An American journalist has been accused of working for a member of the Chinese intelligence service seeking to steal classified information from the United States government.  The Justice Department charged Thomas Pauken II earlier this year with acting as a foreign agent for the government of China from 2019 to 2026 without notifying the attorney general. Pauken, who moved to China in 2010, is accused of aiding a member of China’s Ministry of State Security in a scheme to recruit a Trump administration employee, according to court documents.  An affidavit from the FBI reveals that Pauken, who works for the Chinese state media outlet Xinhua News, was arrested after an apparent FBI sting operation in February. The affidavit says that Pauken met with an unidentified Trump administration employee on February 25, 2026, at a hotel in Washington, D.C.  At this meeting, Pauken gave the employee a SIM card and offered to pay a $10,000 bonus if the person agreed to work for a Ministry of State Security agent named “Cathy,” according to the affidavit. The employee would be paid through a bogus nonprofit and would produce reports for Chinese President Xi Jinping that would shape policy.  The FBI recorded the meeting, and Pauken allegedly said that he had been concerned he was being targeted in a “sting operation.” This fear stemmed from previous interviews in January 2025 with the FBI and Customs and Border Protection during another trip Pauken made to the United States. He was questioned about work for China during those interviews, but was told to continue his plans as scheduled. The FBI said it was concerned that Pauken would be endangered if he changed his plans.  Pauken previously met with the unidentified official in the summer of 2023 when that person was preparing for a prospective job with a potential second Trump administration. That person “was not hired for the exact job he wanted in the administration but currently works for a U.S. government agency,” the FBI said.  “Cathy paid Pauken for information about the meeting and was instructed to buy the person a phone and laptop,” the FBI said. Pauken told the FBI “he was 80% sure that Person 1 would provide classified information” to the Chinese if hired by the Trump administration, but advised against sharing the information, according to the affidavit. The unidentified person produced multiple reports for Pauken that he believed were for a client in China, unaffiliated with the government, according to the FBI.  Charles Burnham, who is representing Pauken, noted in an email to The Daily Wire that he was not facing spying charges.  “It’s critical to understand that Mr. Pauken is not charged with spying or mishandling classified information,” he told The Daily Wire. “The government’s complaint charges that Mr. Pauken did professional work for a foreign government without first completing certain required paperwork.  We look forward to responding to the government’s allegations in court.” The case was first reported on by POLITICO.  The FBI alleges that Pauken worked for the Chinese government from 2019 to February 2026 and received several tasks from Cathy, including meeting with potential human sources in the United States and producing reports, for which he was paid $100,000. Pauken “admitted during a voluntary interview that his work with Cathy — as well as other individuals whom he admitted also worked for the PRC government — was part of a conspiracy to obtain classified information from the United States government,” the affidavit said.  The FBI said that Pauken told them “all his Chinese associates were obsessed with obtaining information on” his father, also named Thomas Pauken. The elder Pauken worked in the Reagan administration and is a former chair of the Texas Republican Party. Pauken used the alias Tom McGregor in China because his father “did not want to appear associated” with his “activities,” according to the FBI. 

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt ripped Chelsea Handler and Drew Carey on Monday for alleged Jeffrey Epstein connections in a viral post on X. “Isn’t it weird how the two comedians histrionically lashing out against me are both in the ‘Epstein files’? What are the odds?” Pratt said. The post included a screenshot of an alleged 2002 email from TV writer Jeff Davis to Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate and co-conspirator of the late convicted sex offender. “I was having dinner tonight with Drew Carey … and we’re talking about our encounter with you,” the email said. Pratt also included a clip of comedian Shane Gillis talking about Handler having dinner with Epstein in 2010. “Chelsea Handler went to dinner at Jeffrey Epstein’s house in 2010,” Gillis says in the clip. “It wasn’t like a big party, there were like seven people there — it was like Prince Andrew and Woody Allen were there.” The X post, published on Monday, has already generated more than 5.6 million views. Isn’t it weird how the two comedians histrionically lashing out against me are both in the “Epstein files”? What are the odds? https://t.co/ixx9ZK87F9 pic.twitter.com/GGGfDRSRST — Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) May 25, 2026 The left-wing comedians attacked Pratt personally in recent days, with Handler trashing the former reality star for being “a straight white male” with no government experience, and Carey calling Pratt a “serial scammer.” “This is a reminder that a straight white male former reality star that has no previous experience in government should not be a legitimate political candidate,” Handler said in a video posted to social media. “Have we learned anything yet? The bar is on the f***ing floor, people, and I need you to jump over it. Okay, thank you, have a nice day!” Chelsea Handler has officially entered the chat — and she’s not holding back as she takes aim at Spencer Pratt’s wild run for LA mayor… (

