: Secretary of State Antony Blinken is being called on to freeze aid to Afghanistan following revelations that the assistance could be going to the Taliban. 

A recent report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a government entity conducting oversight of U.S. aid to the country, determined that two of five bureaus within the Department of State (DOS) couldn’t prove their compliance with counterterrorism vetting.

‘Collectively, State could not demonstrate their compliance with its partner vetting requirements on awards that disbursed at least $293 million in Afghanistan,’ the report stated. 

Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., said the reported oversight was ‘deeply alarming’ in a letter to Blinken and urged him to stop Afghanistan aid until the issue is addressed. 

The failure of the DOS to fully comply with counterterrorism vetting standards ‘has strengthened and enriched the Taliban and its terrorist affiliates,’ he said. ‘Further, when funds that are intended for humanitarian and development purposes end up supporting groups that perpetuate violence and instability, U.S. national security interests in the region are significantly undermined.’

‘It is imperative that State take immediate remedial and comprehensive action to rectify these issues to prevent similar occurrences in the future,’ wrote Braun. 

Further, SIGAR found that $10.9 million in U.S. taxpayer money was paid to the Taliban-controlled government by 38 of the U.S.’s 65 implementing partners. However, the report said the amount was ‘likely only a fraction of the total amount of U.S. assistance funds provided to the Taliban in taxes, fees, duties, and utilities because UN agencies receiving U.S. funds did not collect data or provide relevant information about their subawardees’ payments.’

In his letter, Braun questioned Blinken over what measures were ‘being taken against those individuals responsible for the failure to comply with vetting requirements and documentation retention’ and asked for a description of what improvements would be made to its ‘documentation and record-keeping practices to avoid lapses.’ 

The U.S. has been the largest international contributor of support to Afghans after their government collapsed, allowing the Taliban to take power following the disastrous withdrawal of American troops in August 2021 under President Biden. 

According to SIGAR, more than $2.8 billion has been provided by the U.S. in both humanitarian and development aid to the country since the withdrawal.

DOS did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication. 

Vice President Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, brings a track record to the Democrat ticket that could help energize the country’s left-wing base along with several progressive transgender policies aimed at children.

Walz, a former Army National Guardsman and a former teacher, was one of the first governors to sign into law a bill making Minnesota a ‘sanctuary state’ for children seeking transgender surgical procedures and hormone prescriptions. This laid the groundwork for several of his more progressive LGBTQ policies. 

The law tells courts in Minnesota not to follow prosecutions from other states against people who come to Minnesota for treatments like puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgery. Before the law was passed, Walz had already issued an order in May 2023 to prevent criminalization of transgender procedures in the state.

As neighboring states like Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota restrict medical providers from performing transgender medical procedures on children, Minnesota’s sanctuary law has turned the state into a key destination for such services.

Many individuals and families have reportedly moved from more restrictive states to Minnesota. Currently, 26 states have placed limits on doctors providing gender-affirming treatments to minors, with New Hampshire being the latest to join this list.

Walz also signed a controversial bill into law that prevents books, which may include explicit material for children, from being removed from public schools in an effort to clap back at parents who complained about certain LGBTQ+ materials in school libraries. 

The bill also made it illegal to remove books written by or about LGBTQ+ and minorities. 

In 2023, Walz signed a law banning ‘conversion therapy,’ which also included prohibiting counselors from withholding recommendations for transgender surgical procedures or hormonal treatments for individuals experiencing gender dysphoria.

Another key component of his transgender policy agenda is a law requiring free menstrual products in all public school bathrooms. Often called the ‘tampon law’ in the media, it mandates that tampons and pads be provided at no cost in public schools for grades 4 through 12 to accommodate transgender students. 

After Harris tapped Walz as her running mate, former President Trump’s campaign and its supporters began referring to him as ‘Tampon Tim.’

‘She actually chose Tampon Tim,’ Trump campaign adviser Stephen Miller, posted to X following the announcement.

Walz also opposes the traditional definition of marriage as defined as between one man and one woman, further aligning himself with the progressive flank of the Democratic Party who argue the definition is archaic and discriminatory against non-traditional couples. 

As a U.S. House representative in 2012, Walz opposed a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage solely as a union between one man and one woman. He argued that restricting rights for any group is unconstitutional, saying, ‘I think we can do better.’

Walz additionally played a crucial role in supporting legislation that recognizes sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories under federal hate crime laws. 

