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FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are rolling out a new oversight task force, starting with an investigation into alleged social services fraud in Ohio. 

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., tapped Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, a member of the oversight panel, to lead the Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses, Fox News Digital has learned.

The duo sent a letter to Ohio Department of Medicaid Director Scott Partika on Tuesday to request documents related to a bombshell report in the Daily Wire, probing widespread fraud in the state’s Medicaid waiver program for home health and community-based services.

The outlet reported on 288 home health companies in Columbus, Ohio, that shared the same addresses, dozens of which were housed in office buildings that appeared to be vacant or in poor condition. The entities billed the federal government more than $250 million in Medicaid spending between 2018 and 2024, though the outlet’s reporting cast doubt on whether the companies billed Medicaid correctly or provided the services.

Rep. Brandon Gill looks on during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 2025. (Getty Images)

WHISTLEBLOWER WARNS MASSIVE FRAUD IS HAPPENING IN OHIO SOMALI COMMUNITY, MINNESOTA: ‘JUST TIP OF THE SPEAR’

“Americans deserve truth, transparency and justice,” Gill said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “They are sick of being defrauded by government institutions and programs that should have been putting them first, not robbing their tax dollars.”

“Under his leadership, we will continue to expose radical ideologies being pushed on Americans and fight to safeguard our freedom that we’ve enjoyed as a nation for 250 years,” Comer said in a statement, adding that Gill, a freshman lawmaker, had become a pivotal player on the Oversight Committee.

Gill’s task force will have a broad purview, including investigating institutions that uphold diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, individuals who misuse immigration and social welfare programs, and efforts by foreign actors and dark money groups to censor Americans’ speech.

The panel’s creation comes as House Oversight Republicans are currently investigating social services fraud in Minnesota and California.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., tapped Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, to lead a new oversight panel focused on social services fraud, among other priorities. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

RAMASWAMY VOWS AGGRESSIVE MEDICAID CRACKDOWN AFTER REPORT ALLEGES MILLIONS BILLED FROM VACANT OHIO OFFICES

“The current Medicaid system either does not have sufficient internal controls to prevent and detect fraud or is not conducting proper oversight of these HCBS [Home and Community-Based Services] providers,” Comer and Gill wrote in the letter. “As a result, Americans across the country are paying for this fraud while vulnerable patients are being exploited.”

Comer has authorized the task force for six months, and Gill is expected to hold hearings at a later date. 

Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy has pledged to scrutinize the state’s Medicaid spending if elected governor in November.

“We’re going to have to take a deep, hard look at the way the $40-plus billion in state Medicaid dollars are being spent,” Ramaswamy told “Saturday in America” host Kayleigh McEnany.

Vivek Ramaswamy, seen speaking at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest 2025 in Phoenix on Dec. 19, 2025, is running for Ohio governor. (Jon Cherry/AP)

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“I think the right answer is any instance of waste, fraud, abuse … deserve[s] to be prosecuted, and we intend to investigate them aggressively, as well as to prosecute aggressively, to send a deterrent signal that our government is not a piggy bank. The taxpayer is not a piggy bank to be bilked.” 

The Ohio Department of Medicaid told the Daily Wire it has sufficient safeguards in place to combat fraud and had been investigating home health companies that may be abusing the system prior to the outlet’s reporting.

These days, mixed weather is being seen in Uttar Pradesh, at some places it is rainy season and at some places it is sunny. Due to which the heat has started increasing. Even today, the Meteorological Department has issued an alert of light drizzle to moderate rain in many districts from east to west. Strong winds with a speed of 40-50 km are also expected in Gorakhpur, Gonda and Basti. The weather will remain dry in the remaining parts.

According to the Meteorological Department, there will be a change in the weather again at many places in the Terai districts of Western and Eastern divisions of Uttar Pradesh today. During this period there will be thunderstorms and rain. Especially in Bahraich, Balrampur, Shravasti, Siddharthnagar, Gorakhpur, Gonda, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria, Sant Kabir Nagar, Basti, alert of thunderstorm and rain has been given.

Drizzle expected in these districts in UP

Apart from this, there will be cloud movement in Noida, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Agra, Firozabad, Hathras, Etah, Aligarh, Kasganj, Badaun, Sambhal, Hapur, Meerut, Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Saharanpur, Bijnor, Amroha, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Lakhimpur Kheri and Sitapur today. There are chances of light drizzle at some places. No specific warning has been given in these districts.

Weather will remain dry in Lucknow

Capital Lucknow Today the weather will be dry and sunny, there is a possibility of clear sky throughout the day, due to which the heat will bother people. There may be strong sunlight during the day Noida–Ghaziabad The weather may change after this afternoon. There may be light drizzle at some places. The maximum temperature here today will be up to 38 degrees.

