Dershowitz: Robert Mueller Is ‘a Zealot’
Source: Breitbart
Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz: “I think Mueller is a zealot. Look, he’s the guy who kept four innocent people in prison for many years in order to protect the cover of Whitey Bulger as an FBI informer. Those of us in Boston don’t have such a high regard for Mueller because we remember this story.
Caregiver Shares the Untold Children’s Story: Hero At Home
New book explains physical injuries of wounded Veterans to children
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 12, 2018) – For the three young daughters of wounded veteran, Michael Verardo, his missing limb is a symbol of heroism. After Verardo’s oldest daughter informed her mother, Sarah, before bed one evening that, “Someone told me Daddy is gross. He isn’t gross he is a hero,” the family realized there was no book that explained these types of wounds to children. Sarah Verardo is the wife and Caregiver to Michael, and also Executive Director for The Independence Fund. She decided they had to do something to help all children understand the serious injuries of war, so she authored and published a first of its kind children’s book, Hero At Home. Complete with captivating imagery and illustrations of a wounded Veteran, Hero at Home is an educational and heart-warming story that normalizes these catastrophic conditions and teaches even very young readers how to welcome, understand, and support these resilient veterans and their families.
“There are many military families who struggle with explaining the complex injuries to their own children, and even more so with children who are not exposed to this life on a daily basis,” said Sarah. “Our goal with this book is to be able to describe this in a way that allows these children to understand the sacrifices made by our Nation’s wounded Veterans; and to see that they are truly heroes.”
Michael is one of the most severely wounded Veterans from the Global War on Terror. While serving as an infantryman with the 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan, he sustained catastrophic and life changing injuries in 2010. His long road home has included more than 100 surgeries and years of speech, visual, physical and occupational therapies. Sarah has dedicated her life to the care and recovery of her husband, and to Veterans and Caregivers nationwide in addition to raising their family. Sarah and Michael live outside Charlotte, North Carolina with their three young daughters and three golden labs. They know that for the severely wounded, the fight never truly ends. They proudly continue their service on the home front by supporting the enactment of policies, programs, and changes to improve the lives and the future for severely wounded Veterans and their families.
Sarah Verardo will travel to Washington, Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Salt Lake City in the coming weeks to share the story of Hero At Home.
About The Independence Fund
Founded in 2007, The Independence Fund is committed to empowering our nation’s severely wounded, injured, or ill Veterans to overcome physical, mental, and emotional wounds incurred in the line of duty. We are dedicated to improving the lives of both our Veterans and their families. Through four distinct pillars of support, the Mobility, Caregiver, Adaptive Sports, and Advocacy programs, The Independence Fund bridges the gap of unmet needs for Veterans and their Caregivers.
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Email: press@oc.usda.gov
ADVISORY: Secretary Perdue to Hold Tax Day Event in Tennessee TOMORROW
(Washington, D.C., April 16, 2018) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will visit Tennessee TOMORROW, Tuesday, April 17th to participate in a Tax Day event at the Knox Farmers Cooperative.
Secretary Perdue Participates in Tax Day Event and Holds Media Availability
WHAT: Secretary Perdue will participate in a Tax Day event at the Knox Farmers Cooperative where he will deliver remarks on tax reform and participate in a Q&A with farmers. Following the event, the Secretary will hold a media availability.
WHEN: TOMORROW, Tuesday, April 17th at 12:15 p.m. ET
WHERE: 3903 Fountain Valley Dr, Knoxville, TN 37918
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Weber County, Utah- Weber County leaders have been collaborating together at every level to build a strategic economic vision for the future of the county. The Weber County commissioners contracted with a highly respected economic development team to survey the county strengths and opportunities. At this press conference, we will unveil the findings of this report and the strategy for Weber County's economic future.
Attendees at the press conference will include Weber County commissioners, legislators, mayors and higher education professionals.
