GREG GUTFELD: Scott Adams was the man who interrogated reality and made it talk

They say when you’re born, you come into life with no instruction manual.

If we’re lucky, we inherit a good set of parents, who set us up with good habits and sound thinking.

We might pursue a religious practice, embrace an education, and learn to think for ourselves.

‘DILBERT’ CREATOR SCOTT ADAMS DIES AT AGE 68

Others might not be so lucky. Anxious and unsure — we turn to other things to make sense of reality — drugs, alcohol, sex or easy money.

Without a set of instructions, we rely on what we think is our operating system: the ego.

And we protect it with all our might.

It is the ego, after all, that gets us into fights, creates resentments and wastes our time thinking about the past — ignoring the glories of the present. We find ourselves angry and irritable — pissed off at a coworker, cut off from a relative, mad over current events. And it is a devotion to an ego that makes us powerless to predict life’s terms or life’s turns. We end up more wrong than right, and our ego rages in response.

I came across Scott Adams accidentally, but it couldn’t have come at a better time for me.

It was around 2015 or so, and I was hot and bothered by Donald Trump. 

My friends and relatives had jumped aboard the Trump train, but I resisted — and resentfully so. I had my reasons for it, no doubt. But I never question what lurked beneath those reasons. Turns out it was self-doubt — the weak armor of an insecure ego. 

I found myself dreading work, and angry that nearly all my predictive powers had failed. Every day I would say, “Trump’s finished!” and he only got stronger. This wasn’t like me.

But one day on Twitter, some soul I’ll never be able to thank tweeted a simple suggestion: read Scott Adams. And, in a rare moment, I decided to heed a comment on Twitter. I googled Scott’s blog. And it changed my life.

Scott was already a world-famous cartoonist, of course — the creator of “Dilbert.” He had a pile of bestsellers.

Scott loved humans, but understood the nature of their pain — caused by how little they understood the reality behind the one they took as real.  

But I knew little of that world. And I had no idea what I would discover when I entered the Scott Adams universe — a place where the most profound thinker ruled with a cup of coffee, a goofy grin and a deep understanding of moist robots — i.e. humans.

Scott loved humans, but understood the nature of their pain — caused by how little they understood the reality behind the one they took as real.  

While some people would tell you they knew life’s secrets in order to impress upon you their brilliance — Scott was only trying to help. It’s why Dilbert was so successful. He was expressing the reality behind the reality. And we immediately got the joke.

Reality is subjective. And we see things as we think they are — not how they really are. And we foolishly make predictions based on those assumptions.

We had no answer key to life — and for many of us, that led us to making the same mistakes over and over. But Scott explained to us the conceptual reality behind the physical one — and it was the world of persuasion. He calmly explained how it operates — which in time made it possible to almost predict anything.  Once you knew how persuasion worked, you could see around most corners.

This was the difference between Scott and most intellectuals trying to flex their brilliance.

They were interested in reversing reality — but Scott was merely trying to explain it.

And he did that every morning.

It was then, daily, that I listened to “Coffee with Scott Adams” — certain I would glean some valuable insight into the world. And that prediction never failed. He would offer reframes of issues and ideas that would change the way I looked at things.   

 I remember Scott talking about the joys of being fired.

Having been fired three times in my life — I remember being angry and resentful after each one. Turned out, as Scott pointed out, I should have been grateful — because each firing was a step forward into a better career. My life never got worse after being fired — it only got better.

And this pretty much holds true for everyone. Being unhappy over a firing was based on a faulty assumption that the game had just ended. When, in fact, you were just entering a new level. The game started anew. And you could do anything.

It also helped that he framed getting fired — as well as getting dumped — through the same simple filter: that the relationship was not a good fit. Once you look at losing a job or the girl as “not a good fit,” you have eliminated a wound on your ever-present ego. It’s not about you.

And that frees you from the bag of rocks known as bitterness.

The ego is something that we all have and few can control. Usually the ego runs our lives, often into the ground. But Scott reframed it with an analogy — and I quote it often…

Imagine a person asks you to carry an original Picasso down the block to a gallery. You oblige, and the journey is harrowing. You pack up the painting, you wait for the rain to stop, you walk carefully and timidly — step by tiny step — terrified of pedestrians and puddles. Now imagine that same person asking you to carry a potato. Sure, no problem! You throw the spud in your pocket and head out. And if you drop it, no big deal — it’s just a potato!

Then comes Scott’s kill shot on the ego: Right now, your ego is a Picasso. From now on, think of it as a potato.

And when I did that, I felt a weight lift. I worried less about slights, or embarrassments. If I was wrong, I embraced it. In fact, losing the ego enabled me to see the worth in being wrong — for it merely sharpened my own ideas. I abandoned the sunk cost fallacy and learned to leave stupid opinions behind.

Scott believed in a higher power — that there is more to the world than just the physical reality. 

He put his money on a simulation — that God might actually be a programmer. He would often point to an underlying structure that guides us. 

I hate that Scott is gone, because he helped me so much. He changed the way I thought, and by doing so made me a happier, better version of myself.

 Scott hadn’t invented the idea — he was simply discovering things about life and shared them with you. This is why when you listened to his morning show you felt that you were on an anthropological dig, led by an incredibly brilliant archaeologist sifting through today’s news, showing us the things that we overlooked — things that point to a reality we didn’t know existed. You might call it God. Or a simulation. But it was there all right. A design and a Designer.

Adams pointed to a conceptual reality that lurks behind the physical one. And without understanding that secret knowledge, we are often disappointed and resentful.  

When Scott would go to his whiteboard during his podcast, he would explain this clearly and without ego. He used his unique power for good — showing you how to reframe things like laziness, or failure, death, or loss — in ways that bettered your existence.

He often referred to the mind’s mental shelf space. And while you cannot stop thinking bad thoughts (which depress you), you can crowd that stuff out and off the shelf with positive thoughts. Which is why he championed positive affirmations. 

His treatment for laziness is quick and effective: imagine the outcome instead of the effort.

That tip combined both the affirmations and the shelf space analogy. Right now, your brain is focusing on the effort to do the dishes; when you could be thinking about how great it is that you have clean dishes in the cupboard and a spotless kitchen counter. You think a good thought, which crowds the bad one out — and the outcome is realized.

I am avoiding the real benefit of Scott Adams. Because it hurts. It’s friendship. I lost a dear friend, someone I loved. A mentor obviously, but a friend I adored.

In his podcasts, Scott offered his hand to everyone — he would be there, 7 a.m. West Coast time, whether you showed up or not, because he knew that whoever did show up, needed a friend. 

I would exercise with Scott’s morning show on, daily — for nearly a decade. I would be pumping away on the Peloton, my ears fixated on Scott’s observations — pausing every now and then to send myself a note about something amazing that Scott just said.

When my life changed — having a baby — I ended up not being able to listen to Scott live — so I looked forward to the comfort of a podcast banked for later.

I am avoiding the real benefit of Scott Adams. Because it hurts. It’s friendship. I lost a dear friend, someone I loved. A mentor obviously, but a friend I adored.

It was a good feeling to remember that, “Oh yeah, I have a Scott Adams I didn’t get to!” It might be Scott’s greatest accomplishment — creating a community of gentle, intelligent beings who met every morning to share in a sip of a beverage of their choice. Those who didn’t get it… well, too bad.

There are those who remain critical of Scott — but I attribute that to their ignorance. Not ignorance in general, but specific to Scott. They just had no idea what they were dealing with, when they disparaged him. It’s like rejecting a gold bar because it’s too heavy.

Fact is, the more you got to know him, the more valuable he became.

He was the exception to his own frame known as “The Basket Case Theory” — which stipulated that once you got to know someone you admired or envied — you’d find out they’re just as messed up as you. 

It was an excellent frame for people with anxiety or shyness. You might think that the unfamiliar people are judging you in that hip restaurant — but really, they’re too busy judging themselves. They have their own problems and trust me — you wouldn’t want them.  

Scott once was posed the question: would you trade your life with anyone? It’s a good question for those of us who envy the rich and famous. 

But Scott said that you have no idea what the problems are of other people. The rich playboy may have syphilis; the popular actor may be riddled with alimony and addictions; the accomplished artist is almost always a nervous, palpable wreck. It was a simple reframe that helped dispense with jealousy. 

But Scott’s own life subverted this frame — sure, he had his own problems; but the more you got to know him — that fuller picture made him only that much more endearing.

At a certain point in his life, Scott decided to devote himself to service, and he brought that service up to his dying breath. Instead of extinguishing the flame with assisted suicide months ago — once he felt the love swirling around him — he decided to stick around for our sake.

He wouldn’t leave us, not yet anyway.

He even reframed his death: that one’s death is a relief for the dying, for their problems have gone. It is we who are in pain, not him.

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And it’s our selfish pain — that he decided to be there for!

I hate that he is gone, because he helped me so much. He changed the way I thought, and by doing so made me a happier, better version of myself.

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I fear I will lose that gift now — with him gone, and I told him so a few months ago.

To which he said, “No, you got it now.”

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SEC BROOKE ROLLINS: Trump brings whole milk back to schools, undoing Obama’s war on real food

In 2012, the Obama administration decided that America’s kids didn’t need whole milk. As a result, our children missed out on essential nutrition and our farmers lost critical income. Obama-era economic stagnation and anti-agriculture policies, including those promoting the Green New Scam multiplied hardships on the farm and many hardworking Americans began to lose hope.

Nearly one year ago, President Donald Trump’s inauguration restored that hope, and today he renews it. In signing the Whole Milk for Heathy Kids Act, President Trump delivers on his promise to put the welfare of American farmers and American children first.

While President Barack Obama took away market share from America’s dairy farmers to fight the war on healthy fats, President Trump is expanding markets both at home and abroad, pushing for better real food options for our kids.

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The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, sponsored by Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., and championed by Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., and Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., restores whole milk to schools across the nation, delivering real food for the next generation and standing up for the farmers who feed this country.

This issue is near and dear to my heart. Last year at my confirmation hearing, Sen. Marshall asked me if whole milk belongs in school lunches. I enthusiastically agreed. I also shared that growing up, my mom made sure that our refrigerator was always well stocked with whole milk. She instinctively knew that whole milk was a building block to a healthy future for me and my younger sisters.

So much has changed since the founding of our nation 250 years ago, but the benefits of drinking whole milk have remained the same. If anything, the nutrients that whole milk naturally provides are more in demand than ever before.

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The childhood health crisis currently facing our nation is nothing less than an existential threat.

Over 75% of kids in America struggle with obesity, poor physical fitness or related health challenges. These rising rates of chronic disease are influenced by several factors, but diet plays a central role.

We have a responsibility to help fix this crisis, especially since it was partly driven by misguided federal nutrition policies that replaced real food with ideology.

The absence of whole milk from schools has long been overlooked by countless public officials, but President Trump noticed and has done something about it. This administration understands that the national health crisis cannot be overcome without reorienting federal nutrition policy around science and real-world outcomes.

The Trump administration understands that the national health crisis cannot be overcome without reorienting federal nutrition policy around science and real-world outcomes.

Let’s be clear—whole milk isn’t just another drink on a school lunch tray. It’s a nutrient-dense, affordable source of protein, calcium, vitamin D, and healthy fats that growing bodies and minds need to thrive.

Bringing whole milk back to schools also builds on this month’s release of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030, which recognize full-fat milk, protein and healthy fats as essential building blocks of a balanced diet.

For the first time in years, federal guidance and school meal programs will complement one another, sending a consistent message to families about what healthy eating really looks like.

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act restores flexibility to schools, allowing them to offer whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, or fat-free milk. This is a win for local communities and parents, who can now make choices that best serve their kids.

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And equally important, it’s also a win for American farmers—the backbone of rural America.

School meal programs create consistent demand for their products, strengthen local economies and reconnect children to the food that truly fuels them. And after Thursday’s announcement, the demand for whole milk will take off like a rocket.

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So, to America’s dairy farmers: get ready. Gone are the days of declining milk consumption driven by failed Obama-era policy. Your hard work is back where it belongs, front and center in feeding our nation’s children.

This isn’t about partisan politics. It’s about practical, commonsense government policy, and it’s exactly the kind of real-world reform President Trump was elected to carry out.

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Jewish safety in New York depends on clear lines and moral courage from Mamdani

Shortly after Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral election, I received a text from a new number. It was the mayor-elect.

I felt compelled to speak with him out of my respect for him becoming the new mayor. Our intense and productive conversation came after a violent protest outside my father’s Park East Synagogue. What happened that night in the streets of New York was not a political debate, but a deliberate act of intimidation against Jews, including a targeted campaign at the doors of a synagogue.

That call marked the beginning of an ongoing dialogue between us, where New York City must draw lines, how it protects houses of worship and what leadership looks like when fear enters sacred spaces. Since then, the mayor and I have been in contact regularly.

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It was clear where the mayor and I disagreed, namely that he must recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. His demonization of the Jewish state of Israel and his prior use of antisemitic tropes, such as “apartheid,” “occupation” and “genocide” has put the safety of New York Jews at risk. I told him, just as I tell every Muslim leader I know, that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.

I urged Mayor Mamdani to pursue legislation banning protests directly in front of all houses of worship. This was not about silencing free speech. It was to draw a clear and reasonable line between the right to protest and the right to pray without fear. To his credit, he listened. Our conversations also led to concrete policy steps. In Mamdani’s second executive order, he directed the police commissioner and the law department to review NYPD patrol guidance to ensure clearer protections for houses of worship. The order called for evaluating buffer zones near synagogues, churches and mosques, ranging from 15 to 60 feet from entrances, additional restrictions during publicly scheduled religious services and appropriate limitations even during non-religious activities.

