A multi-billion dollar defense contractor that gets federal work without competition because of the hardships of life as an &#8220;Alaskan native&#8221; doesn&#8217;t just have an apparently Eskimo-free executive suite — it passes through millions to the non-native companies of the CEO&#8217;s husband, which don&#8217;t even pretend to be indigenous.
ASRC Federal&#8217;s business model relies on racial preference laws that allow no-bid contracts for firms owned by minorities, with even larger contracts available to those owned by indigenous people. It is named after, and is owned by, the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, a for-profit company whose shares are held by 14,000 Inupiaq natives in a remote region of Alaska.
There is little indication that the government&#8217;s so-called 8(a) program is training disadvantaged indigenous people to do high-skilled work. The company declined to say how many Alaska natives work there. Its CEO is Jennifer Felix, a white woman who lives in a $4.3 million home in Loudoun County, Virginia, as The Daily Wire reported last month.
Much of the money awarded to &#8220;Alaskan&#8221;-owned firms isn&#8217;t done by those firms at all. ASRC has subcontracted $3.5 million to the companies of Jennifer Felix&#8217;s white husband. Even without her salary from ASRC — which it declined to disclose — that&#8217;s nearly enough to pay for their 14,000-square foot home with a guest house and private movie theater. Meanwhile, the largest village in the Inupiaq area has only one rusted-out, <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27876493-cl-2023-16612comp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">closed-down</a> theater.
&#8220;The 8(a) program wasn’t designed to bankroll Beltway power-couples,” said Tom Jones, president of the American Accountability Foundation, whose researchers tipped The Daily Wire off to the subcontracts. &#8220;This is a corrupt grift and Americans are paying for it.&#8221;
In 2022, the Department of Homeland Security gave ASRC Federal Data Network Technologies LLC a $16.7 million contract for &#8220;networking maintenance and engineering services.&#8221; Nearly a fifth of the work — <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_70T03022F7672N001_7013_HHSN316201200127W_7529" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$3 million</a> — was subcontracted out to companies associated with Jennifer Felix&#8217;s husband.
This was not an 8(a) contract, but it was still enabled by ASRC’s minority status. The $16.7 million award came through a <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_IDV_HHSN316201200127W_7529" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contract</a> limited to small businesses — the Alaska native program <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/chapter-I/part-121#se13.1.121_1201" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allows</a> native tribes to create an unlimited number of subsidiaries and have them count as a &#8220;small&#8221; business for purposes of contracting, even though they are owned by a multi-billion dollar one. If the company was a subsidiary of a white-owned business, it would not be eligible for small business contracts because its size would be based on the parent company.
Ironically, the contract was to help the &#8220;acquisition program management office,&#8221; which deals with contracting policy — even as the contract is itself a case study in how the intent of the DEI program is blatantly being undermined.
Ken Felix was vice president at B&amp;B Consulting Enterprises, a software firm. The company received more than <a href="https://www.highergov.com/awardee/b-b-consulting-enterprises-inc-10011973/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1.7 million</a> in subcontracts on the ASRC job. According to a lawsuit filed by B&amp;B, the company terminated Ken from his $230,000-a-year job in September 2022.
He and another employee created Daurem LLC as a competing company, despite provisions in their contracts, and ASRC then moved the subcontract to Daurem, specifically naming Ken Felix as Program Manager, the suit said. Daurem LLC has received more than $1.2 million on that job.
Money subcontracted to the CEO’s husband&#8217;s firm means less profit for indigenous shareholders. Yet moves that undermine the goals of the 8(a) program are so common, and have historically faced so little scrutiny, that they aren&#8217;t even hidden: ASRC, Daurem LLC, and the TSA won an award for their &#8220;partnership.&#8221; The American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council lauded them for working together to develop &#8220;biometric identity verification technology, currently deployed at 10 high-volume international airports.&#8221;
Agile Decision Sciences has disclosed 103 <a href="https://www.highergov.com/awardee/agile-decision-sciences-llc-10005368/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;teaming partners,&#8221;</a> a euphemism used in the 8(a) world that amounts to work being subcontracted out to non-disadvantaged firms, while being open about it with the government because the qualifications of the non-disadvantaged partner help convince the government to give the contract.
Even as the Alaska native contracting program was justified by the poverty and low-tech lifestyles of the indigenous people, its proposition rests on the idea that they are now developing America’s most high-tech defense systems. In reality, the work is more often done by highly-paid white people in Virginia, the most common state where &#8220;Alaskan&#8221; firms operate.
Jennifer Felix has showered liberal politicians with tens of thousands of dollars in donations to groups like &#8220;Pro-Choice Majority 2024,&#8221; &#8220;Elect Dems Now,&#8221; and the campaigns of Democrat Virginia senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner.
According to data from <a href="https://www.highergov.com/awardee/daurem-llc-541097139/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HigherGov.com</a>, the vast majority of the husband&#8217;s company&#8217;s government revenue has come from ASRC subcontracts. Another ASRC subsidiary gave Daurem LLC a $480,000 subcontract on a TSA contract that it got without competition — an eighth of the money paid out on the overall contract. The <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_70T04023C7573N002_7013_-NONE-_-NONE-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contract description</a> reads, &#8220;This is an 8(a) award to Agile Decision Sciences, LLC for a mobile phone app to do identity verification activities for transportation security officers.&#8221;
ASRC said in a statement that “Any characterization or suggestion that ASRC Federal has improperly steered contracts to its leadership’s family members is materially false … Leaders including our CEO adhere to a strict corporate code of conduct and a conflict-of-interest policy to ensure proper protocols are followed.”
B&amp;B&#8217;s <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27876493-cl-2023-16612comp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> said that Ken Felix arranged for other employees to leave the company to work directly at ASRC, and also teamed up with a different woman-owned business called Intellect Solutions LLC to bid on work that was, thanks to 8(a), earmarked exclusively for woman-owned contractors.
Daurem&#8217;s lawyers replied that &#8220;employees do not owe fiduciary duties of loyalty post-employment and are therefore free to compete against a former employer.&#8221; A judge rejected many of its arguments, and the lawsuit was settled soon after.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-pete-hegseth-is-right-to-take-a-sledgehammer-to-the-8a-scam" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> his department is cracking down on the 8(a) program.
“In the Pentagon, $100 million sole-source contracts go out the door to these 8(a) firms almost <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-pete-hegseth-is-right-to-take-a-sledgehammer-to-the-8a-scam" target="_blank" rel="noopener">every day</a> without any competition or opportunity for anyone else to bid,” he said. “In many, many instances, these socially disadvantaged businesses don’t even do work. They take a 10%, 20%, sometimes 50% fee off the top, then pass the contract off to a giant consulting firm.&#8221;
The Small Business Administration, which doles out the 8(a) designation to companies, last week said it has moved to ban 624 firms because &#8220;amid the Biden-era DEI agenda, the 8(a) federal contracting program became rife with so-called ‘socially and economically disadvantaged’ firms who abused sole-source and set-aside contracts to enrich themselves with pass-through schemes.&#8221;
Editor&#8217;s note: This piece was updated with additional details about the contracts awarded to ASRC.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-a-top-pentagon-contractor-enriches-dc-insiders-using-a-law-intended-to-help-eskimos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How A Top Pentagon Contractor Enriches DC Insiders Using Law Intended To Help Eskimos</a>

Jennifer Felix, CEO of ASRC Federal

Defense Contractor Used Minority Status To Win Contracts, Subcontracted To CEO’s White Husband

