Mars in 4K: The Clearest Footage You Will Ever See

ElderFox Documentaries

"A few years ago I threw together some Mars images and rendered them in 4k. Back then, I had little editing knowledge. The video went on to get over 60 Million views. It was something that hadn't been done before, and was a case of the right place at the right time. I'm not expecting this video to come close to the view count of the original, but I just wanted to do it justice and give you all something nice to watch. Thank you all so much for your support over the years, and thanks to our patrons for your contributions to the channel. - ElderFox"

"The footage, captured directly by NASA's Mars rovers - Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance - unveils the red planet's intricate details. These rovers, acting as robotic geologists, have traversed varied terrains, from ancient lake beds to towering mountains, uncovering Mars' complex geological history.

"As viewers enjoy these images, they will notice informal place names assigned by NASA's team, providing context to the Martian features observed. Each rover's unique journey is highlighted, showcasing their contributions to Martian exploration.

"Spirit and Opportunity, the trailblazers, revealed the first conclusive evidence of water on Mars, forever changing our understanding of the planet. The Curiosity rover, a mobile laboratory, has been climbing Mount Sharp for over a decade, unveiling layers of Martian history and providing insights into the planet's climatic changes.

"Perseverance, the latest rover, accompanied by the Ingenuity helicopter, explores Jezero Crater, an ancient lakebed. This duo represents the pinnacle of Mars exploration technology, with Ingenuity serving as the first aircraft to fly on another planet, scouting and capturing breathtaking aerial images.

"The video also delves into the scientific achievements of these missions. Discoveries of past water systems on Mars lead to the tantalizing question of past life on the planet. Each rover's journey, such as Opportunity's 28-mile trek, is a testament to human ingenuity and the relentless pursuit of knowledge.

"As viewers immerse themselves in this Martian experience, they are reminded of the significance of these moments in cosmic history. The video encourages viewers to appreciate the monumental strides made in understanding our celestial neighbor and to share this awe-inspiring journey with others.

"Finally, the video invites viewers to delve deeper into the ongoing saga of the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter, encouraging exploration of the full journey these incredible machines have embarked upon on the Martian surface."

Liberal Men Are Becoming Extinct; in case you enjoy statistics

Pure Evil Revealed

Power Line  "That’s the good news, delivered by economist Peter St Onge. The bad news is that left-wing institutions, starting with the public schools, are making up the gap. But that is a desperate rear-guard action that, in the end, can’t succeed. So pay attention to some delightful numbers:

Liberal men are checking out of the gene pool, to the point just 1 in 8 American kids has a liberal dad.

When liberal Tiktokkers complain about their Trumper Dad, they might reflect that Trumper Dads are the only reason they exist. pic.twitter.com/XDdHmQmxzi

— Peter St Onge, Ph.D. (@profstonge) April 23, 2026

Regarding statistics, Jessica Tarlov comes to "The Five" prepared with figures: 

This Screaming Match Between Greg Gutfeld and Jessica Tarlov on 'The Five' Was Brutal  . . . "It started when Tarlov pushed back on Gutfeld's characterization of hate crime hoaxes, demanding examples. Gutfeld was ready.

" 'Jussie Smollett, anyone?" he fired back. "How about the banana peel on the bench?"

"Tarlov, never one to care about facts, tried to pivot to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville as evidence that the white supremacist threat is real. “You don't think that hundreds of people showed up at the Unite the Right rally that weren't this informant, that weren't persuaded by his vehicle that got them there,” she said. But when Gutfeld pressed her on exactly who that informant was, she stumbled.

" 'You don't know," Gutfeld said. "Was it the leader? An informant is not a leader."

"From there, the exchange got really tense. Tarlov rattled off group names — Three Percenters, Oath Keepers, Proud Boys — while Gutfeld challenged her framing of the whole event.

" 'So you're saying this wasn't created. You're saying this just was an organic event, just like every left-wing event. It just happened. All these right-wingers showed up," he said.

"Tarlov tried to split the difference, insisting the people were real even if the event was organized. Gutfeld acknowledged as much, but turned the whole argument on its head with an analogy that was equal parts devastating and sharp." . . . 

