No state charges for Cities Church protesters, federal charges pending

Consistency is one of the truest metrics for success.

Sports are often defined by singular moments — a game-winning shot or a walk-off hit. But consistency is measured differently. Unlike talent or luck that might create the spark, consistency is a behavior you can control. It's refined through repeated performance, when expectations are high but results follow just the same.

Few teams in collegiate track and field have embodied the meaning of consistency quite like Mizzou's women's javelin squad.

Since the USTFCCCA's national event squad rankings were first published April 28, the Tigers have occupied the No. 1 spot. And with the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon looming, the Tigers will look to transform their consistency into some hardware.

"I haven't felt that as a pressure," Skylar Ciccolini said of her squad's high ranking. "I think instead of adding pressures, it just kind of added this excitement level that we've been kind of carrying all season as a team that Valentina and I get to take into one last meet."

Behind Valentina Barrios and Ciccolini, Mizzou's javelin contingent has been a force to reckon with. The duo has consistently ranked in the nation's top 10 and has raked in numerous individual titles. Morgan Cannon and Val Galligan have given the group the depth it needs to top the charts.

Ahead of the final bout in Eugene, Barrios sits in third in the nation with a season-best throw of 191 feet, 3 inches, a mark that earned her the conference title at the SEC Outdoor Championships. Ciccolini holds fifth nationally with a personal best mark of 188-5 that she recorded to win the individual title at the Yellow Jacket Invitational.

"We've been teammates for the past four or five years now, and every year she pushes me like crazy to be better," Ciccolini said of Barrios. "It's always great to have someone that's just right at your level, or even a little better than you. It's great to have somebody to chase."

Ciccolini, a grad student pursuing a Ph.D. in natural resources, is entering her fourth NCAA Championships appearance, with her highest placement being fifth in 2023. Barrios is tasked with defending her title. In 2025, the product of Colombia took the national crown with a program-record throw of 203-5. 

Should Barrios defend her title, she'd be the second Mizzou woman to earn more than one national title after MU legend Karissa Schweizer earned five. 

In Eugene, Ciccolini and Barrios will contend with the best in the NCAA. Bucknell's Evelyn Bliss leads the nation with a season best throw of 201-2, followed by Rice's McKayla Van Der Westhuizen with a mark of 193-9. As their last meet as Tigers, Ciccolini said they will put their best foot forward. 

"I want to walk away knowing that kind of whatever the results, whatever the throws, that I put everything out there," Ciccolini said. "I gave everything I had, and if I do that, I'm not going to walk away too disappointed."

Representing the men's team is Sam Innes, who is primed for his first-ever NCAA Outdoor Championships appearance. The Battle alum advanced to the finals with a hammer throw of 222-6 at the NCAA West First Round. Innes ranks ninth nationally with a season-best mark of 235-0 that earned him second at the SEC Championships.

Innes is also the only Tiger this year to compete in both the indoor and outdoor nationals. He finished sixth in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.

Innes competes in the hammer throw finals at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, and Barrios and Ciccolini kick off the javelin finals at 6:15 p.m. in Eugene.

(The Center Square) – Republicans in Congress on Tuesday sent their $70 billion bill funding federal immigration enforcement agencies through 2029 to President Donald Trump’s desk.

The 214-212 U.S. House vote caps off Republicans’ months-long struggle to provide annual funds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol.

The Secure America Act, which Trump will sign into law Wednesday, authorizes three years of advance annual funding for ICE and CBP, allocating $38.5 billion and $22.6 billion, respectively. It also gives the Department of Homeland Security an extra $5 billion and provides $3.5 billion for border security infrastructure.

“Today, House Republicans ensured that ICE and Border Patrol have the resources they need to keep America safe,” U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanen, R-Fla., posted on social media after the vote.

“Border security is national security, and we cannot allow these critical agencies to be held hostage by political games in Washington. This legislation gives law enforcement the certainty and support they need to build on the progress already made and keep our border secure for years to come.”

Republicans’ unconventional tactic of providing advance annual appropriations via the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process is a response to Democrats shutting down the Department of Homeland Security for 76 days.

