Millions of Americans face apocalyptic skies as wind blows heavy smoke from Canadian wildfires into the United States. 
Impact from the smoke could be felt Friday across major cities like Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York City, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. The smoke originated from roughly 800 wildfires that blazed in recent weeks in Ontario, Canada and is expected to continue impacting American&#8217;s air quality for the next several days. 
The conditions have prompted air quality warnings from officials who have encouraged residents in some areas to stay inside. Milwaukee saw its worst air quality on record while alerts were issued in over a dozen states — mianly throughout the Midwest and Northeast — urging people to be cautious. 
Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency <a href="https://x.com/OhioEPA/status/2077826905974149601/photo/1">told</a> people to “avoid strenuous outdoor activities when possible, especially if you have heart or respiratory conditions. Watch for symptoms like wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, dizziness, or irritation in your nose, throat, or eyes.”
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GovGretchenWhitmer/posts/a-statewide-air-quality-alert-remains-in-place-today-with-air-quality-ranging-fr/1558742538934998/">said</a> people across her state should “stay indoors whenever possible.”
The smoke could be seen in the nation&#8217;s capital on Friday, with residents noting the eerie look of the smoke floating around the iconic city.
“The sky and the air in DC looks apocalyptic — as if things can&#8217;t get weirder,” <a href="https://x.com/MeghanMcCain/status/2078086173025603685">said</a> commentator Meghan McCain.
The fallout from the fires has led some lawmakers to call for action, including Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno who said he plans to file legislation that would sanction Canada over the wildfires. 
“Canada’s government failed to invest in wildfire prevention methods including forest thinning, fuel reduction, prescribed burns, and stronger enforcement against arson,” Moreno’s <a href="https://www.13abc.com/2026/07/16/sen-bernie-moreno-looks-hold-canadian-government-responsible-wildfire-smoke/">office said</a>. 
Four Michigan Congressional Republicans, including gubernatorial candidate John James, <a href="https://bergman.house.gov/uploadedfiles/canadian_wildfires_summer_2026.pdf">wrote</a> a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to critique Canada’s handling of its wildfires.  
&#8220;The season has come around again, and nothing has changed except that our patience has run out,” the GOP lawmakers wrote. &#8220;Our constituents in Michigan are once again under air quality alerts. Our hospitals are once again treating children, dialysis patients, and older residents for the effects of smoke that did not originate anywhere near them.&#8221;
&#8220;This is the third consecutive year we have had to write to Canadian officials about a crisis that Canada has the tools to prevent and has chosen not to,” they added. “We were told last year that this would be treated with urgency. It was not.&#8221;
Earlier this week, Carney said that thousands of people across Canada had been forced to evacuate due to the fires.

Local Weather U.S.

