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☆ How Scammers Are Stealing Food Stamps From Struggling Americans
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Jessica Fu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ms. Kirks, 70, knew that she had saved up a sizable sum in monthly benefits from the federal food assistance program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. To eat, she would buy food through a state program that permitted adults 60 and older, people with disabilities and homeless people to buy discount meals using their food stamps. But the cashier at Albertsons was adamant: Ms. Kirks had only $6 in her account. She immediately called the state agency that oversaw food benefits. The criminals then use the information to create fake payment cards and steal money from victims’ accounts.

Persons: Jackie Kirks’s, Kirks, ”, creamer Organizations: Albertsons, Assistance, SNAP Locations: Long Beach, Calif

☆ Could decaf coffee cause cancer? Experts weigh in
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Here’s what experts and the FDA say about this clause in the modern context, and what you should know about the safety of decaf coffee. “There is more information on the toxicity of methylene chloride and the levels at which it causes this toxicity,” she added. Then there is the Swiss Water Process, which decaffeinates the beans by soaking them in warm water. The Clean Label Project, an organization that tests consumer products for hidden industrial and environmental contaminants, has detected methylene chloride in several brands of coffee. What you can do nowWhether or not the FDA eventually bans methylene chloride is a decision that could take years.

Persons: Maria, Monique Richard, ”, Richard, wasn’t, ” Richard, Richard said, Dunkin Organizations: CNN, Food and Drug Administration, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, National Institutes of Health’s, Toxicology Program, Environmental Protection Agency, World Health Organization, Environmental Defense Fund, FDA, US Centers for Disease Control, EPA, Federal Food, Nutrition, maté Locations: California, Tennessee

☆ Supreme Court medication abortion case threatens ‘seismic shift’ in FDA drug approval process, experts warn
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Meg Tirrell | Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

If the Supreme Court agrees with the appeals court, the approval of mifepristone could be reset to where it stood before 2016, limiting telehealth access to medication abortion and reimplementing other restrictions. “Nevertheless, drug developers invest in new medicines because, if their investments succeed, FDA’s rigorous drug approvals and subsequent regulatory actions are sturdy enough to facilitate reliable returns. “And without necessary investment, drug development would freeze, stifling innovation and limiting treatment options for patients.”Of course, if the Supreme Court upholds the appeals court decision, the most immediate impact would be to mifepristone itself. “It is both my hope and my ‘bet’ that the court doesn’t uphold the 5th Circuit on the standing argument,” Cohen wrote. “But I have learned the Supreme Court is hard to predict much of the time.”

Persons: thalidomide, mifepristone that’s, ”, Daniel Grossman, ” Grossman, ” PhRMA, Glenn Cohen, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, Cohen, ” Cohen Organizations: CNN, Food and Drug, Federal Food, FDA, US, University of California San, Reproductive, Guttmacher Institute, Circuit, Appeals, Pharmaceutical Research, Manufacturers of America, Harvard Law School, CNN Health Locations: Massengill, University of California San Francisco, Texas

☆ Family Dollar has agreed to pay $42 million after storing food and medicine in a warehouse with a severe rodent infestation
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementUnder the plea agreement, Family Dollar admitted that it had begun receiving more reports of mouse and pest issues with deliveries from the warehouse in August 2020. AdvertisementThe distribution center shipped FDA-regulated products to more than 400 Family Dollar stores, or over 5% of its total store count. On average, the warehouse shipped 1.3 million cases of product worth $32.3 million each month, per the plea agreement. According to the plea agreement, the facility had operated since 1994, making it Family Dollar's second-oldest distribution center. Family Dollar said in October that it planned to open a "best-in-class" distribution center on the same site in West Memphis by fall 2024.

