Mar 22, 2017 - Health

Trump's deals and threats to win Trumpcare votes

Evan Vucci / AP

President Trump, Mike Pence and other GOP leaders pulled out all the stops yesterday in attempts to persuade 20 or so Republican lawmakers to vote for the repeal and replace plan on Thursday, NYT reports. Trump even promised to consider reversing Obama's opening with Cuba if Representative Mario Diaz-Balart from Florida voted for the bill.

In a private meeting, Trump threatened congressmen would lose their seats if they didn't vote "yes," but as of today, he still hasn't locked down the votes in the House.

Why it matters: Both parties almost always cut deals to get those last few votes, but Democrats got hammered for the deals they made to pass Obamacare. Now the GOP dealmaking is on display -- and there's probably going to be more leading up to tomorrow's Trumpcare vote.

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Fadel Allassan
41 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Trump says he'll accept nomination at White House or Gettysburg

Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images

President Trump tweeted Monday that he'll deliver his speech accepting the Republican nomination for president at either the Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania or at the White House.

The state of play: Republican National Convention planners are looking for a new venue for the president to deliver his acceptance speech after convention events were canceled in Jacksonville, Fla., due to coronavirus concerns.

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Dave Lawler
2 hours ago - World

Lebanon's prime minister resigns in wake of deadly explosion

Protests in Beirut. Photo: Maxim Grigoryev/TASS via Getty

Lebanon's prime minister and cabinet have resigned amid massive protests in the aftermath of a deadly explosion in Beirut that killed more than 160 people, injured 6,000 and left roughly 250,000 homeless.

Why it matters: Protesters blame the incompetence of the ruling elite — widely viewed as corrupt — for the disaster. The unstable and deeply distrusted government will remain in place in a caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is selected.

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Zachary Basu
Updated 2 hours ago - World

Protests erupt in Belarus after "Europe's last dictator" claims election win

Protesters and riot police clash in Minsk, Belarus, on Sunday during a demonstration against President Alexander Lukashenko's claim of a landslide victory. Photo: Misha Friedman/Getty Images)

Riot police clashed with protesters in Belarus overnight after a government exit poll predicted Sunday President Aleksander Lukashenko, an authoritarian who has ruled the Eastern European country since 1994, had overwhelmingly defeated a pro-democracy opposition candidate.

Why it matters: It's a precarious moment for the former Soviet republic, where decades of repression and a complete disregard for the coronavirus pandemic threaten to topple "Europe's last dictator." Rights groups said at least one protester was killed and dozens more wounded in a "police crackdown," per AP.

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