While technology titans and the Trump administration are going all in on artificial intelligence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is standing against the tide.

Read Online | February 6, 2026 | E-Paper | 🎧 Listen

“One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.”

— A. A. Milne

Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor

While technology titans and the Trump administration are going all in on artificial intelligence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is standing against the tide.

In an exclusive interview with The Epoch Times, the Florida governor explained why he is investing the political capital he has built up after seven years in office to push for the passage of the AI Bill of Rights.

The bill may set him up for a clash with President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order directing the federal government to oppose state regulation of artificial intelligence.

But DeSantis, a Harvard-trained lawyer, former congressman, and father of three young children, told our colleague, Nanette Holt, that curbing the creep of AI can’t wait. Guardrails are needed now, he said, to protect the state’s people, children, jobs, economy, and environment from harm.

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Congressional Democrats have outlined 10 conditions that they say must be met before they will support a full-year funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, focusing largely on new restrictions for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some of these demands include requiring immigration agents to wear body cameras, be maskless, and carry identification.
A second top medical group has shifted its stance on breast removal and other gender transition surgeries for minors.
Iranian leaders are moving money out of the country “like crazy,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told senators.
🍵 Health: Six natural approaches to relieve gout.

The Florida governor’s contrarian stance on AI is reminiscent of his defiant approach to the pandemic-era lockdowns and mandates. While he wasn’t the only state executive to oppose the lockdowns, he attracted the most attention in doing so and became the spearhead of the resistance movement.

Florida’s AI Bill of Rights, announced in December last year, covers data privacy, parental controls for children’s interactions with AI, requirements for consumers to be alerted when dealing with AI, and much more. The bill is pending before the Florida legislature which convened in January.

“Any new technology, as it’s developed, needs to be developed in an ethical way, in a moral way, and it’s got to reinforce our values as Americans,” DeSantis said. “And it cannot be something that is seeking to supplant the human experience. It needs to enhance the human experience.

“I get very nervous when I hear these people talk about this transhumanism as where somehow humans aren’t going to be in control, and the AI is going to rule the world …”

Full Story: Why DeSantis Believes AI Needs Tight Regulation Now

🏛️ Politics

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 14, 2025. (Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times)

Democrats Lay Out Demands for DHS Funding Package

Congressional Democrats have outlined 10 conditions that they say must be met before they will support a full-year funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, focusing largely on new restrictions for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some of these demands include requiring immigration agents to wear body cameras, be maskless, and carry identification.

Some of these demands include requiring immigration agents to wear body cameras, be maskless, and carry identification.

The demands and scrutiny come in the aftermath of the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were shot by federal agents during protests of immigration operations in Minneapolis. Good accelerated her vehicle toward a federal officer. Pretti was legally carrying a firearm.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) detailed the demands in a post on X on Thursday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration is willing to negotiate with Democrats but that some of the demands are “non-starters.”

She said President Donald Trump wants to fund the government, including the DHS, as it includes agencies such as FEMA, not just ICE and Border Patrol.

The president “is never going to waver in his commitment to allow immigration enforcement efforts in this country and to support ICE and Border Patrol and the deportation of illegal alien criminals,” Leavitt said.

At the top of the Democrats’ list of demands is a requirement for “targeted enforcement.”

The proposal would mandate judicial warrants for entry onto private property, end indiscriminate arrests, improve warrant standards, and require agents to verify that a person is not a U.S. citizen before holding them in immigration detention.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told reporters that the warrant demand goes too far. (More)

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The Trump administration is positioning itself to make it easier to discipline and possibly fire career federal workers in senior positions throughout the government, which could affect roughly 50,000 federal employees.
Republicans are escalating their calls to include a bill intended to require voter ID and reduce voter fraud in federal elections in the final funding package for the Department of Homeland Security.
Congress has passed a series of reforms intended to lower prescription drug prices by targeting pharmacy benefit managers, which are companies that negotiate prescription drug prices for health insurers and employer-sponsored health plans. Here’s what to know about the changes.

🇺🇲 U.S.

People protest outside the Supreme Court as justices hear arguments over banning gender procedures for minors on Dec. 4, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

Second Major Medical Group Walks Back Support for Child Gender Surgeries

A second top medical group has shifted its stance on breast removal and other gender transition surgeries for minors.

“The evidence for gender-affirming surgical intervention in minors is insufficient for us to make a definitive statement,” the American Medical Association told news outlets in a statement.

The association added that “in the absence of clear evidence,” it agrees with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons that surgical interventions in minors should be generally deferred to adulthood.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons announced on Feb. 3 that it recommends surgeons not carry out “gender-related surgeries,” such as the removal of breasts or genitals, until a patient is at least 19.

