Tag Archives: business

Aetna To Leave Most Obamacare Exchanges

Back in February, Aetna reported $2.7 billion in earnings for 2015, a 15% increase over the previous year. But that’s not enough to keep them in Obamacare. CNN Money reports: In the latest blow to Obamacare, Aetna is vastly reducing its presence on the individual exchanges in 2017. The insurer will stop offering policies on the exchanges in 11 of …

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John Oliver Takes On Predatory Auto Loans [VIDEO]

Oliver reports that that tactic could spawn another subprime crisis. Mediaite recaps: Predatory loans for auto sales was the focus of John Oliver‘s deep dive Sunday night on Last Week Tonight, highlighting the questionable processes by which lenders can lure prospective car owners into the fold. One of the main hallmarks of the segment was a certain type of popular …

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BRITAIN: Hundreds Stage Kiss-In After Gay Couple Gets Ejected From Supermarket For Holding Hands [VIDEO]

The BBC reports: About 200 people carrying rainbow flags descended on an east London supermarket for a mass “kissathon” after a gay couple were ejected for holding hands. Thomas Rees, 32, and Joshua Bradwell, 25, were in Sainsbury’s on Hackney Road when a guard told them a woman had complained about their behaviour. The protestors danced outside the Hackney Road …

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MISSISSIPPI: Federal Court Rejects State’s Bid To Enforce Anti-LGBT Hate Law During Appeal Process

BOOM. Another win for Roberta Kaplan. Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed: A federal appeals court on Friday denied Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant’s request that the state be allowed to enforce a recently passed anti-LGBT religious exemption law while the state appeals a trial court’s order halting enforcement of that law. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, in denying the request …

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Macy’s To Close 100 Stores Due To Online Shopping

CNN Money reports: Macy’s announced plans on Thursday to close about 15% of its department stores, the latest effort to adapt to shifting consumer preferences for online shopping. Macy’s did not disclose which stores it will close, but said most of them will close in early 2017. The move comes as Macy’s revealed its second-quarter sales fell less than feared. …

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SAN FRANCISCO: Lone Star Saloon Becomes City’s First Gay Bar To Earn “Legacy Business” Status

San Francisco’s Lone Star Saloon has become the city’s first gay bar to earn “legacy business” status under a recently voter-approved program to protect culturally significant businesses from developers and their wrecking balls. The Examiner reports: When landlords sell their buildings, the “for sale” sign can feel like a death sentence for the businesses operating there, which are subject to …

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McCrory Flack: Don’t Believe The Lies, North Carolina’s Anti-LGBT Hate Law Hasn’t Hurt The Economy

Dozens of canceled conventions, boycotts from more than a dozen states and major cities, and no more NBA All-Star game. That’s just for starters. But nope, not a scratch on the economy says the budget director for North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory. From his op-ed in the Charlotte Observer: One of the benefits of being the Budget Director is that …

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FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: Gingrich Files To Stiff Dozens Of Small Businesses On Millions In Campaign Bills

The Huffington Post reports: Newt Gingrich apparently has no plans to pay back dozens of small businesses that made yard signs and TV ads for his 2012 presidential campaign. Gingrich filed a document with the Federal Election Commission this week detailing a debt settlement plan to finally terminate his 2012 presidential campaign committee. The document shows that “Newt 2012” plans …

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AFA Relaunches Failed Target Boycott

From the Christian Times: Conservative group American Family Association (AFA) urged American consumers to join them this back-to-school season to boycott retail giant Target as “frightening incidences” arise due to its inclusive bathroom policy. AFA marked the new season on the first day of August with a new drive to garner another million signatures to force the retail company to …

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Trump Taj Mahal To Close After Labor Day

From the Atlantic City Press: Trump Taj Mahal is set to close its doors after Labor Day weekend, according to a Wednesday statement from Tony Rodio, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tropicana Entertainment. Rodio said the ongoing Unite Here Local 54 strike played a role in making the decision. “Currently the Taj is losing multi-millions a month, and now …