This was a serious and substantial advancement. The mayor acknowledged what Jewish communities across New York have been saying for months: that protests targeting houses of worship cross a line.

When a pro-Hamas protest was planned in Queens, the new mayor did not wait for chaos to erupt. Hours before the protest began, he ordered dozens of NYPD officers to the area to ensure the safety of nearby synagogues, Jewish schools and families. That proactive measure demonstrated that disagreements do not preclude responsibility. In a statement, Mayor Mamdani wrote that “chants in support of a terrorist organization have no place in our city.”

In my mind, his words acknowledge that past rhetoric, hesitation and intimidation during protests, including ones in which Mamdani attended, were wrong. I believe saying such chants have “no place in the city” is an admission that hate speech during protests against Jewish New Yorkers can turn violent.

The mayor’s rebuke of the protesters and the terrorist organization may have come at a political cost from his base, as some progressive activists and members of the Democratic Socialists of America criticized Mayor Mamdani and other leaders for condemning the chants. That reality should trouble every New Yorker. Rejecting terrorism and antisemitism should never be controversial in America.

But gratitude does not eliminate disagreement. Mamdani took a step in the right direction. Now, he is pushing for this bill with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who proposed a statewide bill to prevent protesters from being within “25 feet of the property line at houses of worship.”

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Leadership is not measured by whether the right words are spoken, but by whether they are spoken immediately, consistently, and backed by action.

To be overly optimistic, perhaps we are seeing a change in the mayor’s understanding of Israel and of how anti-Israel rhetoric impacts New York City’s Jewish community, the largest outside of Israel. As I wrote during the High Holy Days, “But Jewish tradition is clear: a genuine transformation does not happen overnight or for convenience. It requires contrition, confession, and change.”

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The next step will be for Mayor Mamdani to join me in meeting with global Muslim leaders and their representatives in New York who I have worked with for decades. These are leaders of Arab and Muslim majority countries who may not agree with every Israeli government policy, but they all unequivocally recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish nation. These voices represent coexistence, not incitement.

Now, as mayor for all New Yorkers, he must demonstrate an understanding that Israel is at the very core of the Jewish faith. One cannot bifurcate Israel from the Jewish community.

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California’s hatred for capitalism is killing the goose that laid its golden egg

California didn’t become the world’s fifth-largest economy by accident. Silicon Valley wasn’t built by regulators. Hollywood didn’t turn into a global storytelling powerhouse because of government planning. California was built by entrepreneurs, risk-takers, and innovators who believed in capitalism and the simple American ideology that if you work hard, take risks and build something valuable, you should be rewarded. 

That’s why California’s newly proposed billionaire tax should alarm anyone who still believes capitalism works. This proposal isn’t just another tax hike. It’s a fundamental shift away from the very system that makes Americans prosperous as a nation. 

Under the plan, California would impose a one-time tax on residents with net worth over $1 billion, targeting “wealth” rather than income. That includes unrealized gains, which means stock ownership, private company equity and illiquid assets that exist on paper. Wealth isn’t always in checking accounts. Supporters call it fairness, but it’s a tax on success before success is ever realized. 

Here’s the part most politicians ignore. Billionaires don’t necessarily sit on piles of cash. Their wealth is overwhelmingly tied up in businesses, real estate stock holdings and their private companies. When the government demands a massive check based on paper valuations, the only way to pay it is to sell assets.

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And that’s where the real damage begins for the people who rely on these billionaires to provide jobs for them to become millionaires. 

If you force someone to sell public stock, the markets can absorb it. But when you force the sale of private company stock, you’re often forcing a founder to sell part of their business or all of it earlier than planned. That can mean selling to private equity, taking on leverage, cutting costs or laying off workers to generate liquidity. 

In other words, a tax aimed at “the rich” doesn’t just hit balance sheets. It hits payrolls.

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Capitalism works because it incentivizes innovation and growth. It rewards people for building companies, hiring workers and reinvesting profits. When you start taxing wealth simply for existing rather than income, profits or transactions, you flip that incentive structure upside down. The message becomes clear to entrepreneurs. If you build too much and succeed too much, the government will punish you and possibly dismantle prematurely what you built. 

We’ve already seen how this movie ends for other Californians. 

Take billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who moved Tesla’s headquarters from California to Texas. Musk didn’t leave because he dislikes sunshine or beaches. He left because regulatory overreach, rising taxes and a growing hostility toward business innovation made it harder to build and scale companies. When the world’s most influential entrepreneur and job creator votes with his feet, policymakers should listen.

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He wasn’t alone. Host Joe Rogan moved his podcast empire out of Los Angeles, citing taxes, governance and quality-of-life concerns. Larry Ellison relocated Oracle’s headquarters out of California. Just look at Sergey Brin and Larry Page and their recent moves to sever ties with California. Even liberal Hollywood elites quietly establish residency in Nevada, Texas or Florida, while keeping second homes in Malibu. 

This isn’t coincidence. It’s cause and effect. 

If you force someone to sell public stock, the markets can absorb it. But when you force the sale of private company stock, you’re often forcing a founder to sell part of their business or all of it earlier than planned. 

Entrepreneurs don’t just create wealth for themselves. They create jobs, supply chains, tax revenue and philanthropy. When government policies force founders to sell companies prematurely just to pay a wealth tax, it’s workers who pay the price long before billionaires do. 

The danger doesn’t stop at California’s borders. Other blue states are watching closely. If California can tax unrealized wealth, what’s stopping New York, Illinois or Massachusetts from doing the same? Today, it’s billionaires. Tomorrow, its founders worth $100 million. Next, it’s family business owners who spent decades building companies only to be taxed on paper valuations they haven’t monetized.

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Supporters argue the tax would only affect a few hundred people. That misses the point. Policies aren’t judged by how many people they hit. They are judged by the incentives they create. 

Capitalism depends on a promise that if you take risks, build something meaningful and create value for others, you can be rewarded with the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

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California once understood that better than almost anywhere else in the world. This billionaire tax suggests the state is forgetting what made it a real Golden State. Since COVID-19, you’ve seen a massive shift of both individuals and businesses, showing that the Golden State may not be so golden anymore. 

The lesson is simple. Money always chases something. When success is treated like a liability, money leaves. And when capitalism is undermined, everyone pays the price and not just the billionaires. 

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From Selma to Chicago, MLK’s legacy is being betrayed by grievance politics

I recently crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, just days ago during my Walk Across America, and I felt the full weight of its history. That bridge, stained with the blood of civil rights foot soldiers, stands as a testament to the unyielding courage of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and those who fought alongside him for dignity, equality and justice. Now, as Martin Luther King Jr. Day arrives, I find myself pondering a haunting question: What would Dr. King think if he could see Chicago’s South Side today?

The South Side is not a relic of the past. It is a present-day living crisis. Gunfire echoes through neighborhoods where children should be playing in the streets. Poverty is visible everywhere — in littered streets, broken windows and abandoned buildings. Schools pass on failing kids. Families are torn apart not by white supremacy, but by the poison of neglect, fatherlessness and a culture that embraces dependency over free will.

Dr. King dreamed of a beloved community where character, not color, defined us. He spoke often of the Promised Land, and those words defined his final speech before he was assassinated. He marched for opportunity, not handouts. He spent a lot of time in Chicago during the 1960s.

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But if he walked these streets now, I believe he would weep — not only at the violence and deprivation, but at how we have squandered his legacy. He would see a Black Lives Matter movement that exploded onto the scene in 2020 and reaped billions of dollars in donations — what one of its founders brazenly called “white guilt money.” Corporations and celebrities poured in fortunes, virtue-signaling their way to absolution.

Yet where did that money go? Not to the South Side’s crumbling schools or job-training programs. Not to mentoring programs for at-risk youth or safe havens from the streets. Instead, it lined the pockets of a few — funding mansions in upscale neighborhoods — while the Black underclass continues to tread at the bottom.

I know this firsthand. As a pastor who has dedicated his life to uplifting his community through Project H.O.O.D. — Helping Others Obtain Destiny — I have seen zero dollars from those windfalls. We are in the process of building our Leadership and Economic Opportunity Center, the first new building in my neighborhood in more than 50 years. We provide job training and fight daily battles against despair — without a dime from the grievance industry.

That’s what it is, folks: an industry. A machine that profits off pain, peddling slogans and outrage while ignoring real solutions — solutions that are often simple but require hard work and perseverance. Dr. King didn’t march for performative activism or luxury homes bought on the backs of the suffering. He marched for self-reliance, family, faith and the American promise that hard work could lift anyone.

So what would King say about this? He would call it a betrayal. He would remind us that true progress is measured in transformed lives. He would decry the lowered expectations imposed on Black communities — the insidious notion that we are perpetual victims, excused from accountability.

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No, Dr. King didn’t die so that America could lower its expectations of Black communities. He died so we could rise to the highest expectations — the same standards to which all Americans are held.

The South Side doesn’t need another slogan or more empty politics. It needs one thing above all else: development. It needs the development of its youth into strong citizens with the ability to seize opportunity. It needs development that teaches people how to live and thrive in freedom.

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Most of all, it needs the restoration of good faith to reverse more than 60 years of bad faith that has destroyed too many communities.

Martin Luther King Jr. may be long gone, but his vision of the Promised Land — a land of opportunity for all — remains within reach. We must seek it or perish.

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ROB SCHNEIDER: Go woke, go broke isn’t a slogan — it’s becoming Hollywood’s reality

Towards the end of the fifth season of “Stranger Things,” the character of Will Byers gathers his family and friends together. He has good reason. They need to prepare for the final battle against Vecna, a terrifying, skinless monster with a penchant for mass murder and apocalyptic terrorism. But instead, Will comes out as gay.

This is perhaps the most anticlimactic moment in television since Pam woke up to reveal that the entire tenth season of “Dallas” had been a dream. In laborious and earnest tones, Will takes four minutes to tell everyone that he just isn’t into girls. Cue the inevitable chorus of solidarity from his friends and a warm group hug. Given that this series is set in the 1980s, a more realistic approach would have been for them to storm out and declare Will to be more disgusting than Vecna.

This has happened so often in Hollywood that it’s become the norm. A storyline is upended to promote the ideological obsessions of the present. We’ve had a Black Cleopatra, a lesbian kiss in the “Toy Story” spinoff “Lightyear,” empathetic, home-loving orcs in Middle Earth, and a robot in an animated series of “Transformers”declaring its pronouns as “they/them,” as though mechanized killing machines are sensitive about their gender identities.

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A key aspect of storytelling is verisimilitude. Movies can present completely unreal worlds, but unless an audience buys into the internal logic, they quickly lose interest. Consider the recent Netflix series “Ripley,” in which a major male character is played by a female actor who identifies as “nonbinary.” The characters don’t notice that she’s a woman, and we’re expected to play along. It insults our intelligence and completely derails an otherwise brilliant series.

If we want to save the arts, we must return to the universal. We have to remember that we’re meant to be entertainers, not high priests of a new religion that nobody asked for.

The audiences know it, too. The “coming out” episode of “Stranger Things”is currently the lowest-rated episode on IMDb. The recent live-action remake of “Snow White,” with its emphasis on diversity rather than murderous stepmothers and subterranean dwarves, reportedly lost over $115 million for Disney. 

The all-female leads of “The Marvels”might have made a few executives feel good about themselves, until it turned out to be the franchise’s biggest bomb of all time. And after poor test screenings, HBO’s big-budget wokefest “Batgirl” was shelved altogether.

So, while executives pat themselves on the back for their “virtue,” their studios are plunged into debt. According to public filings, as of late 2025, Disney’s debt is roughly $35.3 billion and Warner Bros. Discovery’s debt stands at approximately $33.5 billion. Cinema attendance continues to decline, with annual box office receipts in North America struggling to reach $9 billion. In a world where production and marketing costs have skyrocketed, these numbers represent a dying industry.

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It turns out that audiences prefer to be entertained rather than hectored. If people wanted a sermon, they’d probably just stick to church. I’ll make a prediction right now: if things don’t change, they won’t be making movies on those legendary big studio lots in five years’ time — they’ll be selling them off as prime real estate for luxury condos. You can’t continually patronize and insult your customers and expect to keep the lights on.

Since the rise of the “woke” movement, and its total domination of the creative industries, anyone with a conservative point of view has been punished and even blacklisted. 

Artists are meant to be the most free-thinking people in the world, but the industry demands conformity above all else. Worse still, the woke fixation simply doesn’t tally with the views of the general public, most of whom don’t want their children being indoctrinated by studios smuggling in ideology and propaganda under the guise of entertainment.

Contrary to what the self-identifying, morally superior, adjacent elites want you to believe, the woke ideology has never been popular with the public. It represents the luxury beliefs of the privileged few, those who spend most of their time pontificating about “social justice” and “environmental responsibility” while flying in their private jets and ingesting enough cocaine to keep the cartels of Mexico living like kings.

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The good news is that the American people aren’t waiting for permission from the big studios anymore. We are seeing a massive explosion of alternative media. Whether it’s independent streaming platforms, podcasts or creator-owned networks, a new frontier is being built.

Audiences are migrating to where they can find authenticity and truth. They’re supporting creators who prioritize strong storytelling over “the message.” While the legacy studios are busy building “safe spaces” for their writers, and scolding audiences for not being sufficiently “progressive,” we are building a new industry for the people.

