Three separate shootings have raised worries among Indians and other communities about possible violence against foreign workers in the United States. The senseless shooting of two technology workers from India and another man at a bar in Olathe, Kansas made national headlines. The victims, Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, both engineers employed by Garmin were at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe.
A witness says Adam Purinton, 51, became agitated by the presence of the two men and was asked to leave by regular patron Ian Grillot. Purinton left but returned a short time later and approached Kuchibhotla and Madasani. He opened fire, yelling “Get out of my country!” Kuchibhotla was killed and Madasani was wounded. Grillot, who was shot in the hand and chest, was praised as a hero for attempting to intervene and subdue the suspect during the shooting.
Purinton was arrested hours later at an Applebee’s restaurant in Clinton, Missouri, about 70 miles away from Olathe. Applebee’s employees called 911 and an Applebee’s bartender told police that a man had admitted to shooting two “Iranian” people in Olathe and was looking for a place to hide. Purinton faces one first degree murder charge and two charges of attempted first degree murder.
Another shooting occurred in Lancaster, South Carolina when 43 year old Harnish Patel was shot and killed in front of his home. Patel was killed after returning home from working at the Speedee Mart convenience store, which he owned. Patel had lived in the United States for 14 years. He was married and had one child in elementary school. He was originally from the Indian state of Gujarat. Police are still looking for the shooter.
Police are investigating a third shooting that occurred in Kent, Washington. The shooting of Deep Rai, a 39-year-old Sikh man, was shot while cleaning his car in his driveway. The victim’s family said a man approached and began calling him names, telling him, “Go home to your country!” The shooter then pushed him to the ground and shot him in the arm.
The victim lost consciousness and only realized he’d been shot when he regained consciousness in the hospital. He was released the next day and is expected to make a full recovery. Rai is a U.S. citizen originally from Punjab, India. Rai became the fourth Indian man to be shot within the last few weeks in the United States. All of the shootings are being investigated as possible hate crimes.
The Sikh Coalition said members of its community are at heightened risk of hate-crime attacks -partially because their faith requires the wearing of turbans and beards. In a statement, spokesman Rajdeep Singh said it’s important the Kent shooting be investigated as a hate crime. “While we appreciate the efforts of state and local officials to respond to attacks like this, we need our national leaders to make hate crime prevention a top priority,” he said. “Tone matters in our political discourse, because this is a matter of life or death for millions of Americans who are worried about losing loved ones to hate.”
“The Sikh community is shaken and very frustrated at the hate and rhetoric that is being spread today about anyone that looks different, who looks like an immigrant.”
Read more


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 12th, 2017 was:
JODI STEVENS
Wellsboro, 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:

3/6/17
Jenny Meyers
Valerie Kuehn
Mary Achio
Carla S-Paige Williams
Priscilla Shimp
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Paula M Bondy
Penny Fisher
Kathleen Hickman
Crystal Hazelwood
Nai Merri
Beata Tybor
Angela Nicole
Megan Akins
Sheila Carvell
Christine Acoba
Leigh Nichols
Kristina Rosson
Phyllis Hines
Sean Stover
3/7/17
Jennifer Mason
Dawna McKnight
Lisa Breece
Kim Floyd
Sandra Sue Blanton
Judy Custer
Nitasha Shank
Misty Shallcross
Althea Thomas
Jennifer Downing
John McKnight
Kevin James Anderson
Christine Acoba
Lotorya Patrick
Carole Jacobs
Kelsey Mcknight
Wizdom Norwood-Goins
Karen Jaras
Stacy Mydlarz
Darlene Whyte
3/8/17
Suzie Mize Lockhart
Andrea Timms
Anna Nichols
Shannon Douglas Deadmon
Karen Bondehagen
Jennifer Downing
Cheryl Hall
Timothy Simpson
Christina Domingue
