Former special Counsel Jack Smith sat for a closed-door session on December 17 before the House Judiciary Committee and wound up undermining the January 6 Committee’s star witness.

During his eight-hour grilling by House lawmakers on his Trump probes – the 2020 election mess and the classified docs saga – he made a stunning admission about Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony, conceding that it was nothing more than hearsay. 

Hutchinson, a former senior aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, claimed that President Trump was aware that some of the Jan. 6 attendees were armed, and that Trump dramatically lunged to grab the wheel of the presidential SUV when he was told he couldn’t go to the Capitol – which has been utterly dispelled as bullshit by the rest of the passengers. 

“If I were a defense attorney and Ms. Hutchinson were a witness, the first thing I would do was seek to preclude some of her testimony because it was hearsay, and I don’t have the full range of her testimony in front of me right now, but I do remember that that was a decent part of it,” Smith told the committee.

The transcript, which dropped on New Year’s Eve, proves that even Smith saw through the hype of the committee’s star witness.

Smith dissected her big claims head-on. He probed her story about Trump spotting armed rallygoers and shrugging it off. He zeroed in on the wild tale of Trump lunging for the presidential limo steering wheel. Hutchinson testified that after returning to the White House on January 6, 2021, she walked toward the chief of staff’s office and noticed then-Assistant Director of the United States Secret Service Office, Tony Ornato, waiting outside. He waved her into his nearby office, shut the door, and she saw Secret Service agent Bobby Engel sitting inside, looking shaken and confused.

According to Hutchinson’s testimony, Ornato asked, “Did you effing hear what happened in The Beast?” Hutchinson said she had just arrived and had no idea. Ornato then described what he claimed occurred inside the presidential vehicle. According to him, President Trump believed he was heading to the Capitol after being told the move was still possible. Engel informed the president that it was not secure and that they were returning to the West Wing.

Hutchinson testified that Ornato said Trump became enraged and yelled, “I’m the effing president. Take me up to the Capitol now.” She said Ornato claimed that Trump reached for the steering wheel, Engel grabbed his arm, and Trump then lunged at Engel, with Ornato gesturing toward Engel’s clavicles as he described it.

Cassidy Hutchinson testifies that she was told that as then-President Donald Trump was being driven back to the White House after the Jan. 6 rally that he demanded to be taken to the Capitol and tried to grab the steering wheel from a Secret Service agent. https://t.co/JefVhEsY0b pic.twitter.com/uUyQcnSlLG

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 28, 2022

Smith’s team, however, talked to her sources. They pulled in Secret Service officers from the scene. Hutchinson’s story simply didn’t add up.

“We interviewed, I think, the people she talked to, and we also interviewed, if my recollection is correct, officers who were there, including the officer who was in the car,” Smith explained. “And that officer, if my recollection is correct, and I want to make sure I’m right about this, said that President Trump was very angry and wanted to go to the Capitol, but the version of events that he explained was not the same as what Cassidy Hutchinson said she heard from somebody secondhand.”

Smith went on to explain that “a number of the things that she gave evidence on were secondhand hearsay, were things that she had heard from other people, and, as a result, that testimony may or may not be admissible, and it certainly wouldn’t be as powerful as firsthand testimony.”

And then there’s the fact that Hutchinson didn’t tell her steering wheel yarn during her early committee chats. For that, she blamed her former lawyer, Stefan Passantin. Instead, that fantasy story only surfaced during her public hearing in June 2022. Other witnesses quickly poked holes in it.

This revelation guts the January 6 narrative Democrats have peddled for years. That panel staged television hearings to nail Trump. Hutchinson was the star of their show. Her hearsay fueled the outrage machine. Now the guy who chased Trump admits her testimony was hearsay, contradicted, and wouldn’t have been admissible in a court of law.

Despite this huge revelation, the New York Times, which also reported on Smith’s testimony, did not address Smith’s comments on Hutchinson’s testimony in its own report. “Jack Smith, the former special counsel, defended his decision to twice indict President Trump, accusing him of ‘exploiting’ violence on Jan. 6, 2021, to overthrow the 2020 presidential election, according to a transcribed interview released by House Republicans Wednesday,” the report began.

Hutchinson’s name appears nowhere in the New York Times report, but it includes Smith’s testimony, doubling down on his belief in Trump’s guilt. 

“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power,” Smith told lawmakers.

Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us

I’ve been writing about the inherent fraud behind third-world immigration for many years now, including the rarely addressed issue of remittances flowing from migrants in the US back to their countries of origin. Third worlders tend to act like a nest of vampires, bleeding the US and giving indirect sustenance to their failing home economies. This process is heavily enabled by foreign governments that rely on this river of dollars to stay afloat.  This is why political leaders in countries like Mexico and India lobby so hard to keep US borders open. They need that cash.

One problem I have consistently seen with mainstream coverage of this issue is that it often overlooks the fact that migrants who steal from American taxpayers almost always have help from people within our government.

To be sure, most Americans understand that the Biden Administration, for example, widely supported open borders and the mass invasion of foreigners. What they might not understand (until recently) is how deeply blue states and blue city governments have been involved in the scams. Minnesota is a prime test case.

