3PM ET 12/31/2025 Newscast

Summary

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Fox News Hourly Update – 3PM ET 12/31/2025

Host: John Saucier
Date: December 31, 2025

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Overview

This episode delivers Fox News' final hourly update of 2025, focusing on a major government fraud scandal in Minnesota, ramped-up New Year’s Eve security measures in NYC, a high-profile NFL player’s legal trouble, a significant HUD payment error, and notable Congressional retirements and passings.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Congressional Hearings on Minnesota Government Assistance Fraud

Timestamps: 00:02 – 00:48

• Congressional Response:
  The House Oversight Committee will hold hearings next week on major fraud in Minnesota’s government assistance programs.

  • Quote [00:15]:
    “Congress has a duty to conduct rigorous oversight of this heist and enact stronger safeguards to prevent fraud in taxpayer funded programs as well as strong sanctions to hold offenders accountable.”
    — Rich Edson, quoting Chairman James Comer

• Key Invited Testifiers:

  • Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
  • Attorney General Keith Ellison
  • Minnesota state lawmakers who “sounded the alarm and were ignored by the governor,” according to Comer.

• Political Tensions:

  • Governor Walz asserts his administration has actively cracked down on fraud and referred cases to law enforcement.
  • The governor’s office accuses state Republicans of withholding fraud tips for political timing.

2. New Year’s Eve Celebrations & Security Measures

Timestamps: 00:48 – 01:54

• Global New Year Arrivals:

  • 2026 has begun in places like Auckland, Sydney, Beijing, Hong Kong, and more.
  • Memorable Moment: Description of fireworks at Auckland’s Sky Tower and other city celebrations.

• New York Security Precautions:

  • Heightened security at Times Square for the NYE celebration.

  • Quote [01:32]:
    “They’re going to add in thousands of police officers to screen at all of those access points. New this year, officers will patrol in the pen—so they’re going to be walking around in plain clothes and in uniform. The NYPD commissioner says it’s a tactic based on global terrorism trends.”
    — Alexis McAdams

  • Other Measures:

    • No alcohol permitted, bag checks enforced, large bags/backpacks not allowed.

3. NFL Player Charged with Domestic Assault

Timestamps: 02:00 – 02:25

• Incident Overview:
  • New England Patriots’ defense tackle Christian Barmore faces a domestic assault charge for an August 2025 incident.
  • The alleged victim initially told police she did not wish to move forward with charges.

4. HUD Error in Rental Assistance Payments

Timestamps: 02:25 – 03:18

• Scope of Error:

  • HUD Secretary Scott Turner claims $5.8 billion in rental assistance was sent out erroneously in 2024.

    • $77 million to 30,000 deceased tenants
    • $150 million to non-existent Social Security numbers

  • Quote [02:51]:
    “HUD will continue investigating the shocking results and will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable. Additionally, the department is advancing efforts made under President Trump’s first administration to strengthen program integrity and ensure taxpayer funded assistance serves the vulnerable communities it was intended for.”
    — Max Gordon, quoting Secretary Turner

• Contextual Note:

  • The administration has frequently cited mass fraud claims, though “many of those claims have not held up to further scrutiny.” — John Saucier [03:18]

5. Congressional Exits and Passings in 2025

Timestamps: 03:18 – 04:09

• High Profile Retirements:

  • Senator Mitch McConnell
  • Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
  • Elise Stefanik (last year in office: 2026, staying through end of term)

• Early Departures:

  • Former House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Greene
  • Marjorie Taylor Greene leaves office January 1, 2026

• Notable Deaths:

  • Representatives Sylvester Turner, Jerry Connolly, and Raul Grijalva

  • Quote [03:55]: “2025 also saw the passing of Democrats Sylvester Turner, Jerry Connolly and Raul Grijalva in Washington.”
    — Ryan Schmelz

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Congressional Oversight:
  “Congress has a duty to conduct rigorous oversight of this heist…”
  — Chairman James Comer (via Rich Edson) [00:15]

• On NYE Security: “Officers will patrol in the pen… walking around in plain clothes and in uniform... a tactic based on global terrorism trends.”
  — Alexis McAdams [01:32]

• On HUD Payment Errors:
  “HUD will continue investigating the shocking results and will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable.”
  — Secretary Scott Turner (via Max Gordon) [02:51]

