Elton John reveals what would make Trump one of the ‘greatest presidents’ in history
Singer Elton John said in an interview last week that if President Donald Trump managed to end AIDS, he would be “one of the greatest presidents” of all time.
The “Tiny Dancer” spoke with Variety on Tuesday about his nameske\ AIDS Foundation and the support he has received from Republican lawmakers such as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in the past. From there, he encouraged the Trump administration to continue work toward the goal of eradicating the disease.
“The bipartisan thing makes common sense,” John said. “To see us come so far with the medical and scientific advances, and to think this is the only disease that can be completely cured in one’s lifetime. President Trump has maybe solved the peace problem. If he wants to go down as one of the greatest presidents in history… if he ended AIDS, that would really be a feather in his cap.”
TRUMP’S GLOBAL HEALTH STRATEGY COULD MARK A TURNING POINT IN THE AIDS BATTLE
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved in June a new, twice-yearly shot from Gilead Sciences, a U.S. private sector biopharmaceutical company, to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The shot was nearly 100% effective in preventing the spread of HIV in clinical trials and was shown to be superior to past drugs.
Trump has also previously stated his goal of eradicating the disease by 2030, announcing an initiative to end HIV during his first term in 2019.
ELTON JOHN HAS ‘LOST MY EYESIGHT’ FOLLOWING SEVERE INFECTION
However, the Trump administration has sought to cut funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in the president’s original rescissions package back in July. Senate Republicans later agreed to preserve PEPFAR funding.
John expressed his frustrations with the U.S. and other countries over obstacles providing aid to HIV patients, such as budget cuts or legal restrictions.
“I just am enraged by it,” John told Variety. “It’s very frustrating when you’ve got the tools in your hand to end it, and then you find that countries won’t help.”
ELTON JOHN VOWS AIDS PATIENTS WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN AMID CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, REVEALS $1M PLEDGE
In a comment to Fox News Digital, White House spokesman Kush Desai confirmed further efforts by the Trump administration to handle the AIDS epidemic.
“Elton John can rest assured that the Trump administration is robustly tackling the HIV/AIDS epidemic both at home and abroad,” Desai said. “The State Department is working directly with foreign governments to implement a global health strategy to streamline America’s foreign assistance and modernize our approach to countering infectious diseases like HIV.”
He continued, “HHS, meanwhile, is advancing next-generation HIV prevention and treatment options, strengthening viral suppression nationwide via HRSA’s Ryan White program, supporting emergency preparedness, and expanding access to trusted HIV information.”
John has been friendly towards Trump in the past, even complimenting the president for nicknaming North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un “Little Rocket Man” after one of his songs.
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“I laughed, I thought that was brilliant,” John said in 2024. “I just thought, ‘Good on you, Donald’… Donald’s always been a fan of mine, and he’s been to my concerts many, many times. So, I mean, I’ve always been friendly toward him, and I thank him for his support. When he did that, I just thought it was hilarious. It made me laugh.”
Zoo visitor’s fatal decision to enter lion enclosure caught on camera in horrific video
A 19-year-old man was mauled to death after climbing into a lion enclosure Sunday morning in Brazil.
Viral video captured the incident, showing the victim scaling a roughly 26-foot-tall fence to enter the lioness’ enclosure at Arruda Câmara Zoobotanical Park, known locally as Bica, in João Pessoa, Paraíba.
Local media Correio Braziliense identified the victim as Gerson de Melo Machado who has long aspired to be a lion tamer. Machado reportedly had mental health issues and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
The zoo confirmed in a statement that the individual deliberately entered the enclosure, was attacked by the animal, and did not survive his injuries.
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“The Arruda Câmara Zoobotanical Park (Bica) deeply regrets what happened this Sunday morning, when a man deliberately invaded the lioness’ enclosure, resulting in his death,” the zoo said in a statement on social media Sunday. “This is an extremely sad episode for everyone, and we express our solidarity and condolences to the family and friends of the man.”
In the video, witnesses watched in horror as the teen climbed the towering fence and shimmied down a nearby tree. A lion in the enclosure spotted him, prowled to the base of the tree and waited as he continued his descent.
When the boy got close enough to the ground, the lion sprang on him. He tried to flee, disappearing into the bushes and briefly reappearing during his escape, only to be leapt on again by the lioness. The mauling then continued out of view behind a wall.
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Following the incident, the park was closed to allow for safety procedures and the removal of the body. The zoo stated that Bica will remain closed to visitors until the investigation and all official procedures are complete.