Missy Nicole Adams
Kristina Harris
Misty Shallcross
Christy Hawkes
Brandy Marie Williams
Beth Cleveland
Sheila Carvell
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Phyllis Hines
Carol ONeil
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Michelle Hughes
3/9/17
Jennifer Ramlet
Valerie Kuehn
Cheryl Hall
Barbie Sundy
Beth Cleveland
Priscilla Shimp
Sheila Carvwell
Amy Chavis
Tessa Davis
Kimberly Snyder
Luis Vazquez
Kendra George
Megan Landor
Mary Pettiford
Kristina Rosson
Nai Merri
Patricia Oehlert Vazquez
Wayne Gallas
Kelli Mcmillan
Kathleen Hickman
Stephanie Beckwith
3/10/17
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Christine Acoba
Justin Wilcox
Christina Domingue
Tina Marie
Vickie Gipson
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Samantha Brwn Ramos
Amy Chavis
Abby Cox
Eva Biggs
Jean Simmons Homfeld
Jennifer Mason
Christy Hawkes
Jessica Miller
Kim Floyd
Megan Rhyne
Alexis Churley
Anna Ashley Pinder
Nai Merri
Michelle Rayeske-Jeske
Jennifer Zafarino-Griffiths
3/11/17
Kayla Clemons
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Jean Simmons Homfeld
Tonya Velazquez
Desiree Ann
Jodi Stevens
Kayla Hernandez
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Kimberly Snyder
Kendra George
Jennifer Lang
Myranda Medlin
Jennifer Ramlet
Jennifer Mason
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Priscilla Shimp
Rebecca Honey Graham
Sheila Carvell
Stephanie Williams
Chris Maxwell
Heather Marie Stacy
Kristina Harris
3/12/17
Jennifer Ramlet
Phyllis Hines
Mary Achio
Jennifer Sparks
Misty Shallcross
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Nelle Bailey
Christina Domingue
Susanne Killion
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Holly Cajigas
Emily Rice Bowersock
Brittany Marie Thompson
Valerie Kuehn
Angela Hendricks
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Dawn Raasch
Jessica Miller
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Rebecca Honey Graham
Tabitha Sinks

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 
Find out more about LegalShield, our corporate partner which gives you the power to talk to an attorney about any legal issue, and offering high-quality Identity Theft plans.

LegalShield
Read more
The father of Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens, who was killed during a U.S. military raid in Yemen in January, says he refused to meet with President Trump and is calling for an investigation into his son’s death. When President Trump made his way to Dover Air Force Base to pay his respects to the returning body of Ryan Owens, Bill Owens refused to meet with the president. Bill Owens stated “My conscience wouldn’t let me talk to him.” The SEALs’ widow Carryn Owens met with Trump instead. The Yakla raid on the Yemeni village left 25 civilians dead, including nine children under the age of 13.
Owens, 36, was a Virginia-based Navy SEAL from Peoria, Illinois and was killed during the controversial nighttime raid. The married, father of three-joined the Navy in 1998 and joined the Navy Seals in 2002. Owens was twice awarded the Bronze Star medal with V for valor in combat.
During President Trump’s first speech to Congress, he honored Navy SEAL Ryan Owens and referred to the raid as being “highly successful.” Owens’s widow, Carryn Owens, fought back tears as Trump called her late husband a “warrior and a hero.”
The raid took place in central Yemen on Jan. 29th and was Trump’s first counter terrorism operation after taking office. Administration and Defense Department officials have praised the operation for gathering intelligence from documents and electronic devices in the house, and for killing at least a dozen combatants including Abdulrauf al Dhahab, a leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
The aftermath of the raid has been controversial with some lawmakers, pundits and news reports being highly critical of its’ “so-called” success. The raid has been called an intelligence-gathering operation but it quickly turned into a lengthy firefight that killed Owens and potentially dozens of civilians, wounded three American soldiers, and destroyed a $70 million Osprey. Critics have also questioned the quality of the intelligence gathered.
Senator John McCain has called the operation “a failure” because the terrorists were allegedly tipped off in advance. The Trump administration has emphasized that a trove of intelligence was gathered but various news reports, citing anonymous administration officials, have produced inconsistent reports about the quality of the intelligence gathered. There hasn’t been an official investigation or report on the operation yet, so how the event actually played out and the value of the intelligence gathered is not completely clear.
The administration was initially hesitant to confirm reports from local witnesses that Yemeni civilians were killed in the firefight. On February 1st, U.S. Central Command announced that “regrettably, civilian noncombatants were killed” and “casualties may include children.”
The Pentagon has opened at least three investigations into the Yemen raid. The Pentagon is “following standard procedures for reviews into the death of a service member, the deaths of civilians and the destruction of hardware.”
Read more
In January, President Trump said he wanted to empower local law enforcement to act as immigration officers and help with the “investigation, apprehension, or detention” of immigrants in the country illegally. Traditionally, local police departments are not involved in immigration enforcement and those duties are carried out by federal authorities.
Police chiefs from cities across the U.S. are resisting the move by the administration to enlist local police officers to help deport undocumented immigrants. In a joint letter sent to Congress, 61 sheriffs and police chiefs wrote, “We can best serve our communities by leaving the enforcement of immigration laws to the federal government. Threatening the removal of valuable grant funding from jurisdictions that choose not to spend limited resources enforcing federal immigration law is extremely problematic.” The White House plan would also withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Some of the cities that have vowed not to participate in the involvement of immigration laws include Los Angeles, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle, Providence and Denver. Many expressed concerns that immigrants already wary of reporting crimes or being interviewed as witnesses will retreat further into the shadows.
Trump’s plan is not a new idea but is not regularly practiced throughout the country. A 1996 federal law opened up the possibility for local agencies to participate in immigration enforcement on the streets and do citizenship checks of people in local jails. Immigration and Customs Enforcement trained and certified roughly 1,600 officers to carry out these checks from 2006 to 2015.
The Obama administration phased out all the arrest power agreements in 2013, but still let agencies check whether people jailed in their jurisdiction were citizens. If an inmate is found to be in the country illegally, the department typically notifies federal authorities or hands them over to immigration officers. Today, more than 30 local agencies participate in the jail program.
Experts said Trump’s outreach to local law enforcement will create an even bigger split between sanctuary cities that keep police out of immigration enforcement and those eager to help the new president bolster deportations.
During the election, Trump found support among some law enforcement officers who viewed him as more pro-police than his Democratic opponent. But even officers who privately said they had voted for him- are not eager to help with his immigration agenda. Many officers feel that they have enough on their plate. They are too busy answering 911 calls, arresting robbers, stopping erratic drivers and solving homicides to add federal immigration enforcement to their to-do lists.
Read more

Congressional leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday released their long-awaited plan for the dismantling of the ‘Affordable’ Care Act (ACA), commonly referred to as Obamacare.
The 123-page bill, called the American Health Care Act, would replace the ACA’s income-based premium tax credits with fixed, age-based tax credits that generally would be smaller. It would end enhanced federal funding for states to expand Medicaid to low-income adults. And it would convert Medicaid from an open-ended entitlement to a program of capped, per-capita payments to the states.
The plan would also repeal Obamacare’s statute assessing the unpopular fines on people who don’t have health insurance, and do not qualify for an exemption. It also allows insurers to increase premiums on those who have gone without insurance for a period of time.

WHAT THE BILL DOES NOT CHANGE:
The bill keeps in place two of the most popular Obamacare provisions: those with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage, and young people can stay on their parent’s health insurance plans until they reach the age of 26.
WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW YET ABOUT THE LEGISLATION:
The cost and number of people who might choose to go without insurance is still unclear. The bill has not yet been scored by the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan congressional research office that provides guidance on economics and the budget for Congress.
