Tag: corruption

Outrage as Texas town official spends $5,000 of taxpayers’ cash on OZEMPIC

A tiny Texas town has been rocked by a bizarre spending scandal after thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds were used to purchase weight-loss drugs and items from TikTok Shop.

Mayor Ken Padilla of Campbell, a small city in Hunt County with fewer than 1,000 residents, confirmed that roughly 150 unauthorized credit card charges were made between 2024 and 2025 that totaled more than $28,000.

Eyebrow-raising purchases include over $5,000 spent on GLP-1 weight-loss medications such as Ozempic, along with another $5,000 on items from TikTok Shop, Fox 4 reports.

The spending spree amounts to about 3.5 percent of the city’s annual budget, raising serious concerns about oversight and accountability in the tight-knit community.

City Secretary Trisha Lowery, who was hired after the transactions occurred, told a tense city council meeting on Monday that officials still cannot determine who made the charges.

‘I cannot tell you one way or the other who made these transactions. Obviously, we all have our own opinion on who did them and how they transpired,’ Lowery said. 

‘There has to be some sort of individual identifying information that says this person used this card.’

Padilla refused to comment further due to the pending investigation. 

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As Washington Succeeds in Wrecking Cuba’s Economy, US Media Blame the Victim

The US government’s decades-long economic blockade against Cuba is in many ways not a complicated issue. The policy of restricting trade with the country’s Communist government was put into full force under the Kennedy administration, with the explicit goal of causing enough economic hardship, hunger and desperation to spur regime change.

The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly and consistently voted to end the embargo since a resolution to that effect was first introduced in 1992. Member countries argue that the embargo violates international law. It has cost the country anywhere between $130–170 billion since its inception, and has restricted the Cuban people’s access to food and medicine. And it has not accomplished its primary goal of overthrowing the Cuban government.

These are key points that should be included in any article reporting on Cuba’s economic struggles. However, US journalists have consistently leaned into the US government’s framing of the issue: that the country’s Communist government is largely or exclusively to blame for its financial woes (FAIR.org, 11/4/24).

As the Trump regime tightens the screws of the embargo by further restricting oil access to the country, a move that has been condemned by UN human rights experts as a further violation of international law (New York Times, 2/13/26), legacy media continue to toe the government’s line on the issue, with coverage that is either low on context or outright stenography.

President Donald Trump has tried to justify his administration’s significant escalation in tactics on the basis that Cuba represents an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the security of the United States, primarily by supporting US geopolitical enemies. This accusation is not new: The country has previously been accused of hosting both Russian and Chinese spy bases. Despite neither claim being backed by evidence (Belly of the Beast, 2/6/26, 8/1/24), the Trump administration doubled down on them when rolling out its new and harsher set of policies.

But the administration also unveiled a new claim that upped the ante: Cuba has apparently been harboring Hamas and Hezbollah forces, not 90 miles off of our shores! “Cuba welcomes transnational terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas,” reads an executive order from January 29,

creating a safe environment for these malign groups so that these transnational terrorist groups can build economic, cultural and security ties throughout the region, and attempt to destabilize the Western Hemisphere, including the United States.

The administration did not provide evidence to support this claim, and none has surfaced, despite local journalists’ investigative efforts (Belly of the Beast, 2/2/26).

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Newsom Implies Investigative Journalist Nick Shirley is a Pedophile for Exposing Daycare Fraud

California’s Democrat Governor is attacking a journalist for exposing daycare fraud.

Governor Gavin Newsom implied investigative journalist Nick Shirley is a pedophile for exposing rampant daycare fraud in California and Minnesota.

On Monday evening, Nick Shirley released his latest video uncovering $170 million in fraud in California.

“We uncovered over $170,000,000 in fraud as these fraudsters live in luxury with no consequences,” Nick Shirley said.

“California’s version of Medicaid called ‘Medi-Cal’ has more than doubled since 2022 from $108 billion to a proposed $222 billion in 2026. Their population, however, has not grown exponentially. However, their spending has,” Nick Shirley said.

“There has been a 1,000 percent increase in hospice care in Los Angeles County,” Nick Shirley said. It’s estimated that the fraud in California could be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.”

Nick Shirley visited ‘hospices’ in Los Angeles and ‘daycares’ in San Diego.

The Somali ‘daycare’ owner/operator screamed at Nick Shirley and called the police after he asked her why there weren’t any children in the facility.

