Women of Note
High Court Upholds Health Law Subsidies
Eighty-five percent of those who bought insurance through healthcare.gov qualified for subsidies averaging $272 per month. The Department of Health and Human Services predicted 6.4 million people would have lost subsidies if the court ruled for the plaintiffs. The health law faces other legal cases, including objections from religious institutions to their role in providing birth control coverage and a suit by the House of Representatives contending that Obama's delay in requiring employers to offer coverage was illegal. more »
"Being captured is not just for journalists": A Hostage Policy Review Reportedly Near Completion
Editor's Note: We missed this program when originally presented, but wish to highlight it now when there is reported a review of hostage policy is nearing completion: Diane Foley, mother of executed US journalist James Foley, and Debra Tice, mother of missing freelance journalist Austin Tice, talked with Judy Woodruff, co-anchor and managing editor of PBS NewsHour, about new threats to journalism and press freedom during a program at the Newseum. more »
Shaming Tax Delinquents; A Rotating File of Scofflaws
Almost two-thirds of the states are punishing tax delinquents with a digital version of the Colonial practice of locking lawbreakers in stocks set up in the village square. It turns out publishing the names of tax scofflaws and the amounts they owe on the Internet works spectacularly well, bringing in millions to states eager for the revenue. "When you are talking about large debts, you do tend to get some people who just don’t care. It's just not worth playing off their $450,000 or $1.2 million debt. Down on the lower levels, you get more of the Average Joe who is concerned." more »
Congress Advances "Girls Count"; Senate Committee Examines Rape Kit Backlog; Examining Fraud in Nutrition Programs; Women Veterans' Bills
"Girls Count" Legislation: The bill finds lack of birth registration for girls can exacerbate women's and girls' vulnerability to trafficking, child marriage, lack of access to health and education services, reduced unemployment. House Appropriations urges DoJ to combat cyber-stalking and is concerned with ongoing sexual assault kit backlogs. House Veterans Affairs approved the Ruth Moore Act, and a bill to provide counseling services for women veterans. "GAO found that USDA had not specifically directed states to tell participants that selling WIC formula was a participant violation." more »