Verdict with Ted Cruz - February 26, 2026


BONUS POD： Deadliest U.S.–Cuba Flashpoint in Decades plus MN's Outrageous Medicaid Scam


Episode Stats

Length

17 minutes

Words per Minute

162.44206

Word Count

2,839

Sentence Count

245

Misogynist Sentences

1

Hate Speech Sentences

2


Summary

The Cuban Coast Guard opens fire on a U.S. registered speedboat off the coast of Cuba, killing four people on board and injuring six others. The White House and Sen. Marco Rubio respond to the incident and offer their condolences to the families of the victims. Meanwhile, the White House announces a $250 million payment to Minnesota.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.500 Guaranteed human.
00:00:04.580 First, get your take on the president really handing the Democrats an opportunity to profess
00:00:10.180 their duty and dedication to protect American citizens first.
00:00:14.100 They refuse to do that.
00:00:15.860 You couldn't have asked for a better gift to show the American people the difference
00:00:19.560 between Donald Trump and Republican candidates that want to work with him and the Democratic
00:00:24.680 Party who says, no, no, no, we do not put Americans first.
00:00:28.420 We put illegal immigrants first.
00:00:30.980 We protect waste, fraud, and abuse that's happening in Minnesota.
00:00:34.480 We put these criminals ahead of you.
00:00:37.240 That tells you what the Democratic Party will do if they're back in power.
00:00:41.920 You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:00:45.920 Good Thursday morning.
00:00:46.860 Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update.
00:00:49.280 And we've got two major stories for you.
00:00:51.340 First up, Cuba Coast Guard opens fire on a U.S.-registered speedboat, killing four.
00:00:57.040 The White House has a response as well as Marco Rubio.
00:01:00.960 And we'll explain what this means for all Americans and for what's going on with Cuba relations.
00:01:07.580 Also, fraud.
00:01:09.220 We know it's massive in Minnesota.
00:01:11.580 And that's exactly why the vice president announcing with Dr. Oz that a major payment,
00:01:17.720 more than $250 million, is being paused going to Minnesota until they can prove that they're
00:01:24.200 actually not taking that money and using it for fraudulent means.
00:01:29.340 This is a big move for the Trump administration.
00:01:32.540 It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now.
00:01:36.000 Story number one.
00:01:37.480 We have to talk about the dramatic and deadly international incident that's unfolding right now.
00:01:42.780 One that has shaken nerves across Washington, Miami, and Havana.
00:01:48.200 The Cuban Coast Guard opening fire on a U.S.-registered speedboat,
00:01:54.160 killing four people and injuring others in what Cuba calls an infiltration attempt
00:01:59.820 inside its territorial waters.
00:02:02.980 We're going to walk you through everything we know,
00:02:05.880 what Cuba is now claiming, as well as America's reaction.
00:02:09.500 We have comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and why this matters both geopolitically
00:02:16.220 and also for our national security.
00:02:19.560 Now, Florida registered speedboat flying U.S. documentation.
00:02:23.300 We assume that means an American flag.
00:02:26.080 It was intercepted by Cuban Border Guard troops.
00:02:29.680 This, again, right close to, they claim, their border.
00:02:34.100 According to the Cuban government official account,
00:02:36.500 when its border guard units approach the vessel to identify it
00:02:41.140 and challenge what Cuba considers a violation of its territorial waters,
00:02:46.960 those aboard open fire first, they're claiming.
00:02:50.520 Cuban authorities say the armed occupants fired on the Cuban patrol,
00:02:55.780 wounding a commander.
00:02:57.300 In response, Cuban forces returned fire.
