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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicts a white-collar "bloodbath." Senator Bernie Sanders warns AI could wipe out 100 million American jobs. Elon Musk says work may become optional.

The message is everywhere: machines are coming for your paycheck.

That panic is understandable. But wrong. Yes, AI will disrupt and eventually replace some tasks, just as electricity, the farm tractor, and the internet caused the displacement of mundane and, in some cases, miserable jobs like working in hot, sweaty factories or backbreaking work lifting heavy equipment. Yes, some workers will need help adjusting and retraining to the robotics revolution. Yet the fear of mass technological unemployment repeats a mistake doomsayers have made for centuries, from the tractor to the personal computer.

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In our new study, "Boomsday Not Doomsday," we show AI can become the most powerful engine of American prosperity in decades. How? AI lowers the price and speeds up production of nearly everything we use: from food, to steel, to cars, to information, to new homes, to new cures for diseases. How does a four day workweek sound?

For most of history, practical expertise was expensive and hard to find. Families, workers and small businesses had to pay consultants, lawyers, programmers, or other specialists, or go without. AI gives Americans useful, personalized assistance for less than the price of a daily cup of coffee, and often for free.

A small-business owner can get help writing a marketing plan. A patient can leave the doctor with clearer instructions. A homeowner can learn whether that crack in the wall requires a professional. A teacher can build custom lesson plans. New health scans can locate possible cancer cells early and save millions of lives.

AI isn’t replacing Americans, it’s making us more capable. It will make life on earth better — especially for the lower half in income, who soon thanks to these productivity improvements have a quality of life that rivals the richest royalty of yesteryear.

The early numbers show how quickly this is happening. Generative AI is growing three times faster than mobile apps or the internet did. Nearly nine in ten organizations now use AI in at least one business function. Americans already value AI tools at $172 billion a year, based on what they’d need to be paid to give them up. Worried about the rising cost of food, gas, housing and health care? Get ready for these things falling in price dramatically.

Widespread prosperity begins like this, with millions of people saving time and money, learning faster and getting more done.

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We have been through panics before. In 1900, more than one in three Americans worked in agriculture. Today fewer than 2% do and we produce 10 times more food on one-third as much farmland. America did not collapse into permanent unemployment. We grew more food with fewer hands. The economy created hundreds of millions of jobs no one could have imagined. The pattern repeats with every leap forward. Technology automates drudgery, raises productivity, and creates new opportunities.

The numbers agree. Unemployment sits at a low 4.3%. Between 2022 and early 2025, the most AI-exposed workers saw smaller unemployment increases than the least exposed. And demand for AI skills is exploding: job postings seeking them jumped 111% in a single year.

Some young workers feel pressure. The answer, as in every transition, is to help American workers use these tools. When they do, everyday improvements will add up to a richer, healthier, happier country. Prisons and reform schools are using AI to train young people for jobs that are waiting for them.

In medicine, Mayo Clinic has used AI to identify pancreatic cancer up to three years earlier. Physicians at The Permanente Group using AI-note takers save roughly an hour a day. Patients get better care that feels less like an assembly line and more like time with someone who listens.

On Main Street, AI helps workers turn know-how into ownership. Jason Walls, a Kentucky master electrician, watched contractors push EV owners into unneeded and expensive electrical panel upgrades. With no coding background, he used AI to build a website that runs the calculations, generates the reports, and saves families money.

We’re seeing this pattern across the economy, in education, construction, and manufacturing.

No one should pretend that every transition will be painless. But while doomsayers worry that AI moves too fast, the real danger is that America moves too slowly. China would love to swoop in and take our place.

We invented this technology, yet too few of us put it to work. More than half of American adults have tried generative AI, but only 28.3% use it regularly, which leaves the United States 24th out of the 30 countries measured. France and the United Kingdom rank higher.

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The Chinese get it. Three out of four people there expect AI to improve their economy. They deploy fast: in 2024, China installed 295,045 industrial robots to America’s 34,164. China has some of the most capable and most popular open-source AI models.

