Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

– Coast Guard overhaul takes off amid Trump administration’s immigration, narcotics crackdown

– ‘Big beautiful bill’ tax cuts touted in ad blitz as Senate GOP gears up for midterms

– NYC council member sounds alarm over Mamdani voters falling for ‘pipe dream’

Brennan directed publication of ‘implausible’ reports claiming Putin preferred Trump in 2016, House found

FIRST ON FOX: The intelligence community did not have any direct information that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to help elect Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, but, at the «unusual» direction of then-President Barack Obama, published «potentially biased» or «implausible» intelligence suggesting otherwise, the House Intelligence Committee found.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified a report prepared by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence back in 2020… READ MORE.

White House

WAR OF WORDS: Trump border czar Tom Homan slams ‘former first drug addict’ Hunter Biden over inflammatory immigration rant

HIDDEN HANDS: 7 details revealed in newly released MLK files

‘INSTRUMENTAL’: Coast Guard overhaul takes off amid Trump administration’s immigration, narcotics crackdown

World Stage

ALGORITHM OF WAR: AI arms race: US and China weaponize drones, code and biotech for the next great war

POWER PLAY POLITICS: How China ‘weaponized’ the battery supply chain to control over 80% of the materials needed for batteries in defense tech

HUNGER ON THE FRONT: News agency says its Gaza journalists suffering health woes as union warns they will die without intervention

An airstrike hits a building in the Al-Nasr neighborhood in Gaza City, Gaza on July 21, 2025.  (Saeed M. M. T. Jaras/Anadolu via Getty Images)

BACKSTABBING ALLIES: Huckabee hits back at Western countries that ‘side’ with terror group Hamas

REAL ‘WONDER WOMAN’: ‘Wonder Woman’ actress Gal Gadot praises ‘strength’ of freed Hamas hostages during emotional visit

PRICE WAR SHOWDOWN: Trump says he may use trade to force countries, pharma companies to buy into his most favored nation provision

POWER GRAB BACKLASH: Ukraine sees sweeping protests over bill weakening anti-corruption agencies

Capitol Hill

‘QUIET PART OUT LOUD’: Immigrants needed for ‘redistricting purposes,’ House Dem admits in viral clip: ‘Quiet part out loud’

PASSING GRADE: Senate weathers Dem opposition, advances first government funding bill

CASHFLOW: WATCH: Lawmakers break down how billions in the ‘big, beautiful bill’ boost Trump’s immigration crackdown

JUDICIAL SHOWDOWN: Senate votes to consider former Trump lawyer for lifetime as appeals court judge

Emil Bove, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, is sworn in before testifying during his Senate Judiciary Committee nomination hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on June 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. A whistleblower alleged that Bove, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, told Justice Department staff to defy court orders and continue to carry out Trump’s deportation plans. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

‘POTENTIALLY BIASED’: Brennan directed publication of ‘implausible’ reports claiming Putin preferred Trump in 2016, House found

STAYING PUT: After meeting with Trump, Republican in key House battleground announces major decision on ‘Fox and Friends’

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: ‘Big beautiful bill’ tax cuts touted in ad blitz as Senate GOP gears up for midterms

‘KEEP SHOOTING, DAD’: Grieving mom testifies about Marine vet son’s death at hands of violent illegal aliens

Across America 

LEGAL LEGEND LOST: Roy Black, famed defense attorney for Rush Limbaugh and Jeffrey Epstein, dies after illustrious career

COURT ORDER: New Jersey’s ban on privately operated ICE detention centers struck down by court

CRACKING DOWN: Trump’s immigration enforcement push results in skyrocketing arrests of criminal illegal aliens

‘PROHIBITS SPEECH’: Federal judge partially blocks law banning adults from helping minors get out-of-state abortions

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti leaves a press conference discussing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision that upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender transition treatments for transgender minors at the Tennessee Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (The Tennessean )

STEALTH AGENDA: WATCH: DEI efforts were rebranded at 2 red-state colleges to skirt Trump orders, staffers admit

‘CULTURE OF SHAME’: NYC council member sounds alarm over Mamdani voters falling for ‘pipe dream’

‘DEADLY FORCE’: ICE chief warns AI technology could lead to safety risks for agents: ‘Fringe organizations’

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

China is reportedly working to cognitively merge humans with machines as part of its ongoing efforts to compete in the artificial intelligence race.

The communist country is using brain-computer interface (BCI) technology — systems that allow for communication between the brain and an external device — to «augment human cognition and human-machine teaming,» The Washington Times reported, citing a presentation from Georgetown experts delivered to U.S. officials.

AI ARMS RACE: US AND CHINA WEAPONIZE DRONES, CODE AND BIOTECH FOR THE NEXT GREAT WAR

These include invasive, minimally-invasive and non-invasive BCIs, according to The Washington Times.

Invasive BCIs involve surgery to implant electrodes into the brain, while non-invasive BCIs use sensors on the scalp to monitor brain activity. Meanwhile, minimally-invasive BCIs involve implanting devices, but they do not penetrate brain tissue, according to a report in the National Library of Medicine.

