U.S. Edition
(CNN) – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was already having a rough week when she was presented with an unwelcome gift at an event in Memphis on Friday.
After being grilled on Capitol Hill and receiving subpoenas from one congressional committee, Sebelius was wrapping up her week at an outreach event when Tennessee state Sen. Brian Kelsey approached her with a copy of the book "Web Sites for Dummies," according to Memphis' The Daily News, which captured the moment on camera. FULL POST
(CNN) – HealthCare.gov, the beleaguered Obamacare federal insurance exchange website, will be down for "extended maintenance" Saturday night as a government technology team works to correct the problems that have plagued it over the past month.
Health and Human Services spokeswoman Joanne Peters said the maintenance aims to "improve network infrastructure and make enhancements to the online application and enrollment tools." FULL POST
(CNN)–Senator Dan Coats of Indiana delivered the GOP weekly address on Saturday, further stressing his party's concerns about Obamacare one month after the disasterous launch of Healthcare.gov.
"Too many Americans still cannot even access the online exchanges," said Coats, "and for the few that have, they're experiencing sticker shock." FULL POST
Washington (CNN) – In a ruling likely to set the stage for a battle in the U.S. Supreme Court, a federal appeals court has struck down an Obamacare mandate requiring some businesses to provide insurance coverage for birth control.
A key provision of Affordable Care Act championed by President Obama requires employers with 50 or more workers to provide medical insurance and coverage for contraceptives and pregnancy-related care. The companies must provide the coverage or pay a substantial financial penalty. FULL POST
(CNN)–After a week of falling approval ratings and criticism of the botched Obamacare website, President Barack Obama, in his weekly address Saturday, turned his attention to Washington's perennial funding battle.
"We need to grow and create more good jobs faster," the President said. "That’s my driving focus. And I’ll go anywhere and do anything to make it happen." FULL POST
(CNN) – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is accusing critics of smear tactics after they attacked his father for saying President Obama should go "back to Chicago, back to Kenya" at an event last year.
Even as he dismissed his father’s comments as a “joke” and ill-advised, he said critics were motivated as much by politics as by genuine outrage. FULL POST