Treasury targets oil traders, tankers accused of helping Maduro evade U.S. sanctions
The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Wednesday sanctioned four companies operating in Venezuela’s oil sector and identified four oil tankers as blocked property, saying the move targets oil traders involved in alleged sanctions-evasion that helps finance Nicolás Maduro’s regime. Treasury said the vessels, some described as part of a “shadow fleet” serving Venezuela, “continue to provide financial resources that fuel Maduro’s illegitimate narco-terrorist regime” in Tuesday’s press release. “President Trump has been clear: We will not allow the illegitimate Maduro regime to profit from exporting oil while it floods the United States with deadly drugs,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “The Treasury Department will continue to implement President Trump’s campaign of pressure on Maduro’s regime,” he added. Treasury said the sanctions block property and interests in property of the designated entities within U.S. jurisdiction and generally prohibits Americans from transactions involving them. VENEZUELA ACCUSES US OF ‘PIRACY’ AFTER SEIZING MASSIVE OIL TANKER The action follows U.S. measures against Venezuela’s state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). OFAC designated PDVSA in January 2019 under Executive Order 13850, and President Trump later took additional steps to block PDVSA in August 2019 under Executive Order 13884, Treasury said. Treasury said Wednesday’s move also complements actions announced Dec. 11 and Dec. 19 targeting PDVSA-linked officials, associates and vessels. SECOND TANKER SEIZED NEAR VENEZUELA AS US ENFORCES OIL BLOCKADE OFAC designated Corniola Limited and Krape Myrtle Co LTD and identified the tanker NORD STAR as blocked property. OFAC also designated Winky International Limited and identified ROSALIND, also known as LUNAR TIDE, as blocked property. OFAC designated Aries Global Investment LTD and identified the tankers DELLA and VALIANT as blocked property, Treasury said. Treasury said blocked property within U.S. jurisdiction must be reported to OFAC, and warned that violations of U.S. sanctions may result in civil or criminal penalties. Treasury said the goal of sanctions is to bring about a positive change in behavior, noting there is a formal process for seeking removal from an OFAC list consistent with U.S. law.
DEI and woke ideology are on life support under Trump’s return to DC, but could come roaring back with rebrand
President Donald Trump’s early second-term blitz against “woke” ideology, including diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, have rippled far beyond Washington, D.C., as companies roll back such policies. But the left-wing credos could come roaring back to public view under a rebranding, the president of American Principles Project (APP) told Fox News Digital. “DEI is still alive. It’s not dead yet. It’s bleeding, right? We’ve got blood here, but we know it’s vulnerable,” Terry Schilling, the president of conservative nonprofit and advocacy group the American Principles Project, told Fox News Digital in a December Zoom interview. “But they’re still in charge of the admissions offices and colleges. They’re still in charge of HR departments, and they’re still largely a part of Silicon Valley.” American Principles Project has documented the cultural shifts in recent years to embrace DEI initiatives, which conservatives argue replace merit with race and identity preferences that effectively penalize some Americans at work and at school through the expansion of bureaucracy and ideological pressure. Schilling said that while the “woke” push seen under the Biden era is retreating under the Trump administration, it is still alive and could make a return. FEDERAL WATCHDOG URGES WHITE MEN TO REPORT POSSIBLE WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION; VANCE BOOSTS MESSAGE “DEI is retreating,” Schilling said in the interview. “But I think that it’s important that we recognize that DEA is not disbanding, it’s rebranding.” Trump swiftly moved to drop the hammer on DEI and woke initiatives upon his return to office in January, including signing an executive order on day one, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” which directed federal agencies to stamp out DEI-style programs across the federal government. The following day, Trump signed a second order aimed at “restoring merit-based opportunity,” including changes for federal contracting and related compliance. “We’ve ended the tyranny of so-called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and indeed the private sector and our military. And our country will be woke no longer,” Trump said from the dais in Congress in March, celebrating his administration’s achievement just a few months into the job. Schilling said Trump turned DEI on its head upon his return to the Oval Office, pointing to his executive orders as death knells heard at the