REUTERS–Cuban forces killed four people and wounded six others aboard a Florida-registered speedboat that entered Cuban waters on Wednesday and opened fire on a Cuban patrol, the Cuban government said at a time of heightened tensions with the United States. Cuba’s Interior Ministry said the group was comprised of anti-government Cubans, some of whom were previously wanted in Cuba. It said the group came from the U.S. armed with assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, ballistic vests and telescopic sights. An additional Cuban suspect was detained inside Cuban territory in connection with the plot, the statement said. “According to preliminary statements from the detainees, they intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes,” the Interior Ministry said in an official statement. The wounded were evacuated and receiving medical attention, while the Cuban patrol commander was also wounded, the ministry said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters it was not a U.S. operation and that no U.S. government personnel were involved. Cuban authorities made the U.S. aware of the incident, but the U.S. embassy in Havana would attempt to independently verify what happened, Rubio said. “We are going to have our own information on this, we are going to figure out exactly what happened, and there are a number of things that could have happened here,” Rubio said. “Suffice to say it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that,” he said. The incident took place as the U.S. has blocked virtually all oil shipments to the island, increasing pressure on the Communist-run government. American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on Jan. 3, removing a key Cuban ally from power, and Rubio reiterated his rhetoric against the Cuban government on Wednesday, calling the status quo unsustainable and saying Cuba needed to change “dramatically.” Cuba said it identified the six detainees from the boat, two of whom were previously wanted in Cuba on suspicion of planning terrorist acts against Cuba: Amijail Sanchez Gonzalez and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gomez.  In addition, Cuba said it detained another Cuban man in Cuban territory who had come from the U.S. to the island in order to receive the infiltrators. One of the dead was identified as Michel Ortega Casanova, while the other three dead had yet to be identified, Cuba said. The speedboat came within one nautical mile of a channel on Falcones Cay, on the north coast of Cuba about 120 miles east of Havana, when it was approached by five members of a Cuban border patrol unit, Cuba said. The speedboat then opened fire, wounding the commander of the Cuban vessel, the statement said. Cuba said the speedboat was registered in Florida with the number FL7726SH. “Faced with the current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its commitment to protecting its territorial waters, based on the principle that national defense is a fundamental pillar for the Cuban state in safeguarding its sovereignty and stability in the region,” the Cuban statement said.  Florida politicians called for separate investigations, saying they did not trust the Cuban account.  Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he was ordering prosecutors to open an investigation in conjunction with other state and federal law enforcement partners.  Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Republican whose district includes the southern tip of Florida, called for a federal investigation, saying he had asked the State Department and military to look into the matter. “United States authorities must determine whether any of the victims were U.S. citizens or legal residents and establish exactly what occurred,” Gimenez said. Originally published by Reuters The post Cuba Says It Killed 4, Wounded 6 Others Aboard Speedboat, Including Wanted Cubans Who Came From US appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Vice President JD Vance announced he is withholding Medicaid reimbursements from Minnesota while the administration investigates fraud in the state. When asked by The Daily Signal if this plan should be viewed as a playbook for fighting fraud in the rest of the country, Vance said, “I think you can, certainly.” “There are certain things that we’re doing in Minneapolis and Minnesota that I’m not gonna be able to do in other parts of the country, because the fraud is gonna be different in each place,” he said. “But yeah, I get this basic model of saying to people, ‘Hey, you get a massive amount of money to provide a service to people.’ Did you actually provide that service?” NEW?: @VP just announced he is withholding Medicaid reimbursement from MN during the fraud investigation. I asked him if this should be viewed as a playbook for fighting fraud in other states. "I think you can, certainly. There are certain things that we're doing in… pic.twitter.com/4ehGLCbl2O— Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell (@TheElizMitchell) February 25, 2026 In his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump tapped Vance to lead the “war on fraud” throughout the country. Vance announced the first move in this war on Wednesday—withholding reimbursements for $259.5 million in Medicaid funds for Minnesota pending investigation. “The providers on the ground in Minnesota have actually already been paid. The state has paid those providers the money,” Vance said. “What we’re doing is we are stopping the federal payments that will go to the state government until the state government takes its obligations seriously to stop the fraud that’s being perpetrated against the American taxpayer.” Curbing fraud shouldn’t be controversial, Vance told The Daily Signal. “The fact that it’s even controversial, that we’re asking these questions as a government goes to show how much the culture of fraud has permeated Washington D.C.,” Vance said. “Think about this once you heard about people who take money from from autistic children. They pretend their children, or some other person’s kid is autistic, they collect a fake check, they don’t provide an ounce of services, and then the very money that’s supposed to go to needy kids isn’t there anymore to help those needy children.” Vance shared a story about fraudsters exploiting funding meant to provide after school programs to autistic children. “The fact that we have so normalized this, and the fact that I guarantee there will be voices in the media, there’ll be voices in the state of Minnesota who say this is hurting children,” Vance said. “No, it’s hurting fraudsters.” “The way to protect kids is to go after those fraudsters,” Vance added, “which is what we’re doing.” Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has 60 days to respond to Vance about the matter. “All we need the governor and the administration of Minnesota to do is something quite simple, which is to show that before you give Medicaid funds to somebody, you’re taking seriously whether they provided the services that they say that they’re providing,” Vance said. “And the fact that there are so many people handing out millions and billions of dollars of federal Medicaid money without even confirming that they’re doing the thing that they say that they’re doing, it’s a disgrace,” Vance said. “It’s defrauding the American taxpayer, and we’re stopping it.” The post ‘It’s a Disgrace’: Vance Reveals Playbook for Combatting Fraud in United States appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Congressional Republicans are pushing to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining Commercial Driver’s Licenses in the wake of President Donald Trump acknowledging five-year-old Dalilah Coleman during his State of the Union address. Coleman was nearly killed in 2022 by Partap Singh, an illegal immigrant truck driver in California, after he did not stop his 18-wheeler at a stop sign. “Many, if not most, illegal aliens do not speak English and cannot read even the most basic road signs as to direction, speed, danger, or location,” Trump said. “President Trump is spot on: left-wing lunatics like Gavin Newsom are getting Americans killed by giving out driver’s licenses to illegals,” Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., told The Daily Signal. Barr and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced the Secure Commercial Driver Licensing Act in October to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining Commercial Driver’s Licenses, or CDLs for short. The Secure Commercial Driver Licensing Act aims to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining CDLs through a more rigorous permitting process and adding accountability measures. The bill requires all testing related to the issuance or renewal of CDL’s and non-domiciled CDL’s to be conducted only in English. The bill also directs the Secretary of Transportation the authority to revoke a state’s authority to issue non-domiciled CDLs if found non-compliant with federal standards and to require individuals to hold a standard driver’s license for one year before obtaining a CDL. The president endorsing the idea of preventing illegal immigrants from obtaining CDLs at the State of the Union could serve as a boon to the Republicans’ efforts. Barr’s office confirmed with The Daily Signal that the legislation will augment efforts to achieve justice for Coleman. “That’s why Senator Cotton and I are leading the charge to put an end to this by punishing states that do this and requiring all testing for CDL’s to be in English,” Barr added. As recently reported by The Daily Signal, states like California outsource the vetting and training process for drivers to third party driving schools, which often go with little verification from government authorities. “States issue CDLs based on the say-so of driving schools. Many drivers have never had a representative from Department of Motor Vehicles with them in the vehicle during a driving test,” Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies Mark Krikorian told The Daily Signal. Cotton echoed Barr’s remarks and told The Daily Signal that by administering CDL’s to illegal migrants “who can’t read English road signs,” Democrats continue to endanger Americans. Barr described the bill as “common-sense legislation to end this dangerous practice and require commercial drivers to pass an English-only test.” Other Republican legislators, such as Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., Sen. Tommy Tubberville, R-Ala., and Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., backed conservative efforts to crack down on illegal immigrant truck drivers. “When it comes to preventing illegal aliens from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses, anyone who is against this policy has lost all semblance of common sense,” Fitzpatrick told The Daily Signal. In a statement shared with The Daily Signal, Tuberville added that in order to drive a truck, “you should be able to speak English fluently.” Today, I had the honor of meeting with the Coleman family, whose 5-year-old daughter, Dalilah Coleman, was nearly killed by an illegal trucker.We’re so grateful that Dalilah is still with us today – but this horrible accident NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED.We must ensure that… pic.twitter.com/qSJqibeImv— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) February 4, 2026 “This protects our law enforcement officers and the public. This is not only about safety and efficiency – it’s just commonsense,” Tuberville added. Earlier this month, Tuberville hosted the Coleman family in his congressional office. The post 5-Year-Old’s Near-Death Experience Moves Congress to Stop Illegals From Truck Driving appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Last week, a man who allegedly shot the founder of a charity 10 times while he lay in bed with his wife got