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Minnesota fraud scandal sparks push to scrutinize billions in Biden-era energy grants
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FIRST ON FOX: As a sweeping fraud scandal grips Minnesota, a conservative energy watchdog is encouraging lawmakers to scrutinize billions of dollars in Department of Energy grants they say were rushed out the door in the final weeks of the Biden administration, warning that internal red flags were ignored and taxpayer money may have been exposed to waste and political favoritism.
Power the Future founder and director Daniel Turner sent a letter to Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations United States Senate, and Republican Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, on Monday calling on lawmakers to examine grants and loan guarantees approved under the Biden administration’s Department of Energy, Fox Digital learned.
«As allegations of widespread fraud among government programs in Minnesota rightly horrify the American taxpayer, on behalf of Power The Future, I write to request immediate congressional oversight of the Department of Energy (DOE) unprecedented grant and loan activity conducted during the final weeks of the Biden Administration,» Turner wrote, referring to the
The letter turned lawmakers’ direction to the final months of the Biden administration, when «former Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm authorized tens of billions of dollars in so-called ‘clean energy’ grants and loan guarantees, an amount that exceeds many years of prior Department activity,» according to the letter.
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President Joe Biden’s environmental policies during his Oval Office tenure came under fire from the Trump administration upon President Trump’s inauguration. (AP/Evan Vucci)
«These funds were rushed out the door, despite warnings from the DOE Inspector General that internal controls were insufficient and that the program should be paused pending further review,» the letter continued, pointing to a Department of Energy Inspector General report that recommended the department halt its $400 billion green bank over conflict of interest concerns.
«Those warnings were ignored,» the letter states. «The funds were distributed anyway.»
Turner pointed to a Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office granting roughly $710 million as part of a 12-state affordable energy initiative four days before President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office.
The allocation to New Jersey was «followed closely by Secretary Granholm’s acceptance of a senior role overseeing energy policy for New Jersey governor-elect Mikie Sherrill. This troubling sequence of events raises legitimate questions about whether federal resources were deployed with political or personal considerations in mind rather than objective public interest,» the letter stated.
Sherrill appointed Granholm to co-lead an action team on «Making Energy More Affordable and Reliable» back in November after her gubernatorial election.
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«This episode reflects a broader pattern increasingly familiar to the American people: oversight mechanisms function, red flags are raised, and yet taxpayer dollars are still lost, only for accountability to be discussed after the money is gone. Public confidence erodes when internal warnings are dismissed and transparency is treated as optional,» Turner wrote in his Monday letter.
Fox News Digital reached out to Sherrill’s transition team for comment regarding the letter, Granholm’s role and response from the former DOE chief, but did not immediately receive a reply. Fox Digital also reached out to Biden’s office for comment on the letter.
Then-Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm speaks during a daily news briefing at the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on Jan. 23, 2023. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Climate change was a cornerstone of the Biden administration, with the then-president repeatedly casting it as an existential danger and «the single greatest existential threat to humanity. He argued his administration was correcting the ship on the climate through laws such as the Inflation Reduction Act’s sweeping clean energy tax credits and incentives, and cracking down on EPA rules aimed at cutting emissions from power plants and oil and gas, among other initiatives.
Power the Future urged Congress to conduct a full accounting of all DOE grants and loan guarantees approved during the final six months of the Biden administration, review Inspector General findings that were overridden, and examine political or financial ties between grant recipients and senior DOE officials.
«Congress must not allow these funds to vanish without answers,» Power The Future said, adding that taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability for how their money is spent.
After returning to office, the Trump administration moved to halt and reassess Biden-era climate spending, with Trump signing a day-one order positioning the U.S. to «unleash» domestic energy and shift away from what the White House has framed as a «globalist climate agenda.»
President Donald Trump during a primetime address to the nation in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House Dec. 17, 2025. (Doug Mills/Getty Images)
«Under the Biden Administration, green energy spending was sold to taxpayers as transparent, accountable, and carefully scrutinized,» Turner’s letter continued. «As the episode involving former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams securing $2 billion dollars worth of grants reveals, this was not always the case. Instead, it increasingly appears to have operated as a shield for rushed, massive federal expenditures timed to avoid meaningful review and now embedded within state and political ecosystems.»