Department of Defense

Investigation

Minority Contracting

The state of Washington gave millions of taxpayer dollars to a controversial “gender-affirming” surgeon who performs surgeries on prison inmates, according to a Daily Wire investigation. 
Stiller Aesthetics, a cosmetic surgery practice led by Dr. Geoffrey Stiller, MD, has received more than $4.3 million from the Washington State Health Care Authority since July 2019, the state spending <a href="https://fiscal.wa.gov/Spending/Checkbook2325" target="_blank" rel="noopener">database</a> shows.
Dr. Stiller offers an array of “transgender” surgical procedures including facial feminization,  “non-binary” double mastectomy, and “bottom surgery,” according to the Stiller Aesthetic <a href="https://www.stilleraesthetics.com/gender-affirming-overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>.
“Bottom surgery” is a euphemism for vaginoplasty surgery, a procedure that requires the removal of male genitalia and often uses <a href="https://www.stilleraesthetics.com/our-services/colovaginoplasty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">colon tissue</a> to construct a fake vagina, called a neovagina, which requires <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/vid-20517182" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lifelong</a> dilation to prevent it from narrowing or closing.
Dr. Stiller has performed “over 1,000 vaginoplasties, averaging 5 procedures a week” and is an “extremely sought after for [male-to-female] bottom surgery,” the <a href="https://www.stilleraesthetics.com/our-services/colovaginoplasty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> says.
While the spending database does not provide specifics for what each payment to Dr. Stiller was for, public records reviewed by The Daily Wire show Stiller&#8217;s clientele included inmates from the Washington Department of Corrections, whose <a href="https://doc.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-02/600-HA004.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">policies</a> support inmates pursuing <a href="https://www.hca.wa.gov/billers-providers-partners/program-information-providers/transhealth-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tax-funded</a> sex-rejection surgeries.
While many sex-rejection interventions are provided to inmates by in-house clinicians, those deemed eligible for sex-change surgery can apply for <a href="https://doc.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-02/600-HA003.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">temporary</a> coverage through Washington state&#8217;s Medicaid program, Apple Health, which provides coverage for <a href="https://www.hca.wa.gov/free-or-low-cost-health-care/i-need-medical-dental-or-vision-care/transhealth-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transgender surgeries</a>.
President Donald Trump banned the use of federal funds to pay for “any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex,” in a January 2025 <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a>.
In February 2025, however, Washington State led a federal, multi-state <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69620657/164/state-of-washington-v-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> against the Trump administration, and obtained a <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69620657/233/state-of-washington-v-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">preliminary injunction</a> against the order that allowed inmates at federal facilities to continue receiving sex-rejection surgeries.
Payments to Dr. Stiller continued since Trump’s election, with the database showing he pulled in more than $800,000 in taxpayer funds in 2025 alone.
In 2017, Dr. Stiller gained national attention after being given permission to perform vaginoplasties at a small-town hospital in Idaho, despite strong objections from the community. The Washington Post profiled him as a compassionate surgeon caught in the crosshairs of so-called transphobia in a November 2017 <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/a-small-town-doctor-wanted-to-perform-surgeries-for-transgender-women-he-faced-an-uphill-battle/2017/11/11/c6073a0a-c3d7-11e7-84bc-5e285c7f4512_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a>, in which he refers to performing vaginoplasties on gender-confused patients as “the right thing to do.”
However, after experiencing backlash and “multiple controversies” in Idaho related to gender medicine, Dr. Stiller started a new practice six years ago in Spokane, Washington, where it was “much safer to take care of patients,” according to the Stiller Aesthetics <a href="https://www.stilleraesthetics.com/team/geoffrey-stiller-md" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>.
But controversy has continued to follow Dr. Stiller, who was arrested for <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/16UxVlQ1CRccdOcExZYsu9pTLyeD-_5qQ/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drunk driving</a> in 2021 and has faced multiple <a href="https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/jun/06/a-de-transitioner-law-firm-in-texas-now-represents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">medical</a> <a href="https://cp.spokanecounty.org/courtdocumentviewer/imageviewers/SCDocumentViewer.aspx?docid=12187484&amp;caseNumber=2520215932&amp;subNum=6.0&amp;pageNum=42" target="_blank" rel="noopener">malpractice lawsuits</a> over the past five years, according to a December 2025 <a href="https://www.investigatewest.org/allegations-against-washington-gender-affirming-surgeon-stir-fears-of-backlash-for-trans-patients/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> by InvestigateWest.
One former staff member alleged Dr. Stiller’s drinking habits impaired his ability to perform surgery and resulted in at least one botched surgery, according to the report.
Dr. Stiller did not respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment on the allegations.
Court records show Dr. Stiller was performing surgeries for the prison system. He was one of two surgeons the Washington Department of Corrections was ordered to contact to “avoid additional unnecessary delay” within 30 days of a <a href="https://clearinghouse-umich-production.s3.amazonaws.com/media/doc/106591.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legal settlement </a>with a male inmate who <a href="https://www.aclu-wa.org/publications/report-and-recommendation-pmsj/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued </a>when he was denied access to sex-rejection surgery while incarcerated.
“Within thirty (30) days of receipt of the Evaluator’s report, the DOC will contact Dr. Geoffrey Stiller at Palouse Surgeons, Pullman, Washington and Dr. Daniel Dugi at Oregon Health &amp; Science University, Portland, Oregon to determine which surgeon has the earliest availability for gender affirming surgery,” the court document stated.
<div id="attachment_1046183" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1046183" class="wp-image-1046183 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/stiller-vagino-1024x523.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="523" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/stiller-vagino-1024x523.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/stiller-vagino-300x153.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/stiller-vagino-768x392.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/stiller-vagino.jpg 1386w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />A description of Dr. Stiller&#8217;s Vaginoplasty expertise circulated inside the Washington DOC / The Daily Wire</div>
Records show Stiller Aesthetics was a “facility contact” on an internal prison list of gender medicine providers, and post-operative transgender surgery instructions from Stiller Aesthetics were distributed to inmates.
The Daily Wire asked Dr. Stiller about the extent of his work with the Washington DOC, and how many incarcerated patients he performs transgender surgery on each year. Dr. Stiller did not respond to inquiries.
Public records obtained by The Daily Wire expose the brutal realities that follow sex-rejection surgeries.
One inmate struggled with self image and physical complications after undergoing a “non-binary” mastectomy, an email obtained through public records requests revealed.
“I saw [redacted] today for their ℅ ongoing chest tightness and concerns regarding the appearance of their chest, post mastectomy. They are also concerned about continued tightness and limited [range of motion] to the upper extremities,” wrote Washington DOC healthcare staff.
“Please set the patient up with some visits to help the patient work through their self-image incongruence. [redacted] is identifying themselves as ‘non-binary’ and ‘asexual’ and though they did not want to maintain breasts, they also report to me they did not want ‘a male chest’ either – in particular they are not happy with the nipple placement and would have liked them placed more central,” the email stated.
Another staff member requested an inmate be placed in a single cell for a full year after undergoing genital surgery to provide privacy for their postoperative dilation needs, a document reviewed by the Daily Wire shows.
“Ms. [redacted] has her gender reassignment surgery scheduled for 11/22/24, after which time she will require a private place to dilate for 30mins 3x daily for six months to 1 year,” states the document.
“Recommending up to 1 year single cell,” the document states.
It was unclear if either of the described inmates were patients of Dr. Stiller. The Washington DOC declined to provide a comment.
In 2020, Dr. Stiller partnered with the nonprofit Genderbands which sponsors sex-rejection surgeries for teens and <a href="https://www.genderbands.org/aidan2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adolescents</a> who can’t afford surgery costs. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CH-3DY2rATO/?igsh=OWFtbmF6bW5pODN0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Social media</a> with Dr. Stiller’s logo on them offered “FREE Top Surgery.”
A photo of a smiling young woman with fresh double mastectomy scars praises Dr. Stiller for providing the “surgery free of charge through a sponsorship with Genderbands,” in an August 2019 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B1fp4nyjQNQ/?igsh=MmYybTVkZmpwanQ2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram post</a>.
“The emotional benefits our patients feel after bottom surgery is truly amazing and inspiring as we see the newfound comfort they have with their bodies,” the website states.
Many of the surgery instructions from Stiller Aesthetics tell patients what to expect while hospitalized at MultiCare Deaconess Hospital in Spokane, one of two hospitals Dr. Stiller performs sex-rejection surgeries, according to the Stiller Aesthetics <a href="https://www.stilleraesthetics.com/about-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>.
MultiCare told The Daily Wire that Dr. Stiller is not an employee of MultiCare. He does, however, have privileges to use MultiCare Deaconess operating rooms.

