8.8 million sign up for Obamacare in strong showing
Obamacare remains pretty popular with many Americans, despite President Trump and Republicans' repeated attempts to kill it.
Some 8.8 million people have signed up for 2018 coverage on the federal exchange during an open enrollment season that was half the length of prior years and far less promoted, the Trump administration said Thursday. That's only 400,000 fewer than signed up on healthcare.gov during open enrollment a year ago. Nearly 2.4 million consumers were new to the exchanges, while more than 6.4 million continued their coverage during the period, which ran from Nov. 1 through Dec. 15. Traffic was heavy in the final days. More than 4.1 million people selected plans in the last six days, including those who were automatically renewed. Unlike in prior years, the Trump administration didn't extend the enrollment deadline, though it did give people who couldn't get through to the call center a little more time to sign up. These folks were not included in Thursday's figures.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/21/news/ec ... index.html
Report: Hundreds of EPA employees leave under Trump
Washington (CNN)Hundreds of Environmental Protection Agency employees have exited their posts at the agency over the course of President Donald Trump's first year in office, a report by the New York Times and ProPublica said Friday. The Trump administration has touted efforts to roll back regulations at the agency, and an internal memo obtained by CNN in April revealed a buyout program that was aimed at curbing employment. The EPA, along with other government agencies, was placed on a hiring freeze, which also had left 350 positions open as of April, CNN previously reported.
The Times and ProPublica reported that the departures were buyouts, retirements and individuals quitting, but totaled more than 700 employees, including more than 200 scientists. In April, CNN reported that John O'Grady, president of AFGE Council 238, the union that represents EPA employees, said
the Trump administration's goal was to cut "at least 3,100 full-time employees."
http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/22/politics/ ... index.html
China Gears Up to Reduce Impact of US Tax Cut
BEIJING — Chinese companies with international ambitions are caught in a serious dilemma by the U.S. move to cut corporate tax rates. The move has made the U.S. an attractive destination for Chinese companies facing very high taxes and other restrictions at home. On the other hand, they face the risk of being punished by Chinese authorities who are opposed to “unnecessary” overseas investments. Earlier this week, China wrapped up a top-level annual economic policymaking conference, with a three-year pledge to “fight financial risks.” Though there was no specific mention of the U.S. tax reform, it was clear that Chinese authorities are gearing up to counter any external risks to the domestic economy.....“So perhaps they view this as an opportunity and more Chinese firms will then look to invest in the United States but keep in mind that the Trump administration is also at the same time going through a significant, a potentially significant tightening of foreign investment rules, the CFIUS process, which will clearly make it more difficult for many Chinese firms to at least takeover or buy American companies.”.....China has seen massive investments by U.S. companies, which is why it might be seriously affected if American companies begin to take advantage of this tax offer.....“There is some thinking (in China) that U.S. firms are going to pull their profits out of China and repatriate to the U.S. At least that is the fear, one of the fears in China,” Balding said, “I personally think that is a relatively unfounded fear but it does exist and it is not entirely without rationality.”.....Foreign companies generally invest in China because they see it as a proper destination for long term presence......“
With that said, it would not surprise me at all if you see some U.S. corporations trying to get out of China back to the United States. But to be honest, I would be surprised if it was a significant amount,” he said. “Tax is only a small factor affecting business decisions. Just because it moved from 40 percent to 25 percent does not mean that business decisions on where to invest will actually be fundamentally changed,” said Shen Yajie, policy analyst for finance at Beijing based consulting firm, China Policy.
https://www.voanews.com/a/china-prepari ... 74955.html
Shots fired at DMZ as North Korean soldier defects to South
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean guards fired warning shots across the heavily militarized border with North Korea on Thursday as a soldier from the North defected in thick fog, complicating efforts to ease tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs. A South Korean defense ministry official said up to 20 warning shots were fired as North Korean troops approached too near the “military demarcation line” at the demilitarized zone (DMZ), apparently in search of the missing soldier. Thursday’s defection came about five weeks after a North Korean soldier suffered critical gunshot wounds during a defection dash across the border........Two North Korean civilians were also found in a fishing boat on Wednesday and had sought to defect, officials in the South said. That brings the total number of North Koreans who have defected by taking dangerous routes either directly across the border or by sea to 15 so far this year, including two other soldiers. That is three times the number last year, according to South Korean officials......
