BlazeTV host Christopher Rufo participated in a roundtable meeting on Friday led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to discuss the ongoing, rampant welfare fraud by Somalis living in Minnesota.

‘Everyone should be outraged.’

The event was attended by journalists, lawmakers, and local business and nonprofit owners.

“The thing that I found astonishing about this fraud scheme is that it was an open secret for many of the people here in Minnesota,” Rufo stated.

“What I’d like to highlight is that this is a fraud story, but … this is also an immigration story. It’s an assimilation story. It’s a cultural compatibility story,” Rufo continued. “The reality is that the latest numbers, it seems to be that the Somali community, which represents about 1% of Minnesota’s population, is perpetrating approximately 90% of the systemic fraud in this state.”

“I think America works when America demands assimilation. And Minnesota will work when it demands assimilation to the culture of good government,” Rufo added.

RELATED: Exclusive: Bessent tells Rufo — ‘When the bear trap snaps,’ Minnesota fraudsters and complicit officials will face justice

BlazeTV host Chris Rufo. Image source: Blaze Media

He called it a “tragedy” that Minnesota, which had previously been known as the United States’ good-government capital, has had its reputation “tarnished as the fraud capital.”

“Everyone should be outraged,” Rufo remarked.

Bessent announced during a Friday press conference that the Treasury Department was launching multiple initiatives to put an end to the fraud rings and hold perpetrators accountable. The new initiatives included investigations into money-service businesses, lowering the reporting threshold for overseas transfers to $3,000 in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, and a new IRS task force assigned to probe COVID-era fraud, among several other steps.

RELATED: ‘Financial calamity’: Bessent blasts Minnesota Democrats’ massive fraud fiasco, launching sweeping interventions

Image source: Blaze Media

During the roundtable, Bessent revealed that there are also plans to provide incentives for whistleblowers to come forward with information.

“If these fraudsters want to turn on each other, we welcome that,” he said. “We will be offering cash rewards to whistleblowers to turn in their fellow conmen and women.”

Bessent stated that the fraud “cover-up” nearly enabled Gov. Tim Walz (DFL) to become vice president.

“What a tragedy it would have been for the American people for someone with no integrity, who was complicit and perhaps corrupt, to assume the office of the vice president,” he added.

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Police said a Pennsylvania homeowner shot at a pair of would-be car thieves early Tuesday morning, wounding one of them, WPVI-TV reported.

The incident in the 200 block of 2nd Street in Catasauqua took place at 1 a.m., the station said. Catasauqua is a borough in Lehigh County that’s about 15 minutes north of Allentown and just under an hour and a half north of Philadelphia.

‘Good old-fashioned FAFO.’

Investigators told WPVI the homeowner fired the shots at the two males as they were trying to steal a vehicle. The males reportedly were wearing black masks, the station said, adding that police said one suspect had a knife, and the other was carrying a bar.

Both suspects — including the wounded male — ran away, the station said.

Police are searching local hospitals for patients with gunshot wounds, WPVI said.

The homeowner was not injured, the station said.

No charges have been filed, WPVI reported, adding that the incident remains under investigation.

RELATED: Armed male allegedly breaks into home after midnight, but resident also has a gun — and a deadly shootout ensues

Commenters under WPVI’s Facebook post about the incident gave shoutouts to the homeowner who pulled the trigger:

“Hey, maybe the thieves will change their minds before they attempt to steal again!??” one commenter observed. “Kudos to the homeowner!!””Good job homeowner, do not charge this man for protecting his property,” another user insisted.”I love a story with a happy ending,” another commenter quipped.”Good,” another user wrote before adding “get a cap in both their asses.””Not everyone is an easy target, are they[?]” another commenter stated. “Good old-fashioned FAFO.”

Others encouraged the homeowner to get more time at the gun range:

“Learn from it and just go to the range a few times,” one user suggested. “Practice, practice, practice.””Sounds like the homeowner needs more target practice,” another commenter wrote. “The perp won’t have a chance to repeat the stupidity.””A shame he only wounded one,” another user said. “A couple of head shots would [have] been better.””Excellent!” another commenter exclaimed. “Now, get to the range to make sure next time it’s not just a wound.”

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In a highly anticipated city council meeting in a city in Oklahoma, residents debated whether to allow a massive mosque complex in a high-traffic area.

