Month: January 2014

By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A year after Republican leaders vowed to "rebrand" their party to broaden its appeal in light of a dispiriting election loss to Democratic President Barack Obama, the Republican strategy for 2014 is looking a lot like the one from 2012. At the Republican National Committee's winter meeting this week in Washington, it was clear the panic that hit the party after the 2012 elections has subsided, although polls indicate that efforts to make the party more attractive to single women, minorities and gays, groups that favor Democrats by big numbers, have not made any headway. Many Republicans remain concerned about the party's long-term prospects in the face of such problems, but they have been heartened by the troubled launch of Obama's healthcare overhaul and by polls that suggest Obama's Democrats are not much more popular than Republicans. So in many ways, this week's meeting of Republican officials has been an affirmation of the party's reluctance to change its core strategies for the 2014 midterm elections: Opposition to abortion and an assault on Obamacare, as the president's healthcare overhaul is known.

The Obama administration on Thursday said people enrolled in some small, government-sponsored healthcare plans will not face a penalty under Obamacare in 2014, even though their coverage does not meet the healthcare reform law's minimum requirements. In proposed rules released by the Internal Revenue Service, the administration said narrowly defined government coverage including programs limited to family planning or tuberculosis-related services through Medicaid do not meet minimum essential coverage standards. Ordinarily, President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would require someone who lacks minimum coverage to pay a penalty. But the IRS is proposing that individuals in certain plans pay no penalty for failing to have minimum essential healthcare for this year.

Scopes used during colonoscopies were found to have been cleaned improperly.        

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama has a new partner in her campaign to get kids to eat more fruits and vegetables.

By Rod Nickel and Meredith Davis WINNIPEG, Manitoba/CHICAGO (Reuters) – Canada has discovered its first two cases of the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv), which has already killed more than 1 million pigs in the United States, government and industry officials said on Thursday. The Ontario government is investigating a hog farm in the province’s Middlesex County after a laboratory finding of the virus, Dr. Greg Douglas, chief veterinary officer for Ontario, said at a news conference. Middlesex County is in southern Ontario near the city of London. Separately, one of Canada’s biggest pork processors, Olymel LP, said tests also confirmed the virus at an unloading dock of its Saint-Esprit slaughter facility northeast of Montreal, Quebec.

At least two people have died and at least 22 more were injured, three of them critically, in a “grim” accident involving several semi-tractor trailers on an ice-slicked highway in northern Indiana, officials said on Thursday. The crash occurred in icy conditions on I-94, near Michigan City, Indiana, according to LaPorte County coroner John Sullivan, speaking on the Chicago-area ABC TV station. Seven people were taken to Franciscan St. Anthony Health facility in Michigan City, including three in critical condition, according to spokeswoman Sarah Jones. Indiana University Health LaPorte Hospital in LaPorte was expecting to receive at least 15 patients from the accident, according to spokeswoman Maria Fruth.

NASA's decade-old Mars rover, Opportunity, has found evidence that life-friendly fresh water once pooled on the red planet's surface, reinforcing similar discoveries made by newcomer Curiosity on the other side of the planet, scientists said on Thursday. Opportunity, along with its now-defunct twin, Spirit, landed 10 years ago for concurrent 90-day missions to look for clues of the past existence of water. In August 2012, Curiosity, equipped with an onboard chemistry lab, arrived for follow-up investigations to determine if Mars had other ingredients essential for supporting life. On the other side of the planet, meanwhile, Opportunity has been analyzing water-bearing rocks at the rim of an ancient impact crater called Endeavour.

By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Chris Jennings, a top adviser to President Barack Obama who played a key role in the implementation of his signature healthcare law, is leaving the White House for health and family reasons, administration officials said on Thursday. Jennings, a respected healthcare policy adviser in the Clinton administration, was brought on board last summer before the flawed rollout of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, created one of the biggest political headaches Obama has faced since entering office. “He will be deeply missed, but we all wish him the best and know that he will continue to be a key player in health care and always a champion for quality affordable health care for all Americans.” An aide who spoke on condition of anonymity blamed a recent health scare and “other serious family considerations” for Jennings’ departure.