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Philadelphia County District Attorney Lawrence Krasner criticized the Trump administration for dispatching ICE agents to airports to assist TSA officers who have gone unpaid for weeks amid a Democrat-forced funding lapse at the Department of Homeland Security.

Krasner, a Democrat whose campaigns received funds tied to left-wing Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, has criticized President Donald Trump and DHS for months over their immigration enforcement measures and previously threatened to “hunt down” ICE agents he believed violated city laws if there were to be a Minnesota-style situation in Pennsylvania.

On Tuesday, Krasner spoke from the airport, saying Trump administration officials have tried to confound the public and agents themselves as to what is legal behavior and what is not.

Krasner said he will not accept any phone calls from President Donald Trump asking for leniency:

IGNORED ICE DETAINERS ‘PUT LIVES AT RISK,’ DHS SAYS, TARGETING NEWSOM, PRITZKER, HEALEY

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner reacts while being mentioned by Danielle Outlaw at a press conference announcing her as the new Police Commissioner on Dec. 30, 2019, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.(Mark Makela/Getty Images)

“The president cannot pardon you and yes I will [put you in handcuffs], and I will put you into a courtroom, and if necessary, I will you put you a jail cell if you decide to make the terrazzo floor of this airport anything like what you did in the streets of Minneapolis,” Krasner said, addressing agents.

He claimed that situation involved “the criminal homicide of unarmed, innocent people” and that Philadelphia would not accept such actions.

“My job is to enforce the law: so this is how that works — because I know there have been efforts to confuse you, including by the Vice President of the United States. This is how it works. You commit crimes within the jurisdiction that is the city and county of Philadelphia, I prosecute you.”

Vice President JD Vance declined to comment. But, the White House lambasted separate comments from Krasner as he stood in front of a “Wooder Ice” mural for a video message.

Backed by ominous music, Krasner said Philadelphians enjoy Water Ice because it “doesn’t break the law [nor] bother us at an airport.” The “Rapid Response 47” team called Krasner’s video “sick and deranged,” adding, “If you don’t like it, Larry, tell your fellow Democrats to fund DHS.”

Krasner also noted during his airport remarks that there are law-abiding agents within DHS ranks.

FETTERMAN SLAMS DEMOCRATIC ‘MESS’ AS TSA WORKERS MISS PAYCHECKS DURING DHS SHUTDOWN

Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner was seen in a viral video going on an anti-Trump tirade.(Matthew Hatcher/Reuters; Ken Cedeno/Reuters)

“I have a message for the good people, and there are a lot of good people [in] ICE… Keep your oath. Uphold the United States Constitution. Uphold the laws. It does not matter whether I personally approve of policies that you are following,” Krasner began, adding he believes DHS’ “mass deportations” are “immoral.”

“To any agent who might think of doing in an illegal way, I’ll be seeing you in court and you’re not going to like it because a Philly jury is not going like what you did if it is illegal.”

When a reporter appeared to mention that the city cannot instruct ICE agents, Krasner said he is not suggesting Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) agents or ICE should not be present in Philadelphia, but that there appears to be “sort of an escalation” in the novel concept of using ICE to do the work of TSA.

DEMOCRATS BROKE AIRPORT SECURITY. NOW THEY’RE CALLING THE SOLUTION DANGEROUS

Krasner claimed ICE’s presence at airports and elsewhere has given foreigners cold feet.

He said the city saw 2,000 hotel rooms canceled for FIFA’s World Cup in June, and that he heard from Scottish fans that they would stay home because of high gas prices, airline ticket prices and the idea that their brogue could make them a target for ICE agents.

A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent looks on as passengers line up to go through security at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on March 22, 2026.(Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images)

“There are Scottish soccer fans who do not want to come here for fear their accent will be overheard and they’re going to get a bunch of grief from ICE agents in the airports, which they’ve never experienced before. This is a direct economic hit to FIFA and all the cities where it applies. This is a direct economic hit to the city of Philadelphia.”

“It is just one more thing that this president is doing to basically wreck our economy. I wish he wouldn’t do it. Having said that, I cannot blame an ICE agent who is following orders, has come here and is standing in the corner, basically doing nothing,” he said, calling ICE’s work as TSA agents “stupid but lawful.”

Krasner’s comments come as other top Democrats have lambasted ICE’s presence in airports, including remarks from one senator who claimed people will die because of them.

“ICE agents at airports will only aggravate delays & lines — disrupting checks, interrogating travelers, dragging parents from children, detaining citizens, brutalizing families, shooting & even killing,” Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal wrote on X.

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“Brutal, lawless tactics common in communities across the country by masked, unidentified agents, violating basic rights — no way to help TSA or travelers,” he continued.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York added separately that the last thing “the American people need is for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports all across the country, potentially to brutalize or in some instances kill them.”

“We have already seen how ICE conducts itself,” Jeffries continued. “These are untrained individuals when it comes to doing the current job they have, for the most part, let alone deploying them in close proximity in highly sensitive situations at airports across the country,” the East New York lawmaker added.

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Elaine Mallon contributed to this report.

