Massive Medicaid fraud scheme puts Minnesota’s federal funding at risk — and fallout could widen
Minnesota is facing threats that the federal government may pull its funding for Minnesota’s Medicaid program until it cleans up its act amid investigations into multiple alleged fraud schemes plaguing the state’s social services system. Minnesota is coming under heightened scrutiny as President Donald Trump has labeled Minnesota a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity,” due to several key fraud schemes targeting the state’s Medicaid program, and other federally funded programs that feed children. More than 80 people have faced charges in the state in connection with these schemes. Chris Edwards, the Kilts Family Chair in Fiscal Studies at the libertarian think-tank the Cato Institute, said that federal-state funding programs are ripe grounds for fraudulent activity. “Federal aid-to-state programs are especially vulnerable to fraud and scams because the Feds mainly pay for them,” Edwards said in a Tuesday email to Fox News Digital. “The states administer and they care little about waste because the Feds are paying. The states would have more incentive to run efficient programs if they were funded by state taxes. The states must balance their budgets every year, so politicians must make tradeoffs and focus on efficiency.” “By contrast, the federal government runs massive deficits, so the politicians don’t care much about waste,” Edwards said. “There’s a double-problem with aid-to-state programs: the states don’t care about waste because it’s federal money, and the Feds don’t care either because they run massive deficits.” MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEME UNEARTHS MILLIONS IN LUXURY PROPERTY, CARS: DOJ Included in this series of alleged fraud schemes is one stemming from a new program known as the Housing Stability Services Program, which offered Medicaid coverage for housing stabilization services in an attempt to help those with disabilities, mental illnesses, and substance-use disorders receive housing. The Justice Department so far has charged less than a dozen people for allegedly defrauding the program that runs through Minnesota’s Medicaid service, but more charges are expected. Additionally, the Trump administration and lawmakers have launched probes into Minnesota’s “Feeding Our Future” $250 million fraud scheme that allegedly targeted a children’s nutrition program the Department of Agriculture funded and that Minnesota oversaw during the COVID-19 pandemic. At least 77 people have been charged in that scheme, which took advantage of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to waive certain Federal Child Nutrition Program requirements. Some fraud cases in Minnesota have collapsed though, and Hennepin Country judge overturned a guilty verdict for Abdifatah Yusuf in a Medicaid fraud case in November. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced in August that Yusuf was found guilty of six counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle, and claimed that Yusuf used his agency Promise Health Services, LLC to fraudulently obtain Medicaid funds for services that were not provided or were billed based on inaccurate documentation. Minnesota is dependent on the federal government for a significant portion of its funding. In 2023, federal funding toward Minnesota’s Medicaid program totaled $11 billion — amounting to roughly 58% of all federal funding Minnesota receives, according to the House’s Energy and Commerce Committee. Ultimately, the federal government covers approximately 51% of Minnesota’s Medicaid costs. In every state, the federal government splits Medicaid costs using the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage formula, which is calculated by comparing the state’s per capita income to U.S. per capita income. Percentages determining how much the federal government covers vary by state, with the federal government absorbing between 50% of Medicaid costs in states like California and Colorado, and up to nearly 77% in Mississippi, according to the Congressional Research Service. MINNESOTA TAXPAYER DOLLARS FUNNELED TO AL-SHABAAB TERROR GROUP, REPORT ALLEGES It’s unclear exactly how many federal dollars went toward fraudulent providers in Minnesota. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid told Fox News Digital Tuesday that an audit will further examine how federal funds were used. “CMS is using all our resources to investigate and address this egregious fraud scheme in Minnesota…As part of a comprehensive audit, CMS will isolate how much of these funds were misused,” CMS spokeswoman Catherine Howden said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Given the complexity of this situation, along with Minnesota’s lack of transparency, this review will be complex and time intensive.” Minnesota’s Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital by deadline. Edwards said that it is easier than ever for criminal gangs to partake in these fraudulent schemes, due to the fact that benefits and subsidies are now paid automatically by federal computers, rather than through paper forms. “The only solution is to devolve these federal-funded programs to the states and let them fund,” Edwards said. “There is no magic money tree in Washington. Welfare programs should be funded and administered at the state level.” TIM WALZ CALLED OUT BY WASHINGTON POST FOR REFUSING TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL In September, the Justice Department announced that it had charged eight defendants with wire fraud for their roles in the Housing Stability Services Program Medicaid fraud scheme. