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Western officials ‘alarmed’ over secret FBI-Ukraine meetings – WaPo

Western officials are concerned by the secrecy surrounding meetings between Ukrainian negotiators and the FBI, the Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing sources.

Kiev’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, has visited the US three times in recent weeks to meet with President Donald Trump’s top envoy, Steve Witkoff, and also held closed-door talks with FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino.

Several unnamed Western officials said the meetings could be aimed at speeding up Kiev’s acceptance of Trump’s peace roadmap. Leaked versions require Ukraine to abandon its NATO ambitions, drop its territorial claims, and cap its army at 600,000 – terms which Kiev and its European backers believe favor Russia.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, Olga Stefanishina, confirmed the FBI meetings, but declined to provide details. Sources say the secrecy “has caused alarm” among those not privy to the talks over their true purpose.

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In echoes of Minneapolis, whistleblower says Maine company bilked Medicaid dollars

Ahealth services contractor in Maine founded by a Somali immigrant is now accused by a whistleblower of defrauding the state’s Medicaid program, raising concerns in Congress that fraud in government programs is more widespread than previously known.

The recent charges from last month connected to a $1 billion fraud ring among Somali immigrants in Minneapolis, Minnesota, have focused renewed attention from lawmakers on rooting out fraud in federally-funded programs across the country. 

Just days after the Minnesota fraud ring surfaced in the national conversation, a whistleblower who worked for a health services contractor in Maine came forward in a public interview and alleged the company, Gateway Community Services, defrauded the state’s Medicaid program for years. 

The company was founded by Abdullahi Ali, a Somali-American who also ran for office, a position equivalent to governor, in a Somali state. At the time, he was serving as Gateway’s executive director. 

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, says that he plans to probe the cases in both Minnesota and Maine to determine whether similar fraud using public dollars exists elsewhere. He believes there is a high chance his committee will find more.  

“This does appear that it’s a very organized scheme in multiple states with groups of Somalis,” Comer said in an interview with NewsNation, which first aired the whistleblower’s allegations. “I would go out on a limb and say this is happening in other states with other social programs with other groups,” Comer said.

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Cook County’s electronic monitoring system is putting people in danger. Fix it now.

When we learned that the man who allegedly set 26-year-old Bethany MaGee on fire on a Blue Line train last month not only had been arrested more than 70 times but was also out on electronic monitoring after assaulting a social worker at MacNeal Hospital — in spite of the Cook County state’s attorney’s request that he be held — we were alarmed. That man, Lawrence Reed, had violated his electronic monitoring terms multiple times prior to the attack.

Given the shocking, high-profile nature of this story, you might be tempted to believe it an anomaly.

It is not.

In June, Chicagoan Arturo De La Mora was sentenced to 52 years in prison for murdering his girlfriend while he was on electronic monitoring for a prior felony gun case, crime news site CWBChicago reported. In October, a Chicago man received 22 years in prison for carjacking a Facebook Marketplace seller at gunpoint while on electronic monitoring for an earlier case in which he allegedly tried to kill a Cook County sheriff’s deputy.

A little over a year ago, Lacramioara Beldie was stabbed to death in Portage Park by her estranged husband, Constantin Beldie, who was on electronic monitoring at the time. A wrongful-death suit filed this month alleges he had dozens of monitoring violations leading up to the killing without any meaningful intervention from the county or its monitor vendor.

These are but a few horrific examples of a disastrous system that must be fixed, and quickly.

We spoke Tuesday with Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke about this serious problem. Burke assured us that her office is committed to requesting pretrial detention whenever the public is at risk, and the data she shared encourages us that the state’s attorneys arguing these cases on the front end are doing their part to prevent more danger.

Her team touted an increase in pretrial detentions under her watch, noting that, for example, detentions for aggravated domestic battery cases had increased to 85% from 61% under her predecessor. For cases involving handguns converted to the equivalent of machine guns, Burke’s office requested detention in 97% of cases, with judges approving pretrial detention 76% of the time. Again, these numbers and the higher frequency of judges approving prosecutors’ requests for detention are encouraging. But the problem of past detention refusals that have left violent folks on the streets with inadequate guardrails — and the potential for more in the future — continues to plague us.

“Electronic monitoring needs a law enforcement component,” Burke added, addressing the need to be able to enforce electronic monitoring terms and restrictions when people don’t comply. She’s right. As the system exists today, there’s next to no accountability and no muscle at all to ensure compliance while people remain free ahead of their court dates. Burke described herself as “the skunk at the garden party” for questioning what happens when someone, say, cuts off their monitor ahead of trial.

We need answers to questions like that. The county cannot continue operating a system without clear protocols for violations, otherwise Chicagoans and visitors to our city aren’t safe. Thankfully, the new chief judge understands this and is taking action. On Dec. 2, Cook County’s new Chief Judge Charles Beach ordered an urgent review of the county’s electronic monitoring program.

