Category: Federal
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5249 SEEN/
Lawmakers protect title loan firms while borrowers pay sky-high interest rates
By Fred Schulte
Center for Public Integrity
It’s legal in about half the states to pledge a car title as collateral for short-term loans of a few hundred dollars or more. Many of these states allow lenders to tack on interest that can top 300 percent, and to seize and sell off cars when borrowers fail to pay. -
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4907 SEEN/
Critics fault new highway law for concessions to trucking industry
By Brian Joseph
FairWarning
A $305 billion highway bill approved by Congress and signed by President Obama last week includes several provisions aggressively sought by the trucking industry that, critics say, will undermine traffic safety. -
Plaza Health Network cited repeatedly by feds, state for nursing home violations
By Francisco Alvarado
FloridaBulldog.org
Plaza Health Network, the embattled nursing home chain that six months ago agreed to pay $21.5 million to settle federal civil charges that it defrauded Medicare and Medicaid, has habitually violated state and federal healthcare regulations by providing inadequate, and at times negligent, care to residents at its facilities. -
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7954 SEEN/
Racial politics flavor debate over banning menthol cigarettes
By Myron Levin
FairWarning
Lorillard Tobacco donated nearly four times as much to Republican candidates as to Democrats in the 2014 congressional elections. No surprise there — most businesses count on Republicans to hold the line on regulations and taxes. But Lorillard made a striking exception for one set of Democrats: African Americans. -
Ft. Lauderdale police snooped on investigator helping FBI probe police corruption, suit says
By Dan Christensen
FloridaBulldog.org
The chief investigator for the Broward Public Defender’s Office sued Fort Lauderdale last week alleging that a city policeman impermissibly obtained his driver’s license records while he was helping the FBI investigate police corruption in the city. -
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5717 SEEN/
Heavy-spending trucking industry pushes Congress to relax safety rules
By Brian Joseph
FairWarning.org
Big rig crashes kill nearly 4,000 Americans each year and injure more than 85,000. Fatalities involving large trucks are up 17 percent since 2009; injuries up 28 percent. Given these numbers, you might expect Congress to be agitating for tighter controls on big rigs. In fact, many members are pushing for the opposite – looser restrictions on the trucking industry and its drivers.
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