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said in a statement that the charges marked the “first wave” expected in connection with the case. “I want to be clear on the scope of the crisis,” Thompson said in a statement in September. “What we see are schemes stacked upon schemes, draining resources meant for those in need. It feels never ending. I have spent my career as a fraud prosecutor and the depth of the fraud in Minnesota takes my breath away.” In July 2022, Minnesota stood up its Housing Stability Services Program, which offers Medicaid coverage for housing stabilization services. But instead, those charged in September obtained and “misappropriated millions of dollars in program funds that were intended as reimbursements for services provided to those people,” according to the Justice Department. MINNESOTA’S $70 MILLION FRAUD EXPOSES HOW DEMOCRATS BUILT A SYSTEM DESIGNED TO BE ROBBED Although the Housing Stability Services Program was expected to cost $2.6 million annually, the program paid out $42
Small Business Administration unveils new initiative to roll back federal regulations
FIRST ON FOX: Seeking to tackle persistent cost pressures on American families and small firms, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is unveiling a new initiative that will review and roll back federal rules the administration says have driven up prices in sectors ranging from housing to food production. The Deregulation Strike Force, led by the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, will coordinate a government-wide review aimed at identifying regulations that hinder economic growth. FROM MORTGAGES TO CAR LOANS: AFFORDABILITY RISES AND FALLS WITH THE FED Trump administration officials say the effort is intended to eliminate what they describe as excessive Biden-era regulations that have imposed an estimated $6 trillion in cumulative compliance costs on American families and small businesses. “Bidenomics brought historic new highs in inflation that crushed working families and small businesses, driven in part by the massive bureaucracy that heaped trillions in new federal regulations onto the backs of hardworking Americans,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler wrote in a statement. TRUMP INSISTS PRICES ARE ‘COMING DOWN,’ BLAMES BIDEN — BUT VOTERS SAY THEY’RE STILL GETTING SQUEEZED “Through our Deregulation Strike Force, SBA is leveraging its unique authority to deregulate across the federal government and cut senseless red tape that drove up costs for small businesses and consumers, especially in industries hit hardest by Bidenflation,” Loeffler said, adding that the initiative will build on President Trump’s push to reduce costs across the country. Citing what it describes as four years of excessive regulatory overreach, the SBA said its strike force will target cuts across key small-business sectors, including housing and construction, healthcare, agriculture and food production, energy and utilities, transportation and other goods and services across the supply chain. They also argue the latest deregulation campaign reinforces President Donald Trump’s economic message heading into the new year, positioning regulatory relief as a central tool for tackling high prices. The SBA said it has already played a key role in eliminating an estimated $98.9 billion in federal regulations since Trump’s return to office. Some of these actions include changes to reporting rules, energy-efficiency standards and diesel exhaust fluid requirements, which the agency says have contributed to nearly $200 billion in total regulatory savings.
China’s missile surge puts every US base in the Pacific at risk — and the window to respond is closing
China has spent decades building a land-based missile force designed to keep the United States out of a fight over Taiwan — and U.S. officials say it now threatens every major airfield, port and military installation across the Western Pacific. As Washington races to build its own long-range fires, analysts warn that the land domain has become the most overlooked — and potentially decisive — part of the U.S.