INTERNACIONAL
Warren pushed ‘free and easy’ IRS filing system, but docs reveal what she used instead
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., didn’t use the free government tax-filing system she had spent years promoting when it became available in her state, records show.
As far back as 2016, Warren pushed for a free IRS online tax preparation and filing service, a precursor to what became Direct File. The senator touted it as a way for taxpayers to save time and money. When Direct File launched a pilot program serving Massachusetts for the 2024 tax-filing season, however, Warren’s publicly released tax return indicated that she opted to use a private accountant instead.
Warren was ineligible to use Direct File during the 2024 tax-filing season because she chose not to take the standard deduction that year. The standard deduction under the program is a restriction critics say illustrates why the program was too limited to serve many taxpayers.
«The Direct File pilot program has been a huge win for taxpayers,» Warren said in April 2024. «This year, thousands of taxpayers saved hours of their time and the $150 typically spent on TurboTax and other junk filing fees — money that could be spent on groceries or rent … I’m excited to continue to work with the IRS and the Treasury Department to permanently extend and expand this free and easy tax filing solution for Americans.»
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«In just the space of minutes, it looks like insiders have been making out like bandits, using secret information about the war,» Warren said. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Warren has characterized herself as one of the top legislative architects of the Direct File system.
«For years, Senator Warren has been the Direct File program’s biggest champion — yet her own tax returns show she hired a private accountant,» David Williams, president of the Taxpayer Protection Alliance (TPA), a right-of-center fiscal advocacy group, told Fox News Digital.
«Direct File was ill-equipped to handle investment, property and interest income — limiting the tax credits and deductions Americans deserve. At its core, the government would not have any incentive — as the tax preparer, collector, and auditor — to maximize those deductions,» he added.
The Trump administration moved to suspend Direct File in 2025, and the IRS later told states the program would not be available for the 2026 filing season.
Even after her own return showed she used a private accountant and not Direct File for the 2024 tax-filing season, Warren continued to push for the system. On April 15, Tax Day 2026, Warren took a recently-introduced bill to the Senate floor seeking to revive the program.
«Filing your taxes should be easy and free … Let’s save people time and money, and show the American people that government can work for them,» Warren said.
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Ranking member Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., questions Kevin Warsh, nominee to chairman of the Federal Reserve, during his Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Usage of the Direct File was low during the 2024 tax-filing season, with only 161,042 of the estimated 19 million eligible Americans submitting returns through it, according to an IRS report.
Among those who did use the service, however, 90% rated their experience as «excellent» or «above average,» according to the IRS. Large majorities of respondents reported that Direct File was easy to use and had high quality customer service support.
The TPA, however, says that 25% of Direct File users rated their experiences negatively, citing its analysis of user responses obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. appears before a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 4, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Critics of Direct File, such as conservative economist Stephen Moore, have argued that allowing the IRS, which has an incentive to maximize tax revenue, to prepare taxes for Americans creates a conflict of interest and that the program isn’t truly free, given its administrative costs. Proponents like the left-of-center advocacy group Public Citizen, meanwhile, argue that eliminating filing costs could save taxpayers billions of dollars per year at a relatively minor public expense.
Firms such as Intuit and H&R Block lobbied aggressively to kill Direct File, which many believed would cut into their profits.
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Warren’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment sent Monday.
congress, elizabeth warren, bills, taxes, senate elections
INTERNACIONAL
China launches rare submarine ballistic missile as Pacific allies strengthen defense ties before NATO summit
NATO’s strategic shift addresses China, Russian threat in new ‘NATO 3.0’
Brent Sadler, a former Navy captain and Pentagon official, highlights NATO’s strategic shift to address evolving threats. He details the potential for American troop redistribution in Europe and emphasizes a «NATO 3.0» approach that balances threats from China and Russia. Sadler stresses the need for NATO allies to significantly increase defense spending and enhance capabilities, including missile defense, to deter aggression.
