Political news

• 'Obamacare' sign-ups show slippage in Trump era

  03-02-2017 23:56
  
  Facing higher premiums, less choice and a last-minute advertising pullback, fewer people signed up for coverage this year through HealthCare.gov, according to data from a preliminary government report ...
  
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• Air France swaps two cancelled A380s for smaller A350 jets

  03-02-2017 23:34
  Air France has swapped its remaining orders for two Airbus A380 superjumbos for three smaller A350s, Airbus confirmed on Friday, highlighting a switch towards lighter twinjets. The French carrier announced the swap last March and included it in its 2015 annual report, but the switchover only appeared in Airbus's published order list for January 2017. "In the case of the Air France A380 cancellation, this occurred in January." Air France was one of the first airlines to order the world's largest
  
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• Trump ignites political fight over U.S. banking law reforms

  03-02-2017 23:29
  By Sarah N. Lynch and Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday ordered reviews of major banking rules that were put in place after the 2008 financial crisis, drawing fire from Democrats who said his order lacked substance and squarely aligned him with Wall Street bankers. [.N] At a White House forum on Friday with U.S. business leaders, including JPMorgan Chase's CEO Jamie Dimon, Trump said his administration expects "to be cutting a lot out of Dodd-Frank." That
  
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• Up to 1.87M Michigan workers' info may have been compromised

  03-02-2017 23:10
  Social Security numbers and other personal information of up to 1.87 million Michigan workers may have been compromised, the state said Friday. The problem stemmed from a software update to Michigan's ...
  
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• The Latest: Trump begins weekend at Florida estate

  03-02-2017 23:06
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EDT):
  
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• 'Obamacare' sign-ups show slippage in preliminary report

  03-02-2017 23:05
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing higher premiums, less choice and a last-minute advertising pullback, fewer people signed up for coverage this year through HealthCare.gov, according to numbers from a preliminary government report Friday.
  
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• Trump on jobs report: 'It's going to continue, big league'

  03-02-2017 23:03
  
  President Donald Trump greeted news of a robust January jobs report Friday with his signature blend of gusto, self-promotion and promises of good times yet to come. "Great spirit in the country right ...
  
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• Trump team relaxes EPA restrictions on media and contracts

  03-02-2017 23:00
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Friday it has thawed its temporary freeze on contract and grant approvals at the Environmental Protection Agency, with all $3.9 billion in planned spending moving forward.
  
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• InterContinental confirms payment card breach at 12 U.S. hotels

  03-02-2017 22:54
  (Reuters) - InterContinental Hotels Group Plc on Friday confirmed a data breach from payment cards used at 12 of its hotels in the United States, a little over a month after it said it was investigating claims of a possible breach. InterContinental said only payment cards used at the restaurants and bars of the 12 hotels were affected and that cards used at the front desk of the hotels were not affected. The affected properties include the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, the InterCont
  
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• Trump hits Iran with new sanctions for missile test

  03-02-2017 22:49
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration ordered sanctions against more than two dozen people and companies from the Persian Gulf to China Friday in retaliation for Iran's recent ballistic missile test, increasing pressure on Tehran without directly undercutting a landmark nuclear deal with the country.
  
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• Global stocks rise after jobs report, U.S. yield curve steepens

  03-02-2017 22:42
  By Dion Rabouin NEW YORK (Reuters) - Major world stock indexes rose on Friday, with U.S. equities closing near record highs, as data showed the creation of more U.S. jobs than expected, while President Donald Trump's executive order to review banking regulations boosted financial sector shares. U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 227,000 jobs last month, the largest gain in four months, but wages increased only modestly, suggesting slack in the labour market. "Continued strong job creation is tem
  
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• Judge orders White House to list people excluded by Trump ban

  03-02-2017 22:40
  By Scott Malone and Dan Levine BOSTON/SEATTLE (Reuters) - A federal judge in Virginia ordered the White House to provide a list of all people stopped from entering the United States by a travel ban imposed last week on citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries by President Donald Trump. The ruling came on a day that attorneys from four states were in courts challenging the executive order. The Trump administration justified the action on national security grounds, but opponents labelled it an
  
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• Trump inherits a healthy job market, with solid hiring

  03-02-2017 22:37
  
  President Donald Trump has inherited a healthy-looking job market from his predecessor, with the U.S. economy registering a burst of hiring in January and an influx of Americans looking for work. U.S. ...
  
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• Fewer than 60,000 visas revoked in Trump travel ban - U.S. official

  03-02-2017 22:33
  Fewer than 60,000 visas were provisionally revoked to comply with U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban affecting seven Muslim-majority countries, the State Department said on Friday. The immigration executive order signed by Trump a week ago temporarily halted the U.S. refugee program and imposed a 90-day suspension on people travelling from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Trump said the measures would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks.
  