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Democrat Senator Alex Padilla Scurries Away as Reporter Questions Him About O’Keefe’s Undercover Cash For Ballots Video on Skid Row

Democrat Senator Alex Padilla (CA) walked away as a reporter questioned him about the O’Keefe Media Group’s undercover cash for ballots video on Skid Row.

The O’Keefe Media Group on Tuesday released part one of its investigation into a California elections fraud cash for ballots scheme.

James O’Keefe and his team of journalists went undercover on Skid Row in Los Angeles, posing as homeless people.

‘Petitioners’ told the undercover journalists that they are paid between $7-$10 per signature. Some of them earn up to $1,000 per day.

“California NGOs Encourage Fake Addresses To Homeless People To Sign Petitions & Register Voters, A State & Federal Felony. Footage Shows 28 Instances Of Cash Changing Hands For Ballot Signatures & Voter Registration Forms,” they said.

“Many of the petitioners had no understanding of the petitions’ purpose they were advertising. Circulators also instructed individuals to use fake addresses. “Oh, you can just fake an address.”” OMG reported.

“Weingart Center, which received hundreds of millions in public funding, is on tape directing people to where the fraudulent petitioners are located, and directing homeless individuals to petitioners & coaching plausible deniability,” OMG said.

One petitioner impersonated a police officer and appeared to threaten James O’Keefe.

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Former Hegseth Advisor Ousted in Leak Investigation Finds New Home in Gabbard’s DNI Office: Report

The former top senior advisor to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has reportedly been hired by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

Fox News reported Tuesday that Dan Caldwell, ousted from the Pentagon last April amid a high-profile purge, is now onboarding at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

A source familiar with the move told Fox News that Caldwell has already passed a polygraph, sailed through background checks, and is stepping into an administrative coordination role, one that still feeds directly into shaping the President’s daily intelligence briefing across all 18 intel agencies.

More from the news outlet:

A former top advisor to War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was ousted amid a high-profile leak investigation, has been hired to work under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, according to a source familiar with the move.

[…]

Earlier Tuesday, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent resigned, citing opposition to the Iran war and arguing Tehran, Iran, did not pose an imminent threat to the United States, a rare public break from within the administration.

A source familiar with the move described Caldwell’s new position as an “administrative role” focused on internal management and coordination rather than directly shaping intelligence assessments or national security policy. However, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) plays a central role in coordinating intelligence across 18 agencies and shaping the president’s daily intelligence briefing.

The source said Caldwell has completed a polygraph test and passed a series of background and security checks and is in the onboarding process.

[…]

The Pentagon declined to comment on Caldwell’s hiring and the status of the investigation. The Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations did not respond to a request for comment.

Caldwell’s firing in April 2025 was part of a sweeping Pentagon purge ordered during a leak crackdown that the Trump administration said was necessary to root out bad actors undermining national security, along with two other senior aides, Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll.

Dan Caldwell was escorted out of the Pentagon for “an unauthorized disclosure,” according to Reuters.

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Joe Kent Under FBI Investigation For Leaking Classified Information: Semafor

According to Semafor, Joe Kent, the top counterterrorism official who just resigned in protest of the Iran war, is under FBI investigation for leaking classified information.

The investigation predates Kent’s departure, Semafor’s White House correspondent reported.

Joe Kent resigned on Tuesday and said the US started the war against Iran due to pressure from Israel.

“After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today,” Joe Kent said.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” he said.

“Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” he said.

“As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives,” he added.

On Tuesday, Fox News’ White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich said Joe Kent was a “known leaker” and was cut out of President Trump’s intel briefings months ago.

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Insanity: Newsom’s California Blows OVER $100 MILLION on a ‘Butterfly and Cougar’ Bridge With No End in Sight – Project Director Blames Trump and the Weather

While waste and California go together like peanut butter and jelly, even this latest example will blow your mind.

City Journal’s Chris Rufo broke an explosive story on Wednesday, revealing how Gavin Newsom’s California somehow spent $114 million on the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing (WAWC) over the course of four years. The crossing features an overpass for animals atop ten lanes of the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills.

The stated goal of the project was to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions by providing safe passage to the animals. The species that were supposed to benefit included the endangered cougars in the area and the monarch butterflies.

During a ceremony announcing the project, Newsom boasted that the state would provide $54 million in funding to complete the crossing. It was supposed to cost $92 million in total, with the remaining funding from private philanthropists.

