Daniel Rosen will serve as the next U.S. Attorney of the District of Minnesota and comes to the post as authorities are investigating a number of fraud cases in the state involving millions of dollars.

Daniel Rosen will be Minnesota’s U.S. Attorney after his nomination by President Donald Trump and confirmation by the U.S. Senate on Oct. 7, 2025. (Courtesy of the University of Minnesota)

Rosen was one of more than 100 of President Donald Trump’s appointees confirmed by the Republican-majority Senate in a vote on Tuesday. The Senate voted on party lines to confirm Rosen, fill ambassadorships and appoint administrators to various federal agencies.

Republicans changed Senate rules last month to allow approval of Trump appointees in groups. The move came as Republicans grew frustrated with Democrats for blocking Trump nominees.

Rosen, however, received bipartisan support when Trump nominated him for the position in May. Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, both Democrats, gave Rosen a “blue slip,” or signal of support. But they did not back Rosen’s confirmation in Tuesday.

“Daniel Rosen was one of over 100 nominees put forth as a block,” a Smith spokesperson said in a statement. “Senator Smith voted no on this group because she’s concerned too many Trump nominees put loyalty to him ahead of service to the American people. She hopes Rosen proves different and serves all Minnesotans with fairness.”

Minnesota Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer praised Rosen’s confirmation in a Tuesday news release, describing Rosen as a “distinguished attorney with an unwavering commitment to public safety.”

“We are confident that Mr. Rosen will fight to protect Minnesotans, and their hard-earned tax dollars, from the scourge of crime and fraud we’ve seen in our state,” said Emmer, the third-highest-ranking Republican in the House. “We were proud to support Dan and thank our colleagues in the Senate for advancing his nomination.”

Rosen has more than 30 years of experience as a commercial litigator at the federal and state levels, according to the University of Minnesota Law School. Rosen graduated from the UMN law school in 1994.

Rosen, a U.S. Navy officer who served in the first Gulf War, also served on the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board from 2014 to 2022. Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gov. Mark Dayton appointed Rosen — whose affiliation was listed as Republican — to two four-year terms on the board.

Fraud cases

Rosen will enter his new role as the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to investigate and prosecute widespread fraud involving federal funds in Minnesota.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson estimates that fraud in state programs in recent years could top $1 billion. Most of the alleged fraud has happened in programs run by the Department of Human Services and the Department of Education.

“Minnesota has a fraud problem — and not a small one,” Thompson said in a statement announcing the federal investigation into housing stabilization services fraud in July.

Federal prosecutors have announced two new major fraud cases in the last month alone.

One is tied to what they called a “massive” fraud scheme in Minnesota’s Medicaid-funded housing stabilization program. On Sept. 18, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced eight people had been charged with stealing more than $10 million as part of a first wave of charges.

A week later, the U.S. Attorney announced another charge: this one tied to fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements for a children’s autism program. A 28-year-old woman faces a federal wire fraud charge for claiming $14 million and using the money to fund real estate purchases in Kenya.

Feeding Our Future

That all comes on top of the single largest known instance of fraud, where federal prosecutors say a scheme centered around the nonprofit Feeding Our Future stole $250 million in federal funds from a pandemic-era meal program for children in need.

Thompson has said the investigations grew out of the Feeding Our Future fraud case, which has “significant” overlap with the other alleged fraud schemes. Asha Farhan Hassan, the woman charged in the autism program scheme, also is a defendant in Feeding Our Future

More than 50 people have been convicted of the 75 charged in the Feeding Our Future case.

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ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — Youth-led protests in the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar are continuing for a third week in the most significant unrest in the country in years.

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The protests led by a group calling itself “Gen Z Madagascar” began Sept. 25 over electricity and water outages but have snowballed into larger dissatisfaction with the government and the leadership of President Andry Rajoelina.

Civic groups and trade unions have joined the protests, which have resulted in nighttime curfews being enforced in the capital, Antananarivo, and other major cities. The United Nations said at least 22 people have been killed.

Rajoelina fired his government and appointed a new prime minister in response to the uprising, but protesters have not relented and gave Rajoelina an ultimatum to resign this week. They say they have rejected his offer of talks, which were set for Wednesday.

