GAO Report Exposes Billions in Obamacare Subsidy Fraud Costing Taxpayers
A Government Accountability Office investigation, requested by Republican House chairmen including Jim Jordan, Jason Smith, and Brett Guthrie, has uncovered extensive fraud in the Affordable Care Act’s Advance Premium Tax Credit program, with all four fictitious applicants tested in 2024 approved for subsidies by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services despite lacking citizenship or income documentation, and 90 percent of 20 such fraudulent enrollments persisting into 2025. The report further documents 58,000 Social Security numbers receiving subsidies in 2023 that matched Social Security Administration death records, including 7,000 cases where individuals were deceased prior to coverage, resulting in $94 million disbursed to insurers on behalf of the dead, alongside 29,000 instances of duplicated Social Security numbers across multiple plans and prior estimates of up to $27 billion in improper payments. Chairman Jordan emphasized that these findings validate long-standing Republican warnings about skyrocketing premiums and reduced choices under the law, while Chairman Smith described the results as a “smoking gun” illustrating how unchecked Democrat policies funnel billions in taxpayer funds to insurance companies via identity theft, and Chairman Guthrie stressed the need for robust verification to curb waste that burdens patients and elevates costs. Additional GAO recommendations include mandatory pre-subsidy eligibility checks, elimination of open enrollment loopholes, and redirecting funds directly to Americans rather than intermediaries, aligning with President Trump’s proposal to empower individuals in healthcare decisions.
Sources: US House Budget Committee, Breitbart
Congress Faces Obamacare Subsidy Deadline with Calls for Market Reforms
As the December 31 deadline approaches for the expiration of enhanced Obamacare subsidies affecting 24 million Americans reliant on exchange plans, Congress is locked in urgent debates over extending these temporary COVID-era provisions, with Senate Democrats pushing for a straightforward renewal to avert premium spikes while Republicans advocate for market-driven reforms to curb long-term costs and address enrollment fraud. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has pledged a vote by mid-December on Democratic proposals, acknowledging bipartisan consensus on affordability challenges exacerbated by the Affordable Care Act’s structure, yet emphasizing the need for targeted fixes like phased phase-outs and health savings account integrations to foster competition and lower prices without perpetuating government overreach.
Sources: FOX News, The Washington Examiner
New York Times Sues Pentagon Over Media Access Despite Legal Precedent Making Access a Privilege
The New York Times filed a federal lawsuit on December 4, against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Department of Defense, claiming that the Pentagon’s new policy requiring journalists to sign a nondisclosure and conduct agreement in exchange for press credentials violates the First and Fifth Amendments; however, decades of settled law, including the 1977 decision in Sherrill v. Knight and subsequent rulings, have consistently held that the government has no affirmative obligation to grant press credentials to any media outlet and that access to restricted military facilities is a revocable privilege, not a right. Nothing in the new policy prevents The New York Times or any other outlet from continuing to report on Pentagon activities through public statements, Freedom of Information Act requests, off-site interviews with authorized sources, or any other lawful newsgathering method available to uncredentialed journalists and the general public; the lawsuit instead seeks to compel the government to restore a preferred level of physical access and direct contact with officials that the Pentagon is constitutionally entitled to withhold or condition as it sees fit for national-security and operational reasons.
Sources: FOX News, Forbes Magazine
Democrats Deny Narco-Terrorist Reality Amid Cartel Crisis
Rep. Jim Himes, the Democrat ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, asserted on MSNBC that cartel members operating drug vessels do not qualify as narco-terrorists, dismissing President Trump’s designation as a fabricated pretext to deploy the U.S. military against them, despite evidence that these groups have fueled over 1.25 million American overdose deaths since 1999—far surpassing fatalities from al Qaeda or ISIS in the same timeframe. Himes contended that equating cartels to terrorist organizations like ISIS rests on a “very thin line” enabling what he termed the illegal use of force, even as the Trump administration has conducted targeted strikes on Pacific drug boats to disrupt fentanyl and cocaine trafficking that claims over 100,000 U.S. lives annually. This stance aligns with broader Democrat resistance, including efforts to urge U.S. troops to defy orders and a discredited narrative alleging unlawful commands by War Secretary Pete Hegseth, while recent clarifications from military sources confirm strikes on survivors only when they actively salvaged drugs and posed ongoing threats. Trump’s policy, building on his prior classification of cartels like CJNG as foreign terrorist organizations, has secured Mexico’s extradition of 26 top leaders and authorized lethal action against traffickers, underscoring a commitment to border security and American lives over political obstruction.
