5 Things: Smokers Pay More Under Obamacare

[Your Song of the Day]

1. Weather Report: Today will be cloudy with a high of 38 degrees. Tonight will bring snow showers with a low of 26 degrees. The sun will show and the temperatures will rise tomorrow.

2. Pricey habit. Experts are pointing out that a provision in Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act could mean big penalties for smokers. In effect on Jan. 1, 2014, the legislation would allow health insurers to charge up to 50 percent higher premiums for smokers. The costs will hit older smokers much harder than younger ones, and workers can join smoking cessation programs to avoid these costs.

3. Quite the connection. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is one of the longest bridges in the world over navigable water. It crosses San Francisco Bay between Oakland and San Francisco, California.

4. Down with tolls. New Hampshire Senate President Peter Bragdon of Milford said in an interview with The Nashua Telegraph that he wants to remove the tolls in Merrimack. He explains that the money they raise is too low compared to the cost of construction and operation.

5. Congrats! Colby-Sawyer College has named the following students to the Dean's List for academic achievement during the 2012 fall semester. To qualify for the Dean's List, students must achieve a grade-point average of 3.50 or higher on a 4.0 scale while carrying a minimum of 12 credit hours in graded courses. Lesley R. Frank, a member of the class of 2014, is a Psychology major from Milford and Veronica L. Smith, a member of the class of 2013, is a Exercise Science major from Milford.