Obamacare Contraception Mandate Blocked At The 11th Hour

While you said goodbye to 2013 by popping corks, according to Time, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor decided to make an 11th-hour decision to grant a request from religious groups who had a beef about a section of the Affordable Care Act — yep, good old birth control. Sotomayor blocked the part requiring companies to pay for contraceptives in their employee health coverage regardless of religious beliefs. The straw that broke the camel's back? A call from an order of nuns.

Of course, then there were the Catholic groups who requested the mandate be delayed while the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals dealt with a legal snafu with craft-store chain Hobby Lobby, claiming that the law "infringes on religious liberty." So, the die was cast by Sotomayor and the government has a deadline of Friday to respond. But, that doesn't mean she still didn't ring in the New year by helping to lower the iconic Times Square ball. All in a day's work... (Time)