FOX NEWS AI NEWSLETTER: AMAZING BREAKTHROUGH FOR PARALYZED MAN WHO CAN’T SPEAK

The U.S. has primarily focused on building up language models to develop AI technology. However, China is going against traditional thinking about how to achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI) — a type of AI that has the ability to perform as well as or better than a human being in cognitive tasks, according to William Hannas, lead analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

A photo illustration of a robot and a human touching fingers. (iStock)

«There are all kinds of possibilities out there, but if you want human equivalent AI, you’re not going to get it just by increasing the parameters [of models],» Hannas told The Washington Times.

PARALYZED MAN SPEAKS AND SINGS WITH AI BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACE

Hannas, who formerly worked for the CIA, collected Chinese government documents that contained information about the country’s AI funding plans for this year and last year. The plans include several brain-inspired AI approaches, The Washington Times reported.

Additionally, Chinese state-run media have quoted statements saying the future involves making AI a physical part of humans, according to the Washington Times.

Close-up of the icon of the ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot app logo on a cellphone screen. (iStock)

In 2018, two technologists working on brain-inspired approaches to AI were also recruited by Chinese officials, they told The Washington Times.

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China’s innovation in artificial intelligence is «accelerating,» Michael Kratsios, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology, told Fox News Digital in April. But he maintained that the United States remains the world’s dominant power in AI and the Trump administration’s «promote and protect» strategy will solidify that standing. 

Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

En las calles de La Habana, la imagen de personas rebuscando entre la basura para alimentarse se ha vuelto cotidiana. William Abel, de 62 años, es uno de ellos. Desde que su vivienda colapsó hace dos años, duerme al aire libre y sobrevive hurgando en contenedores. “He estado hurgando en los basureros por dos años para comer”, declaró.

Abel no es un caso aislado. La visibilidad cada vez más común de personas sin hogar refleja el deterioro profundo de la economía cubana, considerada por analistas como la peor crisis en más de tres décadas. La escasez de alimentos, la inflación descontrolada y el colapso de servicios sociales han expulsado a miles de cubanos a la indigencia.

En una isla donde el régimen evita reconocer la existencia de pobreza con cifras o términos precisos, el fenómeno se agrava mientras las autoridades insisten en utilizar eufemismos como “personas vulnerables”.

Oficialmente, 350.000 personas reciben ayuda social en Cuba, según datos de la propia dictadura. No obstante, especialistas aseguran que esa cifra está lejos de reflejar la magnitud real de la crisis.

La reciente renuncia de la ministra de Trabajo y Seguridad Social, Marta Elena Feito, dejó en evidencia la desconexión entre el discurso oficial y la realidad en las calles. Feito provocó una ola de indignación al declarar que “en Cuba no hay mendigos”. Las críticas obligaron al dictador Miguel Díaz-Canel a intervenir públicamente: “Son expresiones concretas de desigualdades sociales que debemos atender”, dijo ante la Asamblea Nacional, distanciándose del discurso de su ex ministra.

La reacción del régimen fue inusual, ya que históricamente ha minimizado cualquier señal de desigualdad social. El primer ministro, Manuel Marrero, también reconoció la gravedad de la situación: “Tenemos un problema real”, afirmó.

Para los cubanos afectados, como Juan de la Cruz, de 63 años, el problema es más que evidente. Tras perder una pierna por diabetes, recibe una pensión estatal equivalente a menos de tres dólares mensuales al cambio informal. “No me alcanza ni para un kilo de pollo”, comentó mientras pedía comida en una calle del centro habanero. Su vivienda, aunque “muy pequeña”, está vacía.

El país enfrenta una inflación acumulada que ha hecho subir los precios de los alimentos hasta un 500% en los últimos cuatro años. La libreta de racionamiento, históricamente utilizada para distribuir productos subsidiados, ya no garantiza ni lo básico. Mientras tanto, el la dictadura reconoce que no tiene divisas suficientes para mantener los programas sociales que fueron emblema de la llamada “revolución”.

El colapso económico tiene múltiples causas. Entre ellas, los analistas destacan el impacto prolongado de la pandemia sobre el turismo, la ineficiencia estructural de la economía centralizada y las sanciones de Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, muchos expertos señalan que las decisiones internas del régimen han tenido un peso determinante en la actual crisis.

La socióloga cubana Mayra Espina Prieto ha estimado recientemente que “entre el 40 y el 45 por ciento de los cubanos vive en condiciones de pobreza”. La cifra contrasta con el silencio oficial sobre estos indicadores, ya que Cuba no publica datos de pobreza ni permite estudios independientes sistemáticos sobre desigualdad social.

El deterioro también golpea a los más jóvenes. UNICEF informó en 2023 que casi uno de cada diez niños cubanos vive en condiciones de “pobreza alimentaria severa”, lo que significa que sólo acceden a uno o dos grupos de alimentos al día, en ocasiones menos.

En las afueras de La Habana, Arnaldo Victores, de 65 años y con discapacidad visual, duerme en un taller de motos sobre bolsas plásticas. Al no tener dirección fija, no puede acceder a los beneficios sociales. “Mi sueño es un cuartico con baño”, afirmó a la prensa internacional. Frente al lugar donde pide limosna cada día se levanta un hotel estatal de 42 pisos, el más alto de la capital. Para muchos, es un símbolo de prioridades distorsionadas.

En un país donde durante décadas se presumió de haber eliminado la indigencia, la realidad diaria desmiente el discurso. Las imágenes de ancianos durmiendo en portales y buscando sobras entre desechos evidencian una fractura social que el régimen ya no puede ocultar.

(Con información de AFP)