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11+ min ago (182+ words) Minnesota governor Tim Walz (D.) is pledging to bring more Somalis to his state as he grapples with the fallout from a massive Somali welfare fraud scheme that occurred under his watch. "We are going to defend our neighbors," Walz said at a Tuesday fundraiser, according to the Center Square. "Instead of demonizing our Somali community, we're going to do more to welcome more in." The remarks come as Walz faces criticism for his administration's failure to prevent a sprawling welfare fraud scheme orchestrated by Somalis living in Minnesota. Much of the fraud, which amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars, occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic but has gained national attention only in recent weeks. Walz refused to take responsibility for failing to stop the fraud scheme, telling NBC News's Kristen Welker, "I take responsibility for putting people in jail." President…...

20+ min ago (787+ words) On December 9, 2025, a three-judge panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reissued a significant ruling in the case of United States v. George Peterson. [Fifth Circuit Upholds the NFA]Fifth Circuit Upholds the NFA's Constitutionality On December 9, 2025, a three-judge panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reissued a significant ruling in the case of United States v. George Peterson, affirming the conviction of George Peterson, a Louisiana firearms dealer, for possessing an unregistered suppressor in violation of the National Firearms Act (NFA). Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, a George W. Bush appointee, penned the decision. Mr. Peterson's legal troubles began in the summer of 2022 when federal and state law enforcement officers, led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), executed a warrant at his home-based business, PDW Solutions, LLC. The investigation,…...

38+ min ago (386+ words) The White House is in a state of panic over Donald Trump 'falling asleep' during public events, with the President reportedly raging at his staff as a result, it has been claimed. Trump biographer Michael Wolff claimed on Wednesday that Trump's seemingly frequent habit of nodding off during meetings and events has left staff with no idea what to do. He said: "I never remember Trump falling asleep, it used to be got bored and then would walk out. You can't wake him up because the cameras are rolling. Everyone is in a low-level panic all the time about Trump falling asleep." Host of the Daily Beast's 'Inside Trump's Head' podcast asked Mr Wolff: "Is that what you are hearing?" He replied: "Yes, that's what I am hearing." Mr Wolff went on: "Then he gets angry. He essentially blames the…...

2+ hour, 2+ min ago (399+ words) As President Donald Trump rolled out a costly bailout of American farmers this week, his administration has rushed to pin the blame on its predecessor. China will begin purchasing American soybeans again, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Newsmax on Tuesday. That's something, she claimed, that "China wasn't doing under the last administration because they had no respect for President [Joe] Biden or for the country at the time." That echoed what Trump said during Monday's announcement of the bailout, when he claimed that "we inherited a total mess from the Biden administration," which "came in and ruined everything." Let's start with the facts on the soybean trade. In short, it is plainly untrue that China was not buying American soybeans during the Biden administration. During those four years, America consistently exported more than 26 million metric tons of soybeans to China....

2+ hour, 26+ min ago (339+ words) The flint-pyrite lighter was an invention that changed everything for our ancestors From it flowed a cascading series of physical and social advances Like being able to incorporate cooking and heating into their everyday routine Other stone artefacts were discovered across the site, with those in one area being of particular interest. Around three-quarters of the artefacts in one area show signs of intense heating - cracking, reddening and spiralling - indicating repeated exposure to fire. A number of shaped flints like this hand axe were found across the site But many of the stones were also heat-damaged and had been shattered Archaeologists spent days reassembling the different fragments - each of which bears its own catalogue number "This is the area where we discovered this heated sediment and you can tell it's heated because normally the clay is quite yellowy orange, and…...

2+ hour, 26+ min ago (387+ words) BEIJING, Dec 10 (Reuters) - China and Brazil have begun building a joint laboratory for space technologies, Chinese state-owned defence electronics firm CETC said, deepening scientific "ties as the two countries push ahead with a major telescope project in "South America. The growing cooperation contrasts with recent U.S. pressure on Latin American countries to cut or minimize ties with "China, including in space. Two Chinese telescope projects in Chile and Argentina have been frozen since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House, as leaders in the region seek to curry favour and avoid punishing tariff rates. U.S. officials have described these Chinese telescopes as tools that could "be used by Beijing to increase "its surveillance capabilities over American soil and Washington's activities in a region it considers crucial for homeland defence. China has responded by accusing Washington "of interference and politicising scientific cooperation....

2+ hour, 26+ min ago (1691+ words) David was 14 when he placed his first bet with a crypto casino, a website where people use cryptocurrencies to gamble on online games. Stuck at home during the pandemic, he started spending more time on the sites. He watched as celebrities, like Drake and the livestreamer Adin Ross, played on the casinos, too. Social media personalities collected huge paydays for streaming more and more videos hyping the sites. David, meanwhile, developed a gambling addiction before he turned 18 and lost thousands of dollars. By Neil Bedi, Aric Toler and Jenny Vrentas Produced by Leo Dominguez and Rumsey Taylor David and many people like him " young and chronically online " have been enticed by crypto casinos, an expanding realm of online gambling where longstanding guardrails are often ignored. The sites have spread across social media, taking advantage of the borderless nature of the…...

2+ hour, 26+ min ago (839+ words) (Bloomberg) -- Australia's social media ban for youths took effect Wednesday, a landmark move that's drawn global attention at a time governments are increasingly enacting rules to shield minors from toxic content and cyberbullying. NJ's Montclair Cuts School Staff and Mulls March Tax-Hike Vote Democrats Want Probe of Trump Officials and Immigration Deals Aviva Seeks Partner for New City of London Skyscraper Project Hochul Picks Kathryn Garcia as Next Head of Port Authority The law, passed last year, mandates services such as ByteDance Ltd.'s TikTok and Meta Platforms Inc.'s Instagram keep under-16s off their platforms or face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($33 million). Australia becomes the world's first democracy to undertake such a crackdown in response to growing concerns about social media's harms. It's likely to be the first of many. Policymakers in Indonesia, Denmark, Brazil and other…...

2+ hour, 26+ min ago (516+ words) US President Donald Trump has blasted media reports questioning his state of health as "seditious, perhaps even treasonous," sparking pushback Wednesday by one of the major outlets behind the stories. In a long, late-night social media post, the oldest elected president in US history raged about stories in The New York Times and elsewhere suggesting that at the age of 79 he is slowing down. "There has never been a President that has worked as hard as me! My hours are the longest, and my results are among the best," Trump said in the nearly 500-word screed on his Truth Social network. "I actually believe it's seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean "'THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.'" The Republican added that he had been…...

2+ hour, 26+ min ago (186+ words) The administration of US President Donald Trump plans to order visa-exempt foreign tourists to disclose their social media histories from the last five years before entering the country, according to an official notice. Currently, those travellers only need apply for a waiver known as the Electonic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which still requires them to provide certain personal details. Under the proposed new rules, the collection of social media data would become a "mandatory" part of ESTA applications. Applicants would need to provide their social media histories from the last five years, according to the notice. They would also have to submit other "high-value data fields" including phone numbers from the last five years, email addresses from the past decade, personal details of family members and biometric information. The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal. The Trump…...