The question needs to be asked: Who taught these third world migrants how to set up false business fronts to defraud taxpayer subsidies? Who has been hiding their blatantly illegal activities? How have they been getting away with the scam for so long despite incidents of high level whistleblowers calling out their criminality?

I often hear the argument (largely from migrants and leftists) that because these people are so clever in their racketeering they deserve to stay in the US. In other words, why would we want to kick out hundreds of thousand of people who are “so resourceful.”

First I would point out that it’s a common misconception that conmen are highly intelligent. You don’t have to be a polymath to rip innocent people off, you just have to be evil. Evil is often mistaken for genius because high trust societies have a hard time comprehending predatory behavior. They don’t catch it because they don’t expect it. Midwestern states like Minnesota used to be high trust, but that is quickly changing.

That said, a fraudster would at least need to have a comprehensive understanding of the system he intends to scam, not to mention the basic intelligence needed to enact the scam.  

The majority of migrants from countries like Somalia are generally low IQ – They are not very smart, which means the only explanation for their success in fraud so far is that they have help from the very system they are defrauding.

This is not hyperbole meant to insult Somalis, it’s simply a statistical fact. Somalia has one of the lowest IQ populations in the world, with the average IQ of Somali refugees and migrants sitting at 67. The country also flounders near the bottom of every list of average IQ measurements among hundreds of nations.

To put this in perspective, the average IQ score of the US population is 100, along with around 34% of the global population. Less than 9% of the global populace has an IQ over 120. Less than 1% have an IQ over 135 (considered “gifted” level intelligence). But what about the low end of the spectrum? The number of people within the global population with an IQ lower than 70 is 2% – Meaning the average IQ in Somalia is rare because it’s so minuscule.

These people are not criminal masterminds; they are useful pawns in a bigger scheme.

In 2018, Minneapolis TV station KMSP-Fox 9 aired an investigative report alleging that over $100 million in CCAP funds had been fraudulently obtained, primarily by Somali-owned or operated daycare centers in the Twin Cities area. A whistleblower from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) claimed much of the money was leaving the country, potentially reaching Somalia and the Middle East.

Nearly 20% of Somalia’s total GDP comes from remittances from migrants in the US back to Somalia.

There were around 60 convictions at the conclusion of the case, however, a wider investigation into Somalian fraud networks was not pursued, at least not with much enthusiasm. The exposure of the fraud was met with an immediate spin campaign, asserting that the case was racially motivated.

Protests and propaganda efforts were organized by an NGO called CAIR-Minnesota (the state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations). CAIR receives funding from a number of leftist NGOs and also garnered funds from the federal government under the Biden Administration.

Minnesota politicians closely associated with CAIR include State Rep. Ilhan Omar, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Governor Tim Walz.

In the case of YouTuber Nick Shirley’s recent exposure of Somali front businesses, Democrat leaders, the leftist media and NGOs have once again come to the rescue of the alleged fraudsters. Shirley has been accused of “white supremacy” merely for pointing out possible criminal activity, and anyone supporting him is accused of racism. There is a well-oiled machine protecting these people, helping them to escape scrutiny.

When Somali related fraud cases in Minnesota go before a judge, they are often dismissed despite ample evidence. The judges involved, including Sarah West, Amber Brennan, and Hilary Caligiurare, are ALL Democrat appointed.

Democrats in government have been integral to the continued survival of Somali fraud networks in the US. Minnesota under Tim Walz offers extensive state benefits for “refugees”, including ample welfare (over 81% of Somalis in Minnesota are on welfare).

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) provides low-interest loans (typically $5,000–$150,000) to startups and expanding businesses owned/operated by minorities, women, veterans, persons with disabilities, or low-income individuals. The institution does not provide public data on who is getting these loans, but Somali migrants seem to be enjoying special access.

The loans help Somalis to launch the very businesses at the center of the current fraud controversy.

James Clark, the Inspector General of the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) as of late 2025, has publicly raised concerns about fraud in DHS-administered programs, including those implicated in cases involving Somali providers (e.g., Medicaid services like autism therapy and housing stabilization, as well as childcare-related issues tied to the ongoing scandals).

Clearly, nothing was done by Democrats from 2018 to today, at least nothing that would lead to actual arrests. But why?

The Somali motive is clear: They have established what is essentially a raider colony in the US designed to siphon billions of dollars from American taxpayers and transfer those funds overseas. They see an opportunity to plunder and they’ve taken it. And, with Democrat leaders running interference, the migrants are emboldened to expand.

The Democrats, however, have more complex and long term plans. Since the Obama era Somalis have received expedited immigration and citizen status because of the instability within their home country. As “refugees” they get fast-tracked. This helps us to answer the question “why use Somalis?”

They are also 99% Muslim, and around 80% of Muslims migrants vote Democrat. In states with tight elections, adding 100,000 migrant voters who represent a surefire demographic for progressive candidates can tip the majority of elections in the favor of Dems for decades. In Minnesota’s major elections, Democrats won all contested statewide executive offices, all U.S. Senate races, and the presidential vote in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

In most of these elections Dems won by 100,000 to 200,000 votes. In other words, Dems have secured a loyal majority edge through incentivized third world immigration. And in exchange, they allow migrants fast citizenship, easy access to subsidies and minimal scrutiny as they commit theft.

