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☆ How retailers like Best Buy, T.J. Maxx and Home Depot quietly target 'problem' returners
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Devan Burris | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Many large retailers in the U.S. have long been engaged in the practice of quietly tracking and targeting return behavior. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, U.S. retailers use third-party loss-prevention services to track risky return behavior. This doesn't outright mean fraudulent activity, but rather behavior that "mimics" or could be linked to such behavior. The most notable third-party loss-prevention service is The Retail Equation, a software provider that tracks return behavior that retailers deem potentially fraudulent. According to several now-dismissed lawsuits and Better Business Bureau complaints, customers reported they were following a store's return policy and were still issued a warning.

Persons: Robert Overstreet Organizations: Walmart, Staples, National Retail Federation, Iowa, Wall Street Journal, Better Locations: U.S, T.J.Maxx

1 reason to use a business bank account. However, it is essential that you do not overlook the value of opening a business bank account — usually both a business checking account and a high-yield business savings account. Here are four things I tell my business owner clients to consider when choosing a business bank account. Ease of paying contractorsSome business bank accounts, especially online accounts, offer free invoicing and bookkeeping software/features. If you use accounting software (such as QuickBooks) to manage your business finances, accessing a business bank account that offers integration features may be desirable.

Persons: — Organizations: Service

Gavin Newsom said would transform the outdated mental health system and address the ongoing homelessness crisis. Revenue from the tax, now between $2 billion and $3 billion a year, has mostly gone to counties to fund mental health services as they see fit under broad guidelines. It provides about one-third of the state's total mental health budget. Mental health treatment programs and support services such as rental assistance and vocational programs for this population also would see a boost. Opponents of the proposition include mental health and disability rights groups, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the League of Women Voters of California.

Persons: Gavin Newsom, it's, Scott Kennelly, Newsom, Howard Jarvis Organizations: —, Democratic Gov, Butte County Behavioral, National Alliance, Mental, Howard, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, League of Women Voters of Locations: SACRAMENTO, Calif, — California, Butte County, California, League of Women Voters of California

In 2004, voters approved legislation that imposed a tax on millionaires to finance mental health services, generating $2 billion to $3 billion in revenue each year that has mostly gone to counties to fund mental health programs as they see fit under broad guidelines. San Francisco Mayor London Breed said she supports the measure. The 14-year-old center with a mission of breaking the cycle of trauma in the Black community relies heavily on mental health funding from the county. The state needs some 8,000 more beds to treat mental health and addiction issues, according to researchers who testified before state lawmakers last year. “From a humanitarian and civil rights perspective, we vehemently oppose Proposition 1,” said Mark Salazar, executive director of Mental Health Association of San Francisco, which serves more than 15,000 people monthly.

Persons: Gavin Newsom, Newsom, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Tiffany McCarter, —, McCarter, “, ” McCarter, haven't, ”, Mark Salazar, ” Mark Cloutier, Joe Wilson, Anthony Hardnett, “ You’ve, ” Hardnett, ” Kalkowski, “ I’ve Organizations: — Democratic, — Democratic California Gov, San Francisco Mayor London, Cultural Center, Democratic, University of San, Housing Initiative, Mental Health Association of San, House, Sixth, 6th Street Center, Youth Locations: OROVILLE, Calif, — Democratic California, Butte, San Francisco, Butte County, Oroville, California, United States, Mental Health Association of San Francisco, Tenderloin, Chico

State and local officials have touted the settlements as providing desperately needed relief to communities hit hard by the crisis. But when the money will be paid out, and who will get it, remains far from clear, Reuters has found. Among the states where money is already reaching organizations on the ground are Massachusetts, Kentucky and Arizona. Most states share a significant portion of their total settlement funds with their city and county governments, which make their own independent decisions about how to spend. But in May, the board overseeing the state’s opioid settlement denied a joint application by Challenges and a county health department to fund harm reduction efforts, without explaining its decision.

Persons: Johnson, ”, Brandon Marshall, Julie Burns, Chris Bryan, Glenn Hegar, Lisa Ruzicka, “, Ruzicka, “ I’ve, drugmakers Johnson, Lauren Kestner, Tricia Christensen, –, we’re, ” Marc Burrows, Brendan Pierson, Disha, Alexia Garamfalvi, Claudia Parsons Organizations: Johnson, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Reuters, District of Columbia, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics Reuters, Brown University School of Public Health, Rhode, Texas, Hope Foundation, Walgreens, Alliance, state’s Department of Health, Human Services, Prevention Services, Community Education Group, Alabama Attorney, University of Mississippi Medical, Inc, Thomson, & $ Locations: Massachusetts, Texas, United States, Maryland, Illinois, . Arkansas, Kentucky, Arizona, Rhode, RIZE Massachusetts, RIZE, Kansas, North Carolina, Charlotte, Appalachia, Mississippi, Alabama, New York

☆ Sheng Thao, once homeless and fleeing abuse, becomes the mayor of Oakland, California
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Claire Wang | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Thao spoke with NBC Asian American about her vision for Oakland and how her upbringing shaped her advocacy for working families. Mayor-elect Sheng Thao is greeted by supporters following a news conference at City Hall in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 23, 2022. Jane Tyska / East Bay Times via Getty ImagesNBC Asian America: You’re the first Hmong American to become mayor of a major city. The Hmong community itself is already politically engaged. That’s made a huge impact especially on our Hmong girls because the Hmong community is still quite patriarchal.

Known in the legal world as the “death penalty” of child welfare, it can happen in a matter of months. One in 100 U.S. children — disproportionately Black and Native American — experience termination through the child welfare system before they turn 18, the study found. Still, longer timelines can also reflect a stronger focus on family reunification and a willingness to devote greater resources to meet that goal, child welfare experts say. And some child welfare advocates have criticized the law’s focus on narrow initiatives like parenting classes, which they say fail to address poverty and the other root causes of neglect that prompt most child welfare cases. Snodgrass said she never imagined when her child welfare case started that she could lose her rights to her children.

☆ Nikki Hiltz: How this professional runner is making their sport more inclusive
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“I was open about my sexuality at that point, but not my gender identity,” Hiltz tells CNN Sport. After coming out as trans and non-binary, Hiltz continues to compete in the women’s division. “You know, I have no business putting on an in-person race,” Hiltz jokes. Spencer Cox’s veto of a bill that bans transgender women from competing on women’s and girls’ sports teams. Since coming out as trans and non-binary last year, Hiltz has had conversations with race directors and announcers about making running more inclusive.

News centered on the trans community is often dominated by such trends, but across the country, grassroots nonprofit groups led by transgender people are creating spaces for their communities to find safety and joy. Here are 11 grassroots groups that do just that by providing their communities with home-cooked meals, health care, space for creativity and other services. Transgender Education Network of Texas — Austin, TexasThe Transgender Education Network of Texas at a protest last year. Jamil-Jack AbreuThe group provides free chest binders to transmasculine people nationwide and Thanksgiving meals to those who need them. The Black trans-led LGBTQ organization provides low-barrier shelter to those experiencing homelessness, transitional housing, middle-age housing and senior housing.

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