trans money

Just How Much Of Your Money Funds Trans Surgeries In Prison

Doctors

Transgender

Washington State

The following is an excerpt from the new book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Coup-American-Foreign-Immigration/dp/0063422506/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.2ScE6yhPpWqhjL9vQ0veoZeFEKoK-SW5klvoqsOrofi5dqZ60RyEVuzkFwB3LsOB17N4pN3mZpCSC5zE1aFMtve6anXBe8oVZp9CoFhGsDpYwva-kFxORiBxiVBMt78ybm_Iygi_kecSx4vYe2JcLtMEuL0K7i6iVkZebu9Kohc9Qn0jouOAUKFgRB0Za0X97c1aNyuAbj-t7jdHQx0frPGg87S_lZPTI61G0KphbvLFWANCW3c_oI7BeOZxtcz9GBkjzK_Ezxh0ua-mek9YNUNf9bjyZdK9pgM1ZThetSY.LdA0LH4Y17VKDUSKjfHiNEJbmz3cE6tB0Zy5hkU3NVk&amp;qid=1768834032&amp;sr=1-1">The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon</a>” by Peter Schweizer (January 20, 2026/HarperCollins)
* * *
It was a hot July 2009 in Washington, DC, and a silver-haired labor boss stood before the crowd and personified the fusing of Mexico’s territorial ambitions with those of an American president looking to create new voters.
Eliseo Medina was the secretary-treasurer of one of the most powerful unions in America, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and honorary chair of the Democratic Socialists of America. He also had the ear of the newly elected president, Barack Obama, who had met with him when he was a senator. “Before immigration debates took place in Washington,” Obama had said, “I spoke with Eliseo Medina and SEIU members.”
Medina was a labor boss, but he was also an immigrant. Apparently, he wanted to change America profoundly.
“When they [recently naturalized migrants] voted in November,” Medina observed, “they voted overwhelmingly for progressive candidates. Barack Obama got two out of every three voters who showed up.”
<div id="attachment_1029777" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1029777" class="size-large wp-image-1029777" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-156516304-864x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 16: Service Employees International Union Secretary-Treasurer Eliseo Medina arrives at the White House on November 16, 2012 in Washington. U.S. President Barack Obama met with Congressional leaders today to discuss deficit reduction and other economic issues. (Photo by Roger Wollenberg/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-156516304-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-156516304-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-156516304-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/GettyImages-156516304.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Roger Wollenberg/Getty Images</div>
So, I think there’s [sic] two things that matter for the progressive community: Number one: If we are to expand this electorate to win, the progressive community needs to solidly be on the side of immigrants. That will expand and solidify the progressive coalition for the future. Number two: [If] we reform the immigration laws, it puts 12 million people on the path to citizenship and eventually voters. Can you imagine if we have, even the same ratio, two out of three? If we have eight million new voters . . . [we] will create a governing coalition for the long term, not just for an election cycle.
What Eliseo Medina didn’t say on that day was that he was not only an immigrant, labor leader, and Obama confidant. He was also an advisor to the Mexican government’s foreign ministry—in particular, the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, which, as we saw earlier, was created by officials because “Mexico needs Mexican Americans to lobby the US government to make decisions favorable to Mexico.”
Elected in the shadow of the 2008 financial crisis, President Barack Obama brought a message of “hope and change” through the “fundamental transformation of America.” The transformation he envisioned was both cultural and political, and Obama likely saw migrants as the vectors for such transformation. Obama’s second job out of college was as a community organizer for the Chicago-based Gamaliel Foundation, “an organization that had long supported immigrant rights.” Immigrants had long been a cornerstone of the progressive coalition in Chicago, where Obama grew up politically.
<div id="attachment_1029755" style="width: 391px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Coup-American-Foreign-Immigration/dp/0063422506/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.2ScE6yhPpWqhjL9vQ0veoZeFEKoK-SW5klvoqsOrofi5dqZ60RyEVuzkFwB3LsOB17N4pN3mZpCSC5zE1aFMtve6anXBe8oVZp9CoFhGsDpYwva-kFxORiBxiVBMt78ybm_Iygi_kecSx4vYe2JcLtMEuL0K7i6iVkZebu9Kohc9Qn0jouOAUKFgRB0Za0X97c1aNyuAbj-t7jdHQx0frPGg87S_lZPTI61G0KphbvLFWANCW3c_oI7BeOZxtcz9GBkjzK_Ezxh0ua-mek9YNUNf9bjyZdK9pgM1ZThetSY.LdA0LH4Y17VKDUSKjfHiNEJbmz3cE6tB0Zy5hkU3NVk&amp;qid=1768834032&amp;sr=1-1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1029755" class="wp-image-1029755 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Invisible-Coup-381x576.jpg" alt="Cover credit: Harper" width="381" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Invisible-Coup-381x576.jpg 381w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Invisible-Coup-199x300.jpg 199w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Invisible-Coup-768x1160.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/Invisible-Coup.jpg 993w" sizes=" (max-width: 381px) 100vw, 381px" /></a>Cover credit: Harper</div>
During the 2008 Democratic Party campaign, Obama lost the hotly contested Pennsylvania primary to Hillary Clinton. He was later caught on tape explaining to donors why, blaming rural voters who opposed mass migration:
“And it’s not surprising that they get bitter; they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
When he wasn’t expressing concerns about the immigrant sentiments of ordinary Americans, Obama declared that his immigrant roots gave him unique and special insights. He told voters in Iowa that “his childhood years in Indonesia and his Kenyan roots” led him to oppose the Iraq war because those experiences had taught him “how powerful tribal and ethnic sentiments are.” For the 2008 election, Obama and his team brazenly “adopted a prominent phrase from within the immigrant rights movement” and made it their campaign slogan: “Sí se puede! Yes we can.”
What Obama understood was that, unlike those rural voters, the most supportive group in the United States for his expansive government agenda to transform America were immigrants. And many of them, like Obama, wanted America to change from the foundation up.
Not only did newly naturalized migrants vote for Democrats in large numbers, but they were also significantly to the left of the typical Democrat. In 2010, 69 percent of immigrants supported Obama’s plans for a massive government takeover of health care, according to polling. Surveys regularly demonstrated that migrants preferred larger and more intrusive government practices, often reflecting socialist experiences in their home countries. During Obama’s first term, 75 percent of Hispanic immigrants told pollsters they preferred a “bigger government providing more services.” Only 41 percent of the general American population agreed.
At the same time, migrants were shown to be less supportive of preserving America’s core values. A 2013 Harris Interactive survey found that “only 50 percent of naturalized citizens” believed “schools should teach children to be proud Americans,” compared with 81 percent of those who were native-born. When asked if “the US Constitution is a higher authority than international law,” only 37 percent of naturalized citizens agreed, compared to 67 percent of American-born natives. And while surveys found that 85 percent of Americans viewed themselves as US citizens and not “citizens of the world,” only 54 percent of naturalized citizens embraced that view.
The partisan advantage for Democrats that Obama and Medina noted was not only real; it was growing. Four years after his election, in 2012, a YouGov survey found that recent immigrants favored Democrats over Republicans by almost four to one.
Therefore, the hard work of ignoring citizenship standards to create these voters needed to continue.
* * *
This excerpt from “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Coup-American-Foreign-Immigration/dp/0063422506/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.2ScE6yhPpWqhjL9vQ0veoZeFEKoK-SW5klvoqsOrofi5dqZ60RyEVuzkFwB3LsOB17N4pN3mZpCSC5zE1aFMtve6anXBe8oVZp9CoFhGsDpYwva-kFxORiBxiVBMt78ybm_Iygi_kecSx4vYe2JcLtMEuL0K7i6iVkZebu9Kohc9Qn0jouOAUKFgRB0Za0X97c1aNyuAbj-t7jdHQx0frPGg87S_lZPTI61G0KphbvLFWANCW3c_oI7BeOZxtcz9GBkjzK_Ezxh0ua-mek9YNUNf9bjyZdK9pgM1ZThetSY.LdA0LH4Y17VKDUSKjfHiNEJbmz3cE6tB0Zy5hkU3NVk&amp;qid=1768834032&amp;sr=1-1">The Invisible Coup</a>” is published by permission from Harper, a division of HarperCollins Publishers. “The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon” is written by Peter Schweizer and is available on January 20, 2026.
Peter Schweizer is a #1 bestselling investigative journalist and author. He is the president of the Government Accountability Institute. His previous works have uncovered widespread corruption and have led to official investigations and significant policy reforms. Known for his deep-dive forensic research, Schweizer has become one of the most respected and impactful investigative reporters of his generation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-2012-DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN

‘Eight Million New Voters’: Barack Obama And The Democrat Plan To Flood The Nation With Immigrants

'Eight Million New Voters': Barack Obama And The Democrat Plan To Flood The Nation With Immigrants

