Federal lawmakers are demanding answers from the National Future Farmers of America (FFA) over its partnership with a Chinese Communist Party-controlled agribusiness and its push for DEI initiatives, citing national security concerns and questions about its tax-exempt status.

The inquiry is being led by the House Ways and Means Committee and the Congressional FFA Caucus, which say the organization’s relationship with Syngenta Group raises concerns about foreign influence and whether FFA is operating in line with its stated mission as a tax-exempt nonprofit.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith and Congressional FFA Caucus co-chair Tracey Mann sent a letter to National FFA CEO Scott Stump demanding documents and answers related to the partnership, Syngenta’s role in shaping internal policies and the organization’s compliance with federal tax law.

“Working with our nation’s foreign adversaries and prioritizing woke policies over your mission raises serious concerns regarding whether the National FFA is complying with the requirements to maintain tax-exempt status,” the lawmakers wrote.

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Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., is demanding answers from the National FFA over its partnership with a CCP-linked agribusiness citing national security tax status and foreign influence concerns. (Tom Williams)

In the letter, the committee emphasized FFA’s role in educating future agricultural leaders, noting the organization serves more than one million students through thousands of chapters across the country.

The lawmakers devoted a significant portion of the letter to detailing Syngenta Group’s ownership structure and its ties to the Chinese government, arguing the relationship raises red flags for a U.S.-based, tax-exempt youth organization tied to agriculture.

Syngenta has been wholly owned since 2017 by China National Chemical Corp., or ChemChina, a Chinese state-owned enterprise that later merged into Sinochem Holdings.

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Lawmakers dedicated a significant portion of the letter to outlining the Syngenta Group’s ties to the Chinese government. (Li He/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Both ChemChina and Sinochem were designated during the first Trump administration as Communist Chinese military companies, a classification used to identify firms linked to Beijing’s military-civil fusion strategy and restrict their access to U.S. government funding.

Lawmakers noted that while those designations were removed in 2021 under the Biden administration, Syngenta was later redesignated as a Chinese military company, underscoring ongoing concerns about its ties to the Chinese state.

The letter also pointed to actions by U.S. states and federal agencies to limit Chinese ownership and influence in American agriculture. It included efforts to force Syngenta subsidiaries to divest farmland and initiatives aimed at preventing the sale of U.S. agricultural land to Chinese entities on national security grounds.

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Lawmakers also expressed concern over the influence a Chinese state-owned company could exert over future agricultural leadership. (Ken Ishii – Pool/Getty Images)

Against that backdrop, lawmakers said Syngenta’s access to FFA leadership, programming and students raises concerns about the influence a Chinese state-owned company could exert over future American agricultural leaders.

“The CCP has a well-documented history of economic espionage to steal biotechnology and agriculture-related intellectual property, and the fact that the National FFA has provided one of their state-owned companies direct access to the future leaders of America’s farming industry is alarming,” the letter states.

The lawmakers also criticized FFA’s embrace of DEI initiatives, arguing the programs risk shifting the organization away from agricultural education and toward identity-based priorities that could divide students.

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They questioned whether Syngenta’s role in DEI-related efforts gave the company undue influence over FFA’s strategic direction.

“The goal of the National FFA should be to bring student members together as a community — not force them into specific categories,” the lawmakers wrote.

Smith and Mann said the inquiry is part of broader congressional oversight of tax-exempt organizations and their exposure to foreign influence, particularly as farm and food security are increasingly viewed as matters of national security.

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House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith and Rep. Tracey Mann cited remarks by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins that “farm security is national security.” (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Smith and Mann cited a statement from USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins that “farm security is national security.”

Ultimately, the letter directs National FFA to turn over documents and provide detailed answers about its partnership with Syngenta Group, including contracts and financial contributions, the role Syngenta employees play in leadership or advisory positions, and the company’s involvement in shaping FFA’s diversity and strategic programs.

