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This week, two very different events will put the U.S.-China relationship in the spotlight.

President Donald Trump is preparing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, D.C. as the two countries continue negotiations over trade and other economic issues. At the same time, the world’s best golfers are gathering outside Chicago, IL for the Presidents Cup, where American and international players will compete at Medinah Country Club.

There is a connection between those events that deserves more attention: American manufacturing.

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The golfers at Medinah — and potentially President Trump himself, who has accepted the role of honorary chairman and plans to attend — will be utilizing golf carts built by Club Car at their manufacturing headquarters in Augusta, Georgia.

It is a fitting reminder of the longstanding relationship between the great game of golf and the American manufacturers that support it. But it is becoming increasingly difficult for American companies to build and compete when foreign governments distort the market. And what is happening in the golf-cart industry is part of a much larger story playing out across the country.

American manufacturers employ millions of people, support communities and contend every day in a global marketplace. They should be able to outcompete based on the quality, innovation and value of what they produce — not against foreign governments willing to subsidize competitors and distort prices.

That is precisely what is happening in the low-speed personal transportation vehicle industry (LSPTV), or what most Americans simply know as golf carts.

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In 2023, more than $522 million worth of these vehicles were imported into the United States from China—more than double the amount imported in 2021. American manufacturers raised concerns that Chinese producers were benefiting from government subsidies and selling products in the United States at unfairly low prices.

The Department of Commerce investigated and found evidence supporting those concerns, determining that Chinese producers had benefited from countervailable subsidies and that Chinese LSPTVs were being sold in the United States at less than fair value.

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Those findings are not merely numbers in a federal register. They have consequences on American factory floors.

The domestic industry has experienced reduced shifts, reductions in workforce, declining production and declining profitability. That means fewer opportunities for American workers and less investment in the communities that depend on manufacturing.

CORPORATE AMERICA'S CHINA ADDICTION HAS BECOME A NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT

I have seen the importance of this industry firsthand through my work representing Georgia’s 12th Congressional District, home to Club Car and E-Z-GO. But this issue extends far beyond Georgia. The same basic question applies to manufacturers across America: Can we compete based on the quality of what we build, or will government-backed foreign competitors be allowed to tilt the scales in their favor?

On a level playing field, American companies like Club Car and E-Z-GO can out-innovate and out-compete anyone in the world.

That is why Congress and the administration must enforce our trade laws.

The United States has already taken action. Commerce established antidumping and countervailing-duty remedies against unfairly traded Chinese LSPTV imports, addressing a problem that American manufacturers had been documenting for years.

But trade enforcement only works if it is actually enforced.

Chinese producers have found ways around American trade remedies, including by changing supply chains, relabeling products or routing goods through third countries. I have joined colleagues in pressing the Commerce Department to investigate potential circumvention and ensure that trade remedies protect the American workers they were designed to protect.

This is not about preventing legitimate competition. It is about ensuring competition is legitimate in the first place.

That distinction matters as President Trump prepares to sit down with President Xi.

The United States can engage China diplomatically while being clear about what we expect economically. American businesses should have access to foreign markets, and foreign businesses should have access to ours — but the rules must be applied fairly. A product should not gain an artificial advantage because a foreign government is willing to subsidize its production and then flood another country’s market.

We have learned this lesson in steel, solar panels, automobiles and other industries. Once domestic manufacturing capacity disappears, rebuilding it is extraordinarily difficult.

The Presidents Cup offers a useful reminder of what American manufacturing can accomplish. As the tournament brings together the best golfers from the United States and around the world, American golf-car technology developed in places like Augusta will help support one of golf’s biggest international stages.

That is what fair competition should look like: American workers building products that can compete anywhere in the world.

As President Xi visits Washington, that principle should be part of the conversation.

And as the Presidents Cup showcases the best golfers in the world, it is worth remembering the American workers and manufacturers supporting the tournament behind the scenes.

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As farmers across the country face rising costs, some are turning to tourism to bring in money beyond their traditional agricultural operations.

At Lynette Ralph's horse ranch in Missouri, vacationers can spend the night in a small cabin, wake up to views of the horses and get a firsthand look at ranch life.