Hollywood used to be about what brought us together. Now, it’s about what divides us. They’ve traded the Dream Factory for an Indoctrination Lab, and the American people are voting with their wallets and their remote controls.

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If we want to save the arts, we must return to the universal. We have to remember that we’re meant to be entertainers, not high priests of a new religion that nobody asked for.

If that doesn’t happen, get ready to see a lot of “For Sale” signs on those studio gates.

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DAVID MARCUS: Sorry Omar Fateh, we’re not doing Somali-run no-go zones in Minnesota

In a chilling series of social media posts on Saturday night, Minnesota state senator and former Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh pledged to make the Cedar Riverside neighborhood of his city a “no-go zone for white supremacists.”

“No-go zone” is a term popularized in Europe that refers to Muslim-majority neighborhoods where it is not safe for White people to go.

The X posts began with Fateh and two other men standing before the iconic Cedar Riverside towers with the message, “Cedar Strong. White Supremacists aren’t welcome here. We protect our own.”

A bit shocked by the sentiment, I quote-posted the senator to remind him Americans can enter any neighborhood they want to, writing, “You don’t decide who is and isn’t welcome anywhere. We don’t allow ‘no-go zones.’”

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To this, Fateh doubled down, responding, “This is a No-Go zone for white supremacists,” adding an angry emoji for emphasis.

The first and obvious question here is, what does Fateh mean by “white supremacist.” But before we get to that, let’s be clear, if somebody wants to don full Nazi regalia and walk up and down the sidewalk in Little Mogadishu, Minnesota, while doing the John Cleese funny Hitler walk, they can.

This is a free country and one of our most cherished freedoms is expression. It is long established not just legally, but socially in America, that as abhorrent as Nazis are, they still have rights.

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But let’s not be naive. Omar Fateh is not talking about the Ku Klux Klan or even the Proud Boys here. He is almost certainly talking about anyone who supports President Donald Trump and the operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Twin Cities.

Fateh and his Democratic colleagues in Minnesota, such as Gov. Tim Walz, Mayor Jacob Frey and Rep. Ilhan Omar, have painted the fully legal ICE actions in the Land of 10,000 Lakes as racism, again and again and again.

Many of these same so-called leaders have hurled accusations of racism against journalists like Nick Shirley, who have exposed a largely Somali fraud scandal that federal prosecutors say took more than $9 billion away from needy children and senior citizens. One can perhaps understand why Fateh would want a No-Nick-Shirley-Zone to protect the corrupt among his constituents.

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On Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis, pro-Trump counter protesters were physically assaulted as they tried to make their voices heard. One man was threatened with violence if he didn’t take off his American flag sweatshirt, in frigid temperatures.

In America.

This is abject madness, bordering on total chaos, and what is Fateh’s response? To pour fuel on the fire by promising similar treatment to any pro-ICE person who dares enter his Somali-run no-go zone.

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Does anyone doubt for even half a second that a MAGA hat, or at this point, even an American flag itself, would be considered “White supremacy” by Fateh and his ilk?

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What percentage of Americans do Fateh and his buddies think are White supremacists? Millions? And if so, by what authority have they simply decided those people aren’t allowed in this neighborhood? 

Who is going to enforce this no-go zone? Will it have its own militia? A small Somali standing army in the Midwest? This is craziness.

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Everybody, but especially Democrats, need to be crystal clear in saying to Fateh that European-style no-go zones will not be tolerated in America. We long ago did away with shameful “sunset towns” where Black people could not venture after dark. We will not allow Fateh to bring that horrid practice back.

This is just further evidence that leadership of the Somali community in Minnesota has no interest in assimilation. They want a semi-autonomous area that they control. Not only is that not how America works, it also harms the futures of those they represent.

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Fateh and Omar would have their constituents believe that the broader rules of America, including our democratically enacted immigration laws, simply do not apply to them. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Americans are not going to be told that there are neighborhoods in their own nation which they may not enter. That might fly in Cologne or Copenhagen, but not in the United States. Omar Fateh needs to figure this out before he gets more people hurt or killed.

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The Panama Canal proves one lesson America needs now: never quit

I grew up in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Our town’s name described what made us unique — we had locks on the Connecticut River. Ever since I was a kid, I have understood how locks worked, and I always wanted to see the ones that changed the world.

Recently, I had that opportunity when I transited the Panama Canal. To see the locks operate just as they have for more than 110 years was thrilling. Traveling the almost 50-mile journey from the Pacific to the Atlantic was an experience I’ll never forget.

The construction of the Canal was the largest and most expensive project ever undertaken at that point in human history. Nothing so massive, elaborate or systematic had ever been attempted before. The financial cost, combined with the human toll of more than 25,000 lives lost, was comparable to a war.

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Such a monumental achievement could never have happened without determination, perseverance, persistence and grit. The result changed the world and the global economy forever. The Canal cut the distance from the Atlantic to the Pacific by 8,000 miles, resulting in three fewer weeks of travel time.

Today, ships carrying as many as 11,000 containers transit through the Canal. Cars, appliances and an array of other goods make their way across the world thanks to the more than 13,000 to 14,000 ships that use the Panama Canal each year.

But the journey to a mid-continental canal was a long one, filled with crushed dreams, financial ruin, enormous adversity — and ultimate triumph. The French were the first to attempt building the Canal. Ferdinand de Lesseps had built the Suez Canal and was certain he could build the Panama Canal too. The French created a private company to do it. They sold shares in multiple rounds of investment. Huge sums of money were raised and spent.

After almost a decade of work, they quit and accepted defeat. Ferdinand de Lesseps insisted on a sea-level canal instead of one with locks, even though the two oceans have different sea levels, with tides rising 20 feet on the Pacific side but only three feet on the Atlantic. That decision was the single greatest factor in the project’s failure.

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More than 20,000 workers died, most from yellow fever and malaria. He would later admit that Panama was 10 times more difficult than Suez. Most unfortunate were the more than 800,000 French men and women who had invested in the project. The savings of entire families were gone. People lost everything. It was the largest and most significant financial collapse on record — a historic failure.

A decade later, America chose to build the Panama Canal. President Theodore Roosevelt asked the United States Senate to choose either Panama or Nicaragua for the canal. Even though a Nicaragua canal would be 135 miles longer, require more locks, and be more expensive to operate, it was the favorite. But after 14 days of debate, Panama won by a mere eight votes.

America would pursue the seemingly impossible task of building the Panama Canal. It would require cutting through a jungle filled with ferocious animals, snakes and tarantulas — and carving through the sheer rock of the Continental Divide.

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Roosevelt tapped John Wallace as chief engineer. He lasted only a year, overwhelmed by the monumental task, a brutal climate and the fear of yellow fever and malaria. John Stevens took over and proposed a lake-and-lock plan.

The Panama Canal is not a simple passageway. It uses three locks to lift ships up to travel through the man-made Gatun Lake, then three more locks to lower them back down to another canal. Stevens also tasked chief Army physician William Gorgas with successfully eradicating yellow fever. But Stevens resigned three years later with no explanation.

Colonel George Goethals took over and finished the job. He brought a military mindset to the work, but the demanding conditions remained. The rainy season lasts eight months in Panama, with 120 inches of annual rainfall, resulting in flooding and mudslides.

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Heat and humidity were oppressive. At the bottom of Culebra Cut, the midday temperature was seldom less than 100 degrees — and often reached 120 to 130 degrees. On a typical day, more than 300 rock drills were in use, along with steam shovels and dynamite blasts. The noise was deafening and could be heard for miles.

Though yellow fever and malaria were eradicated, death was omnipresent. Men were struck by flying rocks, crushed by machines, or blown to bits by dynamite. More than 5,000 men died during the American construction. It was an incredible test of human endurance.

But on August 15, 1914, the Canal opened for business — miraculously under budget and six months ahead of schedule. It was the culmination of a dream and more than 20 years of phenomenal effort and perseverance.

This new year, you can see the impossible become possible in your own life — if you practice the same persistence and determination. As the English preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “By persistence the snail reached the ark.”

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This could be the year you stick with it — no more quitting or giving up. No more excuses for why it can’t be done or is simply too difficult. The Canal went from a dream to reality through grit and determination, through consistent progress in a singular direction.

Maybe you are disappointed with the pace of your progress or the rate of your accomplishments. You may wish you were further along than you are. It takes time for the work to be done in our lives. It often takes longer than we expect. We can get frustrated at the slow pace of growth and wish for more.

But if you have perseverance and endurance, you can see your dream become reality. You may lack money, ability or resources, but a million dollars’ worth of determination will get it done.

There may be setbacks this year. Illness strikes. Loss hits. Relationships end. Time and again, in the building of the Canal, there were setbacks that required restructuring. You, too, must regroup and continue your journey. Despite the failures, you must choose to persevere through disappointment and pain.

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You can hang on far longer than you think. You may believe you can’t do it anymore. It’s hard. It’s challenging. But so was building the Canal — and they overcame. You can too. Sometimes the toughest moment comes right before the breakthrough.

The Christian missionary Hudson Taylor said it best: “First it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.”

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Is heaven real? Science may reveal where God’s eternal kingdom exists

When our son was 4 years old, he asked my wife and me: “Can you drive to heaven?” Out of the mouth of babes, right?

It’s a question only a child would ask, but it raises a very adult question: Where exactly is the heaven described in the Bible?

As a scientist, I understand the importance of definitions. According to the Bible, the lowest level of heaven is Earth’s atmosphere. The mid-level heaven is outer space. The highest-level heaven is what we’re talking about: It’s where God dwells.

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As for heaven’s location, the Bible contains many verses that describe us as looking “up” at God in heaven, and God as looking “down” at us on Earth.

Imagine boarding a nuclear-powered rocket and traveling straight “up” into deep space. Will you ever reach a point far enough “up” into space that you finally reach heaven?

Before you laugh off the idea, consider this.

In 1929, American attorney-turned-amateur astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that galaxies are rushing away from one another like so much shrapnel from a bomb. Hubble also discovered there’s a definite pattern to how galaxies are rushing away from each other, namely: The farther “up” in space a galaxy is located — the farther away it is from Earth — the faster it’s moving away from Earth and everything else. It’s called Hubble’s Law.

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But, here’s where it gets really interesting.

Theoretically, a galaxy that’s 273 billion trillion (273,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) miles away from Earth would move at 186,000 miles per second, which is the speed of light. That distance, way “up” there in space, is called the Cosmic Horizon.

That means you and I can never reach the Cosmic Horizon — not even aboard the most souped-up, nuclear-powered rocket imaginable — because, as Einstein explained in his theory of special relativity, only light and certain other non-material phenomena can travel at the speed of light.

So, then, where is heaven located, exactly? It’s entirely possible heaven is located on the other side of the Cosmic Horizon. Here’s why.

One: According to modern cosmology, an entire universe exists beyond the Cosmic Horizon. But it’s permanently hidden from us because we can never reach, let alone cross over, the Cosmic Horizon.

Two: Our best astronomical observations — and Einstein’s theories of special and general relativity — indicate that time stops at the Cosmic Horizon. At that special distance, way “up” there in deep, deep, deep space, there is no past, present or future. There’s only timelessness.

Three: Unlike time, however, space does exist at and beyond the Cosmic Horizon. Which means the hidden universe beyond the Cosmic Horizon is habitable, albeit only by light and light-like entities.

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Four: According to modern cosmology, the Cosmic Horizon is lined with the very oldest celestial objects in the observable universe. That means whatever exists beyond the Cosmic Horizon predates these oldest objects… predates the so-called big bang… predates the beginning of the observable universe.

All these modern scientific realities, and others, are why it’s entirely reasonable to speculate that:

1. Heaven is, indeed, located “up” there — way above our heads and way beyond the visible, starlit universe — just as the Bible indicates.

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2. Heaven is inaccessible to us mortals while we’re alive, just as the Bible indicates.

3. Heaven is inhabited by nonmaterial, timeless beings, just as the Bible indicates.

4. Heaven is the dwelling place of the One who predates the universe — the One who created the universe — just as the Bible indicates.

Pins, platitudes and silence: Hollywood’s hollow response to Renee Good

There is a lot happening internationally. The United States has taken control of Venezuela, is closely monitoring Iran and has even floated ideas about Greenland. But domestically, inside our own communities and cities, there is a far bigger and more immediate story. That story is what happened to Renee Good in Minneapolis.

If we’re marking time through award season, the shooting of Renee Good happened three days after the Critics Choice Awards and three days before the Golden Globes. It set off a national firestorm. It dominated headlines, consumed social media and demanded attention from everyone from the president to local officials across the country. It became a turning point for ICE and the national conversation around immigration enforcement. More importantly, it was a moment of genuine unrest and grief.

And it also gave celebrities time.

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Time to ingest what each side believed about the shooting. Time to calibrate their reactions. And time to plan. Plan for what, you may ask? What they were going to say.

There is no better display of the cultural pulse than an awards show. In 2022, the Oscars were marked by Ukraine ribbons. Other years have featured refugee pins. We’ve seen dueling red carpet statements for Gaza and Israel. So when I settled in to watch the Golden Globes this year, I fully expected to see pins.

What I didn’t expect was how vague those messages would be, or how few people would actually wear them.

The pins on display this year were meant to reflect the moment around Renee Good and ICE, but many of them required interpretation. One said “BE GOOD,” a play on Renee’s last name, but one that would likely confuse the average viewer. Be good to whom? To law enforcement? To immigrants? To the Trump administration? To the president? To the public? The message lacked clarity.

