Florida Human-Trafficking Sting Leads To 228 Arrests, 13 Potential Victims Rescued

 by Patricia Tolson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Almost 230 people were arrested, and 13 potential victims were rescued in a Florida human trafficking sting dubbed, “Operation March Sadness 2024.”

At a March 5 press conference, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced the bust of a human trafficking operation on the west side of the county in Lakeland that led to 228 arrests and the rescue of 13 potential victims. The Polk County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) was assisted by police departments in Lakeland, Haines City, Davenport, Auburndale, Lake Hamilton, and the Winterhaven Fire and Rescue.

According to a March 5 press release, the “eight-day-long undercover human trafficking operation” began on Feb. 22 and targeted suspects “involved in illegal acts related to soliciting prostitutes, offering to commit prostitution, or aiding and abetting prostitutes.

The 228 arrests consisted of “66 prostitutes, 50 Johns, and 12 others,” Sheriff Judd said.

“This time we identified 13 potential victims of human trafficking,” he added, saying his department has identified “58 potential victims of human trafficking in one year” through these operations.

The significance, he said, was that this is “the most ever” they have been able to identify.

Sheriff Judd also noted that 48 of those arrested were from Polk County, saying they “should know better.”

“We talk about this,” he explained. “We don’t hide it, and if you don’t know about it you obviously live under a rock. So, you’ve had to learn the hard way.”

For the rest, he offered a warning.

“This is not the last operation,” he advised. “We‘ll have more, and we’ll give you the opportunity to be arrested if you’re stupid enough to show up. That’s a guarantee.”

Of those arrested, 42 are married. One was a commercial pilot. There were members of the Air Force, sports coaches, law enforcement officers, and people in the medical profession. Some were teachers.

Two minors were arrested. “They came down to rob us,” Sheriff Judd said, adding that they came armed with a BB gun that looked like a real gun.

“That could have gone really bad for them,” he said.

A total of 17 firearms were confiscated from 15 different suspects and 44 had possession of narcotics.

‘Addicted to This Cash’

One of the men arrested was handling three illegal immigrant females from Venezuela for the head of a sex trafficking ring they believe is female.

“She sets up their appointments, she puts their ads online, she tells them where to go,” Sheriff Judd explained, adding that the three victims had to “pay her $3,000 a piece” by the end of the week as a means of “paying off their debt.”

Sheriff Judd then said that the three victims told law enforcement that when they came to the United States illegally “DHS gave them a form, and ID paperwork that allows them to fly for free.”

So, while the three sex workers operate out of New York, they said they fly to major metropolitan areas for free “on the federal government where they set up their appointments for sex all around the country.”

Sheriff Judd said all 21 of the illegal immigrants told a “similar story” regarding their involvement in the sex trafficking scheme.

“We can’t work legally,” he recalled them saying. “We’re addicted to this cash. It’s a lot of cash and it’s quick so we have to give $3,000 a week. We get to keep everything above that.”

“We have a crisis at the border,” Sheriff Judd asserted, “and because of the crisis at the border we have people that are victimizing illegal folks, forcing them into the sex trade because we allow these criminals in the country illegally.”

Sheriff Judd also addressed headlines claiming that illegal immigrants “aren’t committing crime at any greater percentage than the people who are here legally.”

“What they didn’t tell you if they weren’t here illegally at all the crime they would commit here would be zero,” he noted. “So, we’re being victimized.”

On June 3, 2022, the Florida Legislature passed House Bill 615, creating a new duty for the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking (SCHT), which is to determine how many times social media platforms are used to assist, facilitate, or support human trafficking within the Sunshine State.

To fulfill this requirement, the SCHT conducted a statewide survey of Florida’s 80 law enforcement agencies to record the number of times social media platforms were used to “facilitate human trafficking, trafficking operations, or control victims” since 2019.

According to the 2023 Annual Report, they discovered that 72 human trafficking instances were recorded using Facebook, 65 through Instagram, five through WhatsApp, and four by using Facebook Messenger.

