Midwest
'Squad' member under DOJ investigation is still paying her husband with campaign funds, filings show
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., paid her husband another $15,000 from her candidate committee this year even as she faces a Justice Department probe into her campaign spending, new filings show.
The progressive “Squad” member’s campaign made two $2,500 wage payments to her spouse, Cortney Merritts, each month between January 1 and March 29, according to documents submitted to the Federal Election Commission and released on Monday.
In total, the Bush campaign has now paid Merritts $135,000 for security services since January 2022, which have been listed as “wage expenses” since April 2023.
The Bush campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CORI BUSH’S CAMPAIGN PAYS $17,500 MORE TO HER HUSBAND, BRINGING HIS TOTAL TO $120k, NEW FILINGS SHOW
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), center, joins Maximus Federal Call Center workers at a protest calling on the Biden administration for higher wages and good federal jobs outside the Department of Health and Human Services on Dec. 12, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Communications Workers of America (CWA))
In January, Bush released a statement that confirmed Department of Justice investigators were reviewing her campaign committee’s spending on security services. “As a rank-and-file member of Congress I am not entitled to personal protection by the House, and instead have used campaign funds as permissible to retain security services,” Bush said.
“In accordance with all applicable laws and House rules, I retained my husband as part of my security team to provide security services because he has extensive experience in this area, and is able to provide the necessary services at or below a fair market rate.”
Politicians can pay family members from their committees as long as they provide “bona fide” services at fair market value. However, Merrits pocketed the money as Bush’s campaign simultaneously spent significantly more on St. Louis-based companies, such as PEACE Security, for private detail. She has spent over $770,000 on such services.
Merritts, whose online accounts and posts have indicated he worked at a railroad company for years before starting a moving company, did not have a private security license as of late February 2023. He also did not appear in a Washington, D.C., database of licensed security specialists, Fox News Digital previously reported.
CORI BUSH’S CAMPAIGN CONTINUES TO SHELL OUT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO HER HUSBAND FOR PRIVATE SECURITY
Watchdog groups have filed at least two complaints against Bush over the security payments. The first complaint, filed by the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust last year, is still pending. The House Ethics Committee has since cleared Bush in a second complaint from the Committee to Defeat the President.
Bush’s campaign has declined to respond to multiple Fox News Digital inquiries about the payments.
In October, Fox News Digital confronted Merritts as the couple left a Washington, D.C., fundraiser for California Democrat candidate Derek Marshall. During the exchange, Merritts appeared to backtrack about his role in the campaign after telling the videographer he does not have one.
“I don’t have a role in the campaign, man,” Merritts told a videographer when asked what his role in the campaign is.
CORI BUSH’S CAMPAIGN PAID HER HUSBAND FOR SECURITY SERVICES – BUT HE DOESN’T HAVE A PRIVATE SECURITY LICENSE
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., is the subject of a Justice Department probe over her campaign spending on security services, including payments to her husband, Cortney Merritts. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
However, when pressed, he said he was employed with the campaign.
“I’m still in the campaign; I still do security with the campaign. Have a good night, man. Be safe,” Merritts said before getting into a car with Bush.
FEC filings also show Bush is still at a significant cash disadvantage in the Democratic primary for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District.
Ahead of the Aug. 6 primary, Bush reported $528,622 cash on hand as of March 31. Her opponent, Wesley Bell, a progressive prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County who differs from Bush in his Israel stance, has more than double at his disposal, with $1.14 million in his war chest.
Bell is backed by wealthy Democratic donors, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who contributed the maximum of $6,600 to his campaign for the primary and general elections, filings show.
A recent poll found that Bush may also be in trouble come August. Bell is currently up by 22 points over the “Squad” member, the New York Post reported.
Fox News Digital’s Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.
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GRAND FORKS — If all goes according to plan, Cole Reschny will sign with the Calgary Flames at the end of the 2026-27 season and begin his pro career.
But Reschny made it clear to everyone in Calgary that he intends to do one thing this year at UND — win a national championship.
Reschny repeatedly mentioned his desire to bring a national title back to Grand Forks during his media availability at Calgary’s development camp last week.
