Two of three remote California counties vote against secession
SACRAMENTO Calif. (Reuters) – Long-shot efforts by a trio of remote Northern California counties to begin the process of seceding from the most populous U.S. state failed on Tuesday in two referendums and succeeded in one.
Medicaid logs 6 million new enrollees since Obamacare rollout
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Six million people have enrolled in government healthcare programs for the poor, including Medicaid, since the launch of Obamacare health insurance enrollment on Oct. 1, the Obama administration said on Wednesday.
NRA distances itself from statement on armed campaigns in public
DALLAS (Reuters) – The NRA has backed away from describing as “weird,” “scary” and “counterproductive” the tactics of Texas gun rights groups trying to gain support for the open carrying of weapons by toting rifles and shotguns in public protests.
Kerry says Lebanon needs president to meet security challenge
BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Lebanon’s politicians on Wednesday to overcome their “deeply troubling” stalemate and elect a new president to help respond to the damaging fallout of civil war in neighbouring Syria.
North Carolina governor signs law paving way for fracking
RALEIGH N.C. (Reuters) – North Carolina’s governor signed a law on Wednesday that will lift a longtime state ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, allowing shale gas exploration to begin as early as next year.
California governor wins primary in race highlighting Republican woes
SACRAMENTO Calif. (Reuters) – Democratic California Governor Jerry Brown, seeking an unprecedented fourth term, beat out his nearest Republican competitor by more than 35 percentage points in Tuesday’s primary in a race that highlights the shaky state …
Obama gives backing to Ukraine’s new president
WARSAW (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama endorsed Ukraine’s president-elect Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday, offering Kiev financial and security help and saying he was the right choice to lead the country through its stand-off with Moscow.
U.S. Senate clears way for Burwell’s health secretary confirmation
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Wednesday cleared the way for lawmakers to decide on Thursday whether to confirm Sylvia Mathews Burwell as President Barack Obama’s new health secretary.
Kuwaiti faces Guantanamo transfer hearing after security assurances
ARLINGTON Va. (Reuters) – A Kuwaiti held at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. military prison since 2002 faced a parole-style hearing on Wednesday on whether he should be transferred home following Kuwait’s security assurances.
Hillary Clinton looks beyond Lewinsky scandal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a likely Democratic presidential contender, said she has “moved on” from the scandal surrounding her husband President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky.