Free Republic

As red states like Florida, Indiana and Missouri pass laws banning their state investment boards from involvement with Chinese funds, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has allowed his state’s backing of Beijing to grow. As governor of the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Walz — the Democratic vice presidential candidate — has significant authority over the selection of members of the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI), who are typically either elected or appointed by a comptroller or treasurer in other states. Since Walz became governor in 2019, SBI appointees have directed roughly 70% of the approximately $1.3 billion moved into Chinese...

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters Wednesday that FEMA has enough money to address Hurricanes Helene and Milton, after Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said the agency “does not have the funds” to make it through hurricane season. “I have funding and sufficient resources to support the ongoing responses to Hurricane Helene as well as Hurricane Milton,” Criswell said Wednesday, according to the Hill. The remarks come after Mayorkas told reporters on October 2, just days after the southeast was devastated by Hurricane Helene, that FEMA would not have enough funding to make it through...

Two southern California women say they were removed from a Spirit Airlines flight last week for wearing crop tops. A flight attendant instructed the friends to disembark their New Orleans-bound flight before the plane could depart from Los Angeles international airport, they told a local news station. The friends, Tara Kehidi and Teresa Araujo, were wearing sweaters when they boarded the plane, but removed them because the air conditioning was not functioning. “We were wearing crop tops ... just like a little bit of stomach showing,” Kehidi told the ABC news affiliate KABC. When a male flight attendant told her...

A North Carolina mayor has slammed Vice President Kamala Harris for lying about FEMA efforts to assist residents following the catastrophic hurricane Helene. Newland Mayor Derek Roberts, whose daughter’s house was destroyed by the hurricane, revealed she was denied the $750 FEMA payment. “My daughter, whose house got completely wiped out – she has no flood insurance – meets with a FEMA person, applies for everything, doesn’t get the $750 that Kamala says she’s supposed to get. Gets approved for $300 for personal items. What is that gonna do?” Roberts asked in outrage. More than a week after the storm...

The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced an investment of $4.3 billion into community-driven projects in an effort to ramp up local climate action across the country. The funding will go to 25 recipients across 30 states, ranging from projects involving forest management to household energy efficiency. It will also help states, cities and territories develop climate action plans to meet local sustainability goals. Details about the latest funding were shared with the media on an embargoed basis Friday, two days before President Biden’s announcement that he was dropping his reelection bid. The funding reflects how the Biden administration is...

Former President Trump’s campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Tuesday, accusing President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of violating campaign finance laws by transferring his $91 million in fundraising cash to her new campaign. Biden bowed out of the presidential race on Sunday following weeks of calls for him to leave following a shaky debate performance. The president endorsed the vice president to run for the Democratic ticket in his place and transferred his millions of dollars in campaign cash over to her. The Trump campaign argued in the complaint, first reported by The...

Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson are investigating whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office misused federal funds. The two Republican senators highlighted multiple reports accusing Willis’ office of squandering funds, including from the Justice Department Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and other initiatives, on frivolous items such as “swag” and unrelated travel. “In Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, OJJDP awarded Fulton County nearly $500,000 to establish the Fulton County Center of Youth Empowerment and Gang Prevention,” Grassley (R-Iowa) and Johnson (R-Wis.) wrote in a letter to Willis Wednesday. “The Center has yet to open and the ‘building...

The combined trust funds for Social Security are projected to run out a year later than previously expected, a board of trustees of the program’s accounts said Monday. In the latest report, trustees expect the projected depletion date for the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which pays out Social Security benefits to retirees, and the program’s smaller Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund is 2035. Biden administration officials said the projected depletion date for the OASI trust funds has moved to November 2033, seven months later than last year’s projection, partly due to economic growth. On a call with...

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore came as quite a shock. After a massive container ship struck one of the bridge’s pillars, the entire span quickly fell apart, costing several lives. It’s hard to overstate the bridge’s importance, particularly for the automobile industry. In addition to handling 11 million vehicles per year, it provided a vital way for trucks to access the Port of Baltimore while avoiding the dense city core. The impact on the region will be felt for months, if not years. The question is, what now? President Joe Biden has said that the...

In a revelation that may unsettle many taxpayers, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has brought to light a staggering figure of $236 billion in improper or incorrect payments made under the Biden administration last year alone. This sum, which does not even fully account for all susceptible programs, indicates a level of fiscal mismanagement that demands immediate attention and action. The breakdown provided by the GAO is particularly alarming, with Medicare and Medicaid together accounting for nearly $100 billion of this colossal waste. Such figures not only represent a “material deficiency or weakness in internal controls” within these agencies,...