Apocalyptic Skies Spread Across Major U.S. Cities

Canada

Mark Carney

Michigan

Ohio

wildfire

An Ohio grand jury this week indicted an African couple living in Ohio on charges of Medicaid fraud, money laundering, and identity fraud — two months after The Daily Wire exposed the pair as part of its Medicaid Millions series.
But it was too late: the couple had already returned to their native Africa, highlighting the vulnerabilities of paying millions of dollars to foreign-born providers of dubious Medicaid services.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson announced on Wednesday that Roberta Acheampong, 39, and her husband, Godfred Owusu-Sekyere, 46, face &#8220;12 felony charges for allegedly defrauding Ohio’s Medicaid program of $9.3 million.&#8221; He said investigators believe the couple is now living in Kenya or Ghana.
The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.sbc.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/c/7/c79480c8-8424-4bd6-ad5b-fa1245c997a4/778A933D6B0FE2859B0CA5D5142925B70AF508FDF2F813729C692B4C2B8F9B5B.rosiak-testimony.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> to the U.S. Senate specifically on Acheampong, describing the fraudster as &#8220;a janitor who changed the name of her janitorial LLC to One Community Mental Health, then billed the government $100,000 in the first month. It later billed up to $650,000 a month. Meanwhile she started a daycare and an addiction treatment center. Then she left the country.&#8221;
Wilson, in his statement on the felony charges, said they were the result of &#8220;a complex, years-long investigation&#8221; that &#8220;revealed widespread fraudulent billing tied to One Community Mental Health, a &#8216;behavioral-health clinic&#8217; that the couple owned and operated in Ohio.
&#8220;The two allegedly exploited refugees seeking resettlement services, billing Medicaid multiple times a week for entire households, without their knowledge, for unnecessary mental health and therapeutic behavioral services that were never provided,&#8221; the attorney general said. &#8220;They are also accused of forging documents and stealing the identities of translation and transportation staff members to submit fraudulent Medicaid claims under their names.&#8221;
Two months. Millions of documents. A full investigative team. That’s what this story required. Most outlets can’t afford work like this, which is why it doesn’t happen. We’ve chosen to make it happen. <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/fight/?utm_campaign=missional&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=article&amp;utm_content=medicaid&amp;_gl=1*1uc6lkc*_gcl_au*MTExMzM3NDg1MS4xNzgwMzI0NTk4*_ga*Njg2ODcyNzQyLjE3NDg1NDY2MDE.*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*czE3ODQxNTQ3NjYkbzc5MiRnMSR0MTc4NDE1NDgwMCRqMjYkbDAkaDAkZGllUFRkNmhfeFA5ZEV2OFd5TXRNSVFMM01LMTRkNXFzRmc." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Support more of it by becoming a member of Daily Wire.</a>
His office also said that banking records show Acheampong used the &#8220;stolen&#8221; funds to &#8220;finance a lavish lifestyle, including purchases of real estate and a Porsche.&#8221;
The charges come just a few months after the Daily Wire&#8217;s May 5 story, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-ohios-home-health-empire-7-buildings-288-medicaid-companies-250-million" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inside Ohio’s Home Health Empire: 7 Buildings, 288 Medicaid Companies, $250 Million</a>, in which the business was identified as one of the most eyebrow-raising businesses in a pocket of Ohio where Medicaid fraud runs rampant.
<blockquote>At 1425 East Dublin, One Community Mental Health LLC, run by Roberta Acheampong, billed 70,000 claims totaling $8 million, according to the data reviewed. The Daily Wire roamed the building but saw no physical presence.
The home health industry is not her first business tied to taxpayer funds. In 2019, Acheampong created <a href="https://bizimage.ohiosos.gov/api/image/pdf/201910902672" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Royals African International Food Market Inc.</a>, but soon a lien was placed against it by the Economic &amp; Community Development Institute, which gives federally-funded loans for “social and economic change.”
She <a href="https://bizimage.ohiosos.gov/api/image/pdf/201928703278" target="_blank" rel="noopener">incorporated</a> Nahsek Interpreting Services LLC, which three months later <a href="https://bizimage.ohiosos.gov/api/image/pdf/202001304324" target="_blank" rel="noopener">changed its name</a> to Royals Cleaning Services LLC. In September 2020, the cleaning service changed its name to <a href="https://bizimage.ohiosos.gov/api/image/pdf/202024704316" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One Community Mental Health LLC</a>. This time, she struck gold.
In its first month of billing Medicaid, it had $96,000 worth of instant clients without so much as a website. By January 2023, it was charging taxpayers $654,000 a month for “therapeutic behavioral services,” “psychosocial rehabilitation services,” and “community psychiatric supportive treatment,” the billing records reviewed by The Daily Wire show.
With government money flowing in, Acheampong, whose business was cleaning houses a few months earlier, bought a $1.1 million home in a gated community in Powell, Ohio, records indicate. The Daily Wire visited the home to speak to Acheampong, but it was empty and listed for sale.
In February 2021, she created the nonprofit 1st Access Community Resources, for “Providing Community Base [sic] Case Management Services.” The filing paperwork was also sent to the food market. The nonprofit was quickly abandoned. In December 2022, Acheampong <a href="https://bizimage.ohiosos.gov/api/image/pdf/202236304092" target="_blank" rel="noopener">incorporated</a> Little Stars of America Learning Center LLC. Its address was listed as the address of the aforementioned African market.
Soon, she had another for-profit company, One Community Developmental Support Services LLC, listed under the category of residential treatment facilities. Spending data for that category isn’t public.</blockquote>
Since her companies didn&#8217;t seem to exist at their offices, The Daily Wire visited Acheampong&#8217;s home, on a luxury private lane, and found it empty and for sale.
A neighbor told us that the realtor selling Acheampong&#8217;s house said she had left the country and was liquidating all of her assets in the United States. Hours after The Daily Wire story published mentioning Acheampong, the home was taken off the market.
&#8220;Who buys a million-plus dollar home and never opens the blinds and never has a light on?&#8221; the neighbor said.
This reporter also raised the Acheampong example to the <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-119hhrg63891/pdf/CHRG-119hhrg63891.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. House of Representatives</a>:
<blockquote>Chairman COMER. You also reported companies with rapid and unusual growth. Should state oversight authorities have been alarmed by these trends?
Mr. ROSIAK. Yes. I mean, for example, there was a janitor who renamed her LLC to be Mental Health and started billing Medicaid $100,000 in the first month, later up to $650,000 in one month, and then she left the country. And so, if you were to start a roofing business, it takes time to build clients. How do you get $100,000 in business the first month? That is something people could ask.
&#8230;
Mr. GILL. What are some of these names that you come across? Do you hear the same names, or are they different names?
Mr. ROSIAK. Yes, it is funny because this started off, I was investigating a guy named Robert Acheampong. And then I found a different scammer named Roberta Acheampong. And I thought they were related, but they were not. It is just that is how common it is to scam Medicaid when your name is Acheampong.</blockquote>
Investigators may still have more to look into: The indicted husband&#8217;s name is Godfred Owusu-Sekyere.
Someone with the same last name has billed Medicaid more than $12 million for home health care in Virginia. Abena Owusu-Sekyere runs 1st Option Home Health in Woodbridge, Virginia, which has billed nearly $300,000 a month for &#8220;personal care services,&#8221; the Medicaid code which means that people who are not nurses act as servants to people in their homes, doing tasks like cooking and cleaning. Abena also runs a second home-health company, Gracestar Health Services.
The Daily Wire has found that the people getting paid for &#8220;personal services&#8221; are often refugees and migrants who live in multi-generational households and claim the older generation is disabled, resulting in payments to themselves for simply conducting normal family tasks in their own home.
<iframe style="border: none; width: 100%; height: 800px;" src="https://dailywireinteractives.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/medicaid/medicaid_series.html" scrolling="yes"></iframe>

Roberta Acheampong’s House

African Medicaid Scammers Exposed By Daily Wire Indicted For Fraud, Flee To Africa

