Friday, January 16, 2026
Note to Ldotters:
Please remember, no duplicates, no blog posting
unless you have permission from staff, no local crimes and
no posting just to elicit nasty reactions.
Any post with three lines or fewer will be deleted.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Lucianne.com Ad-Free Subscription
Learn More or Enter Code
Latest Posts
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sweeping new sanctions Thursday on senior Iranian officials and regime-linked financial networks, saying Tehran’s ruling elite are “rats fleeing the ship” as they frantically wire tens of millions of dollars out of the country amid mounting unrest. At the direction of President Donald Trump, Bessent said the Treasury Department is sanctioning key Iranian leaders involved in the brutal crackdown on protesters, while moving to choke off the regime’s sanctions-evasion pipelines used to launder proceeds from Iranian petroleum and petrochemical sales.
If Minnesota officials don’t like President Donald Trump’s threat to invoke the Insurrection Act, maybe they should do more to tamp down the insurrectionary activity in their state.
After an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer was violently attacked by two illegal immigrants while making an arrest Wednesday night and shot one assailant in the leg in self-defense, anti-ICE activists — predictably enough — rioted.
In response to the unprovoked attack on the officer, Mayor Jacob Frey once again blasted ICE.
Imagine, he implored,
A certain class of analyst purported to be scandalized by the American night raid on Venezuela that snatched away strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife. By ordering the attack on a weak hostile nation, these people claimed, President Trump has given permission to every global bad actor to misbehave.
China has been given a green light to invade Taiwan. Russia is finally free to trespass on . . . I don’t know, maybe Ukraine?
Even by today’s declining standards, that line of analysis is pathetically shallow.
Neither Xi Jinping nor Vladimir Putin look to the US for permission. The opposite is closer to the truth:
White House Border Czar Tom Homan warned leftist agitators interfering with federal immigration enforcement that he is urging the Trump administration to develop a plan to "make them famous."Inject that directly into my veins, please.
Homan's comments, which he made during an interview with Fox News personality Laura Ingraham on Thursday, appear to be a direct response to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), who amped up the ongoing chaos in his state by inciting protesters to harass ICE agents.
Rather than turning down the temperature as street thugs continue to try to impede government operations, the governor posted a video encouraging the already unhinged to "film ICE agents"
With all the fraud constantly being exposed, it’s no wonder our national debt keeps increasing at an alarming rate — politicians overspend, and fraudsters suck up billions more. Our taxpayer-funded programs seem extremely vulnerable to fraud, including Medicare and Medicaid. Five ophthalmology practices in Florida have agreed to a $6 million settlement with the federal government over their fraudulent billing through a third-party for transcranial doppler ultrasounds (TCDs), according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). “These settlements are a continuing testament to the United States’ commitment to fight healthcare fraud and ensure that federal healthcare dollars are spent consistently with the law,”
On Thursday afternoon, I wrote about how María Corina Machado visited the White House and had lunch with Donald Trump. While I was writing that article, some rumors were circulating about a big gesture she made, but I couldn't confirm them at the time. Now I can. The Venezuelan opposition leader, on behalf of her people, gave the president her Nobel Peace Prize. Not a replica. The real thing. Since the meeting was purposely kept private, I wasn't sure that a photo would surface, but one got out, and as of late Thursday night, both the White House and Machado have shared it on social media.
Canada and China are forging ahead with a new strategic partnership and both sides stand to make “historic” gains as they leverage each other’s strengths, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday.
“Particularly in agriculture and agri-food, energy, and finance,” Carney said. “That is where I believe we can make immediate and sustained progress.”
Carney, the first Canadian prime minister to visit China since 2017, was on a mission to Beijing this week to forge a new partnership with Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the United States, building on months of diplomatic efforts to turn the page on previous tensions and conflict.
Some Are Saying Nick Shirley's Latest
Video on Somali Fraud Is Worse Than the
Daycare Investigation replies
Video on Somali Fraud Is Worse Than the
Daycare Investigation replies
Well, it dropped a little late, but the second video is here. YouTuber-turned-investigative reporter Nick Shirley dropped his second video, albeit much later than his initial deadline yesterday. Still, it was worth the wait, with many noting that usually sequels are not as good as the original—not this time.[snip] This latest video featuring Shirley and Hoch delved into welfare fraud.[snip]medical transportation companies, where these Somali-led operations are being paid for vehicles that are supposed to be ferrying patients but are instead sitting idle in lots.[snip] estimated that around $6 million was ferried through the airport per week between 2016 and 2021.
