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Catholic Univ. Files Lawsuit Over
Obamacare's Contraceptive Mandate
MarcoNews.com
Ave Maria University officials filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the federal government over a contraception mandate that for weeks has riled Catholic institutions. The suit is one of several across the country seeking injunctive relief for religiously-affiliated organizations concerned about paying for employee health insurance, which must include free birth control according to a regulation announced in January. President Obama’s administration “knew from the beginning that this was not going to square with the teachings of the Catholic church, leaders in the Evangelical world, or with orthodox Jews,” said Jim Towey, president of Ave Maria University. White House officials have argued coverage of FDA-approved contraception saves insurance companies money by keeping women healthy.
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Congress Targets Federal Workers for
'Their Fair Share' in Extending Unemployment
Associated Press
Federal workers were the losers as Congress looked for ways to pay for parts of the just-passed legislation to extend the payroll tax cut and federal unemployment benefits through the end of the year. Their advocates are crying foul, saying two consecutive years of pay freezes means the nation's 2 million civil servants already have contributed more than $60 billion to reducing government costs. Republicans say federal employees, with their generally secure jobs and benefits, can do more. They have proposed several bills to make that happen. The White House also is asking federal employees to pitch in more for their retirement plans. About half of the $30 billion cost of extending unemployment benefits will be made up by requiring newly hired federal workers to pay an additional 2.3% toward their pensions.
Chicago School Draws Scrutiny Over Student ‘Fines’
AP/MyWay News
A sense of order and decorum prevails at Noble Street College Prep as students move quickly through a hallway adorned with banners from dozens of colleges. Everyone wears a school polo shirt neatly tucked into khaki trousers. There's plenty of chatter but no jostling, no cellphones and no dawdling. The reason, administrators say, is that students have learned there is a price to pay -- literally -- for breaking even the smallest rules. Noble Network of Charter Schools charges students at its 10 Chicago high schools $5 for detentions stemming from infractions that include chewing gum and having untied shoelaces. Last school year it collected almost $190,000 in discipline "fees" from detentions and behavior classes -- a policy drawing fire from some parents, advocacy groups and education experts.
Gas Prices Highest Ever for This Time of Year
Associated Press
Gasoline prices have never been higher this time of the year. At $3.53 a gallon, prices are already up 25 cents since Jan. 1. And experts say they could reach a record $4.25 a gallon by late April. The surge in gas prices follows an increase in the price of oil. Oil around the world is priced differently. Brent crude from the North Sea is a proxy for the foreign oil that's imported by US refineries and turned into gasoline and other fuels. Its price has risen 11% so far this year, to around $119 a barrel, because of tensions with Iran, a cold snap in Europe and rising demand from developing nations. West Texas Intermediate, used to price oil produced in the US, is up 4% to around $103 a barrel. That's 19% higher than a year earlier. Higher gas prices could hurt consumer spending and curtail the recent improvement in the US economy.
Foreclosures on the Rise Again
CNBC
After a year-long reprieve from rising foreclosures, the numbers are going up again. One in every 624 US households received a foreclosure filing in January, up 3% from the previous month, according to a new report from RealtyTrac. Foreclosure activity froze in many states in 2011, due to processing delays after fraud, or so-called "Robo-signing," were uncovered in the fall of 2010. The thaw is now on. "We expect the pattern of increasing foreclosures to continue in the coming months, especially given the finalized mortgage and foreclosure settlement reached in early February between 49 state attorneys general and five of the nation's largest lenders," said RealtyTrac's CEO Brandon Moore. "Foreclosure activity increased on a year-over-year basis for the first time in more than 12 months following a pattern we saw in late 2011."
Study: Chicago Is the Nation’s Most Corrupt Region
USA Today
When it comes to public corruption, the Chicago area takes the prize, while Illinois ranks as the third-most-corrupt state, researchers reported today, the Chicago Tribune tells us. Since 1976, the Northern District of Illinois, which encompasses mostly Chicago, has racked up the most convictions for public corruption of all 94 federal districts -- 1,531, according to the study by the University of Illinois at Chicago. The runners-up were the Central District of California, which covers Los Angeles, and the Southern District of New York, home to Manhattan. Among states, the Land of Lincoln (for the record, the home state of the current occupant of the White House) lags behind California and New York in the number of corruption convictions during the past 36 years. Per capita, however, Illinois trails the DC and Louisiana.
