Free Republic

The chief of Minnesota's health insurance exchange has resigned abruptly after facing criticism over the rollout and a questionably timed vacation. April Todd-Malmlov submitted her resignation Tuesday evening during a closed session of MNsure's governing board. She had been under increasing pressure over insurance sign-up problems and failed to get a vote of confidence from Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton last week. She was a key figure in Minnesota's adaptation to the federal health overhaul since 2011. But after the Oct. 1 enrollment launch, MNsure's Website encountered technical issues and a backup call center didn't fare much better. Questions over Todd-Malmlov's...

President Barack Obama is ending his fifth year in office with the lowest approval ratings at this point in the presidency since President Richard Nixon, according to a new Washington Post/ABC poll released Tuesday. Obama's approval rating in the poll stands at 43%. By comparison, President George W. Bush had a 47% approval rating at the end of the fifth year of his presidency. And all other Post-World War II presidents had approval ratings above 50% — with the exception of Nixon, who, amid the Watergate scandal, had a dreadful 29% approval rating.

The late Christopher Hitchens once observed that “George Bush is stupid has become the joke that stupid people tell.” Well, stupid people have expanded their repertoire to include false stories about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. AFP’s Emal Haidary was among the many people who tweeted the Daily Currant’s latest satire. She is more confused than I, lools, Sarah Palin Arrives in South Korea for Mandela Memorial dailycurrant.com/2013/12/10/sar…—  Emal Haidary (@menh0) December 11, 2013 Great job, Emal! You’re so eager to smear Sarah Palin you basically trolled yourself.

Senate Republicans scrubbing the Ryan-Murray budget deal have come across a little-noticed provision that will limit the GOP’s ability to block tax increases in future years. The bill includes language from the Senate Democrats’ budget to void a budget “point of order” against replacing the sequester cuts with tax increases. The process is quite complicated, but in practice it grants Harry Reid the authority to send tax increases to the House with a bare majority, rather than the 60 vote threshold that would be required under the point of order. The provision has angered key Republican Senators. Reeling from Harry...

Arctic storms swirling around the top of the world are more common than previously thought with about 1,900 in the first decade of the century, researchers say. As they churn across the top of the globe each year they leave warm water and air in their wakes, melting sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, scientists at Ohio State University reported Wednesday.

Earlier Tuesday, NBC News reported that President Barack Obama had shaken hands with Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe. However, the UK Telegraph's Josie Ensor reported that Obama "was asked to take his seat just before reaching Mugabe." Complicating matters, another article in the UK Telegraph also claimed that Obama had shaken hands with Mugabe--in very similar terms to those used in the NBC article. Breitbart News caught the discrepancy--and suddenly the NBC News article was corrected, with no notice. Before: On his way to the rostrum, Obama also shook the hand of Robert Mugabe, the strongman ruler of Zimbabwe, and hugged...

Oregon, once touted as a model for President Obama's health care law, signed up just 44 people for insurance through November, despite spending more than $300 million on its state-based exchange. The state’s exchange had the fewest sign-ups in the nation, according to a new report today by the Department of Health and Human Services. The weak number of sign-ups undercuts two major defenses of Obamacare from its supporters. One defense was that state-based exchanges were performing a lot better than the federal healthcare.gov website servicing 36 states. But Oregon's website problems have forced the state to rely on paper...

House Speaker John Boehner went off on outside conservative groups Wednesday morning for pushing against the new budget deal. "They're using our members and they're using the American people for their own goals," he said. "This is ridiculous." Several key conservative groups are against the sequester relief within the new budget deal. "Though conservatives support more spending restraint, the discretionary spending limits defined in the Budget Control Act represent a promise to the American people to marginally slow the growth of government," reads a letter signed by the heads of Heritage Action, the Family Research Council, and the American Conservative...

Congresswoman and Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz challenges the nation to resolve tough issues for future generations.

MNSure, the state's health care exchange, is vulnerable to a specific kind of WiFi attack. We discovered this vulnerability during a simulated attack we ran recently. MNSure denies it has a problem and blames users. 5 Eyewitness News wanted to see how MNSure compares with other state-run health care exchanges. It's why we partnered with Mark Lanterman at Computer Forensic Services to test at least a dozen other exchange sites. More than 41% of the sites tested passed, meaning they are not vulnerable to the type of WiFi attack we simulated. Like MNSure, more than 58% failed the test

The U.S.-South Africa bilateral relationship over the past eighteen months has been a diplomatic minefield. Issues include everything from military equipment and nuclear energy/weapons to oil, communication companies and the global north versus the global south. The most recent, and the most serious issue regarding U.S.-South Africa relations is Iran.

South African President Jacob Zuma has refused to meet Michelle Obama during her five-day tour of Africa saying that he is too busy. The polygamist leader snubbed the First Lady by sending his prisons minister to greet her at the airport and one of his three wives to meet her today...

A costly strike by carworkers in South Africa was at last called off...

Young people reject Obama’s gamble with their future; they prefer online casinos. President Obama is back selling his health-care law with the manic intensity of a late-night-infomercial pitchman who knows that if he doesn’t move the product, it could be discontinued. Here’s Obama aiming his comments at young people this Wednesday: “The product is good. It’s affordable. This is a big deal, to quote Joe Biden. And if you’re a student-body president, set up a conference on campus. If you’re a bartender, have a happy hour.” But it’s the president who may need a drink after viewing the latest poll...

South Floridians looking for some holiday help are lining up for the chance to get their hands on a voucher that will guarantee them a basket full of food... Voucher distribution will begin Wednesday at 8 a.m. and will be given to the first 3,000 people in line. Recipients will then return on Dec. 18 for the food distribution. Only one ticket per household will be given. It's a tradition for many here, just like Black Friday shopping is for others. "I've been here since Saturday, Saturday in the morning," said one resident. "From Saturday in the morning with my...

“We’re not going back,” Obama said, flanked by people who the White House said are benefiting from the Affordable Care Act. Obama urged Americans to “refocus on what’s at stake.” “What’s important for everybody to remember is not only that the law has helped millions of people,” Obama said, “but also that there are millions more that stand to be helped.” “Do not let the initial problems with the website discourage you,” Obama implored, arguing that enrolling in coverage “will make all the difference".

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 44% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Obama's job performance. Fifty-five percent (55%) disapprove (see trends). The latest figures include 21% who Strongly Approve of the way Obama is performing as president and 45% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -24.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who ran for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination in 2012, suggested he might run again but said he is not a candidate yet....

Kanye West threw somewhat of a tantrum during his concert in Florida last night with reports that the 'Blood on the Leaves' rapper stormed off stage when problems arose with the sound and lighting not long after the show had started and proceeded to launch into yet another rant in which he reportedly compared himself to Nelson Mandela. The 36-year-old hip-hop star brought his 'Yeezus' tour to Tampa Bay Times Forum yesterday evening but it didn't go off without a hitch as the rapper is said to have temporarily stopped the show just minutes in after growing infuriated with some...

Bloomberg puts the best spin possible on the number of November ObamaCare sign ups (these are not yet official enrollees who have paid their first month's premium) through the federal exchange that covers 36 states. But 100,000 is still dismal. Added together with the 27,000 October federal signs ups, and what you have is ObamaCare at only 15% of its two-month goal. Thanks to RomneyCare, when the Administration set its two-month enrollment goal at 800,000 for the federal exchange, they did so knowing signs ups are slow in the early months. Still, after two months, the federal exchange is 85%...