DELEITURAS

 

byRobert Donachie

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar applauded UnitedHealthcare’s move to increase price transparency in the health care marketplace, an initiative Azar put at the top of his agenda since President Donald Trump appointed him in 2017.

“Today’s announcement by UnitedHealthcare is a prime example of the type of movement toward transparency and lower drug prices for millions of patients that the Trump Administration is championing,” Azar said in a statement Tuesday. “Empowering patients and providers with the information and control to put them in the driver’s seat is a key part of our strategy at the Department of Health and Human Services to bring down the price of drugs and make healthcare more affordable.”

The health care company will stop keeping millions in discounts it receives from drug companies and will instead share those discounts with its customers, UnitedHealthcare announced Tuesday.

Pharmaceutical makers and insurance companies are in an ongoing standoff. Drug manufacturers blame insurance companies for not redistributing rebates with customers, claiming insurance providers could do more to help lower prescription drug costs if they shared rebates.

Insurance providers claim to use rebates to help lower consumers’ insurance costs.

The policy will apply to in excess of seven million individuals who are enrolled in its fully insured insurance plans. Those changes will not take effect until 2019, UnitedHealthcare President Dan Schumacher said.

“UnitedHealthcare is uniquely positioned to deliver new value and clarity to health care, and pharmacy benefits in particular,” Schumacher said. “Our differentiated pharmacy model, powered by OptumRx, is delivering solutions that lead to better health outcomes and make prescription drugs more affordable.”

“The benefit could range from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars to over a thousand,” Schumacher added.

The administration recently disclosed its plans to help lower the costs of prescription drugs and medical costs, to The Daily Caller News Foundation and a few other outlets.

Health and Human Services is framing the issue through two key questions, Azar told TheDCNF. “How can we try to start flipping some of those incentives in the system geared towards higher prices? How do we find pockets of our programs where we maybe don’t negotiate enough or have people negotiating on our behalf to get as good of a deal?” He noted.

The administration is targeting a number of federal agencies — such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and federal policies such as Medicaid (Parts B and D) — to accomplish those objectives.

Azar rolled out a proposal Monday for a value-based health care system, arguing for one more cost effective and transparent than the current market for health care in the U.S.

“We at HHS see stakeholders, including our nation’s hospitals, as part of the solution to our country’s many healthcare challenges. We recognize that it’s not just government that wants better healthcare for all Americans. Our partners in the private sector, all of you, want the same,” Azar said Monday in a speech to the Federation of American Hospitals.

The administration is focused on taking steps toward lowering U.S. citizens’ care costs while instituting a series of reforms to Medicare and Medicaid, Azar added. The administration also wants to add price transparency — a missing feature of the U.S. health care market — to allow consumers to shop around for the best price, as they would for virtually every other good or service.

The administration isn’t alone in its push for greater price transparency.

GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Todd Young of Indiana, along with Democratic Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Michael Bennet of Colorado and Tom Carper of Delaware, are pushing what they call a “health care price transparency initiative.”

Republicans are focusing on price transparency in 2018, after failing a handful of times to repeal and replace Obamacare during Trump’s first year in the White House.

Blake Shelton performs his newest single  “I’ll Name the Dogs.”

The 2019-2020 Free Application for Federal Student Aid opened today, and U.S. News & World Report is here to help with an in-depth guide on what to know about the $120 billion in aid shelled out annually to college students by the Department of Education. U.S. News’ Paying for College Reporter Farran Powell offers the following tips about the FAFSA, a useful way to pay for school.

1. Complete the FAFSA: One recent study found that nearly 40 percent of high school graduates didn’t complete the FAFSA, which means some families gave up the chance to be eligible for federal grants that don’t have to be repaid. Even if a family doesn’t qualify for Pell Grants, which assist students from low-income households, they might be eligible for other types of aid, like federal student loans.
2. Submit the FAFSA early: Even though the federal deadline isn’t until June 30, students and their families should complete the form early to ensure they are eligible to receive aid. Some states and colleges offer financial aid on a first-come, first-served basis, and waiting to fill out the form might mean leaving money on the table.
3. Know that many states and colleges use the FAFSA: Although the FAFSA is for federal financial aid, many states and colleges also use the form to disburse aid awards.
4. Understand that many families qualify for aid: In addition to household income, factors that determine how much aid a student receives include the number of people in a household, child support costs, college savings and other financial assets – to name a few. Even families with higher incomes typically qualify for some type of aid, like work-study or federal loans, which usually carry lower interest rates compared with private loans.