Guests can explore the property, pet and feed the horses or pay extra for horsemanship and riding lessons.

"You have access to the farm life, the horses, the barns," Ralph said.

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For Ralph, welcoming guests is about more than offering a unique getaway. The income from offering short-term vacation rentals on site has allowed her to keep her ranch operating.

"If I didn't have the short-term rentals associated with the riding program, I would have to probably liquidate, sell the horses, sell the property," she said.

Airbnb and American Farmland Trust are launching a new grant program to help farmers earn extra income through tourism, the organizations told Fox News exclusively.

According to USDA data cited in Airbnb's report, households associated with intermediate farms, a category of smaller operations where farming is the principal operator's primary occupation, reported a median loss of approximately $2,800 from farming in 2024.

AMERICAN FARMERS PINCHED BY HIGH DIESEL PRICES AHEAD OF SPRING PLANTING SEASON

David Haight, vice president of programs at American Farmland Trust, a national nonprofit dedicated to protecting farmland and supporting farmers, said finding additional sources of income could help some farm families navigate financial challenges.

"Many families are looking for ways to diversify income, and so bringing people out to the farm or ranch for some is a way to help bring in other dollars," Haight said.

Demand for farm stays is growing, according to Airbnb, which reported that online searches increased 61% during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year.

The company says the typical farm stay host earned approximately $8,000 in 2025, while U.S. farm stay hosts collectively earned nearly $120 million. Those figures represent hosting earnings, not necessarily profits after expenses.

In Georgia, farm stay host Gilda Lyon said income from her existing rentals has allowed her to build additional cabins and invest in her farm.

The money helped her build a greenhouse, start selling herbs and maintain blueberry plants.

"The extra income actually has allowed me to invest, in many improvements and to expand the opportunities available for guests," Lyon said.

AMERICANS CHOOSING TO VISIT SMALLER TOWNS OVER BIG CITIES AS TRAVEL COSTS RISE

Airbnb and American Farmland Trust's new "Farm to Stay" Grant Program will award approximately 25 to 30 grants of up to $10,000 each, with applications opening in November.

Haight said the grants may not cover every expense associated with welcoming visitors, but could help farmers in other ways, such as assisting in renovating barns for events, installing fencing or preparing accommodations for overnight guests.

The benefits could also extend beyond individual farms. Haight said visitors may spend money at nearby restaurants, shops and other businesses, bringing additional tourism dollars into rural communities.

Ralph said welcoming guests has allowed her to continue sharing her passion for horses while maintaining the property she loves.

"The short-term rental has totally facilitated my being able to stay here and do the things that I love," she said.

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Presley Gerber’s death at age 27 has renewed questions about overdose risk, withdrawal complications and the challenges of addiction recovery.

The son of model Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber died Sunday at a California rehabilitation facility, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office records.

Presley's death was confirmed by his mother’s representative to Fox News Digital, who shared a statement from the family: "The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time."

CINDY CRAWFORD’S SON PRESLEY GERBER SAID HE WAS ‘TERRIFIED’ IN RAW ADDICTION POST MONTHS BEFORE DEATH AT 27

While an official cause of death has not yet been confirmed, audio recordings obtained by People suggest that police received a 911 call Sunday morning reporting a cardiac arrest at a facility in the 1000 block of Berkeley Street. A separate dispatch identified the response as a potential overdose.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed that an autopsy had been completed, but the cause of death remained undetermined pending further testing.

Gerber had spoken publicly over the years about his struggles with substance use and mental health.

Nicholas Kardaris, Ph.D., CEO and chief clinical officer of the New York Center for Living in Manhattan and a clinical professor at Stony Brook Medicine’s School of Social Welfare, spoke with Fox News Digital about what families should know about relapse, overdose risk and seeking help for a loved one.

As Gerber’s official cause of death has not yet been released, Kardaris — who has not treated Presley Gerber and is not connected to the case — cautioned against drawing conclusions from the fact that he died at a rehabilitation facility.

Possible explanations could include an acute medical or cardiac event, an undiagnosed condition or a medication-related complication, he said.

