• Welfare recipients to be disallowed from sending money overseas: “The American people, our generosity has been taken advantage of,” summed up Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as he explained new welfare restrictions. Welfare recipients in Minnesota, especially, are being scrutinized, and the new policies are aimed at reducing fraud in that state. Among several actions, Bessent will use the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to investigate at least four Minnesota businesses that facilitate money transfers. Transfers over $3,000 to “areas of concern,” which include Somalia, will be reported as part of a “geographic targeting order.” Bessent also added that he will be pushing for welfare recipients to be disallowed from sending remittances overseas. The secretary contends that those on welfare sending money overseas are either receiving too many benefits or are part of the fraud conspiracy.

• Omar blames Trump admin for “confusion and chaos” in investigating fraud: The congresswoman from Somalia and Minnesota, Ilhan Omar, opposes the surge of DHS agents to her state to root out fraud. More than 2,400 DHS agents, including ICE and dedicated investigators, are now stationed in the Minneapolis area. Omar says these DHS forces are unnecessary as the fraud is a “serious problem that needs serious people to address it.” The Department of Homeland Security certainly seems serious about rooting out the fraud that some estimate may top $9 billion in stolen funds. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson retorted that Omar is “more concerned about Somali fraudsters being held accountable for their crimes than she is about the fraud taking place.”

• Supreme Court will hear trans sports case: On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear two cases — Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. — concerning prohibiting transgender-identifying males from competing in girls’ sports. The first involves an adult male who sought to compete on the Boise State University girls’ cross-country team and was barred from doing so under Idaho law. The second considers a middle-school-age boy who has been barred from competing on his school’s girls’ track and field team in West Virginia. Appeals courts in both cases have sided with the plaintiffs against the state bans, ironically citing Title IX anti-sex discrimination rules. Twenty-seven states have enacted legislation banning males from competing in girls’ sports. SCOTUS has the opportunity to correct the false notion that there is no biological difference between male and female.

• U.S. strikes in Syria: On Saturday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that the U.S. carried out “large-scale” strikes against ISIS targets in Syria. The reason for the strikes was an “ongoing commitment to root out Islamic terrorism against our warfighters, prevent future attacks, and protect American and partner forces in the region,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice.” This represents the second strike against ISIS targets in Syria since December 19. That initial strike was in response to an attack six days prior on U.S. military members in Syria, in which three Americans were killed. No word on whether the current situation in Iran is connected to these strikes.

• Judge tosses libel lawsuit against SPLC over its hate map: The Southern Poverty Law Center won a court case allowing it to continue to fraudulently use its “hate group” smear. U.S. District Judge Corey Maze wrote in a decision that the Dustin Inman Society “cannot prove actual malice” in the SPLC labeling an anti-illegal immigration group as an “anti-immigrant” hate group. The society’s leader, D.A. King, had successfully argued in an early stage that the SPLC smear was libelous, as the group is anti-illegal immigration, not anti-immigrant. At that stage, the SPLC let the cat out of the bag with its argument that its “hate group designation is not capable of being proved false, but is an opinion.” The SPLC suffered a blow last year when the FBI cut ties with the increasingly propagandist group that has long outlived its usefulness.

• Golden Globes go anti-ICE: Hollywood actors continue to beclown themselves as patsies for the radical Left, with the most recent example coming on Sunday at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills. Actors and entertainers such as Mark Ruffalo, Ariana Grande, Wanda Sykes, and others sported small circular pins featuring the words “Be Good” on their lapels. The pins were in honor of Renee Good, the radical left-wing activist killed in Minnesota after she hit an ICE officer with her vehicle. Ruffalo, an avid anti-Trump critic, blasted the president’s actions on enforcing our nation’s immigration laws while falsely asserting, “We’re in the middle of a war with Venezuela that we illegally invaded.” He added, “He’s telling the world that international law doesn’t matter to him. The only thing that matters to him is his own morality, but the guy is a convicted felon, a convicted rapist.”

• GM’s EV losses rival Ford’s: It’s not just Ford that has lost big bucks on electric vehicle production. General Motors will be absorbing a $6 billion hit thanks to slumping EV sales. With the EV tax credit ending last year, GM — one of the most ambitious American automakers to lean into EV production — is feeling the sting of its bet on electric. Back in 2020, GM announced its plan to invest $27 billion in EVs over the next five years, with the goal of having the vast majority of the vehicles it produces be electric by 2035 — a nod to the climate cult’s pipe dream of net-zero carbon emissions. The fact of the matter is that efforts to force-feed American consumers a product they don’t want and often can’t afford have had predictable results.

• Jew-hatred in Mississippi: John Horhn, mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, says the fire at Beth Israel Congregation Synagogue over the weekend is being treated as an act of terrorism. Firefighters responding to the alarm called in arson investigators and a suspect is in custody, but the attack is still under investigation and no one has been charged at this time. This is not the first time this synagogue has come under attack; it suffered a Ku Klux Klan bombing in the 1960s. No one was harmed in this latest attack, although two Torahs were destroyed and five more were heavily damaged. One Torah came through the attack unharmed due to being stored in a glass case; it had previously survived the Holocaust.

• Maritime piracy surging across the globe: Despite increased maritime security measures, a large EU anti-piracy mission, and the recent ceasefire in the Middle East, piracy has been on the rise worldwide. “The U.S. Navy reported four-year highs for piracy in the Gulf of Guinea off the West African coast and in the Singapore Strait,” The Washington Times reports. The Houthi terrorist group continues to be a major contributor to the piracy problem around the Horn of Africa, with Somali pirates often joining them. Incidents of ship attacks have been reported in the Western Hemisphere as well. Gangs in Haiti, Panama, and the Yucatan Peninsula have attacked vessels and abducted crew members for ransom. With all of these being strategic shipping regions, piracy affects trade. As the International Maritime Bureau’s Cyrus Mody confirmed, “When this happens, it has a direct impact on the price consumers find on the shelves.”

Headlines

• Trump administration revokes more than 100,000 visas in first year back (Fox News)

• Report: Newsom’s lack of oversight cost California $33 billion in fraudulent unemployment payments (Washington Stand)

• Barbie with autism being introduced by Mattel (CBS News)

• Humor: Liberals begin chugging Everclear at 7 AM to protest RFK’s warning against drinking at breakfast (Babylon Bee)

The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.