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The Biden administration came under fire from Republicans following the IG report, using it like ammo to argue the Biden-era Loan Programs Office was pushing money out too fast without proper guardrails, while the Department of Energy discounted the 2024 IG report as based on «mistaken facts and misunderstanding of the law.»
«LPO is in full compliance with both the Department’s conflict of interest rules and the Federal Acquistion Regulation («FAR»),» the department wrote in a response letter at the time. …. «Indeed, despite a months-long audit involving over one hundred contract files, OIG has not identified any organizational conflicts of interest.»
A person is detained as federal agents and police clash with protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minn. on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
Lawmakers and voters have taken a heightened interest in fraud as it relates to taxpayer funds as a sprawling COVID-era scheme involving money laundering came to light in Minnesota in the lead up to the holiday season. Investigators speculate the fraud could exceed $1 billion and rise to as high as $9 billion. Suspects arrested in the alleged schemes are mostly from the state’s large Somali community.
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«The large-scale fraud in Minnesota, where federal funds intended for public benefit were systematically abused despite warning signs, underscore the risks of allowing massive sums of taxpayer money to move with limited scrutiny. Just as lawmakers are calling for congressional investigations into Minnesota, Congress should call into question the Biden Department of Energy’s late stage grantmaking in a similar fashion,» Turner added in his letter to lawmakers.
energy in america,joe biden,energy,donald trump
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Descubren que el centro de la hipófisis, la glándula bajo el cerebro, sería la vía más segura para cirugías
Un grupo de científicos de México, Chile y Argentina descubrió una zona con pocos vasos sanguíneos en el centro de la glándula pituitaria de las personas. La hipófisis, también llamada glándula pituitaria, se encuentra en la base del cerebro y regula funciones hormonales esenciales.
“Nuestro trabajo aporta una región hipovascular en la hipófisis a la cual denominamos zona de entrada pituitaria. Abordar esta lesión quirúrgicamente para remover tumores en la región disminuye la probabilidad de sangrado y, por ende, las complicaciones postoperatorias”, resaltó en diálogo con Infobae Gerardo Marín, el primer autor del estudio.
Marín integra el Departamento de Neurocirugía del Hospital Regional 1° de Octubre, que depende del Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado en México. El experto también forma parte de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
Según el estudio que los investigadores publicaron en la revista World Neurosurgery, la región central de la hipófisis tiene menos vasos sanguíneos que sus bordes.
La investigación también fue realizada por expertos de la Universidad Nacional de Tucumán y la Universidad de Buenos Aires de la Argentina, y la Universidad de Valparaíso de Chile.
La glándula pituitaria controla el funcionamiento de otras glándulas del cuerpo. Se divide en dos partes: la adenohipófisis (lóbulo anterior) y la neurohipófisis (lóbulo posterior), que tienen funciones y estructuras distintas.
En medicina, la vascularización significa la cantidad y disposición de vasos sanguíneos en un tejido. Aunque la hipófisis recibe mucha sangre, las incisiones en su línea media suelen no alterar la función hormonal.
Los neurocirujanos habían notado que operaciones como las realizadas para la enfermedad de Cushing o hemi-hipofisectomías (extracción parcial de la hipófisis) suelen proteger la producción hormonal cuando se hacen por el centro.
Sospecharon que eso ocurría porque el centro de la hipófisis tenía menos vasos sanguíneos que los bordes.
Quisieron estudiar esa diferencia y entender si explicaba la “resiliencia” de la hipófisis tras cortes centrales.
El análisis se hizo en el Laboratorio de Neuroanatomía Microquirúrgica de la Universidad de Buenos Aires. Para el estudio, se usaron glándulas de tres adultos fallecidos sin enfermedades previas en esa zona.
Las muestras se prepararon con técnicas histológicas, que consisten en cortar el tejido en partes finísimas y teñirlas para ver sus detalles.