Fraud

Luke Rosiak

Medicaid Millionaires

The mother of 16 children found in a feces-filled Ohio home is asking a judge to lower her bond, with her attorney saying her &#8220;principal desire&#8221; is to reunite with her children.
Elizabeth Siders, 33, faces 16 felony counts of child endangerment after authorities discovered the children living in deplorable conditions inside a Vinton County home last month. Prosecutors say the children, who ranged in age from 18 months to 18 years, were living among feces and insects in a 12&#215;12 space, were not enrolled in school, and were &#8220;almost feral.&#8221;
In a motion seeking her release on a recognizance bond, Siders&#8217; attorney, J. Thomas Stolly, argued that his client has no criminal record, is not a flight risk, and would comply with any conditions imposed by the court.
&#8220;Through conversations with Counsel, the Defendant maintains that her principal desire (is) to reunite with her children; she understands that reunification of any sort is an impossibility if she does not appear before this Court,&#8221; the filing states.
Stolly argued that the family&#8217;s financial circumstances make the $300,000 bond excessive because she lived &#8220;in a home which exhibited extreme poverty.&#8221; He added that Siders would agree to wear a GPS monitor, provide a stable address, and, if released, regularly check in with a bond officer, WOWK reports.
He has also disputed some descriptions of the case.
&#8220;There’s no indication that the kids were not free to move about the home. There’s no indication from my conversations with my client that the kids were not allowed to go outside,&#8221; he said on July 9.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/look-16-children-found-in-feces-filled-home-state-intervenes?row=0&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;rowType=Web+Search+Overlay">LOOK: 16 Children Found In Feces-Filled Home, State Intervenes</a>
Siders, her husband Gary Siders Jr., and Gary Jr.&#8217;s parents, Gary Sr. and Christine Siders, have all pleaded not guilty to the charges and remain jailed on $300,000 bonds after waiving their preliminary hearings last week.
In an exclusive interview with <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/crime/ohio-house-of-horrors-mom-not-evil-attorney/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NewsNation</a>, Stolly doubled down on his view of Elizabeth, adding that after meeting with her on three different occasions, she “does not come across as pure evil,” as he feels she is sometimes portrayed by the media.
The 16 children were found on June 30 in what many are calling the &#8220;House of Horrors.&#8221; Seven were hospitalized after being removed from the home, including two who were airlifted to trauma centers in serious condition.
A judge on Tuesday granted a gag order requested by Gary Siders Jr.&#8217;s attorney, who argued extensive media coverage could prejudice potential jurors in the small Ohio community.
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Credit: New York Post/Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail

After 16 Children Were Found In Feces-Filled Home, Mom Makes New Request

Abuse

Crime

News

Piles of human feces, garbage stacked several feet high, and bug-infested debris greeted authorities when they stepped in to rescue 16 “almost feral” children from the home now called the “house of horrors” in Ohio.
Photos from inside the home — which was raided in late June — have been released, showing the horrific conditions in which the children had been living.
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<div id="attachment_1134179" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1134179" class="size-large wp-image-1134179" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-47-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-47-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-47-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-47-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-47.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Credit: New York Post</div>
The photos obtained by The Post show broken windows, trash scattered all over the floor, broken furniture, food containers among other junk. There also appears to be an empty Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey &#8220;Party Bucket&#8221; laying in the middle of the other moldy waste.
The state is planning to give $1 million to assist the Siders siblings, ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years, who were living in the 12&#215;12 foot area — and prosecutors are looking to put the children’s parents and grandparents behind bars, The New York Post reported.
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<div id="attachment_1134059" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1134059" class="size-large wp-image-1134059" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-45-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-45-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-45-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-45-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-45.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Credit: New York Post</div>
The Siders siblings, who have been described by authorities as &#8220;almost feral,&#8221; are unable to speak and have never been enrolled in school.
Authorities were serving an unrelated warrant when they found the 16 siblings living in deplorable conditions with their mother, 33-year-old Elizabeth Siders, their father, 36-year-old Gary Siders Jr., and their grandparents, Gary and Christina Siders — 73 and 67, respectively.
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<div id="attachment_1133967" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1133967" class="size-large wp-image-1133967" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-43-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-43-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-43-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-43-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-43.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Credit: Southeastern Ohio</div>
All four were arrested and charged with 16 counts each of felony child endangerment.
Court records show the ages of the children removed from the home as 18, 16, 15, 14, 13, 11, 9, 8, 6, 5, 4, 4, 20 months, and 20 months. The children listed as the same age are two sets of twins. The 15th and 16th charges against the Siders do not list ages for those two children, WOWK news reported.
Elizabeth and Gary Jr. were apparently married as teenagers (15 and 18), according to court records obtained by WOWK. The eldest child removed from the house, now aged 18, was born just two months after their marriage in 2008. The outlet also reports that the two welcomed another set of twins, both girls, who were born in November of 2022, but died the same day.
A state legislative panel is expected to approve the request from the Ohio Department of Children and Youth to give extra cash to Vinton County, an extremely rural county, to help the 16 victims in this child-abuse case, the outlet reported.
The children were forced to live inside the tiny room — which was overfilled with waste — for the past four years, according to authorities. Authorities said local livestock in the rural area lived in better conditions than the children, The Post noted.
Vinton County has just over 12,000 residents and the smallest budget out of Ohio’s 88 counties, which is why the state is stepping in.
Gary Sr. is also costing a pretty penny for his care behind bars.
Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer Jr. said the medical care costs for Gary Sr. would have &#8220;bankrupted the county,&#8221; per The Post. The court had to change the grandfather’s bond from the original $300,000 and release him from jail, with the understanding that Gary Sr. would need hospital care, so the county wouldn’t have to pay up.
&#8220;Based on the information the county was provided, his medical care could potentially bankrupt Vinton County,&#8221; Archer told reporters Wednesday.
Since the June 30 arrest, Archer said Gary Sr. had fallen at the jail — and authorities quickly realized that the grandfather would need specialized care.
Gary Sr.’s son-in-law, Ronnie Fletcher, told a local news station in Ohio he didn’t know about his nieces’ and nephews’ horrendous condition until he heard about it on the news.
Fletcher told WOWK he is married to a daughter of suspects Gary Sr, and Christina. The son-in-law claims his wife and the couple’s other three daughters had no idea the home situation had gotten this out of control.
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<div id="attachment_1134067" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1134067" class="size-large wp-image-1134067" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-46-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-46-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-46-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-46-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Untitled-design-46.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Credit: New York Post</div>
&#8220;Horrified. Worried about the kids. It’s hard to explain the action when you’re distant family,&#8221; Fletcher told WOWK. &#8220;&#8216;What can I do to help?&#8217; That was the original reaction to it.&#8221;
Fletcher described his in-laws as distant family members, saying that over the years they had grown apart — citing no tension, but saying that they had just focused on their own lives.
The children, who had to spend time in the hospital because of their dire condition after being rescued, will be placed in care that will cost $150 and $250 per child daily, according to the Ohio Department of Children and Youth.
The Post reports the daily rates equal roughly $850,000 a year — which is more than three times the amount generated by Vinton County’s levy that goes toward both children’s and senior services.
An agency in Ohio is also consulting its attorneys about setting up a trust for the 16 siblings. South Central Ohio Job and Family Services has been handling donations for the children on Facebook since the news of the case broke.
The $1 million from the state would help with the children’s treatment — and would also help to cover court costs, and police overtime, The Post reported.
The case has moved to the grand jury for indictment after the Siders’ attorneys waived their preliminary hearings.
Gary Jr. will appear in court on a separate public indecency charge July 23 at 10:15 a.m. in Vinton County.

