Republican Rep. Tom Kean returns to Congress after monthslong absence, announces depression diagnosis

(WASHINGTON) — Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey arrived back on Capitol Hill on Tuesday after a nearly four-month absence, and announced on the House floor that he received a depression diagnosis that led to an extended hospital stay.

“Now, when people hear the word ‘depression,’ many people think, simply feel, it means feeling sad, but depression is so much more than that,” Kean said. “It is physical, it is emotional, and until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be.”

Kean said he wanted to get back to Congress as quickly as possible, understanding the importance of representing his constituents, but ultimately decided to follow his doctor’s recommendations to stay under their care. 

“The doctors recommended that I remain in the hospital to address my illness. They explained to me that this would be the fastest way to recovery, and to be honest, I was hesitant. I didn’t think that I had time for it. I had responsibilities to my family, I had responsibilities to my constituents, I had responsibilities to this institution, and like many people, I believed that I could simply push through, but I agreed to follow my doctor’s recommendations again, not believing that it would result in a long-term stay,” he said.

Kean has not voted in the House since March 5, missing more than 100 roll call votes during his time away.

The congressman had not publicly addressed the reason for his absence prior to Tuesday, raising questions on his whereabouts.

During his absence, Kean won the Republican primary (where he was unopposed) in his reelection bid and received President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Kean will face Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, in November for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, a toss-up district Democrats hope to flip.

Kean, on Tuesday, did not answer multiple questions from reporters on why he didn’t communicate with his constituents earlier about his health issues.

In his floor remarks, Kean said he believed he would’ve been back on Capitol Hill in a few weeks, but soon began to realize that there is “no timeline for healing, there is no timeline for recovery, only the work of getting better one day at a time.” 

“Today I am grateful that I listened to my doctors. I am grateful for the exceptional care that I received from doctors, nurses, and support staff. I am grateful that I accepted help, because today I stand before you healthier, stronger, and excited to return to the work that I love,” he said.

He then thanked his family, staff, constituents, and medical team for their care and understanding, going on to advocate that “asking for help is not a weakness, it is a strength.” 

“This is not a partisan issue. It touches every community, every family and every corner of this country. If sharing my story encourages even one person to seek help, if it gives one family the courage to have a difficult conversation or reminds one person that recovery is possible, then this moment will have been worthwhile,” he said as he concluded his speech.

If you or a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.

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(WASHINGTON) — Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, joined others in the artificial intelligence industry in saying that his company would welcome a slower development pace for AI to ensure that the technology’s capabilities don’t “get ahead of alignment and monitoring,” as President Donald Trump said there would be “more good than bad” from the technology.

The president, who spoke with reporters on Sunday as he traveled back to Washington from Ireland, said he wouldn’t downplay concerns about AI advancements. He also sought to position the AI race as a competition between the United States and other countries — including China.

“I’ve said it from the beginning,” Trump said. “Whoever wins AI — and we’re leading by a lot. Whoever wins AI wins.”

In a social media post on Monday, Trump reiterated the message, saying “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!”

He added that there is a “SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China,” and that the U.S. is “leading China” as well as other countries in the technology.

Vice President JD Vance said Monday that the the administration is “concerned” about the technology, but any regulations that may occur need to be done “smartly” — with the current situation feeling like a “Trojan horse.”

“It’s something that we’re concerned by, but we want to make sure that we actually regulate smartly, and we’re thoughtful about the risk here. So, there are obviously risks to AI. There are some benefits to AI. I have to say, just personally, I feel a little bit weird about the fact that you have so many Frontier AI tech companies kind of coming to the government and begging the government to regulate them — it feels a little bit to me like a bit of a Trojan horse,” Vance said.

The comments from Altman, Trump and Vance followed a warning issued last week by Jacob Coxon, a former safety researcher for Anthropic and OpenAI, two prominent tech companies, who said that he was resigning from Anthropic.

Coxon said in a social media post that neither Anthropic nor OpenAI “is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.” He also highlighted the fear within the industry about the potential for an AI takeover.

“The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade,” Coxon wrote.

Altman said late on Sunday that his company would welcome a federal framework “that sets consistent safety requirements for frontier AI.”

“But we do not believe we need to wait for an anti-trust exemption or legislation to begin the work of providing this confidence,” Altman said on social media. “Consistent rules to manage frontier risk so that we can maximize the benefits are a good idea (and we are excited by ideas like independent auditors).”