Sen. Ann Milner
Commissioner Jim Harvey
Commissioner James Ebert
Commissioner Kerry Gibson
Mayor Mike Caldwell
Mayor Bob Dandoy
Community business leaders
Date: Tuesday, April 17th
Time: 2:00 pm
Parking: Here is a link to the map. The parking lot available to us is A2. No permit is needed.
Location: Here is a link to the map. The outdoor location is outside the building marked SS and the indoor location is right next door in the building marked WB. In case of inclement weather, we will use the indoor location.
USDA to Immediately Assist Producers for Qualifying Livestock, Honeybee and Farm-raised Fish Program Losses
$34 Million in Payments for 2017 Losses Part of Broad Suite of Programs Aiding Ag Operations
WASHINGTON, April 9, 2018 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will issue $34 million to help agricultural producers recover from 2017 natural disasters through the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP), which covers losses not covered by certain other USDA disaster assistance programs. These payments are being made available today, and they are part of a broader USDA effort to help producers recover from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, wildfires and drought. A large portion of this assistance will be made available in federally designated disaster areas.
“From Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, through the South, the Southwest, California and the Great Plains, American agriculture was devastated by natural disasters in 2017,” said Bill Northey, Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation. “The Trump Administration is moving quickly to distribute financial assistance to help producers recover and rebuild. It is important to get this help to producers in time for the spring planting season.”
ELAP aims to help eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish for losses due to disease, certain adverse weather events or loss conditions, including blizzards and wildfires, as determined by the Secretary. ELAP assistance is provided for losses not covered by other disaster assistance programs such as the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) and the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP).
The increased amount of assistance through ELAP was made possible by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, signed earlier this year. The Act amended the 2014 Farm Bill to enable USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) to provide assistance to producers without an annual funding cap and immediately for 2017. It also enables FSA to pay ELAP applications as they are filed for 2018 and subsequent program years.
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Other USDA Disaster Assistance Programs
The Act removed program year payment limitations and increased the acreage cap for the Tree Assistance Program (TAP), a nationwide program that provides owners of orchards, vineyards and nurseries with cost share assistance to replant eligible trees, bushes, and vines following a natural disaster. For example, the program will help owners of citrus groves in Florida, avocado trees in California, coffee plantations in Puerto Rico and vineyards reduce the cost of replanting, and speed recovery from the loss of fruit and nut trees, bushes, and vines.
Prior to the Act, there was a combined program year payment limitation of $125,000 for ELAP, LIP and LFP per person or legal entity. The Tree Assistance Program (TAP) had its own $125,000 payment limitation. The Act removed the program year per person and legal entity payment limitation for LIP and TAP. As a result of the Act, a $125,000 per person and legal entity single payment limitation applies to the total amount of program year payments received under both ELAP and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) and program payments under LIP and TAP no longer have payment limits.
Under the updated program, as amended by the Act, growers are eligible to be partly reimbursed for losses on up to 1,000 acres per program year, double the previous acreage limit of 500 acres.
In total, it is estimated that the Act will enable USDA to provide more than $3 billion in disaster assistance, including the $2.36 billion announced last week to be made available through FSA’s new 2017 Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program. This includes $400 million made available for the Emergency Conservation Program, which helps farmers and ranchers repair damage to farmlands caused by natural disasters. As signups across the country are completed, additional applications will be funded.
According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States was impacted by 16 separate billion-dollar disaster events in 2017 including: three tropical cyclones, eight severe storms, two inland floods, a crop freeze, drought and wildfire. More than 25 million people – almost eight percent of the population – were affected by major disasters. From severe flooding in Puerto Rico and Texas to mudslides and wildfires in California, major natural disasters caused catastrophic damages, with an economic impact totaling more than $300 billion.
For Assistance
Producers with operations impacted by natural disasters and diseases in 2018 are encouraged to contact their local USDA service center to apply for assistance through ELAP, TAP, LIP and LFP. Producers with 2017 ELAP claims need to take no action as FSA will begin paying those claims today.
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