INTERNACIONAL
Office of Personnel Management uncovers $500M in fraud and waste in federal health benefits programs
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration announced $500 million in waste and fraud findings at the Office of Personnel Management – revealing a recovery of potentially fraudulent funds for federal health benefits programs.
Health insurance carriers in the Federal Employees Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits programs reported preventing nearly $510 million in losses before or during payment and recovering an additional $21.9 million after claims were paid, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
«OPM runs health insurance for about 8.9 million retirees and federal employees, and we spend about $80 billion a year,» Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told Digital. «The $500 million, a little more than half percent, is a good number, but certainly we have a long way to go here to root out more fraud, waste and abuse.»
FIRST ON FOX: TRUMP ADMIN OPENS NEW FRONT IN FRAUD CRACKDOWN TARGETING HEALTH INSURERS, DRUG MIDDLEMEN
The White House anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance has reported $260.7 billion in fraud uncovered since Trump took office, and $72 billion in fraud stopped on an annualized basis.
Kupor said his agency is conducting its own review of health insurance claims data for the first time, allowing the agency to analyze billing patterns across providers and health plans to identify unusual prescribing habits, surgery rates and other anomalies that could signal overuse, misuse or potential fraud.
TRUMP ADMIN BLOCKS MORE THAN $1.6B IN POTENTIALLY IMPROPER MEDICARE LAB PAYMENTS, AGENCY SAYS
He said the agency will use those findings to remove providers from federal health programs when warranted and will refer cases involving suspected criminal conduct to the agency’s Office of Inspector General and the Justice Department for further investigation.
Kupor leads the agency responsible for overseeing the federal workforce while managing key employment and benefits programs for millions of current and former federal employees. One of the most prominent examples of his work stems from Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) targeting of a mine in Pennsylvania.
EXCLUSIVE: INSIDE THE SECRETIVE MINE DOGE HELPED DRAG OUT OF A DECADES-OLD BUREAUCRATIC BLACK HOLE
Last April, Digital first reported that the United States government applied the use of artificial intelligence for federal employee recordkeeping – the first time the federal government implemented AI at scale.
The movement was led by Kupor and Musk, and Musk didn’t hide his shock that federal records were being stored and managed solely on paper at the time.
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«The speed at which the mine shaft elevator can move determines how many people can retire… And the elevator breaks down and then nobody can retire,» Musk said last February. «Doesn’t that sound crazy?»
When asked for an update on progress made on modernizing the mine, Kupor said it is now fully operational on an electronic system.
«This past year, we did 180,000 electronic online applications for retirement, which is just unprecedented,» he said. «That’s almost double the production that we’ve had in any prior year. Electronic applications can get solved in less than half the time today that a paper one does.»
«We will take something that has been a six-month, nine-month, 12-month horrendous process for retirees, and I think we will be able to do it in as little as 15 days with the continued development of technology.»
WHITE HOUSE PUSHES ‘WATERSHED’ FRAUD-FIGHTING REFORM IN CONGRESS AS VANCE CONVENES TASK FORCE
Kupor’s previous experience working with artificial intelligence has led to his name being floated to serve as the AI czar in the Trump administration – a role cast into the spotlight as data center development and artificial intelligence have become midterm election talking points.
After working as an investment banker at Credit Suisse, Kupor worked at Loudcloud, which was co-founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, in 1999. He was then hired as the first employee by Andreessen and Horowitz at the duo’s venture capital firm. Kupor also served as the chair of the National Venture Capital Association from May 2017 to May 2018.
TRUMP SAYS ANTI-FRAUD EFFORTS ARE UNCOVERING BILLIONS IN WASTE, CLAIMS SAVINGS COULD BALANCE BUDGET
When asked about whether he has had any conversations with the White House about the role, Kupor said he had seen the reports he was being floated, and discussed President Donald Trump’s views on artificial intelligence broadly.
«I’ve read all the same reports you’ve read and don’t have anything to add there,» he said. «What the president has said is exactly 100% right, which is that AI is the most important piece of technology that will determine economic growth for us, national security, sovereignty for our country.»
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«One of the things that I know, again, having spent all my life in the venture world, is there is no limit to the intellect and inventiveness of entrepreneurs in this country. And we just need to make sure that the conditions around, you know, regulatory controls and others continue to allow the U.S. to flourish in the way that it’s always done.»