• On Congressional Transitions:
  “2025 also saw the passing of Democrats Sylvester Turner, Jerry Connolly and Raul Grijalva in Washington.”
  — Ryan Schmelz [03:55]

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Segment Timestamps

• 00:02 — Minnesota assistance fraud scandal and upcoming congressional hearings
• 00:48 — New Year’s Eve global celebrations; NYC security measures
• 02:00 — Patriots’ Christian Barmore domestic assault charge
• 02:25 — HUD rental assistance payment errors and investigation
• 03:18 — Congressional retirements and deaths

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This concludes the summary of Fox News’ 3PM ET Newscast for December 31, 2025, capturing the main news stories, the tone, and notable direct quotes for listeners who missed the original broadcast.

Transcript

[A]

A fraudulent end to 2025. I'm John Saucier, FOX News. Congress ain't ready to hold hearings next week on this fraud scandal involving government assistance programs in Minnesota next week. Here's fox's Rich Edson.

[B]

The House Oversight Committee has announced it'll host hearings on the Minnesota fraud beginning next week. Chairman James Comer said in a statement that, quote, Congress has a duty to conduct rigorous oversight of this heist and enact stronger safeguards to prevent fraud in taxpayer funded programs as well as strong sanctions to hold offenders accountable. The committee says it has invited Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to testify next month. Next week, the committee will hear from Minnesota state lawmakers who Comer says sounded the alarm and were ignored by the governor. Walz has said they spent years cracking down on fraud, referring cases to law enforcement.

[A]

The governor's office, meanwhile, has accused state Republican leadership of withholding hundreds of tips about fraud from state law enforcement so that they could release them during an election season. We're winding down this 2025, but it's already 2026 in other parts of the world, including in Auckland, New Zealand, Fireworks there, the city Sky Tower, other events being held in Beijing, in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Sydney. Here in New York, security is high for tonight's celebration at Times Square. Fox's Alexis McAdams in Midtown Manhattan, they're.

[C]

Going to work with local, state and federal partners to enhance safety measures of a specific threat. But because they say there's going to be a massive crowd size. So they're going to add in thousands of police officers to screen at all of those access points. New this year, officers will patrol in the pen. So they're going to be walking around in plain clothes and in uniform. The NYPD commissioner says it's a tactic based on global terrorism trends. Also, alcohol is not allowed in here into this area in Times Square. So they're going to check bags for that. Backpacks, larger bags not allowed in America's.

[A]

Listening to FOX News.

[C]

This is Ainslie Earhart. Thank you for joining me for the 52 episode podcast series the Life of.

[A]

Jesus, a listening experience that will provide hope, comfort and understanding of the greatest story ever told. Listen and follow [e-mail] or wherever you listen to podcasts. New England Patriots defense tackle Christian Barmore is facing a domestic assault charge that stems from an incident with a woman he was in a relationship with August in Mansfield, Massachusetts. According to court documents, the 26 year old Barmore is charged with one count of assault and battery on a family household member. The victim previously told police she did not want to move forward with charges. The Department of Housing and Urban Development flagging payments that were allegedly sent out in error here's Fox Business Network's Max.

[D]

Gordon HUD Secretary Scott Turner claims that around $5.8 billion in federal rental assistance was potentially sent out in error in 2024 under the Biden administration. This includes about $77 million in payments to around 30,000 dead tenants and about $150 million to non existent Social Security numbers, secretary Turner said in a statement. HUD will continue investigating the shocking results and will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable. Additionally, the department is advancing efforts made under President Trump's first administration to strengthen program integrity and ensure taxpayer funded assistance serves the vulnerable communities it was intended for.

[A]

Max Gordon, Fox Business the administration has repeatedly claimed mass fraud affecting multiple government programs, although many of those claims have not held up to further scrutiny. 2025 saw plenty of high profile members of Congress making plans to leave Capitol Hill.

[E]

Longtime leaders like Senator Mitch McConnell and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced plans to retire from Congress, with 2026 being their last year in elected office. While they, along with former House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, plan to serve out the remainder of their term, others didn't wait. Former House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Greene retired this summer was while Georgia's Marjorie Taylor Greene will leave office on Monday. 2025 also saw the passing of Democrats Sylvester Turner, Jerry Connolly and Raul Grijalva in Washington. Ryan Schmelz, Fox News in New York City.

[A]

I'm John Saucier and this is Fox News.