ZZZ Obamacare 03 Headlines

Verizon announced today that it’s immediately implementing a significantly enhanced compensation plan for the company’s dedicated employees who must deploy outside their homes to meet critical customer needs. These mission-critical employees are unable to work remotely as they fulfill and repair broadband orders and connection issues, maintain networks and offer products to customers immediately and in person when deemed essential.

As the net has fallen away, Moss said her neighbors have taken matters quite literally into their own hands. “People are going out right now trying to fish and hunt deers because there’s nothing to eat,” she said. “They’re afraid.”
Knox County Judge Executive Mike Mitchell questioned her assessment. In an interview, he said the problems plaguing the region are like those of other communities across the country.
He said he was not aware of the lines at Walmart, or people in the community discussing going hunting or fishing for food, or the food banks drying up. He pointed to the schools, churches, and food banks who are supporting residents.
“I’m confused about the extremities of what you’re asking,” Mitchell said. “Everybody is looking for a story right now.” Two days after this conversation, Mitchell declared a countywide emergency.

Germany’s challenge in 2020 is to define a third space for itself and for Europe in the face of this growing U.S.-China discord. But the Merkel government’s reluctance to antagonize Beijing risks undermining the EU’s push for a common policy toward China and perpetuating a situation where member states look out for their own interests, often to the detriment of a common European front. A desire to minimize the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic across Europe is likely to reinforce the temptation to keep Beijing close.

If you’re facing financial hardship and finding it difficult to meet your payment minimums, some issuer-specific options may not be the best fit for you.
“I’d advise against forbearance unless you’re really desperate, because interest still accrues,” says Ted Rossman, industry analyst at Bankrate. “All that would do is get you out of paying the monthly minimum for a time, but you’d end up paying extra later on.”
Forbearance plans offered by your issuer may include postponing payments for several months, lowering monthly minimum payments or even eliminating some fees. But you should consider forbearance as a last resort. Reach out to your issuer first to discuss your individual circumstances.
“If you’re really in a pinch, contact your credit card company and explain your specific situation,” Rossman says. “Maybe they can offer you a better deal.”

Microsoft Flight Simulator is looking like, by far, the most detailed and meticulous flight sim ever made, but there will inevitably be a divide between players who want to take it very seriously and players who want to do loops and fly erratically. Now, in a new video, the game’s multiplayer features have been revealed–and it looks like Microsoft is planning to cater to all kinds of players.
By default, Microsoft Flight Simulator’s live servers will put you in a shared online world with not only other players, but AI replicas of real-world flight paths, meaning that you’ll be able to track the flights happening all over the world in real-time while flying yourself. Time and weather conditions will also be synced up with real-world conditions in Live Player mode, which can be entered seamlessly without needing to join or start a lobby.

According to French Health Minister Olivier Veran, consumers shouldn’t be rushing out to buy anti-inflammatory drugs in the hopes of minimizing the possible symptoms of COVID-19. Veran said that drugs like ibuprofen and cortisone could be “aggravating factors” and make the symptoms of the illness even worse. Popular NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) include aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen.
Veran suggested using acetaminophen (aka, Tylenol) — which is not an NSAID — to treat fevers. However, there are no specific recommendations from the World Health Organization yet as to which medicines to take to treat COVID-19 or its symptoms. The WHO has noted that taking ibuprofen or acetaminophen “may mask symptoms of infection.”

Japan wants to develop a stealth fighter domestically, rejecting designs from Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. in the United States and Britain’s BAE Systems PLC, three sources with knowledge of the program said.
That would put Japan’s leading defense contractor, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, in the lead for a military contract worth more than $40 billion (¥4.3 trillion). The company has not submitted a design for the next-generation jet but developed Japan’s stealth fighter technology demonstrator, the X-2, in 2016.

Venezuela’s only telecommunications satellite has veered off its orbit and stopped working, creating a logistical headache for the cash-strapped South American nation.
The Chinese-built satellite was launched among much fanfare in 2008 under the watch of former President Hugo Chavez, who said that the six-ton machine would help to “construct 21st century socialism” and contribute to Venezuela’s “independence and sovereignty.”

The Department of Justice has sued Anthem, alleging that the health insurance company knowingly submitted inaccurate medical codes to the federal government from 2014 to 2018 as a way to get higher payments for its Medicare Advantage plans and turned “a blind eye” to coding problems.

Why it matters: This is one of the largest Medicare Advantage fraud lawsuits to date, and federal prosecutors believe they have more than enough to evidence to claim that Anthem bilked millions of dollars from taxpayers.

On the eve of Idaho potentially becoming the first state in the nation this year to pass a law specifically targeting transgender people, Chobani, GoDaddy, Hewlett Packard Inc. and Verizon today joined more than 40 major employers in a previously released open letter, calling for lawmakers in states across the country to oppose bills that target LGBTQ people, and transgender children in particular. These business leaders stress the importance of fairness and opportunity for their customers, their employees and their employees’ families. This letter was released earlier this month, but has been updated with these new, additional business signers.

The signers note, “We are deeply concerned by the bills being introduced in state houses across the country that single out LGBTQ individuals – many specifically targeting transgender youth – for exclusion or differential treatment. Laws that would affect access to medical care for transgender people, parental rights, social and family services, student sports, or access to public facilities such as restrooms, unnecessarily and uncharitably single out already marginalized groups for additional disadvantage. They seek to put the authority of state government behind discrimination and promote mistreatment of a targeted LBGTQ population.”

A dozen Amazon workers told CNBC they’re terrified to go to work during the pandemic, while others have expressed frustration over how their employer has handled the situation.
Warehouse workers and delivery drivers say they’re forced to choose between going to work and risking their health or staying home and not being able to pay their bills.

fter stepping back from her royal life, Meghan Markle has landed her first film with Disney Studios. The production studio on Thursday announced that a new movie, narrated by Meghan Markle, will be available to stream on April 3.

Walt Disney Studios tweeted, “Disneynature’s Elephant, an Original Movie narrated by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, starts streaming April 3, only on #DisneyPlus.”

The 1029MW MacIntyre wind project, located some 55kms south west of Warwick in Queensland’s Southern Downs region, will be nearly twice as big as the next largest wind farm built or under construction in Australia, the 530MW Stockyard Hill facility in Victoria.
And MacIntyre will also beat Stockyard Hill (said to be in the low $50s/MWh) and all others on price – at least, that is the assumption of the market, and particular of the rival bidders who missed out on the long-awaited Queensland government tender.