(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.) — Missouri voters will get to decide in November whether to enshrine abortion rights into their state’s constitution.
On Tuesday, the Missouri Secretary of State certified a ballot initiative that would end Missouri’s abortion ban, allowing it to appear on the November ballot as Amendment 3.
This means that abortion-related ballot initiatives are currently confirmed on the general election ballots in seven states.
If passed in November by Missouri voters, the initiative would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution until fetal viability, which is generally around 24 weeks, and would allow abortions after fetal viability if a doctor determines it necessary to protect the health of the mother.
Abortion is currently fully banned in Missouri with few exceptions.
The ballot initiative, spearheaded by the group Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, would also enshrine rights related to reproductive healthcare into the Missouri state Constitution, “including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion care, miscarriage care, and respectful birthing conditions,” according to the text of the initiative.
The initiative needs more than 50% support to pass.
Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, said in a press call after the announcement that it marks a “monumental achievement for our campaign, and a significant step forward for the rights of all Missourians.”
Organizers supporting the ballot initiative say that if the initiative passes, Missouri could be the first state to overturn a near-total ban on abortion that took effect after the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade –the case that had provided a constitutional right to abortion access — in June 2022.
Since Roe v. Wade was overruled, 22 states have successfully enacted restrictions or bans on abortion, including enforcing pre-Roe laws, that are currently in effect. Fourteen states currently have total or near-total abortion bans.
The Missouri ballot initiative had the support of fashion model and TV host Karlie Kloss, Jared Kushner’s sister-in-law. Kushner is also Trump’s son-in-law and a former White House adviser.
Kloss wrote in The Washington Post in April that the initiative “is an important step toward that future. We have to pass it, and then we have to build on it. I’m committed to staying in this fight until abortion is safely and affordably available for every patient nationwide.” According to St. Louis Public Radio, Kloss also helped gather signatures at the beginning of April for the petition.
The announcement of the Missouri initiative being certified comes just a day after the Arizona secretary of state announced that voters would also vote this November on whether to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitution, after an abortion-rights ballot initiative was approved for the ballot.
(NEW YORK) — The United Auto Workers Union has filed federal labor charges against former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the union said Tuesday.
In a thread on X, the union said Trump and Musk had illegally attempted to “threaten and intimidate workers who stand up for themselves by engaging in protected concerted activity, such as strikes.”
Musk — who has endorsed Trump for president — interviewed him for two hours Monday night on X Spaces in a conversation that reached over 1 million users.
During the interview, Trump praised Musk as the “greatest cutter,” seemingly referring to the mass layoffs he conducted when he took over X, then known as Twitter.
“I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in, you say, ‘You want to quit?” Trump said. “I won’t mention the name of the company, but they go on strike, and you go, ‘You’re all gone.'”
Going on strike is considered protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act, and workers cannot legally be fired for doing so.
“When we say Donald Trump is a scab, this is what we mean,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. “When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean.”
“Donald Trump will always side against workers standing up for themselves, and he will always side with billionaires like Elon Musk, who is contributing $45 million a month to a Super PAC to get him elected,” Fain continued. “Both Trump and Musk want working-class people to sit down and shut up, and they laugh about it openly. It’s disgusting, illegal, and totally predictable from these two clowns.”
Musk has denied reports he is contributing $45 million a month to get Trump elected. He has long been outspoken against workers forming unions, however.
On Tuesday, Musk replied to a post on X about the labor charges, criticizing Fain, responding, “The last two UAW presidents went to prison for bribery & corruption and, based on recent news, it looks like this guy will join them!”
ABC News has contacted the Trump campaign and X for comment.
Musk told BBC’s James Clayton in April 2023 during a Spaces interview that the cuts at Twitter were “one of the hardest things he’s had to do.”
Gabe Ginsberg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(LOS ANGELES) — A second man has died of heat exposure in California’s Death Valley National Park this summer, according to the National Park Service.
Peter Hayes Robino, 57, a Los Angeles resident, died of hyperthermia on Aug. 1, the park announced Monday.
Bystanders saw Robino stumble as he returned from the National Bridge Trail — a 1-mile round-trip journey — and offered to help him but he declined, the NPS said, adding bystanders said his responses were not making sense.
