President Barack Obama takes part in a bilateral meeting with Spain’s King Felipe at the Palacio Real de Madrid in Madrid, Spain
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President Barack Obama speaks with Spain’s interim prime minister Mariano Rajoy during a bilateral meeting at Moncloa palace in Madrid
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Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Jose Garcia-Margallo walks with President Barack Obama to the Air Force One as Barack Obama departs from Madrid to Rota Naval Base in Cadiz
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President Barack Obama listens to a commander as he tours the USS Ross Navy ship at the Naval Station Rota
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President Barack Obama speaks to service members at the Naval Station Rota, in Rota, southwestern Spain
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President Barack Obama speaks during the Commander-in-Chief trophy presentation to the United States Naval Academy football team. The Commander-in-Chief trophy is awarded each year to the winner of the American football series featuring the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy and U.S. Military Academy
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President Barack Obama presents Navy Senior Chief Edward Byers Jr. with the Medal of Honor during a ceremony in the White House. A member of Navy SEAL Team 6, Byers received the Medal of Honor for his role in rescuing an American hostage from the Taliban in Afghanistan in December 2012
On This Day: President Obama greets members of the Byrd family at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, W.Va., July 2, 2010. The President and Vice President Joe Biden attended the memorial service for Sen. Robert Byrd, who died June 28, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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12:0: The President meets with economists for lunch, Old Family Dining Room
12:30: Josh Earnest briefs the press
4:05: The President meets with Secretary of Treasury Lew
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We get the government we deserve, and we are on track for one that is heedless of concern for women’s health, and poised to eliminate unions.
… Over the weekend, I watched the PBS documentary on Freedom Summer, the effort 50 years ago to register African Americans to vote in the state of Mississippi, the effort that cost so many people so dearly, especially the families of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Mickey Schwerner, who were beaten and shot to death, and buried in a dam, because the state of Mississippi had local police forces shot through with the Ku Klux Klan.
Now, five decades later, with a Republican House far gone into nihilistic vandalism, and with the Senate hanging in the balance, and a Supreme Court one septuagenarian’s heartbeat away from a return to the golden days of the last Gilded Age, and a Democratic president in the White House on whom those responsible for the previous three phenomena have painted a bullseye, we keep hearing about how hard it is going to be for the Democratic party to turn out its voters this fall to take advantage of the opportunities for which Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner gave their lives, and did so in my lifetime, not in a distant antebellum episode in some backwater.
So there really isn’t any excuse any more.
More here
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Today In 1964: Pres. Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act into law and gives a pen to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. http://t.co/F3tBPYdLnF
— Nerdy Wonka (@NerdyWonka) July 2, 2014
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The Very Brilliant:
Mission
VoteRiders is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that all citizens are able to exercise their right to vote. Through resources and media exposure, VoteRiders supports on-the-ground organizations that assist citizens to secure their voter ID and inspires local volunteers and communities to sustain such programs and galvanize others to emulate these efforts.
How We Started
Knowing that millions of potential voters may be disenfranchised by the increasing number of stringent voter ID laws, Kathleen Unger decided to take action. With her extensive professional and volunteer experience in the non-profit sector, Ms. Unger decided to start her own non-profit dedicated to helping citizens to obtain their voter ID so they can exercise their fundamental right to vote. It was important to Ms. Unger that VoteRiders not duplicate what other organizations are doing to protect the right to vote. Thus, VoteRiders was founded in April 2012.
More here
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It’s become clear in recent weeks that President Obama and congressional Republicans are reading from very different scripts. The notion that the two institutional forces are butting heads is plainly wrong – they are two trains on separate tracks moving in completely different directions.
…. Clearly, the president’s willingness to keep governing without them has only enraged congressional Republicans – who were already livid. But it’s now obvious that the president simply does not care. Not even a little. The more GOP lawmaker scream, “No more executive actions!” the more Obama thinks to himself, “I wonder what other executive actions I can take.”
….. this is a president who no longer cares whether his unhinged critics are unhappy.
Full post here
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Women—not their bosses—should be able to make their own health care decisions → http://t.co/K75k22iO6r #HobbyLobby pic.twitter.com/BKZQQYteJJ
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 1, 2014
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The person who wishes to impose his or her religious views upon their company votes.
The person who believes the Earth is 6,000 years old votes.
The CEO whose salary is over 300 times that of his or her employees votes.
The person who thinks guns are a God-given right votes.
