The Treasury Department's verification system has already intercepted $99 million in improper payments, fulfilling a key Trump-era mandate to combat fraud and waste in federal spending.
The Treasury Department’s verification system has already intercepted $99 million in improper payments, fulfilling a key Trump-era mandate to combat fraud and waste in federal spending . PULSE POINTS WHAT HAPPENED: The Treasury Department announced Tuesday that it has implemented a new verification system designed to prevent federal payments from being issued to dead people, a move the agency says has already stopped approximately $99 million in improper payments. The system screens roughly 885 million federal payments against expanded death records, auditing nearly $2.7 trillion in payments and returning more than 4,900 transactions linked to deceased payees for further review. DETAIL: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the…Open
Two of the Democratic Party's marquee 2026 Senate candidates built their campaigns around attacking billionaire political influence, then accepted millions from a mega-donor who visited Jeffrey Epstein's private island. James Talarico, the Democrat running for Senate in Texas, has made the phrase "Epstein class" a centerpiece of his stump speech. "The Epstein Class has no […] The post Talarico and Ossoff rail against 'Epstein class' while cashing checks from Epstein-linked billionaire appeared first on American Almanac .
Two of the Democratic Party's marquee 2026 Senate candidates built their campaigns around attacking billionaire political influence, then accepted millions from a mega-donor who visited Jeffrey Epstein's private island. James Talarico, the Democrat running for Senate in Texas, has made the phrase "Epstein class" a centerpiece of his stump speech. "The Epstein Class has no place in Texas," he declared on the campaign trail. His campaign website warns that "billionaire mega-donors aren't just buying yachts and jets, they're buying power, and they're using that power to rig our political system." In Georgia, Sen. Jon Ossoff has struck the same chord, accusing Republicans of fronting for "the Epstein class, ruling our country." Yet both…Open
Brandon Ortiz-Vite, the illegal immigrant serving up to 102 years for murdering Ruby Garcia in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has filed a handwritten federal lawsuit against President Trump demanding $75 million, a public apology, and American citizenship, a case legal experts say should never survive initial screening. Ortiz-Vite, 27, acted as his own attorney when he […] The post Convicted killer of Michigan woman sues Trump from prison, demands $75 million and U.S. citizenship appeared first on American Almanac .
Brandon Ortiz-Vite, the illegal immigrant serving up to 102 years for murdering Ruby Garcia in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has filed a handwritten federal lawsuit against President Trump demanding $75 million, a public apology, and American citizenship, a case legal experts say should never survive initial screening. Ortiz-Vite, 27, acted as his own attorney when he filed the complaint in federal court, naming Trump and White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Steven Cheung as defendants. His grievance: Trump used his case as a political talking point during the 2024 campaign, and the attention left him humiliated behind bars. The complaint does not cite a single legal violation. The lawsuit lands at a moment when illegal immigrants and…Open
Thailand now threatens American travelers caught carrying cannabis across its borders with up to ten years in prison and a $15,000 fine, and U.S. officials say even an honest mistake won't save you. The U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Thailand issued a warning after the country rolled out sharply increased penalties in June 2026 for […] The post Thailand's tough new cannabis penalties put American travelers at risk of prison appeared first on American Almanac .
Thailand now threatens American travelers caught carrying cannabis across its borders with up to ten years in prison and a $15,000 fine, and U.S. officials say even an honest mistake won't save you. The U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Thailand issued a warning after the country rolled out sharply increased penalties in June 2026 for anyone importing or exporting cannabis without authorization. Violators face up to a decade behind bars, a fine of up to 500,000 Thai baht, roughly $15,000, or both, Fox News Digital reported . The crackdown matters because millions of Americans now live in states where cannabis is legal, and many carry products, edibles, vape cartridges, CBD oils, without a second thought. But crossing an international border…Open
Newly released emails show the FBI told Customs and Border Protection to stand down when Peter Daszak, the man who funneled U.S. tax dollars to the Wuhan lab, flew home from a COVID-origins trip in early 2021. Border agents had flagged Dr. Peter Daszak as "an extremely high person of interest." They had prepared a […] The post FBI blocked border agents from questioning EcoHealth chief Peter Daszak on return from China in 2021 appeared first on American Almanac .
Newly released emails show the FBI told Customs and Border Protection to stand down when Peter Daszak, the man who funneled U.S. tax dollars to the Wuhan lab, flew home from a COVID-origins trip in early 2021. Border agents had flagged Dr. Peter Daszak as "an extremely high person of interest." They had prepared a formal terrorism-response exam to question him about his fifteen years of collaborative research with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, his contacts inside the lab, and whether he carried biological samples back to American soil. Three days before his plane touched down at JFK Airport on February 5, 2021, the FBI's New York field office shut the whole thing down with a single directive: do not stop the subject. That sequence,…Open
Bodycam footage of Sunny Hostin invoking her TV fame and federal prosecutor credentials to shield her son from a trespassing citation drew a pointed rebuke from Megyn Kelly, who called it a case study in the privilege Hostin routinely denounces. Kelly used her SiriusXM show Monday to lay into the longtime co-host of The View […] The post Megyn Kelly takes aim at Sunny Hostin's 'hypocrisy' after bodycam shows View host name-dropping to help son dodge trespassing charge appeared first on American Almanac .
