A sobering report to governors about the potential consequences of repealing the Obama-era health care law warns that federal spending cuts probably would create funding gaps for states and threaten many people with the loss of insurance coverage. The Affordable Care Act has two main components for expanding coverage: subsidized private health insurance available in all 50 states, and an optional Medicaid expansion that has been accepted by 31 states and the District of Columbia.
Author: Editor
Chinese Soybean Demand To Go Up
China already buys about two-thirds of the soybeans traded on the planet. Over the next decade, the USDA expects global soybean trade to increase by 25 percent, of that about 85 percent will be because of Chinese purchases.
Trump toasts nation’s governors ahead of health care talks
President Donald Trump has toasted the nation’s governors, welcoming state leaders to a black-tie ball at the White House ahead of discussions about his plans to repeal and replace the so-called Obamacare law. Trump welcomed 46 governors and their spouses to the annual Governors’ Ball Sunday evening at the White House, the first major social event of his administration.
Ap Fact Check: Trump Makes His Points With Overstated Flair
In President Donald Trump’s estimation, the U.S. border isn’t merely porous, it’s “wide open.” Darkness and danger are everywhere, even Sweden.
AP Sources: White House To Propose Boosting Defense Spending
The White House will propose boosting defense spending and slashing funding for longtime Republican targets like the Environmental Protection Agency in a set of marching orders to agencies as it prepares its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. President Donald Trump’s proposal for the 2018 budget year, which will be sent to agencies Monday, won’t make significant changes to Social Security or Medicare, according to an administration official.
Sessions Tough Talk, Policies Could Increase Prison Totals
The federal prison population is on the decline, but a new attorney general who talks tough on drugs and crime and already has indicated a looming need for private prison cells seems poised to usher in a reversal of that trend. Jeff Sessions, a former federal prosecutor sworn in this month as the country’s chief law enforcement officer, signaled at his confirmation hearing – and during private meetings in his first days on the job – that he sees a central role for the federal government in combating drug addiction and violence as well as in strict enforcement of immigration laws.
Japan’s Senkaku challenge
At a time of shifting power dynamics in Asia, Japan faces pressing security challenges. Of the 400 remote islands that serve as markers for determining Japan’s territorial waters, only about 50 are inhabited.
Remember James Carville? Democrats Should
It was a gloomy weekend for Democrats hoping to unify in opposition to President Donald Trump. Fresh from a divisive power struggle at the Democratic National Committee meeting in Atlanta, party leaders found themselves asked to choose between embracing their anti-establishment wing and empowering the moderates those insurgents want to purge.
Congress returns, sets sights on ACA and Supreme Court
Congress returns to Washington this week to confront dramatic decisions on health care and the Supreme Court that may help determine the course of Donald Trump’s presidency. First, the president will have his say, in his maiden speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.
Dispute over cemetery on private property continues
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Court reinstates part of Scranton worker’s lawsuit
A Scranton Times-Tribune All Access subscription gets you complete access to both our print and digital publications, delivered to your home, desktop and mobile devices 7 days a week Digital Only Subscription Read the digital SMART Edition of The Times-Tribune on your PC or mobile device, and have 24/7 access to breaking news, local sports, contests, and more at thetimes-tribune.com or on our mobile apps. Digital Services Have news alerts sent to your mobile device, read the Smart Edition sign up for daily newsletters, activate your all access, enter contests, take quizzes, download our mobile apps and see the latest e-circulars.
Liberalism’s Fake Sense of Morality
Liberals constantly stake a claim to some religion-free moral high ground, which is laughable considering liberalism’s ideology is immoral at its core. Since November of last year, leftists have been too blinded by inane hatred for Trump to see the irony.
CPAC 2017: Making Peace With Trump, Taking Aim at Congress
This year’s Conservative Political Action Conference could have been titled President Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Don . For the first time in years, most of America’s premier conservatives gathered to find themselves the proverbial dog who chased and caught the car.
DAPL Resistance: The Real Story
The Trump administration last week extinguished Dakota Access Pipeline protesters when they proved only willing to torch and trash the earth; culture; children and animals they claimed to be defending. Pounding drums and donning feathered headdresses, they claimed to be “indigenous.”
