The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday suspended all trade with Iran, after suffering the latest wanton missile attack from Iranian forces.

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Iowa has the second-highest rate of cancer in the country, and both candidates for governor are putting this issue at the forefront of their campaigns.

At an event with the American Cancer Society, MAHA Republican nominee for governor Zach Lahn said the state’s high cancer rates are “tied into agriculture” and Iowa’s water system.

“I would just say that any discussion about cancer rates that doesn’t include water isn’t a genuine discussion,” he said, elaborating that the problem is tied to agriculture and that “we just have to own it and solve it.”

Dan Capodilupo, Lahn’s director of communications, told the Daily Signal that the event was productive, and representatives there shared personal stories, discussed solutions, and discussed policy priorities.

“High nitrate load in water is one of the top causes of colon cancer, one of the fastest-killing cancers that there is. Zach committed to funding the IWILL program to improve Iowa’s water quality,” Capodilupo said.

Iowa’s Water and Land Legacy initiative, or IWILL, is a clean-water initiative whose fund “sits empty.” According to its website, the program needs a state sales tax increase of three-eighths of a cent to resume operations.

Lahn, a friend of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is endorsed by Kennedy’s super PAC, MAHA Action. The political group describes Lahn as a regenerative farmer who does not use pesticides or chemicals, and it says he will champion the farming technique in the Corn State, “remove environmental toxins, and make sure that MAHA means prosperity for all Iowans.”

“Zach will work alongside farmers to provide incentives for proven conservation practices that reduce runoff, improve water quality, and protect our natural resources without punishing producers,” Capodilupo confirmed.

Democrat Nominee Rob Sand

While Lahn’s opponent, Democrat state Auditor Rob Sand, avoided questions from the Daily Signal, his campaign falsely claimed he was “the only candidate in the race for governor with an actual plan” to address Iowa’s cancer rates. Lahn also has a plan outlined on his campaign website.

Both plans address water quality and funding for cancer research, but they are not identical.

Sand’s plan includes investing in water-quality monitors, establishing “a dirty water notification system,” investing in radon testing, and “denying immunity for chemical companies sickening Iowans.”

Lahn’s plan is similar but calls for conducting independent safety tests; pursuing antitrust suits against large agricultural companies that produce seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers linked to cancer; and providing incentives for farmers to use regenerative solutions that address runoff and water contamination.

While Lahn is focused on cleaning Iowa’s water supply, Sand is focused on cancer research funding and health care costs, which Lahn said he also supports.

Sand spotlights “skyrocketing costs, growing cancer rates, Iowans getting kicked off of health care, rural hospitals closing their doors, and losing our next generation of health care professionals to culture wars and better opportunities elsewhere” as the problem.

Is Taxing Tobacco the Answer?

Sand had a similar discussion with the American Cancer Society last month, where the conversation focused on these issues, as well as possible support for a tobacco tax increase, which Lahn does not support. The society supports a $1.50-per-pack increase as well, but Lahn called it a poverty tax.

“I would not support it if there was not a commensurate increase in the ability for us to help people get off of the product in the first place,” Lahn said during his conversation with the American Cancer Society. “Because otherwise, what we’re doing there is essentially a poverty tax, and you’ll hurt the people that are actually in the most need in our society.”

Sand said that while he supports a tax increase, he does not believe he will get $1.50 from the Republican-controlled Legislature. However, he wants Iowa to remain competitive with neighboring states. “I think if we raised it by 65 or 55 cents, we would still be around the same area as our neighbors,” he said.

Both candidates say they will protect access to and expansion of Iowa’s Medicaid program and prioritize cancer research funding.

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott is proposing a full ban of all H-1B visas which allow foreign workers to fill jobs in the state's public schools.

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Agents of Cuba's communist Castro regime infiltrated a recent international sports event in the Dominican Republic to prevent Cuban athletes from defecting, the local newspaper Diario Libre reported on Tuesday.

The post Report: Cuban Intel Agents Posed as Athletes During Dominican Republic Games appeared first on Breitbart.

Iran's ambassador to Mexico City, Abolfazl Pasandideh, attended an event to mark the would-be 100th birthday of Fidel Castro.

The post Iranian Envoy Joins Ceremony in Mexico to Honor Communist Mass Murderer Fidel Castro appeared first on Breitbart.

