⚡Blue States Choose Higher Electricity Costs
Electricity prices in the United States have risen substantially, with federal data showing a 27 percent increase from January 2021 through January 2025 and an additional 11 percent from January through September 2025, burdening American households already concerned about utility bills. These high prices stem predominantly from state-level policy decisions rather than federal actions. A report reveals that 86 percent of states with electricity prices above the national average of 13.54 cents per kilowatt-hour from January to August 2025 voted Democratic in the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, while 80 percent of the ten states with the lowest prices voted Republican. The five most expensive states all mandate 100 percent renewable or carbon-free electricity in coming decades through renewable portfolio standards and clean energy requirements, driving up costs via overinvestment in intermittent wind and solar that require expensive transmission, storage, and backup systems. In contrast, lower-price states like Florida, Louisiana, and Kentucky rely heavily on reliable natural gas and coal without such aggressive mandates, keeping rates affordable despite high demand or resource constraints. Examples include New York, where prices are 58 percent above the national average due to nuclear closures and decarbonization mandates, and California, with the fastest price increases from similar policies. Red states demonstrate that prioritizing reliability and dispatchable generation over ideological climate goals maintains lower costs for consumers.
Sources: ZeroHedge, The Institute for Energy Research
🏠Foreign-Born Population Drives Two-Thirds of Rental Demand Growth
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Worst Case Housing Needs Report indicates that between 2022 and 2024, two-thirds of the increase in rental demand nationwide stemmed from the foreign-born population. This group accounted for over 60 percent of all rental demand across the country. In California and New York, immigrants drove 100 percent of rental growth and over half of owner-occupied housing expansion in recent years. The foreign-born population expanded by more than six million from 2021 to 2024, reaching around 53 million individuals. This marked the largest such increase over a short period in American history. The influx has strained the housing industry. It has placed upward pressure on rent prices that have risen faster than inflation. Without high immigration levels, approximately 784,000 fewer households would have formed in that timeframe. Household growth among the foreign-born rose 13 percent between 2019 and 2023, up from seven percent between 2015 and 2019. Economic growth has failed to boost wages enough for low-income renting families to afford these escalating costs.
Sources: The Post Millennial, FOX News
⚖️DHS Expands Immigration Enforcement Hiring Drive to Judges
The Department of Homeland Security has launched a recruitment campaign urging qualified Americans to apply as immigration judges within the Justice Department to accelerate deportation proceedings and strengthen border security amid a massive surge in enforcement resources. DHS promoted the positions through social media with the message “YOU BE THE JUDGE,” directing applicants to roles that involve presiding over federal immigration court cases to determine whether individuals must depart the United States or remain, while emphasizing the need to combat fraud and exploitation of immigration system vulnerabilities. These judges, with salaries ranging from $159,951 to $207,500 annually and a 25% recruitment incentive for first-time federal employees in high-cost areas such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston, are positioned as essential to processing cases efficiently without prolonged delays that have historically allowed unlawful presence. This initiative follows a $75 billion funding increase for DHS, record applications exceeding 220,000 for ICE positions, and the hiring of thousands of new agents focused on arresting and removing criminal aliens, particularly in sanctuary jurisdictions, as part of restoring lawful order to immigration enforcement.
Sources: NewsMax, The Daily Caller
💵HUD Billions Improperly Paid in Rental Assistance
A recent HUD financial review identified $5.8 billion in questionable rental assistance payments out of nearly $50 billion disbursed in fiscal year 2024 through Tenant-Based and Project-Based Rental Assistance programs serving over four million households. The analysis flagged more than 200,000 tenants with eligibility issues, including approximately 30,000 deceased individuals who remained enrolled or received payments posthumously, thousands of potential non-citizens, and numerous households exceeding local income limits for aid. These suspect payments occurred nationwide, with higher concentrations in major urban areas, stemming from reliance on local entities for verification amid directives emphasizing rapid fund distribution and limited federal oversight tools. HUD leadership has committed to further investigations, potential funding suspensions, and accountability measures to address the identified risks of waste and fraud in taxpayer-funded housing programs.
Sources: ZeroHedge, The Washington Times
🏫Justice Department Challenges Virginia Tuition Benefits for Illegal Aliens
The United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Virginia on December 29, 2025, alleging that state laws granting in-state tuition rates and financial assistance at public colleges and universities to aliens unlawfully present in the country violate federal immigration statutes. Virginia’s education code provisions allow students to qualify for reduced in-state tuition regardless of immigration status if they establish residency through criteria such as attending a Virginia high school for at least two years or having parents pay state taxes for a similar period. The DOJ contends these policies discriminate against U.S. citizens from other states by denying them equivalent benefits, conflict with the supremacy clause of the Constitution, and contravene 8 U.S.C. § 1623(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which prohibits states from providing postsecondary education benefits to unlawfully present aliens on the basis of residence unless the same benefits are available to all U.S. citizens nationwide. The complaint seeks a permanent injunction to halt enforcement of the relevant Virginia code sections and bring the state into compliance with federal law. This action follows similar DOJ lawsuits against other states and aligns with executive orders aimed at preventing taxpayer-funded preferential treatment for illegal immigrants.