Meanwhile, we are all too often hobbling ourselves here at home. State legislatures introduced more than 1,700 AI bills this year. Some Democrats have demanded government ownership of major AI companies while proposing to ban new AI supercomputers.

Washington faces a clear choice. It can tax, regulate, ration, or nationalize this technology, reserving its benefits for itself and the biggest companies — and the Chinese. Or, as we did so effectively with the Internet Revolution, we can lead the world and enjoy the fruits of winning the race.

From the days of Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford, America has always led by inventing. Let’s be the leaders, not the laggards. To the victors go the spoils — and for the sake of our economic and national security, the victor MUST be the USA.

Neil Chilson is Head of AI Policy at the Abundance Institute and former chief technologist at the Federal Trade Commission.

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Two Democratic candidates locked in a race to fill the seat left by the late Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., advanced to a runoff election on Tuesday evening after failing to capture 51% of the vote.

The winner of the election will add another Democratic seat in a narrowly divided House of Representatives where Republicans hold 218 seats and Democrats control 212. Adding even one more Democratic member puts increased pressure on Republicans to remain united on party-line legislation.

Marcye Scott, the daughter of the late David Scott, and Everton Blair, chair of the Gwinnett County School Board, will face off against each other in a runoff to represent the Peach State’s 13th Congressional District on Aug. 25.

DAUGHTER OF LATE HOUSE DEM FORCED INTO RUNOFF AFTER FALLING SHORT IN SPECIAL ELECTION

A third candidate, Caesar Gonzales, a Republican, did not advance, receiving only 8.7% of the vote.

Georgia’s 13th Congressional District House seat became open when David Scott, 80, died in office back in April. His office did not disclose a cause of death.

Shortly after his death, Marcye Scott announced her candidacy to fill his seat, pitching herself as the best candidate to continue her father’s legacy.

DEMOCRAT REP DAVID SCOTT DEAD AT 80

"That would be what I definitely want to do, to make sure that his voters, his constituents, do not miss out on what he was offering," Scott said.

Scott has made roads and infrastructure, public safety and transportation key priorities of her campaign, highlighting constituent outreach work she did for her father.

For his own part, Blair has pitched himself as a candidate looking to push back on President Donald Trump’s cuts to areas like the Department of Education.

"You can’t fix a system that’s being dismantled from the top. Right now, Donald Trump is getting rid of the Department of Education and cutting money from schools that already have the least. That doesn’t just hurt some office in Washington. It hurts the kid in the back of the classroom in this district," Blair said during a campaign visit.

On his website, Blair lists Medicare-for-all, increasing the minimum wage and raising teacher pay among his top priorities.

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Although the winner will have secured the seat in the special election, they must still win a general election in November to fill the seat for a full term.

David Scott last won re-election in 2024 in a 71.8% to 28.2% victory over his Republican challenger Jonathan Chavez.

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A man in France discovered remains believed to belong to five newborns hidden inside cardboard boxes in his home after his partner gave birth at home and was taken to a hospital, according to prosecutors.

He became distressed after he found out about her pregnancy at ⁠a very late stage, despite her repeated denials, and began searching their home, prosecutors said. The couple already had two children, ages eight and nine.

The woman, 32, who was not identified, was allegedly arguing with her husband over what was in the boxes at their home in the town of Orange on Monday after she gave birth at home to a baby boy the day before.

She started complaining about abdominal pain during the argument on Monday. She was taken to a hospital and her husband stayed behind and discovered the dead babies hidden in the boxes.

NEWBORN VANISHED AFTER SECRET BIRTH, PARENTS ALLEGEDLY CLAIMED BABY 'WAS A PRANK': COPS

The man, also 32, then notified authorities through the hospital ​where the woman was being treated for pain.

"The husband stayed behind when she was taken to the hospital, and looked inside the cardboard boxes they had been arguing over – that’s when he found the five dead babies," an investigating source said, according to the US Sun. "All the [fetuses] were decomposing, and had been around for quite a while."