Here’s what to know about the protests inspired by young, social media-savvy Madagascans that mirror Gen Z anti-government demonstrations in Kenya, Nepal, Morocco and elsewhere.

Thousands on the streets

Thousands have taken to the streets, initially over chronic problems with the electricity and water supply. Protesters have since brought up a range of issues, including poverty and the cost of living, access to tertiary education, and alleged corruption and embezzlement of public funds by government officials and their families and associates.

Demonstrators protesting against chronic electricity and water cuts confront riot police in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mamyrael)

The U.N. human rights office said that at least 22 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the first few furious days of protests and accused Madagascar security forces of a violent response to what started as peaceful protests. The Madagascar government rejected that death toll but authorities haven’t given their own count of deaths or injuries.

The protests have continued almost daily and the Gen Z Madagascar group has called for a major strike and stayaway on Thursday.

Rejecting Rajoelina

Rajoelina, 51, was elected president in 2018 and reelected in 2023, when the vote was boycotted by opposition parties.

President of Madagascar Andry Nirina Rajoelina addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

But he first came to prominence in 2009 as the mayor of Antananarivo when he led protests against the government that resulted in a military-backed coup and the ouster of President Marc Ravalomanana. A military council took power before handing it to Rajoelina as transitional leader.

Madagascar, a large island of around 31 million people off the east coast of Africa, has seen several leaders forced out in uprisings since it gained independence from France in 1960 and has a history of political crises. It struggles with severe poverty, which affects around 80% of the population, according to the World Bank.

Rajoelina has attempted to appease the Gen Z protesters by meeting some of their demands and firing government officials and Prime Minister Christian Ntsay last week. But he appointed an army general as the new prime minister in a move seen by the protesters as an attempt to clamp down on them. He also prioritized the appointment of new ministers for the armed forces, public security and the gendarmerie law enforcement force, saying their mission is to “restore peace so that everyone can resume their daily lives.”

Rajoelina has referred to the protests as an attempted coup.

Demonstrators protesting against chronic electricity and water cuts confront riot police in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mamyrael)

Responding to Rajoelina’s offer for talks, the Gen Z Madagascar group said in a statement: “We do not reach out to a regime that every day crushes those who stand up for justice. This government talks about dialogue but rules with weapons.”

Inspired by other Gen Z protests

One of the most prominent symbols carried and worn by Madagascar’s generally black-clothed protesters is an image of a pirate skull and crossbones that was seen in the Gen Z-led uprising in Nepal last month and other protests across the world.

A medical student holds a flag bearing the logo of the popular Japanese manga One Piece, a symbol adopted by Gen Z protest movements worldwide, in front of Malagasy security forces during a demonstration demanding better healthcare conditions and constitutional reforms in Antananarivo, on October 7, 2025. President Andry Rajoelina’s appointment of an army general as new prime minister was met with little enthusiasm in Madagascar Tuesday and dismissed by the youth-led movement behind two weeks of protests as a diversion.
Rajoelina named Major General Ruphin Fortunat Dimbisoa Zafisambo as head of government late Monday in a bid to quell anti-government unrest that has claimed 22 lives, according to a toll from the United Nations that is disputed by local authorities. (Photo by Luis TATO / AFP) (Photo by LUIS TATO/AFP via Getty Images)

The image is from the Japanese comic series “One Piece” — which follows the adventures of a young pirate and his crew living in a world run by an authoritarian government — and has come to symbolize Gen Z movements. The Madagascar protesters have made the logo their own by redesigning it with a traditional Malagasy hat on the skull.

Gen Z Madagascar have their own website, Facebook page and other social media channels and have a GoFundMe page to raise money. They have mobilized over the internet and say they were inspired by other protests that toppled governments in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

They describe themselves as generally under the age of 30 and one of their slogans, which they’ve repeated in protests, is: “We’re tired of just surviving, we want to live.”

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

“Nutrition is one of the most powerful—and most underrated—tools in recovery.”

