(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) George Soros has long used his billions to influence politics, but now his family appears to be using that wealth to reshape its own backyard through a massive land grab in the Hamptons.
The Soros family has purchased 18 plots of land on Shelter Island, a Hamptons community, angering residents who are concerned that the billionaire’s presence in the area will trigger rising costs.
Soros’s shopping spree, reported by the New York Post on July 2, makes him and his sons, Alex and Gregory Soros, the largest private landowners on the approximately 8,000-acre island.
According to the Post, the massive purchases are not the first time the Soros family has angered residents. In 2020, Gregory snatched a 22-acre property on a quiet street.
However, the quiet atmosphere turned into chaos when construction trucks began arriving to build one of the island’s largest swimming pools.
Local plumbers and maids are required to sign non-disclosure agreements before being allowed to work on the Soroses’ properties, residents alleged.
Surveillance cameras have reportedly been installed on local streets, raising privacy concerns among residents of the island, which is only accessible by boat.
At one point, the Soros family reportedly purchased multiple homes along a single road and sought approval from local officials to install a fence to block access from other residents. However, Shelter Island resident Steve Lenox is concerned that Soros will soon get his way.
“We can’t keep up with the lawyers that these millionaires have and they seem to build whatever they want,” Lenox told the Shelter Island Town Board during a meeting on June 29, according to the Post. “That’s what’s ruining the island.”
Another resident, Mike Gaynor, echoed those concerns during the meeting, pointing to other communities that became unaffordable at the arrival of millionaires.
According to the Post, residents first noticed the Soros family’s presence on the island when the family installed a deer fence around one of its properties, allegedly in violation of local zoning rules.
(José Niño,Headline USA) On Sunday, Just the Newsreported on a striking new Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas working paper that ties the Biden era surge in illegal immigration to a sharp jump in housing costs. The outlet summarized findings that the migrant wave lifted employment while driving roughly 30% of home price increases and 20% of rent increases from 2021 through 2024.
As Just the News noted, economists Daniel Wilson and Xiaoqing Zhou merged immigration court records with government administrative data to build what they call the first ever measure of how about 7 million illegal immigrants reshaped local labor and housing markets. The authors wrote that “from early 2021 to early 2024, the U.S. experienced an unprecedented boom in unauthorized immigration, followed by a rapid slowdown beginning in mid-2024. We provide the first systematic empirical assessment of the labor- and housing-market effects of this episode.”
The numbers run steep. Across the study window, thefull paper reports that “the total weighted-mean increases in house prices and rents over this period were 22.4% and 22.6%, respectively. Putting these together, for the average MSA, UIWF can explain approximately 30% of the total increase in house prices and 20% of the total increase in rents.”
The researchers also found that an inflow of illegal workers equal to 1% of local employment pushed house prices up 2.2% and rents up 1.4%. They describe the mechanism plainly, writing that the influx “acted as a housing demand shock in the face of short-run inelastic supply, boosting rents and prices.” In other words, demand surged while builders stayed on the sidelines.
Just the News stressed that the study found little sign that home construction expanded to absorb the arrivals, deepening the squeeze where supply was already tight. Employment, meanwhile, rose almost one for one with the worker inflows, with little measurable hit to local wages.
The paper also carries a caveat Just the News passed along. The authors call it a preliminary draft circulated for professional comment, one that does not necessarily reflect the views of the Dallas Fed or the broader Federal Reserve System.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
(José Niño, Headline USA) Independent research firm Hedgeye set off a fierce online reaction this weekend when it published a blunt autopsy of American social life. The Stamford, Connecticut-based financial media company argued that the nation has quietly torn down the places where people once met, and the figures it cited paint a bleak picture.
In itsviral post, Hedgeye declared that “America is running out of places to gather.” The firm noted that “bars and clubs per capita have fallen over 60% since the late 1970s, and since 2001 a fifth of movie theaters have shut their doors.”
America is running out of places to gather:
Bars and clubs per capita have fallen over 60% since the late 1970s, and since 2001 a fifth of movie theaters have shut their doors.
