Top News Stories for Today – Feb 12, 2019
Top News Stories for Today – Feb 12, 2019
Utah reduces Medicaid expansion
Utah passed sweeping changes to a voter-approved Medicaid expansion Monday, cutting the number of people covered nearly in half and adding work requirements that the Trump administration is expected to approve.
Republican Gov. Gary Herbert signed the plan hours after it cleared a final vote in the Republican-led Legislature, calling it both “humane and sustainable.” It’s drawn vocal protest from advocates who say the changes go further than any of the four other conservative-leaning states where voters expanded Medicaid after state lawmakers refused. “This is a dark day for democracy in Utah,” said Andrew Roberts, a spokesman for the group Utah Decides. “State legislators turned their backs on voters and on families in need.” Associated Press
Deal to avoid another US shutdown
US congressional negotiators have reached a deal, in principle, to fund the government and avoid another government shutdown at the end of the week.
The bipartisan group has not made the details public, but congressional aides said the agreement includes about $1.4 billion to build 88 kilometers of new fencing at the US-Mexico border. It would also add technology upgrades for screening at border entry points, as well as more customs officers and humanitarian aid. The tentative deal represents a degree of compromise. VOA
Ilhan Omar apologizes for comments about Israel
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) apologized on Monday after Democratic lawmakers criticized her comments about congressional support for Israel. Omar tweeted on Sunday that GOP leaders’ pro-Israel stance is “all about the Benjamins,” suggesting money from a pro-Israel organization was influencing lawmakers’ views on the Israeli government.
Many Democrats in Congress condemned her remarks, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) saying that Omar’s “use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters is deeply offensive.” Omar said she “unequivocally” apologizes and said she is “grateful” to those “educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes.” “At the same time,” she added, “I reaffirm the problematic role of lobbyists in our politics.” Politico, Rep. Ilhan Omar via The Week
El Paso hosts dueling rallies
Rival political rallies in Texas – just 200 meters apart – pitted the president of the United States against a possible election rival as they took opposite sides on the merits of a border wall with Mexico. This comes just days before a deadline for Congress to agree on a border security plan to avert another partial shutdown of the federal government.
As Trump spoke at the El Paso County Coliseum, a former local congressman now prominent in the Democratic Party addressed an anti-border wall rally, so close to the president’s event that the loudspeakers from the Trump function could be heard. “Walls do not save lives. Walls end lives,” said Beto O’Rourke. “In the last 10 years, more than 4,000 children, women and men have died trying to come to this country.” Trump mocked O’Rourke’s rival rally at a baseball field, saying, “He has 200 people, 300 people. Not too good. That may be the end of his presidential bid.” The opposition rally, which followed a march from a high school, attracted about 7,000 people. VOA
Trump supporter attacks BBC cameraman
A supporter of US President Donald Trump has attacked a BBC cameraman at a campaign rally in El Paso, Texas. Sporting a Make America Great Again cap, the man shoved and swore at the BBC’s Ron Skeans and other news crews before being pulled away. Skeans said the “very hard shove” came from his blindside. “I didn’t know what was going on.”
Trump saw the attack and confirmed Skeans was well with a thumbs up after it happened. The president has had a fractious relationship with the media from the very start of his time in office. He has claimed journalists are “the enemy of the people” and slammed the “fake news” for reports he deems unfavorable. BBC