off without a prison sentence—because the prosecutor, backed by groups funded by Hungarian American billionaire George Soros, agreed to let him plead not guilty by reason of insanity. Gret Glyer had founded DonorSee, a charity platform that allowed donors to support specific people while giving video updates to show the donor’s concrete impact. Joshua Danehower, 37, who had gone on one date with Glyer’s wife Heather about 10 years previously, allegedly broke into the family’s house, snuck into the bedroom, and fired 10 shots into Gret Glyer, leaving his wife a widow and his two young children fatherless. Due to the plea agreement, however, Danehower will move from a jail cell to a mental health facility. After a year, he will receive a psychological evaluation and may then gain his freedom. Danehower is far from alone, however. Steve Descano, the commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County, Virginia, has overseen at least 10 murder pleas of not guilty by reason of insanity. Mental Health America notes that defendants charged with a felony use the insanity plea in less than 1% of cases, and it only succeeds 25% of the time. Yet, according to the victims’ rights group Virginians for Safe Communities, fewer than 50 murder cases have been disposed in the last three years, while Descano’s office has begun the insanity plea process for at least 10 murder defendants — around a 1-in-5 ratio. Descano’s office did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment. Are murder suspects in Fairfax County really over 20 times more insane than felony defendants across the country? Critics presented an alternative explanation: the bias of Steve Descano. A Strong Murder Case “Steve Descano’s office allows 1-in-5 murderers to get an insanity plea,” Gizan Glyer, the victim’s sister, told The Daily Signal Tuesday. “Gret Glyer’s admitted murderer avoiding prison is not an anomaly,” she argued. “It is part of a pattern of corruption and incompetence displayed by the Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney’s office. My family not only fears for our lives, but the lives of our community members.” “Everyone should know what Descano is getting away with,” she added. The bereaved sister noted that detectives found a trove of evidence, including “a manifesto, a map of my brother’s whereabouts, and bullet casings at the crime scene that matched bullet casings left at the gun range he visited 3 days after the murder.” “This all points to a premeditated, targeted murder of Gret,” Gizan Glyer added. Yet, due to the insanity plea, Danehower “can now be released from the mental health facility as early as next year, and every year after that will continue to appeal his release.” According to NBC4, the psychologist’s report says Danehower came to believe Grett Gyler was part of the “illuminati” and had forced Heather into marrying him, and thought that he had to kill him. ‘The Rogue Prosecutor’ Movement One expert told The Daily Signal that this trend of increased insanity pleas is “very much par for the course, where essentially you have the prosecutor functioning as another defense attorney, for the defendant, instead of seeking justice for the victims.” Zack Smith, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation and author of the book “Rogue Prosecutors: How Radical Soros Lawyers Are Destroying America’s Communities,” also noted that Descano represents part of a larger movement, funded by Hungarian American billionaire George Soros. During his 2019 election, Descano received $659,054 from two PACs funded substantially by Soros—Justice and Public Safety PAC and New Virginia Majority. This sum accounted for more than two-thirds of his approximately $950,000 in overall donations. He received $82,793 from these PACs during his 2023 re-election campaign. Neither the Justice and Public Safety PAC nor New Virginia Majority responded to The Daily Signal’s requests for comment. The Daily Signal reached out to the Open Society Foundations to see if Soros would comment, but did not receive a response. While the Justice and Public Safety PAC says it aims to “elect better prosecutors,” Smith wrote that it forms part of “a devious scheme to replace law and order prosecutors with zealots opposed to the death penalty.” In the 30 U.S. cities with the highest murder rates, Smith noted, at least 14 had prosecutors backed or inspired by Soros in 2022. “Descano has certainly been very aggressive about not prosecuting certain offenders,” Smith told The Daily Signal. Descano has refused to seek the death penalty, even when family members of victims urge him to do so. Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares released an investigative report into Descano’s office last October. Among other things, Miyares faulted the attorney for “improper plea agreements,” including falsely stating that victims had agreed to lenient plea agreements. Miyares Descano ReportDownload Descano dismissed the report as “a sad, last-ditch political stunt by a man who’s about to lose an election.” Miyares did lose his re-election campaign in November. Sean Kennedy, the president of Virginians for Safe Communities, attributed Descano’s “inordinately high rate of granting insanity pleas to murderers” to “incompetence at the law and indifference toward victims and justice.” “Under Virginia law, simply having a mental illness does not mean you are not criminally responsible,” Kennedy told The Daily Signal. “Signs of premeditation, cover-up, and clear motive all but negate the insanity defense. Virginia jurors should have been allowed to decide the fate of these killers, not Steve Descano and his handpicked shrinks.” The post Soros-Backed Prosecutor Approves Unusually High Number of Insanity Pleas in Murder Cases appeared first on The Daily Signal.

