George Santos in the news again after Trump-era pardon chatter and renewed focus on his legal saga; ex-NY rep, convicted felon, expelled in 2023.
Florida Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick faces a public ethics hearing on 25 violations linked to her campaign funding and alleged misuse of COVID relief funds. She denies wrongdoing amid federal charges for stealing $5 million in disaster relief, with potential expulsion votes looming. The case highlights ongoing political and legal scrutiny.
Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick has resigned from Congress as the House Ethics Committee moves toward a vote on punishment after finding 25 ethics violations. She denies wrongdoing and faces federal criminal charges over FEMA funds allegedly funneled to her campaign. The resignation follows a pattern of recent departures by lawmakers under ethics probes.
Federal investigators are examining whether George Santos placed bets on Kalshi about his own attendance at the State of the Union, with the trades flagged by the market and referred to the DOJ and CFTC. Santos has previously been convicted and pardoned, and his current status is under scrutiny as prediction markets face regulatory pressure.
Kalshi has started collecting job information to screen markets at heightened risk of manipulation and is rolling out a risk-scoring system plus 24/7 whistleblower channel. The measures aim to curb insider trading after a string of cases across Kalshi and Polymarket, including investigations into George Santos and a Google insider-trading case.
Meta Platforms has directed internal teams to develop Arena, a standalone smartphone app modeled on Polymarket and Kalshi. Arena would initially use a points-based system rather than real money and would be separate from Meta’s main apps, with potential future money wagering. The project is part of a broader push to capitalize on evolving online behavior.