Roughly half a million children in the U.S. could lose their eligibility for free school lunches under an administration proposal. Children whose families qualify for food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, can automatically get free breakfasts and lunches at school, but the administration’s new proposal would tighten eligibility for SNAP. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released an analysis this week showing that nearly 3 million people could lose access to food stamps under the proposed rule, including almost 1 million children.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released an analysis that says as many as 982,000 children could be affected by the change. Children whose families lost SNAP benefits would have to submit an application to determine if they qualify for free or reduced-priced school meals. About 45% of them — some 445,000 kids — would still qualify for free meals but about 497,000 kids who currently get free meals — would have to start paying a reduced price of 40 cents for school lunch and 30 cents for breakfast, since they come from families with an annual income of between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty level. Another 40,000 kids who currently get free meals would need to pay the full price because their family won’t qualify for the program anymore.
The National School Lunch Program serves roughly 30 million students, including about 20 million free meals daily. For those who don’t qualify for free or reduced price meals, the average price of lunch was $2.48 for elementary school students in the 2016-17 school year, according to the School Nutrition Association, which represents cafeteria employees and vendors.
According to the USDA, the proposal could cut $90 million annually from the cost of its school lunch and breakfast programs. They noted that the number of children being affected by the proposal could be less because some schools offer free lunches to all students regardless of eligibility. But the schools that offer this program requires 40% of students to be eligible for free meals, and the rule change could mean some schools no longer meet that threshold.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has said tightening access to SNAP would close a “loophole” that allows families receiving temporary assistance benefits to automatically get food stamps too. The USDA is not proposing changes to the income rules for the program. It says it is addressing a loophole that gives eligibility to people who would not have otherwise qualified.
The USDA released the details of its analysis after it was criticized for failing to report the impact its SNAP rule change could have on children’s access to free school meals. The agency has said the change is intended to make eligibility rules more consistent across the country, since states can grant people eligibility if they were enrolled in other assistance programs. Critics argue that the change will increase food insecurity among low-income families and add to states’ administrative costs.
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Two members of an Illinois militia group admitted to bombing a Bloomington mosque in 2017 in a bid to terrorize Muslims into leaving the United States. Michael McWhorter and Joe Morris rented a truck and drove more than 500 miles to bomb a Minnesota mosque. Both men pled guilty to five counts related to the mosque attack, as well as the attempted bombing of an Illinois abortion clinic and other crimes. A third suspect, 47 year old, Michael Hari, whom prosecutors said directed the bombing, remains in federal custody.
Hari is a former sheriff’s deputy from Illinois who runs a security company and submitted a bid to build President Trump’s border wall. The plea agreements portray Hari as the ringleader of a militia group called the White Rabbits, which included Hari, McWhorter, Morris and at least five other people. Hari’s trial is set for July. The plea agreements say the men targeted the mosque to interfere with the free exercise of religion by Muslims and to let Muslims know they were not welcome in the United States.
According to the plea agreements, the men were headed toward Minnesota when Hari told McWhorter and Morris that he had a pipe bomb in the vehicle and they were going to bomb a mosque. When the three men arrived at Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington on Aug. 5, 2017, Hari gave Morris a sledgehammer and told him to break a window. McWhorter then lit the fuse on the pipe bomb and threw it inside. Morris then threw the gasoline mixture inside, causing an explosion, fire and extensive damage. No one was injured in the attack, which happened just as morning prayers were about to begin, terrifying members of the local Muslim community.
Hari allegedly picked Dar al-Farooq because it was far enough away from the White Rabbits’ central Illinois hometown that he thought they wouldn’t be suspected. He also allegedly believed it was a focal point for terror recruiting, a claim that law enforcement has not substantiated. Morris’ attorney, Robert Richman, said Morris merely followed the lead of Hari, a man he’d known as a father figure since he was 9. “Hari essentially weaponized Joe Morris,” Richman said.