highest echelons of corporate America down to public school classrooms. “Trump winning the election had a lot to do with this,” Schilling said. “You’re seeing all these CEOs of major tech companies and companies abroad coming to the White House, kissing the ring. They know who’s in power and they’re willing to make deals to get their projects over the finish line. And that’s all great. We should use that. We should us that momentum to further cement opposition to DEI.” WASHINGTON POST PRAISES BONDI FOR ROLLING BACK WOKE RACIAL ELEMENT AT DOJ, SLAMS ‘BOGUS’ CRITICISM OF MOVE Silicon Valley has long been viewed and criticized as a powerful weapon used to silence conservatives — such as when social media platforms suppressed news reports on former first son Hunter Biden’s laptop ahead of the 2020 election — with top tech CEOs signaling a Trump-era pivot this year as they work to ink deals to expand their businesses amid the artificial intelligence boom. “President Trump’s executive orders did so much to cut back against DEI, banning DEI throughout the entire federal workforce, banning schools from using and tying federal funds to whether or not schools are implementing racist policies like DEI has done a lot to curb it,” Schilling said. “However, these guys are lying in wait,” he added. US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ACCUSED OF LEADING ‘WOKE CORPORATE AMERICA’ AS TRUMP DISMANTLES DEI AGENDA Massive American staple company Target announced the conclusion of DEI goals after a three-year initiative, while Disney also made changes such as removing DEI-related terms from its annual business reports. Cracker Barrel, after a bruising backlash to its branding overhaul earlier in 2025, scrapped remodel plans and reverted to its old logo, with Fox Digital previously reporting the chain eliminated DEI programs as part of its latest changes. “DEI is an employment issue,” Schilling said. “It’s keeping a large amount of Americans who deserve to have good lives and good incomes out of the workforce simply because they have the wrong color of skin.” Democrats generally support DEI policies as they see them as a way to expand opportunity and reduce discrimination in hiring, promotion and education, especially for groups they argue have faced historic barriers. Left-wing lawmakers stretching from members of the Congressional Black Caucus to Democrat 2025 political candidates, such as New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, have slammed or campaigned against Trump’s roll-back of DEI policies. Schilling warned that upcoming elections could undo the progress Trump has made in eliminating DEI policies at the federal level, pointing to the 2028 presidential election. MELINDA GATES SAYS BUSINESSES ENDING DEI PROGRAMS ARE ‘AFFECTING FAMILIES’ “They are lying in wait for the next Democrat president like Gavin Newsom, like JB Pritzker. There’s really no doubt that if another Democrat gets into office, they’re not just going to undo everything President Trump did to curb all the racism through DEI programs. They going to ramp it up. They gonna do it even more so than Barack Obama did and Joe Biden did. So we’ve got to continue to fight this,” Schilling said. The American Principles Project president continued that ending DEI and woke ideology for good requires conservative Republicans winning elections and conservative voters to talk with their feet with boycotts if a corporation leans into promoting left-wing policies, underscoring DEI is an economic issue, in addition to a cultural one. “If we really want to save the future, DEI must be killed, because it’s not just about the culture, it’s just not about racism,” he said. “It’s so much more. It’s the economy, it’s the future of America, it’s our families, it is our children, and so we really need to remain eternally vigilant until it’s
Jack Smith says key Jan 6 witness relied on hearsay, lacked firsthand evidence
Former special counsel Jack Smith undercut claims made by Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide and Jan. 6 Committee witness, while testifying in a recent deposition to Congress. Smith told the House Judiciary Committee this month that he evaluated Hutchinson’s explosive claims as part of his investigation and prosecution of President Donald Trump related to the 2020 election, according to a transcript published Wednesday. Smith said they had deficiencies because Hutchinson did not offer firsthand information. Asked during the deposition how he would have approached cross-examining Hutchinson, Smith said he would have moved to prohibit a portion of her testimony from being used. JACK SMITH DENIES POLITICS PLAYED ANY ROLE IN TRUMP PROSECUTIONS AT HOUSE HEARING “If I were a defense attorney and Ms. Hutchinson were a witness, the first thing I would do was seek to preclude some of her testimony because it was hearsay, and I don’t have the full range of her testimony in front of me right now, but I do remember that that was