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This is the first sentence of the House GOP "repeal and replace" bill: (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 4002 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 300u–11), as amended by section 5009 of the 21st Century Cures Act, is amended -

President Barack Obama was dragged into the trans-Atlantic spying row after it was claimed he personally authorised the monitoring of Angela Merkel’s phone three years ago. The president allegedly allowed US intelligence to listen to calls from the German Chancellor’s mobile phone after he was briefed on the operation by Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency (NSA), in 2010.

<p>Federal prosecutors secretly obtained records of telephone calls from more than 20 telephone lines belonging to The Associated Press and its journalists over a two-month period, in an apparent investigation of a leak of sensitive information about a terrorist plot in Yemen.</p>

Partisans cherish a persistent illusion: Everything would be fantastic if it wasn't for those dopes in the other party. Yet, as one side gains power, its ability to pass the buck invariably wanes. California voters have elected a Democratic governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, controller and insurance commissioner. The state Senate has more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans. So does the state Assembly. Democratic mayors preside in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Long Beach and Los Angeles. We're a case study in what a political community looks like when Republicans wield little or no...

An undocumented woman arrested in a Texas courthouse while seeking a domestic violence protective order against her ex-boyfriend is now facing up to 10 years in federal prison on immigration charges. On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted 33-year-old Irvin González, who is transgender, with one felony count of illegal reentry into the United States. She has been removed from the country five times since 2011 and has six criminal convictions on her record, according to federal authorities. It’s unclear how immigration authorities knew to find her at the county courthouse. Federal agents say that González and her ex-boyfriend, Mario...

The ASUC is holding a “Time of the Month Drive” to collect pads, tampons and diapers to distribute to those in need in the Berkeley community. Suitcase Clinic, a humanitarian student organization, asked ASUC Senator Miranda Hernandez for the ASUC’s assistance in coordinating the drive. Hernandez organized a 5-day drive, lasting from Monday to Friday. ASUC senators set up a drop-off table on Sproul Plaza and stationed collection bins near sororities. Hernandez said that she, along with other women in the ASUC, felt the drive would be a prime opportunity to commemorate Women’s History Month. ASUC Senator Rosa Kwak emphasized...

A U.N. human rights expert voiced alarm on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump might allow torture in interrogations and called for senior officials from George W. Bush's administration to be prosecuted for allowing the illegal practice. U.S. officials responsible for the secret detention, rendition and torture programs run by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) included "those in the most senior positions" under Bush, said Ben Wankersom, U.N. special rapporteur on protecting human rights while countering terrorism. "To hear President Trump, in the first days after his inauguration, glibly extolling the virtues of torture as a weapon in the fight...

President Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin used his first senior staff meeting last month to tell his new aides he would not tolerate leaks to the news media, sources familiar with the matter said. Current and former officials said that in a departure from past practice, access to a classified computer system at the White House has been tightened by political appointees to prevent professional staffers from seeing memos being prepared for the new president. Washington career civil servants say the clampdown appears designed to try to limit the flow of information inside and outside government and deter officials...

LONDON - Less than 10 percent of funds spent to help poorer communities adapt to climate change impacts and adopt clean energy are reaching the people most in need of the money, finance researchers say. Today, donors have given only 11 percent of the climate funds they promised, in part because of the obstacles, she said. Richer nations have promised to donate or otherwise mobilize $100 billion a year by 2020 to help poorer countries switch to clean energy and adapt to problems such as worsening droughts, flooding and sea level rise. But getting that money raised and flowing has...

Moose calves across northern New England are dying at alarming rates, and scientists believe that deadly parasites benefiting from shorter winters are the primary culprits. Winter ticks have taken a toll on moose across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, killing about 70 percent of moose calves. Winter ticks attach themselves to a single moose by the tens of thousands. “It’s just off the charts; this should not happen with such frequency,” said Pete Pekins, chairman of the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). “This is about a calf carrying 75,000 ticks that...

