UPDATE: Two Republican senators have added their names to the list of GOP lawmakers opposing the latest version of the bill to repeal and replace much of the Affordable Care Act. That means the bill will fall short of the 50 votes needed to pass. [More]
Government Policy
U.S. Lifts Laptop Ban For Remaining Foreign Airlines, Final Airport Exemption Expected This Week
By 7.17.17
A week after it was rumored that the Department of Homeland Security would likely lift its ban on laptops and other personal electronics put in place in March from the few airlines that remained subject to the policy, that time has come. [More]
The Cleveland Clinic Is An Oasis Of Prosperity In A Poor City
By 7.17.17
What obligations do prosperous businesses have to the neighborhoods surrounding them? What if those businesses are nonprofits that are supposed to have a higher purpose? The Cleveland Clinic is an institution in a deteriorating urban neighborhood where residents feel like they’re on a different planet, and the world-renknowned institution is gobbling up more of the surrounding neighborhood as it empties out. [More]
4 Things To Know About Idaho’s Non-Compete Law & The State’s Growing Tech Industry
By 7.17.17
Each year, millions of employees leave their jobs for a better one. But if you live in Idaho, this hallmark of the workforce might not be attainable, as the state now has one of the most strict non-compete laws preventing employees from leaving their current employer for a competitor. [More]
Lawmaker Wants Antitrust Panel To Take A Closer Look At Amazon, Whole Foods Merger
By 7.14.17
A month after Amazon and Whole Foods announced they would be joining forces in wedded grocery bliss, one lawmaker is asking his colleagues on a House antitrust panel to hold a hearing on the $13 billion merger plan. [More]
Pretty Much Everyone Hates New Senate Obamacare Replacement Bill
By 7.14.17
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell yesterday unveiled a new draft of the Senate’s plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The bill contains steep cuts to Medicaid and an amendment that would pretty much gut the ability of anyone with a pre-existing condition to afford a policy on the individual market. So who’s opposed? Pretty much everyone, it seems — except the 50 people whose opinions matter most. [More]
What’s Changed In The New Senate Obamacare Replacement Bill, And What Happens Next?
By 7.13.17
After much ado and weeks of waiting, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today unveiled an updated draft of the Senate’s plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). [More]
Proposed Spending Bill Would Cut Pell Grant Program By $3.3 Billion
By 7.13.17
The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income students to help pay for college, but these students could soon have a more difficult time obtaining the financial assistance as a new legislative measure aims to cut funding for the program. [More]
Can Border Patrol Agents Search The Data Your Phone Stores In The Cloud?
By 7.13.17
While police must have a warrant to search someone’s phone in the U.S. — even after that person has been arrested — what can law enforcement do with gadgets seized at the border? For one thing, U.S. Customs and Border Protection says its officers are limited to searching phone content that is saved directly to the device, and not on the cloud — including social media. [More]
Education Dept. Civil Rights Chief Sorry For Saying 90% Of College Rape Claims Are Result Of Bad Breakups
By 7.12.17
As Education Secretary Betsy DeVos moves forward with her plan to review the federal government’s policy regarding sexual assault and harassment on college campuses, the acting head of the Department’s Civil Rights division is now apologizing for making an unsubstantiated and unsourced claim that nine in ten of these assault allegations are baseless and can be tied back to nothing more than too much drinking and bad breakups. [More]
Dozens Of Organizations Come Out In Support Of Gainful Employment, Borrower Defense Rules
By 7.12.17
A week after two separate lawsuits were filed by 19 state attorneys general and a group representing students accusing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of breaking the law by delaying protections for student loan borrowers, a coalition of more than 50 consumer groups have stepped forward to join the opposition against a “reset” of regulations put in place to protect students at for-profit colleges. [More]
It’s Still Legal To Shackle Pregnant Inmates, But Some Lawmakers Want That To Change
By 7.12.17
In an effort to ensure that women in prison are treated like human beings — and reduce the negative impact incarceration has on their families, especially their kids — a group of lawmakers has introduced a bill that would make a series of reforms to how the federal prison system handles female prisoners. [More]
Why It Seems Like The Entire Internet Is Talking About Net Neutrality Today
By 7.12.17
Today, a huge swath of the internet is taking a break from our regularly scheduled cat photos, *.gif memes, and political news to talk about something that affects the entire internet: net neutrality. [More]
U.S. Will Probably Lift Laptop Ban For Remaining Foreign Airports Soon
By 7.12.17
After a few airlines announced that they are no longer subject to a ban on laptops and other personal electronics put in place in March for flights traveling to the U.S. from certain airports, the Department of Homeland Security says it will likely lift the ban for the remaining carriers. [More]
Appeals Court: Sorry, Still No Soda Tax For You, Chicago
By 7.11.17
Cook County, which encompasses the city of Chicago and a bunch of its suburbs, passed a $.01 per ounce tax on sweetened beverages last year. The tax was supposed to go into effect on July 1, but a state judge put a temporary restraining order in place that keeps the tax from going into effect, though certain McDonald’s restaurants didn’t get the memo. Now a state appeals court has upheld the decision, leaving drinks untaxed for now. [More]
Laptop Ban On U.S.-Bound Flights On Royal Jordanian, Kuwait Airways Lifted
By 7.10.17
Two additional Middle East airlines are now exempt from the Department of Transportation’s ban on laptops and other personal electronics put in place in March: Royal Jordanian and Kuwait Airways became the latest carriers to have the in-cabin laptop ban lifted. [More]
Here’s How To Get Your $5 Drone Registration Fee Refund From The FAA
By 7.7.17
Did you pay $5 to register your drone with the Federal Aviation Administration? Now that an appeals court has overturned the agency’s rule requiring hobbyist drone operators to register their aircraft, you can get your money back and remove your name from the federal database. [More]
States Say Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Broke Law By Delaying Protections For Student Loan Borrowers
By 7.6.17
Following Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ decision to “reset” new regulations put in place to protect students at for-profit colleges, two separate lawsuits now accuse the Secretary of breaking federal law by running roughshod over the regulatory process when she delayed the so-called Borrower Defense rule, which would have made it easier for defrauded students to get out from under their student loan burdens. [More]