Machado had struggled with mental health issues throughout his life, and his mother had also been diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to Correio, which cited child welfare counselor Verônica Oliveira, who had been monitoring him since childhood. Oliveira told the outlet that Machado had always dreamed of traveling to Africa to become a lion tamer and was once caught hiding in the landing gear of a plane, believing it would take him there.
The zoo stated it does not plan to euthanize the lion, emphasizing that the killing resulted from deliberate trespassing, an incident that was “completely unpredictable” and “outside of any scenario within the park’s routine.”
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The lion is reportedly stressed but shows no signs of behavior that would warrant concern for euthanasia.
“It is important to emphasize that euthanasia was never considered,” the zoo said. “Leona is healthy, does not exhibit aggressive behavior outside the context of the incident, and will not be euthanized.”
Giants kicker’s bizarre field goal attempt stuns ‘Monday Night Football’ fans
The New York Giants’ special teams are having a rough night in Foxborough, as kicker Younghoe Koo had the most bizarre first attempt at a field goal in the “Monday Night Football” matchup with the New England Patriots.
After tight end Theo Johnson was unable to make a touchdown catch, the Giants were looking to make it a seven-point game with a 47-yard field goal by Koo, who has kicked for New York the past three games.
But when Koo stepped into his kick, for whatever reason, he put his foot into the turf and just came up lame without making contact with the football.
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It appeared Koo’s left foot planted too close to the ball, which might have thrown him off. But he simply didn’t follow through with the kick, and holder and punter Jamie Gillan was drilled by multiple Patriots for what’s technically a sack in the stat sheet.
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The play was a massive shift of momentum as the Giants got a stop they desperately needed coming off a touchdown drive in what was a 17-0 game to start. The Patriots ended up winning the game, 33-15.
The reason for the big deficit was another special teams blunder for the Giants, but an impressive Patriots rep as Marcus Jones ran back a punt from Gillan 94 yards for the game’s first touchdown.
And things got worse for New York after the Patriots made it 24-7 thanks to a perfectly thrown ball by Drake Maye to Kyle Williams, as Giants returner Gunner Olszewski was drilled by Christian Elliss on a kick return.
He fumbled the football after the helmet-to-helmet contact, and the Patriots recovered. They would eventually add another three points on the board.
New York came into this primetime matchup having the exact opposite season of the Patriots, who are winners of their last nine games. The Giants have lost six straight games, and their loss to the Detroit Lions in overtime last week had them officially eliminated from playoff contention.
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There was some hope, though, as rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart was out of concussion protocol. But special teams mishaps crushed any momentum the Giants had, as they walked into the locker room down 30-7 in Foxborough.
Spec ops chief ordered deadly Caribbean strike ‘in self-defense’ with Hegseth’s sign-off
The White House confirmed and defended conducting a second strike against alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean in September, amid the Trump administration’s crusade targeting the influx of drugs into the U.S.
The White House’s statement comes after the Washington Post reported Friday that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth verbally ordered that a Sept. 2 attack kill everyone on board the alleged drug boat, drawing scrutiny from lawmakers who are requesting additional oversight into the strikes. The Post reported that a second strike was conducted to take out the remaining survivors on the boat.
Although the Pentagon pushed back against the report, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not deny that a second strike occurred and told reporters Monday that the strike Sept. 2 was conducted “in self-defense” in international waters “in accordance with the law of armed conflict.”
HEGSETH SAYS US CONDUCTED ANOTHER STRIKE IN EASTERN PACIFIC TARGETING ALLEGED NARCO-TRAFFICKERS
The White House said Monday that Hegseth authorized the second strike, but the head of U.S. Special Operations Command, Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, ordered and directed it. At the time of the strike, Bradley was serving as the commander of Joint Special Operations Command, which falls under U.S. Special Operations Command.
“On September 2nd, Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes,” Leavitt said. “Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.”
When asked to confirm that Bradley was the one who ordered the second strike, Leavitt said that he was “well within his authority to do so,” but declined to disclose whether the second strike was ordered because there were survivors remaining from the first strike.
Leavitt also disputed that Hegseth ever gave an initial order to ensure that everyone on board was killed, when asked specifically about Hegseth’s instructions.
“I would reject that the secretary of War ever said that,” Leavitt said. “However, the president has made it quite clear that if narco-terrorists, again, are trafficking illegal drugs toward the United States, he has the authority to kill them.”
US MILITARY KILLS 2 SUSPECTED NARCO-TERRORISTS IN 16TH EASTERN PACIFIC STRIKE, HEGSETH SAYS
The White House’s statements on the matter don’t completely align with the Pentagon’s. On Friday, the Pentagon denied the Post’s reporting in its entirety.