ARRESTS IN MATTHEW PERRY'S DEATH PUT SPOTLIGHT ON KETAMINE DANGERS

People in residential treatment facilities may have complex medical histories, and some conditions may not be immediately apparent when someone enters a program.

"Younger people can sometimes die suddenly, and we don’t know whether they had an underlying medical issue," Kardaris said.

"It’s not impossible to have a medication-related event, particularly if someone has an underlying heart disorder," he continued. "Certain medications can trigger a cardiac episode."

Entering treatment does not necessarily mean that a person’s issues have been resolved or that no danger exists, Kardaris emphasized.

"People are in rehab because they’re struggling with addiction. It doesn’t mean they’re cured of their addiction," he said.

While treatment facilities work to create a controlled environment, they cannot eliminate every risk associated with addiction, withdrawal, relapse or medical complications, according to Kardaris.

"Facilities take great pains to make sure substances don’t come in, but it’s not a perfect system."

He stressed that this is a general observation about treatment settings and not an indication of what occurred in Gerber’s case.

Another potential risk during rehab is withdrawal itself, which can range from uncomfortable to life-threatening depending on the substance involved and the person’s level of physical dependence, according to Kardaris.

"People can die from withdrawal, but the substances that are most dangerous to withdraw [from] without proper medical supervision are benzodiazepines, such as Valium or Xanax, and alcohol," he told Fox News Digital.

While opioid withdrawal can be extremely uncomfortable, it is generally not fatal by itself, the expert said.

Benzodiazepine withdrawal can trigger seizures, delirium and other life-threatening complications. The FDA warns that abruptly stopping or reducing drugs such as Xanax or Valium too quickly can cause serious withdrawal reactions, including seizures.

"Someone might disclose heroin use but not mention that they’re also withdrawing from a benzodiazepine, such as Valium," Kardaris noted. "If they don’t receive medication to treat that withdrawal, they can have a seizure that can lead to fatal complications."

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One of the most dangerous periods for someone with opioid use disorder may come after detox because a person’s tolerance may have decreased — increasing the risk of overdose if they return to a previously used amount, he added.

"If someone relapses after rehab, they may use the same amount they were using before treatment — but their tolerance has gone down, and that amount can now be fatal."

Gerber had previously posted on social media about undergoing an ibogaine treatment in Mexico. Kardaris cautioned that ibogaine is not FDA-approved for any medical use in the U.S. 

Although it has been studied experimentally as a possible treatment for opioid use disorder, its safety and effectiveness remain uncertain. Kardaris grouped ibogaine with other psychedelic or psychoactive substances that have drawn public interest.

"Ketamine, ayahuasca and ibogaine are psychoactive or psychedelic treatments that have become increasingly popular," he said. "There is some research indicating potential benefits, but they remain largely unregulated."

Ketamine is FDA-approved as an anesthetic but is not approved to treat psychiatric disorders, although some clinicians use it off-label in mental health settings.

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Ibogaine and ayahuasca are not FDA-approved treatments in the U.S., and the evidence and regulatory oversight vary considerably among these substances.

Overall, Kardaris described the field as unsettled. "It’s a bit of the Wild West right now."

He emphasized, however, that Gerber’s prior ibogaine treatment does not establish which substances he may have used and should not be interpreted as evidence of what caused his death.

Families should investigate a treatment center and make sure it is licensed before enrolling a loved one, Kardaris advised.

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That includes confirming that qualified medical professionals are involved in patient care and that the facility has appropriate protocols for withdrawal, medication management and emergencies.

"Families should make sure licensed professionals are working there and that the program has a strong reputation," he said.

"There are bad actors in every profession — so families should look for a well-regarded treatment program with qualified people who know what they’re doing."

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A shofar is made from the horn of a ram and is hollowed out and crafted to be blown like a trumpet. It symbolizes God’s majesty and also serves as a call to repentance. 

During the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, it is blown as a spiritual wake-up call for us to return to being who God wants us to be. On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which ended on Monday night, the shofar is blown at the end of the service to break the day-long fast, with the hope that our prayers have been accepted by God and that we are sealed in the Book of Life for another healthy, prosperous year.

The shofar also stands for healing, wholeness, and spiritual redemption.