Harris and Walz are now traveling across several battleground states to court voters this week, as the pair have already begun attacking the Trump-Vance campaign. 

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, is accusing Vice President Kamala Harris of capitulating to radical left-wing voices in the Democratic Party in choosing her running mate for the November election.

‘She bent the knee to the Hamas caucus of the Democratic Party,’ Vance said during a rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on Wednesday.

He’s the latest GOP critic to accuse Harris of choosing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate against former President Trump and Vance over Josh Shapiro, because the Pennsylvania governor is Jewish. 

Former President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have also made the claim.

‘Whatever your views on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro – and obviously he’s not in my political party. He’s criticized me. I criticized him – the amount of rage that you heard from the far left saying, ‘Kamala Harris can’t pick this guy because he’s Jewish,’ is disgraceful,’ Vance said.

‘I want my kids to grow up in a country where they can be whatever they want to be, and people aren’t attacking them for their ethnic heritage, and that’s somehow considered acceptable.’

‘It’s not just what these people said about Shapiro. It’s the way that the Harris and the Harris administration and the Harris campaign refuse to push back against it. I think it’s a real scandal,’ he said.

The Harris campaign did speak out against the allegations, however, telling the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, in part: ‘Assertions that Vice President Harris did not select Gov. Shapiro based on his religion or views on Israel are absolutely ridiculous and offensive.’

Republicans have mostly reacted with a mix of glee and relief to Harris’ decision to choose Walz over Shapiro, casting the Minnesota governor as a progressive radical for his COVID-19 policies, support for gender-affirming treatment for minors and government handouts to undocumented migrants.

Harris, whose husband is Jewish, is tasked with navigating the Democratic Party’s ever-widening divisions over Israel, with a growing faction of progressives calling for the U.S. to distance itself from its close Middle Eastern ally.

In the final days before her selection on Tuesday, Harris met with Shapiro, Walz and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. 

Shapiro was thought to be a frontrunner for the role as the governor of a key swing state. 

But reports indicate that, in the end, Harris believed Walz would be a better fit due to his his personality and approach to the campaign.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign and Shapiro’s office for comment on Vance’s remarks.

: Americans for Prosperity Action, the political wing of the powerful Koch conservative network, is launching a multi-million dollar ad blitz across battleground states targeting vulnerable incumbent Senate Democrats and boosting their Republican opponents ahead of the November election. 

The influential conservative group is spending $5.75 million on ads across Wisconsin, Montana, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania. 

Tim Sheehy, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Montana, will get $1 million in ads in support of his bid, as will Sam Brown, the Republican candidate for Senate in Nevada. Republican candidates Bernie Moreno in Ohio, Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania and Eric Hovde in Wisconsin will each get $1.25 million in ads supporting them. 

The digital ads will also air on TV in the pivotal battleground states. 

The buy is part of AFP Action’s ‘firewall strategy’ to support candidates to prevent ‘One Party Progressive rule.’

There are 10 different video ads featured in the ad campaign, two for each state. 

In one Wisconsin ad, ‘Betrayed,’ residents detail how the Inflation Reduction Act passed under President Biden has failed them. 

‘Tammy Baldwin spent a trillion dollars on an Inflation Reduction Act. It did not help us,’ Jackie B. said in a testimonial. 

‘They put a fancy name on spending money,’ Dale G. added in the video. 

Bobbie S. claimed, ‘Things have definitely gotten worse. It makes me feel betrayed.’

The spot will debut in Wisconsin, targeting Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and boosting her opponent, Republican businessman Eric Hovde. 

In a statement on the multi-state ad buy, AFP Action Director Nathan Nascimento said, ‘Voters are tired of Washington doubling down on failed policy and then handing them the bill. But that’s what every incumbent senator has done during their time in office — some of them for decades. The pain is very real for Americans still deciding who to vote for in November, but when you look at their record, it’s very clear that senators Brown, Baldwin, Casey, Rosen and Tester can’t be trusted to vote the right way when it comes to reducing inflationary spending or securing the border.

‘Any one of these senators were the deciding vote to push the Biden-Harris administration’s massive influx of spending forward, forcing inflation into overdrive – and every single one put their party ahead of their constituents. Americans across the country are paying the price. The last thing our country can afford is to send these senators back to Washington for more of the same failed policies.’ 

