Legislation introduced Wednesday in Congress would block Chinese artificial intelligence systems from federal agencies as a bipartisan group of lawmakers pledged to ensure that the United States would prevail against China in the global competition over AI. “We are in a new Cold War, and AI is the strategic technology at the center,” said Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, as he opened a hearing on the matter. “The future balance of power may very well be determined by who leads in AI.” About five months ago, a Chinese technology startup called DeepSeek introduced an AI model that rivaled platforms from OpenAI and Google in performance, but cost only a fraction to build. This raised concerns that China was catching up to U.S.

NEW: Sen Chuck Schumer was taken to the hospital Wednesday, his office says. “Leader Schumer was at the Senate gym this morning and got lightheaded. Out of an abundance of caution, he went to the hospital to be treated for dehydration & is now back at work in the Capitol.” His name for Tehillim was not available.

Leftists STORM THE CAPITOL to protest Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Several people were detained.

Trump administration moves to count crypto as a federal mortgage asset The Federal Housing Finance Agency is working to let borrowers use crypto as part of their federal mortgage applications without converting it to cash. Only digital assets held on U.S.-regulated, centralized exchanges will qualify under the new guidance. Fannie and Freddie must design safeguards to account for crypto’s volatility and submit their plans to the FHFA.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed Wednesday that recent U.S. and Israeli strikes caused severe damage to Iran’s nuclear program. In a statement posted to X, Ratcliffe said the CIA has credible intelligence—including from a trusted source—that key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and will take years to rebuild. “CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes,” he wrote. Ratcliffe added that the agency is still gathering intelligence and will keep officials and, when possible, the public informed. The statement directly contradicts leaked reports that suggested the strikes had limited impact.

President Trump unleashed a fiery response on Wednesday following Zohran Mamdani’s unexpected win in New York’s Democratic mayoral primary, slamming both his ideology and personal presentation.
“Democrats have crossed the line” by elevating “100% Communist Lunatic,” Trump railed in a Truth Social post.
He remarked that while radical figures have emerged in the party before, this instance went beyond what he viewed as acceptable boundaries. “We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous,” he added.
Trump then turned his criticism toward Mamdani’s physical appearance and demeanor, pulling no punches.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs will likely push up inflation in the coming months, even as some Republican senators suggested the chair was biased against the duties. On the second day of his twice-yearly testimony before the House and Senate, Powell said that consumers will likely have to shoulder some of the cost of the import taxes. Most Fed officials support cutting rates this year, Powell added, but the central bank wants to take time to see how inflation changes in the months ahead. “There will be some inflation from tariffs coming,” Powell said under questioning from members of the Senate Banking Committee.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it has expanded existing warnings on the two l