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Schlossberg unveils plan to crack down on ‘new frontier’ of AI putting the ‘squeeze’ on consumers: ‘Harbinger’
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FIRST ON FOX: NEW YORK, N.Y. — As thousands of New York City residents prepare to hit the road to leave town for Memorial Day and summer travel, Democratic House candidate Jack Schlossberg is calling for an investigation into the way rental car companies, and potentially other industries, are using artificial intelligence.
Schlossberg, the only grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to look into reports that Hertz began using AI last year to scan cars for rental damages, prompting warnings that consumers could end up being overcharged.
«AI is being used in consumer-facing financial products, and Hertz is using AI to scan for microscopic damage on cars, invisible to the human eye, to charge people with fees for damage that they might not even be aware of, they have no opportunity to dispute, and the FTC should act here to investigate whether or not this constitutes an unfair trade practice,» Schlossberg told Fox News Digital outside a midtown Manhattan Hertz location.
Schlossberg’s concerns stem in part from a report from The Drive where a Hertz customer at location using the technology said he was notified minutes after dropping off his car that a 1-inch scuff on the driver’s side rear wheel resulted in a $440 charge that included $250 for the repair, $125 for processing, and a $65 administrative fee.
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Fox News Digital spoke to Jack Schlossberg about his concerns that artificial intelligence is being used to overcharge consumers. (Fox News Digital)
The report claims the situation for the customer got even worse when he tried to dispute the charges, and the company’s chatbot did not offer a way to reach a live representative, instead routing the issue for review at a later time.
Hertz has been partnering with Israel-based Uveye to deploy AI scanning technology at airport locations over the past year and uses cameras and machine learning algorithms to scan returned cars in hopes of improving the «frequency, accuracy, and efficiency» of the process and phase out the need for manual inspections, Car & Driver reported.
Schlossberg is calling on the FTC to take four actions, adding that if elected to Congress in NY-12 he would move to enshrine them into federal law: conduct a full investigation into Hertz’s use of AI-driven damage detection, determine whether the practice constitutes an unfair or deceptive act under federal law, establish clear guidelines for the use of AI in consumer-facing financial decisions, and ensure that consumers have a transparent, fair, and accessible process to dispute charges.
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«I think that this is a harbinger of what’s to come,» Schlossberg said. «This is the new frontier of corporate fine print because AI is being used in ways we couldn’t imagine to price gouge, price fix, jack up prices on consumers without their consent, and basically just squeeze every nickel and dime out of consumers that they possibly can. And sometimes this can be unfair.»
«We have elected officials in New York City who quietly work for the AI industry — meanwhile, like in the case of Hertz, consumers are being taken for a ride,» Schlossberg’s campaign said in a Wednesday press release first obtained by Fox News Digital, adding that «innovation must not come at the expense of the consumer.»
A Hertz spokesperson pushed back on Schlossberg’s concerns in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying, «Digital vehicle inspections bring precision and transparency to a historically manual and inconsistent process while also enhancing the safety, quality, and reliability of our fleet. They protect customers from being charged for damage that didn’t occur during their rental while enabling faster, fairer resolution when it does.»
The company added, «Since launching over one year ago, we’ve been listening, learning, and improving based on customer feedback — increasing communication, enhancing awareness at digital inspection locations, and strengthening our support channels. We’re committed to building upon the progress we’ve made to continue providing our customers with a more consistent rental experience and safer fleet.»
A company spokesperson also told Fox News Digital that customers are not charged for damages invisible to the human eye and are provided comprehensive reports that include before-and-after photos that can easily be discussed with a Customer Care team via email, phone or chat.
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General view of the entrance to Hertz Car Rentals and the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)
Schlossberg told Fox News Digital that his announcement in mid-April is intended to «get ahead of the peak season booking» as New Yorkers plan their Memorial Day weekend trips and should be aware of the potential pitfalls of renting a car within the landscape of emerging AI technology.
The FTC declined to comment.
Schlossberg is running as a Democrat in a crowded primary on June 23 to represent New York’s 12th Congressional District in Congress, where the winner is widely believed to be in the driver’s seat to win the general election in one of the most heavily Democratic districts in the country.
artificial intelligence, rental cars, new york, consumer, travel
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Entre el aula y el mercado: ¿Cómo cada grado escolar impacta los bolsillos y la supervivencia de 613 mil microempresas en El Salvador?
El análisis realizado por la Fundación de Apoyo Integral (FUSAI) sobre la Encuesta de Hogares de Propósitos Múltiples 2025 (EHPM 2025) revela que cada grado escolar completado se traduce en ingresos mensuales adicionales para los microempresarios en El Salvador, con un efecto especialmente contundente entre quienes operan en la informalidad y enfrentan mayor vulnerabilidad.
