MS NOW “The Weekend” co-host Jackie Alemany suggested in a question posed to the Attorney General of Minnesota on Saturday that the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme in Minnesota was “isolated,” as she argued that President Donald Trump often used such incidents to make generalizations about certain communities.

“He also, in the past, has historically used isolated instances to justify this language of bigotry and paint with extremely broad brushstrokes and make these generalizations. He has honed in on this investigation into Feeding Our Future, which your office actually prosecuted. I’m wondering if you can set the record straight here, and talk a little bit about this investigation and what it entailed, and how isolated it actually was,” Alemany asked Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Saturday while discussing President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about the fraud scheme in Minnesota, and his attacks against the Somali community in the state.

Prosecutors have labeled the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme in the state as the largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the country, stemming from allegations that the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future and its associates defrauded federal child-nutrition programs for hundreds of millions of dollars in COVID-19 aid.

As of November 2025, more than 75 individuals have been charged in connection with the scheme, according to federal prosecutors. Nearly all the individuals are part of Minnesota’s Somali diaspora, though the ringleader of the scheme is not.

INSIDE ‘LITTLE MOGADISHU’: MINNESOTA’S BELEAGUERED SOMALI COMMUNITY UNDER A CLOUD OF FRAUD AND TRUMP ATTACKS

“Well, it was the U.S. Attorney’s office that actually brought the prosecutions,” Ellison told MS NOW. “My office contributed and gave evidence and information to advance the prosecution. But I want to say thank you and hats off and congratulations to our colleagues in the U.S. Attorney’s office for a job well done. They’ve prosecuted over 78 of these people.”

“We all want to protect the public dollar. We want to prosecute people who engage in fraud. We are up for that. But, we can’t do it on a partisan basis. We got to do it together. We can’t use incidents like this to score a political point,” he said.

The attorney general of Minnesota went on to criticize the president and said he was “inconsistent.”

ILHAN OMAR PRESSED TO EXPLAIN HOW FRAUD IN MINNESOTA GOT ‘SO OUT OF CONTROL’

The New York Times published a sprawling report last month on the extent of the fraud, which has landed Gov. Tim Walz and other state Democrats in hot water as they’ve sought to explain how such a scheme happened “on their watch.”

“Over the last five years, law enforcement officials say, fraud took root in pockets of Minnesota’s Somali diaspora as scores of individuals made small fortunes by setting up companies that billed state agencies for millions of dollars’ worth of social services that were never provided,” the Times reported.

Conservative media watchdog NewsBusters, which flagged the MS NOW anchor’s remarks, wrote, “Contrary to Alemany’s claim, the Somali welfare fraud was actually widespread — just like the liberal media’s instinct to cover up hard truths that contradict its woke narrative.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

Trump called the Somali community “garbage” amid the ongoing fraud revelations and has said he doesn’t want them in the country, outraging Democrats.

“We can go one way or the other, and we’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country,” he said during a Cabinet meeting last week.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Christmas came early for a Detroit family of 10 after the Detroit Fire Department surprised them with a truck full of gifts, nearly a year after they lost their home and all belongings in a devastating fire.

On Jan. 6, Raychelle Womack and her family were living in their home on Santa Rosa Drive near Fullerton Street when it caught fire. All their possessions were destroyed in the blaze.

Watch Demetrios Sanders’ video report below:

Family’s Christmas saved after fire

“You try buying everything for a new baby and then you lose it all, on top of the other seven kids that you’ve got — that’s everything,” Womack said.

As the family continued recovering from the fire, questions remained about what Christmas could look like this year.

“Whatever we could make happen, that’s what we’re going to make happen,” Womack said.

That worry disappeared when the Detroit Fire Department and community partners visited the family’s new east side home with a truck full of Christmas gifts.

“To lose everything and then slowly but surely gain everything, it means a lot,” Womack said.

This marks the fourth year the Detroit Fire Department has brought Christmas cheer to families in need during the holidays.

WXYZ

Advertisement

“We know people lose everything in these fires, so if we can do anything to make their lives better, to make their lives easier, especially around the holiday season, we’re willing to do it,” said Chuck Simms, executive fire commissioner with the Detroit Fire Department.

Simms said the effort is driven by donations and brings joy not only to the families impacted but also to the first responders who participate.

“It’s just a great thing and nice thing for us to do,” Simms said.

WXYZ

With a Christmas tree now surrounded by gifts, Womack’s children are definitely looking forward to Christmas.

“It was nice and we appreciate it,” one child said.

WXYZ

For Womack, only one challenge remains.

“Now it’s making sure everything (gifts) stays closed until Christmas,” Womack said.

—————

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Security officials at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport offered advice for passengers navigating the busy holiday travel season this December.

Tim Goodman, Wisconsin assistant federal security director at the Transportation Security Administration, said Dec. 19 that the agency is prepared for high passenger volume at Milwaukee Mitchell in the next two weeks.

Goodman said the airport expects to process as many as 12,000 travelers during the busiest holiday travel days. These dates are projected to see the most traffic:

• Sunday, Dec. 21
• Monday, Dec. 22
• Tuesday, Dec. 23
• Sunday, Dec. 28
• Monday, Dec. 29
• Tuesday, Dec. 30