Over the past two decades, the country has lost roughly 2,000 golf courses and 7,000 bars and… pic.twitter.com/35pN349ApR
The scale of the loss stuns. Hedgeye reported that the country has surrendered “roughly 2,000 golf courses and 7,000 bars and nightclubs” over the past two decades. Data onvanishing nightlife backs that contraction, which analysts trace to shifting tastes, climbing rents, and the pull of home entertainment, per a report by White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group.
Live music offers no escape. Hedgeye pointed out that “top-tour concert tickets averaged $134 last year, up +42% from 2019.”Pollstar numbers confirm the squeeze, pegging the average top tour ticket at $135.92 in 2024, a jump of roughly 41% from 2019. Those prices increasingly lock out working families.
The firm warned that “nearly 80% see friends and family less than three times a week,” then landed its gut punch. “America has traded their community for their couch.”
The idea builds on sociologist Ray Oldenburg, who coined the phrasethird places for the bars, cafes, and libraries that anchor community life. Their retreat feeds what the U.S. Surgeon General branded aloneliness epidemic in 2023, warning that isolation raises the risk of heart disease, stroke, and early death. A recent Syracuse University study found the sharpestthird place losses fell hardest on Black, low income, and rural communities.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
(Headline USA) A former campus police officer testified Monday that he found an apparent “sniper pad” on a rooftop near where Charlie Kirk was assassinated, as prosecutors sought to convince a state judge they have enough evidence to put a Utah man on trial for murder.
Former Utah Valley University Officer Christopher Bagley said he witnessed Kirk’s shooting while the conservative activist was speaking to a crowd of thousands last year. Soon after, Bagley went to a nearby gravel rooftop, where it appeared someone had been lying prone with a clear sightline to Kirk’s location, he said.
“It looks like a sniper pad,” Bagley said, adding, “you’ve got markings of elbows, knees and feet.”
The testimony came as Kirk’s parents, Kathryn and Robert, and widow, Erika, were in the courtroom for the first time since the case began, along with Donald Trump Jr., President Donald Trump’s son.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for defendant Tyler Robinson. A five-day preliminary hearing that began Monday marks the most significant presentation of evidence to date in the case.
Robinson’s parents also were present, sitting a few rows behind the Kirks as the hearing began. The 23-year-old defendant is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 assassination of Kirk, a conservative activist and ally of Trump. Robinson turned himself in the day after the shooting.
Robinson has not yet entered a plea, and his attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. They have, however, sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.
Prosecutors showed several videos of Kirk’s shooting as they made their case to state District Judge Tony Graf. Attorneys from both sides tried to shield their monitors from spectators in the court gallery, after Graf said the assassination videos couldn’t be publicized because of their graphic nature.
Utah State Bureau of Investigations Agent David Hull described the videos during questioning by prosecutors: They showed the crowd milling around at the event, Kirk interacting with some of the spectators, the harrowing moment when he was shot and, finally, an anxious scene as Kirk’s security detail picked him up and took him away while administering first aid.
Robinson sat quietly between his attorneys throughout the hearing, looking at the prosecution’s exhibits on a monitor and occasionally taking notes. He wore a gray suit, and his wrists were shackled to a chain around his waist.
Charlie Kirk’s parents and widow walked out of the courtroom when a police officer started testifying about Kirk’s arrival on campus the day he was shot. They later returned.
The proceeding resembles a minitrial, but prosecutors need only demonstrate that there are reasonable grounds to believe Robinson killed Kirk. The standard is lower than for a trial, where prosecutors must prove guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Prosecutors as a result should have little trouble advancing their case, said Mark Kouris, a former prosecutor and state judge in Salt Lake City.
“This standard is extremely low and the chances of them not getting through it are, quite frankly, almost nothing,” said Kouris, now an adjunct professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. “
Bagley, the prosecution’s first witness, said he could see the right side of Charlie Kirk’s body as Kirk spoke on campus. Kirk was answering a question when Bagley heard a gunshot.
