Minnesota borrowers face ban after $400M in pandemic loan fraud uncovered
The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced Thursday that it suspended 6,900 Minnesota borrowers after uncovering what it says is widespread suspected fraud.
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said the agency reviewed thousands of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) loans approved in Minnesota, and identified nearly $400 million in potentially fraudulent loans tied to borrowers in Minnesota.
“These individuals will be banned from all SBA loan programs, including disaster loans, going forward,” Loeffler wrote on X.
Loeffler said the agency will refer appropriate cases to federal law enforcement for prosecution and repayment.
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“After years, the American people will finally begin to see the criminals who stole from law-abiding taxpayers held accountable — and this is just the first state,” she stated.
The suspected fraudulent activity included 7,900 PPP and EIDL loans approved during the COVID-19 pandemic, Loeffler said.
The announcement comes as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his administration face scrutiny over billions of dollars in social services fraud.
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Loeffler sent a letter Tuesday to Walz on Dec. 23, telling him that her agency will “halt” more than $5.5 million in annual support to resource partners in the state “until further notice.”
“I am notifying you that effective immediately and until further notice, the SBA is halting the disbursement of federal funds to SBA resource partners operating in the state of Minnesota, totaling over $5.5 million in annual support,” Loeffler wrote.
The SBA said that at least $2.5 million in PPP and EIDL funds issued during the pandemic era were connected to a Somali fraud scheme based in Minneapolis.
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Loeffler told Walz that $430 million in PPP funds tied to roughly 13,000 loans were flagged as potentially fraudulent but still funded anyway, including some that were forgiven during the Biden administration.
“The volume and concentration of potential fraud is staggering, matched in its egregiousness only by your response to those who attempted to stop it,” she wrote.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Walz’ office for comment.
Musician alleges Will Smith engaged in ‘grooming’ behavior after hotel room encounter
Will Smith was accused of sexual harassment by Brian King Joseph in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles just before the new year, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
Joseph, a professional violinist, alleges Smith was “deliberately grooming and priming Mr. Joseph for further sexual exploitation” in the complaint against the Academy Award-winning actor and associates with his Treyball Studios Management, Inc.
After his first performance with Smith in December 2024, the “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” singer allegedly hired Joseph to join his “Based on a True Story: 2025 Tour.”
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Joseph claimed their “relationship grew even closer” after Smith offered him a chance to play on several tracks of the rapper’s upcoming album.
“Smith and Plaintiff began spending additional time alone, with Smith even telling Plaintiff that ‘You and I have such a special connection, that I don’t have with anyone else,’ and other similar expressions indicating his closeness to Plaintiff,” documents state.
Joseph allegedly joined the first leg of the tour in March 2025 in Las Vegas, where he was provided a hotel room booked by Smith and his team. He claimed “no other individuals besides … the crew and hotel staff would have had access” to his personal room.
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The violinist, who competed on “America’s Got Talent” in 2018, claimed to place his room key in his bag, which was left in a van responsible for transporting the cast and crew around. After a rehearsal at the venue, management allegedly spent hours retrieving the bag.
When Joseph returned to his hotel room later that evening, he claimed to have “discovered evidence suggesting that an unknown person had unlawfully entered the room.” Joseph subsequently called hotel security.
“The evidence included a handwritten note addressed to Plaintiff by name, which read ‘Brian, I’ll be back no later [sic] 5:30, just us (drawn heart), Stone F,’” the lawsuit states. “Among the remaining belongings were wipes, a beer bottle, a red backpack, a bottle of HIV medication with another individual’s name, an earring, and hospital discharge paperwork belonging to a person unbeknownst to Plaintiff.”
Joseph feared that an unknown individual would return to his room to engage in sexual acts, documents said, and he “immediately notified hotel security and representatives for Defendant, obtained photo documentation, requested a room change, and called the local non-emergency police line (311) to report the incident.”
