Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced on Monday that he will not seek a third term.

Here is his statement in its entirety:

“Good morning, and Happy New Year.

“Like many Minnesotans, I was glad to turn the page on 2025. It was an extraordinarily difficult year for our state. And it ended on a particularly sour note.

“For the last several years, an organized group of criminals have sought to take advantage of our state’s generosity. And even as we make progress in the fight against the fraudsters, we now see an organized group of political actors seeking to take advantage of the crisis.

“I won’t mince words here. Donald Trump and his allies – in Washington, in St. Paul, and online – want to make our state a colder, meaner place. They want to poison our people against each other by attacking our neighbors. And, ultimately, they want to take away much of what makes Minnesota the best place in America to raise a family. They’ve already begun by taking our tax dollars that were meant to help families afford child care. And they have no intention of stopping there.

“Make no mistake: We should be concerned about fraud in our state government. We cannot effectively deliver programs and services if we can’t earn the public’s trust. That’s why, over the past few years, we’ve made systemic changes to the way we do business.

“We’ve gone to the legislature time and again to get more tools to combat fraud. We’ve fired people who weren’t doing their jobs. We’ve seen people go to jail for stealing from our state. We’ve cut off whole streams of funding, in partnership with the federal government, where we saw widespread criminal activity. We’ve put new locks on the doors of our remaining programs, and we’ve hired a new head of program integrity to make sure those locks can’t be broken.

“All across the state, Minnesotans are hard at work on this problem. Advocates, administrators, investigators are on the front lines defending the integrity of our state’s programs, and I want to thank them for their efforts.

“There’s more to do. A single taxpayer dollar wasted on fraud is a dollar too much to tolerate. And while there’s a role to play for everyone – from the legislature to prosecutors to insurance companies to local and county government – the buck stops with me. My administration is taking fast, decisive action to solve this crisis. And we will win the fight against the fraudsters.

“But the political gamesmanship we’re seeing from Republicans is only making that fight harder to win.

“We’ve got Republicans here in the legislature playing hide-and-seek with whistleblowers.

“We’ve got conspiracy theorist right-wing YouTubers breaking into daycare centers and demanding access to our children.

“We’ve got the President of the United States demonizing our Somali neighbors and wrongly confiscating childcare funding that Minnesotans rely on.

“It is disgusting. And it is dangerous.

“Republicans are playing politics with the future of our state. And it’s shameful. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: We welcome ideas from anyone, in any party, who wants to help us continue to stay ahead of the criminals.

“And we welcome the involvement of the federal government. I’m grateful to the career professionals at the U.S. Attorney’s office and the FBI who are helping us win this fight.

“But I cannot abide the actions of the political leadership in Washington – these opportunists who are willing to hurt our people to score a few cheap points. They and their allies have no intention of helping us solve the problem – and every intention of profiting off of it.

“Which brings me to this: 2026 is an election year. And election years have a way of ramping up the politics at a time when we simply can’t afford more politics.

“In September, I announced that I would run for a historic third term as Minnesota’s Governor. And I have every confidence that, if I gave it my all, I would succeed in that effort.

“But as I reflected on this moment with my family and my team over the holidays, I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all. Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences.

“So I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work.

“I know this news may come as a surprise. But I’m passing on the race with zero sadness and zero regret. After all, I didn’t run for this job so I could have this job. I ran for this job so I could do this job. Minnesota faces an enormous challenge this year. And I refuse to spend even one minute of 2026 doing anything other than rising to meet the moment. Minnesota has to come first – always.

“That’s what I believe servant leadership demands of me. And as an optimist, I will hold out some hope that my friends on the other side of the aisle will consider what servant leadership demands of them in this moment. We can work together to combat the criminals, rebuild the public’s trust, and make our state stronger. But make no mistake: If Republicans continue down this path of abusing power, smearing entire communities, and running their own fraudulent game at the expense of Minnesotans – we will fight back every step of the way.

“I’m confident that a DFLer will hold this seat come November. I’m confident that I will find ways to contribute to the state I love even after I’ve left office next January. But there will be time to worry about all that later.

“Today, I’m proud of the work we’ve done to make Minnesota America’s best place to live and raise kids – from our new paid leave policy to our child tax credit to our free lunch program.

