Free Republic

The United States on Monday announced a $2 billion pledge for U.N. humanitarian aid as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to slash U.S. foreign assistance and warns United Nations agencies to “adapt, shrink or die” in a time of new financial realities. The money is a small fraction of what the U.S. has contributed in the past but reflects what the administration believes is a generous amount that will maintain the United States’ status as the world’s largest humanitarian donor. The pledge creates an umbrella fund from which money will be doled out to individual agencies and priorities, a key...

ST. PAUL, MN — In response to growing allegations of fraud tied to Minnesota's Somali community, Governor Tim Walz announced he had awarded an $8 billion grant to a Somali company to find the perpetrators. "I'm sparing no expense to find those responsible," Governor Walz announced. "That's why I'm consulting with a Somali private detective agency. They know when to run a mean pick-six." "They also run a nifty daycare center," he added. To date, approximately $18 billion has been lost to fraud in Minnesota through fake social service programs run by Somalis, some of whom may be in the...

A 54-minute secret recording from a December 11, 2021, closed-door meeting inside Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s official state office is resurfacing amid explosive revelations that 70 Somali community members in Minnesota participated in stealing $250 million in federal COVID child-feeding funds. On the tape released by American Experiment earlier this year, Ellison sympathizes with, encourages, and ultimately promises assistance to a group of Somali-American business leaders, many of whom would later be charged or convicted in the largest COVID relief fraud scheme in U.S. history. The fraudulent operation, centered around the notorious nonprofit Feeding Our Future, stole an estimated...

Mission-driven groups will get an early chance to make offers on properties that can be rehabilitated and preserved as affordable. he New York City Council passed a revised version of the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA), a law that gives certain nonprofits an early right to bid on available properties that could be rehabilitated and preserved as affordable housing. As Jeanmarie Evelly explains in City Limits, the law “specifically targets buildings with poor conditions or where an affordability provision is expiring.” The law allows “qualified entities” to purchase properties, make repairs, and maintain affordable rents. First introduced in 2020,...

Turkish Energy Minister, Alparslan Bayraktar said on Monday that Turkey intends to seal an energy exploration agreement with Syria in 2026 to assess possible offshore energy resources along the Syrian coast.In an interview with Turkish digital news platform GDH on Monday, Bayraktar said that Ankara and Damascus had already signed a general framework agreement on energy cooperation earlier this year."We plan to sign a specific offshore deal in 2026," he said. "After signing the deal, we may conduct seismic research to see what the field offers us".Bayraktar cautioned that the agreement does not necessarily mean Turkey would carry out drilling...

As it's our final show of the year, I'd like to keep it a little more focused than usual - and concentrate on the existential question now facing some of the oldest continuous states on earth: what is a nation? At AmFest and in The New York Times, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy returned to his contention that America is an "idea" and, if you're onboard with the "idea", you're as American as anybody else. One might formulate the "idea" as a "dream", as Vivek does:It is called the American Dream for a reason. There is no Canadian Dream. There...

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhen the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Luke 2:22–24Forty days after a firstborn male was born, the law of Moses required that the mother participate in...

Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler revealed that the agency would be “cutting off” grants to Minnesota in response to ongoing reports of Somali fraud in the state. In a post on X, conservative activist Benny Johnson shared that Loeffler told him she would be “taking immediate action” after YouTuber Nick Shirley and his team exposed fraud in Minnesota and “uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day.” Johnson added that Loeffler said it was “due” to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) refusing “to enforce laws governing small businesses” and because of his “allowance and facilitation of fraud.” “SBA Administrator Kelly...

Amid the growing Minnesota fraud scandal, a venture capital firm belonging to Rep. Ilhan Omar’s husband Tim Mynett has quietly deleted several key names from its website. Very suspiciously, these names were purged from the website just as several arrests were made in connection with the Minnesota welfare fraud scheme. Keep in mind that the COVID-era meals program that was ultimately used to defraud the taxpayer was Rep. Omar’s brainchild in the first place. However, none of the individuals whose names were scrubbed from the firm’s website have been arrested or accused of anything — at least, not at this...

The Gateway Pundit reported on journalist Nick Shirley’s shocking report exposing millions of dollars of fraud involving Somali daycare centers in Minnesota. Rather than address the fleecing of taxpayers in his state, Governor Tim Walz attacked Shirley instead, calling him a “White supremacist” for daring to expose the fraud. Shirley shared clips of his investigation, including footage of the door being slammed in his face while he asked a Minnesota Childcare Center that claims to care for 102 children, which appeared empty. Shirley released the full 42-minute video of his investigation noting, “We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz bragged about making it easier for people to get into the child care business during last year’s vice presidential debate with JD Vance, awkward resurfaced footage shows — as the state’s Somali immigrant community has been accused of bilking millions of dollars in aid meant for day care centers. “We have to make it easier for folks to be able to get into [the child care] business and then to make sure that folks are able to pay for that. We were able to do it in Minnesota,” Walz said on stage as he proposed a...