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Days later, Joseph claims, Smith’s team began “blaming” him for the incident.
“Rather than being protected against further assault, and for attempting to understanding Plaintiff’s complaint, Plaintiff was shamed by Defendant and told that he was being terminated,” the complaint stated.
“When Plaintiff requested … further reasoning, Tim Miller, acting on behalf of Defendants, redirected the blame for the termination onto Plaintiff, replying, ‘I don’t know, you tell me, because everyone is telling me that what happened to you is a lie, nothing happened, and you made the whole thing up. So, tell me, why did you lie and make this up?’”
Joseph, at the request of Miller, compiled a timeline “to explain the traumatic series of events that occurred that evening.”
“However, following Plaintiff’s report and termination, Defendant hired another violinist to assume the same position on the tour,” documents stated. “This hiring strongly suggested that Defendant’s stated reason for the termination was pretextual.”
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“The facts strongly suggest that Defendant Willard Carroll Smith II was deliberately grooming and priming Mr. Joseph for further sexual exploitation. The sequence of events, Smith’s prior statements to Plaintiff, and the circumstances of the hotel intrusion all point to a pattern of predatory behavior rather than an isolated incident,” the lawsuit states.
“Defendant’s actions caused Plaintiff severe emotional distress, economic loss, reputational harm, and other damages. Plaintiff was also harmed as a result of the stress of losing his job his health deteriorated causing major physiological damage. Plaintiff suffered from PTSD and other mental illness as a result of the termination.”
Representatives for Smith did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Joseph filed his complaint after a $3 million lawsuit was filed against Jada Pinkett Smith by a former associate, Bilaal Salaam.
Salaam claimed Jada approached him with physical threats of violence and demanded he sign a nondisclosure agreement while at a private gathering at a movie theater in Calabasas for her husband’s birthday in September 2021.
CFP thriller ends with confusing last second delaying victory celebration multiple times
Ole Miss had to delay the celebration for their 39-34 Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia multiple times on Thursday night.
After kicking a go-ahead field goal with six seconds left, Ole Miss was awarded a safety on its final kickoff when Georgia’s return team tried a cross-field lateral that hit the pylon. Players and coaches began to rush the field in celebration, before having to return to the sideline as officials demanded Georgia kick off with one second remaining.
Georgia then recovered an onside kick, falling on the ball to preserve the final second. Ole Miss players and coaches again began to celebrate, believing the game had ended there.
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Ole Miss Head coach Pete Golding was even doused in a Gatorade bath. However, officials again demanded the final second be played, and stadium staff even began to push the winner’s stage onto the field, before having to push it back to clear space for the final play.
Georgia ran one more play in which they executed numerous laterals before the play fizzled after dozens of seconds, before Ole Miss could finally celebrate their CFP victory.
The win sent Ole Miss (13-1, CFP No. 6 seed) on to a semifinal against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl next Thursday.
Kicking off on the heels of two lopsided CFP quarterfinals at the Orange and Rose bowls, the Sugar Bowl provided drama until the end.
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After seeing a 21-12 halftime lead turn into a 34-24 deficit with 9:02 to play, Georgia (12-2, CFP No. 3 seed) rallied to tie it, first driving for Gunner Stockton’s 18-yard TD pass to Zachariah Branch before Peyton Woodring’s short field goal tied it with 55 seconds left in regulation.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss responded by setting up the winning kick with a 40-yard pass to De’Zhaun Stribling on third down from Mississippi’s own 30-yard line. A few plays later, kicker Lucas Carneiro, who’d already broken Sugar Bowl records with field goals of 55 and 56 yards, hit from 47 and sprinted triumphantly toward the Ole Miss sideline as the Rebels jubilantly swarmed around him.
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Harrison Wallace III caught nine passed for 156 yards and one TD, Stribling finished with seven catches for 122 yards, Kewan Lacy rushed for 98 yards and two TDs, and the Rebels outgained the Bulldogs 473 yards to 343.
