Thursday, September 23, 2010
A new era of health care coverage in America is set to begin this week
A new era of health care coverage in America is set to begin this week, when some provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act officially begin to be enforced by law. Many of the changes will be phased in over the next several years, but the debate over whether the legislation is good for the country continues to rage on, especially as the November midterm elections draw near.
The list of the initial changes that will go into effect on Thursday.
1. Insurance companies will no longer be able to deny children coverage for pre-existing conditions.
2. Children of parents with insurance will be allowed to remain covered under those policies until the age of 26.
3. Insurance companies will be forbidden from terminating coverage for any other reason than customer fraud.
4. Insurance companies will no longer be able to cap the amount of benefits and treatment a person can receive in a lifetime.
5. Insurers can no longer charge customers for preventive services like mammograms and colonoscopies.
6. High-risk pools are mandated to cover those who have been denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
The list of the initial changes that will go into effect on Thursday.
1. Insurance companies will no longer be able to deny children coverage for pre-existing conditions.
2. Children of parents with insurance will be allowed to remain covered under those policies until the age of 26.
3. Insurance companies will be forbidden from terminating coverage for any other reason than customer fraud.
4. Insurance companies will no longer be able to cap the amount of benefits and treatment a person can receive in a lifetime.
5. Insurers can no longer charge customers for preventive services like mammograms and colonoscopies.
6. High-risk pools are mandated to cover those who have been denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
Joaquin Phoenix appears again on 'The Late Show with David Letterman'
It's been over a year since Joaquin Phoenix appeared on 'The Late Show with David Letterman' sporting an unkempt beard and sunglasses and mumbling his way through an awkward, often-uncomfortable interview with the late-night host. And on Wednesday, a clean-shaven Phoenix returned to the show and apologized.
It turns out it was all an act--he was playing a character for his friend Casey Affleck's faux documentary 'I'm Still Here.' Affleck revealed last week that the movie, and Phoenix's character, was fake.
"I mean, I think that you've interviewed many, many people and I assumed that you would know the difference between a character and a real person," the actor said to the late-night host. "I hope I didn't offend you in any way."
"Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no," Letterman said. "I'm telling you, it was so much fun. It was batting practice, you know what I mean? Every one of them was a dinger. I was looking for a beat down, and I got one... I want to thank you for that."
And though there have been recent rumblings that Letterman was in on the whole act, he set the record straight. "Was there a script that you and I were working with?" he asked Phoenix, who responded immediately: "No."
It turns out it was all an act--he was playing a character for his friend Casey Affleck's faux documentary 'I'm Still Here.' Affleck revealed last week that the movie, and Phoenix's character, was fake.
"I mean, I think that you've interviewed many, many people and I assumed that you would know the difference between a character and a real person," the actor said to the late-night host. "I hope I didn't offend you in any way."
"Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no," Letterman said. "I'm telling you, it was so much fun. It was batting practice, you know what I mean? Every one of them was a dinger. I was looking for a beat down, and I got one... I want to thank you for that."
And though there have been recent rumblings that Letterman was in on the whole act, he set the record straight. "Was there a script that you and I were working with?" he asked Phoenix, who responded immediately: "No."
New Harry Potter Trailer
If the first full trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows left me riddled with goosebumples, today’s new HP7 trailer — focusing exclusively on Part 1 of the “EPIC FINALE,” out Nov. 19 — left me catching my breath. Mostly from excitement, sure, but also from exhaustion: It’s a roughly two minute barrage of you’d-better-not-blink shots designed to goose Potter-heads with glimpses of all the new (and returning) characters, and iconic sequences and moments, we’ve been practically feverish to see on screen. Ooo that’s Bill Nighy as new Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour and wait now Voldemort’s peering into Dumbledore’s tomb and oh hey there’s the gravesite of Harry’s parents and eek it’s Prof. Snape by Voldemort’s side and hang on Imelda Staunton’s back as the diabolically pink Dolores Umbridge and whoa Harry, Ron and Hermione barely missed that double-decker bus in central London and…you get the idea. Check out the jam-packed trailer for yourself:
We also get all-too-brief peeks at the seven Harry Potters; the wedding of Ron’s brother Bill to Fleur Delacour; the Death Eaters’ assault on said wedding; the flight of the said seven Potters; the fight between Harry and Ron; Dobby!; Harry, Ron, and Hermione infiltrating the Ministry of Magic; and Luna Lovegood’s father Xenophilius (Rhys Ifans), despairing at the attack on his home. What we don’t really get is a semblance of the plot. Had you not read J.K. Rowling’s seventh Potter book, not only would the preceding litany of references make little sense to you, but you’d have no idea that the first part of the “EPIC FINALE” really concerns Harry, Ron, and Hermione covertly casting about England searching for Lord Voldemort’s missing Horcruxes. Or, for that matter, why the movie is even called “The Deathly Hallows“ — and what they have to do with that strange triangle-y symbol that flashes ’round the 0:39 mark.
Does this trailer do its job of setting up the first part of the final two Harry Potter movies? Or are you left wanting for something a bit more…coherent?
We also get all-too-brief peeks at the seven Harry Potters; the wedding of Ron’s brother Bill to Fleur Delacour; the Death Eaters’ assault on said wedding; the flight of the said seven Potters; the fight between Harry and Ron; Dobby!; Harry, Ron, and Hermione infiltrating the Ministry of Magic; and Luna Lovegood’s father Xenophilius (Rhys Ifans), despairing at the attack on his home. What we don’t really get is a semblance of the plot. Had you not read J.K. Rowling’s seventh Potter book, not only would the preceding litany of references make little sense to you, but you’d have no idea that the first part of the “EPIC FINALE” really concerns Harry, Ron, and Hermione covertly casting about England searching for Lord Voldemort’s missing Horcruxes. Or, for that matter, why the movie is even called “The Deathly Hallows“ — and what they have to do with that strange triangle-y symbol that flashes ’round the 0:39 mark.
Does this trailer do its job of setting up the first part of the final two Harry Potter movies? Or are you left wanting for something a bit more…coherent?
Terri Hatcher to play Lois' mother on Smallville
Teri Hatcher is returning to a role she was once familiar with. The "Desperate Housewives" star, who once held Clark Kent's love on "The New Adventures of Lois and Clark," will be guest starring in "Smallville" as Lois Lane's mother.
She won't be playing Lois herself, as she had already done during her younger years, but she will be playing the dead mother of Erica Durance, The CW's new Lois.
In episode 8 titled "Abandoned," Lois discovers old videotapes of her mother Ella, which will of course show Hatcher.
The tenth and final season of "Smallville" will debut September 24.
Hatcher now plays Susan Mayer on the ABC show.
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