(Edward Reed/NYC Mayor’s Office)

Sixteen months ago, I woke up in a hospital bed at Albany Medical Center connected to tubes, with my mother standing over me. Someone I owed money to had run me over with his car. That was a turning point. I realized I had to turn my life around. But I didn’t realize then how much of a role nutrition would play in my recovery from substance use disorder.

When I entered Samaritan Daytop Village’s 43rd Street Veterans Program, I expected therapy, group sessions, and support for my sobriety. What I didn’t expect was to learn how deeply what we eat affects how we feel—and how much it matters in building a healthier life. Samaritan has long believed in treating the whole person: mind, body, and spirit. Today, they are leading the charge in weaving nutrition education into recovery programs because when people feel better physically, they have an easier and more successful path to recovery.

As a 46-year-old Marine Corps veteran, I found comfort being surrounded by others who had served and were also in recovery. In those early days, I started to notice that healing wasn’t just about staying sober. It was about building a strong foundation—sleep, exercise, relationships, and food. The more I learned, the more it made sense: recovery is really about whole health.

Individuals experiencing substance use disorder are more likely to struggle with chronic conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and liver disease. Many of us also face nutritional deficiencies. Studies show up to 85 percent of people in recovery have inadequate diets, and that adding omega-3s, vitamins, and minerals can improve mood, memory, and focus while reducing relapse risk.

I know this from lived experience. Before recovery, I was known as the “Honey Bun Man.” That fried pastry with sugar glaze was my comfort food—morning, noon, and night. But my diet fueled mood swings, poor sleep, and constant agitation. Once I began learning about the link between food and mental health, everything changed. Today, I’m living in Harlem and working full-time as a Wellness Ambassador at Samaritan’s Peer Alliance Recovery Center (PARC) in the Bronx, where I lead the Healthy Lifestyle Initiative. Nutrition is one of the most powerful—and most underrated—tools in recovery.

At PARC, I run weekly nutrition workshops. Every Tuesday morning, participants from Samaritan programs and the broader community come together to talk honestly about food. What’s in your pantry? How does eating one meal a day—or eating nothing but processed snacks—make you feel? How do you fuel your mind and body for the day ahead?

We don’t focus on perfection. We focus on progress. Some people rely on food pantries; others live with diabetes or hypertension. Together, we talk about rinsing canned beans to lower sodium, swapping soda for water, or choosing an egg instead of a honey bun. We play “This or That”—chips or fruit? Soda or seltzer? It’s about small, achievable changes that build momentum.

And we’re seeing results. Participants tell me, “I’ve been sleeping better since I stopped skipping breakfast,” or, “This week I bought the small bag of chips instead of the big one.” These may sound like small victories, but recovery is made of small victories stacked one on top of another.

Recently, we’ve added cooking demonstrations using pantry staples. No fancy ingredients—just simple, budget-friendly meals that nourish body and mind. We’re even creating a “pantry cookbook” so people can take recipes home.

The success of these workshops has sparked something bigger. Samaritan is now working to expand nutrition education across all its programs, reaching the 30,000 people served annually—from Long Island to the Bronx to the Hudson Valley. Because everyone deserves to feel good in their body and mind.

Nutrition isn’t a magic fix. But it’s a powerful foundation. At Samaritan, we believe that when you strengthen the body, you strengthen the mind. Food fuels more than recovery—it fuels hope, stability, and the belief that tomorrow can be better than today.

Jamel Lewis is the head wellness ambassador at Samaritan Daytop Village’s Peer Alliance Recovery Center. 

The post Opinion: Nutrition Helped Me in Recovery. Now I Use It to Help Others appeared first on City Limits.

By MARK SHERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said Wednesday he was troubled that partisanship seemed to be “creeping its way into the court,” and that the state of political discourse in the country has gotten so vulgar and vile that he worries for the country.

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The tone of recent opinions bothers him more than outcomes of cases, Kennedy said in an interview with The Associated Press in his court office in advance of next week’s publication of his memoir, “ Life, Law & Liberty.”

“The justices have to resist thinking of themselves as being partisan,” he said. “In our current discourse, it seems to me, partisanship is creeping its way into the court.”

