The Conservative Cave

TAMPA, Fla. — Florida will become the first state in the nation to restrict temporary cash assistance funds from being used on non-essential items, luxury services, and adult entertainment, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday.

Under the state’s proposed policy change, Florida Department of Children and Families, or DCF, benefits distributed through Electronic Benefit Transfer, or EBT cards, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF grants will no longer be eligible for purchases involving tobacco and vaping products, alcohol, adult material, video games, theme park tickets, tattoos, tanning beds, or fortune-telling services.

“Florida will be the first state in the nation to restrict temporary cash assistance benefits from being used for inappropriate and non-essential purchases,” DeSantis said during a press conference in Tampa. “If somebody really is needy, we just want to make sure that money is going to the things that are going to help that individual and help the dependents.”

Inexpensive interceptors developed by a small start-up based in West Palm Beach, Florida, could be used to counter the threat posed by Iranian drones, according to a report by The New York Times on Sunday.

Powerus has been building its drone interceptors at a United Arab Emirates facility since July, where it produces 3-D printed components and assembles them into the finished product. The design, known as the "Guardian," sells for around $5,000.

The report cited a Powerus spokesperson, who said the company produces 3,000 interceptors a month and hopes to increase that to 15,000 a month by 2027. This is helped by the product's modular design, as the readily available components easily snap together.

According to the NYT, Powerus based the Guardian on a Ukrainian drone interceptor which showed promise against Russian suicide drones. The company's website describes the interceptor as having a top "burst" speed of 340 kph, a 160 kph cruise speed, a range of 15 kilometers, 28 minutes of operational endurance, and "hundreds" of confirmed interceptions.

My rolling eyes did at least a half dozen rotations. A normal 12YO probably would be under-impressed by that bumpersticker.

This is the kind of crazy story that could only happen in San Francisco. It started on May 31 when a man later identified as Norris Reed III fled from police, crashed his car and wound up shooting a female officer.

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"We were alerted via an LPR hit, that a vehicle associated with a robbery that was perpetrated in East Bay came into our city and that's why we became involved," Lew said.

Officers located the vehicle near Fifth and Folsom streets, with two people inside. When officers attempted a traffic stop near Mission and First streets, the driver fled, leading officers on a pursuit through city streets, police said.

The vehicle later became disabled near Bayshore Boulevard and Jerrold Avenue. Authorities said the driver then opened fire on officers, striking one officer multiple times. Officers returned fire at the suspect vehicle.

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Anyway, up to this point it's a story that could probably happen in any big city. But here's where it gets weird. While police were busy saving Taylor's life, the suspect who fired the shots, Norris Reed, fled to a nearby homeless shelter. And there, according to police he was given help to escape by two of the shelter's staff members. Those two individuals were arrested last week.
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As you can see, the shelter is denying their employees did anything wrong, but police say they have surveillance video showing Barcenas and Porter helping Reed.

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At 12:17 am, over an hour after Reed III fled the scene, dispatch received a call stating that the suspect was inside the gate of the (Bayshore Navigation Center). Officers responded to the fenced courtyard of the navigation center and placed Reed III under arrest. During the arrest, officers seized two firearms from the suspect's waistband.

With assistance from the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, SFPD officers reviewed surveillance footage from the navigation center showing Barcenas providing Reed III with clothing to conceal his identity despite knowing that he was in possession of a firearm when he entered the navigation center.

Additionally, when officers had earlier visited the navigation center while searching for the suspect, Porter gave false statements to the police to prevent the officers from locating him.

unblock (56,436 posts)
1. An oldie but a goodie

OldBaldy1701E (12,166 posts)
2. That is a good bumper sticker.
Unforntuately, there are plenty of folks out there who are very happy to go in reverse.

They are hoping for it, in fact.

angrychair (12,906 posts)
4. Well
Forward may be a little hyperbolic. How about "D" is for "incremental and often meaningless change that our corporate donors approve of" and "R" is for "Fascism"
Probably a little wordy for a bumper sticker.

https://democraticunderground.com/100221460949