HOLY MOLEY! Greg Gutfeld lays into Jessica Tarlov and Dems for "creating a false flag" for bigotry and starting a "hate crime hoax." "They put targets on people like Charlie Kirk's back, and he's dead!" #TheFive pic.twitter.com/4sq73QWVFE

— Diamond Joe (@ItsDiamondJoe) April 23, 2026

Did George Clooney Help Fund KKK, Unite the Right?   . . . "Media outlets and major political figures like President Barack Obama said President Donald Trump called the rally’s white supremacists “very fine people.” To do so, they took Trump maliciously out of context, ignoring his clarifying comments.

“And I’m not talking about the White Nationalists and Neo-Nazis, who should be condemned totally.” 

"Reporter after reporter, including former President Joe Biden, weaponized the lie against Trump. Biden based his entire 2020 presidential campaign on the lie." . . .

How the Minnesota Freedom Fund's Actions Led to Tragic Consequences

No, You Morons, Iran Has Not ‘Won.’

 Who beside MSNOW would take their counsel from ignorant tools such as keffiyeh-clad unlearned ones on campuses, or Joe Biden?

The American Spectator | USA News and Politics  

The idea that Iranian victory would be an outcome of this war stems partially from notions put forth by a number of pundits — most notably on the left — that so long as the Iranian regime survived the war, they would have won.

"I know that it’s a sin against my own intelligence not to follow Mark Twain’s guidance in matters such as these.

"Twain said many wise things. Some of the wisest things attributed to him are now said not to have come from him at all. But I have my doubts about the doubters.

"One was “Don’t wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.”

"The other has been offered in two versions — either “Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference, "Or “Never argue with an idiot; they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.”

"Mark Twain, or at least the mythical Mark Twain whose brilliance appears to be under attack by these niggling scholars denying him some of his best stuff, would have had one hell of a time with the “anti-war” gang on social media and elsewhere today.

"Maybe that’s not quite fair. There are critics of the Iran war who have perfectly rational and valid points to make, and this column does not seek to take them on.

"It’s a particular species of “anti-war” keyboard warrior with whom I quibble.

"Specifically, this cabal of fools and idiots who pronounce the Iran war over, when we don’t know that to be true, and have judged the victor to be Iran.

"Much like the Black Knight of Monty Python and the Holy Grail fame…"  (Video above)

"Because permanent resolutions  to Israel’s security issues are denied them by the “international community.” Which means Israel has been locked in forever wars that cast Israel as the villain."    

 More...

Newsom Orders Reservoirs Emptied In Preparation For Fire Season (Parody)

Is it parody or just Friday at MSNOW?

 Babylon Bee   The Bee and more Bee:

Added by TD

   "LOS ANGELES, CA — Governor Gavin Newsom took decisive action on Tuesday as he ordered California reservoirs drained in preparation ahead of this year's fire season.

   "To ensure that high-risk areas of the state would be rendered sufficiently vulnerable to hot, dry weather and high winds, Newsom had officials remove every last drop of water that could potentially be used in an emergency.

   "We do this now so we can do nothing later," Newsom said. "I've ordered my team to make sure all of our reservoirs are at zero-percent capacity so that when the fires come, we are fully prepared to fail to protect our citizens."

   "The move comes after last year's devastating fires in Southern California ravaged neighborhoods and decimated thousands of homes. California fire officials said they were unprepared for last year's blazes, but were more determined than ever to make sure the same things can happen this year.

   "I applaud the governor for his efforts to prepare adequately for this year's fire season," Fire Battalion Chief Carrie Bingham told the media. "We don't want our reservoirs full, that might send the wrong message that we actually want to fight these things."

   "Newsom said he would do everything in his power as governor to make sure the reservoirs were empty and ready to go. "We will spare no expense to prepare for the possibility of fires, even if it means spending billions to empty every reservoir in the state."

   "At publishing time, Governor Newsom had also committed to hiring only gay indigenous quadriplegic trans fire chiefs."

Gavin Newsom Admits He Really Doesn't Want To Be President, He Just Wants To Leave California | Babylon Bee  

"At publishing time, Newsom had quietly called the White House to ask if any open cabinet positions might require an immediate job transfer."

SPLC – The Racial Arsonist Fundraised Off The Fire

 “This has got to be just the tip of the iceberg, not just for SPLC but for a lot of left-wing movements.”

