This week鈥檚 big story is 鈥� once again 鈥� the Affordable Care Act. The first deadline to sign up for the new health care provision was Monday at midnight. During the days 鈥� and especially the hours 鈥� that led up to that landmark, millions of last-minute insurance shoppers swarmed听, dialed into call-lines and stood outside of assistance sites nationwide,听.
The website broke down for short periods several times Monday due to the high simultaneous user numbers,.
But the bigger news 鈥� and way more triumphant ones for the White House and the Obama administration 鈥� were the final numbers, which first Press Secretary Jay Carney and later the president himself announced in the Rose Garden.听, 7.1 million Americans signed up for ObamaCare. The uber-strong finish secured an important argument for the legislations backers, as it met and even slightly exceeded the 7 million mark the administration had announced as a goal before the first application window opened.
The numbers could go up even further. Those who started the application process in time but met difficulties finishing it before the Monday midnight deadline are granted a grace-period to finish. The Christian Science Monitor walks procrastinators and others who couldn鈥檛 finish the process on time through the available steps听. The Los Angeles Times听that the state of California gave its residents an extension to sign up for its version of the law after thousands met troubles when they tried to sign up Monday before midnight.
Former Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein鈥檚 new media outlet VOX听page Monday about how that day 鈥� contrary to common perception 鈥� was in fact not the last day to sign up for Obama鈥檚 Medicare extension.
And on a final note on the Affordable Care Act: Coloradans and 麻豆影院ites 鈥� beware! During next week鈥檚听at CU-麻豆影院, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will give the keynote speech Monday, April 7, 2014, at 11.30 a.m. at Macky Auditorium on campus. This event as well as all the other ones during the course of the week-long summit are free and open to the general public.
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The New York Times听that very likely will cause Democratic campaign strategists some headaches. Jacky Calmes writes about how frustrated Latino voters in the state might reject casting their votes in this fall鈥檚 midterm elections altogether. Colorado鈥檚 significant percentage of Latino voters is a crucial component in the Democratic premise for success this fall.
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Tuesday, Public Policy Polling, a private firm acknowledged for its accuracy, but also said to be听released a set of polls, which show that in 13 Republican-held congressional districts across the country, a majority of voters supports the minimum wage.听one of those 13 districts is Colorado鈥檚 6th Congressional District 鈥� the hotly contested race between Republican incumbent Mike Coffman and his Democratic challenger, Andrew Romanoff.
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Last Thursday, the U.S. Senate took a key step toward renewing benefits for millions of long-term unemployed Americans,, when Senators from both sides of the aisles voted 65-34 in favor of opening debate on a bipartisan measure, after previous attempts had fallen short of the required majority. According to the report, Republican House majority speaker John Boehner keeps holding up his refusal to support the measure. Last Thursday鈥檚 vote therefore was only a first step.
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FiveThirtyEight chief economics writer Ben Casselman听who believes the administration should have done more for the jobless during the worst years of the recession. Krueger said he was听afraid many of the long-term unemployed might never work again.
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Wall Street is abuzz after Michael Lewis published his new book 鈥淔lash Boys,鈥� which takes the reader inside the surreal technology that substituted for antiquated pictures of yelling brokers, while unfathomable amounts of money get exchanged within mere seconds.听听The New York Times critic Janet Maslin writes about the 鈥渢ale of high-speed trading.鈥