivers unsettling ruling — and says Supreme Court left it no choice
A federal appeals court says decades-old Supreme Court precedent forced it to protect the in-home possession of AI-generated child sexual abuse material, as judges warned that rapidly advancing technology has complicated legal lines drawn nearly 25 years ago.
The ruling exposes a widening gap between Supreme Court precedent and rapidly advancing artificial intelligence. The Seventh Circuit said it was bound by a 2002 Supreme Court decision that rejected restrictions on sexually explicit depictions of fictional children when no actual child was involved in their creation. But two judges warned that modern AI can now generate images virtually indistinguishable from material depicting the abuse of real children.
"Indeed, in Free Speech Coalition, the Supreme Court addressed the scope of First Amendment protections for virtual CSAM, but that was nearly twenty-five years ago, and the image-generation technology available today was likely unimaginable back then," Judge John Lee wrote. "Given the relentless advancement in artificial intelligence models, we have some concerns about the lines these cases draw, but we are not free to redraw them ourselves."
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The Seventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of one of four charges against Steven Anderegg, who investigators said had hundreds of AI-generated sexually explicit images depicting children on devices seized from his Wisconsin home.
Anderegg was charged with producing and distributing the AI-generated material, transferring it to a minor under 16, and possessing it. A federal district court dismissed only the possession charge on First Amendment grounds, leaving the other three charges intact.
The Justice Department appealed that dismissal, arguing that the government should be permitted to prohibit possession of obscene virtual child sexual abuse material even when no actual child was involved in its creation. But the Seventh Circuit sided with the lower court.
The government generally cannot criminalize the private possession of obscene material inside someone's home, but it can prohibit possession of child sexual abuse material involving real children because its creation exploits actual victims.
However, the Supreme Court complicated that distinction in 2002 when it struck down restrictions covering sexually explicit images of fictional children created without using actual minors. The justices reasoned that the government's overriding interest in protecting children from exploitation did not apply in the same way when no real child was involved.
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Hans von Spakovsky, a senior fellow with Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital that the appeals court "had no choice but to uphold the dismissal under the First Amendment" because of the Supreme Court's ruling.
But von Spakovsky agreed with the concurrence by Lee and Judge Joshua Kolar, who warned the Supreme Court that the rapid growth of AI technology could require the justices to revisit precedent.
"Unforunately, AI-generated images are now virtualy indistinguishable from the real thing and some of these images be created based on real child sexual abuse material," von Spavosky said. "Technology may have overtaken and overwhelmed the reasoning used in those prior decisions."
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The Supreme Court previously ruled in Free Speech Coalition that taking images of real children and "morphing" them into sexually explicit poses would not be protected under its ruling on the possession of child sexual abuse material depicting fictional children because the practice involves the interests of real children.
Justice Department lawyers have warned that the rise of AI-generated child sexual abuse material could bog down investigators trying to identify real victims, as increasingly realistic artificial images become harder to distinguish from depictions of actual abuse.
Judges Lee and Kolar raised another concern in their concurrence, citing research that found hundreds of child sexual abuse material images in a major dataset used to train image-generating AI. The judges suggested that could create a link between AI-generated material and the exploitation of real children, though they stressed that the government did not raise the issue in this case and that the record was insufficient to resolve it.
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Justice Clarence Thomas anticipated the dilemma more than two decades ago, warning in the Supreme Court’s 2002 ruling that advancing technology could eventually make virtual depictions indistinguishable from child sexual abuse material involving real victims.
"If technological advances thwart prosecution of ‘unlawful speech,’ the Government may well have a compelling interest in barring or otherwise regulating some narrow category of ‘lawful speech’" to enforce laws against material produced through the abuse of real children, Thomas wrote.
Jewish AG’s convention boycott exposes deepening Israel fault line among Michigan Democrats
LANSING, MI - Michigan Democrats gather Saturday in the battleground state's capital city to hold their 2026 state nominating convention amid controversy over recent antisemitic harassment and open hostility within the party over U.S. support for Israel.
Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, recently announced she wouldn't attend the confab due to security concerns, after anti-Israel party activists shouted down pro-Israel speakers, including Rep. Haley Stevens, at a prior convention in April.
This weekend's convention comes as a growing number of Democrats push for cutting military aid to Israel, amidst the Israeli government's ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
The convention is also being held just a few weeks after Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal critic of Israel who describes their military actions as "genocide," narrowly edged Stevens to win the Democratic Senate nomination for a crucial seat the Democrats must hold in the midterm elections.
