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DeepSeek fallout: GOP Sen Josh Hawley seeks to cut off all US-China collaboration on AI development

This week the U.S. tech sector was routed by the Chinese launch of DeepSeek, and Sen. Josh Hawley is putting forth legislation to prevent that from happening again. 

Hawley’s bill, the Decoupling America’s Artifical Intelligence Capabilities from China Act, would cut off U.S.-China cooperation on AI. It would ban exports or imports of AI technology from China, ban American companies from conducting research there, and prohibit any U.S. investment in AI tech companies in China. 

‘Every dollar and gig of data that flows into Chinese AI are dollars and data that will ultimately be used against the United States,’ said Hawley, R-Mo., in a statement. ‘America cannot afford to empower our greatest adversary.’

His is one of the first bills introduced directly in response to the DeepSeek market shakeup of the past few days.

 

DeepSeek’s release of a new high-profile AI model that costs less to run than existing models like those of Meta and OpenAI sent a chill through U.S. markets, with chipmaker Nvidia stocks tanking on Monday before slowly gaining ground again on Tuesday. 

The surprise release displayed how China’s economic competitiveness has far outpaced the ability of U.S. business leaders and lawmakers to agree on what to do about it. 

Unlike other legislation to thwart China’s profiting off U.S. innovation, Hawley’s bill would cover any AI-related technology instead of specific entities, which has prompted the Chinese to seek out loopholes through other companies. 

Microsoft and OpenAI are now reportedly investigating whether DeepSeek could have accessed and used their data to train its own Chinese model, Bloomberg News reported. 

White House artificial intelligence czar David Sacks told Fox News there is ‘substantial evidence that what DeepSeek did here is they distilled the knowledge out of OpenAI’s models.’ 

President Donald Trump on Monday said DeepSeek’s arrival on the scene ‘should be a wakeup call’ for America’s tech companies after the new low-cost AI assistant soared to number one on the Apple app store over the weekend. 

‘The release of DeepSeek AI from a Chinese company should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing,’ Trump said. 

But the president said it was ultimately a good thing if the world had access to cheaper, faster AI models. ‘​​Instead of spending billions and billions, you’ll spend less, and you’ll come up with, hopefully, the same solution,’ Trump said.

Trump says DeepSeek AI is a ‘wake-up call’ for US tech industry

In his final week in office, President Joe Biden issued a rule slapping export controls on AI chips, with his national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, arguing that the U.S. was only six to 18 months ahead of China in the AI sector. 

U.S. officials are now looking at the national security implications of DeepSeek, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who added that the Trump administration was working to ‘ensure American AI dominance.’

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Trump AG pick Pam Bondi clears Judiciary Committee, will get confirmation vote in Senate

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Wednesday to favorably report Pam Bondi’s nomination for U.S. attorney general to the Senate, a widely expected vote that clears her for a vote in the full chamber later this week.

She secured the votes of the committee’s 12 Republicans, with all 10 Democrats voting against.

Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, made a name for herself in Florida by cracking down on drug trafficking, violent crime and the many ‘pill mills’ operating in the state. She also spent 18 years as a prosecutor for the Hillsborough County state attorney’s office, giving her the experience that many believe she will need to serve as the top U.S. attorney.

Bondi was expected to see a glide path to confirmation ahead of Wednesday’s vote. Her nomination to be President Donald Trump’s attorney general also earned the praise of more than 110 former senior Justice Department officials, including former attorneys general, and dozens of Democratic and Republican state attorneys general, who praised her experience and work across party and state lines.

Those backers described Bondi in interviews and letters previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital as an experienced and motivated prosecutor whose record has proved to be more consensus-builder than bridge-burner.

In her confirmation hearing earlier this month, Bondi stressed that, if confirmed to head up DOJ, the ‘partisanship, the weaponization will be gone. ‘America will have one tier of justice for all.’

Whether the approach will prove successful, however, remains to be seen.

The confirmation vote Wednesday was held against a strikingly different political backdrop than just two weeks ago, when Bondi testified days before Trump’s swearing-in.

In his first nine days in office, Trump has fired more than 15 inspectors general from top federal agencies, ousted more than a dozen special counsel members tasked with investigating him and reassigned or removed officials from top posts at the department.

He also froze new hiring at DOJ, issued a sweeping clemency grant for more than 1,500 criminal defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol and installed as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia a criminal defense attorney who represented several high-profile rioters.