Persons: —, Dollar, Jonathan D, Ross, Rick Dreiling Organizations: Service, US Department of Justice, Business, FDA, DOJ, Federal Food, Consumers, Eastern, of Locations: Arkansas, West Memphis , Arkansas, US, of Arkansas, West Memphis

Jim Pillen reversed course on Monday and announced that the state will accept roughly $18 million in federal funding to help feed hungry children over the summer break. “They talked about being hungry, and they talked about the summer USDA program and, depending upon access, when they'd get a sack of food,” Pillen said. A bill from state Sen. Jen Day of Omaha, a Democrat in the officially nonpartisan Legislature, would have forced the state to accept the federal funding. Kim Reynolds criticized the federal food program as doing “nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic." Pillen said Monday that Nebraska officials had already reached out to the USDA to confirm that the state would participate this year.

Persons: LINCOLN, Jim Pillen, Pillen, “, they'd, ” Pillen, ”, —, Sen, Jen, Ray Aguilar, Aguilar, Kim Reynolds, Reynolds, State Sen, Megan Hunt, ” Hunt Organizations: —, — Nebraska Gov, U.S . Department of Agriculture, Capitol, SNAP, Summer Food Service, Democrat, Republican, Nebraska, State, USDA Locations: Neb, — Nebraska, Nebraska, Pillen's, Omaha, Grand, Iowa

Nebraska is among more than a dozen states — all with Republican governors — that have opted out of receiving the funding. Kim Reynolds criticized the federal food program as doing “nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showing a steady increase in food insecurity among Nebraska families could help explain that flood of calls, Day said. “This places Nebraska above the national average and gives us the 11th highest food insecurity in the nation,” she said. “As many of you know, food is more expensive than ever, and it’s squeezing low-income Nebraska residents hardest."

Persons: Weeks, Jim Pillen, “, Omaha Sen, Jen Day, —, Kim Reynolds, Sen, Ray Aguilar, Aguilar, Day, Pillen Organizations: Republican Gov, Legislature's, Human Services Committee, SNAP, Democrat, Nebraska Legislature, Republican, Statistics, U.S . Department, Agriculture, Summer Food Service Program, U.S . Department of Agriculture Locations: Nebraska, Omaha, Iowa, Grand, U.S

☆ Panera’s Charged Lemonade has been the subject of multiple lawsuits. Why is it still on the menu?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Restaurant chain Panera Bread has faced three separate lawsuits in recent months claiming the high levels of caffeine in its Charged Lemonade led to the death of two customers and irreversible health complications in another. Lawsuits claim advertising was unclearBoth wrongful death suits allege the Charged Lemonade does not clearly advertise its high levels of caffeine , and does not provide a warning to customers. A large-size Charged Lemonade, which comes in a 30-oz cup, contains up to 236 mg of caffeine. Similarly, the second lawsuit, filed in December by the family of a 46-year-old man with a chromosomal deficiency disorder, ADHD and high blood pressure, claimed that the product was not properly labeled. The product description on the individual pages for each lemonade flavor now reads: “Contains caffeine.

Persons: James Haggerty, Haggerty, “, ”, Panera, Leonard’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, US Food and Drug Administration, FDA, Federal Food, Act, American Beverage Association, ABA Locations: New York, Connecticut, United States

☆ Opinion: What Oprah gets right about diet culture
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Opinion Adrienne Bitar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

How could she, the queen of WeightWatchers and doyenne of dieting, be abandoning the equation of diet + exercise = slim? Taking weight-loss drugs, rejecting diet culture or choosing to diet are all valid health decisions. Just look at the tragic history of diet drugs. When considered in this context, semaglutide isn’t the weight loss panacea it may appear to be. Oprah and the millions of other Americans on prescription semaglutide and similar medications should be respected — or at least not ridiculed — for ignoring the insults and choosing what’s right for them, drug or no drug, diet or no diet.

