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 16th, 2017 was:
SEAN STOVER
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:
4/10/17
Dana Dilaura
Pamela White Brearley
Jennifer Saavedra
Crystal Young
Kendra George
Brandy Marie Williams
Stephanie Beckwith
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Jennifer Vega
Althea Thomas
Paula Rousseau
Sarah Harrison
Kim Floyd
Darbie Brown
Lotorya Patrick
Chris Maxwell
Juanita Williams-Jones
Nikki Hunsaker
Adaria Johnson
Jade Good
Bea Patrick
Brittany Marie Thompson
Lisa J Wright
Angela Nicole
4/11/17
Kristina Harris
Priscilla Shimp
Bobbie J Rittenhouse
Megan Rhyne
Sherri Kidwell
Brandi Chaney
Cherilyn White
Rhonda Nicholson
Brandy Marie Williams
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Tara Lennox
Geri Rus
Kevin Cusack
Kimberly Snyder
Holly Cajigas
Steve Hardy
Susanne Killion
Brooke Scott
Valerie Kuehn
Kathi Taylor
4/12/17
Cheryl Hall
Kayla Clemons
Sheila Carvell
Jennifer Downing
Brittany Marie Thompson
Rebecca Fauteux
Kendra George
Lori Capobianco
Jakara Jackson
Kimberly Snyder
Amy Conyers
Isis Sample
Karen Jaras
Susan Clarke Jette
Kathleen Hickman
Mike Adamski
Chelcie Malow
Jennifer Ramlet
Karyn Koehler
Terri Llexxes
4/13/17
Tonya Velazquez
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Misty Shallcross
Justin Wilcox
Chelcie Malow
Samantha Brwn Ramos
Shelley LaClear
Sherri Kidwell
Deborah Farris
Mya Murphy
Margaret Primos
Isis Sample
Kayla Clemons
Erica Hansen
Allyson Becker
Christine Domingue
Misty Dawn Moores
Karen Jaras
Pamela White Brearley
Heather Marie Stacy
4/14/17
Amy Marie Wilkinson
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Priscilla Shimp
Jodi Stevens
Juanita Williams-Jones
Brandy Marie Williams
Cheryl Hall
Crystal Young
Brooke Scott
Jackie Poole
Shawna Poole
Sean Stover
Karen Bondehagen
Lori Capobianco
Stephanie Beckwith
Alisa Jones
Jennifer Ramlet
Rebecca Fauteux
Kathleen Hickman
Janice Cash
4/15/17
Brandy Marie Williams
Karen Jaras
Althea Thomas
Sarah Bellestri Shih
Allyson Becker
Tracy Shafer
Jennifer Lang
Karen Goodwin Delaney
Jonnalyn Gates
Amanda Saltsman
Myranda Medlin
Phyllis Hines
Kendra George
Jennifer Kinner
Samantha Brwn Ramos
Amy Chavis
Jessica Miller
Beth Cleveland
Nai Merri
Terri Llexxes
4/16/17
Alexandria Tinnon
Erica Hansen
Sherri Kidwell
Valerie Kuehn
Paula Rousseau
Amy Conyers
Shelby Lynn
Brandy Marie Williams
Belinda Haas
Jennifer Mason
Kaitlyn Rutherford
Allyson Becker
Anne Hanson
Kayla Clemons
Kimberly Taylor Hall
Phyllis Hines
Jackie Poole
Peggy Burdick Buchanan
Lena Perry
Jeanine Jones
Glenna Zanaglio
Tracy Shafer
Brandi Chaney
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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Winners Are Announced!!)
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The GOP pulled its Obamacare replacement bill before it could go to a vote on Friday, March 24th. Now what? Is that the end of Trump’s promise to repeal and replace the ‘Affordable’ Care Act (ACA) ? Will politicians draft another bill?
There are a lot of questions, and most of the answers are forthcoming. What we do know is that the ACA remains in place as written. Nothing has changed.1
Subsidies remain in effect and available to those who qualify for them. Essential health benefits will stay in place. Nobody can be denied coverage. Children may remain on a parent’s health insurance plan until age 26. The law, as written, remains the law.
