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AI taught how to spot buildings and settlements in under-mapped areas

A new map made with AI has been launched to help shed light on life in under-mapped parts of the world.

This week, the UN and Google launched the first map to show high-resolution building footprints and heights in Africa and across the global South, covering every year from 2016 to 2023.

Those parts of the world were often only mapped with low-quality images that made it hard to see how settlements changed over time or how people lived.

However, the team used AI to extract building footprints and heights from low-resolution satellite images that were already being taken every five days.

“Not knowing where buildings are is a big problem for lots of practical reasons,” said Google researcher John Quinn. “If you’re creating services or vaccination campaigns or rescuing people after an emergency, this is an issue.”

“We want people in the global South making policy decisions to have the same tools available as the global North,” said Abdoulaye Diack, who was a programme manager on the project.

The AI model has been trained to spot what different types of buildings look like, and because it analyses satellite images that are taken regularly, it can spot how even temporary settlements like refugee camps change.

There are limitations however, and as yet, it can’t identify improvised shelters or tents.

It’s also limited by weather, as the AI needs clear skies to accurately identify buildings.

That can mean it is less reliable in some areas, or during periods of rainy or cloudy weather.

One of the problems accurate mapping can help solve is around population sizes. In war-torn countries, censuses can be rare, meaning it is hard to know how many people live there.

In Somalia for example, the last census was in 1979.

Now WorldPop, a research company based at the University of Southampton, is using the dataset to more accurately calculate how many people live in different countries around the world.

“Understanding where people live is vital for making sure that resources are distributed fairly and that no one is left behind in delivering services like healthcare,” said Professor Andrew Tatem, director of the WorldPop team.

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Iran posed to overwhelm US bases in Gulf former CENTCOM commander warns

The former top security head of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) warned on Thursday that U.S. bases in the Middle East could become overwhelmed by Iranian missile fire. 

Retired Gen. Kenneth ‘Frank’ McKenzie, now a Hertog senior fellow with the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), is sounding the alarm in a report this week that argued U.S. bases in the Arabian Gulf have become vulnerable to Iranian assault with Tehran’s developments in its weapons capabilities. 

‘Our basing strategy is outdated and poorly positioned to meet the central threat in the region: Iran,’ McKenzie said. ‘By developing a flexible western basing network for America’s air assets, we will complicate Iran’s ability to target our forces and raise the cost of aggression.’

In a call with reporters this week, McKenzie explained that some of the U.S.’s top bases in countries like Qatar, UAE and Bahrain – located near Iran and which once served as a deterrent against malign actors – now sit as weak points in the U.S.’s force posture in the region.  

As technology and missile development have modernized, base placement needs to be rethought, he argued, noting that Iran is loaded with short-range missile capabilities, while its medium- to long-range abilities are lacking.

‘They have spent vast amounts of money and resources in building very capable ballistic missile capabilities – theater range ballistic missiles, land attack cruise missiles and drones,’ McKenzie said. ‘Those three capabilities are relatively new capabilities at scale in the region, and they pose new threats. 

‘They can throw more weapons into the fight than we can defend, even with highly capable systems like patriot and other systems that exist,’ he added. 

The retired general, who sat as CENTCOM commander for three years between March 2019 and April 2022 before retiring from the Marine Corps after 42 years of service, argued the U.S. needs to start seriously working with regional allies like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman and Egypt to relocate bases farther away from Iran. 

He said bases should also be identified ‘as far to the west as possible where [the U.S.] can deploy aircraft, maintenance capabilities, refueling capabilities, and weapons,’ but which are out of reach of Iran.

When pressed by Fox News Digital over the willingness of these Middle Eastern nations to allow for the relocation of bases, McKenzie said his proposal has already been addressed with partnering countries in the region.

‘This is something that we talked about while I was the CENTCOM commander at the middle to middle level, there’s interest in it,’ he said. ‘Here’s the thing to remember, let’s just pick one country as an example, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – improvements to these bases in the west of the country benefit the Saudis more than anyone else. 

