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The people who oversee the largest budget in the world, who are in charge of an entity ultimately responsible for the largest number of employees in the U.S., and who are put in charge specifically to represent constituents somehow have no broad fiduciary duty — Congress.

In most large businesses, and certainly every publicly traded one, a board of directors is put in place to represent that business’s stakeholders. This is referred to as a fiduciary duty, which in layman’s terms, is a legal obligation to act in the best interests of those you represent. It also comes with consequences, because as a fiduciary, you can be sued for putting your interests ahead of those you represent or for negligence or bad judgment.

Fiduciary relationships come into place not only in companies, but for certain financial advisory relationships and trustees as well. The fiduciary relationship is a legal one, which means those in charge must legally act honestly and with care, avoid conflicts of interest and be trustworthy to the parties they represent.

EX-HOUSE DEM WHO RIPPED CONGRESSIONAL STOCK TRADING BAN AS 'BULLS---' CHANGES HER TUNE IN COMEBACK BID

Somehow, Congress has managed to avoid this. Sure, they take a "moral" oath and have some fairly weak, in my opinion, disclosure and ethics rules. But the people who are in charge of making laws and passing budgets (if you can call regular and overwhelming overspending a "budget") have no true legal, fiduciary role.

We have seen and paid the price for this. The national debt exceeds $40 trillion. Congress spends around $7 trillion a year, $2 trillion more than it takes in. They have been at the center of driving massive inflation for the American people. We, as a country, are now paying more for the interest on our debt than we are for the defense of our country, the latter being one legitimate thing government should be doing.

GOP FISCAL HAWK SOUNDS ALARM ON 'OUT OF CONTROL' FEDERAL SPENDING, SAYING 'BOTH PARTIES HAVE FAILED US'

We have seen Congress write and pass laws that tip the scales in favor of certain groups at the expense of others. We have seen them enrich themselves through stock trading (despite the STOCK Act of 2012).

We have seen calls for term limits, an issue which the majority of Americans favor, be ignored, sometimes even leaving members of Congress with clearly diminished capacity in their roles.

As I have written about previously, I am often asked if the national debt crisis is solvable. And the answer comes always in two parts: we do have the tools to do so, but we do not have the political structure to do so.

If Congress has no obligation to do what is in our best interest instead of theirs, if we cannot hold them accountable for misdeeds, and if our only real recourse is threatening to vote them out of office, nothing is going to change.

SEN RAND PAUL: OUR BUDGET DEFICIT IS OUT OF CONTROL. CONGRESS MUST PASS MY SIX PENNY PLAN

It is truly not right that those who act in the capacity of others on serious legal and financial matters in the private sector have a fiduciary obligation to those they represent, yet the behemoth that our government has become bears no such obligation, including from those who represent the American people.

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When individuals bear no requirement to act in the best interests of those they represent, and they are given access to great power and other people’s money, of course, we are going to end up with massive debt and a dysfunctional country.

We should require care, trust and duty from our representatives. And it should be a legal obligation, not a theoretical one.

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The Trump administration has proposed requiring U.S. taxpayers to disclose their citizenship and work authorization status to the IRS on the annual tax form that nearly all workers file each year.

The administration claims the proposed requirement would help federal officials stop illegal migrants from collecting federal benefits they are not eligible for, which officials argue could save taxpayers up to $2 billion.

The IRS posted its draft 1040 form for 2026 in late August, which includes the question, "At the time you file your return, are you, and your spouse if filing jointly, a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or an alien lawfully authorized to work in the U.S.?" The form has "Yes" and "No" checkboxes for both the filer and their spouse.

A draft of a second form, Schedule 3-A, which is used to claim refundable tax credits, features a similar question.

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Under the proposal, every tax filer must certify their immigration or citizenship status to the IRS under penalty of law to file their return.

The Treasury Department said the new question aims to keep illegal migrants from taking advantage of refundable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit, that low- and middle-income workers and families may qualify for and that often result in a refund for eligible taxpayers.

The information collected will be "subject to a variety of privacy, disclosure and other legal protections," a Treasury official said in a statement without disclosing whether the information would be shared with federal immigration enforcement to target a person for arrest and deportation.

While illegal migrants are not authorized to live and work in the U.S., they still do pay taxes. For example, illegal migrants typically pay into Social Security but generally cannot collect Social Security benefits unless they later become eligible under federal law.

In 2024, the National Taxpayer Advocate found 3.8 million tax returns where a taxpayer used an Individual Tax Identification Number, or ITIN. An ITIN can be issued for multiple purposes, but undocumented workers who cannot obtain a Social Security number are among the people who use them.

