The U.S.-backed Iraqi military’s ground campaign against ISIS to retake west Mosul was mistakenly reported as being halted after details emerged about U.S.-led coalition airstrikes on March 17th killed over 200 people in a single day. The U.S.-led coalition has admitted launching the airstrikes that targeted a crowded section of the Mosul al-Jadida neighborhood. The March 17 strikes appear to be among the deadliest U.S. airstrikes in the region since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Amnesty International has accused Iraqi officials of advising residents not to flee amid the airstrikes and ground offensive. Amnesty claims officials dropped leaflets and broadcast over the radio that residents should stay in their houses. Amnesty said, “The fact that Iraqi authorities repeatedly advised civilians to remain at home instead of fleeing the area, indicates that coalition forces should have known that these strikes were likely to result in a significant numbers of civilian casualties.
Disproportionate attacks and indiscriminate attacks violate international humanitarian law and can constitute war crimes.” Many have questioned whether the U.S. military has loosened the rules of engagement that seek to limit civilian casualties. The Pentagon maintains the rules have not changed.
Despite reports of the ground campaign being suspended, heavy fighting continues in west Mosul. The campaign for West Mosul has involved block-by-block fighting in an urban environment. ISIS has been using snipers and bombs against the US backed Iraqi military.
Though not confirmed, it’s been reported that Major Gen. Maan al-Saadi, a commander of the Iraqi special-forces, said that the civilian deaths were a result of a coalition airstrike that his men had called in, to take out snipers on the roofs of three houses in a neighborhood called Mosul Jidideh. General Saadi said the special forces were unaware that the houses’ basements were filled with civilians seeking refuge. Witnesses have said that in an area where apartment blocks were reduced to rubble, at least 50 bodies could be seen, including those of pregnant women and children.
The Pentagon announced that the incident was under investigation and a day later confirmed that the coalition had targeted Islamic State fighters and equipment in the area on March 17, “at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties”. The military is investigating at least a dozen other reports of civilian casualties in Mosul.
Iraqi Vice-President Osama Nujaifi, a Mosul native, has called the strike a “humanitarian catastrophe” that killed hundreds. He blamed the US-led coalition and federal police for using excessive force and called for an emergency session of Parliament to address the incident.
Prior to this incident, the Pentagon had said that there have been 220 civilian deaths since the campaign against the Islamic State began in 2014, but independent monitoring groups say that there have been over 2700.
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Three teenagers were killed in a deadly home invasion in Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa, when the home-owners son, 23 year old Zach Peters shot them with an AR-15 rifle. The teens, who broke in through a back door, were later identified as 19-year-old Maxwell Cook, 17-year-old Jacob Redfearn and 16-year-old Jaykob Woodriff. All three were dressed in black and wearing masks and gloves. One of the alleged suspects was found to have a knife, while another was carrying brass knuckles.
No charges have been filed against Zach Peters and Wagoner County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Mahoney said “Preliminary investigation looks like it’s self-defense,” but cautioned that the investigation was still ongoing. Oklahoma is one of 24 states which have laws also known as “stand your ground” laws-allowing citizens to shoot someone if they believe the person threatens their safety, according to the National Council of State Legislatures.
The getaway driver, Elizabeth Rodriguez, a 21 year old mother of three, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree burglary. She has been jailed without bond since turning herself in. Oklahoma law allows a person to be charged with murder if they take part in a crime in which people are killed, even if the person does not take part in the slaying.
Rodriguez, who was in a relationship with Cook, one of the suspects killed, admits to planning the burglary and driving the teens to the home on two occasions that same day. The teens first broke into and stole items from a garage apartment earlier in the day but returned to gain entry into the main house. It does not appear that the residents and intruders knew each other but Rodriguez told authorities she knew the homeowner Zach Peters, had knowledge of the house and chose his house because she believed he had money.
The suspects kicked in a back door and encountered Peters, who shot all three after a brief exchange of words. Peters’ father was also in the house at the time but was not involved in the shooting. Rodriguez, who had been waiting in her car in the driveway, fled the scene when she heard shots fired. She turned herself in shortly after seeing a news report of the shooting on TV so the families of the deceased could be notified.
During a jailhouse interview with Inside Edition, Rodriguez said that she and the teens had committed several car-jacking and home invasions prior to the fatal home invasion in Broken Arrow. She stated that she waited in her car after hearing the shots and saw the youngest of the suspects killed, Jake Woodruff stumble to the driveway, and slide across the hood of her car before collapsing on the ground. She then sped out of the driveway, leaving him on the ground.
Immediately after the shooting, Peters barricaded himself in his bedroom and called 911. In the 911 call, Peters tells the operator that he shot two intruders and that another had gotten away. When asked, he tells the operator that the suspects were shot in the upper body and asks them to send help fast as one is badly wounded, though he can still hear one talking.
When police arrived, two of the suspects were found deceased in the kitchen and the third had succumbed to his wounds in the driveway. Police stated that Peters appeared to be in shock and repeatedly asked if the suspects were going to be ok.
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In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx gift card!
Congratulations – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!! Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, April 2nd, 2017 was:
KAREN BONDEHAGEN
Fort Atkinson, WI
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card
Each day, fans of either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION. The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex Gift. Card
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
3/27/17
Dean Bruss
Vickie Gipson
Crystal Young
Alisa Jones
Tonya Velazquez
Valerie Kuehn
Christina Domingue
Cheryl Hall
Christine Acoba
Teena Sierson
Leslie Wagner Hobson
Tracy Shafer
Jonnalyn Gates
Andrea Timms
Tera Wardrip
Jennifer Sparks
Shona Ortenblad
Johnna Loth
Phyllis Hines
Jane Peterson
3/28/17
Susanne Killion
Rebecca Fauteux
Sheila Carvell
Juanita Williams-Jones
Kimberly Foster
Phyllis Hines
Rhonda Nicholson
Julie Cutshaw
Kristina Rosson
Heather Jacques
Jennifer Kinner
Steve Hardy
Brandi Chaney
Dean Bruss
Nelle Bailey
Sherri Kidwell
Melissa Turner Baker
Lisa Dion
Kathleen Hickman
Kevin Cusack
3/29/17
Sandra Sue Blanton
Jennifer Downing
Jane Peterson
Justin Wilcox
Sheila Vives
Kim Floyd
Sarah Bellestri Shih
Demetris Crutcher
Mary Achio
Stephanie Caldwell
Alysia Jackson
Alexandria Fields
Anna Nichols
Amber McGrath
Eva Biggs
Leslie Wagner Hobson
Anne Delos Reyes-Villafuerte
Christina Domingue
Carla S-Paige Williams
Kristina Harris
Kayla Hernandez
3/30/17
Jennifer Ramlet
Christy Hawkes
Sheila Carvell
Brandy Marie Williams
Jennifer Sparks
Kathleen Hickman
Maria Bouchard
Dean Bruss
Althea Thomas
Kayla Clemons
Michelle Hughes
Cheryl Ralley-Messick
Cheryl Hall
Beth Cleveland
Lori Capobianco
Christine Domingue
Angela Hendricks
Tera Wardrip
Leslie Wagner Hobson
Melissa D’Ornellas Curtis
Alisa Jones
Alicia Johnson
Lauren Bradley
Glenna Zanaglio
3/31/17
Brittany Marie Thompson
Kimberly Snyder
Dean Bruss
Sheila Carvell
Lauren Bradley
Tammy Alcorta
Kristina Harris
Melissa Barnes Walker
Christy Hawkes
Angela Hendricks
Jodi Stevens
Rhonda Nicholson
Phyllis Hines
Amber McGrath
Brandy Marie Williams
Allyson Becker
Abby Cox
Nitasha Shank
Kayla Clemons
Belinda Haas
Ashley Stamey Phillips
4/1/17
Kristina Rosson
Preeti Chand
Bobbie J Rittenhouse
Jamie Shapiro
Alicia Dansby
Timothy Simpson
Mya Murphy
Lauren Bradley
Cassandra Berholtz
Linda Pearson
Althea Thomas
Kayla Hernandez
Christina Dimingue
Sherri Kidwell
Thomas Ryan
Lotorya Patrick
Angela Nicole
Megan Rhyne
Sheila Carvell
Dana Dilaura
4/2/17
Jennifer Ramlet
Cheryl Hall
Joanie Waterman
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Nai Merri
Karen Bondehagen
Jacqlyn Gummert
Kayla Clemons
Brandi Chaney
Geri Rus
Holly Cajigas
Mary Achio
Jean Simmons Homfeld
Rachel Munoz Navarro
Lisa Dion
Tina Casto-Shafer
Trish Marks
Chris Maxwell
Sarah Harrison
Michelle Hughes
Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!!
Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better. You may also find that if you “Like” both of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!
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At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on….
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Five people have died and dozens were injured in a terrorist attack outside the Houses of Parliament in London including a police officer and the attacker. The attacker is believed to have acted alone but police are investigating possible associates and do not further attacks on the public are planned. ISIS has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, calling the attacker “a soldier of Islamic State”.
The attack began when 52 year old Khalid Masood drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge. He struck and killed three people – two of whom died at the scene and one who later died of his injuries in the hospital. Masood crashed the vehicle into a wall outside the parliament, where he ran into New Palace Yard. Armed with two knives, he attacked two police man at the security gates as he tried to enter the building. There, he stabbed an unarmed police officer multiple times and was subsequently shot by police.
At least 50 people were injured, with 31 requiring hospital treatment. Two victims remain in a critical condition, one with life-threatening injuries. Two police officers are among those still in hospital. Victims killed in the attack have been identified as 43 year old mother of two Aysha Frade who was hit by a bus while fleeing the attack and 75 year old Leslie Rhode who succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Also killed was 54 year old Utah resident Kurt Cochran. He and his wife, Melissa, were on the last day of a trip to Europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Melissa remains in hospital with serious injuries. Forty-eight year old Police Officer Keith Palmer who was a husband and father, had 15 years of service with the parliamentary and diplomatic protection service.
British-born attacker Khalid Masood was known to police and had been investigated a few years ago by MI5 in relation to concerns about violent extremism but police have said he was not part of any current investigation at the time of the attack. Masood, who was born in Kent, a county east of London, had several aliases including his birth name “Adrian Russell Ajao”. He had a range of previous convictions for assaults- including grievous bodily harm, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences. His most recent arrest was in December 2003 for possession of a knife.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, led a vigil attended by thousands in Trafalgar Square where he vowed “Londoners will never be cowed by terrorism”. World leaders condemned the attack and offered condolences. The US president, Donald Trump promised full support by the US government to the UK in responding to the attack. Leaders of Canada, France, Germany and Spain were among others who sent messages of solidarity.
In the aftermath of the attack, London has been doubled the number of armed police and increased the number of unarmed officers. Police raided properties in Birmingham — where the culprit’s vehicle was rented from Enterprise — and London. Defense Minister Michael Fallon described the attack as a “lone-wolf attack” but said investigators were still checking whether others were involved.
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Oil could start flowing through the highly contested $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline as early this week. The company building the Dakota Access pipeline says the project remains on track to start moving oil this week despite recent “coordinated physical attacks” along the line. Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners didn’t detail the attacks, but said they “pose threats to life, physical safety and the environment.”
Two American Indian tribes have battled the $3.8 billion pipeline in court for months, arguing it’s a threat to water. The company has said the pipeline will be safe. An appeals court rejected the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Nations’ request for an emergency injunction to stop the pipeline from becoming operational.
Judge James Boasberg of the US District Court for the District of Columbia cleared the way for the startup, when he turned down two North Dakota tribes’ request for a preliminary injunction to prevent oil from flowing under Lake Oahe.
The 1,172-mile, four-state pipeline constructed almost entirely on private land is 99 percent complete, but a federal easement which was obtained in February-was required in order to finish the final 1,100-foot stretch in North Dakota. When complete, the pipeline will move crude oil from the Bakken field in North Dakota to a shipping point in Patoka, Illinois via 30-inch diameter pipes, and then connect to an existing reconfigured pipeline.
The pipeline consists of more than 700 miles of existing pipeline that has been converted to crude oil service from Patoka to Nederland, Texas. The two pipelines are expected to be in service in the second quarter of 2017.
The approval in February was granted after President Trump issued an executive order to expedite the process. The US Army Corps of Engineers originally granted the easement for the pipeline in July, but withdrew it in December under political pressure from thousands of protesters camped near the construction site at Cannon Ball, North Dakota.