“I think one more good year at North Dakota to help me develop as a player, as a person, off the ice, with my body in the gym and nutrition-wise,” Reschny said about his timeline to turn pro. “That’s the goal: hopefully win a national championship, then make the jump at the end of the year and hopefully get a couple (NHL) games in and get that experience.”
UND lost 2-1 to Wisconsin in the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals last season in Las Vegas.
After the game, Reschny said the program’s standard should be Frozen Fours, and that he was driven to finish it off in 2027 in Washington, D.C.
“College hockey is getting very strong,” Reschny said. “There are some powerhouse teams. You see Michigan, you see Michigan State, Denver obviously, us, Minnesota Duluth is coming. It’s going to be a grind. Whoever comes out on top, it’s going to be tough. But I think we’ve got the team to do it. It’s always tough in those one-off games but that’s college hockey and you’ve got to play it. But I think we’ve got a very good shot ourselves.”
Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald
Reschny had a strong freshman season at UND, scoring six goals and tallying 35 points in 36 games. He was named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s Rookie of the Year.
Reschny said there were some growing pains early in the season, coming from Victoria of the Western Hockey League.
“The first month was hard,” Reschny said. “You don’t realize how hard college hockey is until you’re playing it. You go from playing 16- to 20-year-olds to… there are 24-year-olds out there. I think the time and space was the biggest thing. No one takes a shift off. Every night is going to be hard. You’ve got to grind it out and find a way. But that was very good for my game. I’m not the biggest guy but I play strong and play hard. So, just learning to play against those bigger guys, putting my time in the gym, nutrition-wise, too. We’re very lucky at North Dakota. I used that to my advantage.
“It was very good having Dane Jackson as my head coach. He’s played pro. He understands. It was a good year, we had a good group around us. We just fell short, so hopefully we can do it this year.
A Calgary media member asked Reschny why players coming out of North Dakota always talk about how special it is.
“We’re so lucky there with the facilities, the people, the environment,” Reschny said. “Every day it’s so fun to go to the rink and just try to get better and push each other on the ice, in the weight room and we’re always battling with little things, too. The ice is always available for us. We’re always going out, playing games, shooting pucks, doing things like that. The environment, the culture, the rich history, the pride of the program and the facilities are second to none. It’s a special place to be. I’m very excited to go back there another year. I think we’ve got an extremely good team again, so it will be good.”
One of the players UND is adding to its roster also was at Calgary Flames development camp.
Carson Carels, the No. 6 overall draft pick, is slated to be a freshman defenseman.
“I think UND is going to shape me to be a more complete player and continue my maturity as a player,” Carels said. “I think it’s going to be a good step and I’m really happy going there.”
Carels was asked if there’s temptation to sign an NHL deal right away and try to make Calgary’s roster.
“There’s obviously temptation to hop in this,” Carels said, “but in the long run, you don’t want a five-year career. You want to get to the 15- or 20-year mark. I think that extra year of college is going to set my body right and set my mind right for a longer career.”
Leighton Chamblee / UND athletics
Carels and Reschny were teammates at the World Junior Championship last year in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
“We’ve played together a lot,” Carels said. “I think we’re going to play together for a long time, just going to North Dakota, and then, obviously, hoping to play on the Flames together as well. We’re going to have a long relationship and hopefully a long career together as well.”
Reschny also had high praise for Carels.
“Very, very, extremely good player but he’s even better off the ice,” Reschny said. “He’s so easy to talk to, to get along with. He understands the game. He understands what it takes. Being around a guy like that is huge. You push each other. Any time you get a chance to add a guy like that to your team, it’s great.
“He’s going to be huge for us. He’s going to play a lot of minutes this year. Just having him come in, alongside (Keaton) Verhoeff, they’re going to be two young D-men, but they’re going to be very big and play a lot of minutes for us. It will be big and it’s exciting. We’ve got a good team this year and I think we can go for it.”
Reschny said he watched the NHL Draft a couple of weeks ago and saw Carels go No. 6 and Verhoeff go No. 9 to the San Jose Sharks.
