BFox News just posted that federal investigators have verified twenty thousand noncitizens on California's voter rolls, with evidence they were mailed ballots.
BVerified is doing a lot of work there. The DOJ flagged about twenty thousand registered voters as likely noncitizens and sued to sequester their mail ballots.
BThat sounds like a real problem.
BIt's a real investigation, but a federal judge halted it. And LA County checked a sample of two hundred records — more than half were canceled or inactive, and nearly forty percent of those with a reported birthplace were born in the U.S.
BSo the twenty thousand number is not twenty thousand confirmed noncitizens.
BNot even close. It's a list of people the DOJ thinks might be noncitizens. Calling them verified is misleading.
BBut the underlying concern is real — if even a few hundred noncitizens get ballots, that's a problem.
BSure, and that's why the DOJ is looking. But the post says evidence suggests they were mailed ballots. The judge stopped the investigation before that was established.
BSo Fox News is running with the DOJ's allegation as if it's a proven fact.
BThat's exactly what's happening. And the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Bill Essayli, is the one making the claim. He's a political appointee.
BWhich doesn't mean he's wrong, but it does mean we should wait for the evidence.
BRight. The judge's order is the key fact here. The investigation is on hold.
BMeanwhile, the same Fox News account posted a feel-good story about Karoline Leavitt — Trump was urged not to hire her because she was too young, and he said, 'You can do it.'
BThat's a nice anecdote. Not much to fact-check there.
BNo, it's just a story about her hiring. But it's interesting how these two posts sit side by side — one about alleged voter fraud, one about loyalty.
BDifferent world entirely. Speaking of different worlds, Romania says it's speeding up development of Black Sea capabilities after those cargo ship attacks.
BReuters is reporting that. Romania's been worried about the Black Sea for a while now.
BAnd there's a lot of noise on X about what Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff brought to Putin. One account claims he carried a dossier compiled by European leaders — Zelensky, the Norwegian PM, the Finnish president, and others.
BThat's a big claim. Can we confirm any of that?
BNo. It's unverified. The account says Witkoff didn't come empty-handed, but there's no independent confirmation of what he actually brought.
BSo it's a rumor dressed up as a scoop.
BExactly. And there's another unverified claim floating around about a rare U.S. security red alert to embassies across the Middle East.
BThat one's been going around too. Twelve countries, potential for rapid escalation. But no official confirmation.
BRight. The State Department does issue security alerts, but this specific claim hasn't been verified.
BAnd then there's a post claiming Trump said he's talking to Russia about Iran, Ukraine, hostages, and diesel. Four topics, four claims, one reality.
BThat's also unverified. We don't have confirmation that Trump said that.
BSo a lot of noise tonight, not a lot of signal.
BThat's the internet for you. But one thing we can confirm: Al Jazeera reports two Syrian security officers were killed in a raid on an ISIL cell near Damascus.
BThat's a real story. Syria's still dealing with ISIL remnants.
BAnd it's a reminder that the region is still unstable, even as the headlines focus on other things.
BRight. So to sum up: Fox News is pushing a misleading voter fraud story, Romania is worried about the Black Sea, and there's a lot of unverified chatter about Witkoff and Putin.
BAnd a real story from Syria that deserves attention.
BThat's the segment. A lot of noise, a few real stories, and one misleading headline that's going to cause a lot of arguments.
BAnd that's the show.