The Epoch Times reached out to the PCSD to find out if “Operation March Sadness 2024” had been conducted through online social media platforms.

While PCSD confirmed that the sting operation was conducted online, PCSD spokesperson Carrie Horstman said, “We don’t typically release information about which specific sites are used during our undercover investigations.”

“Our message is for parents to monitor their children’s activities online—have all of their logins and passwords and check their accounts regularly,” she added, providing a link to resources parents can use to protect their children from online predators. “Don’t allow them to be friends online with people who are strangers, and don’t allow just anyone to ‘follow’ them.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/florida-human-trafficking-sting-leads-228-arrests-13-potential-victims-rescued

Mexico "Still Hasn't Seen Science" From US Proving Genetically Modified Corn Is Safe

 Mexico submitted an official reply to the United States in the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade dispute about importing genetically modified (GM) corn. Mexico argued that the herbicide glyphosate in the corn is unsafe for human consumption. Corn plays a vital role in the Mexican diet, particularly as the primary ingredient for tortilla flour.

In a written submission to a USMCA panel, Mexico, the top buyer of US corn, used science to show how GM corn and Glyphosate harm human health. This has given Mexico the authority to ban GM corn for human consumption. 

The submission outlined policies aimed at safeguarding consumers against the potential health effects of GM corn, asserting that these measures would have minimal trade impacts on US farmers.

Here are the most critical parts of Mexico's submission (list courtesy of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (ITAP)): 

• The scientific evidence of GMO safety presented by the US is out of date, much of it from industry studies not supported by peer-review. According to Mexico, the US did not present any peer-reviewed study showing it safe to eat large quantities of GM corn exposed to Glyphosate in minimally processed form over a lifetime. Mexico makes the case that the US regulatory process is not stringent enough ensure that products are safe for Mexicans to consume at high levels. 

• On public health, the submission details that GM corn, especially Bt corn engineered to kill insect pests, can have adverse impacts on non-target animals. Mammals have been shown to suffer damage to their digestive systems from a GM trait that kills its targets by attacking their guts. 

• Mexican tortillas have been proven to be contaminated with GM corn and Glyphosate, the latter in residues from treatments of GM corn engineered to tolerate the herbicide featured in Roundup. Mexico shows that even low-level exposures can have negative long-term health impact. 

Mexican Deputy Agriculture Secretary Victor Suarez told Reuters:

The United States "argues that the decisions in Mexico are not based on science and that their decisions are ... But we still haven't seen the science of the United States or the companies. We are looking forward to that study with great pleasure."

Karen Hansen-Kuhn, IATP's director of trade and international strategies, wrote in a statement: 

"We welcome this vigorous defense of Mexico's programs to transform its food system. The science they present backs up longstanding civil society campaigns for healthy foods and biodiverse agricultural systems. There's a lot here that could contribute to more substantive debates on our food and agriculture system in the US, as well." 

IATP Senior Advisor Timothy A. Wise said: 

"Ever since Mexico first announced its intentions to limit GM corn and glyphosate in its tortilla chain, the US government has asserted that Mexico's policies are not based on science." 

Wise continued:

"This comprehensive response refutes that claim, presenting hundreds of academic studies that show cause for concern about human health and the threat to native corn diversity."

Agri-chemical companies like Bayer have spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing GM crops for worldwide export out of the US. They also spend tens of millions of dollars in defending GM foods. 

Meanwhile, Glyphosate is banned or limited in at least 25 countries and some areas within the United States. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer declared Glyphosate a probable human carcinogen. 

Maybe Mexico is right. Question the chemicals in the food. 

Are GMO foods the reason why there are more increased celiac and gluten sensitivity cases?

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/mexico-still-hasnt-seen-science-us-proving-genetically-modified-corn-safe

'Evidence of Traumatic Brain Injury in Shooter Who Killed 18 in Maine'

 Robert Card, a 40-year-old Army reservist who fatally shot 18 people in Maine last year, showed signs of mental health decline before the massacre; now, evidence shows that Card suffered from traumatic brain injuries, according to a brain tissue analysis by researchers from Boston University.