Robino then got in his car and drove off a steep, 20-foot embankment at the edge of the parking lot and his car rolled over, deploying its airbags. A bystander left to call 911 and other bystanders helped him walk back to the parking lot and sit in the shade, the NPS said.
Bystanders said Robino was still breathing until just before park rangers arrived to provide help, according to officials. NPS emergency responders said they provided Robino with CPR and moved him to an air-conditioned ambulance.
He was declared dead shortly afterward, according to the park service.
The temperature reached 119 degrees in Death Valley that afternoon.
Symptoms of overheating can include confusion, irritability and lack of coordination.
Park rangers in Death Valley National Park advise summer visitors to avoid the heat by staying in or near air conditioning, not hiking at low elevations after 10 a.m., drinking plenty of water and eating salty snacks.
“My condolences go out to Mr. Robino’s family and friends,” said Mike Reynolds, a superintendent at the park and emergency medical technician who responded to the incident. “His death serves as a reminder not to underestimate the dangers of extreme heat.”
(HILLSBOROUGH, N.C.) — A convicted murderer is on the loose after escaping from a North Carolina hospital Tuesday morning, officials said.
Ramone Alston, 30, escaped from North Carolina Department of Corrections custody while receiving medical care at UNC Hospital in Hillsborough, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Alston was convicted of shooting and killing a 1-year-old girl in 2015.
He was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt, brown pants and white New Balance sneakers, as well as handcuffs connected to a belly chain, officials said.
Officials are asking the public to immediately call 911 if they see Alston and warning them not to approach him.
(LOS ANGELES) — Two former Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies and two former foreign military members – one from the U.K. and one from Australia – have been accused of staging a “sham raid” on a man’s home as part of a business dispute, federal prosecutors said.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, the four men were hired by a “wealthy Chinese national” — who is being identified as an unindicted co-conspirator — to pressure the victim into handing over his shares of a Chinese rubber chemical manufacturer and nearly $37 million.
The alleged co-conspirator and victim, neither of whom are identified, had been in a yearslong feud over ownership interests in the company, prosecutors said.
The four men charged were identified as Steven Arthur Lankford, 68, a since-retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy; Glen Louis Cozart, 63, a former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy who runs a private investigation and security services company; Max Samuel Bennett Turbett, 39, a former member of the British military who owns a private investigation and asset recovery business; and Matthew Phillip Hart, 41, a former member of the Australian military who owns a risk management services business.
They were arraigned Monday, each on one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, one count of attempted extortion, one count of conspiracy against rights and one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in federal prison for each extortion-related count and up to 10 years in federal prison for each deprivation of rights-related count, prosecutors said.
It was not immediately clear if they had retained attorneys. ABC News reached out to all of the defendants except Hart, whose contact information could not be found, but did not immediately hear back.
The alleged co-conspirator contacted Turbett in December 2018 to ask for help in solving the two business partners’ feud, prosecutors said. The co-conspirator allegedly said prior litigation had not been “the smart way” to handle the dispute and asked Turbett to find another “solution to finish the problem,” promising that if he did, “we can both retire.”
Turbett and the alleged co-conspirator then allegedly “drafted purported settlement agreements” that called for the victim to transfer shares of the company and nearly $37 million cash to the co-conspirator.
Prosecutors said Turbett hired Cozart in order to locate the victim and assemble a team to get the victim to sign the settlement agreements.
Prosecutors said Turbett hired Lankford — who was still working for the sheriff’s office — who, in violation of department policy, allegedly used a law enforcement database to search the victim’s name and date of birth.
In June 2019, the four men allegedly drove an unmarked vehicle belonging to the sheriff’s office to the victim’s home in Irvine. There, prosecutors said they entered his home and “forced [him], his wife, and their two children into one room, took their phones, and prevented them from leaving for hours.” The victim was also allegedly “slammed against a wall and choked.”
“Defendants allegedly also threatened to deport Victim 1 and his wife and permanently separate them from their 4-year-old son unless Victim 1 complied with their demands,” the news release states.
The man, fearing for his family’s safety, signed the documents, handing over shares in the company that were worth millions, prosecutors said.