Sources: The Epoch Times, The Washington Examiner
🍾SPECIAL HOLIDAY SUBSCRIPTION OFFER...LAST DAYS 🥂
SUBSCRIBE NOW and receive a 25% discount on monthly & annual subscriptions:
❄️ $3.75 per month instead of $5 per month (1/4 the cost of a cup at Starbucks)
❄️ $33.75 annually instead of $45 annually (the price of a meal at McDonald’s)
🔫Politico Reporter Suggests Violence Against Fraud Investigators
Josh Gerstein, a senior legal affairs reporter at Politico, posted on social media implying that owners of Somali-owned daycare centers in Minnesota, amid allegations of hundreds of millions in taxpayer-funded fraud exposed by citizen journalist Nick Shirley’s viral video showing apparently empty facilities, could justifiably shoot individuals knocking on doors to ask questions, referencing robust stand-your-ground laws despite Minnesota lacking such statutes and having a duty to retreat. Gerstein’s comment, made in response to efforts to uncover welfare fraud in a Democrat-controlled state, drew widespread criticism for irresponsibly suggesting lethal force against peaceful inquiries, with responders noting that neither stand-your-ground nor castle doctrine permits shooting mere door-knockers and accusing the remark of defending fraud over accountability. This incident highlights reluctance among some journalists to pursue stories reflecting poorly on certain communities or policies, as Gerstein appeared to warn of potential violent confrontations rather than support an investigation into the misuse of public funds.
Sources: Legal Insurrection, The Daily Caller
🏠Real Estate Investors Acquire Significant Share of Burned Lots in Los Angeles Fire Zones
Nearly one year after the devastating January 2025 California wildfires that scorched over 40,000 acres and destroyed more than 11,000 single-family homes in affluent Los Angeles suburbs, real estate investors have purchased approximately 40 percent of the vacant lots sold in the hardest-hit areas. A recent Redfin analysis of third-quarter sales data reveals that in Pacific Palisades, investors bought 48 of 119 lots sold, while in Altadena, they acquired 27 of 61, and in Malibu, 19 of 43, marking a sharp increase from zero lot sales in some zones the prior year. Many of these cleared parcels previously held high-value residences now reduced to rubble, with overall fire-zone housing valued at billions, as homeowners face rebuilding challenges and opt to sell.
Sources: KFI-AM Burbank, Mansion Global
🎓Yale University Ideological Bias Exposed
A recent report from the Buckley Institute reveals that Yale University has no registered Republican professors in 27 of its 43 undergraduate departments, with only 3 percent of faculty across reviewed areas identifying as Republican, while 83 percent are registered Democrats or primarily support Democratic candidates. The analysis examined political affiliations of over 1,300 faculty members in undergraduate departments, the Law School, and the School of Management using voter registration data and campaign contributions. This stark disparity persists despite national voter divisions being far more balanced and stands in contrast to Yale’s own Woodward Report, emphasizing the need for free interchange of ideas.
Sources: ZeroHedge, The College Fix
🎱Newsom’s California Fraud and Mismanagement Crisis
California taxpayers have suffered substantial losses exceeding $70 billion due to fraud, waste, and mismanagement in state programs under Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration. A nonpartisan state auditor’s 92-page report identified eight agencies at high risk, highlighting systemic vulnerabilities that enabled billions in improper payments and untracked spending. Key examples include up to $32 billion in fraudulent COVID relief funds distributed without adequate safeguards, $24 billion allocated to homelessness initiatives with inadequate tracking of outcomes despite rising homelessness numbers, $18 billion expended on the high-speed rail project without any completed tracks, and $2.5 billion in potential annual improper payments in the food stamp program. Additional issues involve unupgraded 911 systems despite collected surcharges and other infrastructure failures. Critics point to lax oversight and delayed fraud prevention measures as contributing factors, resulting in a significant budget shortfall that some argue prompts proposals for new taxes rather than reforms.
Sources: ZeroHedge, The California Globe
⚕️Deadly Consequences of Canada’s Socialized Health Care Wait Lists
Government data compiled through freedom-of-information requests reveals that at least 23,746 Canadians died while awaiting surgeries or diagnostic procedures between April 2024 and March 2025 in the nation’s single-payer health system. This figure represents a three percent increase from the prior year and pushes the cumulative total of documented wait-list deaths since 2018 beyond 100,000. The count remains incomplete as Alberta and portions of Manitoba supplied no data while several jurisdictions provided only partial figures. Many fatalities involved patients seeking treatments to enhance quality of life such as hip and knee replacements or cataract surgeries alongside cases requiring potentially life-saving interventions including cardiac procedures and cancer care. Despite health spending reaching record levels no government publicly tracks or reports these deaths on waiting lists.