The analysis of Card's brain was released Wednesday by the family of Card. There was degeneration in the nerve fibers that allow for communication between different areas of the brain, inflammation, and small blood vessel injury, according to Ann McKee, MD, of Boston University's Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center.

Card was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a 2-day search following the October 25 massacre.

He had been an instructor at an Army hand grenade training range, where it is believed he was exposed to repeated low-level blasts. It is unknown if that caused Card's brain injury and what role brain injury played in Card's decline in mental healthopens in a new tab or window in the months before he opened fire at a bowling alley and baropens in a new tab or window in Lewiston on October 25. McKee made no connection between the brain injury and Card's violent actions.

"While I cannot say with certainty that these pathological findings underlie Mr. Card's behavioral changes in the last 10 months of life, based on our previous work, brain injury likely played a role in his symptoms," McKee said in the statement.

The brain tissue sample was sent to the labopens in a new tab or window last fall by Maine's chief medical examiner. At that time, a Pentagon spokesperson said the Army was working to better understand the relationship between "blast overpressure" and brain health effects and had instituted several measures to reduce soldiers' exposure, including limiting the number of personnel near blasts. An Army spokesperson didn't respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday.

In their first public comments since the shooting, Card's family members also apologized for the attack, saying they are heartbroken for the victims, survivors, and their loved ones.

"We are hurting for you and with you, and it is hard to put into words how badly we wish we could undo what happened," they said in the statement. "While we cannot go back, we are releasing the findings of Robert's brain study with the goal of supporting ongoing efforts to learn from this tragedy to ensure it never happens again."

Police and the Army were both warned that Card was suffering from deteriorating mental health in the months that preceded the shootings.

Some of his relatives warned police that he was displaying paranoid behavior and they were concerned about his access to guns. Body camera video of police interviews with reservistsopens in a new tab or window before Card's 2-week hospitalization in upstate New York last summer also showed fellow reservists expressing worry and alarm about his behavior and weight loss.

Card was hospitalized in July after he shoved a fellow reservist and locked himself in a motel room during training. Later, in September, fellow reservist Sean Hodgson told an Army superioropens in a new tab or window he was concerned Card was going to "snap and do a mass shooting."

On Thursday, Matthew Noyes, an Army reservist who served with Card, told a special commission holding hearings into the massacre that the search for Card was hampered by confusion about who was in charge and poor communications.

"I recognize this is a complex response and investigation. Unfortunately, with this responsibility comes Monday morning quarterbacking," said Noyes, who participated in the search as a member of the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office.

Noyes encouraged the commission to interview more first-responders who were "boots on the ground" during the shooting response, because he and others felt "communication was poor and caused several issues" and there was "little to no direction in the field" in the aftermath of the shooting. He also described the search for his former Army colleague as "very complex and perhaps surreal" at the time.

Noyes and other Army reservists who knew Card were testifying before a special commission established by Democratic Gov. Janet Millsopens in a new tab or window to investigate the shooting. The hearing in Augusta is the seventh and final one currently slated for the commission. Commission Chair Daniel Wathen said at a hearing with victims earlier this week that an interim report could be released by April 1.

In previous hearings, law enforcement officials have defended the approach they took with Card in the months before the shootings. Members of the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office testified that the state's yellow flag lawopens in a new tab or window makes it difficult to remove guns from a potentially dangerous person.

Democrats in Maine are looking to make changes to the state's gun laws in the wake of the shootings. Mills wants to change state lawopens in a new tab or window to allow law enforcement to go directly to a judge to seek a protective custody warrant to take a dangerous person into custody to remove weapons. Other Democrats in Maine have proposed a 72-hour waiting periodopens in a new tab or window for most gun purchases.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/headtrauma/109063

One-Week GLP-1 Agonist Hold Not Enough Before Anesthesia?

 Use of GLP-1 receptor agonists was linked with increased residual gastric content on preprocedural gastric ultrasonography, even after fasting for the guideline-recommended duration, a cross-sectional study showed.