Credit: Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail

LOOK: 16 Children Found In Feces-Filled Home, State Intervenes

As America heads into the Fourth of July weekend marking America&#8217;s 250th birthday, the city hall of Columbus, Ohio, is celebrating differently.
Columbus is hoisting the flag of Somalia, a foreign government, on Wednesday and celebrating its independence, according to a government department&#8217;s social media feed.
&#8220;Happy Somali Independence Day! 💙 As we celebrate the unification of the Trust Territory of Somaliland and the State of Somaliland into the Somali Republic in 1960, City Hall will be raising the flag of Somalia,&#8221; the city&#8217;s Parks and Rec department said on social media.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1126967" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/parks-somalia-434x576.jpg" alt="" width="434" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/parks-somalia-434x576.jpg 434w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/parks-somalia-226x300.jpg 226w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/parks-somalia-768x1019.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/parks-somalia-1157x1536.jpg 1157w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/parks-somalia.jpg 1240w" sizes=" (max-width: 434px) 100vw, 434px" /></div>
The department deleted the post moments after The Daily Wire asked Parks and Rec and City Hall about it. Neither department immediately replied to questions.
Columbus <a href="https://x.com/ColumbusGov">City Hall&#8217;s X account</a> has celebrated Juneteenth and Pride Month, but said nothing about America&#8217;s 250th. In June 2023, the council passed a <a href="https://columbus.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6268758&amp;GUID=54FB2E4D-5DB2-4CFC-8C92-5584B9A928DB">resolution</a> to fly Somalia&#8217;s flag. In June 2025, it <a href="https://columbus.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7449262&amp;GUID=3EFEE861-BDBD-443B-B5BC-EDBB64237C38&amp;Options=ID%7CText%7C&amp;Search=Somalia">passed</a> a resolution &#8220;To Recognize and Celebrate July 1st as Somali Independence Day in the City of Columbus.&#8221;
Columbus is home to the second-largest concentration of Somalis in the United States after Minnesota. The Daily Wire spent time in Columbus after Medicaid records showed some of the most <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-ohios-home-health-empire-7-buildings-288-medicaid-companies-250-million">flagrant red flags in the country</a>. Those home-health firms turned out to be run largely by Somalis, to the point where one man said it was racist to ask about Medicaid spending because it was so closely intertwined with Somali identity.
Ohio&#8217;s Medicaid spending has doubled over the last decade, leading to a financial crisis.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Ohio is facing a budget crisis due to Medicaid. Here&#8217;s one man&#8217;s thoughts, told to <a href="https://x.com/ParkerThayer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ParkerThayer</a> and I:
&#8220;Blah blah blah&#8230; Journalists, who cares, journalists? Do you pay my bills? &#8230; (ominously) We know people to talk to&#8230;. I&#8217;m going to tell everybody you guys are racist.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/h5is7FnT5x">pic.twitter.com/h5is7FnT5x</a>
— Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) <a href="https://x.com/lukerosiak/status/2062272663532290126?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Other recipients of government grants in Columbus painted a grim picture of Somalis, saying many claimed to be disabled and were illiterate or drug addicts, to the point where some foreigners were being paid by the government to help other foreigners fill out disability and welfare forms.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, traveled to Columbus to address the rampant fraud, calling the city &#8220;a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-massive-anti-fraud-strike-force-lands-in-ohio">Mecca for Somalian populations</a>. &#8230; We were naive to think that practices that are common in other parts of the world wouldn’t follow them here.&#8221;
The unanswered questions posed to Columbus officials included:
<ul>
<li>Is it inappropriate for a government building to fly the flag of a foreign country?</li>
<li>Where did the idea to promote a Somali holiday originate from?</li>
<li>Is there a conflict between Somalis being brought to Columbus as refugees because their home is uninhabitable, and celebrating that nation’s independence day?</li>
<li>Do you think it&#8217;s odd to celebrate a foreign country heading into America&#8217;s 250th birthday? What days will or is the Somali flag flying? What is city hall doing for America&#8217;s independence?</li>
</ul>