The person who doesn’t believe in equal pay votes.
The person who thinks Sandy Hook was a false flag votes.
The person who thinks there are legitimate forms of rape votes.
The person who thinks all immigrants are drug-carrying mules or gang members votes.
The person who thinks the rich are “job creators” votes.
The person who thinks gays are an abomination votes.
More here
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When Dorothy Glenn and Flora Johnson, two home care workers who belong to the SEIU Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas, first started out in their line of work, both made just $1 an hour. By the end of this year, thanks to the collective bargaining agreement reached by their union, they’ll be making $13 an hour. They also now have health care and paid training opportunities thanks to agreements obtained by the union. Such benefits could now become harder to secure.
On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a decision in the case Harris v. Quinn that was not as wide-sweeping as some labor advocates had worried — making it so that any public employees could opt out of paying union dues even if a union is negotiating on their behalf — but still ruled that home care workers in Illinois, who are paid by the state through Medicaid, no longer have to pay union fees. That loss of money could make it harder for the union to continue its organizing work.
More here
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With all the recent talk at the federal level about the EPA’s proposed carbon regulations for new and existing power plants, it’s easy to forget about the executives that have front row seats to cutting American carbon pollution. And though climate deniers run rampant through the halls of Congress, a new analysis from the CAP Action War Room reveals that half of America’s Republican governors agree with the anti-science caucus of Congress.
Fifteen out of twenty-nine sitting Republican governors deny climate science despite the overwhelming level of scientific consensus, the enormous cost to taxpayers, and the critical place governors occupy in implementing new limits on carbon pollution. None of the country’s Democratic governors have made public statements denying climate change.
More here – and see the scary map
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School counselors have one of “the most underappreciated jobs” in the country but are key to in the White House’s goal to have more students pursue education after high school, first lady Michelle Obama said Tuesday in Orlando.
“You’re the one planting the seeds about college” and creating a climate where “higher education is the expectation, not the exception,” Obama told hundreds of counselors at an annual convention.
But counselors, she said, too often struggle with an “outrageous” caseload — one counselor to 451 students is the average in Florida — and school policies that view them as an extra that can be cut during lean budget years or asked to do other duties, such as serve as proctors during testing.
“School counseling should not be an extra or a luxury,” Obama said to loud applause. “School counseling is a necessity.”
Counselors at the American School Counselor Association’s convention at a Walt Disney World resort cheered the first lady’s remarks, saying she had validated their profession and frustrations.
More here
Text of the First Lady’s remarks here
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This morning, in a ceremony at the Women In Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, Howard became the first woman in the U.S. Navy’s 236-year history to be promoted to four-star admiral and Vice Chief of Naval Operations, the second highest position in the Navy.
While today’s precedings make history, Howard is no stranger to firsts. In 1999 she became the first African American woman to command a Naval ship, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Rushmore. Howard was also the first African American woman in any branch of the military to reach three stars. In the past she’s been deployed to Indonesia for tsunami relief efforts, participated in Maritime security operations in the North Arabian Gulf, and served as commander of a Counter-Piracy Taskforce where–three days into the job–she spearheaded the rescue of Captain Phillips from Somali pirates.
More here
History was made today: Michelle Howard just became the @USNavy’s first female four-star admiral. #WomenSucceed
— The First Lady (@FLOTUS) July 2, 2014
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Wheels down in Zambia, where Dr. Biden is kicking off a three-country trip to highlight women’s empowerment. pic.twitter.com/fDKC5VDY7u
— Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden) July 1, 2014
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President Obama tests out the new Federal Government IT Dashboard outside of the Oval Office on July 2, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama gestures as he speaks on innovation and jobs in the Rose Garden of the White House as business leaders listen July 2, 2009
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President Obama heads a soccer ball at Ubungo Power Plant in Dar es Salaam July 2, 2013. The ball called a “soccket ball” has internal electronics that allows it to generate and store electricity that can power small devices
@petesouza: Presidents Obama and Bush greet survivors of 1998 bombing at US Embassy Tanzania
First Lady Michelle Obama and Laura Bush at the African First Ladies Summit: “Investing in Women: Strengthening Africa”
@petesouza: Large crowds again line the motorcade route in Tanzania
@PeteSouza Dancers greet Pres Obama and Pres Kikwete during departure ceremony at airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
President Obama kisses First Lady Michelle Obama as they prepare to board Air Force One
Leaving Tanzania
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MoooOOOooorning! My electricity just came back after two hours: grrrrrr. Probably missing lots of news, but we’ll catch up later.
