Key Trump agency vows to claw back over $1B benefiting illegals in blue states: ‘Won’t tolerate it’
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is planning to claw back over $1 billion in federal Medicaid dollars it says are being spent by blue states on healthcare for illegal immigrants, including some with violent criminal records for murder and rape. A preliminary audit by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that, over the last few years, mostly during 2024 and 2025, California; Washington, D.C.; Illinois; Washington; Colorado; and Oregon improperly spent a combined $1,351,204,127 in federal Medicaid funds to help pay for healthcare for illegal immigrants. While federal Medicaid dollars are supposed to be prohibited broadly from being used to cover healthcare for illegal immigrants, they can be used by states for emergency treatment regardless of a patient’s citizenship or immigration status. DR. OZ ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF ‘GASLIGHTING’ AMERICANS OVER $1B IN MEDICAID PAYMENTS TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS States can also legally cover health insurance for illegal immigrants as long as it is only done with state tax dollars. But, according to some experts, Democrats are utilizing loopholes in the federal laws that allow them to provide comprehensive health benefits to illegal immigrants. “Protecting Medicaid from waste, fraud and abuse isn’t optional. It’s the law. Every dollar misspent on illegal healthcare spending is a dollar taken from vulnerable Americans,” CMS spokesperson Emily Hilliard told Fox News Digital. “Federal law forbids using Medicaid funds for illegal immigrants, yet several Democrat-led states did it anyway. The Trump administration won’t tolerate it. CMS is auditing aggressively, recovering every dollar and holding states accountable.” California was far and away the biggest culprit, spending over $1 billion in federal Medicaid dollars on healthcare for illegal immigrants, according to CMS. The next largest violator was Illinois, which CMS said has improperly spent nearly $30 million, followed by Oregon, which the audit found improperly spent approximately $5.5 million. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has denied claims his state is improperly using federal funds to pay for illegal immigrant healthcare, telling the Los Angeles Times claims from Republicans are “false.” But Steve Hilton, a former Fox News anchor and current Republican candidate running to be the next governor of California with Newsom term limited, has argued that California has been using a complex Medicaid provision known as a “provider tax” to obtain matching federal dollars, which then gets pooled into the money used by the state to pay for its healthcare offered to undocumented immigrants. Chris Pope, a public health policy expert at the Manhattan Institute, has argued California is abusing federal provisions that allow states to use federal Medicaid dollars for emergency care for undocumented aliens. Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for comment on this story but did not receive a response. CALIFORNIA USING BACK DOOR TO GET FEDERAL FUNDS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE, GOP SAYS; DEMS SAY NONSENSE “Medicaid is by far the largest source of federal funding for states. It was originally intended to only provide aid for eligible beneficiaries, but, over time, states have figured out how to game the system, padding permitted expenses and diverting the profits to fund activities which are supposedly prohibited,” said Pope. “Any claim that state healthcare expenditures don’t ultimately involve some form of federal funds should be regarded with suspicion.” Jim O’Neill, the current acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a deputy secretary at the Health and Human Services Department, has also been highlighting that among the federal funds that are improperly going to illegal immigrants, some are even going to illegal immigrants with violent criminal pasts. O’Neill has been posting a daily “MorningMedicaidMugshot” with examples over the last several days. On Oct. 29, O’Neill highlighted Layth Kamil, a 24-year-old illegal alien from Iraq convicted of exposing himself to a 15-year-old, who, according to O’Neill, has received close to $16,000 in taxpayer-funded healthcare through Medicaid. The day before, O’Neill highlighted the story of Haissam Massalkhy, a 45-year-old illegal alien from Lebanon convicted after driving under the influence and killing an American citizen who was out jogging. Massalkhy has received over $30,000, according to O’Neill. Other illegal aliens O’Neill highlighted included people convicted of attempted murder and child rape. “Democrats are demanding continued funding of this violent illegal alien’s Medicaid as a condition for reopening the government and paying the hardworking public servants at my department,” O’Neill lamented in one of his recent “MorningMedicaidMugshot” posts.
