Tuesday, January 6, 2026

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CA Conscripts to Prisoners to Help Battle Raging LA Fires.

California has dispatched nearly 800 prisoners to complement the 7,500 personnel already combating the catastrophic wildfires raging around the greater Los Angeles area. In less than a week, the fires have destroyed thousands of residential and commercial structures and burned tens of thousands of acres of land. Among the firefighters, 783 are part of the Fire Camp program, alongside 88 support staff, according to California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

According to Bianca Tylek, the executive director of Worth Rises, an anti-prison labor group, incarcerated firefighters in California have been contributing since 1915, and their participation extends to responding to various emergencies nationwide for decades. Critics like Tylek argue that using inmates as firefighters can be exploitative. However, the state corrections department clarifies that participation in the program is voluntary. Participants earn between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, with additional compensation in emergencies.

The controversial practice meets critical staffing needs, particularly as California faces prolonged and intense fire seasons due to brush and forestry mismanagement. On the first full day of the wildfires, multiple massive blazes quickly overwhelmed first responders.

California is among over a dozen states with conservation camps, known as fire camps, where incarcerated persons receive training to fight fires and address disasters. The program was expanded during World War II due to workforce shortages, establishing 41 camps. Currently, 35 minimum-security camps operate in California. Eligible participants are volunteers who demonstrate good behavior, have fewer than eight years remaining on their sentence, and are considered fit for the role.

Beyond firefighting, crews assist in flood responses and community service tasks. Prisoners in Fire Camp are not disciplined for opting out of the program, and they receive training in safety and first aid.

California voters rejected a ban on prisoner labor in a 2024 referendum.

By Popular Demand.
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This Hotel Is Facing Consequences for Banning DHS Agents.

PULSE POINTS

WHAT HAPPENED: Hilton Hotels & Resorts, the U.S. subsidiary of Hilton Worldwide, has severed ties with a Minnesota hotel accused of canceling Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents’ reservations.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Everpeak Hospitality, Hampton Inn Lakeville Minneapolis, and DHS agents.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Minneapolis, Minnesota; with DHS revealing the reservation cancellation on Monday, January 5, 2026.

💬KEY QUOTE: “The independent hotel owner had assured us that they had fixed this problem and published a message confirming this. A recent video clearly raises concerns that they are not meeting our standards and values. As such, we are taking immediate action to remove this hotel from our systems.” — Hilton Hotels & Resorts

🎯IMPACT: Hilton terminated the hotel’s franchise after public backlash and video evidence indicating the hotel was continuing to bar DHS agents contrary to its public statements claiming otherwise.

IN FULL

Hotel giant Hilton has officially ended its relationship with a Minnesota hotel property accused of canceling reservations made by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents. The controversy began late Monday when DHS officials alleged the Hampton Inn Lakeville Minneapolis refused to honor room reservations made by federal agents, citing emails from hotel representatives explicitly stating, “We are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property.”

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), DHS accused Hilton—which has a franchise relationship with Everpeak Hospitality, the owner and operator of the Hampton Inn Lakeville Minneapolis—of engaging in a “coordinated campaign” to block DHS employees from booking rooms. “When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations,” the department said, adding: “This is UNACCEPTABLE. Why is Hilton Hotels siding with murderers and rapists to deliberately undermine and impede DHS law enforcement from their mission to enforce our nation’s immigration laws?”

Hilton Hotels & Resorts—the U.S. subsidiary of Hilton Worldwide—quickly tried to distance itself from the property, responding late Monday that the “hotel is independently owned and operated, and these actions were not reflective of Hilton values.” By Tuesday, Hilton announced it was severing ties with the franchise, stating, “The independent hotel owner had assured us that they had fixed this problem and published a message confirming this. A recent video clearly raises concerns that they are not meeting our standards and values. As such, we are taking immediate action to remove this hotel from our systems.”

While Everpeak Hospitality initially said the hotel’s decision to bar federal agents from its premises was “inconsistent” with company policies, and pledged to reach out to those impacted by the issue to reach a resolution, a video posted on Tuesday to social media by independent journalist Nick Sortor appeared to show hotel employees still enforcing the ban on DHS agents as of 10:50 PM on Monday.

