Category: Law

Aetna, Humana call off $34 billion deal

Aetna and Humana called off a $34 billion proposal to combine the two major health insurers after a federal judge, citing antitrust concerns, shot down the deal. The announcement Tuesday comes several days after another federal judge rejected a tie-up between two other massive insurers.

Two Views: Grading Trump – Keeping promises, growing the economy

President Trump has hit the ground running since he was sworn in Jan. 20, and many have been shocked by the aggressive pace the new president has taken to deliver quickly on the promises he made during the campaign. And that’s primarily how our political leaders should be graded: whether they fulfill the promises they make to voters or not.

UNC to reveal FATCA position

The Opposition United National Congress intends to meet in caucus to take a final decision on its position on the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act ahead to today’s meeting of the Lower House of Parliament to discuss the report of the Joint Select Committee on FATCA. Political leader of the United National Congress, Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar told the T&T Guardian that the party had taken no final decision on what its position would be regarding the Tax Information Exchange Agreements Bill.

FEC Commissioner to Trump: Prove Voter Fraud

A commissioner on the Federal Elections Commission called on President Trump to give proof of voter fraud, after he reportedly made further claims in a meeting with senators. Trump reportedly blamed voter fraud for why both he and former Sen. Kelly Ayotte lost in New Hampshire last November during a recent meeting with a bipartisan group of senators.

A Price On Carbon Is Neither Liberal Nor Conservative. It’s Just Practical

Earlier this week, a group of prominent Republicans called for a nationwide price on carbon to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and slow climate change. It’s a proposal we should all be talking about, but we know Congress won’t – at least not before 2018 -because while these elder statesmen of the Republican party were floating the paper, their juvenile progeny in the Senate were voting to let US oil companies pay bribes overseas and stifling any mention of the $20 billion per year in subsidies and tax breaks that the US gives the fossil-fuel sector.

Editorial: Kansas should expand Medicaid

Kansas is one of only 19 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and it’s long past time for the Legislature to extend health coverage to 150,000 low-income Kansans by passing House Bill 2064. After three days of testimony from advocates and opponents of expansion in front of the House Health and Human Services Committee, one thing is clear: There are far too many uninsured Kansans who have to live with the grim knowledge that any serious health issue could ruin them.

CCW Weekend: How To Search For A Self Defense Lawyer

If you’re going to have a gun in the home, or carry in a gun holster for defense of yourself, then you had better be prepared for what happens AFTER the shot. Some people have fantasies in their head about how they shall nobly shooteth the bad man, be feted by the press, get a garland of roses, a victory parade and many other accolades.

Elections official asks Trump for evidence of voter fraud

A member of the Federal Election Commission on Friday called on President Donald Trump to share any evidence he has to support a statement that voter fraud caused him and former Senator Kelly Ayotte to lose in New Hampshire in the 2016 U.S. election, Reuters reported. “The scheme the President of the United States alleges would constitute thousands of felony criminal offenses under New Hampshire law,” FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub said in a statement.

New orders by Trump make law and order a key priority

With Jeff Sessions sworn in as the nation’s attorney general, the Trump administration signaled some of its priorities for a revamped Justice Department in a series of executive orders aimed at reducing crime and drug trafficking and protecting police officers. One executive order announced Thursday directs the Justice Department to define new federal crimes, and increase penalties for existing ones, to further protect local and federal officers from acts of violence.

Trump, GOP move to quash tighter financial rules

Just three weeks into his administration, President Donald Trump and his allies are moving quickly to dismantle the web of regulations the government passed after the 2008 financial crisis to tighten oversight of banks and protect consumers and taxpayers. Trump has branded the 2010 Dodd-Frank law – which imposed many of the rules – a “disaster.”

FEC commissioner to Trump: Show voter fraud evidence

A commissioner on the Federal Elections Commission says President Trump should provide evidence if he believes voter fraud cost former Sen. Kelly Ayotte FEC commissioner to Trump: Show voter fraud evidence Trump: Ayotte would have won Senate reelection if not for voter fraud Spicer: Trump has ‘no regrets’ over criticism of judges MORE Trump reportedly blamed voter fraud for why both he and Ayotte lost in New Hampshire last November during a recent meeting with a bipartisan group of senators. “The scheme the President of the United States alleges would constitute thousands of felony criminal offenses under New Hampshire law,” Ellen Weintraub said in a statement Friday.

The Health Care Uprising Is Just Beginning

In the dead of night, the Senate voted to confirm Rep. Tom Price as Secretary of Health and Human Services. The vote was 52 to 47, along party lines, with Democratic Senators unanimously opposing Price, a drug corporation insider who has pushed legislation that would benefit corporations in which he has investments.

