More than 50 members of the United Nations have joined the U.S. in pursuing a draft resolution to establish artificial intelligence (AI) safety guidelines. 

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Thursday read a statement that discussed the draft resolution titled ‘Seizing the Opportunities of Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Systems for Sustainable Development,’ which would aim to ‘articulate a shared approach to AI systems.’ 

‘The resolution calls on Member States to promote safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems to address the world’s greatest challenges, including those related to poverty elimination, global health, food security, climate, energy, and education,’ Thomas-Greenfield said in a prepared statement. 

‘We are resolved to bridge the artificial intelligence and other digital divides between and within countries through capacity building, increasing digital literacy, and other actions,’ she added. 

International consensus on AI policy has remained a central focus for major nations as public attention on the technology rose sharply in 2023. The U.K. hosted an international safety summit in Bletchley Park, where world leaders discussed their concerns and signed a declaration. 

Signatories to the Bletchley Declaration — which included the U.S., the U.K., China, Saudi Arabia and members of the European Union, among others — needed to establish their own safety commissions as well as commit to pursuing a shared policy for nations to follow. 

The European Commission last week opened its AI office, which the bloc believed would serve as a ‘global reference point’ for AI safety policy, along with the E.U. AI Act, which the commission touts as the world’s first comprehensive law on artificial intelligence. 

The U.S., for its part, established the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute under the National Institute of Standards of Technology following the safety summit, looking to ‘facilitate the development of standards for safety, security, and testing of AI models,’ among other tasks.

In pursuit of international policy, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told The Associated Press that the U.S. turned to the General Assembly ‘to have a truly global conversation on how to manage the implications of the fast-advancing technology of AI.’

To that end, the U.S. negotiated with the full 193-member body of the United Nations about three months ago, receiving input from about 120 nations and working through several drafts. The resolution will receive formal consideration later this month.  

‘As AI technologies rapidly develop, there is urgent need and unique opportunities for Member States to meet this critical moment with collective action,’ Thomas-Greenfield argued. 

The U.S. has proposed that creating a shared policy would also align with the mission of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is a U.N. plan of action that seeks to ‘strengthen universal peace in larger freedom.’ 

Chiefly, the agenda mandates that the member states do what they can ‘between now and 2030, to end poverty and hunger everywhere’ and combat inequalities between and within countries. The U.S. and the fellow members who have supported the new AI resolution therefore have argued that AI can help achieve that ambitious goal. 

The resolution would seek to establish AI systems as ‘human-centric, reliable, explainable, ethical, inclusive, privacy-preserving and responsible, with a sustainable development orientation, and in full respect, promotion and protection of human rights and international laws.’

Other nations supporting the U.S. resolution include Morocco, Peru, the United Arab Emirates, Dominican Republic, Australia, Romania, Israel, Canada, Finland, Greece and other members of the European Union. 

‘Today the EU joined @USUN and ~70 UN Member States to call for a UN General Assembly resolution on seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy Artificial Intelligence systems for sustainable development,’ the European Mission to the United Nations wrote in a statement. ‘We urge all U.N. Member States to co-sponsor & support adoption.’

‘Safe, secure and trustworthy AI systems are essential to harnessing the full potential of this emerging technology,’ Australian Ambassador James Larsen wrote on the social media platform X. ‘Australia [is] proud to co-sponsor the first ever #UNGA resolution on Artificial Intelligence alongside 50 other U.N. member states.’

‘AI has tremendous potential to help humanity, but it must also be used responsibly,’ the United Arab Emirates Mission to the United Nations said, lauding the cooperation of member states to pursue the resolution. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, on Friday, that a House Oversight Committee hearing on alleged influence peddling and the Biden family’s business dealings ‘will proceed forward — with or without Mr. Biden’ next week, after Lowell said the president’s son would not attend.

Comer had invited Biden and business associates Tony Bobulinski, Devon Archer and Jason Galanis to testify at a public hearing at 10 a.m. on March 20. 

All four individuals have already testified behind closed doors as part of the impeachment inquiry, but Comer said the public hearing would, ‘examine inconsistencies among the witnesses’ testimonies in order to get the truth for the American people.’

White House national security advisor John Kirby on Friday said the funds from a sanction waiver extended this week by the Biden administration to permit Iraq to purchase energy from Iran will not go to its ‘mullahs.’ 

‘None of this money goes to the mullahs. None of this money goes into Tehran. The sanctions relief that is provided actually goes to vendors that provide humanitarian assistance to the Iranian people,’ he told Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, during a Friday press briefing. ‘Not only do the Iraqi people not suffer because of this, the Iranian people aren’t going to suffer because of this.’

‘That allows for Iraq to be able to work its way off of Iranian energy so that they can keep the lights on,’ Kirby said. 