“Hilton’s operator, Everpeak, STRAIGHT UP LIED in their statement yesterday which said they were ‘in touch’ with DHS to accommodate impacted agents, and ‘do not discriminate against any individuals or agencies,'” Sortor wrote, adding: “NONE of that was true. Even the FRONT DESK manager said he had spoken with the owner shortly before I walked in around 10:50 PM, and confirmed the ANTI-DHS POLICY REMAINED IN EFFECT.”

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Police Fatalities Fall to Lowest Level Since WWII.

PULSE POINTS

WHAT HAPPENED: The number of U.S. law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty has fallen to its lowest level since World War II, according to a new report released by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF).

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and Bill Alexander, the Fund’s CEO, provided the data and analysis.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The report, covering 2025, was released on Tuesday, January 6, 2026.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Even one officer fatality is too many, and our ultimate goal is to have none. But we’re heartened by any decrease in those numbers.” – Bill Alexander

🎯IMPACT: The data shows a significant reduction in line-of-duty deaths, including firearm-related fatalities and traffic-related deaths, amid the Trump administration’s use of National Guard troops in several major U.S. cities to bolster local law enforcement and crack down on violent crime.

IN FULL

New data shows that annual U.S. law enforcement fatalities while in the line of duty drastically fell last year, reaching a low not seen in over 80 years. According to a report released by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) on Tuesday, the total number of line-of-duty deaths dropped from 148 in 2024 to 111 in 2025, with decreases seen across every fatality type tracked by the organization.

Notably, the last time annual law enforcement fatalities were as low as 2025 was in 1943. Ninety-four police officers were killed in the line of duty that year. The NLEOMF data reveals that firearm-related officer deaths declined by 15 percent last year to 44 recorded fatalities, compared to 52 in 2024. This is the lowest rate in over a decade, according to NLEOMF’s historical records.

“I always like to see that firearm deaths are down. They are the tip of the spear for egregious acts,” said Bill Alexander, the NLEOMF’s chief executive officer. He added, “Even one officer fatality is too many, and our ultimate goal is to have none. But we’re heartened by any decrease in those numbers.”

Meanwhile, the report shows traffic-related deaths declined by 23 percent in 2025, and fatalities categorized as “other”—including medical emergencies, stabbings, drownings, and aviation accidents—dropped by 37 percent, from 52 to 33 year-to-year. This number includes 14 law enforcement officers who died from long-term medical complications stemming from the 9/11 terrorist attacks 25 years ago.

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This Texas Republican Wants Trump to Let Illegals Take Jobs from American Workers.

PULSE POINTS

WHAT HAPPENED: A Republican House member from Texas is reviving pro-open border policy efforts to convince the Trump administration to adopt legal avenues for illegal immigrants to work in the U.S. construction industry.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Representative Monica De La Cruz (R-TX), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and South Texas construction industry leaders.

📍WHEN & WHERE: De La Cruz discussed her plan to lobby the Trump White House with the South Texas Builders Association and Texas construction industry leaders during a closed-door meeting on Monday, January 5, 2026.

💬KEY QUOTE: “At the end of the day, I want to represent South Texas, and I want to represent our community and make sure that we continue to be prosperous.” – Monica De La Cruz

🎯IMPACT: Border security and immigration enforcement advocates contend De La Cruz’s push to create a new legal avenue for the hiring of cheap, illegal immigrant labor is little more than political cronyism on behalf of corporate interests seeking to drive down wage costs.

IN FULL

Representative Monica De La Cruz (R-TX) is launching a renewed effort lobbying the Trump administration to adopt a new legal pathway for illegal immigrants to work in the U.S. construction industry. During a closed-door meeting on Monday with South Texas builders and construction executives, De La Cruz announced plans to meet with officials from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in response to local industry claims of a worker shortage due to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions at construction sites.

The Texas Republican lawmaker is proposing a plan that would create a new visa program, similar to the existing H-2A agricultural worker visa program, specifically for construction workers, as a means of addressing the alleged labor shortage. “At the end of the day, I want to represent South Texas, and I want to represent our community and make sure that we continue to be prosperous,” De La Cruz reportedly said at the meeting, hosted by the South Texas Builders Association.