Officials projected the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing would open in 2025, but now it is over $20 million over budget with no finish in sight. And you can thank good old-fashioned political corruption for it, along with the person in charge of the project, a loony cougar-sweater-wearing ‘environmentalist’ named Beth Pratt, who serves on WAWC’s Partner Leadership Team.

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Did the DHS “ALBERT” Intrusion Detection Systems Fail? China Obtained 2020 Voter Rolls and Made Fake Driver Licenses

Major revelations have emerged about the 2020 election. JustTheNews reported that U.S. intelligence agencies have had raw reports, finished intelligence products, and at least one presidential daily briefing.

They all contain knowledge about actual breaches and interference conducted by foreign actors to swing the 2020 election. But we were told the election was the most secure ever.

The intelligence community hid this from the 2020 Trump Administration, various officials, and the American people for years. This Ombudsman letter from Barry Zulauf explains that China was seemingly protected.

Info from China analysts was withheld or dismissed. The words “influence” and “interference” had different meanings regarding China than they did for other countries like Iran and Russia.

Those old reports show they knew Chinese intelligence had obtained voter registration data from multiple states. This is the data with personal ID information, including social security numbers and driver’s licenses. It’s the exact type of voter roll data the DOJ has been asking for.

TGP reported on the “ALBERT Sensor” intrusion detection system a few years ago. It was rapidly deployed in 2017 by DHS into county elections across the country. Did it not work for the 2020 election, or have States hidden voter roll intrusions from their citizens?

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Mother Speaks Out About Daughter’s Targeting by School’s Secret LGBTQ Club

In 2023, Colorado parents sued Poudre School District after discovering sixth-graders were being recruited to a secret after-school “art” club that turned out to be a gender and sexuality awareness club.

In Lee v. Poudre School District R-1, two families, Jonathan and Erin Lee, and Nicolas and Linnaea Jurich, sued the district, alleging it groomed their daughters into the LGBTQ cult through secretive Gender and Sexualities Alliance (GSA) meetings.

The lawsuit was dismissed, and on April 22, 2025, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that dismissal.

When the lawsuit was initially filed, Lee told Fox News’ Harris Faulkner,”The art teacher had invited in an outside presenter into the classroom that day, and this woman did absolutely unthinkable things with the kids.”

The presenter also told students they could describe themselves as “queer” if they had not yet figured out their sexuality.

“She talked to them about polyamory. She told them that these new labels that they had just adopted made them more likely to commit suicide and talked to them extensively about suicide,” she continued.

The presenter also allegedly discussed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, warning those in attendance that their parents may not be “safe” people to turn to as they struggle with certain identities.

“She [the speaker] runs an organization called ‘Skittles’ for kids five to eleven to discuss gender and sexuality,” Lee said, noting that her daughter’s art teacher pulled her aside and told her “you don’t have to tell your parents.”

Lee joined Grant Stinchfield on Real America’s Voice to share her family’s journey.

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Doug Ford launches war on transparency, shielding cabinet from Freedom of Information records

Ontarians, the government is coming for your right to know.

For years, freedom of information requests have been one of the few tools ordinary citizens, journalists, and researchers have had to hold power to account and peel back the curtain on government decisions.

That tool is now under direct assault.

Public and Business Service Delivery Minister Stephen Crawford confirmed the Doug Ford Progressive Conservative government’s plan to exempt the premier, his cabinet ministers and their staff from freedom of information laws entirely.

They’re selling it as “modernization” and a way to “protect against Chinese spies,” but it smells more like a brazen Big Government power grab to operate in total secrecy.

This comes hot on the heels of Premier Ford facing intense pressure to release his personal cellphone records — the same phone he uses for official business, with sources saying that his chief of staff and senior aides dodge government communication disclosure laws by utilizing encrypted apps like WhatsApp and Signal.

When access to information shrinks, accountability dies.

Journalists can’t break stories. Researchers can’t expose failures. Families and communities lose their voice against policies that reshape their lives.

This isn’t partisan; it affects everyone. The government may view transparency as a “burden,” but really, it’s the bare minimum in a democracy.

If the government is truly acting in the best interest of the public, then why make it harder for the public to see how they’re shaping policy and decisions?

The public has a right to know, and that means access that isn’t coming in the form of heavily redacted fragments months later.

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