White House officials hold out hope for he…

Top White House officials on Sunday said they hope House Republicans will vote on a health care agreement this week, even though House Speaker Paul D. Ryan reportedly told members they should focus in the coming days on keeping the government funded. Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said a recent proposal designed to let states waive insurer regulations in Obamacare is a tweak to an underlying replacement plan, so it's not as if House Republicans are starting from scratch.

Sweet home Chicago: Obama re-emerges in city where it all began

Former U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday makes his first major appearance since leaving office, having chosen Chicago, the city where his political career started, to emerge from a three-month hiatus from the public eye. Obama will meet youth leaders and promote community organizing near the same South Side neighborhoods where his own activism blossomed and propelled him to two terms in the White House that ended with Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who served as Obama's first White House chief of staff, said that he was proud that Obama picked Chicago to make his last speech as president and the first in his post-presidency.

Trump Budget Chief: Border Wall Will ‘Protect Millions Of Low Income Americans’ Who Lose Obamacare

After years of Republican obstructionism under Democratic President Barack Obama, Trump Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said on Sunday that it was the Democrats who are guilty of "stunning" obstructionism because they will not negotiate on a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace noted that President Donald Trump had offered Democrats a deal: If you fund the border wall, payments to Obamacare will not be cut.

Politics | Sunday Political Brunch: Political Odds and Ends

Congress is coming back to Washington, D.C. this week after a two-week recess, or as the members call it, "a district work period." Many in the public and the press call it a "vacation," but for many Senators and Representatives it's a busy time to meet with constituents across districts and states.

Problems remain at troubled Washington psychiatric hospital

Inspectors who visited Washington state's largest psychiatric hospital found that safety problems that thrust the facility into the national spotlight after the escape of two dangerous patients a year ago persist, including neglected patients. And a survey of Western State Hospital staff, conducted as part of federal oversight in December and January, found that administrators make decisions that "adversely affect patient safety" and there was a lack of trained or qualified staff, fear of retaliation from managers and too much focus on bureaucracy over staff safety.

Grocery tax repeal veto prompts debate in Idaho over powers of…

After Idaho Gov. Butch Otter vetoed a popular bill to remove the state's 6 percent sales tax from groceries, North Idaho Sen. Steve Vick is renewing his push to change the Idaho Constitution to allow lawmakers to reconvene to override a veto that's issued after they adjourn for the year. "It's not uncommon, it's not some sort of strange idea," said Vick, R-Dalton Gardens.

I Will Release Plan With ‘Massive’ Tax Cuts Next Week

"The process has begun long ago but it really formally begins on Wednesday", Trump said in a statement issued to CNBC . The Trump administration plans to rely on controversial assumptions about economic growth to offset steep cuts to business and individual tax rates, a chief architect of the plan said Thursday.

Short-term fixes to La’s long-term budget woes offer familiar anxiety along edge of ‘fiscal cliff’

Advocate staff photo by BILL FEIG -- Azalea bloom in the Capital Gardens in front of the State Capital Building on the first day of the regular legislative session which convened at noon. Gov. John Bel Edwards addressed the joint session at 1:00 for the State of the State.

Erin Moran, Joanie Cunningham in “Happy Days,” dies at 56.

Erin Moran, the former child star who starred as Joanie Cunningham in the sitcoms "Happy Days" and "Joanie Loves Chachi," has died. A passenger on an American Airlines flight says a flight attendant who has since been grounded nearly hit a baby when he jerked a stroller away from a woman holding the child.

Will Islam Inherit the Earth?By Brandon Withrow

Fueling the hysteria on the part of politicians like Steve King and Geert Wilders, a blockbuster new report details how a lack of Christian fecundity may leave the earth to others. Controversial right-wing Congressman Steve King made headlines in March when he tweeted his support for anti-Muslin Dutch politician Geert Wilders saying , "Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny.

The 20 people Donald Trump turns to outside the White House

Washington: Relationships have always been President Donald Trump's currency and comfort, helping him talk his way into real estate deals over three decades in New York.Those who know him best say that his outer confidence has always belied an inner uncertainty, and that he needs to test ideas with a wide range of people. US Vice-President Mike Pence thanks Australia Mr Pence thanked Australia for calling on China to exert more pressure on North Korea to ends its nuclear weapons program and he says the Trump administration and its allies will "deal" with North Korea if China does not.

Republicans hope to avert shutdown

House Republicans return from spring recess to a jam-packed week needing to keep the government's lights on before a Friday funding deadline and unsure if there will be time to make substantial progress on President Donald Trump's priority to repeal and replace Obamacare. "I don't think the budget's fully baked yet.

Corps employs at-risk youth, vets to make low-income homes in Charleston area more energy efficient

Tanya Witlin, who works with AmeriCorps South Carolina, conducts a skills session with veterans and at-risk youth in the Sustainability Institute's Energy Conservation Corps participants. David Quick/Staff Chris Lisinski, who served both military and contractor roles in Afghanistan, was among the first participants in the Veterans Conservation Corps in 2015 and is now the program manager.

Possible shutdown, health care quagmire awaiting Congress

Lawmakers returning to Washington this coming week will find a familiar quagmire on health care legislation and a budget deadline dramatized by the prospect of a protracted battle between President Donald Trump and Democrats over his border wall. Trump's GOP allies control Congress, but they've been unable to send him a single major bill as his presidency faces the symbolic 100-day mark on April 29 - the very day when the government, in a worst-case scenario, could shut down.

President approves Washington storms disaster declaration

President Donald Trump has approved a disaster declaration for Washington state to address damage from late January and February storms that brought flooding, landslides and mudslides. The action, in response to a request from Gov. Jay Inslee, makes federal funding available to state, local and tribal governments as well as certain nonprofit groups.

Steve Rose Seyz Johnson County, Kansas Congressman Yoder Stays Winning

We tend to agree with the only dead tree media pundit who matters but only because of a dearth of leadership and decent candidates from the Kansas Democratic Party. Take a peek: If U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder seeks re-election, does the measly seven-point spread in the 4th District contest between Republican Ron Estes and Democrat James Thompson serve as a warning shot to the 3rd District congressman? The comparisons are absolutely ridiculous.