First Edition: October 25, 2017
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
The Associated Press:
GOP Lawmakers Propose New Conditions On Health Bill
Two top Republicans announced a bill Tuesday restoring federal subsidies to insurers while including tough conditions sought by the White House. Senate Democrats have enough votes to kill it, but the measure underscores the changes the Trump administration and congressional conservatives say they want in exchange for resuming the payments. The proposal seeks changes in President Barack Obama's health care law that go far further than provisions in bipartisan legislation that is stuck in the Senate. That compromise has stalled as President Donald Trump has flashed contradictory signals about whether he supports it and conservatives — especially in the House — have complained it doesn't revamp Obama's statute strongly enough. (Fram, 10/24)
The Hill:
Bipartisan Health Plan Faces New Challenge From Conservatives
The new bill, introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas), would fund ObamaCare insurer subsidies that Democrats and some Republicans have been asking for. In that respect, it’s similar to the deal that Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) negotiated with Democrats. (Hellmann, 10/24)
The Hill:
Trump Stops Short Of ObamaCare Deal Endorsement
President Trump expressed appreciation for work on a bipartisan ObamaCare deal in a meeting with GOP senators on Tuesday but did not endorse the bill, multiple lawmakers said."He just encouraged us to continue to work on it. He made it clear that he appreciated what Sen. [Lamar] Alexander [R-Tenn.] was doing," Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said. (Sullivan, 10/24)
Politico:
Trump Tells Senate To Fix Taxes — Not Obamacare
President Donald Trump on Tuesday steered Senate Republicans toward tax reform and away from health care, pushing off any deal to fund controversial Obamacare subsidies to the end of the year at best. Trump joined Senate Republicans at their weekly policy lunch but gave no direction on what he wants to see in a health care bill. He praised Sen. Lamar Alexander's (R-Tenn.) work on a bipartisan deal meant to stabilize the Obamacare markets, but his emphasis on taxes led senators in the room to believe Trump doesn't want a stand-alone Obamacare vote anytime soon. (Haberkorn and Cancryn, 10/24)
NPR:
Iowa And Massachusetts Foiled In Attempts To Create Reinsurance
Two states looking for approval to customize their health insurance systems under the Affordable Care Act reversed course after the Trump administration said their applications couldn't be approved in time for next year. Iowa withdrew its proposal to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for a waiver to alter its Affordable Care Act markets. Massachusetts' proposal was effectively denied by the administration. (Kodjak, 10/24)
The Associated Press:
Federal Court Clears Way For Immigrant Teen To Get Abortion
A federal appeals court on Tuesday cleared the way for a 17-year-old immigrant held in custody in Texas to obtain an abortion. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 6-3 in favor of the teen. The decision overturned a ruling by a three-judge panel of the court that at least temporarily blocked her from getting an abortion. The Trump administration could still appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. (10/24)
Politico:
Federal Appeals Court Clears Way For Undocumented Teen To Get Abortion
On Sunday the girl’s lawyers had asked the full court to set aside the decision, saying that they’ve exhausted their options to find a sponsor. They said the delay brings the girl, now close to 16 weeks pregnant, dangerously close to the states’ 20-week limit on abortion. The court’s full bench split along party lines with six Democrat appointed judges ruling in favor, three Republican appointees bitterly denouncing the decision and one Democratic appointee recusing herself. (Rayasam and Gerstein, 10/24)
Los Angeles Times:
U.S. Appeals Court Rejects Trump Antiabortion Rule, Clears The Way For 17-Year-Old Immigrant To End Her Pregnancy
Although the ruling directly affects only the one pregnant teenager who brought the case, it strongly indicates that the appeals court, which has jurisdiction over federal agencies nationwide, would strike down efforts by administration officials to block abortions in similar cases. The ACLU, which represented Doe, says that in the last year, administration officials repeatedly have tried to prevent pregnant minors in detention from having abortions. (Savage, 10/24)
The New York Times:
U.S. Must Let Undocumented Teenager Get An Abortion, Appeals Court Says
She was already nine weeks into her first trimester by the time she learned she was pregnant. And by then, she was already in federal custody at the border in Texas, one of the multitude of unaccompanied minors caught trying to enter the United States without their parents or relatives. She was 17 years old. That simple pregnancy test set off a dramatic legal battle between civil rights lawyers and the Trump administration, after the teenager made it known that she wanted an abortion. (Fernandez, 10/24)
Reuters:
Iowa Supreme Court Puts State's Abortion Waiting Period On Hold
The Iowa Supreme Court has maintained a block on a three-day waiting period for women seeking an abortion until a legal challenge concludes, a decision cheered by abortion-rights advocates. The provision was signed into law in May by former Republican Governor Terry Branstad, part of new regulations that also included a ban on most abortions after 20 weeks. (Kenning, 10/24)
Reuters:
Stricter Missouri Abortion Rules Take Effect After Legal Fight
New abortion regulations took effect on Tuesday in Missouri that critics argue will make it more difficult for women to access the procedure. A judge on Monday declined to block a requirement that physicians performing abortions inform their patients about abortion risks at least 72 hours before their procedure. Previously, a different provider could give that mandated information. (Kenning, 10/24)
The Associated Press:
Trump Readies Opioid Plan, But Some Worry It Won't Be Enough