The individual mandate is still in effect … but is it really? 
If passed as written, the recently GOP-proposed American Health Care Act (AHCA) would have abolished the individual and employer mandates and their respective penalties, retroactive beginning with 2016.2
But the AHCA didn’t pass—again, there wasn’t even a vote—which leaves many to wonder:
Will the Trump administration enforce the shared responsibility provision, which is part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act enacted on March 23, 2010 (i.e., PPACA, ACA, Obamacare)?
As consumers file their 2016 taxes, will those who went without health insurance and didn’t qualify for an exemption owe a penalty?
The existing healthcare reform law requires taxpayers to show that they have minimum essential coverage, which includes but is not limited to Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, CHIP, and private health insurance obtained through an employer or the individual market.3 This has not changed.
Most commonly, providing evidence of minimum essential coverage means checking a box on line 61 on page two of your individual income tax return.4 If the box goes unchecked, your tax return could be rejected—at least, that was the case until recently, and here is where some might become confused.
Will 2016 penalties be enforced this tax season?
The IRS in February stated that, starting this tax season, it will no longer systematically reject returns on which the taxpayer doesn’t indicate their coverage status.5 However, the agency may still follow up with questions. But will the IRS really enforce the individual shared responsibility payment (i.e., Obamacare tax penalty)?
Tara Straw, a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, in an interview with NPR reminded consumers that the individual mandate is the law and remains in effect; as such, they should pay the fine unless they qualify for an exemption.6 Straw cautioned consumers that “reputable tax preparers” would not advise them to skip the penalty or delay filing because the law could change.7
If you have questions about the individual mandate, exemptions, penalties and other tax topics related to healthcare, consult with a tax professional. The IRS also provides ACA information and resources that may be helpful but do not serve as a replacement for professional guidance.
Will there be a 2018 open enrollment?
As it has each year since the ACA’s individual mandate took effect, the open enrollment period for individual health insurance plans effective next year would begin sometime in the fall of this year. However, healthcare experts such as Mary Agnes Carey, question what the market will look like and how aggressively the Trump administration will promote it.8
This is the time of year when health insurance companies decide whether or not they will participate in the individual market and what plans they will offer.9 As the Associated Press reports, “What kinds of plans will be available and how much they will cost will depend on a few key decisions by insurers and regulators in the coming weeks.”10
What about those who need coverage now?
We encourage consumers to discuss their health insurance options with a licensed producer who can help them explore the plan types available to them.
And, again, all tax-related questions should be directed to a tax professional.
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Visit IRS.gov for an ACA Tax Provision Q&AView IRS Help & Resources Page
1Mathews, Anna Wilde and Melanie Evans. “Health Insurers Wrestle with Next Steps as GOP Bill Fails.” The Wall Street Journal. March 24, 2017. https://www.wsj.com/articles/health-care-sector-faces-uncertainties-regardless-of-house-bills-fate-1490380594
2Hiltzik, Michael. “Column: The GOP’s Obamacare Repeal Plan is Out—And It’s Even Worse Than Anyone Expected.” LA Times. March 6, 2017. http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-obamacare-repeal-20170306-story.html
3Erb, Kelly Phillips. “IRS Softens on Obamacare Reporting Requirements After Trump Executive Order.” Forbes. Feb. 16, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2017/02/16/irs-softens-on-obamacare-reporting-requirements-after-trump-executive-order
4Ibid.
5Ibid.
6Andrews, Michelle. Health Shots. “Even If You Expect Obamacare to be Repealed, Don’t Skip Paying Tax Penalty Now.” NPR. Feb. 8, 2017. http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/02/08/513755719/even-if-you-expect-obamacare-to-be-repealed-dont-skip-paying-tax-penalty-now
7Ibid.