The CBO’s guidance will provide information about how many Americans could potentially lose their coverage or opt-out of insuring themselves and the full cost of the bill.
This piece of legislation maintains exemptions that employer-plan premiums currently enjoy, but congressional leaders predict that they will still be able to save money from tax refunds from the repealing of ACA spending and taxes.
President Trump has railed against the ‘Affordable’ Care Act, calling it a “horrible disaster” and a “lie” and made its replacement a top priority. In fact, some insurance carriers have publicly proclaimed that President Barack Obama’s signature heath reform legislation, had now fallen into a “death spiral”, with one-third of the country being served by only one insurer, and rate hikes that in some states were over 112% higher than their 2016 premiums.
Congressional leaders acknowledge that their plan may cover fewer people, saying that unlike ObamaCare, they are not forcing people to buy coverage through a mandate – it will be up to the individual consumer to decide if they wish to purchase the insurance, and which plan they choose instead of the government mandating plans. They say their system is less intrusive and provides people a tax credit without mandates or a range of tax increases.
To pass the bill through the reconciliation process and avoid a Senate Democratic filibuster, Republicans will have to convince the Senate parliamentarian that ALL the provisions of the bill are germane to the budget. And the bill can’t be deemed to increase the federal deficit 10 years or more from now. Some of the bill’s insurance market changes may have a tough time surviving those procedural tests. By using the budget reconciliation process, the U.S. Senate can pass the bill with a simple 51 vote majority – not the normal 60 votes which would require Democratic support.

Congress had completed the initial phase of a three-step process to kill Obamacare in January, by passing in a vote of 51 to 48, and followed up by a 227-198 vote in the House, a budget resolution to repeal and replace Obamacare.
The new budget reconciliation legislation (Step 2) introduced this week is now in committee, and will then go up for a vote in both houses of Congress, possibly later this month in March. If the Senate gets its 51 votes and the House gets its simple majority, the reconciliation will pass. Only then will the parts of Obamacare detailed within this week’s bill be repealed. The rest of it will have to be disassembled, possibly piecemeal, with bipartisan support in what would be Step 3 later this year.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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 was not available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on….
Twitter: Healthinsurane4 
Click-On for LinkedIn: LinkedIn
Like us on facebook: HealthInsurance4Everyone
Follow Mark Shuster, Founder/Owner at Health & Life Solutions, LLC for daily health tips! HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions, LLC
Mark Shuster FaceBook Link
Follow our word press blogs and read about everything from health insurance and reform news to healthy living and current events! 
Company Blogs
Find out more about LegalShield, our corporate partner which gives you the power to talk to an attorney about any legal issue, and offering high-quality Identity Theft protection plans. 
LegalShield
Read more
Jewish community centers (JCCs) and schools in a dozen US states have reported waves of bomb threats. It was the fourth wave of nationwide bomb threats against JCCs in the last five weeks. In total, 69 threats have been reported against 54 Jewish Community Centers.
The JCC Association of North America reported that since the beginning of the year, there have been 69 incidents at 54 Jewish Community Centers in 27 states and one Canadian province. Some of the centers that received threats are in Chicago, Buffalo, Houston, Tampa, Nashville, New Jersey, Manhattan and Long Island. All of the bomb threats were determined to be hoaxes.
At a Jewish cemetery in University City, Missouri, the gravesites of 170 Jews were vandalized over the weekend. On President’s Day, the Nashville facility, more full than usual with people exercising on the holiday weekend, was evacuated before security gave the all-clear.
Across the United States, Jewish communities are struggling to deal with this new wave of threats. The calls may not have resulted in violence yet but the intimidation has been felt across the country. American Jews are victims of more reported hate crimes than any other group in the United States and have been subject to the majority of religiously motivated offenses every year since 1995, according to FBI statistics. The threats and vandalism contribute to an atmosphere of anti-Semitism already well-established in the United States.