Democratic state senator accused of secretly filming two critics in bed together to try to silence them
A Democratic state senator from Maryland is accused of orchestrating a scheme to secretly record two critics — including a former campaign consultant — in bed together and then using the footage to threaten and silence them, according to a newly unsealed federal indictment. Federal prosecutors say Maryland State Sen. Dalya Attar, her brother Joseph “Yossi” Attar and Baltimore Police Officer Kalman Finkelstein secretly filmed the pair during an intimate encounter, then used the recording to intimidate them into silence. The 20-page indictment, unsealed Thursday, charges the trio with conspiracy, extortion, illegal wiretapping and violations of the Travel Act. Prosecutors allege the group targeted the consultant, identified as Victim 1, who had worked for Attar’s 2018 campaign and later supported her political rivals. Victim 2 was in a romantic relationship with Victim 1 and was married to another person at the time, the documents say. INSIDE THE MAMDANI MACHINE: SOROS CASH, SOCIALISTS AND RADICAL IMAMS ENGINEERED ZOHRAN MAMDANI’S PATH TO POWER According to the indictment, the defendants placed hidden cameras disguised as smoke detectors and a tracking device in the victims’ apartment, later reviewing footage that showed the pair in bed together. Prosecutors say the recording was then used to threaten exposure if either victim spoke publicly against Attar or supported her opponents. By early 2021, Attar allegedly discussed how to stop potential criticism, saying in a WhatsApp message, “We have a very easy … simple way to get her to just shut up and leave us alone. … She’s worried about her kids’ shidduchim.” She allegedly added, “I’m not saying we leak this anywhere or ever do that … but I’m saying we warn her … ‘If you go ahead and screw with me, we’re going to leak it.’” FMR AOC CAMPAIGN ASSOCIATE ARRESTED FOR ‘TERRORISTIC THREAT’ AGAINST SCHOOL OVER JEWISH STUDENTS: REPORT In December 2021, Joseph Attar allegedly met with one of the victims at a Baltimore shopping center and warned, “I have hours of footage of you in bed with [Victim 1] … Go to [Victim 1] and say leave Dalya alone … or I’ll share this video with everyone you know — every Rabbi in town, your kids, your wife, her daughters.” Prosecutors say the threats continued into 2022 as the defendants allegedly worked to ensure both victims remained silent before Attar’s re-election campaign. The indictment also says the three coordinated through encrypted WhatsApp messages, which they regularly deleted to avoid detection. FBI FIRES AGENTS, DISMANTLES CORRUPTION SQUAD AFTER PROBE UNVEILS MONITORING OF GOP SENATORS, PATEL SAYS The charges carry potential penalties of several decades in prison. Attar’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley told FOX 45 that Finkelstein has been on administrative duty since 2022 and no longer holds police powers. Attar, a Democrat and former Baltimore prosecutor, was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2018 and appointed to the state Senate in January 2025. She had been considered a rising figure in Maryland’s Orthodox Jewish community.
Major phone carriers reveal Jack Smith’s subpoenas for Republican senators’ records
FIRST ON FOX: Two major phone carriers took sharply different paths when former special counsel Jack Smith’s team subpoenaed phone records tied to Republican lawmakers in 2023, according to the redacted subpoenas and letters first shared with Fox News Digital. The documents, provided by the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, reveal Verizon’s compliance and AT&T’s resistance when faced with Smith’s requests, which were part of Arctic Frost, the FBI probe that led to Smith bringing election charges against President Donald Trump. The 12 phone numbers on the subpoena to Verizon are redacted and replaced by Grassley’s office with the names of the lawmakers associated with them. They include one House member and 10 senators, including Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fl., whose name was not previously reported. AT&T received a similar request, according to a second subpoena. The company told Grassley the subpoenaed phone records were associated with two lawmakers, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, according to a source directly familiar with the matter. The source said AT&T declined to disclose the second person. REPUBLICANS CLAIM BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ‘ENEMIES LIST’ UNEARTHED FROM ARCTIC FROST INVESTIGATION Accompanying the two subpoenas were gag orders, signed by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of Washington, D.C., that directed the two phone companies not to disclose the subpoenas to the lawmakers for one year. Prosecutors can seek such gag orders to temporarily keep investigative matters confidential. The phone companies also wrote letters to Grassley, first shared with Fox News Digital, explaining how they handled the subpoenas they received, revealing two different approaches. Verizon justified complying with the subpoenas, saying they were “facially valid” and contained