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GAO Says Tax Fraud Costs Up to $304 Billion a Year
The Government Accountability Office estimated annual federal tax-fraud losses at $116 billion to $304 billion. That is about 2% to 6% of $4.6 trillion in true tax liability for 2022, or 17% to 43% of the $696 billion tax gap. Auditors said the IRS has no agency-wide antifraud strategy and no designated coordinating office. They recommended both. IRS CEO Frank Bisignano partially agreed, saying the chief tax compliance officer already coordinates the work. He said GAO mixed fraud with ordinary noncompliance. GAO rejected that. The IRS Return Review Program blocked about $88 billion in suspect refunds from 2018 through 2024.
đď¸ News & Politics
Trump Uses Pocket Rescission to Cancel $810 Million
The White House said Friday it is canceling $810 million in congressionally approved spending through a pocket rescission near the Sept. 30 fiscal-year end. About $567 million targets Health and Human Services grants for refugees, asylees and other noncitizens. Other cuts include migrant-student programs, minority business aid and what the administration called woke international education. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) said the move undermines Congressâs power of the purse. She cited a Government Accountability Office view that pocket rescissions violate the Impoundment Control Act. The administration argues the law does not bar withholding funds late in the year. Democrats also objected. A similar Trump foreign-aid rescission last year was not blocked by the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Lets States Use SAVE Data to Check Voter Citizenship
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a lower-court order that blocked the Trump administration from using an expanded SAVE database, including Social Security records, to help states verify voter citizenship. An unsigned opinion said the injunction inhibited federal help to state and local election officials. The court said challengers were unlikely to win on the merits. Trumpâs March 2025 order directed DHS and the Social Security Administration to support citizenship checks. The National Voter Registration Act bars systematic removals within 90 days of a federal election. Individualized inquiries remain allowed. The stay remains in effect while the D.C. Circuit appeal proceeds. The midterms are 39 days away.
Blanche Says Air Force One Access Is a Privilege
Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday the president may decide who flies on Air Force One. He said White House access is a privilege, not a right. CNN was kept off the plane Saturday for Trumpâs trip to a Tennessee football game after it had been scheduled as the television pool. Trump posted that fake news should not be allowed in the White House. Judge Timothy Kelly had issued a temporary order restoring hard-pass access to White House grounds. That order did not expressly cover the aircraft. Blanche said inaccurate reporting can become a national security issue.
Michigan Democrat Shared Stage With Convicted Child Sex Offender
Michigan Democrat William Lawrence appeared on stage with Deshawn Bailey at his Aug. 27, 2025, House campaign kickoff in Lansing. Bailey, 37, was convicted in 2010 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child under 13. Court records said the victim was his half-sister. He served 14 years and was released in May 2024. He joined Lawrenceâs Rent Is Too Damn High Coalition in April 2025 and called himself a founding member. He is in coalition photos with Lawrence. Lawrence is running against US Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI) in Michiganâs 7th District. House Democrats placed Lawrence in their Red to Blue program. His campaign did not comment.
Salazar Immigration Ad Draws Backlash in Her Miami District
US Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) released a Sept. 17 ad telling President Trump some immigration enforcement has gone too far. She cited ICE figures she said showed half of July detainees had no criminal convictions or pending charges. She warned Hispanics who backed Trump in 2024 feel betrayed. She said she was not offering amnesty. Cook Political Report moved FL-27 from Likely Republican to Lean Republican on Sept. 25. Some Latino voters in the district said she misread them and that they still back Trump. Trump first said he disagreed but understood. On Saturday, he amplified posts calling for a replacement. Democrat Eliott Rodriguez made opposition to Trump's immigration policy a campaign theme.
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Mamdani Says Socialism Will Translate Nationwide
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (DS) said socialism âwill absolutely translate on a national level.â He said New Yorkâs housing, child-care and transit costs match what working-class Americans face elsewhere. He said the only national majority is the working class. He compared the argument to doubts about the New Deal. After June primaries, candidates he backed won New York House nominations, including Democrats who defeated incumbents. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said the party nominated radical candidates. Mamdani said a democratic socialist can be elected anywhere. He said ambition in the Democrat Party is too often found only in history books.
Iowa Democrat Vows to Veto Limits on Trans Books in Schools
Iowa Democrat gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand said he would veto further book bans if elected. He told childrenâs author Kailee Coleman he would veto culture-war bills, including limits on books about homosexuality and transgenderism aimed at children. He said he wants the Legislature focused on issues that affect all Iowans. He said transgender policy is one area where he doubts he will agree with a Republican Legislature. He said he would veto such bills. Sand is the state auditor and has presented himself as a moderate. Republican nominee Zach Lahn has endorsed school-choice tax credits.
