6/29/2015 After a historic week in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to legalize gay marriage, as well as delivering a decision that will likely entrench Obamacare as the law of the land, the Court handed President Obama a major defeat to his environmental agenda. On the last day of the Court’s session, it ruled
6/28/2015 On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington D.C. blocked a proposed merger between the U.S.’s two largest food-distribution companies, U.S. Foods and Sysco. Citing antitrust concerns, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with ten state attorney generals’ offices sued the companies in February. The companies announced interest in a merger in December,
6/28/2015 Satellite Radio industry leader Sirius XM agreed on Friday to pay five record labels $210 million for the company’s use of pre-1972 recordings, potentially resolving a two-year legal battle in Los Angeles Superior Court. Due to federal copyrighting laws were not established for recordings until February 15th, 1972, separate from longstanding protections for songwriters,
6/26/2015 In a dramatic press briefing in Tokyo following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting, the president of embattled Japanese airbag manufacturer, Takata, Shigehisa Takada, made his first public apology for the faulty airbags responsible for at least 8 deaths and over 100 injuries. First bowing to the media, Takada said, “I apologize for not having
6/26/2015 The U.S. Justice Department along with Michigan’s Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit on Thursday, alleging that four Southern Michigan hospital systems violated antitrust laws by agreeing not to compete with each other. The civil suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, claiming that the hospitals conducted a “hands-off” marketing arrangement, with each
6/26/2015 Many beer drinkers may be shocked to find that their favorite “import” beer is actually brewed in the U.S., including popular brands like Stella Artois, Red Stripe, Foster’s, and Killian’s Irish Red, among others. In fact, many of these brands are brewed by the same companies that make Budweiser, Coors, and Miller. Among these
6/25/2015 On Tuesday, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge, John Bates, upheld regulations set to begin July 1st restricting the conduct of for-profit colleges and career-training programs. The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced rules last fall that could potentially restrict federal funding for schools that saddle students with markedly high tuition
6/25/2015 The Supreme Court delivered the much-anticipated King vs. Burwell decision on Thursday not to strike down a key portion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare. The 6-3 decision means that enrollees in states which have not set up their own health exchanges will continue to receive federal subsidies for health insurance. Currently,
6/24/2015 Two reports released on Tuesday highlight the persistence of Medicare fraud, especially involving the Part D prescription drug program. The reports follow the largest Healthcare Fraud takedown in history last week, as officials charged 46 doctors and pharmacy owners, as well as nearly 200 others for Medicare fraud. This includes the arrest of 44
6/24/2015 Despite countless attempts to block the measure, including a dramatic standoff in the House of Representatives earlier in the month, President Obama will get his Fast Track Authority (FTA) in order to unilaterally negotiate the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on behalf of the U.S. government. The Senate approved FTA today following Tuesday’s