American who intervened in shooting that killed Indian says was happy to risk life
Laura Grillot and her sister Maggie talk about their brother Ian Grillot, who was shot trying to stop a gunman who killed Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla at a local bar, during a vigil at a conference center in Olathe, Kansas, U.S., February 26, 2017. Hira Nair leads a chant during a march before a vigil for Srinivas Kuchibhotla, an Indian engineer who was shot and killed, at a conference center in Olathe, Kansas, U.S., February 26, 2017.
New Dem chairman’s goals: Unite party and oppose Trump’s policies
Atlanta a Newly elected Democratic national chairman Tom Perez pledged Sunday to unite a fractured party, rebuild at all levels from “school board to the Senate” and reach out to chunks of rural America left feeling forgotten in the 2016 election. Speaking in television interviews, Perez indicated that an important first step was joining with vanquished rival Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, who agreed at Perez’s invitation to serve as the Democratic National Committee’s deputy chairman.
DHS’s Kelly promises softer stance on immigration, travel ban
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly sought to assure the nation’s governors Sunday that immigration enforcement would be limited to criminals and the travel ban won’t target Muslims. “Gen.
Trump to meet with health insurers at the White House Monday
Now, he’ll have the chance to talk to some of the nation’s leading health insurers about how to do that. Health insurers are meeting with the president on Monday, and Obamacare is expected to be at the top of the agenda.
Trump promises massive buildup of entire US military
President Donald Trump on Friday promised a historic buildup of America’s already vast military, but said he hoped he would never need to use it. We are “putting in a massive budget request for our beloved military and we will be substantially upgrading all of our military,” Trump told the Conservative Political Action Conference just outside Washington, “Offensive.
Rally for answers
JEFFREY SAULTON Special to the Times Marietta residents Jayne Stehle, Michelle Stevens and Annelle Edwards hold up their signs during the rally Saturday. About 200 people protesting the policies of Republican leaders, including Congressman Bill Johnson and President Donald Trump, gathered at the Start Westward monument at Muskingum Park on Saturday in Marietta.
Locals weigh in on partisan judge races
Voters’ ballots would show whether candidates for Superior or District court judges are Republicans or Democrats under a bill advancing through the General Assembly. House Bill 100, titled an “Act to Restore Partisan Judicial Elections in North Carolina Superior and District Courts,” would require judges to run in partisan primaries or, if unaffiliated, collect signatures to get on the ballot.
On this day — February 27
February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar . There are 307 days remaining until the end of the year .
Senators show virtue in Trump disagreements
Let me make clear first of all that I swear allegiance to no political party or entity. I’m independent.
Detained Philippine senator asks court to nullify arrest
In this Feb. 21, 2017, file photo, Philippine Sen. Leila de Lima shows documents on her petition to dismiss charges filed against her during a news conference at the Philippine Senate in suburban Pasay city, south of Manila, Philippines. Her petition filed Monday, Feb. 27, 2017 says Judge Juanita Guerrero has no jurisdiction over the case.
Will the ConAgra 100% natural case end up in the Supreme Court?
POM v Coke got there, but will another high-profile food litigation case – this time over GMOs and 100% natural labels on cooking oil – also end up in the Supreme Court? ConAgra Brands certainly hopes so, and has just asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to stay its recent mandate in the case so it can file a petition to the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari . The case in question* consolidates lawsuits in multiple states alleging ConAgra falsely advertised Wesson-branded cooking oils as ‘100% natural’ when they were made from GM crops, and has not gone well for ConAgra, with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently agreeing with a decision by a lower court to certify the consumer class in the case.
Authorities investigating whether Kansas triple shooting that killed one was a hate crime
Authorities are investigating whether a triple shooting at a Kansas bar, which resulted in one death, was a hate crime. On Wednesday evening, police responded to a 911 call of shots fired at Austin’s Bar and Grill in Olathe, located about 20 miles southwest of Kansas City, said Olathe Police Chief Steven Menke.
Life Technologies Corp. v. Promega Corp. and the Absent Presumption Against Extraterritoriality
Guest Post by Tim Holbrook, Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law. Professor Holbrook has written extensively on the extraterritorial application of U.S. patent law.
