Day: December 17, 2025
Charlotte train stabbing 911 calls capture pleas for help after illegal immigrant allegedly attacked passenger
Newly released 911 audio reveals passengers’ heroic efforts to save stabbing victim on Charlotte light rail as good Samaritans applied pressure to wound.
Kamala Harris says she hasn’t decided on 2028 presidential campaign amid report she’s ‘stepping toward’ run
Former Vice President Kamala Harris sidestepped a question about a potential 2028 presidential run, saying she hasn’t made decisions amid reports of her “stepping toward” another bid.
The Effect of Grade Inflation No One Talks About
Fox recently looked at the mounting evidence of grade inflation. Covid has accelerated it and “raised awareness” (can we officially call that turn of phrase a cliché yet?) about it, but the problem existed well before. The video piece in the link presents an educator that talks about the fact that there are a lot of good students still coming out of school, but I wonder. You see, never talked about is the fact that grade inflation demotivates students actually capable of excellence.
The post The Effect of Grade Inflation No One Talks About appeared first on The Hugh Hewitt Show.
‘Beachhead of criminality’: Trump admin urges Walz to resign in light of ‘ghost students’ fraud scheme
Minnesota appears to be a magnet for fraudsters, particularly from Somalia.
While the problem has hardly been a secret — scores of bad actors have been charged and/or convicted in connection with various fraud schemes in the state — the Trump administration has recently taken a special interest, exploring just how bad the graft has gotten on Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gov. Tim Walz’s watch.
Much of the focus has so far been on the alleged fraud committed by members of the Somali community in relation to coronavirus pandemic relief funding. However, Education Secretary Linda McMahon hammered Walz in a letter on Monday over student aid fraud in the Gopher State, calling on him to resign.
‘Minnesota’s political elite has turned a blind eye and even helped facilitate the laundering of money.’
“At the beginning of this year, the U.S. Department of Education became aware that fraudulent college applicants, especially concentrated in Minnesota, were gaming the federal postsecondary education system to collect money that was intended for young Americans to help them afford college,” wrote McMahon.
The education secretary referred to these fraudsters as “ghost students” because “they were not ID-verified and often did not live in the United States, or they simply did not exist.”
According to McMahon, 1,834 so-called ghost students were found to have received $12.5 million in taxpayer-funded grants and loans in Walz’s state.
In June, the Education Department flagged Riverland Community College and Century College in White Bear Lake as two of the institutions in Minnesota that were impacted by the fraud scheme.
RELATED: Tim Walz tries gaslighting Americans again — this time about Trump’s ‘garbage’ remark
Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Rochester Post Bulletin reported in April that Riverland had apparently averaged more than 100 potentially fraudulent applications per year for the previous two financial aid periods.
A history instructor at Century College reportedly told state lawmakers earlier this year that he discovered in 2023 that 15% of his students were “basically an organized crime ring.”
Minnesota State College Southeast was similarly impacted, having discovered that the spike in its 2025 spring enrollment numbers was driven by 84 ghost students. While some of the apparent fraudsters at these and other institutions were locals, most were reportedly from other countries.
Ghost students will reportedly engage remotely and do the bare minimum of classwork until financial aid funds are doled out around 10 days into the semester. Once their payday arrives, they usually vanish.
“They collected checks from the federal government, shared a small portion of the money with the college, and pocketed the rest — without attending the college at all,” said McMahon. “Our new fraud prevention system has now blocked more than $1 billion in attempted financial aid theft by fraudsters, including coordinated international fraud rings and AI bots pretending to be students.”
The education secretary stressed that Walz’s “careless lack of oversight and abuse of the welfare system has attracted fraudsters from around the world, especially from Somalia, to establish a beachhead of criminality in our country.”
McMahon further suggested that Walz has done “nothing as governor to stop this criminal behavior” such that scammers have “gotten rich off federal housing, education, food stamp, and small business programs — even defrauding assistance for elder care and autistic children.”
After suggesting that “Minnesota’s political elite has turned a blind eye and even helped facilitate the laundering of money that was meant to help America’s least fortunate,” McMahon accused Walz of benefiting from the sordid state of play and implored him to resign.