“It’s exciting,” Reschny said. “You obviously have buddies in the draft. I lived with Verhoeff all year and played with him the last few years. It’s exciting to see guys like that. I know Cars, too. It’s great. You play with guys like that at World Juniors, big tournaments like that. To see him come this way was very exciting. . . a D-man like that, of his caliber, it’s very exciting. This is a group that’s coming up.”
Their next stop is Grand Forks.
Players will begin gathering this week to go through voluntary offseason workouts together.
Carels said there were a few reasons why he chose to spend this season at UND.
“One thing that stands out is how close it is to home,” said Carels, who grew up on a Manitoba farm. “It’s only two-and-a-half hours away and that’s awesome. I haven’t really played that close to home in a long time. Getting family down there would be awesome. But I think it’s more about the people and the organization as well. When I went down there, it felt like home. It felt like it did in Prince George. It’s going to be a second home. That’s what jumped out to me.”
James Doyle / Prince George Cougars
Ohio State will travel to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Oct. 31 to face USC in a much-anticipated matchup between the two blue bloods and first as Big Ten opponents.
The Buckeyes present the toughest offensive triplets — consisting of a starting quarterback, lead running back and a top pass catcher, the Trojans are set to face in 2026.
Ohio State Offensive Triplets
It’s a close debate between them and Oregon. The Ducks have the advantage at quarterback with Dante Moore, but the Buckeyes have the edge at running back and wide receiver.
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is the only returning Heisman finalist in college football. The Southern California native was excellent in his first season as the starter in Columbus.
Sayin threw for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns last season. His biggest superpower is his accuracy. When he gets in a rhythm, the Buckeyes redshirt sophomore signal-caller is surgical. Sayin’s 77.0 completion percentage set a new is a Big Ten Record. He enters this season high on NFL Draft boards but with something to prove as well after a disappointing two-game stretch to end last season.
Bo Jackson proved very early last season that he was the best running back on the Ohio State roster. He took over as the starter in September and was one of three true freshmen to top 1,000 rushing yards in 2025. The sophomore tailback is underrated pass-catcher out of the backfield and is just scratching the surface of the player he can be.
Jeremiah Smith would have been a top 10 pick two years after a sensational freshman season. For a school that has produced the likes of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Garrett Wilson, just to name a few in recent memory, Smith tops all of them in an Ohio State uniform.
The 6-foot-3, 223-pound Smith is a two-time first team All-American. He’s an alien at the position. The junior receiver has his eyes on winning the Biletnikoff Award, after USC’s Makai Lemon brought home the hardware last year, and helping the Buckeyes get back to the national championship.
Ohio State hired former NFL head coach Matt Patricia to be their defensive coordinator and the results was No. 1 defense in the country. They dove back into the NFL ranks again this offseason and hired former head coach Arthur Smith to be their offensive coordinator.
New-Look Defense at USC
USC made a big splash this offseason with the hiring of defensive coordinator Gary Patterson. The former longtime TCU head coach built great defenses for two decades in Fort Worth and a big reason why he’s headed to the College Football Hall of Fame.
He is looking to build similar success in Los Angeles. Except now, Patterson has more talent and resources than he’s ever had in front of him. The question is he can maximize it in year one and build a unit that creates problems for its opponents.
Rutgers receiver KJ Duff will challenge the Trojans secondary in week 3 with his 6-foot-6 and 225-pound frame. And then USC will see the entire offensive package when Oregon rolls into town the following week. Matchups against Washington and Penn State in early October will also test the Trojans new-look defense before they host Ohio State in late October.
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RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Beginning July 7, six Little League All-Star teams from across South Dakota will compete at Collins Field during the 2026 South Dakota Little League State Tournament.
For many players, it’s the biggest stage they’ve experienced. Every pitch, hit and catch could help extend their summer and earn a trip to regional competition.
Rapid City will be well represented with both Canyon Lake and Harney Little League taking the field, while teams from Pine Ridge, Pierre, Brandon Valley and Sioux Falls round out the tournament.
The weeklong event also brings families, coaches and fans from across South Dakota to the Black Hills, creating a busy week at the ballpark filled with community support and hometown pride.
When the final out is recorded on July 12, one team will leave Rapid City carrying a state championship trophy—and a chance to keep its postseason journey going.
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