Senate Democrats had refused to support any appropriations bill funding ICE and U.S. Border Patrol for the current fiscal year unless it instituted a laundry list of agency reforms, causing Republicans to eventually walk away.

“I do not regret the objective of our actions today, but I am appalled by the complete failure of Senate Democrats that led us to this moment,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said Tuesday after the vote.

“I hope the months-long charade that led us to this moment serves as a reminder that no partisan fixation is worth shutting down the government, abandoning constitutional responsibilities, and forcing Congress into extraordinary measures simply to perform its most basic duties.”

Although Democrats initially held up funding for ICE and CBP, it was Republican lawmakers who stalled the budget reconciliation bill as it neared the finish line.

The legislation was initially supposed to pass both chambers by June 1. But Republican infighting over certain controversial additions to the bill, which were eventually stripped, prevented timely advancement in the Senate.

Republican leaders had initially included a $1 billion earmark for the Secret Service, which would have funded “security adjustments and upgrades” to the East Wing Modernization Project, which the Trump administration is replacing with a ballroom.

After multiple Senate Republicans objected, the provision was ultimately scrapped, and passage of the bill seemed likely to occur before Memorial Day.

However, the Trump administration again complicated matters by introducing a $1.77 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” under the Department of Justice.

The money – sourced from Trump’s settlement with the IRS after he sued the agency for the leakage of his 2019 and 2020 tax returns – would support people claiming that the former Biden administration unfairly targeted them for political or ideological reasons.

Republicans in vulnerable states immediately demanded that the budget reconciliation bill include an amendment nullifying the fund. Senators deadlocked over the issue and left for their week-long Memorial Day recess without passing the bill.

Once a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on the fund, the DOJ backed down, with the acting attorney general promising lawmakers soon afterward that the fund would never be created. That decision persuaded enough Republican lawmakers to vote for the reconciliation bill.

Other major legislation, including bills tackling housing supply and farm aid, took a backseat while the budget reconciliation fight dragged on, further proof, Democrats claim, that Republicans are “out of touch” with the needs of taxpayers.

“Today, Republicans voted to add another $70 billion slush fund to the lawless and unaccountable agencies of ICE and CBP with zero reforms,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., stated. “We should be investing in the American people, not sending billions more to these agencies.”

(The Center Square) - Advocates urged lawmakers on Tuesday to implement legislation that will provide for greater accountability of taxpayer dollars in military contracts.

The Department of War requested a historic $1.5 trillion in funding for fiscal 2027, a steep increase from previous years. Analysts said the department’s funding requests are not being backed up by responsible budgeting practices.

Lawmakers in the U.S. House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering Government Efficiency held the hearing Tuesday to examine suggestions for increasing defense contract productivity.

Shelby Oakley, director of contracting and national security acquisitions at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, said lawmakers need to incentivize speed in defense contract implementation. She said it takes 12 years on average for a major defense acquisition program to be completed.

“Large contracts are awarded quickly, and success is often measured by how fast money is obligated on contracts rather than how fast useful capability is provided to the war fighter,” Oakley said. “Schedules slip, costs grow, requirements get scaled back, quantities are reduced, and taxpayers ultimately pay more to get less, and years later than promised.”

She pointed to an example where the Department of War terminated a 13-year, $7 billion planned upgrade for its Space Force satellite system due to low confidence it would meet military needs.

“Meanwhile, GPS satellites already in orbit cannot fully use some of their most advanced capabilities, because OCX [U.S. Space Force's cancelled GPS ground system] never materialized,” Oakley said. “Now the Space Force plans to just upgrade the existing ground system to provide those capabilities.”

The advocates said the private sector would criticize how the Department of War funding process works. Julia Gledhill, a researcher in the National Security Reform Program at the Stimson Center, said the government should take a more considerate approach to the kinds of technology it implements in weapon systems.

“Technology is always going to outpace law and regulation,” Gledhill said. “The challenge is not integrating every new technology but betting on the right capabilities.”

U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., said all military contracts should undergo examination on whether it meets certified cost and pricing data requirements.

“If they say no, then one could speculate there’s maybe more to that contract than what meets the eye,” Burlison said.

Gledhill said many contractors are exempt from these requirements under the government’s parameters. She said contractors are often required to specialize products when it is not necessary.

“What I've found out to be is that a lot of these government programs won't do anything that's off the shelf. They want everything customized,” Burlison said. "That comes with a huge cost.”

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., said the U.S. needs to diversify its weapon system in order to deliver greater military victory against enemies. He said the defense industry needs to consider how it can prepare against attacks rather than invest in more technology.

“Right now we're engaging in asymmetric warfare but future adversaries are seeing this and they can say it doesn't cost much to really bother the U.S. in a conflict,” Subramanyam said.

Oakley agreed with Subramanyam. She said the government's approach to contracts needs to overhauled. 

“I think that shift to thinking about capability portfolios versus program by program management, platform management is really super important because maybe we don't need the $100 million dollar platform to be able to achieve our intended goal,” Oakley said.

(The Center Square) – U.S. forces have begun launching “self-defense strikes” against Iran after President Donald Trump announced a response to the Islamic Republic's shooting down of a U.S. Army helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command said the strikes against Iran began at 5 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday. CENTCOM says the strikes were directed by the president and the “mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.”

Iranian forces shot down the Army Apache helicopter on Monday evening. Two soldiers on board were rescued and uninjured in the incident.

It is unclear if the latest round will impact the fragile ceasefire, as it follows a handful of exchanges of fire between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic. Over the weekend, Israel and Iran exchanged missiles, with missiles launched toward Israel being either intercepted, flaming out or landing in open spaces.

Trump said earlier Tuesday that the U.S. would be responding to the unprovoked attack on the military helicopter.

“I have just been informed by our great military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post. “There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”

The region around the Strait of Hormuz has seen its fair share of exchanges of fire between the U.S. and Iran in recent weeks, with the Islamic Republic essentially holding the vital waterway hostage since the conflict began on Feb. 28.

Trump has maintained a commitment to seeking a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, saying the U.S. could determine within a couple of days whether a deal can be struck.

The president quashed concerns that the recent dust-up between Israel and Iran was putting the fragile ceasefire in further jeopardy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "was hit hard by Iran, and he hit back. I can’t blame him for that. Now they’ve called it quits, so they’re going to leave each other alone for another week or something,” the president told reporters Monday evening. “They both agreed, through me to stop.”

Trump claimed once again, as he has for weeks, that a deal is on the horizon, reiterating his demand that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.

“We’re in the final throes of a very good deal that will not allow, in any way or form nuclear weapons.” The president added.

This is a developing story.

(The Center Square) – Abuses of the Department of Homeland Security's Temporary Protection Status program allowing foreign nationals of specifically designated countries to come to and remain in the U.S. were debated Tuesday at a congressional hearing.

The Task Force for Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses held the hearing. Chairman Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, noted that illegal immigration is down over 90% since the Biden administration, during which at least 14 million noncitizens entered the U.S. illegally.

The Biden administration abused the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) program, a system created in 1990 to provide work permits and protection from deportation for a limited amount of time, witness Mark Krikorian, executive director for the Center for Immigration Studies, testified.

“At the start of the Biden administration, there were just about 410,000 TPS beneficiaries from 10 countries. In four years, that number increased by over a million to 1.4 million,” Gill said.

“The vast majority of the people covered under TPS entered the U.S. illegally …that includes an estimated 95% of all Venezuelan TPS holders, and 91% of all estimated Haitian TPS holders,” Gill continued.

Krikorian said the TPS system has been repeatedly abused, with both legal and illegal immigrants using the taxpayer-funded federal welfare system at a rate of over 50%.

“They have low levels of skill, which means they earn low incomes, which means they qualify for benefits at a much higher rate than others and so they end up becoming a burden on the taxpayer ...” Krikorian said, adding that both Democrats and Republicans contributed to the abuse of the program.

“Over a period of decades, they have demonstrated that the executive branch simply cannot be trusted to exercise discretion responsibly in immigration matters,” Krikorian said.