Sources: The Post Millennial, SecondStreet.org
DON’T MISS OUR FEATURED COMMENTARY:
Tucker Carlson:
Has Qatari Money Purchased America’s Former Truth-Teller?
“…ICarlson’s brand has always relied on moral conflict narratives—he pits the spiritual sickness of liberal elites against some vision of prelapsarian order. But lately he has recast the Islamofascist model—theocratic submission through violence—as the moral antidote to Western degeneracy. When Tucker tells you that OnlyFans is more dangerous than Islamofascism, he’s not making a religious argument. He’s offering a false dichotomy…”
Read and listen to more of this article at UndergroundUSA.com
⚔️China Launches Aggressive Military Drills Encircling Taiwan
China’s People’s Liberation Army conducted extensive military exercises dubbed Justice Mission 2025 around Taiwan on December 30, 2025, firing 27 rockets from coastal Fujian Province into waters north and south of the island during the second day of live-fire drills involving warships, aircraft, and ground forces. Beijing described the operations as a direct response to a recent major U.S. arms sale to Taiwan. Taiwan’s defense ministry reported that ten rockets landed within the island’s 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone, the closest ever recorded for such live-fire activity, and stated the drills were designed to undermine confidence in Taiwan’s defensive capabilities while simulating blockade and strike scenarios.
Sources: The Epoch Times, Reuters
💥Iran Economic Protests Feature Defiant Stand Against Authorities
Amid severe economic strain from the Iranian rial’s drastic devaluation—trading at approximately 1.42 million to the US dollar compared to 820,000 a year prior, driving up import costs and inflation—protests erupted on December 28 in Tehran’s largest mobile phone market among shopkeepers and university students, spreading to central areas including Jomhouri Avenue. A viral video captured on December 29 depicts a lone protester sitting cross-legged in the street with head bowed, steadfastly facing over 20 helmeted police officers on motorbikes amid tear gas deployment as crowds fled. This act of individual resistance, drawing comparisons to historical displays of courage against state power, rapidly spread across social media platforms, garnering thousands of engagements and serving as a symbol for the demonstrations rooted in hardship affecting retail traders and ordinary citizens.
Sources: The Straits Times, The New Arab
🚢Russian Crew Detained in Baltic Sea Cable Sabotage Incident
Finnish authorities detained the 14-member crew of the cargo vessel Fitburg on December 31, 2025, after the ship was suspected of damaging an undersea telecommunications cable connecting Helsinki and Tallinn in the Gulf of Finland. The St. Vincent and Grenadines-flagged vessel, which originated in St. Petersburg, Russia, and was bound for Haifa, Israel, was seized in Finnish waters where it was found anchored with its anchor chain extended. The crew includes nationals from Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. Investigators are treating the incident as aggravated criminal damage, attempted aggravated criminal damage, and aggravated interference with telecommunications. A second cable in the area also experienced temporary disruption, though no link has been confirmed. The damaged cable, owned by Finnish operator Elisa, sustained a fault detected early that morning but did not disrupt services due to redundancy measures. This event follows a pattern of similar incidents in the Baltic Sea since 2022, amid heightened regional tensions.
Sources: The UK Telegraph, The Guardian
☠️Turkey Thwarts Islamic State New Year’s Terror Plots
Turkish authorities conducted massive nationwide operations resulting in the arrest of 357 suspected Islamic State terrorists accused of planning deadly attacks on New Year’s Eve celebrations. These actions followed a fierce seven-hour siege in Yalova province, where three brave police officers were martyred, and six jihadists were neutralized after militants opened fire, while five women and six children were safely rescued from the hideout. Raids spanned 21 provinces with 110 arrests in Istanbul alone, targeting cells intent on empowering the Islamic State within the country and striking crowded gatherings, including religious events. Digital evidence led to warrants for additional suspect,s including foreign nationals. This decisive crackdown builds on prior operations detaining over 100 ISIS operatives plotting Christmas and New Year assaults, demonstrating strong resolve against persistent jihadist threats reminiscent of past atrocities like the Reina nightclub massacre.
Sources: Breitbart, The Daily Mail
🌐United Nations Implements Major Budget and Staff Reductions
The United Nations has adopted a leaner regular budget for 2026 that achieves savings of $570 million and eliminates nearly 2,900 posts as part of efforts to prioritize resources more effectively. This development follows sustained scrutiny from the United States, which provides approximately one-third of the organization’s funding. Jeff Bartos, the U.S. representative for U.N. management and reform, described the changes as unprecedented reforms representing an important first step toward greater accountability and fiscal discipline at the United Nations. Bartos emphasized that the United States will continue pursuing a vision for a back-to-basics approach that enables the organization to fulfill its core mission more efficiently.
Sources: The Epoch Times, The Business Standard