I would argue that the partnership goes well beyond incentives and suggest that Democrats and NGOs are training migrants on how to commit fraud. Investigations into Somali businesses need to extend to local Democrat leaders and any organizations that closely align with migrant operations.

I often hear the argument that the number of migrants involved in this criminal activity is small in comparison to the 100,000 plus migrants in Minnesota. I’m not going to explain per capita to these people yet again, but I would point out that I see no Somalis jumping at the chance to apologize for the behavior of their very tribal community.

None of them are coming forward to demand transparency. None of them are acting to police their own. There is absolutely no attempt at assimilation with America’s society or laws.

Instead, we see Somalis all over social media defending the criminals, dismissing the evidence and even bragging about the extent of the crimes. This is why Donald Trump referred to them as “garbage”; because that’s what they are. It is apparently a feature built into their culture – To justify theft as a means to assert dominance over other cultures they see as prey.

Much like a dog marking its territory, third world cultures tend to view criminal actions against foreigners as a way to “leave their scent” and send a message to the host population that they are in charge.

As I have argued over the years, immigrants see the US as a big fat cash cow waiting to be milked. They just didn’t have the mental capacity to take advantage on a large scale until our own bureaucrats and non-profits started helping them. Deporting these migrant groups is necessary, but it is also a temporary solution to a bigger problem.

In the end, the only way to stop the plunder is to punish the politicians and NGOs behind the curtain. Examples need to be made.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.

Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani was sworn in at midnight as New York City’s 112th mayor, placing his left hand on the Quran as New York State Attorney General Letitia James administered the oath of office in a private ceremony at a former City Hall subway station that has been closed since the 1940s. It has become customary for NYC mayors to take the oath at midnight, ahead of a larger swearing-in celebration the next day.

Zohran Mamdani sworn in as NYC mayor on the Quran hours ago.

First Muslim in the role, leading the center of US finance.

Historic, yes – but what awaits New Yorkers under this leadership? pic.twitter.com/C5WJXuaLb6

— Islam Invasion 🚨 (@IslamInvasion) January 1, 2026

In a second swearing-in Thursday afternoon, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VA) administered the oath of office to Mamdani. According to The New York Times, Zohran used three Qurans throughout the day, including his grandfather’s and one dating to the late 18th or early 19th century, for last night’s ceremony.

MOMENTS AGO: Sen. Bernie Sanders swears in Zohran Mamdani as the next mayor of New York City. pic.twitter.com/rf8saXq3pC

— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 1, 2026

Mamdani’s ascent has been nothing short of groundbreaking for progressives. His socialist platform for tackling affordability, from free bus rides to government-run supermarkets, amounts to parasitic redistribution policies intended to paper over the damage Democrats caused to the nation over decades, including out-of-control “green” spending which helped fuel the worst inflation shock in a generation and mass migration pushed rents higher.

Mamdani has blasted President Trump as a “fascist,” while the president has labeled him a Marxist. However, during a November meeting, the two agreed to work together to make NYC more affordable.

Spotted earlier at Zohran’s inauguration at City Hall…

🚨Domestic terrorist Mahmoud Khalil spotted at the inauguration of Zohran Mamdani at City Hall.
Shameful that he is still even on American soil, the world is laughing at us. pic.twitter.com/X2dQXk8u5k

— Manhattan Mingle (@ManhattanMingle) January 1, 2026

Of course.

NY Mayor Mamdani inauguration starts with the “Socialist Anthem” Bread and Roses pic.twitter.com/7Z4kwQ9Cdf

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 1, 2026

The new mayor didn’t shirk from his socialist identity upon taking office, vowing to draw the city together by replacing “the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.”

MAYOR MAMDANI: “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.” pic.twitter.com/3LIOVHdKSy

— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 1, 2026

Related:

• The Shadow Of Terror: Zohran Mamdani’s Radical Islam Problem

• Questions Surface After Zohran Mamdani Paints Muslims As Real Victims Of 9/11

• Mamdani Poses With WTC-Linked Imam Whose Son Ran ‘Decomposing Child’ Terrorist Compound

• China-Linked Tech Tycoon Neville Roy Singham’s Niece Backs NYC’s Next Marxist Mayor

Speaking to GB News, Chairman of Republicans Overseas UK Greg Swenson noted, “And I think that’s the least of the problems with Comrade Mamdani. You know, this is a lot. He has a lot of similarities to Sadiq Khan in London, and I think we can sort of see this movie before. You know, same with Chicago where we’ve had Brandon Johnson, who’s a well-known Christian—allegedly very much a progressive left socialist. And so I think the similarities are vast between Mamdani and Sadiq Khan.”

Chairman of Republicans Overseas UK Greg Swenson reacts after Zohran Mamdani becomes the first New York mayor to be sworn in using a Koran.

Become a Friend of GB News: https://t.co/RxzT9yFXwS
🖥️ GB News on YouTube: https://t.co/KHMl3BS8eC pic.twitter.com/BsN3NUQWEo

— GB News (@GBNEWS) January 1, 2026

And this. 

Zohran Mamdani is set to be the first Mayor of New York City to be sworn in on the Quran.