According to IRS data, taxpayers who filed those nearly 4 million returns paid $14.4 billion in income taxes and $6.5 billion in Social Security and Medicare taxes.

A valid Social Security Number is required to qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, while workers with only an ITIN do not qualify. The IRS checks Social Security Numbers against Social Security Administration records for each claim of the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Illegal migrants are generally not eligible for federal benefits. Eligibility for refundable tax credits depends on federal tax law and immigration status. Current law generally requires a valid Social Security number for the Earned Income Tax Credit, while eligibility for the Additional Child Tax Credit varies based on statutory requirements. The Trump administration's proposal would further limit eligibility by applying standards under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act to certain refundable tax credits.

However, some migrants in the U.S. who are currently for some of these credits would not be eligible under the new policy, such as people covered under the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, those with temporary protected status and temporary workers in the country under H1-B visas.

The Trump administration claims that the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which governs who is eligible for benefit programs, should also be applied to refundable tax credits.

A research paper published this week estimates that 671,000 people, including 309,000 children, would lose the Earned Income Tax Credit under this proposal. Another 1.1 million people, including 574,000 children, would lose the Additional Child Tax Credit.

Most of the children who would lose eligibility to these credits are U.S. citizens due to at least one of their parents' citizenship or immigration status, according to the researchers at Boston University, Columbia University and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Critics of the new policy view it as a new checkbox that gives the federal government even more information on taxpayers. Illegal migrants would face a complicated choice to either declare on a tax return that they are unlawfully in the U.S., which could potentially make them a target for immigration-related arrests, or lie on the return, which is a felony.

Some migrants may opt for a third option and stop filing their taxes altogether.

"It could be used as an immigration enforcement tool and that is probably the reason why they are doing this," David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, told The Associated Press.

TRUMP ADMIN SCORES COURT WIN TO END DEPORTATION PROTECTIONS FOR ETHIOPIAN MIGRANTS

"It’s dragging the IRS into this administration’s immigration policies," said Nina Olson, executive director for the Center for Taxpayer Rights.

The Trump administration has previously attempted to use the IRS to carry out its immigration agenda.

Last year, the Treasury Department agreed to share confidential taxpayer information of migrants with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help the agency identify people for deportation.

The data-sharing agreement was blocked by a federal judge, ruling that it violated federal taxpayer privacy laws. But before it was stopped, the IRS had already given ICE the addresses of 47,000 people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., caused an uproar on social media when she made a post defending her decision to get pregnant despite potentially facing nearly two decades in prison for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers at Delaney Hall detention center protests.

"People might find it crazy that even though I’m facing 17 years in prison, I made the decision to get pregnant," McIver posted to X on Tuesday. "But, at the end of the day, this is something I couldn’t let be consumed by this administration. I refuse to let them take my joy or my future."

The New Jersey congresswoman is being charged on three counts of allegedly assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement. The charges stem from McIver's May 2025 visit to Delaney Hall with other Democratic lawmakers. Prosecutors allege McIver physically interfered with federal officers as they attempted to arrest Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. McIver has denied wrongdoing and argued that she was performing congressional oversight.

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McIver's post prompted several conservative figures and social media users to accuse her of highlighting — or even timing — her pregnancy in hopes of receiving favorable treatment in her criminal case.

"When getting pregnant is a social media stunt to avoid prison time...," Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., posted to X.

"You violently assaulted a law enforcement officer on camera, then somehow convinced a man to knock you up for political reasons so you could paint yourself as a victim," New Jersey Trump delegate Mike Crispi wrote. "Disgraceful. The poor child."

"Why is your pregnancy amid the criminal charges a social media stunt accompanied with a photoshoot?" conservative journalist Andy Ngo said. "Is anyone in your office normal?

"Getting pregnant to sway justice is a whole new level of sick," one X user posted.

"Why would I find it crazy?" another user said. "You are a cheater & a fraud and, true to character, you became pregnant in an attempt to sway the outcome of the court in your favor."

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS LOST OR ABANDONED HUNDREDS OF LAWSUITS AGAINST ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS, MIGRANTS: REPORT

"Facing 17 years, gets pregnant in hope of leniency," another user wrote. "‘I refuse to let them take my joy or my future.’ as the excuse. Congratulations on giving your child the best possible start to life. You are just a genuinely disgusting person."

The post comes about a month after a divided federal appeals court allowed two charges against McIver to proceed while sending a third back to the district court for further consideration of her legislative-immunity argument.

