Social Security Withheld For Unpaid Student Loan Debt A Growing Issue

Social Security is being withheld for people with unpaid federal student loans, the result of a 1996 law that gives the government the power to hold back payments if any type of defaulted debt is owed to the government.

The growing number of people having Social Security withheld for student loans was highlighted in a report from SmartMoney.com, which found that thousands of retirees are being threatened to lose the Social Security benefits many thought were untouchable.

The report, which looked at data from the Treasury Department, found Social Security withheld for a growing number of Americans. Between January and August 6, the federal government withheld Social Security for close to 115,000 retirees on the grounds of unpaid student loan debt.

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Police: Man stabs son-in-law over 'your mama' jokes

FOX Carolina 21


SPARTANBURG, SC (FOX Carolina) -Police said a Spartanburg man was so angry over some "your mama" jokes that he cut his son-in-law and threatened to kill him.

Spartanburg police said they were stopped by a man with blood streaming down his arm who said his father-in-law, 72-year-old Marvin Tutt, had cut him while they were driving.

The man told police he was driving with Tutt and another man and they were "talking trash" when the conversation turned to "your mama" jokes.

The police report said Tutt became angry with the jokes, opened his knife and held it under the victim's throat. When he tried to stop Tutt and pull the car over, Tutt cut him, according to the report.

Perv handyman hides under trailer, taping mom and young son for two days

Christian Hobbs, 44, admitted to police that he spent the time staring through holes he cut through the floor, videotaping the two and masturbating.

Christian Hobbs was caught after spending two days spying on a woman and her young child from under her trailer.

A handyman admitted to cops that he spent two days hiding under a woman’s trailer in New Hampshire, videotaping her and her toddler son.

Christian Hobbs, 44, now faces a host of criminal charges including felony wiretapping, manufacture of child pornography, prowling and trespassing, the Eagle-Tribune reported.

He even confessed that he’d pulled similar sick stunts before.

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Early-College Model Brings Lessons, Results in N.C.

Sophmore Kudzai Matowe, right, waits for the bus with fellow students after the first day of school at Early/Middle College at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C., earlier this month. North Carolina has been a leader in implementing early and middle college programs. Last school year, most of the early colleges across the 73,000-student Guilford County district had a 100 percent graduation rate. Teachers meet regularly with students—even in the summer and on weekends—to help high-risk students succeed.

—Nicole Frugé/Education Week

US tribes angered by sale of sacred site

Tribes of Great Sioux Nation band together to raise money to buy back the South Dakota land they consider sacred.

The tribes believe the Sioux people were created from the Black Hills [EPA]

Nearly 800 hectares of "prime real estate" nestled in the Black Hills of South Dakota is for sale to the highest bidder, but the offer to sell the land near Mount Rushmore and historic Deadwood has distressed Native American tribes who consider it a sacred site.

The tribes have banded together to try to raise money to buy back as much of the land as they can. But with a week to go until the August 25 auction, they have only about $110,000 committed for property they believe will sell for $6 to $10m.

Although the land has been privately owned, members of the Great Sioux Nation - known as Lakota, Dakota and Nakota - have been allowed to gather there each year to perform ceremonial rituals they believe are necessary for harmony, health and well-being.

"People who practice our way of life go there to pray - and there are a lot of us that go up there," said Rodney Bordeaux, president of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, which is leading the effort.

US theatres on high alert after bomb scare

Police search cinemas in several states after theatre headquarters received threatening message.

Several theatres across the United States were put on high alert after the headquarters of Carmike Cinemas in the US state of Georgia received a threatening phone message.

Search teams locked down and searched theatres in several states for non-specific bomb threats.





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