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"I don’t feel safe going. I feel like my presence isn’t going to be welcome. I don’t want to get chased around. I don’t want to get harassed. I don’t want to get yelled and screamed at. I don’t want to get booed off the stage, irrespective of what I’m saying," Nessel said during a roundtable discussion last month. "I believe that if I go, that is what will happen because it’s been happening to me."
Responding, the Michigan Democratic Party said it is "committed to ensuring party-hosted events are safe and secure environments for all attendees."
"We reject antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hateful conduct. We are working diligently with stakeholders, elected officials, and party membership to prepare for our August convention and look forward to welcoming Michigan Democrats to the Lansing Center on August 29," state party spokesperson Derrick Honeyman said in a statement.
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Joan Lowenstein, endorsement chair of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus, told Fox News Digital she hasn't "talked to anybody who thinks they will be unsafe at this convention."
But Lowenstein, who also sits on the Michigan Democratic Party Central Committee, added, "Some people think it will be unpleasant and why should they bother."
But other Jewish Democrats in Michigan are very concerned.
"People are traumatized from the previous convention. Many people I talked to, many super progressive people, are really traumatized by the way they were treated, and the way Haley Stevens was booed, and the way other candidates were treated," Rabbi Asher Lopatin told Fox News Digital last week.
Lopatin, who was interviewed after joining Republican Senate nominee former Rep. Mike Rogers at a campaign event to unveil Democrats supporting Rogers, referred to Nessel's decision not to attend the convention and said "it just shows how terrible these extremists are that they're intimidating even the attorney general of our state."
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But Lopatin emphasized, "We got to be strong. We got to be proud. We got to be courageous. The Jewish community cannot cower."
Stacy Gittleman, a lifelong Democrat who is supportive of Israel, attended the April convention.
"I saw more Palestinian flags than American flags on the floor," Gittleman, a writer who published her observations at the convention on substack, told Fox News Digital this week.
Gittleman said the jeers and what she highlighted as a "lack of decorum and disrespect" were signs to her of "how far left our party is drifting."
The convention is being held as some Jewish leaders in Michigan are circulating an open letter urging Jewish Democrats and independents in the state to sign their names in support of Rogers. The news was first reported last week by the Jewish Insider and confirmed by Fox News Digital.
"This is sort of a do-or-die moment," a person involved with the letter who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely told Fox News Digital. "There are many lifelong Democrats who are feeling homeless. ... It’s not just a leftward drift but has turned into an anti-Jewish drift as well."
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Lowenstein, who doesn't support the petition, said those behind the letter "feel it’s an existential issue, and I think that represents a lot of people. And, so, they have to do what they have to do."
"It’s sort of 50/50," she added. "Half the people I talk to say, ‘I could never vote for Abdul El-Sayed because of things he’s said about Israel and, consequentially, the Jewish community. And the other 50% say ‘it is so important for Jews as Americans to have an Democratic Senate that I could never vote for Mike Rogers.'"
Rogers and El-Sayed are running to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. The race is among a dozen that will determine if the Democrats win back the Senate majority from the GOP.
Rogers, in an interview last week with Fox News Digital, reiterated that he's not asking Democratic voters to become Republicans. And he highlighted concerns he's heard from Democratic Jewish voters in Michigan.
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"I've talked to two young women who were at University of Michigan who were afraid to walk to class. They couldn't display their Star of David. To say that they're afraid is probably an understatement," he said.
Rogers said "the violent rhetoric ... is going to make a difference" in the general election.
El-Sayed is a former Wayne County Health Department director who, if elected in November, would make history as the nation's first Muslim senator. The epidemiologist who unsuccessfully ran for governor as an insurgent candidate in 2018 has made support for Medicare for all a major component of his campaign and has also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
But it's El-Sayed's stance and comments on Israel that have angered some Jewish people in Michigan, a state that also has a large Arab and Muslim population.
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El-Sayed used the word "bloodthirsty" to characterize Israel's military moves in Gaza in an MS NOW interview this month. He has argued against unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel, as have other progressive politicians. And El-Sayed has repeatedly declined to directly answer whether Israel has the right to exist.
But El-Sayed, after winning the Senate nomination, emphasized, "I stand in solidarity with my Jewish sisters and brothers, and we can condemn antisemitism. And, at the same time, we can be talking about how we bring people together, and we can be talking about everybody's pain.