00:03:00.480 The result?
00:03:01.140 Four people on the speedboat were killed and six others were wounded.
00:03:06.500 The injured were reportedly evacuated for medical treatment,
00:03:10.720 and Cuban authorities say they have also detained survivors.
00:03:15.840 Cuba claims the boat carried 10 passengers who were Cuban nationals living in the United States
00:03:22.560 and that many of them had a history of criminal or violent activity.
00:03:27.220 Officials even alleged the passengers were carrying assault rifles,
00:03:30.280 handguns, as well as bulletproof vests, telescopic sights, and camouflaged gear.
00:03:37.080 And were attempting an armed infiltration for terrorist purposes.
00:03:41.840 Now, again, this is coming from Cuba's government.
00:03:45.560 The authorities also released names of several of those on board,
00:03:48.760 including at least one of the four killed
00:03:51.100 and several of the survivors who are now in custody.
00:03:54.720 But here's a key point that many of you need to know.
00:03:58.600 The U.S. government has not independently verified
00:04:01.540 any of what the Cuban government is actually saying on their version of the events.
00:04:06.560 Details about the boat, the motives of those on board,
00:04:09.760 and whether Cuba claims of armed terrorism are accurate
00:04:14.020 remain obviously unconfirmed.
00:04:16.800 Which brings us to the U.S. response.
00:04:19.440 Marco Rubio in Washington weighing in saying this.
00:04:22.580 So this morning, we were made aware by Cuban authorities
00:04:26.260 of an incident off the coast of Cuba.
00:04:29.320 We immediately began to look into it.
00:04:32.600 As it stands now, the Department of Homeland Security,
00:04:35.240 the Coast Guard, others are involved.
00:04:37.600 The majority of the information we still possess
00:04:39.680 is what Cuban authorities are providing,
00:04:41.460 both the public and the U.S. government.
00:04:44.220 We have our embassy on the ground in Havana working this as we speak,
00:04:47.800 asking for access to the people that were on those vessels,
00:04:51.060 if they were American citizens or permanent residents.
00:04:53.580 According to the Cuban regime, the boat was registered in Florida.
00:04:59.040 We're tracking that down.
00:05:00.580 We will know shortly, and we will know quickly,
00:05:02.880 many more facts about this incident.
00:05:05.420 The majority of the facts, we will verify that independently.
00:05:08.540 And as we gather more information,
00:05:10.320 then we'll be prepared to respond accordingly.
00:05:13.180 I'm not going to speculate.
00:05:15.280 I'm not going to opine on what I don't know.
00:05:18.680 But we're going to find out exactly what happened here,
00:05:21.160 and then we'll respond accordingly.
00:05:23.100 Now, Rubio also stressed that there is no indication
00:05:26.220 that this was a U.S. government operation
00:05:28.300 and that Washington had no involvement in the speedboat's activity.
00:05:32.300 At the same time, he described events like this as highly unusual,
00:05:36.100 saying that shootouts on the open sea between Cuba forces
00:05:39.120 and U.S. flagged boats simply don't happen every day.
00:05:42.020 And he urged calm while this investigation continues.
00:05:46.860 Now, beyond Rubio's comments,
00:05:48.340 other U.S. leaders have reacted with concern as well.
00:05:52.020 The Vice President, J.D. Vance,
00:05:53.520 said the White House is monitoring the situation closely,
00:05:56.700 though he did not provide further details.
00:05:59.720 Florida officials, including the state attorney general
00:06:02.200 and members of Congress,
00:06:03.960 have also called for a thorough investigation
00:06:06.440 and accountability if Cuba use excessive or unjustified force.
00:06:11.480 Now, this is not just a headline story.