Barack Obama

Books

Democrats

Elections

Illegal Immigration

Labor Unions

Leftists

Mexico

Police are investigating a potential connection between the Saturday shooting at Brown University and the Monday killing of an MIT professor in his home, based on information that has emerged in the last 24 hours.
Multiple people familiar with the investigation told <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/12/18/us-news/investigators-probing-ties-between-brown-university-and-mit-professor-shootings-days-into-separate-manhunts/?utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_social_post_id=626977137&amp;utm_social_handle_id=17469289&amp;utm_source=twitter">several</a> <a href="https://www.wpri.com/target-12/police-probe-potential-ties-between-brown-university-attack-and-mit-professor-slaying/">outlets</a> that federal, state, and local authorities are now examining evidence that the two crimes, which took place less than 50 miles apart, may be linked, marking a significant shift in both stalled investigations.
The violence began Saturday afternoon when an unidentified gunman killed two Brown University students — Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov — and injured nine others after opening fire inside Brown’s Barus &amp; Holley engineering building.
48 hours later, an assailant shot MIT professor Nuno Loureiro multiple times inside his Brookline, Massachusetts, home.
Authorities have yet to identify suspects in either case, and initially stated in a Tuesday press briefing that there “seems to be no connection” between the two shootings.
Providence police and the FBI have steadily released images and video depicting two persons of interest walking the streets around Brown University before and after the shooting, asking the public for any information to identify them.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
ENHANCED VIDEO: We are releasing an enhanced video of the person of interest in the Brown University incident. Footage was captured on the East Side of Providence on Saturday afternoon before the incident.
Please share widely and contact the official tip line if you have… <a href="https://t.co/mewBSflOiO">pic.twitter.com/mewBSflOiO</a>
— Providence Police (@ProvidenceRIPD) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProvidenceRIPD/status/2001035754898653196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Surveillance footage from Brown University captured the alleged shooting suspect — wearing a dark jacket, mask, and hat — walking around campus for hours before the attack around 4 p.m. Saturday. Multiple law enforcement agencies have expanded their search for video evidence, releasing a new map that widens the area of interest around the university.
A second person of interest was identified on Wednesday, depicted wearing a blue jacket and green hood, carrying a white satchel in the area of the shooting.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
ENHANCED PHOTO: Investigators are asking for the public’s help in identifying and speaking to the individual shown in this photo who was in proximity of the person of interest.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the tip line at 401-272-3121. <a href="https://t.co/D1reRPCdZV">pic.twitter.com/D1reRPCdZV</a>
— Providence Police (@ProvidenceRIPD) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProvidenceRIPD/status/2001390136857178172?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Authorities urge anyone with information about either incident to contact law enforcement immediately at 401-272-3121.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: The FBI and <a href="https://twitter.com/ProvidenceRIPD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ProvidenceRIPD</a> are releasing new images of a person of interest in the mass shooting at Brown University on 12/13/25. The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FBI?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FBI</a> is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the individual.… <a href="https://t.co/OhpnsN9fds">pic.twitter.com/OhpnsN9fds</a>
— FBI Boston (@FBIBoston) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIBoston/status/2000690371072794682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Nuno Loureiro/Ella Cook

Police Investigating Potential Connection Between Brown University, MIT Shootings

Brown University

Murder

News

Shooting

A tremor is moving through Armenia. It is not shaking its borders or its mountains. It is moving through the spiritual heart of the world’s first Christian nation. The Armenian Apostolic Church, the ancient institution that carried a people through genocide, exile, and the long shadow of Soviet repression, now stands in the center of an escalating national confrontation. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/armenia-order-arrest-senior-priest-over-alleged-coup-plot-triggers-scuffles-2025-06-27/">accused leading church figures</a>, including Catholicos Karekin II, of political meddling and moral misconduct. Church leaders and their supporters insist that the government is attempting to silence a sacred institution that has preserved Armenian identity through centuries of persecution. To understand the significance of this confrontation, it is important to consider how both the government and the Church explain the actions that have unfolded since early summer.
Since June, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government has said its actions against senior clerics are lawful investigations tied to alleged criminal conduct and concerns about political destabilization during a sensitive period for Armenia’s security and peace negotiations. Church leaders and critics counter that the arrests, including the recent detention of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/armenian-archbishop-arrested-drug-related-charges-amid-crackdown-clerics-2025-12-05/">Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan</a> on revived drug-related charges, amount to political pressure on the Armenian Apostolic Church and raise serious questions about religious freedom and state overreach.
The truth of these accusations remains contested. The facts are intertwined with political tension, historical memory, and the understandable anxieties of a nation that has endured repeated national trauma. Yet this controversy is about more than the conduct of any particular leader. It is about the role faith continues to play in shaping the conscience of a modern society. It is about whether institutions that helped form the Armenian nation can still speak with moral authority in an age that increasingly demands their silence.
In much of the West, faith is often treated as a personal preference or a cultural accessory, reduced to one choice among many in an age defined by individual identity. Yet faith has never been sustained by ease. It is shaped by conflict, sacrifice, and transformation. The Armenian Church has survived empires, invasions, massacres, political manipulation, and ideological pressure that sought to erase it. It has weathered the weakness of its leaders, the failures of its institutions, and the pressures of hostile governments. Through all of this, it has remained a source of identity and hope for its people.
Americans should see something familiar in this moment. We, too, have seen spiritual disappointment in every corner of our own religious landscape. We have witnessed the failures of pastors, priests, bishops, and spiritual leaders who lost their way. Yet the endurance of faith despite human failures reminds us that no institution stands or falls on the perfection of its leaders. A church draws its strength from the conviction of its people and from a shared belief that truth is larger than any one individual.
This insight matters not only for religion but also for politics. Mature societies understand that institutions must outlast personalities. A democracy cannot survive if it relies on the strength of a single figure. A church cannot survive if it places all of its hope in the purity of one clergyman. The resilience of a nation rests in the covenant of shared responsibility, shared belief, and shared accountability.
<div id="attachment_1014245" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1014245" class="size-large wp-image-1014245" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-864x576.jpg" alt="Tatev, Armenia. Sunrise view of 9th-century Armenian Apostolic monastery located near the Tatev village in Armenia." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1487435283-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Tatev, Armenia. 9th-century Armenian Apostolic monastery located near the Tatev village in Armenia. Anton Petrus. Getty Images.</div>
Armenia’s struggle also reveals something essential about freedom. Under Soviet rule, the Armenian Church was monitored, restricted, and infiltrated by state authorities, making open criticism dangerous or impossible. In a free Armenia, citizens can question both political leaders and church authorities. Such questioning might be loud and painful, but it is proof of democratic life. Freedom requires discernment. A society must learn how to confront wrongdoing without destroying the institutions that hold its moral memory.
None of this diminishes the seriousness of the concerns raised on both sides. If the Church has tolerated harmful practices, it must face that reality with honesty and courage. If the state is using the language of justice to exert political pressure, it must stop before it undermines the very democratic values it claims to protect. The state exists to govern. The Church exists to guide conscience. When each respects the purpose of the other, both flourish.
This moment also calls for humility among believers. It is easy to demand perfection from spiritual leaders and then abandon the Church when those leaders fail. Yet the endurance of Christianity has never depended on perfect leadership. It has grown through crises that forced communities to seek renewal, accountability, and deeper integrity. Faith is not destroyed by human weakness. It is strengthened when weakness is confronted with truth.
For that reason, the crisis in Armenia may ultimately bring spiritual renewal. A Church that survived genocide, communism, and the attempt to erase its identity will not collapse because of a political controversy. It may emerge more transparent, more accountable, and more prepared to meet the longing of a new generation that desires authenticity from every institution. And if the government learns that the Church remains an essential guardian of Armenian identity, then this moment of strain may lead to a healthier balance between state authority and spiritual influence.
Americans should pay attention to this moment. We live in a time of deep skepticism toward every institution. We have grown accustomed to believing that a single failure invalidates the entire structure. Armenia offers a humbling reminder. Imperfection is not the opposite of strength. It is the environment in which renewal can take root if people refuse to surrender to cynicism.
The world’s first Christian nation is wrestling with its soul. It is rediscovering a timeless truth. The endurance of faith is not measured by the virtue of its leaders, but by the resolve of its people to preserve what is true even when the ground beneath them is shaking. That is a message America needs to hear now more than ever.
* * *
Bishop Dr. Paul Murray is a global religious freedom advocate and nonprofit executive with more than three decades of experience working at the intersection of faith, human rights, and public life. He serves as CEO of <a href="https://www.savearmenia.us/">Save Armenia</a> and is an adjunct professor at <a href="https://www.indwes.edu/academics/seminary/">Indiana Wesleyan University</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Artsakh-Diocese-in-Etchmiadzin-Armenia

