Tens of thousands of Iranians closed out 2025 on Wednesday with a fourth consecutive day of protests, as demonstrations sparked by the country’s collapsing economy escalated into open anti-regime unrest. The protests, beginning in Tehran, have engulfed university campuses and led to merchants shutting down their stores to join in all over the country, The Guardian reported. Videos posted to social media show protestors chanting ‘Freedom” and “death to the dictator.” Iran has faced economic turmoil this past year, with the Iranian rial reportedly dropping to 1.42 million to the dollar — a more than 56% loss in value over six months, resulting in soaring inflation and food prices up 72% compared to last year. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships In response, Iran appointed a new governor to the central bank, Abdolnasser Hemmati, a former economics minister. When the previous governor, Mohammad Reza Farzin, took office, the rial traded 430,000 to the dollar, reported the Associated Press. At the time of the 2015 nuclear agreement, the rial traded at 32,000 to the dollar. Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani called the protests “a natural reaction to economic and livelihood pressure.” “When people raise their voices it shows the high level of pressure they are under,” she added. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the protesters have “legitimate demands” and met with the heads of guilds, unions, chambers of commerce, and others, The New York Times reported. The protests are the largest since the massive 2022 protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after her arrest by the Iranian regime’s morality police for allegedly violating hijab rules. In the wake of her death, protests erupted with the slogan “Women, Life, Freedom,” until the regime brutally cracked down on demonstrators with mass arrests, lethal force, and executions. The protests this week have also included chants of “Women, Life, Freedom.” On Monday, during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump said he would back more Israeli military strikes on Iran if Tehran continues to develop ballistic missiles or pursue nuclear capabilities. “The missiles, yes. The nuclear, fast,” Trump said. “One would be yes, absolutely, the other was, we’ll do it immediately.”  The president also noted that the Iranian people were expressing discontent as their country suffers from inflation, a “bust” economy, and the threat of violence or death when protesting. “Every time they have a rioter or someone forms a group, little or big, they start shooting people. You know, they kill people,” Trump said. “They’re vicious, vicious people.” Ali Shamkhani, a representative of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, responded, claiming that “any aggression” will face a “harsh response that is immediate and beyond the imagination of its designers.” “In Iran’s defense doctrine, some responses are determined before the threat reaches the execution stage,” he tweeted. “Missile and defensive Iran capabilities are neither containable nor in need of permission.”

Independent journalist Nick Shirley said that the death threats have poured in since his viral video exposed what appears to be rampant fraud in Minnesota daycares, particularly within the Somali community, and that even his little sister is fielding calls from journalists. Shirley told “PBD Podcast” host Patrick Bet David that he’s been threatened on numerous occasions — and has even been warned that he would be “Kirked,” in an obvious reference to the assassinated Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. WATCH: ?NEW: @nickshirleyy says people telling him he’ll get “KIRKED” after viral Somali fraud video? “They’re saying, ‘You’re going to be Kirked … you’ll be the next Kirk.’ And it’s just like, are you kidding me?”@DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/CPF7KxRso8 — Jason Cohen ?? (@JasonJournoDC) December 31, 2025 Shirley said that he’d received threats both “in person and online,” adding, “Like … Kirked. They’re saying, ‘You’re going to be Kirked … you’ll be the next Kirk.’ And it’s just like, are you kidding me?” “It’s not even like — I hate what’s happening right now,” Shirley continued. “I feel bad for my family, honestly, because it’s like, we didn’t do anything wrong, and yet you guys are coming after me like I’m some sort of villain.” Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Shirley went on to explain that even his little sister was getting calls from journalists attempting to investigate him — and that members of his family had been doxxed by “some news in India.” “It was really weird. And I haven’t even told my dad about that, because I just don’t even want to bother him about it,” Shirley added. “It’s just like, are you guys kidding me? Why are you guys coming after somebody for going against fraud? Like, I didn’t make this a right or left issue, I just showed you guys that fraud was happening, and now you guys are coming after me. You’re saying, you know, I’ll be the next Kirk, and you’re literally stopping at intersections and coming after me, trying to attack me. Why are you so evil? What’s wrong with you? Why are you defending fraud?” Legacy media outlets have addressed Shirley’s reporting, primarily in an effort to downplay it or discredit his efforts as “amateur.” POLITICO reporter Josh Gerstein suggested that “amateur” reporters knocking on doors at daycares would ultimately lead to a dangerous situation if the people inside were armed. CNN correspondent Whitney Wild made a few phone calls to the daycare centers Shirley had visited, and reported that the person who answered the phone at the one center where she was able to get a response had told her that they were a legitimate business. CNN’s effort to discredit Nick Shirley does not work out so well for them. pic.twitter.com/EsVdc0IKuq — Big Fish (@BigFish3000) December 31, 2025

