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ATLANTA, GA - In what The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described in December 2024 as “potentially the biggest shake-up of Georgia’s Medicaid system since 2006,” Georgia’s Department of Community Health granted new contracts to four insurers last year, while shutting out Amerigroup and Peach State Health Plan, companies which had both long managed Medicaid care for the state.

During procurement, overseen by Georgia’s Department of Administrative Services, ten companies bidding for the contract in December 2023 had to answer 65 hypothetical questions, one of which was about how the company would handle the case of “[a] 14-year-old, transgender White female (assigned male sex at birth but identifies as a female) member living in a rural area [who] has been diagnosed with major depressive disorder.” Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON D.C. - Some January 6 defendants were reportedly not released from a Washington, D.C. jail on Monday night, following President Donald Trump’s sweeping Executive Order offering full pardons, dismissals, or commutations to nearly all defendants.

A White House liaison showed up at the jail late Monday and said two brothers, Andrew Valentin, 26, and Matthew Valentin, 31, had been released, per Trump’s order.

However, people gathered outside the jail said there were other defendants still inside:

A possible explanation was posted on X by WUSA 9 investigative reporter Jordan Fischer. Basically, Trump’s order gave full pardons to almost everyone convicted of J6-related crimes. However, if someone is in jail and still awaiting trial, their case, per the order, will be dismissed. The dismissal of such cases could take longer to process, according to Fischer. Click here to read more.

 

CHICAGO, IL - Already 46 towns around Illinois have voted to impose a 1% grocery tax in 2026. Other Illinoisans will start to save 1% on groceries when the statewide tax ends.

There are 46 Illinois towns that will continue the 1% grocery tax once the statewide tax ends in 2026, according to data from the Illinois Department of Revenue. The rest of the state will start to see 1% savings at the grocery store.

The map below shows which towns will begin taxing groceries in 2026, but the list will only get longer unless residents show they are opposed to taxing residents’ unavoidable need to eat. Even if a town is not on the map, communities have until October 2025 to decide whether to keep or kill the 1% tax on everyday grocery items.

Grocery shoppers around the state saved $360 million the year state leaders suspended the tax as a way to combat rampant inflation. That was roughly $30 per Illinoisan. That means a family of four could save about $115 a year on food, depending on where they live. Click here to read more.

 

RALEIGH, NC - In May 2024, former Raleigh firefighter Nicholas Banister and his wife Amanda were arrested on dozens of drug trafficking charges.

It all stemmed from an Alcohol Law Enforcement investigation into illegal drug sales in Glenwood South and other downtown areas.

While in jail, they were hit with another punishment: An excise tax from the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

The tax bills totaled $578,000 for the drugs agents say they found in the couple's home on Long Cove Court.

"It's wrong, let me put it that way," Laura Webb of the North Carolina Justice Center says about the state's program to tax illicit drugs and alcohol.

Webb said the tax is aggressive.

"They can take money out of your bank account, they can garnish your wages, they can put liens on property," Webb said.

North Carolina is one of 17 states where people with certain amounts of drug are supposed to pay taxes by purchasing drug stamps from the state. Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON D.C. - Just minutes after returning to the Oval Office, President Trump promised to reinstate the more than 8,000 troops who were dismissed from the military for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, announcing that they would receive backpay for the period of their termination.

According to military data, nearly 8,400 troops were expelled from the military after declining the vaccine, with the Marines making up around 3,700 of the dismissals.

"This week, I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate with full back pay," Trump said during his swearing-in ceremony Monday.

"And I will sign an order to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty," he added. "It's going to end immediately. Our armed forces will be free to focus on their sole mission, defeating America's enemies."

The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for military members lasted from August 2021 to January 2023 with few exemptions for medical or religious reasons. The mandate was walked back when Biden signed a defense spending bill in December 2022.

At that time, less than 1 percent of the military members who were dismissed due to the mandate were reinstated to their positions. Click here to read more.