And on Monday night, the city council came to a decision.

The project included plans for a 42,000-square-foot community center, a mosque, a medical clinic, and a strip mall.

The Broken Arrow City Council has denied a rezoning request and conditional use permit for the proposed building project, leaving many residents relieved and others frustrated, KTUL reported.

The city council held a special meeting on Monday at Northeastern State University in anticipation of larger crowds.

RELATED: Comedian infiltrates Dearborn, Michigan — and the stories he returns with are WILD

Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images

In the meeting that lasted more than three hours, residents debated the feasibility and desirability of having the building project completed.

While some raised objections about the growth of Islam in their city, many at the meeting turned to other practical concerns, such as traffic congestion, financial implications, and stormwater and floodplain issues, to name a few.

The Tulsa Flyer reported that roughly 45 people spoke during the meeting. More than half were opposed to the project.

The project included plans for a 42,000-square-foot community center, a mosque, a medical clinic, and a strip mall, the Tulsa Flyer reported.

According to the Tulsa Flyer, the Islamic Society of Tulsa bought the land in question and has owned it since 2014. The IST has historically congregated in that area for nearly 50 years.

The meeting ended in a 4-1 vote against the project.

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A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot anti-ICE activist Renee Nicole Macklin Good last week in Minneapolis.

It is abundantly clear, thanks in part to the multiple videos taken of the Jan. 7 incident, that: Good was blocking traffic with her vehicle in an apparent effort to interrupt a federal law enforcement operation; federal agents repeatedly ordered Good to exit her vehicle while her romantic partner issued derisive comments nearby; Good ignored the lawful orders and accelerated toward an ICE agent; and the ICE agent opened fire in self-defense as Good drove into him.

‘Each one is a micro-intifada which can spread and inspire others until we may finally shake off this noxious ruling order all together [sic].’

Despite all the evidence to contrary, Democrats and the liberal media have worked overtime to portray Good as a blameless victim of a callous federal agent. This task will likely be more difficult in light of new findings concerning the radical nature of Good’s anti-ICE group and its embrace of a “micro-intifada” stratagem.

Local sources recently informed the New York Post that Good was an anti-ICE “warrior” involved in an “ICE Watch” group dedicated to tracking and disrupting immigration enforcement operations as well as other law enforcement initiatives. The group also has a history of doxxing federal immigration agents on social media, providing illegal aliens with tips on how to evade arrest, and pushing leftist calls for revolution.

Neighbors told the Post that Good regularly attended the local chapter’s meetings and received “thorough training” from the radical group.

Homeland Security sources not only confirmed Good’s association with the group to Fox News but indicated that she had followed ICE agents to multiple locations before her fatal encounter last week.

RELATED: ‘You don’t want this smoke’: Philly DA and sheriff threaten ICE officers — DHS just laughs

Photo by Jason Alpert-Wisnia/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

The specific group to which Good apparently belonged shared various pieces of leftist agitprop and radical literature to Instagram, including a “de-arrest primer,” reported the Post.

The subversive instruction manual, which was apparently published in 2024, advocates for “pulling and pushing an officer off of an arrestee and/or breaking their grip on an arrestee”; helping arrestees escape by carrying handcuff keys to protests and opening the doors of law enforcement vehicles; and “totally surrounding the officers who have the arrestee or otherwise blocking them and/or their vehicle.”

“A hostile crowd at protest that’s shown its willingness to act often makes officers think twice,” says the manual.

The manual also features an image of masked radicals interfering with a fellow traveler’s arrest. The image is captioned, “Each de-arrest is a ‘shaking off’ which is to say each one is a micro-intifada which can spread and inspire others until we may finally shake off this noxious ruling order all together [sic].”

Good’s anti-ICE group makes repeated references in other posts to engaging in an intifada, an Arabic term meaning uprising that is often associated with violent radicalism.

In a Sept. 10 post, for instance, the group shared a graphic advocating for the globalization of the intifada, stating, “We call to resist colonial and imperialist oppression in all its forms, transcending borders in our unified struggle for our collective liberation.”

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Americans no longer go to church on Sunday — instead, they gather around the television and turn on the National Football League — which couldn’t be making its devotion to blatant corruption and devotion to identity politics clearer.

And BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock believes that this is all born out of the same belief system as the Somali day-care fraud in Minnesota.