a decent part of it,” Smith said. Smith was also asked about specific claims Hutchinson had made, including that Trump was aware that some of his supporters would be armed at his rally and that Trump attempted to grab the steering wheel of his driver out of anger. Hutchinson “was a second or even thirdhand witness,” Smith said, adding that other witnesses gave “different perspectives” than her. “We interviewed, I think, the people she talked to, and we also interviewed, if my recollection is correct, officers who were there, including the officer who was in the car,” Smith said. “And that officer, if my recollection is correct, and I want to make sure I’m right about this, said that President Trump was very angry and wanted to go to the Capitol, but the version of events that he explained was not the same as what Cassidy Hutchinson said she heard from somebody secondhand.” Smith noted that “a number of the things that she gave evidence on were secondhand hearsay, were things that she had heard from other people and, as a result, that testimony may or may not be admissible, and it certainly wouldn’t be as powerful as firsthand testimony.” Hutchinson became a key witness in the Democrat-led Jan. 6 Committee’s investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack, testifying privately several times and publicly. Her testimony dominated headlines, but her claims became a point of scrutiny for Republicans, who found the committee’s work lacked credibility because its only Republican members were two vocal anti-Trump lawmakers. Hutchinson served as a top aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the final months of Trump’s first presidency, giving her an inside look at internal discussions among White House officials in the aftermath of the 2020 election. JACK SMITH SUBPOENAED FOR DEPOSITION WITH HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE In a highly publicized hearing in June 2022, Hutchinson testified under oath about what she said were warnings inside the White House about the possibility of violence on Jan. 6 and Trump’s alleged awareness that some supporters attending his rally would be armed. In another claim that was later disputed by other witnesses, Hutchinson also recalled conversations about how Trump attempted to grab the steering wheel from a U.S. Secret Service agent because he wanted to go to the Capitol and not the West Wing. Hutchinson testified that she was told that the president “said something to the effect of, ‘I’m the effing president, take me up to the Capitol now,’ to which [the agent] responded, ‘Sir, we have to go back to the West Wing.’ The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel.” Hutchinson had not mentioned that particular story in any of her prior interviews with the committee. She later said she withheld it at the direction of her former lawyer, Stefan Passantino. Smith was asked about Hutchinson as part of a more than eight-hour closed-door deposition this month that centered on his investigations and prosecutions of Trump related to the 2020 election and Trump’s alleged retention of classified material. Smith defended his investigative practices, including subpoenaing Senate and House lawmakers’ phone data. He also defended some of his prosecutorial decisions, including seeking gag orders against Trump and bringing an unusually slimmed-down superseding indictment against Trump after the Supreme Court ruled that Trump had some presidential immunity protections.
DOJ says lawyers working ‘around the clock’ to prep Epstein files for release after missed deadline
Officials with the Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday they are working relentlessly over the holidays to review and redact troves of documents in the Epstein files, prior to their mandated public release. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche released a statement on X noting Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers from Main Justice, FBI, SDFL and SDNY are “working around the clock” through Christmas and New Years to review documents, ensuring sensitive victim information is redacted from the impending release. “It truly is an all-hands-on-deck approach and we’re asking as many lawyers as possible to commit their time to review the documents that remain,” Blanche wrote in the post. “Required redactions to protect victims take time but they will not stop these materials from being released.” Blanche’s update comes amid recent threats of legal action after the department missed the Epstein Files Transparency Act’s Dec. 19 deadline to publish all of its documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. CLINTON TEAM DEMANDS TRUMP DOJ RELEASE ‘ANY REMAINING’ DOCS RELATED TO FORMER PRESIDENT, EPSTEIN He previously argued there was “well-settled law” supporting the missed deadline, as other legal requirements in the bill must be met prior to release, including redacting victim-identifying information. “The Attorney