–China matchup. Interviews with military experts show a contest defined not by tanks or troop movements, but by missile ranges, base access and whether U.S. forces can survive the opening salvos of a war that may begin long before any aircraft take off. “The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force … has built an increasing number of short-, medium-, and long-range missiles,” Seth Jones of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told Fox News Digital. “They have the capability to shoot those across the first and increasingly the second island chains.” For years, Chinese officials assumed they could not match the United States in air superiority. The Rocket Force became the workaround: massed, land-based firepower meant to shut down U.S. bases and keep American aircraft and ships outside the fight. HIGH STAKES ON THE HIGH SEAS AS US, CHINA TEST LIMITS OF MILITARY POWER “They didn’t think that they could gain air superiority in a straight-up air-to-air fight,” said Eric Heginbotham, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “So you need another way to get missiles out — and that another way is by building a lot of ground launchers.” The result is the world’s largest inventory of theater-range missiles, backed by hardened underground facilities, mobile launchers and rapid shoot-and-scoot tactics designed to overwhelm U.S. defenses. Despite China’s numerical edge, American forces still hold advantages Beijing has not yet matched — particularly in targeting and survivability. U.S. missiles, from Tomahawks to SM-6s to future hypersonic weapons, are tied into a global surveillance network the People’s Liberation Army cannot yet replicate. American targeting relies on satellites, undersea sensors, stealth drones and joint command tools matured over decades of combat experience. “The Chinese have not fought a war since the 1970s,” Jones said. “We see lots of challenges with their ability to conduct joint operations across different services.” The U.S., by contrast, has built multi-domain task forces in the Pacific to integrate cyber, space, electronic warfare and precision fires — a level of coordination analysts say China has yet to demonstrate. Jones said China’s defense industry also faces major hurdles. “Most of (China’s defense firms) are state-owned enterprises,” he said. “We see massive inefficiency, the quality of the systems … we see a lot of maintenance challenges.” Still, the United States faces a near-term problem of its own: missile stockpiles. “We still right now … would run out (of long-range munitions) after roughly a week or so of conflict over, say, Taiwan,” Jones said. SKIES AT STAKE: INSIDE THE US-CHINA RACE FOR AIR DOMINANCE Washington is trying to close that gap by rapidly expanding production of ground-launched weapons. New Army systems — Typhon launchers, high mobility artillery rocket system, batteries, precision strike missiles and long-range hypersonic weapons with a range exceeding 2,500 kilometers — are designed to hold Chinese forces at risk from much farther away. Heginbotham said the shift is finally happening at scale. “We’re buying anti-ship missiles like there’s no tomorrow,” he said. If current plans hold, U.S. forces will field roughly 15,000 long-range anti-ship missiles by 2035, up from about 2,500 today. China’s missile-heavy strategy is built to overwhelm U.S. bases early in a conflict. The United States, meanwhile, relies on layered air defenses: Patriot batteries to protect airfields and logistics hubs, terminal high altitude area defense (THAAD) interceptors to engage ballistic missiles at high altitude, and Aegis-equipped destroyers that can intercept missiles far from shore. Heginbotham warned the U.S. will need to widen that defensive mix. “We really need a lot more and greater variety of missile defenses and preferably cheaper missile defenses,” he said. One of Washington’s biggest advantages is its ability to conduct long-range strikes from beneath the ocean. U.S. submarines can fire cruise missiles from virtually anywhere in the Western Pacific, without relying on allied basing and without exposing launchers to Chinese fire — a degree of stealth China does not yet possess. Command integration is another area where Beijing continues to struggle. American units routinely train in multi-domain operations that knit together air, sea, cyber, space and ground-based fires. Jones and Heginbotham both noted that the People’s Liberation Army has far less experience coordinating forces across services and continues to grapple with doctrinal and organizational problems, including the dual commander–political commissar structure inside its missile brigades. Alliances may be the most consequential difference. Japan, the Philippines, Australia and South Korea provide depth, intelligence sharing, logistics hubs and potential launch points for U.S. forces. China has no comparable network of partners, leaving it to operate from a much narrower geographic footprint. In a missile war, accuracy, integration and survivability often matter more than sheer volume — and in those areas the United States still holds meaningful advantages. At the heart of this competition is geography. Missiles matter less than the places they can be launched from, and China’s ability to project power beyond its coastline remains sharply constrained. “They’ve got big power-projection problems right now,” Jones said. “They don’t have a lot of basing as you get outside of the first island chain.” The United States faces its own version of that challenge. Long-range Army and Marine Corps fires require host-nation permission, turning diplomacy into a form of firepower. “It’s absolutely central,” Heginbotham said. “You do need regional basing.” Recent U.S. agreements with the Philippines, along with expanded cooperation with Japan and Australia, reflect a push to position American launchers close enough to matter without permanently stationing large ground forces there. A U.S.–China land conflict would not involve armored columns maneuvering for territory. The decisive question is whether missile units on both sides can
