The curb on new student enrollment at ITT, which has been under heightened financial scrutiny from the department since 2014, is just the latest move in a long-running campaign to halt deceptive advertising, illegal recruitment practices and other abuses by career training and other for-profit educational institutions. “People are defaulting at a rate of two per minute, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Nassirian said. “The vast majority [of students] are victims, not deadbeats.”   read more

Until recently, only nonprofits were allowed to run programs like these. But a year ago, the government flipped the switch, opening the program to for-profit companies as well, ending one of the last remaining holdouts to commercialism in health care. The hope is that the profit motive will expand the services faster. Hanging over all the promise, though, is the question of whether for-profit companies are well-suited to this line of work, long the province of nonprofit do-gooders.   read more

The proposed merger drew comment from presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who said, "I have a detailed and targeted plan to immediately put a stop to inversions and invest in the U.S., block deals like Johnson Controls and Tyco, and place an 'exit tax' on corporations that leave the country to lower their tax bill." The shareholder class action claims that Johnson's anticipated tax savings are the sole purpose of the merger and come at the expense of minority taxpaying shareholders.   read more

Planned Parenthood won an injunction Friday that prevents Ohio from withholding public funds used by the health care provider for educational programs. Judge Michael Barrett ruled that the Ohio code — which prevents the state Dept of Health from distributing funds to any entity that performs nontherapeutic abortions — will cause Planned Parenthood "irreparable injury." Programs include STD Prevention, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention Program, and the Sexual Violence Prevention Program.   read more

A gallon of regular gas costs $2.74 in Hawaii but just $1.82 in South Carolina. A $5 hamburger in California may be a dollar cheaper in Nebraska. The “real value” of a dollar is highest in Mississippi, Arkansas ($114.30), Alabama ($113.90), South Dakota ($113.60) and Kentucky ($112.70). It buys the least in the District of Columbia ($84.70), Hawaii, New York ($86.40), New Jersey ($87.30), California ($89) and Maryland ($90.70).   read more

A public defender office claims that the NYPD won't disclose how many millions of dollars it seizes in cash each year through civil forfeiture. A journalist reported in 2014 that the NYPD seizes and retains millions annually by civil forfeiture. Bronx Defenders filed a request with the NYPD, asking how much money and property was seized after arrests. NYPD responded 19 months later with "only two hard-copy documents and an electronic copy of the NYPD Patrol Guide."   read more

The call for paid family leave on the Democratic party platform is the most ambitious attempt by a major party in years to reverse the U.S.'s status as the only industrialized nation without any standard for paid time off for new parents. But recently a handful of states and industries have been increasing this benefit. "It's taken on an inevitability," said Ellen Bravo. Some states and several competitive industries have slowly been bolstering paid parental leave laws and policies.   read more

Billionaire industrialist and conservative benefactor Charles Koch's expansive political network will not help Donald Trump win the presidency. That's the message from one of the Koch network's chief lieutenants. Koch has put the network's budget at roughly $750 million through the end of 2016. A significant portion was supposed to be directed at electing a Republican to the White House. It will instead go to helping Republican Senate candidates in at least five states.   read more

“Being a donor does not get you a role in this administration,” said White House spokesman Eric Schultz, “nor does it preclude you from getting one." The practice of rewarding big donors with federal positions dates back to the times of the founding fathers. FEC's Bob Biersack said that “Big donors have always risen to the top of lists for appointment to plum ambassadorships and other boards and commissions around the federal landscape." Most of the people on the list gave huge sums to the DNC.   read more

Obama said he supports the bill's goal, but he sent the measure back to Congress because it would immediately end salaries and benefits to staffers carrying out the official duties of former presidents. He says the measure doesn't provide enough time for these employees to be moved to another payroll. Obama says the bill would also interfere with the Secret Service's ability to protect ex-presidents.   read more

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has agreed to pay a woman $475,000 to settle claims that she was subjected to a “humiliating and demeaning” illegal body cavity search at an El Paso border crossing. The unidentified woman sued several border patrol officers, the University Medical Center of El Paso and the El Paso County Hospital District in Federal Court in December 2013.   read more

While government recommends people fill their plates with fruits and veggies to help prevent obesity, only a fraction of its subsidies support the production of fresh produce. The vast majority of subsidies go instead to commodity crops that are processed into many of the foods that are linked to the obesity crisis. “The subsidies damage our country’s health and increase the medical costs that will ultimately need to be paid to treat the effects of the obesity epidemic,” said a USPIRG report.   read more

State actions are forcing companies to locate heirs and pay them the money they are owed. The laws follow years-long audits and multi-state investigations of the top 40 insurance companies that revealed many of them held on to benefits, even when they knew the person insured had died. "This is something that shocked me," said Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, whose office pushed for legislation. "We think it's important that the last wishes of the deceased are honored."   read more

“Every day, some Americans are having every penny in their paychecks garnished,” Cummings said. “Congress should not sit on the sidelines and watch our constituents be kept in a cycle of poverty.” “It really does put people into complete turmoil,” said Martha Bergmark, executive director of the nonprofit Voices for Civil Justice. “It’s a rolling disaster” with potential consequences in every aspect of a low-income debtor’s life, she said.   read more

The average pay gap between female and male orthopedic surgeons was nearly $41,000. The difference was about $38,000 among oncologists, about $36,000 among gynecologists and $34,000 among cardiologists. Radiology was the only specialty in which women were paid more--by roughly $2,000. “This paper is going to make women academic physicians start a conversation with their institutions to promote transparency and gender equality, because at the end of the day, it’s not fair,” said Dr. Arora.   read more

The legislation sets an annual allowance of $200,000 a year for travel, staff and office costs that have become a standard part of life after the Oval Office. For former presidents who make money through books, speaking fees and other ventures, the allowance is reduced for every dollar in outside income in excess of $400,000. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, like other former presidents before them, have earned millions in speaking fees since leaving office.   read more