Despite Lankford allegedly threatening the victim against calling police, saying he would be deported if he did so, prosecutors said the victim contacted police immediately afterward.
“Lankford thereafter spoke with an [Irvine Police Department] officer and falsely claimed that he had been at Victim 1’s home for a legitimate law enforcement purpose, that Victim 1 consented to all parties being in his home, and that no force was used,” prosecutors said in the release.
Within several months, the alleged co-conspirator paid Turbett’s company $419,813 and emailed to thank him for a “very good job,” prosecutors said.
“It is critical that we hold public officials, including law enforcement officers, to the same standards as the rest of us,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “It is unacceptable and a serious civil rights violation for a sworn police officer to take the law into his own hands and abuse the authority of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.”
U.S. Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on July 27, 2024 in St Cloud, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is back in Washington and is preparing to roll out her economic plan on the road in North Carolina on Friday, which will mark her first major policy rollout since becoming the Democratic nominee. As Donald Trump looks for a campaign reset, he spoke with Elon Musk live on Tuesday and will deliver remarks on the economy in North Carolina on Wednesday.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Harris to roll out economic plan on Friday
Harris will outline her economic policy in a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, her campaign announced, making it her first major policy rollout since jumping into the race.
Harris’ speech will detail her plan to “lower costs for middle-class families and take on corporate price-gouging,” a campaign official said.
The vice president has heavily focused her stump speech on the economy while on the campaign trail in recent weeks, saying over the weekend she would look to eliminate taxes on tips earned by service workers — a proposal Trump announced earlier this summer.
Harris’ college sorority creates PAC
The historically Black Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., of which Vice President Kamala Harris counts herself a member, started its own political PAC last week, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission posted Monday.
The committee is named Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority PAC, Inc., or AKA 1908 PAC, the filing shows.
Harris has been an AKA since her days as a student at the historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C. Harris on Monday visited the campus, her office confirmed to ABC News, but it’s not clear why she was there.
In July, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Harris spoke at the AKA’s annual Boulé in Dallas, Texas. Since then, as a candidate, she’s also addressed similar national gatherings of two other historically Black sororities, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho.
Trump says he will return to Butler, Pennsylvania after assassination attempt
After discussing the assassination attempt made against him in Pennsylvania in July, former President Donald Trump said he’s planning a trip back to Butler in October.
“We’re going back to Butler; we’re gonna go back in October,” Trump said, adding, “Butler is a big, great area.”
Addressing what he’ll say when he returns, Trump told Musk, “I think I’ll probably start by saying I was so horribly interrupted.”
Trump discusses assassination attempt with Musk, says he turned head at ‘perfect angle’
During his conversation with Musk, former President Donald Trump addressed the assassination attempt made against him during a campaign rally in July.
“It was amazing that I happened to be turned just at that perfect angle,” Trump said of the bullet, which grazed his right ear while his head was turned.
During the discussion, Trump mentioned the man who was killed in the shooting, saying, it was a “very sad situation.”
“We lost somebody that was firefighter, a great Trumper,” Trump said of Corey Comperatore, adding, “He was a just a fantastic family [man] and a fantastic man.”
Trump and Musk’s conversation on X appears to be delayed
The conversation between former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk appears to be delayed, with many X users reporting they cannot access the Spaces conversation.
“This Space is not available,” appeared for some users on X.
The conversation was scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Judge orders RFK Jr. off New York ballot
A New York judge ruled Monday that the thousands of signatures gathered by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign in the state were “invalidated” after a Democrat-aligned group argued he misled voters by listing as his home an address he rarely visits.
The judge, Christina Ryba, ordered the New York Board of Elections to not include Kennedy’s name on the ballot this fall.
A lawyer representing Kennedy told reporters last week they would appeal any ruling that went against them.
The ruling could prompt Democrats to bring similar lawsuits against Kennedy in other states where he gathered signatures from registered voters to appear on the ballot.
The FBI is investigating alleged attempts by Iran to target the then-Biden-Harris campaign, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
The alleged targeting via spear-fishing emails occurred before Biden announced he would exit the 2024 presidential race, the sources said.