“I’m going to connect what’s going on in the National Football League to what’s going on in Minnesota with Somalians and child day care and all this corruption we’re seeing,” Whitlock explains on “Fearless.”

And that he does, as according to Whitlock, there are two major competing ideas in America.

“There is the Trump movement and Make America Great Again competing against Barack Obama and his movement, hope and change. That’s the dichotomy we have going on in America,” Whitlock says.

“If you talk to the everyday people that believe in the MAGA movement, again, they long for a more biblically based world and culture. It’s not saying they’re perfect Christians. It’s not saying that they’re not filled with sin and flaws like everyone else. But they want a return to traditional values and a code of ethics and some morality to be a part of American society,” he continues.

On the flip side, those who follow Obama’s “hope and change” are “far more secular” and believe that we need to do something new and different because “America’s founding was corrupt, it was immoral, it had slavery.”

“And the NFL … has chosen a clear side. The NFL is pro change. The NFL does not want to look back. It wants to look forward. It wants to make America anew,” Whitlock explains, pointing out that the NFL even has a new slogan: “Inspire change.”

“The National Football League is America’s religion right now. People used to gather up on Sundays in churches all across America. Now we spend a lot less time in churches, and we spend a lot more time in the church of football on Sundays,” he says.

“The National Football League is our national religion,” he adds.

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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A county clerk in Michigan has sounded the alarm after a cross-check of state and local databases revealed that more than 200 noncitizens had been included in a jury pool — and one of them may even have voted.

On Monday, Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini issued a press release that quickly went viral on social media. Forlini claimed that because Michigan automatically registers driver’s license applicants to vote unless the applicant intentionally opts to decline, 239 noncitizens with Michigan driver’s licenses had been included in the pool of potential jurors for the 16th Judicial Circuit Court over a four-month period, even as noncitizens are ineligible to serve on juries.

‘Even if you give [Benson] the benefit of the doubt, you’d have to admit that she doesn’t know what she’s doing. But the problem is, I think she does.’

What’s more, after cross-referencing the noncitizens in the jury pool against the Michigan Qualified Voter File — maintained and monitored by Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson — Forlini’s office discovered that at least 14 of these noncitizens had been registered to vote at some point.

“Our QVF shows instances where some of these noncitizens potentially having a voting history. One in particular appears to have voted several times, all of which could result in felony charges,” Forlini said in a statement.

“We must find a way for the Driver’s License database to confirm citizenship,” he continued. “Many times there may be a language barrier, and applicants do not understand what they are signing. If this is not addressed, we risk compromising our jury trials and our elections.”

Forlini, a former state representative, is running for secretary of state as a Republican.

However, he’s hardly the only Republican outraged about the discovery.

Rep. John James, who is running for governor and whose congressional district includes much of Macomb County, posted a scathing video response on X, accusing Secretary Benson, who is running for governor as a Democrat, of either “corruption or incompetence.”

“Even if you give her the benefit of the doubt, you’d have to admit that she doesn’t know what she’s doing. But the problem is, I think she does,” James stated.

“The bigger problem for Michigan is: What do you think she’s going to do when she’s overseeing an election where she’s at the top of the ticket this time?”

RELATED: Rep. John James hammers Michigan GOP over political failures: ‘What are we even talking about?’

— (@)

Captain Michael Bouchard, who is running as a Republican to replace James as the representative in Michigan’s 10th district, indicated that the blame falls at the feet of Michigan Democrats like Benson but insisted that the issue affects all U.S. citizens, regardless of party.

“I’ve served our country in uniform, and I don’t take lightly the freedoms we enjoy as Americans,” Bouchard said in a statement to Blaze News. “Protecting those freedoms starts with protecting the integrity of our elections. After years of poor leadership by Michigan Democrats, we need to fix this now. This shouldn’t even be a political issue. Our elections must be fair, secure, and decided only by American citizens.”

Benson’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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Canada has exactly the kind of oil the United States needs. But when it comes to investing in the infrastructure to move it, America’s ally to the north is beginning to look as risky — and as politically hostile — as Venezuela.

That, Dan McTeague of Canadians for Affordable Energy tells Align, reflects a perverse governing philosophy towards the country’s energy abundance: “keep it in the ground.”

