Author: adler

The Pacific island of Palau. Credit: wikimedia Commons
The Trump administration has reached an agreement with the Pacific island nation of Palau to accept dozens of third-country deportees who cannot be returned to their home countries.
Palau, a sparsely populated island chain of roughly 18,000 people and a former filming location for the reality show Survivor, has agreed to take up to 75 non-criminal deportees from the United States.
The deal includes a $7.5 million U.S. grant to improve their public services.
The agreement applies to migrants whose countries of origin, including nations such as China, Cuba, Russia, or Iran, have refused to accept their return.
“Palau and the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding allowing up to 75 third-country nationals, who have never been charged with a crime, to live and work in Palau, helping address local labor shortages in needed occupations,” Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. said in a statement.
“In connection with this arrangement, the United States granted $7.5 million to help Palau meet related public service and infrastructure needs, while both countries continue close cooperation on immigration and security matters.”

“Palau and the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding allowing up to 75 third country nationals, who have never been charged with a crime, to live and work in Palau.”
Palau agrees to take up to 75 deportees from the U.S. in exchange for $7.5 million in aid.…
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 26, 2025

The U.S. Embassy echoed that sentiment, stating, “The United States deeply appreciates Palau’s cooperation in enforcing U.S. immigration laws, which remains a top priority for the Trump Administration.”
Beyond the deportation deal, the Trump administration also agreed to provide an additional $6 million to prevent the collapse of Palau’s civil service pension system, along with $2 million for new law enforcement initiatives.

Palau already receives substantial American assistance.
Under a Compact of Free Association agreement that took effect last year, the island nation is scheduled to receive approximately $889 million in U.S. aid over 20 years to support education, healthcare, public safety, and government administration.
Located east of the Philippines and a short flight from Guam, Palau was formerly governed by the United States after being captured from Japan during World War II.
Although fully independent since 1994, the country remains closely aligned with Washington, using the U.S. dollar as its currency and hosting military bases.
The deal is part of a broader White House strategy to reduce the cost and burden of deportations by securing third-country agreements.
Similar arrangements have been reached with countries including Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Uganda, Honduras, and South Sudan.
The post U.S. Signs Deal With Tiny Pacific Island Popularized by Reality TV Show ‘Survivor’ to Accept Illegal Aliens appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

WATCH: New Files Show Epstein Was ‘Too Useful’ for Banks to Drop 
The newest Epstein disclosures include deposition testimony that illustrates, in unusually concrete detail, how major financial institutions assessed risk, value, and accountability.
The transcript does not add new allegations about Epstein. Instead, it explains why he remained bankable long after his 2008 conviction and why his relationship with major banks survived despite generating almost no traditional revenue.
That institutional logic is the same logic that later drove JPMorgan to end its ties with Trump Media, and the contrast between the two cases shows how selectively these standards are applied.
In the deposition, Paul Morris—a private banker who handled Epstein’s accounts at JPMorgan Chase and later Deutsche Bank—described Epstein’s financial profile with unusual precision.
Epstein’s trading was minimal. His accounts produced limited fees.
He was not a high-activity client and did not utilize the investment tools that banks rely on to generate consistent revenue. By every conventional benchmark, he was a low-value account.
And yet, the relationship continued.
The deposition shows why. Epstein was not retained for his financial performance but for his institutional usefulness.
Morris acknowledged that Epstein facilitated introductions to ultra-wealthy individuals that the bank viewed as essential prospects. One example was Leon Black, whom Morris identified as a “priority prospect” because of Black’s significant net worth and influence in the investment sector.
Epstein introduced the bank to real-estate investor Andrew Farkas and discussed a potential connection involving biotech investor Boris Nikolic, who had ties to Bill Gates.
These introductions were specific, documented, and initiated by Epstein, not the bank.
This is the key element that many public accounts overlook. Epstein was not being managed as a traditional client. He functioned as a relationship broker inside a system where introductions to power carry more internal value than account-level returns.
Banks routinely emphasize compliance structures, but the testimony shows how those structures contract when the client provides access that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
The selective memory embedded in the transcript reinforces this point. When asked how he learned that Epstein was working with Leon Black, Morris could not recall.
When asked why certain introductions occurred or why Epstein was retained despite low revenue, he could not recall.
Yet he could describe in detail how banks evaluate “priority prospects” and how those prospects affect bonus structures and business development metrics. The difference between what is remembered and what is forgotten reflects the incentives governing the relationship.
That framework becomes even clearer when compared to the treatment of Trump Media & Technology Group.
According to public statements from CEO Devin Nunes, Special Counsel Jack Smith secretly subpoenaed JPMorgan for Trump Media’s banking records—even though Trump Media did not exist at the time under investigation.
Trump Media was never notified. Still, JPMorgan complied immediately.
No compliance interpretation justifies executing a subpoena for a non-existent corporate entity.
Banks typically challenge or narrow subpoenas that lack a clear legal nexus. Here, no such step occurred.
The timing worsens the picture. As Trump Media prepared to go public and raise hundreds of millions of dollars, JPMorgan abruptly closed the company’s accounts. The move happened while the DOJ inquiry remained active and at a moment when stable banking relationships were essential to completing the offering.
No new risk factors appeared, and no regulatory action had been taken. The institution acted unilaterally, and its public explanation—that political considerations are irrelevant—is inconsistent with the facts.
Placed alongside the Epstein record, the contrast is direct. Epstein had a criminal record, limited financial activity, and numerous compliance red flags.
The banks retained him because he provided access to high-value individuals. Trump Media had no criminal exposure, no regulatory conflicts, and no financial irregularities. The bank cut it off during a politically charged federal investigation.
Risk was not the differentiating factor. Incentive was.
The new Epstein filing clarifies how major banks navigate these decisions: when a client offers proximity to wealth and influence, the institution absorbs the compliance risk; when a client carries political consequences, the institution distances itself regardless of financial or regulatory standing.
Epstein remained bankable because he was useful. Trump Media became expendable because it was not politically correct, under the Biden DOJ.
The Epstein files reveal a system where access, not ethics, determines who is welcome and who is removed.
The post New Files Show Epstein Was ‘Too Useful’ for Banks to Drop — Trump Was ‘Too Politically Dangerous’ to Keep appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