After President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address, congressional Republicans have a clear homework assignment from the White House—to pass the SAVE America Act, requiring photo identification and proof of citizenship for voting in federal elections. Now, Republicans are trying to figure out whether this legislative push will be an exercise in lawmaking, or just messaging. “I’m asking you to approve the SAVE America Act to stop illegal immigrants and others who are unpermitted persons from voting in our sacred American elections,” Trump told Congress Tuesday in an attempt to create momentum for the act’s passage through the Senate, where it has not yet received a vote. “Congress should unite and enact this commonsense, country-saving legislation right now and it should be before anything else happens.” President Trump is 100% right: all voters must show proof of citizenship and valid ID to vote.Rep. Roy’s SAVE America Act gets the job done. pic.twitter.com/cU9HSrCIrF— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) February 25, 2026 The House recently passed the bill. Democrats in the House and Senate have generally opposed the bill, arguing citizenship and photo identification requirements suppress the vote and disadvantage minorities. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Wednesday on Fox News that he would bring the bill to a vote, but that his current priority was ending the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. “We’ll put the Democrats on the record,” Thune said. “We will get a vote on it. And we are right now in the middle of a government shutdown so we’ve got to try and get the government opened up first, but in due time we will… have a vote on it.” ? BREAKING: Senate Leader John Thune confirms HE'S FORCING A VOTE on the SAVE America Act, he will put Democrats ON THE RECORD opposing the 85-15 issue This MUST pass! Voter ID, citizenship — common sense ??"We will put the Democrats on the record! […] We'll get it on the… pic.twitter.com/bvtULHAV45— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 25, 2026 On Wednesday morning, Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., identified Trump’s advocacy of the bill as a main takeaway from the State of the Union address. “He said, first and foremost, the SAVE Act’s got to get passed and he’s one hundred percent right,” Moore told The Daily Signal. But many House Republicans are calling on their Senate Republican counterparts to not just vainly seek the 60 Democrat votes typically required to end debate on legislation, but to force a “talking filibuster.” The theory, expounded by figures such as Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is that Republicans could enforce rule 19 of the standing rules of the Senate, under which senators are given a limit of two speeches on each “question” in a legislative day. Proponents say Republicans could refuse to adjourn, thereby forcing Democrats to exhaust all of their allotted speeches to delay the bill, eventually bringing the SAVE America Act to a pass-fail, simple majority vote. But there is no Republican consensus about the approach yet. Thune told Politico after the address, “Our conference is definitely not united on the talking filibuster, and it will take 50 [Republicans] because you’ve got to defeat all the Dem amendments.” ? BREAKING: Senate Leader John Thune says there are ACTIVE discussions to bring the SAVE America Act to a talking filibuster and floor voteIf successful, it can PASS with 50 votes + JD Vance"We're having conversations about it, but it's not a unified position among… pic.twitter.com/CdPAh8wA3j— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 25, 2026 At a Wednesday press conference, Thune again did not commit to the talking filibuster approach. He argued it would take much floor time and would require party unity among Republicans, since Democrats could try to drag out the process by proposing numerous amendments. “We’ll see what the Senate does,” Moore told The Daily Signal, “if they actually exercise procedures which are within their own rules for a talking filibuster, or if it’s just a throwaway where … they hold some cloture vote without actually going through with the talking filibuster.” Shortly before Trump’s address, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told The Daily Signal he supports using the maneuver to force a vote on the bill, but is not sure it will work. “I was with [Senators] Mike Lee [of Utah] and Rick Scott [of Florida] at the Oval Office when we were discussing with the president. I’m supportive of it. I’m not going to overpromise what we may not be able to deliver.” Great meeting today with @realDonaldTrump, @SenRonJohnson, and @SenRickScott We all agree: it’s time to turn to the SAVE America Act, and do whatever it takes to pass it in the SenateBig plans unfolding soon! https://t.co/J40xFd9DO0 pic.twitter.com/sYDNriUpjq— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) February 6, 2026 Johnson said he believed passing the SAVE America Act after a talking filibuster might require changes to precedent in order to prevent Democrats from dragging out floor time by bringing forward “an infinite number of amendments.” “It’s far more complex, far more uncertain than some people may be leading the public to believe,” Johnson told The Daily Signal. “If senators can go down there and offer an amendment and that’s not counted as a speech, now all of a sudden you have an infinite number of amendments that can be offered, and you’ll never bring debate to a close,” Johnson told The Daily Signal. Johnson nevertheless called for putting Democrats on the spot on whether or not they support the bill. “Nobody knows the outcome of this thing, but I think, at a minimum, Republicans ought to make Democrats defend why they are opposed to what approximately 80% of Americans support … some basic controls in terms of ID, citizenship, so that their legitimate vote isn’t canceled out by a fraudulent one,” he said. The post Trump Gives Oxygen to SAVE America Act in SOTU appeared first on The Daily Signal.