SPLC – The Racial Arsonist Fundraised Off The Fire   

"He offered an analogy he said is not perfect but captures the essential fraud: it is like taking your car to a mechanic for a state inspection, being told something is broken and being charged to fix it, without being told the mechanic broke it himself. SPLC allegedly created or supported the very hate it was fundraising to combat, did not disclose that to donors, and pocketed the contributions.

"I have been doing numerous interviews about the recent DOJ indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for alleged fraud, money laundering, wire fraud, and lying to banks regarding its funding of certain individuals leading or organizing KKK and Neo-Nazi groups and events. This included the “Unite the Right” tiki torch rally in Charlottesville in 2017.

"The gravamen of the Indictment is that SPLC presented itself to donors as fighting these groups when it was in bed with them, and in the course of that fraud committed several crimes.

"I’ve been writing about SPLC since 2009, so I’m something of an ‘expert’ on its shenanigans. Among other things, I covered how SPLC had a KKK group (2010) and Neo-Nazi group (2012) on their Hate Map for Rhode Island despite those supposed groups having no real-world presence when I investigated and wrote about it at the time. With the addition of inflating the number of hate groups by treating each “branch” as a separate group and counting branches that appeared to be nothing more than blips on a website somewhere, SPLC arguably was a fundraising scam.

"But was it criminal?" . . .More...

UPDATE: Comic Skewers SPLC for Allegedly Funding Hate Groups  "The Southern Poverty Law Center stands accused of funding the very hate groups it purports to fight.  It’s a shocking story, and the details beggar belief." . . .

"So how did liberal late-night TV treat the revelations?

"Crickets. Of course.

"That gave comedian Lou Perez an opening, and he acted fast. The rebel comic, formerly of We the Internet TV, shared a new satirical video slamming the SPLC. 

"How? 

"He posed as a theater producer asking SPLC to fund his new production."

Biden Loves to Say His WH Bid Was Sparked by Charlottesville Rally, Which DOJ Says the SPLC Helped Plan

 Western Journal – Conservative News Daily™

Biden cited the initial lie as his rationale for running. He built an entire political identity around a version of the rally that he distorted and weaponized for years, especially through the Trump “fine people” hoax. 

 . . . "Whoever posted the message for Biden — because surely he lacked the mental faculties to do it himself — leaned again on the idea that the event revealed something uniquely dangerous about President Donald Trump’s America.

"It appears arsonists at the SLPC were starting fires and then complaining that fires existed.

"According to the claims against them, they were then positioning themselves as the solution to a crisis they helped create. From that point forward, what followed were innumerable lies told to the American people that were built on one big lie: that Charlottesville was an organic event.

"Biden cited the initial lie as his rationale for running. He built an entire political identity around a version of the rally that he distorted and weaponized for years, especially through the Trump “fine people” hoax.

"The false Charlottesville narrative helped carry Biden to the White House, where he spent four years lying about virtually everything.

"If what the Department of Justice has been told by informants is true, the Southern Poverty Law Center was directly involved in helping Biden create his bogus 2020 origin story."

Support A Needy Racist - Donate To The SPLC Today Babylon Bee parody

CA Gubernatorial Debate Night Scorecard: Who Killed It, Who Bombed

RedState  

"California is broken, and more Democrat tax-and-spend, radical race and gender ideology politics is not going to fix it. Steyer, Porter, Becerra, and Mahan are just more of the same — failure theater on a grand scale. Will Golden State voters finally see the light? Sadly, I’ve lived here too long and am not holding my breath." 

"I watched Wednesday night’s California gubernatorial debate, so you didn’t have to. Following Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (CA-14) spectacular Mach-5 speed political demise, six contenders made the grade, meaning that they garnered over five percent of voters in polling. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Biden-era Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra made the cut after Swalwell’s (alleged) perversions were exposed, and he had to drop out. (Bye.)

"We’re not accustomed to seeing both Democrats and Republicans on the same debate stage, but in the Golden State’s open primary, where only two victors will emerge on June 2, two GOP contenders — frontrunner Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco — appeared alongside the usual Dem suspects — Mahan, Becerra, billionaire Tom Steyer, and former Rep. Katie Porter.

"I’ll cut to the chase: the winners were Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco on the Republican side; they were both ruthless and kept reminding viewers that all the massive failures in California have happened on the Democrats’ watch. 

"I’ve seen Hilton speak numerous times, and he has a firm grasp of the issues and a winning message, but I haven’t seen Bianco in action as much. He capably handled every question thrown at him and came with fire on numerous subjects.