In my new book, "THE ANGELS AMONG US," the shofar is used by one of God’s special messengers to bring a miracle recovery to the widely celebrated journalist Nikki Goldstein, in Sydney, Australia. Nikki (57 years old at the time) has had chronic lung disease and an autoimmune disease for many years and has been in and out of the hospital frequently. But in early September 2022, it looks like the end is near.

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The CT scan of her chest shows extensive consolidation and scarring, plus a severe acute lung infection. She is put on a ventilator. She is not expected to survive. She says she is giving herself over to God. Her doctor puts her on the emergency lung transplant list. She is put into a coma.

Her husband Rowan (who is not Jewish) and her daughter are with her. All at once, Nikki’s daughter looks up and says, "Is that a rabbi?" Nikki’s husband, Rowan, approaches him and says, "My wife would love it if you could say some prayers. This is going to be her last day on earth."

The rabbi stands at her bedside and recites prayers for her health.

SEARCHING FOR HEROES WITH BENJAMIN HALL PODCAST EPISODE: "CONVERSATIONS WITH MY RABBI"

His name, Rowan finds out later, is Rabbi Eli Schlanger, the longtime assistant rabbi at the Chabad synagogue in Bondi Beach. He is portly, with thick spectacles, a bushy beard, and thinning hair.

Rabbi Eli is about to leave when he stops and reaches into his jacket and pulls out something shiny. It is his shofar, and he asks if it’s okay to blow it over Nikki. Rowan says, "I cannot think of a single thing she would want more."

The rabbi blows the shofar loudly.

Twenty-four hours after this, Goldstein’s lungs start to respond. The "whiteout" is improving on her chest X-ray. They wake her up and bring her out of the coma. The whiteout is retreating very rapidly. A medical miracle has occurred. Goldstein goes on to write a book with Rabbi Schlanger, "Conversations With My Rabbi."

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It is December 14, 2025, a warm summer's day in Sydney. Near the center of Archer Park, Bondi Beach, in the middle of a celebration (with over 1,000 people attending) for the first night of Hanukkah (the Festival of Lights), right before the menorah lighting, two gunmen open fire in an antisemitic terrorist attack. Rabbi Schlanger sees one of the gunmen pause to reload.

Schlanger—the father of five, including a two-month-old baby—raises his hands above his head and walks toward the terrorists.

"Please stop!" he yells. "No more! There has to be another way."

One of the gunmen raises his rifle and fires. Schlanger falls to the ground dead. His wife, Chyale, is grazed by a bullet in her back. Their two-month-old baby takes shrapnel to his leg. They survive.

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This year my daughter, a medical student, meets a rabbi who is admitted to the hospital after a very small stroke. He was blowing the shofar when his lips became numb, and he had to stop blowing. 

"It is a very good thing this happened," he says to her. "Blowing the shofar caused the stroke, but it also caused the doctors to discover that I have diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Blowing the shofar led to the miracle of this life-saving discovery."

The shofar was first blown in the Old Testament at Mount Sinai when God gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites (Exodus 19:16). It continues to inspire us and bring us healing miracles.

Editor's note: Dr. Marc Siegel’s new book, "THE ANGELS AMONG US" will be published on Nov. 18, 2026. It is available for preorder through Fox Books, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

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EXCLUSIVE: While the House successfully moved to rein in lawmakers' stock trading, a California Republican is targeting what she says is another avenue for congressional self-enrichment, citing members whose wealth has multiplied over the years.

Rep. Young Kim's Stop Congressional Self-Enrichment Resolution comes after a successful GOP-led effort in July that imposed restrictions on stock purchases and requires several days' notice before stock sales. It also comes as Americans across the political spectrum remain frustrated by many lawmakers' rapidly growing wealth while in public office.

"It could be earmarking a nonprofit organization where a member’s spouse sits on the board of directors or board of trustees, so it will indirectly benefit the family. Or it could earmark for a park at, let's say apartment building that a member or member's spouse or member’s children owns," Kim told Fox News Digital.

