NightSide With Dan Rea

Federal prosecutors charged 15 people in what the U.S. Department of Justice is describing as a sweeping $90 million fraud investigation tied to Minnesota’s Medicaid and social services programs. The alleged fraud happened across seven publicly funded programs including autism services, housing stabilization, and disability support programs. The DOJ is calling one of the schemes the largest autism services fraud scheme they have ever charged, charging two Minnesota autism therapy providers for submitting $46.6 million in fraudulent claims to Medicaid. We broke down this massive fraud investigation out of Minnesota!

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Federal prosecutors charged 15 people in what the U.S. Department of Justice is describing as a sweeping $90 million fraud investigation tied to Minnesota’s Medicaid and social services programs. The alleged fraud happened across seven publicly funded programs including autism services, housing stabilization, and disability support programs. The DOJ is calling one of the schemes the largest autism services fraud scheme they have ever charged, charging two Minnesota autism therapy providers for submitting $46.6 million in fraudulent claims to Medicaid. We broke down this massive fraud investigation out of Minnesota!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Cambridge City Council voted Monday to end the city’s use of ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system that has drawn criticism from residents and councilors over privacy concerns and potential data sharing with federal authorities. The city will remove and disable ShotSpotter devices across Cambridge within 90 days. We talked about the pros and cons of this detection system, how valuable it might be to law enforcement, how it's used, and more. How would you feel about having a gunshot detection system such as ShotSpotter used in your community?

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8:05PM: Boston Globe Reporter Emily Sweeney (a regular guest on NightSide) on her newfound “fame” after taking her reporting to social media and going viral for her Boston accent.

Guest: Emily Sweeney – Boston Globe Reporter 

8:15PM: With Memorial Day weekend marking the unofficial start of summer, these are some timely, practical safety tips for parents and grandparents to help keep kids safe all season long.

Guest: Dr. Alexy Arauz Boudreau – Primary Care Physician with Mass General Brigham 

8:30PM: A New Survey by The Harris Poll Highlights the Rising Issue of Misinformation in Science and Health…Survey of over 2,000 US adults reveals a profound “Misinformation Paradox” around science that cuts at the heart of American life…

Guest: Matthias Berninger - Bayer’s Head of Public Affairs, Sustainability and Safety 

8:45PM: How the U.S. Senate is taking legislative steps to prevent government shutdowns from happening ever again…

Guest: Kurt Couchman - Senior Fiscal Policy Fellow at Americans for Prosperity

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Dan had a wild experience with the lightning storm on Tuesday. He shared his story and wanted to know if it was bad in your area...He also wants to know where he can get a good lightning rod!

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Benny Sharoni, the Consul General of Israel to New England, joined us on NightSide to discuss the latest in the war with Iran as the U.S. enters its 7th week of ceasefire with Iran. Where does Israel stand in the ongoing conflict with Lebanon? We discussed it all.

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We discussed another case of a Massachusetts incarcerated individual who was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole when they were 17, a juvenile back in 1995, who is now seeking parole since their conviction occurred before the current law that bans life without parole sentences for people under 21. Gerard McCra III, now known as Kuluwn Asar, murdered his family 33 years ago after his parents told him he was not allowed to have his girlfriend sleep over the house...Asar was originally sentenced to 3 counts of first-degree murder, three life sentences without the possibility of parole. As Dan broke down this case, we asked the audience, does this individual deserve to be paroled? Has he shown rehabilitative progress? Does it matter? Plymouth County DA Tim Cruz joined us to discuss!

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8:05PM: The American Academy of Pediatrics finds kids of all ages K-12 need regular recess for physical and mental health. First new guidance in 13 years about this unstructured time at school and how it needs to be protected.

Guest: Dr. Charles Hannum, MD, General Pediatrician at Tufts Medical Center 

8:15PM: Boston 2026 World Expo offers 8 days of free, first-class fun for all ages. Happening May 23-30, 2026 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.- Sponsored by the United States Postal Service, Boston 2026 will play host to all sorts of collectors, former collectors and folks interested in history, geography and art. With over 1,000 fascinating displays and 300+ presentations on all sorts of topics (many of them provided by the Smithsonian Institution).

Guest: Lloyd de Vries - former ABC/CBS/NPR Writer/Producer - President of two of the stamp collecting organizations participating in this show, the Writers Unit and the American First Day Cover Society. Both have meetings and seminars at the show. 

8:30PM: Red Sox inconsistency, clubhouse dynamics, trade deadline outlook, and front-office scrutiny.

Guest: Peter Abraham – Boston Globe sportswriter and columnist 

8:45PM: Women’s football finally gets its Olympic spotlight & Women’s flag football could become an NCAA sport…

Guest: Andra Douglas - former national champion in rugby and quarterback in women’s tackle football, she later became a creative executive at Atlantic Records—and for nearly two decades owned the two-time national champion New York Sharks women’s pro football team, She also wrote a book that just came out: Changing Cadence: Friendship, Football and the Art of Transition

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After about 5 weeks of combat between the U.S. and Iran that started on February 28th when the United States and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran, killing its supreme leader and targeting military and government infrastructure, we now are coming to the end of a 6th week of ceasefire with Iran. The ceasefire has been going on longer than the actual war, raising the question, what is President Trump’s strategy here? We’ve yet to see a deal or really any military offense against Iran despite the President’s threats that if Iran doesn’t come to a peace deal, the U.S. will come down on Iran with more strikes and bigger bombs.

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A new poll that was released Tuesday by Polity Research Consulting, commissioned by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, asks Massachusetts voters about the most important issues facing the state today. 

And in this hour, it was your turn to share with Dan what you think the most important issue facing Massachusetts is. What would bring you to the polls to vote? 

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