The Biden administration on Thursday came under criticism after it again extended a sanction waiver despite repeated pushback from those concerned that Iran could misuse the funds. 

In an email to Fox News Digital, a State Department spokesperson said, ‘Under these waivers, no money has been permitted to enter Iran.’

‘Money goes straight to the trusted vendor or financial institution in another country.  The money never touches Iran,’ the spokesman added in reference to the reported $10 billion in Iraqi payments held in an escrow account. 

The extension was renewed just six weeks after three U.S. service members were killed in Jordan, and more than 30 others injured, in a drone attack by Iran-backed militia in Iraq. 

Despite the administration’s assurances that the sanction waiver has not enabled Tehran to access direct funds, critics of the move remain skeptical. 

‘This waiver helped subsidize the murder of three American soldiers in Jordan and non-stop attacks on the U.S. Navy and American-owned ships in the Red Sea,’ Richard Goldberg, a Senior Advisor with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said in a statement on Thursday. ‘Continuing to give Iran access to billions will only further fuel terrorism, missile proliferation and nuclear escalation.’

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi brought renewed criticism to the waiver after a September agreement that saw the release of five American prisoners in exchange for five Iranian citizens and Washington’s unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian oil assets previously locked up under U.S. sanctions.

In a claim during an NBC interview, Raisi said the funds would be used ‘wherever we need it.’

‘This money belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money,’ Raisi told NBC’s Lester Holt. ‘Humanitarian means whatever the Iranian people needs, so this money will be budgeted for those needs and the needs of the Iranian people will be decided and determined by the Iranian government.’

A spokesperson for the State Department told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the funds incurred under Iraqi energy imports are held in ‘restricted accounts’ that can only be used ‘for the purchase of food, medicine, medical devices, agricultural products, and other non-sanctionable transactions.’

‘There is no ‘sanctions relief’ in the Iraq electricity waiver,’ the spokesman added. ‘Any suggestion that this waiver sends money to Iran, to support its terrorism or for any other reason, is wholly inaccurate.’

The sanction waiver has remained a continuing practice since the Trump administration first implemented it as Iraq looks to cut its energy reliance on Iran.

Iraq has reportedly cut its dependence on Iranian energy imports by more than half since 2020. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

WEST VIRGINIA — Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is aiming to stay at the helm of the House GOP next year, he told Fox News Digital.

In an interview at the House Republicans’ annual member retreat this year at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Johnson suggested he’d want to stay in the conference’s top spot regardless of whether they keep the House majority.

‘I have not given a lot of thought about the next Congress, because I’m so busy with my responsibility right now. My intention is to stay as speaker, stay in leadership, because we’re laying a lot of important groundwork right now for the big work that we’ll be doing,’ Johnson said.

‘But each day has enough concern of its own right now. And I’ve got – we’ve got a very full, very busy agenda right now. And that’s where my focus is.’

He also gave Fox News Digital a preview of what he wants Congress to focus on in 2025, expressing confidence that the GOP would go into the new year having kept the House majority and won the Senate and White House.

‘We would absolutely turn our attention to securing the border and ending the catastrophe that the Biden administration has created. Obviously, we would continue to address the China threat and increase our stature on the world stage. That’s what the White House would be focused on, and we would give assistance in the House in every way possible,’ he said.

Johnson also listed bolstering U.S. defense capabilities, tax reform, and exploring weaponization of the federal government as other priorities, as well as legislative advances on artificial intelligence.

‘We’d have a very aggressive first 100 days of the Congress agenda, and we’re kind of excited about that prospect,’ Johnson said.

Johnson won the speakership in late October via a unanimous House GOP vote, three weeks after his predecessor, ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted by a group of eight Republicans and all House Democrats.

Johnson’s comments to Fox News Digital come a day after he was asked at a press conference about whether he’d have the House GOP Conference change its rules on how difficult it is to kick out a speaker.

Johnson, who was optimistic that the GOP could retain and expand its razor-thin House majority in November, suggested the next Congress would also likely see a change to its motion to vacate rules – the guidelines by which a speaker is ousted from power.

McCarthy agreed to lower the threshold from a House majority to just one person being able to trigger a vote to recall the House leader as part of a deal with critics to win the gavel in January 2023.

Johnson said he never advocated for a rule change but expected that a majority of his lawmakers would want to move forward. Dozens of House Republicans criticized the eight that voted to oust McCarthy, arguing that it projected historic levels of instability under their leadership.

‘The motion to vacate is something that comes up a lot amongst members in discussion, and I expect there will probably be a change to that as well. But just so you know, I’ve never advocated for that. I’m not one who’s making it an issue, because I don’t think it is one for now,’ he said Wednesday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News on Friday that the White House does not get to ‘call the shots’ on when the President Biden impeachment inquiry ends after he received a letter this morning from a White House lawyer arguing that it’s ‘over.’ 

