Senate Report: Biden’s HHS Placed Thousands of Migrant Children With Unvetted Adults

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A new report from the Senate Judiciary Committee has raised serious concerns over how the Biden administration handled the placement of unaccompanied migrant children in the United States. Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) revealed findings showing that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) placed more than 11,000 migrant children with adults who were never properly vetted.

Thousands of Children Placed Without Required Checks

Under federal law, when unaccompanied children are placed with adult sponsors who are not parents or relatives, those sponsors must undergo FBI fingerprint-based background checks. According to the report, Biden’s HHS disregarded this requirement, placing thousands of minors in homes where no such checks were conducted.

The report also noted that more than 79,000 children under the age of 12 were placed with sponsors without the agency conducting home studies that are meant to evaluate living conditions and child safety.

“My oversight continues to expose disturbing evidence that the Biden-Harris administration turned a blind eye to tens of thousands of kids who needed proper supervision and care,” Grassley said. “It’s appalling to prioritize speed and optics over the safety and well-being of children.”

The investigation highlighted the sheer scale of the crisis. Between October 2020 and September 2024, HHS cared for nearly half a million unaccompanied minors — a surge that strained the system and led to rapid, and in many cases, unverified placements. By comparison, from October 2024 through June 2025, the number dropped significantly to just over 21,000.

Critics say the Biden administration’s approach prioritized quickly clearing children from federal custody rather than ensuring their long-term safety.

Kennedy Blasts Policy as “Child Abuse”

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who took office earlier this year, told Congress in May that the Biden administration’s handling of the issue amounted to systemic child abuse.

“My predecessor was deliberately employing a policy of speed over safety so they waived all of the identification requirements for sponsors,” Kennedy testified. “Sponsors were not required to show valid identification; they were never fingerprinted, so we don’t know if there’s a criminal record. There was no DNA testing, so the claims that they were taking a family member were dubious.”

The Judiciary Committee says it will continue pressing for accountability and reforms to prevent future abuses. Grassley emphasized that protecting migrant children should not be a partisan issue: “We cannot allow government negligence to put children at risk. This is about basic safety and responsibility.”

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Defense Department May Adopt Pro-America Test For K-12 Schools, Military Academies

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Future military officers and the children of U.S. service members may soon be able to satisfy government testing mandates with a new test that prioritizes traditional math and the Great Books. Because tests strongly influence what teachers teach, this would encourage more traditional, less politicized instruction for the 70,000 or so children attending Department of Defense, or DODEA, K-12 schools.

The current Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) moving through Congress would require DODEA schools to offer 11th-grade students the college admissions test of their parents’ choice. This would allow students to take the Classic Learning Test, a Great Books competitor to the SAT and ACT college entrance exams. NDAA is a must-pass annual military spending bill. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., successfully added that amendment during markup in July.

“Accepting the CLT alongside the SAT and ACT opens the door for talented students from every educational background. It’s about making sure our military academies attract the best and brightest,” Banks said in a statement to The Federalist. “Many homeschool students take the CLT, which focuses on reading, logic, and classic texts in a way other tests don’t. These are good skills to take to the academies and putting this into law would ensure future administrations can’t unilaterally undo what Secretary Hegseth is trying to achieve.”

The NDAA amendment occurred after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tweeted his support for accepting CLT at military academies in May. Hegseth is the coauthor, with David Goodwin, of a 2022 New York Times bestselling book about classical education, Battle for the American Mind. The book follows up on a documentary Hegseth hosted for Fox News.

Four Republican senators voted against another amendment from Banks to require U.S. military academies such as West Point to accept the CLT as applicants’ college entrance exam. Those are Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, and Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana. If these four had voted for this amendment, it also would be in the NDAA this year. (Read more from “Defense Department May Adopt Pro-America Test For K-12 Schools, Military Academies” HERE)

Raising the Bar: Trump Admin Makes U.S. Citizenship Harder to Earn

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For decades, becoming a U.S. citizen has been one of the greatest privileges in the world. But under weak policies, too often the path to naturalization has been reduced to checking boxes and avoiding only the most extreme disqualifiers. That’s changing under the Trump administration, which has announced a tougher, more rigorous standard for immigrant applicants seeking citizenship.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released new guidance restoring a “holistic and comprehensive” standard for evaluating good moral character (GMC). Instead of assuming someone qualifies simply because they haven’t committed a murder or aggravated felony, officers will now look for positive contributions — evidence that an applicant is ready to uphold the responsibilities of citizenship, not just enjoy its benefits.