only phone numbers, not names. Verizon said that with the “benefit of hindsight” and recent discussions with the Senate Sergeant at Arms, which handles congressional phone services, it has modified its policies so that it puts up more of a challenge to law enforcement requests pertaining to Congress members. AT&T, meanwhile, did not comply with the subpoenas. “When AT&T raised questions with Special Counsel Smith’s office concerning the legal basis for seeking records of members of Congress, the Special Counsel did not pursue the subpoena further, and no records were produced,” David Chorzempa, general counsel for AT&T, wrote. The release of copies of the subpoenas and new details from phone companies comes after Grassley published earlier this month a one-page FBI document indicating the existence of the subpoenas and naming most of the senators. They included Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn, Josh Hawley, Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson and Cynthia Lummis. Cruz later revealed that he was in the mix, and Scott announced on Thursday that he too was a target. Grassley said Wednesday that Smith’s subpoena to Verizon included Cruz’s office’s landline. In Verizon’s letter to Grassley, it noted that there were no records to give Smith pertaining to the landline request. The two subpoenas to Verizon and AT&T sought toll records for a four-day period surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. They did not include the contents of phone calls or messages, which would require a warrant, but they did include “[call] detail records for inbound and outbound calls, text messages, direct connect, and voicemail messages” and phone number subscriber and payment information. News of the subpoenas sparked an outcry from the senators, who claimed Smith improperly spied on them and that Arctic Frost was “worse” than the Watergate scandal. The lawmakers have raised numerous constitutional concerns, including claims that the subpoenas violated the speech and debate clause, which gives lawmakers an added layer of immunity from investigations. JACK SMITH DEFENDS SUBPOENAING REPUBLICAN SENATORS’ PHONE RECORDS: ‘ENTIRELY PROPER’ Smith, in response, said in a letter through his lawyers that he mentioned subpoenaing senators’ phone records in his public, final special counsel report and that the subpoenas were narrowly tailored to the four-day period and “entirely proper.” Smith has asked House and Senate lawmakers to allow him to testify before them in a public hearing to speak about his special counsel work. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, however, wants to question Smith behind closed doors and Grassley has said he needs more information before he hosts Smith in a public setting. The DOJ has issued subpoenas for lawmakers’ information in the past, but former inspector general Michael Horowitz cautioned against it except in limited circumstances in a report published last year, saying that doing so “risks chilling Congress’s ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch.” Horowitz’s warning came in response to the first Trump administration subpoenaing phone records of Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and dozens of congressional staffers from both parties as part of an investigation into classified information being leaked to the media. Despite enjoying additional constitutional protections, members of Congress can still be investigated and prosecuted. Former Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez’s phone records were seized while he was serving in office. Menendez is now serving in prison after being found guilty by a jury last year of corruption charges.
As battle for Ukraine’s Pokrovsk heats up, Putin touts nuclear-powered arms
Russian and Ukrainian forces are interlocked in desperate battles for control of Ukraine’s eastern towns of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, which Moscow considers a gateway to the remaining unoccupied areas of the Donetsk region. On Sunday, Valery Gerasimov, Russian chief of staff, told President Vladimir Putin his 2nd and 51st Combined Arms Armies were “advancing along converging axes” and “have completed the encirclement of the enemy” in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list He claimed some 5,500 Ukrainian troops were surrounded, including elite airborne and marine units. Russian military reporters contradicted these claims, with one named “Military Informant” telling 621,000 Telegram subscribers, “There is simply no encirclement” as the two claws of Gerasimov’s attempted pincer movement were still “several kilometres” apart. On Thursday, Oleksandr Syrskii, the Ukrainian commander-in-chief, also denied Gerasimov’s claim. “The statements of Russian propaganda about the alleged ‘blocking’ of the defence forces of Ukraine in Pokrovsk, as well as in Kupiansk, do not correspond to reality,” Syrskii said. The Russian reporter also thought it “extremely unlikely” that thousands of Ukrainian troops were trapped. “If earlier urban battles were a classic meat grinder ‘head-to-head’ with battles for each house,” he said, now they are “conducted by