Politics
Top lawmaker on AI working group says privacy regs should be a priority for Congress
The vice chair of Congress’ artificial intelligence caucus says privacy regulations need to be a top short-term priority for Congress as Washington looks to get to grips with the rapidly emerging technology – which he says poses risks, but could be a catalyst for the next expansion of the U.S. economy.
Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital in an interview that he is an optimist when it comes to the potential for artificial intelligence, but Congress needs to make sure it is protecting Americans from the potential negatives and disruption that AI brings.
“I think in the short term, the ability of AI to pierce through digital data privacy and to re-aggregate data that has supposedly been disaggregated and use it to create behavioral models that could be used to influence behavior, that’s very concerning, and that’s something that the government definitely needs to play a role in mitigating,” Obernolte said.
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Rep. Jay Obernolte has a graduate degree in artificial intelligence. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
He warned that privacy regulations are currently in a patchwork state across the U.S.
“Right now, the federal government has done almost no regulation of digital data privacy, and it’s all been left up to the states. So some states have quite comprehensive data regulation, such as California, some states haven’t created any regulations at all,” he said.
More broadly, he said Congress’ role involves setting guardrails in which the states work on the issue. He also stressed that Congress needs to do work to prevent the formation of monopolies on the issue, saying lawmakers need to create a pool of resources that academic institutions can use to do research and development on AI – something he says isn’t happening currently.
“The cutting-edge research is done behind closed doors by companies,” he warned.
Obernolte and other lawmakers in the caucus have introduced the CREATE AI Act, which would establish a National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource – a shared national research infrastructure for researchers and students to use.
It’s an issue close to Obernolte’s heart.
A former computer engineer and video game developer, Obernolte also has a graduate degree in AI, making him a rare expert on the matter among congressional lawmakers. He says he understands the concerns some share about the technology, but warns that Congress can’t just “regulate for the sake of regulating” and warned against too much of a heavy hand from Washington D.C.
He said the U.S. should not follow the approach the European Union is taking, in which he says AI is viewed as something completely new and requiring whole new agencies to regulate it. Instead, he believes that existing agencies should be given the resources to regulate AI within their own sectors.
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He also stressed that the threats from AI are real, but are not those often painted by science-fiction movies, instead pointing to concerns about privacy, monopolies and the potential for malicious actors to use AI to spread mis- and disinformation.
“AI is not going to lead to an army of evil robots rising to take over the world,” he said. “But if we’re not careful, it could have very negative consequences for society. So those are the things you have to focus on as we come to craft regulation around it.”
Ultimately though, he believes that AI has the potential to benefit the U.S. enormously.
“I’m an AI optimist, but there are definitely some risks associated with AI. It will undeniably bring a lot of disruption. Every new technology in human history has been disruptive, starting with the printing press, and most recently with the Internet. But if we manage the disruption appropriately, then I think AI could be extremely beneficial,” he said.
“Think about the fact that throughout the history of the United States, every major expansion of our economy has been heralded by an increase in the productivity of American workers. And yet, over the last six years, you’ve seen a gradual decline in worker productivity. AI has the potential to reverse that and be a catalyst for the next huge expansion not only of our economy, but also of American prosperity. So those are the upsides. So that’s why we have to be so careful and so appropriate when we devise regulation around it.“
Politics
4 House Dems vote against Women’s History Museum bill over biological women-only amendment, Republican claims
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All four Democrats on the House Administration Committee voted against advancing a measure to authorize land on the National Mall to construct the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.
The measure cleared the committee on a 7-4 party-line vote, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said.
Malliotakis, who does not sit on the committee, said in a post on X that Democrats opposed an amendment to ensure the museum only honors biological women.
“Democrats in the House Administration Committee just voted against my bill to build a Women’s History Museum on the National Mall because an amendment was adopted to ensure only biological women are exhibited. What a way to celebrate #WomensHistoryMonth!” Malliotakis said in the post.
CALIFORNIA’S TRANS AGENDA SUFFERS ANOTHER LEGAL BLOW AFTER ATTEMPT TO UNDERCUT SCOTUS ORDER FAILS
Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., walks down the House steps after the last vote before the Easter recess at the Capitol on Thursday, March 30, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Her post includes a screenshot of the legislative text that states, “The Museum shall be dedicated to preserving, researching, and presenting the history, achievements, and lived experiences of biological women in the United States” and “The Museum may not identify, present, describe, or otherwise depict any biological male as a female.”
The four Democrats on the committee include Ranking Member Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, as well as Reps. Terri Sewell of Alabama, Norma Torres, of California, and Julie Johnson of Texas, the committee’s website indicates.
The bill initially had 231 cosponsors, including Johnson and Sewell, two of the committee Democrats who voted against advancing the measure.
Morelle criticized Republicans in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, saying that they inserted “ideological poison pills” into the proposal.
