Wednesday January 7th, 2026
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
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World & Nation
US Seizes 2 Sanctioned Oil Tankers Linked to Venezuela
The United States has seized two sanctioned oil tankers linked to
Venezuela in back-to-back actions in the North Atlantic and the
Caribbean, officials said Wednesday.
U.S. European Command announced the seizure of the merchant vessel
Bella 1 for “violations of U.S. sanctions” in a social media post. The
U.S. had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to
evade a U.S. blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela.
Then, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem revealed that U.S.
forces also took control of the tanker Sophia in the Caribbean. Noem
said in a social media post both ships were “either last docked in
Venezuela or en route to it."
Energy Sec. Wright: US to Sell Venezuelan Oil 'Indefinitely'
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday the United States
government wants to get Venezuelan oil flowing again, directly control
Venezuelan oil sales and revenue via U.S.-controlled accounts, and
create conditions for U.S. oil companies to enter the country.
Such moves will benefit Venezuela's people as well, Wright said Wednesday.
Oil sales will be "done by the U.S. government and deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S. government," he said.
The Palisades are still a wasteland wrapped in red tape — a year after Los Angeles promised to help rebuild
Pacific Palisades — once one of the most sought-after neighborhoods in
Los Angeles, home to celebs like Tom Hanks and Ben Affleck — still
looks like a war-zone a year after wildfires leveled much of it.
Only a handful of the nearly 7,000 destroyed homes have been rebuilt,
and outraged residents say Mayor Karen Bass and city bureaucracy have
failed them every step of the way.
Building permits have been issued for just 686 of the roughly 6,800
homes and businesses destroyed after the Palisades Fire sparked on Jan.
7 and raged for nearly three weeks, LA city data shows.
Scathing audit reveals more fraud concerns inside top Minnesota agency with fabricated documents, 'misconduct'
MN GOP state Sen Mark Koran says the audit shows a 'complete breakdown' of protecting taxpayer funds
A major state audit in Minnesota conducted by the
nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor found widespread failures
and internal control problems in the Department of Human Services’
Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) grant program, reaffirming
concerns about massive fraud issues.
The report, released on Monday, found that between July 1, 2022, and
Dec. 31, 2024, DHS dished out more than $425 million in grants to 830
organizations, the majority being nongovernmental, and did not show
proper oversight in watching over those taxpayer funds, which in many
cases were meant to help those with addiction and mental health issues.
The audit found missing progress reports and discovered BHA could not
show it had completed all required monitoring visits and had no
documentation at all for some of them.
Additionally, auditors discovered what appeared to be backdated or
newly created documentation that did not exist before the audit,
suggesting an effort to retroactively manufacture paperwork to show
compliance.
Ringleader of $250M Minnesota welfare fraud scandal ordered by judge to forfeit Porsche, luxury goods
The founder of an infamous Minnesota-based nonprofit convicted of
hatching a $250 million welfare fraud scheme was ordered by a judge
last week to forfeit her Porsche, designer handbags and millions of
dollars in ill-gotten gains.
Aimee Bock, the 44-year-old mastermind behind the Feeding Our Future
scandal, was found guilty in March on federal charges of wire fraud,
bribery and conspiracy in connection to the nation’s largest COVID-19
fraud scheme.
Bock, who along with dozens of predominantly Somali co-conspirators
pilfered pandemic relief funds from a federal program meant to feed
hungry children in need, is awaiting sentencing for her lead role in
the scandal.
A federal judge issued a preliminary court order on Dec. 30 compelling
Bock, who is not Somali, to give up an astounding amount of cash and
several of her prized possessions.
Toppled Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, wife hit their heads trying to evade capture
Arrested Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores,
bonked their heads on a low door frame while trying to evade capture by
US special forces, Trump administration officials told top lawmakers at
a Monday briefing.
A source familiar with the briefing told The Post that the criminal
Caracas couple suffered “minor injuries related to their own actions”
during the early Saturday raid, adding that Flores began cursing in
Spanish after she hurt herself.
The mishap was first reported by CNN, which said Maduro and Flores
attempted to take cover behind a heavy steel door in their fortified
compound, but misjudged the height of the frame.