Deal to reopen DHS sputters on Capitol Hill as anxiety in both parties spikes

Published Mar 25, 2026, 2:24 PM ET | Updated Mar 25, 2026, 3:40 PM ET | CNN Politics

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[Alison Main]

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Updated Mar 25, 2026, 3:40 PM ET

PUBLISHED Mar 25, 2026, 2:24 PM ET

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Cherry blossoms bloom around the US Capitol on March 23, 2026.

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

The [latest push] to reopen the Department of Homeland Security is sputtering on Capitol Hill, with frustrations so high that some rank-and-file lawmakers in both parties are privately meeting on their own to try to salvage talks.

Just a day earlier, Senate GOP leaders believed they’d found a compromise that would reopen the shuttered DHS by this weekend. But that plan — which would withhold money for federal immigration enforcement but without any policy changes — has fallen flat in both parties, leaving [President Donald Trump] and GOP leaders with no clear path to end the nearly 40-day stalemate before Congress leaves in two days for a two-week recess.

And with Democrats, too, rejecting the strategy, an uncharacteristically downbeat Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that it felt that talks were “going in circles” – signaling the impasse could go on for much longer.

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Meanwhile, a leading Senate negotiator, GOP Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, huddled with several House Democratic centrists on Wednesday morning in a frantic attempt to salvage talks and keep both parties at the table for a deal, according to multiple people familiar with the meeting.

Britt, as she left the meeting, told reporters that negotiators “have to” get a deal done this week, adding: “There’s deals on the table.”

Another person familiar with the discussions said it’s a direct result of the intense pressure lawmakers are feeling back home over the department shutdown, which has caused hours-long security lines at airports nationwide.

“We can’t walk away. We need to get something done, we need to get airports open,” that person said.

While top Democrats have insisted that voters will blame Republicans for the shutdown, one senior House Democratic aide suggested that could soon change: “This can’t go on much longer and not have the American people begin to also blame Democrats.”

With just two days until lawmakers are set to leave town for the Easter and Passover recess, Thune said Wednesday he still believes his strategy is the best route to a deal. But he will have to win over plenty of skeptics, including in his own party. Conservatives are balking at the prospect of defunding some Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, and Trump has notably refused to back the plan in full.

Democrats delivered a formal rejection of that plan late Wednesday morning, demanding some of the same ICE reforms that had bogged down the initial talks — something that Senate Republicans say is not on the table if Democrats don’t agree to actually fund ICE.

“Our offer is a reasonable, good-faith proposal that contains some of the very same asks Democrats have been talking about,” Schumer said on the Senate floor, announcing the party’s counteroffer that was sent on behalf of both House and Senate Democratic leaders.

“We’ve been talking about ICE reforms from day one. These are not new demands,” Schumer said.

According to a source familiar with the counteroffer, the party asked for policy changes dealing with officer identification, mask-wearing, judicial warrants, funding for body-worn cameras, training standards and protections of schools, churches and other sensitive locations from being the target of immigration enforcement activity.

The White House had agreed to those policies last week in the context of fully funding DHS including immigration enforcement operations. The latest proposal from Republicans, however, sought to fund every part of DHS except immigration enforcement.

Republicans, though, are exasperated by what they see as Democrats’ constantly changing demands.

GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy likened Democrats to Iran amid the ongoing war, arguing “they feel like they can hold a hostage and get more gained. And it doesn’t matter that people are suffering in our country or theirs.”

“They keep moving the goalpost. It sounds a lot like they feel like they’ve got a good Strait of Hormuz. They can chokepoint travel, this time for the American people, to achieve their political goals. That’s tragic,” he later added.

Some Democrats are arguing that Congress should advance a bill to fund only the Transportation Security Administration, which has been crippled by staffing shortages as workers continue to go unpaid.

Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján expressed frustration that Republicans haven’t yet backed advancing a bill to fund TSA, noting that Sens. Ted Cruz and John Kennedy have been open to such legislation.

“I’ve heard other Republicans privately say that we should get moving on this. So I certainly hope that we can get that done while other negotiations continue to take place,” Luján said.

Thune has suggested that the Senate would not leave town next week if DHS remains shut down. But House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated he would not keep the House in session if the Senate fails to come to a DHS funding deal in time, adding, “We’re greatly frustrated.”

“Well, the House can sit around here and wait upon the Senate. They can go home and work in their districts and be summoned right back. As soon as the Senate acts, we’ll be ready to act,” Johnson said, adding that House members would be given 72 hours’ notice to return.

The House Republican leader said he would speak with the president later Wednesday but wouldn’t elaborate on what they would discuss.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

CNN’s Lauren Fox contributed to this report.

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Blinken admits midterm politics complicated Iran nuclear deal push | Fox News

By Eric Mack | Fox News
Published March 25, 2026 12:58pm EDT

Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged that the Biden administration’s political calculus, including the 2022 midterm elections, complicated its push for a tougher nuclear agreement with Iran, lamenting that “sometimes politics gets in the way.”

Blinken admitted President Joe Biden gave into the pull of midterm politics.