SENATE QUIETLY BANS LAWMAKERS FROM BETTING ON PREDICTION MARKETS

"And with the federal funds that the member brings and build the park nearby or community center nearby, it could increase the property value and therefore indirectly benefiting the member and their family members. Maybe asking to build a road up to rural land the member owns."

Her new push would cover all material financial interests — direct or indirect — that benefit people beyond the lawmaker themselves.

UNLIKELY BIPARTISAN SENATE DUO SEEKS TO PERMANENTLY BAN EX-LAWMAKERS FROM LOBBYING

Current House rules require members requesting an earmark to certify that neither they nor their spouses have a financial interest in the recipient. Kim's bill would extend that requirement to immediate family members and indirect financial interests, such as nearby property values.

"The days of members thinking that ‘I can use the community project funding request or bringing the earmarks for my district and get filthy rich off of it’ -- those days are numbered."

WATCH: DEM CANDIDATE GRILLED ON STOCK TRADING AFTER BEING DUPED WITH SELFIE REQUEST

"This is a good time because we see Americans are sick and tired of watching politicians getting filthy rich while average Americans are worrying about making ends meet and stretch every dollar that they earn."

Citing the "Bridge to Nowhere" project in Alaska's Inside Passage in the early 2000s as a symbol of concerns over earmarks, Kim said the ensuing decade-long moratorium curbed abuse.

Kim said safeguards put in place after the moratorium have helped, but argued members are still able to provide themselves with indirect benefits. She reiterated that she is not targeting any individuals.

While there are now apps out there like the "Pelosi Stock Tracker" and others that let retail investors see which stocks are being bought or sold by which members, Kim said her effort does not target any one colleague.

'SQUAD' DEM DISMISSES FRAUD PROBE SPECULATION AFTER $29M NET-WORTH DROP

"And, this is not in any way discouraging members to fight for their districts and bring in the appropriate taxpayer dollars for projects near their districts," she said.

"That is so important," she said, pointing to funding she brought to Orange County to prevent and recover from recent wildfires, among other interests for her constituents.

"That's what we are sent to do, fight for our district, but not at the expense of, you know enriching I mean, not at the expense of hurting our very constituents that we are trying to support while we are lining our pockets, because there are too many career politicians in Washington looking out for no one but themselves."

Innumerable lawmakers have come under fire over the decades for their earmarking prowess.

In one notable case, then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., faced criticism in 2006 over a $207 million earmark to build a parkway near property he owned.

Amid the kerfuffle, an attorney for the leader pushed back on what he called a "libelous" allegation from a good-government group about it at the time. The attorney said criticizing Hastert for the project was akin to "complaining about a purchase in Alexandria based on renovations at the Capitol."

GOP LAWMAKER UNDER HOUSE ETHICS REVIEW BLASTS 'BASELESS' INVESTIGATION

In 2023, the Boston Globe reported that earmarks secured by Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., benefited a health center in Boston where his wife was employed.

$2 million went to the South Boston Community Health Center, and another $1 million went to a foundation where Lynch’s wife was an unpaid director. Fox News Digital reached out to Lynch for comment.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., previously secured earmarks totaling $3.5 million for George Mason University, where his wife had served as interim president and later as a professor.

The earmarks "are in no way influenced by Secretary Holton," a Kaine spokesperson told The Messenger news outlet at the time – referencing former Virginia Education Secretary Anne Holton.

"Secretary Holton has no involvement in the CDS process, and no involvement in the George Mason CDS requests," the spokesperson added, using an acronym for ‘Congressionally Directed Spending’, the Senate's term for earmarks. "Senator Kaine and Secretary Holton have not discussed the requests."

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With the Senate next to take up stock trading prohibitions, Kim’s bill stands as a gap closer, she said, on a practice that has rare emphatic bipartisan support.

Fox News Digital’s Aaron Kliegman contributed to this report.

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Every two years, Washington performs the same ritual. The out-of-power party smells blood, the pundits write the eulogy early and by October the outcome seems like a foregone conclusion. But the history behind that confidence is more complicated than most imagine. What matters most in 2026 is not the electoral math – it’s what the party asking for power actually plans to do if they win.

Over the last 80 years, the president's party has lost seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in 18 of 20 midterm elections. Political scientists call it the thermostat effect: Hand one party control of government and the electorate instinctively seeks a counterweight, regardless of performance.