‘These are going to be dual-use bases,’ McKenzie explained. ‘We’re basing there under certain conditions to actually assist in the defense of Saudi Arabia, and it actually increases their own self-defense capabilities.’

The former CENTCOM commander also pointed out that the direct security threat that Iran poses not only comes from Tehran, it also comes from its use of terrorist groups to fight its proxy wars in the Middle East. 

‘Deterrence is only obtained by a credible demonstration of will and the capability to fight and win if needed,’ McKenzie argued in his report. ‘Deterrence must be continuous; in the Middle East, it can have a very short half-life unless it is refreshed systematically.’

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Elections are temporary. Family is forever. Here’s how to keep politics from driving you apart

Our divided nation is dividing families. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s family – even his wife – are appalled at his support of former President Trump, and Tim Walz’s brother, Jeff Walz, has declared that his brother’s progressive ideology is the reason he hasn’t talked to him in eight years. 

The emotional loss of family and friends damages our mental health; the divisiveness among colleagues can poison the workplace.

This is not new. In the Civil War, it was not uncommon for a brother to fight his own brother. Our Founding Fathers often viciously disagreed. But they created institutional checks and balances to compensate for what they could not modify personally: our inability to hear opposing perspectives without becoming defensive. 

With my background as a Ph.D. in political science who has also conducted couples’ communication workshops for the past 30 years, the search for a solution intrigued me. 

I saw that historically speaking, when we heard criticism, we feared a potential enemy. Therefore, building defenses was functional for survival. But for love, it’s just dysfunctional.

To transform civil war to civil dialogue with loved ones and friends, we need to develop behaviors that alter our natural biological propensity for defensiveness. Until these behaviors are practiced repeatedly, few people can practice them for more than an hour, but that is long enough to leave our friend or family member feeling heard.

With feedback from workshop participants reporting what did and didn’t work in their real lives, I developed a ‘Caring and Sharing Practice.’ Since it is easier to hear criticism after we’ve been appreciated, the process begins with the first person who will be expressing her or his perspectives (or ‘criticism’) sharing two appreciations of the other at five levels of specificity.

For example, Tim Walz’s brother or RFK Jr.’s sister might recall not just how curious their brother was, but share a specific childhood story. They could highlight their respect for how their brother consistently asked follow-up questions and had the courage to speak up about his beliefs without fearing rejection.

The next step begins with the understanding that ‘every virtue taken to its extreme becomes a vice.’ Prior to Walz’s and RFK Jr.’s sibling expressing their aversion to their brother’s perspective, they would search for the original virtue that motivates their brother.

Jeff, as a critic of ‘progressive feminism’ would search for the sister or daughter whose life is more fulfilled by opportunities feminism helped create; Tim Walz, as a ‘progressive feminist,’ might search for the virtue of Jeff emphasizing the importance of dad and faith to both children and their mother.

Prior to the core practice, I ask political opponents what they have in common. The answer? They all care. No one is apathetic. Caring enough to be actively involved is crucial to the sustaining of democracy.

Now the key ‘Caring and Sharing Practice’ begins: since it’s biologically natural to become defensive when receiving criticism, I ask the person receiving the feedback to first alter their natural state. They meditate using six specific mindsets.  

For example, I call one mindset ‘The Love Guarantee.’ Walz and RFK Jr.’s siblings might say, ‘The more I provide a safe environment for my brother’s perspectives, the more he will feel loved by me, and in turn, the more love he will feel for me.’ 

The listener then signals when they feel completely receptive and secure. If they ‘lose it’ they say ‘Hold’ and resume the conversation only after they’ve found a mindset or two that recenters them.

Once Walz and RFK Jr.’s siblings have heard their brother, they share what they heard; then ask if they distorted anything. They keep working at it until Walz and RFK Jr feel nothing is distorted. 