The society, which represents more than 11,000 plastic surgeons across multiple countries, including the United States and Canada, said there is not sufficient evidence to weigh the risks and benefits of carrying out such surgeries on children.

The society had said in 2019 that states should not restrict the surgeries for children experiencing the belief that they are a gender different from their birth sex, although it said in 2024 that there was uncertainty on the topic and that it was reviewing available evidence. (More)

More U.S. News:

America’s troops may be getting few of the nutrients they expect, and many harmful compounds they don’t, according to a new laboratory study of military rations and meals provided to troops on armed forces bases.

🌎 World

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 5, 2026. (Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times)

Bessent: Iranian Leadership Wiring Money Out ‘Like Crazy’

Iranian leaders are moving money out of the country “like crazy,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told senators.

“The rats are leaving the ship, and that is a good sign that they know the end may be near,” Bessent told the committee.

The Treasury Department’s monitoring of Iranian financial transactions is part of the Trump administration’s strategy to put pressure on Iranian leader Ali Khamenei’s Islamic Republic as the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism, Bessent said.

A dollar shortage and collapse of the Iranian currency is causing banks to fail and sparking rocket-high inflation.

The widespread economic hardship and collapse of Iran’s currency sparked massive anti-government protests beginning in December 2025.

Khamenei, 86, crushed protests that swept across the country last month, unleashing his Revolutionary Guard troops against the people in a bloody crackdown that resulted in the deaths of at least 6,400 protesters, according to the Global Conflict Tracker by the Council on Foreign Relations. Another 11,000 death reports are under investigation.

Iranians were cut off from the rest of the world and unable to communicate after the government shut down the internet and began arresting tens of thousands of demonstrators.

President Trump warned Iran’s leadership in January about retaliating against its people and threatened military intervention but stopped short of making immediate plans to strike.

He encouraged Iranians to keep protesting. (More)

More World News:

The European Commission drove global online censorship by using closed-door regulatory forums and so-called voluntary codes to pressure major technology companies over their content moderation rules, a U.S. Congressional report concluded.
Beijing is aggressively expanding its digital authoritarianism by flooding social media with pornography to hide internal turmoil, say experts, a strategy that threatens global internet liberty and sets a dangerous precedent for other regimes.
The Chinese Communist Party has launched its most aggressive anti-corruption campaign on record, ensnaring a growing number of senior officials in what analysts describe as a sweeping political consolidation drive by Chinese leader Xi Jinping ahead of the regime’s next national Congress.
The communist regime in China is waging a “war on God” in its repression of faith, and appeasing such persecution will only invite greater aggression to the world, former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback told a packed congressional hearing.
President Donald Trump called for a new nuclear arms control treaty on Feb. 5, as the last such treaty between the United States and Russia officially expired.
The United States and Russia have agreed to resume high-level communication between their respective militaries.
President Trump signed a law on Tuesday extending a free-trade agreement for some African nations until the end of the year.

☀️ Highlights

Maori warriors welcome dignitaries onto the Waitangi Treaty Grounds during a ceremony commemorating Waitangi Day in Waitangi on Feb. 5, 2026. (Ben Strang / AFP via Getty Images)

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✍️ Opinion

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🍵 Health

(Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

Gout: Crystallized Urate Accumulates in the Joint—6 Natural Approaches to Relieve It

Once known as “the disease of kings” due to its association with overindulgence in rich foods and alcohol, gout is a form of arthritis characterized by sudden, painful inflammation in the joints. However, contrary to its aristocratic reputation, gout can affect people from all walks of life.

People with gout are more likely to have chronic kidney disease, metabolic conditions, and cardiovascular disease, and a 2019 study found gout to be associated with a 17 percent higher risk of death from all causes overall. The condition is now estimated to affect 1 in 25 American adults—and this number continues to rise, driven in part by the obesity epidemic.

Despite the excruciating pain brought by a gout flare, this condition is highly manageable when compared with other forms of arthritis. Effective medications, lifestyle changes, and natural approaches can help patients manage gout at home.

Understanding how gout develops begins with understanding urate.

Urate is a waste substance that forms when your body breaks down purines—natural chemicals found in your cells and in certain foods, such as organ meats and seafood. Normally, urate dissolves in the blood, is transported to the kidneys, and is excreted in urine. This system works well when everything is balanced.

Gout occurs when this delicate balance breaks down, and urate levels in the body become higher than normal.

This can happen in one of two ways:

The Body Produces Too Much Urate: About 10 percent of people naturally create excessive amounts of urate when breaking down purines. Certain conditions, such as blood cancers and rare genetic disorders, can accelerate this process.

The Kidneys Can’t Eliminate Urate Efficiently: Even when urate production is normal, the kidneys may struggle to remove it effectively, which happens in 90 percent of cases. As urate accumulates in the blood, it eventually reaches a level where it can no longer stay dissolved. (More)

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