Vice President Kamala Harris doubled down in her first interview since ascending to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket that she would not ban fracking if elected, claiming she made ‘clear’ where she stood on fracking during the 2020 election. 

‘No, and I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020 that I would not ban fracking. As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking,’ Harris said. 

Before Harris dropped her bid for president in 2019 and joined President Biden’s ticket, she said in a CNN town hall ‘there’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking’ on her first day in office. 

‘And starting with what we can do on day one around public lands, right?’ she continued. ‘And then there has to be legislation, but, yes, that’s something I’ve taken on in California. I have a history of working on this issue and to your point we have to just acknowledge that the residual impact of fracking is enormous in terms of the health and safety of communities.’

CNN host Dana Bash asked Harris about her 2019 remarks, sparking Harris to respond that she was ‘clear’ on fracking during her run as Biden’s vice presidential pick. 

‘In 2020, I made very clear where I stand. We are in 2024, and I’ve not changed that position, although I’ve gone forward. I kept my word, and I will keep my word,’ Harris continued. 

‘Let’s be clear. My values have not changed. I believe it is very important that we take seriously what we must do to guard against what is a clear crisis in terms of the climate. And to do that, we can do what we have accomplished thus far. The Inflation Reduction Act — what we have done to invest, by my calculation, over… a trillion dollars over the next 10 years, investing in a clean energy economy. What we’ve already done: creating over 300,000 new clean energy jobs,’ she continued. 

Harris was asked about fracking during her 2020 vice presidential debate against then-Vice President Mike Pence, but did not reveal her position on fracking, instead saying Biden would not ban fracking. Fox News Digital reviewed a transcript of the 2020 vice presidential debate, and found ‘fracking’ was mentioned nine times, with Harris using the word twice. 

‘Joe Biden will not end fracking. He has been very clear about that,’ Harris said during the debate in 2020 cycle. 

‘I will repeat and the American people know that Joe Biden will not ban fracking. That is a fact. That is a fact,’ she added during another portion of the debate. 

Harris was joined by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during the interview, which comes 68 days before Election Day. Harris has largely aovided the media since rising to the top of the ticker after Biden dropped out of the race last month. 

The CNN interview marks her first sit-down interview with the media, while she has not held a press conference in 39 days, when she first emerged as the presumptive nominee. 

Harris traveled to Chicago last week, where she formally accepted her party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention. 

Former President Trump pledged during a campaign rally in Michigan Thursday that if he wins a second term, he would mandate free in vitro fertilization treatment for women. 

‘I’m announcing today in a major statement that under the Trump administration, your government will pay for — or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for — all costs associated with IVF treatment,’ Trump told the crowd at Alro Steel in Potterville, Michigan. ‘Because we want more babies, to put it nicely.’

IVF treatments are notoriously expensive and can cost tens of thousands of dollars for a single round. Many women require multiple rounds, and there is no guarantee of success.

‘And for the same reason, we will also allow new parents to deduct major newborn expenses from their taxes,’ Trump said.  

Trump’s announcement, which was short on details, comes after the Republican nominee has faced intense scrutiny from Democrats for his role in appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, sending the issue of abortion back to the states. 

Trump has tried to present himself as moderate on the issue, going as far as declaring himself ‘very strong on women’s reproductive rights.’

In an interview with NBC before Thursday’s rally, Trump signaled support for changing Florida’s six-week abortion ban, which limits the procedure before many women even know they are pregnant.

Trump, in the interview, did not explicitly say how he plans to vote on the ballot measure when he casts his vote this fall. But he repeated his past criticism that the measure, signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last year, is too restrictive.

‘I think the six weeks is too short. It has to be more time,’ he said. ‘I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks.’

Trump had previously called DeSantis’ decision to sign the bill a ‘terrible mistake.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Everywhere you turn, there’s another online scam. The fraudsters always pivot where the attention is and now that’s politics and elections. 

We’re giving away a brand-new iPhone 16 (a $1,500 value!). Enter to win here.

Billions of dollars are pouring into the 2024 House, Senate, and presidential elections. I bet you’ve received a call or 10 from folks asking you to pull out your wallet. The pleas come in text form, too, plus there are videos, social media posts and DMs.

Here are a few dos and don’ts for keeping your money safe.

Do use a credit card. Checks and debit cards don’t have the same scam protections.Don’t give payment info over the phone. Find the official website and donate there.Don’t click links. That includes those in emails, texts or any other source. When in doubt, visit the official campaign website of the person you want to support.Do verify it’s a real organization. Here’s a list of registered PACs maintained by the Federal Election Commission.Do a search for the PAC name. Hey, it’s worth it to see if anything shady pops up. Some funnel money to their own advisors and marketing budget — not to the candidate they claim to support. This page is useful, too.

Social media pro tip: TikTok banned political fundraising in 2022. Anything you see there asking you to donate is likely a scam — or someone skirting the rules and you don’t want to be involved with that, either.

It’s not just your wallet you need to worry about. Fake news travels fast online — I’ve seen everything from ‘The election is canceled’ to ‘Non-citizens get to vote this year.’

In some cases, foreign countries are behind it with massive misinformation campaigns. Meta says the Kremlin is the No. 1 source of AI-created misinformation ahead of the U.S. presidential election. 

The most common trick on Facebook? Imaginary ‘journalists’ who write bogus news stories. If it’s an outlet you’ve never heard of, look elsewhere to corroborate the story.

In other cases, fake info spreads because someone took a joke as fact. Take the mock electoral maps flooding social media. The trend is to take a blank map, color it mostly blue or red, and slap a clever line about how either Democrats or Republicans could win the Electoral College. They’re not real; don’t share like they are.

Election fakes are particularly tricky to spot because there’s so much public footage of politicians speaking. The more training data, the better the copies.

But you can still use these guidelines to verify if it’s AI or not:

Backgrounds: A vague, blurred background, smooth surfaces or lines that don’t match up are immediate red flags that an image is AI-generated.Context: Use your head. If the scenery doesn’t align with the current climate, season or what’s physically possible, that’s because it’s fake.Behavior: You’ve probably seen several videos of most major candidates. Look for differences in their tone, inflection and cadence. If their speech or facial reactions look ‘off,’ it might be AI.Proportions: Check for objects that look mushed together or seem too large or small. The same goes for features, especially ears, fingers and feet.Angle: Deepfakes are the most convincing when the subject faces the camera directly. Glitches may appear once a person starts to turn to the side and move.Text: AI can’t spell. Look for fake words on signs and labels.Chins: Yep, you heard me. The lower half of the face is the No. 1 giveaway on AI-generated candidate videos. It’s subtle, but check to see if their chin or neck moves unnaturally or in an exaggerated way.Fingers and hands: Look for weird positions, too many fingers, extra-long digits or hands out of place.Accessories: Look at earrings, clothes, ties — whatever you can spot. The giveaways are often in these little details.

My best advice: Slow down. When a video gets an emotional reaction out of us, we’re quick to believe it and quick to share. That’s what scammers bank on. Watch it a few times and do your research before you make up your mind.

Award-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating tech.

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