Federal Officials Launch Massive Operation in Response to Minnesota Fraud

The scandal continues to grow. Fox News: Federal authorities are launching a “massive operation” in Minnesota on Tuesday to “identify, arrest, and remove criminals who are defrauding the American people,” the Department of Homeland Security said. “Our investigative agents are conducting a massive operation to identify, arrest, and remove criminals who are defrauding the American people. We will root out this rampant fraud plaguing Minnesota,” the agency wrote on X (Fox News). To date, what we have seen from people like Governor Tim Walz mirrors what we saw from Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas under Biden. That is: Tell the people you’re doing all you can and you’re succeeding in your mission, when in fact you’re just lying to the American people and deliberately failing.

Elite Media Didn’t Miss the Minnesota Fraud—They Provided Cover for It

Nicely illustrated here by David Strom of Hot Air: Shaping public opinion isn’t just a matter of pushing propaganda or using censorship. To do it right, you have to create what amounts to an alternate reality in which The Narrative™ is reinforced to such an extent that people, when confronted with reality, actually have their minds blown. The two metaphors often used are The Matrix and The Truman Show. We are a long way off from being able to pull off a Matrix-like control of reality, and even the Truman Show is beyond the capacity of our media. Still, we are getting much closer to the latter for people who live in comfortable bubbles where their affluence shields them from the gritty realities of life. Their information feedback flow is carefully controlled, and there is relatively little in their day-to-day lives that appears to contradict what they are told by Pravda. And, frankly, when they see the contradictions, the cost of acknowledging reality is so high that they ignore it. Examples abound, but the current “shock” over the Somali-led welfare fraud in Minnesota is a superb example. The relatively few of us in Minnesota who both live in the real world here in Minnesota and have had occasion to become aware of welfare fraud have been trying to get attention (mostly at the state level, although Minnesota’s Republican Congressmen surely knew) for almost a decade….  So why are so many people shocked? Easy: Pravda covered it up. They, in fact, have been “debunking” and attacking this story for years, both at the local level, where the state’s largest newspaper is run by a friend and former appointee of Tim Walz, and the national media, which has been beating the drum that all talk of Somali-led fraud is racism and white supremacy, just as Tim Walz claims (Hot Air).

Students Join Protests in Iran as Public Defiance Grows

The willingness of young people to take to the streets makes you hope that this time is different: Strikes and protests in Iran spread nationwide on Monday, turning violent in several cities as nighttime crowds chanted against the ruling state and bazaar merchants vowed to continue their shutdowns and demonstrations into Tuesday. What began as anger over the surging price of the US dollar and the collapse of the rial has widened into a broader wave of unrest, moving beyond market corridors and into streets, squares and university campuses across multiple provinces (Iran Intl). Wall Street Journal: Since the war, the government has been carrying out a widespread crackdown on dissidents, arresting opponents and executing more people this year than at any point in nearly four decades, in an effort to prevent a popular uprising. At the same time, it has tried to ease the pressure on some of its strict moral codes…. “The government is relying on patronage for its power base in the clergy and military,” said Saeid Golkar, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. For the rest of the population, its “only strategy is repression” (Wall Street Journal). Video of students: (X).

Islamist Terror Attack Thwarted in Texas

As we close out 2025 and look to various big, public celebrations we’d be fools not to have at least a bit of apprehension that anti-civilizational forces would once again look to take advantage of our freedoms in order to upend what we’ve been building for a quarter millennium. Looks like our apprehensions are grounded. Jeff Charles for Townhall: FBI agents arrested a 21-year-old Texas man on a federal charge of attempting to provide material to ISIS as part of a terrorist attack that was planned ahead of New Year’s Eve. Michael Garza Jr. of Midlothian, Texas, is accused of providing bomb-making materials, cryptocurrency, and detailed instructions to an undercover FBI agent, according to a Justice Department press release…. This comes after the FBI announced the arrests of multiple individuals who were allegedly plotting a terrorist attack on New Year’s Eve. Members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF) were planning planning a bombing attack targeting ICE and the FBI (Townhall).

