Category: US News

House, Senate Conservative Republicans Plan Own Obamacare Repeal Bill

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., criticizes the House Republican healthcare reform plan as “Obamacare light” during a television interview on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 7, 2017. ( Conservative Republicans in Congress said on Tuesday they oppose aspects of the Republican leadership’s healthcare bill and they plan to introduce their own legislation on Wednesday to repeal Obamacare.

If Jason Chaffetz wants to compare healthcare to iPhones, let’s do it the right way

Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events Speaking this morning on CNN in defense of House Republicans’ Obamacare replacement plan , Utah Republican Jason Chaffetz said that rather than “getting that new iPhone that they just love,” low-income Americans should take they money they would have spent on it and “invest it in their own health care.” Host Alisyn Camerota started the exchange by pointing out that “access for lower-income Americans doesn’t equal coverage.”

European Stocks Called Higher As Markets Get Boost From U.S. Government Focus

European stocks are expected to open higher Tuesday as investors take a Republican party plan to repeal ‘Obamacare’ as a sign the administration is shifting focus towards firmer policy objectives. European stocks are expected to open higher Tuesday, following a solid session in Asia, as investors take a Republican party plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act as a sign that the administration is shifting focus towards firmer policy objectives.

House GOP Finally Puts Out Repeal Plan

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., plans to send the bill to the House floor for a vote and then forward it to the Senate by the beginning of April. Employers would no longer face a tax for offering high-value “Cadillac” health plans under the latest House Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.

4 Trump plans piecemeal budget release, obscurring broader fiscal picture

The Trump administration’s first budget proposal this month will not include any specific changes to the tax code or big programs like Medicare and Social Security, an administration official said, A focusing instead on boosting A defense spending and cutting other programs that are annually authorized by Congress. This budget proposal is expected to be released around March 16. Other budget proposals will come at a later date, the Office of Management and Budget spokesperson official said.

GOP Needs Trump’s Salesmanship to Advance New Obamacare Plan

Republicans in Congress hope a new draft bill released Monday night will jump-start their stalled Obamacare repeal effort, though the most important factor may be how hard President Donald Trump works to sell it to lawmakers. Two House committees released long-awaited draft measures that House Speaker Paul Ryan and GOP leaders negotiated with the White House, and made expedited plans to take up the measures Wednesday.

As president, Trump seeks answers on his own wiretap mystery

White House Press secretary Sean Spicer walks out of the West Wing of the White House in Washington to speak with members of the media, Monday, March 6, 2017. White House Press secretary Sean Spicer walks out of the West Wing of the White House in Washington to speak with members of the media, Monday, March 6, 2017.

FCC Halts New Data Security Rules; Broader Repeal of Protections on Tap

WASHINGTON Reporters and analysts say the move by the Federal Communications Commission last week to halt new government rules related to data security from taking effect could mean a broader repeal of privacy protections for high-speed internet users. After a 2-to-1 party-line vote by the Republican-led commission, Ajit Pai, the chairman, announced last week that part of the privacy rules passed in October would be temporarily stayed.

Wall St Dips on Trump Tumult, North Korea Action

U.S. stocks pulled back on Monday in a broad decline as investors grew uneasy over the latest tumult surrounding the Trump administration and geopolitical tensions emanating from North Korea. The S&P 500 has rallied about 11 percent in the wake of President Donald Trump’s victory in November, with investors betting on the implementation of reduced regulations, lower taxes and increased infrastructure spending.

Marathon’s $89,000 Drug May Exploit Patients, U.S. Senators Say

Marathon Pharmaceuticals LLC is facing added criticism over the $89,000 price tag on its drug for a rare muscle disorder as a group of eight U.S. lawmakers said they’re concerned that it “exploits” patients. In a March 3 letter to Marathon Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Aronin, seven Democratic U.S. senators and one independent demanded information on the closely held drugmaker’s pricing practices and product development costs for Emflaza, used to treat lethal Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Trump Issues Revised Travel Ban to Address Legal Challenges

President Donald Trump signed an order restricting entry into the U.S. by people from six predominantly Muslim countries, reviving a signature initiative that stalled in the face of court challenges, sparked global protests and prompted dissent by some of his advisers. The directive takes effect March 16 and removes Iraq from an initial list of seven countries whose citizens cannot travel to the U.S. for the next 90 days.