In 124 patients undergoing an elective procedure requiring anesthesia, the prevalence of increased residual gastric content was 56% for those taking GLP-1 agonists compared with 19% for those without use of these drugs, reported Sudipta Sen, MD, of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and colleagues in JAMA Surgeryopens in a new tab or window.

After adjusting for confounding, those with GLP-1 agonist use had a 30.5% higher prevalence of increased residual gastric content (adjusted prevalence ratio 2.48, 95% CI 1.23-4.97).

Residual gastric content -- defined as the presence of solids, thick liquids, or more than 1.5 mL/kg of clear liquids on gastric ultrasonography -- is a surrogate for aspiration risk, Sen and team explained. However, aspiration events themselves were not counted in the study.

"Our findings were quite surprising. More than half of the patients on a GLP-1 RA [receptor agonist] had significant gastric contents on gastric ultrasound before an elective procedure, despite adhering to preoperative fasting," Sen said in a statement. "This incidence was significantly higher compared to patients not on a GLP-1 RA, showing a strong link between GLP-1 RA drugs and potential aspiration risk under anesthesia."

"Patients must ensure they disclose their use of this medication to their surgeons and anesthesiologists," she added. "This information is crucial for us to provide appropriate recommendations, such as adjusting drug administration before elective procedures, recommending extended fasting, or rescheduling an elective procedure if necessary."

As the popularity of this drug class has increased over the last few years, concerns about aspiration during surgery have come to light due to how these agents work. GLP-1 agonists are linked with delayed gastric emptying resulting in increased residual gastric content and adverse gastrointestinal events such as nausea, vomiting, and gastroesophageal reflux.

This prompted the American Society of Anesthesiologists to release new guidanceopens in a new tab or window in June 2023, warning patients to stop taking them prior to elective surgery. In the guidance, the Task Force on Preoperative Fasting outlined that patients on one of the once-weekly agents should not take their medication a week prior to surgery, and those on a once-daily agent should not take their medication the day of surgery. This guidance applied to both adults and children, and for all patients on one of these agents regardless of the indication.

"The lack of data had previously led societies to rely on expert opinion for guidance," co-author Omonele Nwokolo, MD, also of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, commented. "Our evidence paves the way for informed guidelines and further research to mitigate anesthesia-related risks in this patient population."

For this study, Sen and colleagues prospectively enrolled 124 patients from a large, tertiary, university-affiliated hospital from June 6 through July 12, 2023. Median age was 56, and 60% were women.

Patients with altered gastric anatomy (e.g., from previous gastric surgery), pregnancy, recent trauma (less than 1 month), or an inability to lie in the right lateral decubitus position for gastric ultrasonography were excluded.

Most patients took the last dose of their GLP-1 agonist within 5 days before their procedure. While an exploratory analysis showed a decreasing prevalence of increased residual gastric content with each additional day off the drug, the link between the duration of interruption and the prevalence of increased residual gastric content wasn't significant (adjusted OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.65-1.14). But this may have been due to the small sample size, said Sen's group.

Of the included patients, 63% were on semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy), 23% were on dulaglutide (Trulicity), and 14% were on tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound). The half-lives of the three agents are 7 days, 5 days, and 5 days, respectively. The researchers noted that they didn't include patients on the once-daily GLP-1 agonists exenatide (Byetta, Bydureon), lixisenatide (Adlyxin), and liraglutide (Victoza), since they have shorter half-lives of 1.4 hours, 2.5 hours, and 13.5 hours, respectively.

Future studies are needed to determine more specific safe discontinuation intervals and preprocedural fasting times for these agents prior to elective procedures under anesthesia, Sen's group concluded.

"A simplistic approach of holding the GLP-1 RA for longer intervals (3-5 weeks) may not be tenable, especially when prescribed for glycemic control," they pointed out. "However, this may be a viable strategy for GLP-1 RA use in weight management."

Disclosures

This study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Sen and co-authors reported no disclosures.