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COVENTRY, VT- Authorities say a U.S. Border Patrol agent was fatally shot Monday afternoon while conducting a traffic stop on Interstate 91.

It happened around 3:15 p.m. near the Coventry-Newport town line. Sources say the agent was fatally shot in the neck and died. One of the suspects was also killed and another was wounded.

A portion of the highway was closed in both directions for about two hours although the northbound lanes reopened just after 5 p.m.

State police are assisting federal authorities including the FBI.

 

GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. — A two-day operation targeting child predators in Genesee County resulted in the arrest of four men, including two illegal immigrants from Honduras. The men, who traveled from outside the county, were apprehended by the proactive “Ghost” team led by Sheriff Chris Swanson.

Swanson revealed that the operation highlights the ongoing threat posed by predators, even in areas with visible warnings about law enforcement vigilance. Despite billboards and other preventative measures in the county, the suspects still attempted to exploit children. Click here to read more.

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Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm gifted her home state of Michigan a whopping sum of $14 billion to develop green energy projects just before leaving the White House. According to the Washington Free Beacon, the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office announced on Thursday that a total of $22.9 billion in loan guarantees was taken to be distributed to 12 states for such projects.

The $14 billion taken by Granholm was given to two companies to which she reportedly has ties, DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, for projects just in Michigan. An additional $1.3 billion loan was given to Michigan’s Potash Company to help “fund a sustainable fertilizer plant.”

The gift Granholm gave the companies followed their own financial support given to her for her campaign. According to the Free Beacon, “DTE Energy’s political action committee contributed more than $34,000 to Granholm’s 2006 gubernatorial campaign, according to state records. Click here to read more.

 

SANTA CLARA, CALIF - A 2-year-old girl who spent nearly all her life battling leukemia is celebrating the end of her cancer treatment with her family and hospital staff.

Lucy Nguyen, 2, rang a bell Friday at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara in California, signifying the long-awaited end of her cancer treatment. The ringing was music to her parents’ ears.

“I can finally take a deep breath, sigh of relief,” said My Nguyen, Lucy’s mother.

At just 7 weeks old, Lucy was diagnosed with leukemia and went through intensive treatment. It was an unimaginable journey for the little girl, her parents and her older sister.

“It was really hard. We made a lot of sacrifices, especially my wife – not missing appointments, living in hospitals for an extended period of time… but our daughter, Lucy, has been so resilient, so brave,” said Lawrence Nguyen, Lucy’s father.

Next to Lucy and her family as she rang that bell were the hospital staff who were just as excited for the 2-year-old to celebrate that moment.

 

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out worldwide in early 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci has been at the center of it.

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Five years later, with 20 million dead worldwide, with so many questions unanswered officially about the origins of the virus, who might have been behind it, who might have funded it, who got it right and who got it wrong during the massive shutdowns and lockdowns of American society and beyond…

No one has been held accountable.

Senator Rand Paul has said it has been Fauci who must be held accountable.

Paul insisted that the evidence pointed to COVID-19 originating at a laboratory in Wuhan, China, where gain-of-function research was happening.

Fauci denied this. Click here to read more.

 

LOS ANGELES, CALIF - A California woman was overcome with joy when she realized her flock of sheep survived the devastating Palisades Fire.

A woman named Vanessa captured the moment on camera when she found several of her sheep in the aftermath of the fire, ParadePets.com reported on Wednesday.

In the clip, she is heard crying as her sheep approach her. “Hi honey. Hi baby,” she tells one of the animals. “The firemen have been feeding you,” she adds through her tears:

She then asks the sheep how they survived, then states, “Thank you, God. Thank you, God. I’ll come tomorrow and get you guys out of here, okay? I’m so sorry I couldn’t find you.”

The sheep do not appear to be injured, and Vanessa then tells them, “You guys are warriors” as they sniff at the camera while she gently pets them.