Combined, Democrats have raised serious concerns about these actions— and about Bondi’s ability to steer the Justice Department in the face of a willful, and at times seemingly impulsive president-elect, and questioned her willingness to go after political ‘enemies’ and asked her to give credence to certain remarks made by Kash Patel, Trump’s FBI nominee.

However, Bondi appeared composed and largely unflappable during the course of her confirmation hearing, which stretched for more than five hours, save for a 30-minute lunch break.

She highlighted her record of fighting violent crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking as Florida’s top prosecutor, and outlined her broader vision for heading up the Justice Department, where she stressed her desire to lead a department free from political influence.

If confirmed, Bondi’s former colleagues have told Fox News Digital they expect her to bring the same playbook she used in Florida to Washington – this time with an eye to cracking down on drug trafficking, illicit fentanyl use and the cartels responsible for smuggling the drugs across the border.

Democrat Dave Aronberg, who challenged Bondi in her bid for Florida attorney general, told Fox News Digital in an interview that he was stunned when Bondi called him up after winning the race and asked him to be her drug czar.

He noted that she has stared down political challenges before. When she took office in Florida, Aaronberg said, Bondi ‘received a lot of pushback’ from members of the Republican Party for certain actions she took,’ including appointing a Democrat to a top office.

‘But she stood up to them and she did what she thought was right, regardless of political pressure,’ Aaronberg told Fox News Digital on the eve of her confirmation vote. ‘So that’s what gives me hope here, is that she’ll editorship and refocus the Department of Justice on policy and politics. You know, I’m hopeful she’ll focus on and I know that the border and the and human trafficking and the rise of anti-Semitism in our country and on college campuses, those won’t be popular positions.’

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White House freeze on federal aid won’t affect student loans, Education Department says

The Department of Education said Tuesday that the pause on federal grants and loans will not affect student loans or financial aid for college.

The freeze, which could affect billions of dollars in aid, noted an exception for Social Security and Medicare. The pause “does not include assistance provided directly to individuals,” according to the White House memo that announced the pause on Monday.

The pause gives the White House time to review government funding for causes that don’t fit with President Donald Trump’s policy agenda, according to Matthew J. Vaeth, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

The memo specifically cited “financial assistance for foreign aid, non-governmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”

The Department of Education said the freeze also has no bearing on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid for the upcoming year.

“The temporary pause does not impact Title I, IDEA, or other formula grants, nor does it apply to Federal Pell Grants and Direct Loans under Title IV [of the Higher Education Act],” Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said in a statement.

In addition to the federal financial aid programs that fall under Title IV, Title I provides financial assistance to school districts with children from low-income families. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, provides funding for students with disabilities.

The funding pause “only applies to discretionary grants at the Department of Education,” Biedermann said. “These will be reviewed by Department leadership for alignment with Trump Administration priorities.”

The pause could affect federal work-study programs and the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, which are provided in bulk to colleges to provide to students, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

However, many colleges have already drawn down their funds for the spring term, so this might not affect even that aid, he said. It may still affect grants to researchers, which often include funding for graduate research assistantships, he added.

“While the memo says the funding pause does not include assistance ‘provided directly to individuals,’ it does not clarify whether that includes money sent first to institutions, states or organizations and then provided to students,” said Karen McCarthy, vice president of public policy and federal relations at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

Most federal financial aid programs are considered Title IV funds “labeled for individual students” and so would not be affected by the pause, McCarthy said, but all other aid outside Title IV is unclear. “We are also researching the impact on campus-based aid programs since they are funded differently,” she said.

“When you have programs that are serving 20 million students, there are a lot of questions, understandably,” said Jonathan Riskind, a vice president at the American Council on Education. “It is really, really damaging for students and institutions to have this level of uncertainty.”

Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, called on the Trump administration to rescind the memo.

“This is bad public policy, and it will have a direct impact on the funds that support students and research,” he said. “The longer this goes on, the greater the damage will be.”

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Over 3 million on Social Security may wait more than a year for higher payments

More than 3.2 million people will see increased Social Security benefits, under a new law.

However, individuals who are affected may have to wait more than a year before they see the extra money that’s due to them from the Social Security Fairness Act, the Social Security Administration said in an update on its website.

“Though SSA is helping some affected beneficiaries now, under SSA’s current budget, SSA expects that it could take more than one year to adjust benefits and pay all retroactive benefits,” the agency states.

The Social Security Fairness Act eliminates two provisions — known as the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset — that previously reduced Social Security benefits for certain beneficiaries who also had pension income provided from employment where they did not contribute Social Security payroll taxes.