Dave Simon, the executive director of the JCC in Albuquerque, which has received multiple recent threats said “ The JCCs are equipped to handle these kinds of threats. Some, like Nashville, have full-time security staff, and members seem to understand the need for security. People don’t seem to be staying home; they’re still showing up to community events, swimming classes, and pre-school, all of which are central parts of JCC life.”
Nashville has gotten letters and postcards of support from Massachusetts, Vermont, and Washington State. The neighboring Catholic parish and local Islamic center sent messages of support as well. The attacks have been widely denounced by Jewish organizations and political leaders alike.
President Trump received heavy criticism after he chastised a Jewish reporter and told him to “sit down” at his news conference when the reporter asked about the bomb threats. Reporter Jake Turx was cut off by Trump and chastised for not asking a simple question. Trump added, “So here’s the story, folks. Number one, I am the least anti-Semitic person that you’ve ever seen in your entire life.”
Jewish leaders were disappointed that the president didn’t take the opportunity to denounce the waves of attacks and anti-Semitism. Trump did finally speak out during a visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington on Tuesday when he said that the anti-Semitic threats are “horrible,” “painful,” and a “very sad reminder of the work that still must be done.”
Read more


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 5th, 2017 was:
JENNIFER MASON
SugarLand, 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:

2/27/17
Heather Jacques
Jennifer Zarafino-Griffiths
Christine Acoba
Priscilla Shimp
Lotorya Patrick
Lisa Wright
Bea Patrick
Morgan Alexandra
Angel Anderson
Susanne Killion
Penny Fisher
Mary Ann Cody
Brandi Chaney
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Crystal Hazelwood
Jennifer Mason
Lisa Breece
Jennifer Kinner
Sheila Carvell
Melissa Turner Baker
Alisa Jones
2/28/17
Tina Marie
Crystal Young
Samantha Brwn Ramos
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Brandy Marie Williams
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Desiree Ann
Trish Marks
Susanne Killion
Mary Ann Cody
Holly Cajigas
Rachel Michelle
Kayla Clemons
Tammy Alcorta
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Paula M Bondy
Jennifer Alice Duran
Stephanie Beckwith
Phylicia Phillips
Annette French
3/1/17
Cheryl Hall
Carol Scheive
Brittany Michelle
Leslie Wagner Hobson
Angela Nicole
Roberta Thomas
Kendra George
Alicia Dansby
Melissa Turner Baker
Brandi Kerr
Sandra Sue Blanton
Deborah Farris
Lori Capobianco
Anna Nichols
Phylicia Phillips
Megan Akins
Ralph Gonzales
Mike Adamski
Wendi Black
Annette French
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Tina Marie
Sandy Nevels
3/2/17
Mary Achio
Carole Jacobs
Crystal Young
Phyllis Hines
Roberta Thomas
Megan Rhyne
Steve Hardy
Dean Bruss
Jade Good
Jennifer Downing
Amy Conyers
Brooke Scott
Sherri Kidwell
Paula Rousseau
Jennifer Mason
Cassandra Berholtz
Kim Floyd
Lotorya Patrick
Abby Cox
Jennifer Saavedra
Kristi Cervantes
3/3/17
Angela Nicole
Jade Good
Lori Capobianco
Kimberly Snyder
Melissa Turner Baker
Michelle Hughes
Angela Hendricks
Megan Rhyne
Christy Hawkes
Christine Acoba
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Sean Stover
Justin Wilcox
Jean Simmons Homfeld
Fitch Donna
Priscilla Shimp
Phyllis Hines
Jennifer Downing
Kathleen Hickman
Anna Nichols
Jamie Shapiro
3/4/17
Crystal Young
Christine Acoba
Kristina Harris
Beeg Reeb
Alisa Jones
Brian K Henson
Brandi Chaney
Priscilla Shimp
Dawn Raasch
Holly Cajigas
Joanie Waterman
Paula Rivers
Alexis Maureen
Wizdom Norwood-Goins
Althea Thomas
Susanne Killion
Jennifer Mason
Jakara Jackson
Paula M Bondy
Beth Cleveland
3/5/17
Christina Domingue
Derek Jennings
Juanita Williams-Jones
Cheryl Hall
Sheila Carvell
Jonnalyn Gates
Kimberly Snyder
Rebecca Fauteux
Jennifer Downing
Kristina Rosson
Jessica Miller
Anna Nichols
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Preeti Chand
Vickie Gipson
Kendra George
Megan Rhyne
Holly Cajigas
Phyllis Hines
Abby Cox
Dawn Raasch

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
Find out more about LegalShield, our corporate partner which gives you the power to talk to an attorney about any legal issue, and offering high-quality Identity Theft plans. 
