Tag: taxes

Woke Council VP Turns City Into Sanctuary Grocery Service for Illegal Aliens

A St. Paul city official is facing intense criticism after publicly encouraging residents to assist illegal aliens in avoiding federal immigration enforcement, including by delivering groceries, escorting workers, and reporting the movements of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

St. Paul City Council Vice President Hwa Jeong Kim posted a video to social media urging residents to resist ICE activity in the city following an increase in federal enforcement operations.

The video, which was shared on Kim’s Instagram account and later circulated widely across other platforms, prompted swift backlash from critics who accused the council member of promoting interference with federal law enforcement.

In the video, Kim claimed that federal immigration agents had already taken several individuals into custody earlier in the day.

“It’s not even noon, and ICE has already kidnapped five of my neighbors. I’ve responded to one where we believe a whole family was taken with children,” Kim said.

Kim went on to assert that the presence of federal agents in Minnesota had surpassed that of local law enforcement.

“There are more federal agents in Minnesota than we have of the St. Paul and Minneapolis police combined. And yet, there are neighbors that are showing up in incredible ways like standing in front of known targeted businesses helping escort workers home,” she continued.

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Dr. Oz on MN Fraud: ‘We Are Taking the Largest Action of Its Kind Ever in Medicaid History’

Dr. Oz announced what he described as the largest enforcement action in Medicaid history, saying his administration has begun demanding financial documentation from states and deferring hundreds of millions of dollars in payments amid concerns about fraud and improper spending.

According to Dr. Oz, the move requires states to submit detailed receipts for Medicaid expenditures, with a significant portion of funding potentially withheld while reviews are conducted.

“So we are taking the largest action of its kind ever in Medicaid history, by asking the state to give us all the receipts, and we’re going to defer could be hundreds of millions of dollars,” Dr. Oz said. “A quarter of money that’s not going to go to the state.”

Dr. Oz specifically addressed criticism from Minnesota’s congressional delegation, pushing back on claims that the action would harm residents.

He said the state has sufficient financial reserves to absorb the impact.

“Now I just heard all that belly aching from Congressman and Congresswoman from Minnesota,” Dr. Oz said.

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US May Spend Up to $2 Billion on New Israeli Armored Vehicle Factory

The US may spend up to $2 billion financing the construction of a new armored production plant in Israel, Haaretz reported on Monday, citing official US documents.

The report said that the Israeli government announced last year a project it calls the “Armored Vehicle Acceleration Project” to increase production of Merkava tanks and troop carriers used by the IDF. The Israeli Defense Ministry estimated the project would cost about $1.5 billion, but didn’t mention potential US financing.

The US Army Corps of Engineers said in a presentation in October that future “business opportunities” in Israel include the “planning, design, and construction” of the “Joint Systems Manufacturing Center” for the armored vehicles. The presentation stated that the project is expected to cost between $1 billion and $2 billion and will be financed by US military aid.

Another document from the US Army Corps of Engineers, dated November 2025, outlines “contractor opportunities forecast” and includes the construction of the Israeli armored vehicle plant. “We are exploring the potential for a multibillion-dollar Joint Systems Manufacturing Center (JSMC) project, which could be a pivotal next step for the program,” the presentation reads, according to Haaretz.

The Haaretz report said that when asked about the projects, the US Army said a final decision had not been made. The potential project highlights the fact that US military aid to Israel doesn’t just provide weapons shipments but also finances military construction inside the country.

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CA Mayor Drops a Bombshell On the NGO Scheme Defrauding Americans

El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells appeared in an interview with Real America’s Voice host Dan Ball to criticize California’s homeless funding structure, arguing that billions of dollars intended to address homelessness are being allocated without input from local governments most affected by the crisis.

Wells said cities like El Cajon, which he said have absorbed a disproportionate share of San Diego County’s homeless population, are excluded from decisions about how homelessness funds are distributed.