According to the memo, “evaluating GMC involves more than a cursory mechanical review focused on the absence of wrongdoing. It entails a holistic assessment of an alien’s behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions that affirmatively demonstrate good moral character.”

This means that, moving forward, USCIS officers will weigh factors like:

Volunteer service and community involvement

Family caregiving and ties in the U.S.

Stable employment and financial responsibility

Educational attainment and tax compliance

At the same time, the new policy tightens scrutiny of disqualifying behavior. Acts that previously slipped through the cracks — including DUIs, drug violations, reckless driving, harassment, or even unlawful voter registration — can now weigh heavily against an applicant.

The Trump administration’s message is clear: U.S. citizenship is not a consolation prize. It is the gold standard of citizenship worldwide, and it must be reserved for those who embody the best of American values.

As USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser put it, “U.S. citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship — it should only be offered to the world’s best of the best.”

By restoring higher expectations, the administration is ensuring that America remains a nation built on strong families, strong communities, and strong character. That’s not only good for today — it’s an investment in the country’s future.

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North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-Un Orders More Nuclear Weapons

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North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un on Monday ordered a rapid buildup of nuclear weapons, ostensibly because recent joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea were an “obvious expression of their will to provoke war.”

Kim made his remarks while attending the launch of the new 5,000-ton destroyer Choe Hyon at North Korea’s western port city of Nampo. North Korean state media claims the destroyer will be capable of carrying nuclear missiles when it becomes operational in 2026.

The Choe Hyon is the second destroyer in its class. The first one, Kang Kon, featured in a botched launching ceremony in May that caused serious damage to the underside of the ship. The destroyer was reportedly repaired and relaunched in June.

Kim raged that the launch mishap, which he personally witnessed, was a “serious accident and criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism.”

According to the dictator, the Kang Kon disaster “brought the dignity and self-respect of our state to a collapse.” A smoother launch ceremony for its sister ship, the Choe Hyon, was meant to be a step toward restoring the pride of the North Korean military. (Read more from “North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-Un Orders More Nuclear Weapons” HERE)

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Costco Stands Firm Against Abortion Pill Sales

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In an era when corporate America often bows to the loudest voices on the Left, Costco has taken a stand that deserves recognition. The retail giant has confirmed it will not dispense the abortion pill mifepristone at its 500-plus pharmacy locations.

This decision didn’t come in a vacuum. Faith-based activists, including Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and Inspire Investing, pressed Costco to resist the cultural push to normalize abortion-on-demand through retail pharmacies. And Costco listened — or at the very least, refused to cave to activist pressure from the other side. That in itself is a win.

ADF’s Michael Ross called it “a very significant victory,” and he’s right. At a time when CVS and Walgreens are moving forward with dispensing abortion drugs, Costco has demonstrated that it will not be swayed into turning its pharmacies into abortion providers. The message is clear: not every corporation has to follow the radical Left’s playbook.

Critics claim this is “short-sighted” and that Costco is undermining “access to safe and FDA-approved medication.” But let’s be honest — this isn’t about access. Abortion pills are already widely available online and by mail. This is about pressuring every major American corporation to carry the water for the abortion industry, no matter the moral or societal cost. Costco has simply said no.

For conservatives, Costco’s decision is not just a victory — it’s momentum. The coalition of pro-life advocates is already turning its attention to Walgreens, CVS, and even Amazon, urging them not to participate in the sale of mifepristone. Every small stand matters, because it reminds corporate America that millions of consumers still believe in the sanctity of life.

Costco has proven that it’s possible to thrive without bowing to the abortion lobby. Let’s hope other retailers take note — and follow suit.

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Russia Open to Bilateral or Trilateral Talks With Trump and Zelensky: Putin’s Foreign Minister

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, either one-on-one or alongside President Trump, a top Kremlin official said Tuesday — without committing to a timetable.