Seoul says more than 880 North Koreans have defected to the rich, democratic South so far this year, but the vast majority have taken a less dangerous route through China.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nort ... SKBN1EF036
Stop meddling in foreign elections, UK's Johnson tells Russian hosts
MOSCOW (Reuters) - British foreign minister Boris Johnson told his Russian counterpart on Friday there was “abundant evidence” of Moscow meddling in foreign elections, but said any Russian efforts to interfere in last year’s Brexit referendum had fallen flat. On the first visit to Russia by a British foreign minister in five years, Johnson said he wanted to normalize UK-Russia relations, which were going through “a very difficult patch”. But that didn’t mean pretending that Britain did not have serious concerns about Russia’s behavior, he said.....Johnson’s visit comes at a time when relations between London and Moscow are strained by differences over Ukraine and Syria as well as by allegations, which
Russia flatly denies, that Moscow has meddled in the politics of various European countries by backing cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns. 
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brit ... SKBN1EG00W
Arab states believe U.S. aid secure despite defying Trump Jerusalem move
AMMAN/CAIRO (Reuters) - Leading Arab allies threatened with cuts in aid by Donald Trump said on Friday they had no choice but to defy the U.S. president over his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,
and did not believe he would follow through. More than 120 countries, including every Arab nation, voted at the U.N. General Assembly late on Thursday to urge the United States to withdraw its decision, announced earlier this month. Trump threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that voted in favor of the U.N. resolution, drafted by Egypt and supported by all members of the U.N. Security Council except Washington......He repeated his threat on Friday, writing on Twitter: “After having foolishly spent $7 trillion in the Middle East, it is time to start rebuilding our country!” In Egypt and Jordan, among the top recipients of U.S. aid but long the most heavily invested in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process,
Trump’s threats were not taken seriously enough to backtrack on firm opposition to the U.S. move.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN1EG1YB
Homegrown African Climate Model Predicts Future Rains — and Risks
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — One big problem confronts Africa as it tries to predict how its weather patterns will shift in the face of climate change: Almost all the climate models for the continent were created in the United States or Europe. Now South African climate researcher Francois Engelbrecht has changed that by developing a climate model for Africa, in Africa......The model aims to "generate reliable projections of future climate change over Africa."........
Those projections include figuring out which areas will get more or less rainfall — "a key to adapting agriculture successfully" — or looking at where African grasslands might give way to thickets as more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere drives the growth of trees......."We know that climate is changing, risks are changing, including changes in the risk of heat waves, flooding, drought, tropical cyclones, changes in growing seasons [and] rising temperatures," said Rachel James, a visiting climate researcher at the University of Cape Town.
"People everywhere will need to adapt to these changing conditions in the years and decades to come," she told Reuters.
https://www.voanews.com/a/homegrown-afr ... 75800.html
Russian Hackers Targeted More Than 200 Journalists Globally
PARIS — Russian television anchor Pavel Lobkov was in the studio getting ready for his show when jarring news flashed across his phone: Some of his most intimate messages had just been published to the web.......The Associated Press found that Lobkov was targeted by the hacking group known as Fancy Bear in March 2015, nine months before his messages were leaked. He was one of at least 200 journalists, publishers and bloggers targeted by the group as early as mid-2014 and as recently as a few months ago........The AP identified journalists as the third-largest group on a hacking hit list obtained from cybersecurity firm Secureworks, after diplomatic personnel and U.S. Democrats. About 50 of the journalists worked at The New York Times. Another 50 were either foreign correspondents based in Moscow or Russian reporters like Lobkov who worked for independent news outlets. Others were prominent media figures in Ukraine, Moldova, the Baltics or Washington.......
The list of journalists provides new evidence for the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Fancy Bear acted on behalf of the Russian government when it intervened in the U.S. presidential election. Spy agencies say the hackers were working to help Republican Donald Trump. The Russian government has denied interfering in the American election.........