small groups of infantry with the support of many drones”. Geolocated footage showed that isolated Russian groups had entered western and central Pokrovsk on October 23, but they did not appear to control areas within the city, rather to stake out positions and await reinforcements. Advertisement Ukraine’s General Staff said the situation around Pokrovsk “remains difficult”, and estimated that some 200 Russian troops had infiltrated the town, but said defending units were conducting sabotage operations that prevented Russian units from gaining a permanent foothold. The front around Pokrovsk also remained dynamic. Ukrainian military observer Konstantyn Mashovets reported that Kyiv’s troops were able to ambush Russian rear positions in the village of Sukhetsky, northeast of Pokrovsk, demonstrating the porousness of the front line. “[Russian] small infantry groups in some places began to collide with Ukrainian corresponding groups quite often and suddenly, even before their deployment or when moving to strengthen and replenish their assault groups directly,” said Mashovets. “Due to the abundance of drones in the air, which make the movement of any large concentrations of infantry extremely dangerous, the positions of both sides remain mixed,” said Kremlin-aligned Russian military news outlet Rybar. “This leads to the absence of a single front line and prevents the determination of the exact boundaries of the control zones.” Mashovets estimated that the Russian 2nd Combined Arms Army, which he described as the “main impact force”, had received reinforcements of between 6,000 and 10,500 troops from other areas of the front ahead of the latest assault, which began in mid-October. “Special attention is focused on Pokrovsk and the neighbouring areas. That is where the occupier has concentrated its largest assault forces,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a Monday evening address. “It is Pokrovsk that is their main objective.” Ukraine strikes Russian energy hubs Zelenskyy has often said his objective is to return the war to Russian soil. Ukraine’s long-range drones and cruise missiles were performing that task during the past week. Ukraine struck the Ryazan oil refinery for the fifth time this year on October 23, setting ablaze a crude oil distillation unit. Russia’s Defence Ministry said 139 Ukrainian drones had been shot down overnight. Leningrad’s regional governor said “several” Ukrainian drones had been shot down without causing damage or casualties on Saturday. Ukraine struck a fuel and lubricants container in Simferopol on Wednesday, Crimean occupation Governor Sergey Aksyonov said. Putin boasts of weapons ‘nobody else in the world has’ Russian officials who have been supportive of US President Donald Trump’s efforts to negotiate a peace directly with Putin changed their tone after Trump cancelled a summit with Putin and imposed sanctions on Russian oil majors Lukoil and Rosneft last week. Advertisement “The US is our adversary, and its verbose ‘peacemaker’ is now firmly on the warpath against Russia,” said Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s National Security Council, saying Trump was now “completely aligned with mad Europe”. Over cakes and tea with Russian war veterans on Monday, Putin announced the successful test launch of a new nuclear-powered torpedo with the ability to create radioactive tidal waves targeting coastal regions. The Poseidon reportedly has a range of 10,000km (6,200 miles) and travels at 185km/h (115mph). As with previous unveilings of Russian weapons, Putin said, “There’s nothing like it in the world, its rivals are unlikely to appear anytime soon, and there are no existing interception methods”. Duma Defence Committee Chairman Andrey Kartapolov said the Poseidon was“capable of disabling entire states”. Three days earlier, Putin had announced the successful test of a new nuclear-capable cruise missile, the Burevestnik, which is also nuclear-powered. “It is a unique ware which nobody else in the world has,” Putin said. Russia followed a similar political intimidation tactic in November 2024, when it launched the Oreshnik, a hypersonic, intermediate-range ballistic, nuclear-capable missile, to hit a Ukrainian factory in Dnipro. On Tuesday, Putin said he would deploy the Oreshnik in Belarus by December. Russia also tested the Sarmat, a new intercontinental ballistic missile that Putin said is not yet operational, in the Sea of Japan. None of the tests were independently verified, and it was unclear whether any of the new weapons were battle-ready or whether they could be produced at scale. On October 22, Moscow conducted a routine strategic forces exercise, sending Tupolev-22M3 long-range bombers over the Baltic Sea, framing it as a reaction to Western aggression. Trump said on Monday that Putin should instead focus on ending the war. “I don’t think it’s an appropriate thing for Putin to be saying,” said the US president. “You ought to get the war ended; the war that should have taken one week is now in … its fourth year, that’s what you ought to do instead of testing missiles.” Adblock test (Why?)
Can Southeast Asia turn its economic weight into real power?