Trump advisor Stephen Miller appeared on Fox News, and he reminded the men and women of ICE that the administration had their back, no matter how much Democrat politicians and leftist agitators tried to attack them. (Snip) At this point, Democrats are completely off the rails. We've already seen some of the crazy comments from people like Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
But I guess Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) wanted to try to challenge them for the worst possible take. This is truly insane. Democrats have lost their minds.
Here in California, billionaires are under attack as the Democrats are pushing a referendum that would levy a 5 percent wealth tax on unrealized gains and other assets of these very rich people in the Golden State. In Washington, DC, Donald Trump is telling big financial corporations that he’s going to limit their credit card interest rates to just 10 percent instead of the 20 percent or 30 percent they’ve been charging their customers. On the one hand, these are terrible economic policies. They are the opposite of classical conservatism. It’s ridiculous to tax unrealized gains
The Left thinks they're above the law, and Democrats in D.C. and elsewhere have encouraged their voters to take to the streets to resist ICE, often violently, as we're seeing in Minneapolis. The violence led to the death of Renee Good, who hit an ICE agent with her vehicle after stalking the law enforcement officers for most of the day, and a shooting last night. (Snip) That's a lesson Jennifer Cruz of Jacksonville is discovering. She decided to FA, and now she's FO. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier posted a pic of Cruz being arrested after she decided to exit her vehicle and punch a Trooper in the face.
Oh no. Somebody call a therapist, a spokesperson, and maybe a safe space — wittle Zohran got so mad.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is in full-blown fury mode because federal immigration authorities committed the ultimate sin in progressive politics: they enforced the law. Calmly. Quietly. Professionally. Without asking permission from City Hall or consulting the feelings of the mayor first.
The offense? A New York City Council employee — unlawfully present in the United States — was detained by federal authorities during a routine immigration appointment. Not a raid. Not a sweep. Not a door kicked in at dawn. A routine appointment.
When firefighters arrive at a fire, they don't carry cans of gasoline. Their job demands judgment, timing, and courage. Anyone adding fuel while claiming to quickly calm fires reveals their priorities.
Thanks to the ACLU's branch in Minnesota, Minnesota now faces that moment.
A Lawsuit at the Worst Possible Time
The ACLU of Minnesota filed a lawsuit to stop ICE from arresting Somali and Hispanic illegal aliens living in the state.
Their idea is to target cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration agents, saying any arrests violate constitutional protections.
You know, for those fine, peaceful people who aren't supposed to be here.
Their timing couldn't be worse.
Minneapolis has turned into a powder keg
President Donald Trump has once again threatened to bust out the Insurrection Act, to quell the violent, organized mob actions against federal law enforcement in blue cities, abetted by the TDS-riddled despots in their "sanctuary" fiefdoms who imagine they are more powerful than the federal government. The situation is making it impossible for the government to go about its business, enforcing the law.
Even last October, Trump claimed he was free to invoke the act if activist courts continued to stymy his efforts to send the National Guard to recalcitrant cities. "Everybody agrees you're allowed to use that, and there is no more court cases, there is no more anything,"
The communists were hoping that the rightful shooting of Nicole Good, the annoying, Marxist-trained apparatchik who thought she'd drive her vehicle at an ICE agent in Minneapolis (resulting in a bullet or three to the noodle), would inspire a George Floyd-like, nationwide assault on our peaceful society, led by young pinkos eager to topple the United States.
But that didn't happen.
FACT-O-RAMA! A BLM scavenger did show up and pretended to be angry about... something, and demanded money for....something, but thus far, many of the agitators are doddery, white "wrinkle-Americans."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt held a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon, and she was on fire, especially when it came to answering one "journalist" from The Hill. Let's just say he had a question about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, but he kind of already had the answers — or, at least, his version of them — prepared in his head, and Leavitt didn't let it go.