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China publicly announced it launched a ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the Pacific Ocean Monday — a rare acknowledgment of its sea-based nuclear capabilities that came as U.S. allies deepen security ties in the Indo-Pacific and NATO leaders prepare to meet amid growing concerns over Beijing’s military ambitions.
China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy said the missile, carrying a dummy warhead, was fired from a Type 094 Jin-class ballistic missile submarine during what Beijing described as a routine annual training exercise.
The launch highlights one of the Pentagon’s biggest long-term concerns: China’s ability to field a more survivable nuclear force capable of threatening the U.S. and its allies from the sea. Unlike land-based missile launches, a ballistic missile fired from a submerged nuclear submarine demonstrates one of the most survivable elements of a country’s nuclear arsenal because the vessels are significantly harder to detect and destroy before they can launch a retaliatory strike.
The growing capability also means China could eventually threaten the U.S. homeland from a wider range of patrol areas, reducing the need for its submarines to venture into more vulnerable waters.
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A nuclear-powered Type 094A Jin-class ballistic missile submarine of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is seen during a military display in the South China Sea April 12, 2018. (Reuters/Stringer)
Chinese officials said the launch landed in a designated area of the Pacific Ocean and was conducted in accordance with international law.
«It is a routine arrangement in China’s annual military training program. It is consistent with international law and customary international practice and is not directed at any specific country or target,» Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a news conference Monday.
«The whole process was safe, standard and professional. We hope relevant countries will not read too much into it.»
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The launch came on the eve of NATO’s summit in Ankara, Turkey, where alliance leaders are expected to focus primarily on the war in Ukraine, defense spending and collective security, while also addressing the growing strategic challenge posed by China. In recent years, NATO has expanded its engagement with Indo-Pacific partners including Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, reflecting concerns that security in Europe and the Pacific is increasingly interconnected.
It was the first such test since 2024, according to Chinese state media, occurring at noon local time Monday.
New Zealand, which had just signed a defense pact with Fiji, claimed the missile landed in the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, where testing atomic weapons is prohibited.
China said the missile carried a dummy rather than a nuclear warhead, and New Zealand did not accuse Beijing of violating the Treaty of Rarotonga, which establishes the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone and prohibits nuclear explosive devices within the region. Instead, officials criticized the launch as inconsistent with the spirit of maintaining the Pacific as a nuclear-free region.
China may be conducting low-yield nuclear tests, a State Department official says. (Tingshu Wang/File Photo/Reuters)
Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, said China had informed Australia ahead of the test but added, «Australia has been clear with China that we regard this as destabilizing to the region.»
China’s rapid military buildup added to the concern, according to Wong, who described it as «lacking in the transparency and reassurance as to intent that the region expect.»
In a joint cabinet statement, Japan raised «serious concern over the intensification of China’s military activities and strongly urged China to reconsider its actions.»
The Pentagon has repeatedly warned that China is rapidly modernizing and expanding its nuclear forces, projecting that Beijing will continue increasing the size, sophistication and survivability of its arsenal through the next decade. China’s military has also expanded naval patrols beyond the first island chain while increasing military pressure on Taiwan and asserting territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, meets with representatives of military personnel stationed in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in Urumqi, the regional capital, Sept. 23, 2025. (Photo by Li Gang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
The Pentagon projects China will field more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, up from an estimated stockpile in the low 600s through 2024.
Officials say Beijing is expanding all three legs of its nuclear triad — land-based missiles, strategic bombers and nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines — while improving its ability to survive a first strike and retaliate.
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At the same time, the People’s Liberation Army Navy is the world’s largest by number of battle force ships, while it has fielded advanced hypersonic weapons, expanded long-range missile forces and invested heavily in artificial intelligence, cyber capabilities and space-based systems that U.S. officials say are designed to challenge American military advantages in the Indo-Pacific.
U.S. defense officials have also warned that China continues to refine the capabilities needed for a potential conflict over Taiwan, including joint operations involving naval, air, missile and amphibious forces.
Annual military exercises around Taiwan have grown larger and more complex, reflecting Beijing’s efforts to increase military pressure while rehearsing operations that could support a blockade or invasion.
