Podcast
Facts Matter
Hosted by The Epoch Times · EN
"Facts Matter" investigates complex issues based on the principles of traditional journalism: no spin, no favorites. We give you the facts—you decide the rest.
81episodes
Episodes
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$1 Billion Industrial-Scale Medicare Fraud Scam Shut Down by FBI
6d ago00:08:44Summary readyThe Department of Justice released a statement, announcing the conviction of a man at the center of a billion-dollar Medicaid fraud scheme.Brett Blackman, the CEO and owner of software company HealthSplash was convicted in federal court for his part in the sprawling fraud scheme. The scheme involved using foreign telemarketers to aggressively call elderly Americans, get their medicaid beneficiary numbers, push medical devices onto them that they did not really need, then generate fraudulent doctors' orders for those devices.He would then pass on the scripts in return for illegal kickbacks to both suppliers and pharmacies involved in the scam, who would then bill Medicare for these prescriptions.In total, Blackman, alongside his co-conspirators, billed Medicare over $1 billion and were reimbursed roughly $450 million.Let’s go through the details together.
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IRS Launches Pilot Program With Palantir AI Tools to Find People Needing Audits
1w ago00:11:58Summary readyIt's been a long time coming: the IRS recently launched a pilot program using Palantir AI-technology to help it figure out who most needs to be audited.This means that, as fun as it was to pay taxes already—and then have a federal bureaucrat decide whether you deserve an audit or not—moving forward, the decision will be heavily influenced by an AI machine.Let's go through the details together.
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'Thank You Leader': California Mayor Pleads Guilty to Working as CCP Agent
2w ago00:13:38Summary readyJust earlier this week, the mayor of Arcadia (in Northeast Los Angeles) agreed to plead guilty to illegally acting as an agent of China.She was the mayor of an American city, while actually being an out-and-out agent for the Chinese Communist Party—even going so far as calling a Chinese official her “leader.”Let’s go through the details of her case together.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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115 People Get Sick Aboard Cruise Ship in Norovirus Outbreak: CDC
2w ago00:10:22Summary readyJust as the hantavirus situation was resolved aboard the MV Hondius, another cruise liner was hit with a massive viral outbreak. The silver lining here, though, is that the virus in question isn’t as bad as hantavirus, which has a mortality rate of 30–50 percent.The new ship, according to the CDC, had an outbreak of the norovirus, with 115 people falling ill already.Let’s go through the details.
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Supreme Court Bans Racial Gerrymandering; Districts to Be Remade Colorblind
3w ago00:11:33Summary readyThe U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais could be one of—if not the—deciding factor in who controls the House moving forward.The ruling is monumental because it struck down an interpretation of the Voting Rights Act that has, for decades now, forced southern states to draw up congressional maps in a way that maximizes the black vote.If you look at the congressional map, districts in these states have been drawn in strange ways because they’ve been forced by the courts to connect disparate pockets of black neighborhoods.However, this has just been ruled to be unconstitutional, and the states in question—many of whom actually have Republican state legislatures—are now free for the first time in decades to redraw their congressional maps without concern for the racial makeup of the people living there.The reason this truly matters is that the black vote is overwhelmingly Democratic-leaning. Meaning, the districts in question, the ones that are likely to get redrawn, could be flipped from blue-leaning to red-leaning.Let’s unpack this story in three steps: the legal framework that was in place for the past several decades, the Supreme Court’s new ruling, and then what this means moving forward—including which specific districts are likely to get amended.
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Chinese Man Arrested, Sentenced to Prison for Trying to Smuggle 2,200 Ants Out of Kenya
3w ago00:08:55Summary readyIn several previous episodes we exposed cases of Chinese nationals being apprehended at U.S. airports trying to smuggle in a variety of suspicious biological material: roundworms, E. coli bacteria samples, as well as a type of fungus that can be used to decimate food crops.Today, we have a new addition to that list—sort of. A Chinese national has just been jailed in Kenya for trying to smuggle live ants out of the country.
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New Bill Would Create 'Dark Skies' Rules in NY, Force State to Go Dark After 11PM
4w ago00:13:46Summary readyA new piece of legislation working its way through the New York State Assembly is called the "Dark Skies Protection Act."For many years, the people of New York have struggled to see the stars at night. Even if you live in upstate New York—100, or 200 miles away from the city—the glow from the city is still enough to mask the sky at night.However, a new law may be about to change that—but to do so, it would bring about serious statewide changes that might increase the crime rate.
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Federal Judge Strips Chinese Couple of US Citizenship for Stealing Sensitive Secrets
Apr 2900:09:45Summary readyIn a rare case of denaturalization, a federal judge has stripped the U.S. citizenship of a Chinese couple living here in America. Let’s go through what this couple did (with the assistance of the Chinese communist government).
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2 Middle School Brothers' 'Let's Go Brandon' Hoodie Case Goes to Supreme Court
Apr 2400:08:27Summary readyA few years ago, two brothers who went to middle school together came to class wearing hooded sweatshirts that said “Let’s Go Brandon” on them.Now, most people know the origin of that phrase—and what it actually means—but here’s the question: In a school context, is it appropriate?Schools naturally do have policies against profanity, and they can send children home for violating them.However, the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon” doesn’t actually contain profane words. If someone reads it, and they don’t happen to know the backstory, then it doesn’t even mean anything to them.The school officials did not see it that way, though, and they ordered the brothers to remove the sweatshirts.This then led to a lawsuit by the brothers' parents over free speech. Can school administrators exercise this much discretion when deciding whether something is vulgar?This case appears to be far-reaching, as evidenced by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to take it up.Let's go through the details together.
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After Virginia Bill Passes, Compact to Eliminate Electoral College is Now 82 Percent Complete
Apr 2200:09:45Summary readyLast week, Virginia became the 18th state to pass a bill that will effectively eliminate the Electoral College.Unbeknownst to most people, there is a serious effort in this country to make the presidential election a simple popular vote. Even though most people have never heard about this effort, it’s actually already 82 percent complete. Meaning the Electoral College is truly at risk of getting completely scrapped in the near future.The ironic thing about this is that it may not necessarily be unconstitutional. Instead, this method is using a loophole in the way that the constitution set up our federalist system.This effort is officially called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (otherwise known as the NPVIC)—it’s an agreement between the states that join to give their electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the popular vote at the national level.
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