GOP Sen. Ernst says Trump should…

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said Tuesday that she has “concerns” about the frequency of President Trump’s trips to his Mar-a-Lago residence and particularly about his use of the Palm Beach, Fla., venue to host foreign leaders. Ernst was holding a town hall in Wall Lake, Iowa, when a constituent inquired about the cost of Trump’s trips to the “Winter White House,” as Trump has called it. The president has spent seven of his 13 weekends as president at the estate. According to the Associated Press, cost estimates for each trip have ranged from $1 million to three times that. “I agree with you,” Ernst responded. “I do wish that he would spend more time in Washington, D.C. That’s what we have…
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The Latest: Trump vows to solve…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s trip to Wisconsin (all times EDT): 3:50 p.m. President Donald Trump is promising to find a solution to a trade dispute with Canada that has left dairy farmers in Wisconsin and New York without a market for their product. Trump said during a speech Tuesday in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that Canada has been “very unfair” to dairy farmers and “we’re going to start working on that.” Canada has decided to impose import taxes on ultra-filtered milk, a protein liquid concentrate used to make cheese. It had been duty-free but Canada changed course after milk producers there complained. About 70 dairy producers in both Wisconsin and New York are affected. Trump promises to…
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Health insurers asked the Trump administration…

U.S. Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma (center). (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File) Health insurance executives seeking certainty on the future of federal funds that help lower-income Americans with their out-of-pocket health care costs got no commitment that they would be paid next year in an hour-long meeting with Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to two insurance industry officials with knowledge of the meeting. A CMS official confirmed that Verma “did not comment” on the payments at the meeting. The future of those funds, called cost-sharing reduction payments, have been thrown in doubt by an ongoing lawsuit between House Republicans and the Trump Administration. The payments are made to insurers and help defray deductibles and…
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AP Explains: Behind the visa program…

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump is targeting a visa program cherished by tech companies for bringing in programmers and other specialized workers from other countries. Although these visas, known as H-1B, aren’t supposed to displace American workers, critics say the program mostly benefits consulting firms that let tech companies save money by contracting out their jobs to foreign workers. Trump signed an order Tuesday to direct the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Labor and State to propose new rules to prevent immigration fraud and abuse. Those departments would also be asked to offer changes so that H-1B visas are awarded to the “most-skilled or highest-paid applicants.” Here’s a look at how the H-1B visa program works. ___ IS THIS…
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Feds practice Ebola evacuations despite past…

FILE – In this Oct. 17, 2014 file photo, the National Institutes of Health Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center where patients with Ebola in Bethesda, Md. Donald Trump railed against President Barack Obama’s decision to patients with Ebola to the United States for treatment in 2014. Now that Trump is president, his administration is preparing for similar, and possibly larger-scale, evacuations. (Jose Luis Magana, File/Associated Press) By Matthew Lee | AP By Matthew Lee | AP April 18 at 4:28 PM WASHINGTON — Donald Trump railed against President Barack Obama’s decision to bring patients with Ebola to the United States for treatment in 2014. Now that Trump is president, his administration is preparing for similar, and possibly larger-scale, evacuations. The State Department and…
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Trump should open White House visitor…

President Donald J. Trump’s decision to wall off White House visitor logs from public inspection has elicited strong protests from media and public interest organizations that promote government transparency. These protests are on firm grounding. Although governments have occasional and legitimate secrecy needs, in a democratic-republic the presumption generally is in favor of openness and the public certainly has a right to know with whom the president and staff are consulting on policy.Much can be learned about the president’s priorities and what goes into policy decisions by accessing records of those who visit the White House. It is also deeply meaningful to know whether the president and staff are consulting various perspectives on critical issues or whether they only are…
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Trump administration moves back meeting on…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A White House meeting that was to help determine whether the United States should withdraw from the Paris climate accord has been postponed, a White House official said on Tuesday. Some of President Donald Trump’s top advisers, including Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt, were scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss how Trump should handle the 2015 climate deal. The meeting was canceled because “some of the principals are traveling today,” the White House official said. RELATED: Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, a photo for each day The meeting will be rescheduled, but no date has been set, the official said. The accord, agreed on by nearly 200 countries…
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Steve Ballmer Looks to Make Facts…

“Numbers don’t know whether they’re liberal or conservative,” Steve Ballmer declared at a luncheon in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday — a bold statement in the era of Trump. The former Microsoft (MSFT) CEO addressed the New York Economic Club to present his newly-launched USAFacts, a project three years in the making that seeks to improve political disclosure and make government financial data easier to access. Characterized as a sort of 10-K for government (annual filings made by publicly-traded companies), the endeavor gathers public data to help the American people see where their tax dollars are going. “Government’s kind of big,” Ballmer told the crowd of about 200. “Across government, there’s a lot of shared responsibility for getting things done, but…
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Democrat Has Trump Worried in Georgia…

Watch TV shows, movies and more on Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android. Hours before voters go to the polls in Georgia’s 6th district, Trump attacked Jon Ossoff, who could possibly flip the long-time red seat blue. The Daily Kos’ David Nir, who helped Ossoff raise $1 million of the $8.3M fueling his campaign. The Last Word with Lawrence O’ Donnell Lawrence O’Donnell brings his extraordinary background in politics and entertainment to “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,” airing weeknights on MSNBC. Drawing upon his experience as a former chief of staff on the Senate Finance Committee and as an Emmy-winning executive producer and writer of “The West Wing,” O’Donnell gives the last word and rewrites the most…
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Americans have soured on Trump. Here’s…

WASHINGTON — Less than 100 days into President Donald Trump’s administration, majorities of Americans disapproved of his performance in office and questioned whether he can work with Congress or keep his promises. Those were the findings of two national polls released Monday after Trump and House Republican leaders last month failed to fulfill their promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. “Reality has intruded and it’s clear he’s finding it more difficult to do a lot of the things he promised,” said Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll. “It’s become evident it’s harder for him to keep his promises than he thought it would be.” Here are five findings of note from the twin surveys. 1. Americans now doubt Trump can…
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