作者： root

世卫：全球近四成癌症病例可预防

发布/2026年2月4日 19:27 / 联合早报

最新研究发现，吸烟是全球首要的可预防致癌因素，其他因素则包括体重超标、缺乏运动和紫外线辐射等。 （海峡时报档案照片）

（日内瓦综合电）在世界癌症日前夕，世界卫生组织发布最新全球研究报告指出，如果人们避免吸烟、饮酒、使空气污染等一系列风险因素，近四成的癌症病例是可以预防的。

世卫组织国际癌症研究署星期二（2月3日）发布的报告估计，2022年所有新发癌症病例中，约有37.8%（约710万起）与可预防的因素有关，这凸显了在减轻全球癌症负担方面，预防的巨大潜力。

报告说，新研究调查30种可预防的致癌因素，包括吸烟、饮酒、身体质量指数（BMI）超标、缺乏体育锻炼、空气污染等，以及九种可致癌的感染。

这项发表在《自然医学》杂志的研究涵盖全球多国和36种癌症类型数据，确定吸烟是全球首要的可预防致癌因素，它导致所有新发癌症病例的15%，其次是可致癌的感染（10%）和饮酒（3%）。

撰写这份报告伊尔巴维在声明中指出：“这是首项全球分析，揭示了有多少癌症风险源于可以预防的因素。”他也是世卫癌症控制组组长。

他补充说：“通过分析不同国家和人群的癌症模式，我们可为各国政府和个人提供更具体信息，帮助预防许多癌症病例的发生。”

根据研究结果显示，在全球，肺癌、胃癌和宫颈癌占所有可预防癌症病例的近一半。肺癌主要与吸烟和空气污染有关，胃癌在很大程度上归因于幽门螺旋杆菌（Helicobacter pylori）感染，宫颈癌绝大多数由人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）引起。

另外，男性有45%的新发癌症可预防，女性为30%；男性新发癌症中，约23%与吸烟有关，女性则约11%与感染有关，其次是吸烟（6%）和高BMI（3%）。

在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，感染因素占主导地位，约80%的女性可预防癌症与感染有关。这意味着，任何减少癌症的措施都要因地制宜。

报告强调，预防策略包括采取有力的烟草控制措施、监管酒精使用、接种相关疫苗以预防HPV等病毒感染、改善空气质量、加强工作场所安全，以及提倡更健康的饮食方式等。

非传染性疾病联盟首席执行官戴恩告诉法新社：“如果我们想减轻癌症负担，也须减轻非传染性疾病负担。毋庸置疑，烟草、酒精、超加工食品和空气质量是多种癌症的主要诱因。”

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Why Democrats might struggle to achieve another midterm ‘blue wave’ in the US House

2026-02-04 / CNN Politics

By Arit John

Updated 16 min ago
Updated Feb 4, 2026, 7:56 AM ET
PUBLISHED Feb 4, 2026, 6:00 AM ET

Photo Illustration by Alberto Mier/CNN/Getty Images

Eight years ago, Democrats flipped more than 40 seats with the help of dozens of veterans and candidates with service backgrounds motivated to run as a check on President Donald Trump.

This year’s midterm elections are unlikely to go down quite like that.

Both parties agree the map is much narrower due in part to mid-cycle redistricting and increased political polarization. And while Democrats enter the cycle with built-in advantages, they’re also less popular with voters than they’ve been in years. Whichever party controls the House next year might enjoy just a slim majority.

“The wind is at Democrats’ back, but people underestimate how steep the hill to climb is,” said Jesse Ferguson, a strategist who has worked for House Democrats’ campaign arm. “If I was judging on the environment, I’d rather be us, and if I was judging on the terrain, I’d rather be them.”

[Related article Photo Illustration by Alberto Mier/CNN/US Senate The 10 races that will decide control of the US Senate 11 min read]

Both parties are hoping for shifts in their direction. Republicans are betting that voters’ views of the economy will improve in the coming months, while Democrats see an opening on immigration, where voters have cooled on the administration’s approach.

Public outrage has grown after federal agents fatally shot two protesters in Minneapolis – a mother of three and an ICU nurse – and administration officials made unsubstantiated initial claims about the circumstances around the killings.

“I think President Trump has started in the right direction, but … we cannot have any more Minnesotas,” said Sarah Chamberlain, the president and chief executive of the Republican Main Street Partnership, which works to elect GOP moderates.

The nationwide redistricting fight is still ongoing, and it’s far too early to know what issues will be top of mind for voters in November. But here’s how the two parties see the field nine months out.

The Democratic path to a majority

On paper, Democrats have reasons to be bullish about November.

The party out of power in Washington has picked up House seats in the midterm elections in all but two elections since 1938. The trust voters have long placed in Trump on the economy is waning, as are his approval ratings on immigration enforcement. And Democrats have been overperforming in special elections over the last year, most recently in a Texas state Senate race.

