Category: News

Equifax accused of price gouging Medicaid programs

Equifax is being accused of price gouging regarding Medicaid programs.

Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote a letter to the company’s chief executive asking for answers regarding its business practices.

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Many states use an Equifax program called The Work Number, which quickly verifies a Medicaid applicant’s work hours and wages.

According to a probe by The New York Times quoted in the senators’ letter, Equifax often raises the price for The Work Number.

So Equifax raises prices, gouging all customers (it follows the shake-every-nickel-from-clients philosophy so prevalent in big tech, after all), and some of the clients happen to be states, who happen to use it to distribute Fedbux…..

Yeah, some senators want to Do Something, which is likely to extract a settlement of some sort, on behalf of their constituents, which are people who receive Fedbux.

Full disclosure: I used to work for the company that made The Work Number for Everyone, which Equifax bought. That company’s stock endowed a scholarship with my father-in-law’s name on it, and Equifax stock which I received in exchange for my old company’s stock has been instrumental in funding my current Travis-McGeelike “retirement.”

Missouri families push senators to support diabetes treatment bill:

Missourians are asking the state’s two senators to help pass what they call a life-changing bill. Supporters say it would make long-term treatment for diabetics more accessible.

Senator Ted Budd from North Carolina and Mike Lee from Utah introduced the Islet Act in November 2025. This would change the wording on pancreatic cell transplants.

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However, currently, those transplants are categorized as a drug instead of an organ, which affects insurance coverage.

“It’s not done as much here in the United States because of this issue of categorizing the islets as drugs rather than as an organ, which that’s what they are,” Yosten said.

Making everyone pay for this treatment will make insurance rates go up.

I mean, I hope everyone who wants, needs, or gets this treatment is healed, but this bill is about making everyone pay more so they can get it. Not making the treatment available.

So I expect it to pass; Schmitt, as you know, was proud of similar efforts he led in the past.

Jeff at Coffee and Covid today quotes an enthusiastic Tesla supporter:

“Two Sundays ago, I went to Tesla with Elon and visited the Optimus lab,” Calicanis said. “There were a large number of people working on a Sunday,” he continued, “and I saw Optimus. I can tell you now, nobody will remember that Tesla ever made a car. They will only remember the Optimus.”

At the time, most folks dismissed Jason’s remarks as overheated investor hype. But now that Elon put Tesla’s money where its robots are, the comments seem strangely prescient. “He is going to make a billion of those robots,” Calicanis told the hosts. “And it is going to be the most transformative technology product ever made in the history of humanity.”

You know what would make that even better? Put the robots on the Segway Human Transporter.

Remember those? Not long after the turn of the century, luminaries in the tech field and tech press told us that cities would be designed around them (little did we know that a quarter century later, the “fifteen minute cities” would be designed, but not around the SHT, but around controlling the population) and that everyone would have them and blah blah blah.

In reality: In 2026, you can hardly even find them in tourist attractions for “Segway Tours” because they’ve been eclipsed by the far simpler electric bikes and, heaven help up, rentable electric scooters.

But the people who got paid got paid. And whether the humanoid robots transform the world or are a flashy toy replaced by simpler machines later, the people who will get paid will get paid.

All the phones (and “smart” devices) are listening to you:

Google has agreed to pay $68m (£51m) to settle a lawsuit claiming it secretly listened to people’s private conversations through their phones.

Users accused Google Assistant – a virtual assistant present on many Android devices – of recording private conversations after it was inadvertently triggered on their devices.

They claimed the recordings were then shared with advertisers in order to send them targeted advertising.

Among other things. The recordings were probably parsed and scored in various ways and were used to train various LLMs as well.

(Link via Pixy’s Daily Tech News today.

Jeff at Coffee and Covid mentions Fort Snelling today:

War Secretary Hegseth approved ICE’s use of Fort Snelling (near Minneapolis) as a forward operating base for ICE agents. This means protesters can no longer torture ICE agents at their hotels— and that Trump isn’t backing down. The Chronicle called it, “a sign of President Donald Trump’s Minnesota immigration siege digging in.”

Ed Lund served there.

Alex Berenson, on Substack, talks about the current health system payment model and sez:

But paying $15,000 a year for care that feels worse than nothing simply seems wrong. At this point, I’m likely to opt out. And I am not alone.

Jeez, I miss paying that little for health insurance for our family of four. I paid more than that five years ago, my last go-round with paying the whole bill myself. Which doubled, effectively, after the passage of the “Affordable” Care Act. And has doubled again since 2025.