Armenia’s Spiritual Earthquake And The Warning America Cannot Ignore

Armenia

Armenians

Christianity

Church

Communism

genocide

Middle East

Persecution

Politics

Soviet Union

For most of its existence, Wikipedia has been hailed as a marvel of the digital age: a sprawling, collaborative encyclopedia written by anyone and corrected by everyone. An open marketplace of knowledge. A monument to the democratization of information.
But democracies — political or epistemic — rarely collapse in an instant. They erode from within. And what my team at the Media Research Center (MRC) has uncovered about how Wikipedia operates, and how carefully it conceals that machinery, should alarm anyone who believes a self-governing society depends on an open, honest information sphere.
<a href="https://mrcfreespeechamerica.org/blogs/free-speech/luis-cornelio/2025/11/17/how-wikipedia-infiltrated-colleges-train-next-generation">Our recent investigation</a> shows that Wikipedia and its educational partner, Wiki Education, have developed a vast, little-known system for shaping, and increasingly weaponizing, the content millions of Americans rely on every day. What we found is not simply concerning; it reveals the quiet architecture of an ideological project. It is also possible that, in attempting to hide its operations, Wikipedia has crossed legal lines that could carry serious consequences.
Wikipedia’s co-founder, Larry Sanger, has said openly that the platform no longer reflects its original mission of neutrality. It has become a curator of political narrative, amplifying the messaging of the left rather than serving as an impartial arbiter of knowledge.
<h2>The Blacklist(s)</h2>
Wikipedia is transparent about one thing: it blacklists right-leaning news outlets and conservative non-profits. But even this admission obscures more than it reveals. In reality, <a href="https://mrcfreespeechamerica.org/blogs/free-speech/luis-cornelio/2025/02/03/exclusive-wikipedia-effectively-blacklists-all-right">Wikipedia maintains three tiers of blacklists</a> — Blacklisted, Deprecated, and Generally Unreliable — each designed to exclude certain publishers from the encyclopedia’s information ecosystem.
The “Blacklisted” category is the most severe. Sources here are blocked entirely; links cannot even be submitted for review. This is Wikipedia’s “do not pass go” list. It includes outlets such as the Heritage Foundation, Breitbart News, and the Washington Examiner. Content from these organizations is not debated or fact-checked, it is simply turned away at the gate.
The second level, “Deprecated,” involves sources that are “generally prohibited.” Users attempting to cite to these sources receive warnings, before Wikipedia’s editors almost always reject the suggestions. LifeSiteNews, Newsmax, The Daily Caller, and Blaze Media fall here. The effect is the same as the first list, exclusion, just with a thin procedural layer.
The third category, “Generally Unreliable,” is essentially a blacklist with a tiny escape hatch. Wikipedia discourages use of these sources and directs contributors to “more reliable” outlets. The Daily Wire is stuck in this purgatory: technically citable, but heavily disfavored.
The disparities this system produces are staggering. The Daily Wire has been cited only 445 times across Wikipedia. The New York Times, by contrast, appears in more than 1.6 million citations — meaning Wikipedia cites the Times nearly 4,000 times for every single Daily Wire reference. Similar gaps exist with Newsweek, Politico, and The Washington Post, which are cited hundreds of times more frequently than their far more reliable conservative counterparts.
More broadly, <a href="https://mrcfreespeechamerica.org/blogs/free-speech/luis-cornelio/2025/02/03/exclusive-wikipedia-effectively-blacklists-all-right">MRC research shows</a> that Wikipedia cites to left-leaning outlets almost 20 times more often than to right-leaning outlets. <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/695762/trust-media-new-low.aspx">Trust in the media is at an all-time low</a>, specifically because of the bias injected into news stories. Wikipedia intentionally magnifies that bias, resulting in gross distortions of reality. We have documented Wikipedia’s smears against many political figures, including President Donald Trump, Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Charlie Kirk. 
When gatekeepers designate half the country’s media ecosystem — representing tens of millions of readers — as inherently “unreliable,” the result is not a pursuit of truth. It is a systematic silencing of outlets disfavored by the ideological left. The encyclopedia built on openness now thrives on exclusion.
<div id="attachment_1011409" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1011409" class="size-large wp-image-1011409" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1079587192-864x576.jpg" alt="skynesher. Getty Images. Male teacher giving a lecture from desktop PC during a class at computer lab." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1079587192-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1079587192-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1079587192-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1079587192-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1079587192-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1079587192-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/GettyImages-1079587192-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />skynesher. Getty Images.</div>
<h2>The Student Army</h2>
Yet the core of the MRC’s latest findings lies not in the blacklist itself, but in the machinery feeding content into Wikipedia: Wiki Education, a California nonprofit created as a spin-off of the Wikimedia Foundation, operating with its funding, personnel, and blessing.
Wiki Education recruits college professors to assign Wikipedia editing as coursework. Since 2010, more than 145,000 students have participated, generating over 120 million words of content. On the surface, this could be a civic success story — young people helping build a shared public resource.
But the reality, based on the courses Wiki Education recruits and supports, is far more ideological. Classes such as Queering Religion, Critical Race Feminisms, Queer of Color Critique, Gender and Identity in STEM, and similarly activist-oriented seminars are not fringe exceptions; they are typical of the curriculum Wiki Education promotes.
These disciplines are not merely academic; they are frameworks for political activism. And the content they generate — guided by ideology rather than neutrality — flows directly into Wikipedia. The encyclopedia becomes the final destination for arguments crafted within contemporary left-wing academic theory.
<h2>The Taxpayer Foots The Bill</h2>
Even more astonishing is that this ideological pipeline is largely underwritten by taxpayers. Because Wiki Education embeds itself in public universities, it leverages state-funded faculty, classrooms, and infrastructure to funnel student labor into Wikipedia. Students believe they are learning digital literacy; in practice, many are producing politicized content for a global platform.
The pattern extends to Wiki Education’s leadership. Every traceable political donation from its senior staff and board flows to Democratic candidates, progressive PACs, and left-aligned advocacy groups. While not illegal, it reveals the institutional alignment shaping the organization’s priorities.
<h2>A Potential Legal Problem</h2>
This coordinated system — Wikipedia funding Wiki Education, Wiki Education training student editors, students supplying content that reinforces Wikipedia’s ideological filters — creates not only an informational problem but potentially a legal one.
When Wikipedia spun off Wiki Education in 2013, the structural ties between the two organizations remained unusually close. Yet Wikipedia has insisted in court filings, sworn under penalty of perjury, that it is merely an “interactive computer service,” not a “publisher.” It did so to seek the liability protections of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
If Wikipedia effectively controls Wiki Education as an alter ego — training, directing, and financing its editorial labor — then it may have misrepresented its true operations under oath. Filing false statements in court is a crime under state and federal law. Attorneys general in jurisdictions where Wikipedia has invoked Section 230, like the state of Florida, may have ample reason to investigate those claims. And while the U.S. Department of Justice has its hands full unwinding the malfeasance committed during the Biden administration, Attorney General Pam Bondi might be interested in this, too.
<h2>Why It Matters</h2>
Wikipedia is not just a reference site. It is infrastructure. It consistently dominates Google search results — Google itself being a company that aggressively manipulates search results to push its own ideology. And modern AI systems, including chatbots, draw heavily from Wikipedia’s content pipelines. When Wikipedia’s entries tilt, so does the entire information ecosystem.
Its blacklist system also has downstream economic effects. Being labeled “unreliable” reduces an outlet’s visibility, decreases traffic, and predictably harms ad revenue. The encyclopedia’s judgments ripple outward into media markets and public perception.
Given these stakes, Congress should investigate. So should the Federal Trade Commission. And attorneys general, especially in cases where Wikipedia has defended its corporate structure under oath, should scrutinize whether the organization misrepresented how it operates.
Wikipedia has every right to express ideological preferences. But it does not have the right to cloak them behind false claims of neutrality to donors, to engage in deceptive or anticompetitive practices, or to misrepresent its structure in legal proceedings.
Transparency requires accountability. And it is long past time for the public to understand what Wikipedia has become.
* * *
Dan Schneider is Vice President for Free Speech at the Media Research Center.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Wikipedia