“I saw him go to the left … I could no longer see the right side of his body,” Bagley said. “Then everybody started getting up and started to run, more of a chaos situation.”
Defense attorney Kathryn Nester asked Bagley about finding an empty pistol holster on the ground after the crowd fled. Bagley acknowledged he never took custody of the holster and didn’t know if it was fingerprinted.
Nester repeatedly objected to evidence introduced by prosecutors, but was overruled by the judge. Any evidence from this week’s hearing would have to be reintroduced again to be used at trial.
Prosecutors can use secondhand information, or hearsay, to help present their case. They expect to present between 40 and 50 exhibits during this week’s hearing.
Robinson to the suspected murder weapon, autopsy findings, witness statements and video of Kirk’s killing. They are also expected to argue the shooting endangered others at Kirk’s campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law.
Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note left for his roommate, who was also his romantic partner, that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”
Once the hearing is finished, Graf must determine whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
Robinson’s roommate is not expected to testify in person during the hearing. Still, the roommate’s recorded testimony could be a focal point for prosecutors.
In addition to the alleged confession note, Robinson reportedly texted his roommate that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred,” prosecutors have said.
Before his death, Kirk and the organization he co-founded, Turning Point USA, galvanized the conservative youth vote to help Trump win a second term.
The Republican president has said he hopes Robinson receives the death penalty.
Erika Kirk said during his memorial service that she forgives Robinson.
Ahead of Monday’s hearing, she thanked supporters in a statement for their kindness and prayers.
“Every court proceeding serves as a painful reminder of his death,” she wrote, “and the loss that has irrevocably impacted our lives and the lives of his children.”
She added that the public outpouring “has sustained us during the darkest days of our lives.”
(Headline USA) A woman who previously dated Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner said he drunkenly forced her to have sex after she told him to stop, according to a Politico report released Monday, leading prominent supporters to pull their endorsements and throwing a must-win race for the party into turmoil.
Platner denied the allegation, but said he would be considering next steps for his campaign.
“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we’re taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,” he said in a video released on social media.
Jenny Racicot, who lives in Maine, told Politico that Platner entered her home in 2021 while drunk and assaulted her. Racicot said she had been in an on-and-off relationship with Platner, but she cut off contact with him after that night and told him the incident wasn’t consensual. A voicemail left at a number listed for Racicot seeking comment did not receive an immediate response.
Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to an email and phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
“Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false,” Platner said in his video.
Still, the allegation sparked a flight away from a candidate who has long been controversial. Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who’d stood by Platner even as the insurgent candidate was hit with prior allegations, said Monday’s was enough. “I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line,” Khanna said. “These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego also announced he was pulling his endorsement, as did the Democratic-leaning political group End Citizens United.
Top leaders inside Maine Democratic Party also called on Platner to withdraw Monday.
“Over the past several weeks, multiple women have made serious, credible allegations against Graham Platner. Today’s statements take those allegations even further,” party chair Charlie Dingman, vice chair Imke Schessler and executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson said in a joint statement.
“This Senate race comes at a pivotal moment in the struggle against a government, supported by Senator Collins, that serves the interests of the wealthy and powerful at the expense of ordinary Maine people. It is essential that we refocus this campaign on that struggle,” the statement continued.
Platner commandingly won Maine’s Democratic primary in April, but state law allows him to be replaced on the ballot if he withdraws by July 13. The replacement candidate must be named by July 27.
As of Monday, Platner had canceled a handful of campaign town halls planned in Maine.
Platner was a first-time candidate who won the primary with backing of the party’s left wing. While some Democrats came around to support him after his commanding primary win, Platner’s controversial history had already left others openly despairing of their chances of winning the race. A Marine veteran who also worked for a private security contractor, Platner has a chest tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol, had a history of controversial statements on social media and reportedly sexted with other women shortly after getting married.