Carney can talk about buying China’s ‘windmills and solar panels,’ or he can ask whether China wants to buy oil — ‘because we got a pipeline.’

Canada’s self-inflicted pipeline paralysis is eroding its position in the U.S. market just as alternatives like Venezuelan oil come back online.

Oil, oil everywhere

Nowhere is that risk clearer than in Alberta, home to the vast majority of Canada’s oil production, where years of stalled pipeline projects have left the country’s most valuable energy asset effectively landlocked.

Canadian oil is the same kind Venezuela produces: heavy crude, high in sulfur, and ideal for making diesel fuel. Most U.S. refineries are designed specifically to process this type of petroleum, which is essential not just for transportation, but for agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and national defense.

Alberta has long sought to build a pipeline to the West Coast, primarily to secure reliable, long-term access to the U.S. market — while also giving Canada leverage to reach other buyers if American demand weakens or politics intervenes.

That project remains stalled, despite Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney — who has spent much of his career championing green energy and opposing pipelines — recently signing a memorandum of understanding with Alberta that is supposed to clear the way for construction. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is now demanding that pipeline construction begin by fall 2026.

Carbon crunch

In practice, the MOU changes little. It grants no approvals, streamlines no federal reviews, resolves no indigenous or legal challenges, and commits no public capital. By tying any future pipeline to rising carbon tax and decarbonization requirements, it arguably worsens the investment case — leaving no private sponsor willing to move first.

While the United States remains Canada’s natural customer, a West Coast outlet still matters. It gives producers pricing power, optionality, and insurance against sudden policy shifts in Washington — precisely the kind now emerging as Venezuela re-enters the picture.

The question is who would build such a pipeline — and whether it could be completed before the United States turns to cheaper Venezuelan oil to fill the gap.

Venezuela of the north?

President Donald Trump has floated asking oil companies for $100 billion to build infrastructure in Venezuela capable of moving oil north. Exxon’s CEO rejected the idea, calling Venezuela “uninvestable” because of its history of asset seizures and nationalization. Trump, however, could choose to push the project forward with public funds.

McTeague — himself a former Liberal member of Parliament — says Canada has made itself similarly unattractive to investors. He argues that policy choices — not geology — are the problem.

Canada, he says, is “blessed with abundance of resources,” but has embraced a governing narrative that tells producers to “keep it in the ground.” He adds that few countries would treat their most important economic output that way.

That mindset, McTeague argues, has frightened off private capital and left Ottawa with little choice but to build a pipeline itself. It also raises the stakes of Carney’s upcoming trip to China — not as a pivot away from the U.S., but as leverage.

Tilting at windmills

When Carney arrives in Beijing, McTeague says, he faces a choice. He can talk about decarbonization and buying China’s “windmills and solar panels,” or he can ask whether China wants to buy oil — “because we got a pipeline.”

The point, McTeague stresses, is not that China should replace the United States as Canada’s primary customer, but that Canada needs credible alternatives if it wants to be taken seriously by either.

McTeague also criticizes the MOU’s requirement that the industrial carbon tax rise sharply in coming years, arguing that it “defies economics and the realities of the marketplace.” In his view, decarbonization mandates are irrelevant to investors deciding whether a pipeline is worth building.

Time, he warns, is running out. Federal debt continues to grow, and Canada’s fiscal credibility is beginning to erode. Without pipelines, he says, the country risks running out of economic runway.

RELATED: The truth behind Trump’s Venezuela plan: It’s not about Maduro at all

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Over a barrel

McTeague also disputes the claim that the United States is energy-independent. While America produces roughly 12 to 13 million barrels of oil per day, it consumes about 21 million — leaving it dependent on imports.

Canada’s value, he argues, lies not just in volume, but in the type of oil it produces. U.S. shale oil is well suited for gasoline, but not for diesel, which he calls the global workhorse of modern economies — critical to transportation, agriculture, industry, and defense.

That is precisely the fuel Venezuela is now offering, potentially at a lower cost than Canadian oil burdened by carbon taxes and regulatory constraints.

Canada now finds itself between a rock and a hard place: Venezuelan oil threatening to undercut U.S. demand for Alberta crude, plus the political and logistical reality of building a major pipeline through British Columbia — on a timetable that is rapidly running out.

In energy terms, Canada is doing the unthinkable: choosing to be bypassed.

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