8Martin, Michel. All Things Considered. “What Does Failed Repeal of Affordable Care Act Mean for Current Health Care Law?” NPR. March 25, 2017. http://www.npr.org/2017/03/25/521517124/what-does-failed-repeal-of-affordable-care-act-mean-for-current-health-care-law
9The Associated Press. “Now What? Options for Consumers as Health Law Drama Fades.” The New York Times. March 25, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/03/25/us/ap-us-health-overhaul-what-now.html?_r=0
10Ibid.
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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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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.”
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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.
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President Trump has imposed a controversial 90-day ban on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. On January 27th, Trump signed the order banning travel from the seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days and suspending all refugee admission for 120 days. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leadership saw the final details shortly before the order was finalized.
The result was widespread confusion across the country on Saturday as airports struggled to adjust to the new directives. Stories of families separated or detained for hours starting circulating news outlets.The policy team at the White House developed the executive order on refugees and visas and avoided the traditional inter-agency process that allowed the Justice Department and homeland security agencies to provide operational guidance.
DHS arrived at the legal interpretation that the executive order restrictions did not apply to people with lawful permanent residence, referred to as green card holders. The White House overruled that guidance overnight and decided that on a case by case basis, DHS could allow green card holders to enter the US. The Department of Homeland Security decided that green card holders would be allowed to board international flights but would be considered on a case-by-case basis after passing a secondary screening.
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates announced the Justice Department would not defend Trump’s executive order temporarily banning all refugees, as well as all citizens, from the seven Muslim-majority nations. Just hours after her announcement, President Trump fired her. Yates had served in the Justice Department for 27 years and Trump had asked her to serve as acting attorney general until the Senate confirmed Sen. Jeff Sessions.
Yates is not the only one to publicly disagree with the executive order. More than 200 State Department officials and diplomats have signed on to drafts of a dissent memo that condemns Trump’s executive order. Executives at a growing number of corporations have spoken out against Trump’s immigration ban, including Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, Tesla, Airbnb, Ford and Goldman Sachs. World-wide protests has erupted across the globe as well.
Then, Federal Judge James Robart, who presides in Seattle, halted the enforcement of Trump’s order Friday night, effective nationwide. Ruling in a lawsuit brought by the attorneys general of Washington state and Minnesota who sought to stop the order, he said the states “have met their burden of demonstrating that they face immediate and irreparable injury as a result of the signing and implementation of the Executive Order. ” He said the order adversely affects residents in areas of education, employment, education and freedom to travel.
The Department of Homeland Security announced it has suspended all actions to implement the immigration order and will resume standard inspections of travelers as it did prior to the signing of the travel ban. They said the Justice Department — which is expected to file an emergency motion to stop the order — needed to challenge the ruling “at the earliest possible time.”
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Police have arrested a gunman charged with opening fire at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City during evening prayers. Canadian university student Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, has been charged with 6 counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder in the shooting that left six people dead and 19 wounded.
Witnesses described a gunman dressed in black, opening fire indiscriminately with semi-automatic weapons. More than 50 people were at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre when the shooting began. All the shooting victims were men and those killed ranged in age from 39 to 60. Of the four victims who remained hospitalized, two were in critical condition, authorities said.
Among the six men killed were a butcher, a university professor, a pharmacist and an accountant, according to police. The government of Guinea said in a statement that two of its citizens were among those killed in the mosque attack.
The suspect was arrested in his car on a bridge near d’Orleans, after he called 911 to say he wanted to cooperate with police. Authorities initially named two suspects, but later said the other man taken into custody was a witness to the attack and was released. Officials said they did not believe there were others involved. Police did not give a motive for the attack.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard both characterized the attack as an act of terrorism, which came amid strong criticism around the world over Trump’s temporary travel ban for people from seven Muslim countries. Shortly after Trump’s executive order was issued, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Canada would welcome refugees banned from entering the United States.
Federal Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters in Ottawa there was no change to “the national terrorism threat level” from medium because “there is no information known to the government of Canada that would lead to a change at this time.”