“And I’m doubly proud of the incredible team we’ve put together to make that vision a reality. Thank you to every member of my staff, and every state employee, who’s part of this fight. We need you on the job to tackle the important work ahead.

“Most of all, I want Minnesotans to know that I’m on the job, 24/7, focused on making sure we stay America’s best place to live and raise kids. No one will take that away from us. Not the fraudsters. And not the President. Not on my watch.”

Related Articles

Gov. Tim Walz ends reelection campaign amid pressure on fraud

Minnesota must provide documents to US government in child care fraud probe by next week

Minnesota families are rattled by threat to cut federal aid for child care

Letters: A minority of Somalis have brought shame to our community

Minnesota Democrats, child care providers push back on federal freeze

By ISABEL DEBRE and MEGAN JANETSKY, Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — In his celebratory news conference on the U.S. capture of Venezuelan strongman leader Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump set out an extraordinarily forthright view of the use of U.S. power in Latin America that exposed political divisions from Mexico to Argentina as Trump-friendly leaders rise across the region.

Related Articles

Trump’s plan to seize and revitalize Venezuela’s oil industry faces major hurdles

Trump says that Ukraine didn’t target Putin residence in a drone strike as Kremlin claims

This Jan. 6 plaque was made to honor law enforcement. It’s nowhere to be found at the Capitol

Maduro and his wife to be arraigned in Manhattan Federal Court

What we know about the U.S. operation in Venezuela

“American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again,” Trump proclaimed just hours before Maduro was perp-walked through the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in New York.

The scene marked a stunning culmination of months of escalation in Washington’s confrontation with Caracas that has reawakened memories of a past era of blatant U.S. interventionism in the region.

Since assuming office less than a year ago — and promptly renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America — Trump has launched boat strikes against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean, ordered a naval blockade on Venezuelan oil exports and meddled in elections in Honduras and Argentina.

Through a combination of tariffs, sanctions and military force, he has pressured Latin American leaders to advance his administration’s goals of combating drug trafficking, halting immigration, securing strategic natural resources and countering the influence of Russia and China.

The new, aggressive foreign policy — which Trump now calls the “Donroe Doctrine,” in reference to 19th-century President James Monroe’s belief that the U.S. should dominate its sphere of influence — has carved the hemisphere into allies and foes.

“The Trump administration in multiple different ways has been trying to reshape Latin American politics,” said Gimena Sanchez, Andes director for the Washington Office on Latin America, a think tank. “They’re showing their teeth in the whole region.”

Reactions to US raid put regional divisions on display

Saturday’s dramatic events — including Trump’s vow that Washington would “run” Venezuela and seize control of its oil sector — galvanized opposite sides of the polarized continent.

Argentine President Javier Milei, Trump’s ideological soulmate, characterized one side as supporting “democracy, the defense of life, freedom and property.”

“On the other side,” he added, “are those accomplices of a narco-terrorist and bloody dictatorship that has been a cancer for our region.”

Other right-wing leaders in South America similarly seized on Maduro’s ouster to declare their ideological affinity with Trump.

FILE – Venezuela’s long time Foreign Minster Nicolas Maduro attends a ceremony declaring President Hugo Chavez official winner of the presidential elections at the Electoral Council in Caracas, Venezuela, Oct. 10, 2012, where Chavez announced he was naming Maduro as his new vice president. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

In Ecuador, conservative President Daniel Noboa issued a stern warning for all followers of Hugo Chávez, Maduro’s mentor and the founder of the Bolivarian revolution: “Your structure will completely collapse across the entire continent.”

In Chile, where a presidential election last month marked by fears over Venezuelan immigration brought down the leftist government, far-right President-elect José Antonio Kast hailed the U.S. raid as “great news for the region.”

But left-wing presidents in Latin America — including Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum, Chile’s Gabriel Boric and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro — expressed grave concerns over what they saw as U.S. bullying.

Lula said the raid set “an extremely dangerous precedent.” Sheinbaum warned it “jeopardizes regional stability.” Boric said it “violated an essential pillar of international law.” Petro called it “aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America.”

Trump has previously punished or threatened all four leaders for failing to fall in line with his demands, while boosting and bailing out allies who show loyalty.