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Another pin said “ICE OUT.” It was small and muted, without the visual clarity we’ve seen from past movements like the yellow ribbon for Israel or the Palestinian flag pins. And frankly, the slang phrase “ice me out,” popularized in music, already carries a cultural meaning far removed from immigration enforcement.

Some could argue that this is nitpicking. Historically, actors have used pins as conversation starters, explaining them on the red carpet. Often, the message is reinforced during interviews and expanded into a real, if imperfect, conversation.

And in fairness, some did exactly that. Mark Ruffalo delivered a passionate red carpet speech, appearing visibly emotional. That is expected from Ruffalo, who has long occupied one of the most consistently politically active spaces in Hollywood. Jean Smart, who would later win for “Hacks,” said on the carpet that she was speaking as a citizen, acknowledging how people often get annoyed when actors speak out. But when she won, she noted in her acceptance speech that she had already said her piece on the carpet.

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Which brings us to the speeches themselves.

If you had taken someone from the height of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and placed them in the Golden Globes of 2026, they would never believe the country was in turmoil over the shooting of a woman by a police officer. Political references in acceptance speeches were sparse, if present at all. This was especially striking given that one of the night’s most celebrated films centers on democracy and resistance to a police state.

That silence stood in sharp contrast to recent years. At the 2023 Oscars, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” dominated the night. Ke Huy Quan spoke about being a refugee and his journey to that stage. Just weeks earlier, Tennessee had banned drag shows, and when Daniel Kwan accepted Best Director, he plainly stated that “drag is a threat to nobody.”

To be clear, I don’t personally mind an awards show where speeches aren’t 10 minutes long and centered on the social justice issue of the week. I watch award shows for the films, the performances and the fashion. Sometimes, it’s nice to forget everything else for a couple of hours.

But many people rely on these moments. TikTok was filled with frustration about how little was said, how muted the messaging felt and how much further it could have gone. Some pointed out that there was no mention of Iran, while others noted how Gaza had seemed to fall to the wayside. There was real disappointment across corners of the internet that the weight of so many current political moments barely hovered over the ceremony at all.

And that’s the reality of celebrity activism. It is often just that, a moment.

If you want activism that lasts beyond a news cycle, it requires sacrifice. Marlon Brando famously declined his Oscar, sending a Native American woman in his place to read his statement. I wasn’t alive when that happened, and I still know it as cultural lore. It mattered because it cost him something. Pins do not.

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We also need to stop outsourcing moral leadership to celebrities. In 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris had virtually every major celebrity stop by her rallies. You could attend a political event and also hear Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, or catch a rare glimpse of Beyoncé. The assumption was that star power would turn out votes. Instead, it energized those who already needed no convincing.

As the Golden Globes ended and attendees changed into their second or third outfits for the after-parties, the pins disappeared. Without cameras, microphones or red carpets, there was no need for messaging.

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DAVID MARCUS: Secure border brings plummeting overdose deaths, but don’t expect Trump to get credit

These days, it seems like the hardest thing to come across in the United States of America is something that all of us can celebrate as unambiguous good news. Well, you would think the steady and substantial decrease in drug overdoses over the past two years would fit the bill.

The only problem for the legacy news media is how to tell this happy story without giving any credit to President Donald Trump.

In 2022, under the disastrous Biden administration, opioid overdose deaths peaked at a shocking 110,000. In 2025, under Trump, that number was an estimated 73,000. It is true that the decline began during Biden’s final year in office, once the people actually running the country acknowledged that border security was an election-year issue. But last year’s number was down 21% from Biden’s last year in office.

A drop of 37,000 this year from the 2022 annual peak is truly a miracle. For perspective, 58,220 American lives were lost in the Vietnam War. Trust me, to the extent you hear this good news at all, it will be framed as a trend begun by Grandpa Joe.

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That’s like giving a serial arsonist credit for stubbing out one lit cigarette.

Much of Biden’s final year in office is reminiscent of Bill Cosby’s joke about kindly grandparents who were brutal to their own kids, “You are looking at an old person trying to get into heaven,” he quipped. In Biden’s case, just replace heaven with getting reelected.

Whatever the motivation, we should be happy and grateful that the previous administration oversaw tens of thousands of fewer tragic overdose deaths, even if it took them a while, and we should be overjoyed that, under Trump, that number is diving even lower.

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Frankly, there are approximately as many supposed explanations for this drop in overdoses as there are experts to proffer them. Some credit new regulations around fentanyl in China, others the widespread availability of anti-overdose drugs like Naloxone, still others credit treatment programs.

What you hear less about are the major interdiction efforts by the Trump administration. In one week-long operational surge in September of last year, the Drug Enforcement Agency seized 200 pounds of fentanyl powder from the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel, more than enough to kill everyone in most American states.

Add to this the fact that for the first time, maybe ever, the U.S. has a southern border that doesn’t resemble a spaghetti strainer leaking drugs and the illegal immigrants who trade in them.

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The Trump administration has brought inflation under control, and overseen an increase in real wages that may well be walking many at-risk Americans off of the bridge of despair and into purposeful lives.

One also ought not whistle past the upswing in church attendance, especially among the young, when accounting for lowered overdose deaths. Religion has often been called “the opiate of the masses,” a phrase borrowed from Karl Marx, for a reason. Well, it certainly beats real opioid addiction.

All of these positive trends under Trump, added up, have created a situation where some doctors say they have gone from seeing 10 to 12 overdoses a day to only one or two.

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Whether it is through his secure border, his attacks on Venezuelan drug-running boats or even his trade negotiations with China, Trump has prioritized stemming the flow of deadly drugs into our nation, and it’s working.

Politics, especially these days, can seem like a game show. Who is putting points on the board? What do the polls say? Where are the prediction markets?

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But politics is much more than that, and because of Trump’s sound policies, tens of thousands of Americans enjoyed the holidays with their families, who otherwise would have been represented by a mournful empty chair.

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The inability, or the unwillingness, of the legacy news media to celebrate any accomplishment by Trump, even one as unalloyed as saving lives from overdoses, remains the greatest and most obvious stain on its crumbling credibility.

If the administration can keep this trend going, if fewer and fewer of our brothers and sisters succumb to the slow death of opioids, then whether Trump gets the credit or not, it will be a cause for great joy. Actually, it already is.

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DR MARC SIEGEL: America, beware of false weight loss gods

Oprah Winfrey is on a tour promoting her new book, “Enough: Your Weight and What It’s Like to Be Free.” In 2023, she reportedly had one of her famous “aha” moments, this time realizing her road to personal freedom involved GLP-1 agonist drugs.

She stopped seeing obesity as a personal failure and began viewing GLP-1s as a way to “quiet the noise” that comes with constantly wanting to eat. In her telling, she was suddenly free.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe Oprah’s “aha moments” are real, and I also see the great value of GLP-1 drugs, especially in a society where nearly 70% of the population is either overweight or obese. 

I also like the way these drugs work, decreasing hunger signals in the brain and delaying gastric emptying, which have added benefits that may include reducing the desire for alcohol, improving insulin efficiency and decreasing inflammation in the body. They lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol levels and improve cardiac function, which is one of the reasons so many cardiologists are taking them. 

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But they are also false gods. They are powerful tools for physicians and their patients, but they do not take the place of treating your body like a temple and honoring it by exercising more, sleeping better and eating healthier foods. The place to start is not with GLP-1 drugs. They are not medical miracles all by themselves.

They are also part of a larger problem where people rush to shots and pills for solutions without fully examining the underlying cause. Of course, as a practicing internist, it is important to me that I help you get your weight down by whatever safe means necessary because of the strong association between obesity and the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and several kinds of cancer, including breast, colon, liver, and pancreatic cancer. 

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GLP-1 drugs are not miracle workers. They are simply effective tools in a trained doctor’s arsenal to fight obesity.

Worshiping them can lead to dependence that is difficult to break, and when they are stopped, patients (including Oprah) often find themselves regaining the weight.

Holding these drugs out as the only effective solution also opens the door for charlatans to use them to proselytize many into taking ripoffs and cheap alternatives sold through online pharmacies that may be medically dangerous.

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It is a more fundamental approach to look at the food we eat and to embrace the MAHA — “Make America Healthy Again” — movement’s emphasis on whole foods, with a declared war on ultra-processed food.

God didn’t put us on the planet to pollute our bodies with chemical dyes or synthetic flavors or sweeteners that draw us into a world of unhealthy addiction.

Replacing an addiction to unhealthy foods with a dependence on GLP-1 drugs is not the only viable long-term solution.

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Keep in mind that losing weight can also be associated with your faith, seeing your body as sacred, aligning spiritual discipline with healthy eating and exercise and seeking comfort in God rather than in food.

In fact, there are many prayers throughout the Bible that may help us down the road to treating obesity. Here is one of my favorites:

“Your Word says my body is Your temple, and I am responsible for stewarding this gift. I choose today to make right choices regarding the foods I eat. I will not eat more than my body needs, and I will not fill my mouth with foods that are unhealthy, such as excessive sugar and carbohydrates. I refuse to live a life of gluttony and instead clothe myself in self-control and healthy living, so I may serve You well.” 

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Can the hunger “noise” that Oprah speaks of be quieted by the GLP-1 weight loss drugs? The answer is yes. These drugs are miracles of modern science. But the way to a thinner future can also be found through a healing hymn, prayer and spiritual healing that may provide the path to a more permanent solution than any injection alone.

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JONATHAN TURLEY: Clintons dare House to hold them in criminal contempt. Will it work?

Woody Allen famously said, “80% of success in life is just showing up.” When it comes to Bill and Hillary Clinton and possible congressional contempt, it may be 100%. The two politicians have decided to defy lawful subpoenas issued by the House. For the House Oversight Committee, now is also the time for contempt proceedings.

Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and the House Oversight Committee are investigating the Jeffrey Epstein controversy and have subpoenaed the Clintons to testify. Neither has been accused of criminal conduct. 

The Clintons failed to appear and, instead, issued a chest-thumping letter of defiance, declaring:

“Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences. For us, now is that time.”

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The committee is likely to agree that “now is that time” and the consequences are the start of contempt proceedings.

On Aug. 5, 2025, the committee approved the subpoenas. Former President Clinton’s deposition was initially set for Oct. 14, 2025. It was then moved to Dec. 17, 2025.

In December, Comer postponed the depositions for a second time to allow the Clintons to attend a funeral. However, he said that their counsel, David Kendall, then declined to offer any alternative dates.

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The vote to issue the subpoena was taken on an unusual bipartisan basis for the often divided committee. Even Democratic members, such as Rep. Ro Khanna, of California, said the Clintons must comply.

There was a time when subpoenas were viewed as more than discretionary matters. Counsel has insisted that the testimony is unnecessary and a distraction. However, that is not a ground that any court would view as justification for knowingly and repeatedly ignoring a lawfully issued subpoena.

The position of the Clintons seems a repeat of the defiance of Hunter Biden, who chose to hold a press conference outside of Congress rather than appear inside for his deposition. He was accompanied by Democratic members like Eric Swalwell, of California.

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At one time, Democrats were aghast at those who might defy congressional subpoenas.

President Joe Biden maintained that defying subpoenas cannot be tolerated. When subpoenas were issued to Republicans during the House’s January 6 investigation, Biden declared: “I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable criminally.”

Two Trump associates — Steven Bannon and Peter Navarro — refused to appear in the House and were quickly held in contempt by a majority of the House, including Swalwell.

I wrote at the time that these individuals were also undeniably in contempt of Congress. 

Now, however, such defiance is viewed as righteous and somehow excusable by figures such as Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who has routinely chosen political over institutional interests. 

The defiance could result in a criminal referral for the couple, prosecutions that would mirror those under the Biden administration.

In 2021, Hillary Clinton mocked Bannon’s indictment for contempt of Congress by saying that she planned for a “restful” weekend as he prepared for possible conviction.

It is an ironic moment. The Clintons are adopting the Bannon strategy that led to his conviction.

At the time of Bannon’s charge, I noted that all he had to do was appear and invoke his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. The committee would then have had to issue an immunity grant to compel any testimony. The worst thing that you could do is not appear.

That is precisely what the Clintons just did.

In reality, I expect that neither Clinton is losing any sleep over the prospect of a criminal charge. They have spent their career dodging such prosecutions. Of course, this is a Republican-controlled House and a Republican administration. 

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What is most striking is the lack of any effort to come up with a cognizable defense. The Clintons simply chose open defiance. For those who have denounced a two-tier justice system, there is nothing more entitled and privileged than this letter. Such rules do not apply to the Clintons, who feel that they have the license to decide when they will appear. 

They are wrong and, like Bannon, left themselves no viable legal defense. They are simply asserting a type of de facto Clinton immunity that could leave even a sympathetic federal district court judge with no real alternative to trial. Kendall is an experienced lawyer, and perhaps he will reveal a legal defense that escapes me. For the moment, I am baffled by the legal strategy. Indeed, I see no intelligible legal strategy at all in effectively saying, “We simply do not feel like it.”

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They seem to be repeating the same pitch that Bill Clinton gave in the Lewinsky matter: “I ask you to turn away from the spectacle of the past seven months, to repair the fabric of our national discourse, and to return our attention to all the challenges and all the promise of the next American century.”

Despite a federal judge finding that Clinton lied under oath, it worked. The problem is that a defendant like Clinton can always argue in a perjury case that “it depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” In this case, it does not depend on what the meaning of the word “testify” is. Whatever the meaning, showing up is a critical element. It is hard to argue that you are not in contempt when you make your contempt for the committee your defense. 

