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THE REAL WELFARE FRAUD More shocking than the fraud in Minnesota that has been making headlines is the real federal welfare spending. It has soared by 765%. That is more than twice as fast as total federal spending. In 1975, the country’s real per-capita gross domestic product had grown by 142%. It now costs $1.4 […] The post The Massive American Welfare Fraud appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

A “60 Minutes” segment on the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador, where the Trump administration has sent hundreds of illegal immigrants, was postponed by CBS News on Sunday, sparking controversy within the newsroom now led by Bari Weiss. The segment was spearheaded by reporter Sharyn Alfonsi, who interviewed some of the illegal immigrants who were sent to CECOT and have since left the prison where they say they endured “brutal and torturous conditions” while incarcerated, The Wall Street Journal reported. CBS News said Alfonsi’s segment would air at a later date after the company “determined it needed additional reporting.” Democrats and the legacy media have focused much of their criticism of Trump’s massive deportation operation on the Salvadoran prison, where Trump has sent planeloads of people. The prison is used by El Salvador’s right-wing president, Nayib Bukele, to hold violent gang members and drug traffickers. Earlier this year, Bukele agreed to take in illegal immigrants deported by the Trump administration and place them in CECOT. Weiss, who became CBS News editor-in-chief in October, was concerned about apparent bias in the “60 Minutes” CECOT piece and suggested adding an interview with a White House official, such as Stephen Miller, according to The New York Times. In a statement on Sunday, Weiss said that it’s common to hold stories and segments that “lack sufficient context” or “are missing critical voices.” She added that she looks forward to airing the CECOT prison segment “when it’s ready.” “My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be,” she said. Alfonsi, however, called the last-minute decision to pull the segment from Sunday’s show “political,” saying that the segment had already undergone extensive fact-checking and legal review. “It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one,” Alfonsi wrote. The journalist said that they had reached out to the Trump administration for comment, arguing that if they hold a story because the government has not commented on it, they are becoming a “stenographer for the state.” Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships CBS News appears to be changing its approach to how it covers the Trump administration under Weiss after “60 Minutes” has faced criticism for its seemingly anti-Trump tilt. Last year, “60 Minutes” was ripped for its editing of an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. President Donald Trump sued CBS News’ parent company, Paramount, over the edits that he argued made Harris’ answers sound more coherent. Paramount settled the lawsuit for $16 million amid a massive shakeup at the company, with billionaire David Ellison taking over. After Ellison and Weiss took the reins of CBS News, leftists expressed concern about the network’s direction, while many people on the Right celebrated the change as a potential return to unbiased news reporting. President Trump, however, believes that CBS News has “gotten worse” under Ellison’s leadership. After “60 Minutes” aired an interview with Trump ally-turned-critic Marjorie Taylor Greene earlier this month, Trump said that CBS News is “NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP, who just paid me millions of Dollars for FAKE REPORTING about your favorite President, ME!” “Since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten WORSE!” he added. “Oh well, far worse things can happen.”

A Russian general and his assistant were killed by a car bomb in Moscow on Monday, with investigators saying it’s possible Ukrainian operatives orchestrated the attack. Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, who was head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, was killed in the blast, along with his assistant, the Associated Press reported. Russian authorities said that investigators “are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry regarding the murder. One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services.” Sarvarov is the third senior Russian military officer to be killed by a car bombing in the past year. Ukraine has claimed responsibility for some of the assassinations, including the killing of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who led Russia’s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces. Kirillov was killed last December by a bomb placed on an electric scooter outside his apartment building. “Kirillov was a war criminal and an absolutely legitimate target, as he gave orders to use banned chemical substances against the Ukrainian military,” a Ukrainian official said at the time. “Such an inglorious end awaits all those who kill Ukrainians. Retribution for war crimes is inevitable.” Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Russia arrested an Uzbek man who was charged with carrying out the attack last year on behalf of Ukraine. Putin called the assassination of Kirillov a “major blunder” by Russian security agencies. Then in April, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskali was killed in Moscow by a bomb placed near his parked car, according to the AP. Ukraine did not directly take credit for Moskali’s killing, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the time that he received a briefing on the “liquidation” of top Russian military officials, adding that “justice inevitably comes.” The killings of top Russian military leaders have come as Ukraine has held off Russian forces for nearly four years. The exact number of casualties Russia has suffered since launching its invasion in February 2022 is unclear, but President Donald Trump said in August that he had been told that over 112,000 Russians have been killed during the “ridiculous war.” Trump has been pushing Putin to agree to a peace deal with Ukraine to end the bloodshed, arguing that Russia is taking the brunt of the losses.

A heavily-redacted Epstein document dump revives questions about his associates, including former President Bill Clinton; the United States wallops ISIS targets in Syria while the Venezuelan oil blockade continues; and Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest wraps up with fireworks. It’s Monday, December 22, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the video version can be seen on The Daily Wire: Epstein Files Released The Justice Department has begun publishing thousands of pages of material tied to its investigations of Jeffrey Epstein. But the rollout has sparked immediate controversy with claims of heavy redactions and missing files. Because of the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed last month, the DOJ released an initial batch of over 13,000 files. These include investigative materials, grand jury transcripts from cases adjudicated in the early 2000s, police reports, flight logs, handwritten phone messages, and dozens of photographs. Though some of the material is new, none of it is blockbuster news. There are still hundreds of thousands of records under review that will be released on a rolling basis in the coming weeks, however. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships U.S. Hits ISIS President Trump has followed through on his promise to avenge three Americans killed in Syria last week, carrying out dozens of strikes against ISIS in Syria. On Friday, the U.S. military, with some help from Jordan, hit 70+ ISIS targets across Syria. An early report from a Syria monitoring group said that at least five ISIS terrorists were killed. Most of the destruction was of ISIS infrastructure, including munitions, supplies, and hideouts. War Secretary Pete Hegseth tamped down fears that this could lead to a wider conflict. Hegseth said, “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.” TPUSA’s AmFest Wraps Up Turning Point USA’s big annual conference, AmericaFest, had more eyes than ever on it this year as organizers set out to honor its founder Charlie Kirk and give the stage to the most influential voices in the conservative movement. The event wrapped with some surprises–the major one coming on Sunday when Ericka Kirk walked rapper Nicki Minaj out on the main stage to talk about her respect for President Trump. The event was also full of fiery speeches that generated many headlines across the media. But while the media and the internet were full of controversy, the feeling on the floor of the conference felt communal and high-energy, according to Daily Wire reporters at the event.

'you cannot annex other countries'