Berenson talks about the money sloshing to the top of the industry, but does not specifically call out the increase in premiums which coinkidinkally just about matched the government subsidies sloshed out of the ACA bucket. Nor does he call out the specific things which are mandatory by law that must be included in insurance coverage, which also drives the price of insurance up for everyone. Here in the state of Missouri, everyone pays for autism treatments because our senator, Eric Schmitt, wrote/sponsored a bill to make it mandatory in Missouri. Yay! Increased costs! This was before the ACA, by the way, and before he became a national legislator.

Bill Glahn, the new guy at Powerline, posts California Forever:

I’ve been fascinated by this story since stumbling upon it a few years ago. From SFGate,

A new Bay Area city backed by a secretive group of billionaires will be built “non-stop” for 40 years, the project’s CEO said in a news release Wednesday. The announcement further reveals the long-term commitment of California Forever’s backers to creating a new city of 400,000 people, even after polling overwhelmingly indicated locals weren’t interested in the idea.

Wasn’t this a plot device in one of those Roger Moore-era James Bond movies?

Building a brand-new city in California in 2026 would seem to be the ultimate triumph of hope over experience.

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It’s like the story behind central Florida’s The Villages, but with tech bros instead of old people.

Actually, it sounds more like Irvine, California to me, but I just read Honeymoon with My Brother, whose author was a lobbyist for the Irvine Corporation, which owned the land and built he city.

Also, I cannot help but wonder if he is confusing The Villages which grew out of some real-estate-by-mail lots in the 1960s with Celebration, Florida, which was laid out, built, and sold by Disney.

:

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A new report found Missouri schools lost $35 million in lottery funding, despite a $5 million advertising boost.

State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said the findings raise questions about whether increased advertising actually boosts lottery sales and education funding.

The audit found that lottery transfers to education remained relatively consistent in years with reduced advertising spending. However, in that dropped in Fiscal Year 2024 when advertising appropriations were partially restored.

By the Numbers
The audit found that in Fiscal Year 2024:

• Advertising spending jumped to $5.4 million, up from about $400,000 in the previous year
• Total lottery revenue dropped by $49 million
• Transfers to education fell by $35.3 million to $389.8 million

It’s because the newer national lotteries, Mega Millions and Powerball, get the splash in the news when their regular high payouts draw attention, and although (I think) Missouri gets a cut of the ticket sales, it’s lower than the MO Millions (the new $2 ticket which replaced the Missouri Lotto) generates.

And I think they’re about to get worse news once the impact of the sportsbook gambling is felt/tallied/appears in the monthly or annual reports. They probably have already seen something of it.

Opened in 2023 to fill a food desert, this Sentry Foods is now closing:

Less than three years after it opened to fill a food desert on Milwaukee’s northwest side, the Sentry Foods at 6350 West Silver Spring Drive is abruptly closing its doors.

The closure is the latest in a swath of grocery stores shutting down across the city, largely affecting lower income neighborhoods with little access to fresh foods. An Aldi store just two miles away shuttered last week, and other neighborhoods have protested Pick ‘n Save closures.

I thought about the address, and that’s the shopping center across the street from Westlawn (now, apparently, reconstructed as Westlawn Gardens) which was one of the sister housing developments to Berryland, the projects in which I lived. Didn’t get out that way much when I lived in Berryland–I guess my dad’s friend Gene lived a couple blocks east of it and north–but I passed the place when I was in school–I want to say it was a Kohl’s grocery store at the time, but land’s sakes, child, that was in the 1900s.

They quote a note attached to the door:

“This decision was not made lightly. Many factors were carefully considered before coming to this difficult conclusion. Saying goodbye is truly painful, and we are deeply sorry to bring this news to the community that has supported us over the years,” the notice reads.

But the rest of the article is mostly the usual food desert, food desert, food desert nonsense, but no real analysis of why groceries struggle in those areas. Because if the real reasons were explained, people might not want the journalists’ preferred solutions.

What are the people buying? If it’s not fresh meat and fresh vegetables, but rather processed food, snacks, soda, beer, and cigarettes, you can buy those things at a convenience store. At a significant markup, sure, but you might need that markup in a grocery store to account for shrinkage, both due to theft and to spoilage of perishables.

And I get it from the customer side, too. I have schlepped a 25lb frozen turkey (my Christmas bonus) four miles from the store to my father’s house in the cold and the snow. You cannot carry a week’s worth of groceries several miles walking or on the bus, and making more frequent trips might take two or three hours or so, a huge time sink every day or couple of days.

Not sure what the solution is at the societal or government level–or if any such solution would make things better and not worse (except for those administering the solutions, of course–it’s always better for them), but at the individual level, it’s a strong social network or family ties.

