Thursday morning news: January 1, 2026

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House committee to hold hearings on Minnesota fraud » The House Oversight Committee will hold hearings on the massive Minnesota daycare fraud, beginning next week. Among those invited to testify: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison.

The Trump administration says fake daycare schemes run by Somali immigrants defrauded U.S. taxpayers out of millions of dollars. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says several federal investigations are underway.

LEAVITT: People will be in handcuffs as a result of the fraud that Governor Walz has allowed to occur for many, many years.

Leavitt, talking to Fox and Friends.

Walz denies turning a blind eye to the fraud, insisting he’s spent years trying to crack down on it. He’s also accusing President Trump of politicizing the issue.

As all this unfolds… the Trump Administration is auditing naturalized citizens from close to 20 countries, including Somalia. Minnesota Republican Congressman Tom Emmer has a message for any who committed fraud, either to obtain citizenship or afterward…

EMMER: You should be denaturalized and shipped back to where you came from.

Democrats are accusing Republicans of using denaturalization as a threat.

Trump ends National Guard deployments » President Donald Trump is backing off of his push to send the National Guard into some of the U.S.'s major cities. WORLD's Travis Kircher has more.

TRAVIS KIRCHER: President Trump says he's dropping his plans to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon...at least for now.

He announced his decision in an online statement yesterday.

The announcement comes after the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision last month that the president had insufficient justification for sending National Guard troops to Chicago.

But Trump’s statement seemed to suggest that Guard deployment wasn't off the table forever. He said it was only a matter of time before crime began to soar again. And when it does...he said the push would return...but in a different and stronger way.

He did not elaborate.

For WORLD...I'm Travis Kircher.

Jack Smith deposition video released » The House Judiciary Committee chose New Year’s Eve to release the video and transcript of Jack Smith’s testimony.

Smith is the former special counsel who brought federal charges that led to indictments of President Trump for conspiring to overthrow the 2020 presidential election results… and illegally hanging on to classified documents.

Smith dropped both cases after Trump’s reelection, citing Justice Department policy against the indictment of a sitting president. But in his closed-door testimony in December, Smith said he had enough evidence to convict Trump.

SMITH: The decision to bring charges against President Trump was mine. But the basis for those charges rests entirely with President Trump and his actions.

Smith also pushed back on Republicans who questioned whether the prosecutions were politically motivated. And he insisted the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021 “does not happen” without Trump.

Three dead in latest drugboat strikes » The U.S. military has blown three more suspected drugboats out of the water.

It says the latest strike was on a convoy of three boats, killing three people on one vessel… while people on the other two abandoned ship. The military said the strike happened in international waters but didn’t specify where.

Previous strikes in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea have been aimed at pressuring Venezuela and its leader, Nicolas Maduro, to stop trafficking drugs.

The Trump Administration is also turning up the heat in another way… announcing new sanctions on Venezuela Wednesday. Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin.

MULLIN: What we’re trying to do is give Maduro an opportunity to leave… He clearly lost the election. He’s running a narco-state at this point.

The new sanctions target four companies and four oil tankers that the White House says are part of a shadow fleet fueling Maduro’s narco-terror regime.

New Virginia law limits younger teens’ social media use » Starting today, children in Virginia younger than 16 are limited to one hour of social media time per day. That’s the requirement of a new state law now in effect.

It’s up to social media platforms to verify users’ ages and limit their screen time. Parents do have the right to allow their kids to have more screen time.

Psychiatrist Dr. Aeva Gaymon Doomes says she’s seen the negative effects of social media on children firsthand, telling WRC-TV…

DOOMES: Clinically, there was a reason for this law, right? I don’t necessarily know that this law is going to be the solution to this. But I think it’s a starting point for our conversation.

A group that lobbies on behalf of social media companies is suing in federal court to have this law struck down, claiming it violates social media companies’ First Amendment rights.

The world rings in 2026 » It's day one of 2026...and partygoers all over the world turned out to turn the page.

SOUND: [NEW YEARS EVE IN LONDON]

Crowds gathered at the River Thames in London for a countdown and fireworks show.

And a similar scene in Egypt…

SOUND: [NEW YEARS EVE IN EGYPT]

...with fireworks over the pyramids in Giza.

Here in the United States...this new year has a special significance.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of America's founding. Patriotic events are planned throughout the year...including a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this July Fourth.

I’m Mark Mellinger.

Straight ahead: congressional retirements and resignations. Plus, U.S. intervention in Nigeria…on the international stage and behind the scenes.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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