In a Montana video against Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., David D. claimed, ‘After 35 years in politics, we are worse off than we were when you started.’

‘Ohio families are struggling, and, after three decades, Sherrod Brown’s failed policies caught up with us,’ a narrator told viewers in a spot against Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. 

‘Bernie Moreno and his special interest allies are attacking Sherrod to distract from Moreno’s record of refusing to pay his own workers the overtime wages they earned and then shredding evidence that a judge ordered him to keep to get out of it,’ Brown campaign spokesperson Matt Keyes told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

‘While Sherrod is fighting to lower costs for Ohio workers, Bernie Moreno can’t be trusted and only looks out for himself.’ 

‘Career politician’ Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., is slammed in one of the Nevada ads, with footage of her touting the IRA and claiming ‘help is on the way.’

A Pennsylvania ad similarly targets Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., for his vote in favor of the IRA, with a narrator saying, ‘Bob Casey isn’t working for Pennsylvania families.’

‘Bob Casey lowered the cost of insulin and is leading the charge against corporate greed and greedflation, while David McCormick defends corporations that are raking in profits while raising prices on middle-class families,’ Casey spokesperson Maddy McDaniel told Fox News Digital. 

‘David McCormick has the support of the Koch family and his Wall Street billionaire backers, but Bob Casey has the support of working people in Pennsylvania.’

The ads also tout the Republican contenders for each Senate seat, promoting each of them as a better solution for struggling families in their respective states. 

Campaigns for Tester, Baldwin and Rosen did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital. 

According to AFP Action, it has reached out to more than 7.5 million voters to date this election cycle.

President Biden was briefly seen Monday walking from Marine One to the Oval Office, ignoring reporters’ questions, and the 81-year-old president has not been seen publicly since. 

A lack of public appearances has become the new normal for the president since he dropped out of the 2024 race, allowing Vice President Kamala Harris to take the lead on the ticket. This comes as the administration is anticipating a possible attack by Iran on Israel.

When Fox News correspondent David Spunt asked why the American people have not heard directly from the president this week, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, ‘We just put out two readouts today.’ 

‘Can we expect to see him this week? Because I know you guys have been putting out the schedule. You know, we’ve been getting it the night before,’ Spunt asked Jean-Pierre during Tuesday’s press briefing. 

‘So we are in a different time,’ Jean-Pierre responded. ‘As I’ve said many times before, and you will get to see the president, that I can say. Look, it is certainly the president’s priority, to make sure that we do everything that we can, to protect our national security, right?’ 

The press secretary said Biden’s focus was to ‘de-escalate tensions,’ adding that the two ‘readouts’ released by the White House indicated that Biden spoke with the leaders of Jordan, Qatar and Egypt. 

‘From that readout that we just put out, I was asked about the cease-fire deal and what the president – that last line – that was pointed out to me. That is something that the president has been focused on – getting that done. I don’t have anything beyond what we put out, but we’re monitoring the situation closely,’ Jean-Pierre said. 

The president declared a state of emergency in Florida and South Carolina this week ahead of Tropical Storm Debby. Meanwhile, several U.S. personnel were injured in a rocket attack at a military base in Iraq. 

Calling for calm in the Middle East, top U.S. national security leaders said Tuesday that they and allies are directly pressing Israel, Iran and others to avoid escalating the conflict, even as the U.S. moved more troops to the region and threatened retaliation if American forces are attacked.

‘It’s urgent that everyone in the region take stock of the situation, understand the risk of miscalculation, and make decisions that will calm tensions, not exacerbate them,’ Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the close of a meeting with Australian leaders at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin noted the attack Monday on U.S. forces in Iraq by an Iranian-backed militia group, which injured seven, and made it clear that the U.S. will not hesitate to respond.

‘Make no mistake, the United States will not tolerate attacks on our personnel in the region,’ Austin told reporters. ‘And we remain ready to deploy on short notice to meet the evolving threats to our security, our partners or our interests.’

Despite economic concerns, Biden claimed to have ‘cured the economy’ last week, just days before global stocks plummeted on Monday.

In a case disclosed by the Justice Department on Tuesday, Asif Merchant, a Pakistani man alleged to have ties to Iran, was charged in a plot to carry out political assassinations on U.S. soil, including potentially against former President Trump. Based on the ongoing DOJ investigation, Jean-Pierre told Spunt on Tuesday, no evidence suggests the defendant was connected to the July 13 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

‘It’s an ongoing law enforcement DOJ indictment, so I’m going to be really mindful,’ she said. ‘But we have said many times that we have been tracking Iranian threats against former politicians. We’ve been very clear about that. These threats arise from Iran’s desire to seek revenge for the killing of Qassem Soleimani. We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority – the highest priority.’ 

