FBI director Kash Patel said even before the social media reports of Minnesota fraud, the FBI was investigating large-scale fraud cases in the state as part of its ongoing effort to dismantle fraud schemes exploiting federal programs. “To date, the FBI dismantled a $250 million fraud scheme that stole federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during COVID. The investigation exposed sham vendors, shell companies, and large-scale money laundering tied to the Feeding Our Future network,” Patel wrote.

“The FBI believes this is just the tip of a very large iceberg. We will continue to follow the money and protect children, and this investigation very much remains ongoing. Furthermore, many are also being referred to immigrations officials for possible further denaturalization and deportation proceedings where eligible,” Patel’s statement read.

‘Quality Learing Center’: No children at daycare center spelled wrong

YouTuber Nick Shirley posted a video exposing the Minnesota fraud as he found out a learning center that received $4 million in state funds, but there was no activity in the center and even the signboard misspelled ‘learning’ and ‘learing’. In the video, a woman was seen yelling not to open the gate of the learning center as she feared that it was ICE. Shirley asked the woman whether she thought he or the other man were immigration agents and identified himself as an online commentator.“Go away. You’re not welcome here. Shame on you,” the woman told Shirley.The video has created a stir as Vice President JD Vance praised Shirley’s investigation. “What’s happening in Minnesota is a microcosm of the immigration fraud in our system. Politicians like it because they get power. Welfare cheats like it because they get rich. But it’s a zero sum game, and they’re stealing both money and political power from Minnesotans,” Vance wrote. “$4 million of hard-earned tax dollars going to an education center that can’t even spell learning correctly. Care to explain this one, Tim Walz?” Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, a Republican, wrote on X seeking an explanation from Tim Walz. Former DOGE chief Elon Musk also spoke out about the controversy, warning that once more Americans learn about the alleged fraud, they “will be horrified at what your tax money is doing.”

Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian skipper, has slammed England management for the lack of preparation with the red ball and has questioned their decision to skip first-class cricket before the demanding and prestigious Ashes tour in Australia.

England have received immense criticism for their weak showing in the ongoing Ashes series. The criticism continued despite England’s win in the Boxing Day Test match at the MCG. However, it came in the fourth Test of the series, and with three humiliating losses, the fate of the Ashes was sealed in favour of the Australians.

However, England managed to break their 19-match losing streak on Australian soil, and the Ben Stokes-led side finally got some nerve back after the win at MCG. However, they set an unwanted record of losing an Ashes series within 11 days.

Sunil Gavaskar slams England players for lack of first-class practice

Amid their disastrous run in the Ashes, England captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum have been constantly backing the team and have kept faith in their Bazball strategy. However, the much-hyped approach can be increasingly one-dimensional when put under pressure by disciplined and accurate gameplay.

Australia have not only defeated the England team but has also crushed the confidence of the English batters. The likes of Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, and even Joe Root have struggled for every run in the Australian island.

To this, Indian batting great Sunil Gavaskar highlighted the lack of patience within the players due to the lack of sufficient first-class exposure ahead of the crucial series. Hence, the players cannot adjust adequately to the rhythm of Test match batting.

“He [The modern batter] thinks counterattack is the answer, when a little bit of patience, with some deep breaths taken to slow down the adrenaline, might help in reducing the bat speed and the big swing, so even if he miscues or edges, the ball may not carry to the fielder.

“But then, if he hardly plays any First-Class cricket, how will he mentally get used to adjusting to the required rhythm of a Test match?” Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

“The more you play, the better you will get,” feels Sunil Gavaskar

England greats like Ian Botham and Michael Vaughan all looked unconvinced by the fact that England started off their Ashes campaign without a single warm-up game in the Australian islands. As a result of this, the hyped Bazball strategy collapsed during the first three Tests.

Sunil Gavaskar clearly feels that these struggles are only due to a lack of enough Test exposure for the players. With the terrible record they hold in the island nation, England should have been more cautious in batting practices. The Indian great also pointed out how, after playing three matches, England could manage a win as they improved with on-field exposure.