Then they ask if they missed anything, and finally, ask if they wish to add anything. Once Walz and RFK Jr. feel completely heard, they reverse the process for their siblings.

At the completion of the process, each sibling shares two more appreciations at five levels of specificity.

None of this requires anyone to change their mind. Only to leave someone they care for feeling understood and seen in the way they understand and see themselves.

Elections are now. Families are forever.

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Hillary Clinton celebrates decades of marriage to Bill after being ‘deeply hurt’: ‘We just have a good time’

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton celebrated her nearly 50-year marriage to former President Bill Clinton despite ‘dark periods’ throughout their relationship. 

‘I’ve said this for many years, nobody really knows what happens in a marriage except the two people in it. And every marriage I’m aware of has ups and downs – not public, hopefully for everyone else – and you have to make the decisions that are right for you. And I would never tell anybody else, ‘stay in a marriage, leave a marriage,’ whatever the easy answer is. And you know, for me and for us, I think it’s fair to say we are so grateful that at this stage of our life, we have our grandchildren. We have our time together,’ Clinton told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an interview that aired Sunday morning. 

Clinton recently published her new memoir, ‘Something Lost, Something Gained,’ which included excerpts on how ‘both my marriage and Bill’s presidency were imperiled’ at the end of the 1990s. Bill Clinton’s presidency was rocked by a sex scandal in 1998, with the 42nd president admitting to having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky later that year. 

Hillary Clinton did not cite Monica Lewinsky by name in her memoir or during her interview that aired Sunday, only referring to ‘dark periods’ that threatened her marriage or ‘a very unfortunate’ incident.

‘I write about how we start the morning playing spelling bee in bed. And, you know, Bill is like such a great player. He gets to Queen Bee almost immediately it feels like. We just have a good time. We have a good time sharing this life that we’ve lived together for now nearly 50 years of marriage. That’s what is right for us, and that’s really my, my message,’ Clinton shared of her marriage during the interview. 

The couple married on Oct. 11, 1975, meaning they will celebrate their 50th anniversary next year. 

Bill Clinton was ultimately impeached over his affair with Lewinsky, charging him with lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice. 

Hillary Clinton said that during ‘one of the darkest periods’ of the impeachment, she felt ‘deeply hurt’ by the scandal, while ‘on the other hand,’ she saw the incident as a ‘political ploy’ to force her husband out of office. 

‘I had to almost have a binary view of the world that I was living in my reality,’ she reflected of how she was feeling during the impeachment. ‘My reality, on the one hand, I was deeply hurt, deeply confused, really upset, angry. And on the other hand, I knew that this was a political ploy to try to drive, you know, Bill out of office, and I thought he’d been a really good president, and I resented that as an American citizen, that these hypocrites, who, you know, had all kinds of their own stories about, you know, marriage and everything else, were going after him because of a very unfortunate, you know, incident in his life. 

‘So on the one hand, I’m trying to make a decision about my life, my marriage, my future, my child, my family, which only I could make. On the other hand, I saw the hypocrisy and cruelty of what those Republican, you know, members of Congress were doing, and that that is a reality that people on the outside could never have understood. 

‘And you know, obviously I got tons of unsolicited advice from all sorts of observers, but my friends – and I have a whole chapter in there about how incredibly grateful I am to my friends – friends of a lifetime, friends you know, that have stood with me, have supported me, who, during that dark period showed up at the White House to be with me,’ she said. 

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Kirby slams Hamas chief Sinwar as ‘the major obstacle’ to cease-fire, hostage release deal with Israel

White House national security spokesman John Kirby deemed the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, ‘the major obstacle’ to achieving a cease-fire deal in recent weeks. 

