Author: potus

A Walmart store is shown in Oceanside, California, U.S., May 15, 2025. Mike Blake | ReutersWalmart has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a U.S. Federal Trade Commission civil lawsuit accusing the world’s largest retailer of ignoring warning signs that fraudsters used its money transfer services to fleece consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars.The settlement was filed on Friday in Chicago federal court, and requires approval by U.S. District Judge Manish Shah.Walmart also agreed not to process money transfers it suspects are fraudulent, or help sellers and telemarketers it believes are using its services to commit fraud.”Electronic…

WASHINGTON (AP) — In another blow to the Republicans’ tax and spending cut bill, the Senate parliamentarian has advised that a proposal to shift some food stamps costs from the federal government to states — a centerpiece of GOP savings efforts — would violate the chamber’s rules. While the parliamentarian’s rulings are advisory, they are rarely, if ever, ignored. The Republican leadership was scrambling on Saturday, days before voting is expected to begin on President Donald Trump’s package that he wants to be passed into law by the Fourth of July. The loss is expected to be costly to Republicans.…

Returns on Amazon are free and easy for shoppers, but they’re risky and expensive for the small businesses that sell a majority of the goods on the world’s biggest e-commerce site. Returns have driven some sellers to exit the popular Fulfillment by Amazon program, while others told CNBC they’d like to leave the platform altogether.At the heart of the problem is a big rise in returns fraud, which has led to customers mistakenly receiving used products when they ordered something new. In two particularly egregious examples involving baby products described to CNBC, Amazon sent customers used diapers and a chiller…

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs slammed a Democrat governor who sent out a mass email falsely claiming that veterans could be denied care based on how they voted, even after the initial report had been changed and both the VA and the White House said it was false.Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has an eye on national politics, said he told state agencies to “take every available action to protect veterans’ access to care” after “reports that the Trump administration is proposing rules that would allow VA providers to deny military veterans healthcare based on…

WASHINGTON (AP) — House and Senate Republicans are taking slightly different approaches when it comes to the tax cuts that lawmakers are looking to include in their massive tax and spending cuts bill. Republicans in the two chambers don’t agree on the size of a deduction for state and local taxes. And they are at odds on such things as allowing people to use their health savings accounts to help pay for their gym membership, or whether electric vehicle and hybrid owners should have to pay an annual fee.The House passed its version shortly before Memorial Day. Now the Senate…

(The Center Square) — Federal officials sent a letter to California ordering it remove all “gender ideology references” from the state’s federally-funded sexual education program for at-risk youth between the ages of 10 and 19 — which is separate from the general K-12 program.“We are aware that this curricula and other program materials were previously approved by ACF,” wrote the federal Administration for Children and Families. “However, the prior administration erred in allowing PREP grants to be used to teach students gender ideology because that approval exceeded the agency’s authority to administer the program consistent with the authorizing legislation as enacted…

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court’s Wednesday ruling upholding Tennessee’s law banning minors from receiving transgender medical treatments will not directly affect Washington’s laws because the state has its own legal framework that protects access to medical care for transgender individuals. But that doesn’t mean there will be no consequences for the Evergreen State. In a 6-3 decision, the nation’s highest court ruled that Tennessee’s ban does not violate the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. This decision effectively supports similar bans in other states, impacting access to treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender youth.Washington state has laws…

(The Center Square) – An organization publicly questioned two hospitals for employing individuals who participated in pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, but free speech advocates said that Americans have the right to “both a career and a political opinion.”Accuracy in Media is running two separate petitions against Alameda Health and UW Harborview Medical Center, respectively, in an attempt to make the hospitals evaluate whether they should employ the pro-Palestinian protesters in question.Accuracy in Media (AIM) is a nonprofit “that uses investigative journalism and cultural activism to expose corruption and hold bad public policy actors accountable,” according to its website.Both AIM…

(The Center Square) – Analysis by the Consumer Energy Alliance says a potential natural gas ban in Illinois would cost the average homeowner tens of thousands of dollars.In 2024, state Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, proposed a bill to ban natural gas in new buildings. A Chicago alderman, Maria Hadden, introduced similar legislation backed by Mayor Brandon Johnson around the same time.Marc Brown, vice president of state affairs for the Consumer Energy Alliance, said forced electrification would cost $55,000 for the average single-family home.“That includes when you’re redoing your panel, heat pumps, changing out a gas furnace, all your appliances,” Brown…

(The Center Square) – Amid the backdrop of an Army veteran charged with murdering his three young daughters, Heather Hill – a psychotherapist and owner of Central Washington Veterans Counseling in Wenatchee, Wash. – is pleading for more support for veterans’ mental health services.“We’ve been warning VA [Veterans Administration] leadership since at least 2022 that the need was escalating, and that we needed more support and resources in our community, and they have done nothing but decrease access to resources,” Hill told The Center Square.Travis Decker, 32, sought services from Bates Counseling Services in Quincy two weeks before the murders.…