“We do not reject any forms of work, neither bilateral nor trilateral. Russian President Putin has repeatedly spoken about this,” Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov told Moscow-owned broadcaster VGTRK.

Putin has rejected attempts by Zelensky to meet face-to-face for the entirety of the 41-month-old war, but the White House insisted Tuesday that talks would happen after Trump met Putin in Alaska on Friday and discussed the way forward with Zelensky and other European leaders at the White House Monday.

Lavrov added that any meeting, whether “1+1” or “1+2,” should be undertaken with a “serious approach” and not simply intended to make headlines.

“Any contacts with the participation of top officials must be prepared with the utmost care,” he stressed.

Trump said Monday that he had spoken to Putin during the meeting with Zelensky and the Europeans and the Russia leader had said he was ready to talk with his Ukrainian counterpart. (Read more from “Russia Open to Bilateral or Trilateral Talks With Trump and Zelensky: Putin’s Foreign Minister” HERE)

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Biden DOJ Ripped White House Over Clemency Grant to ‘Non-Violent Offenders’: ‘Stop Saying That Because It Is Untrue’

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Senior Justice Department officials were left befuddled by the sweeping pardons then-President Biden approved for thousands of convicts days before leaving office earlier this year — and rebuked the White House for falsely labeling the clemency recipients “nonviolent” offenders, according to emails reviewed by The Post.

Associate Deputy Attorney General Brad Weinsheimer struggled to make sense of the commutations granted nearly 2,500 federal convicts on Jan. 17 and requested “a list as to each inmate listing the offenses that are covered by the commutation.”

“I think the language ‘offenses described to the Department of Justice’ in the warrant is highly problematic and in order to resolve its meaning appropriately, and consistent with the President’s intent, we will need a statement or direction from the President as to how to interpret the language,” Weinsheimer wrote in a Jan. 18 email to members of the White House Counsel’s Office and the DOJ Pardon Attorney’s Office, adding that a statement directly from Biden would help clarify “the meaning of the warrant language.”

“One other important note,” the DOJ official continued, “in communication about the commutations, the White House has described those who received commutations as people convicted of non-violent drug offenses.

“I think you should stop saying that because it is untrue or at least misleading.” (Read more from “Biden DOJ Ripped White House Over Clemency Grant to ‘Non-Violent Offenders’: ‘Stop Saying That Because It Is Untrue’” HERE)

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Trump Clarifies Role American Troops May Play In Ukraine Peace Deal

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President Donald Trump told Fox and Friends the United States may give Ukraine air support as part of the peace deal with Russia.

Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Monday to discuss a possible peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. During the meeting, the president didn’t rule out American troops on the ground in Ukraine but on Tuesday, Trump suggested the U.S. would help by air.

“What did [the world leaders] say to you privately? It looks like they are on the same page as you are,” Fox and Friends host Lawrence Jones asked Trump.

“They are, they’re very good people, they are very good leaders of their country and they want to lead their country. They are consumed with this far more than we are because they are right there. We have an ocean separating us, a thing called an ocean. A big, beautiful ocean. They don’t. They are right there,” Trump began.

“It’s a different kind of a thing for them…when it comes to security, they are willing to put people on the ground, we’re willing to help them with things, especially, probably if you talk about by air because nobody has stuff we have, really they don’t have,” the president said.

(Read more from “Trump Clarifies Role American Troops May Play In Ukraine Peace Deal” HERE)

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Las Vegas Child Sex Sting: Netanyahu Cyber Chief Arrested, Released, and Returned to Israel

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By The Guardian. An Israeli government cybersecurity official was reportedly arrested recently by Las Vegas police and other authorities in Nevada who were conducting an undercover investigation aimed at online users seeking to sexually prey on children.

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, 38, faces felony charges of luring a child with a computer for a sex act, alongside several other suspects who were apprehended during the two-week sting operation, the Las Vegas metropolitan police department said in a statement published on Friday. He has since been released from custody on $10,000 bail after an initial court appearance, records show, and returned to Israel.

As first reported by the news site Mediaite, a publicly posted screenshot of Alexandrovich’s page on the LinkedIn professional networking platform described him as the executive director of the Israel Cyber Directorate, an Israeli government agency under the purview of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. Other information online attributes the same position to Alexandrovich.