Democrats also seem to have found a message that is resonating with voters: affordability. Elections in New Jersey, Virginia and New York City last year all showed that focusing intensely on the rising cost of health care, utilities, groceries and housing is a winning blueprint for a party that lost support with working class and minority voters in 2024.

But the road ahead isn’t completely smooth for Democrats. Republican groups, including the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and the Republican National Committee, have outraised their Democratic counterparts. And MAGA Inc, a Trump-aligned super PAC, ended 2025 with $300 million.

Democrats are also still in the process of rebuilding their public image.

While more voters say they would be likely to vote for a generic Democrat over a Republican, the party’s leaders are less popular than they were heading into the 2018 midterm elections. A recent CNN/SSRS poll found that Democratic leaders’ approval rating was 44 points underwater in January, compared to 28 points underwater in September 2017.

“Those that are assuming Democrats will take the House are making a mistake,” Ferguson said. “It is not a foregone conclusion – there’s a path to victory. This is not a cakewalk.”

Republicans’ case for a midterm surprise

Republicans are tying their hopes of defying history to the electoral map.

There are far fewer competitive seats now than there were eight years ago. While Democrats are seeking to expand their map into redder and redder territory like North Carolina’s 11th District, which Trump won by nearly 10 points in 2024, Republicans see offensive opportunities in the several seats held by Democrats in seats Trump won.

In 2018, Republicans were defending nearly two dozen incumbents in districts Hillary Clinton won in 2016, mainly in suburban districts. Those purple districts were key to Democrats’ path to victory.

Prior to the redistricting wars, Republicans were set to defend just three seats former Vice President Kamala Harris won, while Democrats had 13 incumbents in seats Trump won. Republicans estimate there are now 16 Democrats in Trump districts and seven Republicans in Harris seats.

Those Democratic crossover districts include Maine’s 2nd District, where Rep. Jared Golden is retiring, and Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur’s 9th District, which moved further right under new maps adopted last year.

Republicans are also hoping the economy will improve in a way voters appreciate ahead of November.

“In 2018 we had a millstone around our necks in terms of healthcare from the very start of the first week of the Trump presidency, and it really didn’t let up,” said Matt Gorman, who served as the NRCC’s communications director in 2018. “Here, it’s far more fluid.”

Gorman pointed to progress on inflation and fast economic growth. He said Republicans are betting voters will feel those changes ahead of Election Day.

“The question is will it get to the public fast enough to satisfy them? That’s the key. That’s the bet that they laid down,” he said.

Trump’s recent trip to Iowa highlighted another issue facing Republicans: the president’s voters don’t necessarily turn out for other Republicans, particularly when his name is not on the ballot as it was in 2024.

While the president won Iowa’s 1st District by eight points in that election, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks held onto the seat by a fraction of a point – just 799 votes. Trump also carried Rep. Zach Nunn’s 3rd District by a wider margin than the incumbent.

Trump’s visit is part of what Republicans hope will be a broader, more sustained effort to convince his supporters to turn out. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has said Trump will campaign “like its 2024.”

“We need his people to turn out, obviously,” said Chamberlain, of the Republican Main Street Partnership. “So he’s going to work on doing that, helping us.”

How redistricting affects the map

As of now, Republicans are narrowly winning the redistricting war, based on a CNN analysis. New maps could help Republicans pick up as many as nine additional seats – five in Texas, two in Ohio and one each in Missouri and North Carolina. Democrats, meanwhile, are in position to gain up to five seats in California and one in Utah under redrawn lines.

But the midcycle redistricting wars are far from settled. Democrats are hoping to gain an additional seat in Maryland, where the legislature is considering a new map, and Virginia, where lawmakers will ask voters to approve a map that could deliver the party as many as four more seats. Voters in Missouri could also overturn that state’s map in a referendum process.

The biggest question, however, is the timing of a Supreme Court decision that observers expect could undercut provisions of the Voting Rights Act. Democrats are bracing for the court to clear the way for southern states to eliminate majority-minority districts. The sooner the decision drops this year, the more time Republican-controlled legislatures will have to draw up new congressional districts.

Race spotlight

Pennsylvania’s 8th District: First-term Rep. Rob Bresnahan narrowly defeated Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright by campaigning as a salt-of-the-earth moderate who opposed congressional stock trading. Since entering office, however, Bresnahan has become one of the chamber’s most prolific traders. He’s since signed onto a discharge petition to end congressional trading and told his financial advisors to halt active management of his stocks, but Democrats argue the damage has been done. Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti launched her campaign last year with the slogan “Paige Against the Machine,” a nod to her 2019 mayoral campaign, during which she ran as an independent after clashing with local Democratic leaders.

“The strategic imperative for Democratic candidates is to expose how the Republican incumbent is responsible for how expensive things are, and clarify how the Democratic candidate is different from what people have come to expect from Democrats,” Ferguson said.

New York’s 17th District: Rep. Mike Lawler is one of two GOP incumbents running in a district Harris carried in 2024, and a crowded Democratic field has formed to take him on in November. But Republicans argue he’s also a strong candidate and prolific fundraiser. He won his 2024 race against former Rep. Mondaire Jones by more than six points.

