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Mid-day Update

PODCAST: Be careful what you streetview

Jeremy Hobson Feb 21, 2013
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Mid-day Update

PODCAST: Be careful what you streetview

Jeremy Hobson Feb 21, 2013
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Republican Governor Rick Scott of Florida has been one of the fiercest critics of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. But yesterday, Scott reversed course on a big part of the new law, dropping his opposition to expanding health care for the poor in his state. Scott said he’ll expand medicaid for three years — that’s when federal startup funding expires. While the announcement is sure to make political ripples, it is also a big win for Florida hospitals – who currently absorb most of the costs that uninsured patients incur.

Payday lenders are often blamed for taking advantage of the little guy. But that’s something that Justin Davis, a payday lender in Kansas City, Missouri, takes issue with. “For me and my business, I try to treat my customers right,” says Davis. “As long as people do the math, then they are not doing something stupid.”

Walmart beat expectations in its latest earnings report, but offered a wary outlook for the first part of this year. Safeway also reports earnings on Thursday. The two companies have more in common than one might think. Groceries now make up more than half Walmart’s American sales. Today’s numbers look back, but the worry is about what’s ahead. There’s been a lot of speculation about how this year’s increase in the payroll tax will impact consumer spending, but other factors will also come into play.

And finally, to Russia where a woman was looking for an address on the Russian alternative to Google Maps when she made a shocking discovery. In the streetview of the address, she saw a picture of her fiance, Sasha, with another woman. She knew when the picture was taken because Sasha had a cast on his arm. A confession soon followed.

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