Month: January 2017

Ex-top cop slams mayor’s plans to destroy municipal ID records

The city’s former top cop slammed the de Blasio administration’s move to destroy personal information of New Yorkers who apply for the municipal ID program. Howard Safir claimed the program – started in January 2015 to help undocumented immigrants obtain public assistance – makes it easy for potential criminals to obtain fraudulent identities.

The crazy 2016 political year means Colorado politics will never look the same again

Specialist John Haubert Colorado Army National Guard, 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces group, Airborne posts the Colorado Flag on the House floor to start the 2016 Colorado Legislative session at the Colorado State Capitol January 13, 2015. The tumultuous year in politics left an indelible mark in Colorado — one that guarantees the state’s political landscape will never look the same.

New Year’s Day

Pro tip: Don’t mix a bottle of California Merlot with three large Obans and a bunch of Moet. It will make you immediately stupid, and you will hate yourself the next day.

Pilot, fiancee and her grandchildren killed in plane crash

Authorities in Jefferson County say a 63-year-old Sequim pharmacist was the pilot aboard a small plane that crashed last week, killing all four people on board. Jefferson County prosecuting attorney and coroner, Michael Haas, identified the victims as pilot Jon Bernhoft, his 61-year-old fiancee Carla Parke and her two grandchildren – a 9-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, both of Bellingham.

This Day in Labor History: January 1, 1935

On January 1, 1935, the Carl Mackley Houses opened in Philadelphia. Built in conjunction with the Hosiery Workers Union, this project represents one of several attempts during the New Deal era to create workers’ housing complexes that combined both ideas of solidarity with modern architecture and a futuristic idea about where the working class was headed.

Concussions on the brain: Pushing for more research on women

Katherine Snedaker says she has had 20 concussions, the first three decades ago from a car accident when she was 16. But it wasn’t until her son suffered a series of concussions in the sixth grade, around 2008, that she felt compelled to learn all she could about head injuries to help him recover. During her journey of learning, she has become a nationally known advocate for better research, medical care, and support for girls and women with brain injuries, including concussions.

Older

Donald Trump has won the presidency after narrowly carrying a few states to put him above 270 electoral votes.But according… Senate Republicans refused to give President Obama’s pick to replace Supreme Court Justice Scalia even the courtesy of a… Welcome back to another edition of Nuts & Bolts Guide . Every week, over the last year, we’ve covered some of the elements of a successful campaign.

Trump tells Schumer he likes him more than other GOP leaders :0

Donald Trump told Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer in a phone call he likes him more than his GOP brethren House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a source close to the transition team said. During a recent phone call, the president-elect “said to Schumer he likes Schumer more than Ryan and McConnell because they both wanted him to lose,” the source said.

Trump’s healthcare nominees are just what the doctor ordered

It has been widely reported that President-elect Trump’s nomination of Rep. Tom Price, an orthopedic surgeon, to be the next secretary of Health and Human Services , and Seema Verma to be the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services , has drawn many cheers from Republicans eager to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. To be sure, replacing Obamacare would be a huge victory for conservatives, and Price has proved he is more than qualified to take on the task by authoring a comprehensive replacement plan in every Congress since 2011.

Recovery of plane in Lake Erie to begin

Recovery efforts are expected to begin Sunday for a small plane carrying six people that disappeared over Lake Erie near Cleveland’s shores. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson expressed condolences to those who lost loved ones, as the city took over from the U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday after an extensive search effort ended in disappointment and became a recovery operation.

Named and shamed: Who’s been in Derbyshire’s courts? 1

TAHIR Ashfaq, 41, of Darby Street, Normanton, was fined A 50 and was ordered to pay A 85 costs and a A 30 victim surcharge for speeding at 36mph in a 30mph limit in London Road, on June 4. SAMUEL Brealey, 22, of Wildhay Brook, Hilton, was fined A 40, ordered to pay A 85 costs, a A 30 victim surcharge and had his licence endorsed with three penalty points for speeding at 38mph in a 30mph limit in Burton Road, Derby, on April 23. STEVEN Casey, 38, of Holmegate Close, Chaddesden, was fined A 220, ordered to pay A 85 costs, a A 30 victim surcharge and had his licence endorsed with three penalty points for speeding at 38mph in a 30mph limit, in Raynesway, Alvaston, on May 14. MARTIN Cicak, 49, of Lower Dale Road, Normanton, was fined A 166, ordered to pay A 85 costs, a A 30 victim surcharge and had his licence endorsed with three penalty points for driving while not wearing a seat belt in … (more)