Happy Wednesday!
President Barack Obama is given a team jersey by players and coaches during the presentation of the Commander-in-Chief Trophy to the United States Naval Academy football team
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Text of the President’s remarks here
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Pres Obama w his ring from the Midshipmen during the commander-in-chief trophy presentation pic.twitter.com/bpYewJzpj1
— petesouza (@petesouza) April 19, 2014
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‘Awaiting the midshipmen. Commander-in-chief trophy, Rose Garden’. Photo by PeteSouza
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President Barack Obama listens as Navy head football coach Ken Niumatalolo speaks during a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Navy linebacker Cody Peterson
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President Barack Obama says the Navy football team not only had to overcome tough opponents to win the Commander-in-Chief trophy this year but a government shutdown as well. The military service academies had to suspend some sporting events last fall amid budget fights in Washington. But Obama says Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel intervened to make sure Navy’s match against Air Force would go on. Obama joked as he accepted his commemorative jersey that he’s going to have enough to dress a whole team. Obama says that even more impressive than their football record is the Navy team’s commitment to its country.
More here
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President Barack Obama shakes hands with Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus after presenting the Commander-in-Chief Trophy to the United States Naval Academy football team
President Obama’s signature on the health insurance reform bill at the White House, March 23, 2010. The President signed the bill with 22 different pens (Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
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8:50 PM EST: President Obama departs the White House
9:05: Departs Joint Base Andrews
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Amy Lynn Smith: Student Celebrates The ACA’s 4th Birthday With The Gift Of Coverage For $5.23/Month
On March 23, 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) celebrates its fourth anniversary of being signed into law. Also known as Obamacare, the law has helped millions of Americans obtain affordable, quality coverage — many for the first time. Andreea Prundeanu, a 29-year-old doctoral candidate at Michigan State University in Lansing, is one of them. Concern about getting sick weighed heavily on her as she was working hard toward her future. She was uninsured for three years after she turned 26 and could no longer stay on her parents’ plan. Prundeanu enrolled in a Silver-level plan through Healthcare.gov. Because of her low income as a student, she was eligible for financial assistance — and now pays just $5.23 a month for coverage.
More here
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The Judge who declared Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional
Judge Bernard Friedman's conclusion. http://t.co/VejEQFxp6G
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Amy Biolchini (@amywrites_) March 21, 2014****
So, it would appear that more than 200 same-sex couples were legally married in the 4 Michigan counties that issued licenses today.
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Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) March 22, 2014****
Hunter Schwarz: Joe Biden Calls LGBT Workplace Discrimination “Barbaric”
Vice President Joe Biden called employers’ ability in some states to fire employees because of their sexuality “barbaric” and “bizarre” during a keynote address at the Human Rights Campaign Gala dinner Saturday. “Hate can never be defended because it’s a so-called cultural norm,” he said. “I’ve had it up to here with cultural norms.” He called on Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, which would outlaw discrimination by most private employers against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
More here
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The New U.S. Sanctions Against Russia Are For Real buzzfeed.com/miriamelder/th…
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Miriam Elder (@MiriamElder) March 20, 2014****
Russia,contrary to ruling class' self-perception,is much smaller and weaker than they think,West's economic & financial sanctions may reveal
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Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (@JSaryuszWolski) March 22, 2014****
Yahoo: How Obama Crippled A Russian Bank With A Stroke Of A Pen
He may not take shirtless horseback rides across the steppes, or have a black belt in judo, but on Thursday, President Obama sent a message to Russian president Vladimir Putin about strength. Specifically, economic strength. The message was this: Whenever I decide to, I can pick up a pen, and kill a significant financial institution in your country. Obama’s victim was the St. Petersburg-based Bank Rossiya. In response to Russia’s takeover of the Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, Obama yesterday authorized the Treasury Department to add 20 members of Putin’s inner circle, as well as Bank Rossiya, to the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s list of “specially designated nationals.”
The designation makes the individuals named ineligible to do business with U.S. financial institutions, which is likely a major personal inconvenience. But for Bank Rossiya, the designation is something like the kiss of death. Bank Rossiya is not the largest bank in Russia by a long shot, but its significance lies in its clientele rather than its size. In announcing the sanctions, the Treasury Department noted that Bank Rossiya “is the personal bank for senior officials of the Russian Federation” including members of the Ozero Dacha Cooperative, an exclusive community where members of Putin’s inner circle live. In addition, it provides financial services to the single largest segment of the Russian economy – the oil, gas, and energy sector.