“England’s win, even though it came in the fourth Test with the series already lost, does prove once again that the more you play, the better you will get, especially in unfamiliar overseas conditions… The point, therefore, is that England should have played a few more First-Class games before the first Test? The ‘ares’ do not agree with the ‘has-beens’ here,” Sunil Gavaskar added.

England look to win the SCG Test to hold onto the Bazball legacy

England finally won their third match of this WTC cycle and made it count in Australia. Following their win at the MCG, the Englishmen would also be eyeing another win at the Sydney Cricket Ground, considering that this win might help them keep some hopes alive in the WTC.

Also, with several more players released by the Australians, England might seek this as an opportunity to save some honour in Australia. Coming from behind and finishing the Ashes 3-2, this would be a major boost for Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum to defend the ‘bazball’ strategy.

ALSO READ: ICC gives ‘Unsatisfactory’ rating to MCG pitch after Ashes Test ends in just two days

Dibrugarh: Ten people of Bangladeshi origin were arrested Monday for attacking police and freeing a man accused of posting pro-terrorist content online, after a planned mob assault in a village in Assam’s Lakhimpur.The assault triggered outrage as it involved “Miya” people – referred to Bengali-speaking immigrant Muslims of Bangladeshi origin in Assam, a population estimated at over one crore and long central to the state’s anti-foreigner agitation of the 1980s.The arrests follow a Dec 27 attack in Bongalmora when officers tracked down Baharul Islam, wanted for social media posts supporting the Pahalgam terrorist attack.Those arrested were identified as Afazuddin, Ikramul Hussain, Fakhruddin Ahmed, Noor Hussain, Gulzar Hussain, Nazrul Haque, Kazimuddin, Md Abdul Hamid, Bilal Hussain and Atabur Rahman. Several have prior records, police said.“After the Pahalgam attack, several people posted on social media supporting the act. One such person was Baharul Islam, who used a fake account,” Lakhimpur SSP Gunendra Deka said.Islam had been on the run since a case was filed earlier this year. Acting on intelligence, a team traced him to Sonapur area of Bongalmora and detained him. As officers prepared to move him, a mob of more than 10 people closed in, beat the team and pulled Islam free. “A group led by Atabur attacked the police team and freed Baharul,” Deka said, calling it “a planned assault”.SI Gokul Joyshree and the driver suffered serious wounds. A case was filed under multiple BNS sections.Islam, who was earlier held in a fake gold case, has gone underground after mob freed him. “He will be in custody soon,” Deka said, adding that more arrests are imminent.

Mumbai batter and Rohit Sharma’s new List A opening partner, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, has taken up wicket-keeping practices to evolve his skillset in the game, which would add to his value in the future. The KKR batter has hinted at donning the gloves in the IPL as well.

The Kolkata Knight Riders almost revamped their squad by all means ahead of the next season in the IPL. Angkrish Raghuvanshi has turned out to be a valuable asset for them in the middle order.

However, considering the way KKR acquired their players during the 2026 IPL mini-auction, every player in the side will be on their toes to replace the other in the playing XI. Hence, Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been practising new skill sets to consolidate his position within the XI.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi turns wicket-keeper to retain spot in KKR XI

Young Angkrish Raghuvanshi entered IPL in 2024 as a young 19-year-old cricketer. Under Gautam Gambhir’s expertise, he made his debut for KKR and batted in the top order, gaining some sublime control. Raghuvanshi also turned out to be KKR’s man when it came to runs in the previous season of the IPL.

Recently, he was spotted playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the Mumbai Cricket team. He was part of the 141-run opening stand alongside Rohit Sharma and was recently interviewed from the sidelines of one of the matches for Mumbai.

When asked about the recent wicket-keeping drills he has been doing, and if he would keep wickets for KKR in the IPL as well. Angkrish Raghuvanshi said, “I’m really enjoying it. It’s challenging, but it feels like you’re in the game all the time.” He added that whether he would keep it for KKR or not shall be found out in due time.

