INTERNACIONAL
Walz in the hot seat as critics’ predictions on his controversial new law come true: ‘Concerning trends’
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As Minnesota’s fraud scandal continues to make headlines, signature legislation signed by Gov. Tim Walz extending the amount of paid leave available to Minnesota workers is already causing major headaches and concerns from critics worried about potential abuse of even more dollars.
The legislation, which took effect on January 1, allows Minnesota workers up to 12 weeks a year off with partial pay to care for a newborn or a sick family member, and up to 12 weeks to recover from their own serious illness. Benefits are capped at 20 weeks a year for employees who take advantage of both.
Two months in, the legislation is already receiving pushback, including from the state’s largest, non-partisan business advocacy organization.
«Beyond just anti-fraud sentiments, employers are reporting a few concerning trends,» Lauryn Schothorst from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce told Fox 9 Minneapolis.
TAFOYA RIPS WALZ ‘DODGING’ ACCOUNTABILITY IN HEARING, UNVEILS PLAN TO FIGHT FRAUD: ‘FULL WEIGHT OF THE LAW’
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the U.S. Capitol Building on March 04, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
«Providers are being pressured by patients for the full 12 weeks of leave, even if their condition does not require it. A number of respondents have shared that their employees are making more on paid leave than the wage replacement thresholds in law. Employees are going on vacation or to music festivals while supposedly on leave. These anecdotes don’t necessarily reveal fraud or a lack of oversight by the department. They highlight concerns with the broad eligibility and limited employer recourse elements of the law. To employers, overuse is abuse.»
Two Republican lawmakers who spoke to Fox News Digital agreed with that assessment.
«The chamber is right,» State Sen. Michael Holmstrom said. «Minnesota is not a business-friendly state. Employers were already offering this benefit and then the state got in between employers and their employees, which it has no business doing.»
Holmstrom says a major employer in his district has seen a 700% increase in paid leave usage since the law took effect and the company is unable to backfill those positions with skilled workers to compensate.
The result, Holmstrom explained, is carrying on with business as usual without replacements and providing a lower level of service.
State Sen. Mark Koran told Fox News Digital he also agreed with the chamber and suggested fraud concerns are valid, saying there will be «no real enforcement» because the «state removed the employer from the oversight and administration of the program.»
GOP LAWMAKER UNVEILS WALZ ACT AFTER BILLIONS LOST IN MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL
Koran explained: «The program isn’t being used as intended, which Republicans predicted. It was sold as a replacement for short and long-term leave replacement. Now it’s a complex sick leave program with the effective date on day one, not the traditional seventh day of injury or illness.»
«The liberal use guidelines mean employees can take a day off every week, or every Monday and Friday for a long weekend. It’s a huge negative impact on employers’ ability to find substitute labor and puts Minnesota in the bottom tier of business competitiveness.»
Ultimately, Koran says the law will result in fewer jobs, lower pay, decreased benefits and a «continued exodus of business creation and expansion out of Minnesota.»
On social media, critics have echoed similar sentiments, with some pointing out that most businesses in Minnesota already offered paid leave, making state interference unnecessary.
«No way,» Brian McClung, former spokesperson for former Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty posted on X. «I am shocked – shocked! If only someone had warned the MN Democrat trifecta that creating an expensive, cumbersome, bureaucratic system might go badly (when the vast majority of businesses already offered paid leave without a mandate).»
Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for comment.
The new state paid leave program is being enforced by a new government agency called the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development with more than 400 full-time employees overseeing the process, causing uneasiness from some given the multiple state agency bureaucracies that oversaw the massive fraud scandal.
Earlier this year, when the law was about to take effect, Fox News Digital reported on concerns that the bill could open the door up for even more fraud, with Bill Glahn, a policy fellow at the Center of the American Experiment, describing the legislation at the time as the «next billion-dollar fraud.»
Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks to reporters after he announced that he would not seek reelection, at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. January 5, 2026. (Reuters/Tim Evans)
«When you build a multi-billion-dollar state benefit program with weak oversight, fraudsters line up,» Townhall columnist and Minnesota resident Dustin Grage, told Fox News Digital in January. «We’ve already seen what happens in Minnesota. The paid family leave system will be a magnet for abuse.»
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development defended the program.