The screenshot first reported by Mediaite also showed a post under Alexandrovich’s name alluding to his having been in Las Vegas earlier in August for the Black Hat Briefings, a yearly meeting of cybersecurity professionals.

“Two things you can’t escape at Black Hat 2025: the relentless buz of generative [artificial intelligence] and the sound of Hebrew … in every corridor,” Alexandrovich wrote in part in an accompanying post. Invoking an abbreviation for large language models and referring to one of Israel’s largest cities, the post continued: “The key takeaway? The future of cybersecurity is being written in code, and it seems a significant part of it is being authored in #TelAviv and powered by LLMs. An exciting time to be in the field!”

(Read more from “Las Vegas Child Sex Sting: Netanyahu Cyber Chief Arrested, Released, and Returned to Israel” HERE)

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Netanyahu associate, arrested in Las Vegas child sex sting, escapes without charges

By Press TV. An Israeli cyber official, who works directly under Benjamin Netanyahu, escaped to the occupied territories after his arrest in a US child sex operation in Nevada, US. . .

He has deep access to Israel’s cyber secrets and classified partnerships with foreign powers.

According to Las Vegas authorities, Alexandrovich and others were charged with luring a child with a computer for a sexual act. In Nevada, this felony carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

He was in Las Vegas for a professional conference, not as a registered diplomat. He has no diplomatic immunity. Yet US authorities allowed him to board a plane and return to Israeli-occupied territories within days, without trial, bail conditions, or public explanation.

Israeli outlet Ynet reported only that Alexandrovich was “briefly detained for questioning… before his release and return to Israel,” without mentioning the felony charges or the multi-agency child predator sting led by US authorities. (Read more from “Netanyahu associate, arrested in Las Vegas child sex sting, escapes without charges” HERE)

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Senior Israeli official arrested in US for child sex crimes

By The New Arab. . .[Tom] Alexandrovich, 38, was charged with attempting to lure a child with a computer for a sex act and detained in a facility near Las Vegas on 6 August, police records show. He was then released on $10,000 bail after appearing before a judge on 7 August.

It remains unclear who posted his bail or why he was allowed to leave the country. . .

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office initially denied that the official had been arrested and confirmed they had returned to Israel.

“A state employee who travelled to the US for professional matters was questioned by American authorities during his stay,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement to Israeli media. “The employee, who does not hold a diplomatic visa, was not arrested and returned to Israel as scheduled.”

The Cyber Directorate later told Israeli media that the earlier statement “was accurate based on the information provided to us” and denied involvement in posting Alexandrovich’s bail. (Read more from “Senior Israeli official arrested in US for child sex crimes” HERE)

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Trump Admin Just Raised The Bar For Anyone Hoping To Become An American

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The Trump administration plans to more heavily scrutinize foreign nationals applying for American citizenship as it continues to tighten enforcement standards across the board.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency tasked with managing the country’s legal immigration system, will no longer only consider an alien’s absence of misconduct during the naturalization process, but will also identify their “positive attributes” to society, according to a new memo from the agency. The Trump administration argues the move will restore integrity to the citizenship application process.

“U.S. citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship — it should only be offered to the world’s best of the best,” Matthew Tragesser, a USCIS spokesperson, said in a public statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Today, USCIS is adding a new element to the naturalization process that ensures America’s newest citizens not only embrace America’s culture, history, and language but who also demonstrate Good Moral Character,” Tragesser continued. “This memo ensures that USCIS officers are accounting for an alien’s positive contributions to American society — including community involvement, achievements, and financial responsibility rather than the absence of their misconduct.”

Permanent legal residents on a pathway to American citizenship must demonstrate they are an individual of good moral character (GMC), according to USCIS. This evaluation typically involves an assessment of an alien’s behavior, including a review focused on the absence of any wrongdoing. Under these updated guidelines, the GMC assessment is expanded to involve a “holistic” evaluation of an applicant’s behavior and positive contributions. (Read more from “Trump Admin Just Raised The Bar For Anyone Hoping To Become An American” HERE)

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