Police Say Mom and Boyfriend Murdered 12-Year-Old, Lied to Continue Collecting Food Stamps

A Connecticut mother and her boyfriend, who are charged in the killing of a child, are now facing additional criminal counts tied to alleged food stamp fraud.

Investigators say the pair continued collecting food stamp benefits after the girl had been murdered, in part by starvation.

According to a report from WFSB, Karla Garcia and her boyfriend, Jonatan Nanita, were charged in New Britain court with multiple fraud-related offenses connected to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Garcia is the mother of Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres-Garcia, whose death was ruled a homicide.

Department of Social Services investigators said Garcia had been receiving SNAP benefits for her household since October 2020.

Those benefits were still active at the time of Garcia’s arrest for her daughter’s murder.

Police later contacted DSS, which found Garcia had continued receiving benefits for Jacqueline and her four other children.

Investigators determined Jacqueline likely died in September 2024, months before SNAP renewal paperwork was submitted.

In January 2025, and again in August 2025, Garcia allegedly failed to report that Jacqueline was no longer part of the household, as she had died.

She also failed to disclose that Nanita was living with her.

DSS found Nanita had been receiving his own SNAP benefits beginning in October 2024 while claiming he was homeless.

DSS determined Garcia’s household would have received fewer benefits from January through October 2025 if accurate information had been provided.

Investigators said both Garcia and Nanita signed paperwork acknowledging they could go to jail for providing false statements.

DSS concluded that Nanita improperly received $2,886 in SNAP benefits and that Garcia was aware of it.

Receipts and surveillance allegedly showed both defendants using Nanita’s EBT card, sometimes without him present.

Garcia now faces charges including conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny and two counts of giving false statements.

Nanita is charged with first-degree larceny and two counts of making false statements.

A separate report from WSAW detailed the homicide investigation and its grim findings.

Police said an anonymous tip in October 2025 led to the discovery of Jacqueline’s remains in a container outside an abandoned home.

The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide caused by deadly child abuse with starvation.

Both Garcia and Nanita were arrested, and Garcia later told police her daughter had died in September 2024.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/12/police-say-mom-boyfriend-murdered-12-year-old/

Former NBA Champ Dwight Howard Calls on Trump to Make Military Service Mandatory to Teach Young Americans 'Discipline'

NBA legend Dwight Howard

Playing defense in the offense-oriented NBA is all about thankless grit and hard work.

And there are few defensive stars that have as prolific a career as Dwight Howard, who eventually won a title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 as a backup after years of being a franchise cornerstone for the Orlando Magic.

During his tenure with the Magic, Howard won three straight Defensive Player of the Year awards. To go along with that rare feat, Howard earned five All-NBA First Team nominations, eight All Star nods (including in his first stint with the Lakers and the Houston Rockets), and one memorable performance in the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk competition:

You don’t achieve those sorts career accolades as a fresh-faced child straight out of high school without some serious discipline behind the goofy, fun-loving facade — and Howard has a novel idea of how to instill those values into his fellow Americans:

“Random. I honestly feel like the president should make one year of service mandatory for everyone born in America,” Howard posted to social media platform X on Monday. “A lot of other countries do it. And I think it would help with discipline and structure. I’m curious what yall think would this help America or nah.”

The responses under Howard’s post were decidedly mixed, with a number of people thinking it would be a good idea, and just as many decrying it.

One respondent said that retail customer service would be better at helping Americans, which Howard swiftly shut down:

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Howard also directly called out those who disagreed with his premise:

The longtime NBA center also seemed dead-set on this commitment being a full year, as opposed to being any sort of a half-measure:

Interestingly enough, two of Dwight’s fellow NBA big man alumni might actually have some interesting takes on this.

Both retired San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson and Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki had Hall of Fame careers delayed by military service requirements.

Robinson graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1987 and was required to fulfill an obligation for two years of active service before he could begin playing for the Spurs. And whatever discipline Robinson learned during his time there helped turn him into one of the most physically imposing centers in NBA history:

Nowitzki, meanwhile, was from Germany and had to fulfill a similar bit of military service before he could be drafted in 1998. From that moment on, Nowitzki went on to effectively completely redefine what it meant to be an NBA big man for the Mavericks:

Did that prior military service help propel Robinson and Nowitzki to their Hall of Fame heights?

