On April 28, federal authorities swept through over 20 locations in Minneapolis as part of a fraud investigation into charities – including the infamous Quality Learing [sic] Center – that were largely owned by Somalis who stand accused of ripping off the state of Minnesota.
So, how much time did the broadcast (ABC, CBS, NBC) evening news shows devote to this big win for the citizens of Minnesota?
Just 125 seconds.
MRC analysts looked at the week (April 28 - May 5) of coverage since the April 28 raid and found just 2 minutes, 5 seconds (all of it in one segment on the April 28 edition of NBC’s Nightly News) was devoted to the effort to shut down the Somali scams.
ABC’s World News Tonight and CBS Evening News have yet to air a second on the raids.
The almost complete silence is probably because the networks don’t EVER want to grant the Trump administration a win.
This stands in sharp contrast to the coverage back in January after the fatal shooting of left-wing agitator Renee Good by an ICE officer.
From January 7 through January 17, 2026, the broadcast evening news programs aired a total of 121 minutes and 26 seconds of coverage devoted to the topic, of which a whopping 93 percent was negative toward federal immigration officials.
That is 58 times the coverage spent on the raids of the fraudulent Minneapolis charities.
WATCH: @NBCNightlyNews had the sole report on the Minnesota fraud raids across the broadcast network evening news dial.
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 29, 2026
TOM LLAMAS: In Minnesota tonight, federal and state agents executing more than 20 search warrants at businesses across the Twin Cities, raids linked to a… pic.twitter.com/OcLVyFyn48
The following is the sum total of broadcast evening news show coverage on the April 28 raids:
NBC Nightly News
April 28, 2026TOM LLAMAS: In Minnesota tonight, federal and state agents executing more than 20 search warrants at businesses across the Twin Cities, raids linked to a growing fraud scandal that has reached the steps of The White House. Maggie Vespa has been following this one for us and has this story.
MAGGIE VESPA: Tonight, new raids rocking Minnesota, with video showing federal and state authorities executing more than 20 search warrants at sites across the Twin Cities, including autism centers, child care facilities and at least one senior center. All, federal authorities say, tied to allegations of widespread welfare fraud within Minnesota’s large Somali community.
NICK SHIRLEY: It’s just a simple question: where are the children at?
VESPA: Allegations reignited by this viral video posted four months ago by a right-wing influencer claiming multiple Somali-run child care centers in Minnesota were fraudulently collecting state subsidies while sitting empty. But according to the state agency in charge, those centers were operating “as expected.” Today’s raids marking the boldest move yet by a White House fraud task force led by Vice President Vance.
JD VANCE: You have families who need these services, who are unable to get them, because people are getting rich off of fraud schemes.
VESPA: The Trump administration repeatedly citing the fraud allegations as cause for launching high-profile immigration raids in Minneapolis earlier this year, during which at least two U.S. citizens were shot and killed. Governor Tim Walz denouncing the ICE operations but applauding today’s raids. And the Minnesota Department of Human Services saying they’re “fed up” with people taking advantage of the system.
LLAMAS: And Maggie, you’re at one of the centers raided today. You just talked to an employee there. What’d they tell you?
VESPA: Yeah Tom, that’s right. She just came to this door behind me, she told me she's been turning parents away all day, and that the owner right now isn’t here to comment. It’s worth noting we reached out to him as well as two other centers. So far, no response. We also mentioned Governor Walz in that piece. He dropped his reelection bid amid this fraud scandal. He’s set to give his final State of the State tonight. Tom.
LLAMAS: Maggie Vespa for us. Maggie, we thank you.
For this study, MRC analysts looked at the broadcast evening (ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News) from April 28 through May 5.