National Guard Deployed to New Orleans for New Year’s Eve Security

Readers will remember: Islamist terrorist killed 15 people while injuring dozens more as he mowed them down, only to exit his vehicle and open fire (ABC News). Bob Hoge at Red State: It’s going to be a different scene this year in the Big Easy, as President Donald Trump is sending in the National Guard to prevent a repeat of that horrible tragedy: “A National Guard deployment in New Orleans authorized by President Donald Trump will begin Tuesday as part of a heavy security presence for New Year’s celebrations a year after an attack on revelers on Bourbon Street killed 14 people, officials said Monday….” New Orleans police spokesperson Reese Harper said the deployment is “for visibility and just really to keep our citizens safe. It’s just another tool in the toolbox and another layer of security….”  The troops are expected to patrol the raucous French Quarter area, which includes Bourbon Street (Red State).

Terror Concerns Behind Cancellation of New Year’s Eve Celebrations in Sydney, Paris, Tokyo

As has been said recently: Freedom of assembly means little when the people are afraid to assemble. Wales Online: Major cities including Sydney, Paris and Tokyo have cancelled New Year’s Eve events days before December 31, amid growing safety concerns following terror threats and stampede fears…. Major cities, including Sydney, Paris, and Tokyo, have decided to cancel public gatherings, fireworks displays, and parties in the days leading up to December 31. The wave of cancellations began after the FBI thwarted a planned bomb attack in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve. Four individuals were apprehended in relation to the plot during a rehearsal just outside the city, reports Birmingham Live. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli presented drone-captured surveillance footage at a press conference earlier this month. The video depicted the suspects attempting to construct a bomb in a desert location (Wales).

Trump Closes Year With Approval Rating Over 50 Percent

Trafalgar has him at 50.2 percent. That’s the fruit of a poll of 1098 respondents conducted December 26 and 27. Those strongly approving of the president’s performance were 46.7 percent, with 3.5 percent approving (Trafalgar). It’s a good position for the president going into 2025.

Kevin Hassett Bullish on American Economy Going Into 2026

The state of the economy and each individual voter’s sense of their own economic situation will be instrumental in the 2026 midterms. Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council: There’s a massive amount of momentum coming into next year. And against that backdrop, what we’re seeing is that the people who have no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on social security. All of those folks didn’t have their forms changed this year because the IRS didn’t have time to do it because we passed the bill in July. And so they’re going to get huge tax refunds in the first and second half of the year that’s going to feed the demand that you need from all this higher productivity from AI. And so I think that we’re looking at one of the golden years in American economic history provided that we don’t get some kind of random black swan disruption (Daugherty). He’s hoping for 4 percent growth.

Goldman Sachs’ Economists Forecast Accelerated Economic Growth in 2026

Goldman Sachs’ team is less bullish than Hassett, but still optimistic for the year ahead. Fox Business: The U.S. economy’s resilience in 2025 is expected to carry over when the calendar turns to 2026, with growth expected to accelerate as tax cuts and more favorable financial conditions take hold and headwinds from tariffs and inflation ease, according to Goldman Sachs…. While the tailwinds powering the U.S. economy did trump tariffs in the end, as we predicted, it didn’t always look like they would and the estimated 2.1% growth rate fell 0.4pp short of our forecast,” they wrote. “Our explanation for the shortfall is that the average effective tariff rate rose 11pp, much more than the 4pp we assumed in our baseline forecast though somewhat less than the 14pp we assumed in our downside scenario.” Goldman economists see the U.S. economy growing at a faster rate in 2026 with the firm forecasting 2.6% real GDP growth, above the Bloomberg consensus of 2%. That continues a post-pandemic trend of optimism around the U.S. economy relative to consensus forecasts (Fox Business).

Looking Ahead to 2026

Without regard to the multitude of news and events we don’t know about, there are a slew of happenings we do know about. America will celebrate her 250^th anniversary—and quite the celebration it will be (America 250). It may peak on Independence Day, but it will be a year-long celebration. USA Today: Events include statewide “America’s Field Trip” student contests, oral history initiatives, volunteer service campaigns, traveling tech expos under “America Innovates,” and communal celebrations known as America Waves. In Washington, the iconic National Mall will host major events on July Fourth, including a full military parade, exhibits from all 50 states, fireworks and national pageantry. Separately, the Freedom 250 initiative will orchestrate high-profile events such as the “Great American State Fair” across the country, youth Patriot Games, a UFC exhibition at the White House, a national prayer event, and construction of a National Garden of American Heroes (USA Today). America also votes (Nov. 3) and, given the enormously high stakes in our midterms, the election will essentially start now. Don’t forget: America—along with Mexico and Canada—will host the world cup, with matches throughout June and July (FIFA).

Happy New Year!