Record US Unemployment Rate
Results in Growth of Tent Cities
BBC News
Just off the side of a motorway on the fringes of the picturesque town of Ann Arbor, MI, a mismatched collection of 30 tents tucked in the woods has become home to those who are either unemployed, or whose wages are so low that they can no longer afford to pay rent. Conditions are unhygienic. There are no toilets and electricity is only available in the one communal tent where the campers huddle around a wood stove for warmth in the heart of winter. Ice weighs down the roofs of tents, and rain regularly drips onto the sleeping campers' faces. Tent cities have sprung up in at least 55 American cities -- they represent the bleak reality of America's unemployment crisis. According to census data, 47 million Americans now live below the poverty line -- the most in half a century -- fueled by several years of high unemployment.
State Union Workers' Lawsuit Says
Pension Law Unconstitutional
Detroit Free Press
Labor unions filed a lawsuit Monday against a law requiring Michigan state employees to opt out of their defined-benefit pension plans or start contributing 4% of their pay to help cover the cost. The state employee unions, in a news release, called the requirements radical and unilateral. They successfully challenged an earlier requirement that employees put 3% of their paychecks toward the cost of retirement healthcare. Under a Michigan law approved last year, state workers employed since at least 1997 must either switch out of a pension plan that guarantees them certain benefits or start making the 4% payments. If they don't want to pay the 4%, they can switch to a 401(k)-style plan in which benefits are dependent on investment returns. New state employees have the 401(k) plan as their only option.
Charter School Teachers Fear IRS Rules Change
The Washington Times
A little-noticed proposed change in IRS regulations could have devastating effects for charter school teachers by making them ineligible for state retirement plans, and they could stand to lose much of the money that they already have accrued. The proposed rule, released with little fanfare near the end of last year, would make major changes to the definition of “governmental plans,” the federal standard for who can be considered a government employee for the purposes of participating in state pension systems. “The IRS did not have charter schools in their sights, but whether they had them in their sights or not, it could have negative consequences for us,” said Todd Ziebarth, of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “Our concern is that there is a gray area around whether charters would meet the test.”
Arizona Considers Legislation
That Would Fund Border Militia
AZCentral.com
The Arizona governor could deploy an armed, volunteer militia to respond to natural disasters and patrol the Arizona-Mexico border for illegal immigrants and drug-traffickers under a legislative proposal to fund a state guard. The state would pay $1.9 million to activate the Arizona State Guard, created last year through an executive order signed by Gov. Jan Brewer. The bill calls for a one-time cost of $500,000 from the general fund and an additional $1.4 million each year from a gang task-force fund. While there's an anticipated budget surplus, lawmakers must deal with long-term debt and the May 2013 expiration of the 1-cent-per-dollar sales-tax increase, so it is unclear how much support this bill would have. Arizona would join 23 other states and territories with active guards, but would stand alone if its militia was focused on border enforcement.
Buffett’s Net Worth Jumps $154M
Thanks to Mortgage Settlement
The Washington Free Beacon
Warren Buffett’s stake in Bank of America Corp. increased in value by $154 million after President Obama and the US Justice Department announced a $25 billion foreclosure abuse settlement with the five largest US banks Thursday, records show. Buffett invested $5 billion in Bank of America on Aug. 25, 2011. As part of his investment deal, Buffett gained warrants that allow him to buy 700 million shares of Bank of America stock at a strike price of $7.14 a share. However, on Dec. 19, 2011, it was reported that Buffett was $1.5 billion underwater on his stock warrants, with shares of BofA stock trading at $4.94. But on Thursday, after President Obama personally announced the details of the settlement, BofA stock closed at $8.13 a share. The stock opened Friday morning at $8.31 and reached as high as $8.35 a share.
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