Hasan Piker, a leftist commentator and streamer who’s backed Platner, seemed to reverse himself Monday following the Politico report. “If new evidence presents itself, I’m going to change my perspective — it’s that simple,” Piker said during a livestream on Twitch, adding: “This is a clear-cut instance of verifiable sexual assault allegations. It’s completely irredeemable.”
Maine’s Democrats have long sought to oust Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who’s held on despite representing a state that reliably votes for other party at the presidential level. After Collins’ commanding 2020 win, several Maine Democrats passed on the opportunity to challenge her this time and instead looked at other offices. That left the state’s 77-year-old governor, Janet Mills, as the Democratic establishment’s best hope.
Platner rode into the political void and pitched himself as a blue-collar oysterman and veteran who could reach disaffected voters who had supported President Donald Trump.
But as allegations began mounting against him, some state Democrats had heartburn, embodied by Mills’ refusal to endorse Platner after she dropped out of the primary. Chatter already began to circulate about other possible replacements, including former state senator and logger Troy Jackson and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.
“I’ve known this has been coming,” said Marie Follayttar, a Democrat and community organizer in Maine, talking the growing whispers inside the state’s small population that had been bracing for yet another revelation surrounding Platner. “I’ve been scared and I’ve been sick waiting.”
The Associated Press generally does not name victims of sexual assault, but in this case Racicot spoke in an interview with Politico.
According to Ynet, Netanyahu and Trump will likely meet for the eighth time in the past 18 months this week or next. One of the Prime Minister’s top goals will be to convince Trump that any agreement with Iran must include eliminating Tehran’s enrichment program, capping its missile capabilities, and cutting the Islamic Republic’s ties with its regional allies.
If Trump accepts Netanyahu’s demands, it will likely scuttle any chance of a peace deal with Iran. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by Trump and his Iranian counterpart last month called for a ceasefire in Lebanon that would require Israel to remove its troops. Netanyahu is expected to argue to Trump that doing so will endanger northern Israel.
Israeli sources say that Netanyahu is hoping a positive meeting with Trump will boost his chances of getting reelected in October. There is a possibility that the American leader could lash out at the Prime Minister over the war in Iran.
Multiple outlets have reported that President Trump elected to go to war with Iran after meeting with Netanyahu and receiving a plan from Mossad for the rapid overthrow of the Iranian government.
However, the Iranian government remains firmly in control, and Tehran now has additional leverage over the US in negotiations. Additionally, Netanyahu’s refusal to comply with the ceasefire in Lebanon has complicated negations with Iran.
Speaking with Axios on Saturday, Trump stated his relationship with Netanyahu is strong. “We get along very good. [Netanyahu] knows who the boss is,” Trump told the outlet.
This article originally appeared at The Libertarian Institute.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois said recently that 305 fugitives were brought into custody since May 1.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros said 11 federal agencies worked together to combat violent crime in Chicago, Rockford and surrounding areas.
“During Operation New Dawn, federal law enforcement engaged in rapid, targeted and responsive interventions that interrupted violence in real time,” Boutros said in a statement.
Boutros said many of the fugitives had previously been charged with serious criminal offenses.
Boutros said 24 children were found and safely returned home.
A spokesperson from Boutros’ office said were no additional appropriations for the operation.
“Existing resources were deployed,” the spokesperson said in a statement to The Center Square.
Also, federal officials in the Southern District of Illinois and Eastern District of Missouri announced the results of a regional initiative led by the U.S. Marshals Service and its task force law enforcement partners.
The officials said 224 fugitives were apprehended in June and 290 outstanding arrest warrants were cleared, including at least 20% for violent crimes including homicide.
Across Illinois’ southern district, U.S. Marshal David Davis said marshals and regional task force members arrested 114 violent felons and seized 20 guns, including two that were outfitted with machine-gun converter devices.
“I’m especially proud of them for their arrest of six individuals wanted on homicide warrants and the recovery of one missing child,” Davis said.
Another 110 fugitives were apprehended in the Eastern District of Missouri.