Republican Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Minn.) said that McMahon’s assessment of Walz’s “catastrophic failures” was “spot on,” adding that “it’s time for Walz to take accountability and make way for real leadership to clean up this mess.”
Walz plans to seek a third term next year.
Former health care executive and Army veteran Kendall Qualls won the non-binding Minnesota GOP gubernatorial straw poll on Saturday, winning three more votes from delegates than Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth.
While a September poll found that Walz had a significant edge over Qualls, it appears Minnesotans are fast losing faith in their governor and his ability to curb fraud in the state.
A recent KSTP-TV/SurveyUSA poll of 578 registered voters found that 69% believe Walz needs to do more to stop fraud in Minnesota. According to the poll, Walz’s disapproval rating is 48%.
“It’s pretty obvious,” Walz said during a press conference on Friday. “Fraud happened. We need to take accountability — ultimately me.”
“I take responsibility for everything,” added the governor.
Blaze News has reached out to the governor’s office for comment.
McMahon’s letter comes just weeks after Small Business Administration Sec. Kelly Loeffler announced an investigation “into the network of Somali organizations and executives implicated” in the $1 billion Minnesota COVID fraud scandal, particularly those who received SBA PPP loans.
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Texas sues five TV manufacturers for secretly ‘spying’ on owners
The Texas attorney general says television companies have become unwelcome visitors in consumers’ homes.
Ken Paxton announced five separate lawsuits, including two against Chinese companies, alleging that the television companies are secretly spying on Texans by recording what they watch at home.
‘This conduct is invasive, deceptive, and unlawful.’
The Texas AG said in a press release that the method through which the companies were conducting their spying is called Automated Content Recognition technology. Labeling it an “uninvited” and “invisible” digital invader, Paxton said that the software is capable of capturing screenshots of a user’s TV display every 500 milliseconds.
Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, and TCL each have individual lawsuits against them.
This effectively monitors viewing activity in real time, without the user’s knowledge, the state of Texas alleged.
The consumer data is then allegedly sold to target ads across platforms for profit. This puts sensitive information such as passwords, bank information, and other personal information at risk, the press release added.
RELATED: ‘Worse than Orwell could ever imagine’: How smartphones became government weapons
Each lawsuit states that Texans never agreed to be part of each company’s “Watchware” and that these televisions are “watching you back.”
Furthermore, the lawsuits state that the “mass surveillance of consumers” violates Texas law, specifically the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which prohibits “false, misleading, or deceptive acts or practices.”
Each company “chose data extraction and advertising dollars over honesty and respect for consumer privacy. That’s illegal,” the lawsuits read.
Samsung, LG, and Sony predominantly manufacture their TVs in Mexico, with other parts are made in countries like Vietnam, South Korea, or Japan.
TCL and Hisense are both Chinese companies that operate and manufacture in China.
RELATED: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange predicted the surveillance state we currently live in
Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
“Companies, especially those connected to the Chinese Communist Party, have no business illegally recording Americans’ devices inside their own homes,” Paxton said in an official statement. “This conduct is invasive, deceptive, and unlawful. The fundamental right to privacy will be protected in Texas because owning a television does not mean surrendering your personal information to Big Tech or foreign adversaries.”
LG and Hisense have publicly stated to outlets like Newsweek and Texas Scorecard that they would not comment on pending legal matters.
Sony told Blaze News that it “does not comment on pending legal matters.”
Blaze News also reached out to Samsung and TCL for comment on the lawsuit. Neither provided a response by the time of this publication.
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The ‘blue-slip block’ is GOP cowardice masquerading as tradition
President Trump and Vice President Vance have every right — and every reason — to call out Republican senators who hide behind the so-called blue-slip tradition to block nominees for key executive positions, especially U.S. attorneys.
The effect is simple and damaging: Trump is denied the full exercise of his constitutional authority over the executive branch. Without aligned U.S. attorneys across the country’s 94 districts, the administration’s de-weaponization agenda stalls. In some cases, it collapses outright. So far, the Senate has advanced just 18 of the 50 U.S. attorneys nominated by the administration.