“We told the Washington Post that this entire narrative was false yesterday,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a post on social media Friday. “These people just fabricate anonymously sourced stories out of whole cloth. Fake News is the enemy of the people.”
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
TRUMP SAYS HE BELIEVES HEGSETH ‘100%’ ON VENEZUELAN DRUG BOAT STRIKE DENIAL AMID ALLEGATIONS
Meanwhile, the report has prompted lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to ask additional questions about the operations, and press for additional oversight.
“This committee is committed to providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense’s military operations in the Caribbean,” Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Adam Smith, D-Wash., who lead the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement on Saturday. “We take seriously the reports of follow-on strikes on boats alleged to be ferrying narcotics in the SOUTHCOM region and are taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question.”
Spokespeople for the committee did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital regarding the nature of these additional oversight efforts.
Additionally, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said Monday that she is calling for an investigation into the matter as well, and said that Hegseth “owes answers to the American people immediately.”
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The Trump administration has carried out more than 20 strikes against alleged drug boats in Latin American waters, and has bolstered its military presence in the Caribbean to align with Trump’s goal to crack down on the influx of drugs into the U.S.
The White House also confirmed Monday that Trump is slated to hold a meeting on Monday evening to discuss future actions concerning Venezuela.
Teacher reportedly admits to sexually abusing teen student weeks after giving birth
An Australian high school teacher has pleaded guilty in a New South Wales court to sexually abusing a teenage boy several times near Newcastle, according to reports.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that 37-year-old Karly Rae, who became a mother nearly eight weeks ago, pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old boy in October 2024, possessing child abuse material, grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity and committing an act with the intention of perverting the course of justice.
Rae initially pleaded not guilty to the charges in May but changed her pleas last month.
Her attorney, Mark Ramsland, reportedly urged the courts to give her case priority because she appeared in court with her eight-week-old baby.
FEMALE TEACHER IN AFFLUENT FLORIDA CITY ACCUSED OF INAPPROPRIATE RELATIONSHIP WITH TEEN GIRL
Court documents obtained by the station reportedly show Rae and the 15-year-old communicated on social media and that the crimes she was accused of committing occurred in the suburbs of Bolton Point, Merewether and Belmont.
Police evidence presented in court included messages between Rae and the teenager on platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram.
“Hey, sorry for removing you on Snap,” Rae reportedly told the teenager. “I found it too tempting for now.”
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A few messages later, the boy asked Rae, “Should we remove each other now?”
“It’s my fault,” she responded. “I take full responsibility. Do what you want/need.”
In another message reported by the station, Rae suggested to the boy that they meet one more time.
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“Maybe we could have one last rendezvous before school goes back,” she reportedly wrote. “I’ll bring my toy.”
The teenager’s cousin allegedly saw the messages between the two on Instagram, told his parents and the parents reported the matter to police, the station reported.
When police arrested Rae, court documents alleged that she told law enforcement she was unaware of the teenager’s age.
FORMER FLORIDA NURSE CAUGHT HAVING SEX WITH TEEN STEPSON SENTENCED TO 2 YEARS IN PRISON
“I thought he was of age… and leaving school,” she reportedly said.
According to ABC, Rae was granted Supreme Court bail in June after telling the court she was pregnant, though an earlier application had been refused.
She had been scheduled to stand trial in August 2025, but those dates have since been vacated.
Judge Roy Ellis has allocated two and a half hours for a sentencing hearing set for March 25 and ordered that a sentencing assessment report be prepared beforehand.
Ramsland said there would be “a lot of subjective material” included in the submissions.
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Police facts cited by ABC noted that a professional learning transcript from the NSW Department of Education “indicated Rae had completed child protection training in February 2024.”
She remains on bail while awaiting sentencing.
Wajahat Ali says ‘Browning of America’ cannot be stopped, or US will become ‘s—hole’
Podcaster and Substack writer Wajahat Ali raged against White Americans who support President Donald Trump on Friday, saying they have already lost the battle for America.
Trump recently used a late-night Thanksgiving post on Truth Social to outline what he called a “reverse migration” plan, pledging a permanent halt to immigration from what he described as “Third World Countries” and a sweeping rollback of Biden-era admissions.
Ali, who has condemned White culture as either bland or stolen from others before, responded to Trump’s comments on his “Left Hook” podcast.
“We’re not going back. I want all the hatemongers who watch this, and I hope they do watch this, because I know they hate-watch us. You’ve lost. You have lost. You lost. The mistake that you made is you let us in in the first place,” he said. “There’s a bunch of us and we breed. We’re a breeding people. And the problem is you let us in, in 1965.”
