tells

Minnesota’s governor and attorney general on Wednesday defended their efforts to combat fraud and told a U.S. House committee that their efforts have been hampered by President Trump’s immigration crackdown in the state.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee accused Gov. Tim Walz and Atty. Gen. Keith Ellison of stalling to fight fraud in government programs, saying they put politics ahead of rooting out abuse instead of pausing payments.

“You have not been good stewards of the taxpayer dollars,” said Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, chair of the committee. “And the Democratic position is keep the money flowing. The American taxpayers have had enough.”

Walz said he wanted to work with the federal government to help with fraud investigations, but the immigration surge was making that more difficult.

“The people of Minnesota have been singled out and targeted for political retribution at an unparalleled scale,” Walz said. “We’re going to prosecute, as we have, every single person that’s involved in fraud, but we can’t do it alone.”

Walz and Ellison defended their efforts on fraud, while also trying to turn the focus of the hearing to the surge of 3,000 federal agents in Minnesota that began in December. The Trump administration cited fraud as one justification for its enforcement action. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified Tuesday that about 650 investigators remain in Minnesota as part of a broader fraud probe.

“Operation Metro Surge did nothing to address fraud in our state,” Ellison said. “It harmed our economy and it scarred our people and it dealt a devastating blow to fraud enforcement in Minnesota.”

Ellison noted the series of resignations of lawyers in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, leaving those who remain “drowning in immigration-related petitions” instead of prosecuting fraud. On Tuesday, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota appeared before a judge for a contempt hearing related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement not returning personal property of detainees.

Ellison said his office has “punched above our weight” in winning 300 Medicaid fraud convictions and recovering more than $80 million for taxpayers.

Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana called on Ellison to resign, accusing him of not leading investigations into criminal fraud activity.

Last week, Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration would “temporarily halt” $243 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds. Minnesota sued on Monday to stop the money from being withheld, warning it may have to cut healthcare for low-income families if the money is held back.

Comer on Wednesday accused Walz of not stopping Medicaid payments despite knowledge of fraud because he “didn’t want to rock the boat.”

Comer and other Republicans accused Walz of lying about when he first found out about fraud in a $250-million scheme known as Feeding Our Future and stalling to act in order to protect the Somali American community. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio asked Walz if he know how many of those who had been indicted were Somali Americans.

“Their ethnicity is not my concern,” Walz said.

Somali Americans make up 82 of the 92 defendants charged so far in the Feeding Our Future case, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota.

Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of Long Beach, as part of the effort to focus the hearing on the immigration crackdown, held up images of children detained by federal officers and a picture of the blood-stained car seat of Renee Good who was killed by an officer. Federal officers also killed another Minnesota resident, Alex Pretti, who had been filming enforcement operations.

“This violence does not make us safer,” Garcia said. “It does not address fraud, waste and abuse.”

Bauer writes for the Associated Press.

AMANDA Holden temporarily brought her radio show to a halt after co-star Jamie Theakston mentioned her rival Phillip Schofield.

The Heart Breakfast hosts, both 55, had Brit Awards host Jack Whitehall in the studio ahead of Sunday’s ceremony at the Manchester Co-op Live.

The banter was innocent enough, with Amanda quizzing Jack about the type of socks he’s planning on wearing.

Suggesting he won’t be going for the type of outlandish pair favoured by his dad, Michael, Jack said: “Well, I don’t want to be upstaged by a sock.”

Amanda turned to Jamie and said: “Well, Jamie, I rest my case.”

Unsure why she was sticking the boot in about socks, he replied: “What are you talking about? Children’s television? That wasn’t me, that was Phillip Schofield.”

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Amanda then took a dig at her long-running rival, saying: “Oh God, please, let’s not mention that name on air, it’s a family show!”

Phillip and Amanda’s feud is rumoured to have begun when she was passed over for a hosting gig in favour of Phil’s first choice, Rochelle Humes.

Amanda had been tipped to stand in for Holly Willoughby on This Morning during her time away hosting I’m A Celebrity in 2018 but The Saturdays star Rochelle booked the job instead.

A former daytime TV executive told The Sun at the time: “Phillip actively campaigned for Rochelle to get the job despite Amanda being more experienced — and having been told privately she’d got the gig.

“She feels Phil unfairly used his powers of persuasion. She was told he’d chosen Rochelle because she was easier to ‘manage’ on air – and understandably that incensed her.”

An ITV spokesperson denied the claims at the time and released a statement of support for Phillip.

The statement read: “Presenter line-ups on This Morning change regularly. Final decisions are made by producers, not presenters.

“Phillip is a much-loved broadcaster and part of the ITV family. He’s a consummate professional and held in high regard at ITV.

“Amanda is also held in high regard as a judge on one of our biggest shows.”

Shortly after Rochelle was confirmed as Holly’s replacement, Amanda appeared on This Morning to talk about her work with pregnancy and baby loss charity, Tommy’s.

During an ad break on the October 2018 episode, Amanda reportedly confronted Phil about her suspicions that he had campaigned for Rochelle to replace Holly instead of her.