Kupor did not rule out accepting the role if Trump should offer it to him, saying that while he is focused on his job as director of the agency, he serves «at the will of the president.»
Reports had suggested that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was being considered for the AI czar position, but last week Trump said he would not be selecting him for the role.
politics, donald trump, doge, executive, health care
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For some French Jews, Saturday’s unrest brought an unsettling warning: conceal outward signs of Jewish identity and avoid gathering outside synagogues.
One community member told Fox News Digital that some congregations had even canceled afternoon prayers on the Sabbath as demonstrations across France descended into violence.
Ahead of the protests on Saturday, he said, as a precaution, «Lots of synagogues sent out emails to their people saying, ‘We’re canceling Mincha on Shabbat afternoon. Please don’t go out. It’s going to be dangerous,’» Samuel Arrouas, a French Jewish community member who divides his time between Paris and Israel, told Fox News Digital.
Mincha is the Jewish afternoon prayer service. Arrouas, who returned to Israel before Saturday’s protests, described his shock over the messages. «I’m 40 years old. First time I heard this,» he said.
FRANCE’S MASSIVE INTEL FAILURE SPARKS RESIGNATION OFFERS AMID DAYS OF RIOTING
Protesters hold a Palestinian flag during demonstrations in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. (Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)
Arrouas said warnings also advised Jews against visibly wearing kippahs, traditional skullcaps, or tzitzit, ritual fringes worn by observant Jewish men. Worshipers were discouraged from lingering outside synagogues after services. «You go to prayers, and you immediately leave,» he said.
Before leaving France, Arrouas said he encountered masked demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags near Paris Dauphine University.
«It’s very scary,» he said. «When you’re Jewish and you pass in front of such a scene, the only thing you want to do is just get away.»
The concerns emerged as approximately 550,000 people demonstrated across France on Oct. 17 against rising fuel prices, the cost of living and deteriorating public services, including schools. The demonstrations were masked rioters clashed with police, looted businesses and set fire to vehicles and buildings in Paris, Marseille and other cities. France’s Interior Ministry reported approximately 2,400 arrests.
ISRAELI AMBASSADOR COMPARES FRANCE’S FAR-LEFT LEADER’S RHETORIC TO HITLER AS ANTISEMITISM SURGES
Pedestrians walk along a street covered in debris a day after nationwide protests against the «high cost of living,» in Marseille on October 18, 2026. (Thibaud Moritz/AFP/Getty Images)
President Emmanuel Macron called for «calm and order» in a national address, warning against escalation. «We all feel anger and shame,» he said, distinguishing protesters’ «legitimate demands» from «those who destroyed, smashed and looted.» He said «nothing justifies» the violence and pledged accountability. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation, which Macron refused.
Shannon Seban, the France-based executive director of European affairs at the Combat Antisemitism Movement, said the presence of Palestinian flags at demonstrations over domestic issues added to Jewish community concerns.
«We have seen Palestinian flags at demonstrations that were supposed to be about education and social demands. What does Gaza have to do with any of this?» Seban told Fox News Digital.
INSIDE THE PROTEST PLAYBOOK TO VILIFY ISRAEL ON ‘GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION’
A city employee cleans tags from walls in central Paris on October 18, 2026, a day after nationwide protests that turned violent in many places across France. (Matthieu Rondel/AFP/Getty Images)
«This has nothing to do with legitimate student demands anymore. We are talking about organized violence, about people who are not coming to demonstrate but to destroy, to attack our police officers and to challenge the authority of the Republic,» she said.
Seban linked the violence to rhetoric urging people to «globalize the intifada» and to antisemitic conspiracy theories circulating online.
«At the Combat Antisemitism Movement, we documented 1,384 antisemitic posts in just two days, including conspiracy theories accusing Jews and Israel of being behind the unrest,» Seban said.
«The right to protest is fundamental in a democracy. But the right to protest is not the right to destroy,» she added. «France and Europe must wake up. Before it is too late.»
In Marseille, Bruno Benjamin, president of the Marseille-Provence branch of CRIF, the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, described the damage to local businesses and the anxiety facing the community.
A Jewish man living in a council flat wears a kippah and looks at the buildings in his city in Paris on May 17, 2024. (Magali Cohen/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)
«Several hundred shops were ransacked, vandalized and looted. The scale of the devastation is simply unbearable,» Benjamin told Fox News Digital.
