Source: The Hill

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said late Wednesday that an expansion of Medicaid that Democrats are seeking to pass as part of their massive reconciliation bill must include the Hyde Amendment to get his support.

"Yeah, we're not taking the Hyde Amendment off. Hyde's going to be on," Manchin told National Review when asked about a proposed Medicaid-like program in the reconciliation bill.

"It has to be. It has to be. That's dead on arrival if that's gone," Manchin, who has described himself as "pro-life, and proud of it," added.

Under the Hyde Amendment, Medicaid and other federal programs are prohibited from covering abortion expenses. Government spending bills have included the stipulation since 1976.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/homenews/senate/574621-manchin-says-reconciliation-bill-must-include-controversial-hyde-amendment%3famp

Source: Politico

Top generals told lawmakers under oath on Tuesday that they advised President Joe Biden early this year to keep several thousand troops in Afghanistan — directly contradicting the president’s comments in August that no one warned him not to withdraw troops from the country.

The remarkable testimony pits top military brass against the commander-in-chief as the Biden administration continues to face tough questions about what critics are calling a botched withdrawal that directly led to the deaths of 13 American service members, scenes of chaos at the Kabul airport, and the abandonment of American citizens and at-risk Afghans in the war-torn country.

Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services in a hearing Tuesday that he recommended maintaining a small force of 2,500 troops in Afghanistan earlier this year.

He also noted that in the fall of 2020, during the Trump administration, he advised that the U.S. maintain a force almost double the size, of 4,500 troops, in Afghanistan.

Read more: https://www-politico-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.politico.com/amp/news/2021/09/28/top-generals-afghanistan-withdrawal-congress-hearing-514491?amp_js_v=a6&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASCAAgM%3D#aoh=16328563553134&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com%2Fnews%2F2021%2F09%2F28%2Ftop-generals-afghanistan-withdrawal-congress-hearing-514491

Source: CNN

(CNN)The House on Thursday easily approved a bill to provide funding for Israel's Iron Dome after it was removed from a separate bill to prevent a government shutdown and suspend the nation's borrowing limit.

The $1 billion in funding allocated for the aerial defense system had initially been included in the must-pass legislation that the House considered earlier in the week, but the provision was removed from the final version to appease a group of progressives who said they would sink the legislation unless that funding was struck from it.

The bill now goes to the Senate where it's unclear when it will get a vote.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer created a separate bill to bring to the floor Thursday under suspension, which means it bypassed the normal rules required to pass the bill and required a two-thirds majority to pass.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/09/23/politics/iron-dome-house-vote/index.html

Source: MSNBC

WASHINGTON — As it scrambles to deal with the surge of Haitian migrants at the southern border, the Biden administration is seeking a private contractor to operate a migrant detention facility at the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, with a requirement that some of the guards speak Spanish and Haitian Creole, according to government records.

A little-known immigrant holding facility on the base has a capacity of 120 people, the records say, and it "will have an estimated daily population of 20 people," according to a solicitation for bids issued Friday by the Department of Homeland Security.

"The service provider shall be responsible to maintain on site the necessary equipment to erect temporary housing facilities for populations that exceed 120 and up to 400 migrants in a surge event," the contract solicitation says.



Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1279886

The Hillsborough County Republican Party alerted federal election regulators Tuesday that it may file its monthly campaign finance reports late because a key member of the organization died Saturday from COVID-19.

Prior to his death, Gregg Prentice developed and maintained software that electronically tracked donations to the Hillsborough County GOP and supplied data for the organization’s monthly finance reports. None of the other officers knew how to operate Prentice’s software, the party told the the Federal Elections Commission.

“We will be struggling to get all of this entered in the proper format by our deadline on September20, but we will try to do so with our best effort,” the party wrote.

A call and text message to county party chairman Jim Waurishuk were not returned.

More: https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/09/16/death-of-hillsborough-gop-member-from-covid-19-causes-financial-problems-for-party/?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true

Source: Orlando Sentinel

An unvaccinated couple who both became infected with COVID-19 died within hours of each other this week, leaving seven children behind, according to a news report.

Troy and Charletta Green of Detroit, both 44, were planning another family trip to Florida after bringing the kids in April.

But this time, Troy stayed behind because he was too sick to travel, Fox 2 Detroit reported.

After Charletta left for a Sunshine State vacation, the couple, who’d met at age 14, never saw each other again.

Read more: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/os-ne-unvaccinated-couple-covid-19-die-leave-seven-children-20210910-wk3spo4xb5ay5nk5sg6ylfjtcy-story.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true

Source: The Hill

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer issued a warning on remaking the Supreme Court, stating "what goes around comes around."

Breyer made the remark in an interview with NPR published Friday to promote his book "The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics."

"What goes around comes around. And if the Democrats can do it, the Republicans can do it," Breyer told the news outlet.

Conservatives currently hold a 6-3 majority on the high court, leading to some progressives to call for its expansion.

Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/571636-justice-breyer-issues-warning-on-remaking-supreme-court-what-goes?amp&__twitter_impression=true

Source: Boston Globe

The head of the World Health Organization is calling on rich countries with large supplies of coronavirus vaccines to refrain from offering booster shots through the end of the year, expanding a call that has largely fallen on deaf ears.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said Wednesday he was “appalled” at comments by a leading association of pharmaceutical manufacturers who said vaccine supplies are high enough to allow for both booster shots and vaccinations in countries in dire need of jabs but facing shortages.

“I will not stay silent when companies and countries that control the global supply of vaccines think the world’s poor should be satisfied with leftovers,” he told a news conference.

Tedros had previously called for a “moratorium” on booster shots through the end of September, but the United States and other countries have begun or are considering plans to offer them to their vulnerable people.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bostonglobe.com/2021/09/08/nation/world-health-organization-chief-calls-moratorium-using-coronavirus-booster-shots-rest-year/%3foutputType=amp

Source: CNN

(CNN)The Human Rights Campaign has terminated its president Alphonso David following an investigation last month over his actions while assisting former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who was responding to an allegation of sexual harassment, according to a statement from the HRC.

In a response on social media, David said the termination was unjust. "As a Black, gay man who has spent his whole life fighting for civil and human rights, they cannot shut me up. Expect a legal challenge," he wrote.

The dispute followed the resignation last month of the three-term governor following an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James. In its aftermath, attention was focused on allies who helped shape Cuomo's response to the allegations, which ​included alleged instances of retaliation against at least one accuser.

James released her report on August 3, concluding that Cuomo "sexually harassed multiple women and violated state law."

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/09/07/politics/hrc-alphonso-david-cuomo-scandal/index.html