Federal agents raided Minnesota autism service providers in St. Louis Park and Edina as Medicaid fraud investigations intensify across the state.

J. Christian Adams says the SAVE database could help clean voter rolls, but California and Washington still refuse to use it for verification.

A missed connection flight resulted in a special friendship at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in September.

The post WATCH: Traveler Rescues ‘Joyful’ Stray Kitten Wandering Around Chicago Airport appeared first on Breitbart.

‘You know his name because he came to you for help’

President Donald Trump is in South Carolina with just a few days before the midterm election as polls show Republicans in a tough battle in the typically red state.

Trump is holding a rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on Thursday, his second trip to the state in less than two weeks. He hopes to spark added enthusiasm for Republicans, especially Michael Whatley, running for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina, and Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed after her brother, longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), passed away unexpectedly in July.

'Republicans are taking nothing for granted.'

The city of Rock Hill is strategically located for Trump's purposes. For one thing, Rock Hill is just a half-hour south of Charlotte, North Carolina, so the president's appearance there is sure to draw crowds from all over the region.

Notably, it is also in the district represented by Rep. Ralph Norman, who unsuccessfully challenged Darline Graham in the Republican Senate primary runoff in August.

Some Norman supporters remain skeptical of Graham and have even launched a write-in campaign that could spoil Graham's chances of winning the election against Democrat Annie Andrews.

According to Blaze News' Poll Watch, Graham maintains a razor-thin lead of just 1.7 points, and a New York Times/Sienna poll has the race tied. Even if the Norman write-in campaign siphons just a few thousand Republican votes away from Graham, it could be enough to tilt the election to Andrews.

RELATED: Trump-backed Sen. Graham wins South Carolina runoff

"The president is coming to Ralph Norman territory to rally people around Darline Graham and to say that if you vote for Ralph Norman, you are actually voting for Annie Andrews," said Brent Nelsen, a professor of politics and international affairs at Furman University, according to WCSC.

Before Sen. Lindsey Graham died, his re-election was considered all but assured. While some Republican insiders have reportedly expressed alarm about his sister's chances, Trump and others remain optimistic.

"She’s doing well," Trump said of Darline Graham Wednesday, according to Scripps News. "She’s up."

An unnamed Republican National Committee official likewise characterized Darline Graham as a "commonsense conservative" running in a state "President Trump has carried three times."

Still, the official added, "Republicans are taking nothing for granted. We are getting out the vote every single day in every single state to make sure that the president is able to maintain the Republican majorities in the House and the Senate."

Michael Whatley's prospects in neighboring North Carolina are more sobering. Blaze News' Poll Watch shows Democrat former Gov. Roy Cooper with a comfortable lead of over 10 points.

In addition to the rally, Trump has used social media to promote Whatley and to slam Cooper's shaky record as governor, especially regarding crime and public safety.

"There has never been a Governor with such a bad record on Crime, and there never will be!" Trump posted about Cooper earlier this month.

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Knifeman on a days-long stabbing rampage had a look of "the greatest delight on his face" as he attacked train passengers, court told. 

The post ‘Terror on an Unimaginable Scale’: Court Hears Railway Staff Tried to Fight Off Knifeman With Frying Pan appeared first on Breitbart.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority board on Thursday named state Finance Director Joe Stephenshaw to replace chief executive Ian Choudri, who resigned late Wednesday amid a scandal over consultant travel spending, reports CalMatters.

Nearly 1 in 5 federal workers have left their jobs since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025. Approximately 426,000 full-time civilian federal employees left their jobs during the first 18 months of Trump's second administration,...

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger's office sent a voting rights citation to "Betty No Last Name," raising fraud concerns over felon restoration.

U.S. officials have reportedly determined that Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and top executive at the Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed, is a Chinese intelligence asset who had developed a close relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and has been funneling information to Beijing.

The post Report: China Used Female Agent to Spy on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang appeared first on Breitbart.

The Minnesota Democrat who goes by the name "Ilhan Omar" looks to be in serious trouble.