“Navigating the FAFSA process can seem complex for many families, since the form has more than 100 questions. Starting this year, the FAFSA can be completed using a mobile app,” Powell said. “This initiative is intended to increase completion rates and help low-income families who may not have access to a personal computer.”

Below are more step-by-step guides that students and their families can use when researching how to pay for college:

• An Ultimate Guide to Understanding College Financial Aid
• How to Find and Secure Scholarships for College
• What You Need to Know About College Tuition Costs

These guides serve U.S. News’ broader mission of providing trusted information and rankings to help students navigate their higher education options. These include expert advice and tips on the financial aid process, college affordability, student loans and more. U.S. News also publishes annual rankings of the Best High Schools, Best Colleges, Best Global Universities, Best Graduate Schools and Best Online Programs.

Willie Nelson performs “Funny” with Glen Campbell.

Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered the majority of the state’s National Guard troops away from protecting the southern border Tuesday.

“I reject the federal contention that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the southern border, along which are some of the safest communities in the country,” Grisham said in a Tuesday statement only hours ahead of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, The Hill reported.

“New Mexico will not take part in the president’s charade of border fear-mongering by misusing our diligent National Guard troops,” Grisham also said in a statement, according to The Associated Press.

Grisham made her statements shortly before Trump delivered his address, as media and leaders on both sides of the political aisle expressed concern over Trump’s threat to declare a national emergency in order to build a border wall.

Her remarks also follow the Pentagon’s Sunday announcement that it will send an additional 3,750 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. The number of troops guarding the border now totals 4,350.

A majority of the 118 troops currently stationed along the southern border will come home. Roughly a dozen officers will remain at the border to assist with humanitarian needs, according to the governor. State police will help the remaining troops as needed, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

The governor did recognize that protection is needed in some areas of the state especially. “However, I recognize and appreciate the legitimate concerns of residents and officials in southwestern New Mexico, particularly Hidalgo County, who have asked for our assistance, as migrants and asylum-seekers continue to appear at their doorstep,” Grisham said, according to The Hill.

“It wouldn’t surprise me that she timed this release to send a direct message to the president,” a senior Democratic aide told The Hill.

“We have a moral duty to create an immigration system that protects the lives and jobs of our citizens,” Trump said during his address to the nation. “No issue better illustrates the divide between America’s working class and America’s political class than illegal immigration.”

“Simply put, walls work and walls save lives. So let’s work together, compromise, and reach a deal that will truly make America safe,” Trump continued.

Border wall apprehensions jumped 61 percent in the first quarter of 2019, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Grisham did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment in time for publication.

 

by Vandana Rambaran

The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it will launch a national security investigation into car and truck imports that could result in new U.S. tariffs on vehicles from Europe, Japan, and South Korea.

“There is evidence suggesting that, for decades, imports from abroad have eroded our domestic auto industry,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement Wednesday.

The probe was initiated using Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, the same provision that allowed President Donald Trump to place a 25 percent tax on imported steel and 10 percent tax on imported aluminum back in March.

Ross went on to say that the major goal of the probe would be to determine if foreign imports are “weakening our internal economy” and “impair national security.” The announcement comes after Trump tweeted that there would be “big news” for auto workers.

The investigation prompted several Asian automakers across Japan and South Korea, including Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Hyundai to sell their shares on Thursday to protect from higher tariffs.

Stocks fell as Toyota dropped 3.1 percent, Nissan 1.8 percent and Honda 3.4 percent. In Seoul, Hyundai fell 3.1 percent. The proposed tariffs raise the cost for foreign automakers to export cars and car parts to the U.S., which is the world’s second-largest auto market.

The investigation is in line with Trump’s “America First” trade agenda that appealed to Americans during the 2016 elections when he promised to prioritize reclaiming American manufacturing jobs that were lost to overseas competitors and renegotiate NAFTA to return more auto production to the U.S.

Trump administration officials said before the announcement that the investigation will hopefully cause countries that have been holding out to double down on renegotiating NAFTA.

The threat of tariffs could pressure Canada and Mexico to strike a deal as both countries have been at a stalemate with the U.S. over America’s demand for wage increases in the auto industry and a push to expand North American content in cars. In addition, the investigation will also put pressure on Japan, which exports $168 billion in goods and services to the U.S., and the EU, which makes up $416 billion in exports, to reach a trade deal.

Puerto Rico has officially made a comeback, with enough Americans traveling there to earn it the fifth most popular spot on the Top International Spring Break Destinations list, according to a new report. The island dropped off the list in 2018 as it recovered from 2017’s Hurricane Maria.