00:06:14.940 It's a major flashpoint in already tense U.S.-Cuba relations.
00:06:19.380 And this is the reason why it's such a big deal.
00:06:22.140 Territorial sovereignty versus international law.
00:06:25.280 That is what's at stake.
00:06:27.040 Cuba is claiming this was a violation of its territorial waters
00:06:30.960 and armed attempt to infiltrate or carry out a violent activity on their land.
00:06:36.900 But the U.S. has not corroborated that either.
00:06:41.060 The question now is,
00:06:42.500 did the ship actually engage in any hostile actions towards Cuba?
00:06:46.700 Or was it something else entirely?
00:06:49.800 The facts are still very unclear.
00:06:52.120 And that's exactly why you have Rubio,
00:06:54.600 the White House, and J.D. Vance all saying,
00:06:56.840 we're not going to trust Cuba's word for this.
00:06:59.040 We're going to do our own investigation
00:07:01.520 because we cannot trust them.
00:07:04.340 There's also the historical context here.
00:07:07.060 There is a long and fraught history between the U.S. and Cuba
00:07:09.760 when it comes to maritime confrontations.
00:07:12.620 As you know, one of the most famous was back in 1996
00:07:15.600 when brothers to the rescue shoot down.
00:07:18.880 The Cuban forces shot down two civilian planes near the island,
00:07:23.900 killing four Americans.
00:07:25.020 That episode deeply scarred the U.S.-Cuba relations
00:07:28.880 and, well, reignited calls in Congress
00:07:31.260 for a hardline approach to Cuba.
00:07:33.900 This new incident recalls that legacy.
00:07:37.180 And given the current hardline U.S. posture towards Havana
00:07:39.880 under the Trump administration,
00:07:41.920 it's pretty clear the stakes are probably even higher.
00:07:45.400 Now, relations have been increasingly strained.
00:07:48.020 The U.S. has tightened sanctions,
00:07:50.120 cut off all of the Venezuelan oil shipments
00:07:52.700 that Cuba depends on and publicly labeled the island
00:07:56.140 an extraordinary threat.
00:07:58.460 Havana, for its part, has reacted with defiance
00:08:01.640 and rhetoric about sovereignty.
00:08:03.420 The latest episode could set off a real diplomatic crisis
00:08:06.480 if it's not handled carefully.
00:08:09.140 There's also the safety of U.S. citizens.
00:08:11.480 At the heart of this is the question of human lives.
00:08:14.900 You have four people who are dead,
00:08:17.240 six others that are wounded,
00:08:18.880 and their families deserve answers.
00:08:20.740 Because if it turns out that these were U.S. residents,
00:08:25.020 or citizens,
00:08:26.320 then the Trump administration will have to make
00:08:28.120 some very tough decisions about how to respond
00:08:30.280 to Cuba's actions,
00:08:32.080 especially if their actions were aggressive in nature
00:08:35.060 from the beginning.
00:08:36.740 So right now, here's what we know.
00:08:38.680 The truth is unknown,
00:08:40.120 and the Cuban narrative is just one version,
00:08:42.680 and more than likely a version the U.S. government
00:08:44.380 cannot trust at all.
00:08:46.060 That's why the Trump administration is making it clear
00:08:48.440 that the U.S. government investigations are ramping up
00:08:51.560 to find the actual factual record.
00:08:54.800 And in the coming days,
00:08:55.740 we're likely to see U.S. verification of identities
00:08:58.540 of those aboard the speedboat.
00:09:00.860 Statements also from Florida law enforcement
00:09:03.020 and possibly federal intelligence as well.
00:09:06.400 An international reaction from the Caribbean community
00:09:09.200 and NATO partners,
00:09:10.720 as well as congressional pressure on the administration
00:09:13.080 for accountability and an American response.
00:09:16.660 The story is far from over.
00:09:18.700 One thing's for sure,
00:09:19.940 Donald Trump has already pledged
00:09:21.300 that he'll get to the bottom of exactly what happened.
