News From Around the Web
#1 Former Homeland Security Agent Claims Prosecutors Ignored Minnesota Day Care Fraud Cases: ‘Just Evaporated’ - Patrick Reilly for New York Post, Oversight Committee/Caroline Czllhoun, Marcos Freedom Warrior, Politically Incorrect, Edge L. Seawolf, and Paul Cherry on X
A retired Homeland Security Investigations agent recalled looking into fraud at Minnesota day care centers 10 years ago — but said the probe inexplicably “went into thin air” and nothing ever came of it. Jeremy Christenson, who worked with HSI for 16 years, said he was part of a months-long fraud investigation in 2015 into day care centers that seemed completely empty, with a task force of 20 law enforcement agents and the state Department of Human Services. They were probing Somali migrants who “were setting up sham day cares, [with] fake bills, fake students, or just enrolling students that never came. It was just all fake daycares. That’s the easiest way to explain it,” Christenson told Minnesota’s Alpha News...
#2 SBA Says It Has Suspended ‘6,900 Minnesota Borrowers’ Over Suspected Fraud - Filip Timotija for The Hill, Kelly Loeffler, Libs of TikTok, Eric Daugherty, Fox News, and Justine Bateman on X
Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler said Thursday night that her agency has suspended “6,900 Minnesota borrowers” over suspected fraudulent activity regarding COVID-era lending programs. Loeffler said the SBA over the last week reviewed “thousands” of potentially “fraudulent” Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) payouts that were approved in Minnesota. “Today, our agency took action to suspend 6,900 Minnesota borrowers amid suspected fraudulent activity. In total, these borrowers were approved for 7,900 PPP and EIDL loans worth approximately $400M,” Loeffler said on social platform X...
#3 Zohran Mamdani Fans Disappointed by Disastrous ‘Block Party’ With No Food, Bathrooms - AOL News, Dana Loesch/New York Post, Olivia Reingold, Insider Paper/CEO Branding Expert/CityDeskNYC, Ben Here. Done That/Dan O'Donnell, and Desh Andrews on X
This “block party” was a bust. Scores of Zohran Mamdani fans who braved freezing temperatures to celebrate the new mayor as he was publicly sworn into office Thursday were left disappointed by the bash the socialist pol had promised. Around 10,000 supporters stood outside City Hall during the event — billed as an “Inauguration for a New Era Block Party” by Mamdani’s staff — crammed into several barricaded pens without access to bathrooms or any food concession stands...
#4 Mayor Mamdani Signs Five Executive Orders on First Day in Office - News 12 The Bronx, Laura Loomer, Mike Lee, Ryan Rozbiani, Viral News NYC, and DAKKADAKKA/The Redheaded libertarian on X
Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked his first day in office with a flurry of activity, signing five executive orders that set the tone for his new administration.The first order repealed all executive orders issued by former Mayor Eric Adams following the day Adams was federally indicted. Mamdani said the move reflected a moment when “many New Yorkers decided that politics had nothing for them but more of the same.”His second order formally appointed his five deputy mayors and outlined the structure of his administration. The remaining three focused heavily on one of Mamdani’s central campaign themes: housing.“We will also stand up for tenants, build new housing, and get New Yorkers into housing faster,” Mamdani said...
#5 Boebert Hits Back at Trump After Veto of Colorado Water Bill, Raises Retaliation Concerns - Leo Briceno for Fox News, Mr. Sausage/Kyle Clark, Republicans Against Trump, An0maly, Yahoo News, and BonkDaCarnivore on X
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., struck back at President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening after he vetoed a bill that would have lowered payments for a water project in her district — an act Boebert believes could be political retribution. "President Trump decided to veto a completely non-controversial, bipartisan bill that passed both the House and Senate unanimously. Why? Because nothing says ‘America First’ like denying clean drinking water to 50,000 people in Southeast Colorado, many of whom enthusiastically voted for him all three elections," Boebert said in a statement posted by journalist Kyle Clarke. Boebert raised the possibility that the veto was retaliation for her vote to release the Epstein files earlier this year...
