Smile. It’s Friday. Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.
1. Budget proposal
Republicans have tried for seven years to get rid of Obamacare. In what may have been their last, best chance to do it, they came up one vote short. The so-called skinny repeal of the Affordable Care Act failed in the Senate earlier this morning, with three GOP senators joining all of the Democrats in shooting it down.
2. Opioid epidemic
Support poured in from all over: President Trump sent his thoughts and prayers. Barack Obama, whom McCain lost to in the 2008 presidential election, said, “Cancer doesn’t know what it’s up against.” Bill Clinton sent his best wishes, as did George H.W. Bush, who noted, “The Hanoi Hilton couldn’t break” McCain’s spirit, so he would beat this, too. McCain is recovering at home and considering treatment options.
All the turmoil that’s engulfing the White House right now is either a really good episode of “House of Cards” or a new show called “Survivor: West Wing Edition.” As if the President’s jabs at his attorney general weren’t unusual enough, we now have an out-in-the-open feud between White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. In the space of about 24 hours, Scaramucci likened their relationship to the biblical Cain and Abel, accused Priebus of leaking his financial information, called him a “paranoid schizophrenic” in a, ahem, colorful interview with The New Yorker and predicted Priebus would quit.
3. Pollution
So, a Senate vote on something – repeal only? repeal and replace? – will probably happen next week, but approval doesn’t look promising. One GOP senator says there aren’t even 40 votes out there in favor of a repeal. And this little bombshell from the CBO doesn’t help things either: A repeal-only bill would leave 32 million more people without health insurance by 2026, AND premiums would double by then. Yikes.
A bill slapping Russia with new sanctions – and limiting the White House’s ability to water them down – is headed to the President’s desk after the Senate overwhelming approved it. Trump still hasn’t said if he’ll sign or veto it, but members of Congress think a veto is highly unlikely since it passed both chambers with veto-proof majorities. The bill also includes new sanctions on Iran and North Korea.
5. Rivers
Venezuela’s government banned protests ahead of Sunday’s controversial vote for a special constitutional assembly. After two days of strikes, opposition leaders planned to hold massive demonstrations leading up to the vote, called for by President Nicolás Maduro, to elect representatives for an assembly that would have powers to rewrite the Venezuelan Constitution and dissolve state institutions. Many consider it a power grab by Maduro. Anyone caught violating the protest ban risks up to 10 years in prison. Venezuela is in the midst of an economic and political meltdown that’s spurred street protests for months. Family members of US Embassy staff have been told to leave the country.
5. Climate change
France is taking steps to stop people from making those treacherous refugee journeys across the Mediterranean Sea. President Emmanuel Macron said France will set up “hot spots” in Libya to process refugee claims and keep individuals from trying to get to Europe in sometimes less-than-seaworthy boats. The United Nations said about 660,000 refugees and internally displaced people were in Libya at the end of 2016. This year, more than 100,000 migrants have made the trip to Europe – and more than 2,300 of them are feared to have drowned.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Linkin Park, “Somewhere I Belong”
Chester Bennington, the iconic rock band’s frontman, died Thursday in a suspected suicide. He was 41.
“The shards that cut me the deepest were the ones that intended to cut.”
BREAKFAST BROWSE
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
‘I Want to Quit ISIS.’ Ha!
Stand-up comedians are using their craft to fight the terror group.
But be warned: Critics think it’s a shiny heap of space garbage.
Elon Musk MAY be building a New York-DC hyperloop
Who knows? Rich people say the darndest things.
A security robot drowned in a fountain, and people laughed and laughed
The robots are here, but they’re not … all here.
Cyber attackers hacked a casino fish tank to try to steal data
Is it less weird if we mention the tank was connected to the internet? No?
We know everybody wants to “do it like a local” when they travel, but there’s actually nothing wrong with being a straight-up tourist, either.
Shuffling out
AND FINALLY …
The dog wants to nap; the kitten wants to play. (Click to view)
Don’t try this at home