Persons: Adrienne Bitar, ”, Oprah Winfrey, WeightWatchers, Oprah, couldn’t, Cancer, dieters, “, gaunt, Jimmy Kimmel, Atkins “, John Harvey Kellogg, Kellogg, dieter, — Organizations: “, Studies, Cornell University, CNN, ”, Federal Food

Law enforcement officials came across a staggering find after being tipped off about possible drug-dealing: dozens of dog-food-size bags of psychedelic mushrooms worth an estimated $8.5 million at a home in rural Connecticut. About 20 other states have active legislation on changing laws on psychedelic drugs, according to Psychedelic Alpha, a group that tracks such legislation. Contact information for him could not be found in public records, and court records did not list a lawyer for him. Two years later, Colorado voters passed a ballot measure to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms and to create state-regulated centers where participants can experience the drug under supervision. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have decriminalized the possession and personal use of several hallucinogens, including psychedelic mushrooms, saying the state first needed regulated guidelines.

Persons: “, Gavin Newsom Organizations: Alpha, Authorities, Burlington, State, Food and Drug Administration Locations: Connecticut, Burlington, Hartford, U.S, Federal, New Britain, Oregon, Colorado, California

☆ The next House speaker will inherit a mountain of work that threatens the stability of their speakership before it even begins
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

House Republicans are still trying to figure out who they want as the next speaker. The new speaker will need to keep the government funded, pass Israel and Ukraine packages, and more. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . House Republicans began the secret voting process on Tuesday morning to whittle down the 8 remaining speaker candidates until only one remains. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe mountain of responsibilities the next speaker needs to urgently take care of is getting bigger and bigger.

Persons: It's, McCarthy, —, whittle, Kevin McCarthy, Biden, It'll Organizations: Republicans, Service, Biden Administration, Russian, Senate, Foreign Intelligence, GOP Locations: Israel, Ukraine

The imports would allow New Delhi to intervene more effectively in the market to drive down wheat prices that stoked inflation to a 15-month high in July. "The government is exploring the possibility of imports through private trade and government-to-government deals. The decision will be made cautiously," one of the sources told Reuters, when asked about wheat imports from Russia. Wholesale wheat prices in India surged around 10% over two months to a seven-month high in August on limited supplies. Wheat stocks at government warehouses were at 28.3 million tons on Aug. 1, 20% below the 10-year average.

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko, Sanjeev Chopra, Aftab Ahmed, Rajendra Jadhav, Mayank Bhardwaj, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Nikolske, Donetsk Region, Russian, DELHI, MUMBAI, India, New Delhi, Mumbai

☆ 2,000 barnacle-covered wine bottles worth hundreds of thousands of dollars destroyed after California company illegally aged them in the ocean
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Around 2,000 bottles of wine were destroyed after a wine firm was found to be aging them illegally. The firm sank crates of wine a mile off the coast of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara's DA office said. The disposal of the bottles was part of a plea agreement reached with Azzaretto, Hahn, and Ocean Fathoms. But the press release said the value of the destroyed bottles was likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In response to an inquiry from Insider, Ocean Fathoms said that it intended to release a statement on the news shortly.

Persons: Santa, Emanuele Azzaretto, Todd Hahn, Hahn Organizations: FDA, Service, Food and Drug Administration, Santa Barbara Independent Locations: Santa Barbara, Wall, Silicon, Santa Barbara's, Azzaretto, United States, Santa

☆ A Federal Food Safety Case Reveals Latest New York City Rat Horror Story
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( William K. Rashbaum | More About William K. Rashbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The details of the case, made public on Friday, immediately entered the pantheon of New York City rat tales. This year, Mayor Eric Adams appointed the city’s first rat czar to confront the long-running rodent problem. Perhaps most famous was Pizza Rat, a large brown rat that went viral after video emerged showing it dragging a large slice of pizza down the stairs to an L line station in Manhattan in 2015. But it was Meat Rats — and several instances of selling misbranded chicken gizzards, pork spareribs and other meat — that put an end to Ya Feng, which ceased operations at the end of 2022. The lawsuit accused the company; its owner and president, Linmin Yang; and the warehouse manager, Kong Ping Ni, of violating the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act.