Witness David J. Brier, the Selz Foundation Chair in Immigration Policy at the Cato Institute, countered that Trump’s immigration policies are negatively affecting affordability for American citizens, arguing that the have caused an increase in debt and a loss of food and services provided by these immigrants.

Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Calif., stated that Trump's immigration enforcement efforts have become so violent that U.S. citizens are being separated from their families and even attacked and murdered because of them. She cited a number of U.S. citizens who were killed during confrontations with ICE officers.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Dallas, Texas, individuals are being illegally detained. She said that according to ICE data, 4,000 children under the age of 18 have been detained there, including a 9-year-old girl.

“As a mother, I am heartbroken. As an American, I am ashamed,” Pressley stated.

While there were minimal solutions presented during the hearing, Krikorian proposed three actions Congress can take: repealing the Temporary Protection Status program, putting a cap on the number of noncitizens put on parole, and prohibiting the Department of Homeland Security from giving work permits to noncitizens who don’t qualify.

Witness Matt O’Brien, deputy executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, called for accountability from Congress, stating that it has both the responsibility and authority to lawfully enforce immigration laws and that “all levels of government respect the constitutional separation of powers upon which our system depends.”

“Regardless of where one stands politically, we should all agree that immigration policy must be made through the constitutional process, not through unilateral executive action, selected enforcement or attempts by individual states to override federal law,” O’Brien concluded.

Three-star interior offensive lineman Tristan Dare committed to Mizzou football Tuesday, per Hayes Fawcett of Rivals.

Dare had announced his commitment to Michigan on Aug. 4, 2025, but he decommitted on March 31. After decommitting, he received an offer from Penn State and officially visited Stanford and Missouri. He took the visit to Mizzou on Friday, committing just four days later.

Dare is the Tigers' 14th pledge from the Class of 2027. He marks the fourth offensive lineman, joining three-star Lual Aleu, three-star Luke Injaychock and three-star Jack Marquard.

Standing at 6-foot-3.5, 290 pounds, Dare plays as an interior offensive lineman at Southlake Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas. He ranks as the No. 844 player in the country and the No. 52 interior offensive lineman.

In high school, Dare also competes on the track and field team. As a junior, he threw shotput.

(The Center Square) – The Trump administration is advancing multiple approaches to border security, including enforcing federal law that requires denaturalization.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized U.S. citizen’s citizenship may be revoked, and their certificate of naturalization canceled, if they obtained it through illegal means, including concealing material facts or willfully misrepresenting them. Those with criminal records are prohibited from obtaining citizenship, including felonies, violent crimes and any terrorist connections.

The Department of Justice this week filed the latest of many denaturalization actions it’s taken over the past year in federal courts nationwide. This time, 17 people on the list include those convicted of violent crimes, including child sex abuse, as well as wire and bank fraud, among other crimes.

They are from Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Mexico, Yugoslavia, Jamaica, India, Dominican Republic, Somalia, China, Congo, Trinidad and Tobago and the Philippines. 

Their cases are being prosecuted by U.S. Attorneys in the Southern District of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Southern District of Florida, Middle District of Georgia, Northern District of Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada and New Jersey. 

“When criminal aliens exploit the naturalization process by breaking the law, there are consequences. Criminal aliens are lying about their past crimes, including drug dealers, sexual predators, and fraudsters. Gaining U.S. citizenship is a privilege and under the steadfast leadership of President Trump, this Department of Justice maintains a zero-tolerance policy for the abuse of this process,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

Key cases in Florida include denaturalizing Cuban, Haitian and Colombian nationals who fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship. In one case, a Cuban woman is being denaturalized after she was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud through dozens of physical therapy clinics that fraudulently billed commercial insurance providers for more than $36.7 million. In another case, a Haitian man is being denaturalized after being convicted of child sex abuse. In another, a Colombian drug trafficker’s daughter is being denaturalized after committing wire and bank fraud, money laundering and using the proceeds to purchase real estate in Miami. 

Other cases involve marriage fraud and identity theft to falsely obtain citizenship as well as a range of sex crimes.

