SEC charges insurance agent with $1.27 million Ponzi scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged James Hocker, a Bellefonte, Penn., insurance agent, with engaging in a Ponzi scheme that targeted unsophisticated retail investors. After selling insurance policies, according to the SEC's complaint, Mr. Hocker encouraged his clients to invest with him by promising guaranteed returns of between 10% and 30% from investments he would make on their behalf.

Why Yesterday’s SCOTUS Decision May Impact Franchisor Royalties

Yesterday, in South Dakota vs. WayFair, Inc., et al., the United States Supreme Court overturned long-standing precedents that required an out-of-state Seller to have a physical presence in a state to collect sales tax from consumers in that state. The South Dakota law being challenged by giant online retailers, Wayfair, Inc., Overstock.com, Inc., and Newegg, Inc. none of which had a physical presence in South Dakota requires out-of-state retailers to collect and remit sales tax "as if they had a physical presence in the state."

Scaramucci: Lewandowski should apologize for mocking girl with Down syndrome

Anthony Scaramucci The Hill's 12:30 Report - Sponsored by Delta Air Lines - Trump to meet House GOP as backlash to 'zero tolerance' policy grows The Memo: Child separation crisis risks 'Katrina moment' for Trump Trump digs in amid uproar on zero tolerance policy MORE Corey R. Lewandowski Lewandowski says 'womp womp' at story of young girl being separated from mother at border If Congress takes no action, the Social Security trust fund will become depleted in 2034 Five things to know about the lawsuit against the Trump Foundation MORE to apologize after mocking a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome who was reportedly separated from her mother after crossing the border illegally.

Health care is about to get way easier for small businesses and self-employed Americans

Lamar Alexander, a Republican, represents Tennessee in the U.S. Senate and serves as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Today, if you're a self-employed plumber or a farmer or a waitress at a small restaurant, you likely don't have access to the same kind of lower-cost health insurance, tax breaks and patient protections that employees of bigger companies, such as IBM or Microsoft, enjoy.

Emergency rooms often the only dialysis option for undocumented immigrants

Juan's black tennis shoes sit at the end of his bed, a baseball cap is pulled low on his head and tubes snake out from under a blanket to a machine humming beside him that is taking blood from his arm, cleaning it and pumping it back into his body. Juan, 43, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who asked that his identity be concealed due to fears of deportation, is receiving dialysis for kidney failure at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital.

Area small businesses receive loans, may prove promising for Panhandle’s economy

A sign that lending institutions may be loosening up their purse strings a bit, two Eastern Panhandle small businesses secured commercial loans this quarter to open or expand, officials said. Two businesses located in the downtown Martinsburg area had commercial loans approved by the U.S Department of Agriculture, said Matt Coffey, business coach with the Small Business Development Center of the Eastern Panhandle, who gave a quarterly small business update to the Berkeley County Development Authority Wednesday.

More than 1 million workers, retirees at risk of losing pensions,…

The pension crisis that threatens the retirement savings of 1.5 million Americans also poses the risk of driving the U.S. economy into a tailspin, a panel of witnesses told a congressional panel. Witnesses from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and businesses, including UPS, told the Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multi-employer Pension Plans that should the estimated 150 to 200 multi-employer pension plans that are in danger become insolvent, the companies that paid into those plans would be held liable.

Virginia Votes For A Racist And First-Time Black Candidate In The Strangest Primary Ever

Vangie Williams scored a victory Tuesday by defeating two military veterans to win the Democratic nomination to run for Congress. Williams would the first African-American to represent the state's first congressional district if she wins her November battle against Republican incumbent Rep. Rob Wittman .

Opinion: Beware the Dog Days of August

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks to his Capitol office after the Republican Senate policy lunch that took place at the National Republican Senatorial Committee on Tuesday. Nothing happens in August, right? At least that's always the usual explanation for the mass exodus that leaves Washington nearly uninhabited for much of D.C.'s dog days.

How worried should you be about Medicare and Social Security?

The problems may only keep getting worse in a time of political tension and deep partisan divisions. Here are some questions and answers on an issue that ultimately will affect every American family and isn't going away: The government's annual Trustees Reports on the programs shows the financial condition of both worsening significantly since last year.

Media Treat Trump Administration’s Partisan Fear-Mongering as…

"Progressive economists have long maintained that to the degree that Social Security needs to be 'rescued,' it could be easily managed through modest tax hikes," Johnson writes. On Tuesday, dozens of media outlets broke what at first seemed to be a major story about "the government" announcing that Social Security and Medicare will be broke in less than 20 years: If the lifelines of millions of poor, elderly and disabled were going to crumble in less than a generation, this would be major news indeed.

Should you be worried about Social Security and Medicare?

In this Jan. 11, 2013 file photo, the Social Security Administration's main campus is seen in Woodlawn, Md. A significant worsening in the financial condition of Social Security and Medicare and bitter political divisions among lawmakers who'd have try to find solutions have raised the level of concern around the government's latest status report on the two bedrock programs.

Mortgage rates fall for the second week in a row

A Freddie Mac sign stands outside the company's headquarters in McLean, Virginia, U.S., on Tuesday, April 8, 2014. Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat and a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said a bipartisan bill to replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is too complicated and doesn't do enough to address too-big-to-fail concerns or provide assistance for affordable housing.