General’s and this Administration’s goal is simple: transparency and protecting victims,” Blanche wrote Wednesday. The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed Nov. 19 by President Donald Trump, required the DOJ to withhold information that could identify potential victims or compromise ongoing investigations or litigation. DOJ RESTORES TRUMP PHOTO TO EPSTEIN FILES AFTER DETERMINING NO VICTIMS DEPICTED It also allowed officials to exclude material deemed sensitive to national defense or foreign policy. While it remains unclear how many files still need to be reviewed, the DOJ last week confirmed the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York recently submitted more than 1 million additional pages of potentially responsive documents related to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking cases. Officials said the “mass volume” of material could take weeks to examine, further delaying their release, which was promised by Blanche on a “rolling basis,” Fox News Digital previously reported. Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
Trump says ‘Triumphal Arch’ monument construction to begin within 2 months in DC: report
President Donald Trump revealed Wednesday how soon an Arc de Triomphe-style monument will be constructed in the nation’s capital to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. Trump on Wednesday said the construction of the monument, nicknamed the “Arc de Trump,” will begin “sometime in the next two months,” according to a report from Politico. “It hasn’t started yet. It starts sometime in the next two months. It’ll be great. Everyone loves it,” Trump reportedly told the outlet during a phone call from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. “They love the ballroom too. But they love the Triumphal Arch.” The newest monument, which resembles Paris’ historic Arc de Triomphe, will be bankrolled privately, with funds left over from the new White House ballroom project, Fox News Digital previously reported. TRUMP ADMIN FIGHTS IN COURT TO KEEP WHITE HOUSE EAST WING DEMOLITION, $300M BALLROOM BUILD ON TRACK The exact location of the new landmark has not yet been confirmed, though the report notes it may be situated near the Lincoln Monument. Details about the amount of time it will take to build, the cost of construction, the funding amount and who is heading the project have not yet been released by the White House. Trump signed Public Law 116-217 in December 2020 authorizing the Women’s Suffrage National Monument to be built on federal land in Washington, D.C., leading to the subsequent signing of the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Location Act during former President Joe Biden’s final week in office. TRUMP PUSHES BACK AFTER MICHELLE OBAMA KNOCKS EAST WING RENOVATION, CALLING OLD ARRANGEMENT ‘A DISASTER’ The Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation (WSNMF) announced Dec. 4 it received final and unanimous approval from the National Capital Planning Commission for a permanent two and a half acre site on the National Mall in Constitution Gardens, according to the foundation’s website. Foundation leaders noted the women’s suffrage monument went through a “multi-step, rigorous review process,” including gaining approval from the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts. The foundation also completed a public comment period with the National Park Service as part of the public scoping process, according to its website. TRUMP TAPS NEW ARCHITECT TO RESHAPE WHITE HOUSE AS $300M BALLROOM BUILD ACCELERATES It is unclear if Trump’s newest proposed monument received similar approval. The Women’s Suffrage National Monument will be located at the intersection of 19th St. and Constitution Avenue NW, and the next project phase will focus on creative development and design. “The enthusiasm behind this project has been inspiring,” WSNMF President and CEO Anna Laymon wrote in a Dec. 4 statement announcing final approval. “We are so grateful for the dedicated support from so many who made this possible, including President Trump; President Biden; our honorary chairs Mrs. Melania Trump, Dr. Jill Biden, Mrs. Michelle Obama, Mrs. Laura Bush, and Secretary Hillary Clinton; our bipartisan and bicameral Congressional sponsors, Senator Blackburn, Senator Baldwin, Congresswoman Lesko, Congressman Neguse and their dedicated staffs; our incredible Board of Directors; and all our partners and supporters.” TRUMP BREAKS GROUND ON MASSIVE WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM PROJECT WITH PRIVATE FUNDING FROM ‘PATRIOTS’ The most recent major monument built on the National Mall was the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, which was completed in 2011. The granite memorial was inspired by a line from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered nearby on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” in 1963. The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.