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PAUL ‘TRIPLE H’ LEVESQUE: I went from 130 pounds to a world champ. We all must get fit

At 14, I was about six feet tall, pimple-faced and 130 pounds soaking wet. I remember because that was the year I joined a gym. It was on Daniel Webster Highway, not far from my house in Nashua, N.H., and my mother said she’d drive me as long as I kept up my grades.  

I’ll never forget the sounds that greeted me as I walked through the door: the clank of the weights, plates being loaded onto the machines, the grunts that came with each rep. I remember thinking: powerful stuff is happening here. In fact, it was more than that. It was transformative. I couldn’t do a single pull-up when I started. Fortunately, some of the older guys encouraged me, giving me tips on everything from technique to nutrition. Suddenly, I was hooked. The gym helped me think of myself in a different way. It allowed me envision what I wanted to be. For me, working out illuminated a destination.  

Now I’m not suggesting that you become a WWE Superstar or even an athlete. You do you. Just understand that a fitness regimen — doesn’t have to be clanking weights in a gym — will help you get there. And I’m imploring you, and your kids, to start right now. It will make you all better, sharper, healthier.  

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This year will mark the 70th anniversary of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Now, President Donald Trump is revitalizing the council and reviving a core tenet, the Presidential Fitness Test. We will work with schools and communities across the country to encourage Americans of every generation to be healthier, stronger and more active in their daily lives.

Here’s the deal: our health has dramatically declined over the past few decades. Americans are increasingly sedentary and lacking nutritious diets. Our children, in particular, are facing a crisis. Rates of chronic disease and poor nutrition are through the roof. Childhood diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate. One in five American kids are obese — a 270% increase from 50 years ago — and obese children are five times more likely to remain overweight in adulthood.  

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Bottom line: We’re allowing our kids to eat super-sized portions of ultra-processed food, and spend too much time on their butts, looking at screens. Kids don’t play outside anymore. Schools rarely instill the lifestyle practices to live healthy lives — exercise, proper nutrition and the inclination to challenge oneself. 

We can’t continue this way. 

It’s why those of us at the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition are so committed to reversing this calamity and revolutionizing Americans’ health and fitness, especially for the next generation.

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It’s vital to take care of ourselves physically. But it’s even more crucial to set an example. Kids don’t just listen, they observe. The good news is, it’s not that complicated. You don’t have to spend hours pumping iron or start training for a marathon. 

Just a daily 15-minute walk significantly reduces one’s risk of early mortality. So, get outside, move, begin pushing yourself. Start small, progress gradually — as long as you keep showing up. Remember: It’s not just about you. It’s about your kids.   

Physical fitness is a lot more than being strong, fast, or playing varsity sports. Actually, I’m not writing this for those who already think of themselves as athletes so much as those who don’t. I’d tell them the same thing I told my own daughters when they said something was hard.

The reward is on the other side of difficult.  

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It doesn’t matter if you can’t do a single pullup, pushup or sit-up. It matters if you try. If you keep trying, you will. Working out will give you discipline. Discipline will give you confidence. It will open up a door to the possible. That’s what this is really about. 

A physical fitness regimen changes you as a person. It changes the trajectory of your life. So, I’m asking, on behalf of the president: are you ready? 

GREGG JARRETT: Trump has authority to send troops to Minneapolis to stop attacks on ICE

If President Donald Trump decides to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy the military into Minneapolis to halt anti-ICE violence, the state’s elected leaders have only themselves to blame.   

Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey purposely lit a fuse on the powder keg of unrest immediately after last week’s tragic shooting of a motorist in a confrontation with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  

Without waiting for the facts to emerge, Frey called the claim of self-defense “bulls—” and shouted for ICE to get the f–k out of Minneapolis.” As demonstrations devolved into bedlam and violence, Frey blamed federal agents. That’s like blaming a bank for enticing the robber.  

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Not to be outdone, Walz tossed high-octane gasoline on the blaze.  

Having previously denounced ICE as a “modern-day Gestapo,” the governor praised protesters while accusing ICE of imagined “atrocities” and “organized brutality.” It was music to the ears of activists who screamed, “Nazis!” and “fascists!” in the agents’ faces. 

Fiery remarks tend to ignite fires.  

So, inevitably, more ugly clashes erupted on the streets as crowds raged. An American flag was burned. Rioters and organized groups alike harassed and obstructed ICE. Some used their SUVs to block agents. Others conspired to “de-arrest” suspects. Never mind that interfering with federal law enforcement constitutes crimes.  

It escalated after a second shooting when a federal officer was ambushed and beaten as he tried to effectuate a legitimate arrest. Agitators hurled rocks, bottles and fireworks at ICE agents. Federal vehicles were vandalized and looted.  

One demolished car was defaced with graffiti that read, “Hang Kristi Noem,” the Homeland Security Secretary. The angry mob also spray-painted the words, “The only good agent is a dead one.”     

As bedlam reigned, local police did little or nothing to stem the chaos. That should come as no surprise in this notorious sanctuary city where the fanciful rights and privileges of illegal migrants supersede the rights of law-abiding citizens.      

Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche warned, “The Minnesota insurrection is a direct result of a failed governor and a terrible mayor encouraging violence against law enforcement. It’s disgusting.” Blanche’s use of the word “insurrection” was both correct and deliberate. 

It is broadly defined as a violent uprising or revolt against government authority. 

As the violence swelled, President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota’s leaders refused to protect federal officers and ensure public safety. He has the legal right and power to do so.  

This would mean flooding the city with military forces instead of federalizing the National Guard, as he has done elsewhere to suppress civil disorder arising from the enforcement of immigration laws. 

As I explained in two earlier columns, the Insurrection Act has been utilized numerous times in American history by previous presidents. In 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower sent U.S. troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce federal civil rights laws in the face of a hostile governor and mob violence.  

President John F. Kennedy did the same thing in both Mississippi and Alabama. President George H. W. Bush dispatched troops to Los Angeles in 1992 to bring rioting under control where local authorities failed or refused. In all, fifteen Presidents have employed the Insurrection Act dating all the way back to Thomas Jefferson.

Uninformed critics erroneously assert that Trump is barred from acting by the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the use of federal troops for policing on domestic soil. This is a frivolous argument since the Insurrection Act is a well-established exception to Posse Comitatus. 

In the recent legal kerfuffle over National Guard troops, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh emphasized “the president’s long-asserted Article II authority to use the U.S. military (as distinct from the National Guard) to protect federal personnel and property and thereby ensure the execution of federal law.”  

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That is precisely what Trump would do in Minneapolis — protect ICE agents and their federal property from the ongoing violence while enforcing immigration and deportation laws. But, he also has the authority to quell the general rioting, as Bush did.  

When and whether to invoke the Act is an exclusive power of the president. However, it does not mean that exerting it is the most prudent or wise decision. In its Friday editorial, The Wall Street Journal counseled against it.  

The Journal argues that “events in Minnesota are so far nowhere near the standard for riots and destruction that would justify such a move.” Moreover, calling in federal troops “could incite more protests.” Finally, it is an election year, which presents its own calculus.   

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These are fair points and are surely part of President Trump’s deliberations.  

Having the power to act can be tempting. But wisdom is also found in restraint.  

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BROADCAST BIAS: How the media relentlessly frames ICE and Trump as villains

For more than 70 years, there has been at least one evening news program airing on a broadcast network in America. These shows, all of which air at the same time in the evening, are often referred to as the “nightly news,” but in the age of 24/7 news coverage, they would be better labeled as the ultra-liberal “nightly narrative” from ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS.

The second week of negative network-news coverage of “tensions” over ICE activities in the Twin Cities underline how narratives are built and can be repeated for days and weeks.

1. Trump’s political opponents are not identified as Democrats. George Stephanopoulos led off “Good Morning America” on Tuesday: “Fighting back. Minnesota and Illinois are taking Homeland Security to court over the surge in immigration officers. Minnesota calls it a federal invasion of the Twin Cities days after a mother of three was shot and killed by ICE agents. Illinois accuses the Trump administration of creating a climate of fear.” 

It’s not Gov. Tim Walz or Gov. J.B. Pritzker fighting Trump, Democrats vs. Republicans. It’s just two states versus Trump.

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On screen, ABC played a hot soundbite from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey with an unspoken “D” on screen, but reporter Faith Abubey repeated the Stephanopoulos phrasing: “Minnesota accusing DHS of engaging in unconstitutional stops and arrests, brandishing weapons and dragging people out of schools and hospitals.” It implies an entire state’s population is staunchly opposing Trump and ICE. Abubey also cited the “Hennepin County Attorney” would be probing the ICE agent who shot Renee Good, without stating that official is an elected Democrat.

Over on CBS, morning co-host Gayle King — the one who vacations with the Obamas and has donated tens of thousands to Democrats — shared this framing: “We’re going to begin with the latest pushback to President Trump’s anti-immigration tactics. It’s a new lawsuit filed by the state of Minnesota and the Twin Cities. Now, officials there allege that ICE agents have invaded the area, wreaking havoc, they say, and violating residents’ constitutional rights.”

This is exactly how these networks covered elected Democrats, from Letitia James to Fani Willis prosecuting Trump. They weren’t elected Democrats, they were just prosecutors, with nonpartisanship falsely implied.

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2. Anti-ICE protesters aren’t identified as ideological. On the Tuesday “Today” show, NBC co-host Craig Melvin summarized: “More outrage in Minneapolis. Protesters clashing with federal immigration agents again. Minnesota officials suing the Trump administration over the growing deployment of federal officers.” Seconds later, Melvin repeated: “We begin with the growing tensions in Minneapolis, after yet another heated clash between protesters and federal agents, and now city and state officials are suing the Trump administration over the deployment of federal officers there.”

3. Leftist protesters are almost always peaceful. Network reporters heavily underlined the force used by ICE agents — people dragged out of their cars and taken into custody — but weren’t emphasizing violence against agents by protesters or illegal immigrants. On Thursday morning, after three illegal aliens beat a man with a broom handle and a shovel, and he shot one in self-defense, the violence was emphasized on one side.

CBS morning co-host Nate Burleson announced the narrative on Thursday: “We begin in Minnesota where there’s another shooting involving ICE. This time, the man was shot in the leg. The shooting prompted a new round of protests last night and federal agents once again used controversial tactics against the demonstrators.”

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So it’s not a “controversial tactic” for illegal aliens to brutalize an ICE agent.

On Thursday night’s “PBS News Hour,” anchor Amna Nawaz began: “Protesters clashed with ICE agents in Minneapolis again today after a man was shot and wounded when he allegedly assaulted federal officers.” The words “shovel” and “broom handle” never emerged on PBS, and the assault had been “allegedly” committed.

The AP dispatch PBS posted online at least mentioned the weapons used. “A federal officer shot a man in the leg in Minneapolis after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle while trying to make an arrest Wednesday, officials said.”

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PBS briefly touched on violence, as something condemned by the police (if not by journalists): “The city’s police chief said yesterday went too far when protesters hurled rocks and fireworks at law enforcement.”

On Thursday night’s badly titled NPR newscast “All Things Considered,” correspondent Jasmine Garsd, who routinely reports from a place of wokeness, couldn’t consider an ICE agent’s perspective. She mentioned the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement that an agent had been attacked with a shovel and a broom handle, but the protesters sounded like the real victims.

“The Trump administration is calling protesters professional agitators and insurrectionists,” Garsd lamented. “I met a lot of families there, older adults, different ethnicities. It was a very mixed group. I spoke to a nurse who said she’s afraid of ICE retaliation for protesting. She wanted to only be referred to by her first name, Karen. And she asked me, ‘Is it normal how scared I am right now?’”

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4. Some facts can never be established as facts. On Thursday morning, CBS reporter Lana Zak was still casting doubt that the ICE agent was struck by Renee Good’s SUV: “As for Jonathan Ross, the agent who shot and killed Renee Good, the DHS has said he was also acting in self-defense. They said yesterday that he suffered internal bleeding. We still don’t know the extent really of those injuries and, from the video, it is not clear whether or not the car made contact with him and — and how forceful it may have been.”

This is like arguing that CBS still cannot confirm that Dan Rather used phony National Guard documents in trying to ruin George W. Bush. Facts aren’t stubborn things with these people. They’re always malleable to whatever their current political objectives are.

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DAVID MARCUS: Gen X knows the only force that can defeat violent leftist protest culture

At 250 years old, there isn’t much that the United States of America hasn’t gone through, and this includes periods of intense political protest and violence, the last of which ended roughly in the late 1970s. The ‘80s and ’90s were not completely protest-free, but they were not protest-driven.

Most of Generation X, the young would-be protesters of the time, saw little purpose to it because, by and large, we liked America. We thought it was doing good in the world, and it also just seemed like a lot of effort.

By 1999, a chair would fly through a window in Seattle during the World Trade Organization protests. In 2011, Wall Street would be “occupied,” and in 2020, many American cities were ablaze, ostensibly over the death of George Floyd.

Protest culture was back, with a vengeance.

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Today, as the battle of Minneapolis rages, not just rhetorically but in physical confrontation, we mourn the death of Renee Good, while we still reel from the assassination of Charlie Kirk. It feels like our nation is back in the deadly maelstrom of 1960s and ’70s violent protest.

So what was it, back at the end of the 1970s that brought America out of the nosedive of near constant political protest and violence? Looking at the record of events, one answer stands out more than any other: Patriotism.

There is some symmetry here, for in 1976 the U.S. celebrated its bicentennial, and just as will be happening this year for the semiquincentennial (fine, we’ll just call it 250th), there were vast patriotic celebrations across the land.