McIver argued that she should have immunity from prosecution because she was carrying out her duties as a congresswoman in her actions that led to her being charged, calling the charges "vindictive."

"Oh stop with the desperate need for sympathy," one posted to X. "YOU are not above the law."

"You are on camera assaulting law enforcement," another said. "You are not above the law, you swore to defend it and broke it."

One user left a screenshot of a past tweet from McIver where she posted saying, "No one is above the law! Full stop."

AOC DOCUMENTS EGG-FREEZING JOURNEY, TAKES AIM AT TRUMP ADMIN OVER WOMEN'S REPRODUCTIVE CHOICES

McIver faces multiple felony charges and, if convicted, could face prison time.

McIver did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Despite the charges, McIver is on the ballot for re-election to continue to represent New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District.

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It was like stepping into a time machine and going back 62 years. 

One of the Beatles was singing rock songs, playing two instruments, making jokes and having a grand old time. 

The Ringo Starr concert here in Washington got me thinking about the impact that he, John, Paul and George had on the music business, the country and the culture — and how Americans are still fascinated by the Fab Four and even their grandchildren are listening to their ancient albums.

Ringo is 86 and touring again, bringing more energy to his shows than most of his Boomer-heavy audience. 

RINGO STARR HAS EATEN THE SAME SIMPLE SANDWICH FOR DECADES — AND IT ONLY HAS 2 INGREDIENTS

Paul McCartney, who I’ve seen several times in recent years, is 84, still belting out the hits and, hip guy that he is, sharing short videos on social media. 

It’s not about money — the two surviving Beatles became multimillionaires back in the day. They are still releasing new albums; McCartney’s "Dungeon Lane," about growing up in Liverpool, and with him playing most of the instruments, nearly matches some of his best work. 

Ringo, who played drums and piano at the concert, has been saluted by today’s top drummers as having inspired generations of those behind the kit with his unique, left-handed, play-to-the-song style that doesn’t show off by overwhelming each tune. 

So what does this say about us as a society?

It’s partly pure nostalgia, like a soup that reminds you of the way grandma made it. 

For those who saw the group’s American debut on Ed Sullivan and remember the frenzy of Beatlemania — with screaming girls drowning out the group — it’s a throwback to the days when they were young and groovy and often spaced out. The swinging sixties were like that — and now many of those fans now talk about medications and doctors’ visits.

Some of the mystique is about the group’s incredible growth from "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to "Let It Be," with such groundbreaking records as Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, the White Album and Abbey Road. (In those days, when record players dominated our lives, music reigned because there were no Apple Watches, no TikTok, no group chats, no Netflix, no distractions from vinyl other than mediocre TV.)

And it was the sheer quality launched by McCartney’s partnership with John Lennon, and its amazing variety. 

If you wanted hard rock, there was "Ticket to Ride," "Helter Skelter," "Come Together" and "Back in the U.S.S.R.," a Beach Boys spoof now geopolitically dated.

If you preferred soft ballads, there was Yesterday, Michelle and Norwegian Wood. The Beatles had a song for every mood. 

There’s also a Beatles hype machine, releasing early versions of songs and old tunes, once in mono, amped up by modern technology. 

This enabled the other Beatles to produce three new songs from old Lennon tapes provided by Yoko.

In every Beatles appearance, there was Starr and his drums on a riser behind the three guitarists, his beat driving the song but largely unnoticed by viewers and listeners. 

RINGO STARR REVEALS THE ONE HUMBLE RITUAL THE BEATLES REFUSED TO QUIT EVEN AT THE HEIGHT OF FAME

Ringo, who was hospitalized as a boy and banged on anything that was available, got along with everyone while Paul, John and George were constantly "fussing and fighting, my friends."

Consider this contrast: the Beatles' fixation is the equivalent of a focus when Ringo joined them on music from 1898. I mean, seriously?

That, I think, was why I felt surging emotions at the Ringo concert. I knew I’d enjoy it; I didn’t expect to be utterly rocked, so to speak, by the drummer and his All-Star Band. 

And let’s be honest: With two octogenarians still cranking it out, we wonder how much longer they’ll be healthy enough to entertain us. 

Over the decades, the only performers who have come close to their onetime popularity are Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.

For now, it was a thrill to hear Ringo belt out "With a little help from my friends." The surviving Beatles —Ringo and Paul did a duet on the Dungeon Lane album — feel like our friends. 

Ringo turned the searing spotlights on the audience, saying he wanted to see those who were cheering him. He jokingly said they could line up for handshakes after the concert. 

Our friends — both on our part and the former mop tops — that’s the secret ingredient.