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Four times as many illegals in NY prisons than their share of population

New data shows that in the state of New York, a self-designated sanctuary state, illegal immigrants make up only 3.38% to 4.15% of the state’s population. Yet, when compared to the number of illegals who are incarcerated, they are overrepresented in prison and jail populations by a factor of roughly 3 to 4 times.

Furthermore, the Empire State has, according to the Department of Homeland Security, released 6,947 illegal immigrants since January 20 of this year, while still holding roughly 7,100 such individuals in its prisons and jails. These incarcerated illegal aliens account for approximately 14% of the total prison population of approximately 50,803, despite comprising only 3.20% to 3.38% of the state’s overall population of about 19.99 million.

DHS: “The worst of the worst” 

This results in an overrepresentation factor quadruple their demographic share. The state also has an attitude of reluctance toward sharing immigration status and therefore, these estimates are conservative. 

The released 6,947 illegal immigrants were convicted of severe offenses, including 29 homicides, 2,509 assaults, 199 burglaries, 305 robberies, 392 dangerous drug offenses, 300 weapons offenses, and 207 sexual predatory crimes. 

Meanwhile, the current inmates with active ICE detainers include 148 convicted of homicide, 717 for assaults, 134 for burglaries, 106 for robberies, 235 for dangerous drugs, 152 for weapons offenses, and 260 for sexual predatory acts. 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin has characterized these individuals as encompassing “hundreds of murderers, hundreds of sexual predators, drug traffickers, the worst of the worst.”

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Arkansas will become first state to end PBS affiliation

Arkansas’ statewide public television network will end its affiliation with PBS starting in July 2026, the Arkansas Educational Television Commission announced this week.

The station, formerly known as Arkansas PBS, will also rebrand as Arkansas TV.

The commission cited a $2.5 million reduction in annual federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the cost of PBS membership fees as factors in its decision. A news release announcing the move called the dues “simply not feasible.”

Programming is expected to remain largely unchanged through June 30, 2026. After that date, the network plans to introduce locally produced programming, including children’s, food and history series currently in development, as well as “favorites from the last 60 years.”

“Public television in Arkansas is not going away,” Executive Director and CEO Carlton Wing said in the release. “In fact, we invite you to join our vision for an increased focus on local programming, continuing to safeguard Arkansans in times of emergency and supporting our K-12 educators and students. … We are confident that we can secure ongoing and increased support from individual donors, foundation partners and corporate sponsors who see the value in investing in new local programming that serves our state.”

PBS content will continue to be accessible to Arkansas residents through other platforms, Arkansas TV said.

In response to the announcement, a PBS spokesperson told Nexstar’s KNWA that Arkansas TV’s decision to end membership “is a blow to Arkansans who will lose free, over-the-air access to quality PBS programming they know and love.”

The spokesperson cited a June 2025 YouGov survey, which PBS said showed strong support for the network in the state. According to the company, the survey found a majority of survey participants opposed limiting funding for PBS and agreed that its programming was beneficial for children and the community.

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Climate Change Forever

Earth’s weather and climate have always been in a perpetual state of flux. These changes are driven by shifting ratios of land and sea over geological epochs, tectonic forces, and external influences such as the Sun and the planets — “wandering stars” — of our solar system. Science has significantly advanced our understanding of the intimate relationship between the Sun’s energy outputs and Earth’s weather and climate systems.

However, it is troubling that anti-science organizations and global governments are now promoting the notion that Earth’s climate must remain static and unchanging. These groups argue that the climate is deteriorating due to rising carbon dioxide levels since the onset of the Industrial Revolution some 240-260 years ago. This belief is pushed despite the lack of direct or indirect evidence proving that carbon dioxide is causing dangerous global warming. Nonetheless, these elements have succeeded in convincing a largely disengaged public that we must stabilize Earth’s climate by reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide, without defining what concentration is desirable or specifying the “correct” global temperature to maintain.

On July 9, from the garden of Laudato Si’ Village, Pope Leo XIV delivered a homily stating:

We must pray for the conversion of so many people, inside and outside of the church, who still don’t recognize the urgency of caring for our common home. … We see so many natural disasters in the world, nearly every day and in so many countries, that are in part caused by the excesses of being human, with our lifestyle.

The pope also issued a warning ahead of the September 1 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation:

Our earth is being ravaged. On all sides, injustice, violations of international law and the rights of peoples, grave inequalities and the greed that fuels them are spawning deforestation, pollution and the loss of biodiversity. Extreme natural phenomena caused by climate changes provoked by human activity are growing in intensity and frequency.

I feel compelled to remind readers of what I wrote when the encyclical Laudato Si’ was released by the late Pope Francis 10 years ago: “Only around 2% of the encyclical addresses climate change — 4 out of 246 items — and even these contain half-truths. Half-truths are the enemy of science and must be eradicated.”

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Thousands march in Hungary in protest over child abuse scandal

Thousands of Hungarians marched to Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s offices on Saturday, led by opposition leader Peter Magyar, ‍who ​urged the veteran nationalist to resign over ‍an abuse scandal at a juvenile detention centre.