00:09:23.940 Next, story number two.
00:09:25.180 In a major federal action today,
00:09:28.360 the Trump administration has gone after
00:09:31.020 the Biden-era Medicaid funding system
00:09:33.780 that has become ground zero
00:09:35.320 for what Donald Trump has called a war on fraud.
00:09:39.780 Vice President J.D. Vance,
00:09:42.280 tasked by President Trump
00:09:43.500 with leading a nationwide crackdown on government fraud,
00:09:46.300 and Dr. Oz,
00:09:47.440 the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
00:09:51.200 announced that the federal government
00:09:52.880 is temporarily halting about $259.5 million
00:09:58.740 in Medicaid reimbursements to the state of Minnesota.
00:10:02.580 Now, that's more than a quarter of a billion dollars
00:10:05.860 that the federal government had planned
00:10:07.940 to send to Minnesota for Medicaid spending,
00:10:10.660 and it's being paused until the state can prove
00:10:13.660 that it's properly policing the program
00:10:16.680 and preventing taxpayer dollars
00:10:19.280 from being wasted or flat-out stolen.
00:10:23.520 At a joint press conference,
00:10:25.860 Vance said the move is aimed squarely
00:10:28.840 at ensuring Minnesota takes its obligations seriously
00:10:32.680 to be good stewards of the American people's tax money.
00:10:36.900 Here's more of what Dr. Oz and the Vice President
00:10:40.440 had to say in a major move
00:10:42.760 to stop corruption in Minnesota.
00:10:45.620 There is a fraud scheme in Minnesota
00:10:47.960 where criminals, soon-to-be criminals,
00:10:51.580 pay moms $1,000 roughly
00:10:53.700 in order to enroll their children as being autistic,
00:10:57.300 falsely, dishonestly claiming their children are autistic.
00:11:00.380 They then bill Medicaid.
00:11:01.740 This has already happened.
00:11:02.720 Millions of dollars for services
00:11:03.920 that were never rendered, never delivered
00:11:05.780 by a qualified staff member.
00:11:07.640 These schemes disproportionately involve
00:11:09.260 immigrant communities.
00:11:10.740 They're insulated.
00:11:11.380 They're able to organize efforts,
00:11:13.540 and sometimes they don't understand what's going on.
00:11:15.460 And it ultimately diverts resources
00:11:17.180 away from kids who truly have autism.
00:11:18.860 Because if every kid in the neighborhood is autism,
00:11:21.520 then nobody has autism
00:11:22.740 in terms of how you can manage them.
00:11:24.780 There was one behavioral...
00:11:26.200 And by the way, these kids,
00:11:27.000 they carry that diagnosis of autism
00:11:28.540 the rest of their lives.
00:11:29.980 Their mom made a bad decision.
00:11:31.240 The kid pays the price for the rest of their life.
00:11:33.400 There's one behavioral health organization,
00:11:35.520 Mr. Vice President, in Minnesota.
00:11:37.240 They received $11.5 million in Medicaid payments,
00:11:39.840 but the top biller submitted 450 days
00:11:43.800 where they claimed they were working
00:11:45.040 more than 24 hours a day.
00:11:46.620 I mean, even in the White House, that's tough.
00:11:48.980 It's hard to work more than 24 hours a day.
00:11:50.960 How it didn't get picked up is shocking to us at CMS.
00:11:54.280 There are other red flags in Minnesota,
00:11:55.780 including hundreds of beneficiaries
00:11:57.140 receiving treatment linked to one location,
00:11:59.060 which was impossible physically to be true.
00:12:01.900 We had eight beneficiaries
00:12:03.020 in one of these substance use disorder centers,
00:12:05.120 eight who were already dead,
00:12:07.020 but the center was still billing us.
00:12:09.380 Not only did they let the person pass,
00:12:11.340 they kept billing for it.
00:12:12.340 That's the level of average we're talking about.
00:12:13.900 So CMS is done paying and chasing.
00:12:16.260 We don't think jail sentences are the right way out.