Trump addresses trio of attacks in Syria, Brown University and Australia at White House Christmas event
President Donald Trump offered condolences to the victims of attacks across the globe on Sunday, from the mass shooting at Brown University to the Hanukkah terrorist attack in Australia. Trump addressed the tragedies while speaking at a Christmas reception at the White House on Sunday, saying his thoughts and support are with the victims of the shooting at Brown. He also condemned the “pure antisemitism” of the terrorist attack in Sydney, Australia, as well as the killing of three Americans in Syria on Saturday. “I want to just pay my respects to the people – unfortunately, two are no longer with us – at Brown University. Nine injured, and two are looking down on us right now from heaven,” Trump said. “And, likewise, in Australia, as you know, there was a terrible attack. Eleven dead, 29 badly wounded. And that was an antisemitic attack, obviously. And it, I just want to pay my respects to everybody,” he continued. SYRIANS MARK FIRST YEAR SINCE ASSAD’S FALL AS US SIGNALS NEW ERA IN RELATIONS “We’re here for a different reason. We’re here to celebrate Christmas and to celebrate,” Trump told the crowd gathered. “And I think today we can very say loudly that we celebrate Hanukkah because there was such a horrible attack that was a purely antisemitic attack.” ISRAELI OFFICIALS HEAP BLAME ON AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT AFTER BONDI BEACH SHOOTING: ‘COUNTLESS WARNING SIGNS’ Trump went on to discuss the killing of two U.S. soldiers and a U.S. civilian interpreter in Syria. He reiterated that the perpetrators of the attack will face serious consequences. “I can tell you in Syria there will be a lot of damage done to the people that did it. They got the person, the individual person. But there will be big damage done,” he said. Three additional soldiers were wounded in the Syria attack, but they are recovering. Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the attack occurred as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement, part of their mission in support of ongoing counter-ISIS/counter-terrorism operations in the region. The gunman was killed by partner forces, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The Pentagon is withholding the identities of the soldiers until at least 24 hours after their families have been notified. Fox News’ Greg Norman, Ashley Oliver, Jennifer Griffin, Benjamin Weinthal and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
Trump encourages Jewish Americans to ‘celebrate proudly’ during Hanukkah after deadly Bondi Beach shooting
President Donald Trump said American Jews celebrating Hanukkah should not be worried about their safety following the Bondi Beach attack. “Celebrate proudly – be proud of who you are,” Trump said to Fox News on Sunday. The president’s comments come after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the mass shooting at a “Hanukkah by the Sea” celebration at Bondi Beach as a “targeted attack on Jewish Australians.” “An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian and every Australian tonight will be, like me, devastated on this attack on our way of life,” said Albanese at a press conference. “There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation. Let me be clear. We will eradicate it.” CHRISTIAN PASTORS, INFLUENCERS JOIN 1,000-STRONG ISRAEL MISSION BACKING JEWISH STATE, FIGHTING ANTISEMITISM Police said at least 11 people were killed and dozens more were injured. AUSTRALIAN BYSTANDER DISARMS MASS SHOOTER IN AUSTRALIA HANUKKAH ATTACK At a government meeting in Dimona, Israel, on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had warned Albanese in an August letter that the Australian government’s policies were encouraging antisemitism. Netanyahu accused Albanese of failing to act as antisemitism spread and said inaction had helped foster a climate of rising hostility toward Jews. “We saw an action of a brave man – turns out a Muslim brave man, and I salute him – that stopped one of these terrorists from killing innocent Jews. But it requires the action of your government, which you are not taking,” Netanyahu said at the meeting. “And you have to, because history will not forgive hesitation and weakness. It will honor action and strength.” ANTISEMITIC ATTACKERS VIOLENTLY TARGET SYNAGOGUE, ISRAELI RESTAURANT IN AUSTRALIA Yael Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, said the attack was a wakeup call for Jews. “Terror doesn’t stop in America or in Europe or in Australia. It’s not only targeting the Jews, it’s also targeting the Christians,” Eckstein said on “Fox & Friends Weekend.” “The answer to this darkness is light.” Fox News’ Peter Doocy contributed to this report.