Primary Source

JAMA Surgery

Source Reference: opens in a new tab or windowSen S, et al "Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist use and residual gastric content before anesthesia" JAMA Surg 2024; DOI: 10.1001/jamasurg.2024.0111.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/surgery/anesthesiology/109066

Not satire: In preparation for the SOTU, Joe Biden taps Hollywood for a Zoom call for advice

 Redlining the cringe-meter—a fake president gets pointers from other fake presidents.

As a colleague said, there are literally, “no words” for a stunt like this.

After all we’ve experienced with Joe Biden, his troupe of incompetents, and a voter class of the most immoral and useful idiots in the history of the country, you’d think nothing would surprise us anymore:

We’ve dealt with “pup play” perverts posing for official portraits while wearing fetish gear and official military uniform.

We’ve had a top male official at the Department of Energy get nabbed for stealing women’s luggage—not once, not twice, but three times—while also getting pictured wearing these stolen goods to official state functions.

White House security can apparently discover illicit drugs on the property’s premises, but can’t narrow down who’s snorting lines near the Situation Room, and it’s all just a non-event for the media.

The man in the Oval Office can’t stop himself from smelling and fondling children on camera, and his own daughter’s alleged diary entries accuse him of sexual assault and molestation. Again, this is ignored by legacy media. (When one of the actors talks about his own fictional tenure, he says he behaved “very badly”; at this point the camera pans to Biden, who’s seen with a lascivious smirk, and one can only imagine who comes to mind, and I seriously doubt it’s Jill.)

Men with breast implants exposing themselves on the White House lawn during a Pride event gets marketed as “inclusion” and flamboyant sex addicts hysterically flailing around the halls for Christmas time is “progress.”

The purported “first lady” tells Hispanics they’re as “unique” as “breakfast tacos” and says “see say pwodway” for “sí, se puede.”

Honestly, the cringey video was just very on-brand for all things Biden.

Call me crazy, but if Biden really wanted to appeal to the people, perhaps he should ask them what he should be concerned about… no? Better yet, you know who he should have called? A man who’s had real experience doing the job, delivering some of the most incredible SOTU moments in history like… this one:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/03/not_satire_in_preparation_for_the_sotu_joe_biden_taps_hollywood_for_a_zoom_call_for_advice.html

'Biden lays out plan to lower housing costs ahead of State of the Union, but effort draws criticism'

 'Too many working families feel locked out of homeownership,' Biden administration says

The Biden administration on Thursday laid out its plan to support home buyers and renters, which includes lowering the cost of purchasing a home and cracking down on rental junk fees. But critics say it's going to worsen the housing crisis.

The 10-point plan, which was released ahead of the president's State of the Union address, aims to address housing affordability both for aspiring homeowners and renters.

The proposals could face a tough path to becoming enacted, given that the Republican-run House may oppose the Democratic administration's priorities in an election year.

Housing affordability is strained, as home buyers contend with home prices that are rising faster than wages. In January, home prices were up 5.1% as compared to the previous year, while wages only grew 4.5%.

"For many Americans, owning a home is the cornerstone of raising a family, building wealth and joining the middle class," the White House said in a statement.

"Too many working families feel locked out of homeownership and are unable to compete with investors for a limited supply of affordable for-sale homes," it added.

Early criticisms of Biden's housing plan pointed at how the proposals could only increase demand without meaningfully addressing the supply of homes for sale, which would only exacerbate how unaffordable housing is becoming.

"Truly stunning how little the Biden administration seems to understand housing markets, almost everything they've proposed increases demand, ultimately doing little for housing affordability," former Federal Housing Finance Agency head Mark Calabria wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"The housing market for many years has been undersupplied ... and that problem has been compounded by the low interest rates that we had during the pandemic ... that has now frozen people in place," Ed Pinto, senior fellow and co-director of the housing center at the American Enterprise Institute, told MarketWatch.

"The solution is to build more housing, but the federal government has a terrible track record in doing this in a way that's sustainable and scalable," he added. Targeting zoning requirements would be a better route, Pinto said.

These are the highlights of Biden's housing plan, which the president is expected to discuss during the State of the Union address:

$10,000 tax credit for middle-class home buyers

The president called on Congress to pass a mortgage-relief credit that would give middle-class, first-time home buyers an annual tax credit of $5,000 a year for two years.

