INTERNACIONAL
Washington officials blast conservatives for Minnesota-style day care fraud claims in new state
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A top blue-state governor slammed conservatives for inflicting «deep damage» on the Somali–American community, while the state’s top prosecutor warned of potential charges after citizen journalists filmed encounters with alleged Minneapolis-like day care addresses and streamed them online.
Citizen journalists have raised public visibility of rampant fraud allegations in Minnesota, with a large part of the allegations stemming from within the Somali community there. Weeks after Gov. Tim Walz came under fire, other bloggers traveled to Seattle and King County, Washington, to visit what they claimed were similarly fraudulent day care sites — drawing Olympia’s ire.
Former White House Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk highlighted media posted by Kristen Magnuson, who, along with Cam Higby — an independent journalist recently connected with Charlie Kirk’s conservative Turning Point USA organization — and podcaster Jonathan Choe, sounded the alarm about alleged Minneapolis-style situations cropping up in the Pacific Northwest.
«They are fraud-maxxing this exploit,» Musk claimed in response to a post by Magnuson that included a video scrolling a list of up to 539 daycare centers in Washington state that she said allegedly listed Somali as the primary language.
TIM WALZ PUSHES BACK ON MINNESOTA FRAUD ALLEGATIONS FOLLOWING VIRAL DAYCARE VIDEO
Meanwhile, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, took to X to post several photos of himself meeting with what he said were Somali community leaders.
In those meetings, Ferguson said he «discuss(ed) the deep damage inflicted by Donald Trump’s harmful rhetoric and reckless deportations. Here in Washington state, we recognize that diversity is a strength.»
Democrats have claimed such «damage» as an uptick in anti-Somali rhetoric and some liberals have condemned citizen journalists taking it upon themselves to visit alleged day care sites.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson speaks at a podium in Seattle. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
When Fox News Digital attempted to recreate the 539 day care center list Wednesday from the official Department of Child and Youth Services website, the option to select Somali as a primary language had either been removed or was not there. Magnuson said several of the day cares lacked addresses or other standard identifying information.
MINNESOTA’S NEW MEDICAID FRAUD PREVENTION FIX WON’T MAKE ‘ANY DIFFERENCE,’ FORMER FBI AGENT SAYS
Choe replied to Washington Gov. Ferguson on X, warning that he has a «serious Somali fraud problem in (his) state,» particularly in King County, Washington, which Choe alleged was «especially out of control.»
FEDS LAUNCH ‘MASSIVE’ INVESTIGATION AFTER VIRAL VIDEO ALLEGES MINNESOTA DAYCARE FRAUD
«Hey Bob, can you explain this for us?» Higby replied to Ferguson on X, while including a video of him reportedly approaching an address in Federal Way, Washington, that he alleged received more than $200,000 in subsidies.
In the video, a man who accompanied Higby approached the door of the apparent residence and asked if the building was «Dhagash Family Child Care» — as a female voice responded, «no,» and Higby said «rustling» could be heard as his partner approached a home security camera.
In another video, Higby alleged he went to an address listed for a day care that allegedly received $800,000 in subsidies in the town of Kent, Washington, but found «no daycare here» when he approached what appeared to be a residential address.
HHS CUTS OFF MINNESOTA CHILD CARE PAYMENTS OVER ALLEGED DAYCARE FRAUD SCHEME
«Records show massive subsidy payments following inspections reflecting risk of death to children,» Higby wrote.
«There are 539 childcare centers in Washington state that list Somali as the primary language. Most don’t even give a street address. I don’t know how many of these are submitting fraudulent claims for state grants and subsidies, but I have a strong hunch the number is not zero,» read a separate statement from Magnuson.
The Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) told Fox News Digital that the agency «appreciate(s) our licensed child care providers and the important work they do to care for and educate our youngest learners.»
«We take fraud seriously. Washington state utilizes a variety of measures to minimize fraud. For example, DCYF conducts unannounced site visits at every licensed childcare provider at least once per year,» the agency said.
DCYF also randomly audits its rolls to confirm the accuracy of disbursements to the day care providers, the agency said, verifying attendance and matching families authorized to receive such benefits. The agency said it tallied 1,440 audits in 2024.
Of the lack of addresses found by Magnuson, DCYF said the state has addresses for every provider listed even if the public-facing website lacks full data, and that about 5,500 providers or 2.6% statewide do list Somali as their «language spoken.»
DCYF told Fox News Digital that anyone suspecting fraud should contact the state’s hotline directly at 1‐800‐562‐6906.