Stockton passed for 203 yards and one touchdown, and also ran for two scores.
Mamdani declares war on ‘slumlords’ and targets former mayor’s legacy in sweeping order
Sworn in at midnight and again hours later publicly, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used his first day in office Thursday to hit the ground running with new executive orders targeting city landlords and housing development. And he said the city will take what he called “precedent-setting action” to intervene in a private landlord bankruptcy case he said was tied to 93 buildings.
“Today is the start of a new era for New York City,” Mamdani said. “It is inauguration day. It is also the day that the rent is due.”
Speaking at a Brooklyn apartment building, Mamdani framed the moves as an early test of whether city government will directly confront landlords over housing conditions and step into court cases that could determine whether tenants remain in their homes.
Mamdani said New Yorkers who attended his inauguration were returning to apartments where, he said, “bad landlords do not make repairs,” rents rise and residents deal with issues like cockroaches and a lack of heat.
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The mayor said the new administration “will not wait to deliver action” and “will stand up on behalf of the tenants of this city.”
Mamdani announced three housing-related executive orders, starting with the revival of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, which he said will focus on resolving complaints and holding landlords accountable for hazardous conditions.
“We will make sure that 311 violations are resolved,” Mamdani said, adding that the administration will hold “slumlords” accountable for “hazardous and dangerous threats” to tenant well-being.
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Mamdani said the second executive order creates a LIFT task force, or a land-inventory effort designed to leverage city-owned land and accelerate housing development. He said the task force will review city-owned properties and identify sites suitable for housing development no later than July 1.
The third executive order creates a SPEED task force, which Mamdani said stands for Streamlining Procedures to Expedite Equitable Development. He said the task force will work to remove permitting barriers that slow housing construction.
Both task forces will be overseen by Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Lila Joseph, he said.
“These are sweeping measures, but it is just the beginning of a comprehensive effort to champion the cause of tenants,” Mamdani said.
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Earlier in the day, Mamdani signed executive order No. 1, which revoked all prior mayoral executive orders under former Mayor Eric Adams issued on or after Sept. 26, 2024, unless they were specifically reissued by Mamdani’s administration.
Mamdani signed a second executive order setting the structure of his administration, including five deputy mayors and their oversight responsibilities.
The mayor made the announcement at 85 Clarkson Ave., a rent-stabilized building he said is owned by Pinnacle Realty, which he described as a “notorious landlord.”
Mamdani said tenants in the building have dealt with issues, including roaches and a lack of heat.
Mamdani said the building is one of 93 properties connect to the same landlord, and the portfolio is in bankruptcy proceedings.
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The mayor said the buildings will be auctioned to a different landlord he claimed ranks No. 6 on New York City’s worst landlord list, adding the buildings collectively have more than 5,000 open hazardous violations and 14,000 complaints.
“This is an untenable situation,” Mamdani said. “So, today we are announcing that we will be taking action in the bankruptcy case and stepping in to represent the interests of the city and the interests of the tenants.”
Mamdani said he directed his nominee for corporation counsel, Steve Banks, to take what he called “precedent-setting action” in the case.
“We are a creditor and interested party,” Mamdani said, adding that the city is owed money and will fight for “safe and habitable homes” while working to “mitigate the significant risk of displacement” that tenants face.
A tenant speaker at the event described unsafe conditions in Pinnacle buildings and said a section of hardwood floor in the speaker’s mother’s apartment had remained unrepaired for seven years.
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“When they filed for bankruptcy this spring, Pinnacle gambled on making our housing less affordable and our lives more miserable,” the speaker said.
The mayor said the moves mark the start of a more aggressive use of executive power on housing issues, beginning on his first day in office.
Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Maduro signals openness to US drug deal as Trump escalates Venezuela pressure
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said Thursday that his government is open to negotiating an agreement with the United States after months of American military pressure targeting drug trafficking networks tied to his government.