“You have midterm elections: It shouldn’t be, but it is too often a factor,” Blinken told The New York Times’ David Sanger at a Harvard forum Tuesday.

As President Donald Trump and Israel have pounded Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile aspirations, including decapitation strikes on multiple iterations of leadership, Blinken now “regrets” his administration never secured what officials had described as a “longer and stronger” follow-on deal to the original Iran nuclear agreement.

WHILE UN ISSUES MIXED SIGNALS, WITKOFF EXPOSES IRAN’S NUCLEAR EVASION ‘PRIDE’

Former President Joe Biden was called out by his former secretary of state, Antony Blinken, for letting “politics get in the way” of diplomatic action.(AP Photo)

“I wish we had gotten there,” Blinken said. “We worked very hard on getting that longer and stronger agreement. And I think at various points, we were really leaning into it.

“The Iranians were leaning back at other points. They were leaning in, and we had our own constraints. You know, I’ll acknowledge, too, that sometimes politics gets in the way.

When pressed on whether that meant Biden did not want to move forward before the elections, Blinken said the administration was trying to find the “right time” to complete an agreement. But he added that, even accounting for the political considerations, Iran “wasn’t conceding enough to make that deal worthwhile.”

“So what did we do?” Blinken said. “We actually kept the pressure on them.”

ALL 4 IRAN WAR ASSUMPTIONS DEAD WRONG — TRUMP PROVES EXPERTS GOT FOOLED AGAIN

Map from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies showing Iran’s missile ranges.(The Foundation for Defense of Democracies)

That admission is likely to fuel criticism from Republicans who argued the Biden administration’s Iran strategy was shaped as much by domestic political concerns as by national security calculations.

Trump says his administration, led by peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, is now pursuing new diplomatic off ramps for peace with Iran, but he added is he achieving his long-stated goal that “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”

“They can’t have certain things,” Trump said Monday from the Oval Office. “It starts with no nuclear weapons, and they’ve agreed to that.

“They’re not going to have enrichment — any of those things,” he added.

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“We are in about the best bargaining position,” Trump said. “We’re way ahead of schedule.”

Eric Mack is a writer for Fox News Digital covering breaking news.

Justice Department agrees to pay ex-Trump adviser Michael Flynn in settlement over wrongful prosecution lawsuit

2026-03-25T19:22:08.602Z / CNN

[Politics]2 min read

Justice Department agrees to pay ex-Trump adviser Michael Flynn in settlement over wrongful prosecution lawsuit

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Former US National Security Advisor Michael Flynn at the Justice Department in March 2025.

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The Justice Department has reached a settlement with Michael Flynn, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser who sued the government for millions of dollars over what he alleged to be a wrongful prosecution.

In a brief court filing Wednesday, lawyers for both Flynn and the Justice Department said they reached an agreement to drop the lawsuit and for Flynn to receive “settlement funds.” The filing did not include the amount of money, nor did it elaborate on any other terms of the settlement.

Flynn sued the government for $50 million, alleging that the FBI tried to entrap him in the early days of the Trump administration.

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His accusations stemmed from a criminal case in which Flynn admitted to lying to the FBI about his interactions with then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, and in a Justice Department disclosure regarding his lobbying firm’s work for Turkey in 2016. He agreed at the time to cooperate in the Mueller investigation, and helped special counsel Robert Mueller piece together several instances where it was later alleged President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct the investigation.

Just before he was set to be sentenced, Flynn asked the judge overseeing his prosecution to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea. The Justice Department later moved to drop the case against him, and Flynn was pardoned by Trump.

CNN has reached out to attorneys for Flynn. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CNN’s Paula Reid contributed to this report.

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Iran building up defenses of Kharg Island to protect against potential US ground attack, sources say

2026-03-25T19:03:25.971Z / CNN Politics

Iran has been laying traps and moving additional military personnel and air defenses to Kharg Island in recent weeks in preparation for a possible US operation to take control of the island, according to multiple people familiar with US intelligence reporting on the issue.

The Trump administration has been weighing using US troops to seize the tiny island in the northeastern Persian Gulf — an economic lifeline for Iran that handles roughly 90% of the country’s crude exports — as leverage over the Iranians to coerce them to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, CNN has reported.

But US officials and military experts say there would be significant risks involved in such a ground operation, including a large number of US casualties. The island has layered defenses, and the Iranians have moved additional shoulder-fired, surface-to-air guided missile systems known as MANPADs there in recent weeks, the sources said.

Iran has also been laying traps including anti-personnel and anti-armor mines around the island, the sources said, including on the shoreline where US troops could possibly stage an amphibious landing if President Donald Trump moved forward with a ground operation.

Some allies of the president are raising serious questions about whether there is a need to attempt such an operation, since successfully taking the island would not, on its own, resolve problems related to the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s stranglehold on the global energy market, the source added.

US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Iranian actions on Kharg.

The US military had already targeted Kharg with strikes on March 13, with Central Command saying that 90 targets had been hit, including “naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers, and multiple other military sites.” Trump had announced the attack by saying that US forces had avoided hitting oil infrastructure on the island “for reasons of decency.”