“He knows the district well. He’s not afraid to be aggressive, and he’s not afraid to get out there,” Gorman said.

Correction:This story has been corrected to reflect that Matt Gorman was communications director at the National Republican Congressional Committee.

西班牙希腊拟禁止未成年人使用社媒 | 联合早报

发布时间 / 来源：2026-02-04T12:10:50.000Z | 联合早报

为保护儿童免受网络风险，西班牙星期二（2月3日）宣布，拟立法禁16岁以下孩童使用社交媒体。 （路透社）

（马德里综合电）继英国和法国之后，西班牙和希腊也计划禁止青少年和孩童使用社交媒体。

西班牙首相桑切斯星期二（2月3日）宣布，西班牙政府有意禁止16岁以下孩童使用社媒，并立法要求社媒高管为平台上的仇恨言论承担责任。

桑切斯在迪拜举行的世界政府峰会上说：“我们的孩子暴露在一个他们原本不该独自应对的空间……我们将不再接受这种情况。我们将保护他们，免受数字‘蛮荒西部’的侵害。”

据了解，西班牙拟议法规将为家长设定使用限制提供明确支持，并缓解儿童因担心“错过社交”而承受的压力。

希腊也即将宣布类似禁令，禁止15岁以下儿童使用社媒。此前，法国政府已表明，正在审议禁止15岁以下儿童使用社媒的立法；英国也在考虑类似措施。

澳大利亚去年12月10日正式实施全球首创的强力措施，禁止16岁以下人群使用社交媒体。

X平台的所有者马斯克愤怒回应桑切斯的宣布，把桑切斯形容为“暴君”。

谷歌、TikTok、Snapchat和Meta等其他社媒平台则未回应置评请求。

格拉纳达大学实验心理学教授佩拉莱斯说，学界并未一致认同社交媒体必然对青少年有害。

近期，由人工智能（AI）生成内容激增，马斯克旗下xAI公司开发的生成式人工智能聊天机器人Grok因被滥用于生成女性及孩童裸体图像等色情内容，被印度尼西亚和菲律宾封锁。

How federal policing upended daily life, public trust in Minneapolis

2026-02-04T07:00:11-0500 / CBS News

Brooklyn Park, Minn. — “Operation Metro Surge” has transformed daily life in the bustling, diverse suburb north of Minneapolis, with businesses shuttering and residents now in hiding, local officials say.

Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley and Mayor Hollies Winston argue the temporary surge of federal immigration officers has created permanent damage that will outlast the federal agents who will eventually pick up and leave the Twin Cities.

“A lot of our community is terrified,” Winston said, describing critical business corridors where shops have closed. “Many community members are not coming out of their house because they’re so fearful,” the mayor said, adding that the fear is not limited to undocumented residents.

“We’re talking about citizens of the United States [who] are too scared to come out on a city street in America,” he said.

Economic impact could last for years, mayor says

In a city where roughly 65% of residents are people of color, Winston said neighbors are weighing whether to avoid going outside altogether, opting for grocery delivery. He compared the economic impact to the COVID pandemic and predicted the effects could linger for years.

“We will be grappling with this five to ten years from now,” Winston said, unless a “recovery effort” follows any de-escalation.

Winston reported that the economic impact has been immediate and severe, with some businesses seeing revenue down 50%, while others “just closed up.”

“It’s having a chilling impact across all sectors of our city,” Winston said, warning the economics are “just not sustainable.”

Police chief says off-duty officers stopped, one “boxed in” at gunpoint

Bruley said he decided to speak publicly after learning that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had stopped not only community members, but also Brooklyn Park police officers and civilian staff — people he said were U.S. citizens and “people of color” — and demanded proof of citizenship.

In one case, Bruley said, ICE agents with guns drawn “boxed in” an officer who had a child in the vehicle and “demanded paperwork to prove that they were essentially a U.S. citizen.”

Bruley said he initially hesitated to go public because he feared people would assume he only cared once federal agents targeted his own staff, adding that is not the case. He said that as a police chief, he could not rely solely on word-of-mouth or social media clips.

“When my staff … people that can go to court and testify… come to me in tears … telling me they’re stopped because of the color of their skin, guns drawn on them, demanding [their] paperwork … It just affirmed how much of this is going on all over the Metro area and throughout the state,” Bruley said.

The police chief said similar experiences have since been reported by other law enforcement officials, including the St. Paul police chief. “These are police officers that do the job of law enforcement every day telling me that other law enforcement are out of control,” he told CBS News. “Everybody in the nation should step back and go, whoa, what is going on?

Federal agents’ presence eroding trust in local law enforcement, mayor warns

Winston expressed a deeper concern about trust — and how mistrust of federal tactics can spill over onto local police legitimacy.

The mayor warned the federal presence risks unraveling years of investment in community policing and alternative response approaches, saying that work has helped drive crime down and improve relationships.

