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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - An Afghan man arrested on charges of planning a terrorist attack on Election Day worked as a security guard in Afghanistan for the CIA, two sources with knowledge of the matter told NBC News.
Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, was arrested on Monday in Oklahoma and accused of plotting to kill Americans with an assault rifle on behalf of ISIS. Court documents said he had contributed to an ISIS charity in March and accessed online ISIS propaganda, but they did not say whether he was radicalized before or after he came to the U.S. in 2021.
One senior administration official said counterterrorism officials assess that Tawhedi became radicalized during the three years he lived in the U.S. A senior law enforcement official said the FBI is still investigating that question.
The CIA declined to comment.
Court documents say Tawhedi entered the country in September 2021, about a month after the U.S. military completed its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war. Click here to read more.
LANSING, Mich - Michigan families relying on the Family Independence Program can now stay on welfare for a longer period of time after a new law took effect Tuesday.
Senate Bill 932, sponsored by state Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, extends the time families can receive cash assistance through the FIP from four to five years.
The bill had passed both chambers along party lines, with Democrats arguing it would give families extra time and flexibility during tough financial periods.
But Republicans criticized the bill, citing the burden on taxpayers and arguing the legislation incentivizes long-term dependency on government aid. Click here to read more.
Just weeks before Election Day, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits has increased to the highest level in more than a year.
In a news release on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that, for the week ending October 5, there were 258,000 jobless claims, up 33,000 from the previous week’s 225,000 claims. This is the highest number of jobless claims since the week of August 5, 2023.
The Associated Press spoke to analysts who blamed the increase on Hurricane Helene, but a Daily Wire review of the initial claims filed for the past week shows that is not the whole story.
North Carolina, which suffered the most under Hurricane Helene, saw a 290% increase in jobless claims – 8,534 more than the previous week. While North Carolina saw the largest percentage jump, Michigan – which was unaffected by Helene – also saw a large percentage increase of 140%, and had the highest single jump in jobless claims at 9,490. California, which was also not affected by the hurricane, had the third highest increase in claims at 4,484. Click here to read more.
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WASHINGTON D.C. - The Biden-Harris administration gave a six-figure subsidy to a China-linked electric vehicle company in late 2022 and, roughly a year later, its president showered the Democratic presidential ticket with tens of thousands of dollars in donations, records show.
BYD Americas received $395,000 through the Biden-Harris administration’s Clean School Bus program in October 2022, according to Environmental Protection Agency documents. Ke Li, the president of BYD Americas, then made four large donations to support President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign on Nov. 14, 2023, funds that were transferred to Vice President Kamala Harris in July after the president dropped out of the election, campaign finance disclosures show.
“The people of Michigan believe in lending a hand to help their neighbors during tough times, but they also expect these programs to be temporary and aimed at encouraging independence,” state Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton Township, said Tuesday. “Instead, what we’re seeing is a significant shift toward bigger government and longer dependence on taxpayer dollars.”
The Michigan House Fiscal Agency reports that state costs will increase by about $1.8 million to $2.9 million. The increase has been accounted for in the state’s 2024-25 fiscal year budget, which was balanced in part by raising Michigan’s individual income tax rate from 4.05% to 4.25% in January. Click here to read more.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The environmental supervisor for Rockdale County’s Soil and Water Conservation District, Kenny Johnson, died after testifying on the recent Georgia biolab fire.
Johnson collapsed near the Georgia State Capitol.
During his testimony, Johnson said this was the second time he had requested a criminal investigation into the biolab. His first call for an investigation occurred three weeks before the fire, The Daily Mail reported.
He explained that he was concerned about the sulfuric acid the company keeps on the property.
“PA Region 4 is the worst region in the United States, look it up,” Johnson said. “Rockdale County been out of federal compliance for four decades.”
“I’ve been fighting for six years,” he explained. “I’ve been saying that company is going to explode. No one listened. We got to move this company out of this community.” Click here to read more.