FEDS LAUNCH ‘MASSIVE OPERATION’ IN MINNESOTA AMID FRAUD SCANDAL
Washington state government reporter Carleen Johnson also replied to Ferguson’s tweet saying she visited several «Somali-run home daycare centers» in Federal Way, comparing her visits to those of YouTuber Nick Shirley in Minneapolis.
«There were no children and no one willing to chat with this reporter. They threatened me with police,» she said.
Amid the videos dropping, Washington Democratic Attorney General Nicholas Brown said his office received complaints from Somali residents «after reports of home-based daycare providers being harassed and accused of fraud with little to no fact-checking.»
«We are in touch with the state Department of Children Youth and Families regarding the claims being pushed online and the harassment reported by daycare providers,» Brown said, adding that showing up on a person’s porch and «threatening or harassing them is not an investigation; neither is filming minors who may be in the home.»
SENATE PRESSURE MOUNTS AS MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL CONTINUES TO UNFOLD
Brown urged anyone subjected to that treatment to contact police or his office’s Hate Crimes & Bias hotline.
«If you think fraud is happening, there are appropriate measures to report and investigate,» Brown said in a statement. Where «fraud is substantiated and verified by law enforcement and regulatory agencies, people should be held accountable.»
Higby responded to Brown appearing to reference his work, tweeting that «journalists showing up to daycares and asking for applications is not harassment or threatening — unless of course, it’s a fraudulent daycare, then it may be threatening to the fraud ring.»
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The FAA issued a ground stop for the Seattle airport. (Reuters/Chris Helgren)
Neither Brown’s nor Ferguson’s office responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by press time.
According to Newsweek, Magnuson filtered her searches for Somali as the primary language of a day care, and added a filter for Washington «Early Achievers» program beneficiaries, which «entitles them to state funding. That second filter cut the number of centers returned to 274,» according to the outlet.
minnesota fraud exposed,somali immigrant community,washington,democrats elections,elon musk,childrens health
INTERNACIONAL
Conservatives torch media after Mamdani avoids Musk-level backlash over ‘identical’ on-stage gesture
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Conservatives are calling out what they say is a media double standard after newly sworn-in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was seen extending his arm during his inauguration Thursday — a gesture they argue mirrors a motion Elon Musk made a year ago that ignited widespread headlines accusing the tech billionaire of delivering a «Nazi salute.»
«Not a single one of these legacy media outlets reported on Mamdani’s identical hand gesture which they called @elonmusk a nazi for Do you see what’s happening?» popular conservative X account Libs of TikTok posted Friday, accompanied by screenshots of media outlets stretching from the Guardian to Vox reported on accusations that Musk delivered a «Nazi-style salute» to Trump supporters Jan. 20.
Liberals and critics frequently attacked Trump while he was on the campaign trail by calling him a Hitler-esque fascist, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, who compared Trump to the German dictator during a town hall in the final stretch of the 2024 election cycle. Musk attended Trump’s inaugural parade in 2025, where he spoke to supporters and was accused of giving a Hitler-style salute to the crowds — a narrative that was promoted by Democrats such as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Musk and Republicans lambasted and mocked the accusations when they cropped up, including the tech billionaire floating a potential defamation lawsuit against Walz for promoting the claim.
CRITICS SAY MAMDANI’S VOW TO SWAP ‘RUGGED INDIVIDUALISM’ WITH ‘WARMTH OF COLLECTIVISM’ HAS SINISTER UNDERTONE
Fast-forward nearly a year, conservatives are questioning why Mamdani has not faced similar accusations after he was seen extending his arm in a gesture similar to Musk’s.
«Zohran Mamdani did the same exact gesture today at his swearing in that the left called a ‘Nazi salute’ when @elonmusk did it,» former liberal and WalkAway — a movement encouraging people to leave the Democratic Party — founder Brandon Straka posted to X.
«They lie,» Musk posted to X Friday in response to Libs of TikTok’s message showing a swath of headlines from earlier in 2025 reporting that the tech billionaire allegedly gave a Nazi salute.
«HOLY CRAP! Zohran Mamdani just did the EXACT SAME gesture as Elon Musk When Elon does it, it’s a ‘Nazi salute.’ When communist Zohran does it, the media is silent. The media is the enemy of the people,» conservative commentator Eric Daugherty posted.
«Did Mamdani do a nazi salute?!?! Literally shaking rn I’m sure CNN and MSNBC will be all over this,» Libs of TikTok posted in another message mocking Democrats over their January comments targeting Musk.