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He made repeated references to the Hart-Celler Act, formally the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, saying this was a major turning point ensuring the “Browning of America.”
Ali was not shy about his view that the culture of White American Trump supporters is bland and tasteless.
“I want you to realize this. You have lost. You’ve lost. White supremacists, White nationalists, you’ve lost. You are losers. Your story is a s—– story filled with misery. It’s filled with bland chicken. It’s filled with terrible, terrible dry a– meat. Your music sucks. All your culture sucks.”
He used a metaphor to suggest that America is like a house, and MAGA conservatives, rather than sharing the house, will burn down the entire village.
“And that’s the vote with Trump,” he said. “So, we’re not going away. And if we do get sent away, literally your s—hole country will become the United States of America. It will sink.”
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He clarified that he is not disparaging all White people but “White MAGA voters,” who he referred to interchangeably as White supremacists, and urged White people of good will to confront their relatives and neighbors about their racism this holiday season.
“You need to have these tough conversations with your White family members,” he said. “I got to say, I’m sorry. This is what people of color say when we’re not looking. We say, ‘These Whites, man, they got to talk to their fellow Whites.’ It’s your uncle Chad. Yes, he makes a great turkey, but he’s also racist. It’s your auntie Karen. Yes, she’s so good with the kids, and she goes to church, but she’s also racist. You got to have these blunt conversations with them.”
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He later tried to backtrack by claiming that critics are making a “bad-faith” interpretation of his video, claiming he was merely criticizing “[W]hite supremacists and anti-immigrant hatemongers and their bland a– lives and terrible food,” claiming he is not “Anti-[W]hite.”
Giants tight end penalized after rookie QB takes massive hit while scrambling
New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart was on the receiving end of a massive hit as he scrambled in the first quarter against the New England Patriots.
Dart, on the second drive of the game, ran to his right to escape the pressure and was heading toward the first-down marker. Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss came over at full speed and absolutely trucked Dart into his bench.
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Giants tight end Theo Johnson got into Elliss’ face and sparked a brief skirmish between players. Giants center John Michael Schmitz Jr. was involved in the skirmish too.
NFL officials threw penalty flags during the fracas. Johnson was penalized for unnecessary roughness. Elliss avoided any discipline for the hit. The penalty moved the Giants back 15 yards and ultimately crushed the team’s momentum.
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Dart was playing in his first game since he suffered a concussion two weeks ago against the Chicago Bears. He suffered the injury on a scramble.
The Patriots won the game, 33-15.
He was asked before the Patriots’ game if he needed to rethink about his running style.
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“I’m still getting used to this game,” Dart said. “I’m getting used to the speed of this level. In college, you can watch my tape, I very rarely slid. But this is a different beast. So, for me, I’ve got to be obviously a little bit more responsible when I’m in the open field. But I felt like, quite honestly, I was getting better at it each and every week.”
Millie Bobby Brown says goodbye to ‘Bobby’ as she unveils her married name
Millie Bobby Brown is telling everyone to “drop” Bobby and Brown from her name, after marrying Jake Bongiovi.
While promoting season 5 of “Stranger Things” with her co-star and godfather of her daughter, Noah Schnapp, the 21-year-old actress revealed she has changed her name since getting married.
The interviewer for YouTube’s VT channel quizzed Schnapp on Brown’s full name.
“Millie Bonnie Brown,” Schnapp said confidently, before Brown said he was wrong.
‘STRANGER THINGS’ STAR MILLIE BOBBY BROWN SHARES REAL NAME AS SHE ADMITS CHANGING IT FOR ‘S—S AND GIGGLES’
“Millie Bonnie Bobby Brown Bongiovi,” he then guessed, before Millie told him to “drop the Bobby.”
“Drop the Bobby. Drop the Brown. It’s just Millie Bonnie Bongiovi.”
“Drop the Bobby. Drop the Brown. It’s just Millie Bonnie Bongiovi,” the star said.
“That’s it.”
Brown and Bongiovi announced their engagement in April 2023 and tied the knot in May 2024. Brown was 20 at the time, and Bongiovi was 22, which sparked some online controversy.
“I understood I was young – I know that, I truly just can’t say it enough. When you meet that person, you know it,” Brown said during a cover story for British Vogue’s December issue.
The young couple welcomed their daughter via adoption this summer. During an appearance on the “Smartless” podcast, Brown revealed it’s been a “thing” for her to be a young mother.
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“My mom actually had her first child at 21, and my dad was 19,” she said. “This has been my thing since before I met Jake. I wanted to be a mom just like the way my mom was to me.”