While the campaign was targeted, the alleged hack was not successful, sources added.
The FBI is investigating a purported hack of the Trump campaign, according to a brief statement from the agency earlier Monday.
The FBI did not attribute the hack to anyone in its statement.
A source familiar with the matter told ABC News that Trump adviser Roger Stone has also been informed that his email accounts have been compromised, and that he’s cooperating with any investigation into the matter.
The Washington Post first reported the news.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will Steakin and Katherine Faulders
Biden, Obama, Clintons tentatively slated to speak at DNC: Sources
President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, and Bill and Hillary Clinton are all tentatively slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention next week, sources familiar said.
The working speaking schedule, which can always change, is as follows, according to the sources:
Monday: President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday: Former President Barack Obama Wednesday: Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, former President Bill Clinton Thursday: Vice President Kamala Harris
-ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks and Fritz Farrow
Trump posts on X ahead of Musk interview
Trump posted on X for the first time in nearly a year ahead of his conversation with Elon Musk scheduled for Monday night.
The video posted is a previously released campaign ad referencing his multiple indictments and telling supporters, “They are not coming after me, they are coming after you.”
The last time Trump posted on X was Aug. 24, 2023. It was a picture of his mugshot from Fulton County, when he turned himself in to authorities following his election interference indictment in Georgia.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh, Soorin Kim
Trump to be interviewed by Elon Musk tonight
Trump, in a post to his conservative social media site Truth Social, announced he will be interviewed live by Musk on X at 8 p.m. ET.
It will mark a major return for Trump to X, formerly known as Twitter, since he was banned from the site following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump was reinstated in late 2022 but declined to become active on the site again, despite boasting 88 million followers.
Musk endorsed Trump following the July 13 assassination attempt against the former president. Recently, Musk has amplified misinformation about voting and elections on his X feed.
Walz discusses ‘whirlwind’ 1st week on the campaign trail
In a video posted on his X account, the Minnesota governor discussed what he called “not a normal week” since being named as Harris’ running mate.
Walz confirmed some details reported previously by ABC News and others, including that he informed Harris’ vetting team that he had not used a teleprompter before.
“Not a normal week, which is a good thing. Started by missing a call from the Vice President, pretty important one. And then got that call and honored to join the ticket with Kamala Harris to take us in a great direction,” Walz said.
“After that, it has been a whirlwind. We got on a plane and we flew to Philly, and they told me that in an hour I’d be giving a speech and there would be a teleprompter, something I had never used in my life, so certainly terrified, but was lifted up by the folks in Philly.”
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
Harris wraps battleground state blitz, Vance makes rounds on Sunday shows
Over the weekend, Harris closed out a cross-country tour that included stops in battleground states Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona, as well as North Carolina and Nevada.
New polling released Saturday showed Harris taking the lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin among likely voters. The New York Times/Siena College polls showed Harris at 50% among likely voters in each state, while Trump polled at 46%.
Vance, too, campaigned in key 2024 states and made the rounds on the Sunday shows. During his cable news appearances, Vance reiterated campaign talking points on immigration and repeatedly hit Harris for not sitting down for extensive media interviews and laying out her agenda. Harris has done brief gaggles with reporters and said she’d unveil an economic policy platform this week.
Vance responds to mass deportation plan: ‘Let’s start with one million’
Sen. JD Vance told ABC News he blamed Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration’s policies, such as ending “Remain in Mexico,” for the ongoing migrant crisis.
When asked how he and Trump would accomplish their stated goal of mass deporting as many as 20 million immigrants — a proposal experts previously told ABC News would be a “nightmare” — Vance said they would take a “sequential approach.”
“I mean do you go knock on doors and ask people for their papers? What do you do,” Karl asked.
“You start with what’s achievable,” Vance said. “I think that if you deport a lot of violent criminals and frankly if you make it harder to hire illegal labor, which undercuts the wages of American workers, I think you go a lot of the way to solving the illegal immigration problem.”
“I think it’s interesting that people focus on, well, how do you deport 18 million people? Let’s start with one million. That’s where Kamala Harris has failed. And then we can go from there,” Vance said.