Trump’s election win filled Hamas with ‘fear,’ hostage held like ‘slave’ for 505 days recounts
Omer Shem Tov was dancing with friends at the Nova Music Festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists launched a devastating attack, killing hundreds and loading Shem Tov and dozens of others onto the backs of pickup trucks bound for Gaza. The 20-year-old Israeli spent the next 505 days in Hamas captivity, serving as a slave in the terrorist group’s elaborate tunnels until “fear” filled their eyes on Nov. 5, 2024 — when President Donald Trump won the presidential election, he told Fox News Digital. Shem Tov recounted his months living in Hamas’ captivity in Gaza as war raged between the terrorist group and Israel, during a recent Zoom interview with Fox News Digital. He was released from captivity in February and traveled to the U.S. shortly afterward to meet with Trump in the Oval Office. “As soon as Trump was elected, I saw the fear in their eyes,” Shem Tov said. “They knew that everything on ground is gonna change, that something else is gonna happen, and they were scared. They were very scared.” AMERICAN-ISRAELI HELD HOSTAGE IN GAZA FOR OVER 580 DAYS SENDS MESSAGE TO HAMAS: ‘I’LL GIVE YOU HELL’ Shem Tov said that for roughly the last five months of his captivity, he lived in Hamas’ tunnel system beneath the Gaza Strip, where he was worked mercilessly. “I was digging for them, and I was cleaning for them, and I was moving around bombs from place to places, and (carrying) food. I can tell you, just so you know, crazy amounts of food. Amounts of food that I’ve never seen before,” he recounted. Shem Tov learned about the American presidential election from his Hamas captors, who watched Al Jazeera on a TV kept in the tunnels. “The last five months, the terrorists, they brought TV to the tunnel and most of the time they watched Al Jazeera. That’s the only thing they watch. And… they wouldn’t let me watch TV, yeah, but sometimes I would overhear the TV,” he said. He said he overheard the terrorists discussing the election and “how they want Kamala to win.” Once the election was decided, Shem Tov said, the terrorists changed the way they treated him, even offering him more food. He said he mostly survived on small biscuits throughout his captivity, despite Hamas controlling large amounts of food. IDF ANNOUNCES TRANSFER OF DECEASED ISRAELI HOSTAGE REMAINS THROUGH RED CROSS “So everything changed,” he said of how Hamas reacted to Trump’s win. “The amount of food that I got changed. The way they treated me changed. I could see just them preparing for something bigger.” Shem Tov recounted that he spent his 21st birthday in captivity, just weeks after he was first kidnapped. He said that between Oct. 7 and Oct. 30 of 2023, he did “not cry once,” but that he felt a swell of emotion when remembering his family on his birthday. “At my birthday, it was the 31st of October, it was the first time that I broke down, I cried. It’s for me, thinking of my family, that’s something that really hits me. Understanding that my family, they’re back home, they’re safe, yeah, but they have to worry about me.… They don’t know if if I’m alive, if I’m starving… they had no idea. And I can tell you that while I was there, I suffered. I truly suffered. I was abused, I was starved in the most extreme way,” he said. Since his release, Shem Tov has praised Trump for his role in freeing the hostages and pursuing peace in the Middle East. He told Fox News Digital that he had long heard Trump’s name and knew he was a “big supporter of Israel,” but had largely stayed out of politics before his kidnapping. There is currently a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza after Trump rolled out a 20-point plan to secure peace in the region in September. The plan included the release of all the hostages. All hostages have been released from Hamas captivity except one, slain police officer Ran Gvili, whose body remains in Gaza. TRUMP MEETS FREED ISRAELI HOSTAGES, CALLS THEM ‘HEROES’ IN WHITE HOUSE CEREMONY Shem Tov was among a handful of hostages who traveled to the White House to meet with Trump earlier in 2025, where he relayed that he and other hostages are “so grateful to him.” “I personally told him that me and my family, and I would say all of Israel, believe that he was sent by God to release those hostages and to help Israel,” Shem Tov recounted of what he told Trump during his meeting in February. “And he made that promise. He made that promise, he said that he will bring back all the hostages.” For Shem Tov, freedom after captivity has meant keeping close ties with fellow hostage survivors. “I would say they become like my family, like my brothers and sisters. We have many group chats and we see each other every once in a while and there are some who really become like brothers of mine,” Shem Tov said.