More here
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@JSaryuszWolski Economy the size of Switzerland with 9 M people. #Russia is an underdeveloped, economic dwarf. #Putin #Crimea
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Anders Östlund (@andersostlund) March 22, 2014****
Sergei Seninsky: Crimea Annexation Threatens Already Weakened Russia Economy
Capital flight from Russia reached $35 billion in the first two months of this year, Russian Economic Development Minister Aleksei Ulyukayev said this week. That outflow has only increased in recent weeks and by the end of the first quarter, it could exceed the $65 billion capital-flight figure recorded for all of 2013, analysts say.
This trend — and other factors including likely international sanctions, the falling value of the ruble, and the costs of integrating Crimea into the Russian economy — could tip the sluggish Russian economy into recession. “The sum of these factors — the decline in investment and a slowdown in consumer demand — in my view will mean that the economy is on the edge of a recession,” says Kirill Tremasov, an economist with Nomos-Bank in Moscow. “Although you can still hear predictions from government bureaucrats that the economy might grow by 2 or 3 percent, I think these predictions are completely unfounded.”
More here
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Armored vehicles smashed through one of walls of the Ukranian compound: @Reuters reporter reut.rs/1jlkefH http://t.co/KBLkTSUirH
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Pedro da Costa (@pdacosta) March 22, 2014****
Bravo @Yatsenyuk_AP "Ukraine signs deal with European Union" latimes.com/world/worldnow… #euromaidan #Crimea http://t.co/R7FQOluPbA
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Bobfr (@Our4thEstate) March 21, 2014****
NYT: Russian Forces Take Over The Last Ukrainian Bases In Crimea
Russian forces pushed Saturday to complete their expulsion of the Ukrainian military from the disputed Crimean Peninsula, smashing through the gates of a base here with armored vehicles, firing weapons into the air and demanding that the cornered Ukrainian soldiers surrender. The operation to seize the base — one of the Ukrainian military’s last strongholds on the peninsula — was larger and more dramatic than at other installations where Ukrainian forces have capitulated steadily in recent days as Russia declared its formal annexation of the region.
By evening, Russian forces were fully in control of the base here, and most of the Ukrainian troops were dispatched to their barracks and homes to pack. In interviews before the takeover Saturday, soldiers expressed frustration with the lack of help from the their government in Kiev. Some troops said they were defending the base as a matter of honor, having sworn to serve the people and government of Ukraine. “I took an oath,” said one commander, adding that he felt no personal antipathy toward Russia or Russians. The sense of abandonment was echoed at other bases where soldiers and marines began to pack up their belongings last week, accepting that their cause was lost.
More here
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321K Kentuckians enrolled in health insurance thru @kynectky; that's 1 in 13 people. Subsidies available if you sign up by 3/31 #getcovered
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Steve Beshear (@GovSteveBeshear) March 21, 2014****
Good news: 7.9 million people with Medicare have saved nearly $10 billion on prescription drugs thanks to the #ACA → go.wh.gov/nTdjCG
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The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 21, 2014****
Jonathan Cohn: The Koch Brothers Are Accidentally Advertising The Benefits Of Obamacare
Some new advertisements attacking the Affordable Care Act actually show why the law is working. The ads are running in Colorado and Louisiana, two states where incumbent Democratic senators face difficult reelection fights. They come from Americans for Prosperity, the conservative organization backed by the Koch Brothers. In short, these stories may generate sympathy but they are rarely the stuff of tragedy. And that’s because of the protections Obamacare provides—which is to say, the very things that Koch-funded right-wingers want to gut.
After all, it’s Obamacare that sets a minimum standard for insurance, so that all policies include comprehensive benefits and set limits on out-of-pocket spending. It’s Obamacare that puts coverage within financial reach of many more people than before, by offering those subsidies and then, for some people, reducing out-of-pocket expenses even more. In the old days, it wasn’t so hard to find tear-jerker anecdotes: People without insurance or with inadequate insurance were filing for bankruptcy, losing their homes, and missing out on essential medicine. Now those stories are less common and, for the most part, they are among people who had these same problems previously. Telling the stories of these people would be a rationale for expanding the Affordable Care Act, not repealing it.
