Three things for February 11
1. Trump announces new budget plan
President Trump recently announced a $4.8 trillion budget plan for the year 2021. The plan includes major cuts to food stamps, subsidized housing, farm subsidies, Medicaid and student loans.
“There is optimism that was not here before 63 million Americans asked me to work for them and drain the swamp,” Trump said, according to AP News. “For decades, Washington elites told us that Americans had no choice but to accept stagnation, decay, and decline. We proved them wrong. Our economy is strong once more.”
Trump’s proposed cuts in food stamps would replace cash with food shipments for the beneficiaries. He also wants to curb safety net programs like Medicaid, food stamps and federally subsidized housing by adding work requirements. Other programs like Medicare and Social Security are largely untouched, with only minor changes.
2. Thailand faces country’s deadliest mass shooting
A gunman opened fire in Terminal 21 Korat, an airport-themed mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, on Saturday, killing 29 people and wounding at least a dozen more.
According to AP News, Thai officials confirmed that the gunman killed his commanding officer over a financial dispute and later stole guns from the army camp to shoot people inside and outside the mall.
3. Iran attacks leave more than 100 US soldiers with brain injuries
The U.S. military disclosed the number of service members diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries from last month’s missile attack has climbed to over 100.
The attack at the Ain al-Asad base in Iraq was a response to the U.S. killing of Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3. According to the officials, no U.S. troops were killed or critically injured.
The Pentagon confirmed 109 cases of diagnosis on U.S. service members, according to the Reuters. The disclosure has created questions about the country’s military policies on reporting health injuries.