Watch:

Reappearing on the 2019 Top 10 Spring Break Destinations list is Salt Lake City, Utah, where skiers are heading to get in a few more runs this season. For travelers seeking sunny beaches, Florida continues to dominate the Top 10 list, with Tampa re-joining Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers in the rankings. Orlando and Cancun maintain their number one spots as most popular domestic and international destinations, respectively, according to the Allianz Global Assistance report.

Allianz Global Assistance’s review of trips* planned for the Spring Break season – February 22, 2019 through April 21, 2019– for travel between five and eight days in length found that Orlando (7.9 percent) was the number one domestic destination for Spring Breakers. Following in popularity are Phoenix (5.4 percent), Las Vegas (4.3 percent), New York (4.1 percent), Los Angeles (3.9 percent), Fort Lauderdale (3.9 percent), Fort Myers (3.6 percent), Miami (3.4 percent), Salt Lake City (2.9 percent) and Tampa (2.8 percent).

Internationally, the top two destinations are in Mexico, with Cancun (11.8 percent) and San Jose Del Cabo (6.9 percent) leading the list. The next most popular destinations are Nassau, Bahamas (5.9 percent), which jumped from seventh last year to the top three; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (5.6 percent); San Juan, Puerto Rico (5.0 percent); Oranjestad, Aruba (4.8 percent); Higuey, Dominican Republic (4.7 percent); Montego Bay, Jamaica (4.2 percent); Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands (3.5 percent); and Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (3.2 percent).

“Americans are once again spending their travel funds in Puerto Rico, which has made an impressive comeback as it continues to rebuild after Hurricane Maria,” said Daniel Durazo, director of communications for Allianz Global Assistance USA. “Wherever you’re heading this year, sudden illness, storms or other circumstances can unexpectedly get in the way of your vacation. Travel insurance can provide peace-of-mind and may reimburse your investment in the case of delays or cancellations, making for a stress-free spring break.”

The Allianz findings also show the most popular flight days for Spring Break travel in 2019. The busiest domestic travel day (3.6 percent) is February 28, and March 16 (4.4 percent) for international flights. Most Spring Break travelers are spending five days in domestic destinations (31 percent) and eight in international (52 percent).

Top 10 Spring Break Destinations for 2019

2019 Rank	Domestic City	Rank Change  from 2018	International City	Rank Change  from 2018
1	Orlando	0	Cancun, Mexico	0
2	Phoenix	0	San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico	0
3	Las Vegas	+2	Nassau, Bahamas	+4
4	New York	+3	Puerto Vallarta, Mexico	-1
5	Los Angeles	+3	San Juan, Puerto Rico	N/A
6	Fort Lauderdale	-2	Oranjestad, Aruba	0
7	Fort Myers	-1	Higuey, Dominican Republic	-3
8	Miami	1	Montego Bay, Jamaica	-3
9	Salt Lake City	N/A	Providenciales, Turks and Caicos	-1
10	Tampa	N/A	Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands	-1

*Methodology: The data of U.S. travelers’ 2019 Spring Break plans was gathered by analyzing the number of travelers that went through the online booking process of airfare and package paths for partners offering Allianz Global Assistance travel to generate itineraries for roundtrip flights from US airports during Spring Break season (2/22/19 to 4/21/2019) for trips between five and eight days in length.

Masked gunman stormed the offices of a satirical French magazine, Charlie Hebdo (The Weekly Charlie), and slaughtered 12 people in cold blood. Their perceived “crime” was to have published caricatures of Muhammad. And let’s be clear, this was no act of the deranged. The terrorist gunmen were heard screaming, “Allahu Akbar” as they shot, with one assailant shouting, “The Prophet has been avenged,” as they escaped the scene. This was a terrorist act carried out by ideological barbarians over a cartoon.

Aside from the deadly serious problem Islamists have with invoking violence at every turn – in protest, in conquest, in celebration of their “religion” – this incident stands as a pointed reminder that Islamists purposefully calculate these murderous actions; plotting them meticulously down to the second. But even in the perfection of their plans one thing is always a constant for the Islamist. They are willing to wait a lifetime to affect the moment, a concept antithetical to the Western “sitcom attention span” culture. To wit, the management of Charlie Hebdo was first warned of reprisals for their publishing of the Muhammad cartoons eight years ago.

As Daesh (the Islamic State) continues its conquest of the Middles East – leaving fathers crucified and dismembered, mothers sold into slavery or used as concubines and children’s heads left on pikes as warnings against any refusal of subjugation, Yemeni suicide bombers kill scores each day. As Boko Haram kidnaps, rapes and slaughters Christian girls in Africa, axe wielding “lone wolf” Islamists slash people on subway platforms in New York and “home grown” terrorists are routinely thwarted in their murderous plans, but for the grace of God, by law enforcement around the world. Myriad evidence is provided every day that the Islamic ideology has a potent, malignant and metastasizing cancer for which the patient itself must seek treatment. Yet, but for a very few brave voices, the Islamic community does nothing to address the problem. There is no defense for their inaction or their deafening silence.