"My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own kids. We have a responsibility to take on antisemitism in all of its forms, wherever we see it."
Lynette Hooker’s husband Brian rummages through trash on California streets months after wife’s disappearance
EXCLUSIVE: Months after his wife Lynette Hooker went missing, Brian Hooker has been living a calm and seemingly unbothered life in northern California.
Hooker, 58, was spotted by Fox News Digital outside a home in Citrus Heights, which is about 15 miles northeast of Sacramento.
Lynette, originally from Michigan, disappeared while the couple was on a sailboat vacation in the Bahamas in April.
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Her daughter and the rest of her family have been waiting for any answers in her disappearance.
Brian has not been accused of any crime or wrongdoing. He was initially detained and questioned then released from Bahamian custody in April.
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The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service is the lead agency investigating Lynette's disappearance. Hooker told investigators Lynette fell from a dinghy while the couple was making their way back to their sailboat, Soulmate, that fateful evening.
Four months later, he was seen last weekend walking dogs, taking walks, enjoying a cup of coffee in a garage, and even stopping to sift through neighborhood trash items on the side of the street.
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He may be staying with a family member.
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Hooker was snapped wearing a brown hat and khaki shorts while walking two small dogs.
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Cameras also captured him sifting through people's trash on the side of a neighborhood street picking up items and walking away with them.
Hooker also appeared to be enjoying a cup of coffee inside his garage wearing a graphic tee that reads "Hellfire Club" from the show "Stranger Things."
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He was also seen walking out of a store with his Marine Corps tattoo on full display.
When Fox News Digital asked about the recent sighting of Hooker, Darlene Hamlett, Lynette's mother, simply said, "I just want the truth to be told and justice for my daughter Lynette."
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Hooker's attorney, Matthew Borgula.
Comedian finds the secret to surviving boomer parents: Put them in your act
"How much do you weigh?"
This question, asked of comedian Jared Freid by his father while on vacation in Delray Beach, Florida, became the inspiration for his new hour of stand-up covering family, body issues, adulthood and the strange closeness between millennials and their boomer parents.
He also justifies why, at 41 years old, he chooses to remain on the family cellphone plan.
Aptly titled "Family Plan," Freid's second special will drop on Netflix Sept. 1. The comic is known for giving dating advice on his long-running podcasts, "The JTrain Podcast" and "U Up?" and most recently in his new book, "Walking Red Flag."
Freid sat down with Fox News Digital to talk about his new special and unpack his parental relationships, from some of his "most horrific memories" involving his mother arguing with other moms over beach chairs to the grave realization that he has the exact same body as his father.
For all his jesting complaints about his loud, Jewish family, Freid described them as "the main driver" of his material. Frustration is where a lot of his jokes originate, he said, and few people frustrate him with as much precision as his own kin.
"We [millennials] have a weird relationship, that's okay to acknowledge, with our parents," Freid said.
"Millennials are incredibly insecure and notice everything. Boomers are incredibly confident and unaware. And what a horrible combination," the comedian said.
"Millennials might be living in hell on earth, considering that combination. Our parents are the most confident and unaware generation, and we have to deal with them every day and we love them," he continued.
"So that takes an incredible amount of restraint and empathy from our end, because the enraging part about parents is they're always 10% right."
Freid, who clarified that he uses the word "boomer" with love, made the case that millennials have a uniquely intertwined relationship with their parents, in part because many millennials are worse off financially than the generation before them, which comes with certain entanglements (like staying on the family phone plan or attending a family vacation paid for by mom and dad).
He said "Family Plan" is exactly the type of comedy he wants to do: an hour of material, unified by the through-line of the Freid family beach trip, that people can watch with their own families, be it their parents or "that cousin that they go and smoke weed with during Thanksgiving."
That approach has already shaped his next hour. Freid said his current material grew from another parental indignity: his father offering him Ozempic at dinner.
"Should I be embarrassed to leave the house? Do I look that horrific that you have to offer me your prescription medication?" Freid wondered.
Rather than repeat the jokes from "Family Plan" — Freid made it clear that his parents provide no shortage of material — he will try to repeat its form, starting with a moment of anger and letting it expand into something larger.
The specifics of the set are his, but the emotional dynamic is widely recognizable, and fans have told him so.
"People would come up to me and go, 'That's my parents! You're talking about my dad, that's my mom. My parents ask me about my weight and are obsessed with my body and I'm on the family plan.'"
Beyond merely cracking jokes at boomers' expense, Freid aims to create a humorous mirror that allows audiences to recognize their own loved ones. He is careful about where he points the joke.