"The losers: the toxic Katie Porter, who failed to stand out and seemed like an afterthought, and Becerra, who brought his extremist leftist politics firmly into the mix. Tom Steyer, whom I have heavily criticized in recent articles, actually almost seemed cogent compared to his Democrat comrades, while Mahan projected the Pete Buttigieg sort of “I’m such a reasonable and nice guy” vibe. 

"Don’t believe it, though; he’s a California Democrat, and if elected, would pull a Spanberger so fast you wouldn’t even know what hit you." . . .

A Meeting of Socialist Minds: Obama and Mamdani Share a Symbolic Moment in a Bronx Classroom

 

Classroom Clowns | The American Spectator

The Jewish Voice    . . . "In the final analysis, the Bronx encounter between Zohran Mamdani and Barack Obama was more than a simple photo opportunity. It was a carefully choreographed moment that combined elements of policy, symbolism, and personal connection. As documented by ABC 7 Eyewitness News, it offered a glimpse into the evolving dynamics of political leadership in New York City and beyond.

"Whether this meeting marks the beginning of a sustained collaboration or remains a singular moment of convergence is yet to be seen. What is clear, however, is that in a modest classroom in the Bronx, two figures from different chapters of American political life found common ground in the shared endeavor of nurturing the future—one story, one song, and one conversation at a time."

Zohran Mamdani meets with Barack Obama at NYC childcare center in socialist's first sit-down with ex-prez  

“Like so many of his campaign pledges, the mayor’s vow to bring a ‘culture of transparency’ to City Hall seems to be about as sincere as Bernie Madoff’s promise to bring windfall returns to his investors,” quipped Council Minority Leader David Carr (R-Staten Island).

"“Unless he believes that walling himself off with a team of zealots and providing limited access to hand-picked reporters for propaganda pieces is fair and open government administration, he’s been about as transparent as London fog.”

 

Seven Out of Ten of the Safest Cities in America Cooperate with ICE

 Markwayne Mullin  

"Under the previous administration, state troopers had participated in field enforcement missions with federal agents, a practice that has since ended."

Markwayne Mullin Cage Fighter

"Markwayne Mullin addressed questions about an executive order signed by Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger that restricts state law enforcement from working with federal immigration authorities, arguing that cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is necessary for public safety and enforcement of immigration laws.

"The issue arose after Spanberger, on her first day in office, signed an executive order preventing state law enforcement agencies from participating in certain enforcement activities alongside ICE.

"Under the previous administration, state troopers had participated in field enforcement missions with federal agents, a practice that has since ended.

"A reporter asked Mullin directly about the policy shift and whether the governor should reconsider the decision." . .

.“Governor Abigail Spanberger, as you said, on her first day in office, she signed an executive order not to allow state law enforcement to work with ICE under the previous governor. You actually saw state troopers go on missions with ICE agents doing field enforcement. We don't see that anymore. Do you think she needs to reverse course?”

DHS Secretary Mullin Annihilates ‘Lying Scumbag’ Schumer Over His ICE Hatred – RedState   . . . "Mullin, in an appearance with Fox News Congressional Correspondent Bill Melugin, thoroughly eviscerated Schumer for his comments and for his overall love of illegal aliens.

"Chuck Schumer—No one respects you," Mullin said. "The definition of a lying scumbag politician—That is you. You would be the definition if you Googled you right now."

"No lies detected. At all.

"I took the liberty of googling that, and, yes, Schumer ended up on a list of four politicians, along with Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and former Republican Rep. George Santos. (Sorry, Ted. I'm guessing the algorithm was swayed a bit by Trump's old nickname. I'm just the messenger.)" . . .

Democrats’ hatred towards law enforcement is disgusting.

. . . "Now, if Cryin' Chuck Schumer wants to express how disrespected ICE and CBP officers are, I have some suggestions. When it comes to ICE, perhaps he could speak with the family of Joseph S. Lowe, who fell in the line of duty on October 19, 2024. Perhaps he could talk to the family of Robert C. Castioni Jr., who was killed on July 24, 2023. Or maybe he could speak to the family of Rachel Elizabeth Vielmas, who was killed on July 23, 2022. There are a lot more fallen ICE agents whose families the senator might speak with, listed here.