Sources: Legal Insurrection, The Washington Examiner
ABC Report Debunks Democrat Double-Tap War Crime Fabrication
A recent ABC News report has exposed the falsehoods in Democrat-driven claims of a so-called “double-tap war crime” during a U.S. military operation against narco-traffickers on September 2, revealing that two survivors from an initial strike on a drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean actively climbed back aboard the damaged boat to salvage cocaine and communicate with nearby accomplices, thereby remaining valid combatant targets under lawful rules of engagement, as confirmed by a JAG officer providing real-time legal counsel to Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley. The operation, executed by SEAL Team 6 under Joint Special Operations Command, initially eliminated 11 designated terrorists and disrupted a major narcotics shipment, with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s directive emphasizing lethal force to destroy the vessel and its cargo in defense of American borders—a policy shift prioritizing domestic security over overseas entanglements, as echoed by White House adviser Stephen Miller. This development directly contradicts earlier Washington Post allegations, based on anonymous sources, that portrayed the follow-up strikes as illegal murders, a narrative now undermined by the factual account of the survivors’ ongoing hostile actions, affirming the military’s adherence to established protocols while underscoring the administration’s resolve to neutralize cartel threats flooding communities with deadly drugs.
Sources: The Gateway Pundit, American Greatness
Senator Mark Warner Faces Accusations of Inciting Military Intervention Against Elected President
On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Virginia Democrat Senator Mark Warner stated that the uniformed military may need to save the country from President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, citing their alleged disrespect toward military leaders, partisan actions, and firings of generals including the heads of the NSA and Defense Intelligence Agency, while emphasizing the military’s commitment to the Constitution over any individual. These remarks, delivered amid reports of Hegseth sharing classified information and endangering troops, prompted immediate backlash as critics invoked 18 U.S. Code § 2387, which prohibits efforts to incite insubordination or mutiny in the armed forces, carrying penalties of up to ten years imprisonment and five years of federal employment ineligibility. Social media erupted with condemnations viewing Warner’s words as an unprecedented challenge to constitutional authority and the results of a lawful election, underscoring ongoing tensions between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration over military oversight and policy execution.
Sources: The Gateway Pundit, PJ Media
Third Afghan Evacuee Apprehended on ISIS-K Support Charges Highlights Vetting Failures
U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents arrested Jaan Shah Safi, an Afghan national who entered the United States in September 2021 under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome evacuation program, in Waynesboro, Virginia, on December 3, for providing material support to the terrorist organization ISIS-K, including supplying weapons to his father, a militia commander in Afghanistan. This marks the third such detention of an Afghan evacuee within a week, following Rahmanullah Lakanwal’s November 26 accusation of fatally shooting one National Guard soldier and wounding another near the White House, and Mohammad Dawood Alokozay’s charges for threatening a suicide bomb attack in Texas after posting videos declaring intent to kill Americans. The incidents underscore ongoing concerns over inadequate pre-arrival screening during the 2021 Kabul withdrawal, which permitted at least 82 individuals on the terrorism watchlist to enter the country, as documented in government reports, amid broader patterns of criminal involvement among evacuees, such as Nasir Tawhedi’s guilty plea to an Election Day shooting plot and Shah Mahmood Selab’s conviction for child molestation.
