By PHILLIP RAWLS, Associated Press Writer Fri Aug 22, 12:19 AM ET
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama, pushed to second in national obesity rankings by deep-fried Southern favorites, is cracking down on state workers who are too fat.
The state has given its 37,527 employees a year to start getting fit — or they'll pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free.
Alabama will be the first state to charge overweight state workers who don't work on slimming down, while a handful of other states reward employees who adopt healthy behaviors.
Alabama already charges workers who smoke — and has seen some success in getting them to quit — but now has turned its attention to a problem that plagues many in the Deep South: obesity.
The State Employees' Insurance Board this week approved a plan to charge state workers starting in January 2010 if they don't have free health screenings.
If the screenings turn up serious problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose or obesity, employees will have a year to see a doctor at no cost, enroll in a wellness program, or take steps on their own to improve their health. If they show progress in a follow-up screening, they won't be charged. But if they don't, they must pay starting in January 2011.
"We are trying to get individuals to become more aware of their health," said state worker Robert Wagstaff, who serves on the insurance board.
Not all state employees see it that way.
"It's terrible," said health department employee Chequla Motley. "Some people come into this world big."
Computer technician Tim Colley already pays $24 a month for being a smoker and doesn't like the idea of another charge.
"It's too Big Brotherish," he said.
The board will apply the obesity charge to anyone with a body mass index of 35 or higher who is not making progress. A person 5 feet 6 inches tall weighing 220 pounds, for example, would have a BMI of 35.5. A BMI of 30 is considered the threshold for obesity.
By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer Bernanke says financial crisis taking toll on economy, inflation outlook uncertain
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday the financial crisis that has pounded the country -- coupled with higher inflation -- is taking a toll on the economy and poses a major challenge to Fed policymakers as they try to restore stability.
"Although we have seen improved functioning in some markets, the financial storm that reached gale force" around this time last year "has not yet subsided, and its effects on the broader economy are becoming apparent in the form of softening economic activity and rising unemployment," Bernanke said in a speech to a high-profile economics conference here.
While Bernanke welcomed the recent drops in oil and other commodities' prices, and believes inflation will moderate this year and next, the Fed chief also warned the inflation outlook remains highly uncertain.
The Fed, he said, would monitor the situation closely and will "act as necessary" to make sure that inflation doesn't get out of hand.
The current financial and economic environment is one of the most challenging to Fed policymakers "in memory," he acknowledged.
Given those dueling economic cross-currents-- weak economic growth and higher inflation -- many economists believe the Fed will leave rates where they are at its next meeting on Sept. 16, and probably through the rest of this year.
"They won't act until the coast is clear on financial stability and the state of the economy," said Allen Sinai, chief global economist at Decision Economics Inc. Many fear the economy will hit a rough patch later this year as the bracing effect of the government's tax-rebate checks fades.
Wall Street was buoyed by Bernanke's hope that inflation will calm down, a dip in oil prices and growing speculation that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. could be sold. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 197.85 points at 11,628.06. Broader stock indicators also posted gains.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude oil prices fell more than 5.4 percent on Friday in the biggest one-day slide since 2004 as dealers turned their focus to rising supply levels and weakening global demand.
A rebound in the U.S. dollar encouraged the sell-off, applying downward pressure across the commodities markets by weakening the purchasing power of buyers using other currencies, dealers said.
The slide adds to a more than 20 percent fall in the price of crude since mid-July and could increase the chance oil cartel OPEC will cut official production limits when the group meets in Vienna on September 9.
U.S. crude fell $6.59, or 5.4 percent, to settle at $114.59 a barrel -- the biggest fall in percentage terms since December 27, 2004. London Brent crude fell $6.24 to $113.92 a barrel.
"People who were buying yesterday are taking profits today," said Peter Beutel, analyst at consultancy Cameron Hanover. "There is also renewed technical selling and talk again of demand destruction. The dollar is strong again too."
The declines Friday were encouraged by two reports -- one showing an uptick in OPEC crude oil output and another showing an expected decline in U.S. travel over the September 1 Labor Day holiday weekend as high fuel prices hit consumers.
Industry consultant Petrologistics said on Friday OPEC oil output was expected to rise in August by 450,000 barrels per day, to 32.95 million bpd, a factor that could further beef up inventory levels in consumer nations.
Meanwhile, the U.S. auto and travel group AAA said that Labor Day holiday travel was expected to fall this year by the largest amount in at least eight years as consumers struggle with higher gasoline prices and airfares.
By Ellen Nakashima Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, August 20, 2008; A01
The federal government has been using its system of border checkpoints to greatly expand a database on travelers entering the country by collecting information on all U.S. citizens crossing by land, compiling data that will be stored for 15 years and may be used in criminal and intelligence investigations.
Officials say the Border Crossing Information system, disclosed last month by the Department of Homeland Security in a Federal Register notice, is part of a broader effort to guard against terrorist threats. It also reflects the growing number of government systems containing personal information on Americans that can be shared for a broad range of law enforcement and intelligence purposes, some of which are exempt from some Privacy Act protections.
While international air passenger data has long been captured this way, Customs and Border Protection agents only this year began to log the arrivals of all U.S. citizens across land borders, through which about three-quarters of border entries occur.
The volume of people entering the country by land prevented compiling such a database until recently. But the advent of machine-readable identification documents, which the government mandates eventually for everyone crossing the border, has made gathering the information more feasible. By June, all travelers crossing land borders will need to present a machine-readable document, such as a passport or a driver's license with a radio frequency identification chip.
In January, border agents began manually entering into the database the personal information of travelers who did not have such documents.
The disclosure of the database is among a series of notices, officials say, to make DHS's data gathering more transparent. Critics say the moves exemplify efforts by the Bush administration in its final months to cement an unprecedented expansion of data gathering for national security and intelligence purposes.
The data could be used beyond determining whether a person may enter the United States. For instance, information may be shared with foreign agencies when relevant to their hiring or contracting decisions.
Public comments are being taken until Monday, when the "new system of records will be effective," the notice states.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- A U.S. government official says high-speed Internet access should be available to all residents even if that means providing it free of charge.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin says the government has a social obligation to make sure everybody can participate in the next generation of broadband services, USA Today reported Wednesday.
In an interview with the newspaper, Martin said he planned to turn his vision into reality by using a section of wireless airwaves set to be auctioned next year.
By attaching a "free broadband" condition to the sale of the spectrum, Martin says he thinks he can help drive broadband adoption in rural areas in particular.
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