Appeals court sides with Trump on budget provision cutting Planned Parenthood funds
An appeals court on Tuesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to enforce in 22 Democrat-led states a provision of a budget bill that cuts off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood clinics that provide abortions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit’s decision came in response to Judge Indira Talwani, a federal judge in Massachusetts, blocking the provision of the bill. A three-judge panel on the circuit court, comprising all Democratic appointees, paused Talwani’s decision, marking at least the second time that the judge has been overruled after siding with Planned Parenthood. The states, led by California, had argued in a complaint that the funding cuts amounted to “retribution” for Planned Parenthood’s “constitutionally protected advocacy” of abortion access. DOJ WALKS BACK BIDEN-ERA ABORTION POLICY, BARS VA FROM FUNDING PROCEDURES The states’ lawsuit turned on the argument that Congress did not provide enough specifics about the Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, in violation of the Constitution’s spending clause. Talwani, an Obama appointee, was persuaded enough to grant an injunction, but the appeals court paused it, saying the argument was likely to fail. The lawsuit was one of several that stemmed from Congress passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s funding cuts to certain Medicaid recipients who provide abortions. Trump signed the bill into law on July 4, and the cuts were set to last for one year. Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, said in a separate lawsuit in the summer that the provision unconstitutionally aimed to punish the nonprofit for its views, pointing to celebrations from Republican lawmakers about defunding Planned Parenthood specifically. PRO-LIFE GROUP CELEBRATES PLANNED PARENTHOOD’S CLOSING OF REMAINING LOUISIANA FACILITIES: ‘HUGE SUCCESS’ Lawyers for Planned Parenthood said that stripping their client’s Medicaid funding would force it to close a portion of its roughly 600 facilities and deprive more than 1 million people, about half of its customers, of services that do not include abortion. Talwani sided with Planned Parenthood and was overruled by the appeals court in that case as well. Medicaid does not typically cover Planned Parenthood’s abortion services, and the abortion giant has repeatedly emphasized that its clinics also provide other services, including screening for certain cancers and sexually transmitted infections and offering contraception. In the case brought by the states, the Trump administration argued that the bill’s budget restrictions were standard and approved by the legislative and executive branches. “Congress enacted a routine restriction on the use of federal funds—something it does in every budget cycle,” Trump Department of Justice lawyers wrote. “The Medicaid statute contains dozens of limits on how States may use federal funds. … When the States agreed to participate in Medicaid, they knew that they would have to abide by such conditions.” Fox News Digital reached out to the California attorney general’s office for comment.
Fraud engulfs Minnesota as another blue state kicks off New Year with ID for trains — not votes
While Minnesota grapples with a burgeoning fraud crisis, one blue state that still does not require photo ID to vote will require residents seeking to pay a reduced fare on state-owned transit present one in order to qualify. Reduced-fare on NJTransit, and mass transit in other states, is often offered to senior citizens, military personnel or the infirm. Meanwhile, officials in Minnesota are grappling with a multifaceted fraud scandal involving subsidies paid to largely Somali-led outfits and interests that are allegedly illegitimate and often appear unverified as well. However, New Jersey is one of 14 states that does not require the same stringent photo identification to be shown at the polls on election day. The discrepancy spurred an uproar online as the local outlet Shore News Network drew attention to it in its reporting of the new reduced-fare ID requirement. RED STATE GOVERNOR TOUTS MEDICAID SAVINGS AS MINNESOTA GRAPPLES WITH WIDESPREAD FRAUD ALLEGATIONS “Starting January 1, photo ID required for NJ Transit reduced fares but not for voting,” a headline from the Rutherford-based outlet read. “This change is only for customers who have been using an NJ Transit issued non-photo ID as proof of reduced fare eligibility,” NJ Transit spokesman John Chartier told NJAdvanceMedia. Current non-photo reduced-fare ID cards will no longer be accepted as of Thursday, according to the agency, which announced that Jerseyans must apply for a new photo ID either in-person or by mail – while providing NJTransit proof of age and/or disability and a recent photo. COMER WARNS ‘WALLS ARE CAVING IN’ ON TIM WALZ AS MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE WIDENS NJ Transit said all non-photo Reduced Fare IDs will become invalid after the new year. Riders must apply for the new, free photo ID card online, by mail, or in person, providing proof of age or disability along with a recent photo, according to Shore News Network. By contrast, on election day, voters must include their state driver’s license number on their registration form. Failing to include that number on a registration form would then require identification be presented onsite for first-time voters; which could include a license or a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government document – not all of which have a photographic component. MINNESOTA DEM SENATE CANDIDATE FACES CALL FROM OPPONENT TO APOLOGIZE OVER VIRAL ‘PANDERING’ HIJAB VIDEO “This is how ridiculous Democrat-run states are,” one X user said. “Beginning January 