How fears of being labeled ‘racist’ helped ‘provide cover’ for the exploding Minnesota fraud scandal
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – In the aftermath of the massive Feeding Our Future scandal and broader allegations of systemic fraud in Minnesota’s social programs, a troubling theme has emerged: accusations of racism repeatedly used to deflect scrutiny, intimidate investigators and stall accountability. Rumors and reports of fraud in Minneapolis, primarily within the city’s exploding Somali community, have been circulating for at least a decade, but criticism of the fraud has been largely dismissed by elected Democrats as “racist” or being underpinned by animosity toward foreigners. News stories focused on Somali fraudsters in recent years were shot down as “racist.” “The whole story kind of died under these accusations that people were being racist,” Bill Glahn, policy fellow with Center of the American Experiment, told Fox News Digital. “Oh, maybe somebody stole a little bit here, a little bit there, but there’s nothing systemic going on.” Former assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Teirab, who helped take on federal prosecutions in the Feeding Our Future case, described to Fox News Digital how individuals implicated in fraud leaned on racial accusations as a shield. According to Teirab, suspects explicitly invoked race during a secretly recorded meeting with Attorney General Keith Ellison, asserting that investigators were targeting them “only because of race.” OMAR ACCUSED BY GOP OPPONENT OF OPENING UP THE DOOR TO MASSIVE MINNEAPOLIS FRAUD: ‘DEEP, DEEP TIES’ Teirab called this tactic both deliberate and cynical. In one trial, a juror was even approached with a $120,000 cash bribe, allegedly accompanied by messaging intended to frame the investigation as racially motivated. The goal wasn’t just to escape prosecution, it was to taint the system itself by threatening anyone pursuing the truth with the specter of racial bias. “It provided cover,” Teirab told Fox News Digital. “Fraudsters knew the issue of race and racism was something they could use as a cudgel… It’s disrespectful to use those terms when they’re not appropriate, especially in a case where fraud clearly happened.” Minnesota Republican State Sen. Mark Koran echoed Teirab’s concerns, emphasizing that investigators followed the evidence, not demographics. Fraud prosecutions disproportionately affected one community simply because that’s where significant fraud was uncovered, not because investigators targeted anyone based on race. “The average Minnesotan, average legislator, doesn’t care who’s committing the fraud,” Koran said. “All right, the evidence will lead you either to or from the perpetrator. And so, if the evidence leads to the perpetrator, we need to prosecute all of them.” Koran noted that public officials and agencies pursuing fraud were routinely branded racist for doing so. Some perpetrators were so “emboldened,” he said, that they sued the state to force the continuation of payments, even after red flags signaled massive irregularities. The scale, Koran argued, dwarfs what many Minnesotans understand. While federal authorities may ultimately prosecute around $2 billion in fraud, he suggested that the true annual losses across state programs could reach much higher when factoring in both blatant fraud and poor service delivery. Meanwhile, many families participated in related schemes by receiving kickbacks from fraudulent autism service providers, further complicating enforcement. Investigators simply lack the resources to chase every case, creating an environment where fraud becomes a low-risk, high-reward enterprise. MINNESOTA’S FRAUD SCANDAL WAS ‘SHOCKINGLY EASY’ TO PULL OFF, IS LIKELY WORSE THAN REPORTED: EX PROSECUTOR “For the average hardworking legal U.S. citizen doing everything right,” Koran said, “it’s a disgusting disservice… knowing there’s such blatant disregard for the value of that dollar.” Koran suggested that the racism claims so emboldened supporters of the status quo that it contributed to Feeding Our Future suing the state of Minnesota, accusing state officials of racism for investigating the alleged fraud. Glahn told Fox News Digital that state agencies were “cowering in fear” over being called racist and local politicians were acutely aware that the “racist label” is a “career kiss of death.” A legislative auditor’s report found Minnesota Department of Education officials felt they had to handle the nonprofit “carefully” because of these racism allegations and the risk of negative media coverage, and that this influenced which regulatory actions MDE did or did not take, CBS News reported. Political commentator and Townhall columnist Dustin Grage highlighted another factor enabling the fraud: media hesitation. Conservative reporters, he said, described to him hitting internal roadblocks when pitching stories about the Feeding Our Future scandal because editors feared being accused of racism. “In newsrooms, they’re told, ‘We can’t run that because we’re going to be accused of being racist,’” Grage explained. That fear, combined with political pressure, allowed the scandal to grow largely unchecked until federal indictments forced it into the