U.S. federal court rules key part of Obamacare unconstitutional

A U.S. federal court in Virginia on Monday ruled individual health coverage requirement of Obama's healthcare reform law unconstitutional. This is the first federal court to strike down the law.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson, a Republican appointed by former President George W. Bush, ruled that the Obamacare's requirement that citizens buy health insurance or pay a penalty is unconstitutional.

The lawsuit was filed by Virginia Republican Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli, who was trying to defend a new state statute that made it illegal to force state residents to buy health insurance.

"This won't be the final round, as this will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court, but today is a critical milestone in the protection of the Constitution," Cuccinelli said in a statement after the ruling.

The sweeping healthcare law, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, has been facing a host of legal challenges since Obama signed it in March, with the provision of "individual mandate" mostly targeted by opponents.

In two other lawsuits in Virginia and Michigan, federal judges upheld the same provision. A third lawsuit related to the constitutionality of the individual mandate is pending in Florida.

In a document released before the midterm elections last month, Republicans made repealing the healthcare law one of their top priorities. With their overwhelming victory in the elections, Republicans are expected to redouble their efforts to strike down the law after the new Congress convenes in January.

Analysts see the repeal of the entire healthcare law through Congress as something unlikely, given the fact that Democrats still control the Senate and Obama has the veto power. Instead, they believe Republicans have a better chance of stripping certain provisions off the reform package through legal procedures.

Source: Xinhua

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Supreme Court to hear arguments in violent video game case (The Starting Point)

The Starting Point is a snapshot of the news that occurred overnight and a preview of the stories we expect to cover today.

Featured story

Should states be allowed to ban the sale and rental of violent video games to children? That's the question the U.S. Supreme Court will consider after hearing arguments on Tuesday in the case of Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger first signed the law in 2005, which prohibited the sale or rental of games that give players the option of "killing, maiming, dismembering or sexually assaulting an image of a human being" to anyone under the age of 18. Retailers who broke the law would be punished with fines of up to $1,000 for each infraction, The Associated Press reported.

Last year, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court said the law violated minors' constitutional rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The justices also said the state lacked enough evidence to prove that violent video games cause physical and/or psychological harm to children. Courts in six other states have reached similar conclusions.

Supporters of the ban believe it will protect children from viewing graphic depictions of violence. Free speech advocates, gamers and the computer game industry say such a ban could lead to strict federal regulation on the content of games and other media, The Sacramento Bee reported.

At this time, nearly all major game publishers and retailers use a rating system that assigns age-specific ratings to video games. Most already block the sale of games that are rated M for "mature" and AO for "adults only" to children.

What happened overnight

Iraqi security forces stormed a Baghdad church where militants had taken an entire congregation hostage on Sunday. Four hours after the armed insurgents took control of Our Lady of Deliverance, Iraqi soldiers attempted to rescue the 120 Christians being held inside. A bloodbath ensued. At the time of this writing, at least 52 people were killed and 67 wounded. "We have no clear picture yet whether the worshippers were killed by the security forces' bullets or by terrorists, but what we know is that most of them were killed when the security forces started to storm the church," Younadem Kana told The AP.

Mount Merapi, Indonesia's most volatile volcano, erupted again today. According to The AP, the new blast spewed clouds of gas and debris into the air for hours. Since it first started to erupt one week ago, the volcano has killed at least 38 people.

Maurice Lucas, the former Portland Trail Blazers' forward known as "The Enforcer," died on Oct. 31 of bladder cancer. He was 58. The three-time All-Star led the team in scoring (20.2), field goals made (8.0), offensive rebounds (3.4) and minutes (36.2), and was a central figure on the 1976-77 NBA Championship team. From 2005 to 2010, he served as the team's assistant coach. "Maurice Lucas was an amazing man and I count myself lucky to have known him. We all -- players, coaches, the owner and the fans -- were made better by having Maurice a part of our team, whether playing on the championship team or, most recently as an assistant coach," Blazers owner Paul Allen said. "He was one of the greatest Blazers ever."

Public opinion

Today's poll: Should religious institutions pay property taxes? Click here to share your thoughts.

Friday's poll: Many of the traditions of Halloween come from the Celtic holiday Samhain, a day when the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest. Bonfires were lit to celebrate the new year and to ward off evil spirits. Turnips, and later pumpkins, were carved with faces for the same reason. And after sunset, people would go "a-souling," a practice that involved honoring the dead in exchange for food and drink. How do you celebrate Halloween? The majority of respondents give candy to trick or treaters, carve jack o' lanterns, watch horror movies and wear costumes.

Looking ahead

In an effort to improve the processing of veterans' requests for disability compensation, the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to launch a pilot program for paperless claims processing.

Jury selection in the trial of Brian David Mitchell, the man charged in the abduction of Elizabeth Smart, begins today.

Just the facts, ma'am

Six million census takers will conduct the once-a-decade tally of China's population. --AP

The likelihood of dying from breast cancer for all women is about 1 in 35. --KVUE-TV

In the 1940s, Eleanor Abbott invented the game Candy Land as a diversion for children recovering from polio. --Mental Floss

Today in history

Sixty years ago, two Puerto Rican nationalists, Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola, tried to force their way into Blair House in Washington to assassinate President Harry S. Truman.

Birthdays

* Singer Bo Bice, 35.
* Actress Jenny McCarthy, 38.
* Actress Toni Collette, 38.
* Singer Sophie B. Hawkins, 46.
* Singer "Big Kenny" Alphin (Big and Rich), 47.
* Musician Rick Allen (Def Leppard), 47.
* Singer Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers), 48.
* Musician Mags Furuholmen (a-ha), 48.
* Musician Lyle Lovett, 53.
* Astronaut Jan Davis, 57.
* Musician Ronald Khalis Bell (Kool and the Gang), 59.
* Music producer David Foster, 61.
* Singer Kinky Friedman, 66.
* Actress Marcia Wallace, 68.
* Magazine publisher Larry Flynt, 68.
* Actress Barbara Bosson, 71.
* Golfer Gary Player, 75.

Notable deaths

* Author Dale Carnegie died in 1955 at the age of 66.
* Poet/critic Ezra Pound died in 1972 at the age of 87.
* Former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower died in 1979 at the age of 82.
* Author William Styron died in 2006 at the age of 81.

Video of the day

Quote of the day

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." --Abraham Lincoln

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