Notably, De La Cruz’s visa program is being inserted into Representative Maria Salazar’s (R-FL) Dignity Act legislation, which would provide multiple paths to amnesty for illegal immigrants. Additionally, the bill revives former President Joe Biden’s “Labor Neighbors” program and George W. Bush’s 2001 “Any Willing Worker” plan, both of which open the door to an unlimited influx of cheap, immigrant workers.

Despite Rep. Salazar’s assertion that the Dignity Act is not an amnesty bill, provisions in the legislation would offer legal status to various immigrant populations, including migrants who have illegally voted in federal elections. House Republicans have largely declined to support Salazar’s proposal, although it has drawn significant backing from House Democrats.

The National Pulse reported in November 2024 that former Clinton administration Treasury Secretary Larry Summers tacitly admitted U.S. lawmakers and government officials tolerate illegal immigration because it suppresses the wages of American workers—a stance supported by numerous corporate interests. Even the pro-globalist Wall Street Journal has acknowledged that overreliance on cheap, foreign labor dissuades industries from becoming more efficient and innovative—ultimately preventing the economy from expanding at a significant pace.

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80-Year-Old GOP Congressman and Wife Hospitalized After Hit-And-Run Crash.

PULSE POINTS

WHAT HAPPENED: Congressman Jim Baird (R-IN) and his wife were hospitalized following a car crash on Monday night.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Indiana Rep. Jim Baird, his wife, and House Republicans.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The collision occurred on Monday, January 5, with Baird’s hospitalization announced on Tuesday.

💬KEY QUOTE: “They’re going to be OK, but they had a pretty bad accident.” – President Donald J. Trump

🎯IMPACT: Baird’s absence complicates House GOP’s razor-thin majority for legislative votes, especially following the death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) on Monday.

IN FULL

Congressman Jim Baird (R-IN), 80, and his wife have been hospitalized following a car crash. Baird, who represents Indiana‘s 4th congressional district, is currently in stable condition and responsive, according to his son, Beau Baird, a state lawmaker in Indiana.

“Many of you have likely heard by now that Congressman Jim Baird’s vehicle was struck last night while he was driving back to Washington to continue his work for Hoosiers. My mom was with him at the time. I’m grateful to share that they are both safe, stable, and in good spirits,” Beau Baird wrote in a post on social media regarding the car accident and the condition of his father and mother. He added, “Anyone who knows my dad knows his determination runs deep, and he’s already joking about getting back to the House floor to vote, especially with margins this tight.”

The congressman’s son also revealed that the accident was a hit-and-run, stating, “Several people have asked whether this was politically motivated. At this time, there is no information to suggest that, and we sincerely hope that is not the case. Because this was a hit-and-run, law enforcement is actively investigating and trying to find the vehicle that struck them.”

Baird has served in Congress since 2019, representing a largely rural district with a significant agricultural industry presence. Prior to serving in Congress, he was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018, and a Putnam County commissioner from 2006 to 2010.

President Donald J. Trump addressed the situation during remarks at the House Republican policy retreat, stating, “They’re going to be OK, but they had a pretty bad accident.” Trump also paid tribute to the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), who passed away on Monday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) noted that Baird might be dealing with a spinal injury resulting from the crash. The GOP already faces challenges with a 218-213 majority, and Baird’s absence, along with the unexpected passing of the late Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), leaves Republicans with an effective two-vote majority for passing legislation.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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Fetterman Blasts Hypocritical Fellow Dems for Flip-Flopping on Capturing Maduro.

PULSE POINTS

WHAT HAPPENED: U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) is criticizing his fellow Democrats for inconsistent messaging regarding the Trump administration’s capture and arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, noting that former President Joe Biden placed a $25 million bounty on the Marxist autocrat.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Sen. John Fetterman, former President Biden, Congressional Democrats, and President Donald J. Trump.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Fetterman’s remarks on his party’s hypocrisy regarding Maduro’s arrest were made during a television interview on Monday, January 5, 2026.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Why have a bounty of $25 million if we didn’t want him gone? Why would you do these things if you weren’t willing to actually do something other than harsh language?” – Sen. John Fetterman

🎯IMPACT: Fetterman’s remarks highlight the blatant contradictions in Congressional Democrat criticism of President Trump’s decision to launch the U.S. military operation resulting in Maduro’s capture and arraignment in a U.S. federal court on narco-terrorism charges.