U.S. Attorney Thomas Albus said many of the warrants were for people on probation or parole, some of whom allegedly committed new offenses.
“That’s why we thought strategically why we really hopefully have made a great impact for public safety in our community by taking these 224 individuals off the streets now,” Albus said.
Albus said local, state and federal officials are all working together.
“As someone that’s been involved in this process in St. Louis for 25 years, that’s the only way we know how to do it. The challenge is such and the resources are such that we don’t have any choice but to work together,” Albus said.
Southern Illinois U.S. Attorney Steven Weinhoeft said an environment of freedom and liberty starts with keeping violent elements off the streets.
“Our principles and our way of life are secured by law enforcement officers who defend those values with courage and with strength,” Weinhoeft said.
Weinhoft called law enforcement officers “the indispensable guardians of American freedom.”
(Sean Reed, The Center Square) After two days of calls for his resignation by Democrat leaders, embattled Illinois state Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, stepped down.
The two-term Democrat also signaled he’ll suspend his reelection campaign, pulling his name from the November ballot.
The official resignation letter was released late Friday by House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch.
Benton said the investigations into his behavior, which stem from reported sexual harassment, have “placed tremendous strain on [the lawmaker’s] family,” then asking for their privacy to be respected.
“The findings reveal clear patterns of conduct by Rep. Benton that are outrageous, unethical, and unbecoming of a member of the Illinois House of Representatives,” Welch said of the Legislative Inspector General’s investigation reportin a statementlast week.
Benton thanked fellow lawmakers and constituents for the time in the Legislature.
“Serving the people of the 97th House District since January 2023 has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. I am grateful to my colleagues for the opportunity to work alongside them on behalf of the people of Illinois,” Benton wrote.
After allegations of sexual harassment were reported to LIG in late February, Benton was stripped of all committee assignments and removed from the Democratic Caucus.
Benton was absent from session in Springfield between the investigation’s start through April.
Welchremained silenton the lawmaker’s ousting, even as Benton returned to Springfield to vote with the caucus on its legislative initiatives. The speaker said Benton had a right to due process as the investigation was ongoing.
“I am grateful to those who came forward and trusted our office to listen, support them, and ensure their concerns were handled appropriately,” Welch said in his most recent statement.
The resignation came a day after Gov. J.B. Pritzkershared his thoughtson removing the representative from his role.
“It has taken too long, but let me begin by saying that in Illinois we demand a very high standard for people who serve in public office,” Pritzker said. “I think we should all take that very seriously and certainly Rep. Benton ought to take that very seriously.”
In his resignation letter, Benton said he would begin to suspend his reelection campaign.
He was set to again run against Gabby Shanahan, an engagement director with Americans for Prosperity. She lost to Benton by 4.4% in 2024.
As Benton steps down, a new challenger is expected to be appointed by Aug. 21, the deadline for ballot changes statewide.
(Carleen Johnson, The Center Square) Many Washington state daycare providers receive large taxpayer subsidies, but an investigation by The Center Square found several that had few, if any, children and at least one establishment that received hundreds of thousands of dollars despite residents at the listed address indicating it was not a daycare.
Yet politicians charged with overseeing the spending continue to publicly say there is no problem with improper payments to the daycares and, instead, have been criticizing journalists for investigating the potential fraud. No state official has announced an investigation or crackdown though the legislature instituted some reforms last session.
The Center Square visited approximately three dozen daycares over the past six months that received hundreds of thousands of dollars in state and federal subsidies to provide daycare for lower-income residents, finding only a few that appeared to have children present.
According to fiscal.wa.gov, one daycare in West Seattle received more than $229,000 over nine months from July 2025 through March 2026, but the residents at the home repeatedly told The Center Square there was no daycare at the home, nor had there been.
“Is there a daycare operated from here?” a reporter from The Center Square asked.
“No,” the person who answered the door responded.
The resident also said there had never been a daycare at the address.