The U.S. has maintained a sea-based nuclear deterrent for decades through its fleet of Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, which routinely conduct operational deterrent patrols and periodic test launches of Trident II D5 ballistic missiles. The Navy is now replacing those submarines with the next-generation Columbia class, which is expected to begin entering service later this decade.
Unlike China, however, the U.S. regularly publicizes scheduled Trident missile tests and has long operated a mature fleet of ballistic missile submarines that defense officials consider the most survivable leg of America’s nuclear triad.
The Pentagon and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command could not immediately be reached for comment.
china, nuclear proliferation, military, nato
INTERNACIONAL
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INTERNACIONAL
Blue city gang bangers slapped with multiple charges after massive sex trafficking crackdown
Tom Homan: These politicians are ‘nuts’
ICE arrested Giovana Mercedes Moreno Ochompy, a former Illinois high school teacher and illegal immigrant, in connection with a triple murder involving the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. Chicago police initially released her due to sanctuary city policies, without notifying ICE. Tom Homan, former acting ICE director, criticizes these policies, arguing they hinder federal law enforcement and endanger public safety.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it had carried out 20 federal warrants and 10 arrests last Wednesday in connection with sex trafficking operations in Los Angeles by the Hoover Criminals Gang (HCG), a group known for its human exploitation.
Officials identified 51 victims in connection with the arrests, some of whom were as young as 14.
«[Homeland Security Investigations] remains steadfast in our mission to protect victims and pursue justice against human traffickers,» Special Agent Eddy Wang said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
DOJ SAYS 11 MIGRANTS INDICTED IN MULTI-STATE SEX TRAFFICKING, DRUG, FIREARMS CASE
The 10 suspects arrested as a part of Operation Broken Blade on July 1 (Department of Homeland Security)
The arrests are a part of Operation Broken Blade, an effort to target trafficking in Los Angeles’ Figueroa Corridor, a strip of neighborhoods south of the city, according to the agency. They also highlight the continued threats law enforcement face, even as illegal border crossings have plummeted during the second Trump administration.
Since the end of 2024, border crossings have fallen precipitously, going from over 144,000 encounters in December 2024 to just 13,500 in May — a 90% reduction.
Even so, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other federal agencies remain engaged in intercepting more organized smuggling operations that threaten to bring drugs, weapons and people illegally into the country.
In April, for example, CBP announced it had prevented a car carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, 16 AK rifles, 24 rifle magazines, 16 rifle stocks, 20 pistol grips, and other weapon parts from crossing the border.
As a part of those continued efforts, Acting Assistant DHS Secretary of Public Affairs Lauren Bis said that DHS has made disrupting sex trafficking rings a priority.
«Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS is dismantling human and sex trafficking rings,» Bis told Fox News Digital.
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Caleed Mouton, a suspect, arrives to the Federal Building after his arrest. (Department of Homeland Security)
Bis noted that the suspects arrested last week will also face charges that go well beyond their human exploitation.
«This operation in Los Angeles resulted in the arrest of ten gang members, who now face federal racketeering charges including sex trafficking, money laundering, firearms offenses and narcotics offenses,» Bis said.
The agency described many of the suspects as «career criminals» with histories that include robbery, kidnapping and burglary.
Wednesday’s operation is the second round of arrests made under Broken Blade, an initiative originally launched in August 2025 by Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles in cooperation with CBP, the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Highway Patrol.
FEDS DISMANTLE ALLEGED GUN TRAFFICKING RING THAT FUNNELED DOZENS OF FIREARMS FROM GEORGIA TO CHICAGO GANGS
Nakahli Miller, a suspect, being prepared for transport after his arrest by a Homeland Security Investigation agent. (Department of Homeland Security)
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The 10 suspects are expected to stand trial in March 2027, according to DHS.
«The actions taken today by HSI are another decisive blow against those who have exploited the vulnerable people of our community, and they will now face the consequences of those actions,» Wang said.
crime, politics, los angeles, homeland security
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