WATCH: School District Accused of Putting Disabled Students in Wooden Crates
Every major failure in public education follows the same pattern: administrators become fluent in slogans while their most basic duties collapse.
The unfolding scandal in the Salmon River Central School District is a case study in how a system that advertises “values” can fail students in practice—spectacularly, expensively, and with little accountability.
Salmon River Central School District serves roughly 1,300 students in Fort Covington, New York, near the Canadian border. The district spends approximately $41 million annually, translating to about $29,000 per student. Under any reasonable standard, that level of funding should produce strong academic outcomes and attentive student support.
Instead, just 16% of students are proficient in math and only 25% in reading on state exams. Those numbers reflect a deeper systemic failure that extends far beyond this single district and across much of the public education system.
Yet a visit to the district’s public-facing materials tells a different story. The front page of the district’s website prominently emphasizes diversity, language, and institutional values, projecting moral seriousness and cultural awareness.
That messaging now stands in stark contrast to allegations that elementary students with disabilities were confined in wooden “timeout” boxes—structures parents described as resembling small padded cells.
According to reporting confirmed by local outlets, district officials are under investigation after images circulated on social media showing wooden enclosures built inside two elementary schools.
The district acknowledged that three such crates existed, claiming they were never used and have since been dismantled.
Parents told a very different story at a community meeting, alleging that their children were placed inside the boxes as a form of seclusion.
One parent of a minimally verbal child said his son described the structures as a place students were sent “to calm down,” regardless of emotional state.
That description alone should alarm anyone familiar with special education law.
Federal and state regulations strictly govern the use of seclusion and restraint, particularly for students with disabilities. Wooden crates—no matter how administrators attempt to label them—appear nowhere in those guidelines.
The seriousness of the allegations is compounded by the district’s demographics. More than 60% of students are Native American. 
For families in the region, the reports evoke painful historical memories of abusive residential school systems that focused on control rather than education.
Native American students are among the lowest-performing demographic groups in the United States by nearly every academic metric. 
When Democrats respond to that reality by simply throwing more money at the system—without reform, oversight, or accountability—the results often worsen rather than improve.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the allegations “highly disturbing” and “entirely unacceptable,” urging swift action by the state education department. 
The district’s board placed three officials on leave and reassigned the superintendent to home duties while the investigation proceeds. Board President Jason Brockway issued an apology, claiming the allegations do not reflect the district’s values or standards of care.
But apologies and press statements do not address the underlying problem.
The real issue is not only whether the crates were used. It is how a district with massive per-pupil spending, a favorable 9-to-1 student-teacher ratio, and constant rhetorical emphasis on equity could allow conditions where such measures were even conceived.
This is the disconnect parents across the country increasingly recognize.
Public school systems insist they are underfunded while spending reaches historic highs. They elevate diversity, equity, and inclusion language while core outcomes—literacy, numeracy, and student safety—deteriorate.
When scandals surface, administrators frame them as isolated incidents rather than symptoms of systemic dysfunction.
Salmon River’s academic data makes that clear. Spending nearly $30,000 per student while fewer than one in four students read proficiently is not a funding problem.
It is a governance problem.
It reflects priorities skewed toward administration, consultants, and political messaging instead of effective instruction and student care. When oversight erodes, the most vulnerable students pay the price first.
None of this indicts teachers broadly or denies the challenges of educating students with complex needs. But it does demand honesty.
A system that celebrates values it cannot operationalize is not virtuous—it is negligent. Diversity statements do not substitute for lawful, humane treatment of children. Budgets do not equal results.
The post School District Accused of Putting Disabled Students in Wooden Crates While Promoting “Diversity” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Somalia’s UN Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman during a Security Council session.
The failed state of Somalia is set to assume the presidency of the United Nations Security Council in January.
Despite being a largely ceremonial role, it has nonetheless been hailed by diplomats as a major milestone in the country’s international standing.
For one month, Somalia will be tasked with steering the council’s routine business, including setting meeting agendas, chairing sessions, and overseeing debates on global peace and security.
While the presidency carries no real executive power, it does allow the holder to play host to discussions on some of the world’s most entrenched conflicts.
During its brief stint, Somalia is expected to highlight familiar UN priorities such as peacekeeping operations, counterterrorism initiatives, regional instability, and humanitarian crises linked to war and climate shocks like drought.