In a pre-taped interview with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet that aired on state television, Maduro said Venezuela is “ready” to discuss a drug-trafficking deal with the U.S. He called on the countries to “start talking seriously, with data in hand.”
“The U.S. government knows, because we’ve told many of their spokespeople, that if they want to seriously discuss an agreement to combat drug trafficking, we’re ready,” he said. “If they want oil, Venezuela is ready for U.S. investment, like with Chevron, whenever they want it, wherever they want it and however they want it.”
Chevron Corp. is the only major U.S. oil company currently exporting Venezuelan crude to the United States.
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Maduro said the U.S. wants a regime change in Venezuela and access to its oil reserves through a months-long pressure campaign that began with a major military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.
He said it is clear the U.S. wants “to impose themselves through threats, intimidation and force.”
The interview was recorded on New Year’s Eve, the same day the U.S. military announced a kinetic strike that killed five people aboard two vessels operated by designated terrorist organizations involved in narcotics trafficking.
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At least 114 people have been killed since the U.S. began bombing alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in early September.
The U.S. may be signaling a possible expansion of its Venezuela-focused campaign, including potential ground operations.
President Donald Trump confirmed that a strike last week targeted what he described as a Venezuelan port used for drug trafficking, but declined to say whether the operation was carried out by the U.S. military or another entity, such as the CIA.
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Maduro declined to comment on that strike during the interview, but said he could “talk about it in a few days.”
In recent weeks, Trump has intensified pressure on Maduro, ordering a total blockade of oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, designating his regime a foreign terrorist organization, and accusing it of using stolen U.S. assets to fund terrorism, drug trafficking and other criminal activity.
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U.S. authorities have also seized two ships carrying sanctioned oil.
5 of the largest US immigration rule changes that everyone needs to know
Numerous immigration policy changes were rolled out in 2025, impacting the way people travel, obtain visas and become citizens in the United States.
Here are five of the biggest changes taking effect:
Trump administration launches H-1B visa overhaul
The Trump administration unveiled a proposal in September to change how H-1B visas are awarded, a program that has become a cornerstone of the tech industry by allowing U.S. companies to hire highly skilled workers from abroad, including software engineers and data scientists.
Issued by the Department of Homeland Security, H-1B visas are temporary work permits that have become a vital pathway for U.S. tech companies to recruit global talent.
The proposal was designed to nudge employers toward offering higher salaries or reserving H-1B petitions for jobs that require advanced skills. The rule change, formally published in the Federal Register, came after President Donald Trump signed a proclamation introducing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications.
DHS said the changes will go into effect in February and are meant to “better protect the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities for American workers.
“The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in a statement.
Expanded facial recognition for non-citizens looking to enter and exit the US
The Department of Homeland Security implemented a new rule on Dec. 26, 2025, that expands facial recognition for non-citizens who are entering and leaving the United States.
The DHS said on its website that the rule “amends existing DHS regulations to authorize U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an operational component within DHS, to collect facial biometrics from all noncitizens upon entry and exit at airports, land ports, seaports, and other authorized points of departure.”
The rule applies to green card holders and other non-U.S. citizens living legally in the country.
“Although U.S. citizens are not covered by this rule, they may continue to voluntarily participate in the facial biometrics process at entry and exit,” the DHS added.
Homeland Security moves toward scrutinizing foreign tourists’ social media accounts before entry
The Department of Homeland Security is moving toward scrutinizing the recent social media histories of foreign travelers before allowing them to enter the United States.
In a notice filed in December in the Federal Register, U.S. Customs and Border Protection wrote, “In order to comply with the January 2025 Executive Order 14161 (Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats), CBP is adding social media as a mandatory data element for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) application.”
“The data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last 5 years,” it added.
Homeland Security describes ESTA as “an automated system used to determine the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program and whether such travel poses any law enforcement or security risk.”