“American citizenship is a privilege, and it must be earned honestly. If you come here, break our laws, and lie in your immigration proceedings, you forfeit that privilege,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement. “DHS will not stand idly by while Americans are harmed by criminals including sex offenders, perpetrators of fraud, and drug traffickers who have exploited our generosity and gamed our immigration system. We will continue to use every lawful avenue to denaturalize and remove aliens.” 

Last month, the DOJ moved to denaturalize 12 individuals for their support for terrorism, involvement in illegal arms deals and weapons smuggling, and a range of fraud crimes. They are from Iraq, Colombia, Morocco, Somalia, Gambia, Bolivia, Uzbekistan, Kenya, India, China and Nigeria. 

Their cases are being prosecuted in the District of Arizona, Southern District of Florida, Eastern District of California, District of Minnesota, Middle District of Florida, Western District of Kentucky, District of Columbia, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Southern District of Iowa and Northern District of Illinois.

In Arizona, an Iraqi citizen entered the U.S. in 2009 falsely claiming he and his family were attacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists in Iraq. Ten years later, the Republic of Iraq requested that he be extradited to face criminal charges for the premediated murder of two Iraqi police officers in 2006. Iraq claims he murdered Iraqi police officers as an Al-Qaeda terrorist organization leader, the DOJ said.

In Missouri, a Moroccan national helped plan a bomb attack at the New York Stock Exchange in support of Al-Qaida. One year after he was naturalized, “he sent Al-Qaida tens of thousands of dollars in financial support with money that he had fraudulently obtained” and pledged allegiance to Al-Quida, the DOJ said. He also pleaded guilty to bank fraud, money laundering, and providing material support to Al-Qaida. 

In Minnesota, a Somali national began providing material support to terrorists months after he was naturalized. He also traveled to Somalia to fight and kill Ethiopians and joined the terrorist group al-Shabaab, the DOJ said. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists in Minnesota but wasn’t deported or denaturalized.

The actions are being taken as the DOJ continues to prosecute young Muslim men nationwide who’ve been arrested and charged with providing material support to Islamic terrorist organizations, The Center Square reported.

(The Center Square) - One week after polls closed in California, several matchups in redrawn congressional districts have yet to be determined.

The passage of Proposition 50 in California altered several districts to favor Democrats in election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Despite that, several Republican incumbents have secured the lead in races and are projected to move on to the Nov. 3 general election, while their opponents have yet to be determined. Under California law, the top two vote getters in each race in the June 2 primary, regardless of party affiliation, will advance.

Here is an update on results in the districts affected by Proposition 50, the congressional redistricting measure. Reported by the California Secretary of State's Office, the results are from 12:19 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday with 100 percent of precincts partially reporting.

District 45

Former Cerritos Mayor Chuong Vo, a Republican, was projected to secure a position against incumbent U.S. Rep. Derek Tran, D-Orange, in California’s newly redrawn 45th congressional district.

Vo secured 15.5% of the vote in California’s open primary, trailing Tran who held on to 53.4% of the vote, according to the California Secretary of State’s website reported on Tuesday. The 45th District encompasses Little Saigon, a large Vietnamese community that has been crucial to Orange County's political and cultural life. The community is in cities such as Westminster and Garden Grove.

Vo did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comments on his projected advancement to the Nov. 3 general election. He posted a video to social media thanking supporters and calling on help to win the November election.

“I’m the only candidate that can beat the incumbent,” Vo said. “We’re going to battle it out, and I can’t wait.”

Vo has focused his campaign on public safety issues. He pushed for increasing penalties on fentanyl trafficking and supporting federal agents providing law enforcement in the community.

“I’ll always back law enforcement and work to strengthen trust with standards that work for both local and federal authorities: body-worn cameras, de-escalation training, and proven community-policing tactics,” Vo’s website reads.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee slammed Vo on his policies and urged supporters to avoid voting for him.

“Chuong Vo has fully aligned himself with reckless Republicans’ agenda, defending the same extreme policies that are driving up costs, threatening healthcare, and hurting families across Southern California,” the DCCC wrote on social media.

Meanwhile, Chi "Charlie" Nguyen, another Republican, is closely trailing Vo with 11.8% of the vote. If Nguyen passes Vo, he will go up against Tran instead in November.

