Morning Media Summary

Tech:

FDA to scrutinize mobile medical apps:
“The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking input on its proposed oversight of some health-related mobile phone apps.”

People deprived of the internet feel ‘upset and lonely’ and find going offline as hard as quitting smoking or drinking:
“The majority of people feel upset and lonely when they are deprived of access to the internet, according to consumer research.”

Global Warming / Environment / Energy:

Gates: ‘Cute’ Tech Won’t Solve Planet’s Energy Woes:
“Bill Gates has a simple plan for the future of energy: Don’t rely on the cute stuff.”

Insurance / Gambling:

The Old Days of Gambling In The Northwest Suburbs:
“While the slots at the Des Plaines casino started paying off earlier this week, it’s far from the first time slots have played in the Northwest suburbs or even in Des Plaines.”

Health / Safety:

Tax the burgers, subsidize the peas:
“The editors of the New York Times are in a state of angst. Even though the Standard of Progressivism knows what people should be eating, profit-seeking private enterprise continues to poison people for profit and it costs too much to grow healthy food. What to do? Tax foods the government fails to approve and subsidize the foods government likes. It is so simple, and everyone knows that the “experts” (and the article openly refers to those “experts”) should be telling us what to eat.”

Economics:

Futures down on debt gridlock:
“A divided U.S. Congress pursued rival budget plans that appeared unlikely to win broad support, pushing the country closer to a debt default.”

Dodd-Frank’s winners: Revolving-door regulators:
“It may not prevent another bailout or protect consumers from dangerous financial products, but the Dodd-Frank financial regulation law — now one year old — has already benefited one group of people: the government officials who wrote and implemented the law before cashing out as lobbyists or consultants for Wall Street, hedge funds and big banks.”

Legal:

Schumer to airlines: Refund bag fees:
“When an airline loses a passenger’s baggage, the customer shouldn’t have to pay the air carrier’s rising luggage fees, said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York.”

Labor:

SEIU reaches tentative agreement with state:
“After a 14-hour bargaining session, Oregon’s largest state workers union reached a tentative contract agreement late Friday night with negotiators representing Gov. John Kitzhaber.”

Transportation/ Land Use:

China’s effort to muzzle news of train crash sparks outcry:
“Saturday night’s crash killed at least 38 people and was China’s deadliest rail disaster since 2008, raising new questions about the safety of the fast-growing and high-profile high-speed rail network.”