FBI Raids Soros-Connected Ohio Voter Mobilization Group In Fraud Investigation

 Via American Greatness,

Federal investigators executed search warrants at the headquarters of a Soros-aligned voter mobilization organization in Ohio as part of what sources described as an ongoing fraud investigation.

FBI agents searched the offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative on June 11 and conducted interviews with members of the organization across the state, according to reports. Some agents reportedly served subpoenas or sought to seize electronic devices during the operation.

Multiple sources familiar with the matter later told CBS News that the federal action was tied to a fraud-related investigation.

The Department of Justice declined to discuss the specifics of the case.

“Search warrants are authorized by a judge and anything said by any organization or others in the media is unfounded speculation, as the target of any investigation is not privy to the search warrant affidavit until after indictment,” a DOJ official told Fox News Digital.

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative is a nonprofit group involved in voter registration and voter mobilization efforts and works closely with Democrats in Ohio. The organization has also played a prominent role in statewide ballot campaigns and referendum efforts.

The investigation is part of the Trump administration’s effort to increase enforcement of election-related laws and allegations of voter fraud.

Tax records show the organization reported more than $10 million in revenue during 2024.

Funding for the group has come from several major Democratic-aligned organizations and labor unions, including entities connected to the Soros family, the New Venture Fund, the Tides Foundation, the American Federation of Teachers and the Service Employees International Union.

According to the report, the Soros family’s Foundation to Promote Open Society provided approximately $1.9 million to the organization between 2019 and 2020.

The Open Society Action Fund later contributed an additional $1 million to a related organization in 2021 and another $1 million in 2023.

The organization has been active in recent Ohio political battles.

It spent $250,000 in 2023 opposing a Republican-backed effort related to abortion policy and another $300,000 the following year opposing a Republican redistricting proposal.

Organization leaders criticized the federal investigation and suggested it was politically motivated.

“How can they distract and intimidate civil rights leaders and voters and community leaders who are helping people get registered to vote, and create a national spectacle about it?” OOC board member Prentiss Haney told MS Now.

“That is the only reason why they would choose to do that, do it now, in the middle of a contested political election in the state. There’s no other reason. They have no evidence of that.”

The group has previously faced scrutiny related to voter registration activities. In 2017, a paid canvasser working with the organization pleaded guilty in connection with a fraudulent voter registration operation.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fbi-raids-soros-connected-ohio-voter-mobilization-group-fraud-investigation

Media Research Center: Apple, Google, MSN, Yahoo news apps rely on left media to slant GOP midterms

 Silicon Valley’s “Big Four” news apps are “doing the bidding of the Democratic Party” and stacking the deck against President Trump and the GOP during early coverage of November’s midterm elections, a new analysis found.

A whopping 80% of news stories about the Republican primaries promoted by Apple News, Google News, Microsoft MSN and Yahoo News came from lefty media outlets, according to the Media Research Center report, provided exclusively to The Post.

The Virginia-based media watchdog tracked the top 20 morning news stories pushed daily by the online platforms over 100 days, from March 1 to June 8.

In all, 155 of the pieces were about the GOP Congressional primaries and Trump-backed candidates, with a shocking 124 of those pulled from notoriously anti-Trump outlets such as CNN and the New York Times.

In comparison, a measly eight of the stories, or 5%, came from conservative news organizations, the report found. Outlets deemed centrist or without bias accounted for the remaining 23, or 15%.

The news aggregators are not just showing their political slant through the sheer number of left-leaning stories they promote. They selected articles that took extremely partisan stances against Trump and his favored candidates, analysts found.

For example, Google pushed a May 20 article by The Guardian headlined, “Trump’s allies in danger of scraping false hope from Maga victory in Kentucky primary.”

The story alleged the president is “like a cult leader whose commune keeps getting smaller” and that Trump “still rules the Republican party like a mob boss who can get a horse’s head placed in any bed.”

Other stories elevated by the aggregators also reinforced a slimy narrative portraying Trump-backed primary wins as losses, and his endorsements as toxic, the report said. Headlines used loaded language, including terms like “revenge,” “retribution” and “villain” to characterize the president’s role in these races.

For instance, MSN highlighted a May 21 story from The Independent headlined, “Trump got his revenge on ‘disloyal’ Republicans but it could cost him,” which criticized the president for backing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for US Senate.

It didn’t matter. Days later, the MAGA conservative defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a primary runoff election.

“Over the first 100 days of GOP primaries, the Silicon Valley tech giants force-fed biased content and smears about Trump and Republican candidates,” the report concluded. “Left-leaning outlets that are reliably doing the bidding of the Democratic Party.”

“As a result, Americans were consistently presented with coverage that portrayed Trump as a villain and his preferred candidates as extremists, while alternative perspectives were largely silenced.”

Of the 70 articles about the Republican midterm primaries Google pushed during the 100 days studied, 57 were published by lefty outlets, compared to a mere three by right-wing outlets, and the rest were written by outlets not determined to have a political slant, according to the MRC report.

