00:00The Trump administration is freezing more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid funding to California
00:04and Minnesota as part of its ongoing crackdown on waste, fraud, and abuse. The Centers for
00:10Medicare and Medicaid Services paused more than $867 million for California and more than $200
00:15million for Minnesota while it reviews what it's calling high-risk claims. Health and Human Services
00:20Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the money will remain on hold until both states can prove
00:24the claims that they submitted are legitimate. The federal investigation will dig into everything
00:29from questionable in-home care billing to claims involving people with unsatisfactory immigration
00:33status to services allegedly provided after patients had died. Now, Kennedy blamed the
00:38Biden administration and Democratic leaders in both states for failing to prevent fraud.
00:42We are not sending Medicaid and Medicare dollars out the door until we have confidence that they
00:48are being spent lawfully and appropriately. As you might have guessed, the lawmakers in both states
00:53aren't happy about any of this. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the move a political stunt,
00:58while Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said the administration is cutting more in health care
01:02funding than it has recovered through fraud prosecutions. And speaking of health issues,
01:07Secretary Kennedy also defended the way his department has handled the outbreak of that
01:11explosive diarrhea from the cyclospora parasite. Critics have pointed to Doge cuts. Remember Doge?
01:17Well, they're pointing to them for creating this mess, particularly to the FoodNet program that
01:21tracks this very type of thing. Kennedy, however, said the cuts had no impact on this outbreak.
01:26We did cuts in the FoodNet program, but they were for redundant surveillance. We have done extensive
01:33forensics, epidemiological forensics, and we've identified the source of the outbreak.
01:43We and the companies that are involved have implemented a recall.
01:47New Jersey Governor Mikey Sherrill is acknowledging a major voter registration failure that allowed hundreds
01:53of non-citizens to cast ballots illegally. Now, Sherrill says a software error at the state's Motor Vehicle
01:58Commission incorrectly registered about 6,600 non-citizens to vote between 2023 and 2024,
02:05and that approximately 400 of them went on to cast ballots. The governor said the registrations included
02:10Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters. She insisted there's no evidence that the mistake
02:15changed the outcome of any election, but called the failure unacceptable,
02:19while pinning the blame, at least partially, on her predecessor.
02:22And it's unacceptable that no one in the previous administration brought this to light,
02:28demanded accountability, or took action when it happened years ago.
02:32The revelation comes not long after President Trump cited New Jersey during a primetime address
02:37on election security, claiming thousands of non-citizens had been improperly registered to vote.
02:41The governor says the state has hired an independent law firm to investigate the breakdown.
02:45She also plans to replace the software that caused the error in the first place,
02:49and is working to remove ineligible voters from the rolls while notifying everyone who's affected.
02:55A devastating tragedy in Ohio claimed multiple lives over the weekend,
02:59leaving two young children without their parents. The fatal incident was all part of an attempt
03:03to save a struggling swimmer. Authorities say five people drowned in the Scioto River Sunday night,
03:10including two married couples, leaving multiple children orphaned. Investigators say the group had been
03:15spending a summer evening fishing while one of the adults went into the water and began to struggle.
03:19Two other adults jumped in to help, but they also got into trouble in the rough current.
03:23Then, two more people went into the river in another rescue attempt. None of the five survived,
03:29not a single one of them. Authorities were alerted after a distraught child ran to a nearby road
03:33and told a passing motorist that his family was in the river. The two women were pulled from the water
03:38Sunday night, while the bodies of three men were recovered the following day. Investigators say the river
03:42had been flowing at more than twice its normal rate. For more on these stories and everything else you
03:48could possibly want to know, check out the New York Post in print or online. And don't forget,
03:53like and subscribe to the New York Postcast wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube.
03:57I promise you'll be glad you did.
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