A Texas nurse said she lost her coverage, after she was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, for failing to disclose a visit to a dermatologist for acne.

The sister of an Illinois man who died of lymphoma said his policy was rescinded for the failure to report a possible aneurysm and gallstones that his physician noted in his chart but did not discuss with him.

The committee’s investigation found that WellPoint’s Blue Cross targeted individuals with more than 1,400 conditions, including breast cancer, lymphoma, pregnancy and high blood pressure. And the committee obtained documents that showed Blue Cross supervisors praised employees in performance reviews for rescinding policies.

[…]

Late in the hearing, Stupak, the committee chairman, put the executives on the spot. Stupak asked each of them whether he would at least commit his company to immediately stop rescissions except where they could show “intentional fraud.”

The answer from all three executives:

“No.”

Last night I did a spot on Al Jazeera English to discuss President Obama’s major speech in Cairo, Egypt. Here’s the video.

If you haven’t yet done so, you should read the full text of the Obama speech. This speech is critically important and while it’s still to be determined whether it accomplishes a new beginning for American/Muslim relations, it was clearly an important first step.

“And what of Sotomayor’s opinions? It’ll take some time to sort them all out, but there appear to be few surprises. She’s a prudent, careful liberal, respectful of Supreme Court precedent, but willing to push its limits to defend the rights of the individual. Sort of like another kid who grew up in a single-parent home and received an Ivy League education—the President who nominated her.”

Jeffrey Toobin on Sonia Sotomayor, Obama’s Supreme Court Justice nominee

See also: Toobin on Chief Justice John Roberts.

“We were standing on the back patio, waiting for him. And he came through the house, saw me and immediately put his hand up in the Vulcan gesture. He said, “They told me you were here.” We had a wonderful brief conversation and I said, “It would be logical if you would become president.”

So, right there in the Cabinet Room, the President put a proposal on the table, according to two people who were present. Obama said he was willing to curb malpractice awards, a move long sought by the Republicans and certain to bring strong opposition from the trial lawyers who fund the Democratic Party.

What, he wanted to know, did the Republicans have to offer in return?

Nothing, it turned out. Republicans were unprepared to make any concessions, if they had any to make.

I spent this past weekend in Ann Arbor, MI and had a chance to see Google founder Larry Page speak at the University of Michigan commencement. The speech was fantastic - check out the video below and text after the jump.

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“And the banks — hard to believe in a time when we’re facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created — are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place.”