+Media | 317 days ago

Rupert Murdoch and the 9/11 Victims

By Massimo Calabresi

Everyone needs to slow down with these allegations that Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World hacked into the phones of 9/11 victims.

On Wednesday, New York Republican Pete King sent a letter to FBI chief Robert Mueller “to urge that the FBI immediately commence an investigation of News Corporation pertaining to recent media reports” of the alleged hacking. On Tuesday, West Virginia Democrat Jay Rockefeller called on “the appropriate agencies to investigate to ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated”. Other elected officials are piling on by the minute and the Center for American Progress is too.

What, exactly, is the basis for all this outrage?

+Uncategorized | 822 days ago

Why Heather Graham is Dangerous for Health Reform

By Kate Pickert

Public option supporters inside and outside the Senate are still pushing Harry Reid to bring back the idea and pass it via reconciliation, Jay Rockefeller’s hesitance notwithstanding. My guess is Rockefeller’s opposition to this plan is based on concern that the public option could completely blowup the renewed push for Democratic health care reform. The [...]

+Senate | 889 days ago

The Week In Review and What’s Next for Health Reform

By Kate Pickert

Word is that Majority Leader Harry Reid will unveil changes to the Senate’s health reform bill on Saturday morning. The timing is part of Reid’s effort to get a final vote on the legislation by Christmas Eve. Of course, even the most carefully plotted timeline means nothing without the 60 votes Reid needs to break [...]

+Senate | 969 days ago

Public Option Debate in the Senate Finance Committee

By Kate Pickert

Although the prospects of a public option finding its way into the Senate Finance Committee health reform bill are bleak, Chairman Max Baucus seems ready to devote the bulk of today’s markup to the topic. The committee spent most of its morning session rehashing the arguments for and against the creation of a public health [...]

+Senate | 974 days ago

Public Option on Deck for Friday

By Kate Pickert

Democratic Senators Jay Rockefeller and Chuck Schumer said Thursday evening that they plan to turn debate on the Senate Finance Committee toward a government-run public option on Friday. No public option is included in Chairman Max Baucus’s current health care reform bill and none is expected one to be added, simply because there are not [...]

+Health Care | 979 days ago

The Baucus Health Care Bill: A Work In Progress (Cont’d.)

By Karen Tumulty

I noted yesterday that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus has signaled he is open to making adjustments to his bill, even before it gets to its first formal drafting session on Tuesday. (Stay tuned to Swampland, by the way, to follow the progress of the markup. We have some special plans for coverage in [...]