Swearing on the Quran implies a commitment to Islamic law (Sharia) over U.S. laws. This erodes the separation of church and state, ignoring that the oath is to uphold the Constitution… pic.twitter.com/C1IKjn5lVN

— Avery Daye (@AveryDaye) December 31, 2025

How bad could it be with a DSA-er leading the center of US finance ….

Authored by Michael Wilkerson via The Epoch Times,

2025 was an extraordinary year for precious metals. Gold, silver, and platinum each outperformed other asset classes, including equities, bitcoin (2024’s best performer), and even indexes tracking artificial intelligence (AI)—one of 2025’s most popular investment themes.

Silver and platinum rose by approximately 170 percent in 2025, while gold returned a highly respectable 73 percent.

Among AI stocks, only Palantir outperformed gold.

Why such stellar performance from assets once derided by governments as “barbarous relics” and shunned by investors as outdated?

The reason I wrote at the start of last year that we should “expect gold to shine in 2025” was because global conditions had fundamentally – and perhaps irreversibly – shifted.

I noted then that the primary factors driving gold prices included shifting geopolitics prompting central bank stockpiling, investor concerns over the creditworthiness of the U.S. government (and, by extension, the dollar), persistent inflation eroding the purchasing power of paper currencies, and widening supply-demand imbalances.

These forces are unlikely to abate in 2026.

As a result, we should expect precious metals—including gold, silver, and platinum—to continue performing well in the coming year. Indeed, deglobalization and the continued push toward resource nationalism and the protection of critical materials lend additional support not only to these metals but also to the broader commodities complex.

In recent years, central banks around the world have reduced their purchases of U.S. Treasury securities—formerly their largest reserve asset—and have instead been stockpiling gold. China, Russia, and India have all been significant buyers, as have many smaller, independent nations eager to remain outside the U.S.–China conflict.

Observing how the United States imposed financial sanctions on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, many countries have concluded that dependence on a dollar-dominated financial system is too risky. They fear that the U.S. government may weaponize the dollar system—via financial sanctions or trade policy—and they’re seeking alternatives. Shifting from Treasurys to gold and other metals offers a hedge. A prominent example of efforts to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar is the development of alternative currencies partially backed by gold reserves, such as those being pursued by BRICS nations.

Beyond geopolitics, foreign central banks are concerned about the deteriorating credit condition of the United States, which has been downgraded by all three major ratings agencies. The federal government holds more than $38 trillion in debt—growing by trillions each year—which cannot realistically be repaid except through issuing more debt.

Heavily indebted governments have few options other than allowing inflation to erode the real value of their obligations. The United States cannot default outright, as the dollar is the global reserve currency, and tax increases have political limits. Inflation, then, becomes a hidden tax, steadily undermining the dollar and diminishing household wealth.

A new generation of Americans has now experienced the painful effects of inflation firsthand. Since 2020, the dollar has lost more than 20 percent of its real value—and over 40 percent since 2000. The lesson of inflation, once internalized during the 1970s, had been largely forgotten after decades of relative price stability. But it’s once again relevant as people around the world lose confidence in government-issued money—paper IOUs that lose value annually.

Gold and silver, long regarded as hedges against inflation, are resuming their traditional role as stores of value amid geopolitical, monetary, and economic uncertainty.

Retail investors are also part of this trend, purchasing both gold-backed paper assets and physical bullion. In the third quarter of 2025 alone, tons of metal held by U.S.-based, publicly traded gold ETFs increased by 160 percent. In the first half of the year, 95 million ounces of silver flowed into silver-backed funds globally—surpassing the total for all of 2024. Costco and other retailers now offer gold and silver coins to a growing number of households, many of whom previously saw no need for anything beyond dollars in their pockets or savings accounts.

Gold supply remains constrained due to high production costs and limited new mine development. Meanwhile, silver and platinum have each faced multi-year supply shortages, though for different reasons. These imbalances are unlikely to ease anytime soon—except in the case of a global recession. With the United States and other nations designating these metals as strategic resources, pressure is mounting to develop new domestic sources—a multi-year process. In the meantime, stockpiling is accelerating.

I don’t expect the metals rally to end soon, as the underlying drivers remain intact. While price gains in 2026 may not match 2025’s dramatic surge, these commodities are still poised to advance. Assuming additional interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and other Western central banks—and ongoing government failure to rein in deficits and debt—investor concern about the inflationary effects of loose monetary and fiscal policy will likely persist. This will continue to support gold, silver, platinum, and other commodities and real assets that preserve value against fiat currencies.

Somalia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Abukar Dahir Osman, is facing growing scrutiny over his connections to the Ohio healthcare company Progressive Health Care Services Inc. This comes as federal investigations into suspected Somali-linked welfare fraud, stretching from Minnesota to Washington, Ohio, and Maine, continue to intensify, with allegations that some entities (daycares, healthcare, or transportation service companies) were merely front operations to extract taxpayer funds.

The most entertainingly ironic outcome is the most likely

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 1, 2026

The story surrounding Osman is certainly a strange one, with the news and analysis outlet Horn Diplomat publishing a report titled “Ethics Questions Surround Somalia’s UN Envoy, as U.S. Healthcare Fraud Scandals Heighten Scrutiny.”

