Dan Merica

Stay informed with Dan Merica’s coverage and analysis.

An Amazon Web Services data center in Ashburn, Virginia

Data center boom is driving some residents out of their lifelong communities

By Dan Merica, Jesse Bedayn, and others

FILE – Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk listens as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Elon Musk’s America PAC spent about $200 million to help elect Donald Trump—with vast majority from the Tesla CEO

By Dan Merica and The Associated Press

Beto O'Rourke speaks

Here’s who could lead Democrats through the wilderness as party faces existential questions

By Dan Merica, Steve Peoples, and others

From left, American real estate developer Donald Trump and his girlfriend (and future wife), former model Melania Knauss, financier (and future convicted sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000.

Former model claims Epstein watched Trump grope her in 1993, then blamed her for not stopping it: ‘Why did you let him do that?’

By Dan Merica and The Associated Press

Trump and John Kelly in the Oval Office

Trump’s former allies say he praised Hitler and wanted his generals. Harris calls it a ‘dangerous’ sign of ‘who Trump really is’

By Dan Merica and The Associated Press

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

Many political AI deepfakes are totally cartoonish, but the technology is still shaping the election

By Dan Merica, Ali Swenson, and others

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES – AUGUST 22: US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, United States on August 22, 2024. The DNC marks the ceremonial crowning of US Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as the party’s presidential nominees. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Republican network funds liberal third-party candidates hoping to hurt the Harris vote

By Brian Slodysko, Dan Merica, and others

Barbara Winston

Elderly Americans lose $28 billion a year to scams, and some are fighting back by learning to spot deepfakes, AI, and misinformation

By Dan Merica and The Associated Press

Tim Walz

‘Cyber squatter’ owns 15 websites named for Kamala Harris and potential running mates

By Dan Merica and The Associated Press

This combination of images assembled in June 2024 shows some of the images that appear in an online blog for Glenn Cook, a Republican running for a state legislative seat in southeastern Georgia. The campaign says artificial intelligence was used to to generate them. AI-generated podcast episodes use a cloned version of his voice to narrate his policy positions. (AP Photo)

‘Congress is pathetic’: Senator rips Washington as AI and deepfakes remake local elections while legislation goes nowhere

By Ali Swenson, Dan Merica, and others

FILE – Special Counsel Robert Hur listens to recorded remarks of President Joe Biden during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 12, 2024. The Justice Department says its concerned that releasing audio of President Joe Biden’s interview with a special counsel about his handling of classified documents could lead to deepfakes that trick Americans.(AP Photo/Nathan Howard, File)

DOJ tells court that releasing audio of Biden interview with special counsel could spur deepfakes that trick Americans, highlighting AI worries

By Dan Merica, Alanna Durkin Richer, and others