We know what’s coming and we are prepared.
🇺🇸 - Five current and former IRS employees have been charged in a scheme to fraudulently collect COVID-19 aid.
According to court documents, the defendants tried to obtain a total of USD 1 million by submitting false applications.
According to the Department of Justice, the defendants used the money for cars, luxury goods and personal travel. Brian Saulsberry of Memphis obtained USD 171 400 and is accused of buying a Mercedes and cushioning a personal investment account.
Tina Humes, also of Memphis, received USD 123 612 according to the DOJ, and is accused of using it to buy jewelry and go on a trip to Las Vegas.
This is part of a larger effort to crack down on COVID-19 fraud schemes that has led to 150 prosecutions and the seizure of USD 75 million dollars.
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USDA Destroying 420,000 peach trees after Del Monte closes all California canneries for good
Del Monte (139 years old) filed bankruptcy as rising energy prices and steel tariffs exacerbated an already bad balance sheet. They closed their Modesto and Hughson canning plants and canceled long-term contracts worth hundreds of millions.
Farmers now have no buyer for clingstone peaches meant for canning.
The USDA is "helping" farmers, providing $9m to destroy the orchards, calling it 'support for transitioning.'
This is what systemic failure looks like in a centralized food supply: one big player collapses, and the entire chain breaks.
Grow your own food! De-centralize! #GoGrow
🇺🇸 Americans Are About to Pay Even More at the Grocery Store
As Americans confront a surge in prices at the pump, another inflation wave is headed for the grocery store.
A combination of factors including bad weather, tariffs and a dwindling cattle herd are already pushing up grocery prices at an above-average pace. In April, they rose by the most in nearly four years, and economists say the impact of the Iran war and a potential El Niño weather pattern will only add to pressures into 2027.
The hit to US household finances from higher grocery bills is set to intensify just ahead of the November midterm elections, amplifying affordability as a defining issue. And to a greater extent than the surge in gas prices, the slower-moving food shock will be difficult to reverse quickly because the size of autumn harvests is determined by planting decisions made in the spring.
“It’s going to be a challenging year,” said Ricky Volpe, an agribusiness professor at California Polytechnic State ...