VIDEO | When asked about practising wicketkeeping to expand his skill set ahead of the IPL, Angkrish Raghuvanshi said he is enjoying the challenge and working hard on it. “I’m really enjoying it. It’s challenging, but it feels like you’re in the game all the time,” he added.… pic.twitter.com/z4a7pFpCiH

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 29, 2025

Kolkata Knight Riders invested big money in Indian wicket-keeper Tejasvi Dahiya

The Kolkata Knight Riders entered the 2025 IPL auction with the highest purse and acted accordingly, as they bought two of the costliest players of the auction (Cameron Green and Matheesha Pathirana) and also set a record for the costliest overseas buy, surpassing their own set record with Mitchell Starc.

After having made the majority of their buys, the Kolkata Knight Riders still had enough money to invest in any player. They then went all out for the Delhi wicket-keeper batter Tejasvi Dahiya, who had performed promisingly in the Delhi Premier League.

The batter also had some promising numbers for Delhi. In two List A games, he had a hundred before making his third List A appearance for Delhi against Saurashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26. Averaging 56.50 in T20s, the batter amassed 113 runs in 4 T20 matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season.

Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are among the power strikers for KKR

Kolkata Knight Riders could not get their hands on the likes of Sanju Samson or KL Rahul despite desperate attempts to acquire them through trades. Hence, they had to settle for Finn Allen and later Tim Seifert, the two New Zealand wicket-keepers.

Though Allen is not used much as a keeper by his national team as well as other franchise teams, he is a wicket-keeper and an explosive opening batsman. Seifert has the same attributes but is used more regularly as a gloveman.

KKR picked both these players at their base prices of INR 2 crores and INR 1.5 crores, respectively. Seifert, playing for the Melbourne Renegades in the BBL, scored a century in the BBL opener, and Finn Allen has also shown a promising performance with 138 runs in 3 matches for the Perth Scorchers.

ALSO READ: Nikhil Chaudhary suffers HORRIFIC INJURY in BBL 2025-26, carried off the field

NEW DELHI: Industrial output growth surged to a 25-month high in Nov, led by a rebound in manufacturing and mining sectors offsetting the contraction in electricity.Data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday showed the index of industrial production (IIP) rose an annual 6.7% in Nov, higher than the 0.5% recorded in Oct and above the 5% in Nov last year.

Gaining momentum

.The manufacturing sector rose by 8% in Nov, higher than 2% in Oct and above the 5.5% in Nov last year. The mining sector, which had been impacted by unseasonal rains, rebounded and rose by 5.4% in Nov, above the 1.8% contraction in Oct and higher than the 1.9% growth in Nov last year.The highlight for Nov was also the robust expansion in consumer durables and non durables sectors, which grew by 10.3% and 7.3% respectively. “On the demand front, the positive aspect was the improvement in the output of consumer durables and non-durables which grew by 10.3% and 7.3%, respectively, reversing the contraction seen in the previous months. Factors such as GST rationalisation, income tax relief, and easing inflation have boded well for the consumption scenario,” said Rajani Sinha, chief economist at ratings agency CareEdge.“On the investment front, there has been sustained healthy momentum in the growth of infrastructure/construction goods and capital goods output,” said Sinha.The capital goods sector, a key gauge of investment activity, rose an annual 10.4% higher than the 2.1% recorded last month and above the 8.9% expansion in the month of Nov last year.Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ratings agency Icra, said the impact of the US tariffs and penalties is likely to reflect across some of the manufacturing segments, partly offsetting the positive impact of the GST rate rejig. “However, electricity demand has expanded in Dec 2025 after a gap of two months, which should boost power generation in the month, auguring well for IIP growth in the month. We expect the IIP growth to ease to 3.5-5.0% in Dec, as the base effect normalises and the benefit from restocking wanes,” said Nayar.

