Good morning! Today is National Hot Dog Day — you may already be a weiner!
Divided –> A three-judge panel of the DC Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a man who thinks his subsidized $21-per-month insurance policy is a form of tyranny, potentially jeopardizing the Obamacare subsidies of millions of people who purchased coverage through the federally administered exchanges. But Elise Viebeck reports for The Hill that only “hours later,” the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the subsidy scheme. AND: The Obama administration will request a hearing of the full DC court, which Slate’s Emily Bazelon says will likely reverse the three-judge panel’s decision. “Obamacare is safe,” she writes.
Gaza –> Jad Mouawad reports for the NYT that airlines suspended flights from the US and EU to Israel on Tuesday after a rocket landed near Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv. AND: The UN condemned Hamas for placing a rocket in one of its schools. ALSO: Harvard scholar Stephen Walt writes that even though “most American leaders understand Israel instigated the latest round of violence, is not acting with restraint, and that its actions make Washington look callous and hypocritical in the eyes of most of the world,” they are nonetheless siding with Israel. ALSO TOO: MoJo’s David Corn finds it unsettling that a “US-subsidized Israeli military wreaks devastation,” while “a US-funded UN agency deals with the crisis in its wake.” AND: Helena Cobban argues that Netanyahu’s “war of choice” is pushing Israeli politics “further to the right.”
Domino effect –> Anna Staver reports for the Salem Statesman Journal that a proposal to legalize marijuana has qualified for the fall ballot in Oregon.
Dangerous –> Paul Rosenberg writes for Salon that right-wing militias are energized and increasingly dangerous in the wake of the Bundy Ranch standoff.
“Science denial” doesn’t translate –> MoJo’s Chris Mooney points out that there is significantly more rejection of the scientific evidence of human-made global warming in the English-speaking world than elsewhere.
The American Dream? –> A landmark, 30-year study following 800 poor kids from Baltimore resulted in “a searing and dismal view of the chances of escaping urban poverty.” Adam May has the details for AJA.
“A seemingly endless barrage of scandals and arrests” –> Susanne Craig, William Rashbaum and Thomas Kaplan report for the NYT that NY Gov Mario Cuomo’s office has handcuffed the state’s ethical watchdog — and in some cases there may be conflicts of interest in play.
Tea partiers then –> At The Atlantic, Michael Wolraich argues that the early-19th century progressive movement represented the “original tea partiers.” We’re not sure what that would make the folks who dumped tea into the Boston Harbor in 1773, but it’s an interesting history nonetheless.
Tea partiers now –> A study by scholars at Notre Dame found that tea party groups are most likely to form in places with high levels of “educational segregation.”
Only the little people pay taxes –> Robert Schroeder reports for MarketWatch that a Senate investigation concluded that a hedge fund called Renaissance Technologies “used structured financial products purchased from Barclays and Deutsche Bank to avoid more than $6 billion in taxes.”
Internet connection — A new website allows donors anywhere in the world to pay to turn on the water for people who have been shut off in Detroit. Kriston Capps has the story for The Atlantic’s CityLab.
Better than the opposite –> At TNR, Josh Kovensky argues that “Chief Happiness Officer is the latest, creepiest job in corporate America.”