An Israeli source said there is concern that taking control of Kharg would lead to attacks by Iranian drones and shoulder-fired missiles, leading to the deaths of American troops. “The hope is that they won’t take that risk and will instead fire at the oil fields, but there is no way to know,” this source said.

“I would be very worried about this,” said retired Adm. James Stavridis, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander who now serves as a CNN military analyst. “Iranians are clever and ruthless. They will do everything they can to inflict maximum casualties on US forces both on the ships at sea, and especially once ground troops are anywhere in their sovereign territory.”

The speaker of Iran’s parliament on Wednesday warned the country’s “enemies” against attempting to occupy any Iranian islands.

“Based on some data, Iran’s enemies, with the support of one of the regional countries, are preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted on X. “All enemy movements are under the full surveillance of our armed forces. If they step out of line, all the vital infrastructure of that regional country will, without restriction, become the target of relentless attacks.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Ghalibaf said, “We are closely monitoring all US movements in the region, especially troop deployments.”

Kharg Island is roughly a third of the size of Manhattan, meaning the US would need to deploy a robust landing force to take the island if it moved ahead with such an operation, a person familiar with US military planning told CNN. It’s located at the very northern end of the Persian Gulf, away from the Strait of Hormuz but critically near Iranian oil facilities.

Two Marine Expeditionary Units, which specialize in rapid-response amphibious landings, raids, and assault missions from Navy amphibious ships, have recently deployed to the Middle East. Those units include several thousand Marines along with amphibious warships, aviation assets and landing craft. They are the most likely to be involved in an operation to take Kharg, the sources said. Approximately 1,000 US soldiers with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division are also expecting to deploy to the region in the coming days.

Another person familiar with the US military planning said that Central Command has near-constant and persistent overhead surveillance of the island, so the military has been able to see both physical and environmental changes in areas that appear to have been laid with traps.

The US military’s strikes on the island degraded some of its air and sea defenses, which include HAWK surface-to-air missiles and Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns, according to Stavridis.

But US forces would still be vulnerable to Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks given the island’s proximity to the Iranian coast, and Trump officials are still grappling with whether a ground mission is worth the risk, according to a source familiar with the administration’s internal deliberations on the issue.

The US retains plans to quickly destroy sensitive information and infrastructure if US installations and military posts abroad are overrun, a source familiar told CNN. It stands to reason, the source said, that Iran could have similar plans.

Gulf allies are also privately urging the Trump administration against prolonging the war by putting boots on the ground to occupy Kharg Island or remove Iran’s highly enriched uranium at a nuclear facility that was previously bombed by US aircraft, a senior Gulf official said. The concern is that occupying Kharg island with US troops would result in high casualties, likely triggering Iranian retaliation against Gulf countries’ infrastructure and prolonging the conflict, the senior Gulf official said.

Instead, Gulf nations are pressing US officials on the need to dismantle Iran’s ballistic missile program before the conflict ends, which US officials agree with. In recent days, the Pentagon briefed Gulf countries that a large portion of Iran’s ballistic and cruise missile capability has been destroyed and that the US is close to completing its target list, without specifying a timeline, the official said.

Stavridis said one possible way to pressure the Iranians is to consider an offshore blockade of Kharg, making it impossible to export the oil. “This could be done without actually putting troops ashore,” he said.

CNN’s Haley Britzky contributed to this report

FCC moves to ban new foreign-made routers over national security risks | Fox News

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By Morgan Phillips
Fox News

Published March 25, 2026 12:26pm EDT

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is moving to block new foreign-made internet routers from entering the U.S. market, citing mounting concerns that overseas supply chains could expose American networks to cyber threats inside their own homes.

The move expands the agency’s “covered list,” which bars equipment deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to national security and will effectively prevent new foreign-manufactured routers from being authorized for sale in the U.S.

The order means new routers must be built in the United States or clear a national security review that scrutinizes ownership, supply chains and software control to be sold domestically.

“Effectively, the FCC would ban all new routers, because there are no domestic routers that meet that standard today,” Matt Wyckhouse, founder and CEO of cybersecurity firm Finite State, told Fox News Digital Wednesday. “There’s no one who can clear the bar right now.”

LAWSUIT CLAIMS SECURITY CAMERAS SOLD IN THE US CARRIED UNDISCLOSED SURVEILLANCE RISKS

The list includes communications equipment and services considered “to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the safety and security of United States persons,” the FCC said.

The agency warned that “malicious actors have exploited security gaps in foreign-made routers to attack American households, disrupt networks, enable espionage, and facilitate intellectual property theft,” citing multiple cases in which such devices were used in cyberattacks targeting U.S. infrastructure.

Image 46: Back of the router with cables.

The Federal Communications Commission is moving to block new foreign-made internet routers from entering the U.S. market, citing mounting concerns that overseas supply chains could expose American networks to cyber threats.(Sina Schuldt/picture alliance via Getty Images)

The rule applies broadly to devices produced outside the country but largely targets routers with Chinese origins. The world’s networking hardware supply is largely dependent on China for manufacturing and engineering.