Persons: Eric Adams, Ya Feng, Linmin Yang, Kong Ping, Valerie Caproni Organizations: Inspection, Poultry, U.S Locations: New York City, Bronx, Manhattan

☆ The debt ceiling deal could lead to 750,000 older Americans losing SNAP benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The debt ceiling deal could lead nearly 750,000 adults to lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits. SNAP benefits, or food stamps, give monthly funds to low-income individuals and families for food purchases. CBPP noted that high denial rates and long wait times for receipt of disability benefits has made accessing SNAP benefits increasingly difficult. CBPP research noted that the existing work-reporting requirement does not increase employment or earnings but do lead thousands to lose their food benefits. Are you an older American who relies on SNAP benefits and who could be affected by this change?

Persons: —, CBPP, Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden, Cori Bush, Ed Bolen Organizations: Assistance, SNAP, Service, Budget, Congressional, Office, Democratic, CNBC, American Economic Association Locations: Missouri

☆ Nearly 750,000 adults may lose SNAP federal food assistance after debt ceiling deal, research shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this article SNAP Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTTomml | E+ | Getty ImagesDebt ceiling deal changes SNAP work requirementsSNAP already has work requirements for most adults ages 18 through 49 who do not have children. You're not going to balance the budget, much less pay down the debt, through these kinds of changes. In a Sunday interview with Fox News, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., touted the new work requirements as a win for welfare reform in the debt ceiling deal. "You're not going to balance the budget, much less pay down the debt, through these kinds of changes," Bolen said. SNAP is meant to help provide support to people who may be struggling to find work, Bolen noted.

Persons: Ed Bolen, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Bolen, Ellen Vollinger, Vollinger Organizations: SNAP, Budget, Fox News, Food Research, Action

☆ Joe Biden used his first Oval Office address to tout the debt ceiling deal and pledge continued bipartisanship
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Associated Press | Chris Kaye | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Biden used his first speech to the nation from the Oval Office to celebrate a "crisis averted." "Passing this budget agreement was critical. "Passing this budget agreement was critical. Even as he pledged to continue working with Republicans, Biden also drew contrasts with the opposing party, particularly over raising taxes on the wealthy, something the Democratic president has sought. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it could expand total eligibility for federal food assistance, with the elimination of work requirements for veterans, homeless people and young people leaving foster care.

Persons: Biden, —, Joe Biden, wouldn't, Kevin McCarthy, Biden's, Karine Jean, Pierre, Friday, McCarthy, Donald Trump Organizations: Service, White, Treasury Department, U.S, GOP, Social Security, Republicans, Democratic, Resolute, Congressional, Internal Revenue Service, Trump, House

☆ Biden signed the debt ceiling bill, marking the end to tense negotiations that brought the country to the brink of default
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

President Joe Biden signed the debt ceiling bill into law Saturday afternoon. The White House negotiated with Members of Congress for weeks before the bill finally passed on Thursday. Eventually, the White House began weeks of intense negotiations with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to reach a deal. The Senate passed the bill quickly by a vote of 63-36 Thursday night, two days before Biden signed it into law. But the White House said the IRS' plans to step up enforcement of tax laws for high-income earners and corporations would continue.

Persons: Joe Biden, —, Biden, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy Organizations: White, Service, Treasury Department, U.S, Democratic, Republican, Social Security, Senate, AP, Congressional, Internal Revenue Service, Trump, House

Eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) became a lightning rod in negotiations of the debt deal. The debt plan passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday and by the Senate on Thursday contains work requirements to get food benefits. It would also expand those work requirements to adults aged 50 to 54, a group that had previously been exempted. Republicans argued during negotiations that expanding work requirements would help more SNAP recipients get jobs and reduce their dependence on federal aid. Some progressive lawmakers cited the work requirement issue as their reason for not supporting the debt deal.