00:12:18.180 These criminals flee the country.
00:12:19.600 Many are foreign nationals.
00:12:20.920 Instead, we're launching the largest action
00:12:22.620 against fraud that we've ever taken.
00:12:24.900 The money's not going to ever leave the building again.
00:12:27.200 We're going to start draining the swamp
00:12:29.140 of the crooks that have inhabited it
00:12:30.820 and are defrauding us.
00:12:31.980 There are three bold actions.
00:12:33.780 The first, and for many of you,
00:12:35.820 maybe the most important,
00:12:37.140 is we're going to, for the first time,
00:12:38.640 take a massive action to defer funds to a state.
00:12:41.720 Let's start with this Medicaid program in Minnesota,
00:12:44.060 which serves pregnant women.
00:12:45.220 Medicaid takes care of our children.
00:12:46.560 53% of kids are born in the poverty.
00:12:48.860 They're supported through Medicaid.
00:12:50.540 Disadvantaged seniors.
00:12:51.660 Individual disabilities.
00:12:52.600 It's unponderable that you would take advantage
00:12:56.340 of these precious programs.
00:12:57.700 Yet, they are putting it at risk,
00:12:59.740 all of it, by stealing the money.
00:13:01.660 So it's our duty to preserve Medicaid.
00:13:03.320 And what we're going to do is identify the scammers,
00:13:06.380 which we have done in Minnesota.
00:13:08.060 We've identified that they've hijacked,
00:13:09.560 in particular, a certain part
00:13:10.840 of the Minnesota Medicaid system.
00:13:13.020 Said differently,
00:13:14.120 and I'll just put the numbers out there,
00:13:15.440 it's going to be $259 million
00:13:18.120 of deferred payments for Medicaid to Minnesota,
00:13:21.620 which we're announcing as I speak
00:13:23.400 to Governor Walz and his team.
00:13:25.780 And that's based on an audit
00:13:26.940 of the last three months of 2025.
00:13:29.180 Restated, a quarter billion dollars
00:13:31.320 is not going to be paid this month
00:13:33.760 to Minnesota for its Medicaid claims.
00:13:36.600 Now, that's a million,
00:13:37.440 rather a quarter billion dollars of money
00:13:39.440 that's your money.
00:13:40.760 It's your taxpayer money.
00:13:42.520 And these home and community-based services,
00:13:44.640 which, again, are services
00:13:45.840 that are typically things you would do
00:13:47.120 for your family,
00:13:48.260 but for whatever reason,
00:13:49.180 your family's not there to provide them
00:13:50.500 are very hard to audit.
00:13:51.860 And for that reason,
00:13:52.560 there's been a lot of slippage.
00:13:53.960 The guardrails have not been well maintained.
00:13:55.860 And if you're not serious
00:13:56.940 about the integrity of the program,
00:13:58.460 you'll see these problems
00:13:59.520 happening in your state,
00:14:00.500 which is why Minnesota's not alone,
00:14:02.500 although they're the first
00:14:03.240 to receive this action.
00:14:05.340 These high-growth areas of fraud
00:14:07.020 are difficult to police,
00:14:08.820 and so we require the states
00:14:09.980 to take these issues seriously.
00:14:11.740 This quarter billion dollar deferment
00:14:14.000 is hopefully going to get
00:14:15.020 on the radar screen
00:14:15.960 for the state of Minnesota
00:14:17.500 and make sure they are responsive
00:14:18.980 to our requests.
00:14:20.340 We did what any honest
00:14:21.200 and patient-focused agency would do.
00:14:23.020 We have notified the state
00:14:24.520 that we will give them the money,
00:14:26.800 but we're going to hold it
00:14:27.840 and only release it
00:14:29.480 after they propose an act
00:14:30.800 on a comprehensive corrective action plan
00:14:32.820 to solve the problem.
00:14:34.280 If Minnesota fails to clean up the systems,
00:14:36.340 the state will rack up a billion dollars
00:14:37.940 of deferred payments this year.
00:14:40.120 Governor Walz has 60 days,
00:14:41.880 60 days, sir,