Those provisions reduced benefits for certain workers including state teachers, firefighters and police officers; federal employees who are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System; and individuals who worked under a foreign social security system.

The law affects benefits paid after December 2023. Consequently, affected beneficiaries will receive increases to their monthly benefit checks, as well as retroactive lump sum payments for benefits payable for January 2024 and after.

The benefit increases “may vary greatly,” depending on an individual’s type of Social Security benefits and the amount of pension income they receive, according to the Social Security Administration.

“Some people’s benefits will increase very little while others may be eligible for over $1,000 more each month,” the agency states.

The Social Security Administration said it cannot yet provide an estimated timeline for when the benefit adjustments will happen.

In the meantime, the agency is advising beneficiaries to update their mailing address and bank direct deposit information, if necessary. In addition, non-covered pension recipients may now want to apply for benefits, if they are newly eligible following the enacted changes.

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Restaurants are rebounding — but Starbucks and McDonald’s still have work to do

Starbucks is expected to report its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, kicking off several weeks of reports from restaurant companies as investors anticipate improving demand for dining out.

A handful of restaurants released preliminary results earlier in January ahead of presentations at the annual ICR Conference in Orlando. For many, like Red Robin and Noodles & Company, their early report showed sales trends improved during the fourth quarter, giving investors more confidence and pushing their shares higher. Only Shake Shack saw its stock fall; its outlook disappointed shareholders, who were hoping for higher targets.

But the largest restaurant companies have yet to announce any results. Starbucks paves the way with its announcement on Tuesday after the bell. Yum Brands and Chipotle won’t share their earnings until next week. McDonald’s, often considered a consumer bellwether, isn’t on deck until Feb. 10.

However, a rollercoaster 2024 for restaurants might have ended on a high note — and that could bode well for the industry in the year ahead.

Industry data suggests that the fourth quarter was better for restaurants overall than the rest of the year. Same-store sales grew in both October and November, according to data from market research firm Black Box Intelligence. December was the only month same-store sales fell during the quarter, but Black Box attributed the swing to the calendar shift caused by a late Thanksgiving.

“We came out of [the fourth quarter] with a lot of momentum and started off really strong … That gives me a feeling that the consumer is still very resilient,” Shake Shack CEO Rob Lynch said. “Consumers are still out there spending money. There’s still a lot of jobs for people who want to go out and get great jobs. We’re kind of bullish on ’25.”

Most casual-dining chains have been in turnaround mode, hoping that revamped menus and new marketing plans will reinvigorate sales. For most of last year, only Chili’s, owned by Brinker International, won over customers with its strategy, helping the chain report double-digit same-store sales growth.

But some of Chili’s rivals saw an improvement in the fourth quarter.

For example, Red Robin said it expects to report a 3.4% increase in its fourth-quarter comparable restaurant revenue, excluding a change in deferred loyalty revenue.

“We’ve been doing a ton of work behind the scenes, and I believe that these stories take time, and you can’t skip the process,” Red Robin CEO G.J. Hart told CNBC earlier in January.

For two and a half years, the chain has implemented a broad comeback strategy, which included bringing back bussers and bartenders and overhauling its signature burgers. More recently, Red Robin has launched a loyalty program and unveiled promotions for certain days of the week, reintroducing customers to its revamped restaurant experience and helping it compete with Chili’s.

California Pizza Kitchen also had a strong fourth quarter, and the momentum hasn’t slowed, according to the chain’s President Michael Beacham.

“We had a great [fourth quarter], and we’re already starting out in 2025 with some really strong numbers, and that’s just with our in-dining guests,” Beacham said. CPK is privately owned and doesn’t publicly report its quarterly results, but its sales trends can offer clues about how other casual restaurants are performing.

It helps, too, that diners aren’t feeling as strapped for cash as they were earlier in 2024.

“It looks like the consumer is starting to feel a little bit better than they were in prior quarters,” Darden Restaurants CEO Rick Cardenas said on the company’s earnings conference call in December.

Before the holidays, Darden, which operates on a different fiscal calendar than most of its peers, reported stronger-than-expected demand for its food during the quarter ended Nov. 24. In particular, same-store sales at LongHorn Steakhouse and Olive Garden beat Wall Street’s estimates. Executives credited more frequent visits from diners with annual incomes of $50,000 to $100,000.

Some of the biggest restaurant names might have the most disappointing quarters.

