Mar 23 Rick Perry blasts election of first gay Texas A&M student president By Will Weissert, Associated Press Energy Secretary Rick Perry, whose agency oversees the nation's nuclear arsenal, is inserting himself into an unusually small political dispute: an election for student body president at Texas A&M. Continue reading
Mar 23 State Department orders embassies to ramp up visa screening By Matthew Lee, Associated Press The State Department has ordered American embassies and consulates around the world to draw up criteria for "population sets" needing extra scrutiny before receiving visas to travel to the United States, according to a recent diplomatic cable. Continue reading
Mar 23 GSA: Trump DC hotel not in violation of government lease By Michael Biesecker, Associated Press In a letter to the Trump Organization, General Services Administration Contracting Officer Kevin M. Terry says it has determined that the president's business is in "full compliance."… Continue reading
Mar 23 Devin Nunes apologizes to Democrats after going to White House with monitoring claims By Julie Pace and Deb Reichmann, Associated Press "It was a judgment call on my part," Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., told reporters Thursday morning. "Sometimes you make the right decision, sometimes you make wrong decision."… Continue reading
Mar 23 US probe of ex-Trump aide Manafort extends to Cyprus By Jack Gillum, Menelaos Hadjicostis and Eric Tucker, Associated Press Manafort, in a statement to the AP Thursday when asked about the Cyprus transactions, characterized them as a normal practice. Continue reading
Mar 23 What Kentucky's religious freedom bill could mean for LGBTQ students By Iman Smith A new bill out of Kentucky protects the religious expression of students in public schools and universities, a move LGBTQ advocates say could allow them to discriminate against fellow students based on their sexual orientation. Continue reading
Mar 23 In stinging setback for Trump and Ryan, House GOP leaders delay vote on health care repeal bill By Erica Werner and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press House Republicans plan to meet behind closed doors Thursday night to consider their next steps. Continue reading
Mar 23 Fact check: Are the things lawmakers say in their letters about Obamacare true? By Charles Ornstein, ProPublica As the debate to repeal the law heats up in Congress, constituents are flooding their representatives with notes of support or concern, and the lawmakers are responding, sometimes with form letters that are misleading. A review of more than 200… Continue reading
Mar 23 Column: Trump's budget and GOP health care bill will hurt older Americans By Philip Moeller Older Americans are under attack, along with poor, sick and disabled citizens. There is no way that enacting the American Health Care Act or the Trump budget in their current forms would not make life much, much harder for these… Continue reading
Mar 23 Column: As Republicans debate health bill, let's remember why Americans want Obamacare repeal By Edmund F. Haislmaier, Heritage Foundation Obamacare’s basic construct is to take control of private health plans and convert them into off-budget extensions of federal programs. Continue reading