Brown told Vogue that her adoption journey has been nothing short of amazing.
“It’s been a beautiful, amazing journey – she’s taught us so much already. Perspective is a huge thing. The smaller things in life are so much more precious. Our days are filled with lots of cuddles and laughter and love. It’s just endless joy,” she said.
Brown told Vogue that she and her husband split parental duties 50%.
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“We are 50-50 on everything. That’s why I’m so grateful to have partnered with him in this life – he is just the most amazing dad,” she said.
Brown lives on a farm in Georgia with her husband, who is also Jon Bon Jovi’s son.
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In February, Brown did an interview with Vanity Fair and admitted that she remains mostly offline and did not choose the farm life to be a “trad wife” influencer, which is a shortened version of a “traditional wife.” Trad wives are a subculture of women who believe in clear gender roles and share their homemaker lifestyle on social media, which often involves living on a homestead and making food from scratch.
“I’m not doing it [farm life] for the aesthetic. I’m doing it because I love it. There are maybe some trad wives out there doing it because it seems wholesome, but it is not. If you’re not picking up horse s— or washing a cow with your bare hands, then that life is not made for you. At all,” Brown said.
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Although the lifestyle is chaotic, Brown would not have it any other way.
“You think animals are peaceful. You think the South is peaceful. You think this place is peaceful. But there’s so much chaos. My animals are loud, and it’s messy, and my dogs are crazy. And there is, you know, laughter and a lot of passion and excitement, and it is a very vibrant place. There is so much chaos, and that is where I thrive,” she said.
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Bessent slams ‘feckless’ Biden-Walz leadership as terror-funding investigation begins
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday launched a federal probe into claims that Minnesota tax dollars were siphoned to the terrorist group Al-Shabaab under the Biden administration and Governor Tim Walz – an allegation he said demands urgent scrutiny.
“At my direction, @USTreasury is investigating allegations that under the feckless mismanagement of the Biden Administration and Governor Tim Walz, hardworking Minnesotans’ tax dollars may have been diverted to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab,” Bessent posted on X. “Thanks to the leadership of @POTUS @realDonaldTrump, we are acting fast to ensure Americans’ taxes are not funding acts of global terror.
“We will share our findings as our investigation continues,” he added.
Walz’s office told Fox News Digital that Walz said last week that should a connection be found between Minnesota tax dollars and Al-Shabaab, he welcomed an investigation.
MINNESOTA TAXPAYER DOLLARS FUNNELED TO AL-SHABAAB TERROR GROUP, REPORT ALLEGES
Last month, an investigation conducted by Ryan Thorpe and Christopher F. Rufo of the Manhattan Institute uncovered a web of fraud involving Minnesota’s Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services program, Feeding Our Future and other organizations in a bombshell report.
Thorpe and Rufo noted that, in many cases, members of Minnesota’s Somali community were perpetrators of fraud. They added that federal counterterrorism sources confirmed that millions of dollars in stolen funds were sent back to Somalia, which is how Al-Shabaab got the cash.
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Thorpe and Rufo sought to answer a bigger question when looking into the schemes: “Where did the money go?”
As it turned out, the Somali fraud rings sent money transfers from Minnesota to Somalia and, according to reports, approximately 40% of households in Somalia get remittances from abroad. Thorpe and Rufo state that in 2023, the Somali diaspora sent $1.7 billion to the country, which was higher than the Somali government’s budget that same year.
Thorpe and Rufo discovered that the funds were being funneled to Al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked terror organization. Multiple law enforcement sources informed the duo that Minnesota’s Somali community sent millions of dollars through a network of money traders known as “hawalas” that wound up in the hands of the terror group.
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Glenn Kerns, a retired Seattle Police Department detective who spent 14 years on a federal Joint Terrorism Task Force, told Thorpe and Rufo that the Somalis ran a complex money network and were routing cash on commercial flights from the Seattle airport to the hawala networks in Somalia.
“We had sources going into the hawalas to send money. I went down to [Minnesota] and pulled all of their records and, well s—, all these Somalis sending out money are on DHS benefits,” Kerns told Thorpe and Rufo.
A confidential source told Thorpe and Rufo that “The largest funder of Al-Shabaab is the Minnesota taxpayer.”
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“Every scrap of economic activity, in the Twin Cities, in America, throughout Western Europe, anywhere Somalis are concentrated, every cent that is sent back to Somalia benefits Al-Shabaab in some way,” a former official who worked on the Minneapolis Joint Terrorism Task Force told Thorpe and Rufo.