White House Counsel Ed Siskel, in his message to the Louisiana Republican, said ‘it’s obviously time to move on, Mr. Speaker.’ 

‘This impeachment is over,’ Siskel declared. ‘There is too much important work to be done for the American people to continue wasting time on this charade.’ 

But Johnson told Fox News’ Chad Pergram on Capitol Hill Friday that ‘They don’t call the shots on it’ and ‘we’ll deliberate over that when the investigation is complete.’ 

‘We’re allowing the process to play out as the Constitution anticipates. Our committees of jurisdiction have done their duty,’ Johnson added. ‘They’ve done an extraordinary job. They’ve revealed some alarming information.’ 

In his letter, Siskel said ‘The House Majority ought to work with the President on our economy, national security, and other important priorities on behalf of the American people, not continue to waste time on political stunts like this.’ 

‘The House Majority has reportedly collected more than 100,000 pages of records, interviewed dozens of witnesses, and held multiple public hearings—but none of the evidence has demonstrated that the President did anything wrong,’ Siskel also said, noting that ‘Hunter Biden testified that he never involved his father in his business dealings’ and ‘Several witnesses have testified debunking claims related to President Biden’s handling of classified documents.’ 

‘Instead of admitting the truth that the President did nothing wrong, the Majority is wasting even more time on abusive steps like trying to re-interview witnesses who already testified — perhaps hoping the facts will be different the second time around,’ Siskel continued. ‘This is just the latest abusive tactic in this investigation. It has targeted the President’s children, grandchildren, siblings, and in-laws for no reason. It has intruded into private citizens’ personal records on everything from medical visits to birthday presents. Enough is enough.’ 

Siskel sent the letter two days after Hunter Biden’s lawyer said his client would not attend a House Oversight Committee hearing next week regarding alleged influence peddling and the Biden family’s business dealings, calling it a ‘carnival side show.’ 

Fox News’ Patrick Ward contributed to this report. 

In a presidential race boasting two historically unpopular candidates, President Biden’s running mate is somehow doing worse than both of them.

Vice President Kamala Harris has not been able to win the approval of voters as the general election season ramps up, according to a new poll from USA TODAY and Suffolk University.

The data from the national survey shows that approximately 52% of registered voters disapprove of her performance as vice president. 

This compares to only 36% of respondents that believe she is handling the office well. Significantly, 10% of respondents remain undecided about their feelings toward her performance.

Her failure to build a strong base of voter approval mirrors her running mate — Biden, in the same poll, boasted a similarly disappointing 41% approval rating.

Approximately 55% of respondents told USA TODAY/Suffolk pollsters that they disapprove of the president’s job performance. Just under 3% remained undecided.

‘Usually, it’s a secondary and muted discussion about vice presidents. This time, it’s going to be almost a parallel and loud discussion in comparison,’ Suffolk University Political Research Center Director David Paleologos said in USA TODAY’s report.

Trump received a 49% approval rating and a 47% disapproval rating — the only one of the three individuals to squeak by with a net approval.

Similar to Biden, only 3% of individuals polled remain undecided on their evaluation of Trump as president.

The USA TODAY/Suffolk poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters from Mar. 8 to Mar. 11. It has a +/-3.1% margin of error.

Both Biden and Trump have secured enough delegates in their respective party primaries to become assumed nominees.

Trump is expected to be officially nominated by the Republican Party in July, and Biden is similarly expected to become the Democratic nominee in August.

Israel will commence an invasion into the Gaza city of Rafah, despite protests from the United States and other international powers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced approval of the operation via his office on Friday.

The Israeli Defense Force will invade the city in southern Gaza as part of its larger military operations in the region. 

The operation will reportedly include an evacuation of civilians, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The Prime Minister’s office also announced that an Israeli delegation would leave for Doha to continue negotiations for the release of hostages. 

The security cabinet must first arrive at a comprehensive position on the pressing issue.

The U.S. government has repeatedly opposed Israeli plans to launch the Rafah ground invasion.

The administration is said to have proposed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution, which in part would call for a temporary cease-fire and call on Israel not to go into Rafah in the Gaza Strip. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer went so far as to call for a change of leadership in Israel that is more willing to consider a cease-fire and abandon plans for further ground operations. 

President Biden seemed to sign off on these remarks, saying on Friday from the Oval Office, ‘Senator Schumer contacted my staff, my senior staff. I’m not going to elaborate on the speech. He made a good speech, and I think he expressed a serious concern, shared not only by him but by many Americans.’

The Israeli government released its post-war plan for Gaza last month, a deal that was immediately rejected by Palestinian officials.

Under the plan, Israel would seek open-ended control over security and civilian affairs in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu’s government has flatly rejected calls for a two-state solution, which Biden’s administration continues to push for.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.