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that he is pulling National Guard troops from three deep blue cities. “We are removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, despite the fact that CRIME has been greatly reduced by having these great Patriots in those cities, and ONLY by that fact,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Portland, Los Angeles, and Chicago were GONE if it weren’t for the Federal Government stepping in.” The president said that the withdrawal is not permanent and that the troops will be redeployed depending on crime in the cities. “We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again – Only a question of time! It is hard to believe that these Democrat Mayors and Governors, all of whom are greatly incompetent, would want us to leave, especially considering the great progress that has been made???” he wrote. The withdrawal comes after Trump’s efforts to reduce crime and protect federal immigration agents in major cities suffered a setback from the Supreme Court last week. The court denied Trump’s request to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents carrying out deportation operations in the city. “At this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” an unsigned order from the court said. “[Trump] activated the National Guard to protect federal law enforcement officers, and to ensure rioters did not destroy federal buildings and property,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said at the time. “Nothing in today’s ruling detracts from that core agenda.” ICE agents under Trump have faced a skyrocketing number of attacks and threats. The Department of Homeland Security reported that ICE agents have faced a 1,000% increase in assaults and an 8,000% increase in death threats.

A viral video from independent journalist Nick Shirley — which exposed just a portion of the rampant fraud in daycare centers in Minnesota — turned national attention onto potentially fraudulent activity in that state and beyond. The issues plaguing the North Star State have been on the radar of the federal government for some time, and the Trump administration has publicly discussed efforts made by different agencies to rein in possible fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars. On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it is halting federal taxpayer dollars for “child care payments” to the state, as the Department of Homeland Security conducted operations at locations where they sought to investigate potential fraud. “Our agents are conducting a massive operation to identify, arrest, and remove criminals who are defrauding the American people at daycares, healthcare facilities, and other suspected sites,” DHS posted to X on Monday. “We will not stop until we’ve rooted out this rampant fraud plaguing Minnesota.” Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, told The Daily Wire that the administration is “all working together” to take on the issue, noting the work of United States Attorney for Minnesota Daniel Rosen and his office. Ninety-eight people have already been charged by the DOJ for fraud in the state, and 60 people have been found guilty already. “85 of them are Somali descent,” Dhillon noted about the cases. “So it’s overwhelmingly a Somali problem so far.” In another fraud scheme centered on the Somali community, Feeding Our Future set up a fake child meals charity, bilking the public to the tune of $250 million during the pandemic — and the ringleaders of that scam have already been ordered to pay back millions for their crimes. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships “A new one that hasn’t gotten a lot of coverage is the autism treatment, Medicaid schemes, which is about $200 million, including kickbacks paid to parents and the Somali community to have their children falsely diagnosed as autistic and to bring them into these autism clinics where no services are really performed,” Dhillon said. “They look like daycares and they bill Minnesota for one-on-one behavior health therapy. But that was not needed. These people did not have autism apparently.” Earlier this month, the DOJ announced six people were charged, and one pleaded guilty to autism fraud schemes in Minnesota. Dhillon noted that the DOJ is looking at over a dozen programs for “potential fraud.” The DOJ also charged eight people with wire fraud with Housing Stability Services Program funds in September. “Today we announce the first wave of charges in a massive fraud in Minnesota’s housing stabilization program,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said in a statement at the time. “I want to be clear on the scope of the crisis. What we see are schemes stacked upon schemes, draining resources meant for those in need. It feels never ending. I have spent my career as a fraud prosecutor and the depth of the fraud in Minnesota takes my breath away. The fraud must be stopped.” On the flip side, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), who has already faced a number of calls to resign in the wake of the fraud scandals in his state, has used the situation to take aim at President Donald Trump. “This is Trump’s long game. We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue – but this has been his plan all along. He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans,” Walz posted to X in response to HHS’ announcement on child care. In a separate post, the former Democratic vice presidential nominee said that, “While Minnesota has been combating fraud, the President has been letting fraudsters out of jail.” “Trump’s using an issue he doesn’t give a damn about as an excuse to hurt working Minnesotans,” he added. Beyond the state’s Executive Branch, Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison are now being asked to testify before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, Fox News reported.