Howard appears to be in the camp that certainly thinks it at least played a role in it — and he thinks Americans would be better off if President Donald Trump implemented something similar.

https://www.westernjournal.com/former-nba-champ-dwight-howard-calls-trump-make-military-service-mandatory-teach-young-americans-discipline/

There Is More to the FBI’s Cover-up of Hillary Clinton Crimes in 2016 Than Is Being Reported

The Western Journal reported this week on documents released concerning the FBI’s cover-up of Hillary Clinton’s crimes. We know there is much more to this than was reported. 

The Western Journal did an excellent job reporting on recent developments in the FBI’s cover-up of Hillary Clinton’s crimes.  They reported the following regarding Hillary’s receipt of foreign money and the related concerns about bribery as a result:

FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge Diego Rodriguez advised agents in Washington to ask Clinton several questions about the foundation, which are reproduced in full in documents released to the Senate Judiciary Committee by the FBI and published on Dec. 15. The questions reveal the concerns about foreign bribery that the Clinton Foundation case — codenamed “Cracked Foundation” — had uncovered.

Among the evidence available to investigators, according to their questions: A recorded conversation between Clinton and Indian hotel magnate Sant Singh Chatwal in which Clinton discussed donations to the foundation and her remaining 2008 campaign debt. The new documents confirm that the FBI had at one time been “intercepting individuals associated with the Clinton Foundation.”

But when Clinton arrived to the FBI two months later, in July 2016, to answer questions about her use of a private email server in a separate investigation codenamed “Midyear Exam,” D.C. agents asked nothing about the allegations of pay-to-play with foreign governments or use of the global charity as a slush fund.

However, ZeroHedge reported in 2016 on massive campaign finance issues involving Hillary.

Saudi Arabia Has Funded 20% Of Hillary’s Presidential Campaign, Saudi Crown Prince Claims

In what may be the pinnacle of hypocrisy, moments ago Hillary Clinton, while speaking live on national security and addressing the Orlando shooting took some time from her constant bashing of the Second Amendment and calling for a ban on assault rifles, to say some less than kind words about Saudi Arabia whom it accused of supporting radical organizations. This is what she said:

The third area that demands attention is preventing radicalization and countering efforts by ISIS and other international terrorist networks to recruit in the United States and Europe. For starters, it is long past time for the Saudis, the Qataris and the Kuwaitis and others to stop their citizens from funding extremist organizations. And they should stop supporting radical schools and mosques around the world that have set too many young people on a path towards extremism. We also have to use all our capabilities to counter jihadist propaganda online. This is something that I spend a lot of time on at the State Department.

There is nothing wrong with that statement, as it is the whole truth – Saudi Arabia’s involvement in supporting terrorism stretches from Sept 11 all the way through to ISIS – however, where there is a big, and potentially law-breaking, problem is what Jordan’s official news agency, Petra News Agency, reported on Sunday citing the Saudi crown price, namely that Saudi Arabia is a major funder of Hillary Clinton’s campaign to become the next president of the United States.

We also know, per the WikiLeaks release of Hillary’s emails, that she had no problem taking money from overseas for her campaigns.  Although foreign financing in elections is illegal, Hillary’s campaign manager famously wrote in response to some concerns about cash from overseas: “Take the money!”

There were also emails indicating the Clintons’ receipt of money from a king in the Middle East, and more were uncovered in 2016.

Throughout the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton’s campaign presented her as a crusading reformer who would take on powerful corporate interests and curb the role of big money in American politics.

But the recent WikiLeaks dump of campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails offers revealing snapshots that tell a somewhat different story. Top aides plot to “scare our people into giving bigger sums.” They debate whether to take cash from registered foreign agents: “Take the money!!” one senior campaign official advises. A top corporate lobbyist, pressed to “hit up” his clients for Clinton campaign coffers, asks for high-level help to advance one of those client’s interests. And there are new details about the overseas cash that rolled into the Clinton Foundation — including a $12 million commitment from the king of Morocco that Hillary Clinton personally helped facilitate.

