Latest Business News From Tod Seisser

Last night, I hosted “The Rachel Maddow Show.” The full show is here. But I’m particularly proud of this segment looking at how Facebook’s IPO and U2’s Bono explain the shocking rise in income inequality:

Congress is currently weighing a law that would ban all abortions after 20 weeks in the District of Columbia. Willie Parker, a Washington-based obstetrician, is one doctor who has performed late-term abortions here and stands to be directly affected, should that law pass. An obstetrician for two decades, he only began performing abortions eight years ago, largely out of what he says was concern for women’s needs going unmet. Parker is primarily based in Washington and Philadelphia, but also travels monthly to see patients in Alabama.

The idea, admits tax lawyer Lee Sheppard, would prompt bankers to “look at you balefully, like you just ran over their dog.”

But advocates for higher taxes on Wall Street trading hope the proposal gets a second hearing--particularly since JPMorgan’s messy loss has raised new questions about the risks that big banks are still taking. They argue that a tax on trading would not only raise needed revenue, but also help curb some of the speculative, risky activities that make the markets so volatile--preventing, perhaps, the next “London Whale.”

Four high-ranking federal lab workers found a way to turn “per diem” funds for a temporary assignment into a steady flow of extra income — at taxpayers’ expense. The overpayments, discovered in an inspector general’s audit, boosted the annual pay of some of the employees by as much as $64,000.

The House approved a bill Friday that would provide $642.5 billion in defense spending for the next fiscal year, despite a veto threat from the White House, which objected to a series of provisions that would limit the president’s authority and challenge administration policies.

— Ezra is guest-hosting for Rachel Maddow again Friday night. Tune in!

—By 2025, one-third of U.S. cities will have more seniors than children.

—Tokyo’s private rail lines turn a profit largely by owning a lot of real estate and stores.

Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of Health and Human Services, delivered the commencement address at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute on Friday. Leaders in the Catholic Church had pressured Georgetown to rescind her invitation, given her key role in implementing the health reform law, which requires employers to cover contraceptives.

The House overwhelmingly passed an amendment Friday that would expand foreclosure protections for service members, their families and disabled veterans.

The legislation was attached to the National Defense Authorization Act, which the House passed Friday.

For the past two months, Bob and Sarah Steck have been preparing their 82-year-old Tudor-style home in the District’s Chevy Chase neighborhood for sale.

Bob Steck, a writer and consultant, and Sarah Steck, a psychiatric social worker, have upgraded the home with fresh paint, new kitchen appliances and refinished oak floors. They converted their garage into an office and are marketing the backyard structure as a potential guesthouse, playroom and artist’s studio. For extra measure, they’ve also hired a staging firm to elevate the home’s image with artfully arranged furnishings.