He placed blame on the California Homeless Task Force and county leadership, saying elected local officials are sidelined while non-governmental organizations control the money.

“The County board says we have no idea how much is spent. To make matters worse. They’re in conjunction with a homeless Task Force, that they’re the people who are on that homeless Task Force decide where all the money goes,” Wells said.

“Well, guess who serves on that homeless Task Force. All the heads of the NGOs. So the NGO’s get to make the decisions about where the money is spent and guess where they spend it?”

Ball interrupted Wells to clarify his point, comparing the structure to allowing those who benefit from the funds to control their distribution.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but are you telling me that’s like letting the inmates run a prison, so the people that get to say where the money goes. Are the people that are getting the money in the nonprofit groups,” Ball asked.

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Democrats Who Let Covid-Era Child Tax Credits Expire Now Cry ‘Crisis’ Over Lapsing Obamacare Giveaway

ontrary to the media’s blaring headlines about “the health care crisis,” there’s another question the press should answer but won’t. To wit: Why is it only a “crisis” when a Covid-era entitlement expires on Republicans’ watch?

While Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., eggs on the press by pontificating about a “health care crisis” caused by the recent expiration of enhanced Obamacare subsidies, he and his colleagues selectively and cynically ignore the recent past. The same Senate Democrats who now call the lapse of enhanced Obamacare subsidies a “crisis” let a far larger Covid-era program expire on their own party’s watch with barely a peep of objection.

Covid-era Child Tax Credit

In 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act, enacted in the Biden administration’s opening months, significantly expanded the child tax credit. The law increased the maximum available credit from $2,000 per child to $3,600 per child under age 6, and $3,000 for other kids under age 18. It also made the credit fully refundable for families with no income tax liability and provided for periodic monthly disbursements to beneficiaries. But fiscal and political constraints meant that the legislation enhanced the child tax credit for 2021 only.

House Democrats included a one-year extension of the enhanced child tax credit in their so-called Build Back Better legislation, which they passed in November 2021. But objections from Sen. Joe Manchin to the costly House bill meant Schumer spent months negotiating a slimmed-down package with the West Virginia Democrat.

Senate Democrats Oppose an Extension

When that smaller package came to the Senate floor in August 2022 without an extension of the enhanced child tax credit, Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont offered an amendment extending the program for four years, funded by a corporate tax hike. All of Sanders’ Senate colleagues present that day, including all Senate Democrats, voted against his amendment, with two not voting.

On the Senate floor, Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., both claimed they supported an extension but could not vote for Sanders’ amendment for fear it would kill the entire bill. Sanders responded with a reasonable enough question: Even if Manchin opposed his amendment, “Why would … getting 48 votes on this amendment bring the overall bill down?” He received no substantive reply.

The enhanced child tax credit that expired on Democrats’ watch had a far bigger effect than the enhanced Obamacare subsidies. Internal Revenue Service data shows that in 2021, just under 62 million children received child tax credit payments, nearly triple the roughly 21 million Americans with subsidized Obamacare coverage. The child tax credit also had a larger fiscal consequence; a permanent extension would have cost nearly $1.6 trillion over ten years, or more than four times as much as a $350 billion permanent revival of the enhanced Obamacare subsidies.

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If Fraud In Minnesota Looks Bad, Wait Till You See Gavin Newsom’s California 

As a former California state assemblyman who spent four years on the Budget Committee, I had a front-row seat to Sacramento’s obsession with “pulling down” federal dollars, turning welfare programs into a free-for-all.

Then-state Auditor Elaine Howle ran a lean operation, issuing spot-on reports about waste and vulnerabilities — and getting ignored time and again. California maximized payments for SNAP, Medi-Cal, and unemployment insurance with little regard for fraud controls.

That same reckless mindset has fueled scandals across blue states, with Minnesota serving as the appetizer to California’s main course of fiscal disaster.

Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future fraud — where crooks were convicted last March of pocketing $250-300 million in federal child nutrition funds by claiming phantom meals for kids — was a mere fraction of what was to come.

Today, Minnesota’s likely fraud toll has ballooned, with nearly $9 billion in suspected Medicaid scams since 2018, involving fake providers, ghost services, and out-of-state hustlers. Despite 80 charged, 50-plus guilty pleas, and assets like luxury cars forfeited in the Feeding Our Future scam, recoveries are a drop in the bucket. State agencies have ignored red flags, paralyzed by fears of discrimination lawsuits — or even just being labeled “racists.” And that allowed fraudsters to run wild.

But if Minnesota’s the starter, California’s the feast.

The Golden State’s Covid-19 unemployment insurance debacle at the Employment Development Department (EDD) was a masterclass in negligence: $177 billion paid out, with fraud hitting $20 billion by official counts and up to $32.6 billion by independent estimates. Scammers exploited lax ID checks, using stolen Social Security numbers for bogus claims while the real workers who owned those SSNs labored for their daily bread.

The financial recoveries? Pathetic.

And now, in an effort to repay $20-23 billion in federal loans, businesses have been slapped with their fifth year of Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) surcharges — $84 per employee extra in 2025, rising yearly. In other words, Gavin Newsom’s California punishes job creators for his government’s failure. Interest could soon top $1 billion annually, with ongoing unemployment insurance shortfalls piling on.

Then there’s the expansion of Medi-Cal to cover illegal aliens, fully implemented in 2024. Promised costs: $3 billion or more a year. Actual costs: $9.5 billion, with $8.4 million coming from the General Fund in 2024-25, enrollment nearing 2 million, and per-person expenses soaring.

California isn’t legally allowed to spend federal money on covering illegal aliens. But through the magic of financial fungibility, California has figured out how to force taxpayers in Texas and Florida to pick up the tab. This must stop.

Facing a big budget blowout, Sacramento froze new adult enrollments from January 2026, axed dental benefits for this group, and slapped on $30 monthly premiums starting in 2027. All of this is projected to save roughly $80 million short-term but billions over time.

Yet it still drains resources from citizens, pulling in indirect federal funds while exposing taxpayers to runaway costs.

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‘No one is above the law.’ Former New Haven police chief admitted to stealing at least $10,000, city officials say

The city of New Haven is freezing a police bank account used to fund its confidential informant program after former police chief Karl Jacobson admitted to stealing thousands of dollars from it.

City officials shared new details about the investigation Wednesday.

The scandal began on Monday, when a group of assistant chiefs questioned Jacobson about discrepancies in withdrawals from the city’s confidential informant fund.

Mayor Justin Elicker says the former police chief admitted to stealing $10,000 from the city, but the amount could actually be more.

“Everything I’ve heard from everyone is just how shocked they are,” Mayor Elicker says. “I want to make it clear: we do not know how much money was taken.”

Jacobsen oversaw the account as assistant chief.

Despite calls for him to relinquish control when he was promoted to chief, city officials say Jacobson continued to make authorized routine withdrawals of $5,000 each month from the account to pay confidential informants.

“What the chief had done was basically make it where he would be the sole holder of the money,” acting police chief David Zannelli says, “and what he would say to us commonly is that he was doing that to protect us from any kind of liability.”

The preliminary investigation uncovered two extra $5,000 withdrawals were made by Jacobson at the end of 2025: one in November, and another in December.

Mayor Elicker was originally going to place him on administrative leave, but Jacobson said he was retiring instead.

The confidential informant program has been paused as state investigators work to find out if any other city bank accounts were affected and if any other police officers were involved.

“No one is above the law, and we are all held accountable,” acting police chief David Zannelli says. “We will move forward as a police department.”