During an appearance on ‘Fox News Sunday,’ Kirby responded to The Wall Street Journal’s reporting that senior U.S. officials who hoped for months for a cease-fire and hostage release deal now do not expect Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement before the end of President Biden’s term. The report cited administration officials as saying Hamas makes demands and ‘then refuses to say ‘yes’ after the U.S. and Israel accept them.’ 

‘It’s certainly apparent to us that Mr. Sinwar remains the big obstacle here to getting a deal. And it certainly is the case that he has done nothing in the recent weeks to prove that he’s willing to move this forward in a good faith way. He is the major obstacle, no question about it,’ Kirby said Sunday. ‘It’s tough to get them to say yes to things that he’s already said that he wanted. So it’s very, very difficult.’ 

‘But as the president said the other day, everything’s unrealistic until all of a sudden it’s not anymore. And we’re gonna keep trying at this,’ Kirby added. ‘And this idea that we’re just throwing up our hands and ‘well, it’s not gonna happen before the end of the term,’ I can tell ya that’s not where the president is. It’s not where Jake Sullivan or Tony Blinken are. We still believe that there’s a possibility of moving this forward, and we’re gonna keep trying. Those hostages need an effort to get them home. We’re not going to give up on that.’  

Kirby reiterated the administration’s position that Israel has a right to defend itself, but acknowledged that some of the criticism of how Israel is handling the conflict has come from the Biden administration as well. 

‘They absolutely have a right to defend themselves. And we are still providing them the tools and capabilities to do that. But how they do it matters,’ Kirby said.  ‘President Biden has said that, Vice President Harris has said that to our Israeli counterparts. They need to be doing it in as precise and as discriminant a way to avoid damage to civilian infrastructure and more critically, to civilian life. So it does matter a lot to us.’ 

‘Fox News Sunday’ host Shannon Bream also asked Kirby to respond to the death of Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs Friday. 

Bream pointed to criticism from Trump administration Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who suggested Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in expressing fear of escalation to Israeli officials after the strike, was not grateful enough to Israel for taking out a man responsible for the death of hundreds of Americans during the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings. 

‘Nobody, including Secretary Austin, is shedding a tear over the death of Mr. Akil, who does have American blood on his hands. I think the world’s better for not having him walking around on the planet anymore. But that doesn’t mean we want to see a full out war. We don’t believe, again, that that’s in the best interest of the Israeli people,’ Kirby said. 

Akil was one of the Lebanon-based terrorist group’s top military officials, in charge of its elite forces, and had been on Washington’s wanted list for years.

The strike Friday came as the group was still reeling from an attack targeting Hezbollah communications earlier last week when thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously. The attack killed 12 people, mostly Hezbollah members, and injured thousands, according to Hezbollah officials. Israel is suspected of being behind that attack but has not claimed responsibility. 

As Hezbollah has been launching rockets into Israel since October 2023, Kirby said the U.S. has been working at ‘intense diplomacy here now for months to try to prevent an escalation in the conflict up at the blue line with Lebanon.’  

‘We still believe that there should be a strong effort to work on that diplomacy and to try to get that – that escalation to stop, to get the situation to stabilize, ‘ Kirby said. 

Kirby also defended the Biden administration’s handling of Iran, despite criticism from Republicans. 

‘Iran is one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world,’ Kirby said. ‘And that’s in part, actually large part, to what President Biden has done. Six hundred sanctions alone just in this administration, 60 sanction regimes. So I don’t buy the argument that we somehow turned a blind eye and just given them cash.’ 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Government shutdown narrowly avoided after Republicans, Democrats make funding deal

The U.S. government will be funded for another three months, thanks to a bipartisan funding agreement reached on Sunday that avoids a government shutdown.

The agreement maintains funding until Dec. 20, with the House likely to vote on the bill as early as Wednesday.

The development was announced in a press release by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

‘Over the past 4 days, bipartisan, bicameral negotiations have been underway to reach an agreement that maintains current funding through December 20 and avoids a government shutdown a month before the election,’ Schumer’s statement reads.