“Not everyone can differentiate between what our local police do and what they see at the federal government,” Winston said.

Operation Metro Surge, which the Department of Homeland Security says is the largest operation of its kind, has also been different from other federal law enforcement operations in the past, according to the Brooklyn Park mayor and police chief.

“We’re not seeing that partnership, and we know what it looks like, because we’ve had it forever. We’ve had great partnerships,” Bruley said. “This has been different.”

The city partnered with federal law enforcement last year when former Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Melissa Hortman was assassinated at her home in Brooklyn Park. Chief Bruley said he was proud of the law enforcement partnership between his police force and the federal force on what he called “an incredibly difficult mission.”

Mayor Winston said having a strong partnership would serve to de-escalate tensions in the community, and the city has faith in its local law enforcement: “We know what it looks like for it to be done well. And so that’s all we’re really asking for as a state here. And I think that just builds legitimacy across the entire country.”

On ICE body cameras: “Late by 10 years”

On Monday, Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem announced federal immigration agents in Minneapolis will begin wearing body cameras effective immediately.

Winston said he welcomed the built-in accountability of body cameras, conceding the move came late but calling it “an opportunity to de-escalate and start talking about how is there gonna be long-term accountability.”

Bruley called the new bodycams “late by 10 years,” arguing the technology improves transparency and legitimacy in policing. Still, he said he has noticed a change since Border Czar Tom Homan arrived in Minnesota.

“There has been a noticeable difference in the temperature… they’re just acting better,” the police chief said, adding that “a lot of the behaviors that we’ve seen stopped,” when Homan arrived.

Bruley said that his core objection to federal officers isn’t to immigration enforcement itself, but rather the way this surge has been carried out. He described a mindset he believes some federal teams brought to the operation. That “ends justify the means” approach, he argued, is fundamentally incompatible with American policing.

“It doesn’t matter if you arrest 15 people, but you violated the Constitution. It was wrong,” Bruley said, emphasizing Fourth Amendment protections — the right to be free from being “contacted, searched [or] interrogated because of the color of their skin” — and said “that type of behavior cannot be tolerated in our streets in this country.”

One of the most unusual dynamics Bruley described was residents calling 911 asking for local police help because they believe ICE is “watching them, following them, trying to get in their apartment.”

He recounted an incident where a person ran into the police department lobby “begging” for help as ICE agents chased the individual inside and took them into custody.

What’s happening is not a “blue state problem,” police chief warns

The police chief also warned about what he called “mission creep,” or a so-called broadening of the original objective of the operation.

“It’s not just violent people,” he said. “Everybody’s getting stopped, including the U.S. citizens and demanded paperwork.”

Asked what they would tell leaders who see this as a “blue state problem,” Bruley said that’s happening is unacceptable regardless of party: “American citizens … are being snatched up off the street, demanding their paperwork, just because of color of their skin.”

Winston also made the broader argument that coercive tactics used first against marginalized communities often “creep” outward to others, pointing to the war on drugs as an example. He cautioned that if the justification works in Minnesota, “it can be used anywhere in the country when it serves anybody’s purpose.”

For other cities preparing for a similar surge, Bruley offered blunt advice, saying that while there is “no playbook,” leaders must “do what’s right,” document what they can and push for transparency.

“Immigration enforcement needs to happen,” he said. “We also can say that the way it’s being executed – with faces being covered … is an unacceptable way to do law enforcement.”

The 10 races that will decide control of the US Senate

2026-02-04T11:00:47.907Z / CNN

In the fight for control of the US Senate, the majority may come down to which factor carries more weight: the map or the environment.

Let’s start with the map – and the math. Republicans currently hold 53 seats in the chamber compared to 47 for Democrats, which includes two independents who caucus with the party. With Vice President JD Vance serving as a potential tie breaker, that means Democrats need to gain four seats to claim the majority, a task made more difficult by a map that favors the GOP.

Of the 35 seats up for grabs in November, Democrats have only one target in a state that former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024 (Maine) while they are defending two in battleground states President Donald Trump carried (Georgia and Michigan). From there, the opportunities for Democrats turn to North Carolina, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2008, then stretches into deep red turf.

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Republicans believe the friendly playing field will work in their favor and be more receptive to Trump’s agenda, including the massive tax and spending legislation enacted last year.

As for the environment, Democratic leaders feel buoyed by recruiting wins and the party’s sweep of races in major off-year contests last November fueled in large part by an emphasis on cost-of-living concerns for voters. They are betting souring voter sentiment toward the president, particularly on his handling of the economy, will remain a driving force in elections this year – and will help the party overcome some of the challenges it faces when it comes to its own brand in the eyes of many Americans.

Even as both parties agree that the economy and affordability will be central to shaping the contours of the midterms, there is a shared understanding that other issues could factor into the decisions of voters over the next nine months. The Trump administration’s handling of immigration enforcement operations has emerged as a political flashpoint following the fatal shootings of two protesters in Minneapolis by federal agents.

