The Federal Bureau of Investigation released an alert on Dec. 19 warning that phony text messages and AI are being used to scam people in the orbits of high-level government officials in the United States. “Since at least 2023, malicious actors have sent text messages and AI-generated voice messages — techniques known as smishing and vishing, respectively — that claim to come from a senior U.S. official to establish rapport with targeted individuals,” The FBI wrote in an announcement. The bureau released a similar Public Service Announcement in May. It’s becoming increasingly common over the past two years for people to be duped by fake officials, including those from the Cabinet, Congress, and even the White House, according to the alert. “Malicious actors are impersonating senior U.S. officials via text and AI-generated voice messages and targeting their contacts, including family members,” the FBI wrote in a recent tweet on the issue. The alert noted that they will typically want to talk about policy or the news before getting them to another platform to continue the scam. “In this scheme, actors reach out to victims and engage them in a brief conversation on a topic they are knowledgeable about. They quickly request to move the discussion to a secondary, encrypted messaging app,” the agency added. When the “malicious actor” is able to move the conversation to an encrypted messaging software, like Signal or Telegram, they then might be asked to give away sensitive information like a passport, a code that would allow access to the “victim’s contact list,” and even “wire funds to an overseas financial institution under false pretenses.” As for the contact list request, it allows scammers to target others within that individual’s circle. However, the FBI recommended that people take extra steps to verify whether or not a message is legitimate, like cross-checking phone numbers and other ways the person contacted. The bureau acknowledged that the recent developments in AI have added an extra roadblock for people to identify these scams. “AI-generated content has advanced to the point that it is often difficult to identify. When in doubt about the authenticity of someone wishing to communicate with you, contact your relevant security officials or the FBI for help,” the announcement stated. Different types of AI scams have been increasing, CBS News reported in October, as the technology rapidly develops.

It’s common knowledge that late-night shows skew to the Left, but the extent of the issue is far worse than most people realize.  A report published by The New York Post last week found that 92% of jokes over the past year have been targeted at conservatives, representing a 10% increase compared to last year. The report was based on an analysis from media watchdog NewsBusters, which sifted through 818 episodes put out by the major mainstream late-night hosts, including Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers. Those shows included 197 liberal guests and only two who were conservative, Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld and economist Oren Cass.  NewsBusters found that Kimmel was the worst offender, making jokes targeting conservatives more than 3,000 times and focusing most of his ire on President Donald Trump. Of those jokes, 1,668 were about the sitting president.  Other late-night hosts also mocked the commander-in-chief. Across the spectrum of hosts, there were more than 7,000 Trump jokes over the course of this year, representing a big uptick from last year.  “The numbers don’t lie,” Media Research Center president David Bozell said, per the Post. “So-called late-night comedians are part of the entire elitist media complex that has fueled hatred of conservatives for years.” It’s an interesting approach to take in the wake of Trump’s massive victory in the 2024 election. Late night is not doing well, and it shows. CBS announced in July that it was canceling “The Late Show” after the upcoming season, which inspired outsized reactions from the left. The network described the move as a “purely financial decision.” A report stated that the program was losing $40 million annually. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Colbert went off on an expletive-laced tirade during his first monologue following the announcement, blasting President Donald Trump and CBS. Colbert mentioned how the network’s parent company, Paramount Global, paid Trump a $16 million settlement after being accused of election interference. Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show saw a sharp spike in viewership after he returned from being taken off the air briefly in September. Kimmel was taken off the air for a short time after comments he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The saga began when Kimmel was accused of slandering conservatives when he suggested Kirk’s assassin was part of the “MAGA gang,” despite authorities saying otherwise. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said at the time. Kimmel’s post-suspension return drew a record-breaking 6.3 million viewers, more than triple his regular audience. A few days later, those numbers had dropped by 64%, leveling off at 2.3 million.