NEW DELHI: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) came through in a do-or-die game to become the fourth team to book their place in the ILT20 playoffs. They will join Dubai Capitals (DC), Desert Vipers (DC) and MI Emirates (MIE) in making a final push to lift the trophy.In the first Qualifier, Desert Vipers will take on MI Emirates and the Eliminator will pit ADKR against the defending champions Capitals. As the rules go, the losing team from Qualifier 1 will then go up against the winning team of the Eliminator for a place in the final.

HistoryOf the four teams that have qualified for the playoffs, the DC and MIE have lifted the ILT20 trophy before, in 2025 and 2024, respectively.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The Vipers, however, have reached the final on two occasions, in 2023 and 2025, but never gone all the way. ADKR are into the ILT20 playoffs for the second time, having been to the knockouts in 2024.Form guideDesert Vipers had a blazing start to the season with six wins on the trot including close victories against ADKR (by 2 wickets with 3 balls remaining), Gulf Giants (in a Super Over), MI Emirates (by 1 run) and Dubai Capitals (by 5 wickets with 2 balls remaining). Eventually they finished with 8 wins out of 10 league matches to top the table.MI Emirates finished second in the points table despite a mixed start to the campaign. They lost three in the first five matches before staging a remarkable turnaround to clinch five consecutive wins – all by comfortable margin.

Both Dubai Capitals and ADKR had patchy pushes to the playoffs during the league stage. DC, who are now led by Mohammad Nabi, strung three wins in a row only after a formation of two losses, two wins and two losses. They closed out the league stage with yet another defeat.ADKR, who had four wins and six losses in the group stage, had a poor campaign but not worse than Gulf Giants and Sharjah Warriorz who had three wins and seven defeats. Jason Holder-led ADKR were bottom of the standings halfway through the league stage with four defeats in five matches.Consecutive wins, against DV and GG, steered them up the standings. One final push, also against the Gulf Giants, on Sunday, helped them into the playoffs.Standout performers

Sam Curran had made a rollicking start with the bat for Desert Vipers. The England international has had the most impact so far this season with 285 runs at an average of 35.62, a strike rate of 123.91 with standout innings of an unbeaten 67 and 52, against Giants and DC, respectively. He has been less effective with the ball, picking 7 wickets, but has been an all-round asset for the table toppers.Equally decisive for the franchise has been Max Holden – the leading run-scorer (318 runs) going into the ILT20 playoffs. From the infamy of not being stumped on purpose and being retired out a ball later, against the MI Emirates on December 9, the 28-year-old has turned a leaf.Since that night of 37-ball 42, Holden has produced a 64-ball 41 vs Gulf Giants; 22-ball 34 vs Dubai Capitals; 43-ball 52 vs ADKR and Player of the Match winning 46-ball 66 against Sharjah Warriorz.Dubai Capitals have seen multiple strong individual performances so far. Jordan Cox (311 runs), Shayan Jahangir (302 runs), Waqar Salamkheil (17 wickets) and Mustafizur Rahman (15 wickets) have been the star acts.Green Belt holder (most runs): Max Holder of the Desert Vipers (318 runs)White Belt holder (most wickets): Waqar Salamkheil of the Dubai Capitals (17 wickets)Red Belt holder (Most valuable player): Sam Curran of the Desert Vipers (285 runs and 7 wickets)Blue Belt holder (best UAE player): Muhammad Waseem of the MI Emirates (293 runs)

