President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that it is withholding funding for programs that support needy families with children in five Democratic-led states over concerns about fraud.

“For too long, Democrat-led states and Governors have been complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud to occur under their watch,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement.

The administration has not laid out details of either the fraud claims or the widening plan to withhold funds, which was first reported by the New York Post.

An official in the White House budget office who has knowledge of the plan but was not authorized to speak about it publicly said that it was due to states “pouring money out” to people in the U.S. illegally.

Five states — California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York — are targeted. The Associated Press has asked all of them, and by Tuesday afternoon, none had received notice of a broader funding pause. But Gov. Kathy Hochul said New York is prepared to go to court, as Democratic-led states have scores of times now, to block the administration.

“We’ll fight this with every fiber of our being, because our kids should not be political pawns in a fight that Donald Trump seems to have with blue state governors,” she said.

The programs in the crosshairs aim to help needy children and their families

The targeted programs provide lifelines to some of the neediest Americans:

The Child Care Development Block Grant subsidizes daycare for low-income households, enabling enabling parents to work or go to school.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families provides cash assistance and job training so that parents in poverty can afford diapers and clothes and earn paychecks so they won’t need public assistance.
The Social Services Block Grant, a much smaller fund, supports several different social service programs.

“These resources support families in need and help them access food and much more. If true, it would be awful to see the federal government targeting the most needy families and children this way,” the office of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement.

Trump himself has not spoken on the specifics, but he proclaimed on social media Tuesday: “The Fraud Investigation of California has begun.”

Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, said in an email that “Donald Trump is a deranged, habitual liar whose relationship with reality ended years ago” and defended California’s record at stamping out fraud in government programs.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, said Trump’s move to halt funding aims to score political points, not to stop fraud.

“It’s our job to serve the people most in need and most at risk — no matter what state they live in or what political party their family or elected representatives belong to,” she said in a statement. “To use the power of the government to harm the neediest Americans is immoral and indefensible.”

Trump’s administration has amplified fraud claims

For months, the Trump administration has claimed that federally funded programs are being defrauded — and using that as a rationale to hold up money.

Federal child care funding has been put on hold in Minnesota since late last month amid investigations into a series of alleged fraud schemes at day care centers run by people with family roots in Somalia.

In the fallout, HHS officials said no state will receive child care funds without providing more verification. Several states have told The Associated Press that they have not received any guidance on that decision.

The administration also raised fraud claims involving SNAP, the country’s main food aid program, saying it would halt administrative money to states — most Democratic-run ones — unless they provide requested details on recipients. That process could take months.

The administration has said the information that’s been provided by most GOP-controlled states shows fraud may be worse than previously believed, though it has not provided the data or detailed reports.

Associated Press journalists Anthony Izaguirre, Steve Karnowski, Trân Nguyễn, Todd Richmond, Colleen Slevin, Darlene Superville and Sophie Tareen contributed to this article.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told Fox News Tuesday that his agency also plans to audit Minnesota’s Medicaid bills in search of potential fraud. He didn’t provide any evidence of fraud that had been found.

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FACT FOCUS: Trump sows confusion on number of childhood vaccinations

On Monday, federal health officials rolled back recommendations for some childhood vaccines, including those that protect against influenza, COVID-19 and hepatitis B.

The decision memorandum signed by Jim O’Neill, deputy secretary of Health and Human Services and acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breaks the childhood vaccine recommendations into three groups: recommended for all children, recommended for high-risk groups and “immunizations based on shared clinical decision-making.”

It’s a change that Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, says “will lead to more hospitalizations and preventable deaths among American children.”

“Keep in mind that close to 300 children died from influenza during the 2024-25 season,” Osterholm said in a statement. “This wildly irresponsible decision will sow further doubt and confusion among parents and put children’s lives at risk.”

The vaccinations that the federal government continues to recommend for all children prevent against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus (HPV) and varicella (chickenpox).

However, immunizations against the following diseases are now only recommended for high-risk groups or when “physicians and parents … decide based on individual characteristics,” per an HHS fact sheet:

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Dengue
Rotavirus
COVID-19
Influenza
Meningococcal disease

The change responds to a Dec. 5 memorandum from President Donald Trump, instructing HHS Secretary Ronald F. Kennedy, Jr. and O’Neill to “update the United States core childhood vaccine schedule” to resemble other nations’ practices.

The decision memorandum does not change Minnesota law, which requires that children receive certain routine immunizations in order to enroll in school or child care, unless they receive an exemption.

Private and public health insurance will still cover vaccinations in all three categories, federal officials said.

“All vaccines currently recommended by CDC will remain covered by insurance without cost sharing,” Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said in a statement. “No family will lose access.”

In a statement, Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Brooke Cunningham said the federal government’s “unilateral decision” to change its childhood vaccine guidance is “highly concerning.”

“The previous CDC childhood immunization schedule had been supported by decades of rigorous scientific evidence showing it works to protect our young ones from diseases that can make them very sick,” Cunningham said. “The confusion and impacts of this decision will take some time to sort through, but I can say the Minnesota Department of Health unequivocally continues to support immunization as a life-saving public health measure.”

In September 2025, MDH recommended that all Minnesotans age 6 months and older receive the 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine, breaking from the guidance issued by the federal government. A few days later, Mayo Clinic offered similar guidance.

“Vaccinations are an important step in preventing and reducing the effects of infectious diseases,” Mayo Clinic said in a statement in response to the CDC change. “Scheduling and maintaining childhood vaccinations helps reduce infections and can save lives. Parents should speak with their child’s care provider to address any questions they have to make informed decisions regarding care.”

