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4/1/2022 – US onAir

Friday April 1, 2022

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NEWS AIRCAST …. Friday April 1, 2022 at 4 pm
Associated Press, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar,

https://apnews.com/article/business-health-prices-medicare-inflation-4ef7127b1f67518b7bf55699a4db86cb

HOUSE … House passes $35-a-month insulin cap as Dems seek wider bill
Associated Press, Ricardo Alonso-ZaldivarApril 1, 2022

The House has passed a bill capping the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for insured patients, part of an election-year push by Democrats for price curbs on prescription drugs at a time of rising inflation.

Experts say the legislation, which passed 232-193 Thursday, would provide significant relief for privately insured patients with skimpier plans and for Medicare enrollees facing rising out-of-pocket costs for their insulin. Some could save hundreds of dollars annually, and all insured patients would get the benefit of predictable monthly costs for insulin. The bill would not help the uninsured.

But the Affordable Insulin Now Act will serve as a political vehicle to rally Democrats and force Republicans who oppose it into uncomfortable votes ahead of the midterms. For the legislation to pass Congress, 10 Republican senators would have to vote in favor. Democrats acknowledge they don’t have an answer for how that’s going to happen.

JAN. 6 … Official review of Trump phone logs from January 6 finds record is complete
CNN, Zachary Cohen et al.April 1, 2022

In the seven hours during which White House records show no phone calls to or from then-President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021, among the calls that are conspicuously absent is one Trump made to then-Vice President Mike Pence that morning from the Oval Office.

While the call is not specifically noted in the presidential diary or the presidential call log, its existence has been corroborated by multiple sources who were with Trump and Pence that day, including former aides who testified before the House select committee investigating the US Capitol attack.

And it’s not the only call Trump is known to have made in that timeframe that is not reflected in the records.

ELECTIONS … Election skeptics roil GOP contests for secretary of state
Associated Press, Christina A. Cassidy et al.March 31, 2022

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose was clear in the months after the 2020 presidential election.

“Elections are run better and more honestly than really I think they ever have been,” he said in response to conspiracy theories being floated about the election. Months later, he said in an interview what has proved true in state after state – that voter fraud is rare.

Fast forward to 2022, when Republican secretaries of state face a delicate test with voters: Touting their work running clean elections while somehow not alienating GOP voters who believe the false claims of fraud fueled by former President Donald Trump and his allies.

UKRAINE … African refugees see racial bias as US welcomes Ukrainians
Associated Press, Philip MarceloApril 1, 2022

Wilfred Tebah doesn’t begrudge the U.S. for swiftly granting humanitarian protections to Ukrainians escaping Russia’s devastating invasion of their homeland.

But the 27-year-old, who fled Cameroon during its ongoing conflict, can’t help but wonder what would happen if the millions fleeing that Eastern Europe nation were a different hue.

As the U.S. prepares to welcome tens of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing war, the country continues to deport scores of African and Caribbean refugees back to unstable and violent homelands where they’ve faced rape, torture, arbitrary arrest and other abuses.

“They do not care about a Black man,” the Columbus, Ohio, resident said, referring to U.S. politicians. “The difference is really clear. They know what is happening over there, and they have decided to close their eyes and ears.”

STATE LAWS … Apple wields its lobbying might against LGBTQ laws
Politico, Emily BirnbaumApril 1, 2022

Apple is quietly mobilizing its vast resources to lobby against anti-LGBTQ legislation proliferating across the country — an unusual push by one of the world’s most valuable companies into a consequential political debate.

The company, whose CEO, Tim Cook, is the nation’s most visible gay executive, has deployed its lobbyists to oppose legislation that limits protections for trans and gay people or their families in Iowa, Florida, Texas and at least six other states.

Apple’s communications, government affairs and legal offices have also opposed some of the bills, working with policymakers and advocacy groups to plot out strategies and filing court briefs in cases involving LGBTQ rights. And the company is leading part of the broader corporate pushback against the bills — Apple executives have encouraged other large companies to publicly oppose the legislation, arguing that it promotes discrimination and threatens to harm LGBTQ youth.

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