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James Comer Says Ilhan Omar Is “At the Top of the Suspect List” in Massive Minnesota Fraud Scandal — Ethics Complaints Incoming, Claims Her Husband Profited

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer dropped a bombshell this week, suggesting that far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar sits “at the top of the suspect list” in the sprawling Minnesota fraud scandals involving taxpayer-funded daycare and healthcare programs.

The comments came during a pointed exchange with journalist Alison Steinberg, who raised serious concerns about whether members of Congress themselves may have benefited from money funneled through political action committees tied to fraudulent daycare and healthcare schemes.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn has leveled explosive allegations against Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, claiming that a lack of accountability regarding massive taxpayer fraud in Minnesota is linked to the Speaker’s own financial networks.

Minnesota has become ground zero for some of the largest pandemic-era fraud cases in U.S. history, involving the alleged theft of hundreds of millions of dollars intended to feed children and provide healthcare services.

Many of these cases have centered on networks tied to Somali-run nonprofits and daycare operations, fraud that went unchecked for years under Democrat leadership.

When asked how Americans can trust Congress to police fraud if lawmakers themselves are implicated, Comer made it clear that there is a formal mechanism to deal with corruption on Capitol Hill.

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Why Netanyahu says it’s time to cut US aid to Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a wide‑ranging interview with “The Economist,” published Friday, that he intends to completely end Israel’s reliance on U.S. security assistance within the next 10 years — and that “the move is already underway.”

In the interview, conducted during Netanyahu’s visit to Mar‑a‑Lago about two weeks ago, the prime minister publicly revealed for the first time that he will not seek a full renewal of the annual $3.8 billion security aid package set to expire in 2028. “I want to reduce military aid within the next 10 years,” he said, answering “yes” when asked if his intention was to zero out dependence. In discussions between Netanyahu and Trump at Mar‑a‑Lago, teams were agreed on to negotiate future aid.

Netanyahu explained that Israel has “matured” and developed impressive economic capabilities, with the economy expected to reach $1 trillion within the coming decade. “We want to be as independent as possible,” Netanyahu stressed, adding that he will continue “to fight for the loyalty and support of the American people” — but greater independence could also help in the battle against the “propaganda war” against Israel.

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ICE Resistance Groups Growing, Some Funded by Soros, U.S. Government, and Linked to Terrorism

Anti-ICE activism has evolved into coordinated resistance networks that employ surveillance, harassment, and interference tactics. Organizations train activists in resistance methods, track ICE agents’ movements through mobile apps and crowdsourced databases, and conduct campaigns designed to obstruct immigration enforcement operations.

These efforts include doxing ICE agents, issuing threats against their homes and families, and running coordinated online propaganda campaigns that rely on altered or misleading videos. Posts may show ICE breaking a window while omitting that the occupant refused to open it, or claim agents “chased” someone without noting the individual was fleeing to evade arrest. Videos of agents wrestling with arrestees are circulated without acknowledging that the person resisted arrest, and outrage is expressed when a U.S. citizen is arrested while omitting that the citizen assaulted or interfered with federal officers.

Activists also claim there is no due process, despite the fact that a large percentage of deportees have outstanding final orders of deportation that were never enforced. They argue people are being denied access to courts when, in reality, many individuals are already in the country illegally and are arrested after attempting to legalize their status through a green card application or marriage to a citizen. Activists then claim the individual “showed up for a regular immigration hearing” or was “trying to do it the right way,” even though once someone is in the country illegally, there is generally no legal path to adjust status.

To further vilify ICE and encourage resistance, media figures, activists, and public officials in sanctuary jurisdictions use loaded language such as “abducted” instead of arrested and “whisked away” instead of detained. Officials vow to protect constituents from ICE, despite the fact that ICE arrests and deports illegal aliens, not lawful residents or citizens. There would be no violence at all if people stopped interfering with lawful enforcement actions.

Against this backdrop of negative framing and propaganda, several activist organizations are actively coordinating interference with ICE operations, escalating tensions and increasing the risk of unnecessary violence.

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