Para identificar los vasos sanguíneos se utilizó el marcador CD34, una proteína que aparece en las células de las paredes de los vasos. Así, se pudo contar cuántos vasos había en cada zona. Se hicieron cortes en dos planos: el plano sagital, que divide el cuerpo de adelante hacia atrás, y el plano coronal, que lo divide de lado a lado.
De esta forma, los investigadores compararon la cantidad de vasos en el centro y los bordes de la hipófisis.
Los resultados fueron contundentes: en el plano sagital, la densidad microvascular fue significativamente menor en la región de la línea media en comparación con la región periférica.
En el plano coronal, la diferencia no se observó. Los investigadores explicaron que eso se debe a que los vasos del centro están alineados de arriba hacia abajo, y el corte coronal los atraviesa, lo que hace que parezcan más numerosos.
La zona identificada es un corredor anatómico donde los vasos se alinean de forma vertical, lo que permite hacer cortes quirúrgicos más seguros por el centro.
El análisis detalló que la parte anterosuperior de la hipófisis tiene la mayor densidad de vasos, mientras que la posteroinferior tiene la menor.
“Esta información resulta clave para planificar operaciones sin poner en riesgo funciones hormonales”, aclaró Marín a Infobae.
“Necesitamos continuar diseccionando esta zona de entrada pituitaria con un mayor número de personas para saber qué tanto disminuyen los riesgos de las complicaciones neuroquirurgicas”, reconoció el doctor Marín en la entrevista con Infobae.
Además, “es fundamental confirmar que este hallazgo no sea exclusivo de pacientes con patología tumoral, sino que esté presente también en personas sin enfermedad hipofisaria, lo que garantizaría su aplicabilidad clínica general”, afirmó.
Aclaró que “los próximos estudios estarán dirigidos a revelar esas preguntas”.
Los investigadores sugirieron que los neurocirujanos tengan en cuenta la zona de entrada hipofisaria al planificar cirugías del centro de la glándula, sobre todo en operaciones para la enfermedad de Cushing y hemi-hipofisectomías.
“Si bien está limitado por un tamaño de muestra pequeño, estos resultados resaltan un aspecto previamente poco caracterizado de la angioarquitectura hipofisaria que puede representar un corredor más seguro para la intervención quirúrgica”, señalaron.
El equipo quiere ampliar el estudio con más muestras y sumar técnicas de imagen en pacientes vivos para confirmar la importancia clínica de la zona identificada.
Además, propusieron analizar otros aspectos, como la actividad metabólica de la hipófisis, para comprender mejor su funcionamiento.
El hallazgo de la zona hipovascular central en la glándula pituitaria redefine el mapa de la cirugía cerebral y abre nuevas rutas para proteger la función endocrina.
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Rand Paul says GOP colleagues ‘don’t give a s‑‑t about these people in the boats’: They ‘say they’re pro-life’
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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., accused his «pro-life» Republican colleagues of not caring about the people killed in boat strikes near Venezuela who the Trump administration, without providing evidence, claims were trafficking fentanyl.
During an appearance on «The Joe Rogan Experience» released on Tuesday. Paul said GOP lawmakers «don’t give a s‑‑-» about the people who died on the vessels, blasting his colleagues for not granting the presumption of innocence.
«I look at my colleagues who say they’re pro-life, and they value God’s inspiration in life, but they don’t give a s‑‑- about these people in the boats,» Paul said. «Are they terrible people in the boats? I don’t know. They’re probably poor people in Venezuela and Colombia.»
«I guess what I don’t feel connected to my Republican colleagues is that those lives don’t matter at all, and we just blow them up. And against all justice, and against all laws of war, all laws of just war, we have never blown up people who were shipwrecked,» he added, referring to the administration’s reported targeting and killing of survivors of initial strikes who were clinging to wreckage.
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Sen. Rand Paul accused his Republican colleagues of not caring about the people killed in boat strikes near Venezuela. (Getty Images)
The liberty-minded Republican said it is «against the military code of justice to do that.»
«We’re doing it and everybody just says, ‘Oh, well, they’re drug dealers,’» he said.
Paul criticized his fellow GOP lawmakers who have repeated the administration’s claims about the boats carrying fentanyl. He also took issue with colleagues who hold the position of, «Well, we’re at war with them. They’re committing war by bringing drugs into America.»
