June 5, 2019

Report Names Kansas And Missouri Nursing Homes With 'Persistent Record Of Poor Care'

Nine nursing homes in Kansas and 14 in Missouri are among nearly 400 nationwide with a “persistent record of poor care” whose names had been withheld from the public, according to a U.S. Senate report released Monday.

The facilities are not included on a shorter list of homes that get increased federal scrutiny because of health, safety or sanitary problems.

The names of the previously undisclosed facilities were released by Pennsylvania Sens. Bob Casey, a Democrat, and Pat Toomey, a Republican, as part of their investigation of federal oversight of nursing homes.

The nearly 400 homes qualify for the federal Special Focus Facility (SFF) program but aren’t selected to participate because of limited resources at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), according to the Senate report.

https://www.kcur.org/post/report-names-kansas-and-missouri-nursing-homes-persistent-record-poor-care

June 5, 2019

Report Names Kansas And Missouri Nursing Homes With 'Persistent Record Of Poor Care'

Nine nursing homes in Kansas and 14 in Missouri are among nearly 400 nationwide with a “persistent record of poor care” whose names had been withheld from the public, according to a U.S. Senate report released Monday.

The facilities are not included on a shorter list of homes that get increased federal scrutiny because of health, safety or sanitary problems.

The names of the previously undisclosed facilities were released by Pennsylvania Sens. Bob Casey, a Democrat, and Pat Toomey, a Republican, as part of their investigation of federal oversight of nursing homes.

The nearly 400 homes qualify for the federal Special Focus Facility (SFF) program but aren’t selected to participate because of limited resources at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), according to the Senate report.

https://www.kcur.org/post/report-names-kansas-and-missouri-nursing-homes-persistent-record-poor-care

June 4, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on MAKING TAXES FUN

Currently, paying taxes is a slog. Instead, let’s make it a celebration.

Revenue Day—the day taxes are due—should be a federal holiday. That day should feature celebrations.

Each American should be able to direct 1% of their taxes to a specific project. During Revenue Day, these projects will be highlighted, showing what, exactly, America’s money was able to accomplish during the previous year. Initial profiles of the next year’s projects will also be announced so people can get excited for them.

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/making-taxes-fun/

June 4, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on MAKING TAXES FUN

Currently, paying taxes is a slog. Instead, let’s make it a celebration.

Revenue Day—the day taxes are due—should be a federal holiday. That day should feature celebrations.

Each American should be able to direct 1% of their taxes to a specific project. During Revenue Day, these projects will be highlighted, showing what, exactly, America’s money was able to accomplish during the previous year. Initial profiles of the next year’s projects will also be announced so people can get excited for them.

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/making-taxes-fun/

June 4, 2019

Missouri Abortion Ban Opponents Could Face Referendum Snag

After Gov. Mike Parson signed an eight-week abortion ban into law, opponents vowed to put the measure up for a statewide vote — similar to a successful effort in 2018 to repeal Missouri’s right-to-work law.

But there could be an obstacle: A clause making one part of the proposal go into effect right away.

Missouri’s Constitution sets up a process to put any piece of legislation signed into law up for a statewide referendum. However, the constitution prohibits referendums for laws that are “necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety.”

“Public peace, health or safety” is boilerplate language usually used in what’s known as “emergency clauses,” which make either an entire law or part of a law go into effect immediately after a governor signs it. In the bill Parson signed last month, there’s an emergency clause for a provision requiring notification to both parents in some circumstances if a minor is seeking an abortion.

https://www.kcur.org/post/missouri-abortion-ban-opponents-could-face-referendum-snag

June 4, 2019

To See Their Clients In Jackson County's Jail, Attorneys Now Must Remove Their Bras

New security measures at the Jackson County Detention Center are causing some controversy after female attorneys complained they are required to remove their underwire bras in order to enter.

In a tweet Monday, Jackson County Sheriff Daryl Forté called this "misinformation," saying that "no one was asked to take off underwire bras."

But attorney Laurie Snell told KCUR that she had to take her bra off to pass through a metal detector to see a client on Friday. After setting off the alarm a few times, she said she removed her jewelry and glasses, but it still went off.