Of Apple’s 47 articles, 33 came from lefty sources, while centrist outlets accounted for 10 and right-leaning outets, just three.

MSN promoted 16 stories by lefty news organizations, two by centrist media and one by a right-wing outlet.

Yahoo failed to promote a single right-wing outlet’s articles during the Republican midterm primaries — instead highlighting 18 articles by lefty outlets and one by a centrist publication.

AllSides, a nonpartisan group that classifies news outlets by their political leanings, assisted Media Research Center by determining political media bias for each outlet.

“A rational person might think that Apple, Google, MSN, and Yahoo would want the perspective of right-leaning outlets for stories about Republican primaries,” said MRC Vice President Dan Schneider.

“It’s pretty obvious that the New York Post, The Dallas Express and The Telegraph would have a better understanding of Republican voters than any of the leftist reporters do at NPR, The New York Times or The Guardian. 

“But those elitist media outlets replaced ‘news’ coverage with political spin a long time ago. That’s why the radicals at Apple and Google rely on them so much.”

NYC Councilman Frank Morano said the “old media used to be accused of having a liberal bias,” but “the difference today is that a handful of Silicon Valley algorithms have become the editors of America’s front page.”

“If 80% of the stories being promoted about Republican candidates come from left-leaning outlets, that’s not a marketplace of ideas—it’s an echo chamber,” said the former radio talk-show host and Staten Island Republican.

“Voters deserve to see competing perspectives and reach their own conclusions. The cure for bias isn’t censorship; it’s more balance, more transparency, and more viewpoints.”

“At a time when conservative media is thriving and constantly breaking major news, news aggregators are failing to capture the news Americans trust the most,” said Bernadette Breslin, the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s national press secretary.

“Senate Republicans remain focused on lowering costs and investing in American workers, and voters will reject Democrats and their allies in the media this November.”

Google said it “refutes the methodology” used for the study. Apple, Microsoft and Yahoo did not return messages. 

https://nypost.com/2026/06/13/us-news/biased-apple-google-msn-yahoo-news-apps-rely-on-lefty-media-outlets-to-slant-gop-midterms-survey/

Iran’s Mohammad Mohebi causes outrage with gun celebration during World Cup 2026

 Controversy stirred at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Monday with one player’s questionable celebration.

In a 2-2 draw with New Zealand, Iran midfielder Mohammad Mohebi scored his country’s second goal and appeared to act out firing guns as his celebration

Many on social media were outraged by the celebration and believed it to be made in reference to the ongoing war between the United States and Iran.

Iran midfielder Mehdi Ghayedi (L) and forward Mohammad Mohebi celebrate after Mohebi scored a goal in the second half during the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage match Iran against New Zealand, in Los Angeles, USA, 15 June 2026.CHRIS TORRES/EPA/Shutterstock

Mohebi responded to criticism of his celebration in a post-match interview.

“The celebration was just coming in the mind, in the moment,” he said. “I do it like this [gestures with his hands] and I wanted to do it like this for all the fans. It’s just a celebration you know, and that’s it.”

Mohebi’s teammate took a different approach with his own celebration.

Ramin Rezaein was the other scorer in Monday’s game, and his celebration involved lifting his jersey over his head to cover his face.

Rezaein shared that his celebration had a message.

Iran’s Mohammad Mohebbi celebrates scoring their second goal with Mehdi Ghayed.REUTERS

“It’s something political …I don’t want to talk about that,” he said after the match. “We are here to answer football questions. If there is a problem between us [the Iranian people], it is between us.”

The discourse arose as the Iranian team was dealing with other issues.

Head coach Amir Ghalenoei claimed his team was forced to immediately leave the US and fly back to their base in Mexico after Monday’s match in Los Angeles, despite original plans to fly back Tuesday morning.

“We’ve been asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana and we are really troubled by that. They are forcing us to go back early,” he said. “They are making the situation more and more difficult, more hurdles, but we’re not going to let that stop us from doing our best.”

Iran’s other group stage matchups also take place in the US.

They face Belgium in Los Angeles on Monday and Egypt in Seattle on June 27.

https://nypost.com/2026/06/16/sports/iran-player-causes-outrage-with-gun-celebration-at-world-cup/

'UK study: Laxative can help with memory and attention span problems'

 Talk about a gut-brain connection.

Scientists have long known about the link between our stomachs and our brains, warning that our diets and gut health have a large impact on mood and mental health.

And a new study published Monday may have found a way to flush the brain fog and attention issues that accompany depression down the toilet.

Cognition issues are common with depression and mental disorders, including trouble with thinking, planning tasks, and both short- and long-term memory.

A team of researchers from the University of Birmingham and the University of Oxford conducted a study looking at the effects of prucalopride, a prescription drug for constipation, on cognitive issues.

Those who took the laxative performed better and faster on cognitive tests to measure focus, attention span, planning, balancing multiple tasks, short- and long-term memory and emotional cognition tasks.

Fifty patients between the ages of 18 and 40 with a history of depressive episodes were recruited to take either a 2 milligram dose of the laxative — the amount used for chronic constipation — or a placebo for seven to ten days.

Both before and after taking the drug, participants took a variety of tests that included a working memory task, an auditory verbal learning and memory task and a task on attention and processing speed.

Prucalopride works by gently stimulating bowel movements, but it also activates a serotonin receptor in the gut and brain known as the fourth serotonin receptor, or 5HT4.

These receptors work both to increase gut motility and how fast the bowels empty, and are heavily involved with learning, memory, mood and anxiety.

According to researchers, the medication could help an often overlooked effect of depression.

“For many people, recovery from depression is incomplete because difficulties with memory and concentration persist,” senior author Professor Susannah Murphy said in a press release.

“This study provides early evidence that 5HT4 receptor agonists could help restore aspects of cognitive function, opening an exciting new direction for treatment development,” she added.

This study follows previous research from 2024 that also showed 5HT4 receptor agonists used for constipation may also reduce the risk of depression in those with no history of the illness.

Another study found that experiencing depressive symptoms could lead to worsened memory and thinking skills when hitting middle age.

And what we eat can play a role in brain health, especially as we age.

“Evidence suggests that the gut microbiome may influence inflammation, metabolism, and brain function through the gut-brain axis,” Dr. Randy D’Amico, director of the Brain and Spine Metastasis Program of Neurosurgery at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital, previously told The Post.

https://nypost.com/2026/06/16/health/taking-laxatives-can-help-with-memory-and-attention-span-problems/

Feds sue Hochul officials, claim massive fraud scheme in revamp of NY’s $11B Medicaid homecare

The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration Tuesday claiming it rigged the bids on an $11 billion Medicaid homecare program — allowing a handpicked company to siphon off millions in taxpayer money.

State Health Commissioner James McDonald and Medicaid Director Amir Bassiri are both named in the lawsuit which lays out startling new allegations that claim Hochul’s administration schemed to consolidate payroll services for nearly 250,000 homecare recipients under Public Partnerships LLC and moved forward with the disastrous transition despite clear warning signs of the coming chaos.

“New York’s failure to police a favored vendor that unlawfully siphoned millions of dollars of Medicaid funding is egregious and betrays the public trust,” Brett A. Shumate, assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, wrote in a statement.

4

New York State is accused of failing to stop a vendor who fleeced taxpayers.Andrew Schwartz / SplashNews.com

“The Justice Department is acting to ensure that federal laws regarding truthful statements and fair dealing in federal health care programs are upheld and to prevent additional harm from being exacted against the public by PPL and New York,” Shumate added.

Hochul is not directly accused of wrongdoing in the 55-page complaint filed in US District Court Eastern District of New York but snippets of emails between her office, the health department and PPL uncovered by federal investigators show she was actively involved in not only the transition process, but also the awarding of the bid to the company.

4

U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Division Brett A. Shumate speaks during the investiture ceremony for U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden April 13, 2018 at the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC.Getty Images

“As late as Tuesday, September 17, 2024, Defendant BASSIRI was part of last-minute email exchanges with DOH’s counterparts in other states in which DOH officials stated that under ‘pressure from our Governor’s Office,’ they were trying to determine whether other bidders—at least one of whom ended up being a qualified bidder—were actually performing FI services in other states and were therefore qualified bidders,” the lawsuit notes.

Several months later, after PPL had been awarded the bid, the company’s own reps proposed to DOH that it extend the timeframe needed to transition CDPAP recipients and caregivers to its own platform from three months to nine months as it rushed to hire staff.

But Hochul’s office refused to extend the timeline, according to internal emails from a “DOH principal” included in the complaint.

4

State Health Commissioner James McDonald was named in the lawsuit.New York State Department of Health

“I wanted to give you a heads up that Chamber is coming in hard on the SFI [Statewide Fiscal Intermediary] launch, they really aren’t entertaining options to move off of a path that gets this done by 4/1. We will not be advancing statutory or regulatory changes [to extend the CDPAP transition timeframe] at this time,” the DOH staffer wrote.

Over the next few months, Hochul’s office was actively involved in downplaying the seriousness of the transition disaster as thousands of disabled New Yorkers spent hours dealing with horrible customer service problems as they tried to keep their caregivers paid.

On Jan. 13, 2025, a week after the transition window opened, only 43 of the 214,000 people in PPL’s system had completed, per PPL records unveiled in the lawsuits.

4

Medicaid Director Amir Bassiri was also named in the lawsuit.New York State Department of Health

Three days later, McDonald wrote in a statement saying “the facts and data show that the transition is proceeding efficiently and effectively.”

“New York’s backroom deal with PPL has cost taxpayers millions of dollars and cast countless Medicaid patients to the curb,” Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, wrote. 

“Today’s action is the latest reminder that the Justice Department is mobilizing every available tool to protect taxpayer-funded programs from fraud and corruption,” he added.

https://nypost.com/2026/06/16/us-news/feds-sue-hochul-officials-claim-massive-fraud-scheme-in-revamp-of-nys-11b-medicaid-program/