LegalShield
Read more
The Trump administration announced that it will enforce federal laws barring the use of marijuana, reversing an Obama administration policy that gave wide latitude to states to determine their own pot laws. Eight states – Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Maine – and Washington, D.C. have legalized both medicinal and recreational marijuana. The Obama administration had opted not to enforce federal prohibitions in states that had passed legislation legalizing the drug. It’s classified as a Schedule 1 drug — putting it in the same category as heroin — and the government can restrict cross-state shipment and financing as a result.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the Trump administration would prioritize enforcement in states that have passed laws allowing for the recreational—rather than medical—use of the drug. Just a day after the announcement, publicly traded shares of marijuana-related companies were tumbling and executives at recreational marijuana businesses were expressing their disappointment in the announcement.
The announcement was not a surprise to legalization advocates after Trump’s nomination of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general. Many advocates feel that Mr. Sessions has been “the single biggest opponent to legalization in the US Senate.”
In August 2013, a four-page directive issued by then-Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole essentially instructs that a hands-off approach be taken by the federal government in states that have voted on laws to legalize marijuana, regardless of the fact that marijuana is illegal at the federal level. The directive has been dubbed the “Cole Memo”.
President Trump has issued differing stances on marijuana legalization. In the 1990s, Trump told the Miami Herald that the US needed to “legalize drugs to win” the war on drugs. And in an interview with Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly a year ago, Trump said he was in favor of medical marijuana “a hundred percent” while also calling Colorado’s recreational marijuana industry “a real problem.”
The industry is still new and is estimated to be worth over $6 billion so the reversal will cost some states millions in revenue and a loss of jobs. Recreational marijuana retailers in Oregon sell about $7 million worth of cannabis every week, or about $364 million a year.
In 2016, the marijuana industry in Colorado created more than 18,000 new full-time jobs and over $1 billion in retail sales. The industry also generated over $1 billion in additional economic activity such as growers renting warehouse space and the purchases of sophisticating lighting and irrigation equipment. Marijuana retailers also boost the economy when they rely on other companies, like contractors, lawyers and bookkeeping services, to conduct their own businesses. If the Trump Administration’s promise of a crackdown does take effect- all of this new found revenue will be lost.
Read more
Many are outraged after a viral video showed an off-duty LAPD officer firing a gun near a group of kids after the officer grabbed a 13-year-old boy by his hoodie and restraining him. The incident took place near the officer’s home in Anaheim, California.
The cellphone video shows a man in plainclothes holding a boy against his will. The boy repeatedly says, “Let me go” but the man refuses. The man, who never identifies himself as an officer is surrounded by other children as he pulls the boy down the street over lawns. Eventually, the other kids come to the aid of the boy, pushing the officer over a row of hedges. The man, who still has hold of the boy is then seen drawing a pistol from his waistband before a gunshot rings out. No one was injured in the incident.