Here’s the report:

Public corporate filings and professional records have raised questions about transparency and potential conflicts of interest involving Abukar Dahir Osman, Somalia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

The scrutiny comes as Somalia prepares to assume the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council on January 1, 2026, a role that places the country at the center of global diplomatic decision-making on peace, security and sanctions.

Ohio state corporate records show that Osman was listed as the statutory agent for Progressive Health Care Services Inc, a Cincinnati-based home healthcare company, while simultaneously serving as Somalia’s top diplomat at the United Nations.

Filings with the Ohio Secretary of State, electronically submitted on October 22, 2018, identify Osman as the company’s agent. He had been appointed Somalia’s UN ambassador in June 2017, creating an overlap of nearly two years between his diplomatic role and his involvement with a U.S. healthcare provider operating within Medicaid-funded systems supported by U.S. taxpayers.

Professional records, including publicly available LinkedIn information, indicate Osman served as Managing Director of Progressive Health Care Services Inc. from 2014 until May 2019, alongside his UN posting in New York.

The overlap has drawn attention because the U.S. home healthcare sector has repeatedly been identified by federal authorities as one of the areas most vulnerable to fraud, abuse and improper billing.

That vulnerability was highlighted by a sweeping fraud scandal in Minnesota, one of the largest public-assistance fraud cases in U.S. history. In an investigation reported by The New York Times, federal prosecutors charged dozens of people with felonies, accusing them of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from a government program designed to keep children fed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to that reporting, law-enforcement officials said fraud took root in pockets of Minnesota’s Somali diaspora, where individuals established companies that billed state agencies for millions of dollars in social services that were never provided. Federal prosecutors have said 59 people have been convicted so far, and that more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds was stolen across three major investigations—an amount exceeding Minnesota’s annual corrections budget.

Prosecutors and state officials have emphasized that such crimes reflect the actions of specific individuals and organizations, not communities as a whole.

Against that broader backdrop, regulatory and compliance records show that Progressive Health Care Services Inc.was subject to billing and compliance scrutiny in 2019. No publicly available court records show that Osman has been charged or convicted of any crime, and no judgment has established criminal liability against him.

Transparency advocates say the timing of the revelations has intensified attention.

“When a country is about to assume the presidency of the Security Council, unresolved questions about financial disclosures and overlapping roles inevitably draw closer scrutiny,” said a governance expert familiar with UN ethics standards.

Somalia’s assumption of the council presidency will place its UN mission in charge of setting agendas, chairing meetings and representing the Security Council before the wider UN membership.

There was no immediate response from Osman or Somalia’s UN mission to requests for comment.

The United Nations maintains an internal ethics framework governing conflicts of interest among senior officials, though oversight of permanent representatives largely depends on disclosures made by member states themselves.

Observers say the case underscores a broader debate over whether diplomatic status should shield officials from scrutiny when regulated industries and taxpayer-funded programs are involved.

As one X user pointed out, “2026 is off to a great start: Somalia (most corrupt nation on Earth) chairs UN Security Council, WHO run by Ethiopia’s Tedros, WTO by Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala. Global governance brought to you by the bottom of the Corruption Index. Time to #DefundTheUN?”

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

A federal appeals court on New Year’s Eve blocked Hawaii from enforcing a new tax on cruise ship passengers, one day before it was set to go into effect.

Two judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit imposed an injunction on the law, reversing a lower court ruling.

The injunction against Hawaii’s tax is in place pending resolution of appeals, Circuit Judges Andrew Hurwitz and Daniel Bress stated in an order.

Cruise Lines International Association, which challenged the tax, and the Hawaii attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Hawaii had taxed short-term accommodations such as hotels.

With Act 96, scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, the state increased the tax to 14 percent and extended it to cruise ships.

The law states that Hawaii “is experiencing a climate emergency” due to “the effects of climate change, such as rising temperatures,” and that the money garnered from the tax would go toward climate action.

Cruise Lines International Association said the tax violated the U.S. Constitution and a federal law called the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act (RHA) in its lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake, on Dec. 23, 2025, said that may or may not be true while declining to enter a preliminary injunction against the law.

“While the Court concludes that Plaintiffs have not established that they are likely to succeed on the merits because enjoining Act 96 would seemingly give cruise lines preferential treatment over land-based transient accommodations businesses, the Court acknowledges that the Tonnage Clause and the RHA are not litigated often and that the Court may ultimately come to a different conclusion about Act 96 later,” she wrote.

“Nevertheless, because of the ‘vital importance’ of taxes to the states, and because Congress has clearly expressed its intent ’to prevent federal-court interference with the assessment and collection of state taxes,’ the Court treads carefully and denies the extraordinary relief of a preliminary injunction.”

Cruise Lines International Association and the U.S. government then asked the Ninth Circuit to intervene.

The association said in its appeal that the court should block the law’s extension to cruise ships pending appeal.

Hurwitz and Bress, in their brief order, said that the standard for evaluating an injunction pending appeal was similar to that employed by district courts deciding whether to enter a preliminary injunction. That standard includes weighing whether plaintiffs have shown a strong likelihood of success, according to a 2008 ruling they cited.

CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil addressed viewers in what appeared to be a pre-recorded promotional segment aimed at repairing more than a decade of reputational damage and announcing changes to the program. He acknowledged that the corporate media outlet had “missed the story” too often and, in doing so, had lost the trust of Americans.