"I only talk about myself," he said. "I want to make fun of people I know and love."
His material seems to resonate especially powerfully with Jewish crowds.
"I have Jews come up to me, and they go, 'Does anyone else get it?' And I'm like, 'You were in the room, everyone was laughing!'" he said.
"Being Jewish, to me, is a culture of discussion and love and empathy and [getting] annoyed, and all of those things. And that's all in this... I do believe stand-up is our Jewish sport, you know? We created the art form. When I do shows for Jews, I'm representing the whole culture."
The boomer-parent material is contemporary, but Freid sees himself working inside a much older tradition of turning aggravation into laughter. And it doesn't stop at his own family.
Freid performs an extended bit in "Family Plan" roasting Rob Lowe for serving as the face of Atkins, a pairing he found especially absurd as someone who has struggled with body issues himself.
"There is nothing as transparent as we're gonna put Rob Lowe in our commercial so that chubby me will believe that if I eat Atkins foods, I can become Rob Lowe," Freid told Fox News Digital.
Then he actually met Lowe.
Freid encountered the actor at a Netflix golf tournament and nervously introduced himself, explaining that he had been doing a joke about him onstage every night for two years.
Lowe immediately knew which one.
"Atkins?" Freid recalled him saying. "I heard about the bit. I heard it's hilarious. Can't wait to see it."
"I melted," Freid said.
The moment forced Freid to live up to his own self-imposed standards of conduct.
"I only make fun of people I could meet," he said.
Freid made it this far on his own terms. He said Hollywood never regarded him as an obvious star.
"No one was going to come knock on my door to say, 'Jared, you got the goods. You're so good looking, we need to put you on TV.'"
That forced him to build direct relationships with audiences through podcasts, social media, books and touring. He's been pursuing stand-up for 16 years, describing it as the love of his life. Everything else has been in service of making it into a career.
"That's why I do a lot. You know, two podcasts, and the book, and stand-up. It's always been like a little bit of a desperation," Freid laughed.
The comic graduated from Penn State with a degree in economics before moving to New York City. He thought he would sell insurance and annuities, but it wasn't for him.
The best part of his day was writing emails, he said. Specifically, he enjoyed making friends and colleagues laugh on group email threads or over Google Chat.
"It made me feel amazing, so I was like, 'How do I do that all the time? How do I take that drug?' And that turned into me doing open mics and sketch class and improv class and eventually, you know, becoming a comedian."
Freid, known for dishing dating advice, has this year entered a relationship of his own.
Asked if his position as a prominent voice in the online dating discussion creates any pressure to have his own situation figured out, Freid replied simply, "No."
"I don't think good advice comes from people who have it figured out. I think good advice come from vulnerability and admitting your faults," he explained.
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The instinct to carve his own path and be authentic carries over from his comedy philosophy into his dating work and new book, which he named after himself.
"It's called 'Walking Red Flag' because I'm the red flag. I'm not trying to be a hero. I'm telling you how I felt, the emotional things I was going through, because I am 10% away from any guy someone's dating."
He warned against trusting people who market themselves as finished products.
"If anyone says they've figured it out, they're a liar trying to make money off you."
For better or worse, Freid has people in his life who have no problem pointing out his perceived flaws.
For all the frustration Freid mines from his family, he doesn’t seem particularly interested in escaping it.
Asked what advice he would give Jewish mothers whose sons have started dating, Freid laughed off the premise.
"They're not going to listen to me," he said.
"Keep bothering your sons. Keep giving them crap. They love you for it," Freid continued. "It actually calms them."
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He described the familiar barrage from his own mother: When are you coming home? When are you leaving? Why are you eating that? Eat, you haven’t eaten anything. Stop eating. Take. Eat. Drink. What are you drinking for? You drive so fast. You drive like an old lady.
For Freid, that running commentary is less a nuisance to be solved than a kind of family soundtrack.
"That is like a Jewish man’s white noise machine," he joked.
Fortunately, it is also an endless source of material.
After 16 years in stand-up, Freid has learned that the people who can get under his skin most effectively are often the same people who make for his best stories. His parents may never stop asking questions, offering opinions or telling him what he should be doing differently.
At this point, Freid probably wouldn’t want them to.
Crackdown on critical tech could open Americans to a new national security threat
Americans' sensitive information could increasingly be processed overseas if restrictions on artificial intelligence data centers slow construction in the U.S., a data privacy advocate and industry executive warned.