La investigación citada por FUSAI y publicada esta semana, demuestra que el incremento educativo genera un retorno económico directo: alcanzar seis años de escolaridad puede aportar cerca de USD 80 más al mes, una cantidad determinante para la subsistencia de los emprendimientos más precarios.
De acuerdo con el cruce de datos entre la EHPM 2025 y la segmentación de microempresas del Observatorio MYPE de la Escuela LID de FUSAI, el ingreso promedio de un microempresario de subsistencia con bajo nivel educativo es de USD 252.11 mensuales, mientras que aquellos con nueve años de escolaridad alcanzan USD 366.01. Esta diferencia de USD 113 al mes —superior a un salario mínimo diario— no se relaciona con acceso a financiamiento ni capacitaciones técnicas, sino estrictamente con el nivel educativo, según el informe difundido por FUSAI.
El efecto económico de la educación resulta más palpable en el primer ciclo escolar. El estudio EHPM 2025 – Observatorio MYPE señala que cada grado aprobado en ese período puede significar hasta USD 16 adicionales al mes para los microempresarios de subsistencia, quienes representan el sector más expuesto a la vulnerabilidad.
FUSAI precisa que este segmento está compuesto por unas 613.509 microempresas, de las cuales más del 68,8 % son lideradas por mujeres y el 37,5 % de los propietarios solo ha completado hasta sexto grado.
Existe una relación clara entre educación formal e incremento de ingresos en el sector informal: la inversión pública en alfabetización y educación básica para adultos constituye una intervención con retorno económico medible en el mayor estrato del parque empresarial salvadoreño, detalla la Fundación de Apoyo Integral.
Esta evidencia responde al interrogante sobre el impacto de la educación en los ingresos y la subsistencia de la microempresa en el país: completar más años de educación básica incrementa de manera mesurable los ingresos de los microempresarios, especialmente los que se encuentran en condiciones de alta vulnerabilidad, y contribuye a estabilizar y sostener los pequeños negocios ante dificultades económicas.
La contribución de la escolaridad al desempeño empresarial no se reduce al ingreso mensual. La fundación observa que los emprendedores con mayor nivel educativo demuestran una mayor capacidad para analizar costos, comparar precios, negociar con proveedores y adoptar herramientas de gestión.
En contextos de márgenes reducidos y vulnerabilidad, esta competencia marca el límite entre la continuidad y el cierre del negocio.
El estudio establece, además, el nexo entre nivel educativo y acceso al crédito formal. El incremento de ingresos derivado de la escolaridad puede proporcionar el margen necesario para que una microempresa asuma un microcrédito sin afectar el consumo del hogar.
Así, la baja escolaridad y la exclusión financiera constituyen factores convergentes que se refuerzan mutuamente, según el análisis de FUSAI.
La tendencia observada en El Salvador se encuentra en línea con evidencia internacional. El Banco Mundial calcula que cada año adicional de educación incrementa los ingresos entre 8 % y 10 % en América Latina.
Investigaciones en países como Perú, México y Bangladesh demuestran que los microempresarios con educación básica completa no solo mantienen mejores tasas de supervivencia empresarial, sino que adoptan con mayor frecuencia prácticas financieras sólidas. El retorno de la educación no disminuye en la informalidad; cobra mayor relevancia para la sostenibilidad económica, de acuerdo con los estudios citados por FUSAI.
FUSAI advierte que las políticas educativas y de fomento al emprendimiento en El Salvador siguen operando de manera separada, sin reconocer la estrecha relación entre ambas esferas. Los esquemas de apoyo a micro y pequeñas empresas ofrecen crédito o asistencia técnica a beneficiarios cuya capacidad para aprovechar esos recursos depende, en gran medida, de su nivel de escolaridad.
El informe recomienda formular iniciativas integradas: programas de alfabetización y educación para adultos ligados al emprendimiento, educación financiera desde los primeros ciclos escolares y esquemas de microcrédito que incluyan formación básica como requisito esencial. Además, la evaluación de las políticas públicas debería considerar métricas que reflejen el retorno educativo en la productividad sectorial y no limitarse a las tasas de matrícula escolar.
MYPE,educación,ingresos,empresarios,escolaridad,economía,microempresas,pymes,retorno,finanzas
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Inside the teen takeovers threatening to explode this summer as cities remain on edge: ‘Very worried’
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A wave of social media-fueled teen takeovers in cities from Chicago to Washington, D.C., is putting officials on alert for a potentially volatile summer as experts warn the large youth gatherings could strain police, fuel violence and threaten recent public-safety gains.