1st, a photo ID will be required for the Reduced Fair Program, but it is still not required to vote. This is how they keep states blue by cheating.” The volunteer good-governance organization New Jersey Project also slammed state policies: “Photo ID needed for NJ Transit discounts but not for voting. Starting January,” the group said. WALZ SLAMMED IN WAKE OF VIRAL VIDEO THAT RAISES DAYCARE FUNDING QUESTIONS: ‘NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE’ “Priorities, Trenton?” The blog New Jersey News wrote that state officials often claim voter ID “disenfranchises minorities” who cannot get such identification. “Guess they won’t be riding the train either,” the outlet said. MINNESOTA’S NEW MEDICAID FRAUD PREVENTION FIX WON’T MAKE ‘ANY DIFFERENCE,’ FORMER FBI AGENT SAYS The group “Wake Up NJ” also fired back at the new policy, citing the same disparity between arguments against voter-ID and the state’s actions toward reduced-fare straphangers. “New Jersey expects you to get that reduced fare for New Jersey Transit, but it’s OK [if you don’t] for voting,” they said. The photo ID rule in-practice will allow a rider who goes a short distance on a state bus – considered a “Zone 1” fare – to pay 85 cents instead of the full $1.85. Commuters going to “Zone 3” – immediate suburbs of New York City – pay $5.30, but would be able to pay $2.40 under the reduced-fare ID policy. Longer trips see larger savings as NJTransit’s special limited-stop service on the Garden State Parkway from New York to Toms River and Atlantic City currently costs $57.40 to hit the casinos. Showing a reduced-fare ID card would allow the rider to pay $25.80. Fox News Digital reached out to the New Jersey Secretary of State’s office, which oversees elections, for comment.
Comer, House Oversight demand answers in Minnesota fraud hearing, call on Walz to testify
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are escalating their investigation into Minnesota’s sweeping fraud schemes, setting a hearing next week and demanding answers from Gov. Tim Walz’s administration over what they say were glaring failures of oversight. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., announced lawmakers would hold a hearing on Wednesday, Jan. 7, evaluating the fraud scandal, its scale and whether the state’s leadership could have done something to prevent exploitation from happening in the first place. “Congress has a duty to conduct rigorous oversight of this heist and enact stronger safeguards to prevent fraud in taxpayer-funded programs, as well as strong sanctions to hold offenders accountable,” Comer said in a statement on Wednesday morning. MINNESOTA’S NEW MEDICAID FRAUD PREVENTION FIX WON’T MAKE ‘ANY DIFFERENCE,’ FORMER FBI AGENT SAYS While the committee will also hear testimony from lawmakers in Minnesota, Republican lawmakers believe it is the Walz administration that holds the answers on how the problem got so large. “Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison have either been asleep at the wheel or complicit in a massive fraud involving taxpayer dollars in Minnesota’s social services programs. American taxpayers demand and deserve accountability for the theft of their hard-earned money,” Comer said. The Committee will hear from Reps. Kristin Robbins, Walter Hudson and Marion Rarick — all Republican members of the Minnesota House of Representatives. It’s unclear if Walz or Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will accept the invitation. When asked about whether he would cooperate with congressional investigations, Walz told Fox News Digital he believed the hearing would have little to do with the problem of fraud. “We’re always happy to work with Congress, though this committee has a track record of holding circus hearings that have nothing to do with the issue at hand. While the Governor has been working to ensure fraudsters go to prison, the president has been selling pardons to let them out,” Walz’s office said. SHIRLEY ASSOCIATE IN VIRAL VIDEO SAYS HE FILED CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST WALZ OVER DAYCARE FRAUD ALLEGATIONS The hearing is a part of the committee’s own investigation into the Minnesota fraud, a separate effort from ongoing FBI probes. The Oversight Committee’s announcement comes as new revelations about fraud in Minnesota reveal that the state could have lost as much as $9 billion through abuse of its government assistance programs. In recent months, investigators have unearthed sweeping fraud schemes masquerading as daycare centers, medical providers, food assistance programs and more. By fabricating services or inflating the number of people they claimed to serve, the schemes allegedly siphoned billions in government funds. “In addition to conducting transcribed interviews with Minnesota state officials, the House Oversight Committee will hold hearings on fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs to expose failures, identify solutions, and deliver accountability,” Comer said. Given their size and frequency, lawmakers have raised questions about how a state’s lack of awareness of its own programs could have been so easily abused. MINNESOTA FRAUD COMMITTEE CHAIR CLAIMS WALZ ‘TURNED A BLIND EYE’ TO FRAUD WARNINGS FOR YEARS Comer believes the lawmakers who have agreed to testify before the committee will provide insight into the visibility of the fraud rings and whether Walz was made aware of their scale ahead of shocking reporting that made Minnesota’s shortcomings a matter of national attention. “Next week, we will hear from Minnesota state lawmakers who sounded the alarm on this fraud — and whose warnings were ignored by the Walz administration. This misconduct cannot be swept aside, and Congress will not stop until taxpayers get the answers and accountability they deserve,” Comer said.