The warning comes as states and local governments weigh new restrictions on the rapidly expanding data center industry amid concerns over electricity costs, grid reliability and other impacts on surrounding communities.
Brittany Kaiser, CEO of Alpha Compute, said state moratoriums and restrictions on new data centers could push American companies to seek computing capacity in other countries as demand from AI continues to surge.
"One of my top concerns as a top data protection and privacy advocate is that with data center moratoriums being passed in the United States that it will force Americans and American companies to send our data to be processed abroad in other countries," Kaiser told Fox News Digital.
"American companies are going to still run their AI," she added. "They're still going to be purchasing data center space in other countries, and it means our sensitive information will be sent abroad and shared with companies and organizations that might not have America's best interests at heart."
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Data centers are large facilities filled with servers and computing equipment that process, store and transmit information behind many everyday technologies. They support everything from email, social media and internet searches to online banking, streaming services and AI platforms. As demand for AI grows, companies are building increasingly powerful data centers that require vast amounts of electricity, advanced chips and high-speed network connections.
Kaiser said the facilities have become critical infrastructure for the digital economy, making decisions about where they are built and who controls the data they handle a matter of growing economic and national security concern.
Artificial intelligence, however, requires significantly more computing power, fueling a rapid expansion of data center construction across the country.
That growth has sparked pushback in some communities over concerns about electricity costs, water consumption, noise and environmental impacts. Kaiser acknowledged those concerns and said companies should be subject to "common sense regulation" designed to protect communities.
"Not all companies are doing it [building data centers] in the same way," she said. "Some are more responsible than others."
Kaiser said responsible developments can use closed-loop water cooling systems and generate power independently rather than increasing demand on the existing electrical grid.
Alpha Compute, she said, is pursuing projects designed to operate "off-grid, behind the meter," meaning the facilities would generate their own power rather than relying on electricity supplied through the local grid. Kaiser said that approach is intended to prevent the massive energy demands of data centers from straining existing infrastructure or contributing to higher electricity costs for nearby residents.
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The company is developing a project in Pennsylvania, where Gov. Josh Shapiro recently imposed new requirements on large data center developments. Kaiser said Alpha Compute plans to comply with the regulations and welcomed provisions promoting cleaner energy.
Pennsylvania is among a growing number of states confronting the rapid expansion of data centers. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has pushed data centers to provide more of their own power and shoulder infrastructure costs as development accelerates across the state.
Other governors have gone further. Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul imposed a one-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers as states grapple with concerns over electricity costs, grid reliability and the pace of development.
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But she cautioned that policies that significantly restrict domestic development could have broader consequences for America's position in the global AI race.
"Compute power has now become nearly a utility," Kaiser said, comparing the need for domestic computing infrastructure to energy independence.
"We want to have the right to compute," she said. "We want to be able to process data within our own borders as a national security priority, but also for our own intellectual property to make sure we're not sending our data abroad."
Kaiser has launched a campaign called "Right to Compute," advocating for domestic data center development alongside sustainability standards and regulation.
"We should have the right to both energy independence as well as compute power," she said, "so that Americans and American companies can process all of our sensitive data within our own borders."
'We have not slowed down': Minnesota not out of the woods on massive fraud scandal, expert warns
Despite Minnesota’s fraud scandal exploding onto the national scene and costing taxpayers billions, there are growing concerns that the state has still not done what’s necessary to root out the problem.
"We have not slowed down, there is no sense in which the fraud has been stopped in Minnesota," Bill Glahn, a policy fellow at the Center of the American Experiment, told Fox News Digital.
Glahn has been warning on social media that Minnesota’s rapid growth in provisional assisted-living licenses, most for small facilities, may be outpacing state oversight. In a recent article, Glahn explained the state’s licensing database showed 364 new facilities with provisional licenses popping up over the past year and called for a 90-day moratorium on new licenses while officials investigate.
"We have something along the order of 2,500 of these licensed across the state, but about 20% of them, around three, 400 of them have just been started in the last year," Glahn explained.
"I'm not sure if there's a real underlying driver in the demographics or the demand for these facilities, but it's odd that we have these assisted living facilities linked to Medicaid fraud, at the same time, the Minnesota Department of Health is approving more than one a day. More than one new facility gets approved every single day, 365 days a year. And I don't think anybody is really giving any thought to, hey, maybe some of this is not on the up and up."
