The latest healthcare twist; Amazon rumored to be going after chat

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will delay a vote on health care reform scheduled for this week until John McCain recovers from surgery. Without McCain, who has expressed reservations about the GOP's plan, Republicans may not have enough votes to take up or pass the legislation. McConnell has faced considerable headwinds uniting his party on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act; the delay could put the GOP plan in an even more precarious position, as “every day heightens the risk that one more Senate Republican will come out against the bill." The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is also expected to release its analysis of the revised bill sometime this week. #GOPHealthCare

A judge has decided that Google doesn’t have to give the Department of Labor all the data it requested in 2015 as part of an equal pay audit. The DOL claimed in a lawsuit that Google, a federal contractor, pays men more than women "pretty much across the entire workforce.” Google will need to hand over a snapshot of 2014 salary data, but can refuse demands like submitting contact information for all 21,000 of its employees. It’s a sensitive time for tech companies, which are under increasing scrutiny over mistreatment of and discrimination against women in the workplace. #GoogleDOL

Amazon may be building an app to rival WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Google Hangouts called Anytime, AFTVNews reports. The report claims that Amazon will include most common chat app features like end-to-end encryption and stickers, but will also allow users to contact other users without needing their phone number, a feature that could help with app adoption. While Amazon recently added calling and messaging features to Alexa, “Anytime appears to be a more ambitious product” that could help “branch out” Alexa’s capabilities. #AmazonMessaging

Female founders continue to face an uphill battle when raising funds from VCs, according to the latest data from Crunchbase. And the portion of companies with at least one female founder — 17% — has not budged since 2012. Meanwhile, several venture capitalists have recently come under fire over allegations of sexual harassment toward female founders, leading to multiple resignations and calls for systemic change in the industry. #VCGenderGap

Actress Jodie Whittaker will be the 13th Time Lord — and the first woman to hold the role — on "Doctor Who," the popular British television series. The decision comes as producers of film, television, and theater vie to introduce greater diversity in their casting decisions. Disney's live-action "Aladdin" was recently the subject of controversy after the studio announced that it had cast Canadian actor Mena Massoud and British actress Naomi Scott, upsetting those who felt Disney should have instead sought actors from the Middle East or South Asia. #DoctorWho

What we're reading now: How did Bill Nye become the "Science Guy"? Comedy. It was Nye's sense of humor, not just his science skills, that sent him down a path that combined his passions. And he says humor can be key for anyone's career:

"Try to see the world from other people’s perspectives. Find the comforting humor in your setbacks. Think about how a joke can bring a group of disparate people together. In short, be a comedy nerd."

What's your take? Join the conversations on today's stories: #GOPHealthCare | #GoogleDOL | #AmazonMessaging | #VCGenderGap | #DoctorWho

From earlier today: #ChinaGDPQ2

— Lorraine K. Lee & Katie Carroll / Share this using #DailyRundown