The Corps abandoned the additional environmental review launched in December and argued in court that it undertook a two-year review of the project’s impact on water quality and historic relics, including 389 meetings with 55 tribes. The company rerouted the pipeline 140 times in response to concerns raised.
Greenpeace and a group of more than 160 scientists dedicated to conservation and preservation of threatened natural resources and endangered species have spoken out against the pipeline. Many Sioux tribes say that the pipeline threatens the Tribe’s environmental and economic well-being, and would damage and destroy sites of great historic, religious, and cultural significance.
Protests at sites in North Dakota began in the spring of 2016 and drew indigenous people from throughout North America creating the largest gathering of Native Americans in the past hundred years. In January, the Morton County Sheriff’s Department released figures showing the state and local policing of the protests have cost $22.3 million since August 10 2016.
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Newly released research shows hate crimes in major cities across the United States rose by more than 20% in 2016. The data released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, shows there were more than 1,000 hate-related crimes committed in 2016—a 23% increase over 2015.
Another report released in February 2017 by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) monitoring group showed that the total number of hate groups in the US in 2016 grew to 917 from 892 a year earlier. There are now more anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT, white nationalist, neo-Nazi, neo-Confederate and black separatist organizations. The sharpest increase was among anti-Muslim groups, which grew from 37 in 2015 to 101 in 2016. The number of Ku Klux Klan (KKK) chapters, racist skinhead groups and anti-government militias and political groupings has declined, according to the report.
The overall number of hate groups likely understates the real level of organized hatred in America as a growing number of extremists operate mainly online and are not formally affiliated with hate groups. In the first 10 days after Trump’s election, the SPLC documented 867 bias-related incidents, including more than 300 that targeted immigrants or Muslims.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations defines a hate crime as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity.”
Many major cities are reporting an increase in hate crimes since the start of 2017. In New York City, there were 100 hate crimes from January 1 through March 5, compared with 47 during the same period last year. In Chicago, the police department tallied 13 during the first five weeks of 2017 — more than triple the number recorded in the first five weeks of last year.
A coalition of civil and human rights organizations has created a national database and a hotline aimed at getting victims help — including lawyers. The effort, led by the Leadership Conference Education Fund and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, is intended to build upon the work of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the nation’s leading watchdog against hate groups.
Eleven organizations have joined the effort, representing African Americans, Latinos, Muslims, Arabs, women and the LGBTQ community. Calling themselves Communities Against Hate, they will aggregate data in an effort to document hate crimes and provide victims with social services and pro-bono attorneys. In addition, a new Muslim-Jewish coalition is pushing the government to provide more data on hate crimes and focus on punishing offenders. The group represents an effort to get advocates to stand up for people of other faiths and ethnic backgrounds.
In recent months, incidents of hate have been directed against transgender women, Jews, African Americans, Hispanics, Muslims, Hindu Americans, Sikh Americans and others. Recently, 156 civil and human rights groups urged Trump in writing to respond faster and more forcefully to hate-based incidents. In his recent address to a joint session of Congress, the president condemned “hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms,” but critics have said he had taken too long to issue that statement.
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In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx gift card!
