The following is a rundown of the day’s news drawn from other media sources with topics curated just for Money and Markets readers: Obamacare, personal security and freedom, and the Iranian nuclear agreement.
Obamacare
Supreme Court Will Take Up New Health-Law Dispute
The justices said they will take up an issue that has divided the lower courts in the face of roughly 40 lawsuits from for-profit companies asking to be spared from having to cover contraception.
Almost 80 Million With Employer Plans Could Have Coverage Canceled
The reason behind the losses is that current plans don’t meet the requirements of Obamacare, which dictate that each plan must cover a list of benefits, whether people want them or not.
Doctor Gets a ‘Double Whammy’ from Obamacare
A doctor is blindsided twice by the Affordable Care Act: She’s losing insurance for her employees, and her medical practice will lose patients.
Obamacare Blows Up Health-Care Stocks
The Obamacare debacle may be highly unpopular with Americans, but the health-care industry that donated a staggering $22.5 million to Obama’s 2008 campaign is posting record profits amid the fallout.
Texas ‘Enroll America’ Official Resigns After Proclaiming Obama Loyalty in V ideo
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is also the subject of a House probe into her affiliation with Enroll America after she solicited financial donations for the organization and others promoting Obamacare.
Personal security and freedom
Spies Worry Over "Doomsday" Cache Stashed by Ex-NSA Contractor Snowden
The cache contains documents generated by the NSA and other agencies and includes names of U.S. and allied intelligence personnel, seven current and former U.S. officials and other sources.
NSA May Have Hit Internet Companies at a Weak Spot
People who are knowledgeable about Google and Yahoo’s infrastructure say they believe that government spies bypassed the big Internet companies and hit them at a weak spot — the fiber-optic cables that connect data centers around the world.
Microsoft, Suspecting NSA Spying, Ramps Up Efforts to Encrypt Its Internet Traffic
Microsoft’s move to expand encryption would allow it to join Google, Yahoo, Facebook and other major technology firms in hardening defenses in response to news reports about once-secret NSA programs.
Obama’s Call to Close Vatican Embassy is ‘Slap in the Face’ to Roman Catholics
“It’s not just those who bomb churches and kill Catholics in the Middle East who are our antagonists, but it’s also those who restrict our religious freedoms and want to close down our embassy to the Holy See,” said former U.S. Ambassador James Nicholson.
Europe Threatens to Freeze U.S. Data-Sharing Arrangements
The EU is drafting new Europe-wide data-protection rules requiring U.S. Internet companies operating in the EU to obtain permission to transfer data to the U.S. and to restrict intelligence access to it.
Iranian Nuclear Agreement
Obama Signals a Shift from Military Might to Diplomacy
For Obama, the shift to diplomacy fulfills a campaign pledge from 2008 that he would stretch out a hand to America’s enemies and speak to any foreign leader without preconditions.
American Held Hostage for 444 Days in Iran Calls Nuke Deal ‘Foolishness’
“The challenge is Iranian society and politics is so fragmented that it’s difficult to reach a consensus,” he said — a problem that is also present in the U.S.
Iran Nuclear Agreement: ‘It’s The Worst Deal Since Munich’
“Once a country anywhere can start to enrich there is no containing its nuclear capacity. So it undermines the entire idea of nonproliferation, and it grants Iran a right it’s been lusting for for a decade.”
Iran, North Korea Secretly Developing New Long-Range Rocket Booster
Iranian missile technicians secretly visited North Korea as part of joint development of a new rocket booster for long-range missiles or space launchers at the same time nuclear talks took place in Geneva, according to U.S. officials.
Iran Nuclear Deal: Saudi Arabia Warns It Will Strike Out on Its Own
A senior adviser to the Saudi royal family has accused its Western allies of deceiving the oil-rich kingdom in striking the nuclear accord with Iran and said Riyadh would follow an independent foreign policy.
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The Money and Markets Team