District 22

The 22nd Congressional District race in California's Central Valley remains hotly contested. Incumbent U.S. Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, swiftly secured the lead and is projected to head to the general election in November. As of Tuesday afternoon, he had 41.9% of the vote.

Meanwhile, a fierce competition is on between Democrats Randy Villegas and Jasmeet Bains to determine who will face Valadao in November. Villegas, a teacher and business owner, held a lead with 31.4% of the vote while Bains, an Assembly member, had 26.8%. That's with 72% of total votes counted.

Villegas and Bains did not respond to The Center Square’s requests for comments.

In a post on social media, Villegas said he was confident in his campaign.

“Working families across the Central Valley are ready for a new type of leadership in Congress – one that prioritizes people over corporate interests,” Villegas wrote.

Villegas has repeatedly criticized Bains for corporate and political action committee donations to her campaign. Bains received a $1,000 contribution in March from the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC and a $5,000 contribution from an OB-GYN PAC.

Bains, a physician, has focused her campaign on lowering healthcare costs and touted her record of capping insulin costs in California.

“In Congress, she’ll fight to protect Medicare and Medicaid from devastating cuts, expand access to quality, affordable health care, and ensure seniors, working families and rural Californians can count on the care they deserve,” Bains’ website reads.

Several analysts have said the race between Bains and Villegas could go to a runoff in order to determine who will head to the general election against Valadao.

District 40

Incumbent U.S. Reps. Ken Calvert and Young Kim both hold leads in California’s 40th District. Calvert held the lead with 35.4% of the vote followed by Kim with 21.1% of the vote. Both are Republicans.

Calvert is projected to head to the general election in November. Kim appears likely to be his opponent.

If both Kim and Calvert end up in the general election, it would lock out Democrats out of the general election, despite District 40 being redrawn as part of an effort to pick up five new Democratic seats.

Esther Kim-Varet, a Democrat, held 16.3% of the vote on Tuesday with 77% of votes in. Lisa Ramirez, an immigration attorney, followed with 13.6% of the vote.

Ramirez called for patience as results come in and to wait for remaining counts to continue. She said the district needs representation that will fight back against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies.

“It is a war against our businesses and business communities,” Ramirez told The Center Square. “It’s really an attack on our community.”

California’s 40th Congressional District race could also head to a runoff election if there isn't certainty over who will face Calvert.

For more updates on races, visit thecentersquare.com/california.

(The Center Square) – Despite mounting pressure on Congress to establish clear federal standards governing the rapid development of artificial intelligence, a bipartisan proposal to do just that is meeting pushback from congressional Democrats and stakeholder groups.

Unveiled last week, the discussion draft of the Great American AI Act attempts to address nationwide concerns over AI, ranging from corporate transparency to cybersecurity risks to impacts on the American workforce.

It also puts forth policies boosting funding for AI research, training and development, as well as implements a three-year moratorium on state laws regulating AI model development. The moratorium expressly allows state laws of general applicability, common law remedies, or laws regulating AI use or deployment.

Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., one of the six lawmakers introducing the framework, said it provides a “thoughtful and bipartisan approach” to regulating AI and “is an important step toward building a clear federal framework that promotes innovation, protects Americans from emerging risks, and ensures the United States continues to lead the world in AI.”

“We are releasing this draft to hear from stakeholders, experts, and the public so we can strengthen the legislation before it is formally introduced,” he added.

But House Democratic Caucus Chair Ted Lieu, D-Calif., reiterated his opposition to the draft at a Tuesday press conference, saying that while he thinks it’s “terrific” that members are engaged, the proposed framework is “not something that would work, because there’s a lot of issues it does not cover.”

Lieu said the Democratic House Commission on AI and the Innovation Economy will propose its own framework “by the end of the year” after building consensus with stakeholders and lawmakers.

The Great American AI Act has received “intense” pushback from the civil rights, labor, and AI safety communities, Lieu added. That includes the American Civil Liberties Union and federal labor unions representing teachers and flight attendants, and consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.

“This is a disastrous proposal that Big Tech is celebrating. This bill strips states of their authority to respond to real harms consumers are experiencing,” J.B. Branch from Public Citizen said in a recent statement.

