Main Street Dollars

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Amazon Flex drivers who never cashed an earlier settlement check are getting a new shot at that money, this time landing straight in a bank account. The Federal Trade Commission has opened a third round of payments tied to tips Amazon withheld from delivery drivers between 2016 and 2019, using Zelle instead of a paper…

The IRS wants extension filers to file now rather than wait for October 15

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in Rule Changes

Households that asked for extra time to finish a 2025 tax return are being told, again, not to wait for the fall deadline. The Internal Revenue Service used a reminder issued in late August to push extension filers toward finishing early, and the message carries a real cost if it is ignored: the extension bought…

Medicaid’s new work rule has a medical exemption, and federal guidance now spells out who gets it

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Most working-age adults on Medicaid will need to log a job, schooling, volunteer work or a qualifying paycheck once the program’s new community engagement requirement takes effect on January 1, 2027. From the start, the law creating that requirement exempted people who are seriously ill, disabled or in recovery from addiction, but states had almost…

Treasury proposed making filers swear to citizenship before the refundable part of four credits is paid

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in Rule Changes

A proposed regulation from the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service would require tax filers to certify their citizenship or immigration status before the refunded part of four common tax credits could be paid out. The rule, opened for public comment in August, targets only the slice of a credit that exceeds what a…

Corner stores must stock 84 items by November 4 or lose the right to take food stamps

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Millions of households that receive food assistance do their everyday shopping at a corner store or small neighborhood market rather than a large supermarket chain. A federal rule taking effect on November 4, 2026 sets new minimum stocking requirements for any retailer that wants to keep accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Stores that fall…

Ten percent of food stamp dollars went out wrong last year, and states will start paying a share

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The federal government has finished tallying how much of last year’s food-assistance spending went out in the wrong amount, and the number is stark: more than one in every ten dollars. Beginning as soon as October 2027, the states with the worst records will start covering part of that cost themselves, a shift that could…

Sweetened drinks stop ringing up on food stamp cards in Virginia and Montana within three weeks

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Grocery runs are about to look different for thousands of households in Virginia and Montana. Within the next three weeks, shoppers using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in both states will find that sodas, energy drinks, and other sugary items no longer scan as eligible purchases at checkout. The change comes from a federal waiver…

Food stamp parents lose their work exemption once the youngest child turns 14

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A federal exemption that has shielded low-income parents from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work rules for years just got narrower. Adults caring for a dependent child used to keep their exemption from SNAP’s work requirement and time limit as long as that child was younger than 18. Under a 2025 law reshaping food-assistance rules, that…

Food stamp enrollment has fallen by 5.7 million people in a single year

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The number of Americans receiving food assistance through the federal government fell sharply over the past year, according to new participation data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dropped by more than five and a half million people between May 2025 and May 2026, one of the…

Jordan Trought drew eight years and a $6,166,227 forfeiture for a sweepstakes scam aimed at older Americans

Sep 11, 2026

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