Conservatives rebel on health care, and GOP looks to Trump ADVERTISING Conservatives rebel on health care, and GOP looks to Trump WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans confronted a conservative rebellion in their own party Tuesday over their long-promised plans to repeal
Conservatives rebel on health care, and GOP looks to Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans confronted a conservative rebellion in their own party Tuesday over their long-promised plans to repeal and replace the health care law, and beseeched President Donald Trump to settle the dispute.
“He’s the leader on this issue right now; he’s the one that’s got to hold us together,” said Rep. Dennis Ross of Florida as he left a meeting during which he said Republican leaders urged the rank-and-file to “‘stay strong’” on the issue and told them: “‘Now is not the time to back down.”
The pep talk from leadership came amid signs of serious trouble for the emerging House GOP health care plan even before legislation is officially released. Conservatives are objecting to new tax credits that would help consumers buy health care, arguing they amount to a costly new entitlement.
Influential House conservatives say there’s no way the approach can pass the House.
The dispute comes a month into Trump’s presidency, and seven years after the Affordable Care Act passed a Democratic-controlled Congress with Barack Obama in the White House. Now the Republicans are in charge of the White House and Congress. Yet, having spent all those intervening years promising to uproot the law and replace it with something better, they find themselves flailing and divided at the moment of truth.
Trump sons open newest hotel in Vancouver
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Ignoring protests, claims their newest real estate venture clashes with Canadian values and a no-show mayor who tried to change the tower’s name, U.S. President Donald Trump’s sons said Tuesday that it was “so fitting” to see the Trump brand in Vancouver, a city known for its diversity and progressive politics.
Protesters, some carrying posters proclaiming, “Love Trumps Hate,” surrounded the entrance to the Trump hotel and condominium tower while police and security officers in black suits gathered on sidewalks at the soaring edifice, which has drawn praise for its sleek design but has also raised ethical concerns about the business interests of the new U.S. president.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, who had lobbied for the Trump name to be removed from the tower, refused to attend the ceremony in protest of Trump’s policies on immigration and other matters. “The name Trump has now become synonymous not with luxury and lifestyle, but with racism, sexism and intolerance,” said city Councilman Kerry Jang, who was among other city officials boycotting the event.
Despite the protests and controversy, however, the Trump brothers said Vancouver was the perfect location for a new Trump enterprise.
“Vancouver is truly one of the great cities of the world. It’s truly one of the most beautiful places in the world and it’s so fitting for the Trump brand,” Eric Trump said in a speech before the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Amazon cloud storage failure causes widespread disruption
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon’s cloud-computing service, Amazon Web Services, is experiencing an outage in its eastern U.S. region, causing unprecedented and widespread problems for thousands of websites and apps.
Amazon is the largest provider of cloud computing services in the U.S. Beginning around midday on the East Coast, one region of its “S3” service based in Virginia began to experience what Amazon, on its service site , called “increased error rates.”
In a statement, Amazon said as of 4 p.m. E.T. it was still experiencing “high error rates” that were “impacting various AWS services.”
“We are working hard at repairing S3, believe we understand root cause, and are working on implementing what we believe will remediate the issue,” the company said.
South Korean prosecutors indict Samsung’s de facto chief
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean special prosecutors indicted Samsung’s de facto chief Tuesday on bribery, embezzlement and other charges linked to a political scandal that has toppled President Park Geun-hye.
The indictment of Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong is a huge hit for the largest and most successful of the big businesses that dominate the South Korean economy. It also signals the still roiling state of South Korea’s political and economic circles after weeks of massive demonstrations that led to Park’s impeachment.
The announcement of the indictment came after a three-month investigation by a special prosecution team that ended Tuesday after the country’s acting leader refused a request for an extension.
Shortly after the announcement, Samsung said several top executives also facing criminal charges will resign from their positions and leave Samsung.
It did not say anything about Lee’s status, implying that the Samsung heir will likely keep his position and board membership at Samsung Electronics while he is under arrest and stands trial.
Mother of slain Indian man told him to leave US if in danger
HYDERABAD, India (AP) — The mother of an Indian engineer who was killed in an apparently racially motivated shooting in an American bar said she asked her son to come back to India if he felt threatened in the United States, but he said he was not in any danger.
Srinivas Kuchibhotla’s mother wailed Tuesday as her son’s body was cremated in his hometown of Hyderabad.
“I had asked him to return to India if he was feeling insecure there. But he used to say he was safe and secure,” Parvatha Vardhini said.
Now she wants her younger son and his family to come home from the U.S. “I will not allow them to go back,” she said. “My son had gone there in search of a better future. What crime did he commit?”
Hundreds of grieving relatives and friends tearfully mourned the 32-year-old who arrived in the U.S. in 2005 to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Trump signs executive order on black colleges
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday aimed at signaling his commitment to historically black colleges and universities, saying that those schools will be “an absolute priority for this White House.”
HBCU presidents are hoping Congress will bolster Trump’s actions to strengthen the schools with dramatically increased funding in the upcoming federal budget. They are calling for $25 billion for infrastructure, college readiness, financial aid and other priorities. Under President Barack Obama’s administration, historically black colleges and universities received $4 billion over seven years.
“The next step is the budget. You cannot have mission without money,” Thurgood Marshall College Fund President Johnny Taylor told reporters outside the White House after the signing ceremony.
Many of the college presidents also went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to lobby Congress for more funding. Taylor said the $25 billion is needed to make up for years of underfunding and would cover the country’s more than 100 HBCUs.
Several presidents and HBCU advocacy organizations echoed Taylor’s sentiments.
Trump ordering review of Obama rule protecting small streams
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday mandating a review of an Obama-era rule aimed at protecting small streams and wetlands from development and pollution.
The order will instruct the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers to review a rule that redefined “waters of the United States” protected under the Clean Water Act to include smaller creeks and wetlands, according to a senior White House official.
The official briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, despite the president’s recent complaints about unnamed sources.
Trump had railed against the water rule during his campaign, slamming it as an example of federal overreach. Farmers and landowners have criticized the rule, saying there are already too many government regulations that affect their businesses, and Republicans have been working to thwart it since its inception.
But Democrats have argued that it safeguards drinking water for millions of Americans and clarifies confusion about which streams, tributaries and wetlands should be protected in the wake of decades-long uncertainty despite two Supreme Court rulings.
