Hawaii is employing one of the more creative ways to save money on housing, food, and other services earmarked for the homeless. They are offering one-way plane tickets to volunteers to ship them out of the state. The “return to home” pilot program, which will be run by the Department of Human Services, is a three-year endeavor that will launch this fiscal year. The state legislature has approved spending $100,000 in the first year. The state, which has an estimated 17,000 homeless, expects to save money even if some people return. To be eligible for the program, individuals must have a support system in their home state and must not be able to afford the airfare on their own.
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In the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history, the emergency manager of Detroit asked a federal judge for permission to put the city into Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. Governor Rick Snyder said in a letter authorizing the filing that he understood “many will see this as a low point in the city’s history.” Adding: “If so, I think it will also be the foundation of the city’s future." Detroit has been struggling for years, with a deficit that has hit $18 billion, while losing around a quarter-million residents in the past decade. If the filing is approved, the city will be allowed to liquidate assets to repay creditors and city pensioners who’ve lost money from bad bond investments and unpaid contracts.
George Zimmerman was found not guilty on Saturday night of all charges relating to the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The jury had deliberated for 16 hours before reaching a verdict. Earlier in the day, the panel of six women asked for clarification on possible manslaughter charges, but were told to ask a more focused question and instead decided to keep deliberating. They came back with their verdict around 9 p.m, acquitting Zimmerman of both second-degree murder and manslaughter. Zimmerman had confessed to shooting the teenager but claimed it was self-defense. However, Zimmerman may not yet be out of the woods, legally speaking. The Justice Department issued a statement on Sunday that indicates it will be reviewing whether Zimmerman can be prosecuted under federal criminal civil rights statutes.
Three-term Texas governor and former presidential candidate Rick Perry announced that he won't run for reelection in 2014. "The time has come to pass on the mantle of leadership," Perry said in a press conference. Perry has been in office for almost 13 years, making him the longest-serving current governor in the U.S. Regarding his future plans, he said only that he "will also pray and reflect and work to determine my own future path" and that "any future considerations I will announce in due time." Perry's 2012 presidential bid collapsed quickly, effectively ending in a primary debate when he forgot the name of the third U.S. department he planned to close.
Just two days afer U.S. officials filed a sealed criminal complaint against Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old NSA leaker reportedly left Hong Kong on a flight bound for Moscow. WikiLeaks issued a statement saying that Snowden is seeking political asylum in Ecuador, which was later confirmed by a foreign minister. It's rumored that he will fly there via Cuba, which has no established extradition policy with the U.S. In the end, Hong Kong concluded that the request "did not fully comply with the legal requirements" under their own law.