McDonald's is betting on bigger burgers, viral menu hacks and nostalgia to drive traffic in 2026, according to reports.

The fast-food giant is rolling out high-profile menu changes this year, including its biggest burger ever, an official "secret menu" and a Pokémon partnership, though not all the updates are expected to come to the United States. 

McDonald's has made the Big Arch — a massive double-patty burger — a permanent menu item in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The item features two beef patties, three slices of cheese, lettuce, pickles, onions and a new tangy Big Arch sauce on a poppy and sesame seed bun, according to a news release.

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McDonald's may be preparing for a U.S. rollout, according to the Daily Mail, but the company has not publicly confirmed when or if the Big Arch will launch nationwide. 

When asked about its plans, McDonald's declined to comment to Fox News Digital.

So far, fans aren't happy about the new pricing. 

When the Big Arch became a permanent menu item overseas, its price rose from £7.99 to £8.79 — roughly $10 to $11 — with a medium meal costing more than £10, or around $13, according to The Sun. 

"It's all a rip-off," exclaimed one person on a social media post, responding to the announcement of the new item on the Instagram account Snackolator. 

Other critics have given mixed reviews of the new Big Arch sauce, which some say doesn't compare to the classic Big Mac version, as well as the overall flavor. 

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"It was the messiest burger I've ever had," an Instagram user said, adding that it was overall "decent."

"It's very onion forward," commented someone else.

Another part of McDonald's international release is a "secret menu" that turns viral social media food hacks into limited-time offerings, according to a news release, though no U.S. rollout has been confirmed.

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The lineup includes mashups such as the Surf N' Turf burger, a Chicken Cheeseburger and the returning Chicken Big Mac, along with novelty items like an Espresso Milkshake, an Apple Pie Mini McFlurry and Big Mac sauce sold separately as a dip.

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"Some of these mash-ups shouldn't work, but they are weirdly good and need to be tried to be believed," Ben Fox, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for McDonald's in the U.K. and Ireland, said in a statement. 

"This limited-time lineup celebrates the creativity of our customers that we see every day on social media."

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Something that could be headed to the U.S., meanwhile, is a Pokémon-themed Happy Meal tied to the 30th anniversary that the gaming franchise is celebrating this year, according to reports.

The collaboration has not been officially confirmed, but The Street reported that the limited-time promotion could include themed packaging and Pokémon trading cards. 

The strategy reflects McDonald's broader push to lean on nostalgia and popular partnerships to drive traffic and loyalty at a time when consumers are growing more cautious about spending, the outlet reported, citing a recent earnings call.

Whistleblowers who come forward with information related to Minnesota’s sprawling fraud scandal will receive cash payments, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday on Fox News.

The Trump administration launched a wide-scale fraud investigation in Minnesota amid a growing web of allegations involving money-laundering schemes and misuse of taxpayer funds.

"We know that these rats will turn on each other," Bessent told "The Ingraham Angle."

"We are going to offer whistleblower payments to anyone who wants to tell us the who, what, when, where and how this fraud has been done. I think that that will give us a great leap forward on how to get it done," he added.

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Several Minnesota childcare and food-distribution facilities have been accused of misusing federal funds while a recent audit showed corruption tied to taxpayer-funded grant programs.

The daycare and food-distribution sites allegedly did not provide childcare or serve food, but instead used the federal funds they received to launder money.

A state audit found limited monitoring of grant programs within the Department of Human Services’ Behavioral Health Administration, which distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to mental health and addiction services.

The Trump administration froze multiple federal funding streams to Minnesota, including certain funding from the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

However, a federal judge on Friday temporarily halted the Trump administration from freezing about $10 billion in federal funding to five Democratic-led states. 

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Bessent said the fraud continues, pointing to a recent finding in which a convicted fraudster allegedly attempted to bribe a juror.

"One of the people who has been convicted of fraud — she was given $200,000 to bribe a juror," he explained. "And she was so corrupt, she skimmed $80,000 of it and only tried to give a $120,000 bribe."