“On too many stories, the press has missed the story, because we’ve taken into account the perspectives of advocates rather than the average American. Or we’ve put too much weight on the analysis of academics or elites, and not enough on you,” Dokoupil said in the two-minute video published early on New Year’s Day.

Dokoupil continued, “So here’s my promise to you: You come first. Not advertisers. Not politicians. Not corporate interests. And yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS. I report for you, which means I tell you what I know. When I know it, and how I know it. And when I get it wrong… I’ll tell you that too.”

Dokoupil basically admitted that CBS and much of the MSM-industrial complex functioned as little more than PR firms for the highest bidder. We saw this with the Hunter Biden laptop story, Covid origins, Joe Biden’s mental health, and the list goes on. Quite frankly, the American people dumped MSM many years ago in favor of alternative outlets.

“On too many stories, the press has missed the story. Because we’ve taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American. Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites, and not enough on you.”

That changes now. The new CBS Evening News… pic.twitter.com/NKdvRJjYCS

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) January 1, 2026

Nothing new here.

Dokoupil’s promise to viewers comes as CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss plans to overhaul the broadcaster as part of a broader review of standards and procedures, according to a recent Axios report.

Weiss’ overhaul of CBS is bold and noble, and so is Dokoupil’s promise to actually report the news, but we’ll believe it when we see it. CBS has gotten many of the top stories of the past decade wrong, often by design to protect politicians, special interests, or to allow advertisers to influence the news cycle.

We remain skeptical that MSM can be overhauled to report real news rather than function as a public relations firm. That skepticism was reinforced earlier this week, when MSM outlets rushed to Minneapolis to discredit citizen journalist Nick Shirley’s bombshell reporting on suspected Somali-linked fraud, coverage that appeared less like an investigation and more like protection of the Democratic Party and special interests that stand to benefit from the alleged schemes.

X users called out CBS’ reporting earlier this week…

🚨 JUST IN: CBS attempts to discredit Nick Shirley by showing there were actually *FOUR* children at ABC Learning Center the day he visited…

But what CBS ACTUALLY did was PROVE HIM RIGHT.

Babysitting 4 kids while the federal government pays you for 40 KIDS is FRAUD.

This… pic.twitter.com/EHocIPOdxC

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 31, 2025

Ratioed.

MSM was radio silent…

The biggest news story in the world…

These “news” outlets still have not covered Nick Shirley and his Somalia fraud bombshell on the biggest Media platform on the planet..

WaPo
NBC News
MSNBC
CBS News
NYT
CNN
PBS
NPR
ABC News

The Legacy Media is the enemy of the people. pic.twitter.com/0Vv5l5jDAG

— C3 (@C_3C_3) December 30, 2025

To rebuild trust, Weiss should host a segment about everything CBS has gotten wrong over the past decade. 

The U.S. State Department received a request from Russia on New Year’s Eve to stop pursuing an oil tanker in the Atlantic Basin linked to a dark-fleet network that ships Venezuelan crude, according to a New York Times report citing sources familiar with the matter.

Ship FLEEING US military paints ‘RUSSIAN flag’ on its hull — NYT

Allegedly seeking Russian ‘protection’ as US tries to SEIZE Bella 1

Bella 1 has been pursued for OVER A WEEK since sailing near Venezuela https://t.co/Y5KVhJie1A pic.twitter.com/SRwxq7zBXE

— RT (@RT_com) December 30, 2025

Late Wednesday evening, the State Department and the White House’s Homeland Security Council received a request from Russia to halt the pursuit of the Bella-1 tanker, which is now flying a Russian flag after the crew painted it on the hull.

Bella-1 has evaded U.S. Coast Guard boarding attempts for 10 days after refusing to comply with an interception order near Venezuela on December 21. The crux of the issue is that the Trump administration views the tanker as “stateless” because it was flying a false flag when the Coast Guard first approached it.

The New York Times noted:

In the days since, the ship has tried to claim the protection of Russia, with its crew painting a Russian flag on the side and radioing the Coast Guard to say they were sailing under Russian authority. The Bella-1 recently appeared in Russia’s official register of ships, under a new name, the Marinera, with a home port of Sochi on the Black Sea.

. . .

Although securing Russian protection may be a long shot for Bella-1 under international law, Russia’s diplomatic intervention could complicate the U.S. effort to seize the tanker, which stems from an ongoing conflict with Venezuela. David Tannenbaum, a former sanctions compliance officer at the Treasury Department, said earlier this week that it was “unclear” whether Russia’s provision of “overnight flag registration” to the ship would prove valid.

More color on the situation from maritime expert Sal Mercogliano: 

Bella 1 used the exception in Art 92 to re-register.

The renamed Marinera went under the Russian registry and did this while in international waters.

However, it appears that she is now classified by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (she was previously under Lloyds)… https://t.co/jyvFOGkadK pic.twitter.com/BbAhRuE8bh

— Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) 🚢⚓🐪🚒🏴‍☠️ (@mercoglianos) January 1, 2026

Russia’s request that the Coast Guard stop chasing Bella-1 in the Atlantic Basin certainly adds another dimension to peace deal negotiations in the four-year-long war in Ukraine. It also complicates President Trump’s gunboat diplomacy aimed at toppling the Maduro regime in Venezuela.