President Donald Trump let a second holiday missive fly late on Christmas Day, taking aim this time at the “Sleazebags” who had cozied up to the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and reminding his followers that he had dropped Epstein “long before it became fashionable to do so.” Trump posted the message via his Truth Social platform on Thursday evening, just an hour after his post announcing military strikes on ISIS targets in Nigeria, and said that once the truth was out in the open, it would be primarily Democrats who had a lot of explaining to do. “Merry Christmas to all, including the many Sleazebags who loved Jeffrey Epstein, gave him bundles of money, went to his Island, attended his parties, and thought he was the greatest guy on earth, only to ‘drop him like a dog’ when things got too HOT,” Trump began, saying that they then “falsely claimed they had nothing to do with him, didn’t know him, said he was a disgusting person, and then blame, of course, President Donald J. Trump, who was actually the only one who did drop Epstein, and long before it became fashionable to do so.” “When their names get brought out in the ongoing Radical Left Witch Hunt (plus one lowlife Republican,’ Massie!), and it is revealed that they are Democrats all, there will be a lot of explaining to do, much like there was when it was made public that the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax was a fictitious story,” Trump continued. “A total Scam — and had nothing to do with ‘TRUMP.'” Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Trump then turned his attention to the media — specifically The New York Times — saying that the outlet was “losing many subscribers due to their highly inaccurate (FAKE!) coverage.” “Now the same losers are at it again, only this time so many of their friends, mostly innocent, will be badly hurt and reputationally tarnished,” he concluded. “But sadly, that’s the way it is in the World of Corrupt Democrat Politics!!! Enjoy what may be your last Merry Christmas! President Donald J. Trump.” Congress has released a number of documents related to Epstein in recent days, pursuant to the Epstein Transparency Act, but critics have said that it’s not enough — and that too much information remains redacted.

President Donald Trump ordered the United States military to carry out strikes on ISIS targets in Africa on Christmas Day, saying that he had warned them to stop the systematic slaughter of Christians and they had not heeded that warning. Trump shared the news first in a post to his Truth Social platform, saying that the War Department had — on his orders — carried out a number of “perfect strikes” on targets throughout Northwest Nigeria. “Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump posted, adding, “I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.” “The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing,” he continued. “Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper. May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.” Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships “The President was clear last month,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth added. “The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end. The @DeptofWar is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas. More to come… Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!” Just hours before President Trump confirmed that the strikes had taken place, the War Department posted a Christmas message that served as a reminder that the United States military did not rest just because it was a holiday. “Christmas night, 1776… The world slept while Washington crossed the Delaware. We carry his legacy,” the post read, and included an image of then-General George Washington and his men crossing the Delaware River. Christmas night, 1776… The world slept while Washington crossed the Delaware. We carry his legacy. https://t.co/eFRDAwfewO pic.twitter.com/ePUt394Qdj — DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) December 25, 2025 On Christmas night of 1776, Washington led some 2,400 men in crossing the treacherously icy Delaware River. They surprised an encampment of Hessian soldiers — Germans fighting for the crown — near Trenton, where they won a decisive victory and took some 900 of the Hessians prisoner. Two other generals were supposed to cross the Delaware that same day — one to harass other troops in the area and prevent them from providing backup and another to prevent the Hessians a safe avenue of retreat — but only Washington and his men were able to make it across the river.

Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro principally values a habit of telling the truth in any leader of the Republican Party. Shapiro spoke about what he values in GOP politicians in an interview with The Daily Wire on the sidelines of the Turning Point USA AmericaFest conference that ended on Sunday. “The number one thing that I would look for from any Republican leader at this point is simply telling the truth,” said Shapiro after he was asked a question on the future of Republican politics. “I think the president has a habit of doing this in sort of pithy, short versions,” Shapiro said of President Donald Trump. “He has a capacity for saying unpopular truths, which is great. We need more conservative leaders saying things that are true, even if, in the short-term, they’re not quote-unquote coalitional,” he continued, “because, again, you’re going to need to break whatever is here and you need to rebuild it stronger, and the only way to do that is with some true leadership.” Shapiro spoke on the main stage at AmericaFest on the opening night in a speech that generated headlines because of its bomb-throwing, but put forward a message on the importance of truth in politics. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships “Because victory — true victory — cannot be achieved without truth. Victory without truth is victory for a lie. And that is no victory at all. And unity without truth is no unity. It is merely solidarity in falsehood,” said Shapiro in a version of his speech posted on The Free Press. In the interview, Shapiro said that the conservative movement has drifted away from a commitment to truth as more “clowns” have come into the movement. “You have people who were not conservative, who have entered, who have brought their non-assimilated, non-conservatism into the conservative tent,” said Shapiro. “To sort of pretend that the leadership of the movement ought to be vested in people who are either brand new and don’t hold those principles or people who have abandoned the key principles that have upheld the conservative movement for the last several decades, I think, is an enormous error.” “A movement without principle is not a movement at all. It’s an agglomeration of people who are following whoever happens to be the leader that day,” he said.