Sources: US Dept of Homeland Security, The Washington Times
US Halts Immigration Processing from High-Risk Nations to Safeguard National Security
The Trump administration, through a directive from U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, has immediately frozen all green card, citizenship, and asylum applications from nationals of 19 countries previously flagged for full or partial travel restrictions due to elevated terrorism risks, inadequate vetting systems, and unstable conditions, including Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen, with the policy targeting entrants since January 20, 2021, and mandating re-reviews, potential interviews, and holds on naturalization ceremonies to ensure maximum screening amid recent national security threats like the fatal shooting of West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom and the wounding of Andrew Wolfe by Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who entered under the prior administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program following the Afghanistan withdrawal. This measure, outlined in a USCIS memo emphasizing the priority of American safety over processing delays, builds on a June 4 proclamation triggered by an antisemitic attack in Colorado, while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has proposed expanding the list to over 30 nations, and President Trump, during a cabinet meeting, highlighted concerns over Somali immigrants’ involvement in a Minnesota benefit fraud scheme costing billions, underscoring the administration’s commitment to rigorous vetting and border integrity based on documented risks to public safety and resources.
Sources: The New York Post, One America News
Minneapolis Mayor Orders Police to Defy Federal ICE Enforcement Amid Somali Welfare Fraud Probe
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced on December 2, that local police officers will not cooperate with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents amid reports of an impending federal operation targeting undocumented Somali immigrants in the Twin Cities, a stance reinforced by Police Chief Brian O’Hara who pledged to intervene if rights are violated and urged residents to call 911 on suspicious masked detentions, aligning with longstanding city sanctuary policies that prohibit inquiring about immigration status or assisting federal enforcement. This declaration follows ICE’s earlier Operation Twin Shield, which uncovered 275 immigration fraud cases in the area, compounded by the multibillion-dollar Feeding Our Future scandal since 2022 where dozens of Somali-linked individuals face charges for defrauding child nutrition programs, prompting Border Czar Tom Homan to vow zero tolerance for local obstruction and prioritize the region for enforcement. Frey, joined by St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, defended the estimated 80,000-strong Somali community—78 percent in the Twin Cities—as vital economic contributors while criticizing federal actions, even shifting mid-speech to Somali to affirm solidarity, as President Trump highlighted the fraud’s drain on American taxpayers and questioned the welcome for such immigrants from high-crime origins.
Sources: FOX9 Minneapolis, ZeroHedge
Illinois Law Forces Taxpayers to Fund College for Illegal Aliens Starting January 2026
A new Illinois statute, House Bill 460 signed by Democrat Governor J.B. Pritzker in August 2025, takes effect on January 1, 2026, extending state and local financial aid including grants, scholarships, and stipends to undocumented immigrants pursuing higher education in the state, despite federal prohibitions on such benefits for noncitizens. State records indicate over 500,000 individuals without legal status reside in Illinois, with approximately 27,000 already attending public colleges and universities, and proponents like Democratic State Senator Celina Villanueva assert the measure promotes equity by granting access comparable to that of legal residents. The U.S. Department of Justice initiated legal action against Illinois on September 2, 2025, contending the policy contravenes federal statutes by conferring advantages to undocumented migrants unavailable to out-of-state American citizens, echoing a parallel federal challenge to Kentucky’s analogous provisions. Illinois Senate Republicans have highlighted the strain on taxpayers amid the state’s elevated tax burdens, warning that diverting funds from citizens and lawful residents undermines fiscal priorities, while the legislation notably exempts non-registrants for Selective Service—including certain transgender individuals—from aid eligibility requirements.
Minnesota Governor Extends Paid Leave to Undocumented Workers Amid Fraud Scandal
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced the launch of a new Paid Family and Medical Leave program on December 4, providing up to 20 weeks of paid leave annually—12 weeks for serious personal medical conditions and 12 weeks for family care—available to all eligible workers regardless of immigration status, including undocumented individuals, youth workers, and new arrivals. Financed largely through an employer payroll tax, the initiative comes on the heels of a massive $1 billion welfare fraud scandal involving Somali-linked nonprofits that siphoned taxpayer-funded food assistance during the pandemic, leading to luxury purchases and overseas transfers by perpetrators. Republican state Representative Walter Hudson criticized the plan as a burden on small businesses and a potential vector for abuse, such as multiple claims on fictitious family ties, while Walz dismissed fraud concerns as “disrespectful” to state residents, underscoring ongoing debates over fiscal accountability and program integrity in the wake of recent embezzlement revelations.
