2020 January

Drug companies hike prices to start the year, average 5.3 percent

Drug companies raised prices on a wide range of drugs to start the year, with an average increase of 5.3 percent so far, according to data from the health care consulting firm 3 Axis Advisors.  The drug price increases include some blockbuster drugs: the price of Humira, which treats arthritis and other conditions, rose 7.4 […]

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Trump administration to deport Mexican asylum-seekers to Guatemala: report

The Trump administration is planning to deport Mexican asylum-seekers to Guatemala, BuzzFeed News reported on Monday. Officials received guidance indicating Mexican asylum-seekers were to be included in a controversial program that began sending asylum-seekers to Guatemala in late November, according to the news outlet.  Acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ken Cuccinelli said in December that Mexicans would […]

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Air strike on Iraqi militia kills six

Six fighters of an Iraqi militia backed by Iran were killed in an airstrike north of Baghdad as tensions in Iraq continue to escalate. The strike on Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella force of Shiite militias that receive support from Iran, also critically wounded three, an Iraqi army source told Reuters. The army source […]

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Border Patrol denies claims of order to detain Iranian Americans

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials released a statement Sunday evening denying reports circulating on social media claiming Iranian Americans were being detained by CBP authorities at a border crossing in Blaine, Wash. “Social media posts that CBP is detaining Iranian-Americans and refusing their entry into the U.S. because of their country of origin are false,” CBP […]

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Overnight Energy: Critics skeptical of EPA plans for tougher truck standards | Five environmental fights to watch in 2020 | Study finds shutdown of coal plants saved 26K lives

HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS, LIGHT SKEPTICISM: The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) latest plans to overhaul trucking regulations are being met with some skepticism from environmental and health groups who worry the agency’s track could undermine tougher state regulations that are in the works. Flanked by trucking association leaders near Interstate-66 in Virginia, EPA Administrator Andrew WheelerAndrew […]

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Ocasio-Cortez accuses Trump of 'an act of war'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-CortezTrump lashes out at ‘squad’: ‘They hate Jewish people’ Ocasio-Cortez accuses Trump of ‘an act of war’ Iran just became Trump’s No. 1 foreign crisis of 2020 — but not the only one MORE (D-N.Y.) accused President TrumpDonald John Trump Trump asks New York judge to dismiss rape allegation case NYT to […]

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Overnight Defense: Washington returns to Iran crisis | Defense chief denies US troops leaving Iraq | House sets vote on Iran war powers | Bolton willing to testify in impeachment trial

Happy Monday and welcome to Overnight Defense. I’m Rebecca Kheel, and here’s your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. CLICK HERE to subscribe to the newsletter.   THE TOPLINE: The holiday break is over, and lawmakers and officials are returning to town with a new Iran crisis unfolding. To recap: In December, the United States blamed […]

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Supreme Court sets Friday deadline for responses in ObamaCare case

The Supreme Court on Monday told the Trump administration and a group of states to respond by the end of the week to an effort by Democrats to expedite a challenge to a lower court ruling that struck down a key tenet of ObamaCare. The court asked the health care law’s opponents to file a […]

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Lawsuit seeks to establish DC as venue for sex abuse accusations against Boy Scouts

Lawyers filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday in an attempt to establish Washington, D.C., as the venue for sex abuse accusations against the Boy Scouts of America. The suit, if successful, could allow men who want to file charges against scoutmasters and other leaders who abused them in their youth, to do so even […]

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At least 30 killed in Nigerian bridge blast: report

At least 30 people were killed by an improvised explosive device in Nigeria on Monday, Reuters reported.  The bomb allegedly detonated on a bridge at about 5 p.m. local time in the market town of Gamboru in the northeastern state of Borno. Witnesses said more than 35 injured people were taken to the local hospital. “It is an […]

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