June 2, 2016

Blue Cross Blue Shield asking for rate increases of nearly 60%

for ACA policies.

Read more: http://democratsforever.freeforums.net/thread/8732/insurance-rates-new-concerns-obamacare

June 2, 2016

New York News - 6/2/2016

Donald Trump's NY co-chair calls Paul Ryan a 'yellow-bellied coward'

After two vetoes, Cuomo approves veterans pension credit bill

After poop attack, DEC building is re-opened

Cuomo announces next step for LaGuardia project

Groups rally in support of farmworkers

Queens man spends five months in Rikers unaware his bail was only $2

Dowling College in New York to shutter its doors on Friday

SUNY-Cortland former swim captain drowns during lifeguard test

School shocked to discover $1.5M donation was fake

Massive corruption probe is sparking an exodus at the NYPD

Cuomo demands apology from de Blasio for leak accusations

Missing valuable jewelry and a heavy bag of coins in Rep. Rangel's Harlem apartment

New York senator’s ailment stalls child abuse reform in committee

NYPD will track incidents of officers using force, encourage

Two more high-ranking NYPD officers retire amid federal corruption probe

Rich Defendants’ Request to Judges: Lock Me Up in a Gilded Cage

New York Police Captain Who Didn’t Help After Shootout Is Demoted

June 2, 2016

Pennsylvania News - 6/2/2016

Tab for damages from fire at North Penn HS estimated between $1M to $1.5M

Did school leaders look the other way as teachers preyed?

4 updates on medical marijuana in Pennsylvania

Doe Run on Gramby students, staff return to school after 4th bomb threat there since May 4

Couple used money stolen from local Agway to buy winning $1M lottery ticket

Pennsylvania native Mark Cuban questions whether Donald Trump is truly a billionaire

Man was walking cat when neighbor twice tried to run him over, Whitehall police say
(Another TxT exclusive mews story)

Bernie Sanders supporters plan rally on eve of Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia

Electrical glitch causes Limerick Unit 2 to shut down

Feds: For Fattah and fund-raiser, friendship had its privileges

Kenney to Philadelphia: Stick around for the convention

Gun safety bill advances in Philadelphia City Council

June 2, 2016

Payday Borrowing’s Debt Spiral to Be Curtailed

Source: New York Times

The payday loan industry, which is vilified for charging exorbitant interest rates on short-term loans that many Americans depend on, could soon be gutted by a set of rules that federal regulators plan to unveil on Thursday.

People who borrow money against their paychecks are generally supposed to pay it back within two weeks, with substantial fees piled on: A customer who borrows $500 would typically owe around $575, at an annual percentage rate of 391 percent. But most borrowers routinely roll the loan over into a new one, becoming less likely to ever emerge from the debt.

Mainstream banks are generally barred from this kind of lending. More than a dozen states have set their own rate caps and other rules that essentially prohibit payday loans, but the market is flourishing in at least 30 states. Some 16,000 lenders run online and storefront operations that thrive on the hefty profits.

Under the guidelines from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — the watchdog agency set up in the wake of 2010 banking legislation — lenders will be required in many cases to verify their customers’ income and to confirm that they can afford to repay the money they borrow. The number of times that people could roll over their loans into newer and pricier ones would be curtailed.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/02/business/dealbook/payday-borrowings-debt-spiral-to-be-curtailed.html?_r=0

June 1, 2016

Maryland News - 6/1/2016

[font color=330099]I regret that I have not been able to post here much lately, but a reasonably severe case of tendonitis in my dominant hand has hampered my ability to keep current on reporting news.[/font]

Finding his roots: Alex Haley's nephew researches slavery in Maryland

Baltimore city schools hands out pink slips to cut costs

Rep. Andy Harris encourages school districts to ignore Obama administration guidance on transgender bathroom use

June 1, 2016

Delaware News - 6/1/2016

[font color=330099]I regret that I have not been able to post here much lately, but a reasonably severe case of tendonitis in my dominant hand has hampered my ability to keep current on reporting news.[/font]

Trump shifts registered trademarks to Delaware with tax break in mind

Legislative budget-writing panel about to enter drama-filled final days

Delaware National Guard names headquarters after Beau Biden

Delaware FOP votes no-confidence in attorney general

Delaware legislators consider fee for using plastic bags

Delaware power customers to pay $13 more a month

June 1, 2016

New Jersey News - 6/1/2016

[font color=330099]I regret that I have not been able to post here much lately, but a reasonably severe case of tendonitis in my dominant hand has hampered my ability to keep current on reporting news.[/font]