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Heading into the bicentennial, America was still suffering from the failures of Vietnam and the disgrace of Watergate, not so different from our own relationship to the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention the scandal of Joe Biden’s absentee presidency.

Something began to change in 1976. It marked the beginning of an anti-American fever breaking, and there was a man to lead this movement, a man named Ronald Reagan, whose presidency, in his own words, would bring back “morning in America.”

For those old enough to remember it, the 1980s were a time of shocking new patriotism. We listened to “Born in the USA” (hilariously missing Bruce Springsteen’s intended point) and watched Rocky Balboa knock out Soviet Ivan Drago and the whole nation cheered our Olympians like sprinter Carl Lewis and gymnast Mary Lou Retton. All of it was quite sincere.

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As for protests in the 1980s and ’90s, exceptions such as anti-apartheid sit-ins and the 1992 LA riots, proved the rule, Gen X teens and young adults mocked their boomer parents’ tales of anti-government agitating glory days and had no intention of repeating them.

At the end of the day, in those final two decades of the 2nd millennium AD, there wasn’t a whole lot for Americans to protest. We had won the Cold War and were the world’s only superpower. For all the world, it looked like if we could fix the Y2K computer glitch, we’d be good as gold.

So, how on Earth did the first two decades of the 21st century bring us squarely back to a place of violent protest clashes and political murder? Once again, the central theme here is patriotism, but this time, its swift diminution.

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By the 2000s, political correctness, soon to metastasize into wokeness, had already changed our education system into one that always first and foremost finds a way to blame America and the West for all the woes of the world.

Our history was no longer taught as the imperfect tale of a nation making great strides toward equality of opportunity, but rather as a fixed power structure, always propping up mediocre White men, always suppressing magical minorities.

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Our television shows would begin to tell us that America really isn’t the greatest nation on Earth, that it’s a lie and, in fact, we are an ignorant bully which needs to cede more power (while still paying for everything, of course).

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It is ugly rhetoric that has brought us to an ugly place.

Over the next three years, with the 250th birthday of the nation, the hosting of the World Cup and the Olympics, and further possible foreign policy victories under President Trump around the globe, we can see a chance for patriotism to rise again, just as it did at the dawn of the 1980s.

A Gallup poll last year showed that only 36% of Democrats are extremely or very proud to be American, with Republicans at a staggering 92%, and independents, as usual, stuck in the middle at 53%.

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There is likely no form of measure more predictive of who one will vote for and whether one will protest than if one is proud of the country. In many ways, it is the central divide that explains so much of the mayhem of violence we see today.

Patriotism is the answer. Patriotism is what our nation so badly needs, and the good news is that all of us can exhibit and celebrate it every day.

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MIKE DAVIS: What is happening in Minnesota is why we have the Insurrection Act

Minnesota reeks of corruption and incompetence. Gov. Tim Walz presided over a fraud catastrophe that prosecutors say could top $9 billion, authorized tampons in boys’ bathrooms and bungled virtually every aspect of governance. Now, he outdoes himself by claiming Minnesota stands “at war” with the federal government and portraying federal law enforcement as an occupying force. Radical leftists riot once again in Minneapolis’ streets, assault ICE officers, and openly flout the law. Enough is enough. President Trump must invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 and restore order.

Sanctuary states and cities cripple federal law enforcement. Leftist leaders refuse to assist the federal government in enforcing immigration law, including the outrageous refusal to honor federal detainers for illegal immigrants arrested for other crimes. When state jails release illegal immigrants, officials fail to notify ICE. Agents must track fugitives on the streets instead of making safe arrests inside jails, exposing themselves and the public to unnecessary danger. Sanctuary policies shield murderers, pedophiles, drug dealers, and armed robbers from deportation.

The latest outrage surrounds the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a radical anti-ICE agitator who called herself a “legal observer.” That label grants no immunity. Good blocked roads and boxed in ICE vehicles, which is illegal obstruction. When an ICE Agent ordered Good out of her SUV, she drove off and struck another agent, who sustained internal injuries and fired at Good to protect his life and the lives of others. An SUV weighing thousands of pounds obviously constitutes a deadly weapon. A mother behind the wheel can inflict the same harm as any large man with a firearm.

Leftists maliciously call the ICE agent a murderer. They lie. Only Good’s partner, Becca, could face felony-murder criminal liability if a jury finds Renee’s death resulted from Becca’s felonious misconduct. Becca urged her to “Drive, baby, drive!” A jury could find she conspired to obstruct ICE, instigating the attack that forced her partner’s lethal restraint. Becca must face the full weight of the law.

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Renee Good’s death unleashed predictable leftist chaos. Walz, ever the agitator, mused about using the Minnesota National Guard against the federal government and repeatedly described the state as “at war” with the U.S. government. Anti-ICE radicals looted federal vehicles, stole sensitive documents, and doxxed ICE agents online. They terrorize law enforcement with impunity–and Walz’ complicity.

Minnesota openly defies the Supremacy Clause, which makes federal law supreme. Immigration enforcement remains an exclusive federal responsibility, yet blue states filed absurd and frivolous Tenth Amendment lawsuits seeking to expel ICE. No court precedent supports their claim. If their theory held, segregationist states during Jim Crow could have barred federal civil-rights enforcement. Red states cooperate fully with ICE, while Minnesota wallows in chaos.

Minnesota’s lawlessness has gone unchecked. Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and other leftist officials refuse to act and even encourage left-wing law breaking. Police watch rioters loot an ICE vehicle and attack federal officers without intervention.

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Because Walz and Frey caused open-season on federal immigration officials doing their jobs by enforcing federal immigration laws, Trump can and should federalize the Minnesota National Guard and deploy active-duty military members under the Insurrection Act. Indeed, this is textbook insurrection. History provides precedent. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush invoked the Insurrection Act to quell riots in Los Angeles following the Rodney King verdict. Minnesota faces at least an equally dire threat, as radical thugs target federal officers enforcing federal laws. If Walz and Frey have their way, their Somali warlord, pirate, and fraudster political allies will replicate Black Hawk Down in Minneapolis instead of Mogadishu.

Trump previously deployed the National Guard to restore order in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore.. Despite the immediate drop in crime and the resulting lives saved, the Supreme Court blinked, misinterpreted the law, and limited the president’s authority under ordinary statutes. Justice Kavanaugh noted that the Supreme Court did not address the Insurrection Act. ICE agents now face imminent danger. Trump cannot reduce enforcement. Doing so would surrender to domestic terrorists. He must wield the Insurrection Act decisively. Lawsuits will follow, but the rule of law demands immediate action.

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Invocation alone cannot stop this threat. Federal prosecutors must hold these Minnesota insurrectionists accountable. Walz, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Soros prosecutor Mary Moriarty refuse to enforce the law. Federal grand juries must indict them for insurrection, seditious conspiracy, harboring illegal aliens, assault on federal officers, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and many other serious federal felonies. Walz must face investigation for the Somali daycare fraud scandal, which allegedly amounted to at least $9 billion of taxpayer funds allegedly funneled to Somali warlords and other terrorists while state whistleblowers faced threats. This pattern of lawlessness has persisted for decades.

Minnesota’s leaders habitually defy the law, undermine federal authority, and endanger citizens. Trump, as the commander-in-chief and chief executive officer, holds both the constitutional and statutory authority to act. He should invoke the Insurrection Act, federalize the Minnesota National Guard, deploy active-duty military forces, and prosecute these Minnesota insurrectionists. These actions fulfill the government’s primary duty, which is to preserve order, uphold the law, and protect American lives.

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A ‘tear down the wall’ moment in Iran will damage both the Islamic Republic — and China

Having already demonstrated a willingness to use American military might in the B-2 strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities last year that brought the 12-Day War to an end, President Donald Trump is robustly supporting the brave Iranian people now entering their third week of protests against the theocratic regime that has oppressed them for so long.

President Trump’s response to the Iranian protests couldn’t be more different from President Obama’s to the 2009 Green Revolution. Just days after Obama gave a speech in Cairo called “A New Beginning” in which he offered an outstretched hand to the mullahs in the hopes of diplomatic engagement, Iranian people inconveniently flooded into the streets to protest an obviously fraudulent election. It took the regime days to muster an effective response.

Even after unarmed protesters were shot in the streets, Obama opted for strategic silence, despite the fact that the Islamic Republic had been an implacable foe of America for some 30 years at that point. As his future Secretary of State John Kerry gushed in The New York Times, Obama’s reticence would prevent the mullahs from blaming the protests on America, while leaving the door open for the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that Kerry would negotiate.

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Obama’s silence turned out to be great for the Iranian regime, which would spend the coming years bilking his administration into that disastrous nuclear deal that meant hundreds of billions of dollars for Tehran but disaster for the Iranian people. Forgotten while the regime attacked them with impunity, the protests dwindled to nothing.

Eighteen years later, President Trump seems determined not to repeat this unfortunate failure. While he, too, offered Tehran the opportunity for diplomacy on their nuclear program, when they refused to negotiate in good faith, he ordered the B-2 bombing strike. After the combined might of Israel and the U.S. in the 12-Day War revealed the regime to be paper tigers, the Iranian people have started to come back to life.

As Tehran has failed to provide basic services such as food, water and fuel — not to mention a stable currency or a functioning economy — they were emboldened to take to the streets and stay there with numbers and tenacity that dwarf 2009.

Also, and importantly, the Iranian people know that China, the regime’s main patron, did nothing to assist them during the war—and aren’t bailing them out now.

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In March 2021, at the beginning of President Joe Biden’s term, China and Iran signed a strategic partnership ushering in 25 years of economic and security cooperation. Since then, the PRC has preyed on Iran, pumping it for natural resources and military support for their other vassal, Russia. Theoretically at least, they have bolstered the regime’s defenses in return.

But when Israel and America attacked, those defenses were worthless and China took no action — something the Trump administration noted as well, suggesting there’s an opportunity to reduce Beijing’s influence in the Middle East and its access to inexpensive Iranian energy imports.

A more sinister Chinese export to Iran is the so-called National Information Network (NIN), derisively nicknamed by Iranians the “halal internet.” Bolstered after the 2019 protests, this PRC-designed tool of information control is the mechanism through which the regime has been able to shut down the internet across Iran for almost a week. Given the cost to their already-teetering economy, they cannot go on this way indefinitely, but for the time being it has been an effective way to stifle communication in and out of Iran.

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If emergency communications systems can be preserved or replaced with a satellite-based system, targeted kinetic and cyberattacks on NIN infrastructure could be an effective way to materially support the protesters, as well as strike a blow against the Chinese-designed apparatus that has been used to oppress them.

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President Trump’s robust statements about the protests, and warning of reprisals for attacks against them, are being criticized as giving the regime the opportunity to blame America for the uprising while creating a rally-around-the-flag effect that will bolster support for the mullahs. But just as some of Ronald Reagan’s own staff worried that the phrase “tear down this wall” was too provocative, these critics are simply too timid or craven to take the appropriate actions to follow up on the rhetoric.

The reality is that the Islamic Republic has blamed America for all their problems since 1979, regardless of what we did or didn’t do. President Trump has stopped giving the mullahs a veto over our actions, and, thanks to him, the Iranian people may soon be in the position to tear down the walls that have encircled them for so long.

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Trump knows good real estate — and he knows Greenland’s value to national security

“The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building,” President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday.

Trump is right. Grab a globe and look down from the North Pole, or check out this official Pentagon map. You will see that Greenland is pivotal to the Arctic front. Greenland’s eastern coast guards the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom or GIUK. This is the entry gate to the Atlantic for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear-armed submarines. Greenland hosts important early warning radar sites because its field of view covers so much of the bomber and missile flight routes from Russia and China. No Greenland, no Golden Dome missile shield.

That’s why Trump lit a bonfire under Denmark and NATO to spur much-needed progress to counter aggressive moves by Russia and China.

Trump does have an eye for prime real estate. And the fastest, easiest solution would be for the U.S. to take over. There’s a good business case for buying Greenland. Especially if you throw in the critical minerals mining there. And Trump has run the numbers. Back in 2019, he estimated the carrying costs of Greenland at about $770 million per year.

BIPARTISAN LAWMAKERS PROPOSE BILL TO BLOCK MILITARY ACTION AGAINST NATO MEMBERS AMID THREATS TO TAKE GREENLAND

No, there probably won’t be an invasion. The one sure way for Greenland to lose its home rule sovereignty is to get too close to China. In 2017, Greenland’s prime minister flew to Beijing and asked China to bankroll new airports, according to The Wall Street Journal. Denmark stopped the deal. If anything like that happens again, Greenland will be flying a U.S. flag.

Officially, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is not about to get in between Trump and Greenland. “I never, ever comment when there are discussions within the Alliance,” Rutte told Danish business executive and Member of the European Parliament Christine Bosse after a speech Jan. 13.

Behind the scenes, NATO and Denmark will step up. Rutte grasps the importance of the High North and so do NATO militaries. Rutte, on January 13, praised Denmark’s investment in ice-breakers, Boeing P-8 surveillance planes for anti-submarine warfare and enhanced missile defenses.

TRUMP SAYS US IS MAKING MOVES TO ACQUIRE GREENLAND ‘WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT’

So for Trump, Greenland will probably turn out to be a bit like that house on your block you covet, but can’t actually purchase. But he’s going to keep the pressure on. Here’s why.