Police searched the couple's home, and prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into suspected murder on Monday.

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A forensic pathologist estimated, based on initial findings, that the bones ​and decomposing remains belonged to five newborns.

Authorities said the remains included bones believed to belong to four newborns and the decomposing body of a fifth. Autopsies and further laboratory testing were ordered.

The man told ‌police ⁠he was unaware of his wife's possible pregnancies.

The public prosecutor's office urged child welfare services to assess the health of the couple's eight and nine-year old children. It ​also issued a ​provisional placement ⁠order for the newborn baby, pending referral of the case to a children's court judge.

The ​mother, who was still in the hospital on Tuesday, has not yet spoken to investigators.

A post-mortem examination has been ordered on ​the decomposing remains, and the bones will undergo anthropological analysis in a laboratory, according to prosecutors.

The couple had no history of problems and were described by a neighbor as "charming people," according to French outlet AFP.

The neighbor, Florent Jean, told the outlet that the wife was a stay-at-home mother and the husband worked. Jean said the two were "normal people, really."

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, is demanding that Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., prove he is fit to continue serving in Congress after he was discharged this week following a lengthy hospital stay or resign from office.

In a letter to McConnell, the governor urged the 84-year-old senator to directly address the people of Kentucky about his ability to serve.

"I am calling on you to directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign," Beshear wrote to McConnell.

MCCONNELL OUT OF HOSPITAL, STILL NOT 'MEDICALLY CLEARED' TO RETURN TO SENATE

Beshear made the demand after McConnell’s office announced on Monday that he had been discharged from the hospital but had not yet been medically cleared to leave the rehabilitation facility where he has been undergoing physical therapy and return to office.

The senator's office said he would miss a major Kentucky political event and upcoming Senate votes.

"I'm still working hard to get back to my full schedule of work in the Senate and in Kentucky, keeping up with intense physical therapy per my doctors’ orders. Unfortunately, that means I won’t be able to make it to Fancy Farm, Kentucky, this Saturday ... As always, I appreciate all of your continued well wishes, and I’m looking forward to getting back to the Senate and to Kentucky soon," McConnell said in a statement.

McConnell was hospitalized on June 14 and later revealed that it was due to a fall at his home.

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"Since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls. His bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility. He is not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office," the Attending Physician's office said in a statement.

Beshear first urged McConnell earlier this month to release more information about his health after weeks of no public comments.

The governor also sent a letter on Tuesday to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., calling on him to investigate McConnell’s condition if the senator does not prove that he is capable of continuing his term.

"All of this speculation and even this letter could have been avoided with a minimal amount of transparency," Beshear wrote to Thune.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the offices of Beshear, McConnell and Thune.

Since he was hospitalized last month, McConnell's office has issued major updates on July 12 and July 27, with each notice featuring a photograph.

This comes amid intensified public scrutiny of aging elected officials in recent years over mental gaffes and deaths in office.

Former Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., died in 2023 and former Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., died earlier this month. Former President Joe Biden suspended his re-election campaign in 2024 in the face of bipartisan pressure due to his age and mental acuity. President Donald Trump's fitness to serve has also been questioned by Democrats who have raised concerns about his mental acuity, age and health, pointing to various gaffes, several hospital visits and visible bruises on his hands.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Utah isn't giving up its crown.

The Beehive State came in at America's No. 1 state for the fourth consecutive year in U.S. News & World Report's 2026 Best States rankings, holding onto the top spot overall while Texas claimed the nation's highest-ranked economy.

The list points to a notable regional trend, with Mountain West, Midwest and Sun Belt states claiming many of the country's highest overall rankings. Four of the top five states are located in the Mountain West or Upper Midwest, with Utah, South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota and Nebraska leading the overall rankings in order. New Hampshire, Idaho, Florida, Washington and Vermont rounded out the Top 10.

U.S. News Executive Chairman and CEO Eric Gertler said the results reflect what he called "a broader realignment of American economic growth," with states in the Midwest and South gaining ground as businesses and workers increasingly gravitate toward faster-growing, lower-cost regions.