MADISON, WI — Local wife Tamara Dotson gently informed her husband this week that he couldn't have any more Lego sets until he finished building the ones he had.

After the Texas Education Agency released its 2025-26 accountability ratings, attention has turned to Austin Independent School District, where nearly 30% of students are designated as emergent bilingual. 

Last week, the TEA released its 2025-26 A-F accountability ratings. According to the ratings for Austin ISD, 28 schools earned an A, 33 received a B, 22 received a C, 11 received a D, and 20 received an F.  

Among the failing schools, two district campuses—Burnet Middle School and Webb Middle School—received their fifth consecutive F rating, prompting some residents to raise concerns about the district’s academic performance and the number of emergent bilingual students enrolled. 

According to the TEA, approximately 69,000 students were enrolled in Austin ISD during the 2025-26 school year. Of those students, 29.7% were designated as emergent bilingual, meaning about 20,500 students were identified as English learners. 

The statewide average for emergent bilingual enrollment during the 2025-26 school year was approximately 21% to 24%, depending on the measure used. Austin ISD’s rate was therefore higher than the statewide average. 

According to Ami Lynne, an advocate and investigator focused on Texas public education, the state’s basic allotment for students identified as emergent bilingual could amount to more than $8.5 billion annually statewide. 

For Austin ISD, applying the basic allotment to the district’s approximately 20,500 emergent bilingual students would amount to roughly $224 million to $328 million annually, depending on the allotment used. 

However, Austin ISD’s rate of emergent bilingual enrollment is not the only issue facing the district. With two schools receiving their fifth consecutive F rating, the district could face additional state intervention. 

Under state law, five consecutive years of unacceptable campus performance can trigger intervention by the Texas education commissioner. Depending on the circumstances and the commissioner’s actions, intervention can include closing campuses or replacing the elected school board with a state-appointed superintendent and board of managers. 

Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath, spoke to Fox 7 Austin, telling the station that the ratings are preliminary and that the state will determine its next steps regarding Austin ISD. 

“Unfortunately, this school year, that school district had two campuses reach five years of an ‘F’ in a row, and it was Austin,” Morath said. “Ratings are what we refer to as preliminary ratings, then there’s a 30-day appeal window, then there’s a 30-day window to apply for appeal. Then there’s about 60 days when we have a third party panel review and just check all the work, make sure it’s accurate.” 

“Sometimes, those results in ratings changes,” Morath added. “So I think it’s way preliminary to discuss what actually might happen in Austin as a result of that.” 

Austin ISD did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication. 

President Donald Trump is set to record an interview Thursday with Michael Cohen, his former personal lawyer turned public critic, according to a White House official granted anonymity to describe plans that had not been publicly announced.

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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday issued a formal apology to the president of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, for violence perpetrated against Mozambican nationals during South Africa’s recent anti-migrant protests.

The post South African President Apologizes for Violence Against Migrants appeared first on Breitbart.

It’s a critical election year, and candidates running for Senate and governor in Ohio are becoming increasingly aware that the issue of data centers could play a key role in the outcome of the election.

On Wednesday, Axios reported on a private memo from the National Republican Senatorial Committee to AI companies—it was titled “Ohio Data Center Risk.” The memo, dated Aug. 18, begins by saying the race between Republican Sen. Jon Husted and Democrat challenger Sherrod Brown is a “dead heat.” But it goes on to say: “The new ingredient (and the new problem) is data centers.”

The Buckeye State is ranked sixth in data centers, with more than 200 facilities in operation and potentially 80 new ones on the way by 2030. The rapid expansion of the high-tech factories has caused many local residents to worry about their impact on land, energy, water, and other vital resources.

“Brown has made his opposition to them the centerpiece of his campaign against Husted. Brown is using it because it works,” the NRSC states in the memo, adding that such messaging “has become a sleeper issue for the entire election cycle.”

Indeed, the Brown campaign has featured Husted and AI in recent TV ads, as the NRSC memo notes. Cleveland.com reporting from March referred to Husted as “the face of data centers.”

The NRSC memo proposes a list of action items, with a note for the companies involved as well. “Campaigns or party committees cannot fix the toxic brand of an entire segment of the economy. The companies that need these projects built have to fix how Ohioans see them: who benefits, who pays, and why a community should want one. Until that happens, the issue will continue to dominate this race.”