Jean-Pierre said the administration has taken a ‘comprehensive response’ to these threats, including having ‘invested extraordinary resources in developing additional information about these threats, disrupting individuals involved in these threats, enhancing protective arrangements in potential targets of these threats, engaging with foreign partners and directly warning Iran.’ 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

There are 90 days until Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

But if Americans vote like they did in the last two election cycles, most of them will have already cast a ballot before the big day.

Early voting starts as early as Sept. 6 for eligible voters, with seven battleground states sending out ballots to at least some voters the same month.

It makes the next few months less a countdown to Election Day, and more the beginning of ‘election season.’

States have long allowed at least some Americans to vote early, like members of the military or people with illnesses. 

In some states, almost every voter casts a ballot by mail.

Many states expanded eligibility in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic made it riskier to vote in-person.

That year, the Fox News Voter Analysis found that 71% of voters cast their ballots before Election Day, with 30% voting early in-person and 41% voting by mail.

Early voting remained popular in the midterms, with 57% of voters casting a ballot before Election Day.

Elections officials stress that voting early is safe and secure. Recounts, investigations and lawsuits filed after the 2020 election did not reveal evidence of widespread fraud or corruption. 

The difference between ‘early in-person’ and ‘mail’ or ‘absentee’ voting.

There are a few ways to vote before Election Day.

The first is , where a voter casts a regular ballot in-person at a voting center before Election Day.

The second is , where the process and eligibility varies by state.

Eight states vote mostly by mail, including California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. Registered voters receive ballots and send them back.

Most states allow any registered voter to request a mail ballot and send it back. This is also called mail voting, or sometimes absentee voting. Depending on the state, voters can return their ballot by mail, at a drop box, and/or at an office or facility that accepts mail ballots.

In 14 states, voters must have an excuse to vote by mail, ranging from illness, age, work hours or if a voter is out of their home county on lection day.

States process and tabulate ballots at different times. Some states don’t begin counting ballots until election night, which delays the release of results.

Voting begins on Sept. 6 in North Carolina, with seven more battleground states starting that month

This list of early voting dates is for guidance only. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes, and deadlines, go to Vote.gov and your state’s elections website.

The first voters to be sent absentee ballots will be in North Carolina, which begins mailing out ballots for eligible voters on Sept. 6.

Seven more battleground states open up early voting the same month, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada.

September deadlines

In-person early voting in bold.

Sept. 6

North Carolina – Absentee ballots sent to voters

Sept. 16

Pennsylvania – Mail-in ballots sent to voters

Sept. 17

Georgia – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas

Sept. 19

Wisconsin – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 20

Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Wyoming – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseasMinnesota, South Dakota – In-person absentee voting beginsVirginia – In-person early voting beginsIndiana, Kentucky, West Virginia – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 21

Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseasIndiana, New Mexico – Absentee ballots sentMaryland, New Jersey – Mail-in ballots sent

Sept. 23

Mississippi – In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sentOregon, Vermont – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 26

Illinois – In-person early voting begins Michigan – Absentee ballots sentFlorida, Nevada – Mail-in ballots sentNorth Dakota – Absentee & mail-in ballots sent

Sept. 30

Nebraska – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 4

Connecticut – Absentee ballots sent

Oct. 6

Michigan – In-person early voting begins Maine – In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sentCalifornia – In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sentMontana – In-person absentee voting beginsNebraska – In-person early voting begins Georgia – Absentee ballots sentMassachusetts – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 8

California – Ballot drop-offs openNew Mexico, Ohio – In-person absentee voting beginsIndiana – In-person early voting beginsWyoming – In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sent

Oct. 9

Arizona – In-person early voting begins & mail ballots sent

Oct. 11

Colorado – Mail-in ballots sentArkansas, Alaska – Absentee ballots sent

Oct. 15

Georgia – In-person early voting beginsUtah – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 16

Rhode Island, Kansas, Tennessee – In-person early voting beginsIowa – In-person absentee voting beginsOregon, Nevada – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 17