Harris cautions donors to ‘not take anything for granted’
Vice President Kamala Harris attended a fundraiser in San Francisco Sunday where she maintained her campaign “will win this election,” but cautioned donors to “not take anything for granted.”
“I know there’s a lot of enthusiasm out there,” Harris said, adding, “And you know, I’ve never been one to really believe in the polls — whether they’re up or they’re down.”
“What we know is the stakes are so high and we can take nothing for granted in this critical moment,” she continued. “So we will fuel our campaign as we have, with enthusiasm and optimism, but also with a deep commitment to the hard work it’s going to take, and to campaign.”
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi introduced Harris at the event, touting the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration and the background of vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, several times calling the Harris-Walz ticket “the freedom ticket.”
“[Harris] makes us all so proud. She brings us so much joy. She gives us so much hope,” Pelosi said, calling the vice president “politically very astute.”
Ukrainian tank crew take a break while operating a Soviet-made T-72 tank in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, on August 12, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Ukrainian forces are still seeking to advance deeper into Russia’s Kursk region, but appear to be coming up against increased Russian resistance more than a week since Ukraine launched its unprecedented incursion across the border.
Russia’s Defense Ministry and pro-Kremlin military bloggers reported Tuesday that Ukrainian forces again launched multiple attempts overnight to break through Russian defensive lines roughly 20 km, or about 12 miles, inside the Kursk region, seeking to further expand a bridgehead captured there in the first days of the Ukrainian offensive operation.
Those reports claimed the Ukrainian attacks were largely rebuffed, but that Russian positions remained under pressure. More Russian forces continue to also arrive to counterattack Ukraine’s surprise attack, which is the first foreign incursion into Russia since World War II.
On the border of Ukraine’s Sumy region, foreign journalists, including The New York Times, reported seeing columns of Ukrainian troops and armored vehicles continuing to cross over into Russia, passing unhindered through the border crossing.
Ukrainian troops are trying to expand their area of control from the border town of Sudzha in multiple directions. They have been attempting for several days to capture the village of Korenevo, which is about 40 km northwesterly, which would allow them to move toward a key highway, but so far have been unable to dislodge Russian units, according to Russian military bloggers.
Ukraine’s top commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy, told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday that Ukraine controlled roughly 1,000 square km, or about 386 square miles, of Russian territory in Kursk.
Ukrainian forces have not moved significantly forward in the past several days, suggesting that advancing has become more difficult as Russia recovers from the initial surprise and rushes more reinforcements to the region. Russia has been using aircraft and drones to target Ukrainian units.
An increased number of videos appearing to show destroyed Ukrainian vehicles have been appearing on pro-Russian social media accounts, including some associated with Russia’s military.
Russian analysts have also warned Ukraine could attempt to launch new incursions at other points along the border.
A sign is posted in front of a Chuck E. Cheese pizza restaurant on Dec. 18, 2023 in Hayward, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, FILE)
(NEW YORK) — Chuck E. Cheese has just the ticket for parents looking to save some cheddar on family fun outings, thanks to its new membership plans.
The Texas-based pizzeria and family entertainment chain that brings arcades and animatronic shows under one roof, announced its first-ever nationwide, unlimited-visit monthly membership program to help unlock new discounts for one low monthly fee.
After a successful test run of its Summer Fun Pass boasting strong consumer demand, Chuck E. Cheese laid out details for the new program that will allow families to “visit Chuck E. Cheese as often as they want, play up to 250 games per day, and enjoy discounts of up to 50% off on most food and drinks,” the company said in a press release.
“We wanted to create a program that makes Chuck E. Cheese more affordable for families,” Mark Kupferman, the chain’s executive vice president, said in a statement. “Amid rising costs, our goal was to offer great value, and develop an easy, and fun solution for everyone. After nearly a year of successful testing in several markets, and great demand, we’ve seen firsthand how much families love it. We’re thrilled to launch this program nationwide.”
Personal finance expert and senior editor for Business Insider Katherine Fan told ABC News’ Good Morning America that “families can get a lot of value out of the Chuck E. Cheese Fund Pass, because it allows them to bring up to six family members on a single power pass.”
She added, “let’s say you go in on a Tuesday and you have the highest tier pass, which gets you 250 points. You can go right back again the next day and play 250 games again.”