“The Republican majority took a bipartisan, Republican-led bill with 230 cosponsors and, at the last minute, replaced it with one that gives President Trump unchecked authority to choose the museum’s location, hands control of its design and construction to boards now filled with political loyalists, omits its sister museum honoring American Latinos, and inserts ideological poison pills aimed not at building a museum, but at generating cheap political talking points,” Morelle said in the statement.
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Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., arrives for the House Republican Conference caucus meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“The star of the Epstein files and Access Hollywood tape is the last person who should be handed the keys to a museum celebrating American women,” he added.
Sharing Malliotakis’ post, President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump commented, “This is insane, but not surprising for the Democrats.” She also included the clown emoji in her tweet.
Former college swimmer Riley Gaines, who staunchly opposes allowing biological males to compete in female sports, wrote in a post on X, “A Women’s History Museum is one step closer to the National Mall. It passed out of committee, BUT only along party lines after an amendment was added to ensure it honors real women, not men identifying as women. Yes, that’s where the debate is in 2026.”
FORMER UTAH STATE VOLLEYBALL STAR SAYS SJSU TRANS SCANDAL CAUSED INJURED FINGERS, SHATTERED DREAMS
Riley Gaines speaks during the 10X Ladies Conference Hosted by Elena Cardone at JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa on Aug. 15, 2025, in Aventura, Florida. (Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
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She added in another post, “Thank you to @RepNicole for championing this effort and standing firm in reality!”
Politics
Eight state attorneys general file suit to block TV station group merger
A group of attorneys general are taking legal action to block Nexstar Media Group’s proposed $6.2-billion acquisition of Tegna’s TV stations, calling the deal bad for consumer cable bills and local journalism.
A lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento says the proposed deal by eight state law enforcers, including California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, claims the proposed deal will give Nexstar too much control of local TV stations, ultimately hurting consumers by diminishing the diversity of news sources in their markets.
Bonta said in a statement that the deal will cause “irreparable harm to local news and consumers who rely on their reporting as a critical source of information.” The plaintiffs also include state attorneys general in Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia.
The Irving, Texas-based Nexstar is currently the largest station owner in the U.S., with 164 outlets including KTLA in Los Angeles. If the merger with Tegna succeeds, Nexstar would have 265 TV stations reaching 80% of the U.S. and multiple outlets in a number of markets.
The suit also claims that the merger would give Nexstar too much leverage in negotiating fees from pay-TV providers that carry their stations. Higher fees paid to Nexstar would be passed along to consumers in their cable and satellite bills, the lawsuit asserts.
Most of Nexstar’s stations are affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, all of which carry NFL football, the highest-rated programming on TV by a wide margin. Disputes over carriage fees between station owners and pay-TV providers often result in blackouts and service interruptions to consumers.
DirecTV, which serves around 11 million pay-TV subscribers in the U.S., filed a similar lawsuit in the same court on Thursday, claiming the Nexstar deal will “irreparably drive up consumer costs, reduce local competition, shutter local newsrooms, and increase both the frequency and duration of blackouts of key local teams and network programming.”
A Nexstar representative did not respond to a request to comment.
President Trump has said he favors Nexstar’s proposed deal. But every major TV station owner believes consolidation in the TV station business is necessary to thrive going forward as they battle to compete with streaming video platforms that have eaten away at their audience share.
The companies say they are at a disadvantage in competing with tech companies by being limited to owning stations in 39% of the U.S., a cap that was set in 2003.
Nexstar recently cut veteran anchors and on-air reporters from its stations in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Further reductions in local TV newsrooms would occur if Nexstar succeeds in acquiring Tegna, which would likely mean consolidation of local newsrooms in which it owns more than one station.
Politics
Video: Trump’s D.H.S. Nominee Says He Would Approach Disaster Policy Differently From Noem
new video loaded: Trump’s D.H.S. Nominee Says He Would Approach Disaster Policy Differently From Noem
transcript
transcript
Trump’s D.H.S. Nominee Says He Would Approach Disaster Policy Differently From Noem
President Trump’s Homeland Security nominee, Senator Markwayne Mullin, Republican of Oklahoma, struck a softer tone at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, reflecting the administration’s efforts to project a more moderate tone toward immigration enforcement.
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“You told the media that I was a freaking snake and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted. I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force. You went on to brag that you’d already told me to my face that you completely understood and approved of the assault. Well, that’s a lie.” “I said I could understand because of the behavior you were having that I could understand why the neighbor did what he did. As far as my terms, the snake in the grass, sir, I work around this room to try to fix problems. Seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us.” “I wanted to ask you if we can commit — if you can commit to revoking this $100,000 policy by Secretary Noem.” “Absolutely. That’s called micromanaging. And I don’t know if secretary put that in or someone else did. I’m not a micromanager. I think it needs to be restructured, not eliminated. Some of these agencies under the current administration — not some, all of them — got very bloated.” “Do you think there’s still too many staff at FEMA?” “Senator, I can’t answer that. When I get there, we’ll be adequately staffed to respond to our nation’s disasters.”
By Cynthia Silva and Jackeline Luna
March 18, 2026
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