From Open Encyclopedia To Ideological Weapon: Wikipedia’s Hidden War On Truth

American Universities

Censorship

Media Bias

Media Research Center

Silicon Valley

Students

WASHINGTON—Daily Wire investigative journalist Luke Rosiak was awarded the prestigious Dao Prize on Wednesday night for his work covering extraordinary government waste. 
Rosiak is the winner in the Best Reporting on Government Waste category, a special category at this year’s awards that was created due to the exceptional reporting done around Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. His prize-winning <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fmcs-slush-fund-abolished-by-trump">investigation</a>, “Inside The Now-Shuttered Federal Agency Where Employees Lived ‘Like Reigning Kings,’” detailed the unchecked spending that went on for decades at an agency that most Americans never knew existed.
“I want to issue a hearty congratulations to an amazing reporter who shuttered an agency that I’ve never heard of,” said conservative radio host Vince Coglianese, who presented the award at the event sponsored by the Young America Foundation’s National Journalism Center. “And boy were these people wasting your money like it was their job.”
Rosiak’s story took readers inside the little-known Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, which occupied some of the priciest real estate in Washington, D.C., but did little to nothing of value for taxpayers. Employees spent taxpayer money on exotic vacations, portraits of themselves, and even to boost their own side-projects. 
It was just one of Rosiak’s eye-opening investigations this year on the topic of government waste, which became his main focus after Donald Trump announced that he would give DOGE the power to do something about the sort of waste that Rosiak has been exposing for more than a decade.
Other investigations by Rosiak this year uncovered massive abuse of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-can-food-stamps-buy-junk-food-how-doge-could-save-billions-and-maha">federal food stamp system</a>, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-foreign-aid-agency-locked-its-doors-to-keep-doge-out-now-we-know-why">three-part series on mismanagement of the USAID-linked African Development Foundation</a>, and the origin story of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-doge-origin-story-how-barack-obama-laid-the-groundwork-for-elon-musk">how a woke White House office created by Barack Obama was transformed into DOGE</a>.
The Dao Prize was established in 2023 to “recognize excellence in investigative journalism,” and set out to put a spotlight on “courageous journalists” who for years have been ignored by the legacy media. This was the first year it recognized reporters in the field of government waste. 
“Luke is one of the most tenacious reporters in the business, and he’s ultimately motivated by shining a light where few other reporters are looking,” said Brent Scher, The Daily Wire’s Editor-in-Chief. “When he set out last year to put his full focus on government waste, we all knew it would have an impact. It’s great to see it recognized with this prestigious award.”
Rosiak’s work was regularly spotlighted by Musk as he drove DOGE, and in some cases, provided the investigative backbone for its work cutting government spending. 
“Investigative reporters never write happy stories, and at times our work can be emotionally draining,” Rosiak said. “It’s easy to feel outnumbered. But nights like tonight remind all of us here that we’re not alone.”
He said he hopes his reporting inspires other journalists to stick to their instincts, even when it feels like nobody’s paying attention.
“We don’t always see the impact of our work right away. Do the right thing for the right reasons, trust yourself, and keep persevering, and the reward will come eventually.”

IMG_3502

Daily Wire’s Luke Rosiak Wins Investigative Journalism Award For Best ‘DOGE’ Reporting

Daily Wire

DOGE

Donald Trump

Luke Rosiak

The FBI is looking into at least seven social media accounts and seeking to determine if anyone knew of a plot to assassinate Charlie Kirk before he was shot and killed last week, The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/politics/exclusive-fbi-investigating-social-media-accounts-that-appeared-to-indicate-foreknowledge-of-kirk-assassination/">reported</a> on Monday, citing three sources familiar with the investigation.
The Free Beacon also published archived screenshots of some of the posts the FBI is investigating. One post mentions Kirk getting assassinated one week before the influential conservative commentator was gunned down. The X account @TallyHallAlbum wrote on September 3, “itd be funny if someone like charlie kirk got shot on september 10th LMAO.”
Another X account, @NajraGalvz, posted a day before the assassination, “Charlie kirk is coming to my college tomorrow i rlly hope someone evaporates him literally.” In a follow-up post, the X user added, “Lets just say something big will happen tomorrow.” In the X bio for @NajraGalvz, the account says it identifies as “nonbinary.” Hours after Kirk was assassinated, @NajraGalvz posted, CHARLIE KIRK GOT SHOT BRO I PROMISE I DIDNT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT.”
One social media account that celebrated Kirk’s assassination uses an X handle that is nearly identical to a TikTok profile that follows the assassin’s trans-identifying roommate, Lance Twiggs, The Free Beacon reported. The X account churbum75m (SAW TYLER JUNE 30) posted after Kirk was pronounced dead, “WE F***ING DID IT.” Churbum75m is also on TikTok, following Twiggs, who has 839 followers.
The Free Beacon reported that in a video posted on TikTok, another social media account said that “charles james kirk … does not know what’s coming tomorrow. be ready … this isn&#8217;t a threat it&#8217;s a promise.”
The posts and some of the accounts that the FBI is looking into were all deleted within days of Kirk’s assassination. The Feds are also investigating whether any pro-transgender groups online knew about plans to kill Kirk in advance, The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/09/14/us-news/charlie-kirk-assassination-investigation-widens-to-probe-pro-trans-online-groups/">reported</a>. The FBI probe is reportedly looking into groups on the online gaming platform, Steam, along with leftist groups in Utah.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on Monday that DNA found on the towel that was wrapped around the suspected assassin’s rifle matches the DNA of Tyler Robinson, who was arrested on Friday. DNA found on a screwdriver on the roof of a campus building also matches Robinson’s DNA, according to Patel.
The suspected assassin’s roommate, who appears to be in a romantic relationship with Robinson, is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/suspected-charlie-kirk-killer-reportedly-lived-with-trans-identifying-partner?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=12&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Suspected+Charlie+Kirk+Killer+Reportedly+Lived+With+Trans-Identifying+Partner">fully cooperating</a> with the FBI as investigators continue to probe the assassination, Fox News reported over the weekend. According to authorities, Robinson expressed his dislike of Kirk at a family dinner and also mentioned that Kirk was scheduled to speak at Utah Valley University before the conservative was assassinated.
Utah Republican Governor Spencer Cox told The Wall Street Journal that it’s become “very clear” to investigators that Robinson was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.”

Charlie Kirk

FBI Investigating Online Posts For Possible Foreknowledge Of Kirk Assassination

assasination

Crime

Social Media

Federal and state officials in Utah revealed on Friday morning that they closed in on Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man suspected of assassinating Charlie Kirk, after a family friend reached out to law enforcement.
FBI Director Kash Patel said that authorities “made historic progress for Charlie” after capturing the suspected assassin in just 33 hours. Patel then provided a timeline of the FBI’s response immediately after Kirk was gunned down and how the search for the alleged assassin came to a close.
<h2>Wednesday, September 10</h2>
<h3>11:52 a.m. MT — Suspect Arrives Near Campus</h3>
Authorities said video showed the suspected assassin driving near campus in a gray Dodge Challenger. One of Robinson’s family members reportedly told investigators that Robinson drove a gray Dodge Challenger. The suspect then walked onto campus and climbed up the stairwells to a roof adjacent to the courtyard where Kirk was speaking, according to authorities.
<h3>12:23 p.m. — Charlie Kirk Shot</h3>
Authorities believe that a single shot was fired from the roof of a building around 200 yards from where Kirk was debating students during one of his signature question and answer sessions.
<h3>12:39 p.m. — The First FBI Agents Arrive, Secure Scene</h3>
Shortly after the FBI took over the investigation, the agency immediately began utilizing assets to transport “personnel, specialty technicians, [and] hostage rescue teams,” Patel said, adding that forensic evidence was taken to FBI laboratories at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia and other laboratories.
<h3>2:40 p.m. — President Trump Announces That Kirk Has Died</h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his… <a href="https://t.co/aM8Pz3TKml">pic.twitter.com/aM8Pz3TKml</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1965880535659470994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<h3>5:20 p.m. — Person Of Interest Questioned</h3>
Patel said a person of interest was questioned at 5:20 p.m. on Wednesday. He posted at 5:21 p.m. that the “subject for the horrific shooting” was in custody, but less than two hours later, the FBI director posted an update, saying, “The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.” Two subjects were questioned by authorities on Wednesday in connection with the assassination before they were both released.
<h2>Thursday, September 11</h2>
<h3>10:00 a.m. — FBI Releases First Photos Of Suspected Assassin</h3>
<h3>10:45 a.m. — FBI Offers $100,000 Reward For Info Leading To Arrest Of Suspect</h3>
<h3>5:30 p.m. — Patel And Deputy Director Dan Bongino Arrive In Utah</h3>
Patel said that he was able to evaluate &#8220;the large crime scene” at Utah Valley University with investigators, where he walked &#8220;through the steps that the suspect took to learn more about what was needed … to create a full picture for the FBI and leadership back in Washington. The FBI director added that investigators are continuing to look at forensic evidence “as we collect it.”
The public also flooded the FBI with around 7,000 leads on Thursday.
<h3>8:00 p.m. — FBI Releases More Images, Video Of Suspected Assassin Fleeing Scene</h3>
The video showed the suspect jumping off the roof from where the single shot that killed Kirk was fired. Images released by the FBI showed a man in an American flag shirt, a hat, and sunglasses walking up a stairwell.
<h3>10:00 p.m. — Tyler Robinson Arrested In Southern Utah</h3>
Officials said that Robinson was turned in after a family member reached out to a friend about the 22-year-old, who allegedly confessed or implied that he had assassinated Kirk. The New York Post and The Daily Mail reported that the suspect admitted to the assassination to his father. Robinson reportedly told his father that he wanted to kill himself when his father urged him to turn himself over to the authorities.
Robinson’s father convinced his son to talk to their youth minister, who is also a U.S. Marshal, The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/09/12/us-news/tyler-robinson-full-of-hate-before-charlie-kirk-shooting-says-family-friends/">reported</a>. The youth minister then called the FBI, and shortly after, agents took Robinson into custody.