A slight drop in temperature may be seen due to rain, but there will be no significant change. Today the weather will be dry in the rest of the state and there will be sunshine, which will increase the heat. Season The department has predicted the temperature to rise by 4-6 degrees Celsius in the next 5-6 days. The minimum temperature will also increase. From Thursday the rainy season will end in the state and the heat will start showing its colours.

One of the passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship posted video showing his quarantine room at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha as officials monitor a hantavirus outbreak tied to the voyage.

Jake Rosmarin, a passenger currently under quarantine, has been documenting his experience on social media, posting videos from both the ship and the medical facility. Fox News Digital has not independently verified the video.

Health officials have said the passengers are being monitored out of caution after potential exposure to Andes virus, a type of hantavirus, and have emphasized that the risk to the public remains low.

In one recent clip, Rosmarin showed his room, which included a wall-mounted hand sanitizer, a thermometer and other health provisions. The room also featured a stationary bike.

CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER DESCRIBES UNCERTAINTY AFTER 3 DEATHS AMID HANTAVIRUS PROBE

American passengers from the MV Hondius arrive in Omaha, Nebraska, after flying from Tenerife, Spain. (Nick Ingram/AP)

“I can have stuff sent here for the duration of my stay, so I’m definitely going to be getting some things for me to feel more at home and more comfortable,” Rosmarin said.

He added that he plans to continue sharing updates in the coming days and said he is currently feeling “well.”

Rosmarin also said he has not tested positive for hantavirus.

The footage shows conditions inside the quarantine unit as health officials monitor passengers for potential exposure following the outbreak.

CDC SPELLS OUT NEXT STEPS AFTER AMERICANS EXPOSED TO HANTAVIRUS ON CRUISE SHIP

Medical staff direct some of the last passengers to be evacuated from the MV Hondius on May 11, 2026 in Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands, Spain. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Health officials have said passengers may be allowed to leave the Nebraska facility before a 42-day monitoring period ends if they meet certain conditions, including remaining symptom-free and being able to safely isolate at home.

Officials will also evaluate whether individuals can maintain contact with local health departments and quickly access testing or medical care if symptoms develop.

Of the 18 individuals transported to the U.S. after the outbreak, 16 are in Nebraska and two are in Atlanta. Most are in quarantine, while one individual was placed in a biocontainment unit after an earlier test result.

Passengers watch as others disembark from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, on May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)

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Officials have emphasized that the risk to the general public remains low, noting that the Andes variant of hantavirus does not spread easily and typically requires prolonged, close contact with a symptomatic individual.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts is a step closer to serving a full six-year term in the Senate, after winning renomination in red-leaning Nebraska’s primary.

Ricketts, who was appointed in 2023 to replace Ben Sasse, and who won a 2024 special election to fill out the final two years of Sasse’s term, topped four GOP primary challengers on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

Ricketts now heads to this autumn’s midterm elections, where he will face off in what’s expected to be a competitive Senate race against independent candidate Dan Osborn, the industrial mechanic and military veteran who gave Republican Sen. Deb Fischer a scare in her 2024 re-election.

Tuesday’s primary was held with less than six months to go until the midterm elections, when Republicans aim to hold their razor-thin House and slim Senate majorities, and Democrats hope to ride a blue wave to escape the political wilderness.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Independent candidate Dan Osborn this year is making a second straight run for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)

Even though the Nebraska Democratic Party supports Osborn in the general election, community college instructor Cindy Burbank and pastor Bill Forbes faced off for the Democrats’ nomination in the primary.

Both candidates were last-minute filers, and some Nebraska Democrats alleged that Forbes jumped into the race so that a Democrat would be on the fall ballot and siphon votes away from Osborn to help Ricketts.

SIX MONTHS TILL MIDTERMS: THE TEN RACES THAT WILL DETERMINE THE SENATE’S MAJORITY

The Nebraska state capitol building in Lincoln, Nebraska (Getty Images)

Forbes denied the claims.

Burbank says she jumped into the race to keep Forbes off the ballot in November.

Ricketts is the eldest son of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, and along with other family members, is part owner of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs.

DEMOCRATS EYE NARROW PATH TO CAPTURE SENATE MAJORITY, BUT ONE WRONG MOVE COULD SINK THEM

Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts is running this year to serve a full six-year term in the U.S. Senate. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Ricketts won election in 2014 and re-election in 2018 as Nebraska governor. One week after finishing his second term, he was appointed to the U.S. Senate by his successor as governor, Republican Jim Pillen.

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Top nonpartisan political handicappers rank the Senate general election showdown in Nebraska as likely Republican.

The GOP currently controls the Senate with a 53-47 majority.