According to media outlets, Bissonnette was known for far-right, nationalist views and his support of the French rightist party led by Marine Le Pen. The suspect has expressed support for Le Pen and U.S. President Donald Trump on his Facebook page. He was known to those who monitor extremist groups in Quebec, said François Deschamps, an official with a refugee advocacy group.
Bissonnette made a brief appearance in court under tight security wearing a white prison garment. Prosecutors said they do not have all the evidence yet. Bissonnette is set to appear again on Feb. 21. No charge was read in court and Bissonnette did not enter a plea.
The attack was a shock to the community of Quebec City, a city of just over 500,000 which reported just two murders in all of 2015. Incidents of Islamophobia have increased in Quebec in recent years. The face-covering, or niqab, became an issue in the 2015 Canadian federal election, especially in Quebec, where the majority of the population supported a ban on it at citizenship ceremonies.
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New York City taxpayers will pay $75 million to settle a class action lawsuit against the New York Police Department over its issuing of nearly 1 million legally baseless criminal summonses over several years because they were under pressure to meet quotas. The summonses were later dismissed for lack of evidence. The settlement must be approved by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Sweet.
The suit was filed in a federal court in 2010 on behalf of people who were hit with 900,000 court summonses that were later dismissed because of legal deficiencies. The settlement would allow people issued court summonses for offenses such as trespassing, disorderly conduct and urinating in public to receive a maximum of $150 per person per incident for their trouble.
The lawsuit argued police were routinely ordered to issue summonses “regardless of whether any crime or violation” had occurred to meet quotas. It cited claims by two whistleblower officers who said they were forced into quotas by precinct superiors. The quota allegations were denied in the settlement agreement.
Under the agreement, the city said the NYPD must update and expand training and guidance reiterating to officers and their superiors that quotas are not allowed, and officers must not be mandated to make a particular number of summonses, street stops or arrests.
A total of $56.6 million would be set aside, and individual payments could end up lower if more claims are made. Any funds not paid go back to the city, which is also paying $18.5 million in legal fees. Possible class members would be notified through social media and other advertisements.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs called it the largest false-arrest class-action lawsuit in city history. The 2010 lawsuit includes summonses filed from 2007 through at least 2015. About one-quarter of the summonses issued during that time frame were dismissed for legal insufficiency, according to data in the lawsuit. Legal insufficiency is not necessarily a lack of evidence but may be that an officer wasn’t clear enough in explaining why someone was ticketed.
The class action suit came amid a growing outcry over the NYPD’s encounters with minorities. The lead plaintiff in the case, Sharif Stinson, said he was stopped twice outside his aunt’s Bronx building in 2010 when he was 19 and was given disorderly conduct summonses by officers who said he used obscene language. The officers didn’t specify what the language or behavior was, and the tickets were dismissed.
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Lawmakers quietly closed the investigation into the lead poisoning of the water system in Flint, Michigan in December 2016. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s findings blamed state officials, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the EPA.
The Flint water crisis began when the city’s unelected emergency manager, appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, switched the source of Flint’s drinking water from the Detroit system to the corrosive Flint River to save money. The water corroded Flint’s aging pipes, causing poisonous levels of lead to leach into the drinking water. The impoverished city was under state control at the time.
Between 6,000 and 12,000 children were been exposed to drinking water with high levels of lead and they may experience a range of serious health problems.
The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Jason Chaffetz, issued two separate letters announcing that the investigation was finished and that Snyder was without guilt because it was the Environmental Protection Agency’s fault Flint’s water source was shifted to a contaminated source. After the April 25, 2014 switch to Flint River water from back-up to temporary primary source, city residents began complaining about their water’s color, taste, and odor.
Thirteen people have been charged in the Flint Water Crisis and its cover-up. Former MDEQ employees Michael Prysby and Stephen Busch were charged with misconduct in office, conspiracy to tamper with evidence, tampering with evidence, a treatment violation of the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act, and a monitoring violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Former city water plant operator Michael Glasgow was charged with willful neglect of office, a misdemeanor, and felony tampering with evidence. Glasgow accepted a plea deal with prosecutors, admitting to filing false information about lead in Flint water and agreeing to cooperate in other prosecutions.
