The following is a rundown of the day’s news drawn from other media sources with topics curated just for Money and Markets readers:Â personal security and freedom, Obamacare, IRS scandal
Personal Security and Freedom
China Ups Military Spend by 12 percent. Are the Gloves Coming Off?
China made headlines today with its annual military budget, up 12.2 percent to $132 billion dollars this year. That’s about one quarter of the $495 billion military budget that President Obama presented to Congress yesterday.
North Korea Develops Unmanned Strike Aircraft from Stolen U.S. Target Drone
North Korea has deployed an indigenous unmanned aerial vehicle capable of attacking ground targets based on stolen U.S. target drones, the Pentagon revealed in a report to Congress.
3rd-Graders Caught Smoking Pot
Two 8-year-olds and a 9-year-old were caught by another student, who immediately informed school administrators. Those officials then alerted local police. The case was forwarded to the Tuolumne County Probation Department.
Alzheimer’s Deaths 6X Higher than Previously Thought
Nearly half a million elderly Americans likely died from Alzheimer’s disease in 2010, a figure almost six times higher than previous estimates of annual deaths, according to a new study released on Wednesday.
Facebook, Instagram Crack Down on Gun Sales on Social Networks
In an effort to curb what gun control advocates say is the increasing use of the social networks to circumvent checks and controls on firearms sales, Facebook and Instagram will also bar users under 18 from viewing gun offers posted by individuals or groups.
Obamacare
Obamacare Architect: ‘You Don’t Need a Doctor’
Under the Affordable Care Act, the Health and Human Services Department is spending billions of dollars to expand community health clinics, which are mainly staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Code Chaos: Feds to Force Use of 155,000 Codes to Record Injuries, Diagnoses, and Procedures
Virtually everyone agrees that the transition will mean decreased productivity and lost revenue, at least for a time. Some experts, dismissed as alarmists by ICD-10 enthusiasts, are predicting widespread chaos in a sector of the economy that can little afford it.
How Google is Trying to Protect Your Drug Supply
Illegal online pharmacies are a particularly dangerous and elusive sector of the growing problem of counterfeit drugs. The scope of the Internet compounds the rapid globalization of the drug supply chain and its increasingly dangerous misuse, making illegal sellers more difficult to trace.
Hospital Records Used to ‘Target Ads on Twitter and Facebook’
The security of NHS data was thrown into further doubt yesterday after it emerged anonymous patient information has been used by a marketing consultancy to advise clients on targeting their social media campaigns.
IRS Scandal
Obama Charged with Blocking IRS Probe, Breaking Promises to Help
A House chairman probing the IRS scandal on Wednesday said that President Obama has reneged on a promise to have his aides cooperate with the investigation, forcing the Ways and Means Committee to conduct a dragnet for emails and documents needed to smoke out the truth.
Lois Lerner Refuses to Testify
Lerner, who last year refused to answer questions about her role in singling out Tea Party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status, was called back before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday.
Issa Holds Another IRS Hearing
A House hearing on the IRS targeting of conservative groups erupted into an argument between Rep. Elijah Cummings and House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa just moments after former IRS official Lois Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to testify in regards to her role in the tax scrutiny scandal.
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The Money and Markets Team
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