Somali flag

On America’s 250th, Red State’s Capital City Celebrates… Somalia

America 250

Somalia

Somalis

The Daily Wire obtained police audio of a phone call a concerned mother made to law enforcement that led to the discovery of a plot to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House. 
In the phone call with law enforcement, the mother of 19-year-old Tycen Proper is heard voicing concerns about her son’s stockpile of ammunition and his plan to “fight the corrupt government.” Proper was arrested last week and charged in connection with an alleged plot to unleash sniper fire on attendees of the White House UFC event. 
“I don&#8217;t, we don&#8217;t even know what he&#8217;s wanting to do. He’s wanting to leave this weekend and go with a group of people to help fight the corrupt government,” Proper’s mother said in a phone call released by the Knox County Sheriff’s Department.   <iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/sc01Lup8SLBT8MTNvsMHz1016R3JA1r6gS?metadata-video-content-type=embed_video&amp;metadata-video-id=b0a565d4-ec24-46dc-a78c-1685b8fc4f55&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=2026-06-23%20UFC%20Terror%20Plot%20911%20Call&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fembedded-videos%2Fd6bc7707-0749-4f99-bd8a-4e6c7c182353.png&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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Credit: Knox County Sheriff’s Department
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“I wanted to file a report just to have it on record,” Proper’s mother said. “And I&#8217;m in Danville, so I wasn&#8217;t sure if there was somebody in Danville that was on duty that I could just talk to. I could even go down to the police station and meet them.”
“I believe that we already have people en route to you,” the police dispatcher replied. 
“We took all the guns and ammo out of his room … and got it off our property,” Proper’s mother said. “He just came inside, and he&#8217;s probably going to discover it&#8217;s not in his room.”
An earlier call from a family member gave the Knox County Sheriff’s Department a heads-up about the situation. 
“They are having some issues with their son, and I think, I don&#8217;t think anybody&#8217;s in immediate danger as in this second, but I know that she has some concerns with weapons and ammo and a particular mindset that her oldest boy is in right now,” a caller said in a police call obtained by The Daily Wire. 
The incident report from the police revealed that they showed up at Proper’s home on June 10 because the mother was concerned about him “purchasing firearms and meeting random people online.” After officers arrived, Proper was admitted to a hospital and they began coordinating with federal officials on an investigation. 
Proper was eventually charged with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, attempted murder against any officer or employee of the United States, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and receipt or transfer of a firearm used to commit a felony, according to the complaint.
When authorities searched Proper’s phone, they found Signal groups “that laid out detailed plans” to carry out an attack in Washington, D.C., with intricate maps highlighting sniper locations and potential drone launch locations.

UFC White House Plot

Listen: Mom’s 911 Call Helps Unravel White House UFC Terror Plot

domestic terrorism

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UFC Freedom 250

White House

The Justice Department announced that another major hospital will provide “detransition” services to those who regret undergoing transgender procedures as children. 
The Cleveland Clinic will allocate $2 million towards services aimed at reversing transgender procedures done on patients before they turned 19, according to a new settlement between the healthcare giant, the Justice Department, and the state of Ohio. 
The settlement, announced last week, will require the Cleveland Clinic to no longer offer transgender procedures for minors and pay the federal government $300,000 and the state of Ohio $8,000 to resolve a lawsuit accusing the clinic of falsely labeling transgender procedures in its medical billing codes. The clinic has denied all wrongdoing. 
“I am grateful that institutions like Cleveland Clinic and Texas Children’s have decided to be part of the solution, not part of the problem,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Brett Shumate. “Cleveland Clinic’s commitment to providing millions of dollars towards care for detransitioners is emblematic of just that.”
The detransition services to be provided include medical care for hormonal balancing, surgical revision and reconstruction, fertility treatments, and mental health support. The clinic must also create a website, appoint a designated care coordinator, and take steps to advertise the services. 
A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-monumental-day-hospital-to-create-first-ever-detransition-clinic">similar settlement</a> reached with Texas Children’s Hospital last month required the creation of the first-ever “detransitioner clinic.” In recent years, detransitioners such as Chloe Cole and others have filed lawsuits going after the doctors who pushed them into medicalizing their gender confusion. 
“The Department of Justice is steadfastly committed to protecting America’s children,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “Just as the resolution with Texas Children’s, today’s resolution with Cleveland Clinic furthers that commitment and puts these providers on notice that this Department will vigorously enforce federal law where children are put at risk.”
The Justice Department praised the Cleveland Clinic in its announcement of the settlement, saying it “remained cooperative, proactive, and solution-driven” throughout the process. 
“We are pleased to have worked collaboratively toward a resolution related to an unintentional coding issue involving a small number of patients,” the clinic told The Daily Wire. “We remain focused on providing exceptional care to our patients and communities. We have complied and will continue to comply with all federal and state laws.”
The settlement was criticized by leftist activist organizations, with the ACLU of Ohio <a href="https://x.com/acluohio/status/2065067567757041860">saying</a> it was “deeply saddened” by the agreement. 
Transgender procedures on children have been banned in Ohio since August 2024 after a ruling from a judge allowed its prohibition to go into effect.

