No increase in Social Security next year
WASHINGTON — For just the third time in 40 years, millions of Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees can expect no increase in benefits next year, unwelcome news for more than one-fifth of the nation’s population.
They can blame low gas prices.
By law, the annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is based on a government measure of inflation, which is being dragged down by lower prices at the pump.
The government is scheduled to announce the COLA — or lack of one — on Thursday, when it releases the Consumer Price Index for September. Inflation has been so low this year that economists say there is little chance the September numbers will produce a benefit increase for next year.
Prices actually have dropped from a year ago, according to the inflation measure used for the COLA.
Turks and Kurds trade blame for deadly blasts
ANKARA, Turkey — Thousands mourned the 95 victims of Turkey’s deadliest attack in years as state inspectors tried Sunday to identify who sent suicide bombers to a rally promoting peace with Kurdish rebels.
The government said Kurdish rebels or Islamic State militants were likely responsible, while mourners accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of fomenting violence to gain votes for the ruling party.
No one has claimed responsibility, but the attack bears similarities to a suicide bombing the government blames on the Islamic State group that killed 33 Turkish and Kurdish peace activists near a town bordering Syria in July.
Police detained 14 suspected Islamic State members Sunday in the central Turkish city of Konya, but it wasn’t clear if they were related.
Prosecutor, police union still at odds after expert reports called killing of boy justified
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Cleveland police union and the local prosecutor remain at odds even after the release of expert reports that found a white officer was justified in fatally shooting a 12-year-old black boy last year.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty accuses the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association of failing to cooperate with the investigation into the death of Tamir Rice. The union counters that McGinty is just grandstanding.
It is the latest clash between a prosecutor and union who fought over the prosecution of another officer in a racially-charged case in a city under federal scrutiny for how its police force interacts with the public.
By wire sources