‘While I am pleased bipartisan negotiations quickly led to a government funding agreement free of cuts and poison pills, this same agreement could have been done two weeks ago.’

The bill also includes $231 million for the U.S. Secret Service with conditions that the agency cooperates with congressional investigations.

This breaking news story is developing. Check back with us for updates.

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Johnson unveils new plan to avoid shutdown amid tension in GOP, scraps Trump-backed election measure

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is unveiling a new plan for avoiding a partial government shutdown on Sunday after a House GOP rebellion derailed a more conservative measure last week.

House leaders are aiming for a vote this week on a short-term extension of the current year’s government funding levels, called a continuing resolution (CR), to give congressional negotiators more time to hash out federal spending priorities for the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

The new measure, closer in line with what Senate Democrats and the White House had called for than his first plan, is likely to spark fury among the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and its allies. But most Republicans are wary of the backlash of a potential government shutdown just weeks before Election Day.

Johnson took a swipe at the upper chamber for failing to pass a single one of their 12 appropriations bills, writing to House GOP colleagues on Sunday that because ‘Senate Democrats failed to pass a single appropriations bill or negotiate with the House on an acceptable topline number for FY 2025, a continuing resolution is the only option that remains.’

The plan would keep the government out of a partial shutdown through Dec. 20. House GOP leadership staff told reporters on Sunday that Democratic requests for additional dollars were rebuffed, and extra disaster relief funds that were in Johnson’s initial plan have been removed.

But it would include roughly an additional $230 million for the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), coupled with certain oversight measures, after a bipartisan push for more security following two foiled attempts on former President Trump’s life.

Perhaps the most significant change is the removal of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a bill requiring proof of citizenship in the voter registration process.

That legislation, backed by Trump, passed the House earlier this year with all Republicans and five Democrats in favor. Johnson hoped that attaching it to a CR would force the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House – both of which have called it a nonstarter – to consider it, or at least that it would serve as a potent opening salvo in negotiations.

But 14 Republicans – most opposed to a CR on principle – tanked the bill last week.

Trump wrote on Truth Social ahead of the vote, ‘If Republicans don’t get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form.’

‘Our legislation will be a very narrow, bare-bones CR including only the extensions that are absolutely necessary,’ Johnson pledged to colleagues Sunday.

‘While this is not the solution any of us prefer, it is the most prudent path forward under the present circumstances. As history has taught and current polling affirms, shutting the government down less than 40 days from a fateful election would be an act of political malpractice.’

Government funding has been one of the most volatile fights in the 118th Congress, pitting even the most conservative House allies against each other.

Johnson’s new plan is not likely to abate those tensions. Critics of a CR through December have argued it would leave them with no choice but to group their 12 annual appropriations bills into a massive ‘omnibus’ spending bill, something nearly all Republican lawmakers oppose.

But House GOP leadership staff suggested it was more likely Congress would pass another CR into the new year rather than set new levels for fiscal year 2025 – lining up with Johnson’s original plan.

The speaker’s previous proposal would have funded the government through March, something Democrats and some national security hawks opposed. 

Trump allies, however, wanted to see the government funding fight kicked into the new year in hopes that he would win the White House and usher in a fully Republican Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., did not weigh in directly on the plan but took a swipe at Johnson for trying to pass his conservative CR last week. 

‘While I am pleased bipartisan negotiations quickly led to a government funding agreement free of cuts and poison pills, this same agreement could have been done two weeks ago. Instead, Speaker Johnson chose to follow the MAGA way and wasted precious time,’ Schumer said in a statement.

‘If both sides continue to work in good faith, I am hopeful that we can wrap up work on the CR this week, well before the September 30 deadline. The key to finishing our work this week will be bipartisan cooperation, in both chambers.’

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Hezbollah launches rockets at Israel after overnight airstrikes: ‘Open-ended battle’

Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets into northern Israel on Sunday in response to a series of Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, pushing both sides closer to the brink of full-scale war.  