The White House said that doing so would in effect reduce a homeowner's mortgage rate by more than 1.5 percentage points for two years on a median-priced home. The 30-year mortgage rate was averaging 6.88% as of Thursday, according to Freddie Mac.

"On a loan to purchase a $400,000 home, a one-percentage-point decrease in mortgage rates can lead to a $250 drop in the typical monthly payment," Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, previously said.

The tax credit could help over 3.5 million middle-class families buy their first home in the next two years, the White House said.

Pinto disagreed, saying, "this isn't going to do anything for that except create more demand, which is going to raise prices."

$10,000 tax credit for middle-class families selling a starter home

Biden also called for a "new credit" to unlock the inventory of affordable starter homes, aimed at easing the so-called lock-in effect that has frozen much of the real-estate market.

Homeowners are unwilling to sell their homes with rock-bottom mortgage rates and buy at the current, higher rates.

In the release, Biden called on Congress to provide a one-year tax credit of up to $10,000 for middle-class families selling their starter home.

The tax credit to sellers would help an estimated 3 million families, the White House said.

The National Association of Realtors recently pushed for a tax credit to encourage more long-tenured homeowners to sell their home to people who would buy a primary residence.

Up to $25,000 in down-payment assistance to first-generation home buyers

Biden also called on Congress to provide up to $25,000 in down-payment assistance to first-generation home buyers.

The White House defined these buyers as families who had not been able to buy homes, missing out on generational wealth.

The down-payment assistance would be expected to help an estimated 400,000 families buy their first home, the White House said.

Lowering closing costs for refinancing by an average of $750

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has already approved policies and pilot programs to reduce closing costs on mortgage refinancing for homeowners, the Biden administration said, including a pilot program to waive the requirement for lender's title insurance on certain refinances.

The pilot is expected to save up to $1,500 for thousands of homeowners, an average of $750, in upfront fees.

Consumer advocates praised the effort to address title-insurance costs.

"It is encouraging to see the White House look at potential reforms of the title-insurance industry. Unnecessarily expensive title insurance has added to the upfront costs of buying a home, creating barriers for first-time homebuyers," Sharon Cornelissen, director of housing at the Consumer Federation of America, said in a statement.

"Excessive costs like this have no place in a housing market that is facing its worst affordability crisis in decades," she added.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the nation's top consumer watchdog, will also look to "address anticompetitive closing costs imposed by lenders on homebuyers and homeowners," the White House said.

Expand the low-income-housing tax credit

Biden also called on expanding the low-income-housing tax credit that developers can tap to help build or preserve 1.2 million more affordable rental units.

Additionally, the president called on a neighborhood homes tax credit, a new tax provision to build or renovate affordable homes for homeownership. That could lead to the construction or preservation of over 400,000 starter homes in the U.S.

In Pinto's view, the LIHTC program is "expensive" and "ineffective."

"It's incredibly complex ... and it doesn't add supply," Pinto said.

$20 billion grant fund to build rentals, starter homes

Biden unveiled a $20 billion competitive grant fund to support the construction of affordable rentals and starter homes, which would lower rents and housing costs.

The fund is included in the president's budget.

$3.79 billion from banks to build affordable housing

Biden also proposed that each Federal Home Loan bank double its annual contribution to the Affordable Housing Program.

That would raise an additional $3.79 billion for affordable housing over the next decade, to "support the financing, acquisition, construction and rehabilitation of affordable rental and for-sale homes, as well as help low- and moderate-income homeowners to purchase or rehabilitate homes," the White House said.

That would help nearly 380,000 households, according to the White House.

Targeting rent-gouging by landlords

Biden also said he was taking action to address rent hikes across the nation by corporate landlords and private-equity firms.

Referencing recent lawsuits where large landlords were accused of price-fixing the market rate of rent, the Biden administration said it was calling on an interagency task force "to root out and stop illegal corporate behavior that hikes prices on American families through anti-competitive, unfair, deceptive or fraudulent business practices."