One excuse given for Muslim inaction – and “excuse” is an accurate portrayal of the abdication of responsibility practiced by many Muslims around the world, is that the Quran is the literal word of Allah; scripture from which deviation is forbidden. Of course, this contention is absurd for the fact that Muhammad was not literate – he could not read nor write:

“According to the traditional narrative, several companions of Muhammad served as scribes and were responsible for writing down the revelations. Shortly after Muhammad’s death, the Quran was compiled by his companions who wrote down and memorized parts of it. These codices had differences that motivated the Caliph Uthman to establish a standard version now known as Uthman’s codex, which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran we have today. However, the existence of variant readings, with mostly minor and some significant variations, and the early unvocalized Arabic script mean the relationship between Uthman’s codex to both the text of today’s Quran and to the revelations of Muhammad’s time is still unclear.”

For an edict to be literal the transcription can have no variance between versions; no competing narratives. By virtue of the competing narratives between Muhammad’s scribes, and even the Uthman’s codex, the “literal word of Allah,” narrative stands as a patently false one. Yet, the excuse emanating from the Muslim community remains. The facts don’t matter.

It is well past time that true leaders within the Islamic community emerge to brave the slings and arrows – or more accurately the suicide bombings and beheadings – of the Islamist fanatics in order to affect a radical and historical transformation of their beliefs; a reformation of Islam. This reformation can only commence from within the Islamic community for the movement to have any legitimacy.

The declaration of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi calling for a “religious revolution” within Islam is a promising event. And the work of people like Dr. Zuhdi Jasser and Dr. Walid Phares to motivate and educate is noble. But until rank and file Muslims take to the streets by the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, around the world in protest; until Muslims of every class, sect and faction start rooting out the violent amongst them for punishment and ridicule; until the Muslim community itself starts teaching their children – all over the world – that martyrdom and violent jihad send them to Hell and not to virgins, nothing will change. Islamist conquest will continue. Innocent blood will continue to run in the streets. Liberty and freedom will continue to be denied.

As we contemplate the slaughter in France – a slaughter that happened in the name of Muhammad and because of a cartoon, let’s also contemplate the concept of “enough.” We, as a people emanating from the free world, must say, “enough.” No more excuses. No more “religion of peace.” Enough. Enough.

The U.S. information technology (IT) sector added an estimated 8,700 new jobs in May, the fourth consecutive month of employment growth, according to CompTIA, the leading technology industry association.

A CompTIA analysis of today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics “Employment Situation” report finds May job growth occurred in three categories:

• IT services, custom software development and computer system design (+ 6,600 jobs)
• Computer, electronics and semiconductor manufacturing (+ 2,200)
• Other information services, including search portals (+ 2,200)

Shedding jobs last month were the telecommunications (- 1,900) and data processing, hosting and related services (- 400) categories.

“As one of the largest industry sectors in the U.S. economy, technology continues to extend its reach in terms of employment and economic impact,” said Tim Herbert, senior vice president for research and market intelligence at CompTIA. “While the ongoing shifts to as-a-service and software-centered models are evident in the data, hardware and infrastructure remain vital components of the tech ecosystem.”

Employers posted nearly 314,000 job openings for IT occupations in May. That’s an increase of 80,930 over April, and one of the largest month-over-month jumps in recent years. Software and application developer openings led the way, with 94,700 job postings, an increase of 26,500 positions over April.

Tech occupation employment across all sectors of the economy declined by an estimated 12,000 positions in May. That marked the third consecutive month of job reductions, after the year started with two strong months of hiring. This volatility reflects the higher degree of variance in monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics data at the occupation level, so these figures should be viewed as directional.

Overall, the U.S. economy added a better-than-expected 223,000 jobs in May as the labor market maintained its steady growth. The May unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent, a slight drop from 3.9 percent in April.

• A court filing in the special counsel’s case against Roger Stone was widely interpreted in the mainstream press as explosive new evidence of the Trump confidant’s contacts with WikiLeaks and Russian operatives
• Prosecutors said Friday that search warrants used in the special counsel’s investigation revealed communications that Stone had with WikiLeaks and Guccifer 2.0. Various news outlets seized on the filing as new evidence in the collusion probe
• But Stone’s contacts with WikiLeaks and Guccifer have been in the public domain for more than a year

News outlets and media pundits on Friday seized on a court filing in the special counsel’s case against Roger Stone that referred to communication the longtime Trump confidant had with WikiLeaks and Guccifer 2.0, the group of alleged Russian operatives suspected of stealing Democrats’ emails during the 2016 campaign.