President Donald Trump's long-awaited declaration that the opioid epidemic is a national emergency finally arrives this week, but some advocates are worried that it won't be backed with the money and commitment to make much difference. Trump is expected to make the formal declaration and deliver a major speech on the topic Thursday, more than two months after he first announced that would be his plan. (Johnson and Colvin, 10/25)
The Washington Post:
The Opioid Crisis: Wave Of Addiction Linked To Fentanyl Worsens As Drugs, Distribution Evolve
Michelle MacLeod died in a tough part of town known as the Tree Streets, where many of the streets have names like Ash, Palm, Chestnut and Walnut. Kevin Manchester, who provided the fentanyl that killed her, lived on Pine. After MacLeod’s death, Nashua police wired her fiance and recorded him telling Manchester that MacLeod had overdosed and died. Manchester kept selling the powerful synthetic narcotic anyway. Manchester, 27, went to prison for selling drugs that proved lethal — a “death-resulting” charge that prosecutors are using more frequently as they battle the opioid epidemic. (Achenbach, 10/24)
The Hill:
Opioid Epidemic Also Hitting Older Adults
As America grapples with an opioid epidemic, senior citizens are often overlooked. Yet, older adults are highly susceptible to chronic pain and the prescription painkiller addiction is hitting this population. ... Roughly one in three beneficiaries in Medicare’s prescription drug program received a prescription for opioids in 2016. About half a million received high amounts of opioids. And nearly 90,000 are at “serious risk” of opioid misuse or overdose, according to a July report by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). (Roubein, 10/24)
The Associated Press:
NY Lawmakers Take Another Look At Heroin Abuse's Effects
A special legislative task force examining how heroin and opioid abuse are affecting communities around the state is coming to central New York. The state Senate's Joint Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction is scheduled to meet Wednesday in Cortland. (10/25)
The Washington Post:
World Financial Leaders Simulate A Pandemic Like Ebola, Marburg Or Flu
The government ministers were facing a new infectious disease outbreak. The mysterious virus was sickening and killing people with alarming speed. Some patients had to be placed on ventilators to help them breathe. The new virus seemed resistant to antibiotics and antiviral medicine. Within a week, officials had closed a major hospital and schools and quarantined thousands of people. Fear and panic spread quickly as people in neighboring countries became infected and died. (Sun, 10/24)
Reuters:
Special Report: In The Market For Human Bodies, Almost Anyone Can Sell The Dead
The company stacked brochures in funeral parlors around Sin City. On the cover: a couple clasping hands. Above the image, a promise: “Providing Options in Your Time of Need. ”The company, Southern Nevada Donor Services, offered grieving families a way to eliminate expensive funeral costs: free cremation in exchange for donating a loved one’s body to “advance medical studies.” (Grow and Shiffman, 10/24)
The New York Times:
Arsenic Reductions In Drinking Water Tied To Fewer Cancer Deaths
The Environmental Protection Agency’s revised rule on arsenic contamination in drinking water has resulted in fewer lung, bladder and skin cancers. In 2006, the E.P.A. reduced the arsenic maximum in public water systems to 10 milligrams per liter, from the previous level of 50 milligrams. The rule does not apply to private wells. (Bakalar, 10/24)
The Washington Post:
The Rare Case Of A Woman Who Stunned Doctors In Italy By Sweating Blood From Her Face
Doctors were baffled when a 21-year-old woman was admitted into an Italian hospital for “sweating blood” from her face and her hands, a condition she's had for three years, according to two physicians from the University of Florence. It's a condition few doctors have seen, and some have questioned whether sweating blood is even possible. But it turns out dozens of similar cases have come to light since about 2000. (Eltagouri, 10/24)
The Washington Post:
‘Damaged For The Rest Of My Life’: Woman Says Surgeons Mistakenly Removed Her Breasts And Uterus
Elisha Cooke-Moore had been told she had cancer-causing genes. The 36-year-old mother said an obstetrician-gynecologist noted that the results of her genetic testing showed she had a 50 percent chance of getting breast cancer and up to an 80 percent chance of getting uterine cancer, so she underwent a recommended double mastectomy and hysterectomy to try to beat the odds. (Bever, 10/24)
Los Angeles Times:
Democrats Running For Governor Face Off In San Francisco Over Healthcare, Charter Schools
Reflecting a growing divide among California Democrats on single-payer healthcare and charter schools, California gubernatorial candidates landed on separate sides of those issues during a candidate forum in San Francisco Tuesday. The most heated exchange came in a clash between former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom over how to pay for a universal healthcare system that would cover all Californians and dramatically reshape medical coverage in the state. (Willon and Mehta, 10/24)
The Associated Press:
Gov. Cuomo Signs Bill Banning E-Cigarettes In NY Workplaces
New York has added electronic cigarettes to its indoor smoking ban, making it illegal to use the devices in bars, restaurants and most workplaces. While New York City and several other localities had already prohibited the use of e-cigarettes in areas covered by the smoking ban, the new statewide rules will provide consistency, according to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who signed the bill into law Monday. (10/24)
The Wall Street Journal:
New York Detects Legionnaires’ Disease In Queens Neighborhood
A dozen people in New York City’s Queens borough have been sickened by Legionnaires’ disease, the city’s health department said Tuesday. The outbreak has occurred in the busy downtown section of Flushing over the last two weeks, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The patients range in age from 30 to 80 years old, and most had some serious underlying health condition leaving them more prone to illness. (West, 10/24)