McWhorter and Morris also pleaded guilty to their roles in a failed attack on a Champaign, Illinois, abortion clinic in November 2017. A pipe bomb that Morris said he and Hari threw into the clinic did not explode. Court documents also state that Hari, McWhorter, Morris and others also participated in an armed home invasion in Ambia, Indiana, and the armed robberies or attempted armed robberies of two Walmart stores in Illinois. Morris and McWhorter also admitted to attempting to extort Canadian National Railway by threatening to damage tracks if the railroad didn’t pay them money. Morris and McWhorter could each face at least 35 years in prison. A fourth man, Ellis Mack of Clarence, already pled guilty to two counts in Illinois and is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
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Twelve people are dead after a mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California. Police identified the gunman as 28-year-old Ian David Long, a Marine veteran who had deployed to Afghanistan and had a history of mental health issues. Long was found dead inside the kitchen area of the bar when the SWAT team entered the building. Most of the victims were college students attending country music night. Authorities said as many as 22 people had been injured and taken to the hospital. Nine men and three women were killed in the shooting including a 27-year-old Navy veteran who survived the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting during the Route 91 Harvest festival.
Police say that at around 11:20 p.m., Long shot security guard Sean Adler, 48, just outside the bar with a legally purchased .45-caliber Glock 21 semi-automatic pistol with a banned high-capacity magazine. Long entered the bar and began throwing smoke bombs before firing approximately 30 rounds into the crowd of more than 150 people. Patrons dropped to the ground, dashed under tables, hid in the bathroom and ran for exits, stepping over bodies sprawled across the floor.
Three minutes after the first 911 calls, 54 year old Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Ron Helus and a California Highway Patrol officer arrived at the scene. The officers heard gunshots coming from the building. Helus ran inside and was immediately shot by the gunman. The Highway Patrol Officer dragged Helus outside to safety but died from his injuries hours later. The other victims included Cody Coffman, 22; Alaina Housley, 18; Justin Meek, 23; Daniel Manrique, 33; Noel Sparks, 21; Jake Dunham, 21; Blake Dingman, 21; Kristina Morisette, 20; Marky Meza Jr., 20 and Telemachus Orfanos, 27. Orfanos’s family said he had survived the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival that left 58 people dead.
In fact, many regular patrons of the Borderline Bar & Grill were survivors of the Route 91 mass shooting. A regular patron, Brendan Kelly, 22, was among those who survived both the Vegas massacre and the shooting at the Borderline. “It was our home for the probably 30 or 45 of us who are from the greater Ventura County area who were in Vegas. That was our safe place where we went to the following week, three nights in a row just so we could be with each other.”
Police say that Long frequented the Borderline Bar & Grill and had previous run-ins with the law, including a disturbance in April at Long’s home where he lived with his mother. Police say he was irate and acting irrationally. He was evaluated by mental health professionals but was cleared by the specialists. Long served in the Marine Corps and was on active duty from August 2008 to March 2013, according to Defense Department records. Long had been married in 2009 in Honolulu, Hawaii, but was divorced in April 2013 in Ventura County, California.
Friends of Long described him as a loner but said he was stable and didn’t show any signs of aggression. Neighbors tell a different story, with some saying they’d frequently heard him arguing with his mother at all hours and others keeping their distance because he seemed troubled. Police have not disclosed a motive in the shooting.
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The three UCLA basketball players who were accused of shoplifting at three high-end stores in China publicly apologized before coach Steve Alford announced they were being suspended indefinitely. Freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley won’t be allowed to suit up, practice or travel with the team while the university continues to sort out the circumstances of the incident in Hangzhou, China. Alford didn’t specify what the indefinite suspensions mean, saying only that the three players would have to earn their way back onto the team and at some point the trio may be permitted to join team workouts, meetings and practices, but that timeline has yet to be decided.
The players were in China as part of the Pac-12′s global initiative that seeks to popularize the league’s athletic programs and universities overseas. UCLA was scheduled to play Georgia Tech on November 11th. The incident occurred when the team was given 90 minutes of free time on Nov. 6th in Hangzhou. The trio visited several stores, took items from three stores and returned to the hotel. The next day, police arrived at the hotel shared by UCLA and Georgia Tech and interviewed both teams in an attempt to identify the culprits. Police searched the players’ personal belongings and the team bus before identifying Ball, Hill and Riley. The three players were accused of stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store.
The players were arrested and taken to a police station for questioning. They were later released on $2,220 bail on Nov. 8th. They had to give up their passports and agree to travel restrictions. Upon their release, they remained in a hotel at UCLA’s insistence. After their teammates beat Georgia Tech, the team moved on for the next game while the three accused players remained in Hangzhou to face their charges. Chinese law is often criticized for being harsh and the nation boasts a 99% conviction rate. Crimes like shoplifting can carry a sentence of 3 to 10 years in prison.