In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, Smith said the committee is expanding its investigation to include the FFA over concerns about foreign influence and its impact on the organization’s mission.

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“The Ways and Means Committee is expanding our investigation into the malign foreign influence in the U.S. tax-exempt sector to include the FFA in light of deeply concerning reports that the organization has maintained ties to an entity controlled by the Chinese Communist Party — a relationship that appears to have influenced its decision-making,” Smith said. “The FFA plays a vital role in educating the next generation of farmers, strengthening American agriculture, and safeguarding our nation’s food supply and national security. That important mission must not be compromised.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the National FFA for comment on the matter.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, has been shot dead. According to Libyan media, his death was confirmed on Tuesday (3 February 2026). Saif al-Islam was 53 years old. His lawyer told that this incident happened in Zintan city of Libya, where his house was attacked by four armed men. The attackers have been described as a commando unit. At present it is not clear who carried out the attack and why.

According to AFP report, Saif al-Islam was once considered the successor of his father. He was an important face in Libyan politics. His father Muammar Gaddafi ruled Libya from 1969 to 2011. The Gaddafi government came to an end after the rebellion in 2011.

Played a role in improving relations with western countries

Saif al-Islam, born in 1972, played an important role in improving relations between Libya and Western countries after 2000. He led many international negotiations. Due to these efforts, Libya gave up its nuclear program, after which many international sanctions imposed on the country were lifted. This increased Saif’s political power and identity, although he did not hold any government post.

Jail, death penalty and controversy

After the fall of the Gaddafi government in 2011, Saif al-Islam was accused of suppressing anti-government protests. He was kept in prison by a militia from Zintan for about six years. In 2015, a Libyan court also sentenced him to death in his absence.

Announcement to contest presidential elections

Saif al-Islam had announced to contest the Libyan presidential elections in 2021, but the elections were postponed due to the unstable situation in the country. He always said that he was not in favor of inheriting power. He said that power is not a land which can be inherited. Saif al-Islam’s assassination is expected to increase instability in Libyan politics once again.

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Specialised gangs piloting drones to fly drugs and weapons into prisons are working up and down the country to “beat” the system, the governor of HMP Manchester has told Sky News.

The Category A prison, formerly known as Strangeways, has been described as having “ceded” its airspace to illegal drone operators, who are using increasingly sophisticated technology to deliver contraband to inmates.

“We’ve got prisoners that we’re catching with Rambo-style knives,” governor Rob Knight told Sky News.

“We’ve had a machete in the prison. We’ve had all sorts of manufactured lock knives.”

Sky News has obtained footage filmed by an inmate from inside his cell at HMP Manchester, showing a drone dangling a package at the end, attempting to smuggle in contraband.

It was later intercepted by staff, and the prisoner who filmed the footage in 2023 was sentenced to nine months for having a phone in jail.

There were 1,712 drone incidents in prisons in England and Wales between April 2024 and March 2025 – a new peak.

Drone incidents at prisons were up 1,140% in the five years to April 2025.

In a new report, the government’s independent spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO), has said the prison service and the government have been “too slow” to respond to “urgent threats”, with maintenance backlogs and significant budget underspends on security measures like anti-drone equipment leaving prisons “vulnerable”.

Mr Knight describes the issue as having “moved into a new era”, with improvements in technology and advancing criminality.

“It’s moved from a position of haphazard youngsters or disorganised local criminals to now being gangs that are specialised in this, focused on this, and making a lot of money from doing it, so they are working up and down the country to beat our systems,” he said.

‘We don’t police the airspace’

Sky News spent a Friday evening with Greater Manchester Police in an unmarked car, as they showed us an illustration of the types of drones they have recovered on previous operations.

“People round here will just put the drone out with a package attached on to it, fly it over to the prison… the package will go in and the drone will just come back. And then they’re gone,” one officer told us.

“It’s as easy as that, and as quick as that,” she said.