What’s included in Chuck E. Cheese new membership plan?
There are three tiers with varying levels of gameplay and pricing, two of which are monthly memberships with unlimited visits. A single Fun Pass can be shared by a family with multiple children.
The Monthly Fun Pass Membership offers unlimited daily visits for one low, recurring monthly fee, whereas the Two-Month Fun Pass provides unlimited visits for two months for a one-time charge. Both packages offer the same benefits, with the main difference being the billing method.
The three tiers of Fun Pass are: Bronze Fun Passes for $7.99 per month with 40 games per visit and 20% off most food and drinks; Silver Fun Pass for $11.99 per month with 100 games per visit and 30% off most food and drinks, plus extra play points; and the Gold Fun Pass for $29.99 a month with 250 games per visit, plus 50% off most food, drinks and extra play points.
“For families looking for unlimited visits over a short period, like a holiday break or summer, the Two-Month Pass is a perfect fit,” Kupferman explained. “For those who love the idea of visiting year-round, the Monthly Membership is an outstanding choice. Both options provide incredible value and endless fun.”
Passes may be used at over 470 participating Chuck E. Cheese locations throughout the U.S.
New pricing plans from Chuck E. Cheese signals reboot
Like most indoor event spaces and restaurants, Chuck E. Cheese struggled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and declared bankruptcy in 2021. But now the family entertainment chain is looking for a reboot to draw families back to their arcade style restaurant.
“The hardest part of any business is getting people in through the door or to your website. And with this fun pass — members are more incentivized to go through Chuck E. Cheese on a more regular basis,” Fan explained. “You’ll then be tempted to buy some drinks or get some food. Or maybe you’ll want to pay a little bit extra to play the crane games or have your kids play on the trampoline.”
This comes on the heels of other entertainment companies, including movie theaters, that have opted to test subscription pricing.
AMC Theaters reported the average ticket price in 2023 was $11.23, which for a family of four makes an outing to the movies $45, without any concessions.
But for regulars moviegoers, memberships can offer an opportunity to save. MoviePass, for example, starts at $10 a month for three free movies.
AMC Stubs A-List offers 3 free movies a week for a $25 monthly fee, with price contingent on location.
Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, speaks during a news conference in New York, Feb. 16, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — New York Attorney General Letitia James is asking nearly a dozen large tech companies to take meaningful steps to protect voters from election-related misinformation, according to a letter obtained exclusively by ABC News.
“While misinformation has been a concern in past elections, with the rise of gen AI, barriers that prevent bad actors from creating deceptive or misleading content have weakened dramatically,” said the letter, which was sent to 10 social media and AI companies, including Meta, Google and OpenAI.
The letter said the generative AI tools the recipients have built have “become increasingly popular and easy to use and misuse.”
Deceptive and misleading content about the 2024 presidential election has been circulating online, and generative AI has been making it increasingly difficult for users to distinguish fact from fiction.
In an altered campaign video of Vice President Kamala Harris last month, her original audio was swapped out and replaced with an AI voice-clone mimicking her voice to make her say things she never said. The creator posted the video on the social media platform X, along with a disclaimer saying it was a parody — but the video then garnered massive attention after it was reposted by X owner Elon Musk, who did not explicitly say it was satire.
In January, a robocall appearing to impersonate the voice of President Joe Biden encouraged recipients of the call to “save your vote” for the November general election, rather than participate in the New Hampshire primary, according to audio obtained by ABC News.
James isn’t the only politician raising the alarm about election-related AI.
Last month, the secretaries of state from Minnesota, Michigan, New Mexico, Washington and Pennsylvania sent a public letter to Musk calling for X’s AI search assistant, “Grok,” to direct voters seeking election information to the nonpartisan CanIVote.org, as the administrators of ChatGPT and OpenAI already do.
“As tens of millions of voters in the U.S. seek basic information about voting in this major election year, X has the responsibility to ensure all voters using your platform have access to guidance that reflects true and accurate information about their constitutional right to vote,” read the letter.