Estimates in recent years indicate that devices with significant Chinese supply chain ties account for the majority of home routers used in the U.S.

TP-Link, a China-founded router manufacturer and one of the top-selling brands on Amazon, has faced growing scrutiny in Washington amid cyber incidents and broader concerns about foreign-linked networking equipment.

“Because nearly every manufacturer in this sector produces hardware abroad or relies on a global supply chain, this new requirement will set a bar for the entire industry,” a TP-Link spokesperson told Fox News Digital, calling the rule a “positive step” toward making the router industry more secure. “TP-Link has been committed to making further investments in America and has already been planning to establish U.S.-based manufacturing to complement our existing company-owned facilities in Vietnam.”

GOOGLE DISMANTLES 9M-DEVICE ANDROID HIJACK NETWORK

A review of router manufacturing and supply chains by Fox News Digital indicates that nearly all major router brands sold in the United States depend extensively on Chinese manufacturing, engineering talent or components, even when marketed as American or allied products.

Companies that have shifted production to countries like Vietnam often still rely on Chinese-owned manufacturers and engineering teams, meaning the supply chain footprint remains largely unchanged.

Core elements of router development — including firmware and hardware design — are frequently supported by engineering teams based in China, raising concerns about vulnerabilities within widely used networking equipment.

“The country where a device is manufactured does not necessarily determine the security of that product,” said Wyckhouse. “There’s a pretty large global supply chain involved — from chipsets to software to final assembly.”

FCC ANNOUNCES BAN ON NEW CHINESE-MADE DRONES OVER NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS

Those risks have already surfaced in real-world cyber operations.

In 2023, the Justice Department disrupted a network of hundreds of compromised U.S. home and small-business routers that had been hijacked by Chinese state-backed hackers known as “Volt Typhoon.” The infected devices were used to conceal the origin of cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure, allowing malicious traffic to appear as if it came from inside the U.S.

Image 49: A wlan router on desk with notbook in background

The move expands the agency’s “Covered List,” which bars equipment deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to national security and will effectively prevent new foreign-manufactured routers from being authorized for sale in the United States.(iStock)

By routing activity through compromised devices, hackers can make attacks harder to trace and maintain access inside targeted networks.

A single router often connects dozens of devices inside a home or small business, including phones, laptops, security cameras, smart TVs and baby monitors. A compromised device can give attackers visibility into network traffic and provide a foothold to move across connected systems or launch additional attacks.

U.S. officials say the broader campaign targeted sectors including energy, water, telecommunications and transportation, part of an effort to establish access that could be used to disrupt systems during a future conflict.

The FCC’s move is the latest step in a broader push in Washington to reduce reliance on foreign — and particularly China-linked — technology across critical sectors, including telecommunications equipment, semiconductors and consumer applications.

Image 50: A Ring doorbell camera is seen next to a glass door.

A single router often connects dozens of devices inside a home or small business, including phones, laptops, security cameras, smart TVs and baby monitors.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Supporters of the policy say it addresses long-standing supply chain risks and reduces the chances of foreign adversaries gaining access to U.S. networks. But the rule could strain supply chains and push up prices, given that most routers sold in the U.S. are manufactured overseas.

Wyckhouse said there are no domestic suppliers for all products involved in router manufacturing.

“This will definitely increase prices,” he said. “Companies will have to invest in U.S. manufacturing or retool existing operations, and that’s a major cost shift.”

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The policy does not apply to routers already legally purchased or currently in use. Companies can continue selling routers that are already in the U.S. and previously approved, but once that inventory runs out, new foreign-made models would be effectively blocked unless they pass a national security review.

The rule does not mean routers already in American homes are known to be compromised. But cybersecurity officials have long warned that outdated or unpatched devices can be vulnerable, and in some cases have been used as part of larger botnet networks that support cyberattacks.

“The primary problem with routers is not where they’re made, it’s that consumers don’t update them,” said Wyckhouse. “It’s far more important to choose a router that updates automatically than one marketed as a U.S. product.”

The Chinese Embassy and relevant router companies could not immediately be reached for comment.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6390934925112

CERAWEEK US suspends anti-smog fuel rules in bid to ease pump prices

March 25, 2026 5:20 PM UTC / Reuters

By Jarrett Renshaw

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A gas pump is inserted inside an Audi vehicle at a Mobil gas station in Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, U.S., March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Bing Guan/File Photo

HOUSTON, March 25 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Wednesday it will temporarily suspend federal anti-smog regulations on seasonal gasoline blends to combat higher ​pump prices since the start of the war on Iran.

The move by the Environmental Protection ‌Agency is a win for the U.S. biofuels industry because it will allow retailers to sell formulations of gasoline including blends with 15% ethanol – known as E15 – that are typically not permitted during warmer months. The waiver takes effect for ​20 days starting May 1, and can be extended if needed, the agency said.

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“We foresee potential ​for a disruption to the American fuel supply,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said ⁠at a press conference on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, at which he ​announced the waiver.

