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Tag: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Dead Snakes, Seahorses Seized From Travelers At Washington Dulles Airport
Snakes, snake oil, sea horses, prohibited pork, and snail ointment were seized from travelers at Washington Dulles International Airport this month, officials said.
The first traveler, who arrived on Aug. 1 from Vietnam, was destined to Fairfax, and referred to a secondary baggage examination, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced.
CBP agriculture specialists and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) inspectors discovered prohibited pork, but also found 77 dry seahorses, five jars of snail ointment, and five dead snakes.
The import of the seahorses, snakes, and snail oint…
Manchester Store Owner, Worker Admit Defrauding Federal Program
The owner of a Connecticut convenience store and his father, who helped him operate the business, have admitted to a food stamps fraud offense.
Hartford County residents Javed Saeed, age 52, and 68-year-old Dastgir Saeed, both of South Windsor, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, May 10, to conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud, according to Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Javed is the owner of the Manchester Quick Mart and Mobil gas station, which is located at 262 Oakland St. in Manchester, the US Attorney's Office reported.
His fathe…
3.8 Million Pennsylvania Birds Hit With Avian Flu, 19K Linked To Duck Meat Farm
A total of 3.8 million birds have been affected by an outbreak of avian flu in Pennsylvania as of Monday, May 2, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced.
More cases were linked to a seventh commercial farm described only as a "duck meat bird facility" in Lancaster County, with the outbreak having been reported late last month, the USDA said.
More than 19,300 birds at the facility were depopulated, according to a chart on the USDA website.
Most of the cases in Pennsylvania were reported in flocks of commercial table egg layers, totaling about 3,450,100, according to USDA da…
Wayne Couple Goes To Fed Pen For Buying $4.5M Worth Of Food Stamps At Their Paterson Grocery
A Wayne couple was sentenced to federal prison Tuesday for buying $4.5 million worth of food stamps from customers at a grocery store they managed in Paterson.
Ibrahim Zughbi, 67, got 3½ years in a federal penitentiary while his wife, Miriam Zughbi, 63, also of Wayne, was sentenced to two years, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said.
Ibrahim Zughbi previously participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) when he was the owner of Neighborhood Supermarket, a medium-sized grocery store, Honig said.
Administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, SNAP benefits –…
Covid-19: German Shepherd In NY, One Of First Dogs In Nation To Test Positive, Dies At Age 6
A dog in New York who was one of the first in the country to be diagnosed with COVID-19 died shortly before his seventh birthday.
Buddy, a German Shepherd living with his family in Staten Island, began having trouble breathing in mid-April, around the time the COVID pandemic peaked in New York.
When the dog began getting sick, he was tested and it was determined he was positive for COVID-19.
He also had lymphoma, his family said, which was diagnosed on the day of his death on Saturday, July 11, according to a report in National Geographic.
The Mahoneys said approximately every two w…
'Murder Hornets': Media-Created Panic Scaring Some Into Killing Essential Insects, Experts Warn
Continuing media reports about “murder hornets” have panicked an ignorant public into needlessly killing already-endangered bees and wasps, experts warn.
Native bees, for instance, pollinate 75% of fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports.
Yet even government beekeepers have announced plans to set traps that will kill some of these extremely essential insects, Doug Yanega, senior museum scientist for the Department of Entomology at UC Riverside, told the Los Angeles Times.
SEE: Traps will be set out soon, KY officials say
SEE: Ten…
Feds: Grocery Managers From Wayne Sold $4M Worth Of Food Stamps For Cash
WAYNE, N.J. -- A married Wayne couple who managed a grocery store sold $4 million worth of food stamps for cash, federal authorities charged.
Ibrahim Zughbi, 64, Miriam Zughbi, 59, have operated Jamaica Meat Market, a medium-size grocery store in Paterson, since January 2014.
They were authorized to accept benefits provided by SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said."Retail food stores approved for participation in SNAP may sell food in exchange for SNAP benefits," Carpenito sai…