The attack recalls a painful history of US intervention

For Lula — among the last surviving icons of the so-called “pink tide,” the leftist leaders who dominated Latin American politics from the turn of the 21st century — Trump’s military action in Venezuela “recalls the worst moments of interference in the politics of Latin America.”

Those moments range from American troops occupying Central American and Caribbean nations to promote the interests of U.S. companies like Chiquita in the early 1900s to Washington supporting repressive military dictatorships in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay to fend off Soviet influence in the 1970s.

The historical echoes in Maduro’s downfall fueled not only harsh condemnations and street protests among Trump’s left-wing opponents but also uneasy responses from some of his close allies.

Usually effusive in his support for Trump, President Nayib Bukele was oddly quiet in El Salvador, a nation still scarred by a brutal civil war between a repressive U.S.-allied government and leftist guerillas. He posted a meme mocking Maduro after his capture Saturday, but expressed none of the jubilation seen from regional counterparts.

In Bolivia, where old anti-American dogmas die hard due to memories of the bloody U.S.-backed war on drugs, new conservative President Rodrigo Paz praised Maduro’s removal insomuch as it fulfilled “the true popular will” of Venezuelans who tried to vote the autocrat out of office in a 2024 election widely seen as fraudulent.

“Bolivia reaffirms that the way out for Venezuela is to respect the vote,” Paz said.

His message didn’t age well. Hours later, Trump announced he would work with Maduro’s loyalist vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, rather than the opposition that prevailed in the 2024 election.

“The Trump administration, it appears at this point, is making decisions about the democratic future of Venezuela without referring back to the democratic result,” said Kevin Whitaker, former deputy chief of mission for the State Department in Caracas.

When asked Sunday about when Venezuela will hold democratic elections, Trump responded: “I think we’re looking more at getting it fixed.”

As the right rises, Trump puts enemies on notice

The Trump administration’s attack on Venezuela extends its broader crusade to assemble a column of allied — or at least acquiescent — governments in Latin America, sailing with the political winds blowing in much of the region.

Recent presidential elections from Chile to Honduras have elevated tough, Trump-like leaders who oppose immigration, prioritize security and promise a return to better, bygone eras free of globalization and “wokeness.”

“The president is going to be looking for allied and partner nations in the hemisphere who share his kind of broader ideological affinity,” said Alexander Gray, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington research institute.

Those who don’t share that ideology were put on notice this weekend. Trump said Cuba’s Communist government “looks like it’s ready to fall.” He slammed Sheinbaum’s failure to root out Mexican cartels, saying that “something’s going to have to be done with Mexico.” He repeated allegations that Petro “likes making cocaine” and warned that “he’s not going to be doing it very long.”

“We’re in the business of having countries around us that are viable and successful, where the oil is allowed to really come out,” he told reporters Sunday on Air Force One. “It’s our hemisphere.”

DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Associated Press writers Maria Verza in Mexico City and Darlene Superville aboard Air Force One contributed to this report.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is ending his bid for a third term in the state’s top office, according to numerous reports, amid increasing scrutiny over his handling of government fraud.

Walz is to address reporters at the state Capitol at 11 a.m. No other Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate has entered the race for governor so far. Blois Olson, a state political analyst, and KARE-11 TV cited sources close to Walz who said the governor is expected to withdraw from the race.

The news comes as the federal government and state Republican lawmakers continue to press him for answers on how the state potentially lost billions of federal dollars to Medicaid fraud schemes and other alleged scams.

In December, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson told reporters that the state could have lost $9 billion or more to fraud in 14 “high-risk” Medicaid-funded programs since 2018.

Federal fraud indictments continue to emerge in housing and autism programs after a federal investigation first became public in the summer of 2025. Thompson described Minnesota as having an “industrial-scale” fraud problem.

Walz has pointed to federal prosecutions in fraud cases such as Feeding Our Future, where more than 50 of the 78 charged have been convicted, as a sign that fraudsters are being held accountable.

He also paused payments and ordered a third-party audit in high-risk programs, appointed an official to devise a new fraud prevention plan, and last January directed the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to create a fraud prevention unit.

But critics say these moves are largely retroactive and performative and question whether any state officials have been held accountable for creating an environment where fraud could occur.

Walz was first elected in 2018 and won a second term in 2022. No governor has served three consecutive terms in Minnesota history.