North Carolina – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 18

Washington, Louisiana – In-person early voting beginsHawaii – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 19

Nevada, Massachusetts – In-person early voting begins Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas – In-person early voting begins Colorado – Ballot drop-offs open

Oct. 22

Hawaii, Utah – In-person early voting begins Missouri, Wisconsin – In-person absentee voting begins

Oct. 23

West Virginia – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 24

Maryland – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 25

Delaware – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 26

Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, New York – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 30

Oklahoma – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 31

Kentucky – In-person absentee voting begins

Israel is vowing to kill the new political leader of Hamas, with an IDF official saying the only place he belongs is beside the group’s slain military commander and the rest of the ‘October 7th terrorists.’ 

Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ top official in Gaza and one of the masterminds of the massacre that launched the Israel-Hamas war, has become Hamas’ new political chief following the July 31 assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. 

‘There is only one place for Yahya Sinwar, and it is beside Mohammed Deif and the rest of the October 7th terrorists,’ Israel Defense Forces Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in an interview with Saudi news channel Al-Arabiya, according to The Associated Press. 

Israel says it has killed Deif, the head of Hamas’ military wing and another Oct. 7 attack mastermind, in a strike in southern Gaza last month. Hamas has not confirmed Deif’s death. 

‘Yahya Sinwar is a terrorist, who is responsible for the most brutal terrorist attack in history — October 7th,’ Hagari added during the interview with Al-Arabiya. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that Sinwar has the power to ensure a cease-fire deal is reached in the Israel-Hamas war. 

Sinwar ‘has been and remains the primary decider when it comes to concluding the cease-fire, and so I think this only underscores the fact that it’s really on him to decide whether to move forward with a cease-fire that manifestly will help so many Palestinians in desperate need, women, children, men who are caught in a crossfire,’ Blinken said. ‘It really is on him.’ 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has previously called Deif the ‘Osama Bin Laden of Gaza.’ 

‘Deif operated side-by-side with Yahya Sinwar, and during the war, he commanded Hamas’ terrorist activity in the Gaza Strip by issuing commands and instructions to senior members of Hamas’ Military Wing,’ the IDF said earlier this month while announcing his death. 

During the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducted 251 hostages into the Gaza Strip. Sinwar is believed to remain in hiding in Gaza.  

Fox News’ Scott McDonald, Chris Pandolfo and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Hamas has named Yahya Sinwar, its top leader in Gaza who masterminded the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel, as its new leader after his predecessor was killed during an airstrike in Iran. 

The move is certain to provoke Israel, which has put him at the top of its kill list after the Oct. 7 attack in which militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took about 250 as hostages.

In a statement, Hamas announced ‘the selection of Commander Yahya Sinwar as head of the movement’s political bureau, succeeding the martyred leader Ismail Haniyeh, may God have mercy on him.’

Sinwar is close to Iran and has worked over the years to build up the strength of Hamas. His promotion came after the death of Ismail Haniyeh. Haniyeh was killed in an apparent bombing in Tehran, while a top Hezbollah commander was also killed in Beirut last week in a presumed Israeli strike.

The killings have raised fears of a wider conflict that could see Israel fighting on multiple fronts. 

Iran has vowed to retaliate. Israel has accused Sinwar of masterminding the deadly Oct. 7 attack. Israeli officials believe he has taken refuge in the terror group’s vast network of tunnels in the Gaza Strip and is surrounded by hostages as human shields. 

Last week, Israel said it had confirmed the death of the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, in a July airstrike in Gaza. Hamas has not confirmed his death.

Hamas’ representative in Iran, Khaled Kaddoumi, called Sinwar a ‘consensus choice’ popular among all factions and involved in the group’s decision-making throughout, including in negotiations. In a voice message to the Associated Press, he said Sinwar knows the political aspirations of the Palestinians for a state and the return of refugees but is also a ‘fierce fighter on the battlefield.’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sinwar ‘has been and remains the primary decider when it comes to concluding the cease-fire.’

He said Sinwar must ‘decide whether to move forward with a cease-fire that manifestly will help so many Palestinians in desperate need, women, children, men who are caught in a crossfire. … It really is on him.’

Sinwar has been Hamas’ leader inside Gaza since 2017, ruling with an iron grip.

In May, the International Criminal Court sought an arrest warrant against Sinwar on charges of war crimes over the Oct. 7 attack, as well as against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s defense minister for war crimes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.