Supreme Court Considers Tennessee’s Ban On Treatments For Transgender Minors

Major Hospital Makes A Dramatic U-Turn On Youth Transitions

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Department of Justice

transgender surgery

At least 12 people were shot at an Ohio music festival on Saturday — and two suspects, according to local police, have not yet been apprehended.
The Old West End Festival, billed as a family-friendly event, came to a screeching halt when two suspects — believed to be shooting at each other — opened fire and sent bystanders fleeing in all directions. According to several reports, around sixteen shots were fired around 5:4o pm local time — and at least 12 people were shot.
Ohio State Rep. Josh Williams (R) shared video that showed the chaos unfolding on the scene.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
What should have been a day to celebrate our community and enjoy family activities in Toledo’s Old West End was once again marred by senseless gun violence. Enough is enough. We need tougher penalties for violent offenders, which is exactly why Ohio must pass HB5. <a href="https://t.co/k1msAtir5M">pic.twitter.com/k1msAtir5M</a>
— Rep. Josh Williams (@JoshWilliamsOH) <a href="https://x.com/JoshWilliamsOH/status/2063489839115244009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
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According to a CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/06/us/old-west-end-festival-toledo-ohio-shooting?Date=20260607&amp;Profile=CNN&amp;utm_content=1780796424&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter">report</a>, Toledo Police Deputy Chief Joe Heffernan said Saturday that authorities believe the shooting began as a dispute between the two suspects who were &#8220;probably shooting at each other,&#8221; neither of whom have yet been apprehended.
Police Lt. Dan Gerken spoke at a news conference on Saturday evening, saying that he&#8217;d spoken to the victims — who range in age from 14 to 61 — and that he believes the suspects can be found with some help from the local residents.
&#8220;If we get help from the community, it’ll be hopefully sooner than later. There’s kids out there that probably know more than all of us standing here,&#8221; he said.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz told reporters that all of the victims in Saturday&#8217;s shooting were expected to survive, although two remain critical according to a <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/06/us-news/multiple-people-rushed-to-hospital-after-shots-fired-at-family-friendly-ohio-festival/">report</a> from The New York Post.
Festival organizers responded to the tragic turn of events in a Facebook post, ultimately announcing that the remainder of the festivities scheduled for Sunday, June 7, would be canceled.
&#8220;Too often we turn on the news and learn of a celebration somewhere that turns into a tragedy. Now, that news comes from our own neighborhood. We are heartbroken about those that were injured at the Old West End Festival. Many people want to know how we proceed from such a dark place,&#8221; the post read. &#8220;After discussion with festival organizers, law enforcement and the City of Toledo, we feel that it would not be compassionate, responsible or possible to continue festival. Therefore, all festival events for Sunday June 7th are cancelled.&#8221;
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Close-up of Police Tape in Front of Police Car