Authored by Arthur Schaper via Americsan Greatness,

In a previous article, I outlined two concerns regarding the rise of AI.

• One deals with the Doom, i.e., safety concerns. No one has challenged me on this aspect, and now, with the rise of AI-induced suicides, protections for children must come into play.

• The other concern centers on the Gloom: the elimination of jobs and the irrelevance of human ingenuity. Will AI create more and better than human beings? What happens to the workforce if AI can eliminate the next generation of employees?

I countered this fear with the creation of ATMs and how their invention did not induce higher unemployment but led to more banks, greater needs, and more workers.

A software engineer from Florida, let’s call him Robert, challenged my optimism.

I have commented on political, cultural, and spiritual issues for fifteen years, from local papers to national news stations. For the first time, I received a call from a reader (that would be Robert), who lives in Clearwater, Florida. I was pleased, impressed, and intrigued by his rebuttals.

Robert argued that customer service-based entry-level employment will disappear. For example, we contact insurance companies to set up a policy or seek help from customer service. In five years, he said, AI will be able to craft “employees” who can respond to all of our questions.

Robert then informed me that AI will soon integrate and synthesize expansive library-sized amounts of information in the fields of law and medicine, rendering professionals in those fields redundant.

Last of all, Robert described an AI program that scanned the works of a famous author and then received a couple of prompts outlining a certain plot and specific characters. With all of that input, the program churned out a short story in the same style and substance as the author. The writer whom the AI program imitated confirmed the accuracy of the content.

Robert brought up some excellent points.

Did I explore the long-term strains that would develop with the rise of AI in the workforce and the artist’s studio?

I even came across a recent CNBC article that seems to confirm Robert’s AI gloom:

“There is growing evidence that the widespread adoption of generative AI is impacting the job prospects of America’s workers, according to a paper released on Tuesday by three Stanford University researchers.

The study analyzed payroll records from millions of American workers, generated by ADP, the largest payroll software firm in the U.S.

The report found “early, large-scale evidence consistent with the hypothesis that the AI revolution is beginning to have a significant and disproportionate impact on entry-level workers in the American labor market.”

Most notably, the findings revealed that workers between the ages of 22 and 25 in jobs most exposed to AI—such as customer service, accounting, and software development—have seen a 13% decline in employment since 2022.”

Perhaps my assessment of AI’s impact was too optimistic. A 13% decline is not something to sniff at.

Then I read the next paragraph:

“By contrast, employment for more experienced workers in the same fields and for workers of all ages in less-exposed occupations such as nursing aides has stayed steady or grown. Jobs for young health aides, for example, rose faster than their older counterparts.”

The leveling off of entry-level jobs is inevitable with innovation. The millions of workers associated with horse feeds and horse care are gone, now that we rely on gas-powered combustion vehicles to travel from point A to point B. Where all the horse-related professions disappeared, in their place emerged all sorts of mechanics and other car-related employment needs.

I reflected on other technological innovations in the last century, which further confirm that new inventions won’t hinder economic growth or business opportunity.

Typewriters required specific types of repair, along with ink, new keys, and replacement ribbons. Then came computers. They also required ink, but for more complex types of printers. Mechanics who repaired typewriters, keyboards, etc., shifted to computers. More people today own laptop computers than owned typewriters in the past. Innovation lowers costs and increases wealth, allowing individuals to purchase goods that were once luxuries. With widespread ownership of new gadgets comes the need for more maintenance and improvement. All of this expansion creates more jobs and employs more workers! Creative invention leads to creative destruction, which inevitably creates more employment opportunities, just in different fields.

AI can direct robots that lay bricks or build buildings. But a human being will still have to design the ideal structures for a community. The robot can lay the groundwork, but someone will have to ensure that the robot finishes the job properly. Judgment on value, quality, mission, and vision still lies with human beings. AI cannot replace that.

AI may replace the scut and grunt work of paralegals, but the creativity, intuition, and ingenuity of a lawyer to spot the necessary argument or determine the proper legal course of action during a trial, without clear information manifested in writing, will still require a keen and aware human mind. Also, do we really want cold, heartless robots to serve as judges? Discretion, interpretation, and mercy are essential to a well-functioning criminal justice system.

These factors also impact the medical and counseling professions. AI can analyze data more quickly and engage in more penetrating analysis to diagnose patients. Robots may develop the skills to complete complex surgeries on patients. But AI can never replace the heart and soul of a human being, which is required for care and long-term healing. AI is not going to harm the workforce but open up new demands, which human beings will have to supply.

But what about the arts? Should we acquiesce to robots writing our stories and just sit back and enjoy our forced indolence?

Theater owners feared for their livelihoods with the advent of television. However, the movie industry didn’t take a dive but survived and even thrived. Why? Because the quality of movie production improved due to competition, and the refined art and technical skill rendered in movie theaters exceeded that of the TV studios. Different means and different uses of media shifted taste and increased interest, thus generating different wants and needs.

Critics like Robert might counter that the movie industry is still in decline, all because of social media, especially YouTube and Rumble. Could AI, coupled with social media, put actors, directors, and producers out of work?