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• U.S. business leaders express concerns to Trump about travel ban

  03-02-2017 22:30
  By Emily Stephenson and David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chief executives of major U.S. companies huddled with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday and some of them expressed concern about a travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries travelling to the United States. Business leaders said afterward that the group, which included Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase & Co and Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo Inc , discussed bank rules, tax reform, and objections to Trump's
  
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• EU leaders round on Trump and reject May's bridge-building efforts

  03-02-2017 22:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Prime ministers and presidents at Malta summit line up to scorn Trump’s conduct, accusing him of lack of respect European leaders launched a series of attacks on Donald Trump over his anti-EU rhetoric on Friday, accusing him of a lack of respect, as Theresa May’s attempts to position herself as a bridge with the new US president were roundly rejected at a summit in Malta.
  Trump’s conduct was scorned by prime ministers and presidents, with the French leader, François Holl
  
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• Wall Street stands with two Fed-hike outlook for 2017 - Reuters poll

  03-02-2017 22:28
  Wall Street's top banks expect just two rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this year and see only modest risk to the U.S. central bank being pressed into a more aggressive pace of monetary policy tightening, a Reuters poll showed on Friday. The poll of primary dealers - the 23 banks that do business directly with the Fed - indicated none expect the next rate hike to occur before the second quarter, despite a report on Friday that employers added far more workers than expected in January. While
  
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• Paris can handle security, says mayor

  03-02-2017 22:23
  By Julien Pretot PARIS (Reuters) - Paris showed on Friday that it can offer a safe environment to host the Olympics after an attack was thwarted at the Louvre Museum on the day when the city submitted its bid file to host the 2024 Games, mayor Anne Hidalgo said. A French soldier shot and wounded a man armed with machetes and carrying two bags on his back on Friday as he tried to enter the Paris Louvre museum in what the government said appeared to have been a terrorist attack. "I went straight t
  
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• USDA removes animal welfare reports from its website

  03-02-2017 22:20
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Agriculture Department has removed animal welfare inspection reports, enforcement records and other information about the treatment of animals from its website, citing privacy and other laws.
  
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• Trump administration tightens Iran sanctions, Tehran hits back

  03-02-2017 22:12
  By Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Friday imposed sanctions on Iran, which it said were just "initial steps" and said Washington would no longer turn a "blind eye" to Iran's hostile actions. The sanctions on 25 individuals and entities were the opening salvo by President Donald Trump who has vowed a more aggressive policy against Tehran and came two days after the administration had put Iran 'on notice' following a ballistic missile test. "The Trump Administrat
  
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• Oil pushes higher on Iran sanctions, jobs data

  03-02-2017 22:07
  By David Gaffen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday after the United States imposed sanctions on some Iranian individuals and entities, days after the White House rebuked Tehran for a ballistic missile test. The strong U.S. January jobs figure was also supportive, as it suggests ongoing strength in energy demand. Front-month U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled up 29 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $53.83.
  
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• US releases video from Yemen raid but footage is dated

  03-02-2017 21:59
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military on Friday released a short clip from training videos seized in last weekend's Yemen raid, but the images appear to be vintage al-Qaida footage that was first made public a decade ago.
  
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• Pro- or anti-Trump? Businesses pushed to pick a side

  03-02-2017 21:59
  
  Uber's CEO quit President Donald Trump's business council. Nordstrom stopped selling Ivanka Trump's fashion. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Toyota, meanwhile, suffered through the discomfort of being on the ...
  
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• EU founders speak of possible 'multispeed' future after Brexit

  03-02-2017 21:58
  German Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of other founding states of the European Union spoke on Friday of some countries moving ahead faster than others with further integration. After a summit in Malta at which all national leaders discussed plans for a formal declaration in March on the future of the bloc following Britain's departure, Merkel and others offered endorsements of a so-called "multispeed Europe", which some governments fear could damage EU unity in the wake of Brexit. The last
  
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• Pipeline projects in limbo as energy commissioner departs

  03-02-2017 21:53
  
  Major natural gas pipeline projects along the East Coast and Midwest face uncertainty as the federal agency that oversees the work loses a commissioner and will be unable to decide on projects indefinitely ...
  