Glahn also pointed to a recent criminal complaint filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office against Salman Ahmed Elmi, who was charged Aug. 17 with eight felony theft offenses tied to alleged Medicaid billing fraud, as evidence that fraud is still taking place.
The criminal complaint also details alleged ties among the Medicaid-funded businesses, properties previously used to provide commercial sex services and people investigators say were part of a sex-trafficking organization.
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"This is two scandals in one," Glahn said. "You have a commercial sex operation, actual brothels, housed in what were later licensed as assisted-living facilities under the Medicaid program."
Elmi previously received an award from the state for being an "Outstanding Refugee."
"Elmi’s case alone makes clear that this is not old news," Glahn said. "This particular fraud was going on just a couple of months ago."
Glahn argued that the latest allegations point to a deeper problem within the state agencies responsible for vetting providers and monitoring taxpayer-funded programs which haven’t been properly addressed.
"Personnel is policy," Glahn said. "There isn’t a regulatory mindset under the Walz administration. There isn’t the mindset that we need to trust but verify."
While Minnesota officials and lawmakers have taken some fraud-prevention steps since the fraud scandal erupted onto the national scene, Glahn stressed that the reforms do not address what he sees as the central issue: a lack of accountability for those who failed to identify the schemes earlier
"Walz has never cleaned house, he’s never fired anybody for not detecting the fraud or not prosecuting the fraud," Glahn said. "It’s the same people doing the same thing, and that culture has never changed."
For Glahn, the messaging should start at the top.
"They're just operating as business as usual," Glahn said. "We don't have anybody who's currently in office, currently in charge of state government, at least in the executive branch, who's doing anything substantive to address the fraud. It's just amazing how we see these reports every day, and we have Tim Walz traveling the country, traveling elsewhere. He's a lame duck. He doesn't seem to have any interest in closing out this chapter of his legacy with any kind of victory on the fraud front."
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In addition to the perception that not enough accountability has been taken for the scandal, Walz's Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is running for Senate while Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is running for governor despite both being in positions of power during the duration of time the fraud scandal festered.
"Amy Klobuchar has come out with her multi-point plan of how she's gonna fight fraud once she gets in office, if she gets elected in November," Glahn explained. "I don't know why we couldn't implement this stuff today. She's called for a top-to-bottom audit of state government. She's got another few data points that perhaps were legislative proposals that didn't get passed. Tim Walz could call a special session. We could be in session on Monday, passing an anti-fraud agenda, but there's nothing. So I guess he just fundamentally doesn't have an interest in the subject."
Fox News Digital reached out to Walz's office, Klobuchar's campaign and the Minnesota Department of Health for comment but did not receive a response.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services told Fox News Digital in a statement that it has rolled out a series of anti-fraud reforms since the fall of 2024, including identifying 14 high-risk services and freezing the enrollment of new providers in those programs. The agency also said it discontinued the Housing Stabilization Services program, began auditing autism-service providers through onsite visits, instituted licensure requirements for autism centers and disenrolled inactive providers.
DHS said it has also expanded pre-payment reviews for providers in 13 high-risk fee-for-service programs and completed revalidation determinations for high-risk providers by the end of May. Since the beginning of 2025, the department said it has stopped payments to 747 Medicaid providers over what it described as credible allegations of fraud and made 824 referrals to law enforcement.
Dem candidate erupts in profane defense of Hasan Piker as party figures distance themselves
The socialist Democrat primed to represent much of America’s birthplace in Congress profanely erupted Thursday at Democrats distancing themselves from far-left streamer Hasan Piker, who once suggested the U.S. deserved the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Northwest Philadelphia, is one of several democratic socialists running in November as some prominent Democrats condemn or distance themselves from Piker over his radical left-wing positions and controversial comments.
"This is what the institutionalists are focusing their efforts on now: Disavowing Hasan Piker," Rabb tweeted Friday.
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"Not White Christian nationalists? Not the broligarchs? Not the AI overlords? Nope, the guy encouraging young people to use their collective political power for good," Rabb wrote.
"F--- that noise."
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In a test of Philadelphia’s socialist-progressive versus establishment divide, Rabb won a four-way primary that included state Sen. Sharif Street, D-North Philadelphia, the son of a former mayor who was endorsed by several mainstream Democrats.
Rabb had already embraced his association with Piker during the primary, appearing with the streamer at an event in West Philadelphia in April.
He told Piker at the time that he would be "slammed for even talking to you" and called such criticism a "double standard because as a Black progressive, I can’t do this: I’m part of the problem or whatever," according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Fox News Digital reached out to Rabb and Piker for comment.