Congratulations – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!! Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, March 26th, 2017 was:
KRISTINA HARRIS
Sugar Land, TX
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card
Each day, fans of either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION. The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex Gift. Card
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
3/20/17
Tiffany Green Elliott
Sheila Carvell
Brandy Marie Williams
Susanne Killion
Dana Dilaura
Nai Merri
Valerie Kuehn
Kathleen Hickman
Ashley Oshier
Tina Marie
Allison Frederick
Megan Rhyne
Justin Wilcox
Christy Hawkes
Lotorya Patrick
Melissa Turner Baker
Geri Rus
Jennifer Kinner
Dmarie Nylin-Terrell
Desiree Ann
Cheryl Hall
Isis Sample
Lisa J Wright
Bea Patrick
3/21/17
Jennifer Mason
Desiree Ann
Crystal Young
Lisa J Wright
Jenny Merritt
Christy Hawkes
Bea Patrick
Nai Merri
Lotorya Patrick
Mya Murphy
Cyndi Jasheski
Hollie Jahnke
Destiny Landsaw Davis
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Timothy Simpson
Alexandria Fields
June Ebinger
Patricia Oehlert Vazquez
Amanda Quill
Chrissy Kim
3/22/17
Shelby Lynn
Leslie Wagner Hobson
Krystal Liddell
Phyllis Hines
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Misty Shallcross
Cheryl Hall
Brittany Marie Thompson
Valerie Kuehn
Jennifer Mason
Jennifer Vega
Alexis Maureen
Dena Baji
Cydni Jansheski
Geri Rus
Amber McGrath
Karron Redfield
Dmarie Nylin-Terrell
Christy Hawkes
Erin Leigh Will
3/23/17
Kimberly Snyder
Dean Bruss
Glenna Zanaglio
Nai Merri
Cheryl Hall
Sandy Nevels
Jodi Stevens
Jakara Jackson
Susanne Killion
Alexis Maureen
Sean Stover
Leslie Wagner Hobson
Valerie Kuehn
Brittany Michelle
Christy Hawkes
Crystal Hazelwood
Mya Murphy
Patricia Oehlert Vazquez
Brandy Marie Williams
Karen Jaras
Wendi Black
3/24/17
Kimberly Snyder
Valerie Kuehn
Christy Hawkes
Dena Baji
Amy Chavis
Kathleen Hickman
Paula Rousseau
Kimberly Foster
Phyllis Hines
Jonnalyn Gates
Pamela White Brearley
Jean Simmons Homfeld
Kendra George
Nitasha Shank
Crystal Young
Holly Cajigas
Kayla Clemons
Kendra George
Misty Shallcross
Deborah Farris
Althea Thomas
Sherri Kidwell
3/25/17
Juanita Williams-Jones
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Anna Nichols
Beth Cleveland
Jonnalyn Gates
Joanie Waterman
Tonya Velazquez
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Kimberly Snyder
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Mary Achio
Dean Bruss
Timothy Simpson
Megan Rhyne
Valerie Kuehn
Jade Good
Sheila Carvell
Cheryl Hall
Abby Cox
Carol Yemola
Phyllis Hines
Kristina Harris
3/26/17
Hollie Jahnke
Alisa Jones
Rebecca Fauteux
Derek Jennings
Brooke Scott
Jackie Hicks
Pamela White Brearley
Karen Bondehagen
Ralph Gonzales
Mary Achio
Phyllis Hines
Kimberly Snyder
Crystal Dotson
Althea Thomas
Jade Good
Anna Nichols
Crystal Young
Karen Goodwin Delaney
Lori Capobianco
Stephanie Beckwith
Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!!
Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better. You may also find that if you “Like” both of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!
—————————————————————-
At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on….
Twitter: Healthinsurane4 (Follow Us On Twitter To Receive Faster Notifications When Daily Trivia Questions Posted, & To Be Immediately Notified When Weekly AmEX & HI4Eshop Gift Card Winners Are Announced!!)
Click-On for LinkedIn To Follow Our Posts: LinkedIn
Like us on facebook: HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions, LLC
Over 54,000 Combined Fans/Followers To Our Social Media Sites, & We’re Growing Daily!
Follow Mark Shuster, Founder/Owner at Health & Life Solutions, LLC for daily health tips!
Mark Shuster FaceBook Link
Follow our word press blog and read about everything from health insurance and reform news to healthy living and current events!
Company Blogs
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President Trump’s proposed budget has received criticism from Democratic and Republican lawmakers. The 2018 budget calls for an unprecedented $54 billion increase in military spending while slashing environmental, housing, diplomatic and educational programs. It also calls for a 31% cut to the Environmental Protection Agency and the elimination of 3,200 jobs. If approved, the EPA’s budget would become the smallest it’s been in 40 years.
The Environmental Protection Agency, the State Department and the Agriculture Department took the hardest hits. The State Department would see a 29% decrease in funding, eliminating climate-change prevention programs, reducing funding for U.N. peacekeeping, reducing funding for development banks and reducing most cultural-exchange programs.
The Agriculture Department would lose 4.7 billion (21%) of its funding, eliminating the $200 million McGovern-Dole International Food for Education program, eliminating the $500 million Water and Wastewater loan and grant program, reducing the budget for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition assistance from $6.4 billion to $6.2 billion and cuts $95 million from the Rural Business and Cooperative Services program.