Democrats are also hoping to capitalize on an energized base, with a recent CNN poll showing Democratic registered voters far more motivated to vote this year than Republicans – despite widespread dissatisfaction with party leaders. Republican candidates, meanwhile, will need to grapple with how to turn out base voters with the president’s name not on the ballot – something that has been a significant challenge during the Trump era.

The midterm cycle kicks off next month with primaries in Texas and North Carolina. Here’s a look at where the key Senate races stand nine months from Election Day:

Control of the Senate centers on four states featuring the most competitive races of the cycle: Georgia, Maine, Michigan and North Carolina.

Democrats must hold onto Georgia and Michigan and flip the other two if the party stands a chance of claiming the majority. A loss in any of them would mean needing to win another seat on terrain much more friendly for Republicans.

Sen. Jon Ossoff is the lone Democratic senator seeking reelection in a state Trump won in 2024. First elected in a runoff in 2021, Ossoff is a strong fundraiser and has tapped into frustration with Trump’s first year in office on issues like the economy and health care.

While Ossoff is already in general election mode, Republicans are engaged in a contested primary featuring Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, who has the backing of Gov. Brian Kemp.

Trump has not yet endorsed in the race, but the GOP candidates have all aligned themselves closely with the president’s agenda and tried to portray Ossoff as extreme in a state that’s swung between parties in the past three presidential elections.

Maine

Sen. Susan Collins is a perennial target for Democrats in a state that’s voted against Trump all three times he’s been on the ballot. The five-term senator has at times bucked the president, including on his sweeping domestic agenda bill and a war powers vote last month, which led Trump to say Collins should never be reelected. But she has backed Trump on other priorities, including most of his Cabinet picks and two of his three Supreme Court appointments during his first term.

Keeping her seat red is a top priority for national Republicans. The Senate Leadership Fund, a group closely aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, has pledged an initial $42 million investment to boost Collins.

The Democratic primary pits 78-year-old Gov. Janet Mills, a party establishment favorite, against 41-year-old Graham Platner, a progressive oyster farmer and former combat veteran.

Mills is a popular figure who has won several statewide races. She would be the oldest freshman ever elected to the US Senate but has pledged to serve only one term. While her decision to run pleased Democratic leaders, some in the party have expressed concern about her ability to excite the base.

Platner, meanwhile, has tapped into progressive enthusiasm with his economic populist pitch. But a trail of negative stories, including those detailing past controversial online posts and a tattoo resembling Nazi imagery, could complicate his primary and general election bids.

Michigan is another swing state Trump won in 2024 where Democrats find themselves on defense – and engaged in one of this year’s most closely watched primaries that could serve as a barometer of where the party is heading in one of the country’s premier battlegrounds.

The retirement of Sen. Gary Peters kicked off a crowded three-way race for the Democratic nomination between Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive former executive director of the Detroit Health Department; state Sen. Mallory McMorrow; and Rep. Haley Stevens, a moderate who is seen as the favorite of the party establishment.

Republicans are hoping a potentially bruising Democratic primary stretching into August will work in their favor. Former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers is back for another bid after losing the Senate race in 2024 and cleared the field with Trump’s endorsement. But Democrats view Rogers as a retread and are confident the party will unite around the party’s eventual nominee.

While Trump won Michigan in 2016 and 2024, Democrats performed well in statewide midterm races in 2018 and 2022, a trend the party hopes to extend in 2026.

Democrats view North Carolina as one of their best pickup opportunities after GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, who at times has been a thorn in Trump’s side, decided not to seek reelection.

Democrats got their preferred candidate in former Gov. Roy Cooper, who served two terms and left office with favorable approval ratings. He is a prolific fundraiser and was at the forefront of the state’s efforts to expand access to health care, an issue Democrats are seeking to elevate this year.

That does not mean Cooper will have an easy path in a state Trump won three times. Former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley, who has the president’s backing, is favored to win the GOP primary next month.

Once you get beyond the four marquee races, the Senate map shifts to states where one party holds a clear early advantage – but offers reasons for some degree of optimism on the opposing side.

Alaska emerged as a possible pickup for Democrats after the party landed its desired recruit in former Rep. Mary Peltola to take on GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan. Peltola was the first Democrat to win statewide in more than a decade when she flipped Alaska’s lone US House seat in 2022. While she lost her reelection bid in 2024, Democrats think her moderate profile and “fish, family and freedom” campaign message will help put the seat in play.

They will need to overcome the state’s conservative tilt. Trump won Alaska by double-digits in all three runs. The state’s other senator – moderate Lisa Murkowski – has endorsed Sullivan after crossing party lines to back Peltola’s past House campaigns.

Ohio is another state where Democrats believe recruitment has put the seat in play, with former Sen. Sherrod Brown seeking a comeback. Though he lost his 2024 reelection bid, Brown overperformed Harris and has won hard-fought campaigns in the state before by appealing to work class voters with an economic populist agenda.