Starbucks is still in turnaround mode. Now under the leadership of former Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol, the coffee giant is in the early innings of a turnaround.

″[Fiscal quarter one] is expected to be another challenging quarter as SBUX implements a host of operational changes. Margin pressure is expected to be similar to Q4, but we believe investors likely look through [near-term] headwinds while focusing on evidence of [long-term] turnaround potential,” Wells Fargo analyst Zachary Fadem wrote in a research note on Thursday.

While Niccol has already tweaked the company’s advertising and promotional strategy, it will take more time for Starbucks to implement larger changes, like a menu overhaul and faster service. The company also recently said it will lay off some of its corporate workforce, although it hasn’t shared how many jobs will be affected.

Wall Street is expecting the Starbucks to report quarterly same-store sales declines of 5.5%, according to StreetAccount estimates.

And then there’s McDonald’s, which spent much of its fourth quarter handling a foodborne illness crisis.

In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention connected a fatal E. coli outbreak to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers. The chain reacted by temporarily pulling the menu item in affected areas and eventually switched suppliers for the slivered onions targeted as the likely culprit.

Traffic to McDonald’s restaurants across the U.S. fell as consumers reacted to the headlines, although analysts expect the company to report that trend reversed later in the quarter.

“We expect headwinds related to the E. coli outbreak likely weighed on 4Q US [same-store sales], with data indicating pressured trends in November, but our franchisee discussions and traffic trends highlighting recovering guest counts in December,” UBS analyst Dennis Geiger wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday.

Though some chains are lagging behind, restaurant executives generally seem more positive about 2025, citing improving consumer sentiment and wage growth.

“I’m cautiously optimistic about where we’re headed, and it feels good — it really does,” Red Robin’s Hart said.

Restaurants will also be facing easier comparisons to last year’s sales slump, making their growth this year look more impressive.

But industry optimism doesn’t ensure smooth sailing for the year ahead. Investors will be listening carefully for executive commentary about how traffic and sales are faring so far in the first quarter.

For example, restaurants have had to contend with the wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles, displacing residents and temporarily shuttering some eateries, in addition to the usual seasonal snowstorms and frigid temperatures that keep diners at home.

“I think overall, if you take out weather, this tragic thing that’s happening in California, we see green shoots already for restaurants that aren’t impacted,” Fogo de Chao CEO Barry McGowan said. “We’re hopeful this year.”

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New O.J. Simpson docuseries: Did he confess to killing Nicole Brown?

Thirty years after “the trial of the century” began, Netflix presents a four-part docuseries (now streaming) that revisits the barbarous fatal stabbings of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. O.J. Simpson, who died last April, was acquitted of the June 12, 1994, killings at Brown Simpson’s Los Angeles home in a verdict that shocked the world.

“American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson” director Floyd Russ (“Untold,” “American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing”), who was just 11 at the time of the trial, doesn’t remember much of the televised proceedings, which drew an estimated 150 million viewers for the announcement of the verdict on October 3, 1995. But Brentwood, where Simpson and Brown Simpson lived, became a backdrop for Russ’ life when his mom moved to the ritzy neighborhood.

The trial has spurred several documentaries and scripted re-enactments, including Lifetime’s “The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson” docuseries (released in June), ESPN’s ‘O.J.: Made in America’ docuseries and the Emmy-winning FX series ‘The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story’ (both released in 2016). Russ says what sets his project apart is the perspective that comes with being three decades removed from the case and his presentation of ‘key evidence to the viewer so that they feel like the jury itself,’ he says, including evidence that was never presented at the trial.

Russ also aims to introduce the case to a new audience. When he polled a few people in their early- to mid-20s to see what they knew of Simpson, they mentioned the Heisman trophy winner’s pro football career and acting credits. “There’s a lot of people that don’t know who O.J. really is,” says Russ, “and who he became and what he should be remembered for.”

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

“American Manhunt” covers the events in chronological order, from the murders to the Ford Bronco police chase that drew around 95 million viewers and the trial. Russ shed tears during a sitdown with Goldman’s sister, Kim, who heartbreakingly reveals that when her then-boyfriend’s urged her to phone her dad, she thought her boyfriend was proposing. Instead, Kim’s father informed her of her brother’s death.

Russ also interviews investigators the from case; Carl E. Douglas, an animated member of Simpson’s defense; and prosecutor Christopher Darden, who famously asked Simpson to try on the pair of gloves recovered from their homes. “Christopher Darden and the glove, married together for all eternity,” Darden declares in the docuseries. “When I die, bury me with a pair of Isotoner gloves. It fit!”