<p>Unusual weather in the Southwest could cause a nationwide salad shortage later this month. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg (lettuce): Scientists say the weird weather is probably caused by climate change - which means these sorts of problems are likely to happen again.</p>

From Russia’s point of view, the turmoil swirling around the Trump administration and its contacts with Russian officials is a “witch hunt” fueled by “fake news” instigated by leading Democrats looking to distract attention from their election defeat and carried out by their lap dogs in the U.S. media. In other words, Moscow’s reaction pretty much mirrors that of President Trump after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any investigations into alleged Russian interference in the presidential election. Russian officialdom and the White House seem in step in their characterization of the U.S. media. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russia’s...

Question: Can you comment on US media reports regarding contacts between US Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak during the US election campaign? Maria Zakharova: As a character in a famous work of fiction said, “It’s something shameful.” The current goings-on in the Western, including US, media can be described as media vandalism. I wonder if the Western media has reached the rock bottom or it still has further to fall. As I browsed the internet today, I saw an item by CNN according to which “Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, is considered...

In the modern-day culture wars over Islam’s place in America, fashion has become a flashpoint. Should Muslim women in the U.S. publicly show their faith with garments, from hijabs to burkinis? If the marketplace is any indication, that debate has been settled: Muslim fashion is here to stay. Modest fashion -- the term for a wide range of clothing that caters to women who prefer looser garments or more coverage -- is now within the mainstream. “In today’s world, Muslims have the largest population of millennials, and they’re demanding to be more and more stylish,” said Alia Khan, chairwoman of...

Former Secretary of State John F. Kerry has joined the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as its “inaugural visiting distinguished statesman, the global think tank said Wednesday. Mr. Kerry, who served as America’s top diplomat from early 2013 through the end of the Obama administration in January of this year, will focus on “conflict resolution and global environmental challenges,” the endowment said in a statement. Mr. Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran who served for nearly three decades in Congress as a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, is expected to use to post to continue pushing his legacy as an advocate...

February’s quarterly auction of carbon dioxide emission allowances under California’s cap and trade program was another financial washout for the state. Results for last week’s auction were posted Wednesday morning, revealing that just 16.5 percent of the 74.8 million metric tons of emission allowances were sold at the floor price of $13.57 per ton. The paltry auction revenues will likely stall Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2017-18 budget plan to spend $2.2 billion on a variety of climate-related programs and projects, including $800 million on his bullet train project.

Seattle’s stand as a sanctuary city for immigrants could cost the city $75 million, according to Mayor Ed Murray. Plus the Trump administration has announced steep domestic budget cuts. So advocates say it’s time to “Trump-proof” Seattle with a high-earners income tax. The wealthy should be very happy to take a small percentage of their income… to support and maintain the services that make a city function well,” said Bobby Righi of the Trump-proof Seattle Coalition. “We're sort of figuring if you're making over a quarter million dollars in total income, you're probably, you're doing OK,” said coalition member Katie...

Despite calendars or tracking apps, sometimes mother nature has other plans in mind. Students can get their period and be without necessary products. Instead of just texting friends for tampons, one JMU student is fighting for accessibility. Just like the majority of JMU’s female students who experience this situation, Magi Linscott must endure a week of unpleasantness every month — her period. As a member of the female community at JMU, Linscott understands how it feels when there’s an urgent need for menstrual supplies, but they aren’t always readily available. “Every girl has ruined a chair at least once in...

In an effort to promote affordable living on campus, Associated Students of Madison unanimously voted to approve changes to University Housing and Dining and Culinary Services at a Wednesday meeting. Jeff Novak, director of University Housing, discussed upcoming changes around campus, including a student-led initiative to make campus dining food-stamp accessible. SNAP will be the university’s first attempt to bring food stamps into the dining halls and convenience stores. At the moment, Oregon State University is one of only a few universities to institute a program similar to this, but it has only been implemented in grocery stores on campus....

The White House is fiercely divided over President Trump’s campaign promise to “cancel” the Paris agreement, the 2015 accord that binds nearly every country to curb global warming, with more moderate voices maintaining that he should stick with the agreement despite his campaign pledge. Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s senior adviser, is pressing the president to officially pull the United States from the landmark accord, but he is clashing with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump, who fear the move could have broad and damaging diplomatic ramifications. Mr. Trump wants to make a decision by...