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Fed prosecutor warns more arrests coming after ‘massive’ fraud found in California homeless services: ‘We followed the money’

A federal prosecutor probing corruption in California’s homeless services promised that more arrests are coming after two real estate executives were busted for allegedly bilking taxpayers out of millions.

First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli told The Post a coalition of federal agencies has uncovered wrongdoing on a staggering scale as he blasted Democrats as “colossal failures” for letting corruption fester for years.

“We followed the money and very quickly we uncovered massive amounts of fraud,” Essayli said.

The recent indictments of housing executives Cody Holmes and Steven Taylor were just the tip of the iceberg, as the duo face accusations that they pocketed state funds intended for homeless housing, the prosecutor said.

“That’s just beginning to scratch the surface,” Essayli said. “We have dozens of other investigations ongoing and we expect to bring more charges this year, and perhaps this month.”

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“Bullsh*t” – Dem Senator Mark Kelly Lashes Out at Hegseth, Says He May Get in His Face and Confront Him Over Censure

Democrat Senator Mark Kelly lashed out at Pete Hegseth and said he may get in the Secretary of War’s face to confront him over his “bullshit” censure.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Monday censured Democrat Senator Mark Kelly and cut his military retirement pay over his ‘seditious’ video urging service members to defy President Trump’s orders.

Mark Kelly is one of the ‘Seditious Six’ Democrat lawmakers who urged members of the military to defy Trump’s orders.

In November, without offering any specifics, Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), along with Democrat Reps. Maggie Goodlander (NH), Jason Crow (CO), Chris Deluzio (PA), and Chrissy Houlahan (PA) repeatedly stated, “You can refuse illegal orders,” or “You must refuse illegal orders,” in a viral video.

The Department of War previously announced it is considering recalling Democrat Senator Mark Kelly for court-martial proceedings after he urged the military to defy President Trump’s orders.

On Monday, Hegseth announced he is moving to demote Kelly and cut his military pension, but stopped short of a court-martial.

“Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline. As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice. And the Department of War — and the American people — expect justice,” Hegseth said.

“Therefore, in response to Senator Mark Kelly’s seditious statements — and his pattern of reckless misconduct — the Department of War is taking administrative action against Captain Mark E. Kelly, USN (Ret). The department has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings under 10 U.S.C. § 1370(f), with reduction in his retired grade resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay,” Hegseth said.

“To ensure this action, the Secretary of War has also issued a formal Letter of Censure, which outlines the totality of Captain (for now) Kelly’s reckless misconduct. This Censure is a necessary process step, and will be placed in Captain Kelly’s official and permanent military personnel file,” Hegseth added.

In remarks to reporters on Tuesday, Mark Kelly questioned Trump’s order to strike Venezuela and capture Maduro.

He also called Hegseth’s censure “bullshit” and said he may confront the Secretary of War at Wednesday’s briefing.

“So [Hegseth’s] option, right now, is he can continue with this kind of bullshit, or he can go take a hike. That’s his options. And if I have an opportunity to tell him that tomorrow, maybe I will,” Mark Kelly said to CNN’s Manu Raju and others.

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New reports indicate that the US is considering “some intervention” in the ongoing Iran protests

Over the past several weeks, political dynamics in the Middle East and beyond have taken a dramatic turn, raising the possibility that the United States may move from diplomatic pressure to more direct involvement in Iran.

Reporting from The Jerusalem Post indicates that U.S. policymakers are now actively weighing forms of intervention aimed at supporting the growing protest movement inside the Islamic Republic — a development that reflects a notable shift in strategic thinking in both Washington and Jerusalem.

According to the report, this reassessment is closely linked to recent U.S. action in Venezuela. The sudden removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro reportedly forced Israeli and American officials to reconsider long-held assumptions about what might be achievable in Iran.

“Until the intervention by U.S. President Donald Trump in Caracas, most Israeli officials did not view the protests against Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as necessarily approaching the volume necessary to achieve regime change,” the article states.

It further notes that the protests were largely seen by both Israel and the United States as “insufficient to topple Khamenei” without external assistance (The Jerusalem Post).

The success of the U.S. operation in Venezuela appears to have altered that outlook. Sources cited in the report suggest that American officials are exploring limited, targeted options designed to strengthen Iranian protestors rather than engage in a full-scale military invasion.

At the same time, Israeli officials are reportedly analyzing whether the precedent set by Venezuela could justify increased coordinated pressure against Tehran.

Intelligence operations have also taken center stage in this evolving situation.

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Pete Hegseth Takes Action Against Sen. Mark Kelly, Who Egged On Military To Defy Trump In Viral Video

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Monday began taking steps to demote Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly from his current military rank over his role in a viral video telling U.S. service members and spy agencies they must “refuse illegal orders” by the Trump administration.

Hegseth posted a statement to social media saying the Pentagon is taking administrative action to initiate retirement grade proceedings  to demote Kelly from a retired Navy captain to a lower rank, with a corresponding deduction in pay. Hegseth also announced a formal letter of censure, outlining Kelly’s “reckless misconduct.”

“Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline. As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice,” Hegseth wrote in a Monday morning X post.

“Therefore, in response to Senator Mark Kelly’s seditious statements — and his pattern of reckless misconduct — the Department of War is taking administrative action against Captain Mark E. Kelly, USN (Ret),” the War Secretary added. “The department has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings under 10 U.S.C. § 1370(f), with reduction in his retired grade resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay.”

“Captain Kelly’s status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could result in further action,” Hegseth’s statement added.

Kelly responded to the Pentagon’s move in a statement later Monday, saying there’s nothing “more un-American” than the message he says Hegseth is trying to send by the move to demote him.

“Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way. It’s outrageous and it is wrong,” Kelly wrote in the statement.

“If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in our country’s history, thinks he can intimidate me with a censure or threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn’t get it,” the Arizona Democrat added. “I will fight this with everything I’ve got — not for myself, but to send a message back that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump don’t get to decide what Americans in this country get to say about their government.”

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Perhaps We Should Actually Be Focusing On Fixing America

After years of heading in the wrong direction, nobody can deny that the United States is facing overwhelming problems.  So why don’t we focus on fixing those problems first?  The truth is that we can’t do everything because our resources are very limited.  U.S. households are more than 18 trillion dollars in debt, and the federal government is more than 38 trillion dollars in debt.  Even though we have literally stolen trillions upon trillions of dollars from future generations, our major cities are rapidly decaying, our infrastructure is crumbling, corruption is rampant, the middle class is shrinking, most of the population is struggling to even afford the basics each month, mass layoffs are happening all over the nation, our streets are teeming with hordes of drug addicts and homeless people, large numbers of Americans are selling images of themselves online just to make ends meet, and millions of others are living in their vehicles.

So why don’t we use what limited resources we have to fix our own problems?

If you don’t understand the point that I am trying to make, just go take a stroll through downtown Seattle.

The new mayor has decided that it will be her policy to allow people to openly do drugs in the streets…

Seattle’s new ultra-woke mayor has triggered chaos by ordering police not to arrest people doing drugs on the streets of the city plagued by crime and homelessness.

Democratic socialist Katie Wilson, 43, was sworn in as the city’s 58th mayor on Friday.

The progressive politician who co-founded the Transit Riders Union has already taken steps that concerned residents and law enforcement officials say will destroy Seattle.

The president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, Mike Solan, is warning that this will make the lawlessness in the streets of Seattle even worse…

‘We’ve all seen how our streets can be filled with death, decay, blight and crime when ideology like this infects our city, Solan continued in his statement.

‘Now with this resurrected insane direction, death, destruction and more human suffering will be supercharged.’

Lawmakers and residents have reacted to this news in horror, as the city already has a raging homelessness epidemic that they believe this lax drug policy will only amplify.

Once upon a time, Seattle was one of the most beautiful cities on the entire planet.

So what in the world happened?

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Dr. Oz Orders Full-Scale Federal Audit of Minnesota Medicaid Under Tim Walz — Fraud Will Be Clawed Back and Withheld From Future Funding

Dr. Mehmet Oz, acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), has formally notified Tim Walz that every Medicaid billing submission in Minnesota will be audited—and that fraudulent claims will be clawed back and withheld from future federal funding.

In early December 2025, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz sent a formal letter and issued a public ultimatum to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz regarding the “systemic fraud” in the state’s Medicaid programs, potentially exceeding $1 billion.

Dr. Oz wrote at the time:

“You’ve probably heard the news by now: Minnesota fraudsters stole over $1 billion from Medicaid. And you deserve an explanation.

Our staff at CMS told me they’ve never seen anything like this in Medicaid — and everyone from Gov. Tim Walz on down needs to be investigated, because they’ve been asleep at the wheel. Based on what we know now, this is a clear dereliction of duty.

First, the facts:

In recent years, Minnesota Medicaid launched several new programs, including Housing Stabilization Services, which helped disabled homeless individuals, and Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention, which reimbursed therapy costs for families with autistic children.

Some bad actors in Minnesota’s Somali community decided to game the system. And when they got away with it, they decided to go bigger.

The housing program was supposed to cost $2.6 million dollars annually. Last year, it paid out over $100 million. The autism program ballooned from $3 million in 2018 to nearly $400 million in 2023.

These scammers used stolen taxpayer money to buy flashy cars, purchase overseas real estate, and offer kickbacks to parents who enrolled their kids at fake autism treatment centers. Some of it may have even made its way to the Somalian terrorist group Al-Shebab.

So why didn’t Walz stop them?

That’s simple: because he went all-in on identity politics.

Somalis are a huge voting bloc, and the state’s leaders were afraid that “forcefully tackling this issue might cause political backlash.” That’s not me saying that. It’s a Somali-American fraud investigator who talked to The New York Times.

Somali scammers get rich off the programs Gov. Walz was supposed to be managing. Minnesota politicians get elected with Somali votes and keep the money flowing. This isn’t just fraud: it’s political patronage at public expense.