Trump launches $1M Gold Card for US residency status
Trump in December announced the launch of the much-anticipated “Trump Gold Card,” an immigration initiative designed to provide a new, streamlined path to U.S. citizenship.
The card, which has a starting price of $1 million, features a portrait of the president, the Statue of Liberty and the American flag underneath a gold background, with “Trump Gold Card” stamped on the left side.
“We anticipate THE TRUMP GOLD CARD will generate well over $100 Billion Dollars very quickly,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “This money will be used for reducing Taxes, Pro Growth Projects, and paying down our Debt.”
Interested parties can apply for the “exclusive privileges” on the official website, trumpcard.gov. According to the site, applicants will submit their documents and pay a nonrefundable processing fee, triggering an accelerated probe by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Once an applicant is approved, a Trump Gold Card will be available for use throughout all 50 states and territories. They will be given lawful permanent resident status as an EB-1 or EB-2 visa holder.
Revamped US citizenship test adds questions, goes into effect
A new version of the U.S. citizenship test is requiring applicants to answer twice as many questions as the old one.
“The 2025 naturalization civics test is an oral test consisting of 20 questions from the list of 128 civics test questions. You must answer 12 questions correctly [60%] to pass the 2025 test. You will fail the test if you answer 9 of the 20 questions incorrectly,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said on its website.
The new test foregoes geographical questions and test-takers will be required to name all three branches of government instead of just one.
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“American citizenship is the most sacred citizenship in the world and should only be reserved for aliens who will fully embrace our values and principles as a nation. By ensuring only those aliens who meet all eligibility requirements, including the ability to read, write, and speak English and understand U.S. government and civics, are able to naturalize, the American people can be assured that those joining us as fellow citizens are fully assimilated and will contribute to America’s greatness. These critical changes are the first of many,” USCIS Spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said.
CNN mocked for ‘effort to discredit’ Minnesota daycare alleged fraud reporting
CNN was roasted online by everyone from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and prominent conservative pundits to average Americans Wednesday for a segment that questioned viral reporting from independent journalist Nick Shirley.
Shirley went viral last week for his 42-minute video investigating Minnesota daycare centers that appeared inactive despite receiving millions of dollars in government funding. His video prompted investigations by federal officials, leading the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to freeze all childcare payments to Minnesota.
CNN correspondent Whitney Wild interviewed Shirley in a segment featured on “Anderson Cooper 360” Tuesday night, during which Wild questioned Shirley’s methods of investigating the centers.
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After peppering Shirley with questions, the CNN reporter said the network is “looking into” his claims. Wild was then shown calling Minnesota daycare centers via speakerphone, acknowledging many of the centers Shirley visited did not pick up her calls.
“Only one daycare facility answered and said they are a legitimate business,” Wild told viewers.
The segment was quickly panned on social media, where many suggested CNN was spending more time “investigating Nick Shirley than the fraud in Minneapolis.”
Fox News host Laura Ingraham wrote, “No one on earth is surprised that CNN appears to side with Somali fraudsters.”
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The popular account Libs of TikTok wrote, “CNN disputes that there’s fraud in Minnesota Somali daycares because they called a bunch of daycares, one answered so they asked if they’re committing fraud, and the daycare responded that they’re not. I’m not kidding.”
New York Post columnist Miranda Devine added, “What an embarrassment, @CNN. She interviews @nickshirleyy in person but not the day care center. And then she takes the word of the one day care center she contacts by phone — but does not visit — that they are legit? Seriously?”
While Shirley himself called the CNN report a “hit piece,” many were in disbelief that a news network would try to discredit his reporting.
“So CNN’s angle here is to try and discredit @nickshirleyy while patting authorities for pursuing fraud on the back. But hilariously, two minutes in, the network buries the lede. ‘We reached out to several of the daycares featured in the now-viral video. Only one daycare facility answered and said they are a legitimate business.’ Just take the one person’s word for it,” journalist Benjamin Weingarten responded.
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CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the online backlash.