“I’m so happy. I’m so happy,” Vanessa says. “My baby, I’m so happy. Thank you, God.”

Social media user Monique Ganderton on Friday shared another clip of firemen feeding some of Vanessa’s sheep.

“Justin and Fire station 15 & 70!!!!! Thank you so much for taking care of Vanessa and her babies!!!” she wrote in the caption. Later in the clip, it appeared that Vanessa caught up with the firefighters and thanked them for caring for her beloved animals.

“They’re alive and eating apples right now,” one of the crew members told her. Click here to read more.

 

LANSING, Mich - The people closest to President Biden were well aware that he had changed. He talked more slowly than he had just a few years before, needed to hoist himself out of his seat in the presidential limousine and walked with a halting gait.

“Your biggest issue is the perception of age,” Mike Donilon, the president’s longtime strategist, told him in mid-2022, according to three close aides who heard it. That bit of feedback, delivered repeatedly by Mr. Donilon, was the sort of blunt talk that did not often make its way to a man who had spent a half century in politics prizing loyalty and deference.

Mr. Biden acknowledged the concerns, but the warnings only ignited his defiant, competitive streak. In April 2023, without convening his family or having long deliberations with aides, he announced he was running again.

Now, as President-elect Donald J. Trump heads back to the White House, demoralized Democrats debate what might have been had the president bowed out in time to let a younger generation run. Click here to read more.

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Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm’s road trip to promote electric vehicles may have had the opposite effect. She and her staff racked up unauthorized expenses for gasoline, hotels and more while shilling for President Joe Biden’s clean energy legislation, according to a Jan. 3 report from the Department of Energy’s inspector general.

Key facts: The June 2023 trip was part of the DOE’s “People Powered: Summer Road Trip Brought to You by President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda.”

Government employees are reimbursed for travel expenses at a set per diem rate, but 36 of the 42 travel vouchers DOE staff submitted exceeded the rate. The 42 vouchers cost $124,823.94.

For example, one employee was reimbursed $339 for a single night’s stay in Atlanta, even though the per diem rate was set at $163.

Staffers “could have chosen different nearby hotels to reduce travel costs” but stayed in more expensive hotels that had EV chargers nearby, according to the audit. Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON D.C. - President-elect Trump will sign more than 200 executive actions on his first day in office—a massive, record-setting first wave of policy priorities focused on border security, energy, reducing the cost of living for American families, ending DEI programs across the federal government, and more, Fox News Digital has learned.

A senior administration official who is familiar with the executive actions and authorized to brief Fox News Digital said Trump will sign multiple "omnibus" executive orders that each contain dozens of major executive actions.

"The president is issuing a historic series of executive orders and actions that will fundamentally reform the American government, including the complete and total restoration of American sovereignty," the official told Fox News Digital.

On day one, the president-elect will declare a national border emergency; direct the U.S. military to work with the Department of Homeland Security to fully secure the southern border; and establish a national priority to eliminate all criminal cartels operating on U.S. soil. Click here to read more.

 

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF/Gray News) – Taxpayers in a South Carolina county are frustrated after learning that an elementary school principal has been taking home a six-figure salary and pay raises while on leave.

Ocean Bay Elementary School Principal Rebecca Schroyer has been on administrative leave for nearly three years.

Schroyer was put on paid leave in November 2022 for failing to properly report abuse by a special education teacher at the school.

Records show that while she has been on administrative leave, the school district has been paying Schroyer hundreds of thousands of dollars.

On Thursday, several parents said the situation isn’t sitting right with them.

“It’s time to cut the funds off. After a few years, it’s way past time to figure out what we’re doing with this particular situation,” said David Warner, a parent with Horry County Schools parent.

The South Carolina Board of Education said Schroyer is still on leave because it is still reviewing her credentials.

Additionally, while on administrative leave, Schroyer has also received raises. Click here to read more.