Here are the must-know moments from the docuseries.

The evidence not collected or excluded from the trial

Unlike other recent projects, “American Manhunt” points out (explicitly, with text on screen) the evidence that builds an even stronger case against Simpson that the jury never heard. A bloody fingerprint recovered from a gate at Brown Simpson’s house was never collected as evidence, according to the docuseries.

Jill Shively, an eyewitness who claims to have seen an angry Simpson driving near Brown Simpson’s house around the time of the murders, never testified because prosecutor Marcia Clark believed she had lost credibility after being paid for an earlier interview.

Skip Junis tells filmmakers that while at the Los Angeles airport the night of the killings, he saw Simpson discard “something long that maybe was wrapped in a cloth” ahead of Simpson’s flight to Chicago that evening. Junis wasn’t called to the witness stand, either, and police never found the murder weapon.

Johnnie Cochran’s shocking statement about domestic violence

There’s a moment during the trial that zings louder in 2025 than it likely did 30 years ago: when Johnnie Cochran (who coined “if it doesn’t fit, you must acquit”) asks, “Why did Mr. Darden spend all that time on domestic violence if this is a murder case?”

Cochran told the jury, “They’re trying to dredge up some theory to give you a motive, because they don’t have a motive.”

Those familiar with the case know Brown Simpson called police several times to report Simpson’s abuse, which she documented in photographs and in her diary. Detective John Edwards testified that when he responded to a call at the Simpsons on New Year’s Day 1989, Brown Simpson “collapsed and started yelling, ‘He’s going to kill me. He’s going to kill me!’”

The bloody evidence

Detective Tom Lange, citing the amount of evidence against Simpsons, says in the docuseries they “nicknamed this (case) the turkey on a platter,” as in, “It’s all there.”

Lange says Simpson’s blood was found at the crime scene, and that his blood, along with that of Brown Simpson and Goldman, was found in Simpson’s Bronco. Lange also says Simpson’s blood dripped from his vehicle to his door.

The defense refuted the evidence by accusing law enforcement of planting the blood and fumbling the DNA collection. Their argument was strong enough to convince juror Yolanda Crawford that the authorities mishandled the evidence.

O.J. Simpson’s alleged confession to the killings

Perhaps the most shocking interview in “American Manhunt” comes courtesy of Simpson’s former sports agent, Mike Gilbert.

Gilbert says in the docuseries’ finale that, one evening, he worked up the nerve to ask Simpson what happened and told his client that he’d always suspected he was guilty. According to Gilbert, Simpson responded: “If Nicole wouldn’t have opened the door with a knife, she would still be alive.” (Gilbert also made this claim in his 2008 book, “How I Helped O.J. Get Away with Murder: The Shocking Inside Story of Violence, Loyalty, Regret, and Remorse.”)

Russ, acknowledging that he couldn’t corroborate the conversation, says he was most surprised by Gilbert’s “realization many years later, looking back on it, it wasn’t that Nicole came to the door with the knife. It was O.J. still making an excuse for why he would have murdered her. In a way, it’s O.J. almost blaming Nicole for why it happened.”

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5 things to know about President Donald Trump’s ‘Iron Dome’ plan for America

President Donald Trump has ordered the construction of an advanced, next-generation missile defense shield to protect the United States from aerial attack.

On Monday, the president signed an executive order that tasks Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with drawing up plans to build an ‘Iron Dome for America’ that will protect Americans from the threat of missiles launched by a foreign enemy. In doing so, Trump kept a campaign promise to prioritize missile defense.

‘By next term we will build a great Iron Dome over our country,’ Trump said during a West Palm Beach event on June 14. ‘We deserve a dome…it’s a missile defense shield, and it’ll all be made in America.’

But what exactly are Trump’s plans for an ‘Iron Dome’? Here’s what you need to know: 

1. Israel’s first defense

The Iron Dome missile defense system Trump has called for is similar to one that Israel has developed to intercept thousands of rockets. 

Israel’s first line of defense, a missile defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, is labeled the Iron Dome. It was first deployed in 2011, and has since rebuffed and destroyed rockets from Hamas terrorists, Hezbollah forces and Iranian drones and missiles.

The Iron Dome is land-based and built to keep the citizens of Israel safe from barrages of rockets deployed most often by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials claim the Iron Dome has been 90% effective in intercepting thousands of rockets fired into Israel. 