He said shopkeepers had seen years of work destroyed within hours, leaving some facing layoffs or temporary unemployment for employees.
Two customers sit on the terrace of a café on a street covered in debris a day after nationwide protests turned violent in Marseille on Oct.18, 2026. (Thibaud Moritz/AFP/Getty Images)
«This is not just an attack on businesses. It is an attack on people’s livelihood, their dignity, and the very fabric of our society,» he said.
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France’s Jewish community security organization, SPCJ, cautioned against assuming that Jewish-owned property was targeted because of religion. In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, SPCJ said a break-in and vandalism at a synagogue in Paris’s 19th arrondissement initially suggested burglary, although the motive remained undetermined. Jewish-owned businesses were among those damaged in Marseille, it said, without evidence they had been singled out for being Jewish.
Protesters hold placards which read «Do not sacrifice French Jews» as they gather to condemn the alleged antisemitic gang rape of a 12-year-old girl, during a rally on Lyon Terreaux square in Lyon, central eastern France on June 19, 2024. (JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP via Getty Images)
The U.S. State Department’s existing Level 2 travel advisory urges Americans to exercise increased caution in France because of terrorism and unrest. Fox News Digital reached out to the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment on the unrest and the safety of the Jewish community.
Benjamin said rising insecurity and antisemitism had left some French Jews considering whether to leave the country, while others remained determined to stay.
«We must relentlessly combat antisemitism, defend their right to live in safety and dignity and ensure that no Jew in France should ever have to choose between their personal security and their love for their country,» he said. «Because being Jewish in France should never mean having to live in fear.»
For Seban of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, it’s evident where the blame lies: «Let me be very clear: La France Insoumise and the far left bear a political responsibility for fueling this climate of violence and confrontation.»
anti semitism, france, world protests, europe, emmanuel macron
INTERNACIONAL
Personas obligadas a pagar cuotas alimenticias tienen hasta el 1 de diciembre para entregar el aguinaldo en El Salvador
Las personas obligadas a pagar cuota alimenticia deben entregar el aguinaldo alimentario entre el 1 de octubre y el 1 de diciembre de cada año.
Alex Huben Mejía, procurador especializado de familia de la Procuraduría General de la República (PGR), explicó a Infobae que ese plazo rige tras la reforma del 24 de septiembre de 2026 al decreto de 1997 que regula este aporte.
Mejía señaló que la normativa sobre cuotas alimenticias existe desde 1994, pero el decreto que estableció el pago de aguinaldo para los alimentarios fue emitido en 1997. La regulación contempla situaciones distintas para quienes reciben aguinaldo al final del año y para quienes no perciben esa prestación.
Las personas que reciben aguinaldo deben aportar el 30 % de ese pago a quienes son beneficiarios de una cuota alimenticia. El procurador aclaró que ese porcentaje no se distribuye según la cantidad de expedientes abiertos contra el obligado, sino según el número de personas beneficiarias.
Una persona puede tener más de un expediente de alimentos. Esa circunstancia no permite repartir el aporte por partes iguales entre los procesos sin tomar en cuenta cuántos hijos o beneficiarios están incluidos en cada uno.
“Si son dos expedientes, hay que ver si en alguno hay dos hijos y en el otro hay uno; entonces se va a dividir esa cuota entre los tres”, explicó Huben Mejía.
Según su ejemplo, si un expediente incluye a dos hijos y otro a un hijo, el obligado debe calcular el 30 % de su aguinaldo y dividir esa cantidad entre los tres. No corresponde asignar 15 % a cada expediente solo porque existen dos procesos.
Personas sin aguinaldo deben pagar una cuota similar en diciembre
El decreto también contempla a quienes no reciben aguinaldo al cierre del año. En esos casos, deben aportar durante diciembre una suma igual a la cuota alimenticia mensual que ya pagan.
Si una persona no recibe aguinaldo y su cuota alimenticia mensual es de USD 200, debe entregar en diciembre otros USD 200 adicionales en concepto de aguinaldo alimentario. Ese dinero debe repartirse entre todas las personas que reciben alimentos del obligado.