Brown will need to navigate the state’s rightward shift during the Trump era, which Republicans are counting on to help lift GOP Sen. Jon Husted to a full six-year term after he was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Vance.

Republicans see GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson as a strong contender to keep Iowa red following Sen. Joni Ernst’s decision not to seek a third term. Hinson, a former newscaster who flipped the state’s 2nd Congressional District in 2020, has already consolidated GOP support including from Trump.

While Democrats see Iowa as an uphill climb, they believe the president’s trade policies have hit farmers in the state hard and could resonate come November. The party also points to strong showings in special elections in the state since the start of Trump’s second term. The Democratic primary includes Marine Corps veteran Nathan Sage; state Rep. Josh Turek, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist; and state Sen. Zach Wahls.

Both parties believe the results of the primaries in Texas are likely to determine whether this seat gets put in play come November.

On the Republican side, there is an all-out brawl between Sen. John Cornyn, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Rep. Wesley Hunt. Cornyn, as the incumbent, has the backing of the party’s national infrastructure – yet all eyes in the GOP are on Trump, who has yet to endorse in the race but said recently he would give it “a serious look.”

Democrats – and some Republicans – think if Paxton emerges as the GOP nominee it could make for a much more competitive general election given his history of scandals. Most strategists believe the GOP primary will head to a May runoff, soaking up valuable resources with an extended intraparty fight.

But Democrats are engaged in a contentious primary of their own that will test competing theories of the best way to win the red state. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a 44-year-old civil rights attorney, is making the case she’ll drive up turnout among Democratic voters and leans on her experience in Congress. State Rep. James Talarico, a 36-year-old former teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, is seeking to appeal to independents and Republican voters turned off by Trump.

Democrats are optimistic they will hold onto this New Hampshire seat despite Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s decision not to seek reelection. First elected to the US House in 2018, Rep. Chris Pappas is seen by Democrats as a candidate who has faced tough campaigns.

Republicans feel they could have an opening in the Granite State with former Sen. John E. Sununu, who has been out of office since 2009. He’s facing a primary against another former senator – Scott Brown – who represented the neighboring state of Massachusetts more than a decade ago. Trump’s recent endorsement of Sununu could further tilt the primary in his favor.

The Senate race in Minnesota will be watched closely as the state has become the epicenter of Trump’s immigration enforcement actions.

The decision by Sen. Tina Smith to retire creates another open seat Democrats must defend – though the party is confident the state will stay blue. First the party must pick a nominee, with the August primary highlighting the ideological divide between progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who was endorsed by Smith this week, and moderate Rep. Angie Craig.

The GOP field is much more crowded, but former sportscaster Michele Tafoya’s bid has sparked Republican hopes for November. Minnesota has consistently voted for Democrats in presidential elections for decades – though Harris only defeated Trump there by about 4 points.

Beyond the competitive general election landscape, both parties are also keeping their eyes on several primary battles in states that are expected to be safely in either the Democratic or Republican column come November. The outcome in those contests could offer a clearer picture of the direction of both parties moving forward.

The retirement of longtime Sen. Mitch McConnell has set up a three-way fight between Rep. Andy Barr, former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron and businessman Nate Morris. All three candidates have ties to the former Senate GOP leader but have aligned themselves more with Trump and his movement. The president has yet to endorse in the race – but tech titan Elon Musk plans to spend $10 million to help bolster Morris, who is a close friend of Vance.

There is another three-way battle underway in Illinois, where Democrats are picking a potential successor to retiring Sen. Dick Durbin. The primary includes Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who has a strong financial advantage; Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who was endorsed by Gov. JB Pritzker; and Rep. Robin Kelly.

With a single post on Truth Social, Trump upended the GOP Senate primary in Louisiana. The president’s endorsement of Rep. Julia Letlow paved the way for her to launch a challenge against Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict Trump during his second impeachment in 2021. The result of the May 16 primary will test the power of Trump’s endorsement in a solidly conservative state.

The Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary is one of several contests this year that highlights the generational divide within the party. The matchup pits 79-year-old Sen. Ed Markey, who has served in Congress for more than five decades, against 47-year-old Rep. Seth Moulton, who has made the need for new leadership a centerpiece of his campaign.

韩国高龄者雇佣率首破70% 延长退休年龄成政策焦点

发布/2026年2月4日 20:35

在中壮年重新活跃于劳动市场的趋势下，韩国55至64岁高龄者的雇佣率于2025年首次突破70%，引发各界对延长退休年龄与再雇用制度的广泛讨论。

据韩国雇佣劳动部星期三（2月4日）发布的《高龄者雇佣动向》数据显示，2025年，55至64岁高龄者雇佣率达70.5%，较2024年的69.9%提高0.6个百分点，创1983年有统计以来新高。

自2007年起，高龄者就业率维持在60%左右，2013年后逐步上升，2022年进入60%后段区间，呈持续增长趋势。这意味着超过七成的高龄人口仍活跃于职场，反映其对经济收入的高度依赖。