While the memo is meant to sound the alarm on what’s at stake for the data center industry, it offers an important insight to politicians who want to truly represent the will of the people, both this year and for years to come.

“By overwhelming margins, the American people prefer a Republican candidate who wants to only let data centers be built in communities that approve them by a local vote of the people, and that pay for their own power, water, and other utilities, versus a Democrat candidate who wants to stop data center construction altogether, which will cause America to lose the AI race to China,” it states.

Senate Race

Those two approaches to data centers are in play in Ohio’s top races. Many Ohioans have called for moratoriums on all data center development, while others want ongoing growth, but with local control and commonsense regulations.

“Sen. Husted introduced legislation requiring data center companies to pay for the power they use and return excess electricity to the grid—a commonsense solution that supports America’s growing technology infrastructure while protecting reliable, affordable energy for Ohio families,” Husted campaign spokeswoman Amy Natoce told the Daily Signal.

She emphasized that data centers should remain “a local decision,” and added a jab at Husted’s opponent: “Sherrod Brown had three decades in Congress to lead on this issue. Instead, he did nothing and is suddenly pretending to care in the middle of an election year.”

Both the campaign and the Senate Leadership Fund have highlighted Brown’s support for data centers in 2015, when the tax break costs were at a lower level.

The Sherrod Brown campaign also offered to comment on the issue.

“Jon Husted led the charge to bring hundreds of data centers to Ohio and blamed families for skyrocketing utility rates that he caused,” Brown campaign manager Patrick Eisenhauer told the Daily Signal. “Now, Husted is so worried about his toxic record that he is begging his special interest buddies and corporate friends to come and bail out his failing campaign.”

Brown’s spokesperson added: “Ohioans—not Jon Husted and his billionaire friends—should get to decide if data centers are built in their community.”

In late May, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced a pause on tax exemptions for new data centers. In addition, the Republican governor signed President Donald Trump’s “ratepayer protection pledge,” in which elected officials pledge to put no burden on existing customers and no higher costs on families or ratepayers, and data centers are urged to pay their own utilities.

Governor’s Race

DeWine is term-limited, however. The race to replace him is between Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton. Cook Political Report rates it a “toss-up.”

Earlier this month, in a pinned post on X, Ramaswamy released a pledge on data centers.

Ramaswamy’s post adds, “While I had no part in these past projects, I am committed to ensuring our policies catch up to current realities. Despite my opponents’ claims, I’m not ‘pro-data center.’ I’m pro-Ohio, and I have a plan to fix the problem.”

His plan is that if a data center is built in a community, they will no longer have to pay for that home’s electricity, they will have lower property taxes, and “the data center will be required to abide by all air and water quality standards without exception.”

Ramaswamy emphasized that such conditions must be met in order for data centers to be built. He also pledged to issue an executive order to halt approval of any new data center projects in Ohio until such data center legislation takes effect.

His opponent in the race, Acton, the former director of the Ohio Department of Health, likewise lists data centers as a priority on her campaign website.

Her plan is to enact “a conditional moratorium on data centers to ensure they cover one hundred percent of their utility costs, exclusively build with union labor, operate with full transparency, support the needs of local communities, live by Ohio’s environmental standards, and bring jobs to former industrial areas that have been left behind.”

She also wants tax incentives for developers to be reined in, and wants new factories to be built in brownfields or where jobs have already been lost.

Future Impact

Data centers are heating up as a pressing issue. Nvidia just announced a $1.5 billion investment for an OpenAI data center in Pike County. “OpenAI will be the customer. SB Energy will build, own and operate the data center under a 20-year lease to OpenAI,” the company stated Monday in a news release.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, spoke specifically to Pike County and benefits for the area.

“We’re proud to build it in Pike County, a place that is once again at the heart of American industry and leading the future. We want the people who live here to feel the benefits too, through good jobs, more opportunity for local businesses, and investment in the community for years to come,” he said in the statement.

With development continuing forward in Ohio, the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s memo offers a clear warning to business.

“If it is still this potent in November, elected officials everywhere will treat Ohio as their reason to work against data centers in the future.” It adds, “If voters’ perceptions of data centers are not fixed quickly, the campaign against them will expand far beyond Ohio.”

Earlier today following a meeting in Washington, D.C., between Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, both representatives delivered remarks to reporters.  There are no details provided, however, within his remarks, Greer says he is confident that a deal has been reached as they work to finalize the details. USTR […]

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