Wal-Mart to end healthcare benefits for some part-time workers

(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), the biggest private-sector employer in the United States, said on Tuesday it was ending healthcare coverage for tens of thousands of part-time workers to cut costs in a move that could prompt other companies to follow suit.

The world's largest retailer said it will stop offering health benefits for employees who work less than 30 hours a week, a change that will affect 2 percent of its U.S. workforce of about 1.3 million, or some 26,000 people.

Coverage will be discontinued from Jan. 1, 2015. On that date the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, will require all companies employing 50 or more people to offer health insurance to those working at least 30 hours a week.

Catalonia government to decide by October 15 whether to hold referendum

(Reuters) - The government of the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia will decide by October 15 whether to push ahead with a contested referendum on separation from the rest of Spain, a spokesman said on Monday.

Catalonia, with a population of 7.5 million people, its own language and accounting for a fifth of Spain's economy, has long sought independence and was buoyed by the close result of last month's referendum in Scotland.

But Spain's central government says the referendum called for November 9 is illegal and the country's Constitutional Court has suspended it while it deliberates on its legality, a process that could take months or years.

"We can't decide on this... on November 7 or 8," said Francesc Homs, spokesman for the Catalan government, in a radio interview.

Artur Mas, the leader of Catalonia, is under pressure from more radical pro-independence supporters to defy Madrid and the Constitutional Court and push ahead with the referendum.

Although his administration initially temporarily suspended campaigning for the referendum after the court ruling, it later changed its tone and said it would push on.

In a television advertisement on Saturday it said it had agreed "to take the legal, political and institutional initiative to guarantee the right to decide the political future of Catalonia".

South Dakota: Teen allegedly forced to wear 'gaytard' label files discrimination complaint

(FoxNews.com) - A gay South Dakota teenager allegedly forced by his boss to wear a name tag that read "gaytard" filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this week, claiming his former employer discriminated against him and violated his civil rights.

The Argus Leader reports the teen, identified as 16-year-old Tyler Brandt, was allegedly forced by a night manager at Taco John's International restaurant to wear a name tag that read "gaytard" during his June 23 shift.

Brandt reportedly complied, fearing he'd lose his job if he didn't wear the name tag. The teen, who is openly gay, claims he was mocked in front of restaurant customers when he asked to remove the tag. He resigned the next day, according to the newspaper.

Brandt filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this week with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, alleging the restaurant in Yankton, S.D., violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He also created a website hoping to bring attention to bullying in the workplace. Continue Reading

CDC director: Ebola outbreak unlikely in U.S.

Via WND

(CNN) – The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told CNN on Sunday that he is confident there is little risk of an Ebola outbreak in Dallas, where one infected patient is fighting for his life.

Dr. Tom Frieden said on “State of the Union” that the CDC is concerned about family members who had “very close contact” with the victim but that they were being monitored constantly.

“That’s how you stop it in its tracks. That’s why we’re confident we won’t see a large number of cases from this,” he told Candy Crowley.
Read the full story ›

Pig in Australia steals 18 beers from campers, gets drunk, fights cow

(Via BCF) - Forget crocodiles and snakes, the real animal threat in Australia is wild pigs. At least if you’re camping

At a campground in Western Australia over the weekend, a feral pig guzzled down 18 beers that had been left out improperly secured. And just like anyone 18 beers in at a rural dive bar, the pig got big-headed and decided to start a fight with a cow, resulting in the cow chasing the pig around a car.

“In the middle of the night these people camping opposite us heard a noise, so they got their torch out and shone it on the pig and there he was, scrunching away at their cans,” said a visitor.

The pig was later reported sleeping his hangover (and shame of trying to take down a cow?) off under a tree…

Spanish court suspends Catalan self-rule vote

(TheLocalSpain) - Spain's Constitutional Court on Monday (9/30) suspended an independence referendum called by Catalonia for November 9th, although leaders of the rich north-eastern region vowed to press ahead anyway with preparations for the vote.

The unanimous and expected decision by the court's 12 judges came just hours after Spain's central government asked it to declare the non-binding independence referendum illegal on the grounds that it breaches the country's constitution.

The court said in a statement that it had accepted the appeal and had suspended the referendum while it considers the central government's arguments. The court had up to five months to give its ruling although it can request an extension.

The head of the regional government of Catalonia, Artur Mas, signed a decree on Saturday calling for the referendum.

Since then a luminous clock on Barcelona's historic Sant Jaume square has been ticking down the seconds to November 9th and television and radio stations in the region have aired ads informing the public of the vote.

Conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he "deeply" regretted Mas's move, saying it "divides Catalans, alienates them from Europe and the rest of Spain and seriously harms their welfare".

In a televised address to the nation following an emergency cabinet meeting, Rajoy said the right to decide a region's status belonged to "all the Spanish people" under the country's 1978 constitution -- the keystone of Spain's democracy after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco.

"There is nothing and no one, no power nor institution, that can break this principle of sole sovereignty," he added. Full Story

US: American cameraman diagnosed with Ebola in Liberia

(Reuters) - An American freelance television cameraman working for NBC News in Liberia has tested positive for the Ebola virus and will be flown back to the United States for treatment, the network said on Thursday in an online report.

Diagnosis of the cameraman, who the network said came down with symptoms that included aches and fatigue on Wednesday, is believed to mark the first time an American journalist has been infected with the deadly virus since the current outbreak in West Africa.

The freelancer, who NBC said works as a writer as well as a cameraman, and whose name was not given by the network, is the fourth U.S. citizen overall to have contracted the disease in Liberia.

A Liberan man visiting relatives in Dallas recently became the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States.