This was only a small portion of the money the Clintons received while using their positions and colleagues in the government.

The FBI totally covered up the Clinton Crime machine, the extent of which is unfathomable. 

https://joehoft.com/exclusive-there-is-more-to-the-fbis-cover-up-of-hillary-clinton-crimes-in-2016-than-is-being-reported/

These former members of Congress are seeking comebacks in 2026

List includes several eyeing returns to Washington after more than a decade away

Clockwise from top left: John E. Sununu, Jerry Carl, Madison Cawthorn, Mayra Flores, Cori Bush, Melissa Bean, Elaine Luria and Sherrod Brown are running for Congress in 2026. 

For all the lawmakers who’ve announced plans to retire from congressional service this year, there’s a long list of former members from both parties who want to be back in Congress. 

They range from former lawmakers whose terms ended only a year ago to ex-members who’ve been out of the political spotlight for more than a decade. 

Here’s a look at the former members who have launched comeback bids for 2026:

Senate

Michigan: former Rep. Mike Rogers (R)

Rogers served 14 years in the House, rising to chair of the Intelligence Committee before leaving office in 2015. He returned to the political spotlight last cycle, narrowly losing a Senate bid to Democrat Elissa Slotkin. Now he’s seeking the state’s other Senate seat, which retiring Democrat Gary Peters is vacating. 

Republicans say Rogers has learned from his losing 2024 bid and is better prepared to win this year. While Democrats face a potentially messy primary for the open seat, Rogers has largely cleared the GOP field. 

New Hampshire: former Sen. John E. Sununu (R)

Sununu is attempting a Senate comeback nearly two decades after losing a second-term bid to Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, who is retiring this year. The National Republican Senatorial Committee and other national Republicans are supporting his bid, but before he can focus solely on Rep. Chris Pappas, the likely Democratic nominee, Sununu must contend with a primary against another comeback-seeking former senator. 

New Hampshire: former Sen. Scott P. Brown (R)

Brown won a 2010 special election in deep-blue Massachusetts to succeed the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy but lost reelection two years later to Democrat Elizabeth Warren. He then moved north to New Hampshire and unsuccessfully challenged Shaheen in 2014, falling short by 3 points. He served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa during President Donald Trump’s first term and announced his second bid for Shaheen’s seat in June.

Ohio: former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D)

Brown lost his bid for a fourth Senate term in 2024 to Republican Bernie Moreno as the Buckeye State’s red shift finally caught up with the longtime Democratic lawmaker. But Democrats were encouraged by his decision to launch a comeback this cycle against GOP Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed to the seat after JD Vance became vice president. Republicans have dominated statewide elections in Ohio in recent cycles, but Brown’s entry puts the Senate seat in play. 

Louisiana: former Rep. John Fleming (R)

Fleming served four terms in the House before an unsuccessful Senate bid in 2016. After serving in the first Trump administration, he was elected state treasurer in 2023. 

Fleming is now challenging Sen. Bill Cassidy in a crowded Republican primary. He’s criticized the incumbent for his 2021 vote to convict Donald Trump at his second impeachment trial. In a change from previous elections, Louisiana will hold partisan primaries in 2026, with a runoff required if no one takes more than 50 percent of the vote. 

Florida: former Rep. Alan Grayson (D)

Grayson served two separate stints in the House, representing two different Orlando-area districts. He left the House after an unsuccessful Senate run in 2016. Since then, he has made multiple failed bids for the House, Senate and state legislature, including a special election for the state Senate last year. 

The perennial candidate is now one of several Democrats challenging appointed Republican Sen. Ashley Moody in the special election to complete Marco Rubio’s unfinished term. 

House

Alabama’s 1st District: former Rep. Jerry Carl (R)

Carl was in his second term when he lost a member-versus-member primary to fellow Republican Rep. Barry Moore after the Supreme Court ordered Alabama to draw a new congressional map for the 2024 elections. But Moore is now campaigning to succeed Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who’s running for governor. 