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon killed dozens, including one of the group’s top commanders, Ibrahim Akil.

Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Naim Kassem, said Sunday’s rocket attack was just the beginning of what’s now an ‘open-ended battle’ with Israel.

At Akil’s funeral, Kassem vowed Hezbollah would continue military operations against Israel but also warned of unexpected attacks ‘from outside the box,’ pointing to rockets fired deeper into Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would take whatever action was necessary to restore security in the north and allow people to return to their homes.

‘No country can accept the wanton rocketing of its cities. We can’t accept it either,’ he said.

Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, told reporters the army is prepared to increase pressure on Hezbollah in the coming days, adding, ‘We have many capabilities that we have not yet activated.’

The Israeli military said it struck about 400 militant sites, including rocket launchers, across southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours, thwarting an even larger attack.

‘Last night, hundreds of thousands of Israelis woke up to rocket sirens as Hezbollah launched over 20 rockets towards northern Israel that left communities in ruins,’ IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said. ‘This attack could have caused much more damage, but we were able to minimize their attack with a preemptive strike on rocket launchers across southern Lebanon.’

The latest tit-for-tat between Israeli forces and Hezbollah comes as Lebanon is still reeling from a wave of explosions that hit pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members on Tuesday and Wednesday. The explosions killed at least 37 people and wounded about 3,000. The attacks were widely blamed on Israel, which hasn’t confirmed or denied responsibility.

Israeli forces have been trading fire with Hezbollah fighters almost daily since Oct. 8, the day after Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking another 250 as hostages. Hezbollah leadership has said its attacks on Israel are in solidarity with its ally Hamas in Gaza.

The low-level fighting has killed dozens in Israel, hundreds in Lebanon and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the frontier. But the fighting has intensified in recent weeks, with Israel shifting its focus from Gaza to Lebanon. Some have expressed concerns that the fight against Hezbollah will strain resources and complicate prospects for an already elusive cease-fire deal.

Retired Army Brig. Anthony Tata told ‘Fox & Friends’ that the conflict would only grow and chided the Biden administration for what he deemed a lack of ‘moral clarity.’ 

‘It’s critical that Netanyahu keeps his eye on the main fight, which is Hamas, and he eliminates Hamas,’ Tata said. ‘The main effort is still Hamas. And I think what they have to do is hold what they’ve got and hold off Hezbollah until they finish up Hamas, and then they can move to the north and … destroy Hezbollah. You can’t do two things at once equally well.’

Asked Sunday if he was worried about rising tensions in the Middle East, President Biden said, ‘Yes, I am.’

‘But we’re going to do everything we can to keep a wider war from breaking out. And we’re still pushing hard,’ Biden added. 

Hamas is still holding around 100 captives from its attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, a third of whom are believed to be dead. More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. 

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Sunday it intercepted multiple aerial devices fired from the direction of Iraq after Iran-backed militant groups there claimed to have launched a drone attack on Israel.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Trump indicates he won’t make another presidential run in 2028 if unsuccessful this time

Former President Trump indicated during an interview Sunday that he would not make a run for the Oval Office in 2028 if his current bid falls short in November.

Trump was a guest on Sinclair Broadcast Group’s ‘Full Measure,’ hosted by Sharyl Attkisson, which aired Sunday morning.

At the end of the interview, Attkisson asked Trump if he was not successful in his bid for president in November, could he see himself running again in four years?

‘No, I don’t. No, I don’t. I think that that will be, that will be it. I don’t see that at all,’ the former president answered. ‘I think that hopefully we’re gonna be successful.’

Trump, 78, is on his third run for president, having beaten Hillary Clinton for the Commander in Chief seat in 2016, and losing to President Biden in 2020. He now faces Vice President Kamala Harris for a second, four-year term in office.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump campaign for clarification on the former president’s comments. The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Trump’s statements.