Equity Futures Drop as Risk Appetites Hit

U.S. stock futures dropped but Asian shares were resilient on Monday as investors weighed the near-certain prospect of an interest rate hike in the United States this month against news of China’s slower 2017 growth target. Risk appetites also took a hit on rising geopolitical tensions in East Asia, as North Korea fired four ballistic missiles early in the day, while a spat between China and South Korea over missile defense deepened.

Pai to Lay Out Plans for FCC on Wednesday

Ajit Pai, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, promised to return the U.S. to ‘the light-touch approach’ of regulating broadband. New Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai will get a chance to clue in lawmakers about his plans for net neutrality, wrapping up the broadcast spectrum auction and rewriting media ownership rules when he and fellow FCC members appear before panels on both sides of Capitol Hill Wednesday, March 8. Both the Senate Commerce Committee as well as the communications subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold oversight hearings examining the FCC’s operations Wednesday.

4 Egypt’s Mukhabarat hires Washington lobbyists to boost image

Egyptian intelligence has hired two U.S. public relations firms in Washington to lobby on the country’s behalf and boost its image, the first such engagements by the country’s powerful security apparatus to be made public and a rare move by a foreign intelligence body. Filings dated Jan. 28 and seen by The Associated Press on the Department of Justice website Sunday showed that the General Intelligence Service has hired public relations firms Weber Shandwick and Cassidy & Associates Inc. The registrations by one of Egypt’s feared, competing intelligence agencies, known as the Mukhabarat, were released publicly to comply with the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938.

ICE lawsuit

An arrest is made during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement enforcement operation in Los Angeles on Feb. 7. Tens of thousands of immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were forced to work for $1 day, or for nothing at all – a violation of federal anti-slavery laws – a lawsuit claims. The lawsuit, filed in 2014 against one of the largest private prison companies in the country, reached class-action status this week after a federal judge’s ruling.

Fmr. Federal Prosecutor Robert Ray: Trump Russia Probe Does Not Need Special Counsel

Former federal prosecutor Robert Ray said Sunday there is no need for special counsel to look into possible ties between the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and Russian officials. Ray, in an exclusive interview with Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures,” weighed in on the continuing debate, days after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from investigations into the matter over two conversations he had with a Russian diplomat during the campaign, when Sessions was an Alabama senator.

FCC grants waiver allowing JCCs to receive caller information

The Federal Communications Commission has granted Jewish Community Centers throughout the country a temporary waiver allowing them to receive caller information, in response to the recent series of bomb threats on the Jewish institutions. The waiver, approved on Friday, comes days after 29 JCCs and Jewish schools across the country received called-in bomb threats, the fifth such incident in less than two months.

JCCs Win Special Permission To Identify Callers Amid Wave Of Threats

The Federal Communications Commission has granted Jewish Community Centers throughout the country a temporary waiver allowing them to receive caller information, in response to the recent series of bomb threats on the Jewish institutions. The waiver, approved on Friday, comes days after 29 JCCs and Jewish schools across the country received called-in bomb threats, the fifth such incident in less than two months.

There’s one key factor that shows why organic milk is…

But as it turns out, there may be one type of milk that’s nutritionally superior: the organic kind that comes from grass-fed animals. Michael Tunick, a research chemist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and author of ” The Science of Cheese ,” told Business Insider that the difference has to do with what the cows eat.

Under threat, JCCs given special okay to track caller information

US Jewish leaders meet with the FBI director James Comey to discuss the ongoing investigation of bomb threats to JCC on March 3, 2017. The Federal Communications Commission has granted Jewish Community Centers throughout the country a temporary waiver allowing them to receive caller information, in response to the recent series of bomb threats on the Jewish institutions.

Questions for Muslim students

Three Muslim students who tried to visit an Oklahoma lawmaker Thursday at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City were surprised when they were instead handed a questionnaire at his office. They would have to fill out the survey first, an office assistant told them, before they could make an appointment to see state Rep. John Bennett.