Liane Shekter-Smith was charged with misconduct in office and willful neglect of duty; Adam Rosenthal was charged with misconduct in office, conspiracy to tamper with evidence, tampering with evidence, and neglect; Adam Cook was charged with misconduct in office, conspiracy to engage in misconduct in office, and neglect of duty. From the MDHHS, Nancy Peeler, Corinne Miller, and Robert Scott were charged with misconduct in office, conspiracy to commit misconduct in office, and willful neglect of duty.
On December 20, 2016, false pretenses, conspiracy to commit false pretenses, willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office charges against former Emergency Managers Darnell Earley and Jerry Ambrose; and false pretenses and conspiracy to commit false pretenses charges were filed against former Flint Utilities Administrator Daugherty Johnson and former Flint Department of Public Works director Howard Croft. Many residents are outraged that Governor Rick Snyder has survived the investigation unscathed since some of the officials charged reported directly to him.
The closing of the investigation came as Flint Mayor Karen Weaver told residents they should still not drink the water. The city’s lead pipes have not yet been replaced.
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Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán pled not guilty in a U.S. federal court in New York City. His attorneys had fought his extradition in part by citing discrimination against Mexicans. His court appearance came just one day after his extradition from Mexico and he is being held without bail. Guzman, 59, arrived at Long Island’s MacArthur Airport Thursday night after being taken from prison in the city of Juarez, in the northern state of Chihuahua, where his Sinaloa cartel rules.
He is accused of running the world’s largest drug-trafficking organization. There are 17 criminal charges against him, carrying a minimum sentence of life behind bars. Guzman is accused of money laundering, drug trafficking, kidnapping and murder in several US cities, including Chicago, Miami and New York. Charged in a total of six U.S. jurisdictions, Guzman will faced his first set of charges in Brooklyn on a combined indictment from New York and Florida.
While leading the Sinaloa cartel, Guzman is believed to have been running the world’s largest transnational cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine smuggling operation. More than 100,000 people have been killed during a decade-long drug war in Mexico. A U.S. attorney says the government is seeking a $14 billion forfeiture order as part of its prosecution of the notorious Mexican drug kingpin.
According to his indictment and court filings, Guzman grew and sold poppies for heroin as a young boy. His drug trafficking career that began in the 1980s and he came to dominate Mexican smugglers by the speed with which he was able to move drugs into the United States.
After partnering with Colombian producers, they shared in profits of U.S. distribution markets, moving cocaine and other drugs through tunnels under the U.S. border as well as planes, yachts and even a submarine, employing a crew of violent hit men known as“sicarios” and corrupting Mexican officials.
The indictment charges Guzman with running the massive drug trafficking operation that laundered billions of dollars and oversaw murders and kidnappings. Prosecutors agreed to not seek the death penalty as a condition of the extradition of Guzman, who’s the convicted leader of the Sinaloa cartel.
Guzman had maintained control and expanded his drug trafficking empire through two prison terms in Mexico. He has escaped twice from a maximum security prison in Mexico, once in a laundry cart and a second time in 2015, through a mile-long tunnel dug into the shower in his cell. He was captured a year ago, just six months after his last escape. Mexican officials say a secret interview with US actor Sean Penn helped locate the world’s most wanted drug baron. US officials have refused to say where El Chapo will be held while awaiting trial, but they vowed to prevent any further escapes.
US attorney for New York’s Eastern District, Robert Capers, told reporters the trial will likely be long and that more than 40 witnesses were ready to testify. US prosecutors assured Mexican officials that El Chapo would not be executed in order to secure his extradition, Capers said. Mexico opposes capital punishment. “Guzman and the Sinaloa cartel had a veritable army, ready to war with competitors and anyone Guzman deemed to be a traitor,” US prosecutors said. He was known to carry a gold-plated AK-47 rifle.
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