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«Minnesota is not unique in enacting a state paid family and medical leave program – we are one of 13 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have done so. The United States is an outlier – it’s one of only seven countries worldwide that lacks a national paid family and medical leave program. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics noted in 2023 that 73% of American civilian workers lack access to paid family leave,» the statement said.
«We recognize that Paid Leave is a big change for Minnesota employers. That’s why we’ve worked closely with employers around the state, plus many employer advocacy groups, to develop tools and materials to make administering Paid Leave as smooth as possible. We have received positive feedback from many employers, and we are consistently improving service offerings.»
The spokesperson added that the department «takes program integrity seriously.»
«While the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce has not shared the underlying data from its survey, the Chamber has presented its objections to paid family and medical leave programs for years at the Minnesota Legislature. Despite these objections, the Chamber has been a good partner in helping educate employers about Paid Leave.»
politics,minnesota fraud exposed,tim walz
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Top House Republicans are eyeing a surge in military funding as the U.S. continues its joint operation with Israel against Iran, and some are arguing that a second «big, beautiful bill» is the vehicle to get it done.
Republicans are discussing the possibility of supplemental funding to aid the U.S. effort as Iran continues to retaliate against allies in the region.
Senior House GOP lawmakers told Fox News Digital that the resulting heightened national security environment means that Congress has a responsibility to ensure the Armed Forces are prepared for whatever threats may arise. At the same time, they’re skeptical that Democrats will provide the votes necessary to pass such a funding bill through traditional means.
«They are certainly not going to spend an additional dime on the military, on security, on any of the things that we care about,» Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital of the opposing party. «The threats around the world have never been higher. They’ve never been greater. And we have to recapitalize after four just disastrous years of President Biden completely decimating our military.»
OPERATION EPIC FURY SURVIVES SENATE CHALLENGE AS REPUBLICANS CLOSE RANKS BEHIND TRUMP
Mourners reach out to coffins during a funeral for people killed during the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign in Isfahan, Iran, on March 5, 2026. (Payman Shahsanaei/ISNA via AP)
«So this conflict right now, and the future of our country and our Western values, have to be secured by additional defense spending, which can only happen in a reconciliation bill.»
Republicans passed a sweeping tax and policy bill last summer dubbed President Donald Trump’s landmark One Big, Beautiful Bill Act. It was done via the budget reconciliation process, which allows the party in power to change broad swaths of fiscal law while sidelining the minority party — in this case, Democrats.
It makes that possible by lowering the threshold for advancing legislation in the Senate from 60 votes to a simple majority, lining it up with the House.
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House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said he believed an additional funding package for Iran was inevitable but added, «The politics are such that there’s no guarantee that the supplemental will pass.»
«On top of that, the president has been talking about a big capital investment to modernize the military,» Arrington told Fox News Digital.
«If we can’t get Democrats to support either of those endeavors — I think we’ve got a better chance of getting support on an emergency supplemental than we do on a one-time capital investment — but I think that reconciliation may be the only train leaving the station that could address those important things.»
Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger speaks during a press conference with other members of the Republican Study Committee as well as members of House Republican leadership in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 28, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Pfluger also signaled a broader path: «Is it specific to Iran or is it more general and more broad to just increasing defense spending and making sure that our military has what they need to deter Iran and others? I think that’s probably the more likely path.»
However, he noted that reconciliation meant that spending would likely have to be offset by cuts elsewhere, something that could appease fiscal hawks wary of bloated spending levels.
«So where do we find the savings? I’ve got some ideas on that. I think it’s related to fraud. I think there’s a lot of money to be saved when we look at fraud, like what happened in Minnesota with the daycares and the billions of dollars that went out the window there,» Pfluger said.
THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO CONGRESS’ OPTIONS ON HAMSTRINGING TRUMP’S WAR POWERS IN IRAN
The idea of a second reconciliation bill has already been met with skepticism by a significant number of Republicans, many of whom have cited the GOP’s razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate.
But a senior House Republican who also spoke with Fox News Digital argued that the situation in Iran could bring the unity Republicans need.
«That would be the biggest motivating factor in another reconciliation bill,» the lawmaker said.
Chairman Rep. Jodey Arrington speaks at a news conference after the House narrowly passed a bill forwarding President Donald Trump’s agenda at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on May 22, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
And Pfluger pointed out that there was precedent — Democrats passed two reconciliation bills themselves when they last controlled Congress at the beginning of former President Joe Biden’s term.
«We should remind ourselves that they stuck together, and they were able to do that. So should we,» he said.