BERNIE SANDERS DITCHES ICONIC MITTENS LOOK WHILE SWEARING IN SOCIALIST ZOHRAN MAMDANI AS NYC MAYOR
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the city’s 112 mayor on Jan. 1, 2026. (Fox News)
«When Elon signals his heart goes out to the crowd he’s a ‘NAZI’. When Mamdani does it, its perfectly fine… The left tried to use that signal from Elon to gaslight people into people into thinking he is a Nazi because they saw it as politically useful.. They are not ideologically consistent and their hypocrisy knows no bounds. They do NOT care about any of that. They just care about political power and feeling virtuous,» another posted.
«Zohran Mamdani can make this gesture and everyone loves him for it, but when Elon Musk does it? The leftist media wasted no time calling him a Nazi,» the Media Research Center posted to X.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, Jan.20, 2025. (Angela Weiss/AFP/ Getty Images)
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, took office Thursday, with ceremonies that included a public swearing-in outside City Hall and an earlier private oath at the decommissioned City Hall subway station. Mamdani was seen lifting his hand from his heart to the crowds of supporters at the end of his speech during the public ceremony.
«I was elected as a Democratic socialist, and I will govern as a Democratic socialist,» he said.
FLASHBACK: INSIDE THE POLITICAL MOVEMENT THAT PUT A SOCIALIST IN CHARGE OF NEW YORK CITY
«Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously,» Mamdani said, acknowledging that his agenda may not always succeed but insisting it would be bold. «To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives.»
Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani becomes the first Muslim mayor of New York City, with the inauguration ceremony at City Hall, Manhattan, New York City, Jan. 1, 2026. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office regarding conservatives’ comments over the salute considering previous coverage of Musk, but did not immediately receive a reply.
Musk served as the Trump administration’s public leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Trump established at the start of his second administration to weed out fraud, government overspending and mismanagement from the federal government.
Musk was a common fixture of the administration — serving as a special government employee — until May, when Musk criticized Trump’s «big, beautiful bill» for raising the debt ceiling, fracturing the relationship. Musk and Trump have since been spotted at public events together, including chatting with one another.
MEDIA OUTLETS ACCUSE ELON MUSK OF GIVING ‘FASCIST SALUTE’ AT TRUMP INAUGURATION RALLY
Musk slammed comparisons to Nazis toward the end of his DOGE tenure, pointing to it as another example of the long-running attacks against Trump and his supporters.
«Well, I mean, look, it’s a relentless propaganda campaign, which obviously President Trump has experienced for a very long time, 20 years, maybe longer,» Musk said on Fox News’ «My View with Lara Trump» in May. «And politics is a blood sport, so they’re going to come up with whatever attacks they can to destroy the public perception of someone.»
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
«Now, obviously, I’ve not harmed anyone in my life, so it’s an outrageous thing to claim that I’m a Nazi,» he added.
zohran mamdani,elon musk,politics,socialism
INTERNACIONAL
Protests spread across Iran as regime threatens US forces as ‘legitimate targets’ after Trump warning
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
As nationwide protests continued to spread across Iran on Friday, the regime’s hardline Parliament speaker warned the U.S. that American forces and bases in the region would be considered «legitimate targets» if Washington intervenes in the country’s ongoing political unrest.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made the comments after President Donald Trump said earlier Friday that the U.S. would take action if Iran uses force against demonstrators. It comes as protests entered a sixth day and appear to be spreading, with Iranian opposition groups claiming at least eight deaths.
«The disrespectful President of America should also know that with this official admission, all American centers and forces across the entire region will be legitimate targets for us in response to any potential adventurism,» Qalibaf wrote in Persian on X.
«Iranians have always been united and determined to act in the face of an aggressor enemy,» he added.
IRANIAN PROTESTERS CLASH WITH SECURITY FORCES AS TEAR GAS FILLS TEHRAN STREETS AMID NATIONWIDE UNREST
A protester faces Iranian security forces during clashes amid nationwide unrest, according to images released by the Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) (NCRI )
Qalibaf’s threat emerges as the United States maintains a substantial military presence in the region.
Roughly 40,000 active-duty U.S. troops and War Department civilians are deployed across the Middle East, according to Military Times, citing Pentagon officials. Forces are stationed in countries including Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and Syria, according to Reuters.
Trump said earlier Friday that the United States is «locked and loaded and ready to go» if Iranian authorities violently suppress demonstrators.
«If Iran shoots and ‘violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,’» Trump wrote on Truth Social.
US AIRSTRIKE ON NUCLEAR FACILITIES FOLLOWS YEARS OF IRANIAN PLOTS ON AMERICAN SOIL
The Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) claimed Friday that protests have spread to at least 44 cities across 19 provinces, with at least eight people killed in clashes with security forces over the past two days. The group said the youngest victim was 15 years old. The claims could not be independently verified.
