Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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Most Postal Service packages to Canada, Mexico and Europe should ship by December 9
Holiday packages headed to Canada, Mexico and Europe have a send-by date of Wednesday, December 9, for the two most common international services, according to the Postal Service. A third, faster service has a date a week later, on December 16. The USPS holiday shipping dates page lists the same dates for each of nine…
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Postal Service Ground Advantage packages to military bases overseas should ship by November 4
Families who plan to mail holiday packages to troops overseas have an early deadline. The Postal Service says Ground Advantage packages to military addresses should be mailed by Wednesday, November 4, to arrive before Christmas, five weeks ahead of the date for faster services. The dates come from the USPS holiday shipping dates page, which…
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California reached a $6 million 23andMe deal, pending court approval, over a breach exposing more than 855,000 Californians, who can still have their DNA data deleted
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a $6 million settlement with the company that used to be 23andMe on October 19, 2026. The deal covers a 2023 data breach that exposed information on more than 855,000 Californians, and it still needs approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The payment…
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Minnesota lost about $37 million a year in federal food stamp administration money October 1, and a 2029 cost share could reach $145 million, half billed to counties
Minnesota’s food stamp program started paying more of its own bills on October 1, 2026. The state’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families says Washington now covers 25 percent of what it costs to administer SNAP, down from 50 percent, which costs the state about $37 million a year. A second, larger change is scheduled…
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Social Security pays children of a worker who died through age 17, and at 18 or 19 only while they are full-time K-12 students
When a parent who worked dies, Social Security can keep paying their children. The agency’s survivor eligibility page says the benefit is available to a child who is 17 or younger, and to a child aged 18 or 19 only while that child is in school full time, at the K-12 level. Once a child…
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Social Security survivor benefits go to widows and widowers only if they did not remarry before 60, or 50 if disabled, the agency’s eligibility rules say
A widow or widower who remarries too early can lose the right to a Social Security survivor benefit. Social Security’s survivor eligibility rules say a surviving spouse must not have remarried before age 60, or before age 50 for a spouse who has a disability. The agency last updated that page on December 5, 2024,…
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Pierce County homeowners 61 and older or disabled with household income up to $64,000 can freeze their home’s taxable value under the senior exemption
Homeowners in Pierce County, Washington, who are 61 or older or disabled can freeze their home’s taxable value if household income is $64,000 or less. The Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer runs the senior exemption, and its page now carries the 2026 application forms. People in the lower income tiers also get relief from part of the…
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Illinois homeowners 65 and older with incomes up to $77,000 can put off as much as $7,500 a year in property taxes for tax year 2026
Illinois has raised the income ceiling for its property tax deferral program for older homeowners, and for tax year 2026 the limit is $77,000 in household income. Eligible homeowners who are 65 or older can put off as much as $7,500 a year in property taxes, or 80 percent of the home’s equity, whichever is…
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More than 227,000 Ohioans used the state’s $175 winter reconnect rule last winter, and it runs again through April 16 with no income limit
Ohio’s winter reconnect order is back for another heating season, and last year’s numbers show how many households leaned on it. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio says more than 227,637 Ohioans used the Special Reconnect Order last winter, and the agency has renewed it for Oct. 12, 2026 through April 16, 2027. Under the…
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Washington households under the energy-aid income limit can keep electric heat on from November 15 to March 15 if they notify the utility, apply for heating help and pay no more than 7% of income
Washington electric customers on a low income have a winter protection written into state rules. Between November 15 and March 15, a utility may not disconnect a qualifying customer’s residential space heating service, provided the customer meets a short list of conditions, according to WAC 480-100-143, the Utilities and Transportation Commission’s winter low-income payment program.…