ILT20 Playoff Squads as of 28th December

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders International Players: Alex Hales, Andre Russell, George Garton, Jason Holder, Khary Pierre, Liam Livingstone, Michael Pepper, Phil Salt, Piyush Chawla, Olly Stone, Sherfane Rutherford, Sunil Narine. UAE Players: Ajay Kumar, Alishan Sharafu, Ibrar Ahmed, Mayank Chowdary. Associate Players: Abdul Manan (Saudi Arabia), Adnan Idrees (Kuwait), Brandon McMullen (Scotland), Shadley Van Schalkwyk (USA), Unmukt Chand (USA). Dubai Capitals International Players: Dasun Shanaka, David Willey, Dushmantha Chameera, Gulbadin Naib, Jimmy Neesham, Jordan Cox, Leus du Plooy, Mohammad Nabi, Navin Bidassey, Rovman Powell, Scott Currie, Sediqullah Atal, Toby Albert, Waqar Salamkheil. UAE Players: Farhan Khan, Haider Ali, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah. Associate Players: Anudeep Chenthamara (Kuwait), Kaleem Sana (Canada), Rushil Ugarkar (USA), Shayan Jahangir (USA), Usman Najeeb (Saudi Arabia). Desert Vipers International Players: Daniel Lawrence, David Payne, Fakhar Zaman, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Hassan Nawaz, Jason Roy, Max Holden, Naseem Shah, Qais Ahmad, Sam Curran, Usman Tariq, Wanindu Hasaranga, Zafar Gohar. UAE Players: Khuzaima Tanveer, Matheesha Khan, Sanjay Pahal, Vritiya Aravind. Associate Players: Andries Gous (USA), Bilal Tahir (Kuwait), Faisal Khan (Saudi Arabia), Tom Bruce (Scotland). MI Emirates International Players: Allick Athanaze, Allah Ghazanfar, Andre Fletcher, Arab Gul, Chris Woakes, Daniel Mousley, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kadeem Alleyne, Kieron Pollard, Naveen-ul-Haq, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Shakib Al Hasan, Tom Banton. UAE Players: Muhammad Rohid, Muhammad Waseem, Usman Khan, Zahoor Khan. Associate Players: Mohammed Shafeeq (Kuwait), Nosthush Kenjige (USA), Sanjay Krishnamurthi (USA), Sunny Patel (USA), Zain Ul Abidin (Saudi Arabia).

Mumbai: After a week of hard negotiations the BJP-Shiv Sena finalised a 137-90 seat-sharing formula for the BMC elections. Till late on Monday, Sena functionaries said there was a dispute over 14 seats and said they had put the onus on BJP as the big party in the alliance to take ‘everyone’ along. Political observers said that after a week of talks, DCM Eknath Shinde had held sway and got the BJP to agree to a ‘respectable’ figure.“Our talks are over. We will now campaign jointly and make sure the Mahayuti’s mayor is anointed in the BMC. The BJP will fight 137 seats and Sena will fight 90 seats. Smaller allies will be given tickets by us from our quota of 137-90 seats. All have been accommodated. We have come to a conclusion after a minute discussion. That is why it took so long,” said Mumbai BJP chief MLA Ameet Satam. Sena functionary Rahul Shewale said talks were positive and a good seat-sharing formula was finalised. The Shinde-led Sena dragged seat-sharing talks for one whole week, ultimately forcing the BJP to distribute AB forms without declaring any official list. Till Monday evening, the Sena too had not released any official list of candidates but it gave out AB forms to some aspirants on Monday and they will file their nominations on Tuesday. Political observers said this was a big embarrassment for the BJP as it could not declare a list of official candidates and had to distribute AB forms to candidates in a mid night operation. Analysts said this is probably the first time that BJP could not declare their candidate list for a prestige election like the BMC and was a dampener for the Mahayuti which was riding the momentum of the wins in the municipal council and nagar panchayat polls last week. The BJP gave out AB forms to over 60 aspirants, many of whom even submitted the nomination form. “Usually national parties like BJP are known to issue formal candidate lists, which hasn’t been done this time till Monday evening. The Congress which is the other national party in the fray declared a first list of candidates. It seems that Shinde managed to exhaust BJP in talks that lasted for a week but remained inconclusive till Monday despite both being in the Mahayuti govt and NCP also kept out of the alliance for BMC polls. Even though some may claim this is a strategy to prevent poaching, this is a setback for the BJP,” a political observer said.