JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's president on Tuesday invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and government prosecutors to his official residence in hopes of brokering a settlement to end an ongoing corruption case against the Israeli leader.
President Isaac Herzog's office issued the invitation days after announcing that he would not decide on Netanyahu's request for a pardon and instead urge the sides to reach a settlement.
The invitation, signed by Herzog's legal adviser, said the president believes that efforts to reach a settlement “must be exhausted first” before he can consider the pardon request. It said it aimed for discussions to take place “with an open heart and sincere, good intention” and asked for a response by Sunday.
Netanyahu last November asked Herzog to cancel his trial, saying that dropping the charges would help unify the country. U.S. President Donald Trump has made multiple appeals to Herzog to end the trial.
Netanyahu is charged with breach of trust, fraud and accepting bribes in three separate cases accusing him of exchanging favors with wealthy associates. He denies all charges.
The trial has dragged on for six years in a case that has bitterly divided the Israeli public. Netanyahu and his supporters claim he is the victim of a politically motivated witch hunt by the media, police and prosecutors.
There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu's office or the attorney general's office.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, centre, and his wife Sara, left, and Israel's President Isaac Herzog attend a ceremony commemorating Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers, or Yom HaZikaron, at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Tuesday April 21, 2026. (Ilia Yefimovich/Pool Photo via AP)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents executed multiple searches in Minnesota on Tuesday, seizing records and other evidence in an ongoing fraud investigation by the Trump administration of publicly funded social programs for children, authorities said.
Few details were released, though armed agents were seen at childcare centers in the Minneapolis area. KSTP-TV said one crew even had a battering ram.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who has been on the defensive amid Trump administration claims that he hasn't done enough to root out fraud, welcomed the raids. The state child welfare agency said it shared key information with law enforcement to "hold bad actors accountable."
“We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information. Joint investigations work, and securing justice depends on it,” Walz said.
The searches were being conducted at daycares, businesses and some residences, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.
Tensions between Minnesota officials and the federal government were high during an extraordinary immigration crackdown that led to the deaths of two people before Operation Metro Surge was eased in February.
Before that crackdown, the government had brought fraud charges against dozens of people, many of them Somali Americans, who were accused of fleecing a federal program that was meant to provide food to children. The investigation began during the Biden administration. More than 60 people have been convicted.
Various state and federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, participated in searches Tuesday. Officers from Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were removing boxes at some sites.
“The American people deserve to know how their taxpayer money was abused. ... No stone will be left unturned,” said DHS, which also noted the cooperation of local and state authorities.
On social media, FBI Director Kash Patel said Walz didn't deserve much credit "while we smoke out the fraud plaguing Minnesota under your governorship.”
Jason Steck, an attorney who represents childcare centers, said the names of targeted businesses that were shared with him show they're operated by Somali immigrants. They were not his clients.
“A few childcare centers, a few autism centers, a few healthcare agencies of some type," Steck said, adding that it appeared to be a "particular sweep for fraud.”
The executive director of Child Care Aware of Minnesota, a nonprofit that serves childhood educators, said the publicity will be unflattering.
“The majority are in business to do good business. You’re going to come across individuals who try to capitalize on systems that are broken and need to be fixed," Candace Yates said.
Right-wing influencer Nick Shirley posted a video in December that caught the attention of the Trump administration. He alleged that members of Minnesota's Somali community were running fake child care centers so they could collect federal subsidies, fueling suspicions on top of the food aid scandal. The claims were disproven by inspectors.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has used dehumanizing rhetoric, calling Somali immigrants “garbage” and “low IQ.”
In February, Vice President JD Vance said the government would temporarily halt $243 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota over fraud concerns. Minnesota sued in response, warning it may have to cut healthcare for low-income families, but a judge on April 6 declined to grant a restraining order.
Walz told Congress in March that he wanted to work with the federal government in fraud investigations, but that the immigration surge had made it more difficult.
“The people of Minnesota have been singled out and targeted for political retribution at an unparalleled scale,” he said at the time.
Durkin Richer reported from Washington. AP reporters Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis and Corey Williams and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this story.
Federal and state officials load evidence into a vehicle as they execute a search warrant at The Original Childcare Center in south Minneapolis, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
A federal police officer stands outside the Metro Learning Center in Minneapolis as federal agents execute a search warrant, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
State and federal agents remove boxes of evidence collected from Metro Learning Center on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
A federal officer stands outside the Mako Child Care Center in Minneapolis, Minn., Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (Anthony Soufflé/Minnesota Star Tribune via AP)
FBI agents walk outside the Mako Child Care Center in Minneapolis, Minn. on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (Anthony Soufflé/Minnesota Star Tribune via AP)
FILE - Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on oversight of fraud and misuse of Federal funds in Minnesota, March 4, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)
