Painful Changes in Society Eased Passage of Bold Safety Net Measure
The New York Times
President Barack Obama barely muscled his health law through the House. But income inequality, economic stagnation and a pandemic propelled an even more ambitious bill.
WASHINGTON — In March 2010, with Tea Party activists protesting loudly in the hallways of Capitol Hill and the political wind in their faces, 34 House Democrats — including Representative Stephen F. Lynch of Massachusetts — broke with their president to vote against passage of the Affordable Care Act.
It was not enough to kill the bill, but more than enough to register deep concerns about its reach in American society — and its potential impact on the midterm elections.
On Friday, Mr. Lynch and every other Democrat but one cast votes for about $2 trillion in spending on social welfare and climate change programs that arguably go much farther than the health law — farther, in fact, than any government intervention in half a century. And the concerns that peeled so many Democrats away from the health measure more than a decade ago were hardly in evidence — at least on their side of the aisle.
In other testimony, law enforcement witnesses placed the suspect, José Ibarra, at the scene of Ms. Riley’s killing, mainly through cellphone and GPS tracking data.
The warning, which extends beyond the city to include 10 other counties in New York state, was announced as wildfires burned and residents continued to await meaningful rainfall.
A new curriculum would focus on Christianity more than other religions. A kindergarten lesson on the Golden Rule, for example, would teach about Jesus and his Sermon on the Mount.
A suspect was arrested Monday morning in connection with the stabbings, which occurred across a broad swath of the borough over several hours and left a third person critically injured.
The 99-year-old house on Boston’s North Shore is battered and uninhabited. And yet, it is beloved by artists and locals — so much that they helped pause its demolition.
Slashing the original $15 toll raises questions about whether a smaller revenue stream could delay projects or lead to higher costs for New York’s public transit agency.
The group’s actions in Columbus on Saturday, part of a recent pattern of white supremacist incidents in the country, were condemned by officials around the state.
As a Senate recount plays out, at least four counties are ignoring an order from the State Supreme Court that undated or misdated mail ballots cannot be counted.
The voluntary evacuation plan was put in place in areas affected by the Jennings Creek wildfire. Officials encouraged residents of 165 homes to move out temporarily.
In a court filing, the judge said the conviction of Melissa Lucio, whose scheduled execution in 2022 was halted, should be overturned. The state’s highest criminal court will now decide.
Ms. Thaler, a former dean at N.Y.U., used her last interview to reminisce about her brother, Ed, and to publicize the alternatives to prolonging pain and suffering.