«It usually increases during the summer,» Zack Smith, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital of crime trends. «I think anyone who has looked at crime data and some kind of criminological studies recognized that that will increase and I think that is something that the city should be very worried about.»
The warning comes after a wave of spring incidents across the country, where large teen crowds organized or amplified online have led to arrests, fights, weapons charges and emergency curfew debates.
«So many of these incidents are fueled by two things: social media and boredom. That’s it,» Amy Swearer, a senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital.
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«There is potential for this to escalate, and to really damage some really good progress that we’ve made in cutting back on that post-COVID violent crime spike,» Swearer added. Violent crime surged nationally during the pandemic, with homicides rising sharply in 2020 as cities were also rocked by protests and riots following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Social media has contributed to «under-the-radar» meetups, Swearer said, explaining that many teens are working to boost their «clout» online with outrageous videos.
«There are massive accounts that are just dedicated to showing the chaos and the carnage and the street takeover events, where it’s almost like a social media clout thing,» she said.
Teen takeovers continue to spread nationwide
A Chicago teen takeover erupted Wednesday night when a car rammed a police cruiser as teen mobs cheered and filmed. In a similar incident last week, 22 people were arrested, ages 12 to 21, in Tampa, Florida, after a «teen takeover» at Curtis Hixon Park erupted into fights and disruptions, resulting in charges of affray, drug possession, resisting arrest and unlawful weapon possession.
In March, about 200 teens swarmed D.C.’s Navy Yard, where fights broke out and a 15-year-old was arrested after allegedly firing a gun, days after a temporary curfew was imposed. Nearly a dozen more juveniles were arrested a month later after street brawls in Southwest D.C., prompting a push to extend emergency powers. A large crowd returned to Navy Yard a week later, where police reported no major incidents or arrests.
The D.C. Council approved a long-term youth curfew earlier in May in an 8-5 vote after weeks of debate. The legislation still needs the mayor’s signature and congressional review before taking effect.
PROGRESSIVE PROSECUTORS LIT THE FUSE, AND TEEN MOBS ARE THE EXPLOSION
Police officers responded to a teen takeover in Tampa, Florida, on May 8, 2026, deploying air patrols and making arrests to control the situation. (Tampa Police Department)
Chicago was also hit with more chaos in March and April. Hundreds of teens flooded streets, filled intersections and broke out into fights, resulting in multiple arrests and curfew violations.
Mayor Brandon Johnson warned parents about the «teen trends» following the incidents, saying they «are dangerous and can often turn violent.» Johnson avoided using the term «takeover.»
Struggles among teens, like poverty and mental health, could be fueling the «chaos,» Swearer said.
«There’s a huge overlap between juvenile delinquency and poverty and mental health issues, and even delinquencies from school, truancy,» she said.
Despite those broader challenges, she said the takeovers are not justified.
«None of that is an excuse for allowing this type of large-scale chaotic disruption in this planned way,» she said.
Authorities have made multiple arrests nationwide this year tied to the meetups, with several in the nation’s capital. President Trump, who campaigned on lowering crime and has warned criminals will face prosecution, has carried that message into efforts such as the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.
Takeovers in Trump’s backyard
The incidents have also created a political and public-safety test in Trump’s backyard, where the president has made D.C. crime a signature issue and deployed federal muscle to back it up.
Trump’s Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force has made more than 10,000 arrests and recovered more than 1,000 illegal firearms since its launch, but the continued teen takeovers show how juvenile disorder remains a stubborn challenge even amid the broader crackdown.
WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES FEDERAL SECURITY BLITZ AS PRESIDENT VOWS TO END DC ‘CRIME PLAGUE’
President Donald Trump listens in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on April 18, 2026. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
However, the concern over an escalation in teen takeovers persists.
The White House told Fox News Digital that the administration is ready to tackle potential rising crime «head on» when asked about concerns the teen takeover trends could spike in the warm summer months.
«President Trump’s Safe and Beautiful Task Force has yielded tremendous results in a very short period of time – driving down crime rates in all categories and making the city safer for residents and visitors alike,» White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. «As new law enforcement challenges arise, the Task Force remains committed to addressing them head on.»
CHICAGO TEEN TAKEOVER MOB RAMS POLICE CRUISER BACKWARD, SWARMS CAR AS ONLOOKERS CHEER: VIDEO
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. marshal personnel perform a traffic stop on a individual allegedly with expired tags and no driver’s license on August 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
Pressure mounts over juvenile crime response
The D.C. incidents have revived a broader fight over juvenile accountability in the capital.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Friday that parents who let kids take part in violent D.C. teen takeovers could now face fines and up to six months in jail under the city’s curfew law.