The U.S. has contributed at least $2.6 billion to the development of Israel’s Iron Dome system since 2011. 

2. The threats facing the U.S.

Critically, the Iron Dome is a short-range defense system capable of tackling missiles with ranges between 2.5 miles and about 43 miles. Trump’s executive order identifies attack by long-range ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles as ‘the most catastrophic threat facing the United States,’ so his proposed defense system will need to be adapted and redesigned to defend against intercontinental missiles.

Russia currently has an arsenal of 1,250 deployed weapons, according to the New York Times. Pentagon analysts believe China will have a weapons stockpile of similar size within 10 years, if not earlier, and North Korea has continued development of intercontinental ballistic missiles under both Trump and President Joe Biden’s watch.

Most recently, Russia and China have experimented with hypersonic missiles, which are designed to exceed Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. Intercepting missiles at such speeds is a challenge the U.S. has partnered with Japan to confront at an estimated cost of $3 billion, the Associated Press reported. 

3. Reagan tried it first

President Ronald Reagan was the first U.S. president to call for a national defense system that would counter the threat of the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons, including warheads attached to ballistic missiles.

On March 30, 1983, Reagan proposed ‘a vision for the future that offers hope’ that he called the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). The idea was to develop a space-based missile defense program that would protect the country from large-scale nuclear attack. Reagan proposed to develop technology that would allow the United States to identify and automatically destroy numerous incoming ballistic missiles before they reached their targets.

Acknowledging that the technology to realize his vision did not yet exist, Regan urged the scientific community to partner with the defense community and work towards a future where Americans need not fear nuclear attack.

‘I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace, to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete,’ Reagan said.

The president’s critics derided the plan, nicknaming it, ‘Star Wars,’ and questioned why his administration would pursue a costly defense initiative with no guarantee that it would work. The Soviet Union accused Regan of violating a 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty that committed both countries to refrain from developing missile defense systems. Arms control measures stalled during Reagan’s term because he refused to give up the project.

After Regan left office, interest in SDI waned and the program was canceled before the U.S. could develop a functional missile defense system. However, research conducted while SDI was active contributed to the Iron Dome’s development. In 2002, the U.S. withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which now allows Trump to pick up where Reagan left off.

4. Hegseth’s to-do list

Under Trump’s order, freshly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth must submit to the president ‘a reference architecture, capabilities-based requirements, and an implementation plan for the next-generation missile defense shield.’ 

The plans must include defense against ‘ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next-generation aerial attacks from peer, near-peer, and rogue adversaries.’ 

Hegseth is also instructed to accelerate the deployment of a satellite-based sensor system developed by the Missile Defense Agency that is currently in its prototype phase. Called the Hypersonic Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor, the system uses ‘birth-to-death’ tracking to follow missile threats from launch through interception, according to the Defense Department.

Additionally, Trump’s order instructs the development and deployment of several space-based missile interception technologies, including systems that could disable a missile prior to launch, as well as a ‘secure supply chain’ to ensure that the ordered missile defense infrastructure is made in America.

Hegseth must also submit a plan to pay for these dense systems before the president puts together his fiscal year 2026 budget. 

5. Cooperating with U.S. allies

Trump’s order calls to ‘increase bilateral and multilateral cooperation on missile defense technology development, capabilities, and operations,’ as well as to ‘increase and accelerate the provision of the United States missile defense capabilities to allies and partners.’

Hegseth is also directed to conduct a review of the U.S. military’s missile defense posture in theaters across the globe and identify areas for cooperation with allies.

Fox News Digital’s Gabriele Regalbuto contributed to this report.

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DAVID MARCUS: GOP owes RFK Jr. big time, and the debt is due

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

With the exceptions of former President Joe Biden’s dead-man-walking debate performance and the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, Penn., no event swung the 2024 presidential election to our current president more decidedly than his endorsement by Robert F Kennedy, Jr.

The impact that the scion of the Democrats’ greatest family had on voters should not be lost on Republican senators as they consider his nomination for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services this week.

These members of the world’s greatest deliberative body, direct descendants of those in ancient Rome, should remember that SPQR, or Senatus Populusque Romanus, means The Senate and The People. And that the latter usually win in the end.

The day before RFK, Jr.’s Aug. 23, 2024 endorsement of Trump, I wrote in this very space what independent and frustrated voters I met across the country who were ready to just sit it out had to say.

