Cousin Sam: In the news, Wednesday, April 10, 2013

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from Bloomberg

The Reason Health Care Is So Expensive: Insurance Companies
The thing that few people talk about, and that no serious policy proposal attempts to fix—the arrangement that accounts for much of the difference between health spending in the U.S. and other places—is the enormous administrative overhead costs that come from lodging health-care reimbursement in the hands of insurance companies that have no incentive to perform their role efficiently as payment intermediaries.

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from The Spokesman-Review

CdA Tribe putting waterfront land in trust

Post office retreats on eliminating Saturday mail

State looks at salary hikes
Pensions boosted by pay increases

The dirt on digging
Overhaul of rules on underground utility lines includes stiffer fines

Pilot’s texting helped lead to copter crash, NTSB says
Electronic distractions a growing worry

Air Force grounds combat planes
Cuts to funding lessen readiness, military says

Senate gun showdown set
Majority leader calls for Thursday vote

Immigration talks taking longer

Obama’s Energy nominee calls Hanford unacceptable
Moniz plans to visit, meet whistleblowers

Secret McConnell taping is probed
Recorded campaign meeting cites Judd depression

The Laser Weapon System (LaWS)
temporarily installed aboard the
guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey
U. S. Navy photo

Navy unveils ship-mounted laser

Commander says U.S. could intercept missile
Nation can defend itself, allies, he says

Cuba will turn over Florida couple, sons
Boys taken from custodial grandparents

Attack on Texas campus injures 14
Man entered buildings with razor-type knife
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In brief: From Wire Reports

Islamists team up to fight Assad, Syria

Beirut – Al-Qaida’s branch in Iraq and the most powerful rebel extremist group in Syria have officially joined ranks against President Bashar Assad to forge a potentially formidable militant force in the Middle East. The merger of the Islamic State in Iraq and Jabhat al-Nusra forms a new entity that could be an even stronger opponent in the fight to topple Assad and become a dominant player in what eventually replaces his regime. The new group, called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, underscores the growing confidence and muscle of Islamist radicals fighting on the rebel side in Syria’s civil war. It also bolsters the Syrian government’s assertions that the regime is battling terrorists and that the uprising is a foreign-backed plot.

Florist sued for refusing service

The Washington attorney general’s office is suing the owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland for refusing to provide wedding flowers for a same-sex marriage. State justice officials filed a consumer protection lawsuit against the business and owner Barronelle Stutzman on Tuesday, asking the court to force Stutzman to comply with anti-discrimination laws and pay $2,000 for each violation. “If a business provides a product or service to opposite-sex couples for their weddings, then it must provide same-sex couples the same product or service,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a news release. Stutzman was not immediately available for comment Tuesday. The attorney general’s release said her lawyers have indicated she will challenge the action. Stutzman refused to provide service to Robert Ingersoll, a customer of nine years, in early March when he came in to order flowers for his wedding with his partner, Curt Freed. She told Ingersoll she couldn’t provide the flowers because of her religious beliefs.

Amtrak breaks record for monthly rider total

NEW YORK – Amtrak ridership increased in the first six months of fiscal year 2013, with ridership in March setting a record as the best month in Amtrak’s history, the railroad said Tuesday. Ridership grew 0.9 percent from October 2012 to March compared to the prior year despite disruptions from weather including Superstorm Sandy. Amtrak said 26 of 45 routes had rider increases. The railroad said October, December and January also set individual monthly records. Amtrak expects to end the fiscal year at or above last year’s record of 31.2 million passengers. “The continued ridership growth on routes across the country reinforces the need for dedicated, multiyear federal operating and capital funding to support existing intercity passenger rail services and the development of new ones,” Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman said.

Hostess’ deal to offload last brands approved

Hostess Brands Inc. has won approval to sell off the last of its major cake and bread brands, bringing the total proceeds from its liquidation to about $860 million. A representative for Hostess said a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in New York approved the two deals Tuesday. McKee Foods Corp., the maker of Little Debbie snack cakes, will buy Drake’s for $27.5 million, gaining Devil Dogs, Ring Dings, Yankee Doodles and other products. United States Bakery Inc. will buy Sweetheart, Eddy’s, Standish Farms and Grandma Emilie’s bread brand, plus four bakeries and 14 depots for $30.9 million. The two buyers were lead bidders for their purchases.

Historic cookbooks displayed

Historic cookbooks are on display in the Northwest Room at the Downtown Spokane Library, 906 W. Main Ave., through the end of the month. The historic volumes span four centuries and help show the emergence of modern cookbooks.