[FoxNew] Transportation secretary threatens to withhold nearly $50M in federal funding unless state revokes noncompliant CDLs
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Thursday revealed that 54% of North Carolina’s non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) issued to foreign nationals reviewed by federal officials were issued illegally.
New York State is the same percentage. California is about half that, but with 60,000 non-domiciled CDLs issued, they’re still number one in raw numbers. Texas was bad, but they’ve started cleaning that up, dropping to fifth place, last I saw.
The discovery came amid the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) ongoing nationwide audit of the state’s truck licensing systems.
If North Carolina does not revoke all illegally issued licenses, the Department of Transportation (DOT) will withhold nearly $50 million in federal funding.
"North Carolina’s failure to follow the rules isn’t just shameful — it's dangerous. I’m calling on state leadership to immediately remove these dangerous drivers from our roads and clean up their system," Duffy wrote in a statement. "President [Donald] Trump and I are committed to keeping you and your family safe on our roads."
In a letter to North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and state Department of Public Safety Commissioner Paul Tine, the FMCSA said the state illegally issued non-domiciled CDLs to drivers who were ineligible, those whose licenses were valid long after their lawful presence in the U.S. expired and those whose lawful status in the U.S. was not verified by North Carolina.
FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs said the level of noncompliance in North Carolina is "egregious."
To retain its federal funding, North Carolina will be required to immediately pause issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with FMCSA regulations and revoke and reissue all noncompliant non-domiciled CDLs if they comply with the federal requirements.
The state must also conduct a comprehensive internal audit to identify all procedural and programming errors, training and quality assurance problems, insufficient policies and practices and other issues that have resulted in the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs that did not meet federal rules.
Duffy set his focus on CDL issues in early 2025 after an Indian national who held a California-issued CDL allegedly killed a car full of people on Florida’s turnpike.
California has since revoked 17,000 problematic non-domiciled CDL licenses as DOT conducts a nationwide audit initiated by President Donald Trump’s executive order on truck driver roadway safety.
— Amhara War Updates | የአማራ ጦርነት ወቅታዊ መረጃ (@AmharaWarUpdate) January 8, 2026
Text:
⚡️At least 106 regime forces killed or injured as Fano launches Operation Rambo, capturing Ajibar and key towns in Tenta Woreda (📍South Wollo Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia).
🔵 On January 6th, Fano forces launched Operation Rambo, a coordinated multi-axis offensive targeting regime positions across Tenta Woreda. The operation initially secured strategic corridors and high ground in Chacha, Guna, and the Beshilo corridor, before expanding into urban centers, including Ajibar town, the administrative center of the woreda.
🔵 By approximately 10:00 am, Fano forces had gained full control of Ajibar, capturing a heavily fortified regime military stronghold after several hours of intense fighting. Following this breakthrough, Ajibar, Tenta, and Tenta-Mikaelwere reported to be under full Fano control. More at the link
[FoxNews] Qilin Wu was released by immigration authorities in 2023 due to lack of detention space, given a 2027 removal hearing
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office announced Wednesday that a Chinese national was arrested last month after allegedly photographing two U.S. Air Force bases and its military equipment, including B-2 Spirit stealth bombers.
Authorities identified the 35-year-old as Qilin Wu, who entered the U.S. illegally in 2023 near the Arizona-Mexico border. While Qu was initially arrested by immigration authorities, he was later released due to a lack of detention space and was given an immigration removal proceeding scheduled for 2027, officials said.
The attorney's office said investigators first caught Wu on Dec. 2 near Whiteman Air Force Base, home to the military's B‑2 Spirit stealth bomber fleet, an exceptionally sensitive asset due to its nuclear and stealth capabilities.
After initially receiving a warning, Wu reportedly returned the following day. Authorities then arrested Wu, who was allegedly found in possession of 18 photos and videos of the base. He also admitted to taking photos of another U.S. Air Force base, officials said, without naming the second location.
Wu has been charged in federal court in the Western District of Missouri. He faces one count of taking photographs of a vital military installation and military equipment without authorization.
Officials said that on Dec. 2, a suspicious minivan with a Massachusetts license plate was reported near the perimeter of Whiteman Air Force Base. Patrol officers then found Wu, who said he was there to observe the B‑2 Spirit aircraft, and informed him that he was not permitted to take photographs or record video of the military installation.