Rabb’s defense puts him at odds with a growing list of prominent Democrats who have condemned Piker.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called Piker’s comments about American Jews "dangerous and anti-Semitic."
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When pressed by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, who is Jewish, Jeffries said, "I’ve just addressed Hasan Piker’s comments as it relates to the Jewish community as forcefully as I can, and I will continue to do that."
On Tuesday, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., called for a vote on a bipartisan resolution condemning Piker and conservative podcaster Candace Owens.
ELISSA SLOTKIN CALLS OUT HASAN PIKER FOR BLAMING JEWISH AMERICANS TARGETED OVER THEIR ISRAEL VIEWS
"Hatred is hatred, period. I said it months ago with Rep. Lawler, and Piker has proved it again," Gottheimer said in a statement.
"Telling millions of followers that Jewish Americans are bringing violence on themselves is blatantly antisemitic and one of the oldest tropes in the book," Gottheimer added.
EL-SAYED DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM HASAN PIKER AFTER DISTURBING REMARKS ABOUT JEWISH AMERICANS
Gottheimer declared that anyone campaigning with Piker is "complicit" with him.
Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., also accused Piker this week of "victim-blaming" American Jews and reiterated his earlier description of the streamer as an "unapologetic antisemite."
Schneider warned Democrats risk losing credibility when they condemn controversial figures on the right while "platforming those who espouse hate of any kind" on their own side.
Schneider also took a shot at another socialist-aligned candidate running for high office, saying Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed has "refused" to condemn Piker.
El-Sayed appeared to distance himself from Piker, telling the Michigan Advance that "nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople" as he faced criticism over his association with the Twitch streamer.
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Rabb faces only independent Dennis Mahoney in November in Pennsylvania’s heavily Democratic 3rd Congressional District and is strongly favored to succeed retiring Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Pa.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott moves to cut state funding for AI-powered Flock cameras amid privacy concerns
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to pause funding Thursday for AI-powered Flock cameras, which have come under scrutiny nationwide amid privacy concerns.
Abbott's office told Fox News Digital that the state was moving to cut off state-agency funding for the cameras, while noting that most funding for them comes from the federal government.
"Almost all Flock cameras in Texas are used by cities, and those cities are increasingly canceling their contracts with Flock," Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement.
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"To the extent that cities get any funding for those cameras, most of it comes from the federal government," Mahaleris continued. "To the extent any funding comes from Texas agencies, those agencies are clarifying that those funds cannot be used for Flock cameras."
Flock Safety is one of the most widely used providers of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) in Texas. The cameras photograph passing vehicles and record identifying information. Using artificial intelligence, the cameras can detect vehicle characteristics such as make, model and color, as well as features including bumper stickers or dents.
Using the information collected, law enforcement agencies can search records across participating camera networks.
Supporters of the technology argue the cameras can help authorities quickly locate criminal suspects, stolen vehicles or vehicles connected to crimes. Opponents have raised concerns about privacy and data sharing, as well as the potential misuse of information collected by the cameras.
Abbott's move comes as a growing number of Texas cities and counties reconsider their relationships with Flock, citing concerns over data sharing, privacy and the potential for misuse.
Earlier this week, the Pflugerville City Council voted unanimously to end the city's agreement with Flock, eliminating all 28 camera readers covered by the contract and disabling access to the system, according to the city.
In Hood County, the Commissioners Court also voted to end its relationship with Flock and later unanimously directed that the county's three cameras be disconnected and covered until they can be removed.
Abbott said in a Friday radio interview that cities and counties have begun canceling contracts with Flock Safety amid pressure from residents, according to the Texas Tribune.
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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Flock Safety spokesperson Paris Lewbel defended the technology as an important public safety tool.
"Flock’s technology is an important public safety tool for law enforcement agencies across Texas, helping officers solve serious crimes, find missing people, recover stolen vehicles, and support safer communities," Lewbel said.
"We support thoughtful legislation and strong privacy, transparency, and accountability guardrails that ensure technology is used responsibly while preserving law enforcement’s ability to use effective tools to keep people safe," Lewbel continued.
The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, a Texas state agency created to combat vehicle theft, burglaries and fraud-related motor vehicle crimes, helped state and local agencies install more than 3,000 Flock cameras since 2023, according to the Tribune.