Protecting America

Greenland is the center of U.S. defenses against Russian or Chinese nuclear missile attacks. At Pituffik Space Base they have a runway, a seaport and a lot of radar and gigantic satellite dishes. U.S. Space Force Guardians operate the early-warning radar system to spot intercontinental ballistic missile threats and sea-launched missiles coming out of Russia, China or anywhere else. The squadrons also provide tracking and command and control for U.S. satellites and all other objects up in space, such as China’s 1,300 satellites. America would be blind without this surveillance.

EUROPEAN ALLIES WORKING ON PLAN IF US ACTS ON ACQUIRING GREENLAND: REPORT

China Wildcard

China sent three icebreakers to the Arctic in 2024 and last summer a “research submarine” ventured under the Arctic ice cap. In 2025, China, for the first time, sent a container ship from China to Britain via the “Polar Silk Road.” The design for China’s newest Type 096 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine appears to have a stronger hull for operating amidst ice. Put Chinese submarines in the Arctic and U.S. military bases, data centers and more are suddenly in range. The U.S. will do whatever it takes to halt that threat.

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Denmark is a Capable Ally 

Denmark comes through when it matters. Denmark deployed aircraft and special forces to Afghanistan and their soldiers fought in Helmand province. Denmark’s air force already flies U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighters and put in an order for 16 more back in October. Speaking of space, the Danes bravely waded into the regulatory mess that is the new European Union Space Act, offering a more balanced plan to treat American commercial space companies fairly as they build out low Earth orbit constellations. Keep in mind, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen faces tough elections in October, so resolving a dust-up over Greenland could be a feather in her cap.

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NATO Will Step Up 

NATO is not breaking up over this. The world situation is too dangerous. Putin launched another nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile at Ukraine on Jan. 10. Besides, NATO partners are well aware of the High North problem. “Britain is stepping up on Arctic security,” said Britain’s Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper in a Jan. 14 press release. Britain has been training with Norwegian commandos for decades and wrapped up Operation Tarrassis in October, exercising with 9 other NATO nations across the Baltic Sea and Arctic. As Cooper said: “Coming together as an alliance allows us to unify and tackle this emerging threat.”

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Minnesota’s welfare fraud disaster exposes a national system designed to fail

The welfare fraud in Minnesota seems to be a never-ending story. We’re learning that scammers bilked multiple programs intended to help low-income families, including Medicaid, food aid, housing assistance and childcare programs. Based on what’s been uncovered so far, the people who perpetrated those schemes may have stolen upwards of $9 billion. 

Yet, while Minnesota’s welfare fraud is particularly brazen and systemic, it is not unique to that state. That is because the basic design of most U.S. welfare programs makes them highly susceptible to fraud. 

For example, for years, Medicaid has been on the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) list of federal programs at “high-risk” for fraud, waste and abuse. GAO finds the program has insufficient federal oversight. In 2024, it estimates, there were more than $31 billion in erroneous Medicaid payments. 

That is particularly concerning because Medicaid is the largest means-tested government welfare program, costing federal and state taxpayers around $900 billion annually. Unsurprisingly, Medicaid was also the source of most of the money stolen in Minnesota.

MINNESOTA HOUSE SPEAKER WARNS AMERICANS WILL BE ‘SHOCKED’ BY SCOPE OF FRAUD CRISIS

In short, the Minnesota scandals are the bitter fruit of deeply rooted problems in a system badly in need of reform. 

The biggest design flaw is that most of the funding for welfare programs come from the federal coffers, but the federal government has largely delegated to states responsibility for administering and policing those programs. Yet, federal oversight of fraud prevention in welfare programs is often lacking, and because states are spending mostly federal dollars, they lack strong incentives to ensure funds are spent properly. 

Case in point: the federal Child Care and Development Fund — which financed Minnesota’s now-infamous “Quality Learing Center” — has also received scrutiny for poor federal oversight. A 2016 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General’s report on that program explained that states are required to submit fraud protection plans to HHS.

MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR JACOB FREY ADMITS FRAUD CRISIS IS REAL, SAYS ‘EVERYBODY COULD HAVE DONE MORE’ TO PREVENT IT

Those plans include things like reviewing attendance records at childcare centers, conducting staff reviews and performing on-site visits. But the report noted that HHS had not established a process to ensure that states carry out their fraud protection plans. Obviously, a plan that isn’t implemented is useless. 

Another major problem is that funding for most welfare programs is calculated and allocated not according to performance measures, but on the number of people served. That gives service providers an incentive to “pad the rolls,” and it also disincentivizes state government officials from monitoring those providers too closely, since tighter controls could reduce the flow of federal funds to the state. 

That leads to yet another, related flaw in the current system. Many welfare programs provide grant funding to third parties to deliver services. The intended beneficiaries of those services have no say in how the funds are spent. That makes those programs vulnerable to large-scale abuse, like occurred in Minnesota.

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A third-party service provider — either for-profit or nonprofit — can pull in a lot of government dollars by artificially inflating participant rolls or by claiming to provide services they haven’t truly provided. 

In short, the Minnesota scandals are the bitter fruit of deeply rooted problems in a system badly in need of reform. 

In contrast, programs that deal directly with the intended recipients and give them a say in how funds are spent — such as through account- or voucher-type mechanisms — are less prone to massive fraud schemes. For instance, a family given a voucher or account to pay for childcare has a natural incentive to get value for the money.

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The silver lining of the recent crisis is that it has brought attention to fraud in the welfare system. Now is an opportunity to tackle this problem. Agencies should increase federal oversight of states to ensure that fraud prevention occurs. Congress should also reform welfare programs so that states are required to provide a greater portion of welfare funding, giving states more incentive to see programs are protected against abuse. 

Policymakers and the public are outraged by what happened in Minnesota. Unfortunately, we’re likely to see more of it unless policymakers address the deeper flaws of the welfare system. 

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MARTIN GURRI: Let’s look at all the global benefits Trump reaped by grabbing Maduro

A certain class of analysts was purported to be scandalized by the American night raid on Venezuela that snatched away strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

China has been given a green light to invade Taiwan. Russia is finally free to trespass on… I don’t know, maybe Ukraine?

Even by today’s declining standards, that line of analysis is pathetically shallow.

PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS THERE WON’T BE A ‘SECOND WAVE OF ATTACKS’ AGAINST VENEZUELA DUE TO THEIR ‘COOPERATION’

Neither Xi Jinping nor Vladimir Putin look to the U.S. for permission. The opposite is closer to the truth: They wish to make trouble and undermine the hegemonic power.

Russia assaulted Ukraine and China conducted naval exercises in Taiwanese territorial waters, all without filling out the White House’s “Permission to Invade” form.

What will be the lesson, for Xi and Putin, of the Great Venezuela Raid?

I would think it’s this: that Trump will run enormous risks to protect American interests.

TALARICO, AUCHINCLOSS: TRUMP’S BLOOD FOR OIL STRATEGY IS AS RECKLESS AS IT IS ILLEGAL

I leave it to the intelligent reader to reflect on whether this will encourage or discourage rash adventures.

Trump has no wish to carve the world like an apple into spheres of influence, in which China, Russia and the U.S. can plunder smaller nations at will.

His meddling in conflicts in Africa and Asia is proof of that — and anyone who has observed Trump for longer than half a minute will know he doesn’t set boundaries on his actions.

In reality, Trump’s style in geopolitical gamesmanship is without precedent, at least in my experience.

TRUMP SIGNALS LONG ROAD AHEAD IN VENEZUELA IN HIS BOLDEST INTERVENTIONIST MOVE YET

In any given theater, he looks for the tactical strike that will utterly alter the strategic landscape to our country’s advantage.

What will be the lesson, for Xi and Putin, of the Great Venezuela Raid? I would think it’s this: that Trump will run enormous risks to protect American interests.

After allowing the Israelis to plow and seed the field in Iran, Trump harvested a strategic victory by dropping bunker-busting bombs on the regime’s nuclear facilities. From that moment, events in the Middle East tilted in our direction — and the negative consequences for Iran continue to multiply as I write this.

In the same manner, the extraction of Maduro from his Venezuelan fortress has had a domino effect favorable to the U.S., not just in Latin America but around the world.

Let me count the ways.

IN VENEZUELA ITSELF

Here the dice are still rolling, and the final effects of the raid won’t be known for months, possibly years. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio chose to retain the Maduro people in power over the Venezuelan democratic opposition — a gamble on stability against the possibility of chaos and violence.

It could backfire, but the signs so far look encouraging.

The new Venezuelan president, Delcy Rodriguez, who happened to be Maduro’s vice president, has been sweet-talking the Trump administration. She may have played a part in the overthrow of her former boss.

LIZ PEEK: TRUMP IS PUTTING AMERICA FIRST BY BACKING IRAN INTO A CORNER

American officials are in Caracas, setting up shop. The Cubans, Russians and Chinese would seem to be out in the cold. Political prisoners are being released.

Most importantly, from a strategic perspective, the Venezuelan oil industry is about to be resurrected with help from U.S. companies — and Venezuelan oil will soon flood global markets.

CUBA

Its once-vaunted military and intelligence personnel protected Maduro. In a humiliating blow to the country’s prestige, they were wiped out without much of a fight.

Cuba imports all of its energy but lacks the foreign currency to keep the lights burning. Venezuelan oil, offered on a bartered basis, made up 60% of fuel imports.

That’s now gone with the wind. Whatever still functions in the Cuban economy is about to disintegrate into darkness and silence.

President Trump said that the post-Castro regime is “ready to fall.” He also threatened, in his inimitable all-caps fashion, “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!”

Nothing is certain.

But if the Cuban military, who already run the country, believe that their equipment will grind to a stop within weeks, they may decide to do away with their Communist Party intermediaries and cut a deal with Yankee imperialism.

LATIN AMERICA

The region was already trending rightwards — Maduro’s fall will only accelerate this tendency. Conservative governments applauded American intervention, something unheard-of in Latin America.

Radical leftist governments, on the other hand, are in a panic.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, once a leader of the Marxist M-19 guerrillas, made worried noises about his own fate. He got a reassuring call from the president and will visit the White House in February.

LAWMAKER WHO FLED COMMUNISM DRAFTS SPECIAL RESOLUTION HONORING TRUMP AFTER MADURO OUSTER

Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega, normally addicted to repression, decided to release political prisoners in imitation of Delcy Rodriguez.

He also canceled an anniversary celebration — just in case the U.S. military were looking to pick off more unfriendly Latin American presidents.

CHINA

One condition Trump placed on Rodriguez is that Venezuela end its alliance with China and Russia. Eager to survive, Rodriguez appears willing to do so.

If that is the case, Maduro’s departure will represent a strategic disaster for Xi — the loss not only of its most useful ally in the region but of access to 800,000 barrels of cheap oil per day, along with the total loss of what has been called China’s “$100 billion gamble” on Venezuela.

In addition, Maduro’s lair was ringed with Chinese military technology, including air defense systems. They were neutralized with remarkable ease.

When Xi calculates the cost of invading Taiwan, he must now add the fact that the Chinese mainland itself appears vulnerable to attack from the air.

IRAN

Venezuela had become a playground for Iran and its terrorist proxies like Hezbollah. No more.

As the Islamic regime battles to survive a fierce street revolt, Trump has condemned the slaughter of civilians and told protesters “help is on the way.”

The fate of Nicolás Maduro thus weighs heavily on the ayatollahs’ minds.

The anti-regime protesters also see the parallel with Venezuela and have cheered the president on. Video can be found of a young man, somewhere in Iran, solemnly changing a street sign to “President Trump Street.”

EUROPE

Venezuela demonstrated — once again — the absolute irrelevance of the Old World in times of crisis.

European governments couldn’t help or hinder the U.S., before or after the attack. They merely muttered from the sidelines.

Mostly they complained about U.S. violation of international law — but then overcame their scruples long enough to inquire about the payment of Venezuelan debt to European energy companies.

WAS TRUMP’S MADURO OPERATION ILLEGAL? WHAT INTERNATIONAL LAW HAS TO SAY

In 10 years of repetitive squabbles, the Europeans have yet to figure out how to live in Donald Trump’s world. They have yet to admit that their static “rules-based order” has been swept away by a tempest of change of which Trump is simply the avatar, not the cause.

It would be unfortunate if Europe’s limpness in the geopolitical arena emboldened the president to swallow Greenland whole.

RUSSIA

On this country will fall the most complex set of consequences.

Even more than China, Russia enjoyed a formal “strategic partnership” with Maduro, explicitly aimed at the U.S.

Venezuela purchased billions of dollars’ worth of Russian military equipment, aircraft and weaponry. Russia propped up Maduro on the world stage and endorsed his blatantly manipulated elections.

SOCIALISM COST ME MY COUNTRY. TRUMP ARRESTING MADURO MIGHT HELP US GET IT BACK

Putin and Maduro stood shoulder to shoulder in Moscow as recently as May 2025.

All of that ended literally overnight. Yet, curiously, the Russians reacted to the fiasco by saying little and doing nothing.

What’s going on?

There is, with Russia, a bigger picture to consider.

The country is stuck deep in the bog of the Ukraine war and has limited room to maneuver elsewhere. Western sanctions have driven Putin to a position of complete dependence on China.

The strategic intent of Trump and his people, I believe, is to sever that link.

They want Russia to be a competitor rather than a satellite of China. That would explain the sustained effort to broker the end to a war that otherwise has distracted and diminished an antagonistic power.

Because Russia is a major exporter of oil and natural gas, its economy rises and falls with the global price of those commodities.

Trump has clearly seized on this. He has hardened the sanctions on the purchase of Russian fuel, even as he works overtime to bring down the cost of energy.