A source told The Sun: “She made it clear that she felt very let down.

“He was lost for words but didn’t have much time to respond to Amanda’s claims because the show was going back on air.

“Neither of them realised that Amanda could be overheard by most of the team because she was still wearing her mic pack.”

In 2019, Amanda confirmed her and Phillip’s feud to Jamie Theakston on Heart and insisted they’ll never reconcile.

She said she asked to meet Phillip in a bid to clear the air but was ghosted by the star.

“I’ve moved on from it Jamie, you need to move on from it,” she said.

He replied: “You might have moved on but I just wanted to know, is there any more to the story?”

She then revealed: “I did offer to meet him for a coffee months ago, he didn’t reply to my text. What can I say?”

Jamie pushed again: “The olive branch had been extended.”

“Oh, yes,” Amanda replied.

Referring to the famous photo of Katy Perry and Taylor Swift hugging while dressed up as fast food after they’d resolved their own feud, Jamie asks Amanda if there will be a “burger and fries moment” – but Amanda said “no”.

Phillip has not directly addressed his rumoured fallout with Amanda but, prior to the alleged end of their friendship, he had revealed what it was like to work with her.

In 2015, he spoke to Heat magazine about his former co-worker, saying: “She kept me on my toes.

“She has a faulty edit button and she forgets she’s on the telly, which is enormously endearing and funny, but occasionally quite scary.”

He also appeared to reference the rumours surrounding his relationship with Amanda after The Sun reported that she had made a formal complaint to ITV boss Kevin Lygo about the This Morning hiring incident.

Phil addressed the speculation on Twitter, saying: “The end of another really sad weekend.

“When you try for 35 years to be the easiest, most fun person to work with and you read such hurtful and wildly untrue stories from nameless ‘sources’.

“Obviously I’ll take it on the chin.. .I just hope you know me better.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended Israel’s devastating war on Gaza, saying it stands by the country “with full conviction” – despite accusations of genocide against the Palestinian people.

Modi gave a speech to the Knesset, or parliament, on Wednesday, on the first day of his two-day visit and received a standing ovation as he stressed India’s enduring support for Israel.

It was the first time an Indian leader addressed the Knesset.

“India stands with Israel firmly, with full conviction, in this moment and beyond,” said Modi, condemning the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led fighters as “barbaric”, adding “no cause can justify the murder of civilians”.

India’s leader was earlier greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport, where a welcoming ceremony was held.

In his own Knesset speech, Netanyahu thanked India for “standing by” Israel in the wake of October 7, and said the two nations shared “common interests”. He described Modi as “more than a friend, a brother”.

Modi said New Delhi expressed “strong support” for the Gaza peace initiative approved by the UN Security Council in November. It “offers a pathway”, he said, adding India believes “it holds the promise of a just and durable peace for all the people of the region”.

‘Trusted partners’

The Indian leader said the two countries are “trusted partners” and this “contributes to global stability and prosperity”.

He described their relations as “vital” for trade and security, and hailed “synergy” on artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and other topics.

“We are committed to further consolidating this relationship across many sectors,” he added.

Modi’s first trip to Israel was in 2017 after relations between the two countries warmed following his election in 2014. Netanyahu also visited India in 2018.

Haaretz newspaper journalist Gideon Levy told Al Jazeera that Modi’s visit cannot be underestimated.

“India is a highly important country and [Modi] showing himself … in these times when public opinion in India is very critical about Israel is a step that cannot be underestimated,” said Levy.

He pointed to similarities between Netanyahu and Modi, saying both are “nationalist, populist in a way, quite conservative, and hawkish. Both countries carry also some stains, Kashmir, Palestine, the West Bank”.

Israel’s largest arms buyer

In September 2025, India and Israel signed the Bilateral Investment Treaty to expand trade during far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s visit to India.

India is Israel’s largest arms buyer, spending $20.5bn on Israeli weapons between 2020 and 2024. In 2024, trade between the two, largely based on defence and security, stood at $3.9bn.

Modi has received criticism for his support for Israel during its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, which has killed at least 72,073 people and wounded 171,756. At least 615 of those deaths occurred during the “ceasefire” agreed between Israel and Hamas last October.

Last week, India was one of the more than 100 countries condemning Israel’s recent moves to expand its control of the occupied West Bank and move towards annexation.

Imran Masood, a parliamentarian for India’s Congress party, urged Modi to address Gaza during his visit, saying, “if there is any morality then he should talk about death of children in Gaza”, ANI news agency reported.

“India’s stand is clear … that it supports Palestine,” said Masood.

Marian Alexander Baby, leader of the Communist Party of India, said Modi’s embrace of Israel is “a betrayal of India’s anti-colonial legacy and our long-standing position in support of the right to self determination of the Palestinian people, reaffirmed by UN resolutions that India has co-sponsored and voted for”.

Modi continues his visit to Israel on Thursday.

Posting on the Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Trump wrote: “I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease…”