La distribución sigue la misma regla aplicada a quienes sí reciben aguinaldo. Si existen varios beneficiarios, aunque estén incluidos en expedientes distintos, la cuota adicional de diciembre debe dividirse entre ellos según la cantidad de personas alimentarias.
Mejía explicó que esta obligación no se aplica de forma retroactiva. Si una persona recibió su aguinaldo en octubre y la cuota alimenticia fue fijada en noviembre, el nuevo beneficiario no puede reclamar ese pago durante el mismo año.
En ese supuesto, el pago del aguinaldo alimentario correspondería a partir del siguiente período anual.
El aguinaldo puede corresponder a adultos mayores, hermanos y cónyuges
El procurador sostuvo que el aguinaldo alimentario no se limita a las cuotas entre padres e hijos. Aunque los considerandos del decreto de 1997 hacen referencia a la niñez, el articulado utiliza el término “alimentario”.
Mejía explicó que, cuando se emitió el decreto, las obligaciones de alimentos estaban reguladas en el Código de Familia. Esa normativa incluía deberes entre padres e hijos, abuelos y nietos, hermanos y cónyuges, además de otros grupos que podían recibir alimentos.
Bajo esa interpretación, un adulto mayor que recibe una cuota de sus hijos puede ser beneficiario del aguinaldo. También puede ocurrir con un hermano menor que recibe alimentos de un hermano mayor con ingresos, por ejemplo, cuando el padre ha fallecido.
El funcionario puso como ejemplo a un hermano profesional que tiene un medio hermano de cinco o seis años. Si ese menor es considerado alimentario, debería recibir también el aguinaldo, según la explicación del procurador.
La obligación recíproca de alimentos puede extenderse a abuelos y nietos. También se mantiene entre padres e hijos y entre cónyuges, cuando una de las partes recibe una cuota alimenticia.
Mejía afirmó que para estos casos también aplicaría el 30 %, porque el decreto se refiere a la persona alimentaria y no limita el aporte a los hijos e hijas.
La quincena 25 aún no tiene reglas para cuotas alimenticias
La Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) todavía no ha establecido si la quincena 25 debe incluir un descuento para las personas que reciben cuota alimenticia.
Huben Mejía indicó que este es el segundo año en que se entrega esa remuneración. Por ahora, no existe una regla que determine si una parte de ese pago debe entregarse a los beneficiarios, qué porcentaje correspondería ni cómo se repartiría.
“No tenemos todavía un lineamiento sobre ese descuento que se pudiese dar”, explicó el procurador especializado de familia.
El incumplimiento puede derivar en embargo y proceso penal
El aguinaldo alimentario debe pagarse, como máximo, el 1 de diciembre. Si ese aporte no se entrega, desde enero el beneficiario puede acudir al juzgado donde se fijó la cuota o a la Procuraduría General de la República.
La PGR puede citar al obligado para que explique cómo pagará el aguinaldo pendiente. Mejía señaló que algunos aguinaldos pueden alcanzar montos altos, sobre todo cuando equivalen al 100 % del salario mensual de la persona obligada.
En esos casos, si no hay pago, puede iniciarse una audiencia especial ante un juzgado de Niñez y Adolescencia o de Familia. La finalidad es buscar un acuerdo sobre la forma en que se cancelará la deuda.
El procurador indicó que la institución también puede llamar al deudor para que asuma un compromiso sobre la cancelación de ese aporte. Si no cumple, pueden iniciarse acciones legales ante la instancia correspondiente.
Si una persona incumple con el pago mensual de la cuota alimenticia, la normativa contempla otras medidas. La PGR debe restringir la renovación o extensión de pasaporte, licencia de conducir y tarjeta de circulación.
La persona en mora tampoco puede acceder a préstamos mercantiles. Si requiere licencia para portación de armas por su trabajo o por una actividad empresarial, tampoco puede obtenerla ni renovarla.
El beneficiario puede pedir una restricción de salida del país contra el obligado. Si esas medidas no consiguen el pago de las cuotas atrasadas, la PGR investiga si la persona tiene bienes que puedan ser embargados.
Si existen bienes susceptibles de embargo, la institución inicia un proceso de ejecución ante el juzgado de Niñez y Adolescencia o de Familia que corresponda. Si no hay bienes, el caso puede trasladarse a la Fiscalía General de la República para que inicie un proceso penal.