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A medevac helicopter crashed into the water off Catalina Island in California on Wednesday night, with one of the five people aboard reported missing and the other four taken to hospitals, according to officials.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department received reports of the crash shortly before 8 p.m.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing, with the fire department dispatching helicopters and divers shortly after learning of the crash.

3 DEAD, 1 HOSPITALIZED AFTER NEWS HELICOPTER CRASHES IN LOS ANGELES COMMERCIAL AREA

The U.S. Coast Guard also responded to the crash.

"I have been informed that a medevac helicopter leaving Catalina Island has crashed shortly after takeoff. L.A. County Fire, Sheriff, Coast Guard, and Avalon Fire are on the scene," Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said on X. "Search and rescue operations are underway, and I am praying for everyone who was on board."

At least one of the five people aboard the helicopter remains unaccounted for as of late Wednesday night. Two others were transported to hospitals in stable condition and the remaining two were transported in unknown condition, according to KTLA.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said two people were taken to a hospital on Catalina Island, while two others were transported to the Ronald Reagan Medical Center at UCLA.

The fire department said the helicopter's flight plan was unclear, according to CBS LA. Deputies said the helicopter belonged to Reach Air Medical Services.

US NAVY IDENTIFIES SAILOR LOST IN ARABIAN SEA AFTER HELICOPTER'S EMERGENCY WATER LANDING

Flight tracking data showed a Reach Air Medical Services helicopter departing from Oceanside in San Diego County at 6:40 p.m. and landing on Catalina Island at 7:04 p.m.

Reach said it was aware of the incident but could not provide further information.

"Our immediate concern is for the well-being of those involved," a Reach spokesperson said in a statement to CBS LA.

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In 2011, our national debt was about $15 trillion, and the U.S. Treasury spent over $450 billion on interest. Washington was printing money it didn’t have, buying its way out of yet another financial crisis and sending brand-new, taxpayer-funded subsidies to health insurance companies through Obamacare. It was clear then that this massive level of spending was not sustainable.

It was in this moment of explosive deficit spending that a new generation of conservative leaders—myself included—rode into Congress on a mandate from the American people to restore fiscal sanity and financial freedom. I left my medical practice to stand for public office because I would not let our children and grandchildren be bankrupted by reckless politicians.

The fight for fiscal responsibility continues, and I plan to force a vote on my latest balanced budget proposal—the Six Penny Plan—later this year.

GOP FISCAL HAWK SOUNDS ALARM ON 'OUT OF CONTROL' FEDERAL SPENDING, SAYING 'BOTH PARTIES HAVE FAILED US'

But I regret to inform you that Congress has completely lost the plot.

The national debt has now surpassed $40 trillion. Congress now spends over $1 trillion on interest every year. Congress spends more on interest than on national defense. This enormous debt is contributing to rising interest rates and inflation, hurting every American. It’s a blinking red warning light—just as bright and red as the ink on our budget documents.

Congress’ answer to this growing fiscal bomb? More of the same. Congress passed a continuing resolution earlier this summer to extend the status quo and will debate another extension before the end of this year.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When Congress takes up government funding later this year, it can pass my Six Penny Plan, which will balance the budget within five years.

$50 TRILLION IN DEBT IS NOT A DISTANT THREAT. AMERICA IS SPEEDING TOWARDS IT

No one can say he or she supports a balanced budget while voting against the only balanced budget that came up for a vote. No more empty promises. No more excuses. No more games.

The Six Penny Plan doesn’t prescribe any particular program or budget category to be cut—it even specifically exempts Social Security from cuts. The Six Penny Plan simply sets a maximum spending level. What Congress wants to do within that maximum is up for debate. This budget reflects the basic questions of priorities many Americans have confronted at different points in their lives, whether because of unexpected expenses or a loss of income: Which expenses can Congress keep, and which can Congress cut? Under the Six Penny Plan, Congress needs to find a six percent cut each year for five years. After that, once the budget is balanced, spending can increase based on the additional revenue from economic growth.

WASHINGTON IS DRIVING AMERICA TOWARD A DEBT CRISIS WE CAN'T IGNORE ANY LONGER

Interestingly, when I first proposed what became the Penny Plan in 2018, Congress would not have had to find any cuts, but merely work within a spending freeze for five years. Its inaction then is only making the job harder now.

In subsequent years, it became the Penny Plan when it required a one percent cut, then it became the "Pennies Plan," and today it is the Six Penny Plan because it requires us to find six pennies out of every dollar.