The budget proposes cutting 6.2 billion in funding (13%) for the Department of Housing and Urban Development-eliminating the $3 billion Community Development Block Grant program and eliminates the $35 million of funding for Section 4 Community Development and Affordable Housing. The cuts would also eliminate the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the Choice Neighborhoods program and the Self-help Homeownership Opportunity Program.
The Department of Health and Human Services would lose 18% of its funding. The Education Department would see $9 billion (14%) cut from its funding, with a decrease of $3.7 billion in grants for teacher training, after-school and summer programs, and aid programs to first-generation and low-income students. While “school choice” programs would receive $1.4 billion more in funding, increasing the budget for charter schools and spending $1 billion to encourage districts to allow federal dollars meant for low-income students to follow those students to the public school of their choice.
The Department of Labor stands to lose 2.6 billion (21%) in funding which would eliminate the Senior Community Service Employment Program, which helps low-income seniors find work. The budget cuts would close poor-performing centers for Job Corps, a job-training program for disadvantaged youth and eliminate grants that help nonprofit groups and public agencies pay for safety and health training.
The proposal also eliminates funding for 19 agencies including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public radio and TV stations nationwide; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the National Endowment for the Arts; and the Legal Services Corporation, which funds free legal aid nationwide.
These cuts are not set in stone just yet but they do show where President Trump’s priorities are. Congress will still have to draft a formal budget and Trump’s proposed budget is expected to face fierce opposition in Congress. Congress completely by-passed President Obama’s budget proposal last year while drafting the formal budget.
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A federal grand jury has indicted nine high-ranking active and retired Navy members as part of an investigation into a bribery scandal known as “Fat Leonard.” The Justice Department says the nine have been charged with accepting luxurious dinners, trips, gifts and the service of sex workers as bribes in exchange for handing over classified military information to Singapore-based defense contractor Leonard Francis.
Twenty-seven people have been charged with crimes since the investigation became public in 2013, including the nine Navy officers indicted this month. Authorities say that the case is still unfolding and that more than 200 people — including 30 admirals — have come under scrutiny.
Known as “Fat Leonard” for his 6ft 3inch, 350-pound physique, Francis has pleaded guilty to bribing “scores” of Navy officials for over a decade with prostitutes, cash, hedonistic parties and other gifts. In exchange, according to federal prosecutors, the officials provided Francis with classified or inside information that enabled his firm, Glenn Marine Defense Asia, to gouge the Navy out of tens of millions of dollars. Leonard also plead guilty to padding invoices for services not rendered so that some of his navy contacts could pocket the money for themselves.
In June 2016, Robert Gilbeau became the first active-duty Navy admiral in modern history to be convicted of a felony. He is awaiting sentencing. In January, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Gentry Debord was sentenced to 30 months in prison, ordered to pay a $15,000 fine and $37,000 in restitution to the U.S. Navy. Debord, 41, plead guilty in October 2016 to accepting bribes in the form of cash, luxury hotels and prostitutes from Leonard Glenn Francis. The fraud occurred from November 2007 to January 2013, while Debord was a supply officer aboard the U.S.S. Essex.
Others charged are current or former U.S. Navy officials, including Commander Bobby Pitts, Captain Daniel Dusek, Commander Michael Misiewicz, Lt. Commander Todd Malaki, Commander Jose Luis Sanchez, former NCIS Supervisory Special Agent John Beliveau II, Petty Officer First Class Daniel Layug and Paul Simpkins, a former DoD civilian employee who oversaw contracting in Singapore.
Dusek, Misiewicz, Malaki, Beliveau, Sanchez and Layug have also pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme. On Jan. 21, Layug was sentenced to 27 months in prison and a $15,000 fine; on Jan. 29, Malaki was sentenced to 40 months in prison and to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Navy and a $15,000 fine; on March 25, Dusek was sentenced to 46 months in prison and to pay $30,000 in restitution to the Navy and a $70,000 fine; on April 29, Misiewicz was sentenced to 78 months in prison and to pay a fine of $100,000 and to pay $95,000 in restitution to the Navy; and on Oct. 14, 2015, Beliveau was sentenced to serve 144 months in prison and ordered to pay $20 million in restitution to the Navy. Sanchez awaits sentencing. Pitts was charged in May 2016 and his case remains pending.
