Mitchell, chief executive of nonprofit Big Blue Umbrella, is now a fugitive accused of spending $1.2 million in grants on bail, credit cards and video games.
USAO-CDCA (U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California) announced Sept. 16, 2026 that a third defendant, Donye Mitchell, 55, faces wire fraud charges, pushing the scheme past $12 million.
"Make no mistake, HUD and the Trump administration will not tolerate the theft and abuse of taxpayers in this country."
Mitchell, Big Blue Umbrella's CEO, remains a fugitive accused of misusing $1.2 million in grant money.
Why it matters: Three operators robbed the same public purse the same way, and nobody checked until it was already gone.
Ren filed it to GenBank two weeks before China's CDC released its own sequence, then NIH staff moved to delete it.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee's Jan. 17, 2024 report, 'Earliest Known SARS-CoV-2 Sequence Released Outside of China,' names Lili Ren as filer on Dec. 28, 2019.
"Dr. Ren's submission was missing some of the technical (not scientific) information required for publication on GenBank."
She is a subgrantee of EcoHealth Alliance on the same NIAID grant as the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).
Why it matters: The NIAID grant that funded the Wuhan lab also funded the scientist who filed the earliest sequence.
A joint House Judiciary, House Administration and Oversight report found ActBlue's passport check never required a valid passport number.
House Judiciary, House Administration and House Oversight released "Fraud on ActBlue, Part III" on September 16, 2026, the third report since 2024.
"ActBlue, one of the largest online political contribution platforms, maintains unserious fraud-prevention practices that allow illegal foreign donations."
ActBlue's own outside counsel found CEO Regina Wallace-Jones may have misled Congress, calling it 'knowing and willful.'
Why it matters: Fraud prevention that answers to the party it funds polices nothing but its own reputation.
MRC Free Speech America's Heather Moon needed three prompts across two September sessions before ChatGPT admitted comparing Trump to Hitler at all.
MRC Free Speech America (Heather Moon) published a September 16, 2026 study: ChatGPT denied its own Trump-Hitler comparison in tests run September 9-11.
"ChatGPT's alarming responses show that bias and censorship continue to be the most pressing dangers associated with developing artificial intelligence models."
It originally rated Trump a 9 out of 10 threat, citing institutional checks for not giving 10.
Why it matters: The record a chatbot keeps of its own words is the first thing it erases.
The Afghan national from Fort Worth backed her son and son-in-law's ISIS-inspired mass-shooting plot timed to Election Day 2024.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced September 16, 2026 the removal of Nazira Haji Zada, 47, the first case under the Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC).
FBI Director Kash Patel: "She came to our country, betrayed it, and has now lost the right to live here."
Her son, 17, and son-in-law, 28, bought guns for the planned Election Day 2024 attack.
Why it matters: A court sat idle for thirty years; nothing about the law changed, only who chose to use it.
Judge John L. Pacht presides as prosecutor Sarah F. George and defense attorney Margaret Mary Jansch open jury selection this morning in Burlington.
Chittenden Criminal Division, part of Vermont's Superior Court, opened the criminal jury trial under docket #23-CR-11672 on September 16, 2026, with Judge John L. Pacht presiding.
On Vermont's own docket, the case is titled "State of Vermont v. Jason Eaton."
Vermont's Department of Mental Health appears as an interested party, its own attorney assigned to the case.
Why it matters: No agency named CIA or Mossad will ever take the stand to answer for it.
Jose Hernandez-Rodriguez, Rosa Maria Hernandez-Perez and three other Mexican and Russian nationals face charges from Indiana to New York.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in a September 16, 2026 release titled "Worst of the Worst," names five arrests in five states.
"Yesterday, the patriots of ICE worked tirelessly to arrest child abusers, reckless drivers, and drug traffickers from our communities," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said.
Charges include child sexual battery, opium trafficking, firearms trafficking, and injury-causing reckless driving.
Why it matters: A government publicizes its worst five cases to sell a policy that reaches far more ordinary people.
Marco Gomez, convicted in 2006 of sexual assault and unlawful restraint, never registered after slipping back into Philadelphia.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced September 16, 2026, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Marco Gomez, a Tier 3 sex offender, September 14 in Philadelphia.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said: "After being deported following his sentence, he illegally re-entered the United States under the Biden Administration."
Deported August 4, 2015, Gomez re-entered illegally in 2023 and never registered as required.
Why it matters: A deportation order is only as real as the administration willing to enforce it again.
Nicole Saphier's nomination reached the HELP Committee alongside Chris Klomp for HHS deputy secretary and Timothy Westlake for the mental health post.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) held a confirmation hearing September 16, 2026, for three Trump nominees, including Dr. Nicole Saphier.
The hearing page names her nominee post as "Nicole Saphier, to be Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service and Surgeon General of the Public Health Service."
Chris Klomp seeks HHS deputy secretary; Timothy Westlake seeks assistant secretary for mental health, substance use.
Why it matters: The Surgeon General holds no policy power, only the ear of the secretary she once criticized.
The Kirk family's notice of claim says UVU held no security briefing, flew no drone, and left rooftop cameras unwatched on September 10.
The notice of claim filed by Charlie Kirk's family against Utah Valley University (UVU) on September 9, 2026, says UVU Police fielded six officers for 3,000 spectators.
Kirk's security director Brian Harpole said, "We can't break the law to do what needs to be done, so we relied on the police, and no one was up there."
Police Chief Jeffrey Long's request for more officers was denied; no drone patrolled the rooftop.
Why it matters: A police force that denies its own chief's request for more officers protects budgets, not the man on stage.
The CMS administrator told Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany the mismatch points to tens of billions of dollars in fraud.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz said, on Fox News aired September 12, 2026, that Florida's Obamacare enrollment vastly exceeds its eligible population.
"Obamacare enrollment in Florida vastly exceeds the eligible population, pointing to tens of billions of dollars in fraud."
Oz made the claim on Fox News' Saturday in America, hosted by Kayleigh McEnany, September 12.
Why it matters: Tens of billions moved through a program that took the applicant's word as proof of eligibility.
New York City filed the September 14 suit in Manhattan federal court, joined by six other cities and counties, against a rule taking effect September 18.
New York City led six co-plaintiffs, Chicago, San Francisco, Santa Clara County, Seattle, King County and the Public Rights Project, in a lawsuit filed September 14, 2026, challenging the new federal public charge rule.
"New York City is proud to lead a coalition of cities and counties standing firmly against this cruel and unlawful rule."
Rule takes effect September 18, 2026, letting officers weigh nearly any public benefit.
Why it matters: A rule with no definition of 'public benefit' does not constrain the deciding officer, it hands him total discretion.
California parole panels found Davis suitable for release eight times since 2010; Schwarzenegger, Brown and Newsom each vetoed it.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) inmate locator lists Bruce Davis, CDC number B41079, held since his 1972 murder conviction.
State records confirm his profile through the "Inmate Locator," searchable by CDC number.
Convicted for killing Gary Hinman and Donald 'Shorty' Shea, Manson associates murdered in 1969.
Why it matters: Three governors of different parties agreed on one thing: the parole board's word was advisory, theirs was final.