Mark Eustis, the president CEO of a Minnesota hospital company under fire from state and federal authorities for allegedly harsh tactics its employees and the debt-collection company Accretive Health used to obtain money from patients, is leaving the firm. Fairview Health Services, which operates a chain of nonprofit hospitals, announced Thursday that it wouldn't renew its contract with Eustis, 59, who became president of the company in 2007, the Star Tribune reported. Eustis will retire on July 31, according to a press release. He was "instrumental" in bringing Accretive Health into the hospital chain as a contractor in 2010, according to the newspaper. Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson (D) issued an explosive set of reports last month detailing what she says are overly aggressive and ... Continue reading →
Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesWhen the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins in the NHL Playoffs, it was one of the league's few black players, Joel Ward, who scored the winning goal. After the game, a bunch of people said horrible, racist things about Ward on Twitter. A mid-sized parody Twitter account that focuses on Philly sports called @FanSince09 then exposed these people to the world by retweeting them, and the whole thing went viral. The next day, every major sports news outlet ran some variation of this headline, "TWITTER EXPLODES WITH RACISM AFTER HOCKEY GAME." In the weeks since, some of the racist tweeters have been called into their respective principals office, and others have been kicked off youth hockey teams. But the real story here ... Continue reading →
Since the US Supreme Court stayed a Citizens-United-defying ruling by Montana's Supreme Court in February, politicians and advocacy groups have lined up to take sides, filing amicus briefs urging the high court to let stand, reverse, or review the decision. The majority of the briefs, like the one submitted by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), come from petitioners upset by the unlimited outside spending triggered by Citizens United. Yet those calling on the Supreme Court to let the Montana ruling stand (including one group with a rather unorthodox argument) or use it as an opportunity to roll back Citizens United face an uphill battle. The court's conservative majority is likely to be more sympathetic to those friends of the court calling upon ... Continue reading →