"States in the Midwest and South generally moved up the rankings, while several Northeastern states fell substantially, showing how human and financial capital are actively migrating away from high-cost areas into more affordable regions," Gertler told Fox News Digital.

THIS RED STATE IS STRENGTHENING ITS GRIP AS AMERICA'S NEXT ECONOMIC HEAVYWEIGHT

Texas climbed to the No. 1 spot in the economy category after the Lone Star State ranking the year prior. U.S. News credited the state with leading the nation in job growth while posting among the country's strongest performances in GDP growth, net migration and youth population growth.

South Dakota, meanwhile, posted one of the year's biggest gains, climbing from No. 8 overall to No. 2, while North Dakota jumped from No. 12 to No. 4, driven by improvements in health care, education, fiscal stability and economic performance.

Gertler described 2026 as the "Year of the Midwest," pointing to the Dakotas' rapid ascent as evidence of a broader shift in economic momentum.

"Low cost of living combined with strategic manufacturing investments are making these states prime destinations for young workers and expanding businesses," Gertler said.

BILLIONS IN TAXPAYER INCOME ARE LEAVING TWO ICONIC STATES — AS A NEW ECONOMIC MAP EMERGES

Utah, meanwhile, maintained its dominance by placing in the Top 10 across five of the report's eight major categories, including No. 2 in the economy and fiscal stability and No. 4 in infrastructure.

Gertler attributed Utah's sustained success to the state's overall consistency.

"Utah's No. 1 ranking comes down to consistency," he said, pointing to the state's strong economy, fiscal stability and education system, along with its young and growing workforce.

One of the report's most striking findings was that the nation's top-ranked state also placed 48th in natural environment, underscoring that no single category determines the overall standings.

No state dominated every category. Colorado climbed to No. 1 in education, Hawaii topped the nation in health care, Nevada ranked first in infrastructure, Wyoming led in fiscal stability, New Hampshire earned the highest marks in crime and corrections, Vermont ranked first in opportunity and Hawaii also claimed the top spot in natural environment.

Among the nation's largest states, Florida was the only one to crack the overall Top 10, finishing eighth. Texas paired its top-ranked economy with continued population and job growth, while California and New York did not finish among the top 10 overall.

The annual U.S. News Best States rankings compare all 50 states across eight categories that include the economy, education, health care, infrastructure, opportunity, fiscal stability, crime and corrections, and natural environment.

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The battle between the Democratic Party's far-left flank and establishment wing spilled onto the stage Monday night during battleground Michigan's fiery Senate debate.

The debate took place one week ahead of the pair’s Aug. 4 primary battle, with both candidates using the final face-off to sharpen their competing arguments over who could best represent Michigan — and defeat Republican candidate, former Rep. Mike Rogers, in the November 3 general election.

During Monday night's clash of the Democratic Party's competing wings, El-Sayed doubled down on his "ogre on a pike" remark and declined to apologize, but clarified it was not specifically directed at Stevens but rather a different moderate Democrat in Congress. Meanwhile, El-Sayed also repeated his attacks on pro-Israel and corporate spending supporting Stevens, while he also rejected the "socialist" label some have given him, describing himself as a "just a capitalist who understands how capitalism works."

Stevens, on the other hand, questioned what El-Sayed was "hiding" by not releasing his full tax returns, an attack she carried over from the pair's first one-on-one debate earlier this month, and portrayed his rhetoric, outside income and national political ambitions as potential general-election liabilities when it came to taking on Rogers and trying to win the U.S. Senate seat they are vying for.

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El-Sayed stood by the substance of his controversial "ogre on a pike" remark when pressed by the moderator about whether he regretted the rhetoric, which earned him backlash from his own party, but clarified it was about Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., not Stevens as some had speculated.

"I was referring to a guy named John Fetterman," El-Sayed said, accusing the Pennsylvania Democrat of getting elected on one set of values before "completely throwing those values in the mud."