FILE – In this Sunday, July 10, 2016 file photo, an FBI evidence…

In this Sunday, July 10, 2016 file photo, an FBI evidence response team works the crime scene, where five Dallas police officers were killed Thursday, in Dallas. As it swore in Jeff Sessions on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, as the nation’s attorney general, the Trump administration signaled some of its priorities for a revamped Justice Department in a series of executive orders aimed at reducing crime and drug trafficking, and protecting police officers.

FBI admits no arrest warrant signed when Duane Ehmer was arrested, contrary to agent’s testimony

FBI agents admit in court papers that they had no arrest warrant at the time they took Duane Ehmer into custody at a checkpoint outside the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 27, 2016, contrary to an agent’s testimony earlier this week. It wasn’t until the day after Ehmer’s arrest that a federal magistrate judge signed a criminal complaint against Ehmer based on an FBI agent’s probable cause affidavit.

Partisan power struggle overshadows North Carolina governor

FILE-In this Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 file photo, House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, smiles after taking the oath of office during the start of the 2017 Legislative session at the North Carolina General Assembly in Ral… . FILE-In this file photo taken Thursday, June 23, 2016, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, R-Guilford, right, listens during a Senate session at the North Carolina General Assembly in Raleigh, N.C. A North Carolina … .

Senator: VA retaliating against whistleblower

A Wisconsin senator has accused the Department of Veterans of Affairs of firing a doctor for speaking out about alleged shortcomings at a Missouri VA hospital and then thwarting his efforts to get hired at another VA site. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, who heads the Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, wrote in a recent letter to the VA’s acting secretary the department should “cease all retaliatory actions” against Dr. Dale Klein.

Sessions Confirmed as Attorney General After Bitter Fight

Jeff Sessions, as attorney general after more than a day of contentious debate that took an unusual turn when Republicans silenced Democratic Senator Donald Trump’s Cabinet-level picks, a process that has dragged on as Democrats use delaying tactics but aren’t able to thwart the president’s choices. In more than 30 straight hours of debate, Democrats said the Republican from Alabama won’t be independent enough from Trump and won’t protect voting rights and civil rights.

Washington lawyer charged with trying to sell sealed lawsuit

A Washington lawyer from a major law firm was wearing a wig as a disguise when he was arrested last week trying to sell a copy of a secret lawsuit against a California technology security company for $310,000, according to a criminal complaint. Jeffrey Wertkin, a former U.S. Justice Department trial attorney who joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as a partner last year, was charged in the complaint filed in federal court in San Francisco made public on Tuesday.

House Speaker Ryan Says Obamacare Replacement Bill to Pass This Year

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Republican leader said on Tuesday that legislation to replace former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law will be completed this year, trying to assuage concerns that the party is retreating from its campaign promise to dismantle Obamacare. “We are going to be done legislating with respect to healthcare and Obamacare this year,” House Speaker Paul Ryan told a news briefing.

Exclusive: White House eyeing executive order targeting ‘conflict minerals’ rule – sources

President Donald Trump is planning to issue an executive order targeting a controversial Dodd-Frank rule that requires companies to disclose whether their products contain “conflict minerals” from a war-torn part of Africa, according to sources familiar with the administration’s thinking. Reuters could not learn the precise timing of when the order will be issued, or exactly what it will say.

What Republicans must decide on Obamacare

We don’t often see eye-to-eye with the right-wing Heritage Action, but in this case we agree with Dan Holler , vice president of communications and government relations, who is quoted as saying, “I think the longer this drags on, the more people are starting to understand the chance of a repeal is slipping away. Certainly it’s becoming harder and harder with each passing day.”

Trump’s Dodd-Frank Do-Over Diverted to Slow Lane With Obamacare

President Donald Trump’s pledge to dismantle the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul is colliding with the same reality as his pledge to gut Obamacare: The Republican majority in Congress can’t decide how to make it happen and Democrats are vowing to fight. Trump, who last month said Obamacare would be replaced “the same day or the same week,” or perhaps “the same hour,” acknowledged Sunday that the health-care law isn’t going away anytime soon.

Trump remarks latest evidence of health law repeal slowdown

Republicans insisted Monday that they’re moving ahead on their effort to void the health care law, even as President Donald Trump ‘s latest remarks conceded that the effort could well stretch into next year. “Maybe it will take till sometime into next year, but we are certainly going to be in the process,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly that was broadcast Sunday.

new Howard County debates becoming a sanctuarya county

Despite an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that threatens to pull federal funding from local governments that protect undocumented immigrants, Howard County in Maryland is set to make a controversial move related to the matter Monday. The Howard County Council plans to vote on whether to label the county a “sanctuary” jurisdiction that promises to shield and protect undocumented immigrants from federal law.

Obamacare hits slump, falls short of 2016 pace

After years of steady growth Obamacare’s sign-ups slumped in 2017, according to early numbers that suggest the law is struggling now that President Obama is no longer in office to give it a boost. The number of people selecting plans on the federal HealthCare.gov website dropped 4 percent this go-around compared to the 2016 season, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said.