IN FULL

Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) is criticizing the hypocrisy of his fellow Democrats over their attacks on President Donald J. Trump’s authorization of a U.S. military operation last Saturday that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan dictator and accused narco-terrorist Nicolás Maduro. During a television interview on Monday, Fetterman noted that former President Joe Biden issued a $25 million reward for Maduro’s capture, questioning the bounty’s purpose if Democrats on Capitol Hill were not committed to any action beyond empty rhetoric.

“Democrats, years ago, wanted to eliminate him, and why have a bounty of $25 million if we didn’t want him gone? Why would you do these things if you weren’t willing to actually do something other than harsh language?” Fetterman said. “I’ve seen the speeches from—whether it’s Leader [Chuck] Schumer or… past tweets from President Biden, we all wanted this man gone, and now he is gone.”

“Democrats, we all used to describe him as a dictator or a tyrant or a terrible person, and it wasn’t less than a year ago [that] President Biden raised the bounty [to] $25 million, less than a year ago,” the Pennsylvania Democrat stressed.

In an opinion editorial published early Tuesday, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) called President Trump’s decision to capture Maduro an “unauthorized military attack on Venezuela,” declaring it “a sickening return to a day when the United States asserted the right to dominate the internal political affairs of all nations in the Western Hemisphere.”

A number of top contenders for the Democratic Party’s 2028 presidential nomination, including Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, have claimed Maduro‘s ouster is actually about U.S. oil interests and regime change rather than the Marxist dictator’s narco-terrorist operation flooding America with illegal drugs.

Image via Tom Wolf.

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Vivek Ramaswamy Has Quit Social Media, Here’s Why:

PULSE POINTS

WHAT HAPPENED: Vivek Ramaswamy announced his decision to delete social media apps X and Instagram as part of his New Year’s resolutions.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Vivek Ramaswamy, Ohio Governor candidate, and his campaign team.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The announcement was made in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, early January 2026.

💬KEY QUOTE: “I plan to become a social-media teetotaler in 2026. On New Year’s Eve, I deleted X and Instagram from my phone.” – Vivek Ramaswamy

🎯IMPACT: Ramaswamy’s move is intended to connect directly with voters and avoid the distortions of social media feedback.

IN FULL

Republican candidate for Ohio governor Vivek Ramaswamy has deleted his X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram accounts, framing the move as a personal New Year’s resolution for 2026. Ramaswamy stated that although his campaign staff will continue to post on those platforms, he personally plans to prioritize face-to-face conversations with voters.

“I plan to become a social-media teetotaler in 2026. On New Year’s Eve, I deleted X and Instagram from my phone,” he wrote in The Wall Street Journal, arguing: “There’s a fine line between using the internet to distribute your message and inadvertently allowing constant internet feedback to alter your message. That isn’t using social media; it’s letting social media use you.”

The 2024 Republican primary contender complained that the posts you are most likely to see on social media “are the most negative and bombastic, because they’re most likely to receive rapid ‘likes’ and ‘reposts’– and that drives revenue for social media content creators.”

Ramaswamy alluded to some of the criticism he has received on social media in recent months, for instance, after arguing that American tech firms hire foreigners over locals because “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence,” that school should be year-round, and that “your lineage and your genetics tied to the blood and soil of the country” are irrelevant to what it means to be an American.

“In 2025 I saw a spate of shocking racial slurs and worse on social media. Yet that same year I visited tens of thousands of voters across all of Ohio’s 88 counties–from inner cities to farms, union halls to factories, Republican rallies to one-on-one discussions with protesters–and I didn’t hear a single bigoted remark from an Ohio voter the entire year,” Ramaswamy stressed.

He also cited a “recent report revealed that engagement with the X account of the now-notorious white nationalist Nick Fuentes shows signs of being ‘unusually fast, unusually concentrated and unusually foreign in origin.’ Another investigation showed that hundreds of bots drove the pro-Democrat #BlueCrew hashtag, amplifying false claims that the assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pa., was staged.”