As global trade tensions rise, ASEAN faces a challenge: how to benefit from the US and China without picking sides. It is the world’s fifth-largest economy, with a combined gross domestic product of more than $3.6 trillion dollars. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) brings together 11 states, representing nearly 700 million people. As a fast-growing hub for trade, manufacturing and supply chains, ASEAN is a vital partner for both China and the United States. However, Donald Trump’s tariffs on some of its members have raised concerns about whether Washington has turned its back on the region. These come as Beijing has doubled down on its efforts to expand its influence. Meanwhile, Trump has sanctioned Russia’s oil companies. Plus, Africa’s anti-money laundering efforts. Published On 30 Oct 202530 Oct 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
Turkiye’s Erdogan urges Germany to help end Israel’s ‘genocide’ in Gaza
Despite a fragile US-brokered ceasefire, Israel has unleashed a series of bombardments on Gaza this week. Published On 30 Oct 202530 Oct 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised Germany over what he called its ignorance of Israel’s “genocide” and attacks on Gaza. At a joint news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Ankara on Thursday, Erdogan noted Israel’s access to nuclear and other weapons, saying it was using them to threaten Gaza, and adding that Hamas was not as well equipped. He said Israel had once again attacked Gaza in recent days despite a ceasefire in the enclave. “We need to end the genocide and the deliberate starvation by involving Germany’s Red Cross and our own Turkish Red Crescent,” Erdogan said. “Does Germany not see these?” he said, adding it was Turkiye, Germany and other countries’ humanitarian duty to end the famine and massacres in Gaza. “Just as we want the Russia-Ukraine war to end, we also support an end to Israel’s war on Gaza,” Erdogan said. “Turkiye and Germany are two key countries that can join hands to achieve this.” Despite a fragile US-brokered ceasefire that took effect on October 10, Israel launched a series of bombardments on Gaza following the killing of an Israeli soldier in southern Gaza’s Rafah on Tuesday. Israel’s retaliatory attacks killed 104 people, mostly women and children, said Gaza’s Health Ministry. Reporting from Gaza City on Wednesday, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said the Israeli attacks this week were similar to previous rounds of bombardments. “A brief hope for calm turned into despair,” said Mahmoud. “For a lot of people, it’s a stark reminder of the opening weeks of the genocide in terms of the intensity and the scale of destruction that was caused by the massive bombs on Gaza City.” Advertisement Israel said on Wednesday that it had begun “renewed enforcement of the ceasefire”. United States President Donald Trump insisted the ceasefire “is not in jeopardy” despite the latest attacks, while mediator Qatar called Israel’s violations “disappointing and frustrating“. “The deal was set up to fail, right?” Former UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness spoke to @Dena about how the conditions of the ceasefire in Gaza don’t guarantee the access to aid that Palestinians need. pic.twitter.com/Clzjmzq2tk — AJ+ (@ajplus) October 30, 2025 As part of Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza, an international force is meant to form to monitor the agreement, but the accord does not specify which countries would provide the troops. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters on Monday that Israel opposes any troops from Turkiye joining that force because of Erdogan’s past comments on Israel. “Countries that want or are ready to send armed forces should be at least fair to Israel,” Saar said. He did not elaborate. Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 68,527 people and wounded 170,395 since it began in October 2023. A total of 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, and about 200 were taken captive. Adblock test (Why?)
Nitin Gadkari orders QR codes on national highways for…; says, ‘Mai kyu gaali khaun’
Gadkari pushed for performance audits to identify design and maintenance lapses, promote accountability, and reward quality work. He also emphasised that infrastructure development should prioritise citizens’ comfort and convenience.
India’s BIG statement on cross-border terrorism: ‘Pakistan infuriated with…’
The MEA’s remarks come amid worsening relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan following the failure of peace talks held in Turkey this week. The two countries have seen an escalation in border tensions, with both sides trading accusations and engaging in skirmishes.
Mumbai: Man, who took 15-20 children hostage at Powai studio, shot dead in retaliatory firing by police
The man, who allegedly took 15 to 20 children hostage at Mumbai’s Powai-based studio, has been shot dead in retaliatory firing by police.
Big relief to Bengaluru commuters, after 5 years of wait, Hosakerehalli Flyover to Open in November, check details
The Hosakerehalli flyover on Outer Ring Road is set to be completed after a long wait of five years. It will likely be open for traffic next month. The 500-metre flyover has been constructed to reduce traffic congestion at the state capital’s busiest roads.