此外，高龄者的经济活动参与率（包括就业者与求职者）亦达72.0%，同比上升0.4个百分点，同期失业率则由2.4%降至2.1%，呈现稳定下降趋势。

延迟退休成社会关注课题

国家统计资料也显示，高龄者（55至64岁）在职人口中，占比达18.4%，在15岁以上人口中则为五分之一。目前逐步进入60岁的群体多为1964至1974年出生的“第二次婴儿潮”一代，约有954万人，占全国人口的18.6%。该世代的大量退休，使得韩国面临严重的劳动力结构压力。

随着高龄人口不断增加，延迟退休成为社会关注课题。

劳动界主张，应依据国民年金的领取年龄，将退休年龄延至65岁，企业界则更倾向于推行“退休后再雇用”等灵活模式，同时指出在现有“定岗年薪制”下，如延长退休年龄，还需配合薪资体系的改革。

此外，一些人担忧，大规模延迟退休可能抑制青年就业，诱发代际矛盾。

高龄就业趋势 折射出严重老年贫困问题

值得注意的是，韩国高龄就业趋势背后，也折射出严重的老年贫困问题。

据统计，2023年韩国66岁以上人口的收入贫困率为39.7%，在经济合作与发展组织（OECD）成员国中排名第一。2024年，相对贫困率在66至75岁为26.6%，76岁以上更飙升至53.8%。贫困程度随年龄递增，尤其在农村地区更加明显，农渔村老年人口贫困率比城市高出1.37倍。

专家呼吁，政府加快改革养老金制度，扩大对高龄群体的社会保障，尤其应强化农村与弱势群体的福利支援，并创造更多适合老年人的灵活就业岗位，以应对持续扩大的老年贫困与劳动力结构变动。

The gunman convicted of trying to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in 2024 is set to be sentenced Wednesday, with prosecutors pushing for a life term.

Ryan Routh, 59, was found guilty last September on five federal criminal counts, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and multiple firearms offenses. After the verdict was read, Routh reportedly appeared to try to stab himself in the neck with a pen before four U.S. Marshals restrained him.

“Routh remains unrepentant for his crimes, never apologized for the lives he put at risk, and his life demonstrates near-total disregard for law,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum filed last month in which they argued he should spend the rest of his life in prison,in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines.

Routh’s new defense attorney, Martin L. Roth, is asking the judge for a variance from sentencing guidelines: 20 years in prison on top of a seven-year, mandatory sentence for one of the gun convictions.

TRUMP GOLF CLUB GUNMAN FOUND GUILTY AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT; TRIES TO STAB SELF IN COURT

Ryan Routh is seen in May 2022 holding a banner stating “World Help Us” during a demonstration in Kyiv, Ukraine.(Artem Gvozdkov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

“The defendant is two weeks short of being sixty years old,” Roth wrote in a filing. “A just punishment would provide a sentence long enough to impose sufficient but not excessive punishment, and to allow defendant to experience freedom again as opposed to dying in prison.”

Routh’s sentencing in Fort Pierce, Fla., had initially been scheduled for December, but U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon agreed to move the date back after Routh decided to use an attorney during the sentencing phase instead of representing himself as he did for most of the trial.

RYAN ROUTH’S DAUGHTER SCREAMS AND RUNS FROM COURTHOUSE AFTER GUILTY VERDICT READ

Suspected would-be assassin Ryan Routh was arrested by law enforcement in Florida in September 2024. He was convicted of all charges against him.(Martin County Sheriff’s Office/ REUTERS)

Prosecutors said Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as the then-Republican presidential candidate played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach, Fla., country club.

A sketch depicting court proceedings during the Ryan Routh trial in Fort Pierce, Fla., on Sept. 23, 2025.(Lothar Speer)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

At Routh’s trial, a Secret Service agent helping protect Trump on the golf course testified that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and run away without firing a shot.

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6380033887112

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill almost 20, including 2 infants, hospitals say, asking, “Where is the ceasefire?”

Updated on: February 4, 2026 / 6:57 AM EST / CBS/AP

Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip— Israeli strikes in Gaza on Wednesday morning killed at least 19 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to hospital officials. Israel said the strikes would continue and called them a response to a militant attack on Israeli soldiers that seriously wounded one.

Among the Palestinians killed were five children, including a 5-month-old and a baby just 10 days old; seven women; and a paramedic, said hospital officials. They were the latest Palestinians killed in Gaza since a U.S.-brokered peace plan, which has been punctuated by deadly Israeli strikes, brought a ceasefire into effect on Oct. 10, 2025.

At least 556 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in that time, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which put the death toll on Wednesday alone at 21.

The Israel Defense Forces, in a statement on Wednesday, accused Hamas militants of a “blatant violation of the current ceasefire agreement” with the alleged attack on forces in northern Gaza.

“Upon identification of the fire, IDF armored units [tanks] and IAF [Israeli Air Force] aircraft conducted strikes in the area,” the military said.