How about Customs and Border Patrol? Perhaps Senator Schumer could talk to the family of Eric Cespedes, who fell in the line of duty on July 11, 2025. Or the family of David C. Maland, who fell on January 20, 2025. Or the senator could perhaps speak to the family of Jeffrey T. Kanas, who died in the line of duty on December 16, 2024. There are more CBP agents whose families the senator might wish to check in with, to see if their fallen loved one wasn't respected."  Ward Clark 

Eventually, the Grift Does Get Exposed

"Finally, somebody is willing to do something about one of the most egregious grifts of the century." Little did we realize how disgusting Joe Biden's "white supremacy" schtick was.

The American Spectator | USA News and Politics  

"Especially when the Democrats have, since 2009, insisted that it was white supremacist rednecks in the red counties across America who represented the greatest terror threat. Not Antifa communists or transgendered lunatics or Islamist jihadis, who commit actual terrorism with nearly banal regularity, but instead neo-Nazi Neanderthals nobody seems to be able to find."

Southern Poverty Law Center; Montgomery, AL

"Welcome to my favorite news story of the year. I’ll let Tyler O’Neil from the Daily Signal do the dirty work here:

The Southern Poverty Law Center has raised money for decades claiming to dismantle white supremacy, but it funneled millions of dollars to white nationalist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, according to a federal indictment handed down Tuesday.

The SPLC claims it was funding informants inside the extremist groups.

While the SPLC “purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a press conference that “the SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose.”

Blanche highlighted one example from the indictment, where the SPLC paid a member of the leadership group that planned the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

"O’Neil has been wearing out the SPLC within the pages of the Daily Signal for a couple of years now. He deserves a lot of credit for exposing that organization for what it is.

"Namely, perhaps the most shameless, defamatory criminal syndicate ever to run the long con on the American polity.

"Everything about the Southern Poverty Law Center, at least in this century, has constituted a conspiracy against the public for ideological fun and profit. It’s an organization that was initially staffed up to fight the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama, or more to the point it was staffed up to raise money purportedly to take up that cause.

"Except the Ku Klux Klan’s influence in Alabama was already on the wane in 1971 when Julian Bond, Joseph J. Levin, Jr., and Morris Dees started the SPLC. Within a decade, it was an irrelevant organization as to its stated purpose — fighting white supremacists who were keeping black people down in the South.

"White supremacists haven’t had the power to do that to black people in the south for half a century. Truth be told, it’s mostly been black Democrat politicians, and northern white Democrat politicians, all of whom have assured us of the importance and relevance of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who’ve been most effective in immiserating the black community." . . .

Busted! Feds Charge SPLC With Funding Klansmen, Neo-Nazis

  The Justice Department has already won its case against the SPLC. Possibly, the SPLC successfully defends the wire fraud, false statements, and money laundering charges in a court of law. In the court of public opinion, the Southern Poverty Law Center just lost all of its credibility.

Southern Poverty Law Center finally gets its due - Susan Quinn  

. . . "In addition to this indictment, the government is realizing what an outrage this organization is to its mission. FBI Director Kash Patel cut off working with the SPLC last October, when he discovered their activities: 

Patel said the center had been turned into a ‘partisan smear machine,’ and he accused it of defaming ‘mainstream Americans’ with its ‘hate map’ that documents alleged anti-government and hate groups inside the United States.

. . .  "During the last quarter century, the SPLC has altered its mission to target politically right organizations and label them extremist. Most recently, it listed Turning Point USA on its hate map.". . . 

We await the statements of Joy Reid, Democrats, and all from MSNOW.

Listen to every word TPUSA’s @AndrewKolvet just said about the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Kolvet took a beat and made sure the entire network was ready for what he was about to expose:
“They put a HIT on Charlie, they put us on a TARGET list.”
KOLVET: “They cornered the… pic.twitter.com/e4eiveTL06

— Overton (@overton_news) April 23, 2026

Thinking Outside the Cooler on Crime

 Ann Coulter

The Times isn’t overly concerned with the fact that the cooler-throwing sergeant was defending himself and other officers from being run over by a 30-year-old drug-dealer coming directly at them on a gas-powered motorcycle. If they’d died or been injured, no big deal. Definitely not front-page material.