"I said, 'Well, there's nothing else. There's no other metal except my underwire bra.' And he said, 'You have to pass through security,'" Snell said.

https://www.kcur.org/post/see-their-clients-jackson-countys-jail-attorneys-now-must-remove-their-bras

June 4, 2019

CVS Caremark To Pay $15M In Overtime Case At Lee's Summit And Other Call Centers

CVS Caremark has agreed to pay $15.25 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it denied overtime pay to customer service agents at its call centers, including one in Lee's Summit, Missouri.

U.S. District Judge Steven Bough on Friday gave preliminary approval to the settlement, which will cover about 17,000 employees.

The lawsuit, filed in 2014 in federal court in Kansas City, alleged that CVS failed to pay the agents for pre-shift work that required them to be “call ready” for their phone calls and log in to system programs.

Under the settlement, eligible employees will receive an average payout of about $1,000, although some employees will receive more, according to court documents. About $5.8 million of the settlement fund will go toward attorneys’ fees and costs

https://www.kcur.org/post/cvs-caremark-pay-15m-overtime-case-lees-summit-and-other-call-centers

June 4, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on MEDIA FRAGMENTATION

Outside of extreme cases of malicious libel, the freedom of the press is inviolate.

However, the fragmentation of our media is a growing problem. Different communities are receiving their news exclusively through different channels, resulting in world views with differing “facts” that rarely overlap. We can’t decide on shared values if we don’t agree on basic facts; we can’t find shared solutions if we don’t even agree what the problems are.

The government should not meddle with the free press. But the government should support the major media and technology companies in finding solutions to the issues. After the Russian influence campaign affected the 2016 election, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media companies have started to investigate ways to mitigate these issues. The government should be supporting them in any way they deem appropriate.

"Create a Media Responsibility Task Force with leaders of media and tech companies to discuss ways to get Americans agreeing on facts again and removing hostile foreign influence from our discourse.
Allow this Task Force to operate free from governmental influence – we’ll support them, not direct them."

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/media-fragmentation/

June 4, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on MEDIA FRAGMENTATION

Outside of extreme cases of malicious libel, the freedom of the press is inviolate.

However, the fragmentation of our media is a growing problem. Different communities are receiving their news exclusively through different channels, resulting in world views with differing “facts” that rarely overlap. We can’t decide on shared values if we don’t agree on basic facts; we can’t find shared solutions if we don’t even agree what the problems are.

The government should not meddle with the free press. But the government should support the major media and technology companies in finding solutions to the issues. After the Russian influence campaign affected the 2016 election, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media companies have started to investigate ways to mitigate these issues. The government should be supporting them in any way they deem appropriate.

"Create a Media Responsibility Task Force with leaders of media and tech companies to discuss ways to get Americans agreeing on facts again and removing hostile foreign influence from our discourse.
Allow this Task Force to operate free from governmental influence – we’ll support them, not direct them."

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/media-fragmentation/

June 4, 2019

The Invention That Won World War II

Thousands of flat-bottomed boats plowed through rough seas under cold gray skies. The smell of diesel fumes and vomit was overwhelming as the small vessels lurched toward the beaches. Waves slapped hard against the plywood hulls while bullets pinged off the flat steel bows.

Frightened men in uniform hunkered down beneath the gunwales to avoid the continuous enemy fire. Suddenly, they heard the sound of the keels grinding against sand and stone. Heavy iron ramps dropped into the surf and the men surged forward into the cold water toward an uncertain fate.

It was 6:28 a.m. on June 6, 1944, and the first LCVPs – Landing Craft, Vehicle and Personnel – had just come ashore on Utah Beach at Normandy. D-Day and the Allied invasion of Europe had commenced.

Less than four months earlier, the patent was issued for those very boats. Andrew Jackson Higgins had filed his idea with the U.S. Patent Office on December 8, 1941 – the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Now these 36-foot LCVPs – also known as Higgins boats – were being manufactured in the thousands to help American soldiers, marines and seamen attack the enemy through amphibious assaults.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/invention-won-world-war-ii-180972327/?