The Daily Populous

The Trump administration is pausing child care funding to all states after allegations of fraud in daycare centers in Minnesota emerged, an official with the Department of Health and Human Services said.

The official said the funds will be released “only when states prove they are being spent legitimately.”

The official did not provide details or more information about the proof the agency is requiring from states. »

Ali Ahmadnia, head of the government’s information office, also said on Wednesday that the administration had formally accepted the protests and would listen to criticism.

One X user wrote: “If the government respected the people and had heard their protests, it would have resigned on the first day and stood with the public.

He also alleged that shopkeepers had distanced themselves from protesters because of slogans he described as “dictated by the Zionist regime.”. »

Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) faked the death of Denis Kapustin, commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), and claimed the bounty placed on his head by Russia's intelligence service, HUR chief Kyrylo Budanov revealed on Jan. 1.

In its Jan. 1 statement, HUR said those reports were part of a complex special operation that misled Russian intelligence services.

Russian intelligence services had ordered his assassination and allocated a bounty of $500,000 for the successful completion of the assassination. »

NEW YORK (AP) — Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City on Thursday, taking over one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics as one of the country’s most-watched politicians.

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani takes the oath of office during a swearing-in ceremony in the Old City Hall subway station, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York.

(AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani takes the oath of office during a swearing-in ceremony in the Old City Hall subway station, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. »