Karlie Kloss among stars to wear blue ribbons at Oscars
Hollywood’s must have Oscars red carpet accessory: Karlie Kloss, who is dating Jared Kushner’s brother, among several stars to protest Donald Trump’s travel ban by wearing blue ribbons Supermodel Karlie Kloss, who is dating the brother of Trump advisor Jared Kushner, was among the several stars to wear the ribbon in support of the American Civil Liberties Union. Best actress nominee Ruth Negga wore her blue ACLU ribbon pinned to her red Valentino dress as she walked the red carpet outside the Dolby Theatre on Sunday.
Pa. crime photos of the week: Woman dies visiting husband’s grave; more
It was a macabre setting for a fatal crash: A Pa. woman suffering an asthma attack crashed head-on into a tree in a cemetery while visiting her husband’s grave.
A top Democratic senator opens up on why Hillary lost, how…
Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island recently spoke with Business Insider while promoting his newly released book, ” Captured: The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy .” Elected in 2006, Whitehouse is the ranking member of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee investigating Russia’s role in the 2016 election.
Sessions’ tough crime talk could lead to fuller prisons
The federal prison population is on the decline, but a new attorney general who talks tough on drugs and crime and already has indicated a looming need for private prison cells seems poised to usher in a reversal of that trend. Jeff Sessions, a former federal prosecutor sworn in this month as the country’s chief law enforcement officer, signaled at his confirmation hearing and in first days on the job that he sees a central role for the federal government in combating drug addiction and violence as well as in The result could be in an increase not only in the number of drug prosecutions brought by the Justice Department but also in the average length of sentence prosecutors pursue for even lower-level criminals.
Midwest, Wyoming lawmakers target wolf protections again
Pressure is building in Congress to take gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region and Wyoming off the endangered list, which would allow farmers to kill the animals if they threaten livestock. Representatives from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Wyoming have asked House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin for a fast floor vote before the season during which most cows and sheep will give birth begins in earnest.
Letter: Trump election remains illegitimate
The “basket of deplorables” is gradually waking up to their newest American nightmare. Indeed, they did not install the new regime alone.
The Wall Street Journal: Leading Republican calls for special counsel for Trump-Russia probe
A call by a leading Republican lawmaker for a special counsel to investigate possible Russian interference in 2016 elections highlights the growing pressure facing lawmakers on the issue as they return this week from a recess. Rep. Darrell Issa , an early supporter of President Donald Trump’s whose district narrowly voted for Hillary Clinton last year, said over the weekend that the Justice Department should consider appointing a special counsel to probe any links between the Kremlin and Trump associates.
BUFFINGTON: Democrats, please just shut up
As a political independent, I get to be critical of both Democrats and Republicans. This week, it’s time for a message to Democrats.
TERRELL: The need for strong immigration laws
The system is broken regardless of your side of the equation. The United States is a sovereign nation and has an obligation first to its lawful citizenry.
DC lawmakers brace for Trump’s first address to joint session of Congress
Republicans are looking for marching orders from President Trump. They hope to receive some during his first address to a joint session of Congress.
In rural Western Maryland, fracking divisions run deep
The small towns and mountainous rural areas of Western Maryland are dotted with scores of well heads, a reminder of the copious natural-gas reserves that lie underground. Here, amid farms, faded industrial sites and a growing number of wineries and tourist attractions, the debate over whether to allow hydraulic fracturing seems far more immediate than in the State House in Annapolis, 170 miles to the southeast.
Tax dollars keep flowing to landlord D.C. is suing over housing conditions
The 15th Place Apartments, one of many properties run by Sanford Capital, is in Southeast Washington. The District has for years subsidized substandard housing owned by one of the city’s most controversial landlords, despite evidence of wretched conditions and official promises to ensure safe dwellings in the nation’s capital.
1967, a metaphor for military slaughter
THE international human rights outfit, Amnesty International, AI, has engaged the Nigerian military authorities in a war of wits, accusations and counter-accusations since our armed forces embraced a full-scale campaign to overcome the Boko Haram Islamist threat in Northern Nigeria. The first sign of tension emerged shortly after former President Goodluck Jonathan, in January 2014, signed the bill outlawing homosexuality in Nigeria.