Supreme Court denies stay request in North Carolina redistricting case
(Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay a ruling that two North Carolina congressional districts be redrawn over racial gerrymandering in a 2011 redistricting, forcing congressional primaries to be rescheduled for June 7.
Obama digs into research on potential Supreme Court picks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will review briefing documents from his staff this weekend on potential Supreme Court nominees, the White House said on Friday, as a tough political fight loomed with Senate Republicans over filling the piv…
U.S. proposes hike in Medicare Advantage payments; insurer shares rise
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Friday proposed raising payments by 1.35 percent on average next year to the health insurers who offer Medicare Advantage health benefits to elderly and disabled Americans.
White House, House Republicans spar over Zika, Ebola funding
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House said on Friday that it would be “profoundly unwise” to plow money set aside for Ebola-related projects into research and mitigation efforts for the mosquito-borne Zika virus as several top Republican lawmakers hav…
Shift in U.S. sanctions could ground Russian rocket engines: general
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Air Force would ground the Russian-built RD-180 engines that power its Atlas 5 rockets if a U.S. government review determines that several sanctioned Russian individuals have too close a relationship with the engine make…
Government proposes 1.35 percent rise in 2017 Medicare Advantage payments
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Friday said it was proposing an increase of 1.35 percent on average in payments to health insurers who offer Medicare Advantage, which provides health benefits to more than 17 million elderly or disabled peop…
Vatican to Trump: It’s not ‘personal,’ it’s religion
MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina (Reuters) – The Vatican on Friday tried to tamp down a firestorm ignited by Pope Francis’ comments assailing Donald Trump’s views on U.S. immigration as “not Christian”, assuring the Republican presidential front-runner tha…
Texas official to retire after criticizing Planned Parenthood cuts
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A senior Texas health official who co-authored a report that criticized the state’s funding cuts to Planned Parenthood for reducing access to reproductive healthcare will retire from his post next month, a Texas commission sai…
Key South Carolina Democrat Clyburn endorses Clinton for president
(Reuters) – U.S. Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina backed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination on Friday, giving her campaign a vital boost from the state’s most influential black politician ahead of next week’s prima…
Pope’s comments on Trump not a personal attack: papal spokesman
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis’s suggestion that Donald Trump was “not Christian” because of his views on immigration was not a personal attack on the U.S. Republican presidential candidate, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said on Fri…