In a statement, the Minnesota Medical Association, an organization that represents the state’s physicians and medical students, said it is “deeply concerned” by the CDC’s decision.

“The changes add unnecessary confusion and uncertainty around vaccines that have been shown to be both safe and effective,” the statement reads. “The MMA urges parents and families to talk directly with their physicians about the critical role that childhood vaccines play in preventing serious disease and death, and in protecting the most vulnerable members or our communities.”

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A year after twin infernos tore across opposite ends of Los Angeles County, the scars are still visible. Thousands of homes were reduced to rubble, with rebuilding slow, and the death toll showed how a wildfire under extreme weather conditions can turn catastrophic.

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The Palisades and Eaton fires exploded in size within hours of each other on Jan. 7, 2025. These figures show how fast the disaster unfolded and the toll it left behind:

90 miles per hour

The speed of predicted wind gusts in mountain areas, equivalent to 145 kilometers per hour. Red Flag warnings were issued Jan. 6 for severe wildfire danger as Southern California was buffeted by the region’s notorious Santa Ana winds. Grass and brush were tinder dry after months with little or no rain. The National Weather Service warned it could be a life-threatening wind event. Firefighting assets were pre-positioned in areas deemed to be at especially high risk for fires.

4 hours

FILE – A lone sunbather sits and watches a large plume of smoke from a wildfire rise over the Pacific Palisades, in Santa Monica, Calif., Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

How long it took for a small wildfire to explode in size. At 10:30 a.m. reports began coming in about a small blaze on a ridge in LA’s upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood, in the same area where crews had responded to a fire on New Year’s Day. Before long, a large plume of dark smoke was visible from miles away. Shortly after 11 a.m. on Jan. 7, the revived fire was reported to be about 10 acres (4 hectares), located near Palisades Drive on the coastal neighborhood’s western edge.

Over the next two hours, roads were jammed with motorists trying to flee as flames roared down streets and decimated homes. Officials issued an evacuation order for the Palisades while warning residents of surrounding areas that they should also get ready to leave. Within hours, the blaze had rapidly grown.

FILE – A woman cries as the Palisades Fire advances in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent, File)

As firefighting resources were focused on the Palisades, another blaze was sparked about 30 miles to the east in Altadena, on the other end of Los Angeles County. The Eaton Fire started at 6:17 p.m. and all firefighting aircraft in the county were soon grounded because of high winds. By 8 p.m. it had doubled in size.

59 square miles

FILE – The Palisades Fire burns a Christmas tree inside a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

The amount of land charred by the two infernos, equivalent to 155 square kilometers. That’s roughly the size of the entire city of San Francisco.

31 lives

The number of people who died — 19 in the Eaton Fire and 12 in the Palisades Fire.

31 days

How long the Palisades Fire burned before it was extinguished. Investigators determined the 37-square-mile blaze had actually grown out of the earlier fire that started on Jan. 1.

25 days

FILE – Melissa Young, center right, gets a hug from a well-wisher at her fire-ravaged home in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire, Jan. 9, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

The number of days it took for the Eaton Fire to be extinguished. It burned 22 square miles.

$33.9 billion

The amount of federal disaster aid requested by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The Trump administration and Congress have yet to approve it.

45 years in prison

The maximum sentence faced by a 29-year-old man charged with sparking the Palisades Fire. He has pleaded not guilty. The cause of the Eaton Fire remains under investigation.

16,246 structures

FILE – A bus sits among burned out homes, Jan. 9, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

The number of structures destroyed in both blazes, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. In Altadena, 9,413 homes, businesses and other buildings were razed. In Pacific Palisades and neighboring areas including Malibu, 6,833 buildings, mostly homes, were gone.

10 houses

The number of homes rebuilt so far, according to city and county data. Most are in the Altadena area, with one in Pasadena and two in Pacific Palisades. None are finished in Malibu. Hundreds more are under construction across the region.

$970 million

The total charitable commitments to LA fire relief is between at least $860 million to $970 million, according to a study by the Milken Institute. Most was raised in the first month after the fires, and individual donations through GoFundMe brought in $265 million.

This story has been updated to correct the date the two fires erupted to Jan. 7, 2025, not Jan. 6, 2024.

WASHINGTON (AP) — CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames, who betrayed Western intelligence assets to the Soviet Union and Russia in one of the most damaging intelligence breaches in U.S. history, has died in a Maryland prison. He was 84.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons confirmed Ames died Monday.

Ames admitted being paid $2.5 million by Moscow for U.S. secrets from 1985 until his arrest in 1994. He admitted disclosing the identities of 10 Russian officials and one East European who were spying for the United States or Great Britain. His betrayals are blamed for the executions of Western agents working behind the Iron Curtain and were a major setback to the CIA.

He pleaded guilty without a trial to espionage and tax evasion and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Prosecutors said he deprived the United States of valuable intelligence material for years.

He professed “profound shame and guilt” for “this betrayal of trust, done for the basest motives,” money to pay debts. But he downplayed the damage he caused, telling the court he did not believe he had “noticeably damaged” the United States or “noticeably aided” Moscow.

“These spy wars are a sideshow which have had no real impact on our significant security interests over the years,” he told the court in a matter-of-fact tone.

In a jailhouse interview with The Washington Post the day before he was sentenced, Ames said he was motivated to spy by “financial troubles, immediate and continuing.”