Congress is debating the possible consequences for ICE and even Noem after Renee Good’s killing

Behold, the “Associated” “Press” characterizes “Congress” as:

“The situation that took place in Minnesota is a complete and total disgrace,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said as details emerged. “And in the next few days, we will be having conversations about a strong and forceful and appropriate response by House Democrats.”

* * * *

“The videos I’ve seen from Minneapolis yesterday are deeply disturbing,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, in a statement.

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“We’ve been warning about this for an entire year,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla.

* * * *

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, the top Democrat on the subcommittee that handles Homeland Security funding, plans to introduce legislation to rein in the agency with constraints on federal agents’ authority, including a requirement that the Border Patrol stick to the border and that DHS enforcement officers be unmasked.

* * * *

“More Democrats are saying today the thing that a number of us have been saying since April and May: Kristi Noem is dangerous. She should not be in office, and she should be impeached,” said Democratic Rep. Delia Ramirez, who represents parts of Chicago where ICE launched an enhanced immigration enforcement
action last year that resulted in two deaths.

* * * *

“I’m not completely against deportations, but the way they’re handling it is a real disgrace,” said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, who represents a district along the U.S.-Mexico border [sic]

“Right now, you’re seeing humans treated like animals,” he said.

* * * *

To Rep. Chuy Garcia, D-Ill., Good’s death “brought back heart-wrenching memories of those two shootings in my district.”

“It looks like the fact that a US citizen, who is a white woman, may be opening the eyes of the American public, certainly of members of Congress, that what’s going on is out of control,” he said, “that this isn’t about apprehending or pursuing the most dangerous immigrants.”

So “Congress” in this context is a hella lotta Democrats plus Lisa Murkowski, a “Republican.”

Who are going to introduce legislation. And to impeach.

This is “debate.”

This is “Associated” “Press.”

Springfield city leaders aim get lodging tax increase back in front of voters this Spring:

The future of a new Springfield convention center is still being considered.

Last November, voters shot down a 3-percent hotel-motel tax increase. Now, the city is hoping to provide the information needed to present the issue again to voters on the April ballot.

Because it was not a yes, clearly the voters meant maybe.

I’m not going to go into my litany of reasons to oppose pretty much any tax money to fund convention center money sinkholes, but I have seen this over and over again.

Note that one of the “city leaders” quoted is the “city manager” which is a hired position, and not an elected position. So not only is he unaccountable to the voters directly, but Springfield might only be a stepping stone in his career. And bringing home a convention center despite opposition–boy, what a great bullet point on the ol’ resume.

Coffee and Covid today comments on a story that condo sales are down, and the examples are from the southeast:

“Prices for U.S. condominiums,” the Journal reported, “posted their biggest annual decline since 2012.” Condos are the canaries in the housing mine, but the Journal noted that increases in “single-family home prices have also slowed.” This referred to Florida–one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. But it wasn’t just Florida. The story also reported sagging condo prices in Austin and San Antonio due, get this, to “a glut of supply.”

It’s supply-side economics again!

The story rounded up some heart-rending personal anecdotes. For instance, in Flagler Beach, Florida, Sandra Phillips and Dennis Green have struggled since early last year to sell their townhouse. They delisted it in July, and plan to relist it soon at around $200,000–roughly the same amount they paid in 2020. “Flagler Beach is saturated with places for sale,” Sandra mourned.

I would expect many Florida condos are unsaleable now as new Florida laws have kicked in:

Florida condo and townhouse sales dropped 10.5% in 2024, the lowest in 15 years, according to trade association Florida Realtors, after a hike in special assessments and monthly fees due to new statewide condo safety legislation.

New data from real estate company Redfin suggests condo sales are moving inland and prices there are going up.

The median sale price for condos — meaning 50% of the condos cost less and 50% cost more — rose 5.4% year over year on average in January, Redfin said in a release Monday, while condos on Florida’s Gulf Coast saw a drop of 4.8% and condos on the Atlantic Coast dropped 3%.

Because of the condo building that collapsed in 2021:

Legislation passed in 2022 after the deadly June 2021 collapse of a 12-story condo in Surfside that killed 98 people led to a series of reforms in safety standards and requirements for milestone inspections for condo developments over 30 years old (about two-thirds of all condos in Florida), structural integrity inspections for condos three stories high and higher, and mandatory monetary reserves for large maintenance repairs and any needed structural upkeep or replacements, among other changes.

To get the money, condo associations imposed special assessments and significant hikes in monthly fees, which may have led to more condo owners selling but fewer people interested in buying.

