Stay ConnectedThe Weekly Scramble features Mike Frattallone and Chris Reuvers’ light hearted look at daily life in the State of Minnesota. Twice a week they bring their unique, common-sense conservatives approach to the current headlines. Logical and witty, funny, smart and maybe a little too opinionated, Mike and Chris are here to help make sense of the nonsense facing Minnesotans.
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Mike has officially been bit by the Town Baseball bug!!!
Nancy Pelosi erupts when asked by CNN's Jake Tapper about allegations of insider trading
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared agitated Wednesday when CNN’s Jake Tapper confronted her about insider trading allegations.
On "The Lead," Tapper tried to show President Donald Trump’s comments earlier that day accusing Pelosi of becoming rich "by having inside information" in stock trading. When he attempted to read Trump’s comments after a technical error, she quickly shut him down.
"Why do you have to read that?" Pelosi erupted. "We‘re here to talk about the 60th anniversary of Medicaid. That‘s what I agreed to come to talk… and what that means in the election."
'Biden migrant child hotline ignored 65K calls': Shocking testimony rocks Homeland Security hearing
During a heated House Homeland Security Committee hearing, shocking revelations emerged about the Biden administration's migrant child protection efforts. Lawmakers learned that a federally operated hotline, meant to report safety issues for unaccompanied migrant children, failed to respond to 65,000 calls between August 2023 and January 2025. Ali Hopper, founder of GUARD Against Trafficking, testified that both federal agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are failing to protect vulnerable children caught in the ongoing border crisis.
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American Eagle sparks backlash for touting Sydney Sweeney's 'great jeans'
American Eagle’s “great jeans” advertising campaign with actor Sydney Sweeney is at the center of the latest political firestorm online, drawing accusations of racial undertones in its messaging.
Sweeney, who rose to fame for her starring roles in HBO’s “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus,” is the star of the clothing retailer’s latest denim-focused fall campaign, with the tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
It’s a play on words for Sweeney’s “great genes.” Indeed, in one clip, which accrued more than 1.1 million views on American Eagle’s Instagram page, Sweeney stands before a poster of herself titled, “Sydney Sweeney has great genes,” before the word “genes” is crossed out and replaced with “jeans.”
Round-the-world walker prepares for home stretch
A man hoping to become the first person to complete an unbroken round-the-world walk is preparing for the last leg of his journey.
Karl Bushby set off from Chile in 1998. Since then he has walked across American and Asian continents, swam 186 miles (300km) across the Caspian Sea and fought off ice lumps and polar bears through the Bering Strait, all without using any form of transport.
The former paratrooper has less than 2,000 miles (3219km) left to walk before he arrives at his home city of Hull.
Mr Bushby, who is currently in Mexico waiting for a visa to complete his challenge, has said returning home will be a "very strange place to be" after being away for some 27 years.
Following his 31-day swim across the Caspian Sea last year, Mr Bushby said he continued his journey to Azerbaijan and then through to Turkey.
The traveller, originally from Sutton Park, said he "had to step aside" from his mission, named the Goliath Expedition, while he waited for a visa.
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We lose the Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne at 76 years old.
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The Minneapolis DFL Party convention ended Saturday night in a chaotic flurry of activity that saw state Sen. Omar Fateh claim the party's endorsement for mayor.
Why it matters: The young democratic socialist lawmaker's victory over two-term sitting mayor Mayor Jacob Frey is a major coup for left-wing critics hoping to unseat the well-funded incumbent.
What they're saying: "Today, we witnessed a rejection of politics as usual," Fateh said in his victory speech on the Target Center floor just before 10pm.
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Mike Welch tournament director for the 3M Open taking place next week. Get your tickets here
Feds execute search warrants connected to ‘massive scheme to defraud’ a Minnesota housing program
Alpha News was on location as a search warrant was being served at several locations related to a “massive scheme to defraud” Medicaid and Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program.
According to the search warrant, the fraud investigation involves HSS providers who billed for various services intended to provide stable housing for Minnesotans.
The search warrant states, “The Program has proved to be extremely vulnerable to fraud.”
The vulnerability stems from limited requirements for service providers and the vast services they can provide for Medicaid reimbursement.
“Since Minnesota became the first state to offer Medicaid coverage for Housing Stabilization Services, dozens of new companies have been created and enrolled in the program. These companies, and the individuals who run them, have taken advantage of the housing crisis and the drug addiction crisis in Minnesota to prey on individuals who need help getting back on their feet as they recover from drug addiction,” the warrant says.