A recent study by AI Forensics, a European nonprofit investigating the impact of AI, found that Microsoft Copilot’s answers to simple election-related questions contained factual errors 30% of the time. Following that investigation, as well as a request for information from the European Commission, Microsoft and Google introduced “moderation layers” to their chatbots so that they refuse to answer election-related prompts, AI Forensics told ABC News.
In February 2023, most of the technology companies James addressed in this week’s letter signed a voluntary pact to prevent AI tools from being used to disrupt democratic elections around the world. The companies did not commit to banning or removing deepfakes; instead they outlined methods to try to detect and label deceptive AI content when it is created or distributed on their platforms.
In her letter, James is requesting an in-person meeting with these companies to review steps they are taking to protect voters from misinformation. The letter seeks written responses to questions about policies and practices, plus a meeting with corporate representatives.
The letter said nothing about the companies’ obligation to comply, though implicit in any request from the state attorney general is the possibility of an enforcement action.
(NEW YORK) — Junk, resort, destination, urban, and amenity fees are pseudonyms for the mandatory, often unexpected surcharges you might find tackled on your hotel bill. According to the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), these fees cost Americans nearly $3.4 billion annually and despite recent bipartisan efforts by the Biden administration to combat junk fees entirely, they still seem to pop up when it’s time to pay for your stay.
“The consumer is the loser” when it comes to junk fees, Clint Henderson, managing editor at The Points Guy, told ABC News’ Good Morning America.
The value of what’s being delivered has fallen dramatically for consumers, who are now paying all-encompassing fees for erroneous line items such as Wi-Fi, phone calls, fax machines, towels, beach access, breakfast, parking, fitness centers and more — the list goes on, and “it’s getting hard to keep up,” Henderson said.
“The consumer can only take so much of these [fees] before they break,” said Henderson, adding that “spending hundreds of dollars more on a seven-day holiday can make the cost of travel out of reach for some people.”
Depending on the type of accommodation and length of stay, consumers can expect to pay an average of $38.82 more per night at hotels that charge resort fees, according to a 2024 analysis from NerdWallet.
The push to eliminate junk fees
Overwhelming ‘fee fatigue’ among Americans has led to increased regulatory scrutiny at the federal and state levels. The House of Representatives passed in June the No Hidden FEES Act, which would create federal guidelines for being transparent about hidden costs at stays and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would pursue those who are in violation.
“Americans are tired of being played for suckers,” said President Joe Biden during his February State of the Union address in which he announced his administration’s proposed Junk Fee Prevention Act aimed at eliminating hidden fees and encouraging customers to fight unfair charges.
In October, the FTC proposed a rule to prohibit hidden and bogus fees in all sectors of the U.S. economy, including hotels and short-term lodging.
At the state level, California’s SB 478 law, which went into effect July 1, requires businesses to advertise or list prices inclusive of all mandatory charges. At least 10 other states have followed suit by proposing or enacting junk fee statutes targeting increased fee transparency.
“While price clarity helps, hotels still have a vested interest in keeping these fees…it’s pure profit for them,” said Henderson.
Critics argue that resort fees allow a hotel to effectively increase room rates without changing their advertised prices nor paying extra taxes.
“Whether hidden or not, [junk fees] contribute to these companies’ bottom lines and are still making their way into your bills,” said Henderson.
Protect yourself from junk fees
Henderson shared some tips to protect yourself from added junk fees when booking your next stay:
1. Search for places that don’t charge resort fees
The best way to avoid junk fees is by not being charged them in the first place.
“Knowledge is power for consumers and the more you know, the more you can make smart decisions with your money,” said Henderson, who suggests using sites like Kill Resort Fees to locate high-fee hotels ahead of time.
Bonus: Henderson also advises to plan for tips in your calculations to make sure you’re choosing a destination that fits your budget.
“Even in foreign countries, Americans are often expected to offer something,” he said.
2. Ask to remove resort fees
Speaking up can go a long way. When making your hotel reservation or when checking-in, Henderson recommends asking the hotel if they will simply remove the fee from your total.
“Negotiating is an option, too,” he said.
3. Call your local congressperson and complain about junk fees
“The louder we are, the more political pressure there is on these companies to stop junk fees,” said Henderson, “we’re seeing some progress, but there is still a long way to go.”