Voter turnout compounds the challenge for the incumbent party. The winners tend to relax, while the losing side stays angry and shows up to the polls. Presidential elections offer a choice between two visions; midterms become a referendum on the party in charge.

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: HOUSE CONTROL COULD HINGE ON WHETHER THE OLD POLITICAL RULES STILL APPLY

This time, Republicans are also defending unusually narrow ground. Democrats only need a net gain of five seats to flip the majority. With approval ratings hovering below 45% for much of the year, the GOP finds itself squarely in the situation that historically produced the worst results for the president’s party.

At the same time, our nation is grappling with a political moment with no clean precedent. Analysts keep applying old maps to new terrain. President Donald Trump is only the second president in American history to serve nonconsecutive terms. The other was President Grover Cleveland, who was elected in 1884, lost in 1888 and won again in 1892.

VULNERABLE HOUSE REPUBLICANS EMBRACE TRUMP AS GOP BETS ON DEFYING MIDTERM HISTORY

The fresh start with the electorate did little for Cleveland. By the time he reached the halfway point of his "second first term," voters handed his Democratic Party a major shellacking. Cleveland's Democrats lost roughly 116 House seats in 1894, amid a brutal depression.

The outlook looks considerably more promising for Republicans. The electoral map underwent more changes in this election cycle than any in recent memory. Texas led the charge, redrawing its lines to the tune of five additional safe Republican seats. California countered with a map of its own, albeit favoring Democrats.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: DEMOCRATS LEAD IN THE HOUSE, BUT REDISTRICTING KEEPS THE GOP IN THE GAME

The rest of the nation saw mixed results. Missouri, Ohio, North Carolina and Indiana moved right. Utah's court-ordered map favors Democrats. Virginia's attempted gerrymander was struck down entirely. The Supreme Court’s decision to leave both the Texas and California maps intact effectively canceled out the biggest moves on either side. The end result is a map that still tilts slightly Republican on net. Forecast models built on this terrain currently lean Democratic, but a lean is far from a lock.

When voters head to the polls, they will reckon with one defining question: What are Democrats actually offering? On the trail, it is affordability, groceries, rent and healthcare, because it's real and it polls. But the gap between that message and the governing record is already visible where Democrats hold power.

LIZ PEEK: DEMOCRATS’ AFFORDABILITY SCAM COLLAPSES IN STATES THEY ACTUALLY RUN

Virginia Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger ran as the affordability governor after telling voters in writing she had no plans to redistrict the state, calling gerrymandering "detrimental to our democracy." She won, then backed the gerrymander anyway – the same one her own state Supreme Court struck down.

She followed it with a ban on a wide range of semiautomatic rifles and magazines that two judges have since blocked. One found it likely unconstitutional and delayed implementation until 2027 at the earliest. Meanwhile, the Justice Department is suing to kill the measure permanently. None of that was a grocery bill.

REDISTRICTING GIVES REPUBLICANS AN EDGE, BUT AFFORDABILITY WILL DECIDE THE MIDTERMS

Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed built his Senate campaign on lowering healthcare costs through Medicare for All. Asked on "Meet the Press" whether people earning under $1 million would pay higher taxes under his plan, he didn't deny it. In fact, he called the trade-off "worth making."

Democrats are simply not focused on the kitchen table issues that win elections. Nationally, reporting from CNBC, Fox News and CNN over the past month confirms what House Democrats are actually planning if they take control of the House.

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It is not a comprehensive housing package or relief for hardworking Americans. Instead, they are building toward a sprawling investigative operation targeting President Trump, his Cabinet and his family. Subpoenas and lawsuits are already in motion before a single vote is cast. None of those actions will lower costs for anyone.

History dictates this should be a good year for the party out of power. What history can't tell you is what a party does with power once it takes the reins. On that front, Democrats have already shown their hand. The American voter should take notice.

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A nationwide business-aid fraud crackdown — highlighted by a bizarre Missouri scheme involving alleged stolen corporate identity — is among the enforcement actions being highlighted during the federal push dubbed "Fraud Week."

