latimes.com - Washington

Historic healthcare overhaul passes House

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The 220-215 vote marks the first such victory in decades of efforts to expand insurance coverage. The bill wins a lone GOP vote and loses many Democrats, pointing to challenges awaiting in the Senate.

The House of Representatives on Saturday approved the most sweeping healthcare legislation since the creation of Medicare 44 years ago, giving a boost to President Obama's campaign to guarantee health coverage to almost all Americans.

One Republican votes for healthcare bill

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Anh 'Joseph' Cao of Louisiana was elected last year to replace Rep. William J. Jefferson, who faced corruption charges.

Anh "Joseph" Cao, a Vietnamese-born former ethics teacher and Catholic seminarian, last winter surprised and delighted Republicans by defeating a longtime incumbent in a heavily Democratic congressional district in Louisiana.

House votes for ban on abortion subsidies

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

An amendment proposed by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), approved 240 to 194, prohibits coverage of abortions in a new government-run health insurance plan.

In a last-minute compromise seeking to secure a majority vote for a healthcare overhaul, House Democratic leaders agreed Saturday to essentially exclude abortion coverage from their bill except for insurance policies paid exclusively with private money.

New system would be in place in 2013

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The House bill would provide interim temporary coverage. Also: questions about yearly out-of-pocket limits for subsidies, the federal COBRA subsidy, and more.

Some reader questions on proposed healthcare legislation:

Democratic consultant says he got a warning from White House after appearing on Fox News

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

'We better not see you on again,' the strategist says he was told by a White House official. The White House communications director denies that officials urge such a boycott.

At least one Democratic political strategist has gotten a blunt warning from the White House to never appear on Fox News Channel, an outlet that presidential aides have depicted as not so much a news-gathering operation as a political opponent bent on damaging the Obama administration.

Obama by the numbers

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Polls and election results show that rising unemployment and partisan politics have chipped away at the president's popularity.

President Obama didn't get much time last week to savor the gauzy one-year-after retrospectives of his 2008 election victory, with its 53% of the popular vote and 365 electoral votes. He had other numbers to think about.

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush cancel appearances in L.A., N.Y.

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The 42nd and 43rd presidents back out because promoters of the February panel discussion 'insisted on billing it as something it wasn't,' Clinton spokesman says

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on Saturday abruptly pulled out of a joint appearance scheduled for this winter in Los Angeles after growing unhappy with the way the event was being promoted.

House steps up debate on healthcare bill

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 09:32:00 -0800

Rep. John Dingell takes the chair as Democrats try to round up votes for the ideas his father once championed. Republicans remain firmly opposed.

The House this morning kicked off a contentious debate on healthcare legislation as Democratic Party leaders continued to work to round up the votes to pass the landmark measure.

Unemployment rate rises to 10.2%

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

It's the first time it has hit double digits since 1983. Employers cut 190,000 jobs last month, a bigger drop than expected.

The nation's unemployment rate jumped to 10.2% in October, raising questions about the staying power of the budding economic recovery and confronting President Obama with a politically explosive new challenge.

A story of shock, chaos and bravery unfolds in Ft. Hood shooting

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Eyewitnesses say the gunman sat and appeared to pray before calmly firing on his comrades. Officials say he got 100 rounds off before civilian officers brought him down in a firefight.

In the end, the shooting rampage at Ft. Hood came down to a gunfight between two civilian base police officers toting standard sidearms and a 39-year-old psychiatrist armed with .357 Magnum and a pistol equipped with laser sighting and extra bullets, officials said.