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But Arrington warned that lawmakers would have to move fast for something to be attainable.
«The window is closing, and I don’t see us being able to do a reconciliation bill if we get past the spring, because we’ll be too close to the election,» Arrington said.
house of representatives politics,politics,spending,war with iran
INTERNACIONAL
Así funciona el proyecto que convierte desechos plásticos en casas más baratas y sostenibles en África
En Accra, capital de Ghana, la expansión urbana supera la capacidad de construcción formal, lo que agrava la escasez de viviendas y la acumulación de basura en la ciudad. Frente a este panorama, una empresa local implementa una solución innovadora: fabricar ladrillos a partir de plástico reciclado y arena para construir casas más económicas y sostenibles. El proyecto busca reducir el costo de la vivienda y transformar los residuos plásticos en recursos útiles para la construcción.
De acuerdo con el sitio de noticias DW, el proceso involucra la recolección, limpieza y fundición de residuos plásticos, que se mezclan con arena antes de ser moldeados. Las máquinas producen hasta 25 ladrillos por hora, y cada unidad contiene aproximadamente un tercio de plástico reciclado. Este método no solo disminuye la dependencia del cemento, sino que también aporta soluciones a dos problemas urbanos críticos.
Además, según el portal español OK Diario, la empresa emplea a más de 300 personas para recolectar y clasificar residuos plásticos. En barrios densamente poblados como Nima, la producción de ladrillos supone una mejora tangible en la limpieza urbana y genera incentivos económicos para quienes participan en el proceso.
La fabricación de ladrillos utiliza una mezcla de plástico reciclado y arena. El material se funde a altas temperaturas y se prensa en moldes, lo que da como resultado bloques sólidos y resistentes. El diseño de los ladrillos, con ranuras y orificios centrales, favorece el aislamiento térmico, fundamental en un clima cálido como el de Accra. Así, la construcción resulta eficiente tanto en términos de confort como de sostenibilidad.
El método reduce la cantidad de residuos plásticos que terminan en calles o canales, ayudando a minimizar el impacto ambiental. Según los responsables del proyecto, cada ladrillo producido representa una cantidad significativa de basura retirada del entorno urbano. Además, sustituir parte del cemento por plástico reciclado disminuye las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, ya que la producción de cemento es una de las principales fuentes de CO₂ a nivel global.
Las viviendas construidas con estos ladrillos pueden costar hasta un tercio menos que las edificadas con materiales tradicionales. Esta reducción responde a la menor dependencia del cemento, el uso de materias primas recicladas y la simplificación del proceso constructivo. El modelo permite que más familias accedan a viviendas dignas, al tiempo que impulsa la economía local con la creación de empleo para cientos de personas involucradas en la cadena de reciclaje y producción.
El pago por kilogramo de plástico recolectado crea un incentivo directo para limpiar la ciudad y mejora las condiciones sanitarias en barrios vulnerables. Así, la iniciativa contribuye tanto a la calidad de vida como al desarrollo sostenible de Accra, una urbe que crece a ritmo acelerado y enfrenta desafíos estructurales en materia de vivienda.
A pesar del éxito inicial, el proyecto enfrenta limitaciones para escalar su modelo. Cada casa requiere miles de bloques y la capacidad de producción actual resulta insuficiente para satisfacer la creciente demanda. Según los promotores, ampliar la infraestructura y adquirir equipos adicionales son pasos clave para transformar la idea en una solución de mayor alcance.
El interés internacional y los pedidos de viviendas crecen, pero el desafío radica en la logística y la capacidad industrial. El modelo demuestra que el reciclaje puede convertirse en una herramienta real para el modelo habitacional sin sacrificar resistencia ni calidad. Sin embargo, la viabilidad a gran escala dependerá de inversiones en tecnología y expansión productiva.
Con estas acciones, la transformación de residuos plásticos en ladrillos para viviendas en Ghana representa una alternativa innovadora y sostenible frente a dos de los principales problemas urbanos de Accra: la escasez de vivienda y la acumulación de basura. El proyecto no solo reduce costos y mejora el medio ambiente, sino que también genera empleo y promueve la inclusión social en una ciudad que busca soluciones integrales a su crecimiento acelerado.
ladrillos de plástico,reciclables,construcción,viviendas,sostenibilidad,materiales de construcción,innovación,medio ambiente,arquitectura
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