His 2026 pitch to voters has focused largely on opposing the administration of President Donald Trump and enacting new gun control laws to prevent more school shootings in the wake of the Annunciation Catholic School shooting in Minneapolis.

Related Articles

Nearly 12,000 apply for Minnesota’s paid leave program in first days

Kaohly Her sworn in as St. Paul mayor

Minnesota families are rattled by threat to cut federal aid for child care

Minnesota Democrats, child care providers push back on federal freeze

An intense White House response from a single viral video

Republicans running for governor in 2026 include MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, state House Speaker Lisa Demuth; 2022 gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen, a doctor who rose to prominence for his criticism of state COVID policy; state Rep. Kristin Robbins; attorney Chris Madel ;2022 Republican endorsement contender Kendall Qualls, a former congressional candidate; and businessman Patrick Knight.

No Republican has won statewide office in Minnesota since 2006.

Check back for updates on this breaking story. 

By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of teenage diarist Anne Frank and a tireless educator about the horrors of the Holocaust, has died. She was 96.

FILE – Britain’s Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, right, and Eva Schloss, step-sister of Anne Frank and Honorary President of the Anne Frank Trust UK, take part in a candle lighting ceremony during a reception for the Anne Frank Trust in London, Thursday Jan. 20, 2022. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP, file)

The Anne Frank Trust UK, of which Schloss was honorary president, said she died Saturday in London, where she lived.

Britain’s King Charles III said he was “privileged and proud” to have known Schloss, who co-founded the charitable trust to help young people challenge prejudice.

“The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience through her tireless work for the Anne Frank Trust UK and for Holocaust education across the world,” the king said.

Born Eva Geiringer in Vienna in 1929, Schloss fled with her family to Amsterdam after Nazi Germany annexed Austria. She became friends with another Jewish girl of the same age, Anne Frank, whose diary would become one of the most famous chronicles of the Holocaust.

Like the Franks, Eva’s family spent two years in hiding to avoid capture after the Nazis occupied the Netherlands. They were eventually betrayed, arrested and sent to the Auschwitz death camp.

Schloss and her mother Fritzi survived until the camp was liberated by Soviet troops in 1945. Her father Erich and brother Heinz died in Auschwitz.

After the war, Eva moved to Britain, married German Jewish refugee Zvi Schloss and settled in London.

In 1953, her mother married Frank’s father, Otto, the only member of his immediate family to survive. Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the age of 15, months before the end of the war.

Related Articles

US capture of Maduro divides a changed region, thrilling Trump’s allies and threatening his foes

Trump says that Ukraine didn’t target Putin residence in a drone strike as Kremlin claims

Maduro is taken to a US courthouse for his first appearance on drug trafficking charges

Today in History: January 5, ‘Rapper’s Delight’ hits Billboard Top 40

Maduro and his wife to be arraigned in Manhattan Federal Court

Schloss did not speak publicly about her experiences for decades, later saying that wartime trauma had made her withdrawn and unable to connect with others.

“I was silent for years, first because I wasn’t allowed to speak. Then I repressed it. I was angry with the world,” she told The Associated Press in 2004.

But after she addressed the opening of an Anne Frank exhibition in London in 1986, Schloss made it her mission to educate younger generations about the Nazi genocide. Over the following decades she spoke in schools and prisons, at international conferences and told her story in books including “Eva’s Story: A Survivor’s Tale by the Stepsister of Anne Frank.”

She kept campaigning into her 90s. In 2019, she traveled to Newport Beach, California to meet teenagers who were photographed making Nazi salutes at a high school party. The following year she was part of a campaign urging Facebook to remove Holocaust-denying material from the social networking site.

“We must never forget the terrible consequences of treating people as ‘other,’” Schloss said in 2024. “We need to respect everybody’s races and religions. We need to live together with our differences. The only way to achieve this is through education, and the younger we start the better.”

Schloss’ family remembered her as “a remarkable woman: an Auschwitz survivor, a devoted Holocaust educator, tireless in her work for remembrance, understanding and peace.”

“We hope her legacy will continue to inspire through the books, films and resources she leaves behind,” the family said in a statement.

Zvi Schloss died in 2016. Eva Schloss is survived by their three daughters, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.