Ramawamy suggested that there is an echo chamber effect on social media, where users are repeatedly shown content that aligns with their existing views, thereby developing a distorted picture of public sentiment. While he said that he is not advising others to quit social media, h encouraged fellow politicians to be cautious about relying on it as a measure of public opinion.

In a lighter moment, he acknowledged that if this resolution follows the pattern of previous ones, he “might be back to scrolling X by March.”

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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European Leaders Claim They Will Defend Greenland as Danes Say U.S. Takeover Would End NATO.

PULSE POINTS

WHAT HAPPENED: The Trump administration reiterated its intentions to acquire Greenland from Denmark, with the Danes claiming a takeover would “end” NATO and European leaders signing a joint statement in support of the Scandinavian country.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Donald J. Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, and leaders in seven European nations.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Statements were made over the weekend and into Tuesday, with reactions from Europe and the U.S.

💬KEY QUOTE: “If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops,” Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.

🎯IMPACT: European allies expressed strong opposition, emphasizing sovereignty and collective NATO security principles.

IN FULL

The United States has renewed its focus on Greenland, with President Donald J. Trump emphasizing the territory’s importance to American national security amid growing Arctic tensions. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security,” Trump said on Sunday.

These statements follow heightened worries over regional security and strategic positioning in the Arctic as China and Russia encroach on the region. White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller has reinforced this view, declaring: “It is the formal position of the U.S. government that Greenland should be part of the U.S.”

Greenland is an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark, and European leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Britain have published a joint statement with the Danes insisting that “Greenland belongs to its people [and it] is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”

“Security in the Arctic must… be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders. These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them,” the statement says.

Separately, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen cautioned that “If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops… including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War.” However, Miller has dismissed such rhetoric, arguing that “Nobody’s going to fight the U.S. over the future of Greenland.”

With around 57,000 residents, Greenland enjoys broad internal autonomy while relying on Denmark for defense and international affairs. Most Greenlanders are ethnically native Inuit, also known as Eskimos, and want independence from Denmark—although not if it means losing their funding from the Scandinavian country, which accounts for a large share of the Greenlandic economy. It is feasible that the U.S., with a far larger economy than Denmark, could offer the Greenlanders a superior deal in exchange for some form of protectorate status, despite current surveys indicating resistance to being incorporated into the U.S.

Image by Hannes Grobe.

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NYC Mayor Mamdani Appoints Communist Housing Tsar Who Wants to ‘Impoverish the White Middle Class.’

PULSE POINTS

WHAT HAPPENED: Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) has announced the appointment of Cea Weaver as the director of the newly revitalized Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, sparking controversy over her past social media posts attacking white middle-class homeowners and calling for the government seizure of private property.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Cea Weaver, and Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Bozorg.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Weaver’s appointment was announced on January 1, 2026, by Mamdani, with her deleted social media posts reemerging over the days that followed.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Impoverish the *white* middle class. Homeownership is racist / failed public policy.”  — Cea Weaver

🎯IMPACT: Weaver’s racially charged and politically radical past statements have raised questions about her suitability for the role and the direction of housing policy in New York City, and fit a pattern of Mamdani tapping far-left ideologues to serve in his administration.

IN FULL

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani‘s appointment of Cea Weaver as the director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants is drawing intense pushback after now-deleted social media posts authored by Weaver expressing anti-white and pro-communist views resurfaced following her nomination on January 1, 2026. Weaver, like Mamdani, is a member of the far-left Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and a long-time progressive housing activist with numerous public statements in support of Marxist collectivization policies. 

“Private property including and kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy masquerading as ‘wealth building’ pubic policy,” Weaver wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) in August 2019. Meanwhile, in a November 2018 social media post, she endorsed the adoption of government policies aimed at stripping the white-middle class of wealth, writing: “Impoverish the *white* middle class. Homeownership is racist / failed public policy.” 

In a July 2018 post, Mamdani’s new director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants stated, “There is no such thing as a ‘good’ gentrifier, only people who are actively working on projects to dismantle white supremacy and capitalism and people who aren’t.” A month earlier, Weaver had called for the government seizure of private property. 