“We don’t police the airspace,” Detective Chief Superintendent Lewis Hughes, of Greater Manchester Police, told Sky News.

“Organised criminals have cottoned on to the fact that it’s very difficult to target and intercept drones,” he said, describing how “technically complicated” it is to stop a drone mid-flight, “especially when you don’t know where that pilot is”.

He added: “It’s a growing and evolving problem. Whilst drones have been around for a while now, they’ve never been more readily available.”

Last autumn, Sky News cameras captured drones flying packages of drugs into HMP Wandsworth in the middle of the night.

One delivery went directly to an inmate’s window, though it was later intercepted by staff.

“A lot of prisons, particularly the older prisons, weren’t built with the need to protect against drones in mind,” Jenny George, from the National Audit Office, told Sky News.

“So things like window security need to be improved in order for the prison to be safer.”

Prisons have “not responded with enough urgency to security weaknesses,” Ms George said.

The maintenance backlog for repairs across the prison estate doubled from £0.9bn to £1.8bn between 2020 and 2024.

“There are sometimes frustrating delays,” Mr Knight told Sky News, referring to the procurement process.

“We’re going to be introducing windows here which will be, I think, the first of their kind in this country, which will be drone-proof – we hope.

“I don’t think anything is indestructible but we’re trying to design a window that is as indestructible as possible.

“That has to go through a testing process, it then has to go through planning permission,” he said.

Drugs fuelling ‘violent cycle’ in prisons

The prison service has faced “financial constraints” and “competing priorities” of where to spend funding, Ms George said.

However, it is also in an unusual position of leaving large sums unspent, despite staff frustrations with the slow pace of repairs and improvements.

The NAO report found that the prison service failed to spend £30m (31%) of its drugs strategy funding and £25m (25%) of wider security investment, between March 2019 and March 2025.

There were underspends across several major programmes, including £9.5m which had been earmarked for drug security measures, such as anti-drone kits.

Another £11.2m, which was meant to be spent on physical security measures, including gates, was not used.

Among the reasons the money could not be spent were late approvals from government ministers, which “severely” limited spending.

Meanwhile, funding has fallen for addiction treatment services despite the increase in drug use by prisoners.

And there are large regional differences in spending, which NHS England has not investigated.

In 2024-25, the London region spent around 72% more per prisoner than the eastern region on substance misuse treatment.

The NAO says better co-ordination between healthcare and prison services is essential to give prisoners access to the support they need.

They highlight that 160,000 substance misuse appointments were missed in 2024-25 – amounting to just over a third of the total.

That is despite almost half of the prison population in England and Wales, 40,000 people, having an identified problem in April last year, with 136 drug-related deaths investigated by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman between 2022 and 2024 – 16% of all deaths investigated.

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October: Sky News films drones dropping drugs into prison

The government has said it is boosting support for offenders to help overcome their addictions, by funding substance-free units in prisons and employing specialist staff.

Drugs contribute to “a violent cycle” in prisons, where violent and unstable prison conditions fuel further demand for drugs, Ms George explained.

The report recommends that the prison service address security as a matter of urgency.

Lord Timpson, the prisons minister, said the NAO report exposes the “failings” that the government “inherited with underinvestment in security contributing to the unacceptable levels of drugs behind bars”.

He added: “We are taking decisive action to grip this crisis, investing £40m to bolster security including anti-drone measures like reinforced windows and specialist netting to keep contraband out.”

Under the Operation Clean Sweep being run against illegal smuggling in Kota Rural, Kanwas police station has got a big success. Police have seized 49.43 kg of raw silver ingots during the blockade.

According to the information, the price of silver ingots in the international market has been estimated at around Rs 1 crore 40 lakh. Taking the matter seriously, the police have started investigation.

Campaign being run to prevent smuggling of metals

Superintendent of Police Kota Rural Sujit Shankar said that a special campaign is being run to prevent smuggling of illegal drugs, illicit liquor and untaxed precious metals. A special team led by Police Officer Anup Singh under the direction of Additional Superintendent of Police Ramkalyan Meena stopped a Creta car during the blockade at Kanwas Tiraha Morukala on Tuesday, February 3.