Sources: The Daily Wire, NewsMax
FBI Breakthrough Arrests Jan. 6 Pipe Bomb Suspect After Five-Year Probe
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Brian Cole, the long-sought suspect in the placement of viable pipe bombs outside both the Republican National Committee and Democrat National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., on January 5, 2021, the evening before the Capitol protest, marking a significant development in a probe that involved over 1,000 interviews, review of 39,000 video files, and assessment of more than 600 tips without prior breakthroughs. The devices, discovered approximately 15 hours later on January 6, were functional explosives capable of causing serious injury or death but failed to detonate, and the arrest follows intensified scrutiny from congressional oversight and public appeals, including a $500,000 reward, amid persistent questions about potential ties to the ensuing unrest over the 2020 election certification; recent media speculation had wrongly fingered a former Capitol Police female officer as the initial suspect based on flawed gait analysis, but federal authorities swiftly debunked those claims with her alibi evidence, clearing her name and refocusing the investigation on this male perpetrator from northern Virginia. This capture resolves one of the enduring unsolved elements of the January 6 events, with Cole expected to face federal charges in court.
Sources: The Epoch Times, AP News
Trump Deregulates Biden Fuel Mandates to Slash Car Costs by $109 Billion
President Trump signed an executive order on December 3, in the Oval Office, joined by executives from Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, to terminate the stringent Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards imposed by the Biden administration, which had mandated annual fuel efficiency increases of 2 percent for passenger vehicles and light trucks, with 8 to 10 percent hikes for certain models, pushing toward an average of over 50 miles per gallon by 2031 and contributing to new car price surges exceeding 25 percent in recent years. The rollback resets standards to 34.5 miles per gallon by 2031, easing regulatory burdens on automakers that forced costly technology investments and carbon credit purchases, thereby preventing an estimated $1,000 increase per vehicle and delivering $109 billion in total savings to American consumers over the coming decade, as stated by administration officials. This action aligns with Trump’s broader deregulatory agenda, including the earlier rescission of California’s electric vehicle sales ban and the “Unleashing American Energy” order, reversing prior Democratic efforts like Barack Obama’s 2012 target of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, which Trump had previously scaled back in 2020 to prioritize affordability and domestic manufacturing over what he described as “ridiculously burdensome” restrictions.
Sources: ZeroHedge, The Daily Wire
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Congo & Rwanda Seal Trump-Brokered Peace Pact in Washington
In a decisive step toward resolving decades of bloodshed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Presidents Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame convened in Washington on December 4, under the stewardship of President Donald Trump to affirm their steadfast commitment to a U.S.-brokered peace agreement first outlined in June, alongside a fresh economic integration framework emphasizing security cooperation and access to vital minerals such as cobalt, copper, and lithium essential for American industry. This accord mandates Congo’s decisive action against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda militia and Rwanda’s full troop withdrawal, aiming to halt the advances of M23 rebels that have displaced hundreds of thousands and claimed thousands of lives amid ethnic tensions tracing back to the 1994 genocide, while Trump’s administration leverages diplomatic resolve to counter Chinese influence in the resource-rich Great Lakes region and foster billions in Western investment for mutual prosperity. Despite persistent skirmishes reported in South Kivu and critiques from figures like Nobel laureate Denis Mukwege underscoring the urgency for on-the-ground enforcement, the signing at the renamed Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace represents a pragmatic recommitment to diplomacy, with Trump emphasizing the pact’s potential to transform rivalry into robust economic partnership benefiting all parties involved.