FBI director Kash Patel / Mugshot: Tyler Robinson

TIMELINE: How Authorities Circled In On Suspected Assassin Tyler Robinson

assassination

kash patel

U.S.

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating Wikipedia over alleged pro-Kremlin, anti-Western, and anti-Israel bias, raising serious concerns given that AI chatbots heavily rely on the site’s information.
“Profound, a company helping brands monitor and influence their presence in AI search engines, has analyzed 30 million citations across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity from August 2024 to June 2025,” CyberNews <a href="https://cybernews.com/news/chatgpt-wikipedia-google-reddit/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">reported</a> in June. “OpenAI’s ChatGPT shows a clear preference for Wikipedia, which accounts for nearly half (47.9%) of its top citations within its top 10 most-cited sources.”
“Multiple studies and reports have highlighted efforts to manipulate information on the Wikipedia platform for propaganda aimed at Western audiences,” The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wrote in a <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/082725-letter-to-Wikimedia.pdf">letter</a> to Maryana Iskander, the CEO of the Wikipedia Foundation.  “One recent report raised troubling questions about potentially systematic efforts to advance antisemitic and anti-Israel information in Wikipedia articles related to conflicts with the State of Israel. A second investigation detailed actions by hostile nation-state actors to expose Western audiences to pro-Kremlin and anti-Western messaging by manipulating Wikipedia articles and other news outlets relied on for training AI chatbots.”
A comprehensive October 2024 <a href="https://www.piratewires.com/p/how-wikipedia-s-pro-hamas-editors-hijacked-the-israel-palestine-narrative">report</a> delineated how pro-Hamas editors at Wikipedia were promoting pro-Palestinian propaganda, erasing vital information about Hamas, and biasing the narrative against Israel. An April 2025 <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/exposing-pravda-how-pro-kremlin-forces-are-poisoning-ai-models-and-rewriting-wikipedia/">report</a> titled, “Exposing Pravda: How pro-Kremlin forces are poisoning AI models and rewriting Wikipedia,” showed how pro-Kremlin, anti-Western propaganda was being pushed on the site.
Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia, <a href="https://jewishwebsite.com/featured/house-panel-probing-organized-efforts-to-distort-wikipedia-including-entries-on-israel/107583/">expressed his gratitude</a> that the Committee was launching an investigation, saying, “I am glad that Congress is investigating the use of foreign and U.S. government funds to pay for biased editing on Wikipedia. &#8230; There is clearly massive support for this sort of investigation.”
Sanger said Wikipedia “makes broad editorial decisions about what constitutes reliable sources, which must be respected by large numbers of participants. &#8230; The Wikipedia Foundation could address the situation but does not.”  He noted that the Wikipedia Foundation also “refuses to reveal the identity of its most powerful editors or to override decisions by editors.”

In this photo illustration a Wikipedia logo seen displayed

Trump Goes To War With Wikipedia Over Political Slant

Anti-American

anti-Israel

Media

Trump Administration

NASHVILLE — Banana Taffy, Dragon Drink, Hawaiian Fruit Punch. Those aren’t smoothies or soft drinks. Those are a sampling of the variety of vapes that continue to enter the United States illegally from China in 2025.
Cases of the brightly-colored devices lined the booths at this year’s Alternative Products Expo in Nashville, Tennessee. Some vape devices featured LED screens. Some were stackable, allowing up to three flavors, enabling the user to concoct their own mixture of candy-like vape flavors. Other vapes were stylized as designer purses. One wholesaler employee pitched a pastel vape device that doubled as a fidget toy.
And as of 2020, all of them were illegal.
<div id="attachment_966933" style="width: 453px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-966933" class="wp-image-966933 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_6-443x576.jpg" alt="" width="443" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_6-443x576.jpg 443w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_6-231x300.jpg 231w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_6-768x999.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_6-1181x1536.jpg 1181w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_6.jpg 1516w" sizes=" (max-width: 443px) 100vw, 443px" />A promotional flyer for the Alternative Products Expo in Nashville, Tennessee.</div>
While American manufacturers like JUUL only sell vapes in menthol and tobacco flavors — the only legal flavors in the United States — wholesalers skirt Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations by importing vape products from China. These unregulated Chinese vapes are flooding the United States, despite warning letters and threats of seizure by the FDA. At the Alternative Products Expo, wholesalers promoted their illegal, Chinese vape products completely out in the open.
The Chinese company <a href="https://www.kangvapecig.com/">Kangvape</a> prominently displayed its TC8000 vape. The booth stocked the flavors Cool Mint, Miami Mint, Pineapple Coconut, Vintage, Virginia Tobacco, and Watermelon Ice. A flyer advertised an additional 23 flavors, including Rainbow Paradise.
Kangvape also sold its Speedy Beast vape in 20 flavors — none of which included tobacco or menthol. Instead, the Speedy Beast boasted the exotic-sounding Blue Laffi Taffi, Ruby Delight, and Tropical Starburst.
These are being openly hawked with no concern for past threats of action. The FDA <a href="https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/nfv-llc-dba-nfdvapes-and-nic-fix-doctor-673307-12122023">cited</a> the Rainbow Paradise flavor of the TC8000 in a warning letter from December 2023. Another FDA warning letter from April 2024 <a href="https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/highfi-vape-682420-04302024">noted</a> the illegal Kangvape Onee Stick. 
<div id="attachment_966947" style="width: 429px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-966947" class="wp-image-966947 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_4-419x576.jpg" alt="" width="419" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_4-419x576.jpg 419w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_4-218x300.jpg 218w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_4-768x1055.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_4-1118x1536.jpg 1118w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_4-1490x2048.jpg 1490w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_4.jpg 1496w" sizes=" (max-width: 419px) 100vw, 419px" />ZColors by ZLAB is another Chinese vape company that sells its products in the United States.</div>
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said cracking down on illegal vapes is a “top priority” for the agency, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-priority-fda-to-crack-down-on-illegal-chinese-vapes">reported</a>.
“Eighty-five percent of the vaping products sold in the vape stores are illegal according to the FDA’s list,” Makary said. “We don’t even know what’s in some of these vaping products.”
There are only 39 vape products that have been authorized by the FDA.
An FDA spokesman says a federal task force is facilitating actions against illegal products.
“FDA has taken numerous actions against unauthorized new tobacco products from international firms, including e-cigarettes that are most popular with youth,” the spokesman told The Daily Wire.
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The FDA reports that it has seized millions of dollars’ worth of illegal products. In January, the agency seized $7 million worth of vape products, including the brand Geek Bar, which an FDA press release <a href="https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/ctp-newsroom/more-7-million-worth-illegal-e-cigarettes-seized-federal-operation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> “may appeal to youth.”
The seizures haven’t scared Kangvape. The company sold dozens of boxes of Geek Bar vapes at the Expo, featuring flavors ranging from Banana Taffy Freeze to Blue Razz Ice.
Federal action appears to have had little impact on Chinese vapes in general. The Expo featured wholesalers that have received FDA warning letters and seemingly ignored them.
One such wholesaler, Safa Goods, was a sponsor of the Expo. Its name appeared on Expo nametags, as did advertisements for two other illegal vape brands, Beri Crush and Raz LTX.
The warning letter to Safa, <a href="https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/safa-goods-llc-665079-10052023">sent</a> in October 2023, cited the illegal vape product EB Design BC5000 Blue Razz Ice. Safa’s booth didn’t advertise the EB vapes. But it did sell the illegal vape Raz LTX 25K, which was <a href="https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/vapejuicecom-709722-05302025">cited</a> in an FDA warning letter from May 2025.
The Raz LTX 25K is a <a href="https://mipod.com/blogs/mipodblog/what-happened-to-raz-dc25000-vapes?srsltid=AfmBOor8Y9qvgdp0D6RivbJ6vGd7lvXcRpp2AeXAOV_R7DvF28cbEUfl">rebrand</a> of the Raz DC25000, which has also been cited in multiple FDA warning letters. Safa’s Expo booth sold the flavor Mango Loco, which was <a href="https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/thesmokeplugcom-709720-05302025">named</a> in an FDA warning letter from May 2025.
<div id="attachment_967009" style="width: 452px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-967009" class="wp-image-967009 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_7-442x576.jpg" alt="" width="442" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_7-442x576.jpg 442w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_7-230x300.jpg 230w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_7-768x1000.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_7-1179x1536.jpg 1179w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_7-1572x2048.jpg 1572w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Vape-Flyers_7.jpg 1612w" sizes=" (max-width: 442px) 100vw, 442px" />Safa Goods, a U.S. company that distributes Chinese vape products, was a sponsor of the Alternative Products Expo in Nashville.</div>
Safa also sold dozens of flavors aside from menthol and tobacco in additional brands.
The company is the subject of a New York lawsuit <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-sues-nations-largest-vape-distributors-fueling-youth">suing</a> multiple vape distributors “for illegally distributing, marketing, and selling flavored disposable vapes.”
A primary concern with these vapes, with flavors more fit for a candy store than a tobacco shop, is that they appeal to children. Illegal e-cigarettes often attract children and teens through bright colors and fruit- and candy-based flavors, according to Makary.
The FDA spokesman said the agency works with “federal partners to combat these attempted illegal imports and enhance enforcement activities,” especially against vape products “that may be appealing to youth.”
An FDA seizure in 2023 included the illegal brand Lost Mary. Expo wholesaler Strictly E-Cig’s 2025 product catalog advertised 30 flavors of Lost Mary vapes, with names such as Dragon Drink, Rocket Popsicle, and Scary Berry. The Lost Mary products are available for purchase online.
Another wholesaler, Sol Trading, leaned into pastel colors and “cutie, fruity flavors” to market its UT Bar vape, which one employee pitched as both a vape and a fidget toy.
The UT Bar combines two flavors into one vape. The flavor combinations included B-Pop and Watermelon, Citrus Ice and Sour Fab, Cool Mint and Icy Mint, and Raspberry and White Peach.
Multiple sellers advertised flavor combinations at the Expo. Chinese-based company Ziip Lab sold its Z-Land vape, which allows the user to stack up to three vape pods for more than 125,000 flavor combinations, according to a handout from the booth.
The flyer advertised stacking flavors such as Berry Mix and Guava, as well as Blueberry, Green Apple, and Orange. Z-Land comes in a total of 51 flavors, including Milk, Rainbow Rain, and Skittle Ice Fruits.
Another wholesaler, Unishow, sold GeakNexx vapes at the Expo. Unishow <a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/128992/download?attachment">received</a> an FDA warning letter in 2019 for selling illegal products. The GeakNexx vapes came in about a dozen illicit flavors, including Blue Oat Donut, Frozen Fcuking Fab, and Strawberry Banana.
The Alternative Products Expo, Kangvape, Safa Goods, Strictly E-Cig, Unishow, and Ziip Lab did not respond to requests for comment.
The illegal vapes didn’t stop with the wholesalers. The Alternative Products Expo itself advertised a giveaway of $50,000 worth of illegal vape products, including the disposable Geek Bar Pulse and the Raz DC25000, and the Raz TN9000. The <a href="https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/denverelectroniccigarettescom-708988-05162025">Geek Bar Pulse</a>, Raz DC25000, and <a href="https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/nepa-wholesale-inc-710957-06262025">Raz TN9000</a> have been cited in FDA warning letters.
The Expo promoted the illegal vapes giveaway with a large sign and a locked case of vapes just inside the entrance to the convention center. It also marketed the giveaway online and in the official show book.
The advertised flavors included Blue Razz Ice, Fire and Ice, and Miami Mint. An additional flavor, Strawberry Burst, did not contain nicotine.
The Expo was not only for vapes, but also “the full spectrum of alternative products,” including CBD-based products, mushrooms, and Kratom, another drug that’s become dangerously popular with America’s teenagers.
Many of these vapes are smuggled into the United States. A previous Daily Wire investigation <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-is-flooding-america-with-illegal-vapes-and-more-than-90-fly-under-the-radar">found</a> that over 90% of imported Chinese vape products in 2024 were not included in U.S. import data. The companies often disguise their products by labeling them as battery chargers and flashlights.
“[What] we have been doing is laughable,” Makary said. “We’re going to start confiscating and seizing. We’re going to take this seriously.”