Hillary Clinton cancels Mercer County Community College event

Fort Dix terror plotters lose appeal

Clinton leads Trump in NJ but it’s close

Hackensack University Medical Center delivers baby with birth defect due to Zika

Competing ads aim to sway N.J. voters on gas tax

New Jersey balks at paying $37 million to counties in Medicaid dispute

Don't vote for Trump, former Gov. Whitman tells N.J. primary voters

Jon Bon Jovi welcoming Hillary Clinton to N.J. Wednesday

Bill looks to push mob out of N.J. recycling industry

New state rescue plan unlikely to solve Atlantic City's problems

Justices reject union appeal over Trump Taj Mahal bankruptcy

June 1, 2016

California News - 6/1/2016

[font color=330099]I regret that I have not been able to post here much lately, but a reasonably severe case of tendonitis in my dominant hand has hampered my ability to keep current on reporting news.[/font]

Independents favor Sanders, but their turnout is hardly assured

New poll finds Clinton trouncing Sanders in California

Riverside: 37-pound cat 'Biggie' loses half his body weight

Stricter penalties for firearm theft passed

Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton to make stop in Fresno

Clinton scores prized endorsement from Gov. Jerry Brown

San Francisco Police Department officers can review body camera footage after initial statements, under proposed policy

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announces $9.6B budget focusing on safety, cleanliness and homeless

California pension fund CEO to be sentenced for bribery

Animal rights activists disrupt Sanders rally in Oakland

Believing he can win California, Bernie Sanders stumps in Oakland

K12 Inc.: Bay Area lawmakers call for audit of California Virtual Academies operator

California considers huge tuition hikes for out-of-state students

Pelosi grilled by San Francisco middle schoolers on guns, Trump

Latinos allege excessive policing after Trump protests

Sinkhole south of Tracy closes northbound Interstate 5

Sacramento City Council moves to fund shelter beds for homeless

California VA construction plans on hold in battle over benefits

California Assembly kills bill overhauling State Bar

Prosecutors fight to stop San Bernardino shooter's family from getting $250,000 insurance payment

UnitedHealth to stop selling Obamacare coverage in California

Why Gov. Jerry Brown endorsed Hillary, despite a bitter history with the Clintons

Clinton and allies step up California efforts as primary draws near

June 1, 2016

General Mills recalls 10 million pounds of flour

Source: USA Today

SAN FRANCISCO — In a rare recall of baking and cooking flour, General Mills on Tuesday issued a recall of 10 million pounds of flour because of a possible link to an outbreak of E. coli that has sickened 38 people in 20 states since December.

The recall covers some bags of Gold Medal bleached and unbleached flour, bleached and unbleached Signature Kitchen flour, Gold Medal self-rising flour and Gold Medal Wondra quick-mixing flour. A full list of the recalled flours is listed below and on the General Mills website.

General Mills’ Gold Medal flour is the most widely used flour in the United States, spokesman Mike Siemienas said.

The E. coli outbreak involves E. coli O121, a potentially deadly Shiga toxin-producing variant of the bacteria that can cause cramps, diarrhea that's sometimes bloody, vomiting and on occasion life-threatening complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/05/31/general-mills-issues-rare-flour-recall/85203618/

June 1, 2016

37-pound cat 'Biggie' loses half his body weight

Riverside, California -- A 37-pound cat and social media star from Riverside has lost about half his body weight in about a year and a half.

Biggie - who made headlines in 2014 when he survived a risky surgery to remove blockages in his colon - lost about 18 pounds after his owner veterinarian Nichole Agarwal put him on a prescription diet. Agarwal, who owns the Arrow Dog and Cat Hospital in Montclair - where Biggie now lives - said the weight loss has greatly improved Biggie's health as well as his demeanor.

"He is actually able to function more as a normal cat," Agarwal said in an interview Tuesday.

Agarwal adopted Biggie in 2014, when his owner could not afford his treatment.

"Before, he couldn't scratch his neck at all, couldn't groom himself and couldn't get around very well," Agarwal said.

Read more: http://www.pe.com/articles/biggie-804364-half-diet.html