In a surprising turn of events, Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard has vetoed a unanimous board resolution aimed at investigating her use of tax funds, plunging the town into a storm of controversy. The mayor defends her veto by asserting it’s a preventative measure against potential personal attacks. Mayor Henyard’s actions have triggered public outrage, as recent revelations shed light on the alleged misuse of taxpayer money. Accusations range from indulging in lavish trips to orchestrating a $1 million giveaway and maintaining a $1 million police detail, all while drawing a hefty annual salary of $287,000.

A San Diego migrant center announced it will be forced to close its doors Thursday after running out of funds to assist the overwhelming number of asylum-seekers who have illegally crossed into the county. The mayor of nearby El Cajon, Calif., told Fox News Thursday that he fears the welcome center’s closure will quickly become a “serious problem” for his community. “Over the past few months, we’ve seen 100,000 migrants come across the San Diego border,” Mayor Bill Wells told “Fox & Friends First.” “A lot of those have been absorbed by this county shelter that used taxpayer money. They...

The Biden administration is facing a new congressional probe after an agency that distributed tens of billions of dollars from the American Rescue Plan failed to stop $127 million from going to deceased participants in a Teamsters’ pension fund. The House Education and Workforce Committee sent a letter on Tuesday to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), demanding records related to the agency’s “mismanagement” and “overpayment” to the union pension plan, according to a copy of the missive exclusively obtained by The Post. “As part of this investigation, the Committee requests documents and information relating to PBGC’s disbursal of these...

ELBURN, Ill. (WLS) -- With more than seven buses carrying migrants expected to arrive in Chicago Friday, Mayor Brandon Johnson joined other mayors to emphasize that cities are reaching a breaking point. "Without a coordinated effort, this is going to crush local economies because there is a financial responsibility we have all taken on," he said. Johnson told city council members the cost of migrant support is approaching $300 million this year. He plans to shift $95 million in federal COVID relief funds to cover some of the costs. "At least that prevents us from having to dip into the...

Suitcases with funds amounting to over NIS 5 million (about $1.3 million) were found in the home of a senior Hamas member in the Jabalya area, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said on Monday. Additionally, many weapons were found by soldiers from the 551st Brigade in the Hamas member’s home.

resident Joe Biden will use special wartime powers to boost US production of heat pumps, by funding nine manufacturing projects with $169 million from last year's climate bill, the Energy Department said on Friday. The awards were granted under the emergency authority of the Cold War-era Defense Production Act (DPA), which Biden invoked on the basis of climate change to boost spending on clean energy technology. 'The President is using his wartime emergency powers under the Defense Production Act to turbocharge US manufacturing of clean technologies and strengthen our energy security,' said Biden's National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi in a...

Send money. That was the plea from the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday as the globalist organization flagged it will more than quadruple its initial appeal for funds to help respond to the crisis across Gaza to about $1.2 billion. AP reports spokesperson Jens Laerke of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the current appeal, launched Oct. 12, for $297 million has been only about one-quarter funded. The Biden administration is leading the way with a donation of $24 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars.

FIRST ON FOX: Republicans on the House Budget Committee are demanding a full accounting of all funds sent by the United States to Ukraine amid its war with Russia.Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and Budget Committee Oversight Task Force Chairman Jack Bergman, R-Mich., directed a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young, demanding transparency regarding the strategy behind sending billions of dollars overseas."It has now been over 20 months since Russia invaded Ukraine. Congress has provided $114 billion in supplemental appropriations – not including potentially billions in additional repurposed, transferred, and reprogrammed funds – and yet we...

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is calling on President Biden to refreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds in the wake of the recent attacks on Israel by Hamas. In a lengthy address laying out a five-step plan to address the escalating conflict in Israel, McCarthy took aim at the Biden administration for its prisoner swap with Iran and its decision to unfreeze $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds in exchange for the freedom of five wrongfully detained American citizens. “Biden’s policy on appeasement, including money for hostage deals, must come to an end,” McCarthy said Monday. “His policy has only...

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said the $6 billion in funds the U.S. agreed to unfreeze in exchange for five U.S. prisoners will be spent “wherever we need it,” despite the Biden administration saying the funds are restricted to humanitarian use. When asked in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt about the funds, Raisi said Iran would have “authority” over how the funds will be spent. “This money belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money,” he said, according to an Iranian government translator.