En 2025 fueron demandados 9,760 hombres por fijación de cuota
Huben Mejía informó que en 2025 hubo 9,760 hombres demandados y 727 mujeres demandadas en procesos de fijación de cuota alimenticia.
Hasta agosto de 2026, la Procuraduría General de la República registraba 6,903 hombres y 616 mujeres demandados en este tipo de procesos.
El procurador indicó que los datos corresponden principalmente a casos de alimentos de padres hacia hijos. Añadió que podría haber un margen reducido de expedientes relacionados con personas adultas mayores u otros beneficiarios, aunque no presentó un desglose por tipo de vínculo familiar.
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INTERNACIONAL
Torched cars, ransacked businesses: Anti-Sharia crusader warns France ‘civil war’ could be imported to US
EXCLUSIVE: The top House Republican overseeing Europe policy is blaming the riots roiling French cities on mass migration, and warning the U.S. could soon follow suit.
Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told Digital that he was not surprised by the violent demonstrations across France — and moreover, argued they were a long time coming.
«They’ve been allowing this to happen for years and years, so they are reaping what they sowed,» Self said. «We’re also trying to get a handle on our mass migration consequences, just like France should have done years ago. That’s why I say this is a lesson to America. We are watching the future of America in France and the U.K., frankly.»
Self is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He is also a co-founder alongside Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, of the Sharia-Free America Caucus.
VIOLENT FAR-LEFT RIOTS IN FRANCE ARE ‘CHILLING WARNING’ FOR AMERICANS AT HOME, MIKE JOHNSON SAYS
Democrats have criticized the group as Islamophobic, and it’s been condemned by groups like the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations.
But Self doubled down on his beliefs, suggesting France’s growing Muslim population is at least partially responsible for the riots.
«They’ve got, what, 7% now are Muslims in France? And, you know, when you reach that percentage — and very concentrated in some large cities — that gives you the tipping point that everybody talks about,» he argued.
Islam is the second-most popular religion in metropolitan France among people aged 18 to 59 after Catholicism, according to the country’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.
ITALY’S SCHOOL VEIL BAN EXPOSES EUROPE’S ASSIMILATION FIGHT AS EXPERT WARNS US COULD BE NEXT
He said later: «This is what you get when you think that everyone is culturally and morally equivalent. They’re not. And at some point, you have got to make the decision: Are we going to defend a Christian heritage in France, or are we not?»
It comes after multiple days of violent protests and riots across France that have seen stores looted and centuries-old buildings burned and desecrated.
France’s secular centrist government has blamed far-left groups for exacerbating tension over high living costs and expensive education, among other issues.
Self argued France was in an open «civil war» and said its military should step in, but was pessimistic that it would.
WHO’S WHO: INSIDE FRANCE’S ‘CHAOS INC.’ FRANCHISE OF COMMUNIST GROUPS, LABOR UNIONS AND GLOBAL ACTIVISTS
«There’s too much destruction now, so we’ll see if they’ve got the gumption to send in the military. But if they don’t, then they’re very close to losing their culture in the large cities,» he said.
Asked if the turmoil should force French President Emmanuel Macron to step down, Self said, «That’s up to Macron. I think it would probably be beneficial to France.»
But he maintained the chaos should not turn into a backlash against the U.S.-France relationship — in fact, Self said, the U.S. ought to help France with intelligence-gathering about the protests.
«I think we probably ought to offer them what help we could, facial identification, whatever,» Self said, clarifying that he did not mean sending Americans in person. «France is still a very important, very large ally and partner. So we need to do what we can, understanding that, you know, President Trump has tried to get them to step up and do more. But this is not the time to abandon France.»
LIMOGES TOWN HALL ‘LARGELY LOST’ AFTER FAR-LEFT RIOTERS SET HISTORIC BUILDING ON FIRE AMID FRENCH UNREST
More than 500,000 people took to the streets in various cities and towns across France this weekend. French authorities said 1,800 people were arrested nationwide, with over 800 of those arrested in the capital city of Paris alone.
In addition to photos and videos of French heritage sites in flames, images showing some protesters carrying Algerian, Palestinian and Moroccan flags have led figures on the right to blame France’s immigration policies.
The Louvre Museum in Paris announced Monday that it would be closed «for the time being» due to the protests.
politics, france, emmanuel macron, europe, republicans elections, house of representatives politics
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