On March 1, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department filed a joint legal brief that said that price fixing through an algorithm is still price fixing, and effectively leads to landlords and property managers illegally colluding on pricing to raise rents.

Targeting junk fees in rental housing

The Biden administration also recently announced the creation of an interagency group to address price gouging, which also has an eye on rent hikes and other practices that involve junk fees in rental housing.

Junk fees in rental housing span the gamut, from application fees to pet fees to move-in or move-out fees. A recent estimate by the Council of Economic Advisers estimated that renters paid $276 million in apartment application fees in 2023.

"And that's just one category of fees," Ariel Nelson, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, told MarketWatch. "So I think they are just starting to grasp how big these rental housing fees are."

Junk fees can also become part of a renter's debt, Nelson added, which could result in tenants being pursued by debt collectors. That also would affect their credit score, and in turn, their ability to rent another home, or buy one.

"These junk fees ... can become a barrier to people getting future housing," Nelson said.

Providing rental assistance for over 500,000 households

Lastly, Biden also called on Congress to further expand rental assistance to more than half a million households.

That would be through providing a voucher guarantee for low-income veterans as well as youth aging out of foster care, which would save them hundreds of dollars in rent each month, the White House said.

https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/202403071031/biden-lays-out-plan-to-lower-housing-costs-ahead-of-state-of-the-union-but-effort-draws-criticism

Cal. School District Pays Children $1,400 To Become 'Racial And Social Justice Warriors'

The Long Beach Unified School district in California is funneling money to a progressive activist group which is paying students $1,400 each to become racial and social justice warriors.

The district paid $900,000 for a one-year contract to Californians for Justice (CFJ), a "youth-powered" non-profit that pushes racial justice ideology on children, the Free Press reports.

Of that, $60,200 was allocated to pay 33 students and 10 families or parents $1,400 each to participate in CFJ's training programs.

According to the contract, the program exists to "provide assistance to teachers, administrators and selected students in building strategies to support cultural understanding and change."

Facebook / Californians for Justice

On CFJ's website, the group claims to have "trained hundreds of youth of color in Long Beach to be community leaders and organizers," adding that it "provides leadership development opportunities throughout the school year and summer to ensure our youth leaders gain the political education and valuable organizing skills they need to lead social justice movements."

"It’s so fun! You get paid good, you can have a fun time," one of the students posted recently to Instagram.

A spokesman for the Long Beach School District framed the paid program as "internships" which are to ensure "equitable participation in CFJ programs, embracing diverse perspectives in education." Quite diversity word salad there.

Teachers have serious concerns

Four teachers from the Long Beach district voiced concern over the program, with one telling the Free Press that paying kids to participate is a "horrible propaganda strategy."

"I am shocked and horrified at such a fact," another teacher told the outlet.

Interestingly, one of CFJ's major donors is a descendant of Levi Strauss - the Walter Haas fund. Other donors include the Rockefellers, an the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

According to the report, Long Beach has paid CFJ nearly $2 million since 2019 to work with them. In 2021, the organization ran three professional development seminars in Long Beach high schools, during which participants were encouraged to embrace the role of "student voice," and to "advance a district wide Equity Agenda" in conjunction with teachers and admins, the 2021-2022 contract read.

Per the latest contract, CFJ will be hosting 15 more of these trainings during the 2023-2024 school year.

One teacher told the Free Press on condition of anonymity that the workshops have become open forums for students to complain.

"The way that they are handing scripts to students, even the words coming out of the students’ mouths it just feels like indoctrination and not information," she told the outlet.

Another teacher, Jay Goldfischer, agreed - saying "They're teaching them parroting," adding "which is the exact opposite of how you empower children."

CFJ defended itself in a statement to the Free Press, saying "Our agenda is not hidden and is simple: we want the Long Beach Unified School District to be a place where every student is represented honestly in classrooms and curricula, and where they are safe to be in critical dialogue supportive of democratic participation across differences."

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/california-school-district-pays-children-1400-become-racial-and-social-justice-warriors