INC: If you’re like most travelers, you probably never suspected that your hotel was blocking your personal hot spot. But in October, after Marriott was fined $600,000 by the FCC for blocking Wi-Fi access at its Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, the issue suddenly popped up on road warriors’ agendas. (You can see our […]
Study Finds Local Taxes Hit Lower Wage Earners Harder
NEW YORK TIMES: When it comes to the taxes closest to home, the less you earn, the harder you’re hit. That is the conclusion of an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that evaluates the local tax burden in every state, from Washington, labeled the most regressive, to Delaware, ranked as the […]
Republican assault on Dodd-Frank act intensifies
FINANCIAL TIMES: …While Republican leaders have not placed much emphasis on softening Dodd-Frank in their public statements — partly due to continued public suspicion of Wall Street — their legislative action shows that unpicking the act is a high priority… The White House has already said the president would veto the House bill if it […]
Capitolwire: Report suggests PA charter schools could benefit from statewide authorizer.
A December 2014 report released by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NASCA) says Pennsylvania’s charter school policies lack focus and consistency — though still perform better than other states like it.
Life without central water in Lyukóvölgy, Hungary
THE BUDAPEST SENTINEL: Translation of Blanka Zöldi’s article “Even sliding on our hands and knees we have to bring up the water” (“Akár négykézláb csúszva is, de fel kell hozni a vizet”) published by abcug.hu on 5 January 2015. Photographs by D. András Hajdú.
House GOP Majority Aiming to Soften Financial Overhaul Law
NEWSMAX: The newly bulked-up Republican majority in the House is aiming to soften the bite of legislation that grew out of the 2008 financial crisis and put banks and Wall Street under the most sweeping rules since the Great Depression. The House was voting Tuesday on a bill that would alter sections of the 2010 […]
Talks of NCAA settlement, including restoration of Paterno’s football wins, bring new clash among Penn State trustees
Alumni-elected trustees Al Lord and Anthony Lubrano claimed they’ve learned Penn State has made a fresh settlement offer in the Corman/McCord’s suit challenging the sanctions, and demanded full disclosure of any such offer in a letter to Trustees Chairman Keith Masser they released Monday…
Romney: I’m ‘Almost Certainly’ Running
WASHINGTON POST: Mitt Romney is moving quickly to reassemble his national political network, calling former aides, donors and other supporters over the weekend and on Monday in a concerted push to signal his seriousness about possibly launching a 2016 presidential campaign. Romney’s message, as he told one senior Republican, was that he “almost certainly will” […]
GM’s Bolt sparks electric car rivalry
FINANCIAL TIMES: General Motors has made an audacious attempt for leadership of the electric vehicle market, with a “game-changer” concept car that boasts a 200-mile battery range but only a $30,000 price tag. Its Chevrolet Bolt, if manufactured, would represent a powerful challenge to Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors and its efforts to produce a mass-market […]
Does hidden new Russian law make Far East a ‘joint venture’ with China?
The Russian Duma adopted the law “About the territories of outrunning social and economic development in the Russian Federation”. This law, violating the Russian constitution, gives the Russian government right to lease territories to foreign companies, annulling the rights of Russian owners of their land and property in the territories…
South Korean leader open to summit with North
ALJAZEERA: South Korean President Park Geun-hye has said that she is ready to hold a summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un without any precondition and urged Pyongyang to promptly return to dialogue. Park told a televised news conference on Monday that an end to North Korea’s nuclear programme should be an important part […]
Russian and Turkish conspiracy theories swirl after Paris attacks
FINANCIAL TIMES: ….Although political leaders in Turkey have repeatedly condemned the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine, a Jewish supermarket and a policewoman, a parallel narrative has emerged in the country, with conspiracy theorists blaming the murders on foreign intelligence agencies rather than radical Islamists. A similar phenomenon has occurred in Russia, which sent Sergei […]
Kathleen Kane’s attorney on the offensive despite court order
PENNLIVE: … [Larry] Davis said he believes Kane was legally safe in releasing the latter memo, because it was not a part of the 2009 investigation. Furthermore, he said, she was not in office and therefore not sworn to secrecy, in 2009.
Vanguard’s record inflows prove passive is massive
FINANCIAL TIMES: Vanguard, the low-cost fund house, has smashed the record for global asset gathering for a third successive year, firing a warning shot across the bows of more expensive rivals that have been losing ground to passive investment managers. .. Passive funds account for around 35 per cent of all mutual fund assets in […]