Midwest
Noem optimistic Laken Riley would still be alive if she were DHS secretary, as freshman senator rips Mayorkas
Freshman GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno ripped the Biden administration’s immigration policy in his first hearing in the Senate as President-elect Trump’s DHS secretary nominee Kristi Noem sat in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
“Just to be clear, Laken Riley would be alive today if you had been the secretary of Homeland Security?” Moreno asked Noem during her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Friday.
“Senator, my hope is that that would be true, yes,” Noem responded, as the Laken Riley Act is being debated in the Senate with the aim of preventing crimes like the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered last year by an illegal immigrant, who was sentenced to life without parole.
During his line of questioning, Moreno implemented a theme of asking Noem about the Mayorkas immigration record and whether the illegal immigration statistics would continue under her watch.
‘DEEPLY DISGUSTED’: GOP SENATOR SHREDS BIDEN ADMIN IN SCATHING LETTER ON NEW IMMIGRANT DEPORTATION SHIELD
Sen. Bernie Moreno ripped the Biden administration’s immigration policies in Kristi Noem’s DHS confirmation hearing (Getty Images)
“So, I think sometimes, in D.C., we tend to complicate things,” Moreno told Noem. “There is a current secretary of Homeland Security, so why don’t we take this opportunity to do a little job review and compare and contrast him to you? So just if you don’t mind, I’ll ask you some questions, and you can give me an answer. Secretary Mayorkas allowed about 400 people on a terror watch list to come into this country illegally. If you were confirmed as secretary of Homeland Security, how many people on the terror watch list would you allow into this country?”
Noem responded that she would “work every single day” to make sure the number is “zero.”
“When you look at the 382 that Joe Biden has let in, and the policies continue, is shocking and needs to be changed immediately,” Noem said.
“Mayorokas let in about 12,000 murderers. How many would you target to let into this country?” Moreno asked.
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Moreno was sworn into the Senate on Jan. 3. (Reuters)
“My goal every day would be to have no murderers allowed into this country,” Noem said.
“Mayorkas let in 16,000 rapists. How many would you target to let in?” Moreno continued.
“I would work to make sure there was none let into this country,” Noem answered.
Moreno continued by asking Noem about the 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions let in by Mayorkas, and she responded by saying that any migrants with criminal convictions would be “immediately removed.”
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is sworn in during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on her nomination to be Secretary of Homeland Security, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on January 17, 2025. (Getty)
Noem also told Moreno that the practice of flying hundreds of thousands of migrants into the United States on jets would halt under her tenure.
“And how many illegals will you plan to house in luxury hotel rooms in Manhattan, at a cost of $6,000 per month?” Moreno asked.
“Clearly, senator, during this election, the American people said they did not support that and that that would not be a part of this new administration,” Noem said.
“I’m going to end my time with a startling statistic and actually a challenge to the Democrat Party,” Moreno said after asking Noem to confirm other aspects of the Biden administration immigration policy that she would halt.
“When Mayorkas was confirmed, every single Democrat voted to confirm him, and six Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in that confirmation. If we get to the vote, hopefully, chairman, we could do that Monday, because we cannot wait one single day without you being in charge of that department. We should have 100 percent, 100 senators vote for your confirmation. This will be the litmus test in my mind as to whether we have a Democrat Party that’s actually serious about doing bipartisan things like securing this country and protecting our citizens.”
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NDSU could make the CFP in 2026.
Winning has been the standard at North Dakota State for decades, and one college football analyst expects a similar result in the FBS right away.
Brett McMurphy of On3 believes NDSU will run the table 12-0 with a Mountain West Conference championship and make the College Football Playoff. McMurphy projects the Bison to face Oregon in the CFP, the Fargo Forum’s Jeff Kolpack reported.
That would mean the Bison would go on the road to Eugene against a perennial FBS contender, which didn’t go well for the last Group of Six team to play the Ducks. Oregon steamrolled James Madison 51-34 in last season’s CFP before the Ducks took down Texas Tech and lost to eventual national champion Indiana.
It’s not impossible for the Bison to get that far based on Sagarin Ratings and the program’s history of success against FBS teams. The Bison would need to maximize what they can control and to have a few things fall their way.
That said, all of this would be contingent upon the Bison receiving clearance for postseason competition from the NCAA on Thursday. Transitioning teams normally face a two-year postseason ban, and NDSU had been in a similar situation before, with a four-year postseason ban during the move from Division II to the FCS in 2004.
NDSU Looking to Pass JMU Again
In 2016, the JMU interrupted NDSU’s five-year FCS championship run with a playoff upset at the Fargodome.
NDSU then beat JMU in the 2017 season championship to win a sixth title in seven years. The Bison beat JMU again in the FCS championship game again for the 2019 season before the Dukes joined the FBS in 2022.
JMU’s success at the FBS level has resulted in two bowl game appearances and Sun Belt Conference title. Amid the conference crown, the Dukes slipped into the CFP as the ACC went topsy-turvy when a 5-5 Duke Blue Devils team at the time upset Virginia.
JMU made the CFP, and Miami represented the ACC while Notre Dame sat at home despite a 10-2 record and a close early-season loss to the national runner-up Hurricanes. NDSU, meanwhile, had a 12-0 regular season in the FCS and got stunned in the FCS playoffs by Illinois State, the second team ever to win a playoff game in Fargo.
The Bison looked like a program retooling to get back up from a postseason disappointment in January, but February brought the news of NDSU’s long-anticipated move up to the FBS. The Mountain West Conference invited the Bison amid the conference’s restructuring with five teams leaving for the Pac-12.
That made the former FCS titan attractive to the Mountain West, which notably lost former CFP entrant Boise State. Whether or not NDSU can become the Mountain West’s new Boise State or pass JMU as a premiere Group of Six team remains unknown.
Common Opponents Key For Bison
The Bison have the odds stacked against them in 2026 to make the CFP, but it’s not impossible.
NDSU doesn’t have a Power Four opponent, but the Bison can make up for that by margin of victory, especially with any Mountain West contenders that have Power Four opponents during the season.
New Mexico has the biggest Power Four opponent among Mountain West teams with Oklahoma, and UTEP faces Oklahoma and Michigan. San Jose State faces USC, another team with CFP hopes.
NDSU beating New Mexico, UTEP and San Jose State handily will especially help in making a run for the playoff.
Matthew Davis covers the NFL, WNBA and college sports for Heavy.com. As a contributing writer to the StarTribune, he has also covered Minnesota prep sports since 2016. More about Matthew Davis
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 6, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from May 6 drawing
18-27-51-65-68, Powerball: 05, Power Play: 3
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from May 6 drawing
03-06-07-18-49, Star Ball: 10, ASB: 05
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Dakota Cash numbers from May 6 drawing
05-06-21-25-27
Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 6 drawing
06-18-30-32-43, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
- Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
- Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.
When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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