First of all, people are still going to movies. Individual content creators can produce entire movies or video segments with fewer staff and gain immense wealth, too. More creators releasing all sorts of content has generated more demand (however specialized), and more workers are needed in differing tech fields to meet these new demands. AI can assist with the production, but the direction and motivation remain with the creator.

AI can churn out poems, stories, and novels. AI cannot snuff out the creativity, spiritual guidance, or inspiration of the human soul.

Consider the immense genius of Sir Isaac Newton.

Newton imagined problems and answered questions beyond the scope of any human being, not just in his time, but today!

Newton asked questions that his colleagues, and even AI today, have not answered. More importantly, Newton asked questions that AI could never think of. Newton’s broad, probing questions (just in the field of optics!) still drive scientific inquiry. In stark contrast, AI and robots cannot be curious, even if human beings forge self-conscious androids. They will only search for something if directed or prompted by their creators.

No matter how sophisticated AI becomes in terms of computation or generativity, it cannot replicate, let alone exceed, human creativity or curiosity.

Consider the fantastical inventions and operations in Star Trek and Star Wars. The capacity to research, develop, and test means for traveling to Mars or other far-off places will be much closer to reality because we have the technology to accomplish unforeseen, unprecedentedly important tasks in a timely fashion. They could finally be manifested by humans, with the help of AI.

AI will liberate human ingenuity from mundane tasks. But the human element will not disappear. The wants and needs, and the resources needed to meet them, cannot be predicted by man and therefore cannot be replaced by AI.

AI can compute faster, reason more efficiently, but the availability and expanse of knowledge itself is a problem that it will always remain unsolvable. Isaac Newton, for all his scientific genius and prowess, recognized this inevitable limitation:

“I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”

AI can do, but cannot dream.

AI can think, but it cannot envision.

AI can work, but it cannot inspire.

AI can make our lunch, but it will not eat our lunch.

The Roberts of the world should rest easy.

Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

The Washington state attorney general released a statement on X Tuesday evening warning independent journalists to stop investigating fraudulent Somali daycare centers or they could be charged with a hate crime.

“My office has received outreach from members of the Somali community after reports of home-based daycare providers being harassed and accused of fraud with little to no fact-checking,” State AG Nick Brown stated.

“We are in touch with the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families regarding the claims being pushed online and the harassment reported by daycare providers. Showing up on someone’s porch, threatening, or harassing them isn’t an investigation. Neither is filming minors who may be in the home. This is unsafe and potentially dangerous behavior.”

Harmeet Dhillon, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil rights, issued a warning of her own in reaction to the Washington state AG’s post.

“ANY state official who chills or threatens to chill a journalist’s 1A rights will have some ‘splainin to do,” she wrote on X, Wednesday morning.

“[The DOJ Civil Rights Division] takes potential violations of 18 USC § 242 seriously!” Dhillon added.

This statute, known as the Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law, makes it a crime for any person acting under the pretense of law to willfully deprive another individual of rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States.

The clash of the AGs came after Youtuber Nick Shirley exposed about a dozen Somali-owned, state-funded childcare facilities in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that appeared to be completely deserted.

Shirley produced a 42-minute video, which has been viewed over 131 million times on X since it was posted on December 26,  alleging that Minnesota governor Tim Walz (D.) “knew about the fraud but never reported it.”

Inspired by Shirley’s bombshell report, citizen journalists in multiple states with large Somali populations have launched their own investigations in recent days.

In the Kent, Washington area Tuesday, YouTuber Chris Sims, a self-described “gonzo journalist,” visited seven suspicious Somali childcare sites and reported that they were “very unhappy” to see him.

Sims posted a video of him approaching a private home listed as a childcare facility that appeared to be not as advertised.

“There was no sign of kids or being a Daycare facility,” Sims wrote.

“I was told by a few they weren’t Daycares despite receiving tax payer dollars. One yelled ‘Call the police’ behind the door.”

On Monday, independent journalists Jonathan Choe and Cam Higby visited an alleged Somali daycare facility in Seattle that receives hundreds of thousands in taxpayers funds and the person who answered the door said there was no daycare there in the past or present.

Higby said “Dhagash Childcare” has received over $210,000 just this year alone.

Another listed childcare facility, a house in a residential neighborhood in Kent, Washington, has received over $863,000 since 2023, according to Higby.

“Residents say there IS NO DAYCARE HERE,” the journalist said.

Another reporter reporting on potential fraud in the Rainier Vista neighborhood of Seattle on December 29th, faced hostile reactions from the Somali residents, who called the police on him.

In his statement, the Washington State AG encouraged members of the Somali community “experiencing threats or harassment” to call the police or his office’s Hate Crimes & Bias Incident Hotline or report it to the state’s hate crime website.

Addressing the independent journalists, Brown added: “If you think fraud is happening, there are appropriate measures to report and investigate. Go to DCYF’s website to learn more. And where fraud is substantiated and verified by law enforcement and regulatory agencies, people should be held accountable.”

The Post Millennial’s Andy Ngo responded to Brown’s threat on X, saying: “It is the duty of journalists to visit taxpayer-funded nonprofits and businesses to investigate where you have failed. The journalists have documented their visits on camera and there is no harassing or threatening behavior. You are trying to threaten journalists by telling people to call police with false allegations of a hate crime.”