An EPA press release said the waiver temporarily suspends seasonal low-volatility requirements on gasoline and lifts blending limitations. ​That effectively allows nationwide sales of E15 and also removes “all federal impediments to selling E10, gasoline blended with 10 percent ethanol, across the country,” the release said. E10 is already widely available year-round.

Analysts said the change could shave several cents ​per gallon off retail prices. The U.S. average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is running ​just over $3.98, up more than a dollar from a month ago, according to data from AAA.

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The Renewable Fuels Association, which ‌represents ⁠the ethanol industry, said it welcomed the administration’s decision, adding it would help drivers and growers of corn and other feedstocks for ethanol.

“At a time of rising gasoline prices, year-round sales of E15 will help American drivers save money at the pump, strengthen the rural economy, and boost energy independence,” it said.

The oil ​industry’s top trade group, the ​American Petroleum Institute, also ⁠welcomed the announcement.

“By temporarily easing summer fuel requirements, this action helps ensure American consumers continue to have access to affordable, reliable energy,” said Will Hupman, API’s ​vice president of downstream policy.

Global oil prices have surged since the start of ​the U.S. ⁠and Israeli war against Iran as the conflict blocks shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for a fifth of world crude and liquefied natural gas supply.

The White House is trying to contain the economic and ⁠political fallout ​from the war. It has already announced a release of ​crude oil from U.S. emergency stockpiles and the easing of sanctions on both Russia and Iran to make more of their oil ​available to the market.

Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Costas Pitas, Chizu Nomiyama, Nia Williams and David Gregorio

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Analysis: How the war in Iran is making the economy a bigger problem for Trump | CNN Politics

2026-03-25T16:38:37.988Z / CNN Politics

Amid the constant barrage of President Donald Trump’s often-unpopular actions, it can be easy to lose sight of what probably matters most politically: the sputtering economy.

It’s been Trump’s and the GOP’s biggest problem with about seven months to go until the 2026 midterm elections.

The Iran war has made it worse.

New polls indicate that Trump’s decision to launch a war has made people more negative on his handling of the economy and more pessimistic than they already were as gas prices have skyrocketed.

And crucially, even if the war somehow wraps up relatively quickly, the negative economic impacts could linger for months.

Trump’s economic approval is cratering, new polls says

A new Reuters/Ipsos survey released Tuesday showed Trump’s approval rating on the economy hitting an all-time low of 29%.

That’s down from between 34% and 36% in January and February. And it’s not only worse than any of Trump’s previous numbers; it’s also worse than any of former President Joe Biden’s. (Biden, who also struggled mightily with the economy, bottomed out at 32%)

Since mid-February, before the war began, Trump has gone from a minus-31 net approval on “cost of living” (30% approving to 61% disapproving) to minus-41 (25%-66%). And on inflation and rising prices, he’s gone from minus-33 (29%-62%) to minus-45 (23%-68%).

Perhaps most striking is the Republican shift.

While 27% of Republicans disapproved of Trump on “cost of living” issues last month, that number is now 34%.

And while 28% of Republicans disapproved of him on inflation and rising prices in mid-February, that number has jumped to 40%.

Those are large chunks of what should be Trump’s base.

Rising concern about the economic impacts

Other recent polls don’t show Trump’s economic approval rating shifting as much. But they do carry other warning signs for how the Iran war could damage Trump — and solidify the economy as a GOP liability.

A view of a residential building in Tehran, Iran, damaged by a strike on March 23, 2026.

Majid Asgaripou/Wana News Agency/Reuters

A new AP-NORC poll released Wednesday showed 45% of Americans said they were “extremely” or “very” concerned about being able to afford gas in the next few months. That’s up from 30% at the tail end of Biden’s tenure, in December 2024.

Tellingly, when it comes to priorities in the Iran war, 67% of Americans said it was extremely or very important for the administration to prevent rising oil and gas prices. That’s about as many who said the same about preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon (65%).

Preventing rising oil and gas prices was also viewed as significantly more important than other goals, including preventing Iran from threatening Israel (39%) and replacing Iran’s leaders with a friendlier government (33%).

Feeding Americans’ pessimism

The story was similar in a CBS News-YouGov poll released last week. It suggested the Iran war has only exacerbated the already significant American pessimism about the economy.

Americans said by 48 points that they expected the war to make the economy worse in the short term (15% said it would get stronger, 63% said it would get weaker). A clear plurality also expected it to make the economy weaker in the long run (30%-44%).

Americans were even more pessimistic about oil and gas prices, with 58% expecting the war to make them higher over the long term, compared to 27% who thought it would make them lower.

Trump has explicitly argued that the war will lower oil prices in the long term, and has suggested that Americans should be willing to deal with some short-term pain on gas costs in exchange for weakening Iran.

That’s also a price that Americans don’t appear to be willing to pay. Fully two-thirds of those polled said Americans should not be willing to pay more for gas during the war.

A pumpjack is seen behind a gas station in Odessa, Texas, on March 17, 2026.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

And then there’s a final finding that jumps out.

