Jamaica has declared an outbreak of the bacterial disease leptospirosis, suspected of causing six deaths, following the devastation from Hurricane Melissa in late October.

The Category 5 hurricane slammed into the Caribbean island on October 28, causing catastrophic flooding and landslides with some 30 inches (76 cm) of rain. The resulting stagnant, contaminated water has created a breeding ground for the disease, officials said.

Health Minister Christopher Tufton announced on Friday that nine cases were confirmed between October 30 and November 20, with 28 additional suspected cases.

Leptospirosis is spread through water or soil contaminated by the urine of infected animals, such as rodents. The infection can enter the human body through cuts in the skin or through the eyes, nose and mouth.

While initial symptoms such as fever, headache and muscle aches can be mistaken for the flu, the disease can progress to a severe and potentially fatal form. It can cause kidney failure, liver damage, meningitis and severe internal bleeding.

“The outbreak follows the passage of the storm which has created conditions that have increased the risk of exposure to contaminated water and soil,” Tufton said at a press conference.

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He warned that anyone coming into contact with floodwaters could be at risk, including “farmers, persons engaged in cleanup activities, emergency responders and others navigating flood areas.”

Hurricane Melissa left an estimated $10 billion in damages, according to Jamaican officials, hobbling the nation’s key tourism and agriculture sectors and damaging nearly 200,000 buildings.

(Reporting by Zahra Burton; Writing by Iñigo Alexander; Editing by Kylie Madry and Bill Berkrot)

President Donald Trump announced on Friday night that he will end Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somali migrants in Minnesota, who’ve been connected to a massive welfare fraud.

“Minnesota, under Governor Waltz, is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity,” Trump posted to Truth Social. “I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota.”

“Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing,” he said. “Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!”

Trump: Truth Social

During the tenure of Democrat Gov. Tim Walz, billions of taxpayer dollars have been stolen, reportedly funneled through fake nonprofits and shell companies, and — alarmingly — some of that money has ended up in the hands of the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group Al-Shabaab, The Daily Wire reported this week.

“The largest funder of Al-Shabaab is the Minnesota taxpayer,” one law-enforcement source said.

Much of the fraud has been traced to Minnesota’s Somali community, where politically connected fraudsters have allegedly exploited numerous loopholes in the state’s welfare system. The Medicaid Housing Stabilization Services (HSS) program, designed to help seniors, addicts, and the disabled secure housing, quickly became a cash cow for fake providers. Payments soared from $2.6 million to more than $104 million in just a few years. Operators often ran companies out of dilapidated storefronts, billing for services they never intended to provide.

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“What we see are schemes stacked upon schemes, draining resources meant for those in need. It feels never-ending,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said. “I have spent my career as a fraud prosecutor and the depth of the fraud in Minnesota takes my breath away.”

“Our investigation reveals, for the first time, that some of this money has been directed to an even more troubling destination: the al-Qaida-linked Islamic terror group Al-Shabaab,” City-Journal reported. “According to multiple law-enforcement sources, Minnesota’s Somali community has sent untold millions through a network of ‘hawalas,’ informal clan-based money-traders, that have wound up in the coffers of Al-Shabaab.”

Additionally, Minnesota’s Medicaid autism programs exploded from $3 million in 2018 to $399 million in 2023, with Somali-run centers inflating diagnoses and paying parents kickbacks to enroll children in therapy programs they didn’t need. Thompson called this a sprawling “network” of fraud, one that has stolen billions from taxpayers while leaving state officials seemingly asleep at the switch.

Meanwhile, the media and Democratic establishment have largely ignored the issue, leaving ordinary Minnesotans to foot the bill, while their money funds international terrorism.

Hank Berrien contributed to this report.

Related: Minnesota’s Somali Welfare Fraud: Taxpayer Cash Funneled To Terrorist Group