Both were given first aid by members of the Delta Force after they had been safely extracted.
Trump Lauds First Year, Predicts 'Epic Midterm Victory'
President Donald Trump told Republicans at the GOP House retreat
Tuesday at the Trump-Kennedy Center that the party is positioned to
defy the usual midterm backlash against the sitting president's party
and deliver what he called an "epic" victory in 2026.
"So together, we had 12 months of unprecedented success in 2025. And
now we're going to make history and break records with the epic midterm
victory that we're going to pull off," Trump said in the address, shown
on Newsmax.
He said the past year has seen an “amazing” presidency.
Zohran
Mamdani’s woke, privileged tenant advocate Cea Weaver breaks down
crying when asked about hypocritical gentrification comments
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s newly instated radical-left tenant advocate, Cea
Weaver, broke down Wednesday as she dodged questions from reporters
about her gentrification hypocrisy.
The 37-year-old, who has faced backlash for blasting homeownership as a
“weapon of white supremacy” in the past, teared up when she emerged
briefly from her apartment building in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, at
about 9 a.m.
Weaver, who was tapped by Mamdani to be his new director of the city
Office to Protect Tenants, quickly ran back inside after she was asked
about the $1.6 million home her mother owns in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Private property including any kind of ESPECIALLY homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy,” she said in a 2019 post.
Israel-Backed Militia Kills 2 Hamas Terrorists in Gaza
An Israeli-backed Palestinian militia said Wednesday it had killed two
Hamas terrorists in southern Gaza, marking a renewed challenge to
Hamas after Israel empowered its rivals in areas under Israeli military
control.
The armed group, known as the Popular Forces, said in a statement it
had carried out a raid in Rafah, killing two Hamas members who refused
to surrender and detaining a third. It shared a photo that it said
depicted one of the slain men.
Hamas, which brands such groups as "collaborators," declined to comment
on the claim, which Reuters couldn't independently authenticate. Rafah
sits in territory under Israeli control under the terms of an October
Israel-Hamas deal.
Larry Page Leaves Calif. Amid Billionaire Wealth Tax Push
Larry Page, the Google co-founder and world’s second-richest person,
has reportedly left California as momentum builds behind a proposed
wealth tax targeting billionaires, The Telegraph reports.
Page has shifted the registrations of several key entities — including
his family office and a flying-car venture — from California to
Delaware, according to state filings.
He has also personally relocated out of California ahead of a potential
statewide vote on a wealth tax. Page told friends last month he was
considering a move to Florida.
The proposed measure would impose a one-time 5% tax on individuals with assets exceeding $1 billion.
Michael Goodwin: Maduro’s arrival is the first domino to fall — and Khamenei fleeing Iran amid chaos could be next
Think of it as the domino theory in reverse.
The initial Cold War version featured the American fear that if a
country fell under Communist control, its neighbor could also be
swallowed up.
In the current swirl of events, the theory envisions a similar pattern
— but this time it’s freedom that is being spread, making for more
positive outcomes.
Case in point: What started in Venezuela might not stop there.
Just as the Trump administration offered indicted drug trafficker
Nicolás Maduro a free ride to New York that he couldn’t refuse, reports
are emerging that another despot under American pressure is packing his
bags for a one-way road trip.
REP TOM EMMER: Walz oversaw billions in stolen taxpayer money — now comes accountability
This level of fraud should never happen again
$9 billion.
That is the estimated amount of taxpayer dollars stolen via fraud
schemes in Minnesota under Governor Tim Walz’s watch. To make matters
worse, the U.S. Treasury Department uncovered that millions are being
diverted to Somalia and, inevitably, landing in the hands of Al-Shabaab
terrorists.
Let’s do a quick recap of how we got here.
Minnesota fraudsters, the vast majority of whom are Somali, applied for
and received funds from various state-run welfare programs to line
their own pockets and funnel money overseas. From COVID-era food
nutrition assistance meant for children, to housing, to fake autism
centers, to empty daycares — Tim Walz allowed fraudsters to take
advantage of hardworking taxpayers at every turn.