"There’s been some dissension recently about the three-to-nine-year prison sentence handed down by a New York judge to former police sergeant, Erik Duran, for throwing a plastic beverage cooler at a fleeing suspect in the Bronx. The cooler hit the perp in the arm, causing him to lose control of his motorcycle, crash and die. The harsh sentence was uncharacteristic for Supreme Court Justice Guy Mitchell, who a few years earlier gave only nine months to a guy who beat a homeless man to death." . . .

. . . "Most significantly, the judge said that sending Sergeant Duran to prison would be “a general deterrent.” I guess now police officers will think twice before trying to stop fleeing felons by throwing picnic items at them!

"This gave me an idea for how we might disincentivize psychopaths who commit violent, completely unprovoked attacks on innocent people, slash pedestrians with machetes, rape women on subway platforms, push commuters onto train tracks and other piquant behaviors that have become commonplace in New York.

"Prison sentences might work as “general deterrent” on them, too.

"Last month, a transgender illegal alien pleaded guilty to raping a 14-year-old boy in the bathroom of a Harlem bodega — and was promptly released by Judge Michele Rodney. (Named “Jurist of the Year,” by the Caribbean American Lawyers Association!)

"Wouldn’t punishing the rapist, instead of letting him go, operate as a general deterrent to other men thinking of raping 14-year-old boys?

"Eighteen-year-old gang member, Steven Mendez, got probation for participating in a violent 2020 armed robbery and shooting — his second arrest for assault with a firearm. Not long thereafter, the extremely undeterred Mendez murdered a complete stranger, 19-year-old college student Saikou Koma, by shooting him in the head.

"Had Mendez gotten something a little rougher than probation for his earlier violent crimes, we would have had both specific deterrence — Mendez would have been in prison, not on the street shooting a college student in the head — but also general deterrence, for any other psychos considering shooting passersby for absolutely no reason.

"Speaking of deterrence, shouldn’t Sergeant Duran be commended for dissuading bikers like Duprey from ignoring the helmet law?" .

"I think I’ll run my breakthrough idea up the flagpole with the new mayor, citing Justice Mitchell as my inspiration." . . . Full article...

UPDATED: 4:24; Hospice fraud persists in state despite alarms

UPDATE: A Burrito Stand Qualifies for Hospice Funding Under California’s Medicaid System  

. . . "If a “hospice” can operate out of a burrito stand with no staff, piles of unopened mail, and zero actual patients receiving legitimate care, then we aren’t looking at a few bad actors. The reality is that we are staring at an abyss of abuse that is curated by corrupt people in the system and the toxic political leadership that supports that system." . . .

California Political Review  

But those shuttered hospices represent a sliver of the massive industry in L.A. County. The county is home to 1,584 hospices, more than half of the entire state’s hospice industry as of March.

"Capitol Hill held hearings Tuesday on California's hospice fraud racket that's cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. A Los Angeles woman testified to Congress that one hospice was placed in a burrito stand. What's worse, if you want guacamole with your last meal, it's two dollars extra." Argus Hamilton

"California authorities had pledged to crack down after a Times investigation in 2020.

"Officials have failed to halt pervasive fraud in the hospice industry despite promises of reforms five years ago after learning of widespread corruption that targeted vulnerable patients.

"California authorities promised to crack down after a Times investigation in late 2020 revealed that a cohort of mostly older Americans was being targeted by unscrupulous providers who would bill Medicare for hospice services and equipment for patients who they said were terminally ill, but who were in fact not dying.

"The hospice industry, particularly in Los Angeles County, had exploded in size, outpacing public need.

"One of California’s first moves was to put a moratorium on issuing new hospice licenses to give officials time to strengthen oversight. State officials and industry representatives crafted emergency regulations that they said would address gaps in hospice licensing requirements to weed out bad actors.

"But years later, those regulations have still not been enacted. And problems that have plagued the industry persist despite highly publicized enforcement efforts by the state and federal government, experts say.

"The Trump administration has seized on California hospice fraud in recent months with a series of new arrests while blaming state officials for dropping the ball. California rejects the criticism but last week announced a major investigation of providers that officials said bilked taxpayers out of more than $260 million.

“'This is not a red versus blue issue,” said Sheila Clark, president and chief executive of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Assn. “This is not political. … We care about the beneficiary and the benefit, full stop. That is who we are protecting.”

"Although fraud has been present in the industry for years, the scope of the problem became clear five years ago, with reporting by The Times and a subsequent state audit in response." . . .More...