October 12 top stories
It is October 12. Here are today’s top stories.
Social Security benefits to increase by 3.2% in 2024
The Social Security Administration said today that Social Security recipients will get a 3.2% increase in their benefits in 2024 in a COLA cost-of-living adjustment.
This means that the average recipient will receive more than $50 more every month beginning in January.
AP News said the COLA adjustment is far less than this year’s 8.7% increase.
Texas Republican says Egypt warned Israel of potential violence
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tx), who is the chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said he got information that Egypt had warned Israel three days prior to the Hamas attack that there was a possibility of violence. The representative said he can’t share more information because it is classified, but he said a warning was given, but he’s not sure what level it was.
AP reported this week that an Egyptian intelligence official said they warned Israel several times that there was “something big” being planned from Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said it was “totally fake news” that Israel received a warning in advance of Hamas’ attack.
U.S. and Qatar agree to stop Iran from using $6 billion fund
The Washington Post reported that U.S. officials and the Qatari government have agreed to stop Iran from accessing a $6 billion account that was unfrozen as a part of a deal to swap prisoners between the U.S. and Iran. The money came from a South Korean purchase of Iranian oil that was authorized by the Trump administration in 2018 but frozen in 2019 when the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Iran.
The recent prisoner swap deal stipulated that the $6 billion be only used for humanitarian purposes. But there has been a lot of criticism, especially after Hamas’ attack on Israel, on any idea of Iran having access to this fund. Iran has been linked to supporting Hamas in the past.
Now according to this report from the Post, the money is “refrozen.” An Iranian official previously said the parties cannot renege on the agreement and if the deal is off, it would anger Iranians and cause its relationship with the U.S. to deteriorate further.
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Blinken meets with Netanyahu
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu today to show a commitment to “always be there by their side” in their fight to defend themselves from Hamas attacks.
Blinken said some U.S. aid had already been delivered and that more military aid was on its way. He said Congress has an overwhelming bipartisan support for Israel.
Netanyahu thanked Blinken and said Hamas is an “enemy of civilization,” pointing to the massacring of young people at an outdoor music festival, the murders of entire families at their homes, and the kidnappings of Israeli civilians.
ABC News said at least 1,200 people have died in Israel from Hamas’ surprise attack. Palestinian authorities said at least 1,100 people have died from airstrikes by the Israeli military in Gaza.
Teacher caught giving special ed students melatonin gummies
A kindergarten teacher in Texas has resigned after she admitted to giving melatonin gummies to students in a special education class. The gummies’ purpose is to make people sleep, but they are generally supposed to only be used by adults.
A mother to a 5-year-old son said her son, who is nonverbal, came home on at least three occasions where he was completely lethargic and stumbling around. The mother said she recalled that the teacher called her to ask for advice on how to calm him down because he is very active.
The school district said it investigated the teacher and found out that the teacher gave out melatonin to students without obtaining parent permission or notifying campus administration and the nurse. The teacher was allowed to resign and is no longer working for the school district. The teacher did not face criminal charges.
A news report said according to the CDC, it is possible for children to overdose on melatonin.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/10/12/iran-oil-fund-us-israel/
https://abc7chicago.com/melatonin-humble-texas-tx-special-education/13894051/