President Donald Trump on Sunday said Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed and suggested access to cheap energy could be part of a future settlement. He made the remarks during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, saying that his recent conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin left him believing Moscow is interested in a stable and prosperous Ukraine, even as Russia's war against the country continues. "I believe Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed," Trump told reporters, adding that economic incentives — including access to low-cost energy — could help underpin...

President Donald Trump appeared to give nonchalant confirmation of the first US land strike in Venezuela during a radio interview last week that received little attention. The president said that the Christmas Eve strike was on a facility 'where the ship comes from' – seemingly referencing the origination location of the alleged drug vessels that the US military has been targeting in the Caribbean and Atlantic over the last three months. Speaking to radio host and billionaire John Catsimatidis on WABC, Trump made the bombshell suggestion that US forces have already started conducting land operations in Venezuela. 'I don't know...

The U.S. Department of Education has reported an end to more than $1 billion in attempted student aid fraud in 2025. These reforms were needed after the massive waste and fraud resulting from loosened rules during the Biden regime. “Federal investigators found nearly $90 million in aid had already been fraudulently disbursed, including over $30 million to deceased individuals and more than $40 million to bots posing as students,” according to a report from Campus Reform. That’s a lot of fraud, but it’s hardly surprising. Under Democrats, fraud and waste are rampant, as we learned in the era of DOGE....

The scandal involving billions of dollars of Somali fraud in Minnesota is growing exponentially. But if you were watching CNN or MS NOW, you would have no idea the story was exploding and possibly expanding into other states. Mediaite reports that those two alleged cable news sites haven’t mentioned the seismic Somali fraud scandal in more than a week. Here’s more. (READ) Western Lensman @WesternLensman REPORT: MSNOW and CNN have ignored the exploding Minnesota fraud scandal, not mentioning it a SINGLE TIME since December 18: "A review of MS NOW and CNN’s broadcasts since December 18 — when prosecutors claimed...

Good to know I’ve been slaving away for 2+ decades … taking on 100% of the bankruptcy risk, litigation risk, tax risk, audit risk, With all the daily headaches of matters of: •employment, •sales, •accounting, •legal, •insurance, •software, •vendors, •platforms, to form and run a law-abiding business, to earn a mediocre income, that I’ve created from 0 to 1, entirely by myself, bootstrapped out of my own savings, which has provided hundreds of jobs and livelihoods to employees and contractors that have touched our circle…. when all along I could’ve simply •created a shell corporation •with misspelled signage, •locked doors,...

The big question on everyone’s mind right now must be, “When will Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) face indictment for the fraud that didn’t merely take place on his watch, but was allegedly allowed to continue unchecked?" It’s a fair question to ask, given the circumstances. The political ground beneath Walz is looking increasingly shaky. Between mounting scrutiny and unresolved allegations, things are not breaking in his favor. As PJ Media previously reported, independent journalist Nick Shirley and his crew hit the streets, sniffing out over $110 million in fraud in a single day. They targeted outfits posing as child care...

This writer is old enough to remember that the debate over whether or not food stamps should cover junk food isn't a new thing. It goes back years. She's also old enough to remember when Democrats pushed for soda taxes as a way to discourage the consumption of unhealthy foods. ...Starting next year, however, 18 states will ban junk food for SNAP users....“It’s just a classic government operation where they’ve thrown this out there, and well-meaning though they may be, it’s caused mass confusion, and it’s making some retailers question whether they’re going to stay with the program or not,”...

FBI Director Kash Patel recognized the ongoing fraud scandal unfolding in Minnesota involving childcare centers, adding that it has been part of a lengthy investigation and will remain a top priority. As Breitbart News reported, a video from YouTube journalist Nick Shirley went viral over the weekend after he confronted an employee at an alleged learning center in Minnesota that was receiving millions in aid despite showing no signs of operational activity. In a post on X, Kash Patel said the FBI has been investigating the situation. “The FBI is aware of recent social media reports in Minnesota. However, even...

CHRISTMAS BIBLE-ART EPISODE #16 of 33 SHEPHERDS, FIRST TO HEAR OF THE SAVIOR L U K E CHAPTER 2 She gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you...