spotlight. MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS VOW NEW CRACKDOWN AFTER $1B FRAUD MELTDOWN THEY SAY WALZ LET SPIRAL Grage pointed to an early pivotal moment: Minnesota’s Department of Education detected signs of fraud and briefly halted payments. Immediately, Minneapolis political figures Omar Fateh and Jamal Osman pushed back, claiming the stop was racially motivated. They even took the state to court, though their case was eventually thrown out. Yet the damage was done. Payments resumed, and crucially, Gov. Tim Walz declined to use his subpoena power to obtain Feeding Our Future’s bank records, despite having the authority to do so. That inaction, Grage noted, further delayed the exposure of the fraud. Glahn told Fox News Digital that in addition to fear of the “racist” label, politicians in Minnesota understand that it is difficult to win elections without the support of the Somali community. “The Somali community is very concentrated in Minnesota and very concentrated in Ilhan Omar’s congressional district, and a few other pockets where the Somali vote swings elections, and at the state level, they’re big enough that we’ve had some super close elections at the state level, and the Somali vote is very monolithic, votes Democrat,” Glahn explained. “They provided the difference in statewide elections, and then in local elections, where it’s all Democrats, they’re providing the difference in the primary. So if you’re running in a primary against other Democrats, if you don’t have the Somali vote on
FBI ousts reinstated whistleblower over unauthorized media talks, ‘poor judgment’
A former FBI agent and COVID-era whistleblower who was recently reinstated under President Donald Trump was fired Friday, according to a report. The FBI dismissed Steve Friend for “unprofessional conduct and poor judgment,” according to a copy of a termination letter posted on X by New York Post columnist Miranda Devine. An FBI source confirmed the firing but would not elaborate, saying it was a personnel matter. The FBI stated in the letter that Friend “participated in unauthorized interactions with the media, publicly disseminated media sources, and commented publicly on FBI matters and ongoing FBI investigations.” HOUSE REPUBLICANS ACCUSE BIDEN’S FBI OF RETALIATING AGAINST WHISTLEBLOWER WHO EXPOSED MISCONDUCT Friend was first suspended by the FBI in August 2022 and resigned in February 2023. He was reinstated in September. In the letter, the FBI stated that, in November, Friend “disseminated media sources and photographs identifying an alleged subject and discussed the alleged subject on your podcast, despite the lack of credible, verifiable evidence necessary to publicly identify the subject.” When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, Friend said his ouster was retaliation by FBI Director Kash Patel. EX-FBI AGENTS SAY BUREAU USED INTERNAL PROBES TO PUNISH WHISTLEBLOWERS Friend’s dismissal from the bureau came after his attorneys at Empower Oversight Whistleblowers & Research dropped him as a client Dec. 5. The nonprofit organization said in a letter to Friend that he had ignored its advice by commenting publicly on FBI matters, “risking further adverse administrative action” by the bureau. “In light of your apparent unwillingness to follow the free professional advice we have given you, we are even more convinced that our previously expressed inability to represent you regarding any legal matters other than your reinstatement was warranted,” the nonprofit wrote. “We are no longer willing or able to expend further time and resources representing your interests or providing counsel moving forward.”
Trump vows ‘very serious retaliation’ against ISIS after deadly Syrian ambush kills US soldiers
President Donald Trump sent a strong message to those accused of killing two U.S. Army soldiers and an American interpreter in Syria Saturday, noting the U.S. will retaliate against ISIS if forces are attacked again. As Trump departed the White House for the Army-Navy football game Saturday afternoon, he said the country is mourning the loss of the soldiers and a civilian U.S. interpreter, who were ambushed by a lone ISIS gunman. Three other soldiers were wounded but are “doing well,” according to the president. They were taken by helicopters to the al-Tanf garrison, which is near the border with Iraq and Jordan, The Associated Press reported, citing Syrian state media. SYRIANS MARK FIRST YEAR SINCE ASSAD’S FALL AS US SIGNALS NEW ERA IN RELATIONS Trump later posted to Truth Social, adding, “there will be very serious retaliation.” “This was an ISIS attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled by them,” he wrote in the post. “The President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack. There will be very serious retaliation. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the attack occurred as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement, part of their mission in support of ongoing counter-ISIS/counter-terrorism operations in the region. TRUMP TO HOST SYRIAN PRESIDENT IN HISTORIC WHITE HOUSE MEETING AMID PUSH FOR REGIONAL PEACE The gunman was killed by partner forces, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The soldiers’ names, as well as identifying information about their units, are being withheld until 24 hours after the next of kin notification. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for further comment. As of June, roughly 1,500 U.S. troops remained in Syria after Pentagon-directed withdrawals, with the force expected to decline to a few hundred personnel by year’s end, according to Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin. The U.S. initially operated eight bases in Syria to monitor ISIS after intervening in 2014 to prevent the group from establishing a caliphate. Three of those bases have since been closed or transferred to the Syrian Democratic Forces. Fox News’ Greg Norman, Ashley Oliver, Jennifer Griffin, Benjamin Weinthal and Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