The issue has reached state and national attention after independent journalists and The Center Square visited daycares in late December 2025 and the first few months of 2026, finding a similar pattern of large state and federal payments and little evidence of children being cared for at the facilities. In many cases, homes were in disrepair with windows covered in dark blinds and no sign of children at the property.
The Center Square’s March visits revealed a similar pattern.
The state fiscal website showed a home-based daycare in Federal Way, receiving $223,247 in taxpayer subsidies and grants over nine months from July 2025 through March 2026.
The Center Square visited the home twice, including in early January, when the homeowner immediately called police. Reporters videotaped her as she refused to respond to questions posed by The Center Square and independent journalist Jonathan Choe.
Three Federal Way police officers arrived within seconds but told the woman that reporters were allowed to be on the sidewalk and urged her “to calm down.”
An officer entered the home and indicated there were three children inside but did not verify if those children were daycare attendants.
When asked about investigating these payments, the government officials charged with approving or overseeing the funds or investigating fraud have refused to commit to probe the issue, suggesting it was inappropriate for reporters to be “door knocking” on daycares.
Attorney General Nick Brown responded by encouraging anyone who would see a reporter “harassing” a daycare provider by knocking on the door, to report it to the hate crimes hotline.
“Showing up on someone’s porch, threatening, or harassing them isn’t an investigation,” noted Brown’s Dec 30, 2025, press release. “Neither is filming minors who may be in the home. This is unsafe and potentially dangerous behavior. I encourage anyone experiencing threats or harassment to either contact local law enforcement or our office’s Hate Crimes & Bias Incident Hotline.”
In late January, when the state auditor’s office was in the middle of a Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) annual audit over daycare subsidies, State Auditor Pat McCarthy said it was not her office’s job to conduct enforcement of individual facilities.
“No, that’s not what we’re doing. What we’re doing is an audit related to DCYF as to how the money is processed to the providers,” McCarthy told The Center Square. “What we do is we do this audit work and then we provide that information to the people that can do the enforcement, which would be the DSHS Fraud Investigative Unit or the AG’s Office Fraud Investigative Unit, and then they would determine who would actually take the next steps.”
McCarthy’s office in late March released an audit that found an estimated $37 million in questionable childcare subsidy payments distributed by DCYF using federal funds, revealing a lack of prepayment controls, but no confirmed evidence of fraud.
The audit examined a random sample of 59 of among hundreds of thousands of monthly childcare payments the department made between July 2024 and June 2025. More than a dozen of them had issues with improper payments, according to the audit. Auditors used that small sample to extrapolate the total “questionable” costs.
Gov. Bob Ferguson has declined to respond to questions about whether his staff are looking into potential fraud, telling The Center Square that he “would get back” to us on looking into it. Despite that promise in March, his office did not respond to a request for follow up.
On May 12, Vice President JD Vance threatened to withhold federal Medicaid funds from any state that fails to crack down on fraud, after blocking $1.3 billion in reimbursements for 800 California hospices suspected of defrauding taxpayers. The crackdown part of a broader White House initiative concerning fraud.
Washington state Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, and Rep. Josh Penner, R-Orting, offered amendments to a bill during the 2026 session to add rules that would prevent potential fraud in daycare subsidy payouts.
House Bill 2253, sponsored by Rep. Adam Bernbaum, D-Port Angeles, sought to make the licensing process smoother and more efficient for providers and DCYF. It passed the House with nearly unanimous support.
But when the legislation got to the Senate, Human Services Committee Chairwoman Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Federal Way, filed an amendment. According to Couture, the amendment stripped out fraud prevention measures that both parties and DCYF had agreed on in the amendments that passed the House.
As to reporters including TCS looking into alleged daycare fraud, Wilson said during a January 2026 interview that any allegations about Somali-run daycares are “rhetoric and really racist.”
When asked to explain why a home daycare provider would receive a quarter million dollars over five months in subsidies, Wilson said they could be receiving funds from several sources.
“There are things like complex needs funds, there are equities funds, there’s early learning facilities funds, there are many dollars,” she said.
Couture said common-sense reforms were removed from his bill.