Leavitt called on Niall Stanage, who asked: "Earlier, you were just defending ICE agents generally....Secretary [Kristi] Noem spoke to the media and she said, among other things, that they are doing everything correctly —
It’s Time for Trump to Retake Momentum
By Reminding the People Why He’s Doing
What He’s Doing replies
By Reminding the People Why He’s Doing
What He’s Doing replies
His Campaign for the Midterms Starts February 1
On Feb. 24, 2026, President Donald J. Trump will stand before the Senate, Congress, the judiciary, and the American people to deliver his State of the Union Address, and already, it will be epic. Try as they might to create distractions, the Democrats in the building will not be able to diminish all that the Trump administration has accomplished in the first year of Trump’s second term.
The sad thing is that Trump isn’t getting proper credit. According to an AP-NORC poll, roughly 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of Trump’s performance.
It's no understatement to say that the 2006 documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" changed the direction of public policy. And in fact, that's exactly what failed presidential candidate Al Gore intended the film to do. Fortunately for him, he found a willing audience of Hollywood celebrities and left-wing media outlets to uncritically promote his ideology and activism.
Unfortunately for him, 2006 is now far enough in the past that we can test some of the predictions, claims, and statements of fact he makes in that film. So that's exactly what we did.
What is it about failed governors that convinces Democrats they should lead the nation?
Mark Halperin released his January installment of his “8 for ’28” Democratic nomination rankings, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom remains at the top of the list. Remarkably, another failed governor — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker — made the biggest jump in the rankings and now sits at No. 4. The third member of that trifecta of America’s worst governors, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, almost became vice president, which would have made him a heartbeat away from the presidency. With Newsom still at No. 1 for 2028, it’s instructive to look at what other lists he tops.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani's controversial pick for tenant advocate, Cea Weaver, once admitted that pushing for rent control was just the "first step" in her plan to destroy the free housing market and move toward "full social housing."
Videos of Weaver's past statements have gone viral on social media since Mamdani chose the 37-year-old to lead the city's Office to Protect Tenants.
"We decided that fighting for rent control was a strategic and critical first step in the fight for full social housing," she said in a newly surfaced clip. “So, a lot of times people ask, ‘Why are we fighting for rent control when we have NYCHA?
President Donald Trump threatened to take matters into his own hands if Minnesota Democrats don’t take action against violent protesters wreaking havoc on federal law enforcement. (snip) Video footage caught violent mobs in Minnesota destroying an ICE vehicle. Other footage shows rioters looting federal vehicles, stealing equipment and other items inside.
In response to the increased ICE presence, Minnesota officials, joined by Minneapolis and St. Paul leaders, have sued to keep ICE out of the state. Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, have demanded agents leave.
The screaming woman who was filmed being pulled from her car by ICE agents in Minneapolis has been identified as a tech guru and LGBT and racial justice activist who describes herself as a “friendly neighborhood deniable asset.” Aliya Rahman, a software engineer with a lengthy background in coding, has backed policies for police-worn body cameras and also has prior ties to multiple advocacy groups, including a decade-long history with the Black Lives Matter movement. Rahman was thrown into the spotlight after viral footage showed federal agents breaking her car window and yanking her out on Tuesday after she apparently
Immigration and Customs Enforcement deputy director Madison Sheahan is resigning to run for Congress as a Republican in an Ohio district that’s been a Democratic stronghold since 1983, The Post can confirm.
Sheahan launched her campaign challenging Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) on Thursday with a video announcement touting her service as an ICE official and work on her family’s horse farm.
Ohio’s 9th District, which stretches across the northwestern corner of the Buckeye State and includes the city of Toledo, has re-elected Kaptur every two years since her first run for the House in 1982, even as the state has shifted right over the past decade.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have been digging themselves a big hole that they may not be able to get out of with their encouragement of anti-ICE action.
They now have President Donald Trump talking about the Insurrection Act, and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche warning the two of them that he's going to hold them accountable for their actions as the anti-ICE violence in Minnesota gets worse. Frey did tell the rioters on Wednesday night to go home - after they'd already been whipped up. That's a bit like closing the barn after the horse has already bolted. (X) "Imagine if your city or town