After all, it's not just the president and Republicans who suspect her of marrying her brother in order to commit immigration fraud. Liberal America's paper of record, the New York Times, published a damning report on Thursday reinforcing suspicions about the marriage.

'The Dumocrat Party has just conceded her seat.'

In 2009, the Democratic congresswoman married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, an effeminate British-Somali national. Yet numerous Somalis have reportedly identified Elmi as the Democrat's alleged brother.

According to the Times report, the Obama FBI and Justice Department investigated that marriage to Elmi all the way back in 2016, just before she secured a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

The Times, citing six former and current officials familiar with the case, reported that the Obama-era federal investigators "found evidence suggesting that Mr. Elmi and Ms. Omar were siblings." Since prosecutors didn't bother pressing the issue, investigators were left with their hands effectively tied.

Two former officials indicated that on the basis of his marriage to the Muslim congresswoman, Elmi — now an academic focused on LGBT matters — had secured a provisional two-year green card.

RELATED: Trump calls on Ilhan 'Omar' to resign — and the reason is damning

Jim WATSON/AFP/Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images

When Elmi sought permanent residency, immigration officials reportedly pressed him for evidence to show that the marriage was legitimate. Officials told the Times that rather than provide the requested evidence, Elmi fled the country.

At the time, the congresswoman denied that she married her brother, calling the allegations "absolutely false and ridiculous." She was less emphatic when Chris Hayes of MS NOW asked her last week about whether she is related to Elmi, replying with a smile, "Not to my knowledge."

Blaze News has reached out to the congresswoman's office, Elmi, the FBI, and the Justice Department for comment.

The Times' report and admission that "several aspects of the marriage to Mr. Elmi have long been murky" comes a week after news broke that "Omar" may not even be her real name.

A court filing dated October 21 from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro indicated that "Ilhan Abdullahi Omar" is an alias and that the congresswoman's real name is actually "Ilhan Nur Said Elmi."

Screenshot of court filing

President Donald Trump then took to Truth Social and claimed that "her last name is, incredibly, also the exact name of her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, the person they said she married."

"Because she used a fake name to be sworn in, I assume she must IMMEDIATELY resign from Congress," Trump continued.

"The Dumocrat Party has just conceded her seat."

The name itself is not necessarily damning. After all, Elmi may have been the congresswoman's married name at one point.

However, the New York Post has obtained a marriage certificate for Leila Nur Said — a Somali woman believed to be the congresswoman's sister — that lists "Nur Said Elmi" as her father.

The congresswoman's office previously said in a statement to Blaze News that "the congresswoman’s name has always been Ilhan Omar. Any claim suggesting otherwise is categorically false and has no basis in fact."

Homeland Security Investigations agents searched the congresswoman's D.C.-area residence on Oct. 12 as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Pirro has also stated that the congresswoman is the subject of a separate investigation into her finances.

The Somali-born radical is seeking re-election to Congress in next week's midterm election.

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With less than a week to go until Election Day, Scott Jennings was joined by Americans For Prosperity's Katelyn Bledsoe to discuss the organization's Americans Unscripted project, how the cost of living is top of mind for voters, and that the rise of Democratic Socialism isn't as popular as some might think. To learn more, visit AmericansForProsperity.org.

Libertarian candidate Jeremy Todd is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District after incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie lost the GOP primary.

UConn, Kansas, and other top college basketball programs offer intriguing national championship odds as the season approaches with key roster changes.

The Justice Department said Wednesday that agents from the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement will not serve as poll monitors during the upcoming midterm elections, amid growing concerns over the presence of federal law enforcement officers at voting locations, The Hill reported.

The sanctuary state of California released an illegal alien drug trafficker from jail after he was arrested for car theft, Breitbart News has learned. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents lodged a detainer, but it was ignored.

The post Exclusive: Sanctuary California Frees Illegal Alien Drug Trafficker from Jail After Car Theft Arrest appeared first on Breitbart.

Chinese criminal syndicates are turning parts of rural America into enormous illegal marijuana operations. And one California congressman has had enough.