Florida Senate Nominee Called Stop Woke a Racist Dog Whistle
Democratic Socialists of America member Angie Nixon, Floridaâs Democrat Senate nominee, said in a 2023 interview that Gov. Ron DeSantisâs âStop WOKEâ slogan was a racist dog whistle that devalued Black people. She said Republicans wanted to swap âwokeâ for Black people. She said they were not trying to work across the aisle. Nixon beat Alexander Vindman in the August primary. After Charlie Kirk was killed, she said supporters of a remembrance resolution were tools of white supremacy. On the House floor, she compared a Kirk Day bill to something brought by the KKK.
Editorâs Note: Playing the race card. How pathetically unoriginal.
Boston Pays Immigrants $575 for Political Organizing Course
Bostonâs Immigrants Lead Boston program pays participants $575 for a 10-week course in political organizing. Eligibility is limited to Boston residents who are immigrants and at least 18. Applicants may apply regardless of immigration status. Native-born residents cannot apply. The mayorâs Office for Immigrant Advancement runs the seventh cohort, which started under Mayor Marty Walsh in 2020. The city calls the payments scholarships and promises meetings with officials. The fall session runs Sept. 21 through Dec. 5. The city also launched project grants of up to $10,000. Councilor Julia Mejia has pushed noncitizen voting.
Michigan Man Gets Hate Mail After Talking About Mosque Growth
Justin Tye, 57, of Warren, Michigan, said his home address was published after he described a growing Muslim immigrant population in his neighborhood. He received packages including one labeled âJustin Tye, Bigot at Large.â He said he will not stop speaking. He said a mosque opened about six years ago and an Eid prayer with amplified speakers woke the block. He said five mosques have been built or are under construction within seven miles. Neighbors said American restaurants have been replaced by Muslim restaurants. The city condemned intimidation and said every resident deserves to feel safe.
ON THIS DAY IN 1908:
Built at the Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, Michigan, the very first production Model T rolled off the line on September 27. It revolutionized transportation by making automobiles affordable to everyday Americans through mass production.
đ International
Five Arrested Near RAF Fairford After Suspicious Vans
Gloucestershire police arrested five men after a 12:45 a.m. Sunday call about three suspicious vehicles heading toward RAF Fairford. Officers stopped them in Whelford. They were held first under the Explosives Act, then on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. Counter-terror police are leading the inquiry. About 85 households were evacuated. An Army bomb-disposal team examined the vans. Officials said the operation was not intelligence-led. The U.S. Air Force uses Fairford for long-range bombers that have struck Iranian missile sites. President Trump said the suspects were looking to do big damage. Officials said the incident appeared contained.
Hormuz Flows Rebound as Iran Loses Grip on the Strait
Oil analyst Rory Johnston said Strait of Hormuz crude flows have recovered to about two-thirds of prewar levels, above 13.5 million barrels a day on a seven-day average. That rebound means Iran is losing its grip on the chokepoint. Saudi exports averaged 5.28 million barrels a day in the first 23 days of September, the strongest pace since the war began. About 3.4 million barrels a day were loaded at Gulf ports. Analyst Art Berman said Iran can still raise insurance costs but no longer controls the waterway. Qatar LNG traffic through the strait rose to a two-month high. Fars said Iranian forces targeted 19 ships over 48 hours. President Trump rejected Iranâs seven-day ceasefire offer Saturday.
Iran Says It Is Ready for Doomsday War After Trump Rebuff
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday Iran is fully prepared if fighting resumes, âeven if it comes to a doomsday war.â He also said Tehran remains ready for diplomacy and that the choice is President Trumpâs. Trump rejected Iranâs seven-day ceasefire plan Saturday. That plan would reopen the Strait of Hormuz after the United States lifted its naval blockade and eased other conditions. Araghchi said Iran is still awaiting an official reply via mediators. He said Trump once wanted surrender in two days and that eight months of war produced no such result. He said Iran has changed tactics after earlier fighting.
Two South Africa Township Shootings Kill at Least 27
Police said gunmen killed at least 27 people in two mass shootings hours apart near Johannesburg and Cape Town. Eight suspects with AK-47s and pistols opened fire Saturday night at a bar in Wedela township, killing 17 and wounding 15. About 1 a.m. Sunday, gunmen killed 10 at a store in Lwandle near Cape Town and wounded 11. No arrests had been made. Police were searching for multiple suspects in both cases. The attacks came days after a house-party shooting near Durban killed 11 people, including a pregnant woman. Officials said robbery or illegal-mining turf fights were possible motives in the Johannesburg-area attack.
U.S. Blocks Consensus on UN Pandemic Declaration
The Trump administration declined to support a nonbinding UN declaration on pandemic prevention at a Sept. 25 General Assembly meeting. The U.S. said the text included ideologies without agreed definitions and unfinished talks on pathogen access and benefit sharing. CDC Director Erica Schwartz said the United States could not support the full text. Italy also objected, citing sovereignty and undefined terms such as infodemic management. The European Union opposed compulsory licensing language. The United States left the WHO in January after Executive Order 14155. Consensus failed. Assembly President Anwarul K. Chowdhuryâs successor, Khalilur Rahman, said the text would be considered later.