Daily Wire senior investigative reporter Luke Rosiak joined the Republican Study Committee’s “Right To The Point” podcast Tuesday to break down his explosive reporting on alleged Medicaid fraud schemes in Ohio, warning that billions in taxpayer dollars are vulnerable to abuse in a system riddled with weak oversight and perverse incentives. Rosiak, whose reporting has exposed shocking examples of alleged fraud tied to Medicaid-funded home healthcare programs, told Ohio Reps. Dave Taylor and Warren Davidson that his investigation began after the Departments of Government Efficiancy and Health and Human Services released data showing which companies were receiving Medicaid payments. “For me as an investigative reporter,” Rosiak said. “I wanted to just take an analytical look at the data and run the numbers and see what popped up.” What popped up, according to Rosiak, was a sprawling web of questionable providers operating in Ohio’s home healthcare system — including individuals with prior fraud convictions allegedly receiving millions in taxpayer dollars through Medicaid-funded programs. “One of the companies is owned by a husband and wife,” Rosiak explained. “The husband has been convicted three times of fraud. The wife’s been convicted three times of theft … and they were given permission after that to start a home healthcare company that bills the government.” Rosiak argued that the problem extends beyond isolated bad actors and instead reflects structural failures within the Medicaid system itself, particularly in programs that rely heavily on unverifiable in-home care claims. “You can literally bill the government for ‘companionship and conversation,’” he said, describing programs where family members can receive taxpayer funds to care for relatives inside private homes. Davidson echoed concerns about the scale of improper payments and highlighted what he described as systemic accountability failures across federal and state bureaucracies. Taylor pointed to legislation aimed at deporting non-citizens convicted of defrauding federal benefit programs. The discussion also touched on revelations from Rosiak’s reporting that Ohio’s electronic visit verification system — intended to track whether healthcare workers actually visited patients — allegedly allowed providers to disable GPS tracking while still receiving payment. “The only reason you need privacy is if you want to defraud the government,” Rosiak said when asked why it wasn’t being logged properly. The wide-ranging conversation eventually turned lighter, with Rosiak joking about life on his Virginia hobby farm and describing raising goats, chickens, and bees.

Actress Milly Alcock is once again reacting to criticism of her upcoming female-led superhero movie, “Supergirl,” by blaming Christian dads and saying she’s glad to have triggered them. The 26-year-old spoke to Variety last week about backlash ahead of the film’s release next month, insisting much of the criticism stems from her being a woman. “I guess women know that this is just how it’s always been, unfortunately,” Alcock told the outlet. “And it’s from a lot of people whose profiles have no photo, who are burner accounts. Or someone’s name and then ‘Dad of four, Christian,’ which is hilarious to me.” “But I mean, whose opinion do you really care about? If you’re p***ing the right kind of people off, you’re doing OK,” she added. This led to more reactions on social media.  “I miss the days when actors and actresses wanted you to see their movies. Now they do everything they can to make you not want to go. Sometimes even before the first scene is shot,” one person observed. “In other words, they’re preemptively creating the narrative that this movie’s failure was caused by fan backlash to these comments rather than the movie itself being terrible. Got it,” another said. DC Studios co-chairman and CEO Peter Safran praised Alcock’s handling of the criticism. “I called her and just said, ‘You’re doing great! You’re handling it beautifully. You’re never going to make everybody happy. Just be true to yourself,’” he told Variety. “And I really do think she’s handling it well. I would also recommend, don’t wallow in it. It never makes you feel good.” The “Supergirl” star preemptively blamed potential criticism of the film on misogyny during a Vanity Fair interview published in March in a tactic described as “pre-release critical armor.” “It definitely made me aware that simply existing as a woman in that space is something that people comment on,” Alcock said when asked about the “inevitable backlash” she’d face.  “We have become very comfortable having this weird ownership of women’s bodies. I can’t really stop them. I can only be myself,” Alcock added. The remarks were compared to Rachel Zegler’s controversial comments ahead of Disney’s “Snow White” being released. Alcock also described “Supergirl” as a more personal story centered on Kara Zor-El, who she says is “given this incredible responsibility and doesn’t know how to deal with it.”  “She’s not trying to save the world — she’s just trying to save her own,” Alcock told Vanity Fair. “This film is an excellent reminder that the world can be crumbling around you, but you can be the hero of your own story.” The interview inspired many negative reactions on social media, with critics calling out Alcock for complaining about backlash that hadn’t even happened yet. “These movies are so bad that they have to start attacking the fans before the movie even comes out,” one person said at the time.

Ivanka Trump shared photos from her brother Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding, which took place on a private island in the Bahamas on Saturday.  Ivanka shared close to a dozen snapshots with her 8.6 million Instagram followers. Some images showed her enjoying the island with her husband, Jared Kushner, and other relatives. She did not post any photos of the bride and groom. Instagram Instagram Instagram “The best paddleboard partner,” she wrote in the caption of a photo with her and Kai Trump, Don Jr.’s 19-year-old daughter. Instagram Ivanka also shared a selfie with her half-sister, Tiffany Trump, and Eric Trump’s wife, Lara Trump, along with a few other images. Instagram Another snapshot showed a napkin printed with a quote from Victor Hugo’s masterpiece “Les Misérables.” It said, “To love or have loved, that is enough. Ask nothing further. There is no other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life.” Instagram No other photos of the event have been made public yet. On Monday, Anderson simply shared an image of white fabric embroidered with “Mrs. Trump” while Don Jr. posted about an upcoming safari. However, both the bride and groom posted images of the same napkin and quote that Ivanka posted. Instagram There were several Trump family members in attendance as Don Jr., 48, tied the knot with socialite Bettina Anderson. President Donald Trump announced ahead of time that he would not be there due to his busy schedule.  “While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so,” Trump shared on Truth Social ahead of the event. “I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important time. Congratulations to Don and Bettina!” The couple got engaged in December and had reportedly considered holding the ceremony at the White House before choosing the destination wedding. Donald Trump Jr. was previously married to Vanessa Trump from 2005 until 2018 and shares five children with her. He was later engaged to former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, but that relationship ended in 2024.