Wal-Mart expands health benefits to domestic partners

wal-mart

Anne D'Innocenzio The Associated Press

7 hours ago

NEW YORK -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will extend its health care benefits to its U.S. workers' domestic partners, including those of the same sex, starting Jan. 1.

The nation's largest private employer, which has been a target of attacks by labor groups for what they criticize are skimpy wages and benefits, said Tuesday that the changes were made so it could have one uniform policy for all 50 states at a time when some states have their own definitions of what constitutes domestic partnerships and civil unions.

Employees can enroll their domestic partners from Oct. 12 through Nov. 1.

Wal-Mart defines domestic partners as spouses of the same-sex or opposite gender, and unmarried partners who are not legally separated who have lived together for at least 12 months, are not married to anyone else, are in an exclusive relationship and plan to continue sharing a household indefinitely, says Randy Hargrove, a Wal-Mart spokesman.

"States have different definitions," said Hargrove in a phone interview with The Associated Press. "We are going to have our own definition that will apply to our associates."

The move, which was announced to Wal-Mart workers in postcards sent to them Monday, follows the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June to overturn a 1996 law that denied federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples. So the decision makes the federal government recognize same-sex marriages in states where they are legal.

Wal-Mart also announced that it will be offering an eyewear care program, including eye exams, to its eligible associates, starting next year.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based discounter has 1.3 million full-time and part-time U.S. workers. More than half of the workers participate in health care plans, the company says. About 1.1 million Wal-Mart workers and family members combined participate in Wal-Mart's health care plan.

Hargrove said that the company's health care premiums are going up anywhere from 3 percent to 10 percent, a lower rate than in previous years.

"We have been working to keep our costs down," he added.?

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663286/s/30780445/sc/2/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Cwal0Emart0Eexpands0Ehealth0Ebenefits0Edomestic0Epartners0E8C110A18274/story01.htm

Jake Dalton

PTSD, addiction, lack of jobs feed homelessness among veterans

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Source: m.chronicle.augusta.com --- Saturday, August 17, 2013
Anthony Garrett opened his Bible to the book of Isaiah, and in accordance with the prophet?s words, ?raised his voice like a trumpet.? When a crowd of homeless veterans joined the Mc?Cormick, S.C., native in worship at Augusta?s Under the Bridge ministry beneath Calhoun Expressway, Garrett was set free. Free of the recurring nightmares where helicopters evacuate the former Army engineer?s friends after they have been fatally wounded while serving beside him in the Persian Gulf War. Free of the constant reminders that he is broke, unemployed and alone. read more ...

Source: http://m.chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2013-08-17/ptsd-addiction-lack-jobs-feed-homelessness-among-veterans

9-11

How Prescription Drugs Get Such Weird Names

Prescription pharmaceuticals tend to have some pretty weird and wonderful names: Bremabecestat, Vepoloxamer, Nexbolizumab, Orilotimod. They sound more like characters from sci-fi films than something you'd want to ingest. So where the hell do they come from?

Read more...

Source: http://gizmodo.com/how-prescription-drugs-get-such-weird-names-1132759044

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Pacific (SID): Dwight Young Named Assistant Men's Basketball Coach

August 1, 2013

Stockton, Calif. - University of the Pacific Men's Basketball Head Coach Ron Verlin has announced the hiring of Dwight Young as an assistant coach.

"We are excited to add the recruiting talents of Dwight to our staff," said Verlin. "His 17 years of experience in AAU basketball will be a great asset for Pacific Men's Basketball. He has contacts all throughout the country, but his connection to the Bay Area will help a lot in recruiting underclassmen."

"I am very excited to be joining the Pacific basketball staff," said Young. "Pacific has a rich basketball history that is respected nationwide. Coach Verlin's vision for the future of the program is sure to bring excitement to the University and Northern California. It is an honor to have the opportunity to be a part of that and represent the University." ?

Young comes to Pacific from Modesto Christian High School, where he was the assistant head coach for the last two years. He helped Modesto Christian HS to a 29-4 record last season and a berth in the Open Division State Playoffs. He has over 17 years of experience as a basketball coach, trainer and program administrator within the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).

He has also been the Northern California Regional Director for Phenom Camp. It is a premier invitation camp for the top junior high and high school players in the country.?

Young graduated from Oregon State in 1993 with a B.S. in Communications and Economics. He lives in Mountain House with his wife Khaleedah, and his three children, Krystal, Dwight Jr. and Molly.

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Source: http://www.bbstate.com/news/709360

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50,000 liters of oil cover Thai beach

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Magna Carta Holy Grail true blood

Robinson and McGuinness parade spat

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Source: www.insideworld.com --- Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Visit our website to read more www.InsideWorld.com . Or if you are already subscribed hit this Story Link . ...

Source: http://www.insideworld.com/r/?rid=6919949

redbox

Court bars 'Jerusalem, Israel' as birthplace on American passports

WASHINGTON ? American citizens born in Jerusalem cannot claim Israel as their place of birth on their passports, a federal appeals court in Washington ruled Tuesday.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously declared unconstitutional a 2002 law that required the State Department to record Israel as the birthplace of Jerusalem-born citizens despite a long-standing position in the executive branch of strict neutrality toward sovereignty of the disputed city.

At stake in the case was a question of governmental authority over foreign policy: Does the president have the sole right to decide on what terms foreign nations are recognized?

Though the United States has recognized the sovereignty of Israel since it declared independence in 1948, no president has ever taken a position on Jerusalem. Israel considers the city its political and spiritual capital, while Palestinians seek to make East Jerusalem the capital of a future country.

The case was brought by the family of Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky, now 10, born to American parents in Jerusalem. When his mother applied for a passport for him with the birthplace as "Jerusalem, Israel," the U.S. Consulate listed only "Jerusalem."

Zivotofsky was born weeks after Congress passed the passport provision in September 2002 as part of a foreign relations appropriations bill.

But when President George W. Bush signed the law, he issued an executive statement asserting that the policy on Jerusalem, if construed as mandatory rather than advisory, would "impermissibly interfere" with the president's constitutional authority in matters of foreign affairs.

The secretary of State has never enforced the policy, arguing that it intrudes upon presidential powers.

The Court of Appeals agreed in its ruling, stating that the law was a political act that infringed upon the president's exclusive recognition power in the Constitution.

The law "is not, as Zivotofsky asserts, legislation that simply ? and neutrally ? regulates the form and content of a passport," Circuit Judge Karen Henderson wrote in her opinion. "Congress plainly intended to force the State Department to deviate from its decades-long position of neutrality" toward Jerusalem.

Several groups swiftly decried the decision.

The Anti-Defamation League, which combats anti-Semitism, wrote in a statement that it was "deeply disappointed" by the news.

"The court has effectively given a stamp of approval to the offensive State Department policy that singles out Israel for 'special' treatment," it wrote.

In a statement, the Orthodox Union, an umbrella group of Orthodox Jewish congregations, called Jerusalem "the eternal and indivisible capital of the State of Israel" and said it would support an appeal of the ruling to the Supreme Court.

Congress has long demanded recognition of Israel's sovereign control over Jerusalem. In 1995, it passed a law requiring that the United States move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, an act that has since been suspended on a semiannual basis by the president for national security reasons.

The Zivotofsky case has already visited the Supreme Court once, to determine whether it was a "nonjusticiable political question" rather than a legal one. In 2012, the high court held that the case could be tried.

alexei.koseff@latimes.com

Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-jerusalem-passport-20130724,0,3466604.story?track=rss

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