WASHINGTON — The stakes confronting Republicans determined to dismantle President Barack Obama’s health care law were evident in one recent encounter between an Ohio congressman and a constituent. “He said, ‘Now you guys own it. Now fix it. It’s on your watch now,’” recalled GOP Rep. Pat Tiberi, chairman of a pivotal health subcommittee. “And [...]
WASHINGTON — Republicans are united on repealing President Barack Obama’s health care law, but ideologically and practically speaking, they’re in different camps over replacing it. Getting the factions together won’t be easy. Some Republicans would revise and rebrand “Obamacare,” junking unpopular provisions like its requirement that most Americans carry health insurance, while preserving more popular [...]
WASHINGTON, Maine — Susan Frank and her dogs spend their days shepherding hairy, black pigs with names like Bacon, Pork Chop and Yummy around a chunk of Maine woods. Her farm, which raises and fattens the rare American mulefoot hogs for slaughter, is essential to their survival, she believes. Frank’s mulefoots are representative of a [...]
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump hammered rival Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign for failing to prevent the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, when she was secretary of state. Soon he’ll be the one responsible for protecting America’s diplomats, but he’s offered virtually no insight into how he’ll do that. After the 2012 [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal board responsible for protecting Americans against abuses by spy agencies is in disarray just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board will have only two remaining members as of Jan. 7 — and zero Democrats even though it is required to operate [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, the fastest pace in two years and more than the government had previously estimated. But the growth spurt isn’t expected to last. The gain in the gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, came [...]
As each Cabinet announcement draws fresh criticism of the wealth, connections or opinions of Donald Trump’s latest appointees, many Americans who voted for him say the president-elect is doing what he promised to do: draining the swamp. And they’re excited. To them, the idea of a defense secretary nicknamed “Mad Dog” is bliss. They rejoice [...]
WASHINGTON — He was a first-term senator-turned-president, a former law professor with little experience in economics or management. When he entered the White House he had one essential task: piece together the shards of a shattered U.S. economy. It wasn’t smooth and it wasn’t fast. But President Barack Obama will leave behind, by most measures, [...]
WASHINGTON — Even as they maneuver for a share of the $1 trillion in spending Donald Trump promised to rebuild America’s roads, bridges and airports, lobbyists for transportation and utility industries are beginning to wonder whether Trump really meant what he said. From the day he formally entered the presidential race to the moment he [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — You pay less for outpatient treatment than for a hospital admission, right? Not necessarily in the topsy-turvy world of Medicare billing, according to a government report. People entitled to benefits under Medicare who had heart stents inserted as outpatients faced hospital bills that were $645 higher on average than those who had [...]