WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters)—Spain has agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday, a day after President Donald Trump threatened to cut trade with Madrid over its stance against the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. “I think they heard the president’s message yesterday loud and clear. It is my understanding over the past several hours they’ve agreed to cooperate with the US military,” Leavitt told a news briefing. Trump floated imposing a trade embargo on Madrid over its refusal to allow U.S. aircraft to use jointly operated naval and air bases in southern Spain for the offensive against Tehran. Spain has denounced the U.S. and Israeli bombings of Iran as reckless and illegal. Spain “will not be vassals” to another country, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Jesus Montero said on Wednesday. In a televised address earlier, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reiterated Spain’s anti-war stance, warning that the conflict risked triggering a major global disaster. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Humeyra Pamuk;Editing by David Ljunggren) The post White House: Spain Has Agreed to Cooperate With US Military appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz previously said a court required the state to continue paying one of the charities at the center of a massive fraud scandal. But the state court denies making such an order. Asked on Capitol Hill Wednesday who is lying, Walz said, “I can’t tell you.” He blamed it on a misinterpretation by lawyers. Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison testified Wednesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about the fraud scandal in the state. The Justice Department, which has indicted almost 100 people for fraud schemes in Minnesota, has estimated the scale of fraud to have potentially exceeded $9 billion since 2018.  About $250 million reportedly went to the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, primarily during the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal law enforcement alleges the money did not go to feed hungry children but instead funded lavish lifestyles.  In 2021, the state’s Education Department stopped, then restarted payments to Feeding Our Future.  The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the court found the state’s Education Department “didn’t have the authority to stop payments and ordered the department to resume payments.” Walz later made that claim as well. However, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, noted the state court took the unusual step of issuing a news release to fact-check the governor and the media. In its September 2022 news release, the court had said it never ordered the education department to resume food reimbursement payments to Feeding Our Future, and that the agency “voluntarily resumed payments.” Jordan read from the release, stating, “On September 22, 2022, Governor Tim Walz told the media that the Minnesota Department of Education attempted to end payments to FOF [Feeding Our Future] because of fraud, but that Judge Guthmann ordered payments to continue in April 2021. That is also false.’”  The release was referring to Ramsey County Senior Judge John H. Guthmann. Walz said in response, “The attorneys for the Department of Education interpreted that differently.” Jordan argued there was little ambiguity in the release to misinterpret.  “This is not some anonymous source talking to the New York Times,” Jordan said, adding, “This is the court speaking.” “That’s pretty straightforward,” Jordan said. “So, the court is lying or you’re lying?” “I can’t tell you, congressman,” Walz said. “I just simply know what the attorneys at the department believe, which is that it was a misinterpretation.” Jordan asked, “Could it be you were trying to hide behind the court, governor, and that’s why the court did something they’ve never done before and issued a press statement?”  “You know how courts work congressman,” Walz said. “You can appeal those decisions.” The post Jim Jordan Stumps Tim Walz With a Simple Question: ‘Court Is Lying or You’re Lying?’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Minneapolis CEO of a center to serve patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder reportedly confessed that he did not know a single person with autism while pleading guilty to federal fraud charges Monday. The Justice Department charged Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, 27, with wire fraud in December for his role as president and CEO of Star Autism Center LLC, which claimed to provide “necessary one-on-one therapy to children with autism.” The DOJ accused him and his team of raking in more than $6 million through fraudulent claims to the Minnesota government’s Early Intensive Development and Behavioral Intervention program. Yussuf pleaded guilty earlier this week, admitting that he did not know any individuals with autism, KARE reported. Yussuf may face five years in prison. The Autism Fraud From 2020 through December 2024, Yussuf led the company, according to the Justice Department. Star Autism allegedly employed 18- or 19-year-old relatives with no formal education beyond high school and no training related to autism as “behavioral technicians.” The company approached Minnesota parents of Somali descent to “recruit” their children to the center and qualify them for autism services, regardless of whether the children had autism. The center allegedly paid monthly cash kickbacks to the parents of enrolled children. Yussuf and his team submitted millions in claims for Medicaid reimbursement, many of which were “fraudulently inflated, billed without providers’ knowledge, and for services that were not actually provided,” according to the Justice Department. Fraud Scandals This autism scandal comes on the heels of multiple fraud scandals in Minnesota involving members of the Somali community. The Minneapolis nonprofit Feeding Our Future reported fake food distribution sites while collecting federal child nutrition assistance in a $250 million fraud scheme. The office of U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen has charged at least 79 defendants connected to the scheme, and 56 of them have pleaded guilty. Authorities have also filed charges in a $14 million fraud case involving an autism program and a multi-million dollar fraud case involving housing stabilization services. One federal prosecutor has estimated Medicaid fraud in the state to have exceeded $9 billion. According to the Associated Press, around 89% of the defendants in the wide-ranging fraud cases trace their descent to Somali immigrants. Minnesota state Rep. Kristen Robbins, a Republican, previously told The Daily Signal that while Somalis make up a majority of defendants in the cases, “some of the best whistleblowers have come from the Somali community.” ?'LET'S JUST GO FIGHT'Feeding Our Future fraudsters cried racism when Minnesota started to ask questions about their scheme. MM AG Keith Ellison met with them, took their side, and later received campaign cash from them.Let's break it down.?1/12https://t.co/lNKkXryiuB pic.twitter.com/jletCr1SHE— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) December 8, 2025 The post Minneapolis Autism Center CEO Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Says He Never Met a Person With the Condition appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Texans voted in dozens of critical primaries on Tuesday, leading to bitter defeat for some national political figures and strong results for multiple state level politicians seeking higher office. Here’s how one night transformed the Texas political scene. Cornyn Survives GOP Senate Primary Tuesday’s Senate primary results solidified the Republican Senate primary around two candidates: multi-decade incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and the state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton. Cornyn, facing off against two primary challengers, finished in first place with almost 42% of the reported vote as of Wednesday. Coming in a close second was Paxton, who received almost 41%.  