MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – A Congressional committee has requested documentation from Vermont on possible fraud, waste, and abuse in the state’s Medicaid program. It comes as the Trump administration last week announced a “war on fraud” in the program that provides public health insurance for low-income people.

The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce wants Vermont to provide documentation by March 17 showing the state has a plan in place to identify and address fraud.

Lawmakers cited recent fraud investigations and convictions in Vermont as concerning, and noted that Medicaid costs in the state are rising despite declining enrollment.

Jill Mazza Olson with the Vermont Agency of Human Services said the state intends to respond. “We take fraud, waste, and abuse really seriously. It sounds like Congress is taking it seriously. We know that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services take it seriously. And it is really a multi-pronged approach. So, oversight is part of what Congress does. And we are looking forward to responding to that,” she said.

Vermont is one of 10 states nationwide asked to provide data and information to the committee. Some targeted Democratic state officials have decried the Republican administration’s moves as politically motivated and potentially disastrous for the millions of people who rely on the program.

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A New Jersey-bound United Airlines flight that took off Monday in Los Angeles made an emergency landing shortly after departure due to an engine fire, aviation officials said. 

United Airlines Flight 2127 took off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) around 10:15 a.m. before turning around an hour later because of a left engine issue, the Federal Aviation Administration told Fox News Digital. 

United flight 2127 safely returned to Los Angeles to address an issue with one of the engines,” United told Fox News Digital. “Customers deplaned via slides and airstairs and were bused to the terminal.

The airline said none of the 256 passengers and 12 crew members on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jet were injured. The FAA didn’t specify the issue with the left engine.

Video footage of the plane on the tarmac shows smoke coming out of one of the engines as firefighters blast water inside. 

AMERICA’S AIRPORT AFFORDABILITY GAP: CITIES WHERE TRAVEL COSTS ARE CRUSHING FAMILIES 

The airliner was headed to Newark Liberty International Airport before it turned around. The FAA said the incident is under investigation.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Los Angeles Fire Department. A spokesperson for LAX declined to comment and referred any inquires to United. 

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The passengers were bused to a terminal and a different aircraft was arranged to fly them to their destination, United said. 

“We are grateful to our pilots and flight attendants for their quick actions to keep our customers safe,” the airline said. 

Related Article

Andris Nelsons is being forced out as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the summer of 2027 after 13 seasons.

The orchestra made an unusually blunt announcement Friday.

“The decision to not renew his contract was made by the BSO’s board of trustees because, beyond our shared desire to ensure our orchestra continues to perform at the highest levels, the BSO and Andris Nelsons were not aligned on future vision,” the BSO said in a statement from its trustees and CEO Chad Smith.

A five-time Grammy award winner, the 47-year-old Nelsons is currently leading the Vienna Philharmonic on a U.S. tour and was to conduct the orchestra in Naples, Florida, on Friday night.

“While this is not the decision I anticipated or wanted, I am unwaveringly committed to you and to our work together,” Nelson wrote in a letter to BSO musicians and staff that was released by his management agency. “I understand the decision was not related to artistic standards, performances, or achievements during my tenure, and, therefore, my focus is straightforward: to protect the music, support the orchestra’s stability, and continue to perform with the musicians of the BSO at the highest artistic level.”

Nelsons made his BSO debut in March 2011 at New York’s Carnegie Hall as a replacement for James Levine, who announced 10 days earlier he was stepping down as BSO music director at the end of the 2010-11 season because of poor health.

Nelson was announced as music director in May 2013 and given a five-year contract starting with the 2014-15 season. The orchestra announced contract extensions in 2015 and 2020, then in January 2024 said he was given an evergreen rolling contract. He was bestowed an added title of head of conducting at Tanglewood, the music and educational center that is the orchestra’s summer home.

The last extension was announced a few months after Smith, who had been with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, started as the BSO’s chief executive.

Nelsons was music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Britain from 2008-09 and has been chief conductor of Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in Germany since the 2017-18 season. He married soprano Kristine Opolais in 2011, and in 2018 they announced their divorce.

Boston will have the third vacancy among major U.S. orchestras. Gustavo Dudamel is leaving the Los Angeles Philharmonic this summer after 17 seasons to become music director of the New York Philharmonic and Franz Welser-Möst will depart the Cleveland Orchestra at the end of 2026-27 after 25 seasons.

In addition, Klaus Mäkelä takes over the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2027-28, when he also starts as chief conductor the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in the Netherlands.