The next day, patrol officers were notified of the same minivan nearby, the attorney's office said. Agents reportedly found Wu again, who admitted to taking videos of the B‑2 Spirit aircraft and numerous photographs of the base, including its perimeter fencing, a gate and military equipment. Wu handed over his phone, which contained 18 images and videos, and admitted to authorities that he photographed another U.S. Air Force base and its aircraft, officials said.
According to court documents, Wu is a Chinese national who illegally entered the United States on June 22, 2023, near Nogales, Arizona, but was released after promising to attend immigration removal proceedings scheduled for Feb. 9, 2027, officials said.
If convicted, Wu could face up to one year in federal prison.
Both total nonfarm payroll employment (+50,000) and the unemployment rate (4.4 percent) changed little in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking places, health care, and social assistance. Retail trade lost jobs.
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below is from yesterday's BLS productivity report
Third Quarter 2025, Preliminary
Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 4.9 percent in the third quarter of 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output increased 5.4 percent and hours worked increased 0.5 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annualized jjrates.) From the same quarter a year ago, nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 1.9 percent in the third quarter of 2025.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
01/09/2026 09:53 ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
01/09/2026 13:21 Comments ||
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#5
I worked our local food bank again yesterday. I estimate we had about 275 families come through. My day in December it was about 350. And in November it was 500. Anecdotal economic indicator.
[Guardian] General Motors said on Thursday it will record a one-time earnings hit of $7.1bn in its quarterly financial results, mostly due to its pullback from electric vehicles in light of shifting US policies. "You didn't force the US consumers to only buy these crap EV's!"
The Detroit auto giant’s fourth-quarter results will be dented by $6bn in charges connected to reversals on EV investments, according to a securities filing. The remaining $1.1bn includes costs from the company’s restructuring of its China operations.
GM’s move follows a $1.6bn write-down in the third quarter due to pivots away from EVs following a sharp US policy reversal under Donald Trump.
Trump, who views the climate crisis as a hoax, has killed major initiatives favoring EVs championed by his predecessor Joe Biden.
GM’s profit warning also comes on the heels of a Ford announcement on 15 December that it will write off about $19.5bn over several years amid the shifting policy outlook.
Throughout Biden’s presidency, GM’s CEO, Mary Barra, had invested aggressively in building EV capacity. The company announced in 2021 a target of having its cars and trucks emissions-free by 2035.
[FOX Business] Billionaire Elon Musk is signaling that artificial intelligence and robotics could eliminate the need to work in the next few decades. Currently restricted to DEI approved sectors, soon to become 'optional.'
Musk attended the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum and was asked on a panel about the long-term impacts of robotics and AI on the workforce. He offered a bold prediction about the future of work.
"I don't know what long term is, maybe it's 10, 20 years or something like that," Musk said. "My prediction is that work will be optional."
"It'll be like playing sports or a video game or something like that. If you want to work in the same way, like you can go to the store and just buy some vegetables, or you could grow vegetables in your backyard. It's much harder to grow vegetables in your backyard, but some people still do it because they like growing vegetables," Musk said.
If you were born before 1980, please proceed to the sign and submit section on the last page of the application.
Posted by: chris ||
01/09/2026 13:28 Comments ||
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#6
Humans do much better when they have purpose and meaning in their lives. Work is necessary for us — and we see what too many on government assistance become.
So if Mr, Musk is correct that the kinds of work we’re accustomed to will disappear, he’ll want to turn his clever brain to thinking about viable alternatives that fulfill the same need.
[CNN] With rising anger and tension over the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE agent, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is telling residents to be ready for something they haven’t seen in Minneapolis and St. Paul since the destructive aftermath of George Floyd’s murder: National Guard troops on the streets.
"I directed the National Guard to be ready should they be needed. They remain ready in the event they are needed to help keep the peace, ensure public safety, and allow for peaceful demonstrations," the governor said in a statement Thursday.
With the fragile situation in the Twin Cities following an aggressive increase in immigration enforcement there, another battle over control of the National Guard could be brewing as the president continues to test his authority to use the military in domestic conflicts and state officials continue to fight back.
Walz — himself a retired National Guard veteran — indicated a direct confrontation with federal agents is not on the table, saying in an executive order troops would "support public safety, security services, and law enforcement activities."