Carl faces competition for the Republican nomination, however. State Rep. Rhett Marques, who has the backing of Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, and Air Force veteran Austin Sidwell are also set to compete in the May primary for the 1st District, which stretches across southern Alabama. 

California’s 38th District: former Rep. Hilda L. Solis (D)

It’s been nearly 17 years since Solis, now a Los Angeles County supervisor, left the House to become President Barack Obama’s first Labor secretary. She announced in August that she would seek to return to the House if California adopted a new congressional map, which voters approved in November. 

Solis’ comeback bid has the support of several current and former members of California’s House delegation, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Solis faces at least two other Democrats in the June all-party primary for the Los Angeles-area seat: former Obama staffer TJ Adams-Falconer and Pico Rivera City Councilmember Monica Sánchez.  

Florida’s 19th District: former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R)

Cawthorn represented a Western North Carolina seat for one term before losing a 2022 primary to fellow Republican Chuck Edwards. Cawthorn was beset by a series of personal-conduct scandals, and redistricting also forced him to change his plans about where he would run for reelection. 

Now, he’s running in Florida for the deep-red House seat being vacated by gubernatorial hopeful Byron Donalds. But Cawthorn isn’t the only snowbird politician setting sights on the coastal Southwest Florida district.

Florida’s 19th District: former Rep. Chris Collins (R)

Collins, who won four terms representing a Western New York seat, has told reporters he intends to run for Florida’s 19th District. But the former congressman doesn’t appear to have filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to officially raise funds for a campaign. 

Collins, the first sitting House Republican to endorse Trump’s 2016 presidential bid, resigned in 2019 before pleading guilty to insider trading charges. The following year, he began serving a 26-month term in federal prison but won a pardon from Trump about two months into his sentence. 

Illinois’ 2nd District: former Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D)

Jackson served in the House for nearly 17 years before resigning in 2012 shortly before he pleaded guilty to repeated personal use of campaign funds. He was later sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. 

With his House successor, Rep. Robin Kelly, now running for Senate, Jackson launched a bid for the deep-blue Cook County-anchored 2nd District. But the former appropriator faces nine other Democrats in the March primary. 

Illinois’ 8th District: former Rep. Melissa Bean (D)

Bean lost her seat in the Chicago suburbs during the 2010 tea party wave after three terms in Congress. Fifteen years later, she decided it was time to get back in the game. 

Bean is one of eight Democrats running for the suburban 8th District, which Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is vacating to run for Senate. Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Pelosi and the New Democrat Coalition Action Fund have all endorsed Bean’s comeback bid. 

Maryland’s 6th District: former Rep. David Trone (D)

Trone left the House a year ago after spending more than $60 million on an unsuccessful Senate bid. He announced last month that he would seek his former House seat in suburban Washington, challenging his successor, Rep. April McClain Delaney, in the Democratic primary. 

Trone, a co-founder of Total Wine & More, is expected to once again invest his fortune in the race, but McClain Delaney also has personal wealth that she’s invested into her campaign. She has won endorsements from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and other members of the state’s congressional delegation. 

Missouri’s 1st District: former Rep. Cori Bush (D)

Bush waged a successful primary challenge to Democratic Rep. William Lacy Clay in 2020 but, four years later, found herself on the losing side of an intraparty contest against Wesley Bell. 

She announced in October that she would seek to win back the St. Louis-anchored 1st District. The United Democracy Project, an arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, targeted Bush in 2024, and could be involved again in this year’s repeat race. 

New Jersey’s 11th District: former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D)

Malinowski was elected to New Jersey’s 7th District in the 2018 “blue wave” but lost reelection to Republican Thomas H. Kean Jr. in 2022 after redistricting made his seat redder. He’s now running in the April special election to complete the unfinished term of Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill in the neighboring 11th District. 

The Democratic primary for the blue-leaning North Jersey seat has drawn a crowded field, including several elected officials. Malinowski has the support of New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim, who was also first elected to the House in 2018.