That is the real function of the blue slip. It is not institutionalism. It is careerism. It lets senators hide.
The blue slip is a Senate custom requiring the consent of both home-state senators before certain nominees — U.S. attorneys, judges, U.S. marshals — can advance to committee. In practice, it operates as a hack of the Constitution. The Senate’s role is advice and consent by the full body. The blue slip transfers that power to two senators, and often to just one, who can halt the process without explanation or accountability.
Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has insisted that the Republican Senate will not reconsider the practice despite the abysmal pace of confirmations. “There are many Republican senators — way more Republican senators who are interested in preserving that than those who aren’t,” he said. What he has not explained is why.
The answer is avoidance. The blue slip spares Republican senators from taking difficult votes. The fewer Trump-aligned U.S. attorneys brought to the floor, the fewer public positions senators must take. The blue slip allows them to kill nominations quietly rather than oppose them openly.
Despite years of rhetoric about party realignment, the Senate remains dominated by politicians hostile to Trump’s agenda. Some were forced out. Many more learned to mimic an America First accent without embracing America First policy. They do just enough to deter primary challengers while staying safely aligned with donors, lobbyists, and institutional power.
Forcing senators to vote up or down on Trump-aligned prosecutors like Alina Habba in New Jersey or Julianne Murray in Delaware — both of whom were serving as acting U.S. attorneys until the Senate ran out the clock — would expose those evasions. So the Senate stalled them instead.
I watched this play out firsthand during the failed confirmation of Ed Martin, Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. Because D.C. is not a state, the blue slip did not apply. Senate leadership attempted a different maneuver: delay until time expired.
When the base demanded a vote, Senator Thom Tillis (RINO-N.C.) stepped in and tanked Martin’s nomination outright. As a judiciary committee member, Tillis effectively wielded a one-man veto by shifting the committee balance back toward Democrats.
That decision carried consequences. Shortly afterward, Tillis opposed advancing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in its existing form. Trump threatened a primary. Tillis burned through his remaining political capital and soon announced that he would not seek re-election.
Had Tillis been able to blue-slip Martin, he might have avoided that outcome.
RELATED: Accountability or bust: Trump’s second term test
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
That is the real function of the blue slip. It is not institutionalism. It is careerism. Cloaked in collegial language, it operates as a mutual defense pact among Republican senators to shield one another from accountability. It lets senators hide. A six-year Senate term has become a financial asset in a hyper-funded political system. Assets avoid risk. Votes create risk. Fewer votes mean greater protection.
Defenders of the blue slip claim it preserves the Senate’s unique institutional character. That argument belongs to another century. Today’s Senate is neither deliberative nor restrained. It lurches between performative hearings and massive spending bills, punctuated by social media sound bites. Any appeal to Jeffersonian dignity at this point borders on parody.
Notably, the blue slip never restrains Democrats. When Democrats want nominees confirmed, process does not stand in the way. For Republicans, the blue slip amounts to unilateral disarmament dressed up as principle.
Trump and Vance should keep attacking this practice publicly. The only antidote to procedural cowardice is exposure. Voters who support a mandate deserve to see whether their senators will carry it out — or hide behind tradition while returning to business as usual in Washington.
Even if Republican senators ultimately vote against these nominees, at least the votes would happen in the open. Accountability begins there.
PBA: Converge outlasts NLEX in OT to boost playoff bonus drive
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The troika of Justine Baltazar, Juan Gomez de Liaño, and Justin Arana was just too much as Converge weathered NLEX in overtime, 107-95, in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Jacob Cortez: The new King Archer
Heavy is the head that wears the crown. For new King Archer Jacob Cortez, however, he is ready to wear it and reign over his kingdom.
Nonito Donaire”s title bid denied in close loss to Seiya Tsutsumi
Filipino boxing legend Nonito Donaire fell just short of capturing the World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight title after a narrow split-decision loss to Seiya Tsutsumi on Wednesday evening at Ryogoku Sumo Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