As I mentioned, I was just in Florida, and even inland in Orlando, signs for condo remediation engineering were in all the roadway medians and on many billboards.

You would think people learned nothing from John D. MacDonald’s 1977 novel Condominium. I read it before the blog, but I heeded its lesson to never move to Florida.

We have not conquered Mexico yet, so that should be “International” news for now. ::wink::

Clearly, the Venezuela thing is a flanking maneuver.

Why don’t I write meaningful essays like Gerard Van der Leun?

Because I waste the couple of minutes whilst building and uploading apps which won’t sell by writing short, twee snarkbait posts instead of completing a thought. Or a successful build, either, for that matter.

The Kansas City Chiefs are moving to Missouri? That’s not the way I heard it.

Actually, it’s the other way around, and the actual article says such. But never mind; I am a blogger, and I have a headline to slag on.

But.

You know I’ve slagged on Springfield’s ongoing drive for a taxpayer-funded conference center (still ongoing), and I’ve slagged on the (successful) efforts by the St. Louis Cardinals to get taxpayer funding for a stadium and more, and…

Well, here we are in this blessed year of 2025, and we didn’t pony up to service the billionaires who own a football team, and they’ve gone on and….

Well, who knows what the future will bring.

Flamin’ Manchicis, oh so soft and cuddly. Missourians do seem to be catching on, though. Thirty years ago, they gave the Rams a new stadium, and the Rams decamped for LA the first chance they got. The St. Louis Cardinals threatened to move across the river, so Missourians gave them a new stadium and they returned with a fairly mediocre product. Recently, Springfield voted down a tax increase for a convention center, and Missourians voted against a tax-provided stadium for the Chiefs who are showing their loyalty to Kansas City, Missouri by crossing the state line to service the highest bidder.

A lot of articles are billing this as a loss for Missouri, but I think it’s a mark of sanity on the part of the citizens.

And let’s be honest: Going from Kansas City, Missouri, to Kansas City, Kansas, to spend a thousand dollars or so to see a football game is just crossing a line in the dirt. It’s not like crossing the Mississippi River at bridge chokepoints, so it’s not any extra hardship to get there. But who knows where professional sports will be in six years. It might not be what it is today, and this might turn into a better deal for Missouri to let them walk.

Trump gives a partisan prime-time address insisting the economy is stronger than many voters feel

Well, that is probably a fair story with no bias.

I’ve often said, including on this blog in 2016, that Disney would buy Nintendo.

Ted Gioia says today on Substack that Disney itself might be a buyout candidate by a big tech firm:

A few weeks ago, Disney announced another miserable quarter—with profits from its entertainment business dropping 35%. Its margins are ugly, and there’s no clear plan for a turnaround in sight.

The company is so creatively drained that CEO Bob Iger actually wants users to generate their own Disney content. What’s next? Does he want us to build our own theme parks? Should I start my own troupe of Mouseketeers in the basement?

The company is looking for a new CEO—and the sooner, the better, if you ask me. But none of the likely candidates inspire much trust. So the company’s Matterhorn-sloped downward slide is likely to continue with accelerating speed.

I’m convinced that the House of Mouse will soon get swallowed up by a tech titan. I see Apple as a likely buyer, but Disney might also get acquired by Google, and bundled with its YouTube business.

He’s probably more right than I was.

My, the world has changed in those eight years since I posted that.

A mass shooting carried out Saturday by multiple suspects in an unlicensed bar near the South African capital left at least 12 people dead, police said. The victims included three children aged 3, 12 and 16.

Another 13 people were wounded and being treated in the hospital. Police didn’t give details of the ages of those who were injured or their conditions.

Note that this took place in South Africa.

Why is this tabbed as “national,” AP?

Because guns-r-bad and we need to get the message out?

Dad dies after dropping barbell on chest in freak accident at the gym

I generally don’t have a spotter, either, unless my youngest and I are working on the same body parts during one of our infrequent trips to the rec center over in Republic. It’s funny: We signed up for 3 months to try it out, and we went all the time; we signed up for another 3 months, and we went all the time; we signed up for the full year, and…. Well, it’s a long way (about twelve minutes away, a handful shorter than the YMCA, but less expensive).

Which is why I don’t ever push it and max out on barbell bench presses. I know the risks. And I’ve only had to be helped one time where I worked to the point of failure and the bar would go no further.

I also wear gloves, so the bar doesn’t “slip” out of my hands.

But, geez. Makes me feel better about skipping this weekend.

City of Springfield launches survey regarding convention and events center

One would think defeating a tax proposal to fund it might have given an indicator, but there’s tax money to slop on a multi-year effort to try again.