“Congress has been unable to pass meaningful protections for children online, consumer data privacy, or many of the other harms posed by AI,” he added. “Yet the authors of this draft bill want the American people to believe Congress will somehow get its act together to create federal safeguards for AI.”

Public Citizen and other stakeholders specifically object to the preemption of states regulations on AI development, even though laws that “apply generally” – such as those covering civil rights, labor and workplace protections, consumer privacy, copyright, and child sexual abuse material – are exempted.

The moratorium instead targets state laws like California AB 2013, which requires AI model developers to publicly post high-level summaries of their training data.

Republican congressional leaders have remained either silent or noncommittal on the framework. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters he had not reviewed the proposal, adding that the House would take up some form of AI legislation “as soon as we are able to build consensus around a package.”

Obernolte still intends to move forward with the proposal, he told Politico. Because the draft contains policies that cross multiple House committee jurisdictions, the upcoming legislation to implement the framework will arrive in the form of multiple separate bills.

(The Center Square) – DeCarlos Brown Jr., the suspect in the stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail, says he has been misdiagnosed with schizophrenia and lawmen refuse to investigate his contention “someone has full access to my body, and they are controlling me wrongfully.”

Judge Kenneth Bell, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, instead on Tuesday said a “preponderance of evidence” shows Brown is suffering from a mental disease and unfit for his federal trial for at least four months. The North Carolina murder case against him already is in a six months wait until an Oct. 27 hearing.

Bell ordered Brown into the custody of the attorney general for hospitalization and “treatment in a suitable facility and for further evaluation to determine whether the defendant can attain, or has attained, competency to proceed.”

Russ Ferguson, federal prosecuting attorney, agreed to the competency hearing request by Brown’s lawyers.

Zarutska, 23, died Aug. 22 by stabbing. Chilling video released by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department of the Charlotte Area Transit System surveillance footage shows Brown and Zarutska in the last moments of her life.

Brown faces a first-degree murder charge from the state, and a federal charge of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system. He had been arrested 14 times previously including for assault, armed robbery and felony larceny.

Zarutska and her family had fled worn-torn Ukraine.

The tragedy became national news with the video release. It’s become a campaign point in the U.S. Senate race between Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley, focal point for legislation on the state and federal levels, even part of an infamous blunder for U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, D-N.C.

And in February it was part of the 108-minute State of the Union address from second-term Republican President Donald Trump.

“Last summer, 23-year-old Iryna was riding home on the train when a deranged monster, who had been arrested over a dozen times and was released through no cash bail, stood up and viciously slashed a knife through her neck and body,” Trump said, acknowledging her mother Anya as his guest in the gallery. “No one will ever forget – there were people on that train, no one will ever forget the expression of terror on Iryna's face as she looked up at her attacker in the last seconds of her life. She died instantly.

“She had escaped a brutal war only to be slain by a hardened criminal set free to kill in America, came in through open borders.”

There's been no evidence Brown has ever been out of America, much less entered at the border. He was born in Charlotte and graduated from West Charlotte High.

“We have made incredible strides, yet dangerous repeat offenders continue to be released by pro-crime Democrat politicians again and again,” Trump said.

He told her mother, members of Congress and the nation, “Mrs. Zarutska, tonight, I promise you we will ensure justice for your magnificent daughter Iryna. I'm asking this Congress to pass tough legislation to ensure that violent and dangerous repeat offenders are put behind bars and, importantly, that they stay there.”

His release in January by a magistrate triggered the General Assembly in Raleigh to create Iryna’s Law. Multiple congressmen also called for her removal as an adjudicator.

Iryna's Law requires consideration of full criminal history by judges and magistrates before setting a suspect’s pretrial release conditions. Violent offenses draw stricter conditions.

There is an expected increase in mental health evaluations coming because of the new law.

The law ended the unwritten moratorium on the death penalty as well. Those convicted could be eligible for punishment by death should the aggravating factor of a crime being on public transportation be involved.

Death penalty appeals will no longer wait indefinitely; rather, they must be heard within two years of filing. Continuances are only in the case of extenuating circumstances.