«They’re not even coming here,» Paul explained. «They’re going to these islands in the south part of the Caribbean. The cocaine — and it’s not fentanyl at all — the cocaine’s going to Europe.»
He emphasized that «those little boats can’t get here.»
«No one’s even asked this common question: Those boats have these four engines on them. They’re outboard boats. You can probably go about 100 miles before you have to refuel. Two thousand miles from us, they’d have to refuel 20 times to get here,» Paul said.
Sen. Rand Paul said GOP lawmakers «don’t give a s‑‑t» about the people who died on the vessels. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc )
The senator accused the administration of conducting the boat strikes to create «a pretense and a false argument» ahead of the operation to attack Venezuela and arrest its president, Nicolás Maduro.
«It’s all been a pretense for arresting Maduro,» he said. «So, we have to set up the predicate. We got to show you we care about drugs.»
Paul helped the Senate advance a resolution last week that would limit Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela after the U.S. military’s recent move to strike the country and capture Maduro, which the Kentucky Republican said amounts to war. The Upper Chamber could pass the measure later this week, although it faces an uphill battle in the House despite some support from Republicans.
«I think bombing a capital and removing the head of state is, by all definitions, war,» Paul told reporters before the procedural vote last week. «Does this mean we have carte blanche that the president can make the decision any time, anywhere, to invade a foreign country and remove people that we’ve accused of a crime?»
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Sen. Rand Paul accused the Trump administration of conducting the boat strikes to create «a pretense and a false argument» ahead of the move to attack Venezuela and arrest its president. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)
The lawmaker has repeatedly criticized the administration’s boat strikes on alleged narco-terrorists in recent months, often raising concerns about killing people without due process and the possibility of killing innocent people. The senator previously cited Coast Guard statistics that show a significant percentage of boats boarded on suspicion of drug trafficking are innocent.
Paul said on «The Joe Rogan Experience» that he believes the administration might attack Mexico next, which Trump has signaled could be a future target.
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«They want to do that next. They want to bomb Mexico,» Paul said.
Trump has said cartels are «running Mexico» and that «something’s going to have to be done» because Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is «very frightened» of the cartels.
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Passengers baffled and confused after screams burst from beneath taxiing Air Canada plane
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Passengers aboard a taxiing aircraft were reportedly left horrified last month when chilling screams suddenly echoed from beneath the cabin just moments before takeoff.
According to the officials, a ground crew member became trapped inside the plane’s cargo hold when doors «inadvertently closed» behind him, according to local station CBC.
The incident happened on Dec. 13 when Air Canada Flight 1502 was preparing to depart Toronto Pearson Airport for Moncton, New Brunswick, the outlet said.
The Airbus flight, which was carrying 184 passengers, was ultimately canceled following the incident.
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An Air Canada plane is seen at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada, on Aug. 14, 2025. (Arrush Chopra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Passengers told CBC that distressing sounds of muffled banging and desperate screams quickly filled the rear of the aircraft as it began taxiing toward the runway, prompting flight attendants to sprint down the aisle in alarm.
«Some of the people that were sitting towards the back of the plane heard the person screaming and banging, trying to get their attention,» passenger Gabrielle Caron said.
«We could see the crew gathering around the plane, so we knew something was happening,» she added. «Then, the pilot tells us that there is someone from the crew in the luggage hold.»
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An employee loads suitcases onto an aircraft. (Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The aircraft reportedly halted before reaching the runway. Moments later, the trapped ground crew member emerged safely from the cargo and entered the cabin, reassuring shaken passengers that he was unharmed, Caron reported.
Air Canada confirmed to CBC that no injuries were reported in the incident.
Caron added that the crew member involved was reportedly assisting ground staff by loading items as an extra set of hands and may have been left unaccounted for when the doors closed.
Air Canada flights are stationed outside Toronto Pearson Airport. (Nick Lachance/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
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The plane eventually returned to the terminal, where passengers were asked to disembark while the flight crew completed necessary paperwork, CBC reported.
The flight was ultimately canceled after several delays, the outlet said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Air Canada for more information.
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