Festival Horror: At Least 12 Shot As Hunt For Suspects Intensifies

At Least 12 Shot At Music Festival, Suspects Still At Large

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A massive show of federal force descended on Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday following a Daily Wire investigation into Medicaid, with top Trump administration officials including Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, and the head of Medicaid Dr. Mehmet Oz on the ground to announce major anti-fraud initiatives.
At a joint press conference in Columbus, the administration officials announced several steps that are being taken to eliminate fraud in the state.
Forty-nine home health care firms have been suspended (most of them <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ohio-suspends-dozens-of-medicaid-home-health-firms-highlighted-in-daily-wire-investigation">in the buildings</a> highlighted in our stories), and one was raided Thursday morning, Dr. Oz said. He specifically mentioned The Daily Wire&#8217;s findings, saying &#8220;there&#8217;s a road here very close to where we are [with] <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-ohios-home-health-empire-7-buildings-288-medicaid-companies-250-million" target="_blank" rel="noopener">288 facilities</a> in one block,&#8221; and &#8220;no more <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/refugees-from-bhutan-billed-medicaid-millions-now-they-drink-champagne-in-private-jets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">champagne on private jets</a>.&#8221;
The press conference came a day after the House Oversight Committee spotlighted the Daily Wire&#8217;s reporting, in which task force chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-witness-almost-brought-to-tears-after-luke-rosiaks-medicaid-fraud-testimony" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brandon Gill</a> drilled down into the abuse&#8217;s connection to refugee communities.
Oz highlighted that connection.
&#8220;This is a Mecca for Somalian populations, it&#8217;s a hub for the Bhutanese and Nepalese. We were naive to think that practices that are common in other parts of the world wouldn&#8217;t follow them here,&#8221; he said.
The assistant attorney general for the National Fraud Enforcement Division, Colin McDonald, said that Ohio&#8217;s attorney general will announce an $11 million action from the state&#8217;s Medicaid fraud control unit, that Ohio&#8217;s secretary of state has signed a data-sharing agreement giving investigators access to corporate ownership records, and that State Auditor Keith Faber has applied to have federal fraud investigators detailed to the state.
&#8220;To the people of Ohio, if someone offers you a medical perk that sounds too good to be true, it is,&#8221; McDonald said. &#8220;We are resolved to till every field and turn over every rock to bring [fraudsters] to justice.&#8221;
There were numerous announcements of fraud in various fields in the state. Dominick Gerace, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced a $30 million Medicaid fraud prosecution involving non-existent autism care. He said a home health care company in Columbus was raided Thursday morning, but that he would not be sharing details.
&#8220;This task force is going to operate similar to how we operate in the violent crime space, we&#8217;re going to inject a sense of urgency,&#8221; he said.
Dave Toepfer, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, said five individuals from Ghana have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, involving swindling the elderly.
&#8220;They devised a romance scheme to establish trust and then tell stories of vast inheritances and convince the elderly to pay them, using it to buy a mansion in Ghana, a Lamborghini,&#8221; he said. Luxury cars that had been seized were on display at the press conference.
Andrew Ferguson, who co-chairs the anti-fraud task force alongside Vice President J.D. Vance, announced that major actions were being taken outside of the state to combat fraud as well. In Hawaii, he announced during the press briefing that the state&#8217;s Medicaid fraud control unit was decertified.
He said the federally-funded unit astoundingly &#8220;didn&#8217;t produce a single indictment of a fraudster from 2021 through 2026,&#8221; a near-certain sign that nobody was even looking.
Ferguson pledged a &#8220;two-pronged attack on fraudsters: DOJ will put fraudsters in jail, and the agencies will make sure we install safeguards to the money never reaches the fraudsters in the first place.&#8221;
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche&#8217;s message was clear.
&#8220;This is a good day for Ohio,&#8221; Blanche said.

Dr. Oz and Todd Blanche in Columbus

Trump’s Massive Anti-Fraud Strike Force Lands In Ohio

Citizens of Columbus, Ohio, are advocating for their heritage after a city landmark was taken down during the statue wars of 2020.
According to the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/confederate-statues-christopher-columbus-removed-fb294c49?mod=us-news_lead_pos3">Wall Street Journal</a>, traditionalists are now suing and lobbying local governments to return the memorials of Confederate generals, Founding Fathers, and European explorers. The most notable example of this is the citizens of Columbus, Ohio, calling for the restoration of their 22-foot-high, 3-ton statue of Christopher Columbus, which was removed from City Hall after protests broke out following the killing of George Floyd in 2020. 
The explorer’s monument that once stood tall in Ohio&#8217;s capital now lies in a secure storage facility, monitored and labeled with caution tape. But a group of Italian Americans filed a federal lawsuit seeking the statue&#8217;s return and asserting that its original removal was illegal. 
“You reach a point where this stuff is shoved down your throat, and you can only take so much of it,&#8221; said 67-year-old Jack Conte, the lawsuit&#8217;s organizer.
In a time overshadowed by the COVID pandemic with riots that raged against police and perceived racism, Democrat Mayor Andrew Ginther said the statue needed to be taken down so that citizens “will no longer live in the shadow of our ugly past.” 
Detractors of the Columbus statue have argued that Columbus was cruel to natives, but supporters of the explorer contend that he should be praised for his historic discoveries. 
The Trump administration joined the push to bring Columbus back by constructing a statue in March near the White House. The new Columbus statue, which is a replica of the Baltimore Columbus statue that protesters sank in 2020, was put up ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary. This action is matched by President Donald Trump&#8217;s praise of Columbus as “the original American hero and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the Earth.&#8221; 
The replica was loaned to the federal government by the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations, whose president — Basil Russo — was a former Democratic politician from Cleveland. According to the Journal, Russo said that America has made Columbus a “scapegoat for Western colonization.” Russo also questions how Columbus could have removed the statue in the first place, given that it&#8217;s the city&#8217;s name. 
“What sense does that make?” Russo asked, per the Journal. 
Columbus, Ohio, was originally named in adoration of the explorer during the 1800s. The Italian explorer was honored for centuries in Ohio&#8217;s capital. However, as historians became belligerent concerning Columbus and raised inflated claims about the death toll of natives, the city incrementally removed his tributes. 
But people like Conte are working to undo this damage. Some of these efforts seek to create a new home for the statue and provide viewers with more historical context.