00:14:42.860 to respond to our letter,
00:14:44.500 and if providers and beneficiaries
00:14:46.000 are worried about getting their money
00:14:47.300 in services,
00:14:47.920 please call your governor.
00:14:49.220 These are services
00:14:49.860 the governor has already paid for.
00:14:51.800 We are just not reimbursing the state.
00:14:53.720 To make it clear,
00:14:54.340 there is a rainy day fund in Minnesota,
00:14:55.780 so we are very confident
00:14:57.280 that people will not be hurt in Minnesota.
00:14:59.960 This is not a problem
00:15:00.760 with the people of Minnesota.
00:15:01.640 It's a problem with the leadership
00:15:02.620 of Minnesota and other states
00:15:04.140 who do not take Medicaid
00:15:05.180 preservation seriously.
00:15:06.700 You listen to Dr. Oz there,
00:15:08.440 and he lays it out perfectly,
00:15:10.000 exactly who they're at war with.
00:15:12.280 It is not the people in Minnesota.
00:15:14.860 It is those in charge of Minnesota
00:15:17.420 that are allowing this to happen.
00:15:19.220 Vice President J.D. Vance
00:15:20.780 putting it this way.
00:15:22.420 We're announcing today
00:15:23.560 that we have decided
00:15:24.920 to temporarily halt
00:15:28.200 certain amounts of Medicaid funding
00:15:30.600 that are going to the state of Minnesota
00:15:32.900 in order to ensure
00:15:34.640 that the state of Minnesota
00:15:35.880 takes its obligations seriously
00:15:37.660 to be good stewards
00:15:39.660 of the American people's tax money.
00:15:41.900 Now, what is this going to mean?
00:15:43.440 What this means is that,
00:15:44.680 first of all,
00:15:45.560 the providers on the ground
00:15:47.280 in Minnesota
00:15:47.880 have actually already been paid.
00:15:49.580 The state has paid
00:15:50.360 those providers the money.
00:15:51.780 What we're doing
00:15:52.640 is we are stopping
00:15:53.700 the federal payments
00:15:54.720 that will go to the state government
00:15:56.480 until the state government
00:15:58.680 takes its obligations seriously
00:16:01.840 to stop the fraud
00:16:03.800 that's being perpetrated
00:16:04.760 against the American taxpayers.
00:16:06.140 Now, the Vice President
00:16:07.820 and Dr. Oz
00:16:08.860 officially halting
00:16:10.220 a quarter of a billion dollars
00:16:11.360 in federal Medicaid payments
00:16:12.780 to Tim Walz
00:16:13.500 in the state of Minnesota
00:16:14.240 is massive.
00:16:15.660 They're cutting off the cash.
00:16:18.240 This is massive
00:16:19.180 because of the fraud,
00:16:20.700 and they know the money
00:16:22.040 is going to fraud.
00:16:23.720 So they're saying,
00:16:24.460 the governor,
00:16:25.420 open your books,
00:16:27.440 show us,
00:16:28.720 do an investigation,
00:16:30.460 make sure we understand
00:16:32.040 exactly what's happening here.
00:16:34.020 And if you can show
00:16:36.260 that the money's not going
00:16:37.280 to massive fraud,
00:16:38.240 fine,
00:16:38.740 you can have the money.
00:16:40.480 This is exactly,
00:16:41.660 by the way,
00:16:42.240 what so many Americans
00:16:43.180 were hoping would happen
00:16:44.300 when Trump was elected,
00:16:45.320 accountability,
00:16:46.600 and Donald Trump
00:16:47.280 is now doing it right now
00:16:49.180 in real time
00:16:50.060 to Minnesota.
00:16:50.820 Thank you for listening
00:16:51.960 to the 47 Morning Update
00:16:53.680 with Ben Ferguson.
00:16:55.360 Please make sure
00:16:56.240 you hit subscribe
00:16:57.160 wherever you're listening
00:16:58.620 to this podcast right now,
00:17:00.400 and for more in-depth news,
00:17:02.360 also subscribe
00:17:03.180 to the Ben Ferguson Podcast,
00:17:05.080 and we will see you
00:17:06.000 back here tomorrow.
00:17:07.980 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:17:10.600 Guaranteed Human.
00:17:12.000 Bye-bye.
00:17:27.940 Bye.
00:17:28.120 Bye.
00:17:28.340 Bye.
00:17:28.440 Bye.