Tennessee’s 6th District: former Rep. Van Hilleary (R)

Hilleary left the House after narrowly losing a 2002 gubernatorial race, but he returned to Capitol Hill in 2019 as chief of staff to GOP Rep. John W. Rose. With Rose running for governor this year, Hilleary is competing in a busy primary to succeed his former boss in the Middle Tennessee district.

This is the second time Hilleary has sought elected office since his 2002 loss. He placed third in the Republican primary for an open Senate seat in 2006.

Texas’ 9th District: former Rep. Steve Stockman (R)

Stockman served two separate one-term stints in Congress, most recently departing in 2015 after an unsuccessful primary challenge against Sen. John Cornyn. He was convicted in 2018 of 23 felony charges related to misusing charitable contributions and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Trump commuted his remaining prison sentence in December 2020. 

Now, Stockman is one of several Republicans running for the Houston-area 9th District, newly redrawn to be safely red. The primary also includes state Rep. Briscoe Cain; Army veteran Alex Mealer, the losing GOP nominee for Harris County judge in 2022; and businessman Dan Mims.

Texas’ 23rd District: former Rep. Francisco “Quico” Canseco (R)

Canesco won election to a lone term representing the massive border district in the 2010 tea party wave, when he unseated Democrat Ciro D. Rodriguez. Since losing reelection two years later, he’s made two unsuccessful House bids, losing Republican primaries in 2014 and 2018. 

This year, he’s challenging Rep. Tony Gonzales in a primary that also includes pro-gun activist Brandon Herrera, who lost to the incumbent by just 354 votes in a 2024 primary runoff. Gonzales won an endorsement from Trump last month.

Texas’ 33rd District: former Rep. Colin Allred (D)

Allred left the House in 2024 after unsuccessfully challenging Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. He then spent more than five months campaigning for Senate last year before making a last-minute switch to a House race shortly before Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett entered the Senate race. 

Now, he’s set to face his successor, Rep. Julie Elizabeth Johnson, in the Democratic primary for the redrawn 33rd District, which is centered in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and includes territory both have represented in Congress. Johnson has already won the backing of the top three Democratic leaders in the House. 

Texas’ 34th District: former Rep. Mayra Flores (R)

Since winning a June 2022 special election to flip a Democrat-held seat in South Texas, Flores has lost two elections to Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez. She’s once again seeking to challenge Gonzalez in his South Texas district that became redder under the state’s new congressional map. But first, she must contend with a Republican primary that includes Army veteran Eric Flores, who has Trump’s endorsement, and businessman Scott Mandel.

Utah’s 1st District: former Rep. Ben McAdams (D)

McAdams is a centrist Democrat who flipped a battleground seat in 2018, before losing reelection to Republican Burgess Owens in 2020. Utah’s new court-ordered congressional map has provided him an opportunity for a comeback this year. 

But it’s not certain whether McAdams, a member of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition while in office, will be a match for the heavily Democratic 1st District, now anchored in deep-blue Salt Lake City. Several other Democrats, including state Sens. Nate Blouin and Kathleen Riebe, have also launched campaigns for the redrawn seat.  

Virginia’s 2nd District: former Rep. Elaine Luria (D)

Luria was part of the victorious Democratic class of 2018 that helped power that party to the House majority. Four years later, she lost her bid for a third term to Republican Jen Kiggans after her Hampton Roads seat inched to the right in redistricting.

Since announcing in November that she would challenge Kiggans in 2026, Luria has consolidated significant support from fellow Democrats and a handful of contenders have dropped out of the Democratic primary. Luria could also benefit from more favorable district lines if Democrats are successful in their push to redraw Virginia’s congressional map this year. 

Virginia’s 5th District: former Rep. Tom Perriello (D)

Perriello is another Democrat who lost reelection in 2010 seeking a comeback this year. A month after Virginia Democrats posted strong performances in the November off-year elections, he announced a challenge to Republican freshman John McGuire, a former state senator who defeated former House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good in a primary in 2024.

Perriello, who won election to a single House term in 2008, has secured endorsements from the commonwealth’s two Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, as well as from former Gov. Ralph Northam, who defeated him in a 2017 gubernatorial primary. 

https://rollcall.com/2025/12/29/former-members-comebacks-midterm-elections/