Thursday Themes

Snow? Really? I'm definitely not ready. Let's see what's in the news to distract us from that forecast.

The Dems on the supercommittee have made an offer that would cut the deficit to $2.5-3 trillion, with $1 trillion coming from new revenue. This proposal included up to $500 billion in cuts to Medicare. The GOP rejected it due to the revenue hikes. The GOP offered $2.2 trillion in cuts without any new revenue. Some see this as a sign that at least the talks have gotten concrete and serious. Meanwhile, talks on the 2012 budget are not moving, and right now, there's only funding to November 18. Is this Congress capable of doing anything?

A profile of the lawyer who likely will lead argument in the Supreme Court against the health reform law. This is a serious legal mind. Too bad he's on the wrong side. The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to hear the cases at its conference on November 10, but it's all but guaranteed that they will hear the appeals.

A House GOP report says health reform provides less benefit to married couples than to singles. Then again, Darrell Issa, the Chair of the Committee, has made it his mission to kill health reform and anything else associated with President Obama, so I take this analysis with a grain of salt.

Insurance giant Wellpoint (Anthem)'s profits drop 7.6% even though revenues continue to rise.

Get this. A 10 year old boy with psychiatric problems, including aggression and suicidal ideation, has been abandoned in a hospital -- his parents won't take him, children's services won't take him -- they've all just left him. How awful.

I love this. Teaching doctors to be mindful. A little meditation never hurt, did it?

Why is it hard to keep weight off? A new study shows that, when obese people lose weight, their metabolism slows and they show an increase in hormones that stimulate the appetite. So very hard, isn't it?

An annual chest x-ray fails to decrease the rate of lung cancer.

And that's Thursday's news. Have a great day! Jennifer