Maduro trapped with few retaliation options after Trump administration seizes Venezuelan oil tanker
The Trump administration’s latest offensive move against Venezuela, the seizure of a tanker carrying U.S.-sanctioned oil, has triggered predictable outrage from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government. But behind the rhetorical fire, analysts say the regime has few practical ways to hit back without doing even more damage to itself. Experts say that Maduro could target U.S. oil interests in Venezuela, but doing so would almost certainly inflict more pain on his own cash-starved regime than on the United States. Maduro could also halt U.S.-chartered deportation flights but again would be harming his own interests, experts say. MADURO’S FORCES FACE RENEWED SCRUTINY AS US TENSIONS RISE: ‘A FORTRESS BUILT ON SAND’ “Venezuelans are just leaving the country because of the terrible conditions the regime has created,” said Connor Pfeiffer, a Western Hemisphere analyst at FDD Action. “By having people come back, even if they’re on U.S. charter deportation flights, it kind of counters that narrative.” Western oil firms have significantly decreased their presence in Venezuela, home to world’s largest proven oil reserves, in recent years due to sanctions. But U.S.-owned Chevron does still maintain a license to operate there, on the condition that the Maduro regime does not financially benefit from its operations. Instead, Chevron hands over to Maduro half of its oil production as payment, according to multiple reports. “Chevron’s operations in Venezuela continue in full compliance with laws and regulations applicable to its business, as well as the sanctions frameworks provided for by the U.S. government,” a Chevron spokesperson told Fox News Digital. Imports of Venezuelan crude have declined to roughly 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 150,000 bpd in recent months, below the nearly 300,000 bpd imported under the prior petroleum licensing regime under the Biden administration. Most of Venezuela’s exports are now routed to Asia, with the bulk landing in China through intermediaries, according to data from Kpler. Despite that flow of crude, analysts say the idea of Caracas striking back at Chevron is more potent as a talking point than as a viable policy option. VENEZUELA ACCUSES US OF ‘PIRACY’ AFTER SEIZING MASSIVE OIL TANKER Shutting down or seizing the company’s operations would instantly cut off one of the few lifelines still feeding Venezuela’s collapsing oil sector. It also would risk triggering a swift and politically difficult American response, including a full reinstatement of the sanctions relief the regime has quietly relied on. Pfeiffer noted that the Maduro government has been “very supportive of Chevron continuing to operate” because the arrangement provides tens of thousands of barrels a day of oil with minimal investment from Venezuelan-owned Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. Other analysts say that reality sharply limits Maduro’s room to maneuver, and that any attack on Chevron would strike at his own revenue stream first. Another theoretical lever — military or maritime escalation — is widely viewed as even less credible. Venezuela has taken delivery of small Iranian-built fast attack craft equipped with anti-ship missiles, a fact that has fueled speculation Maduro could threaten U.S. or allied vessels. But Venezuela’s navy suffers from years of maintenance failures and lacks the ability to sustain operations against American forces deployed in the Caribbean. Any aggressive move at sea would almost certainly invite a U.S. military response the regime is in no position to absorb. Diplomatically, Caracas could suspend remaining channels with Washington or file legal challenges in U.S. courts or international forums. Yet previous efforts to contest sanctions-related seizures have gone nowhere, and Venezuela’s relationships in the hemisphere offer limited leverage. Regional bodies have little sway over U.S. sanctions law, and even supportive governments in Russia, China or Iran are unlikely to intervene beyond issuing critical statements. Beijing, now the primary destination for Venezuelan crude, has economic interests at stake but few practical avenues to challenge U.S. enforcement actions. Absent direct military strikes, cracking down on sanctioned oil exports is one of the most potent ways the U.S. can weaken the regime, according to Pfeiffer. “This is one of his main sources of revenue keeping the regime afloat,” he said.