According to one of the youths, the group was walking home from school when the incident took place. The 13 year old says it quickly escalated and turned physical when the man tackled him and choked him. While the video does not show what happened prior, it starts with the boy being restrained and asking to be let go. He then says “why are you grabbing me, I just said not to talk to a girl like that! You called her a dumb c**t.” The man replies that she shouldn’t have been on his lawn.
Anaheim police say the officer had an ongoing dispute against children who were walking on his lawn. Both the 13-year-old boy and his 15-year-old brother were arrested. The off-duty officer, who has not been identified, was questioned by Anaheim police and released.
Overnight, around 300 protesters gathered near the officer’s home, before marching through Anaheim’s streets and blocking intersections. Some protesters shouted “hands up, don’t shoot” and “no justice, no peace.” Some demonstrators threw rocks and kicked police cars, while others broke windows or residences and cars, according to the LA Times.
There was also a small group of protestors who lingered around the officer’s home chanting “Don’t shoot the children.” The officer’s home and vehicle were vandalized before riot police arrived to protect the officer’s home. Twenty-four people were arrested on misdemeanor charges of failure to disperse.
The LAPD says the officer is on paid administrative leave while the department evaluates if his “use of deadly force complied with LAPD’s policies and procedures.” Anaheim police say they are reviewing other videos of the altercation to get a clearer picture of what happened.
Anaheim mayor Tom Tait and Police Chief Raul Quezada both said they were thankful no one was wounded when the officer fired a handgun into the ground. They also both said they are disturbed by video that shows an off-duty Los Angeles police officer firing his gun during a confrontation with a teenager.
Police Chief Quezada told reporters “As a father and as a police chief, I too am disturbed by what I saw on the videos that were posted on the Internet,” He said he hopes a criminal investigation into the matter, which involved several teens and an off-duty Los Angeles police officer who lives in Anaheim, will be completed within two weeks. No one has been formally charged in the incident.
Read more
President Trump signed legislation to repeal a Dodd-Frank anti-corruption measure requiring oil and mining companies to disclose payments to governments. The rule had required public oil, gas and mineral extraction companies to disclose annually its payments to both foreign governments and the U.S. government.
According to lawmakers, these disclosures help fight corruption in resource-rich countries. The requirement was the Cardin-Lugar Anti-Corruption Provision of 2010’s Dodd-Frank Act – signed by former President Barack Obama and named for former Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md. The regulation was widely support from Democrats, who argued the transparency requirement could reduce instances of corruption in resource-rich countries overseas.
The goal of the rule is to prevent foreign leaders from skimming off the payments that drillers and miners make to their countries. It was put in place to stop the corruption that enriches the politically connected but deprives regular people of their country’s mineral wealth.
The oil industry had fiercely lobbied against the measure. The resource extraction rule has been controversial since it was mandated in 2010, which is why it took six years for it to be finalized. Exxon, Chevron (CXW) and the National Mining Association were among the dozens of entities to submit comments opposing the rule.
Longtime ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who is now secretary of state, personally lobbied against the rule, flying to Washington, D.C., to meet with then-Senator Richard Lugar in 2010 to try to get the measure removed from Dodd-Frank. The American Petroleum Institute, the chief U.S. energy lobbying organization”s main argument against the rule was that it puts U.S. companies at a disadvantage, because their foreign competitors are not subject to the requirements.
However, many major European drillers like BP, Total and Royal Dutch Shell, Russian oil and gas giants Rosneft and Gazprom, as well as Canadian firms must report what they pay to foreign governments. The U.S. rules would have forced some Chinese and Brazilian firms to do so as well.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement that the provision in question “would have put American oil and natural gas companies at a disadvantage on the world stage, and actually could have threatened the safety of American workers abroad.”
Lawmakers used the Congressional Review Act, a seldom-used legislative route that essentially fast-tracks the regulatory repeal process. By accessing the provisions laid out, it allows lawmakers to expedite a resolution that requires little notice before introduction and is not subject to filibuster. It also requires only a simple majority of 51 votes in the Senate to pass.
Read more