The escalating Palestinian death toll has tested the U.S.-backed peace plan, and many Palestinians in the strip say it doesn’t feel like the war has ended.

The bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike, including children, are seen outside Al-Shifa Hospital ahead of funeral procedures, in Gaza City, Gaza, Feb. 4, 2026. Khames Alrefi/Anadolu/Getty

“The genocidal war against our people in the Gaza Strip continues,” said Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, in a Facebook post. “Where is the ceasefire? Where are the mediators?”

An Israeli military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with military policy, told The Associated Press that Israel would continue striking the strip. Since the ceasefire took hold, Israel’s military has defended deadly strikes by saying it is responding to Hamas violations or militant attacks on its soldiers. The military says four soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire took hold.

Mediators have condemned the attacks and Hamas has called them violations of the deal.

Early Wednesday, Israeli troops fired on a building in the Tuffah neighborhood in north Gaza, killing at least 11 people, most from the same family, said Shifa Hospital, which received the bodies. The dead included two parents, their 10-day-old girl, her 5-month-old cousin and their grandmother.

Israel’s military said its aircraft and armored units had returned fire after militants started shooting at troops, badly wounding a reservist soldier who was evacuated to a hospital. Israel called the militant attack a violation of the deal.

After the Tuffah strike, Israeli fire continued across the strip, said hospital officials. An Israeli strike on a family’s tent in the southern city of Khan Younis killed three people including a 12-year-old boy, said Nasser hospital, which received the bodies. Tank shelling in Gaza City’s eastern neighborhood of Zaytoun killed another three Palestinians, according to Shifa Hospital, including a husband and his wife.

Relatives of Palestinians, including children, killed in Israeli artillery shelling in the southern Gaza area of Khan Younis amid a ceasefire, bring their bodies from the morgue of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for funeral processions, Feb. 4, 2026. Hani Alshaer/Anadolu/Getty

A strike on a tent in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis killed at least two people and wounded five others, according to a field hospital run by the Palestinian Red Crescent in the area. The dead included Hussein Hassan Hussein al-Semieri, a paramedic for the Palestinian Red Crescent who was on duty at the time, said the hospital.

More than 71,800 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. They believe the actual death toll is substantially higher because many bodies have still to be recovered from the rubble.

Israel disputes the ministry’s tally, but has provided no casualty figures for civilians in Gaza since it launched the war against Hamas in response to the group’s Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack, which killed some 1,200 Israelis and saw 251 others taken hostage.

韩国高龄者雇佣率首破70% 延长退休年龄成政策焦点

发布/2026年2月4日 20:35

在中壮年重新活跃于劳动市场的趋势下，韩国55至64岁高龄者的雇佣率于2025年首次突破70%，引发各界对延长退休年龄与再雇用制度的广泛讨论。

据韩国雇佣劳动部星期三（2月4日）发布的《高龄者雇佣动向》数据显示，2025年，55至64岁高龄者雇佣率达70.5%，较2024年的69.9%提高0.6个百分点，创1983年有统计以来新高。

自2007年起，高龄者就业率维持在60%左右，2013年后逐步上升，2022年进入60%后段区间，呈持续增长趋势。这意味着超过七成的高龄人口仍活跃于职场，反映其对经济收入的高度依赖。

此外，高龄者的经济活动参与率（包括就业者与求职者）亦达72.0%，同比上升0.4个百分点，同期失业率则由2.4%降至2.1%，呈现稳定下降趋势。

延迟退休成社会关注课题

国家统计资料也显示，高龄者（55至64岁）在职人口中，占比达18.4%，在15岁以上人口中则为五分之一。目前逐步进入60岁的群体多为1964至1974年出生的“第二次婴儿潮”一代，约有954万人，占全国人口的18.6%。该世代的大量退休，使得韩国面临严重的劳动力结构压力。

随着高龄人口不断增加，延迟退休成为社会关注课题。

劳动界主张，应依据国民年金的领取年龄，将退休年龄延至65岁，企业界则更倾向于推行“退休后再雇用”等灵活模式，同时指出在现有“定岗年薪制”下，如延长退休年龄，还需配合薪资体系的改革。

此外，一些人担忧，大规模延迟退休可能抑制青年就业，诱发代际矛盾。

高龄就业趋势 折射出严重老年贫困问题

值得注意的是，韩国高龄就业趋势背后，也折射出严重的老年贫困问题。

据统计，2023年韩国66岁以上人口的收入贫困率为39.7%，在经济合作与发展组织（OECD）成员国中排名第一。2024年，相对贫困率在66至75岁为26.6%，76岁以上更飙升至53.8%。贫困程度随年龄递增，尤其在农村地区更加明显，农渔村老年人口贫困率比城市高出1.37倍。

专家呼吁，政府加快改革养老金制度，扩大对高龄群体的社会保障，尤其应强化农村与弱势群体的福利支援，并创造更多适合老年人的灵活就业岗位，以应对持续扩大的老年贫困与劳动力结构变动。