With over six weeks to go until Election Day on Nov. 5, and early voting and absentee balloting underway in a growing number of states, a number of public opinion polls agree that the race in key battleground states that will decide the 2024 Presidential election is within the margin-of-error.

The polls also show Harris has a healthy advantage among voters when it comes to the issue of abortion, while Trump has an equally large margin in dealing with the border and immigration.

When it comes to the economy, the polls show the issue remains the top issue on the minds of American voters as they prepare to cast their ballot in November.

A Fox News national poll also in the field entirely post-debate spotlighted that 39% of voters surveyed said the economy was their most pressing issue, far ahead of immigration (16%) and abortion (15%). All other issues tested were in single digits. 

Trump spoke with Attkisson about several issues, including his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said he did ‘an amazing job’ handling.

‘I never got the credit for it. Remember that more people died under Biden-Harris than died under Trump,’ he said. ‘And they had a much easier time because when it came in here, nobody knew what it was. It came from the Wuhan labs, which I always said. But nobody really knew what it was, where it came from…nothing. They knew nothing, and we got hit.’

Trump also said he got credit with the military and knocking out ISIS, saying, ‘we rebuilt the military.’

After speaking about his accomplishments, Attkisson asked him what he does to stay healthy.

‘I used to play golf a little bit…but it seems to be quite a dangerous sport, in retrospect,’ Trump said, referring to a recent incident in which a man hid in the bushes with a gun before being shot at by Secret Service and fleeing. The man was later arrested, and the matter is being handled as an assassination attempt on Trump.

‘I try and eat properly,’ Trump told Attkisson, getting back to her question.

The host told Trump she though he ate hamburgers and drank soda, which the former president acknowledged he did.

‘But proper hamburgers,’ he said. ‘But I like, perhaps, all the wrong food. But then I say, ‘does anybody know what the right food is?’

He continued, saying people lectured him for years on what to eat, and they’re gone because they passed away.

‘And here I am,’ Trump said. ‘So, I’m not sure I wanna make too many changes.’

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

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Chuck Schumer calls out Republicans for ‘wasting time’ as tentative funding deal is announced

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took a swipe at his Republican colleagues for ‘wasting precious time’ after his GOP counterpart unveiled a plan to avoid a government shutdown.

The bipartisan plan was announced by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., earlier on Sunday. The tentative agreement maintains government funding until Dec. 20, with the House likely to vote on the bill as early as Wednesday. 

The agreement – which still needs to be voted on in order to be implemented – comes after weeks of uncertainty about whether a government shutdown could be avoided before the current fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. The hypothetical government shutdown would begin on Oct. 1.

In a statement released by Schumer on Sunday evening, the New York Democrat accused Johnson of ‘follow[ing] the MAGA way.’

‘Over the past 4 days, bipartisan, bicameral negotiations have been underway to reach an agreement that maintains current funding through December 20 and avoids a government shutdown a month before the election,’ Schumer’s statement read.

‘While I am pleased bipartisan negotiations quickly led to a government funding agreement free of cuts and poison pills, this same agreement could have been done two weeks ago.’

Schumer referred to Johnson’s attempt to try passing a more Republican-friendly continuing resolution (CR) that would have extended funding for another six months, despite the awareness that many Republicans would not support it. The CR failed by a narrow 202-220 vote last week.

‘Instead, Speaker Johnson chose to follow the MAGA way and wasted precious time,’ Schumer said in his statement. ‘As I have said throughout this process, there is only one way to get things done, with bipartisan, bicameral support.’

Johnson also attempted to pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a Republican-backed bill that would require proof of citizenship in the voter registration process.

The Republican leader’s funding agreement, which is closer in line with what the Senate Democrats wanted, is expected to anger the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.

The bill also includes $231 million for the U.S. Secret Service with conditions that the agency cooperates with congressional investigations. The bipartisan deal made on Sunday excludes any agreement to pass the SAVE Act.

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

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