Police took action and seized silver

According to the information, during the search, a huge quantity of raw silver ingots were recovered from the vehicle. When valid documents were not found in relation to the silver and there was suspicion of it being related to theft or any other crime, the silver was seized by taking action under Section 106 of the Indian Civil Security Code 2023.

Income Tax and GST Department launched a campaign

In this case, silver has been seized from the possession of Ashish son of Prakashchand Jain, resident of Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, Nileshwari Colony, Garauth and Pirulal son of Motilal Mali, resident of Mali Mohalla, Garauth. According to the information, information about the seizure has been given to the Income Tax Department and GST Department. such a large amount of raw Silver Investigation is going on regarding the purchase, sale and transportation.

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Tuesday that he does not believe the Queens district attorney should prosecute a mentally ill man who was shot by police as he ran toward officers with a knife, arguing that the individual needs mental health treatment instead.

Jabez Chakraborty, 22, was holding a large kitchen knife and charged at the officers who responded to the emergency call from the family on Jan. 26, NYPD officials said. The officers repeatedly told him to drop it as they attempted to de-escalate the situation before one officer fired several times, striking Chakraborty, who was then taken to a hospital in critical condition.

The family had called 911 to report that Chakraborty was throwing glass at his home on Parsons Blvd. in Briarwood, NYPD officials said, according to the New York Daily News.

After the officers responded to the home, Chakraborty charged them with the knife, according to the NYPD. The officers repeatedly instructed him to drop the weapon and attempted to isolate him in the home’s living room by closing a glass door between them and Chakraborty. But police said he managed to open the door and overwhelm the officers with the knife extended.

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he does not believe the Queens district attorney should prosecute a mentally ill man who was shot by police as he ran toward officers with a knife. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The officers did not draw their guns until Chakraborty pulled the knife, NYPD officials said.

The officers provided first aid and attempted to stop the bleeding following the shooting, according to the agency. He was then rushed to the hospital, where he is in critical but stable condition.

The family had asked for emergency medical workers to respond to the incident rather than police, the family said in a statement. The family said Chakraborty was shot at least four times.

“We called for help,” the family said. “We called 911 for an ambulance to provide medical attention for our son, who was in emotional distress. We did not call the police. Instead of medical responders, the NYPD arrived and shot our son multiple times right in front of us.”

Jabez Chakraborty, 22, was holding a large kitchen knife and charged at the officers who responded to the emergency call from the family. (NYPD)

The Queens district attorney’s office is investigating the incident, with preliminary reports suggesting prosecutors were looking at potentially seeking an indictment for attempted murder.

But Mamdani, who has viewed the body camera footage, said the man needs mental health treatment instead of facing criminal charges.

“In viewing this footage, it is clear to me that what Jabez needs is mental health treatment, not criminal prosecution from a district attorney, and we are talking about a family that is enduring the kind of pain that no family should and an individual that has lived with schizophrenia for many years,” the mayor said at a news conference on Tuesday.

“A person experiencing a mental health episode does not always have to be served first or exclusively by a police officer. It is important for us to have all of the options available,” he added.

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The officers repeatedly told the man to drop the weapon as they attempted to de-escalate the situation before one officer fired several times. (Susan Watts/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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The mayor also said he had met with Chakraborty’s family, who had criticized him for his initial response to the shooting. Mamdani said hours after the shooting that police had “encountered an individual wielding a knife,” and that he was “grateful to the first responders who put themselves on the line each day to keep our communities safe.”

“After all this, we saw Mayor Mamdani’s statement applauding the NYPD officers that shot our son, threatened and lied to us, and kept us from seeing our son for over 24 hours,” the family’s statement read. “Why is the mayor applauding officers who recklessly almost killed our son in front of us?”