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Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd confirms they were called in to help the employees at Walmart because there were so many people clearing off the shelves. He says Walmart was so packed, “It was worse than any black Friday” that he’s ever seen. Lynd explained the cards weren’t showing limits and they called corporate Walmart, whose spokesman said to let the people use the cards anyway. From 7 to 9 p.m., people were loading up their carts, but when the cards began showing limits again around 9, one woman was detained because she rang up a bill of $700.00 and...

It's free, swipe your EBT

The Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system allows recipients of government food stamps to purchase goods using a digital card with a set spending limit, but for a few hours over the weekend, that limit disappeared for many users visiting Walmart stores in Louisiana. Walmart and local police in Springhill and Mansfield confirmed to CBS affiliate KSLA that officers were called into the stores to help maintain order Saturday as shoppers swept through the aisles at two stores and bought as much as they could carry. Xerox, which hosts some of the infrastructure used by the EBT card system, told KSLA...

Shelves in Walmart stores in Springhill and Mansfield, LA were reportedly cleared Saturday night, when the stores allowed purchases on EBT cards even though they were not showing limits. The chaos that followed ultimately required intervention from local police, and left behind numerous carts filled to overflowing, apparently abandoned when the glitch-spurred shopping frenzy ended. Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd confirms they were called in to help the employees at Walmart because there were so many people clearing off the shelves. He says Walmart was so packed, "It was worse than any black Friday" that he's ever seen. Lynd explained...

MANSFIELD, LA (KSLA) - Shelves in Walmart stores in Springhill and Mansfield, LA were reportedly cleared Saturday night, when the stores allowed purchases on EBT cards even though they were not showing limits. Additional Links Computer issue, not government shutdown, likely cause of EBT card failures The chaos that followed ultimately required intervention from local police, and left behind numerous carts filled to overflowing, apparently abandoned when the glitch-spurred shopping frenzy ended. Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd confirms they were called in to help the employees at Walmart because there were so many people clearing off the shelves. He says...

If you ever wanted to know what the United States might look like and how people will react should the EBT system fail, then pay close attention I go to the register and they ask me “how you going to pay.” I said with food stamps. “Oh, we’re shut down, you can’t pay with food stamps.” I got kids to feed. You know? And because the government’s down I can’t feed my family? … What’s going on with America? Now they trying to starve us to death? …This is crazy …I got six kids I have to feed. … I’m...

In simply Southern terms, Allen West defined President Obama as a “spoiled brat child.” The former Florida Representative said America has given Obama everything he wanted, during an interview on the "The Steve Malzberg Show” show Thursday: “We gave him a state senator position in Chicago, we gave him a U.S. Senate position out of the state of Illinois, unproven, untested, no resume, we gave him the presidency — twice. So if you continue to reward bad behavior, you're going to get more of that bad behavior." The majority of Americans continue to accuse Republicans for the nearly-two-week-long government shutdown....

"...........Since he was first elected in 2008, journalists and pundits have repeatedly exclaimed that Barack Obama is the first president in our history who does not love our country. Being a minister, I always initially refuse a bad report about anyone until there is ample proof; it is the benefit of the doubt. That day has come and gone and I am now among those who believe that Obama actually hates America. He has smashed traditional marriage, exalted homosexual perversion, used the IRS like a battering ram, left border agents, ambassadors, and good soldiers to die without help, raised the...

KNOXVILLE (WATE) - A temporary increase in food stamps expires October 31, meaning for millions of Americans, the benefits that help put food on the table won't stretch as far as they have for the past four years. Food stamps, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, go to 47 million Americans a month. Almost half of them children and teenagers. The monthly benefits, which go to one in seven Americans, fluctuate based on factors including food prices, income and inflation. Those could affect people right here in East Tennessee as 1.3 million Tennesseans receive food stamps at a cost of about...

“cuz lock your doors load your guns they cut off ebt cards nationwide” - Twitter They voted for Obama for the free stuff. Now the free stuff isn’t happening. So they riot. Today, the Electronic Benefits Transfer system (electronic food stamps debit card) went down in several states due to a computer glitch, and Obama voters are going nuts on Twitter, threatening mass rioting. This is free government money gone bad and exactly what’s wrong with our country. According to WoodTV (NBC 8), NBC News reports several states were affected by the glitch. The USDA released a statement saying:“EBT cards...