Trump Supporters Declare Pride in President, Slam Opponents

From Colorado’s state Capitol to Trump Tower in New York and the Washington Monument, groups of hundreds of people rallied for President Trump on Saturday, waving “Deplorables for Trump” signs and even carrying a life-size cutout of the president. The March 4 Trump demonstrations were held around the country, and supporters clashed with generally smaller groups of counter protesters.

Immigration courts: record number of cases, many problems

In this Sept. 10, 2014, file photo, an unidentified Guatemalan woman stands inside a dormitory in the Artesia Family Residential Center, a federal detention facility for undocumented immigrant mothers and children in Artesia, N.M. The nation’s immigration courts are already overwhelmed, facing a backlog of more than half a million cases.

Immigration courts: record number of cases, many problems

In this Sept. 10, 2014, file photo, an unidentified Guatemalan woman stands inside a dormitory in the Artesia Family Residential Center, a federal detention facility for undocumented immigrant mothers and children in Artesia, N.M. The nation’s immigration courts are already overwhelmed, facing a backlog of more than half a million cases.

Jobs Take Center Stage of Climate-Change Debate in Trump Era

As the Trump administration sets to work gutting environmental regulations, the best weapon for battling climate change in the U.S. may be jobs. Many Republicans, including the president, have been unmoved by environmental or scientific arguments that federal policies should support clean energy as a way to combat global warming.

JCC waiver will help track bomb threats

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer announced Friday that the Federal Communications Commission will grant a temporary emergency waiver to all Jewish Community Centers that have been targeted during the recent wave of bomb threats. Schumer said the emergency waiver will help authorities track down and identify the people making those threatening calls that frighten communities and waste resources of local law enforcement.

The Latest: Reporter says bomb threat suspect harassed him

The Latest on an arrest in connection with threats made to Jewish institutions nationwide and the Anti-Defamation League’s headquarters in New York : A former journalist from St. Louis accused of making threats to at least eight Jewish community centers had been accused of bizarre behavior before. Juan Thompson is facing a federal charge of cyberstalking an ex-girlfriend.

Jewish Centers get FCC help in tracking bomba

Jewish Centers get FCC help in tracking bomb threats Jewish Community Centers are getting a federal waiver to help them identify perpetrators behind a wave of bomb threats. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2lnCTD4 People evacuated because of a bomb threat return to the David Posnack Jewish Community Center and David Posnack Jewish Day School, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017, in Davie, Fla.

White House fight on import tax puts Congress in limbo

A major split among senior White House officials over whether to effectively create a new tax on imported goods has stalled the broader tax overhaul effort on Capitol Hill, with Republicans looking to the Trump administration for leadership on an issue that has drawn fierce resistance, according to several officials with direct knowledge of the matter. White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, senior adviser Stephen Miller and National Trade Council director Peter Navarro have all voiced internal support for the creation of a border adjustment tax or something like it.

Feds will let JCCs obtain blocked numbers after bomb threats 0:0

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department K-9 officers search the Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada after an employee received a suspicious phone call on Feb. 27. The Federal Communications Commission will offer temporary emergency waivers to Jewish Community Centers so they can obtain numbers for blocked callers in the wake of numerous bombs threats against the institutions nationwide, The Post has learned. “It’s a nationwide preemptive waiver for all JCCs and their carriers which lets them and law enforcement agencies get numbers even when the caller tries to block his or her number – no application necessary,” a US official said.

FCC approves waivers to track Jewish center threats

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is granting an emergency temporary waiver to Jewish community centers and telecommunications carriers that serve them to help track down callers who have made threats, the agency said on Friday. Jewish community centers and schools in at least 13 U.S. states have reported receiving bomb threats this year, stoking fears of a resurgence of anti-Semitism.

JCCs can now trace threatening calls after bomb scares

After more than 30 Jewish Community Centers around the country received call-in bomb threats this week, the Federal Communications Commission on Friday granted Sen. Charles Schumer’s request that Jewish organizations that feel targeted be allowed to trace threatening calls. The Joan & Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center on Manor Road in Sea View was one of 31 around the country that received a threatening phone call Monday.