COLUMBUS, OH – MAY 16:  A life-sized Christopher Columbus statue stands outside Columbus City Hall on May 16, 2014 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)

Restoring History: Another Famous Columbus Statue Makes A Comeback

Christopher Columbus

Donald Trump

A Democratic state senator said she almost cried after Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak discussed his Medicaid fraud findings during congressional testimony on Wednesday.
Ohio Democratic state Sen. Nickie Antonio, whom lawmakers also questioned Wednesday, claimed that the hearing was full of &#8220;hateful rhetoric.&#8221;
&#8220;I was almost brought to tears just now because the rate and level of hateful rhetoric &#8230; the lack of humanity &#8230; I am shocked,” she said.
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As part of his testimony before the House Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses led by Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX), Rosiak revealed that 100% of the companies he found suspected of Medicaid fraud were owned by foreigners. 
“You looked into hundreds of companies, and 100% you are telling me had names of a Somali, Bhutanese, or other sort of an African origin?” asked Gill. 
“Correct,” Rosiak answered. 
Earlier in the hearing, Rosiak explained that “Refugees are using [Medicaid] to bring money back to their home countries. So Congress created this program as medical aid and there are people turning it into foreign aid.” 
After Gill finished his line of questioning for Rosiak, he turned to Senator Antonio and asked her, “Has Somali immigration been good for your state?” 
&#8220;You know, that&#8217;s really outside of my purview of information,&#8221; she said.
Through his investigations, Rosiak found that Ohio spent roughly $1 billion on home healthcare services in 2024 alone, with most of the funds loosely monitored. The lack of oversight allowed relatives to receive taxpayer funding for providing in-home “personal services” such as cooking, cleaning, and companionship.
Rosiak found entire office buildings filled with Medicaid-billing home health companies, many run by individuals with little or no healthcare background, and in some cases, histories of fraud, unpaid debts, or criminal convictions.
At another point during the hearing, a Democratic lawmaker who did not have permission to attend the hearing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-dem-shouts-over-daily-wires-luke-rosiak-calls-his-medicaid-fraud-findings-ridiculous">interrupted</a> Rosiak and called his findings &#8220;ridiculous.&#8221;
“I’m not waived in the committee, but this is ridiculous,” Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) exclaimed as Rosiak was in the middle of his testimony.
Brown, who represents Ohio’s 11th district covering Cleveland, is not even a member of the bipartisan task force, which includes six Republicans and four Democrats.

Democrat Witness ‘Almost Brought To Tears’ After Luke Rosiak’s Medicaid Fraud Testimony

Daily Wire

Medicaid

Ohio officials are moving to overhaul the state’s anti-fraud infrastructure after The Daily Wire’s reporting exposed massive abuse inside Ohio’s Medicaid system, with top fiscal watchdogs now aligning themselves directly with Vice President JD Vance’s national anti-fraud push.
In a major development first shared with The Daily Wire, Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber has joined the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF), a growing coalition of state auditors, treasurers, and comptrollers focused on combating government waste, fraud, and abuse.
The move comes after Daily Wire investigations uncovered <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/medicaid-millionaires-how-the-feds-pay-immigrants-billions-to-hang-out-with-their-families?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=DW+Investigation+Reveals+One+Of+The+Biggest+Government+Waste+Scandals+Hiding+In+Plain+Sight">widespread fraud</a> in Ohio’s Medicaid home healthcare programs, including cases in which convicted fraudsters were permitted to operate taxpayer-funded healthcare businesses while billing the government millions of dollars.
“We couldn&#8217;t be more excited to welcome Ohio Auditor Keith Faber as our 42nd state financial officer,” OJ Oleka, the CEO of SFOF, told The Daily Wire. “As outrageous Medicaid fraud in Ohio continues to be exposed, Auditor Faber is precisely the kind of leader needed to root it out entirely and take bold action to make the state&#8217;s programs safer for taxpayers and beneficiaries than ever before,” Oleka added.
According to Oleka, Faber’s office has already identified nearly $9 billion in waste, fraud, and abuse across state government programs. 
Faber framed the effort as part of a broader national mission among conservative fiscal watchdogs aligned with the Trump administration’s renewed crackdown on government corruption. 
“We look forward to working with other conservative fiscal officers to protect taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse,” Faber told The Daily Wire. “Transparency and accountability with taxpayer money is a team sport.”
At the same time, Ohio State Treasurer Robert Sprague is pushing major reforms to Ohio’s government transparency system, known as Ohio Checkbook, which allows taxpayers to track public spending data.
Sprague’s office recently backed legislation that the Ohio House overwhelmingly passed and would dramatically expand the transparency database and increase public access to government expenditure information. 
“More than ever, taxpayers must have confidence that their hard-earned money is being used efficiently and honestly,” Sprague told The Daily Wire exclusively. “Our office stands with Vice President Vance and financial officers nationwide in our mission to not only expose waste, fraud, and abuse, but prevent it.” 
The reforms reflect a growing national movement among Republican state financial officers who increasingly view themselves as on the front lines of the Trump administration’s “war on fraud.”
Auditors across the country have begun deploying aggressive new tactics ranging from AI-assisted audits to citizenship verification systems aimed at preventing taxpayer-funded benefits from flowing to ineligible recipients.
North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek said fiscal watchdogs should prioritize taxpayers over protecting government bureaucracy.
“It’s not my job to protect government,” Boliek told The Daily Wire. “It’s my job to protect the taxpayer, and they need an advocate.”
Utah State Auditor Tina Cannon warned that political resistance often comes from those who benefit financially from bloated government systems. 
“The thing that bothers me the most is when people call the federal money coming into the state free money,” Cannon said. “No, that&#8217;s somebody&#8217;s federal tax return that is going to this program.”
The intensified focus on fraud comes as the Trump administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, spearheaded by Vance, increasingly coordinates with conservative state financial officers to uncover abuse embedded throughout federal and state programs.
For Ohio Republicans, The Daily Wire’s reporting appears to have accelerated that effort.

Ohio Statehouse

Ohio’s Fraud Crackdown Is Getting Real — And The Watchdogs Are Coming Out Swinging

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