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State grants for the cameras stemmed from a 2023 law that added $1 to vehicle insurance policies across Texas to combat rampant catalytic converter theft. Prior to the law, there had been no discussion in the state Legislature about using the money for Flock cameras, the outlet reported.
Earlier this month, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican, penned an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle urging Abbott to halt new surveillance-technology purchases.
Scrutiny of Flock's technology has also extended beyond Texas.
On Capitol Hill, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is demanding answers from Flock Safety.
"Flock has assembled an unprecedented national surveillance network," Hawley previously told Fox News Digital. "They boast more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states and more than 20 billion vehicle scans every month."
Hawley said he is investigating the company to determine who has access to data collected on hundreds of millions of vehicles.
Fox News Digital's Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
Umpire Bill Miller goes 0-for-8 on ABS challenges in Reds' 10-8 win over Cubs at Wrigley Field
The Cincinnati Reds’ clubhouse was in a celebratory mood after a 10-8 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
The Cubs, however, had little to celebrate after their bullpen struggled to contain Cincinnati’s late-inning surge.
Much of the postgame conversation centered on home plate umpire Bill Miller and a game he will likely want to forget. Miller went 0-for-8 on automated ball-strike system challenges, with every challenged call overturned. The Cubs won five challenges, while the Reds won the remaining three.
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The game’s first overturned call came relatively early in the matinée, when Miller initially ruled Reds pitcher Rhett Lowder’s fastball a ball. A successful ABS challenge confirmed that the pitch landed within the edge of the strike zone.
Miller’s night did not improve from there. Seven more calls were successfully challenged before the final out, with only two of the eight disputed pitches initially ruled strikes.
Four pitches were challenged by Chicago catcher Carson Kelly, while Reds star Jose Trevino successfully challenged two. The remaining two reversals came from the batter’s box, with Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart and Chicago outfielder Seiya Suzuki each winning a challenge.
Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson opted against raising any challenges on Friday, despite leading the majors with 88 successful overturns in 124 attempts.
Miller has previously been at the center of ABS disputes while serving as crew chief for Reds games.
During a Cincinnati game last month, Reds infielder Edwin Arroyo collided with Miller while attempting to field a ground ball in the seventh inning. The collision was at least partially blamed for preventing the Reds from recording the third out and allowing the inning to continue.
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Television cameras then picked up a hot-mic moment from Cincinnati reliever Caleb Ferguson, who directed an expletive-laced tirade at Miller over the umpire’s involvement in the play. Ferguson later apologized.
"It’s just a very unprofessional thing on my part," Ferguson told reporters. "I know these things happen in the game, but I don’t like that I was kind of the centerpiece of what was going on."
According to data compiled by TapToChallenge.com, which tracks the automated ball-strike system, Miller’s 0-for-8 showing Friday in Chicago appears to be the worst by an umpire since MLB introduced the challenge system at the start of the 2026 season.
Miller’s 70 overturned calls rank ninth among MLB umpires. Hunter Wendelstedt leads the league, followed by Dan Iassogna, Malachi Moore, Lance Barrett and Manny Gonzalez.
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever go into FIBA World Cup break with big win over Connecticut
The WNBA is gearing up to press the pause button for a couple of weeks so players can compete in the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, and before they could head to the tournament or on vacation, the Indiana Fever had a date with the Connecticut Sun.
Caitlin Clark and company came into the game looking to continue their momentum after a 113-90 win over the Chicago Sky on Sunday, while the Sun were hoping to take what would be just their 11th win of the season.
However, despite the rough season, Connecticut came out firing on all cylinders, taking a 28-19 lead over the Fever after the first quarter, an impressive feat on the road.
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Unfortunately for the Sun and fortunately for the Fever, it was the wake-up call the home team needed to turn it on.
The Fever outscored Connecticut 39-15 in the second quarter to flip the script and take a 58-43 lead to the locker room at the half.
While the third quarter wasn't as lopsided as the second, it did feature a highlight-reel assist from Clark to fellow Fever star Kelsey Mitchell.
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That was one of Clark’s 12 assists on the night and two of Mitchell’s 34 points, which moved her into the league lead in total points.
Clark matched that with 34 points of her own, which extended their WNBA record for the most 30-plus-point games for a pair of teammates in a single season, with Friday's performance being their fourth of the year.
The Fever won 111-91, extending their franchise record for 100-plus-point games in a season to 19.
Just four games remain in the regular season for Indiana. With the break for the FIBA World Cup, their next game will be on Sept. 18, on the road against the Toronto Tempo.