The court filing, which was touted as new, bombshell evidence by numerous news sources, including CNN and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, may be less than meets the anti-Trump eye.

The filing seemingly refers to communication Stone had with WikiLeaks and Guccifer 2.0, which have already been made public. Those interactions, some of which Stone has released himself, show brief and seemingly innocuous encounters with both WikiLeaks and Guccifer 2.0.

In one exchange from Oct. 13, 2016, which Stone provided to The Daily Caller on Feb. 28, 2018, WikiLeaks appeared to chastise Stone for making “false claims of association” with the group.

Nearly two years ago, on March 10, 2017, Stone released private Twitter exchanges he had with Guccifer 2.0. The messages Stone released show that on Aug. 14, 2016, he contacted Guccifer 2.0 to say he was “delighted” that its Twitter account had been reinstated after a suspension. Two days later, Stone asked for a retweet of an article he had written. None of the messages show Stone discussing emails or asking for insight into what documents would be released.

The source of Friday’s breathless reporting about purportedly explosive new evidence against Stone is a court filing special counsel Robert Mueller submitted in response to a motion from Stone seeking a new judge for his case. The longtime GOP operative was indicted on Jan. 25 on seven counts related to the House Intelligence Committee’s own Russia investigation.

Mueller & Co. designated Stone’s case as related to indictments handed down on July 13, 2018 against 12 alleged Russian operatives suspected of hacking and disseminating Democrats’ emails. By linking the cases, the judge handling the case against the Russian operatives, Amy Berman Jackson, would be able to handle the Stone matter as well.

Stone objected to that move and sought a replacement for Jackson, who is also handling a case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

As part of the argument to maintain Jackson as the judge for the Stone matter, prosecutors noted that cases can be designated as related if prosecution against separate defendants “arises from a common … search warrant” and from “activities which are a part of the same alleged criminal event or transaction.”

Prosecutors went on to assert that: “In the course of investigating that activity, the government obtained and executed dozens of search warrants on various accounts used to facilitate the transfer of stolen documents for release, as well as to discuss the timing and promotion of their release.”

“Several of those search warrants were executed on accounts that contained Stone’s communications with Guccifer 2.0 and with Organization 1,” they said.

“Organization 1” is believed to be WikiLeaks.

Mueller has been investigating what Stone knew about the email dumps and any communication he may have had on the matter with WikiLeaks, Guccifer 2.0, the Trump campaign and any other associates.

Stone, 66, has insisted that he had no direct contact with WikiLeaks or any Russian operatives, save for his Twitter exchanges.

Stone is accused of lying to the committee about his contacts with associates and Trump campaign officials regarding WikiLeaks. Stone has not been accused of communicating with WikiLeaks or Guccifer 2.0 regarding the hacking or release of Democrats’ emails. He was also not charged with lying to Congress when he denied having those communications.

Stone has claimed that he did not know the source of content of the final WikiLeaks dump until the group began releasing former Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails. Stone has said that he learned through left-wing activist Randy Credico that WikiLeaks would release materials that would be damaging to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Text messages show that Credico, who is friends with a WikiLeaks lawyer, kept Stone apprised of WikiLeaks’ timeline for releasing Clinton-related documents.

Though Mueller’s filing appeared to refer to previously reported correspondence from Stone, numerous news outlets spun the filing as new, explosive evidence of possible collusion with WikiLeaks and Russian spies.

Maddow asserted on her show Friday night that Mueller’s filing revealed that Stone had contact with Russian operatives “concerning the stolen Democratic documents that the Russians hacked and staged for distribution during the campaign in a way that was designed to cause maximum damage to Hillary Clinton and maximum benefit to Donald Trump.”

Preet Bharara, the former U.S. attorney turned CNN analyst, proclaimed the story a “significant development.”

Evan McMullin, a leader of the anti-Trump resistance movement and frequent cable TV guest, claimed, without evidence, that Mueller’s filing established that Stone “was in direct contact with WikiLeaks and Russian intel” regarding “the timing and promotion of stolen emails.”

CNN reported the story with the headline “Special counsel prosecutors say they have communications of Stone with Wikileaks.”

Stone responded to the CNN story on his Instagram account, calling the headline a “[t]otal con job and old recycled smear.”

“The Mueller investigation looked for two years and can find nothing but recycle Twitter direct messages which have already been widely reported in the media and which prove absolutely nothing,” he wrote.