A federal judge has announced that he will rule on the constitutionality of health care reform by the end of the year, according to The New York Times:
“In a nearly three-hour hearing, a lawyer for the commonwealth [of Virginia] argued that if Judge Henry E. Hudson of Federal District Court finds unconstitutional the provision that requires Americans to have health insurance, he should declare the entire law void until the Supreme Court can review it. The lawyer noted that in writing the legislation, Congress failed to include ‘severability’ language to specify that the rest of the law would survive.
“The Justice Department concedes that some of the most essential insurance changes, including requiring insurers to cover those with pre-existing conditions, will have to be scrapped if the coverage requirement loses in the courts. The administration maintains that the regulations can work only if everyone is required to have coverage, so people will not simply wait until they get sick to buy policies.
“But the federal government’s lawyers argued on Monday that other provisions, like the vast expansion of Medicaid eligibility, could survive, and that the judge should keep the law in effect during the appeals process.”
A new study in The Washington Post reveals that racial harmony can be achieved in the dorm room:
“A new study finds that randomly assigned roommates are equally likely to become friends regardless of their race.
“Researchers studying roommate assignments at Berea College in Kentucky found that roommates of different races were just as likely to become friends as roommates of the same race. The finding, published in the October issue of Journal of Labor Economics, suggests that racial harmony on campus might begin with innovative dorm assignments.
“The study also found that white students assigned black roommates tended to befriend more black students in college than white students assigned white roommates.
“‘We find that, while much sorting exists at all stages of college, black and white students are, in reality, very compatible as friends,’ write the authors, Braz Camargo of Sao Paulo School of Economics and the University of Western Ontario, Ralph Stinebrickner of Berea College and Todd Stinebrickner of the University of Western Ontario.”
Bank of America resumes foreclosures in 23 states, according to the Los Angeles Times:
“Bank of America Corp. ended its freeze on foreclosures in 23 states earlier than some analysts had expected, but it is still reviewing its actions in California and 26 other states to make sure its attempts to seize homes complied with the states' laws.
“BofA, the largest mortgage servicer and only major bank to impose a nationwide foreclosure moratorium, said it would begin asking judges in the 23 states for approval to seize a total of about 102,000 homes beginning Oct. 25.
“That is just 24 days after it announced the freeze — a far faster resolution than the months of delays some analysts had predicted for the nation's battered housing markets.”
October is breast cancer awareness month, and USA Today has a piece with three recommendations that may help reduce the risk of breast cancer:
“Women who maintain certain ‘breast-healthy’ habits can lower their risk of breast cancer, even if a close relative has had the disease, a new study finds.
“Engaging in regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight and drinking alcohol in moderation, if at all, was shown in a large study to help protect against breast cancer in postmenopausal women, the researchers said.
“‘Whether or not you have a family history, the risk of breast cancer was lower for women engaged in these three sets of behavior compared to women who were not,’ said study leader Dr. Robert Gramling, associate professor of family medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.