When Minnesota told CMS about the problem last year, they assured us they’d handle it. By summer, it was obvious they couldn’t — or wouldn’t. So, we stepped in and shut down the worst program: housing. We also froze provider enrollment in a few of the most abused programs.

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Senate confirms journalist Sara Carter as new Trump drug czar

he Senate confirmed journalist Sara Carter in a party-line vote Tuesday as the United States’ new “drug czar,” who will help with the administration’s efforts to curb the fentanyl crisis in the country.

President Donald Trump nominated Carter, an investigative journalist who has covered the fentanyl crisis and border security, for the post last year. She will officially serve as the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Carter was confirmed in a 52-48 split. Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul voted against the confirmation. 

The journalist has received multiple national awards for her coverage of national security issues, including the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi award for her coverage of the brutality of the Gulf and Sinaloa Cartel wars along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“My work in the frontlines wasn’t just about telling stories, it was about mapping the enemy,” Carter told senators in September, according to Politico. “I have seen these predatory criminal empires operate with impunity in our hemisphere. That impunity ends now. This is not just a public health crisis, it’s a chemical war being waged against the American people.”

Carter will now play a critical role in overseeing federal policy and funding related to drug trafficking, substance use prevention, treatment and recovery. 

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Bayer’s Monsanto sues Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna over mRNA technology

Bayer’s Monsanto has sued COVID-19 vaccine makers Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna for allegedly misusing its messenger RNA (mRNA) technology in manufacturing their vaccines.

The lawsuit in the Delaware federal court was confirmed by a Bayer spokesperson on Tuesday, local time.

The patent infringement lawsuits said the companies copied technology developed by Monsanto in the 80s for strengthening mRNA in crops in order to stabilise the genetic material used in their vaccines.

Bayer separately filed a similar lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson in New Jersey federal court, arguing that a DNA-based process J&J used in manufacturing its shots infringed the patent.

A Moderna spokesperson said the company was aware of the lawsuit and would defend itself.

Spokespeople for Pfizer, BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson did not immediately respond to Reuters’s requests for comment.

Bayer’s complaints add to a web of patent lawsuits over the blockbuster COVID-19 shots, which include an ongoing lawsuit filed by Moderna against Pfizer in 2022.

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Russia sends navy to guard oil tanker being pursued by US in North Atlantic after fleeing Venezuela for Russia

Russia has dispatched navy assets to protect a sanctioned oil tanker as it crosses the Atlantic, amid mounting threats from the US to seize the vessel.

The move comes after US forces were said to be preparing to board the ship, which has a long history of transporting Venezuelan crude oil and was last believed to be sailing between Scotland and Iceland.

According to CBS News, Russia has now stepped in to escort the tanker in a development that raises the prospect of a dramatic showdown between the superpowers on the high seas.

By sending navy ships into the North Atlantic, Vladimir Putin is signalling to Donald Trump that he can’t act without consequences, following the US president’s threat to use the military to seize Greenland. 

The vessel, which is currently empty, had previously operated under the name Bella 1. Last month, the US Coast Guard attempted to board it in the Caribbean, armed with a warrant to seize the ship over alleged breaches of US sanctions and claims it had shipped Iranian oil.

However, the tanker then abruptly changed course, renamed itself Marinera and reportedly reflagged from Guyana to Russia.

Donald Trump last month said he had ordered a ‘blockade’ of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, a policy the government in Caracas branded ‘theft’.

In the run-up to the US seizure of the country’s former leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump repeatedly accused Venezuela’s government of using ships to smuggle drugs into the US.

Two US officials told CBS News on Tuesday that American forces were planning to board the Marinera and that Washington would prefer to seize the vessel rather than sink it.

Moscow’s Foreign Ministry says it expects Western countries to respect principles of freedom of navigation. 

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Witkoff: Significant Progress Made on Security Guarantees for Ukraine

Following talks with European and Ukrainian leaders, President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, said significant progress had been made in establishing security guarantees and a “prosperity agreement” for Ukraine. 

On Tuesday, Witkoff and Ukrainian President Zelensky met with the “Coalition of the Willing” to discuss the war in Ukraine. “We have made significant progress on several critical workstreams, including our bilateral security guarantee framework and a prosperity plan,” Witkoff wrote on X after the summit. “We agree with the Coalition that durable security guarantees and robust prosperity commitments are essential to a lasting peace in the Ukraine and we will continue to work together on this effort.”

At a press conference, Witkoff said the prosperity agreement would involve BlackRock and that he is working with the firm’s CEO, Larry Fink. 

The Coalition of the Willing is a bloc of European nations led by the UK, France, and Germany, with the goal of supporting Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday’s meeting resulted in a “significant step” towards ending the war in Ukraine. 

During the summit, Kiev, Paris, and London signed an agreement to send troops and weapons to Ukraine after a ceasefire is established. The Coalition of the Willing said the deployment will receive support from the US. 

“Military officials from France, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine worked in detail on force deployment, numbers, specific types of weapons, and the components of the Armed Forces required and able to operate effectively,” Zelensky wrote on X. “We had very substantive discussions with the American side on monitoring — to ensure there are no violations of peace. The United States is ready to work on this.”

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