UCLA had been cooperating with the authorities in China following the arrested. White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly, had been working with Chinese officials, UCLA coach Steve Alford, and the families of the players to help find a resolution. President Trump was in China last week as part of his 12-day tour through Asia. He said he had a long conversation with Chinese president Xi Jinping about the status of the freshmen players and asked that the matter be resolved quickly.
The Chinese authorities reduced the charges and the three players were told they could return home. They arrived back in Los Angeles after a 12 hour flight home on November 14th. Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. “We want to thank the president, the White House and the U.S. State Department for their efforts towards resolution.”
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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, June 4th, 2017 was:
CHRISTINA MONTES
San Antonio, 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:
5/29/17
Paula Rousseau
Diane Hamric
Amy Conyers
Althea Thomas
Tracy Shafer
Patricia Oehlert Vazquez
Kayla Clemons
Amy Stonger
Alicia Smith
StefJohn McClain-Sampson
Shannon R Garrett
Jessica Miller
Sheila Carvell
Dena Baji
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Anna Nichols
Amanda Kyrie’ Ayala
Trish Musgrave
Tera Wardrip
Michelle Hughes
Kelly Jo Francisco
Megan Hackworth
Luis Vazquez
Jade Good
5/30/17
Patricia Oehlert Vazquez
Mary Mcmenamy
Jennifer Ramlet
Juanita Willaims-Jones
Kelly Jo Francisco
Glenna Zanaglio
Peggy Burdick Buchanan
Krissy Brislin
Deborah Farris
Cheryl Hall
Tonya Velazquez
Lauren Bradley
Nai Merri
Geri Rus
Luis Vazquez
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Darbie Brown
Michelle Webb
Kayla Hernandez
Lauren Bradley
Leslie Wagner Hobson
5/31/17
Kelly Jo Francisco
Deborah Farris
Kimberly Snyder
Jennifer Ramlet
Michelle Hughes
Jacqlyn Gummert
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Darbie Brown
Emilie Edwards
Mary Achio
Heather Marie Stacy
Cassandra Berholtz
Anna Nichols
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
LaKishia Wagers
Charlotte Dennis
Myranda Medlin
Brittany Marie Thompson
Mikey Mellor
Tonya Velazquez
Cassandra L. Penley
6/1/17
Jessica Miller
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Cheryl Hall
Jennifer Ramlet
Jacqlyn Gummert
Taschia Miller
Brittany Michelle
Jade Good
Kelly Jo Francisco
Nelle Bailey
Brittany Marie Thompson
Amanda Peters
Tera Wardrip
Misty Shallcross
Jonnalyn Gates
Michelle R. Carlino
Anggie Marie
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Shannon R Garrett
Brandy Williams
Traci Anderson
6/2/17
Daniela Hernandez
Valerie Kuehn
Christy Hawkes
Brittany Michelle
Tera Wardrip
Nitasha Shank
Jennifer Mason
Mary Achio
Peggy Burdick Buchanan
Abby Cox
Deborah Farris
Nai Merri
Jennifer Lang
Emilie Edwards
Andrea Timms
Mya Murphy
Misty Dawn Moores
Sean Stover
Fitch Donna
Joanie Waterman
Bronnie Harrison
Stephanie Caldwell
Joann Tompkins-Winborn
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Sara Biason
Melinda Dreier
6/3/17
Deborah Farris
Juanita Williams-Jones
Jennifer Mapes
Kimberly Snyder
Shannon R Garrett
Priscilla Shimp
Nitasha Shank
Jackie Poole
Joleen Renee
Danii Muniz McGlothin
Lauren Bradley
Christina Montes
Nelle Bailey
Kendra Lynne Ramsey
Sarah Bellestri Shih
Susanne Killion
Laurie Griffith
Belinda Haas
Christine McKinnon
Dawn Raasch
6/4/17
Heather Marie Stacy
Brittany Whitley
Anna Nichols
Kathleen Hickman
Deborah Farris
Tonya Velazquez
Destiny Landsaw Davis
Mary Achio
Alisa Jones
Shannon R Garrett
Kayla Hernandez
Jodi Stevens
Phyllis Hines
Nelle Bailey
Valerie Kuehn
Lotorya Patrick
Eleazar Ruiz
Karyn Koehler
Carol Yemola
Dawn Miller Majors
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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