New America in the News: 2007

...In a Sept. 10 letter, the National Association of Broadcasters endorsed FCC efforts to permit white spaces to be used for offering wireless broadband to stationary gadgets in rural areas. But it reiterated that mobile devices operating in the band would wreak havoc with DTV signals and make it impossible for affected parties to pinpoint the causes or locations of the interference. Following the briefing, broadcasters headed for the FCC and Capitol Hill to appeal directly to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, the other four agency commissioners and lawmakers.

...Under the Healthy Americans Act, the federal government would discourage insurance companies from competing to avoid medically risky beneficiaries--the way they do now--by prohibiting insurers from discriminating based on pre-existing conditions. That's a whole lot of regulation. People with high incomes and generous health benefits would end up losing some of their existing tax breaks--which is to say, they would pay (slightly) higher taxes. Some conservatives are sure to attack that. And, of course, it would achieve universal coverage--the traditional Republican bugaboo. But [Sen.

Congress approved a $20.2 billion boost in financial aid for college students yesterday, a package that backers said would be the single largest increase in federal tuition funding since World War II.

The bill, which President Bush is expected to sign, raises the maximum Pell grant for low-income students from $4,050 to $5,400, and temporarily slashes interest rates on student loans by half.

Shannon Brownlee discusses direct-to-consumer drug marketing and the media...

BROOKE GLADSTONE: How do the drug companies make use of the press?

SHANNON BROWNLEE: Let me answer the question by kind of going at it from the perspective of the media, who are bombarded with information from a variety of sources.

One of those sources is The National Sleep Foundation, which sends out its poll and wants us to write about the results of that poll.

DIMITRI SOTIS: WTOP news time 7:17. No matter what else changes, we all find a challenge in properly balancing our work and family lives. The folks at the New America Foundation are having a symposium on that next week and we’ll be telling you more about that in a moment.

On the line now is David Gray, Director of the Workforce and Family Program at the New America Foundation.

The office of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) released a report Tuesday [September 5, 2007] that scrutinizes a batch of practices and policies that in many cases, the senator alleges, violate federal laws and regulations governing dealings between colleges and lenders. Many of the findings build on accusations and revelations that have emerged in previous months...

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Here's an interesting factoid to ponder on Labor Day. The vast majority of working Americans pay a greater share of their federal taxes as payroll taxes, not income taxes. In fact, 86 percent of wage earners pay more in payroll taxes than income taxes, according to the Tax Policy Center.

Why should this matter?

Interview with Nir Rosen on Iraq:

...TOM FOREMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So Nir, we keep hearing reports, though, nonetheless out of Baghdad. People saying that give us time, we are trying to get this government worked out. We are going to make some progress. Do you see any way that can happen?

The Federal Communications Commission appeared poised to reject M2Z Networks Inc.’s plan to offer free nationwide broadband service on the 2155-2175 MHz band, a move likely to prompt a court challenge and refocus the campaign to integrate open access-wholesale requirements in the wireless space.

Once the anticipated dismissal of M2Z’s application happens, the FCC is expected to launch a rulemaking to determine what to do with the 2155-2175 MHz band. The two Democrats on the Republican-controlled FCC were expected to concur in the M2Z ruling.

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