STUARTS DRAFT, Va. -- People in 17 states haven't been able to get food they need if they have a food stamp debit card. The O'Neils rely on their EBT Debit card to feed themselves and their son Micah. "People were looking at me I asked if there was anything else if she could if she could run it again and it wasn't working," said Terry O'Neil. The card has $153 to support three people for the remaining weeks in October. When their EBT card was denied today at the Waynesboro Walmart, Kristen O'Neil was embarrassed and frustrated. "We didn't...

Full carts abandoned at Chicago grocery stores were a common sight as shoppers in Illinois and many other states have been unable to use their food stamp debit cards. More than two million people in Illinois use a so-called Link Card. That's one in six residents in the state. So when suddenly the system went down Saturday morning many customers just walked out of the store. "Now I'm going to have to unfortunately do the fast food thing now. No cooking tonight," said Link Card user Rob Lee. "That's how people starve," said shopper Sean Wright. "People starve if they...

People in California, New Jersey and 15 other states found themselves temporarily unable to use their food stamp debit-style cards on Saturday, after a routine test of backup systems by the vendor Xerox resulted in a system failure. Illinois residents began reporting problems with their cards — known as LINK — on Saturday morning, said Januari Smith, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Human Services. “It really is a bad situation, but they are working to get it fixed as soon as possible,” she said.

VIRGINIA - The Electronic Benefit Transfer system malfunctioned across Virginia and several other states Saturday, but service was restored by around 10 p.m. "It's just frustrating how I've been to several different stores right in around to get groceries for my family," said Jessica Perkins, an EBT customer. Perkins has five kids she was grocery shopping for Saturday. Perkins went to Farm Fresh, Save-A-Lot, and Food Lion before figuring out she could use her EBT card at WalMart. Perkins said she could only use the $50 at a time. "I just thank God that I have some type of provisions,"...

People in 17 states, including Maryland and Virginia, who tried to buy groceries using electronic food-stamp cards were turned away from supermarkets Saturday as a result of a computer outage. The system failure affected low-income individuals and families who receive food benefits through the SNAP and WIC programs. The outage occurred during a “routine test” of backup systems Saturday morning, Jennifer Wasmer, a spokeswoman for Xerox, which administers the program, said. By late Saturday, access had been restored. After the system failed, SNAP and WIC beneficiaries in the affected states were unable to buy food using electronic benefit transfers.

BANGOR — The Electronic Benefits Transfer system that allows welfare recipients to buy groceries and other necessities experienced issues on Saturday. In some cases, people weren’t able to buy groceries. The website for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the EBT system, is offline because of the government shutdown.

ATLANTIC CITY - If you tried to use your electronic benefits transfer card Saturday, and was having problems, you're not alone. "I feel its going to leave a huge dent in these families because there is people who have 3 or 4 children," the Atlantic City woman said. "I think its horrible that people aren't able to get their food stamps. There are families out there that depends on these things, to feed their families," explains an Atlantic City man. As for store owners like Mohammed Ali of the 7–11 in Atlantic City, he says he has already lost hundreds...

Sheree Powell, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, started receiving calls around 11:30 a.m. about problems with the state's card systems. More than 600,000 Oklahomans receive SNAP benefits, and money is dispersed to the cards on the first, fifth and 10th days of every month, so the disruption came at what is typically a high-use time for the cards. Oklahoma also runs a separate debit card system for other state benefits like unemployment payments. Those cards can be used at ATMs to withdraw cash. Powell said Xerox administers both the EBT and debit card systems, and they...

The government benefit cards that allow people on public assistance to buy food went down Saturday, impacting welfare recipients in Los Angeles and other cities across the country. Distressed shoppers began calling and emailing the KTLA 5 newsroom Saturday morning to report the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system wasn’t working. A Food 4 Less store in Hollywood confirmed that the EBT system went down at about 7 a.m. A Stater Bros. Market in Downey also said the system was not working. The California and federal government EBT websites remained out of service as of Saturday afternoon.

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- During a routine test of our back-up systems Saturday morning, Xerox’s Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system experienced a temporary shutdown. While the system is now up and running, beneficiaries in the 17 affected states continue to experience connectivity issues to access their benefits. This disruption impacts EBT beneficiaries who rely on the system for SNAP and WIC. Technical staff is addressing the issue and expect the system to be restored soon.