He declined to identify any justices or opinions, but at another point he returned to the personal nature of some court opinions.

“Of course, when you disagree, you criticize the other, but you criticize the opinion and the reasoning. You don’t criticize the author,” he said during the nearly hourlong interview. “And that point seems to be eclipsed. Some of the recent opinions are attacks on your colleagues, on the judges. I was astounded, very worried about it.” From members of Congress who use “ the four-letter F-word ” in public to President Donald Trump, Kennedy said he is routinely put off by what he is hearing.

“Concerned. Worried. Disappointed with,” Kennedy said. “The rest of the world looks to us to see how free speech works, how democracy works, and in many respects they will not be impressed by what they see,” he said. ”I think our high officials ought to elevate the content and elegance of our discourse.” With the nation’s 250th birthday approaching next year, the 89-year-old Kennedy cast a baleful eye at the future. “What about the next 250? I’m not so sure. I’m not so sure,” he said.

A nominee of Republican President Ronald Reagan, Kennedy was the decisive vote in many of the court’s most impactful cases, leaning left on abortion and gay rights and right on guns and campaign finance.

He has had little to say publicly since he stepped down from the court in 2018.

The memoir, published by Simon & Schuster, explores his roots in Sacramento, California, before turning to his 43 years as a federal judge, including 30 on the Supreme Court. The writer, Joan Didion, a childhood friend who died in 2021, looked at some early drafts and offered encouragement, Kennedy said.

It is being issued as Kennedy still is grieving the sudden death of his son, Gregory, in January. When the conversation turned to family, Kennedy retrieved a picture of his son and daughter-in-law on their wedding day some 30 years ago.

A copy of Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s latest book, “Just Shine!” lay on a bookshelf, a level below a photograph of a granddaughter who is a professional ballerina in New York.

The Supreme Court, decidedly more conservative after Kennedy’s retirement and the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg two years later, has overturned several of his opinions, including a decision he co-authored in 1992 that had preserved the right to an abortion.

“That was a close and difficult case. In my view, our earlier decision was correct,” he said.

In the same 2022 case from Mississippi, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that Kennedy’s opinion giving constitutional protection to same-sex marriage should be next.

Uncomfortable discussing the case, Kennedy said he thought the decision might survive because so many people have relied on it and overturning it “would cause great hurt” to same-sex couples and their children.

As it happens, the court will soon consider an appeal from Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky, who is asking the justices to overturn the 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. The court wasn’t immune from individual criticism when he served, but they were exceedingly rare. In the book, Kennedy recounts one occasion, Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent in the same-sex marriage case, in which a personal attack led to cooled relations between the two men.

Scalia noted that he’d rather “hide my head in a bag” than join Kennedy’s opinion and also said Kennedy was not a genuine Westerner because “California does not count.”

Seven months later, Scalia apologized in a visit to Kennedy’s office that ended with a hug. Scalia was about to leave for a hunting trip in Texas that, he told Kennedy, would be his last long trip. Scalia died in Texas just over a week later.

Kennedy’s views about Trump are difficult to pin down. Several passages in the book seem to be written with him in mind.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, 88, poses for a portrait, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in his office at the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

“The Constitution does not work if any one branch of the government insists on the exercise of its powers to the extreme,” Kennedy wrote.

Responding to questions Wednesday, he said the president was among those who make intemperate remarks.

But when Kennedy wrote about his visit to the White House after he told his colleagues of his plans to retire, he described Trump as “gracious, cordial and eager to talk.”

He acknowledged that the White House consulted with him on Trump’s choice of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and other judicial nominees.

But he said there was no discussion of his plans with Trump or anyone else in the Republican administration beforehand and no effort by the president to induce his departure.

Kennedy also sought to explain a comment he made to Trump that was picked up by microphones following the president’s address to Congress in March.

“Thank you for teaching young people to love America,” Kennedy said.

He confirmed the remark while wondering how the seemingly private moment went public.

“I said that. Sure. I said, that should be your principal mission,” Kennedy said on Wednesday.

Asked to evaluate how Trump is doing in that regard, Kennedy said, “Well, I’m not totally sure.”