AI Safety Concerns Grow; Johnson: $5K Dividend Checks Promise Requires Congress to Act | NTD Good Morning (Sept. 14)

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate will convene in Washington on Monday for a brief session as a frenetic midterm season approaches, with leaders facing a growing chorus of calls to act on artificial intelligence regulation following a viral whistleblower claim that the technology could soon be capable of self-improvement and take control out of humanity’s hands.

President Donald Trump’s plan to send $5,000 dividend checks to American adults if Republicans maintain control of Congress would require a congressional act, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Sept. 13.

“I would assume, yes, he’d need Congress to act, and that’s a creative idea,” Johnson said in a CNN “State of the Union” interview on Sept. 13 in response to a question about the payments.

Amazon said Sunday that it has suspended its partnership with Miami-based 21 Air after one of the cargo carrier’s planes loaded with Amazon packages careened off a Miami runway last week, killing five people.

The Boeing 767 came in fast on Sept. 6 and then barreled roughly 1,300 feet (396 meters) past the end of the runway and smashed into a van carrying workers at a plane cleaning company. All five people who died were in the van. Five others were hurt.