The Wikipedia entry of a British-Egyptian national downplays his history of violent and antisemitic rhetoric that was spotlighted by critics after he was welcomed into the U.K. by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The first section of the Wikipedia page for Alaa Abd el-Fattah describes him as an “Egyptian-British software developer, blogger, political activist and former political prisoner who was imprisoned by the Egyptian government for 12 years.” It briefly summarizes his history of conflict with the Egyptian government, serving stints in prison for “organising a political protest without requesting authorisation” and for “spreading fake news.” Abd el-Fattah received a literary honor as a 2024 PEN Pinter Prize “writer of courage,” according to the page. Starmer lobbied the Egyptian government for Abd el-Fattah’s release and considered the case a top priority. At the bottom of the introductory section, the page briefly mentions a “controversy over his past social media posts” that broke out after his arrival in the United Kingdom. The posts contained “openly racist views and incitements to violence.” Over a decade ago, when Abd el-Fattah was around 30 years old, he posted a number of messages on what was then Twitter, calling for the death of Zionists. He also described himself as being “far from British” and described the British people as “dogs and monkeys.” Other posts called to “kill all foreigh [sic] journalists” and “advocate genocide against journalists.” Abd el-Fattah particularly disliked “f*cking white journalists.” He described “white people” generally as “a blight on the earth.” Critics, such as Ashley Rindsberg at NeutralPOV, have contrasted Wikipedia’s treatment of Abd el-Fattah with right-wing figures such as Tommy Robinson, who the site describes as a “British far-right activist” with “a history of criminal convictions” in its opening paragraph. Wikipedia entries have grown in influence with the rise of artificial intelligence. AIs appear to scrape the site for information, deeming it a trustworthy source. The site has been suspected of bias against conservatives and as a path for foreign influence into American information networks. Earlier this year, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform announced an investigation into bias and foreign interference on Wikipedia. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Abd el-Fattah arrived in the United Kingdom last week after nearly two decades of run-ins with Egyptian authorities. He obtained U.K. citizenship in 2021 through an immigration law that allows mothers to transmit citizenship to their children, even allowing him to bypass a “good character” background check that some lawmakers argue he would have failed because of his past calls for violence. “I’m delighted that Alaa Abd el-Fattah is back in the UK and has been reunited with his loved ones, who must be feeling profound relief,” Starmer posted on December 26. “Alaa’s case has been a top priority for my government since we came to office. I’m grateful to President Sisi for his decision to grant the pardon.” Starmer later claimed to have been unfamiliar with Abd el-Fattah’s “abhorrent” past statements. Starmer pushed for Abd el-Fattah to be released by Egyptian authorities for years after his imprisonment over “social media posts.” Abd el-Fattah has often been described as a “pro-democracy” activist for his support of the Arab Spring protests that took place in Egypt in 2011. The protests called for democratic elections in order to install leaders affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The Trump administration recently deemed certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood terror groups, including the Brotherhood chapter in Egypt that Abd el-Fattah rallied in support of. “Democracy” in the Middle East is often used to justify national and regional takeovers by radical Islamists, according to experts. “After the Arab Spring protests of 2011 brought down dictatorships across the Middle East, many Brotherhood branches even embraced elections as a means of seeking power,” according to an October report from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “They may accept leaders chosen by the people, but their bedrock conviction remains that no government is legitimate unless it rules according to the dictates of sharia, Islamic law.”