Previous AP reporting has shown how Fancy Bear — which Secureworks nicknamed Iron Twilight — used phishing emails to try to compromise Russian opposition leaders, Ukrainian politicians and U.S. intelligence figures, along with Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and more than 130 other Democrats.
https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-hacker ... 75088.html
UN Security Council Unanimously Imposes Additional North Korea Sanctions
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council unanimously agreed Friday to impose another round of sanctions on North Korea, targeting sectors that fuel its illicit weapons programs. “As we have in the past, we will continue to match the Kim regime’s choice of aggressive actions with actions of international sanction,” U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The new resolution builds on three earlier rounds of tough sanctions imposed on Pyongyang this year. If fully implemented, it will cap North Korea’s annual import of refined petroleum products, such as gasoline and diesel, at a half-million barrels down from 4.5 million in 2016. Exemptions would only be allowed on a case-by-case basis with Security Council approval.
https://www.voanews.com/a/unsc-north-ko ... 75699.html
New Ohio law prevents abortions in Down syndrome cases
(CNN)Ohio is prohibiting doctors from performing abortions in cases where tests reveal the fetus has or likely has Down syndrome. Republican Gov. John Kasich signed the legislation Friday and the law goes into effect in 90 days. "The governor is pro-life and supports policies that protect the sanctity of life," press secretary Jon Keeling tells CNN. The law prohibits abortions after prenatal tests reveal Down syndrome in a fetus or if there's "any other reason to believe" the fetus has the genetic condition. A person performing an abortion in such a case could face a fourth-degree felony charge, and physicians could lose their licenses. The woman seeking the abortion would not be held accountable, according to the legislation.
Similar laws have passed in North Dakota and Indiana, though a federal judge blocked the Indiana law. The North Dakota law went into effect in 2013.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/22/health/oh ... index.html
Former Fox News contributor says Rupert Murdoch 'ruined my life'
amara Holder, a former Fox News contributor who last year accused an executive of sexual misconduct, says Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch "ruined my life."
"I don't have a job in TV anymore because the place that he has secured down like Fort Knox allowed abusive predators to prey on women who just wanted to work," she told CNN's Brian Stelter on "Reliable Sources" Sunday. "That is not nonsense. This is people's lives." Holder was responding to remarks made last week by Murdoch, the chairman of 21st Century Fox, which owns Fox News. During an interview on the UK's Sky News channel last Thursday, Murdoch appeared to brush off the sexual misconduct allegations that have vexed the network.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/17/media/t ... index.html
Trump wanted to have a news conference but aides convinced him otherwise
(CNN)President Donald Trump told aides he was eager to take questions Friday and hold a news conference to tout his accomplishments before leaving for Mar-a-Lago, but some advisers argued against it. The aides were eager to avoid him being besieged with questions about the investigation into Russian election meddling and other matters that could overshadow the tax bill he had signed into law, two White House officials told CNN. The President's schedule remained in flux over the last day, amid questions about whether he would stage a public bill-signing ceremony of the tax legislation or hold a news conference. Many previous presidents have held year-end news conferences before leaving for Christmas vacations. For two straight days, Thursday and Friday, White House aides were told to prepare for a news conference of some kind.
Both plans were scrapped.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/22/politics/ ... index.html
FBI Foils Plot for Christmas Day Attack on San Francisco
The FBI has arrested an American man who allegedly plotted a terrorist attack on a popular tourist site in San Francisco to be carried out on Christmas Day. Federal authorities announced Friday that they had arrested Everitt Aaron Jameson, 26, of Modesto, California, this week. Jameson allegedly told an undercover FBI agent that he planned to target the Pier 39 in San Francisco by remotely detonating explosives and then shooting people with an automatic rifle as they fled. According to FBI documents, Jameson chose that location because he had been there before and knew it was a crowded area. He also told the FBI agent that Monday, Christmas Day, would be a "perfect day" for an attack. He said he did not have an escape plan "because he was ready to die.
https://www.voanews.com/a/federal-burea ... 75912.html
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