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tells Border Patrol official his ‘day of reckoning is fast approaching’
As senior U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino continued to suggest that the agency will be in Chicago “for years,” former Windy City Mayor Lori Lightfoot told the federal official that his “day of reckoning is fast approaching.” “If you think we’re done with Chicago, you’d better check yourself before you wreck yourself,” Bovino, commander of Operation At Large in California, wrote in a post on X. “Don’t call it a comeback; we’re gonna be here for years,” he added in a play on lyrics in LL Cool J’s song, “Mama Said Knock You Out,” which plays in the background of a video montage included in the post. AG PAM BONDI PUTS EX-CHICAGO MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT ON NOTICE OVER HER VOW TO ‘UNMASK’ ICE AGENTS Lightfoot slammed Bovino when responding to his post on X. “Glory hound Greg Bovino cannot resist acting a fool in the third largest media market. The actions of the CBP militia under his command have been unconstitional [sic] and shameful. Hey, Greg, your day of reckoning is fast approaching,” she asserted. Bovino issued a similar post on X last week. “Don’t worry, Chicago, we will be here for YEARS! Despite calls for violence against our agents, the brave men and women of the United States Border Patrol have come together and developed serious plans to help Chicago rid their streets of criminal illegal aliens,” he declared. “We work for YOU.” Current Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has backed the idea of putting the message “Abolish ICE” on a city snow plow. CHICAGO MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON ENDORSES ‘ABOLISH ICE’ FOR NAME OF NEW SNOWPLOW “‘Abolish ICE’ has my full endorsement for the name of one of Chicago’s next Snow Plows. Remember to submit your choice by January 10th, 2026!” Johnson wrote in a post on X. Bovino fired back at the mayor: “Oh oh, i’ve got a nomination for the mayor. Name the plow ‘Reality Check’ and paint it green while your [sic] at it. Johnson obsesses over Border Patrol it seems!!” he wrote. Johnson shared a screenshot of Bovino’s post, pointing out that the federal official should have used the contraction “you’re” in the post. SWALWELL SLAMMED BY BORDER PATROL COMMANDER OVER IMAGERY SHOWING ICE RAIDING JESUS CHRIST’S MANGER “And reality check, Greg: Chicagoans vote on the snow plow names. The same people who want you out of our city,” Johnson added.