One of the most significant political problems with the Iran war is not just that it’s unpopular or that people worry about the economic consequences; it’s that polling has long shown Americans would much rather Trump focus on domestic issues — especially inflation, which they believe he is neglecting.

The CBS data suggests the war has further damaged Trump on that front.

In the days before the war began in late February, the CBS poll showed 45% of Americans said Trump was “focusing too much” on international matters. That number has now shot up to 58%.

The percentage of independents who agree with that statement has increased from 52% last month to 66% now, and Republicans have gone from 19% to 29%.

It’s not just about today’s numbers

None of that is good news for Trump on the economy, which, it bears re-emphasizing, was already a major problem for him and the GOP. But like with his tariffs last year, he has decided to take an already uncertain economy and pursue action that clearly harms it in at least the short term, if not the long term, too.

While Biden could certainly be criticized for not paying enough attention to inflation, Trump has proactively taken steps that have directly contributed to rising prices.

Which brings us to what happens now.

Even if Trump ends the war soon and the Strait of Hormuz is somehow instantly re-opened — both big “ifs” — it’s likely we’ll see these impacts linger for months.

As CNN’s David Goldman wrote Tuesday, oil prices can shoot up like a rocket, but they tend to drop like a feather. And that’s especially the case in a war that has also damaged other facets of the energy markets in ways that will take time to rebuild.

And those higher energy costs tend to make plenty of other things more expensive, as CNN’s Alicia Wallace wrote.

It’s likely this political problem will get worse as the economic effects linger. It’s one thing to fill up your gas tank a couple of times at around $4 a gallon; it’s another to do it over and over again in an election year — even if prices drop a bit from their highs.

The early polling suggests Americans are quite concerned about what this war will portend for them. And Republicans should be, too.

Melania Trump brings an AI-powered robot to the White House — and says there could be more of them soon

2026-03-25T17:38:45.667Z / CNN Politics

By

[Betsy Klein]

Updated 41 min ago

Updated Mar 25, 2026, 3:22 PM ET

PUBLISHED Mar 25, 2026, 1:38 PM ET

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US first lady Melania Trump and French first lady Brigitte Macron look at a humanoid robot, as Trump hosts a roundtable event on the second day of the inaugural Fostering the Future Together Global Coalition Summit, at the White House on Wednesday.

Kylie Cooper/Reuters

The storied White House East Room has welcomed politicians, foreign dignitaries, war heroes, celebrities and elite athletes, but on Wednesday, it was the setting for an extremely robotic speech introducing first lady Melania Trump.

The speaker was an American-made humanoid robot.

“Thank you, first lady Melania Trump, for inviting me to the White House,” the female voice, which introduced itself as “Figure 3,” said, describing its prime speaking slot at Trump’s summit on AI education and safety for children as an “honor.”

It continued: “I am grateful to be part of this historic movement to empower children with technology and education.”

An audience of first spouses from across the globe and representatives of tech companies stood in silence, appearing stunned by the unexpected special guest and snapping photos. Taking in the scene, they were perhaps relieved it went off without any major technical difficulties.

The robot, made by AI robotics company Figure, walked tentatively through the room on its two “feet,” and concluded its remarks with welcomes in 11 different languages — with perfect pronunciation — before walking back down the Cross Hall.

The robot’s successful, if stiff, movement marked a major difference from a recent disaster at a Moscow tech summit, where a Russian-made humanoid robot unceremoniously stumbled and fell before a crowd. Wednesday’s robotic appearance underscored the speed with which artificial intelligence is evolving, something Trump was seeking to highlight as she convened a group of fellow first spouses to discuss ways to protect but also educate children amid the rapidly changing technology.

“Figure 3,” the first lady said, smiling. “It’s fair to state: you are my first American-made humanoid guest in the White House.”

Trump described this moment as an inflection point for technology and humanity — and offered her own vision for products like “Figure 3” to become permanent fixtures in American classrooms.

“The future of AI is personified. It will be formed in the shape of humans. Very soon, artificial intelligence will move from our mobile phones to humanoids that deliver utility,” she said.

Trump continued: “Since our environment is designed for people, humanoid systems are uniquely suited to navigate and operate within our world. They fit well.”

She encouraged her guests to imagine a “humanoid educator named Plato” who could teach classical studies and said the use of robots would give children more time to be with friends, play sports and develop extracurricular interests. “A more complete person,” she said.

But she also offered a note of caution: “The safety of our next generation is always paramount.”

The robotic debut came on the second day of a two-day summit for Trump’s “Fostering the Future Together” initiative. On Tuesday, she welcomed first spouses, including Sara Netanyahu of Israel and Olena Zelenska of Ukraine, to the State Department, where Trump said they would advocate for public-private sector relationships with companies like Meta and OpenAI that she said would prioritize children’s well-being.

But Trump didn’t linger. She was in the room for seven minutes for her introductory remarks, departing before a panel discussion on artificial intelligence in education and skipping the networking and relationship-building she encouraged her fellow spouses to take advantage of during Tuesday’s event.