On October 19, California Republican Rep. James Gallagher called on FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate the criminal networks operating in Siskiyou and Shasta counties. His concerns extend well beyond marijuana. Foreign financing, organized crime, illegal pesticides, and overwhelmed local law enforcement are all part of the problem.

American suburban real estate had become the foundation of an international drug operation.

In 2025 alone, Siskiyou County authorities reported eradicating 332,871 marijuana plants, seizing more than 54,000 pounds of processed cannabis, and making 118 arrests.

And those are just the operations authorities managed to uncover.

Water torture

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration's 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment, Chinese transnational criminal organizations have become dominant players in illegal marijuana cultivation and distribution across the United States.

These criminal enterprises are buying American property, establishing cultivation operations, and exploiting underground financial networks that make tracing the money a nightmare for local investigators.

Meanwhile, the communities caught in the middle are left to deal with the consequences.

In rural Northern California, residents have found themselves fighting over something more fundamental than marijuana: water.

In Siskiyou County, illegal cultivation has placed enormous demands on groundwater supplies. County officials have previously estimated that cannabis operations consumed millions of gallons daily, although those historical estimates do not establish how much water is being extracted today.

Residents have reported falling water levels and deteriorating well conditions amid heavy cultivation activity. Drought and other agricultural demands complicate the picture, but the conflict itself is real.

Imagine spending decades building a livelihood in rural California, only to find yourself competing for groundwater with illegal marijuana plantations. Apparently, even the water beneath your property is now part of the black-market economy.

Chem trails

Another danger is the chemicals these operations add to the ecosystem. In July 2025, Siskiyou County declared a local emergency over dangerous pesticides discovered at illegal cultivation sites. Investigators identified more than 27 pesticides, including highly toxic compounds such as carbofuran and methamidophos.

These are not harmless gardening supplies. Carbofuran can interfere with the nervous system and, at sufficiently high exposures, cause fatal respiratory paralysis. Methamidophos is another dangerous pesticide whose U.S. registrations were canceled years ago.

County officials have reported investigators suffering symptoms following exposure at illegal grow sites.

The danger does not necessarily end at the property line. Federal research has detected pesticide contamination downstream of illegal marijuana grows in California's national forests.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced an investigation into Siskiyou County's illegal pesticide problem in July 2025. Gallagher now wants federal investigators to examine the supply chains bringing these chemicals into the country.

Local sheriffs are dealing with toxic chemicals, enormous plantations, and criminal organizations whose financial operations extend far beyond their jurisdictions. Hardly the sort of problem a rural county department can solve with a few more patrol cars.

The legalization racket

There is another uncomfortable element to this story: America's experiment with marijuana legalization.

Voters were promised that legal cannabis would weaken the black market by replacing criminal dealers with regulated, taxpaying businesses.

How is that working out?

According to a California Department of Cannabis Control market analysis, licensed supply accounted for an estimated 38% of marijuana consumed in the state in 2024.

An enormous share of consumption remains outside the licensed market.

California's legal operators face a 15% state cannabis excise tax, applicable sales and local taxes, and substantial licensing and compliance expenses. A medium indoor cultivation license alone carries an annual fee of $77,905.

Illegal operators have no particular interest in paying licensing fees, collecting cannabis taxes, or following environmental regulations. Legitimate businesses shoulder the costs of operating legally while competing against criminals who ignore the rules.

California has somehow managed to create a regulated industry in which following the law can be a serious competitive disadvantage. But the real money lies farther up the criminal food chain.

Finding the masterminds behind these operations is considerably harder than arresting the workers tending the plants. Property purchases, financial intermediaries, and concealed ownership arrangements can make identifying the people controlling an operation a lengthy investigation.

Some workers are themselves victims. Federal prosecutors have charged members of a Chinese-linked network operating in Massachusetts and Maine with offenses arising from an alleged scheme involving labor exploitation, retained passports, marijuana trafficking, and money laundering.

The people trimming the plants are not necessarily the people collecting the profits.

Follow the money

Back in April 2018, federal investigators targeted an international marijuana cultivation operation in the Sacramento area. Agents searched approximately 74 houses and two business offices, while prosecutors initiated forfeiture proceedings involving more than 100 residential properties.