Military personnel found guilty of serious misconduct are usually demoted and forced to retire – and because pension values are based on rank, losing a star or a stripe leads to a partial reduction in their pension. Seven Navy officers who have pleaded guilty in the corruption and bribery scandal are reportedly still eligible for generous taxpayer-funded retirement benefits. Disgraced Navy admiral Robert Gilbeau has already begun collecting $10,000 a month.
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In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx gift card!
Congratulations – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!! Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, March 19th, 2017 was:
JADE GOOD
Sinking Spring, PA
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx Gift Card
Each day, fans of either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION. The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex Gift. Card
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
3/13/17
Kimberly Snyder
Desiree Ann
Christine Acoba
Mary Achio
Carole Jacobs
Althea Thomas
Glenna Zanaglio
Kayla Clemons
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Timothy Simpson
Mary Ann Cody
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Sheila Carvell
Holly Cajigas
Trish Dye Masi
Jennifer Mason
Derek Jennings
Christy Hawkes
Dale Fish
Allison Frederick
Jennifer Ramlet
Melissa D’Ornellas Curtis
Lisa Puckett
3/14/17
Jennifer Ramlet
Lisa David Carr
Kimberly Snyder
Jackie Hicks
Nai Merri
Patricia Oehlert Vazquez
Kathleen Hickman
Myranda Medlin
Glenna Zanaglio
Derek Jennings
Kendra George
Ralph Gonzales
Sarah Bellestri Shih
Amy Chavis
Jennifer Lang
Brandy Marie Williams
Hollie Jahnke
Holly Cajigas
Beata Tybor
Mary Achio
Christina Radcliff
Jessica Miller
Nancy Scharnhorst
3/15/17
Paula Rousseau
Desiree Ann
Kathi Taylor
Stephanie Beckwith
Misty Shallcross
Anna Nichols
Nitasha Shank
Justin Wilcox
Dean Bruss
Kendra George
Christine Acoba
Crystal Young
Fanny Wat
Jennifer Mason
Jackie Hicks
Brittany Deaver
Dawna McKnight
Jean Simmons Homfeld
Christina Domingue
Kelsey Mcknight
3/16/17
Jessica Miller
Stephanie Beckwith
Jonnalyn Gates
Priscilla Shimp
Valerie Kuehn
Sheila Carvell
Jennifer Ramlet
Mary Achio
Jennifer Mason
Roberta Thomas
Michelle Hughes
Jean Simmons Homfeld
Phylicia Phillips
Megan Rhyne
Cassandra Berholtz
Allyson Becker
Nitasha Shank
Nai Merri
Kimberly Foster
Dean Bruss
Katrina Worford
3/17/17
Sandy Nevels
Jennifer Ramlet
Dmarie Nylin-Terrell
Desiree Ann
Mary Achio
Christine Acoba
Kristina Rosson
Cassandra Berholtz
Kristina Harris
Andrea Timms
Pamela Gonzalez
Jade Good
Amy Conyers
Michelle Hughes
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Carole Moore
Nitasha Shank
Amanda Peters
Nelle Bailey
Dana Dilaura
Sheila Carvell
3/18/17
Lauren Bradley
Amy Conyers
Cassandra Berholtz
Valerie Kuehn
Beth Cleveland
Beata Tybor
Kathi Taylor
Brenda Casey
Allison Frederick
Jennifer Mason
Phyllis Hines
Jennifer Downing
Kendra George
Carol Yemola
Justin Wilcox
Misty Shallcross
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Samantha Brwn Ramos
Jade Good
Stephanie Caldwell
Debbie Burke Garretson
3/19/17
Samanth Cheff
Sherri Kidwell
Dana Rodriguez
Brandi Chaney
Keith L Flanders
Christine McKinnon
Sammi Palacios
Priscilla Shimp
Roberta Thomas
Kelli Mcmillan
Christine Acoba
Melissa Turner Baker
Bobbie J Rittenhouse
Kimberly Snyder
Barbie Sundy
Kristina Harris
Kendra George
Nai Merri
Jennifer Downing
Adaria Johnson
Mya Murphy
Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!!
Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better. You may also find that if you “Like” both of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!
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At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on….
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