NATIONAL NEWS

Trump administration says it’s freezing child care funds to Minnesota after series of fraud schemes

Dec 30, 2025, 3:18 PM | Updated: 3:54 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Tuesday that it’s freezing child care funds to Minnesota after a series of fraud schemes in recent years.

Acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Jim O’Neill announced on the social platform X that the step is in response to “blatant fraud that appears to be rampant in Minnesota and across the country.”

“We have turned off the money spigot and we are finding the fraud,” he said.

The announcement comes after years of investigation that began with the $300 million scheme at the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, for which 57 defendants in Minnesota have been convicted. Prosecutors said the organization was at the center of the country’s largest COVID-19-related fraud scam, when defendants exploited a state-run, federally funded program intended to provide food for children.

National News

Police tape is placed outside Silver Rail Elementary school, where a shooting took place, on Thursd...

Associated Press

Oregon man who killed school shooter says he regrets there were children he didn’t save

The Oregon man who fatally shot a teenage gunman to end a deadly rampage at an elementary school last week says he was the children’s “last line of defense” and that he regrets not arriving soon enough to save them all. Kaylub Giamanco, whose two daughters attend Silver Rail Elementary, where the Oct. 15 attack […]

31 minutes ago

FILE - Senior hurricane specialists Eric Blake, left, and Richard Pasch, right, work at the Nationa...

Associated Press

With hurricane off Mexico sharing name with Vice President JD Vance, the social media memes fly

As Vice President JD Vance travels the U.S. supporting Republican candidates in next month’s election, another Vance is on a whirlwind tour off Mexico’s Pacific Coast. The storm named Vance that strengthened into a hurricane on Friday is not actually named after the vice president, despite a flurry of social media comments linking the two. […]

1 hour ago

This combination photo shows Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, left, in Palmer, Alaska, Aug. 17, 2026, a...

Associated Press

What’s going on with Dan Sullivan and Dan Sullivan? The Alaska Senate litigation, explained

President Donald Trump’s administration has taken its first step to block the results of a midterm election, and it’s all about the fact that there are two Dan Sullivans on the Alaska Senate ballot. One of them is a Republican and ally of the president. The other is a retired school teacher whom Republicans accuse […]

2 hours ago

A plume of smokes rises from MC Tank Transport Inc., where a chemical tank exploded overnight, prom...

Associated Press

Toledo, Ohio, mayor says employee error caused chemical leak, lifts remaining evacuation orders

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Officials in northeast Ohio said Friday that a chemical tank leak earlier in the week was caused by a chemical reaction resulting from an employee error and lifted all remaining evacuation orders. Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said during a news conference that the venting of the tank that ruptured at MC […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Severe flooding in the Four Corners region triggers rooftop rescues and evacuation orders

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Severe flooding in the Four Corners region on Friday led to water rescues — some from rooftops — and impassable roads, with some residents being told to evacuate low-lying areas of Colorado and New Mexico and others advised to shelter in place until water levels go down. It followed several […]

3 hours ago

FILE - People attend a showcase event of the company's AI assistant, Copilot, ahead of the annual B...

Associated Press

Layoffs linked to changes in corporate AI spending

The fears of a bubble in the sector grow, but the potential impact on workers in some sectors is clear. Here’s a look at some of the companies that have announced layoffs or hiring reductions this year that are tied in some way to massive spending on AI. Barclays The U.K. bank and financial services […]

4 hours ago

Trump administration says it’s freezing child care funds to Minnesota after series of fraud schemes