Russell Berman: Trump's popular-vote margin has shrunk to about 1.5 percent -- one of the tightest in the past half century -- and because some votes went to third-party and independent candidates, he'll fall just short of winning a majority of the vote nationwide. And in the House, they gained a seat, leaving the GOP with the second-smallest majority in history. read more
After sharp criticism from anesthesiologists, an insurance company is halting its plan to limit the amount of time it would cover anesthesia used in surgeries and procedures. read more
More than 3 million adults in nine states would be at immediate risk of losing their health coverage should the GOP reduce the extra federal Medicaid funding that's enabled states to widen eligibility, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News, and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. That's because the states have trigger laws that would swiftly end their Medicaid expansions if federal funding falls. read more
A large and growing body of evidence amassed throughout the pandemic details the many ways that COVID-19 leaves an indelible mark on the brain. Two 2024 studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine shed further light on the profound toll of COVID-19 on cognitive health. read more
The shortage may last months as the US expects an increase in hospitalizations due to respiratory virus season. read more
Here's the reality. One part of the proposed funding for pediatric cancer research was restored, but not all of it:
But in the end, the Senate on Friday renewed the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, named after a 10-year-old girl who died from an inoperable brain tumor in 2013, in a unanimous vote. The bill extended $12.6 million in annual cancer research funding through 2031, allowing the National Institutes of Health to continue researching the biology of childhood cancer and structural birth defects.www.nytimes.com
But three other cancer-related measures were scrapped at the end of 118th Congress. Those include a new policy that would have made it easier for low-income children on Medicaid to cross state lines for specialized cancer treatment, and two bills aimed at incentivizing pediatric cancer drug development.
The original funding was for $199 million, so if only $12.6 million was restored (still trying to verify this), that is still a significant cut to pediatric cancer research all so that billionaires keep their hefty tax cuts:
Journalist Sam Stein on X: "And there you have it. New bill removes funding for this bipartisan child cancer research program. $190 million -- a small drop comparatively -- is now gone. Will need to be passed at some other point, if it can get passed at all."
The country is till pretty evenly divided, which is why I think if Republicans tried to go full steam ahead on Project 2025, they will be making a very big mistake:
By the way, did you know that Trump won the crucial blue wall states--Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin --by 231,000 votes? So if just 116,000 voters across those three swing states " or 0.7% of the total " had switched from Trump to Harris, it is the vice-president who would have won the electoral college ... and the presidency!www.theguardian.com
. . .In 2024, Republicans flipped the Senate and held onto the House but Trump still ended up having "limited coattails", to quote from the New York Times analysis. Of the five battleground states (Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania) which held Senate races in November, the Republican candidate triumphed in only one of them (David McCormick in Pennsylvania, by a narrow 16,000 votes). Democrats held on to the other four.
Trump's margin of victory was less than 2.3 million votes, and that's not a landslide or a blowout:
David Darmofal
@daviddarmofal.bsky.social
With California's votes now certified, this appears to be the final popular vote count. The margin of 1.47 percentage points is the smallest since the 2000 election. Kamala Harris received over 75 million votes in this election.
Update:
Insurance company halts plan to put time limits on coverage for anesthesia during surgerywww.cnn.com
After sharp criticism from anesthesiologists, an insurance company is halting its plan to limit the amount time it would cover anesthesia used in surgeries and procedures. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield said on Thursday it would no longer move forward with the policy change.
"There has been significant widespread misinformation about an update to our anesthesia policy. As a result, we have decided to not proceed with this policy change," the company said in a statement. "To be clear, it never was and never will be the policy of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to not pay for medically necessary anesthesia services. The proposed update to the policy was only designed to clarify the appropriateness of anesthesia consistent with well-established clinical guidelines."
"didn't know a preemptive pardon was possible."
Talk Of 'Preemptive' Pardons By Trump Raises Questions: What Can He Do?www.npr.org
December 2, 20201:27 PM ET
A presidential preemptive pardon sounds unusual, but it has been done before, most famously when President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon, who resigned because of the Watergate scandal in 1974 but had not been charged with any crimes.
"A preemptive pardon is a presidential pardon granted before any formal legal process has begun," American University professor Jeffrey Crouch tells NPR.
In an email, Crouch, author of The Presidential Pardon Power, says that "someone must have committed a federal offense, but as soon as that happens, the president can grant them clemency. He does not need to wait until the alleged offender is charged, stands trial, and so on."
Crouch continues: "These pardons are not common, but they do happen occasionally."
Copy of document available at link:
Federal Inquiry Traced Payments From Gaetz to Women
A document prepared by federal investigators bolsters claims by women who say they were hired for sex by Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald J. Trump's choice for attorney general, who denies wrongdoing.
Federal investigators have established a web of payments among Matt Gaetz and dozens of friends and associates who are said to have taken part with him in drug-fueled sex parties, according to a document obtained by The New York Times. . . .
The document obtained by The Times was assembled by federal investigators during a sex-trafficking investigation into Mr. Gaetz, who is President-elect Donald J. Trump's choice for attorney general. It shows how Mr. Gaetz and a friend sent thousands of dollars through Venmo to dozens of people who, according to testimony that is said to have been given to federal and congressional investigators, were involved in sex parties from 2017 to 2020. . . .
Titled "VENMO TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN ALL INDIVIDUALS AS OF 09/14/20," the document uses thumbnail photos of Mr. Gaetz, dozens of women and several other men to show how payments flowed between them. Lines with arrows connect the men and the women, showing, among other things, how much Mr. Gaetz and his associates paid the women.
www.nytimes.com
Thanks for the info, TH.