That statement came after House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday that lawmakers need to take urgent action on the growing threat of AI.

“We certainly need to begin to act urgently to address the challenges that exist,” Jeffries said on ABC News’ “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

“We should take decisive action now so that we can slow down, as the CEOs have recently acknowledged, slow down the pace of development in order to protect the American people and ensure that AI is proceeding safely,” Jeffries added. 

Lawmakers from both chambers return to Washington this week for the final legislative push before the November midterm elections, a renewed focus on regulating artificial intelligence is also likely to come following reports this week that raise significant concerns about AI security. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have demanded information from OpenAI and launched investigations.

Altman on Sunday detailed “two ways AI progress could go very badly and that we must avoid.”

The first, he said, would be an “unacceptable” loss of control over AI. The second, Altman said, would be to “end up in a world with too much concentration of power.”

“If an extraordinarily powerful AI is used by one person or company to impress their worldview onto everyone else, the results could be extremely dystopian,” he said. “Avoiding these two threats requires walking a narrow middle path; for example, one country could gain too much power. Another example is one lab ending up with too much power.”

Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, published a blog post last week, in which he said that “we must pace the frontier,” as in slow the pace of AI development.

“We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models,” he wrote. “Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain.”

Altman on Sunday said, “When we talk about ‘pacing,’ we do not mean ‘stopping.'”

“Progress has been rapid and will continue to be. But it should be slower than it otherwise could be; interventions like safety cases and monitoring have significant costs,” he wrote. “Pacing will be well worth this cost; no amount of American competitive pressure should justify recklessness, or let capabilities get ahead of alignment and monitoring.”

“Where we will need the help of our government is for international coordination,” he added. “But first we should do what we can ourselves.”

The president on Sunday also confirmed that he personally uses AI, but did not say which systems or for what purposes he uses it for.

ABC News’ Zunaira Zaki and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — A Republican candidate for a Missouri State House seat was hit with a federal charge after he allegedly tried to plant drugs on his primary opponent, federal prosecutors alleged.

Thomas Christopher Ross, who won the Republican primary last month for Missouri House District 161 in Joplin, was charged Wednesday with conspiring to distribute a controlled substance after authorities discovered the alleged plot to plant cocaine and Adderall in the car of Louise Secker, who faced Ross in the Republican primary.

Ross’ campaign manager contacted the police in July after the candidate allegedly gave him the drugs and instructed him to plant them on Secker, the criminal complaint released Thursday said.

The unidentified campaign manager brought a bag of cocaine and an Adderall pill to the police, who confirmed they were real after tests, according to the criminal complaint.

“[The campaign manager] advised at the time that Ross was believed to have a prescription for Adderall, which was where he believed the capsule originated,” the complaint said.

The campaign manager showed law enforcement alleged text messages between himself and Ross, 37, where the candidate allegedly discussed the plot, with references going as far back as May, according to the complaint.

“I was hoping we could make it happen before THIS Thursday…which would be extreme egg on the face given Thursdays nights event [sic],” the alleged May 31 text from Ross read, according to the criminal complaint.

The police called in the FBI to help with the investigation and the bureau provided the campaign manager with a covert recorder that was used on July 31 to document a meeting between him and Ross, the complaint said.

During the meeting, the campaign manager told Ross that he still had the drugs and asked the candidate if he still wanted him to “try” and plant the drugs on Secker, according to the complaint.

Ross allegedly agreed and told the campaign manager that he could “call in an anonymous tip that Secker had drugs in her car,” the complaint said.

“[I]f you can pull it off…pull it off,” Ross allegedly told the campaign manager, according to the criminal complaint.

Ross defeated Secker in the primary four days later by only 33 votes, and was set to face off against Democratic candidate Aaron Metzger in the general election.

“Thank you again for your faith, your support, and your vote. I am truly grateful, and I will work every day to be a representative you can be proud of,” Ross, a married father of two, said in a social media post after his victory.

He was held at Joplin Municipal Jail, according to jail records. Ross has not entered a plea and a preliminary and detention hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9, according to court documents.

His public defender didn’t immediately return messages for comment. Ross’ campaign didn’t immediately return messages.

Missouri Republican Party Chairman Peter Kinder released a statement Wednesday after the charges were revealed and called on Ross to drop out of the race.

“The people of Southwest Missouri deserve nothing less than leadership they can trust,” he said in a statement.

Secker and Metzger did not immediately return messages for comment.

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