Commentary: Safety net faces dire threats from Trump, GOP

Poor Americans are facing the gravest threat to the federal safety net in decades as President-elect Donald Trump takes office accompanied by a Republican-controlled Congress. The risks to essential benefits for tens of millions of low- and moderate- income Americans include losing coverage extended to them by the Affordable Care Act , threats to the fundamental structure of the Medicaid health-insurance program for the poor, and further reduction of already squeezed funding for scores of other important programs serving the most vulnerable Americans.

Here’s How Medicare Is Changing in 2017

Medicare provides essential healthcare coverage to tens of millions of Americans, but every year, the program sees some changes to the way it offers its benefits. In 2017, not only will Medicare participants see typical changes in costs and coverage options, but they’ll also see political pressure that could result in more dramatic healthcare reform that could affect Medicare.

Federal Judge Places Injunction On Obama Transgender And Abortion Rules

A federal judge in Texas on Saturday issued a nationwide injunction halting enforcement of Obama administration protections for transgender and abortion-related healthcare services just one day before they were due to go into effect. The lawsuit – brought by Texas, a handful of other states, and some religiously affiliated nonprofit medical groups – challenges a regulation implementing the sex nondiscrimination requirement found in the Affordable Care Act .

News 18 mins ago 7:05 a.m.3 dead after planes collide near Dallas

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the crash happened near Aero Country Airport, in the 500 block of North Custer Road near Virginia, just after 5:30 p.m. Saturday. “Both aircraft were flying under Visual Flight Rules and were not in contact with air traffic control at the time of the collision,” Lynn Lunsford with the FAA said.

2017: Staten Island’s future begins now

It all starts with the new American president. Republican Donald Trump is set to take the oath of office as the nation’s 45th chief executive in a couple of weeks, the first time we’ve had a new occupant of the Oval Office since 2009.

Trump expresses doubts about security of all computers

Melania Trump, right, looks on as her husband President-elect Donald Trump talks to reporters during a New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016, in Palm Beach, Fla. Melania Trump, right, looks on as her husband President-elect Donald Trump talks to reporters during a New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016, in Palm Beach, Fla.

Northey reviews Iowa top 2016 agriculture issues

“Iowa farmers saw record production for both corn and soybeans again in 2016, however low prices are making profitability a real challenge on both the crop and livestock side. Despite the economic challenges, farmers are by nature optimistic and we continue to see investments in the future and new and innovative technologies that will allow them to be even more productive while also reducing environmental impact,” Northey said.

‘Fake news’ cries follow discovery of Russian malware at Vermont utility

“The response to news that a Vermont electric utility found malware associated with Russian hacking on a utility laptop has been fairly predictable: forceful denunciations from local and federal officials and support for President Obama’s sanctions against the Vladimir Putin regime. But reactions also have included the now-familiar cry of ‘fake news’ from many incredulous readers in Donald Trump’s post-truth America, perhaps inspired by the president-elect’s refusal to see the claims of Russian hacking as anything other than Democratic Party politics.”

Not so predictable

A year ago, I wrote a prediction column for 2016 full of myself and greatly detailed scenarios. I was so proud of my concocted narratives that I encouraged readers to clip or save the column to their desktops for later reference.

Tax break for vets

I admit to having a favorite among Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s proposals for tax cuts: Eliminate taxes on military retirement pay. I anticipate nothing but positive, prosperous results from doing just that.

Musical chairs

There they go again, this state’s congressmen, ’round and ’round they go, and where they’ll stop nobody knows. For it’s time again for members of the U.S. House of Representatives to choose new offices or stay where they are.

Cherokee Nation’s gay-marriage law

The Cherokee Nation, one of the largest registered Native American tribes in the U.S., has officially decided to recognize same-sex marriage. The tribe, as a separate sovereign, isn’t bound by the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2015 gay-marriage decision Obergefell v.

Scam artists

The “fake news” phenomenon was on vivid display in social media during the bitter 2016 presidential campaign. A typical example of the nonsense was a story, shared a million times on Facebook, stating falsely that Pope Francis had endorsed the Republican candidate Donald Trump.