El-Sayed did not apologize for or retract the metaphor. Instead, he argued that he had previously pushed back against unkind treatment of Stevens, including after she was booed at a Michigan Democratic Party convention.

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Stevens later offered a pointed response: "Thank you for clarifying that you didn’t call me an ogre."

The controversy stemmed from comments El-Sayed made during a recent Zoom meeting with donors, Politico reported, adding that El-Sayed was discussing how to use his victory in Michigan’s upcoming Aug. 4 primary and the November election to build a national platform to move the Democratic Party further left and support future primary challenges, such as against Fetterman.

"Ideally, you put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message," El-Sayed said, according to audio obtained by Politico. El-Sayed did not name Stevens in the recording; however, some Democrats interpreted the remark as referring to her. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., who has endorsed Stevens, called the remark a "violent, vulgar" threat and said candidates should be working to lower the political temperature.

Neera Tanden, a former Biden administration official who leads the left-wing think tank the Center for American Progress, connected the remark to broader accusations of sexism that have roiled the primary.

"Calling your female opponent an ogre you want to put on a pike is not beating the rap that this race has some serious sexism," Tanden wrote on X.

Tens of millions of dollars in outside spending supporting Stevens became a central flashpoint, with the moderator repeatedly pressing the congresswoman on whether pro-Israel groups would influence her conduct in office.

Asked whether the more than $46 million in AIPAC-related spending cited by the moderator should concern voters that she would do the group’s "bidding," Stevens responded, "Absolutely not," and defended her support for a two-state solution.

"I have been very clear, consistent and transparent," Stevens said. "I want to see long-term peace."

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El-Sayed argued that the spending exposed a fundamental difference between the candidates, claiming AIPAC-backed groups supported Stevens because "they know that she’ll be a reliable vote."

"The difference between us is $46 million of AIPAC spending," El-Sayed said. "They’ve set a record in this race to help elect my opponent."

He then tied that spending directly to Stevens’ recent vote supporting additional aid to Israel, accusing the Israeli government of working to "foreclose on the possibility of Palestinian self-determination."

"I want your tax dollars spent in Michigan to provide schools in Michigan, to build health care in Michigan, to build roads in Michigan," El-Sayed said. "And I think that money sent over there to kill kids and women is the worst use of our tax dollars. And yet that’s exactly what $46 million in spending will buy you."

El-Sayed later added that the United States should not be "fighting stupid wars that AIPAC wants us to fight in the first place."

Stevens countered that outside groups were supporting both campaigns and accused El-Sayed of benefiting from a super PAC funded in part by his father-in-law.

Stevens continued to question El-Sayed’s financial transparency, as she did in their debate earlier this month, accusing him of refusing to release his full tax returns while earning approximately $300,000 in outside income.

"You have not released your full tax returns — $300,000 in other income while you sat in the podcast chair and you hawked junk health care cures that RFK Jr. would thumbs up," Stevens charged.

"You talk about getting money out of politics and putting money in people’s pockets, but still, no one knows who’s putting the money in your pocket," she added, continuing a debate-long effort to portray El-Sayed as more interested in podcasts, high-profile political allies and building his national celebrity than doing the unglamorous work of representing Michigan.

El-Sayed responded that he had released his required financial disclosures, drawing a distinction between those filings and the full tax returns Stevens had demanded.

"We released all of our financial disclosures," El-Sayed said, calling the issue "a distraction" before turning the transparency argument back on Stevens and questioning the donors behind outside organizations supporting her campaign.

Stevens described herself as "the only non-millionaire in this race" and argued that El-Sayed’s finances could give Republicans additional material to use against him in November.

"What are the Republicans going to uncover in the general election that they will use against him?" she asked.

Asked to identify the most important thing Senate Democrats were failing to do, El-Sayed immediately targeted the legislative filibuster and the 60-vote threshold it often imposes.

"I oppose the filibuster," El-Sayed said. "I think the filibuster has been anti-democratic for a lot of reasons."