More here
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Christian Caryl: President Obama Takes A Big Risk And Scores A Big Win For Democracy — And No One Gives A Damn
President Obama pulled off a master stroke this week. He deployedU.S. military force in support of an infant democracy that desperately needs our help. The result was a resounding success, a vivid illustration of how the United States can put its unchallenged power to positive ends. He did it, once again, by sending in the SEALs, the U.S. Navy’s famous special forces. But this time they weren’t double-tapping a terrorist. Instead they seized a mysterious tanker that had skipped out of Libya with a shipment of oil that one of the country’s rogue militias was trying to sell on the open market. By doing it the SEALs foiled a potentially game-changing challenge to the authority of Libya’s hard-pressed government — one of the very few in the Arab world to have actually been elected by its own country’s people.
The reaction in Washington: a giant yawn. Deafening silence from Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who are always quick to demand U.S. military action in situations where it will usually make things worse. Fox News barely noticed. Nor was there a word of praise from the president’s liberal allies on Capitol Hill. Even theNew York Times ran a perfunctory report. And as for the rest of America: Well, hey, the NCAA tournament is getting under way, and there are big controversies from the world of reality TV that need attending to. The collective disinterest is even more appalling when you consider that the country we just helped is Libya. You remember, right — the place where our ambassador was killed by terrorists two years ago? The president’s critics never tire of bringing that up, since they can use it to score political points against him
Oil is Libya’s lifeblood. The economy entirely depends on it; turn off the taps and everything grinds to a halt. Make no mistake: This was not “leading from behind.” This was an act of daring from a president who’s often typecast as too passive for his own good. But it was also a smart, calculated move — a truly surgical operation of a kind that probably only the United States could have pulled off with such confidence. It sends exactly the message that needs to be sent: If you try freelancing with oil resources that rightfully belong to the Libyan people, you won’t get far.
More here
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Think Progress: The Burger Chain That Pays $10 An Hour With Benefits
Shake Shack, a burger chain with locations in Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. as well as international locations in the Middle East, Russia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, pays starting workers $9.50 an hour outside of New York City and $10 an hour for New Yorkers, CEO Randy Garutti told ThinkProgress. It also offers full-time employees health, dental, vision, retirement, and disability benefits plus paid time off. But on average, workers get $10.70 an hour thanks to a program it calls Shack Bucks. Every month, it gives employees a percentage of the company’s top-line sales. The company pays about 70 percent of employees’ health care premiums and also matches contributions to their 401(k)s.
Michigan’s Moo Cluck Moo pays entry-level workers $15 an hour, a move its owners say leads to less turnover, better customer service, and more skilled employees. In-N-Out, a West Coast burger chain, pays $10.50 an hour for entry-level employees. Outside of the burger world, Boston-based burrito chain Boloco pays starting workers anywhere from $9 to $11 an hour, which the owner says increases loyalty and productivity and, in turn, profitability. In light of the conversation to raise the minimum wage, others have decided to join in. Two pizza companies in St. Louis will soon pay at least $10.10 an hour. It has also spread outside of the food industry: clothing retailer The Gap recently announced it will also raise its lowest wage to $10.
More here
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Sy Mukherjee: Insurance Giant Raises Its Profit Forecast Amid Surging Obamacare Enrollment
WellPoint, the insurance giant that encompasses the Anthem and Blue Cross Blue Shield brands, has raised its 2014 profit forecast after gaining more than a million new customers largely thanks to the Affordable Care Act. According to WellPoint CEO Joseph Swedish, the company now expects more than $8.20 per share in net income versus the $8.00 per share it was originally expecting, “driven by growth of 1.0 to 1.3 million net new medical members and mid-single digit percent increases in both operating revenue and operating gain.” Swedish even mentions Obamacare marketplaces specifically as a source of continuing growth.
“While it is early in 2014, we are encouraged by results thus far across our businesses and we believe [Obamacare] Exchanges are tracking our general expectations,” Swedish said in a press release. “As such, we are raising our 2014 earnings outlook… Our updated outlook reflects solid growth in membership, revenue and operating earnings. Our outlook also remains prudent in light of the dynamic nature of the marketplace, and we believe this is a point from which we will grow in the future.” WellPoint and its subsidiaries are selling policies in 14 states’ Obamacare marketplaces. Swedish has consistently been bullish about Obamacare enrollment — which surpassed five million private health plan signups earlier this week — both for this year and over the coming decade.
More here
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Obama: Deval Patrick would make 'a great president' thehill.com/blogs/ballot-b… by @ajjaffe
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The Hill (@thehill) March 20, 2014****
Paul Ryan gets an earful from constituent who will save hundreds under Obamacare thkpr.gs/1ij4pXD
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ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) March 20, 2014****
Sandra Chereb: Nevada Sees Surge In Medicaid Enrollments
Nevada Medicaid enrollments under federal health care reform have surpassed initial projections and are on pace to reach 500,000 by summer, a mark initially not expected to be reached until the end of the 2015 fiscal year, a state official said. Mike Willden, director of the Department of Health and Human Services, said his agency has a backlog of 60,000 pending Medicaid applications, and he may need to speed up hiring to keep up with the demand. “We’ve doubled capacity. We really need to triple capacity,” Willden told the Board of Examiners on Tuesday. The Division of Welfare and Supportive Services began receiving electronic enrollments through Nevada’s health insurance exchange,
Nevada Health Link, in October. At the start, the agency was receiving about 121 applications per day electronically, representing about 40 percent of all Medicaid applications, Willden said. By December, “the floodgates opened” and enrollments jumped dramatically, sometimes reaching 3,000 per day, Willden said. “Since mid-December, the pipeline is wide-open and we are getting thousands of Medicaid applications each and every day,” he said. Under President Barack Obama’s health care law, states were given the option to expand Medicaid eligibility to include people up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. When the current fiscal year began July 1, Nevada had 320,000 enrolled in Medicaid. By February, that number spiked to 402,000.
More here
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Interviewing Sam Kass was 1 of WH perks for local tv anchors invited to hear POTUS tout #ACA; 1st Dogs a perk, too bit.ly/1lTL2Fu
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Eddie Gehman Kohan (@ObamaFoodorama) March 21, 2014****
Dear Democrats,
You cannot run from Obamacare. Do not try.
Embrace it. Defend it. Be proud of it.
Sincerely,
MoJo
on.fb.me/1nHsc96
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Mother Jones (@MotherJones) March 20, 2014****
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President Obama talks with National Economic Council Director Larry Summers and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner following a meeting in the Oval Office, March 23, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the memorial for victims of the Washington Navy Yard shooting at the Marine Barracks, September 22
President Obama comforts a relative of one of the victims of the Washington Navy Yard shootings at a memorial service at Marine Barracks, Washington
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President Obama:
Secretary Hagel, Secretary Mabus, Admirals Greenert and Hilarides, Mayor Gray, leaders from across this city and our Armed Forces, to all the outstanding first responders, and, most of all, the families whose hearts have been broken — we cannot begin to comprehend your loss. We know that no words we offer today are equal to the magnitude, to the depths of that loss. But we come together as a grateful nation to honor your loved ones, to grieve with you, and to offer, as best we can, some solace and comfort.
On the night that we lost Martin Luther King Jr. to a gunman’s bullet, Robert Kennedy stood before a stunned and angry crowd in Indianapolis and he broke the terrible news. And in the anguish of that moment, he turned to the words of an ancient Greek poet, Aeschylus: “Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.” Pain which cannot forget — drop by drop upon the heart.
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The tragedy and the pain that brings us here today is extraordinary. It is unique. The lives that were taken from us were unique. The memories their loved ones carry are unique, and they will carry them and endure long after the news cameras are gone. But part of what wears on as well is the sense that this has happened before. Part of what wears on us, what troubles us so deeply as we gather here today, is how this senseless violence that took place in the Navy Yard echoes other recent tragedies.
As President, I have now grieved with five American communities ripped apart by mass violence. Fort Hood. Tucson. Aurora. Sandy Hook. And now, the Washington Navy Yard. And these mass shootings occur against a backdrop of daily tragedies, as an epidemic of gun violence tears apart communities across America — from the streets of Chicago to neighborhoods not far from here.
And so, once again, we remember our fellow Americans who were just going about their day doing their jobs, doing what they loved — in this case, the unheralded work that keeps our country strong and our Navy the finest fleet in the world. These patriots doing their work that they were so proud of, and who have now been taken away from us by unspeakable violence.
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5:0 PM EDT: President Obama Speaks at the Memorial for Victims of the Navy Yard Shooting
Obama White House.gov WH Tumblr The People’s View Steve Benen
The Obama Diary 
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