Protesters walked through Budapest’s frosty streets ​behind ​a banner reading “Protect the children!”, carrying soft toys and torches in solidarity with victims of physical abuse in a case dating ‍back several years.

The prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday that seven people ​had been detained at the ⁠state-run Budapest juvenile centre so far.

Orban, who faces what could be the toughest challenge to his 15-year rule in an election likely in April, condemned the ​abuse in an interview with news outlet Mandiner, calling it unacceptable and criminal.

“More and ‌more revolting things keep surfacing ​on a daily basis, which I did not think were possible in this country,” said Judit Voros, one of the protesters marching to Orban’s offices on Castle Hill in Budapest.

Earlier this week, the government placed Hungary’s five juvenile correctional institutions under direct police oversight while prosecutors ‍investigate the case.

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‘Obvious Mental Disability’: FBI Insider Raises Doubts About Man Charged As J6 Pipe-Bomber

An FBI whistleblower has come forward with perspectives that raise concerns that the bureau has charged an innocent person with planting bombs at Democratic and Republican headquarters on Jan 5, 2021, according to Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. 

“The FBI employee disclosing this information to me doesn’t believe the FBI has arrested a person who is capable or motivated, or even interested enough in affairs outside of his own small world, to execute the J6 pipe bomb plot on his own,” wrote Massie in a Friday afternoon thread on X, noting that this was Massie’s “personal conclusion” about the whistleblower. 

Nearly five years after two pipe bombs were found at RNC and DNC headquarters on Jan 6, 2001, the FBI earlier this month arrested Brian J. Cole Jr. of Woodbridge, Virginia. He was charged with transporting an explosive device across state lines with the intent to either kill, injure, or intimidate, or to unlawfully damage property. He was also charged with attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials. The arrest came after mounting doubts that the FBI and other authorities were earnestly investigating the crime. Many theorized that, even worse than slow-rolling the probe, the feds were actively covering something up.  

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Joe Biden Is Getting a Brutal Lesson on How Irrelevant He Is

When Joe Biden announced his presidential library plans back in September, the writing was already on the wall. Donors were checked out, interest was nonexistent, and the whole thing smelled like a vanity project nobody wanted to fund. Now, a New York Times article confirms what was painfully obvious from the start — Biden’s library is turning into an epic fundraising disaster.

The numbers are embarrassing. According to the report, Biden’s library foundation received no new donations in 2024, the final year of his presidency. All of its initial funding — a measly $4 million — came from leftover cash from Biden’s 2021 inauguration, not from donors eager to immortalize his legacy. The foundation refuses to disclose how much, if anything, it has raised in 2025, which obviously means the number is so disastrously low that they’re too embarrassed to give figures publicly.

Biden is about to actively seek donations for the project, but this isn’t exactly a sign that help is on the way. He’s hosting his first event explicitly aimed at potential library donors on Monday in Georgetown, but calling it a fundraiser would be generous. I’m not expecting this social hour to move the needle much.

The news actually gets worse.

Biden’s foundation told the Internal Revenue Service that it expects to raise a grand total of about $11.3 million by the end of 2027. That figure is laughably low compared to what recent presidents have accomplished. George W. Bush’s team hit its $500 million fundraising goal before his library was even dedicated. Obama’s library reportedly costs about $850 million. Even President Trump’s library expects to raise more than $900 million.

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Half of U.S. has hepatitis B? Media’s go-to vaccine expert gets fact-checked for puzzling interview

One of the most media-savvy vaccine advocates in the U.S., perhaps second only to record-breaking federal pensioner Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, has allegedly been caught falsely claiming he was not invited to address a federal vaccine advisory panel’s recent meeting and spreading wildly inflated numbers on hepatitis B infections, a subject of the meeting.

The perceived gotcha on Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia but also a skeptic of COVID-19 boosters for healthy young people, prompted critics to flag other instances in which Offit allegedly refused to engage and to pick apart his media appearances and choice of venues, such as entertainment-focused TMZ.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials “repeatedly” contacted Offit to present at its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ meeting last week, “via emails, phone calls and a speaker-request form,” physician-turned-investigative journalist Maryanne Demasi wrote this week, contradicting Offit’s claim to CNN on Dec. 5 on day two of ACIP’s meeting.

“I actually wasn’t invited to present at today’s meeting” but rather invited in October “to speak about vaccines to this group,” Offit told the host in the 9-minute interview when she asked why he declined to speak. (He has appeared on CNN several times this year.)

Offit then tried to redirect the conversation toward how ACIP had become an “anti-vaccine advisory committee” that threatens children’s health by no longer recommending COVID vaccines by default. He didn’t elaborate on how young children “clearly … benefit” from COVID vaccination, given their near-nil risk of serious harm from the virus. 

When the host pressed Offit to clarify what he thought the October invitation meant, he said he received a “vague recommendation to come speak to us” but not to speak “about this subject” – hepatitis B vaccination, whose recommendations ACIP changed later that day to wait two months to vaccinate newborns whose mothers test negative for the virus.

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