Story
National
Mascara Exempt from U.N. Mercury Treaty
Under a new global treaty that limits the use of mercury, some light bulbs will be banned. Some batteries, thermometers and medical devices will be banned too. But mascara is …
Story
Person of the Day
Lucas Simmons
Jackson's beer culture has vastly improved in the last 10 years, thanks in part to Lucas Simmons and the company he helped start: Lucky Town Brewing Company.
Story
Events
It's the Weekend!
Country singer-songwriter Jamey Johnson's performance at 10 p.m. at Club Magoo's has been rescheduled for Nov. 23.
Story
Federal Shutdown Affected U.S. in Ways Unseen
How did the shutdown alter our daily routines? Here's a look at a day in the life of the 2013 government shutdown.
Entry
Obamacare Proving an Early Success in... Kentucky?
By Todd StaufferThe deeply "red" state of Kentucky -- the folks who put both Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul as in Senate (and, excruciatingly, on our TVs) -- is also the only Southern state that has expanded Medicaid in accordance with the Affordable Care Act.
They also implemented their own ACA online exchange, instead of relying on the Feds.
The result?
Kentucky’s experience has been exemplary: In its first day, 10,766 applications for health coverage were initiated, 6,909 completed and 2,989 families were enrolled. Obama himself bragged that Kentucky led the nation with its glitch-minimized performance.
Kentucky's opt-in attitude is the result of their Democratic governor, Steve Beshear, who has done end-arounds on his GOP-lead state Senate and poked his finger in the eye of the Tea Party. Focusing on the moral implications of improving healthcare access for the citizens in his state, Beshear is perfectly willing to tell the national media why he's willing to make ACA compliance a signature accomplishment of his tenure.
“[T]o those more worried about political power than Kentucky’s families, I say, ‘Get over it’…and get out of the way so I can help my people. Here in Kentucky, we cannot afford to waste another day or another life.”
And why is ACA popular in-of-all-places Kentucky? Is it because it gives people an opportunity to buy into their own health security and that of their families? Is it because it's an actual market-based solution -- a Republican idea from a few decades back, polished up and implemented first by Mitt Romney in Connecticut -- that might help lessen the burden on families, small businesses and, ultimately, on state coffers?
Time will tell, but it should be a cautionary tale for "red" state politicians -- such as, oh, Governor Phil Bryant -- who have taken the path of least resistance within their own party and buckled to their Tea Party and Talk Radio constituencies.
If Obamacare works -- especially since it now looks like the GOP is pretty much out of tricks to block it from getting started -- then folks like Phil are going to be on the losing end not just of a moment in political history, but of actually doing the right thing for the citizens of their state.
Story
Business
Pay for Hospital CEOs Linked More to Technology, Patient Satisfaction than Quality, Study Finds
A new study of CEO pay at nonprofit hospitals finds that executives at institutions that have a lot of fancy medical technology and high patient satisfaction are paid more than …
Story
Story
Save People, Not Just Boobies
Every October, almost every company in the country suddenly—and suspiciously—cares about the health of womenfolk and wants to stop breast cancer.
Story
As Gitmo Plods, Obama's Winning the Case for Court
Four years after his failed effort to bring the 9/11 mastermind to New York for trial, President Barack Obama has reinstated the federal courthouse as America's preferred venue for prosecuting …
Story
House GOP to Try to Counter Senate Debt Limit Plan
House GOP leaders unveiled their own plan Tuesday to counter an emerging Senate deal to reopen the government and forestall an economy-rattling default on U.S. obligations.
Story
Pascagoula LNG Terminal Awaits Federal Export OK
Investors spent $1 billion building a facility in Pascagoula to import liquefied natural gas. But plans to bring natural gas into the United States collapsed when explorers began finding large …
Story
Education
Breaking Away: Top Public Universities Push for 'Autonomy' from States
Across the country, a small but growing number of public universities are looking to cut deals with state lawmakers that scale back direct oversight, often in return for less funding …
Story
Events
Community Events and Public Meetings
Blues by Starlight is Thursday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. in Highland Village.
Story
Default Looming, Day 14 of Shutdown, No Solution
The United States moved perilously closer to an economy-rattling default and a partial government shutdown entered its 14th day as Senate Democratic and Republican leaders remained at odds over spending …
Story
Story
New GOP Plan to End Shutdown/Default, but No Agreement, Yet
House Republicans are offering to pass legislation to avert a default and end the 11-day partial government shutdown as part of a framework that would include cuts in benefit programs, …
Story
House GOP, White House Seeking End to Budget Fight
After weeks of ultimatums, President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans are exploring whether they can end a budget standoff that has triggered a partial government shutdown and edged Washington to …
Story
Poll: Health Exchange Rollout Gets Poor Reviews
The debut of the government's health insurance marketplaces drew a huge audience—and underwhelming reviews.
Story
Health Care
Costliest 1 Percent of Patients Account for 21 Percent of U.S. Health Spending
Five percent of patients account for 50 percent of all health-care expenditures.
Story
House GOP Leaders Seek Short-Term Debt Extension
House Speaker John Boehner planned to ask fractious Republican lawmakers on Thursday to support a six-week extension of the government's ability to borrow money, even as Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew …
