Food stamps to get their biggest boost ever, with benefits rising more than 25%
CBSN
The Biden administration is overhauling food stamps by putting in place a permanent increase in grocery benefits, providing a 27% bump in aid that marks the biggest-ever increase for the program. The boost comes as a temporary increase of 15% was set to expire next month.
The boost will go into effect on October 1 for the roughly 42 million people currently receiving food stamps, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on a conference call about the changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the official name for food stamps. On a per-person basis, benefits on average will add about $36 per month to the pre-pandemic level of about $121 per person each month, the agency said. Increasing the benefits will boost the annual cost of the program by about $19 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program.
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker hasn't been the mayor of Newark since 2013. But when he walks around his neighborhood, you'd never know it. One passer-by yelled out, "The best mayor ever!" In:
Fentanyl was found inside Barbie doll packages being sold at a discount store in Missouri, police said on Saturday. In:
CBS News contributor Arthur C. Brooks is the author of a new book, "The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness." This morning, he's charting an unlikely path to happiness:
When gauging a war, Americans consider at least two important things: what the goals are overseas and its impact back home. In:
The peace and tranquility of Muir Woods, just north of San Francisco – home to 500+ acres of old-growth redwoods – make it just about the last place you'd expect to find a fight brewing. "The fact that they're taking down whole groups of signs about climate change and our nation's history is disappointing, and embarrassing," said retired U.S. Park Ranger Lucy Scott In:
We share our planet with maybe 10 million species of plants, animals, birds, fish, fungi and bugs. And to help identify them, millions of people are using a free phone app. "Currently we have about six million people using the platform every month," said Scott Loarie, the executive director of iNaturalist, a nonprofit.
Washington — As voters gear up for the midterm elections in November that will decide control of the House and Senate, the Supreme Court is set to weigh Monday whether states can count mail ballots that are postmarked by, but arrive after, Election Day.
It was in June 2020 when Linda Dane learned the disturbing circumstances of how her long-lost brother Gary Herbst's skull had been found by a dog in rural Barron County, Wisconsin. In:
A possible meteorite crashed into a Houston area house on Saturday night, tearing through the roof and two stories of the home, officials said. In:
The Senate on Saturday blocked an amendment that would ban transgender athletes from playing in women's sports, rejecting one of President Trump's priorities as he pressures Congress to act on a broad voting bill.
Robert Mueller, a former FBI director who led the investigation into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, has died, multiple sources told CBS News on Saturday. He was 81. In:
Kendra Duggar was arrested for misdemeanor charges including endangering the welfare of a child and false imprisonment, according to online records. The charges come a day after her husband Joseph Duggar was charged with molestation. In:
At ski resorts across the West this winter, viral images showed chairlifts idling over brown terrain in places normally renowned for their frosty appeal. Iconic mountain towns like Aspen, Colorado, and Park City, Utah, were seen with shockingly bare slopes, as the region endured a historic snow drought that experts warn could bring water shortages and wildfires in the months ahead. In: