Human Race: Fraud scandal stumble

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Jan. 5 that he will not seek reelection for a third term amid a growing scandal over fraud in social service programs in his state. “I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all,” he said in a statement. Prosecutors allege that fraudsters stole as much as $9 billion by setting up companies that billed state agencies for social services they never provided. To date, prosecutors have charged 98 defendants, 85 of whom are of Somali descent. Pressure on Walz escalated in December after a video by YouTuber Nick Shirley exposing alleged fraud went viral on social media. The scandal prompted the Department of Homeland Security to send 2,000 federal agents to Minnesota. Local opposition to the federal presence in the city boiled over on Jan. 7, when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a woman during a protest. On Jan. 8, the Trump administration also announced it would set up a new division for national fraud enforcement within the Department of Justice. Politically, the revelations became a major liability for Walz’s administration, with opponents arguing that regulators ignored warnings and allowed payments to continue. Walz rose to national prominence after then–Vice President Kamala Harris selected him to be her running mate in her unsuccessful 2024 ­presidential campaign.

Faith conviction

Nayereh Arjaneh, an Iranian Christian, began serving a five-year prison sentence on Dec. 23. Authorities arrested Arjaneh and her husband Qasem Esmaili in July after the couple attended a Christian training event in Turkey. After being released on bail, Arjaneh was convicted of promoting anti-­Islamic teaching and supporting “groups affiliated with Zionist Christianity.” According to Iran’s government, proselytizing for any religion besides Islam is an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Arjaneh was sentenced to five years for each offense and will serve both simultaneously. Officials allowed her husband, who was also ­convicted, to postpone his jail time while he undergoes cancer treatment. —Bekah Bernhardt

Up for grabs

California Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s sudden death on Jan. 6 left a void in the state’s rural Northern district and diminished the GOP’s narrow majority in the U.S. House to 218 seats. Democrats hold 213 seats. LaMalfa, 65, was a fourth-­generation rice farmer and staunch supporter of President Donald Trump who served seven terms in the House. He died during an emergency surgery. LaMalfa had planned to run for reelection after state voters passed Proposition 50, redrawing his district to skew Democratic. Two Democrats had already announced plans to seek the seat. It’s not clear who might join the GOP ticket. Voters will pick someone to fill the rest of LaMalfa’s term and then vote again in November to fill the next two-year term. —Mary Jackson

Deadly diagnosis

Messages of support poured in during the Christmas holiday for former Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse who announced his terminal cancer diagnosis in a social media post. Sasse, 53, described pancreatic cancer as “nasty stuff” and “a death sentence.” But he also vowed not to go down without a fight. Voters sent Sasse to Washington in 2014. He was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump of “incitement of insurrection” after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Sasse retained his Senate seat until 2023, when he resigned two years before the end of his term to lead the University of Florida. He left the college in 2024 after doctors diagnosed his wife with epilepsy. —Leigh Jones

Public confession

Bestselling Christian author Philip Yancey has withdrawn from all writing and speaking engagements after confessing to an eight-year affair with a married woman. “My conduct defied everything that I believe about marriage,” Yancey, 76, wrote in a letter to Christianity Today. “It was also totally inconsistent with my faith and my writings and caused deep pain for her husband and both of our families.” Yancey, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2023, has been married to his wife, Janet, for 55 years. His books, including The Jesus I Never Knew and What’s So Amazing About Grace?, sold more than 15 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages. —Kim Henderson

Pending pay cut

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., has vowed to fight a Pentagon decision to censure him for appearing in a video urging military members to refuse orders they believe are illegal. Kelly and several other members of Congress released the video in November. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called Kelly’s comments reckless and seditious with the clear intention of undermining military discipline. Kelly is a retired captain and receives retirement pay from the Navy. In addition to the formal censure, Hegseth said, Kelly might also face a demotion and pension reduction. On Jan. 12, Kelly filed a federal lawsuit, claiming the administration was punishing him for protected political speech. —L.J.

Prison purchase

Social activist Kerwin Pittman has purchased an abandoned prison in Goldsboro, N.C., to help others who, like him, have served time. Pittman spent 11 years behind bars for conspiracy to commit murder, then went on to found his own recidivism reduction nonprofit after his release. The prison property will further his plans to create reentry housing and a workforce campus where residents can train to become tradesmen. Pittman said he bought the property for less than a million dollars and will spend twice that much to refurbish it. —K.H.

Political target

Christine Crowder, a Catholic school teacher from Texas, became the face of political targeting in January as lawmakers marked the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., released investigative files from the Biden administration showing how it weaponized federal agencies against Crowder after she was falsely accused of participating in the riots. Crowder attended President Donald Trump’s rally on the Ellipse hours before the riot, but never set foot inside the Capitol. Yet Biden’s FBI labeled Crowder as a domestic terrorist and subjected her to nearly two years of physical federal surveillance. The investigation centered on an unverified tip from a disgruntled neighbor, and continued after digital evidence failed to implicate her. —Christina Grube