Bodycam footage of Sunny Hostin invoking her TV fame and federal prosecutor credentials to shield her son from a trespassing citation drew a pointed rebuke from Megyn Kelly, who called it a case study in the privilege Hostin routinely denounces. Kelly used her SiriusXM show Monday to lay into the longtime co-host of The View after newly released police video showed Hostin arriving at the scene where her 24-year-old son Gabriel had been stopped on Metro-North Railroad tracks in Westchester County, New York, and immediately identifying herself to officers as a celebrity and a former federal prosecutor. The Daily Mail reported that Kelly initially acknowledged Hostin was "behaving like a mama bear" and said she would do the same for her own…Open
The FDA walked back a positive cyclospora test on Taylor Farms lettuce as a lab error, but insists its outbreak investigation still points squarely at the company's iceberg lettuce from central Mexico. Federal regulators spent the weekend cleaning up a mess of their own making. On Saturday, word went public that a sample of Taylor […] The post FDA's false positive on Taylor Farms lettuce raises questions, but the cyclospora investigation presses on appeared first on American Almanac .
The FDA walked back a positive cyclospora test on Taylor Farms lettuce as a lab error, but insists its outbreak investigation still points squarely at the company's iceberg lettuce from central Mexico. Federal regulators spent the weekend cleaning up a mess of their own making. On Saturday, word went public that a sample of Taylor Farms shredded iceberg lettuce had tested positive for cyclospora, the parasite behind a sprawling foodborne illness outbreak that has now reached 34 states. By Sunday, the FDA reversed course, announcing the result was a false positive. On Monday, the agency issued a clarifying statement emphasizing that the retraction changes nothing about the broader case against Taylor Farms. The FDA's Monday statement was…Open
Bryson DeChambeau allegedly threatened to phone President Trump during a heated argument over a two-stroke penalty at The Open Championship, a move that fellow golfers and officials rejected outright. DeChambeau drew the penalty during Friday's second round at Royal Birkdale after rules officials determined he had stepped on tall fescue grass behind his ball on […] The post Bryson DeChambeau reportedly tried to drag Trump into his Open Championship penalty dispute appeared first on American Almanac .
Bryson DeChambeau allegedly threatened to phone President Trump during a heated argument over a two-stroke penalty at The Open Championship, a move that fellow golfers and officials rejected outright. DeChambeau drew the penalty during Friday's second round at Royal Birkdale after rules officials determined he had stepped on tall fescue grass behind his ball on the fifth hole, illegally improving the line of his backswing. The ruling turned a strong 66 into a 68, dropping him from a tie for second place at 7-under to 5-under and a tie for fifth. What followed was a roughly thirty-minute confrontation with officials in the tournament scoring area that, by multiple accounts, crossed from competitive frustration into something far stranger. …Open
Bailee Ann DeFord, the 18-year-old daughter of country singer Jelly Roll, says the public has "no f*****g idea" what really happened in her father's marriage, and she's threatening to talk. In a TikTok video that has drawn intense fan speculation, DeFord lashed out at followers flooding her direct messages and comment sections with opinions about […] The post Jelly Roll's 18-year-old daughter warns she holds secrets that could upend the divorce narrative appeared first on American Almanac .
Bailee Ann DeFord, the 18-year-old daughter of country singer Jelly Roll, says the public has "no f*****g idea" what really happened in her father's marriage, and she's threatening to talk. In a TikTok video that has drawn intense fan speculation, DeFord lashed out at followers flooding her direct messages and comment sections with opinions about her father's split from his wife of a decade, Bunnie Xo. She told viewers to stop coming after Jelly Roll's name and warned that the version of events the public has assembled is wrong, and fragile. The outburst lands weeks after Jelly Roll, whose legal name is Jason DeFord, filed for divorce from Alisa DeFord, known publicly as Bunnie Xo, in Williamson County, Tennessee, citing irreconcilable…Open
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers posted Instagram photos with both his mother and father on Monday evening, the clearest sign yet that a family rift stretching back more than a decade may finally be closing. Rodgers, 42, captioned the post "Another bonding week" with the hashtag "#fam", two words and a tag that carry weight […] The post Aaron Rodgers shares photos with parents after nearly a dozen years apart appeared first on American Almanac .
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers posted Instagram photos with both his mother and father on Monday evening, the clearest sign yet that a family rift stretching back more than a decade may finally be closing. Rodgers, 42, captioned the post "Another bonding week" with the hashtag "#fam", two words and a tag that carry weight given the very public estrangement that has shadowed his career since roughly 2014. One photo shows Rodgers with his arm around his mother, Darla Rodgers, who embraces him with both arms. Both are smiling at the camera. A second shows Rodgers and his father, Ed Rodgers, standing side by side, arms around each other's backs, also smiling. No press conference. No prepared statement. Just a couple of family…Open