BREAKING: Many Americans are calling on the US to LEAVE the United Nations after Somalia will be made “president” of the UN Security Council on Jan. 1st
Un-freaking-believable.
A country that can’t even maintain its own security will be “president” of a worldwide Security… pic.twitter.com/4l38KXQqGM
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 27, 2025

Somalia has struggled with instability since the collapse of its central government in 1991, spending decades marked by civil war, weak institutions, and fragmented authority.
The federal government in Mogadishu continues to rely heavily on international assistance, including African Union forces, to combat the al-Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabaab, which still carries out regular attacks.
Meanwhile, there has been growing scrutiny on America’s Somali population amid increasing evidence that they have been involved in massive social security fraud.
Federal prosecutors in Minnesota recently uncovered industrial-scale fraud targeting state-run, federally funded social programs.

INFURIATING: Despite the MASSIVE Somali fraud scandal, Tim Walz announces a NEW welfare program for Somalis and other illegals
The taxpayer-funded family and medical leave program gives Somalis up to 20 PAID WEEKS OFF PER YEAR to “bond” with a child
CUT OFF FEDERAL FUNDS!… pic.twitter.com/s1EQ1SFT7d
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 27, 2025

The investigations, which escalated throughout 2025, center on the $250 million “Feeding Our Future” pandemic meal scandal, alongside massive schemes involving autism therapy (EIDBI) and housing stabilization services.
Over 90 individuals have been charged, including 82 Somali-Americans, with many already convicted.
Participants also used fake invoices and kickbacks to siphon taxpayer funds for luxury assets and overseas investments.

Independent Journalist Nick Shirley attempts to check his son into multiple taxpayer funded daycares owned by Somali’s in Minnesota..
The amount of fraud being uncovered in this state is INSANE. pic.twitter.com/fEGbyXjN37
— American AF (@iAnonPatriot) December 26, 2025

The post WTF? Failed State Somalia to Assume Presidency of U.N. Security Council in January appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

California Rep. Eric Swalwell has said he wants Congress to freeze funding for the Department of Justice.
In an interview with MSNBC, Swalwell said that Congress should assert its control over the public purse strings, particularly if Democrats take back control of Congress next year.
She explained:
Congress has real leverage here. We control subpoenas. We control funding. And if necessary, we should use both.
The Department of Justice is not prioritizing its core responsibilities — protecting the country from terrorism, combating money laundering, or rooting out public corruption.
Instead, its resources are being diverted toward politically motivated pursuits. That is unacceptable.
If withholding or freezing funding is what it takes to force accountability and refocus the DOJ on its proper mission, then that option should absolutely be on the table.
Pressure is sometimes the only language bureaucracies respond to, and this issue will not be resolved until that pressure is applied decisively and consistently.
Watch the clip below:

Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell — whose brain is melted by TDS — wants to “freeze” funding for the Department of Justice. pic.twitter.com/eYyPiD8Tao
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) December 27, 2025

Swalwell, who was notoriously seduced by a Chinese spy named Fang Fang and has a history of living luxuriously off the donations of his foolish donors, has previously whipped up violence against Republicans.
“When they go low, we’re going to bury them below the Capitol,” he said back in August.
”That’s what we’re going to do, because this is about protecting democracy.”

