
Judge allows Texas to remove Planned Parenthood from Medicaid program
CNN
Thousands of Texans are slated to lose their health care provider after a Texas judge on Wednesday allowed the state to remove Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program.
Texas has long sought to ban Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions in Texas, from Medicaid. Medicaid funding does not cover abortions except in cases of rape or incest or when the woman's life is at risk, due to the Hyde Amendment, dating back to 1976. Several Texas Planned Parenthood affiliates sued the state last month for moving to ban Planned Parenthood from the program in light of a federal appeals court order in November allowing states to determine whether or not providers are qualified to participate in Medicaid.
Cracks emerge in GOP over Iran war cost as administration floats more than $200B request to Congress
Cracks are emerging among congressional Republicans over the Iran war with key lawmakers skeptical about spending hundreds of billions of dollars to prolong the conflict and several refusing to support any money without a clear White House strategy.

Cuba is going dark under US pressure. How the crisis unfolded and why its troubles are far from over
Almost three months after the US effectively imposed an oil blockade on Cuba that worsened its energy crunch, nearly every aspect of Cuban society has been feeling the strain.

The Department of Homeland Security has been ensnared by a partial government shutdown as Congress did not act to fund the agency by the end of Friday. But nearly all DHS workers will remain on the job — even if many won’t get paid until the lapse ends — and the public probably won’t notice much of a change.