According to the NCRI, demonstrations and street fighting intensified overnight, with protesters blocking roads, throwing stones and setting fire to police vehicles in multiple cities, including Marvdasht, Semirom, Darreh-Shahr, Ramhormoz and Azna.
The group also claimed demonstrators burned a statue of slain Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Lali, in Iran’s Khuzestan province.
Funerals of those killed in the uprising turned into angry demonstrations against the clerical dictatorship, NCRI reported.
Protesters hold signs during a demonstration in Iran amid ongoing unrest, according to images released by the Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran. (NCRI )
In Zahedan, in Iran’s southeast near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, demonstrators rallied after Friday prayers, chanting slogans including «Death to the dictator» and «Death to Khamenei.»
The unrest marks Iran’s most significant protests since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody sparked nationwide demonstrations. Iranian officials say the current unrest has not reached the same scale or intensity.
EXILED PRINCE WARNS IRANIAN MILITARY OF ‘FINAL CHANCE’ TO STAND UP TO THE REGIME
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf speaks during a public event in Iran in 2024 (Hossein Beris / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP)
In recent demonstrations, some of the most severe violence has been reported in western Iran, where videos circulating online appear to show fires burning in streets and the sound of gunfire during nighttime protests.
In a message to the protesters, the President-elect of the NCRI, Maryam Rajavi, said that the protesters have «struck fear into a weakened enemy.»
«Scenes of your courage, valor, and steadfast resistance captivate the conscience of the world,» Rajavi said. «Therefore, from here, I say to the clerics, the Revolutionary Guards, the Basij forces, and their intelligence agents: whatever measures you take, you will not be able to silence a people who have resolved to overthrow the clerical regime.»
«You may kill, you may wound, you may arrest and imprison, but you will not escape the relentless wrath of this nation. And let this stand as an explicit warning to all those who order and carry out these crimes and killings: the courts of a free Iran are awaiting you.»
Meanwhile, exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of Iran’s former shah, praised Trump’s «decisive leadership» and tough stance against Iran’s ruling clerics.
Pahlavi said Iranians are risking their lives to end 46 years of rule by the Islamic Republic.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
«[The people] have entrusted me with a message along with a great responsibility: to strive for the revival of the relationship that Iran once had with America; a relationship that brought peace and prosperity to the Middle East,» Pahlavi wrote on X.
«I have a clear plan for a stable transition in Iran and enjoy the support of my people to achieve it. With your leadership in the free world, we can leave behind a lasting legacy of enduring peace.»
Iranian security forces are seen near a crowd during demonstrations amid ongoing unrest, according to images released by the Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). (NCRI )
Fox News’ Bradford Betz, Greg Norman, Morgan Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
world,iran,middle east,donald trump,world politics,defense
James Luckey-Lange, de Staten Island, Nueva York, fue dado por desaparecido en Venezuela por su familia a principios de diciembre. Foto Eva Aridjis Fuentes.Casos
El Banco Central puso la lupa sobre la AFA: investiga ingresos por US$200 millones sin liquidar entre 2020 y 2021
Conservatives torch media after Mamdani avoids Musk-level backlash over ‘identical’ on-stage gesture
El polémico fichaje de Solomon por la Fiorentina: ‘Apoya a las políticas genocidas de Netanyahu, no es bienvenido’
El Banco Central investiga a la AFA por presunta violación a la ley cambiaria por más de 131 millones de dólares y 95 millones de euros
Jornada financiera: el riesgo país cayó al nivel más bajo desde 2018 y el dólar subió con las nuevas bandas
Protests spread across Iran as regime threatens US forces as ‘legitimate targets’ after Trump warning
Jorge Lanata, a un año de su muerte: el periodista más original, influyente y popular de su generación
Axel Kicillof insistirá con la reelección indefinida de intendentes, pero evita el debate de la Boleta Única
Documento clave: la empresa de Faroni pactó con la AFA quedarse con el 30% de sus ingresos comerciales en el exterior
El mensaje de Año Nuevo de Javier Milei: “Hemos cumplido con todas nuestras promesas de campaña”
POLITICA2 días agoEl mensaje de Año Nuevo de Javier Milei: “Hemos cumplido con todas nuestras promesas de campaña”
- ECONOMIA3 días ago
Sueldo empleada doméstica: cuáles son los nuevos montos por hora y mes para enero 2026
- ECONOMIA3 días ago
El Gobierno avanza en un REPO por u$s2.000 millones para enfrentar los vencimientos de deuda