Persons: Ty Jones Cox, Ellen Vollinger, Kevin McCarthy, Kofi Kenyatta, Colleen Young, Young, Leah Douglas, David Gregorio, Tom Hogue Organizations: Congress, Supplemental, Assistance, Food, Budget, Democrats, Republicans, SNAP, Veterans, Food Research, Action, Congressional, Office, Greater, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, Thomson Locations: UpTogether, Greater Pittsburgh

☆ Biden and McCarthy race to sell their debt ceiling deal to lawmakers before the government runs out of money
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“No one claiming to be a conservative could justify a YES vote,” wrote Rep. Bob Good, Republican of Virginia, on Twitter. Biden spoke Saturday with the top Democrat in the House, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who will be responsible for marshaling his members. He said he hopes the House will vote as soon as Wednesday, allowing precious little time for each party’s leaders to secure sufficient support. As part of the deal, the White House has also appeared to have made concessions to House Republican negotiators on work requirements for people receiving food stamps. The current work requirement for the program, formally called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, only applies to certain adults between the ages 18-49.

☆ Breakingviews: Biden gives little, gets less in debt ceiling deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - For President Joe Biden, a debt-ceiling victory comes with a bittersweet taste. The White House and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy reached a tentative deal for lifting the government’s borrowing limit on Saturday night. After months of negotiation, Biden and McCarthy reached an agreement just nine days before U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the country was expected to run out of cash. The deal lifts the debt ceiling about $4 trillion from its current level of $31.4 trillion, extending the government’s borrowing power for two more years. Follow @BenWinck on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSThe Biden administration and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy reached an agreement in principle on May 27 for raising the U.S. government’s debt ceiling.

☆ Speaker McCarthy says he thinks the U.S. won't default as debt talks inch forward
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told CNBC in an interview Wednesday he does not think the U.S. will default on its debt as tense negotiations over the debt ceiling continue. "I think at the end of the day we do not have a debt default," McCarthy told CNBC's "Squawk Box." Leaders are running out of time to raise the debt ceiling before a June 1 deadline when the government is set to run out of money. Biden on Tuesday said he would cut short his trip to Asia to further engage in debt limit talks. Lifting the debt ceiling is necessary for the government to cover spending commitments already approved by Congress and the president — and prevent default.

☆ Live Updates: Biden, Congressional Leaders to Meet on Debt Limit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Zolan Kanno-Youngs | Catie Edmondson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

President Biden and his allies said the White House and congressional teams had productive talks in recent days. The government reached the $31.4 trillion debt limit on Jan. 19, and the Treasury Department has been using accounting maneuvers to keep paying its bills. The president is scheduled to depart for Japan on Wednesday to attend the Group of 7 meeting, heightening the sense of urgency to make progress on the debt limit. While Mr. McCarthy played down progress, Mr. Biden and his allies said the White House and congressional teams had productive talks in recent days. “SNAP already has work requirements,” said Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, referring to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

☆ Factbox: What's in the US House Republicans' debt-ceiling spending-cut bill?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SPENDING RESTRAINTSThe bill would cut a wide swath of government spending to last year's levels, a decrease of about 9%. That would save roughly $3.2 trillion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, compared with current projections. That would save $30 billion, according to CBO. That would save $540 billion, according to CBO. That would save $3 billion, according to CBO.

April 25 (Reuters) - Nearly one million Americans could find it harder to access federal food aid under a Republican proposal to expand the program’s work requirements, according to the Biden administration, which has promised to veto the plan if it passes Congress. The expanded work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) were included in a plan released last week by Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to cut federal spending and raise the debt ceiling. Existing SNAP work requirements apply only to such adults up to age 50. The expansion could affect nearly 1 million people, said a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson. About 42.4 million people are receiving SNAP benefits this year, the agency said.

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