BREAKING – Republicans are calling for Eric Swalwell to be censured and expelled after he openly called for violence, saying Republicans should be “buried below the Capitol” live on air on CNN. pic.twitter.com/YvsnasU4J8
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) August 17, 2025

He recently announced his candidacy for governor of California, touting himself as “the fiercest face of the Democratic resistance.”
“I’m running for Governor because prices are too high and people are scared. California’s next governor has two jobs,” he said in his campaign announcement.
“One, keep the worst president in history out of our homes, out of our streets, and out of our lives.”
“I will be California’s fighter and protector. Our state is under attack.”
Sleazebag Rep. Eric Swalwell Announces Run For California Governor — Touts Himself as ‘Fiercest Face of Democratic Resistance’
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Ever since Charlie Kirk was murdered in cold blood on September 10th, 2025, members of Turning Point USA have faced harassment and hostility by left-wing extremists.
This has not stopped a very determined TPUSA chapter leader at Northern Arizona University.
Amy Rose Lombardo, who is the event coordinator for that chapter of TPUSA, told Fox News at AmFest that they have dealt with a lot of hostility since Charlie Kirk was murdered.
Lombardo gave examples, including a woman who brought a piece of paper to their table with a drawing of Charlie’s murder and referring to him as a Nazi. The drawing also showed blood pouring from the neck of the person (who is supposed to be Charlie) holding a microphone.
Fox News Reported:
PHOENIX — After a string of harassment, intimidation and destruction in the wake of the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, a leader at one of the organization’s college chapters refuses to back down.
Amy Rose Lombardo is the event coordinator for TPUSA’s Northern Arizona University chapter. She told Fox News Digital at AmericaFest, Turning Point’s annual conference, she and her fellow group members have faced an onslaught of incivility since Kirk’s midday murder during a speaking event at Utah Valley University Sept. 10.
“So, we have seen a few more dramatic protesting strategies,” Lombardo said. “For example, really the first one that we ever got was a woman came by the table and dropped off a note that was a depiction of Charlie’s murder and the comments on it (about) free speech, and only a good Nazi is a dead Nazi.”
“In a second incident, a woman was caught on camera swiping the contents off the chapter’s table during a tabling event and stealing a foam board depicting Ronald Reagan.” Fox News reported.
After being greeted with a friendly hello by Lombardo’s sister, the female student knocked the contents of the table off by swiping at it.
The TPUSA chapter contacted the campus police of Northern Arizona University for the incident. According to court records, the person was charged with disorderly conduct and theft. Both crimes are considered misdemeanors.
Lombardo has been determined to continue carrying Turning Point USA’s message by keeping the school’s chapter active.
“To me, Turning Point means truth and fighting for what you believe in,” Lombardo said. “Because if we lose all hope, and we just give up on everything, then there’s no way that we’d be able to have a future in America.” Fox News reported.
Lombardo also has a proper perspective of the situation. She explained that the resistance that Turning Point USA has received motivates her to pray for her adversaries and feels compassion for them. She sees these people as misguided.
Lombardo also encouraged more people to get involved with TPUSA and stand up for their beliefs.
Similar incidents at Illinois State University and the University of Iowa took place with TPUSA tables being flipped by left-wing radicals.
The post Brave TPUSA Chapter Leader Determined to Keep Going after Numerous Incidents of Hostility and Harassment appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

President Donald Trump holds a cabinet meeting, Wednesday, February 26, 2025, in the Cabinet Room. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
Americans have a favorite politician and he belongs to the Trump administration.
According to a recent Gallup survey, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is considered the most popular politician in the United States.
Yet given the low numbers at hand, this is not such a significant achievement.
Gallup found that politicians from both the Republican and Democratic parties are widely unpopular, although Rubio comes up on top.
Around 41 percent of Americans have a positive view of Rubio, who has served as Trump’s Secretary of State since January and also his National Security Advisor.
The only figure more popular than Rubio is Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, although he is not technically a politician.
Gallup has more details:
A steady 36% of Americans approve of Donald Trump’s job performance, including 89% of Republicans, 25% of independents and 3% of Democrats. The president’s approval rating is unchanged from last month, when it fell to the lowest of his second term, just barely above his personal low of 34% in January 2021.
None of 12 other U.S. leaders from Congress, the Cabinet, the Supreme Court or the Federal Reserve earn majority-level approval either. Just two — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell (44%) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (41%) — are rated above 40%. Meanwhile, Senate Republican Leader John Thune (34%) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (28%) rank at the bottom of the list.
Ratings range from 35% to 39% for eight others, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Vice President JD Vance.
Majorities of Republicans approve of all of the Republican leaders on the list, but not Powell or the two congressional Democrats. A majority of Democrats approve of only one of the two Democratic leaders rated, Jeffries, while less than half also approve of Powell. Notably, just 39% of Democrats approve of the job Schumer is doing, while 56% disapprove.

New: Polling finds Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance as two of the most popular political leaders in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/myjZXJqRvl
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) December 26, 2025

Rubio was reported to be Trump’s runner-up in the race to become his vice-presidential nominee and is widely expected to be a leading presidential candidate.
However, he recently indicated he would step aside to clear the way for J.D. Vance if the vice president decided to run in 2028.
There are also strong suggestions that Rubio may serve as Vance’s running mate, making a future presidential run all the more likely.
The post Gallup Just Named This Senior Trump Official as America’s Most Popular Politician appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.