The announcement is part of the Department of Justice's National Fraud Enforcement Division's nationwide summer surge. It netted more than 160 criminal defendants and approximately $245 million in intended losses to taxpayers, according to DOJ, as the agency announced busts from Los Angeles to Philadelphia.

"This is the problem of our day," said U.S. Attorney Matt Price of the Western District of Missouri, whose office was one of 44 involved in the greater "Heartland Fraud Surge" that encompassed June through Sept. 1. "And this is a response to what happened over the previous four years,"

WHITE HOUSE PUSHES 'WATERSHED' FRAUD-FIGHTING REFORM IN CONGRESS AS VANCE CONVENES TASK FORCE

"After 9/11, there was a huge lean-in, [an] all-of-government approach to national security issues," Price said, comparing the Bush-era interagency pivot to terror threats with the coordinated response to the current push against fraud in taxpayer-funded programs.

Price headlined the extensive Small Business Administration (SBA) and COVID-19-related fraud probes under division chief Colin McDonald.

In the "Fur Lives Matter" case, a Missouri man allegedly claimed to operate 19 separate businesses, including some focused on pet care like "Fur Lives Matter," "Fur Lives Matter LLC," "Chows & Pals" and "God’s Chow Chow."

MINNESOTA FRAUD MASTERMIND GETS NEARLY 42 YEARS IN PRISON IN MASSIVE $250M 'FEEDING OUR FUTURE' SCHEME

There was one glaring problem: "Fur Lives Matter" was a real company in another state — and prosecutors say it had no connection to Gray.

Using "Fur Lives Matter" and the other purported companies, Jamie Gray allegedly sought to fraudulently obtain nearly $56 million in Paycheck Protection (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) funds from the Small Business Administration through 29 applications.

BRAZEN SOCIAL MEDIA FRAUD SCHEMES WREAK HAVOC AS TRUMP OFFICIAL ISSUES STARK WARNING FOR 'FRAUDFLUENCERS'

Most cases involved entirely fictitious businesses, and only "Fur Lives Matter" was operational at the Feb. 15, 2020, eligibility cutoff.

"Gray effectively stole this company’s identity," the DOJ said in a statement, alleging the legitimate business had no knowledge of him and that his claims about ownership, employees, revenue and operations were fabricated. Gray nevertheless received about $820,000 in SBA funds, prosecutors said.

The case stood out even among a summer surge of alleged fraud schemes for its unusual details.

JUDGE SENTENCES FEEDING OUR FUTURE FRAUDSTERS WHO FAKED RUNNING CHILD NUTRITION SITE

"If you screwed the American taxpayer, the federal government is now going to say you're cut off, no more," Vice President JD Vance said this week on the matter of the larger administration crackdown. "You shouldn't be applying anymore, and if you do apply, you're no longer able to get those benefits."

VANCE-LED TASK FORCE CUTS OFF $1.4B FROM HOME HEALTH, HOSPICE PROVIDERS SUSPECTED OF FRAUD

Price said the effort is expanding beyond Operation No Doze, the SBA-focused enforcement action conducted as part of the broader Heartland Fraud Surge.

His office and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, along with other state officials, have also launched Operation Show-Me the Money, a new state-federal effort targeting fraud in state benefit programs.

REPUBLICANS DECLARE WAR ON 'ORGANIZED THEFT' WITH GOVERNMENT FRAUD CRACKDOWN

"No fraud is too small to prosecute, but leveraging all state resources in the state of Missouri from the top down [is believed to be] a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the state and the feds, working to identify and prosecute this type of fraud," he said Saturday.

Price also credited SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler with "leading from the front" as the agency is suspending suspected fraudulent borrowers and sending demand letters seeking repayment.

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He said the Heartland Surge depicts a new approach to countering fraud, characterizing the Biden administration’s attempts to recoup lost dollars as a "pay and chase" model.

Attorney General Todd Blanche has instructed prosecutors to charge fraud cases of all sizes, in that the smaller cases sends the message to bigger scofflaws that, no matter the amount of money involved, "if you ripped off the American taxpayer… we will find you, we will identify you, we will hunt you down, we'll prosecute you," said Price.

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