“These companies and individuals do so by contacting Medicaid-eligible people in halfway houses and residential drug treatment facilities and offering to help them find stable housing. After registering these people to receive housing stabilization services, the companies fraudulently claim to provide dozens of Program service hours to their new ‘clients.’ In reality, client after client has reported that they received little or no actual services or assistance from these companies. But the companies engaged in this scheme have received millions of dollars in Medicaid funds for housing stabilization services they did not actually provide,” it continues.
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Reuvers and Livvy Dunne went to the Twins game on Friday!!!!
Minneapolis leaders explore city-owned grocery store
Last November, the Minneapolis City Council’s Public Health and Safety committee asked city staff to explore the idea of government-owned grocery stores as a tool to combat the city’s problem of food insecurity and food deserts.
Now, on Wednesday, city leaders are prepared to review a research presentation on the subject.
Ward 2 council member Robin Wonsley is open to the idea of municipal grocery stores in the city. Wonsley says it’s clear the private market is not meeting the city’s needs.
"We want to see what options are ahead of us, and how we can leverage every tool we have at the city to make sure our residents have access to fresh produce," Wonsley said. "The research that we received is very exploratory and provides examples of where other cities have stepped up to provide food resources for their residents where there was an absence of a grocery store; so we’ll learn what other peer cities have done."
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The biggest drug bust in the history of Minnesota happened yesterday, does anybody else care??
Two charged in nearly 900 pound meth bust in Minneapolis, part of Mexican drug operation
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office followed up with a social media post confirming that its Violent Crime Enforcement Team (VCET) along with federal partners had been involved in the massive takedown, which it said was “possibly one of the largest meth busts in Minnesota history.”
Arrested were Joel Casas-Santiago, 46, of Minneapolis, and Guillermo Mercado Chaparro, 44, of Chicago. Each has been charged with one count of first-degree drug sales, and Mercado Chaparro is charged with an additional count.
The charging document states that a controlled drug buy took place in south Minneapolis over the weekend, with an undercover officer purchasing one pound of meth from an individual identified as Mercado Chaparro.
Nevada Resident Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Engage in Voter Registration Fraud in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS – Ronnie Williams pled guilty today to an information charging him with conspiracy to engage in voter registration fraud, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.
“Today’s guilty plea underscores our commitment to protecting the integrity of the electoral process,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. Any attempt to undermine that process through fraud will be investigated and prosecuted. This case sends a clear message—election fraud will not be tolerated in Minnesota.”
According to court documents, beginning in 2021 through 2022, Ronnie Williams, 58, was involved in a conspiracy to create fictitious identities and information for use in Minnesota voter registration applications. After filling out the forms, Williams signed a statement affirming that he had read and understood the certification, which included a warning that submitting false information constitutes a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
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The terrifying role that A.I. has recently played globally in the world of politics.
Impostor uses AI to impersonate Rubio and contact foreign and US officials
The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates.
The warning came after the department discovered that an impostor posing as Rubio had attempted to reach out to at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. senator and a governor, according to the July 3 cable, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
The recipients of the scam messages, which were sent by text, Signal and voice mail, were not identified in the cable, a copy of which was shared with The Associated Press.
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Girl who fell off Disney cruise "was not being held" by father at time of incident, authorities say
South Florida law enforcement is investigating after a 5-year-old girl fell overboard from a Disney Dream cruise ship Sunday, prompting her father to jump into the ocean after her.
The Broward Sheriff's Office told CBS News Miami on Tuesday that the "little girl was not being held, as erroneously reported on some social media sites," referring to online speculation that her father may have been holding her on the ship's railing moments before the incident.
The incident happened aboard the Disney Dream as it sailed between the Bahamas and Fort Lauderdale. After she fell overboard, witnesses told CBS News Miami her father jumped in after her and treaded water for more than 10 minutes.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday visited "Alligator Alcatraz" — the newest illegal immigrant detention facility in the nation that's located in the Florida Everglades and surrounded by swamplands teeming with alligators and pythons.
"It's known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ which is very appropriate because I looked outside, and that's not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon," Trump said Tuesday during his tour. "But very soon this facility will have some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet."
"We're surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation," the president added. "And a lot of these people are self-deporting back to their country where they came from."
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One of the NBA's top free agents is now the subject of a serious gambling investigation from the U.S. District Attorney's office. Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley faces allegations of gambling related to NBA games and prop bets during the 2023-24 season as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, according to ESPN.
One prominent sportsbook reportedly detected unusual betting activity on Beasley props beginning in early 2024. In a Jan. 31, 2024 matchup between the Bucks and Portland Trail Blazers, the odds on Beasley recording less than 2.5 rebounds moved significantly before the game, going from around +120 to -250 after the Under experienced a high amount of action. Beasley recorded six rebounds that night.
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