Especially troubling is a 2017 post where Weaver calls on voters to elect more communists to government, and for white men to be barred from public office. She added in another social media missive that, “this country built wealth for white people through genocide, slavery, stolen land & labor. white supremacy built the north and the south.” 

As late as 2022, Weaver was still publicly calling for economic collectivization, stating in a podcast interview, “I think the reality is that for centuries we’ve really treated property as an individualized good and not a collective good. And transitioning to treating it as a collective good and towards a model of shared equity will require that we think about it differently and it will mean that families—especially white families, but some POC families who are homeowners as well—are going to have a different relationship to property than the one that we currently have.”

Weaver is just one of several controversial appointees announced by Mamdani since winning last November’s New York City mayoral race. In December, Catherine Almonte Da Costa—tapped by Mamdani to serve as his Director of Appointments—was forced to resign before ever formally taking the position after anti-Semitic social media posts she had made resurfaced.

Additionally, his choice of Mysonne Linen, a 49-year-old former armed robber, to advise his administration on criminal justice policy has drawn significant public criticism, along with his naming of Ramzi Kassem—known for his legal advocacy on behalf of accused Islamist terrorists—as New York City’s chief counsel. 

Image via NYC Mayor’s Office.

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Trump Freezes $10 BILLION in These Democrat-Run States Amid Childcare Scandal.

PULSE POINTS

WHAT HAPPENED: The Trump administration has announced a freeze on $10 billion in childcare subsidies to five Democrat-led states due to allegations of massive fraud.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Trump administration, journalist Nick Shirley, and state authorities in Minnesota, New York, California, Illinois, and Colorado.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The freeze impacts federal funding to Democrat-led states, with Minnesota at the center of the allegations.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Democrat-led states and governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch.” – Andrew Nixon, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesman

🎯IMPACT: $10 billion in federal subsidies, including funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and the Child Care Development Fund, will be frozen.

IN FULL

The Trump administration has paused more than $10 billion in federal funding for child care and social services programs in five states led by Democrats—Minnesota, New York, California, Illinois, and Colorado—citing concerns over fraud and improper use of taxpayer dollars. This comes amid ongoing investigations into welfare fraud, particularly in Minnesota, where a report by independent journalist Nick Shirley highlighted issues at certain daycare centers operated by members of the Somali community.

The withheld amounts break down as approximately $7 billion from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, $2.4 billion from the Child Care Development Fund, and $870 million from social services block grants. These funds support supposedly low-income families with child care costs and related assistance. The decision extends a previous pause of $185 million in yearly funding specifically for Minnesota daycare providers.

Minnesota officials have identified multiple welfare fraud cases over recent years, but whistleblowers say the Walz administration was reluctant to investigate them and threatened staff who pressed the issue with retaliation. Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), stated, “Democrat-led states and governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch. Under the Trump administration, we are ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes.”

Federal authorities have obtained numerous convictions tied to fraud involving the Feeding Our Future nonprofit in Minnesota, where several associated daycares also functioned as meal distribution sites.

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House GOP Representative Doug LaMalfa Passes Away at 65.

PULSE POINTS

WHAT HAPPENED: Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) has passed away at the age of 65.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Rep. Doug LaMalfa, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), and LaMalfa’s family.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Announced January 6, 2026. LaMalfa represented a district in California.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Jacquie and I are devastated about the sudden loss of our friend, Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America. Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children,” said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer.

🎯IMPACT: LaMalfa’s passing reduces the House Republican majority to 218-213, leaving the GOP with a slim margin to pass legislation along party lines.

IN FULL

Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) has passed away at the age of 65. LaMalfa, who represented California‘s 1st congressional district and served as chair of the Congressional Western Caucus, was known for his advocacy on behalf of rural America.

The news was confirmed by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), where he expressed his condolences: “Jacquie and I are devastated about the sudden loss of our friend, Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America. Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children.”

LaMalfa’s death reduces the House Republican majority to 218-213. This development, combined with the recent resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), leaves Republicans with a narrower margin, allowing them to lose only two votes to pass legislation along party lines.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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