«As we grapple with this problem, there is one area that hasn’t been discussed,» Pirro said. «Parent involvement has been a noted gap in any discussion, and I am here to say, as the United States attorney in the District of Columbia, that ends today.»
«If the evidence shows the parent knew or should have known, permitted or failed to prevent participation, we’re gonna charge them,» she added.
She criticized the city’s response to teen takeovers in April, saying the disorder falls largely outside her office’s jurisdiction because most juvenile cases in D.C. are handled by the local attorney general.
«These alleged social gatherings turn into criminal chaos,» Pirro told Fox & Friends. «Families are affected by it, businesses end up being shuttered, there’s violence that occurs.»
The U.S. Attorney’s Office generally handles adult felonies and only a narrower set of serious juvenile cases charged as adult matters, including certain violent crimes involving 16- and 17-year-olds.
«Since I have been here, my mission has been to change the law to make some of the young punks criminally responsible for what they’re doing,» Pirro told Navy Yard residents at an Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting in March.
Smith said the D.C. attorney general’s office, led by Brian Schwalb, has repeatedly mishandled juvenile prosecutions.
«This narrow slice of crime that’s committed by juvenile offenders, primary responsibility lies to prosecute those offenders with the D.C. attorney general’s office, and frankly, he’s just not doing his job right now,» he said.
DC CURFEW ENDS AS TEEN TAKEOVER FEARS CLOCK IN – CITY BRACES FOR CHAOS AMID SPRING BREAK MAYHEM
Members of the Mississippi National Guard patrol near the cherry blossom trees along the tidal basin on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Fri., March 27, 2026. (Tom Brenner/AP Photo)
The Department of Justice, Pirro’s office, and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
«You can put more officers on the street, you can put more National Guard members on the streets, and they can arrest individuals who break the law, but if those juvenile offenders are not being held accountable at the end of the day, they recognize that there are no real consequences,» Smith said.
He said teens who don’t fear punishment are more likely to commit crimes.
«Too many juveniles, particularly juvenile offenders in the District, recognize that there is a lack of consequences for their violent actions,» he said.
A small group of repeat offenders may actually be driving the crime, and authorities already know who many of them are, Swearer said.
«Juvenile crime tracks the same way as adult crime,» she said. «It’s driven predominantly by a small number of repeat, almost incorrigible offenders who are well known to the criminal justice system.»
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She said leaders can address these problems, but whether they’re willing to act is unclear.
«In many respects, we saw that this was a willpower issue,» she said. «Did we have the power to actually do something about this?»
blue city crime, crime, washington dc, politics, donald trump, justice department
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Man dies after attack by 13-foot great white shark near popular island resort: officials
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A 38-year-old man died on Saturday after he was attacked by a 13-foot shark in Australia.
The attack happened at Horseshoe Reef near Rottnest Island on Australia’s western coast just before 10 a.m., police said.
The island is located about 19 miles west of Perth.
The man was brought back to shore but never regained consciousness.
«A 38-year-old man was in the water at Horseshoe Reef when he was believed to have been bitten by a shark,» a spokesperson for St. John WA Ambulance told People.
SURFER SAYS SHARK ATTACK FELT ‘LIKE BEING HIT BY A CAR’ AS BOARD BITTEN IN HALF
Authorities say a great white shark attacked a man off Rottnest Island, a popular tourist spot on Australia’s western coast. (Getty Images)
«The man was conveyed by vessel to shore, where he was met by St. John WA paramedics. Sadly, the man was unable to be revived.»
Fox News Digital has reached out to St. John WA Ambulance.
HEART-POUNDING VIDEO SHOWS FISHERMAN LEAPING INTO OCEAN TO SAVE GREAT WHITE SHARK
The death is the second fatal attack in Australia so far this year.
The death is the second fatal attack in Australia so far this year. (Steve Christo/Corbis)
Perth’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development told the AFP news agency that it was urging the public to take «additional caution» in the area, according to BBC News.
The agency added that it was reported to be a great white shark.
Footage of the incident provided by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation showed police at the scene with a boat and rescue officers.
In January, a 12-year-old died a week after he was attacked by a shark in Sydney Harbor.
A great white shark swims near the sea floor at Neptune Islands, South Australia. (Auscape/Universal Images Group)
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Three others were attacked within the same two days along the New South Wales coast in non-fatal incidents.
Reuters contributed to this report.
sharks, australia regions, odd news, australia, world, travel
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