The ouster of Maduro evidently plays into this scheme. The president expects to unleash a gusher of Venezuelan oil on the markets.

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It’s his usual trick — a tactical blow that generates enough strategic leverage to nudge Russia into peace with Ukraine.

In this case, it hasn’t happened yet.

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Possibly, it never will — Putin, after all, represents the Russian bear, whereas Maduro resembled a noisier but far less dangerous denizen of the tropical canopy. Frustrating American presidents is a habit the Russian leader has refined over the decades.

But it is a sign of the strange moment we are living through — and, it may be, of Trump’s skill at converting tactics into strategic outcomes — that we can imagine a raid on a Caribbean dictator helping to end a bloody war in Eastern Europe’s heart of darkness.

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SEC SCOTT BESSENT: How to stop fraud in Minnesota—and across the country

Over the last several years, criminals have exploited the culture of “Minnesota nice” to steal billions of dollars in taxpayer funds in one of the most egregious frauds in our nation’s history. Under Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, these fraudsters—many of whom are not even American citizens—lined their pockets with money that was initially intended to feed hungry children, house disabled seniors, and provide services for young students with special needs.

Last week, I traveled with my team to Minneapolis to meet in person with the investigators, prosecutors, legislators, and community members on the front lines of combating this crime. Their frustration was palpable. There, we learned more about a transnational money laundering scheme that festered under President Joe Biden and the state’s political leadership. The scandal was unprecedented in its scope and scale. But so is President Trump’s plan to fix it by attacking fraud at the source—both in Minnesota and across the country.

At the president’s direction, the Treasury Department is examining the transfer of funds allegedly sent from the affected parts of Minnesota to other countries, including Somalia. These funds are often sent through money services businesses, which provide financial services outside the banking system. This money could have potentially been diverted to terrorist organizations, such as Al-Shabaab. Treasury has a long history of following the money to financially suffocate bad actors, like the mafia and Mexican drug cartels. Now we are doing the same to shut down Somali fraud rings.

TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT VOWS TO LEAVE ‘NO STONE UNTURNED’ IN MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE

As part of this effort, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the IRS are investigating financial institutions that may have played a role in abetting rampant fraud. Specifically, we are evaluating whether these institutions have complied with their legal obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act and Treasury’s regulations, which are designed to detect money laundering and safeguard the U.S. financial system from abuse.

Treasury is also taking steps to disrupt criminal networks from within. The fraud rings in Minnesota have many tentacles. But we will expose them all by offering incentives for whistleblowers who are willing to cooperate with law enforcement and identify perpetrators.

BESSENT BLAMES WALZ AS TREASURY PROBES WHETHER MINNESOTA FRAUD FUNDS REACHED TERROR GROUP AL-SHABAB

Beyond pinpointing the source of the fraud, it is critical that we prevent more taxpayer dollars from leaving the country for improper purposes. That’s why FinCEN has issued a Geographic Targeting Order for Hennepin and Ramsey Counties in Minnesota, which will require banks and money transmitters to report additional information about funds transferred outside of the United States valued at $3,000 or more. 

Treasury has also trained Minnesota law enforcement to utilize the data they gather from these reports to prevent this scandal from happening again. This will put a microscope on fraudulent businesses, advance prosecutions and assist in the recovery of funds laundered internationally.

BESSENT SAYS MINNESOTA FRAUD RECOVERY COULD HELP FUND TRUMP’S $1.5T DEFENSE PLAN

If individuals are on welfare, they should not be in a financial position to send money overseas. And yet thousands still do. This means that American taxpayers are effectively supplementing the incomes of overseas individuals. 

This must stop. 

To assess the prevalence of this practice, Treasury’s Geographic Targeting Order requires financial institutions wiring money abroad from Hennepin and Ramsey Counties to check a box to indicate if the funds are from any federal, state, or local government benefit program.

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Sadly, Minnesota does not have a monopoly on this sort of fraud. Similar misconduct is almost certainly happening in many other states, especially states like California, New York, and Illinois, which impose lax controls on the use of government benefit funds. In fact, our own Government Accountability Office estimates that the government may lose more than $500 billion each year to fraud. This is a staggering figure larger than the GDP of most countries. It represents up to 10% of federal tax revenues each year and approximately 1% to 2% of GDP.

Eliminating this fraud entirely would do more than any other federal measure to alleviate the burden on taxpayers and reduce the deficit. That is why President Donald Trump has created a new division within the Department of Justice with the sole purpose of prosecuting fraud nationally. 

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The president wants to scale the model we have established in Minnesota to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in every corner of the country. Extraordinary crime requires an extraordinary response—and President Trump has provided that by launching the largest anti-fraud campaign of the 21st century.

Under previous administrations, criminals managed to turn government benefits into a multibillion-dollar business enterprise, systematically bilking taxpayers of their hard-earned money. But that ends now. President Trump has launched an all-of-government effort to recover stolen funds and prosecute tax thieves. He will give no quarter to fraudulent criminals—in Minnesota or anywhere else in the country.

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My father gave his life for Iran — today’s protesters are living his dream

I was in my mother’s womb when the Islamic Revolution of 1979 shattered my family’s homeland, forcing us into exile. Like so many Iranians, my country was stolen from me before I could even take my first breath. But my connection to Iran is not just a matter of heritage; it is written in blood. My father, Gen. Gholam Ali Oveissi, the former commander in chief of the Imperial Army, was a patriot who loved his people and died defending them against the tyranny of Ayatollah Khomeini. In 1984, he was assassinated in Paris for his loyalty to the Shah and his refusal to bow to the new regime.

For decades, families like mine have carried the weight of displacement and loss, watching from afar as a nation that was once on a trajectory toward becoming a global superpower was hijacked by mismanagement and ideological rule. But today, the tide is turning. After 47 years of oppression, corruption and fiscal incompetence, the people of Iran — driven by a courageous younger generation — have had enough.

This uprising is about more than just the collapse of an economy, though the financial devastation is undeniable. The Iranian rial has plummeted to historic lows, and inflation now exceeds 40%. Food prices have skyrocketed by more than 70% in a single year, leaving more than a third of the population below the poverty line. While the regime diverts billions of dollars to fund terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, the Iranian people suffer from negative GDP growth and crumbling infrastructure. 

IRAN PROTESTS SPARK REGIME SURVIVAL QUESTION AS EXILED DISSIDENT SAYS IT FEELS LIKE A ‘REVOLUTION’

Unemployment has destroyed the hope of an entire generation, and the regime’s response has been to pillage natural resources, selling them at a discount to China and Russia while the people face water shortages and total systemic neglect. 

However, the protests rocking Iran are not merely cries of hunger; they are cries for identity. The youth of Iran has reached an inflection point, realizing what the Pahlavi era truly represented: a time when Iran was a center of stability and prosperity in the region. 

TRUMP TOLD IRAN HAS HALTED KILLINGS AMID MOUNTING PROTEST PRESSURE

They are not chanting religious slogans. Instead, they are chanting for Western values — freedom, prosperity and an end to oppression. They are rediscovering a pride in their Persian heritage, which dates back to 550 B.C. When asked where they are from, they proudly answer, “I am Persian,” rejecting the identity imposed on them by the Islamic Republic.

At the heart of this movement is a longing for the return of the Pahlavi vision. Reza Pahlavi has emerged organically as the voice of these disenfranchised people. He is not a leader positioned by foreign actors; he is the name the people are chanting for in the streets. They remember — or have learned of — an era when women were treated with respect and reciprocity, when Jews, Christians and Muslims lived in peace, and when the leadership invested in the future of its students. 

Reza Pahlavi supports a nationally elected referendum for a constitutional monarchy, modeled after the United Kingdom, which would preserve our national identity while ensuring democratic governance.

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Crucially, the Iranian people look to the United States as a beacon of hope. Contrary to the regime’s propaganda, the majority of Iranians love, admire, and support America. They are particularly grateful to President Donald Trump, whose bold leadership has provided a roadmap for confronting tyranny. 

His actions in Venezuela — specifically the pressure placed on the illegitimate Maduro regime — have given fuel to the protesters in Iran. President Trump’s willingness to hold rogue leaders accountable offers hope that the United States will not stand idly by while the Iranian regime slaughters its own citizens.

The role of the West is vital in this struggle. Media coverage from outlets like Fox News has been essential in breaking the silence, but more Western media must shine a light on this revolution. Technology has also become a lifeline; acts like Elon Musk’s provision of Starlink have been critical in bypassing censorship. The symbolic return of the original Sun and Lion flag on social media, promoted by figures like Musk, sends a powerful message that the spirit and glory of our rich culture is rising again.

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I am eternally grateful to the United States for providing my family with political asylum and allowing me to become a citizen of the greatest country in the world. But as an Iranian American, I know that a free Iran could be one of America’s most important allies and a stabilizing force in the Middle East. Iran was once a close partner of Israel — and could be again.

The coming days are critical. The regime will likely respond with the same violence that killed my father and hundreds of thousands of others. The United States must make it clear that mass killings will not be tolerated and must hold this government accountable for its human rights abuses. The people of Iran are ready to reclaim their future. The question is whether the free world will stand with them.

SEN RICHARD BLUMENTHAL: Crypto is a gamble our financial system doesn’t need

The Senate Banking Committee will hold a meeting Thursday to mark up crypto legislation that further fulfills many of President Donald Trump’s promises to his crypto billionaire friends. In racing to finish the crypto industry’s wish list before midterms, Congress should remember what happened the last time crypto impacted legacy banking. We’ve seen this movie before — and taxpayers paid for the tickets.

Last September, as ranking member of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I released a 292-page report documenting how three major American banks received dubious audits indicating they were sound — just before their catastrophic failures cost bank customers millions.

Our investigation gave us a unique window into how crypto can quickly move from innovation to contagion. Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank raked in profits when venture capital and crypto boomed, but they all learned that tech money comes fast but leaves even faster — threatening the stability of banking and leaving taxpayers and investors on the hook for losses. These bank failures provide a chilling warning for anyone backing the crypto lobby’s efforts to further cement the unsavory world of crypto into the American economy.

MALICIOUS MAC EXTENSIONS STEAL CRYPTO WALLETS AND PASSWORDS

Silicon Valley Bank collapsed following the failure of the trading firm FTX, the downturn in the Bitcoin market and the shuttering of crypto-focused Silvergate Bank. In early 2023, as their bets unraveled, crypto industry insiders pushed for bailouts — fueling panic that accelerated bank runs. The resulting turmoil threatened major technology companies and millions of depositors, ultimately requiring federal intervention to the tune of $340 billion to quell fear of contagion. Even then, more than $54 billion in stocks and bonds became worthless when the banks collapsed, including $700 million that one pension fund lost in a single day. Unless Congress acts to put some guardrails on the recently passed GENIUS Act, it will only be a matter of time before the industry is clamoring for bailouts again.

The historic speed of deposit flight at these banks demonstrated how modern finance is getting faster and more reckless, especially with the introduction of crypto firms into the banking system. Technology made banking faster, and it made failure faster too. More crypto in the banking system supercharges the systemic risk of financial instability. Signature Bank is a clear example: it collapsed after their substantial crypto-related deposits flooded out of the bank in the months after the collapse of FTX. The complexity and opacity of crypto markets also undermines traditional oversight. Signature Bank’s auditors failed to grasp the risks and repeatedly assured the public everything was fine year after year. But opacity isn’t a bug of crypto — it’s the business model.

Now, the crypto industry has spent millions trying to lobby Congress and the Trump administration to forget the past and allow them to take over banking and write their own investment rules. Crypto is encouraging American consumers to abandon traditional bank accounts in favor of “digital dollars” called stablecoins. The industry is even trying to replace savings accounts through offering “yield” on tokens — the crypto equivalent of interest. While this new form of digital currency may sound appealing, stablecoins lack basic safeguards that protected the depositors at Silicon Valley Bank when it failed in 2023.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the ensuing turmoil should have been a lesson: keep crypto far from our financial system. Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse wasn’t the fault of a few bad managers or reckless reports from a single auditor. The cozy audits these banks received for years lays bare a fundamental principle of finance — recklessness thrives when profits are private and losses are public.

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Even now, crypto markets are in turmoil. Since the GENIUS Act passed last summer, half a dozen major stablecoins have “de-pegged,” de-linking from the currency they claim to have a 1:1 relation to, wiping out hundreds of millions of dollars for anyone holding the tokens. But this is just a small beginning. The current market for stablecoins is approximately $300 billion. The CEO of Coinbase recently projected that it could quadruple by 2030. Considering what crypto volatility did to regional banks in 2023 after the collapse of FTX, what threats could it pose when millions of Americans’ life savings and more banks are dependent on crypto?

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My investigation revealed Signature Bank’s auditors joking with each other as the bank collapsed. They thought its management was foolish because they relied on crypto to boost their numbers and “look cool … and wonder why they’re crumbling as the floor drops out.” That casual cynicism captures the deeper failure exposed by the 2023 bank collapses: when crypto-driven risk is profitable, those charged with policing it will look away.

As the Senate Banking Committee prepares to mark up a crypto market structure bill, Congress should remember that the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank was not an accident — it was a preview. That failure exposed how crypto-linked deposits, digital-speed bank runs and opaque markets can overwhelm regulators before risks are visible. Yet the legislation now under consideration would push more of that volatility deeper into the financial system under the guise of innovation and clarity. If lawmakers fail to confront the lessons of 2023, they will be locking in the same frailties that forced taxpayers to step in once before — and will inevitably be asked to do so again.