KEN PAXTON: ?Our children and their future are what we are fighting for every single day. For us, this is about saving America for the next generation. ??John Cornyn spent around a $100 Million trying to buy this seat. Yeah, baby. We spent around $5 million. It was confirmed… pic.twitter.com/VhvsPFI7BK— Bannon’s WarRoom (@Bannons_WarRoom) March 4, 2026 In a distant third place was Rep. Wesley Hunt, a 44-year-old, two-term congressman who received under 14% of the vote. Cornyn and Paxton will now advance to a final runoff election on May 26. Trump did not endorse a candidate in the primary. Turning Point Action, the political advocacy group founded by the now-deceased conservative activist Charlie Kirk, endorsed Paxton in his bid to unseat Cornyn. Paxton criticized Cornyn throughout the campaign for past bipartisan deals on issues such as gun control, as well as his disagreements with Trump. Cornyn’s campaign conversely slammed Paxton for the circumstances surrounding his divorce proceedings, as well as past accusations of corruption. Paxton was acquitted in 2023 by the state Senate of all articles of impeachment relating to corruption allegations. On Wednesday Trump posted on social media that the primary race “MUST STOP NOW” and announced he will soon be making an endorsement, asking that the candidate who does not receive the endorsement “DROP OUT OF THE RACE.” Austin Defeats D.C. in Democrat Showdown In the Democrat Senate primary, the state capitol defeated the federal capitol. Democrat state Rep. James Talarico, who has built a social media following as a critic of Republican leadership in both Austin and Washington, comfortably defeated U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas to become the party’s nominee in the race. As of Wednesday morning, Talarico received nearly 53% of the vote against Crockett, who fell just shy of 46%. Crockett conceded to Talarico Wednesday morning,  Crenshaw Unseated In a major upset, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, lost his congressional seat by a wide margin. State Rep. Steve Toth, who challenged Crenshaw’s conservative bona fides, received the endorsement of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, late in the race, who praised him in campaign spots. Ted Cruz stars in late TV ad for Crenshaw primary challenger Steve Toth, two days after endorsing him. This is for a pro-Toth super PAC. #TX02 pic.twitter.com/BMrdughmsN— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) February 26, 2026 Toth appeared on commentator Tucker Carlson’s show in October of 2025, where he laid out his case to represent the Houston-area district. He had the backing of the Freedom Caucus Fund, a political action committee which supports very conservative House candidates.  Trump did not make an endorsement in the race. Toth will now face off against Democrat nominee Shaun Finnie in the district which Crenshaw won by almost 30 points in 2024. Attorney General With Paxton seeking election to the Senate, Texans will have to decide who will be the top law enforcement official in the Lonestar State. State Sen. Mayes Middleton finished first in the Republican primary with over 39% of the vote. .@mayes_middleton is up with this ad for his #TXAG bid, spending $200k so far on broadcast and CTV; Middleton has spent $2.1 million on media buys to date (next closest is @chiproytx at $319k). #txlege pic.twitter.com/y3z7m7SEnL— Brad Johnson (@bradj_TX) December 22, 2025 U.S. Rep. Chip Roy finished in second place with almost 32% of the vote. The two will now advance to the May runoff election. Middleton and Roy will battle over plenty of votes. The next two highest vote-getters, state Sen. Joan Huffman and Aaron Reitz, received nearly 30% of the vote combined. In the Democrat Attorney General primary, state Sen. Nathan Johnson and Joe Jaworski will advance to a runoff election. The post Texas Primaries Rock Both Parties appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Public opinion about President Donald Trump’s military operation in Iran could be improving, with a new poll showing 56% of likely voters support the targeting of Iranian leadership. Trump has made many pitches to the American people about his objectives in Operation Epic Fury, including taking more than 20 reporter phone calls, deploying Cabinet officials to explain the war’s rationale, and holding two White House press calls explaining why the war was necessary. A March 3 OnMessage poll showed 56% of likely voters support the targeting of Iranian leadership, and 63% of likely voters support the targeting of Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile capacity. In both cases, more than 90% of Republicans are aligned in supporting Trump’s actions. About 45% of likely voters approve of President Trump overall, according to OnMessage, a similar level as in other poll. How ver, yet 53% agree with the statement, “Even if I don’t agree with President Trump on other issues, I think he’s right to help free citizens from oppressive governments, like Iran’s and Venezuela’s, that take away rights from their own people.” A March 3 Fox News poll also showed improvement in public opinion, with 50% of voters approving of the military operation and 50% disapproving. According to the Fox poll, 84% of Republicans supported military action. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Sunday said only 27% of Americans approved of the U.S.-Israeli bombing of Iran. A CNN poll released March 2 said nearly 6 in 10 Americans disapproved of the operation, fearing long-term military conflict. Part of the administration’s messaging strategy has been combatting such concerns by comparing the operation’s length to the Iraq War. Vice President JD Vance said Trump will not “allow” the war to go on for multiple years, and Hegseth said the conflict will not be “endless.” The vast majority of voters see Iran as a “a threat to global peace and democracy.” Over 75% of likely voters agreed that “if Iran built a nuclear weapon, they would pose a direct threatto the United States,” according to OnMessage. Similarly, the Fox News survey found 61% think Iran poses “a real national security threat” to the United States. In the current environment, 52% of likely voters supported the immediate and full funding of the Department of Homeland Security, which is currently partially shut down. The post Polls Suggest Public Opinion Improving Over Iran Operation appeared first on The Daily Signal.