#6 Drugmakers Raise US Prices on 350 Medicines Despite Pressure From Trump - CNN, Noel J. Guillama, New York Post, Reuters, Yahoo News, and News Nation on X
Drugmakers plan to raise U.S. prices on at least 350 branded medications including vaccines against COVID, RSV and shingles and blockbuster cancer treatment Ibrance, even as the Trump administration pressures them for cuts, according to data provided exclusively by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors. The number of price increases for 2026 is up from the same point last year, when drugmakers unveiled plans for raises on more than 250 drugs. The median of this year’s price hikes is around 4% - in line with 2025. The increases do not reflect any rebates to pharmacy benefit managers and other discounts...
#7 Why Everything From Your Phone to Your PC May Get Pricier in 2026 - Daniella Genovese for Fox 4 KDFW, AIVAnet, FINANCIAL FREEDOM/MoneySense, Raju PP, Times of Games, and 8 News Now on X
Consumers should be stocking up on essentials, particularly in the home goods category, as those items are expected to see "noticeable" price increases in early 2026, according to Wells Fargo. Retailers "have largely tried to either hold or modestly increase prices this holiday season across categories, with many offering targeted promotions and even deeper discounts on select items," according to Lauren Murphy, managing director of Wells Fargo Retail Finance. In early 2025, many retailers "strategically front-loaded inventory purchases" before they were faced with additional tariffs. Those duties are expected to raise the cost of new shipments, which retailers will likely pass on to consumers in 2026, Murphy warned...
#8 Trump Administration Delays Tariff Increases on Furniture and Kitchen Cabinets by a Year - Aimee Picchi for CBS News, NBC 10 WJAR, Tom Looby, WHLT 22 Hattiesburg, Good Morning America, and 𝕱𝖔𝖗𝖙 𝕮𝖍𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖌𝖔 on X
The Trump administration said on Wednesday it is postponing tariff increases on imported upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities by a year, citing ongoing negotiations with trading partners. Without the delay, the U.S. was set to double its tariff rate on kitchen cabinets and vanities produced outside the U.S. to 50% starting Jan. 1. The import duty on upholstered furniture — including sofas and armchairs — was set to rise to 30% from 25% on the first day of 2026. The postponement follows a November rollback by the Trump administration of tariffs on imported foods such as beef, coffee, and bananas, as affordability concerns have weighed on consumer sentiment about the U.S. economy. Furniture prices have been outpacing inflation, with living room, kitchen, and dining room furniture rising 4.6% in November from a year earlier, compared with a 2.7% annual increase in the overall Consumer Price Index...
#9 Elon Musk Indicates He’s ‘Going All In’ on Financing the GOP Ahead of the Midterms: ‘America Is Toast if the Radical Left Wins’ - Io Dodds for Independent, Jack/Elon Musk (community note), MAGA Voice, Nina Turner/Kalshi (community note), Dustin Grage, and Eric Daugherty on X
In the aftermath of his spectacular falling out with President Donald Trump last year, Elon Musk blasted the Republican Party as a corrupt force that was "bankrupting" the United States of America. But now, after months in the political wilderness, the volatile tech baron has indicated that he will once again devote his enormous fortune to electing GOP politicians, this time ahead of the midterm elections in 2026. "America is toast if the radical left wins," declared Musk on X Thursday. "They will open the floodgates to illegal immigration and fraud. Won’t be America anymore."
#10 Massive NYE Crowd on Brooklyn Bridge Fueled by False Fireworks Rumors Online - Seneca Cabrera for International Business Times, Joey Mannarino/Sam Tayyari, Julie Carpenter/Washingtons Ghost, Daniel Turner/Kira, Lord Bebo, and Ptross_the_general on X
Thousands of people gathered along the Brooklyn waterfront and on the Brooklyn Bridge on New Year's Eve after false claims circulated online that a major fireworks display would take place at midnight. No such event had been planned, and the anticipated spectacle never materialised. As the new year began without any fireworks, crowds were left confused and disappointed after waiting for hours in freezing conditions. Videos shared online shortly afterwards showed large groups dispersing from the area, with some revellers expressing frustration that their New Year's Eve plans had been shaped by misleading information...