Sources: The Straits Times, Reuters
Gaza Anti-Hamas Militia Leader’s Death Threatens U.S.-Backed Stability Efforts
Yasser Abu Shabab, the 31-year-old Bedouin leader of the Popular Forces militia from Gaza’s Tanzim tribe, who had been cooperating with Israel and the Palestinian Authority to counter Hamas control in southern Rafah, died on December 4, from wounds sustained in an internal clash among his own armed group, according to Israeli defense sources cited by multiple outlets. Transported to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, where he succumbed despite treatment, Abu Shabab’s demise—weeks before planned Israeli construction of U.S.-supported safe neighborhoods across the ceasefire line—raises concerns over the viability of anti-Hamas tribal alliances envisioned in the Trump administration’s peace framework, which includes a UN-mandated international stabilization force amid ongoing delays. His deputy, Ghassan al-Dahini, is poised to assume command of the faction, which had faced Hamas death threats and public backlash in Gaza following revelations of its anti-terror operations, including aid protection and media outreach like a Wall Street Journal op-ed defending grassroots resistance. The incident, denied as an assassination by connected Gazan reporters who attributed it to a fellow militiaman’s altercation, drew celebratory reactions from Hamas-linked accounts, even as Israeli strikes targeted Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon and a Hamas commander in Gaza tunnels on the same day, underscoring persistent regional volatility under the October ceasefire.
Sources: The Telegraph, The Jerusalem Post
Israel Enforces Ceasefire Against Hezbollah’s Illegal Arms Buildup
On December 4, the Israeli Defense Forces executed precise airstrikes targeting multiple Hezbollah weapons depots embedded within civilian neighborhoods in the southern Lebanese villages of Jbaa, Mahrouna, Mjadel, and Baraachit, following advance evacuation warnings to protect non-combatants, as the terrorist organization’s continued stockpiling directly contravenes the November 27, 2024, ceasefire agreement mandating full demilitarization by year’s end. The IDF highlighted these facilities as a blatant violation of the truce, underscoring Hezbollah’s pattern of exploiting Lebanese civilians as human shields by concealing arms in populated areas, a tactic that endangers innocents and undermines regional stability. Since the ceasefire took effect, the IDF has conducted 669 targeted operations across Lebanon to counter Hezbollah’s persistent reconstruction of terror infrastructure and operational presence along the border, building on a prior ground offensive from October 1 to November 27, 2024, that significantly degraded the group’s capabilities. No casualties were reported from these strikes, reflecting Israel’s commitment to minimizing collateral harm through intelligence-driven precision and prior alerts, while Hezbollah’s defiance necessitates such defensive measures to safeguard Israeli security and enforce international accords against Iranian-backed aggression.
Sources: Legal Insurrection, The Times of Israel
Leak of European Leaders’ Conference Shows Undermining of Trump's Ukraine Peace Push
A leaked transcript published by Der Spiegel reveals a confidential conference call on December 2, among European heads of state including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, alongside others such as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, where participants expressed apprehension over the Trump administration’s proposed 19-point peace plan for resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict, warning of potential U.S. abandonment on territorial concessions in Donbass and Crimea without firm security assurances. Macron stated there exists “a possibility that the US will betray Ukraine on the issue of territory without clarity on security guarantees,” highlighting a “great danger” to Zelenskyy, while Merz urged Zelenskyy to exercise “extreme caution in the coming days” amid suspicions that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were “playing games” following their five-hour Moscow meeting with Vladimir Putin. Stubb emphasized, “We cannot leave Ukraine and Volodymyr alone with these guys,” prompting Rutte’s agreement: “I agree with Alexander—we must protect Volodymyr.” The discussion also addressed retaining control over €300 billion in frozen Russian assets within EU jurisdictions to fund Ukraine’s defense, rejecting any U.S.-led repatriation to Moscow, as leaders sought to coordinate a unified European response to safeguard Kyiv’s position against perceived American pressure tactics in the ongoing negotiations.
Sources: ZeroHedge, The Daily Mail