CONGRESS SPENDS $7 TRILLION. HERE’S HOW THAT MATH WORKS OUT IF YOU THINK OF JUST $100

Kicking the can down the road has been standard procedure in Congress for too long. Lawmakers have treated the debt like someone else’s problem, to be dealt with some other day in the future. Well, the future has arrived. Every year that Congress does nothing only adds fuel to the debt bomb and increases the risk of a bigger explosion down the road.

It’s also time to call inaction on the debt what it is: a vote to increase the hidden inflation tax on everyone; a willful decision to let inflation wreak havoc on our cost of living. Inaction is unacceptable.

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The Six Penny Plan is the answer. The good news is that, when it was voted on in 2024 and 2025, the Six Penny Plan was supported by a majority of Senate Republicans. Because a budget resolution needs only a majority vote to pass, rather than a supermajority, Senate Republicans have the numbers to pass the Six Penny Plan.

In other words, this is the moment. Support for the Six Penny Plan has been building, and there should be enough votes. Let’s show that conservatives mean what we say and can follow through on our promises to balance the budget. 

Let’s pass the Six Penny Plan.

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Despite the recent surge in AI doomerism, President Donald Trump is right to maintain his strong support for data centers. As he notes: "China couldn’t be happier" if we were to turn our backs on these centers as a nation, which would effectively let the Chinese Communist Party win the AI race.

As Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in July, "The country that leads in artificial intelligence in the coming years and decades ahead will be the global superpower." Victory means capturing trillions of dollars in national wealth, securing an advantage in military technology, and gaining enormous leverage in international affairs.

An energy bottleneck could pose a serious risk to America’s AI lead. We need data centers to train and run top-tier AI models, and those centers need a lot of electricity. In 2024, they accounted for over 4% of electricity use, and their consumption is expected to more than double by 2030.

CHINA IS BUILDING AN AI WAR MACHINE. WASHINGTON MUST WAKE UP BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

Ensuring there is sufficient supply and generation to meet the soaring demand is imperative to staying in the lead.

Solar should be a key part of that equation. New data centers need energy right now. New gas turbines and other large power projects can take years to bring online. Solar and battery projects can generally be deployed much faster, making them especially useful for meeting the near-term surge in electricity demand.

Solar power has been closely associated with the environmental left, because for decades, Democrats largely sold solar as a climate policy, often with no concern for cost, for whether the panels themselves were made in America, or whether deployment strengthened a supply chain dominated by China.

However, the strategic equation has changed. Under the Trump Administration, the case for solar isn’t about "going green." It’s about reindustrialization, energy security, technological leadership, and the national interest.

The Trump Administration recognizes the value that producing more domestic batteries brings to our energy security. That’s why the Energy Department recently backed 220 megawatts of new battery storage in Puerto Rico, which is enough to provide backup electricity for more than 100,000 customers during power shortages. This project will use American-made battery technology — strengthening the grid and our domestic energy supply chain at the same time.

Thanks in large part to the work of the Trump Administration, a very different picture of solar has emerged from the one encountered a decade ago. By creating the conditions for investment in Made-in-America panels and components, Washington is turning what was once a China-dependent industry into another source of American energy security and industrial strength. In fact, private industry has poured $18.2 billion into building a domestic solar supply chain since 2022, and cell production was recently reshored for the first time in five years.

Battery storage in the U.S. just topped 52 gigawatts of capacity, and it's been growing about 70% a year for three years straight. Thanks to these batteries, the American people now have significant access to this power not just when the sun is out at midday, but also in the evenings when America’s workers return home and turns on their lights and air conditioning.

President Trump’s agenda has created an opportunity to support the domestic U.S. solar industry that we should take advantage of. By emphasizing solar as part of a broader all of the above energy dominance strategy, we can reinvigorate the domestic supply chains and spur U.S. production necessary to supporting our national interests, in both energy and AI policy.

CHINA ‘THROWING GASOLINE ON THE FIRE’ IN AI DATA CENTERS RACE, SAY LAWMAKERS

Building up secure domestic supply chains for solar has the added advantage of insulating the U.S. against future energy shocks because the fuel these panels run on doesn’t require pipelines or tankers. Iran might be able to mine the Strait of Hormuz, but it can’t block out the sun.

Call it an Arsenal of Democracy for the AI age. At a moment when the country needs vastly more electricity, American companies are answering with real capital and real factories, and Washington is finally clearing a path for them to build here at home.

The AI race will decide who leads the global economy for a generation. As one of the fastest sources of new power backed by an increasingly domestic supply chain, solar is a vital asset. America must bring solar online to continue driving AI development and U.S. technological leadership.

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