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Democrats seize on Trump-district flip as midterm signal — Republicans reject the narrative

By Paul Steinhauser | Fox News
Published March 25, 2026 12:09pm EDT

Democrats are ecstatic after flipping a Republican-controlled legislative seat in a right-leaning, Palm Beach, Florida-anchored district that includes Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s home turf.

“If Democrats can win in Trump’s own backyard, we can win anywhere. From now until November, Democrats are all gas and no brakes as we compete across every corner of Florida and the nation,” Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin emphasized as he pointed to this year’s midterm elections, when the GOP will be defending its narrow House and Senate majorities.

Martin released his statement on Tuesday night, minutes after Democrat Emily Gregory defeated Republican Jon Maples in a special election in Florida’s House District 87, in the race to fill the seat left vacant last August, when GOP state Rep. Mike Caruso resigned to become Palm Beach County clerk and comptroller.

But the rival Republican National Committee (RNC), pointing to the ballot box setback, stressed that Democrats were overplaying their hand and that special elections are far from the best barometer of things to come.

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Florida state Rep.-elect Emily Gregory speaks with The Associated Press from Palm Beach, Florida, about her special election win where she flipped a district that is home to President Donald Trump’s estate, Mar-a-Lago, March 25, 2026.(AP)

“A low-turnout state House special election is a snapshot of local quirks, candidate dynamics, and turnout math — not some grand verdict,” RNC Senior Adviser Danielle Alvarez said in a statement.

While Gregory’s victory won’t change the balance of power in the state legislature, where for more than a quarter-century Republicans have held majorities in both the House and Senate chambers, bragging rights were up for grabs in the president’s home district.

And Maples was backed by Trump, who moved his primary permanent residence in 2019 from Trump Tower in New York City to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

REPUBLICAN ‘WAKE-UP CALL’—SPECIAL ELECTION SHOCKER HIGHLIGHTS GOP MIDTERM RISKS

“There is a very important Special Election tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24th, for Florida State House District 87 in beautiful Palm Beach County — JON MAPLES HAS MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!” the president wrote in a social media post on Monday evening.

Palm Beach County has leaned blue for decades, but Republicans have made major gains there at the ballot box in recent election cycles.

Gregory’s upset, in a district that in the 2024 elections Trump carried by 10 points and Caruso won by 19 points, wasn’t the Democrats’ only flip of a red seat on Tuesday night.

President Donald Trump backed Republican Jon Maples in Tuesday’s special legislative election in Florida’s House District 87, which includes Mar-a-Lago, the president’s permanent residence in Palm Beach, Florida.(Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images; AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

According to unofficial results from Hillsborough County in central Florida, Democrat Brian Nathan narrowly edged Republican Josie Tomkow in a special election in the race to succeed the GOP’s Jay Collins, who resigned from the state Senate in August to become lieutenant governor. In a third special election, Republican Hilary Holley defeated Democrat Edwin Perez, in the race to replace Tomkow.

The Democrats’ Sunshine State victories are their latest wins or over performances in a slew of special elections from coast to coast since Trump returned to power in the White House 14 months ago.

The flipping of two GOP-controlled state Senate seats in Iowa last year denied Republicans their super majority in the chamber.

And plenty of Republicans were calling their party’s double-digit shellacking in a state Senate election in a ruby red district in Texas in an early February special election a “wake-up call” for the party.

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Democrats also scored larger than expected victories in last November’s gubernatorial elections in blue-leaning Virginia and New Jersey.

Partially fueling the Democrats’ ballot box performances is their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation. And the victories are further energizing Democrats as they work to win back control of Congress in the midterms.

Meanwhile, Republicans are battling stiff political headwinds as the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally loses seats in the midterms, and a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns, an unpopular war with Iran, and Trump’s underwater approval ratings.

And public opinion polling suggests that the economy and immigration, winning issues for Trump and Republicans in the 2024 elections, may be liabilities now.

The DNC, in their statement, called Gregory’s win “an earth-shattering victory for Florida Democrats and humiliating defeat for Donald Trump.”

“Donald Trump’s own neighbors just sent a crystal clear message: They are furious and ready for change,” Martin claimed.

But Republicans say that Democrats are overemphasizing their special election successes.

“Historically, special elections have been a poor barometer for what will occur during regularly scheduled midterm or presidential elections,” veteran Republican strategist and communicator Jesse Hunt told Fox News Digital. “Specials have unique dynamics that don’t play as much of a factor when the broader electorate feels the muscle memory of showing up to vote in November.”

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Longtime Republican strategist Colin Reed pointed to the GOP’s sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the massive measure passed along party lines last summer by Republicans, which includes numerous tax cuts that many voters will feel this spring.

“If the economy starts booming on the backs of the One, Big Beautiful Bill’s provisions taking hold, the Republican Party need to remind America that this was a policy uniformly supported by one party and opposed by another. That’s the GOP’s big bet heading into the midterms, with the situation in Iran remaining the one unknowable wild car that has the potential to upend the entire political landscape,” Reed said.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6388669662112