  • ‘’hey’re both so tied down by money and special interests,’ a couple in San Francisco told me. ‘We need a real outsider.’
  • Another voter said to me, ‘What are we even voting for?’
  • If Kennedy comes out this week and says he believes Trump is the one who can break up the monotonous monopoly of Washington power, then many of these voters may well pivot to the former president’s side.’

Columnist Selena Zito, who might be the only person who expended more tire tread than I during the past election, had this to say this week on X:

‘The most interesting voter bloc I saw in Pennsylvania move towards Trump happened when Bobby Kennedy Jr endorsed Trump & just enough young, college educated suburban moms who were concerned about what their children are eating, joined him.’

Between the disaffected voters I was talking to and the moms Zito met with, none of whom were overly fond of Trump, there were enough votes for Republicans to win up and down the ballot.

Don’t want to trust the anecdotes and instincts of shoe-leather columnists? That’s a mistake, but for those who prefer analytical data, well, it shows up there too.

On the day RFK, Jr. endorsed Trump, polls showed Kamala Harris had a 3.7 point lead over Trump. It was the largest lead she would ever have in the race.

Elections have consequences, and millions of new Republican voters demand that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the helm of HHS be one of them.

After RFK, Jr. threw in with the Donald, Harris fell and fell in the polling until we all know what happened.

The health food moms and disgruntled dads Kennedy brought into the GOP fold are not going to take kindly to the bait and switch if oh-so-principled .senators replace their reason for voting Republican with a run-of-the-mill establishment lackey.

There is likely only one bite at the apple that the Republican Party has with the RFK, Jr. voters. If they spit in their faces, they ain’t getting them back, and that could cause electoral woes in 2026 and beyond.

In terms of the American voter who matters, who is persuadable, or who might just sit it out, RFK, Jr. is as big a mandate as border security or the economy It would be foolish for Republican senators to ignore their will.

RFK, Jr. is a symbol. For some, he represents a new way to think about health and the food supply. For others, he is a check on power, or the guy with nothing controlling him. To still others, he may remain a climate activist. 

All of that is as may be. What we know is that the voters who put this Republican majority in power, at least those who were not already on board, want Kennedy. And there no reason to fear that he’s going to cause a smallpox outbreak, ban penicillin, or outlaw the polio vaccine.

In ancient Rome, when senators fell too far out of line with the people, bad things could happen. If the old school Trump-skeptical GOP members of the upper body of Congress defy the will of the people, it’s not just them falling on their own electoral sword, but the whole party.

Elections have consequences, and millions of new Republican voters demand that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the helm of HHS be one of them.

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Politics

House Democrats demand answers on DOJ’s move to fire former special counsel officials

House Democrats are demanding answers regarding the Justice Department’s move this week to fire more than a dozen officials involved in former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, arguing the action was in ‘complete contradiction’ of President Trump’s effort to keep a ‘merit-based system’ for government employees. 

House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Gerald Connolly, D-Ma., penned a letter to acting Attorney General James McHenry Tuesday, obtained by Fox News. 

‘We write to you with alarm and profound concern about reports of the administration engaging in the widespread summary firing and involuntary reassignment of excellent career prosecutors and federal agents throughout the Department of Justice (DOJ),’ they wrote. ‘This onslaught against effective DOJ civil servants began within hours of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, in complete contradiction of the president’s repeated pledges to maintain a merit-based system for government employment.’ 

Raskin and Connolly added that the officials worked ‘strenuously to defend the rule of law have been removed from their positions without any evaluation—much less any negative evaluation—of their work.’ 

McHenry, on Monday, fired more than a dozen key officials on Smith’s team who worked to prosecute the president, saying that they could not be trusted in ‘faithfully implementing the president’s agenda.’ 

Fox News Digital first reported the news exclusively on Monday. 

Raskin and Connolly argued that the officials terminated on Monday were ‘part of an expert, non-political workforce tasked with protecting our national security and public safety.’ 

‘They have been hired and promoted based on their professional merit and excellence,’ they wrote, adding that ‘many of them have decades of experience under their belt and have served under, been promoted by, and received awards from presidential administrations of both major political parties, including President Trump’s first administration.’ 

The Democrats argued that McHenry removed them from their posts ‘without regard to their demonstrated competencies, their recognized achievements, or their devoted service to the Department, in some cases reassigning them to areas that are outside of their legal expertise.’ 

‘By removing them from their positions in this hasty and unprincipled way, you have very likely violated longstanding federal laws,’ they wrote, also accusing McHenry of having ‘taken aim at law students who applied to, interviewed for, and received offers from the Department based on their demonstrated academic achievements and their commitment to public service.’ 