In contrast to the unrest surrounding Floyd’s killing, the possibility of calling up the guard now comes in a very different context, following a year of President Donald Trump’s mostly unsuccessful efforts to federalize National Guard troops in large cities with Democrat-run administrations, calling those cities "lawless" and "hellholes."
#3
/\ Unfortunately, he is not alone in his 'cover for action' plotting.
There are historical parallels of sorts:
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War, was a series of violent civil confrontations in the Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over whether slavery should be permitted in the proposed state of Kansas.[3][4]
The conflict was characterized by years of electoral fraud, raids, assaults, and murders carried out in the Kansas Territory and neighboring Missouri by proslavery "border ruffians" and retaliatory raids carried out by antislavery "free-staters". According to Kansapedia of the Kansas Historical Society, 56 political killings were documented during the period,[5] and the total may be as high as 200.[6] It has been called a "tragic prelude" or overture to the American Civil War, which immediately followed it. Wiki
#4
Isn't Senator Kelly and his crew going to make a video warning the Minnesota National Guard about the consequences of following illegal orders? Or maybe Kelly draws a distinction between "good" illegal orders and "bad" illegal orders.
Posted by: Matt ||
01/09/2026 8:06 Comments ||
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#5
If Trump declares an insurrection, the judges will try to declare it void... but they can't legally stop it as the wording simply states the president only has to declare an insurrection. There are no preresiquites.
Could start arresting judges too. Just spitballing that last one.
#8
@4 Of course Kelly and his fellow idiots won't say anything. After their statements, I think a lot of National Guard and Active Duty had briefings/training on what an illegal order is and what is required of the serviceman when they believe an order might be illegal.
Apparently, CNN forgot or decided to ignore the fact or decided it didn't matter that Walz bailed on his unit as soon as he heard it was going to be deployed.
#12
...And remember Walz is retired Minnesota NG. He starts telling the guys what orders they will and won't obey, and he'll be trading stories in the exercise yard with Mark Kelly.
#13
Little known glitch associated with NG mobilizations:
1. Using federal training money for mobilization allows the President to federalize them instantly into more federal troops with federal chain of command, removing any state authority.
2, The Gov can mobilize NG troops in a State Status, utterly under state command and control, beyond the power of the President....BUT, every bit of equipment remains Federal property, and the DOW (DoD) can restrict it's use totally, rendering any unauthorized use a federal theft crime! Poof...
#17
Shouldn't that be a local problem? Mayor whatshisface? Gov. Walz?
Or are they waiting for Trump to invade their sacred spaces?
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/09/2026 16:32 Comments ||
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#18
Mayor Jacob Frey? He is a creature of the left, Bobby, the one videoed mortifying himself by eating some disgusting-looking Somali food while a bunch of them looked on, smirking.
#19
As soon as Raytheon finishes the robot war dogs the issue of who obeys which commander won't apply any more. Mass produce them and let them roam around like driverless cars, anyone with antifa material on their phones gets chased down and the dog sits on her until a human can arrive to make the arrest.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Weak magnetic storms may be felt on Earth on January 9 due to the passage of a plasma cloud past the planet on January 6. This was reported by the Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
According to scientists, storms are expected in the middle of the day. The minimum intensity will be G1. However, the laboratory noted that the forecast is unstable because the plasma cloud was significantly shifted laterally.
Scientists explained that even with a slight deviation of the ejection to the left, the cloud could pass by the Earth and not lead to magnetic storms.
Also, according to the laboratory, a moderate increase in solar wind speed is possible in the next two days. This is due to the appearance of a coronal hole on the Earth-facing side of the Sun.
Earlier, on January 3, a predicted magnetic storm was recorded on Earth. According to the forecast, moderate solar flare activity was expected on Earth during these days.
A large explosion occurred on the far side of the Sun; it was recorded midday on Thursday, January 8. This was reported by the Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Space Research Institute (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"One can only guess what happened there," the scientists noted on the Telegram channel.
The resulting images show matter flying in all directions. The source of the explosion is currently not visible to satellites, as it is located on the side of the Sun not facing Earth. The phenomenon is presumably associated with one of the active regions, which two weeks ago was located below the solar equator. This region will be visible from Earth in about a week, when it begins to emerge from behind the eastern edge of the solar disk.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