Authorities described a scheme in which money wired from China helped finance the purchase of suburban homes that were converted into indoor marijuana factories. The operation involved straw buyers, real estate intermediaries, and marijuana distributed beyond California.

One participant, Heidi Phong, subsequently pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money-laundering.

American suburban real estate had become the foundation of an international drug operation. Whether the same financiers are involved in today's Siskiyou plantations remains an open question, one Gallagher wants federal investigators to examine.

The financial machinery behind Chinese organized crime deserves a closer look. China maintains strict controls on foreign-currency transactions, including a general annual individual purchase quota of $50,000. Those restrictions create demand for underground financial services capable of moving value between China and the United States.

Criminal money-laundering networks are more than happy to oblige.

Under one common arrangement, a broker receives dollars in America while arranging for an equivalent payment in Chinese currency overseas. The transactions can be settled through multiple accounts or commercial dealings without physically transporting the same cash across international borders.

These networks also provide services to some of the most dangerous drug traffickers on the planet.

In June 2024, the Justice Department announced charges arising from an alleged alliance between Sinaloa cartel associates and Chinese underground banking networks involving more than $50 million in drug proceeds.

Chinese money-laundering organizations have become valuable partners for Mexican cartels seeking to convert their American drug profits into usable funds.

And marijuana is part of the business. A 2025 Treasury Department advisory identified Chinese money-laundering networks handling proceeds from illegal marijuana grow houses alongside proceeds from other drug-trafficking activities.

Countrywide crisis

That does not establish that Mexican cartel money is financing the particular plantations in Siskiyou County. But it gives investigators good reason to look beyond the marijuana plants and examine the financial networks behind them.

The scale of the criminal activity is becoming difficult to ignore.

In Oklahoma, two Chinese nationals, Jeff Weng and Tong Lin, were sentenced to 10 years each for their roles in an illegal marijuana distribution operation. Investigators uncovered nearly 20,000 plants at one cultivation site, while trial evidence described elaborate interstate distribution methods, including vans disguised as commercial delivery vehicles.

In April 2026, federal prosecutors announced a separate 51-defendant indictment involving an alleged Oklahoma-based marijuana trafficking network. At least 29 defendants were identified as being from China.

Maine has encountered similar problems. During a May 2026 congressional hearing, federal officials discussed dozens of search warrants and hundreds of potential illegal cultivation locations.

The operations may be scattered across the country, but the methods are familiar: acquire property, establish marijuana grows, distribute the product, and conceal the proceeds.

RELATED: Fake ultra-luxury watches from China seized — and they would have been worth millions if real, CBP claims

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Chinese checkers

And what does Beijing know about all this? China's government exercises extraordinary control over its domestic financial system, yet criminal networks continue moving money across borders. Whether corrupt Chinese officials are facilitating these operations remains an open question. Chinese authorities have cooperated with American investigators in some cases, and no evidence has established that Beijing directs the marijuana trade. But the possibility of official complicity deserves investigation.

So do the people financing these operations.

Local sheriffs face an overwhelming resource mismatch when tackling well-funded crime rings. A small-town department might clear a plantation and arrest several workers, but tracing international financial transactions and identifying distant organizers requires specialized federal capabilities.

Federal agencies have conducted substantial investigations, and the EPA has already become involved in Siskiyou County. Yet these operations persist.

Gallagher is asking the FBI to work with county sheriffs, Homeland Security investigators, and environmental authorities to identify the people financing and organizing them.

His request deserves a serious response. Destroying marijuana plants may temporarily disrupt an illegal operation. But as long as the money, property networks, and organizers remain untouched, another crop can take its place.

American law enforcement has already demonstrated that these criminal enterprises can be investigated, prosecuted, and dismantled. Washington needs to bring that same determination to the operations still flourishing in rural America.

Rural Americans should not have to surrender their water, their land, or their peace of mind to international drug syndicates simply because the criminals have discovered that operating in America is profitable.

Charles Barkley called LeBron James' golf swing during the national anthem "very disrespectful," agreeing with Trump despite dismissing his opinions.