Many others took to social media with thoughts:
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Kim Jong Un’s daughter appears at sacred regime site as succession rumors swirl
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared publicly with his daughter, Ju Ae, during a New Year’s Day visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a symbolic site honoring the country’s founding leaders.
Images from the state news agency KCNA show Ju Ae standing between her parents in the main hall of the mausoleum, a moment that analysts say has fueled speculation about her future role in the regime.
Ju Ae has been featured more often in state media over the past three years, fueling speculation by analysts and South Korea’s intelligence agency that she may be positioned as a potential successor to Kim Jong Un.
The appearance comes amid a longstanding tradition in North Korea, where Kim visits the mausoleum on key dates and anniversaries to reinforce the legitimacy of the nuclear-armed country’s dynastic heritage.
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North Korea has never confirmed Ju Ae’s age, and her exact age remains unknown, but she is believed to be around 12 or 13.
After being publicly introduced in North Korea in 2022, Ju Ae made her first public appearance outside of her home country while accompanying her father on a trip to Beijing in September, his first visit to China in years, a move analysts said may signal her role as North Korea’s heir-in-waiting.
Ju Ae’s existence was inadvertently revealed by retired NBA star Dennis Rodman over a decade ago in an interview with The Guardian.
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Rodman told reporters during a 2013 trip to Pyongyang he had “held the baby Ju Ae,” while calling Kim Jong Un a “good dad.”
Parenting expert Kirsty Ketley told Fox News Digital in September that placing Ju Ae in the global spotlight at a young age could have lasting consequences.
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“She’s being shaped into a role rather than being supported to figure out who she is as an individual, and that pressure could have a huge impact on her mental health,” she said.
IRS guidance for Trump’s ‘no tax on tips’ and overtime deductions: What to know
The new year will bring a host of tax benefits that Americans can take advantage of when filing their taxes in a few weeks.
The IRS released its guidance for the “no tax on tips” and “no tax on overtime” provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), for workers who can claim the deductions for the 2025 tax year.
President Donald Trump signed the OBBBA into law in July after Republican majorities in Congress passed the tax reform and spending bill on a party-line vote this summer.
The law included “no tax on tips” and “no tax on overtime,” and the Treasury Department and IRS are now providing guidance as the law directed to help workers determine their deductions.
The IRS notice said that taxpayers who are eligible to claim the tipped and overtime income deductions may have to determine those amounts separately this year as Form W-2 and Form 1099 won’t be updated to include income from tips and overtime for the 2025 tax year.
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Taxpayers may review examples in the IRS guidance that illustrate how the tipped income and overtime deductions work based on the relevant reported or unreported income they received.
Under the OBBBA, workers who receive qualified tips can deduct up to an annual maximum of $25,000 and the deduction phases out for taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income over $150,000 (or $300,000 for joint filers).
The IRS estimates there are about 6 million workers who report tipped wages, and the tipped income deduction is in effect for tax years 2025 to 2028.
The “no tax on overtime” provision allows individuals who receive eligible overtime compensation to deduct the pay that exceeds their regular pay – which is generally the “half” portion of “time and a half” overtime pay – that is reported on a Form W-2, Form 1099 or other specified statement provided.
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The maximum annual deduction is $12,500 (or $25,000 for joint filers) and the deduction phases out for taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income over $150,000 (or $300,000 for joint filers). Notably, the deduction is available for itemizing and non-itemizing taxpayers.
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that most employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay of at least time and one-half of their regular pay rate for working more than 40 hours in a week.
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However, some employees are exempt from overtime rules, such as those who are paid a salary of at least $1,128 per week or $58,656 per year, or workers in certain occupational roles.
Additionally, the IRS said it’s in the process of updating income tax forms and instructions for taxpayers to use this filing season that will assist them in claiming these deductions.
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The start date of the filing season for the 2025 tax year is yet to be announced, though it has been late January in recent years.