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• Iran to impose legal restrictions on some US entities, individuals - TV

  03-02-2017 21:53
  Iran on Friday denounced new sanctions imposed on it by the United States and said it would impose legal restrictions on American individuals and entities helping "regional terrorist groups". The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced sanctions against 13 individuals and 12 entities linked to Iran, days after the White House put Tehran "on notice" over a ballistic missile test. "The new sanctions ... are not compatible with America's commitments and resolution 2231 of
  
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• Louvre attack suspect identified as 29-year-old Abdullah Reda - Egypt sources

  03-02-2017 21:45
  CAIRO (Reuters) - The man suspected of attacking a soldier in Paris's Louvre museum on Friday has been identified as Abdullah Reda al-Hamamy, a 29-year-old Egyptian born in Dakahlia, a province northeast of Cairo, two security sources said. (Reporting by Haitham Ahmed and Ahmed Mohammed Hassan; Writing by Amina Ismail; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
  
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• State Dept: Fewer than 60,000 visas canceled by Trump order

  03-02-2017 21:37
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Up to 60,000 foreigners from seven majority-Muslim countries had their visas canceled after President Donald Trump's executive order blocked them from traveling to the U.S., the State Department said Friday.
  
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• DeVos moves closer to confirmation as education secretary

  03-02-2017 21:31
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Betsy DeVos moved closer toward confirmation as education secretary Friday after clearing a major hurdle in the Senate, even as Democrats and labor unions fervently sought another Republican vote against her.
  
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• Romania's ombudsman challenges graft decree, mass protests enter 4th day

  03-02-2017 21:22
  By Radu-Sorin Marinas BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's ombudsman has challenged in the Constitutional Court a cabinet decree passed earlier in the week decriminalising some graft offences, in an apparent watering down of an anti-corruption drive that sparked mass protests and international condemnation. Tens of thousands took to the streets of Bucharest and 70 other cities and towns across Romania on Friday in the fourth day of nationwide, peaceful protests in which people have demanded an immedi
  
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• FCC closes 'sponsored data' inquiries

  03-02-2017 21:15
  The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Friday it was closing inquiries into sponsored data programs and TV services offered by AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications Inc , Comcast Corp , T-Mobile USA Inc undertaken during the Obama administration without taking any action. Under Democratic control, the FCC had sent letters raising concerns about whether some data practices by AT&T and Verizon violated net neutrality rules.
  
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• Illustration of the week: To infinity and beyond

  03-02-2017 21:11 via ft.com
  
  Parliament votes to start Brexit process as UK seeks ‘frictionless’ trade deals
  
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• French police seek to establish whether Louvre attacker acted alone

  03-02-2017 21:11
  PARIS (Reuters) - The man who was shot and wounded at the Paris Louvre on Friday after attacking soldiers with a machete has been identified as an Egyptian and police are trying to establish whether he acted alone or under instructions, the Paris prosecutor said. The prosecutor, Francois Molins, told a news conference that the 29-year-old Egyptian had arrived in Paris on Jan. 26 after acquiring a one-month tourist visa in Dubai. (Writing By Richard Balmforth; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
  
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• Divided on Trump, EU insists on European unity

  03-02-2017 21:01
  By Alastair Macdonald and Gabriela Baczynska VALLETTA (Reuters) - European Union leaders said they agreed to stick together in dealing with Donald Trump, but at their first summit since he took office they were at odds on how far to confront or engage with the new U.S. president. Trump and his policies, from questioning the value of NATO and free trade to banning Muslim refugees, came up repeatedly in discussions in Malta on external "challenges" facing the Union. British Prime Minister Theresa
  
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• Egypt's ministry of interior confirms Louvre attack suspect is Egyptian - sources

  03-02-2017 20:59
  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's interior ministry has received conformation from the country's embassy in Paris that the machete-wielding man suspected of attacking a soldier at the Louvre museum on Friday is Egyptian, two Egyptian security sources said. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media, said they are waiting to receive further information before beginning an investigation. The Paris attacker was shot and wounded. (Reporting by Ahme
  
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• EU leaders back Libyans to curb new migrant wave

  03-02-2017 20:57
  By Gabriela Baczynska and Alastair Macdonald VALLETTA (Reuters) - European Union leaders placed a bet on Libya's fragile government to help them prevent a new wave of African migrants this spring, offering Tripoli more money and other assistance to beef up its frontier controls. Meeting in Malta - in the sea lane to Italy where more than 4,500 people drowned last year - the leaders addressed legal and moral concerns about having Libyan coastguards force people ashore by pledging to improve condi
  
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• Trump moves to scale back financial regulations

  03-02-2017 20:47
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking his first steps aimed at scaling back financial services regulations, and the Republican-run Congress cast a vote early Friday signaling that it's eager to help.
  