Ukraine–Russia at a crossroads: How the war evolved in 2025 and what comes next
President Donald Trump spent much of 2025 attempting what had eluded his predecessors: personally engaging both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an effort to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. From high-profile summits to direct phone calls, the administration pushed for a negotiated settlement even as the fighting ground on and the map changed little. By year’s end, the outlines of a potential deal were clearer than they had been at any point since Russia’s full-scale invasion, with U.S. and Ukrainian officials coalescing around a revised 20-point framework addressing ceasefire terms, security guarantees and disputed territory. But 2025 also made clear why the war has proven so resistant to resolution: neither battlefield pressure, economic sanctions nor intensified diplomacy were enough to force Moscow or Kyiv into concessions they were unwilling to make. The year began with a high-profile fallout last February between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, when the Ukrainian leader stormed out of the White House after Trump told him he did not have “any cards” to bring to negotiations with Russia. Frustrated by the pace of talks after promising to end the war on “Day One” of his presidency, Trump initially directed his ire toward Zelenskyy before later conceding that Moscow, not Kyiv, was standing in the way of progress. “I thought the Russia-Ukraine war was the easiest to stop but Putin has let me down,” Trump said in September 2025. That frustration had already surfaced publicly months earlier as Russian strikes continued despite diplomatic engagement. “He talks nice, and then he bombs everybody in the evening,” Trump said in July. Trump’s outreach to Russian President Vladimir Putin culminated in a high-profile summit in Alaska in August, though additional meetings were later called off amid a lack of progress toward a deal. ZELENSKYY ENCOURAGED BY ‘VERY GOOD’ CHRISTMAS TALKS WITH US Still, Trump struck a more optimistic tone toward the end of the year. On Sunday, after meeting Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago, the president said the sides were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to a peace agreement, while acknowledging that major obstacles remained — including the status of disputed territory such as the Donbas region, which he described as “very tough.” Trump said the meeting followed what he described as a “very positive” phone call with Putin that lasted more than two hours, underscoring the administration’s continued effort to press both sides toward a negotiated end to the war. By the end of 2025, the diplomatic track had narrowed around a more defined — but still contested — framework. U.S. officials and Ukrainian negotiators have been working from a revised 20-point proposal that outlines a potential ceasefire, security guarantees for Ukraine, and mechanisms to address disputed territory and demilitarized zones. Zelenskyy has publicly signaled openness to elements of the framework while insisting that any agreement must include robust, long-term security guarantees to deter future Russian aggression. Ukrainian officials have also made clear that questions surrounding occupied territory, including parts of the Donbas, cannot be resolved solely through ceasefire lines without broader guarantees. Russia, however, has not agreed to the proposal. Moscow has continued to insist on recognition of its territorial claims and has resisted terms that would constrain its military posture or require meaningful concessions. Russian officials have at times linked their negotiating stance to developments on the battlefield, reinforcing the Kremlin’s view that leverage — not urgency — should dictate the pace of talks. The result is a negotiation process that is more structured than earlier efforts, but still far from resolution: positions have hardened even as channels remain open, and talks continue alongside ongoing fighting rather than replacing it. Even as diplomacy intensified in 2025, the war on the ground remained defined by slow, grinding territorial pressure rather than decisive breakthroughs. Russian forces continued pushing for incremental gains in eastern and southern Ukraine, particularly along axes tied to Moscow’s long-stated objective of consolidating control over territory it claims as Russian. Russian advances were measured and costly, often unfolding village by village through artillery-heavy assaults and sustained drone use rather than sweeping offensives. While Moscow failed to capture major new cities or trigger a collapse in Ukrainian defenses, it expanded control in parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, maintaining pressure across multiple fronts and keeping territorial questions central to both the fighting and any future negotiations. Ukraine, for its part, did not mount a large-scale counteroffensive in 2025 comparable to earlier phases of the war. Ukrainian forces achieved localized tactical successes, at times reclaiming small areas or reversing specific Russian advances, but these gains were limited in scope and often temporary. None translated into a sustained territorial breakthrough capable of altering the broader balance of the front. Instead, Kyiv focused on preventing further losses, reinforcing defensive lines and imposing costs on Russian forces through precision strikes and asymmetric tactics. With decisive territorial gains out of reach, Ukraine expanded attacks against Russian energy infrastructure, targeting refineries, fuel depots and other hubs critical to sustaining Moscow’s war effort — including sites deep inside Russian territory. ZELENSKYY SAYS FRESH RUSSIAN ATTACK ON UKRAINE SHOWS PUTIN’S ‘TRUE ATTITUDE’ AHEAD OF TRUMP MEETING Russia, meanwhile, continued its own campaign against Ukraine’s energy grid, striking power and heating infrastructure as part of a broader effort to strain Ukraine’s economy, civilian resilience and air defenses. The result was a widening pattern of horizontal escalation, as both sides sought leverage beyond the front lines without achieving a decisive military outcome. The result was a battlefield stalemate with movement at the margins: Russia advanced just enough to sustain its territorial claims and domestic narrative, while Ukraine proved capable of blunting assaults and imposing costs but not of reclaiming large swaths of occupied land. The fighting underscored a central reality of 2025 — territory still mattered deeply to both sides, but neither possessed the military leverage needed to force a decisive shift. That dynamic would increasingly shape the limits of diplomacy.