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Trump Loses Bid To Toss Trump University Fraud Case

That “Mexican” judge strikes again. Reuters reports: A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s pretrial bid to throw out a lawsuit brought by Trump University students who said they were defrauded by its real-estate seminars. U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel said in a written ruling that there was a “genuine issue of material fact” as to …

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Men Can Get Any Man They Want

Mother Jones today flashes back to the launch of Trump, The Fragrance. They write: First there was Trump: The Game. Almost two decades later, the billionaire slapped his name on a different sort of product, and Donald Trump, The Fragrance was born. For fans who wanted to smell of eau de Trump, the magnate released his first cologne in 2004. …

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NEW YORK CITY: Homocon-Owned Out Hotel To Close After Boycott Over Fundraiser For Ted Cruz

Lucas Grindley reports at the Advocate: The hotel that had become a symbol of support for Ted Cruz’s antigay policies is now closing. The Out Hotel in New York City faced a heated boycott last year after its gay owners held a fundraising dinner party at their home for the Texas senator and Republican presidential hopeful. Ian Reisner and his …

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Verizon Buys Yahoo For “Chump Change”

Fortune calls it the “saddest $5B deal in tech history.” They write: Yahoo was once the king of the Internet, a $125 billion behemoth as big in its time as Facebook or Google are today. Now it’s being sold to Verizon for comparative chump change. On Monday morning, Yahoo is expected to announce the end of the long process to …

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Feds Approve Budweiser-Miller Merger

But it’s a rather complicated deal. Bloomberg reports: Anheuser-Busch InBev NV won U.S. antitrust approval for its takeover of SABMiller Plc, after the maker of Budweiser agreed to give up ownership of the Miller brand and open the door to greater competition from craft beers. AB InBev will sell SABMiller’s stake in MillerCoors LLC, separating the two brands, and refrain …

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United Airlines Suspends “Hang Hillary” Pilot

That was quick. Via Bloomberg: United Airlines suspended pilot and Republican West Virginia lawmaker Michael Folk from flying pending an investigation after he said Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton should be executed. “This pilot has been removed from flying pending our investigation,” United Continental Holdings Inc. tweeted Sunday. “We are appalled by his threatening comments.” Folk, a member of the …

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LIVE VIDEO: House Hears “First Amendment Defense Act” – Bill Would Legalize Anti-LGBT Discrimination

Bil Browning writes at LGBTQ Nation: One month after the mass shooting in Orlando at a gay nightclub, congressional Republicans are holding a committee hearing to discuss legalizing discrimination against LGBT people. Despite repeated calls from fellow lawmakers, activists, and civil rights organizations, chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) refused to cancel or postpone the hearing. The hearing will focus on the …

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NORTH CAROLINA: Governor Has The Sadz After 68 Major Companies Join Brief Against Hate Laws

From the Raleigh News & Observer: American Airlines, Microsoft and Marriott are among 68 companies that signed an amicus brief in the lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s House Bill 2. Former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson authored the brief on behalf of Human Rights Campaign, the LGBT advocacy group that is leading opposition to the law. The brief will be filed …

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Ohio Bakery: No BIRTHDAY Cakes For Gay Couples

From Toledo’s ABC affiliate: It certainly wasn’t the text message Candice Lowe was expecting to get on her honeymoon. She says it came from the owner of Take the Cake Bakery in Toledo, canceling the order for her wife’s birthday cake. Lowe says, “after she saw my Facebook page, she found out that I was in a same-sex marriage and …

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RALEIGH: City Could Lose $40M Over Hate Laws

From Raleigh’s NBC affiliate: Raleigh could lose as much as $40 million in convention business from the state’s controversial law on transgender rights. Statistics from the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau show that 16 trade associations or corporate groups have canceled gatherings in Raleigh because of House Bill 2, causing an estimated economic loss of $5.6 million. Raleigh is …

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