Congress passes Health ReformFor the first time in generations, the US Congress passed a bill that will reform the nation’s health care system. “HR 3590,” otherwise known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the same bill that passed through the US Senate months ago. The Congressional Budge Office estimated it would expand coverage at a cost of $940 billion over 10 years and cut the deficit by $143 billion in the first decade and roughly $1.2 trillion over the second decade. It will bring coverage for 35 million more Americans, which results in 95% of the public when it takes places in 2014. –CNNVerizon provides $25,000 grant to Urban ScholarsUMB announced a $25,000 grant from the Verizon foundation to support the university’s Urban Scholars Program. The program seeks to help middle and high school students to achieve at the college level. Nearly 1,500 students have graduated from the program, 98% of which went to college, and 85% of which graduated from college or are still enrolled. –UMB Office of CommunicationsStudy: Daylight Saving Time a wasteDaylight saving time is supposed to reduce energy use, but according to a study by professor Matthew Kotchen and PhD student Laura E. Grant, it actually does the opposite. The team studied over seven million electricity meter readings in southern Indiana every month for three years and compared the energy consumption before and after the change. The conclusion reached by the scientists was that while lighting costs were reduced in the afternoons by daylight savings, the greater heating costs in the mornings and more use of air-conditioners on hot afternoons more than offset these savings. – PhysOrg