The Democrats claimed that the DOJ ‘rescinded job offers to summer interns and entry-level attorneys hired through the Attorney General’s Honors Program, a highly competitive 72-year-old recruitment program that receives applications from students at hundreds of law schools across the country.’

‘We have also received disturbing reports surfacing that White House staff are playing a substantial role in these employment decisions and examining career civil servants’ LinkedIn and other social media profiles to ascertain their personal political leanings,’ Raskin and Connolly wrote. ‘Taken together, your actions raise significant concern that you are determined to fill the ranks of the DOJ and FBI with career employees selected for the personal loyalty or political services they have rendered to President Trump.’ 

Raskin and Connolly are demanding the DOJ provide them with a list of names of officials who have been reassigned or terminated; and provide any communications between the DOJ and the White House since Inauguration Day regarding the content of personal social media accounts of career DOJ employees or applicants. 

Raskin and Connolly demanded the information by Feb. 11 at 5:00 p.m. 

Their letter comes after McHenry, on Monday, transmitted a letter to each official notifying them of their termination, a Justice Department official exclusively told Fox News Digital. It is unclear how many officials received that letter. The names of the individuals were not immediately released. 

‘Acting Attorney General James McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump,’ a DOJ official told Fox News Digital. ‘In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda.’ 

This action ‘is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government,’ the official told Fox News Digital.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

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Sports

Brittney Griner begins new chapter: WNBA star leaving Phoenix Mercury

WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner is on the move.

Griner has agreed to a one-year deal with the Atlanta Dream, which will become official on Feb. 1 when WNBA player contracts can be signed, ESPN first reported on Tuesday.

‘Free agency has been everything I wanted it to be,’ Griner said in an Instagram video that featured new Dream teammates Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray and Jordin Canada. ‘I’m thrilled for this chapter.’

Griner, a 2014 WNBA champion, has spent her entire 11-year career with the Phoenix Mercury. In Phoenix, Griner earned 10 All-Star nods, six All-WNBA Team honors and seven All-Defensive Team nods, in addition to two scoring titles, eight block titles and two Defensive Player of the Year awards. She leaves the Mercury as the franchise’s career leader in blocks (812), rebounds (2,322) and field goal percentage (56.2%).

‘It was a hard decision … leaving what I’ve known for my whole career. But there’s also the exciting factor of like ‘OK, this is a rebrand now, I get to show them something different,’ ‘ Griner said. ‘I was able to find where I wanted to go. And honestly what led me to that decision ultimately was the team, the players, as individuals, and then also my family.’

Griner averaged 17.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 blocks in 30 games (all starts) last season. After finishing last in the league in 2023 with a 9-31 record, the Mercury finished in seventh place in 2024 with a 19-21 record. The team advanced to the postseason, before being swept in the first round by the Minnesota Lynx.

The move marks the end of an era for the Mercury’s dynamic duo — Griner and Diana Taurasi, who have played 11 seasons together. The pair won the Mercury’s third and most recent WNBA championship in 2014 after Griner was drafted out of Baylor University with the first overall pick of the 2013 WNBA draft.

‘To be here 10 years later with you guys, it’s like a sisterhood,’ Taurasi said in September, while commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the Mercury’s 2014 WNBA championship team. ‘We are always going to be linked by this trophy, by this city and by this team.’

Taurasi was also one of the leading voices calling for Griner’s safe return to the U.S. after Griner was ‘wrongfully detained’ in Russia for nearly 10 months after vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis were allegedly found in her luggage at an airport near Moscow, forcing Griner to miss the entire 2022 WNBA season. Griner was freed in a prisoner swap on Dec. 8, 2022.

‘There’s no one like her in women’s basketball,’ Taurasi said of Griner in 2023. ‘How she affects the game with her size, and I think what gets lost is how good she is on the block and all those things.’

Griner and Taurasi were not only WNBA teammates, but Olympic teammates. They both won an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. women’s basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, marking Griner’s third and Taurasi’s sixth. They also won gold together at the 2016 Rio Games and Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

It’s not clear if Taurasi will return to the Mercury for her 21st season. Taurasi, 42, is an unrestricted free agent and has hinted at retirement. Earlier Tuesday, the Mercury acquired five-time All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas in a trade with the Connecticut Sun, ESPN and The Athletic reported, sending guards Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen and the 12th overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft to the Sun, in exchange for Thomas and Ty Harris. 

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