“One of the amendments was simply saying that if you got caught doing fraud as a daycare provider, that you couldn’t have a license to be a daycare provider anymore. She (Wilson) wanted to strip that out,” Couture said. “That’s completely nuts and insane, and it just draws more questions about why there is so much fight back from the Democrats on anti-fraud measures?”
A Democrat-backed bill concerning subsidy payments to providers – SB 2689– ended up being approved during the 2026 session, mostly along party lines.
The law requires DCYF to “adopt rules that allow child care providers to claim daily subsidy payments as follows: for a child who has attended for 16 or more days in a calendar month, a provider may claim payment for the full number of authorized days; for a child who has attended 9 to 15 days in a calendar month, a provider may claim payment for the full number of authorized days, or for 15 days, whichever is fewer; and for a child who has attended 1 to 8 days in a calendar month, a provider may claim payment for the full number of authorized days, or for 11 days, whichever is fewer.”
Supporters argue this will ensure providers aren’t being reimbursed for an entire month for a child who may have only attended for a few days.
In a May 22 interview about ongoing questions with daycare subsidy payments, Couture told The Center Square that DCYF, under the leadership of Secretary Tana Senn, is “a mess.”
“DCYF has the reverse-King Midas touch as I call it. Everything they touch turns to crap,” said Couture, R-Allyn. “Many of the policies that are broken at DCYF were caused by Secretary Tana Senn herself.”
DCYF has repeatedly declined The Center Square’s requests for an interview with Senn.
During a May 21 meeting of the DCYF Oversight Board, Senn told members that daycare providers have received death threats due to media coverage of potential fraud.
“This had real impacts on providers and families,” Senn said.
The Center Square attended the meeting to question Senn, but she gave her remarks via video and was not at her office when TCS went there following her presentation to the Oversight Board.
The Washington Department of Commerce last month provided a complete list of taxpayer-funded daycare providers’ names and locations, reversing an earlier decision not to reveal the information for providers receiving funds to create more than 2,000 new childcare spaces through the Early Learning Facilities (ELF) program. The action happened after The Center Square questioned why the information wasn’t public.
The recipients received a combined $57.8 million in state grants in April, to expand, renovate or upgrade facilities to create more childcare slots, but the original list did not include the names and business locations for many of the providers.
Commerce initially cited privacy protections based on state law after the concerns. Then the agency released the entire list detailing names and addresses for award recipients, pointing to “new guidance” from the attorney general’s office.
(Headline USA) Staff for Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell said last week that the senator is “continuing his recovery” in a hospital while the Senate is out of session. But his office has released no details about the former Republican leader’s condition during his weekslong hospitalization or whether he will be at the Capitol when the Senate returns next week.
McConnell was admitted to the hospital on June 14, according to a statement from his office that only said he was “receiving excellent care.” A statement a week later said that he would not be voting that week. And on Thursday, a new statement said that he “continues to improve” and ”appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital.”
His office has not released any updates since then, and a spokeswoman did not return a request for comment on Monday.
The senator’s unspecified health issues come after several hospitalizations in recent years, and as Senate Republicans are already navigating a narrow majority in the final months before the midterm elections. McConnell, 84, was the longest serving Senate leader in history before stepping aside from that role. He is serving out his final term, which ends in January.
While he was still Republican leader, McConnell was hospitalized with a concussion in March 2023 and missed several weeks of work after falling in a Washington hotel. After he returned, he twice froze up during news conferences that summer, staring vacantly ahead before colleagues and staff came to his assistance. A year later, he fell and sprained his wrist while walking out of a GOP luncheon.
McConnell had polio in his early childhood and he has long acknowledged some difficulty as an adult in walking and climbing stairs. He also tripped and fell in 2019 at his home in Kentucky and underwent surgery for a fractured shoulder.
McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was the Republican leader from 2007 until last year, serving as both majority and minority leader during that period. He has remained active as a rank-and-file senator, showing up for work when the chamber is in session, often using a wheelchair to get around.