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• Kazakh leader demotes ally seen as succession candidate

  03-02-2017 20:46
  Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev sacked influential deputy prime minister Imangali Tasmagambetov on Friday and appointed him as ambassador to Russia, diminishing his chances of one day taking over the top job. Nazarbayev, 76, has run the former Soviet republic since 1989, first as a Communist boss and then as president, and has never nominated a successor, making the eventual political transition a source of uncertainty for investors. Another potential successor, Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev, spea
  
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• Martin Rowson on the EU summit in Malta – cartoon

  03-02-2017 20:41 via theguardian.com
  
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• Labour looks at collaborating with Lib Dems and Greens in Stoke

  03-02-2017 20:04 via theguardian.com
  
  Jeremy Corbyn’s aides in informal discussions over joint effort to keep Ukip’s Paul Nuttall out of Commons Jeremy Corbyn’s team have informally explored the idea of collaborating with the Greens and Liberal Democrats in Stoke-on-Trent Central to keep Paul Nuttall, the Ukip leader, out of parliament.A senior figure in the Labour leader’s office has asked a go-between what it would take to persuade the Lib Dems and Greens to dial down their campaigns, or even withdraw candi
  
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• High Court judges dismiss legal challenge to Brexit

  03-02-2017 19:59 via ft.com
  Campaigners sought to challenge lawfulness of leaving EEA without MPs’ vote
  
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• Private ambulances increasingly used to respond to 999 calls

  03-02-2017 19:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Figures for ambulance trusts in England showing sharp rise in spending on private operators add to concerns over NHS crisisAmbulance services are increasingly calling in private firms to respond to 999 calls in the latest sign that NHS care providers are struggling to cope with the sharply rising number of patients who need urgent medical attention.The London ambulance service (LAS) has had the biggest increase among England’s 10 regional ambulance trusts. The amount it spent on private am
  
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• Is a sick-bay needed at Westminster? | Brief letters

  03-02-2017 19:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Brexit vote | Coventry City FC | Measurement units | Vera Lynn | Italian regions | Weetabix in bedIs there not a sick-bay or other quiet place at Westminster where a migraine sufferer (for example) is able to lie down for a couple of hours, before briefly entering the lobbies for “historic” votes such as the one to trigger article 50 (Absent MP who ‘fell ill’ accused of bottling vote, 3 February)? Surely that would be much less stressful than trying to cross London in the
  
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• Exclusive - Polish 'bluff' in EU climate talks tests bloc's patience

  03-02-2017 19:23
  By Alissa de Carbonnel BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Poland is threatening to challenge a draft European Union climate law in court, EU documents seen by Reuters show, in its latest move to slow an EU campaign against global warming that Warsaw sees as a menace to its coal-powered energy industry. In what Polish diplomats describe as leverage for talks now under way on how to spread the burden of EU climate goals among member states, Warsaw is opposing the legal basis for the rules - a battle it could ta
  
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• Trump administration reviewing Cuba policy - White House spokesman

  03-02-2017 19:12
  The Trump administration is in the midst "of a full review of all U.S. policies towards Cuba," with a focus on its human rights policies, as part of a commitment to such rights for citizens throughout the world, a White House spokesman said on Friday. White House spokesman Sean Spicer made the comment during a press conference in response to a question about whether the administration of President Donald Trump planned any policy changes toward Cuba.
  
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• The Latest: Administration lifts its hold on EPA contracts

  03-02-2017 19:08
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):
  
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• US military releases al-Qaida video seized in Yemen raid

  03-02-2017 19:07
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has released a short clip of what it said were videos seized in last weekend's Yemen raid. They appear to show how to make bombs.
  
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• U.S. courts hear challenges to Trump travel ban

  03-02-2017 19:06
  By Scott Malone and Dan Levine BOSTON/SEATTLE (Reuters) - A federal judge in Boston expressed scepticism on Friday about a civil rights group's claim that President Donald Trump's order banning citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States represented religious discrimination. The hearing was one of a series of legal challenges to the measure the new Republican president signed last week, which blocked people holding passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan,
  
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• Former Sheffield council official jailed for sexual assault

  03-02-2017 19:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Council ‘deeply sorry’ after Roger Dodds, 81, is jailed for 16 years for abusing five people in the city over 20 years agoSheffield city council has said it is “deeply sorry” after a former education official was jailed for 16 years for forcing teenagers to engage in sex acts to get grant payments. Roger Dodds, 81, was jailed on Friday after admitting indecently assaulting five people – one boy aged under 14 and four men aged 16 and over – from the 1970s to th
  
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• New Iran sanctions "in pipeline" before Trump took office - White House

  03-02-2017 19:02
  The Iran-related sanctions the United States imposed on Friday were "in the pipeline" before President Donald Trump took office, but were activated in light of recent events, the White House said on Friday. "These kinds of sanctions don't happen quickly but I think the timing of them was clearly in reaction to what we've seen over the last couple days," White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters.
  
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