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THENATIONALPULSE (Pulse Wires) - Trump Treasury Blocks $99 Million in Fraudulent Payments to Dead People.

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

AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - Talarico and Ossoff rail against 'Epstein class' while cashing checks from Epstein-linked billionaire

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

AMERICANALMANAC (Lynn Jenkins) - Convicted killer of Michigan woman sues Trump from prison, demands $75 million and U.S. citizenship

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

AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Thailand's tough new cannabis penalties put American travelers at risk of prison

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

AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - FBI blocked border agents from questioning EcoHealth chief Peter Daszak on return from China in 2021

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

AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Megyn Kelly takes aim at Sunny Hostin's 'hypocrisy' after bodycam shows View host name-dropping to help son dodge trespassing charge

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