IMG_6982

From Banana Taffy To Dragon Drink: The Illegal Chinese Vapes Flooding The U.S. Market

Drugs

Nashville

Vape

Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation Wednesday into a group led by Democrat Beto O’Rourke that is bankrolling dozens of Democrats who fled the Lone Star State to block a vote on new congressional maps.
Paxton said that O’Rourke’s group, Powered by People, might have violated laws on bribery, campaign finance, and abuse of office. Powered by People is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/beto-orourkes-pac-bankrolls-texas-democrats-escape-from-redistricting-standoff?author=Sam+Korkus&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Beto+O%E2%80%99Rourke%E2%80%99s+PAC+Bankrolls+Texas+Democrats%E2%80%99+Escape+from+Redistricting+Standoff">funding</a> a group of 50 state Democrats who are each facing a $500 daily fine after fleeing to Illinois, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/beto-orourkes-pac-bankrolls-texas-democrats-escape-from-redistricting-standoff?author=Sam+Korkus&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Beto+O%E2%80%99Rourke%E2%80%99s+PAC+Bankrolls+Texas+Democrats%E2%80%99+Escape+from+Redistricting+Standoff">reported</a>.
“Any Democrat coward breaking the law by taking a Beto Bribe will be held accountable,” Paxton said. “Texas cannot be bought. I look forward to thoroughly reviewing all of the documents and communications obtained throughout this investigation. These jet-setting runaways have already lost public trust by abandoning our state, and Texans deserve to know if they received illegal bribes to do it.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: I just launched an investigation into Beto O&#8217;Rourke&#8217;s radical group for unlawfully funding runaway Democrats.
Any Democrat coward breaking the law by taking a Beto Bribe will be held accountable. <a href="https://t.co/PV2IdwNOBd">pic.twitter.com/PV2IdwNOBd</a>
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) <a href="https://twitter.com/KenPaxtonTX/status/1953188955807273440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
O’Rourke — who ran failed presidential, senatorial, and gubernatorial campaigns — shot back at Paxton’s investigation, <a href="https://x.com/BetoORourke/status/1953228139271995756">writing</a> on X, “The guy impeached for bribery is going after the folks trying to stop the theft of five Congressional seats.”
Paxton was impeached by the Texas state House in 2023 on bribery charges, but he was later acquitted by the state Senate. The Texas attorney general is now challenging incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn in the 2026 U.S. Senate race.
Powered by People <a href="https://poweredxpeople.org/what-we-do/">focuses</a> on organizing volunteers to help Democrats win elections in “competitive Texas battleground districts.” The leftist group says it is also “focused on creating long-term changes to the Texas electorate that will outlast any one candidate or campaign cycle.”
Speaker of the Texas House Dustin Burrows set a Friday deadline for the Democrats to return to the legislature, but the 50 representatives are hoping to keep their stunt going and are pleading for donations as they remain in Illinois, the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/redistricting-texas-democrats-walkout-trump-payments-59966a83df7cbaa43ee7e410eed2fc08">reported</a>. The House Democratic Caucus set up a website for donations of up to $2,500.
“We’re getting a lot of small-dollar donations, and that’s going to be used to help keep this thing going,” said Democrat House Caucus Chair Gene Wu.
“We’ve already been inundated with donations from across the state of Texas, from across the country, just regular people donating $5, $10, $15,” Democratic state Rep. James Talarico said. “And that’s appropriate, because this fight is for the people and it should be funded by the people. We don’t have billionaires who are funding this operation.”
Earlier this week, Paxton <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-ag-asks-judge-to-officially-remove-awol-dems-from-seats">said</a> he would seek judicial orders to remove the AWOL Democrats from office over their “refusal to perform legislative duties.” Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has also pushed to remove Wu from office over the state representative’s refusal to show up for the redistricting vote and reach quorum.
Sen. Cornyn has also asked the FBI to help round up the Democrats and bring them back to the state. President Donald Trump said earlier this week that the bureau “may have to” get involved.

Beto O’Rourke

Beto O’Rourke-Led Group Under Investigation Over Potential Bribes To Help Runaway Texas Dems

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