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El-Sayed argued that eliminating the filibuster would help Democrats pass the PRO Act, which would expand union-organizing and collective-bargaining protections, impose tougher penalties for labor-law violations and override state right-to-work restrictions on mandatory union fees. He said it could also clear a path for stronger antitrust enforcement, which El-Sayed said needs to be more aggressive, as well as a wealth tax on billionaires and Medicare for All.

"Right now, the biggest risks to our democracy are the filibuster — it’s anti-democratic in the Senate — and money in politics," he said.

The candidates also battled over the future of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with Stevens calling ICE a "rogue agency" while El-Sayed labeled it "tyrannical" and called for abolishing it altogether.

Stevens said she was leading an effort in Congress to redirect $70 billion allocated to ICE toward health care, food assistance and local communities. "Not a penny more for this rogue agency that is wreaking havoc," Stevens said, accusing ICE of abusing its power and frightening immigrant families.

Meanwhile, El-Sayed accused Stevens of hypocrisy, alleging that she had previously voted four times to increase ICE funding and had praised its personnel.

"I’ve said that we need to abolish ICE," El-Sayed said. "ICE is about normalizing paramilitary force on our streets."

Pressed on whether the phrase "abolish ICE" carried the same political baggage as "defund the police," El-Sayed argued that the government could still enforce immigration laws and secure the southern border through a replacement agency.

He escalated the criticism moments later, calling ICE "a tyrannical agency."

"I think there is no way to get past that except to undo the agency and then build from scratch," El-Sayed said.

Stevens rejected his approach as focused more on rhetoric than governing.

"Complaints and slogans aren’t solutions," she said, pointing to her visit to an ICE detention facility and her efforts to change the agency through Congress.

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A gunman fired at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto on Monday, marking the second time this year someone shot at the building, according to authorities.

A single shell casing was found at the scene, and there was damage to the building's facade.

No injuries were reported in the incident.

"The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Canada are open and operating normally, though some routine U.S. citizen services in Toronto are being rescheduled," the consulate said in a statement.

GUNFIRE SHATTERS TORONTO LATIN STREET FESTIVAL, LEAVING AT LEAST 2 DEAD AND MULTIPLE WOUNDED

Toronto Deputy Police Chief Frank Barredo said there was a high-speed chase after the shooting that lasted an hour. However, no arrest was made and Barredo committed to continuing the search for those involved.

"We will approach this investigation with great seriousness," Barredo said at a news conference. "We will bring the people responsible for this to justice."

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow described the shooting as a "brazen attack."

"I want to say to the person or persons responsible, we will get you," she said.

This was the second shooting targeting the U.S. Consulate this year, with the first coming on March 10, when two suspects allegedly fired multiple shots at the building before driving away in a stolen vehicle.

Sheldon Tracy-Stewart, 18, and Zara Jabbi, 19, were arrested last month and charged with multiple offenses in connection with the March shooting. The allegations have not been tested in court.

A police presence has been seen at the consulate since the first shooting.

Barredo said a patrol vehicle was outside the consulate with its lights on when the shooting happened. Two security personnel were also in the building.

Last month, police said they believed multiple shootings, including the one in March, could be tied to "multilayered" gun-for-hire networks that have also targeted Toronto synagogues.

Two popular Jewish-owned bakeries were targeted by gunfire over the weekend.

US CONSULATE IN TORONTO STRUCK BY GUNFIRE, POLICE SAY; NO INJURIES REPORTED

Barredo said police had not ruled out a connection between Monday's consulate shooting and the attacks on the bakeries. The motive for the consulate shooting remains under investigation.

"Investigators will follow the evidence to where it leads," he said.

Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, said he was "disgusted" by the recent violence in Toronto.

"I’m totally disgusted by the shootings and vandalism that took place in Toronto over the last few days, including at two Jewish-owned businesses over the weekend and near the U.S. Consulate this morning," he said on X. "In all cases, active police investigations are underway. I expect all those responsible to be found, prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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